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Yesterday...

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Today I walked on water, almost like Jesus did. Only this time, it was day, and the water was no water after all. It was ice. I walked on a frozen lake. I almost gave in to the temptation to ride on it as well. Who knows, I might still give it a try. My friends in the mountains of Colorado have had snow since October. They have ice rinks up in Chicago for skating and ice hockey. I have the Cougar Lake in its frozen glory. I may not be able to skate on it, but slide I shall with my winter boots. It’s my own winter sport, invented and patented by KTravulad himself. We shall rename this spot, this water, the KTravulake.

But I pity the ducks, the geese. They have now been confined to the sky since their primary playground has become a plate of solid glass. I don’t envy them, and I pity them only a little as well, since I was never a fan of their loud cackling in the first place.

In any case, it is winter. I’m enjoying it.

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These are pictures from the weekend, taken mostly at an outdoor picnic that took place at the Cougar Lake Area, where there was line dancing, boat/kayak riding and volleyball. Enjoy.

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#2. Almost everyone here has a car, and there are adequate traffic signs on its perfectly tarred, perfectly networked roads. There are traffic lights where necessary, and the signs tell the cars when to stop and where not to. It has an efficient transport system – nice large buses free for students and all other residents – that arrives on schedule.

#3. Everyone who lives there is educated, at least beyond four years of University education. Does that count?

#4. Cougar Village has a standard post office. Every apartment has a mailbox into which letters are safely delivered. All is part of the bill.

#5. It’s an expensive place to live in, one that gives good service for the money paid.

#6. It has regular police patrols.

#7. It has wireless internet access, and electric power supply 24/7. This is notwithstanding that one time exception. There is an active telephone and data jacks in every room, and GSM service actually works there. Let’s just say it has all the basic utilities necessary for a sane, civilized survival.

(NB: I heard the word “generator” yesterday for the first time in three weeks – from my Nigerian friend on the internet, and it sounded strange to the ears. Pardon me Nigeria for forgetting what that word, and others like “conductor”, “danfo”, “LASTMA” and “PHCN/NEPA”, means.)

#8. It has a laundry service which you have to pay for, of course.

#9. It has wide recreation centres that include basketball, tennis and sand volleyball courts.

#10. I live there, duh!

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#2. It is peaceful, quiet and romantic, and many people who live there would rather ride their bikes, or walk, than ride in their cars. One could hear the bird chirps and the frogs’ mating calls during long walks beside the lake.

#3. My flatmate, in addition to not knowing who Halle Berry is, also has never heard of the song/phenomenon “We Are the World.” Does this count?

#4. It has plenty deers, plenty geese, plenty cats and squirrels. It used to have two live cougars, but since one died and the other was donated to an animal centre, it doesn’t anymore.

#5. It is removed from school, and even far removed from downtown Edwardsville.

#6. It doesn’t have a public drinking bar.

#7. It has had a power outage at least once this month, which lasted for more than 12 hours.

#8. Almost everyone knows someone who knows someone that everyone knows. It only has 62 buildings – in which are 496 apartments. Each apartment has an average of three residents, so you know how many we are. We can’t form a local council in Nigeria even if we try.

#9. The buses that go there do so only on schedule – 15 minutes interval.

#10. It is called a Village, duh!

Watch out for 10 Reasons Why Cougar Village Is NOT A Village.

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It is a beautiful and restful students village with many identical apartments. I share a room with an undergraduate of Pharmacy who is also from Illinois.

I got lost earlier today while trying to locate my apartment. It was made worse by the rain of which I had been warned earlier in the day at www.weather.com. I had gone out in the morning to attend the International Students Orientation Programme organised by the International Students Services for dozens of international students to the University. Myself and Reham from Egypt were the only Fulbright FLTA scholars there. We had met earlier at Providence so it was just a happy reunion. For some strange reason, her flight did not land at the same time as mine so I hadn’t seen her since I left Providence in my Cadillac.

Later in the evening, my roommate Chris gave me a ride back to campus so that I could get connected to the internet. I missed the campus bus from campus, and I decided to walk back. That turned out to be a very liberating experience, and I also got to take some really nice photos of the campus, especially the beautiful Cougar Lake. On my way to campus, I saw a nice deer grazing on the grass. According to Chris, it was so tame that one could go and stroke its head. Impressive. While at Providence, I had chanced on a few squirrels playing without any worries around we humans. I give America one thing: it respects its animals. Back home, the first reflex is always to find a weapon anytime you spot game. It is a cardinal sin to let one escape when the cooking cauldron awaits agape. Africans thrive on the murder/hunting of game. It is a thrilling endeavour. Because it’s fun? Because we’re hungry? Because they’re pests?

Now I have sufficient explanation for the speed with which the squirrels on my old campus in Ibadan flee in the opposite direction whenever I open my palms and call them to come and eat some nuts: their parents and great grand parents must have told them of our kind. “When you see those guys, run as fast as you can, or else you’ll end up in the cooking pot!”. And they always often do. That is why the squirrel in Edwardsville has a higher life expectancy than one in Ibadan.

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