An update coming right up…
10. Will it be too cold in Washington DC next week for me to enjoy the sites that I want to see there?
9. Who is the president of Nigeria now? And does it matter in the scheme of the country’s present political arrangement that there’s no one really in charge at the moment while the nation awaits the news on the president’s health? Does it stop the quotidian activities of the agents of state from going on or have citizens realized that their lives are really not controlled by whomever occupies the government houses?
8. Do I sound too angry in some of my blog entries?
7. Has someone in the entourage of Nigeria’s president been reading my blog from Saudi Arabia as Google Analytics has pointed out? Because I would really be flattered. Who else could be reading from Saudi Arabia? Could it be the president himself, to while away the time?
6. Does snow and fog affect the visibility of airplane take-offs and landings?
5. Will I still be able to make blog posts in the Winter when at this moment of just minus six celcius my fingers are already freezing up? If I don’t make new posts for more than a week, will I ever be forgiven by my now dedicated audience?
4. What other impressions does the reader of this blog get after reading a few posts, other than the fact that I’m a curious and often impulsive questioner and prankster – no, I mean quiet and quite unassuming but often probing fella?
3. Who really are those guys who read without leaving comments? 😀
2. How many of my fellow FLTAs now scattered all over the country are looking forward to seeing me at the DC conference? How many of them have forgotten my name, or even what I look like? How many of them are enjoying their teaching and learning experience as I am? How many of the ladies have already accepted marriage or relationship proposals from their American hosts? And how many of the men have made such proposals and have been brutally turned down? 😀
1. Am I really, really making my country – and/or the Fulbright Organization – proud at the moment? What does that even mean?
The traveller attempts to answer some ten more questions that have either been asked him, or have not been asked yet only because the people who had them in their minds were not too confident about sending him the email!
10.
Q: Why did you remove your picture from the “About” page?
A: I had a mood swing! Yes, I have those too, and it is not controlled by the tide of the moon. Sometimes I get tired of seeing my own face online, and a sudden capriciousness overwhelms me to get rid of it. No questions asked. If you would send me your picture, I might send you one of mine too.
9.
Q: Why do you make blog posts almost every day?
A: I don’t know. I really can’t control it. It has become a sort of habit that I can’t easily break. But some times I’m so tired that I can’t write anything at all. At those times, I just go to sleep, but not before a muted apology to the blogging muses of the day wherever they are for not being able to put their energies to better use.
8:
Q: What are you going to do after your Fulbright programme ends in May 2010?
A: I really have no clear idea yet, but my tentative plans include a future academic pusuit either in the United States, or in Europe – whichever takes me first, and (if I don’t get a scholarship) whichever is more affordable. Yes, I am not the son of any Nigerian politician.
7:
Q: What do you miss the most about Nigeria, aside from the food?
A: Aaaaaargh! You have spoilt all the fun by removing food as a choice answer.
6:
Q: Do you really look forward to going back to Nigeria?
A: Because I still have a long time to stay here, I can’t answer this question, yet. Ask me again in a few months. But in private this time, if you want some honesty.
5:
Q: If you’re so bloody smart, why do you blog instead of becoming a newspaper columnist, or at least a more serious author and not just a serial narcissistic exhibitionist of wicked (read beautiful, inspiring, nice, or any other sufficient word) lines?
A: It’s the internet age, and I’m dealing with the dynamics of the medium I’m most adapted to. I do intend to publish a definitive collection of poems, a collection of short stories or even a novel some day (if I get a publishing deal), but my interest is mostly in literary and non-literary translation. This blog is just a way of keeping my brain in shape. By the way, all the stuff in here are copyrighted. You can’t use them elsewhere without my permission, or you might be in hot soup.
4.
Q: What do you think of the recent (in)famous wordfest in the Nigerian print media about the standard of objective review of music albums coming from young people?
A: Erm… I have no more comments on that. When I do, I know where to place them, and they’d get published, hopefully. It’s always a pain to not have a way to occasionally voice one’s opinion to a current issue. Nigeria is the country with the freest news media on the continent, after all. I’m glad for the chance to be able to contribute to current issues from this distance whenever the opportunity presents itself. Within Nigeria, there are other things that make that a very grueling process. On the top of this is electricity (or the lack thereof in regular and stable doses).
3.
Q: What do you have with number 46?
A: I have no idea what you mean. Oh, that! (Giggles). I really don’t know too, but since after the second month when I ended up with forty-six posts, I have decided to try and meet up with that number every subsequent months – just for the fun of it. Let’s see how that plays out.
2.
Q: Mention three of your favourite posts on this blog, and why?
A: I like this the most, because it was short, and it was my first culture shock experience. Then this because, even to me, it was funny. And then I love My First Class, since I had as much fun writing it as I had experiencing it in class. If you ask me tomorrow, I might have a different list. And besides, I think my favourite post is just on the way, not yet published. Ah, I can’t resist pointing to this one too.
1.
Q: Have you met Governor Rod Blagojevich yet?
A: He’s no longer the Governor of Illinois, remember? (Don’t you read the dailies?) I however almost met Governor Partrick Quinn when he came to campus sometimes last week(?) for a University event. I didn’t meet him because first, there was no need to, and secondly, because by the time he was having a town hall meeting addressing students, I was busy dosing off at home after a very stressful day of work at school.
ktravula attempts here to answer some questions he’s been asked more than once from Nigeria.
#10.
Q: “Is the Fulbright FLTA programme a degree-awarding programme?”
A: No, it isn’t, but each participant gets a Fulbright-branded certificate at the end of the programme. The certificate is given in the participant’s home country, hereby providing one more reason for the grantee to return home.
#9.
Q: “Why then does KT attend Master’s classes in Linguistics, GIS and Creative writing?”
A: Because, in addition to teaching, one of the prerequisites of Fulbright FLTA programme is that the grantee takes at least two courses every semester. The two courses could be for audit or for credit, and they are paid for by the Fulbright programme.
#8.
Q: “Why Creative writing, GIS and Linguistics?”
A: Because he likes them, that’s why.
#7.
Q: “How many times does the traveller teach his class every week, and when?”
A: Twice a week, Monday and Wednesdays.
#6.
Q: “What does he do on the other days?”
A: He goes to his other classes. Or stays at home to either sleep, blog, go out to buy groceries, ride on his bike, go out to watch a movie, or queue up on a long line waiting for a hamburger.
#5.
Q: “Does he still feel cold?”
A: Not anymore. By a miraculous transformation that he cannot yet fathom, he now feels warm while many people around him feel cold. He has been able to go out many times in a t-shirt and jeans without a jacket.
#4.
Q: “Why does he blog?”
A: 1. Because he’s sometimes bored, and he cannot understand why after a day of nice, memorable experiences, he returns to his room and feels bored, so he writes out his experiences, hoping that by putting them down in his words, he might make someone smile somewhere. And most times, people smile. Some laugh even, and he can’t understand the whole paradox of it.
#3.
Q: “Why does he have a roommate? Isn’t he supposed to be a scholar, professor etc allwhatnot?”
A: He has a room mate because he wanted one. He lives in an apartment that has both a single user bedroom and a shared bedroom. When he moved in there, he had a choice. And he chose one with a roomie. Deal with it. (Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean that he will make the same choice next semester.)
#2.
Q: “Why would any American students want to learn Yoruba, and not Spanish, French or German?”
A: There are already those who learn those other languages. The Foreign Language department in the University offers so many languages, and students have a choice to take any they want either for credit or for audit. If you ask me, I’d say I don’t know why Yoruba particularly, but now that they’ve chosen it, I am going to try to make it worth their while.
#1.
Q: “Now that he’s settled into the programme, passing the mandatory honeymoon phase, what else does KT look forward to in the course of the year?”
A: Snow and winter. More blogging. Meeting Maya Angelou, speaking with her and taking her picture and autograph. Meeting Eugene Redmond, again. Going to watch an American Football game. Getting a new camera. Going to Washington in December, and the opportunity that will provide, to see more of the East Coast of America. Spring. Doing more line-dancing. Halloween. Swimming. Going to Chicago. Writing short stories. Beginning a major work in literary translation.
questions@ktravula.com