ktravula – a travelogue!

Browsing the archives for the Opinion category.

Religion, Campus, Trouble!

Really? Not really. But if you see someone in the middle of a university campus on a cold afternoon preaching with every zeal in his body, you’re bound to have a few eyebrows raised, especially if that University is in the America. Very soon, the crowd around the said preacher will get bigger and bigger, and its members would begin to engage him in a loud debate. Trust university students never to let an opportunity for an argument go to waste. And then, as a result of that public spectacle, more and more people would come to see what the whole thing is all about. They don’t see that often.

I’d been alerted by a phone call. “Oh Kola, come! A crazy man is preaching here.” But I knew that the man wasn’t a crazy man, by the hysteria in the voice of the caller. I’ve also seen many preachers in public places (Who from Nigeria hasn’t seen one of those anyway), and I knew it highly unlikely that a crazy man would be allowed to stand for long in the middle of campus in America. Maybe it was just a healthy argument of opinions, I thought. Getting there and seeing the young man within a circle confirmed my suspicion. He was only as crazy as his decision to come to a campus filled with young fun-loving students to preach the gospel of Christ. So we all stood there, and listened to him.

But he never really made any new points, perhaps because of the hecklers who didn’t give him the chance. What he did the most was rehashing an old conservative messages of Christianity that excludes recognition to gay people, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the theory of evolution. And all I was thinking as we were joined by the many other people curious about the activity in the circle – and a few other angry hecklers that wished they had a chance to push him off – was “What what the young man was trying to prove?” “Is this the right place for this?” “Does he mind that people were there mostly for the heated debates?” If anything, does he realize how much of a lightening rod for criticism of all that is wrong with zealous proselytism as he stood there responding to every heckler in the crowd with an opinion? And then again, I wondered how possible it can be to make a case of God’s love for some special people alone over all others without sounding inappropriate.

The police eventually showed up but didn’t disperse us. They stood at a distance, watched, and later walked away, as eventually did I, wondering if there was any lesson to be learnt from the drama. It doesn’t happen often around here.

It is reported here and here in the campus newspaper.

How To Survive on a Fulbright Stipend

Someone had searched for the following phrase “fulbright grant stipend how to survive” and have been referred to my blog. Since I’ve never written anything on the subject, I doubt they’d have learnt anything so far. Leaving one’s country and base to go abroad is already a trying experience. Add to that, having to survive on a stipend not figured to encourage extravagance as to guarantee qualitative subsistence could be harrowing at worst, or unsatisfactory at best. So here would be my response – from experience – if I were asked. Most of them are actually commonsense guides to surviving college.

Dear Fulbrighter in the US,

1. Get a Bicycle. Transportation is a bada$$ in any little town. If you are at SIUE, you’ll most likely have the bus shuttle,but then it comes at intervals. If you want to get to where you want to go at your own time without paying for gas or being frustrated by transport, a bicycle it is. I bet this works in every little town. If it is a big town/city. A bicycle might still work, but you’ll need a map and it might take a while getting used to it. Ask friends or faculty members for a ride. They will gladly help get you around. You’re an international exchange student. You’re VIP. Take advantage of it and enjoy every moment. If you ever get lost, you can also ask the police for a ride. They will eagerly help you (although they might have to search you for weapons first).

2. Cook rather than eat out. Papa John’s pizza costs about $20 bucks, and it lasts only for one sitting. A meal at a restaurant costs about $10. Home cooking will cost far less on the long run, and it will be more filling. Shop for groceries at weekends, and spend your time cooking at home. Attend campus events. Many of them come with free food and is open to all. Attend other social events too, and eat to your heart’s desire. In many cases, you are even allowed to take home fruits. Visit people. If you have host parents, visit them when you can. Tell them of memorable events in your life, like your birthday. They might throw a party for you and cook lots of food. Express interest in outdoor events and you’ll get plenty invitations.

3. When you buy books online, buy used books. They’re usually as good as new, and they’re much cheaper than new ones. Watch plenty TV rather than buy DVDs as they come out. You would have too much load to carry home at the end of your grant and may have to pay for excess luggage. All movies eventually come to the TV anyway, so spend your time watching the old ones you may have missed instead of amassing new ones that would chop off your stipend. If you must go to the movies, go in the mornings during weekdays. They usually cost $5 at those times. I wouldn’t say you should download movies or music illegally online, but there are many sites where you can watch movies for free or listen to music for free. Use them. Some will even stream movies going on at the theatres at the moment.

4. Do not get a mobile phone. You really don’t need it. Most campuses give you access to a house phone that you don’t pay for for calls to places on campus. You can also receive calls through them for free. But they’re fixed and not mobile. For mobile phone calls, use many of the cheaper VOIPs online. At the moment Google offers free phone calls on Gtalk to anywhere in America, for free. For international calls, use Skype to Skype conversation with your friends and family. You don’t need to pay for international calls. Mobile phones are a rip off, and you don’t need that. When you think about it, you don’t have that many friends in the US anyway. Those you know are mostly in your campus, and would be able to track you with your office hours. The rest can find you on Facebook. If you have to pay to call home, especially Nigeria, use Rebtel. The value you get from calling with Rebtel is twice that of every other online call services including Skype. Trust me on this. More than that, you can also use it with your mobile phone rather than scratch cards.

5. If you start a blog, don’t get a domain name (like KTravula.com). You get to pay for that. Use the free ones (like ktravula.wordpress.com or igwatala.blogspot.com. WordPress.com and Blogger.com can tell you how to get those. If any telemarketer calls you (you can tell their voice by how polite they sound and how fast they try to tell you all they’ve been paid to say in that little space of time that they have your attention), hang up immediately. They usually start with a question: Are you interested in free grant for your studies? etc. If you need to buy anything in the store, there are usually cheaper versions of that same product. Ask the shop people. Questions will get you out of any panic buying. If you buy any product, ask for warranties. Most places have them. If anything you buy gets bad, even after seven months, take it back. They might take it back from you and give you a replacement.

6. If you want to send money home (since a few cousins or friends or family might need it at some point – depending on how responsible you were before you travelled) – do not use bank wire transfer. It’s damned costly. Do not use Western Union either (Sorry Brian), except you can get them to offer you a discount. (Ask me more about this). So what should you use then? Well, how about take the money home when you’re actually going by yourself? I know it sounds lame, but when you get home, everyone would expect that you’ve become a millionaire, so you might not want to disappoint them. Besides, money is easier to carry in one’s own wallet. Else, you can use it to buy gift items and take them along, but remember that excess luggage charge is no peanut. Airline people are bada$$es.

7. Use Craigslist.com. There are very many things you can buy there for really dirt cheap prices: a good camera, an ipod, a DVD player, and even a bicycle. When you want to travel by road, or by air, book far ahead. By land, Megabus.com offers incredibly cheap rates. A five hour trip from St. Louis to Chicago could cost you just $1 if youbook about two months ahead. Look out for coupons. It’s America’s shopping culture/secret. Coupons will save you a lot of money. When you go to Washington in December, don’t stay back or go visiting friends in other states except those states are close by (Maryland, New York, Boston, Connecticut, Pennsylvania etc). If you have to fly to Texas on your own money, it’s not really worth it. Let your friend who’s inviting you pay half the flight, and then you may go. Else, visit states that you can get to by road, or train.

Here are the few I could come up with right now. You do not have to comply with everything, especially since I haven’t obeyed all of these rules myself faithfully. However, I felt that since you’ve been searching for information, I should be able to help from experience and observation. And now, I’ve run out of points. You may have to make up yours as you go along. Oh, and if this helps, do send me a mail or something. It’s cheaper than a gift card or a postcard. Cheers, and have fun in America.

Coffee with the Quakers

A guest post by Adeleke Adesanya

Anyone looking in through the glass from outside would think we were just having a coffee break, while working on a Sunday. We talked about politics, heard a first person account of the civil demonstrations against planned cuts in child services. Someone brought up the issue of expected redundancies at the museums and I wondered whether it would have been preferable to charge entrance fees for adults instead. The majority did not seem to agree with me. I was having my first meeting with the Quakers of Birmingham, otherwise known as the Society of Friends. They are a religious organisation, founded in the 1630s and infamous for being non-conformists. But I am getting ahead of myself.

In the middle of the healthy debates, an elderly lady asked me if I had attended a Friend’s meeting before. I said, “No”. Truth is, I had attempted to find their meeting place the previous week but had a difficult time locating them and arrived just in time for coffee. I decided not to partake then. Their meeting rooms are tucked discretely into the middle of Bull Street, at Birmingham’s commercial centre. The premises, without any signage, are better known for hosting seminars and business meetings. Inside, the decor was stylish in a minimalist, business like fashion.

The elderly lady asked how I heard of them. I told her of a handbill I had received in my post graduate student induction pack. But once again, the truth is a bit more complicated. Many years prior, I read Charles Colson’s Born Again. The lasting impression that book made on me was that President Nixon was a Quaker. Later, I found out, President Hoover was also a Quaker. They were arguable the two most unpopular US presidents before George.W.Bush. Both of them demonstrated placid sedateness in the midst of the worst public storms and they credited their faith for the fortitude to stay calm. I was intrigued; what made these guys tick?

I got a clue when I joined them for worship last Sunday. It was devoid of any ceremony; we sat for an hour in easy silence. Quakers believe God is an inner light that should speak to us as we wait on it. Sitting in meditative silence, they waited to hear. I was informed that sometimes, someone who was inspired will speak up but that did not happen on my watch. It was a refreshing silence, so humbling to listen in prayer for a change. The challenge was, of course, not in abstaining from speaking but in quieting the mind. Anyone who has taking part in meditation would know that thoughts seem to wait for one to be calm before intruding. But I can imagine a habit of silent meditations being useful in dealing with worries. After the silent service, there were some brief announcements, and then we had coffee together.

A first time visitor would like to ask Quakers when their service starts. They like to say it is immediately after worship stops. Quakers have been conscientious objectors throughout their existence and made history as a result. They founded Pennsylvania to escape persecution. They were pioneers in the anti-slavery and women’s rights movements.They still campaign against the death sentence. Perhaps, in the UK, much is made of their past because today they have shrunk in size, numbering 25000. The meeting I attended had only eleven members in attendance, excluding myself. The other thing I was made to realize is that English Quakers have an inclusive, flexible and unwritten theology that now includes atheist Quakers. What struck me most about them was what was absent; loud prayers, direct exhortations.I left feeling I had spent a Sunday morning rather well and thinking, I could do this again. And that was one more item off my “Things to Do before I Die List”.

Islam in America

It’s funny that before the recent controversy about the Cordoba House in NY city a block away from the former World Trade Centre buildings, my imagination never successfully pictured a mosque in the United States. Of course it’s a no-brainer, there has to have been a mosque somewhere. Or where did Malcolm X, Mohammed Ali, and other countless immigrants from the Middle East do their Friday prayers. Somehow I must have always thought that they prayed in designated places in their homes. Of course, now I know different. Even Wikipedia has a list of all the mosques in the country. So when I had to drive one of the current Arabic teachers on the Fulbright program to a place to pray on Friday, wiki was there to help.

The problem was, it wasn’t called a mosque even though that was what it was. It was called an Islamic Community Centre. What on earth is that? When we went to a Cathedral, it was called a cathedral. When we visited a Synagogue, it was called as such. But when we went to the mosque, it was called something else. It was not just a place for socialization. It was a Mosque – a praying ground. When did it become a crime to call something by its own name? Only in America, perhaps. The only consolation is that, by any other name, the building remained visible for all to see with a minaret pointing to heaven. On the one hand, I am proud of the country living up to its creed of freedom for all (including freedom from discrimination on the basis of religion, and the freedom of worship). This is beyond impressive and it speaks to diversity, courage and maturity. On the other hand, I’m disgusted by the hypocrisy that would make a mosque be called by any other name for any reason in order to adjust to the discomfort of a needlessly frightened society.

(Click image to enlarge)

Believing, at the Synagogue

On Friday, I found myself in a Synagogue, wearing a yarmulke, holding a siddur, browsing a Talmud, and reading the Torah in original Hebrew. This doesn’t happen to me every day. It has in fact never happened before. A few minutes earlier, I had just concluded a tour of the city’s biggest Cathedral, and hours earlier had driven the current Fulbright scholar, teacher of Arabic to a mosque for his Friday prayers. All I knew about the Jewish faith was from the few books I’d read, the few movies I’d seen, and the few conversations I’ve had with people who should know and those who shouldn’t, and the Bible.

The bible tells more, of course, and then less. The bible has Jesus, the apostles, the miracles, the disciples and the revelation. But, as I’ve learnt, one can’t be a good practitioner of Judaism by just reading the Bible. It just doesn’t say as much as necessary. That’s where the Talmud comes in. It’s the Torah explained, and this comes in handy especially since people of the Jewish faith don’t believe in Jesus, his divinity or his impending return. He’s just one guy that passed through the world like any other person. The Torah is just another word for the five books of Moses, “the entirety of Judaism’s founding legal and ethicalreligious texts.” And oh, the Torah is not a book. It’s a scroll, a large one, and everything on it is hand-written, in Hebrew (and I think in Aramaic as well). Whoever wrote this one I saw has a very good and regulated handwriting.

It was equally fortuitous that the synagogue visited was not an orthodox one, because, as I found out, the beautiful singing and instrumentation that got me most impressed by the Shabbat service is not a common part of Jewish Shabbats. It’s found only in liberal synagogues. What’s more, it had a woman lead. I didn’t verify if she was the woman rabbi or just the choir/singing leader. All I remember was being transported into realms of believing as she sang, and strummed the guitar to accompaniment of another guitar and a fiddle. The whole service itself was half singing and half reciting, much like a Catholic mass (minus the singing and instrumentation).

The Shabbat (sabbath) starts at Friday evenings and ends about 25 hours later. During this period – commanded by God to be kept holy by all believers – Jews are not expected to use fire, go to work or use electricity. It is for this reason that the only picture I took while in the service was of the siddur, and was my last while in the premises, in respect of the preference of the worshipers. While we were in the Synagogue library, I had to put on the light, and put it off later too. Those laws are strictly respected. If I would ever return to another one of those Shabbat services, it would most likely be because of the music, and the whole attitude of homeliness that one feels while there, even though – amidst a room full of people of a different race and skin colour, it is not hard to be spotted as a wandering stranger. What made up for that were the smiles and warmth of the people who all wanted to know about us and where we came from.

It was surely a fun time, definitely enlightening, as the five other students I went with confirmed. “Shabbat Shalom,” we said.

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