last Friday morning
I’m back at Eagle’s Nest, my original Internet café choice. There is a large marching band right outside the door which is apparently rallying the football (soccer) team. I could go back to CT.com café, but I hate the wait. It’s pretty amazing that there are three internet cafes at a refugee camp – this isn’t a sea of canvas tents and people waiting around for food distribution.
We got up really late this morning though we went to bed early (yeah, yeah, no comments) so I don’t have time to go back to the Awutu house to shower and get my papers, etc. I just have a half hour or so to loiter here while waiting for “the program” and then meet with the Education commissioner to run over some research possibilities. I clearly have bedhead, but it bothers Dayton more than me for me to leave in such a state. One morning I had to say, “Look, they are not going to kick me off the tro-tro because I didn’t wash my face and comb my hair today. It’s ok.” But funny to be fussed after.
Day before yesterday, Emmanuel told me there would be a meeting Friday at 10 a.m. I said that’s fine and I won’t be there because I hate meetings. He started to get agitated – “But, the management team requests your presence,” blah blah. “Who is the management team?” Of course I know the answer to that. Eventually he said, “Morris, Fred, Joseph, Madison …” “Yes,” I replied. “They are all my good friends. And they won’t force me to attend a meeting because I don’t like meetings.”
Well, I lost that one. I even tried to throw a temper tantrum at the office yesterday, but they all held firm and won’t let me out of it. So today shortly I have to go to the school for them to give some stupid-ass speeches about my contributions blah blah blah. I hate this shit. Morris said, “Yes, I know. But this time you must let us do what is important to us.”
I can’t believe I’m leaving on Sunday. It feels like home here. I can’t believe it’s only been a month. It feels like forever in many ways.
Lawrence pulled me aside yesterday – he’s been trying to have a conversation with me for days and I keep putting him off. Long-winded something or other. But once I figured out he wasn’t asking me for money or connections, I was able to hear his appreciation for my work with the school. He was very impressed with how I was able to make things happen. He is the one who always mimics me with “I want it NOW! NOW!” but he still has respect for how I organize and facilitate. And that’s just nice to hear from somebody not trying to BS me. I’m pretty proud of the school itself, but I think what I’m most proud of is the esteem the people I’ve worked with hold me in. It’s possible to be a taskmaster and still be loved.
Oh, now this is funny. I can get to my Hotmail Inbox but cannot actually read any of the messages. Sigh. My favorite recent message is from Gomez telling me the plot of a Golden Girls episode to make sure I’m not taken advantage of by a man speaking of marriage. You gotta love a gangsta wannabe who quotes Dorothy. And yay for Boom Boom, Jen!
Speaking of footballers, one last night was trying to pick me up at the tro-tro stop and he was super obnoxious. Made me really appreciate how tame and mild most of the pick-ups are. Becky is a little sad that she’s not getting all that attention, but I think she might be and just doesn’t recognize it as such.
OK, I’m just realizing I don’t really know how to get to the school alone – I always go with others. Maybe I should start walking now, and take my sweaty unshowered unpresentable self on over there. Ugh. I haven’t heard from Mahmoud, so I have no idea what Jordan will look like … I may be landing at the airport and be completely on my own. Ah, adventure.
We got up really late this morning though we went to bed early (yeah, yeah, no comments) so I don’t have time to go back to the Awutu house to shower and get my papers, etc. I just have a half hour or so to loiter here while waiting for “the program” and then meet with the Education commissioner to run over some research possibilities. I clearly have bedhead, but it bothers Dayton more than me for me to leave in such a state. One morning I had to say, “Look, they are not going to kick me off the tro-tro because I didn’t wash my face and comb my hair today. It’s ok.” But funny to be fussed after.
Day before yesterday, Emmanuel told me there would be a meeting Friday at 10 a.m. I said that’s fine and I won’t be there because I hate meetings. He started to get agitated – “But, the management team requests your presence,” blah blah. “Who is the management team?” Of course I know the answer to that. Eventually he said, “Morris, Fred, Joseph, Madison …” “Yes,” I replied. “They are all my good friends. And they won’t force me to attend a meeting because I don’t like meetings.”
Well, I lost that one. I even tried to throw a temper tantrum at the office yesterday, but they all held firm and won’t let me out of it. So today shortly I have to go to the school for them to give some stupid-ass speeches about my contributions blah blah blah. I hate this shit. Morris said, “Yes, I know. But this time you must let us do what is important to us.”
I can’t believe I’m leaving on Sunday. It feels like home here. I can’t believe it’s only been a month. It feels like forever in many ways.
Lawrence pulled me aside yesterday – he’s been trying to have a conversation with me for days and I keep putting him off. Long-winded something or other. But once I figured out he wasn’t asking me for money or connections, I was able to hear his appreciation for my work with the school. He was very impressed with how I was able to make things happen. He is the one who always mimics me with “I want it NOW! NOW!” but he still has respect for how I organize and facilitate. And that’s just nice to hear from somebody not trying to BS me. I’m pretty proud of the school itself, but I think what I’m most proud of is the esteem the people I’ve worked with hold me in. It’s possible to be a taskmaster and still be loved.
Oh, now this is funny. I can get to my Hotmail Inbox but cannot actually read any of the messages. Sigh. My favorite recent message is from Gomez telling me the plot of a Golden Girls episode to make sure I’m not taken advantage of by a man speaking of marriage. You gotta love a gangsta wannabe who quotes Dorothy. And yay for Boom Boom, Jen!
Speaking of footballers, one last night was trying to pick me up at the tro-tro stop and he was super obnoxious. Made me really appreciate how tame and mild most of the pick-ups are. Becky is a little sad that she’s not getting all that attention, but I think she might be and just doesn’t recognize it as such.
OK, I’m just realizing I don’t really know how to get to the school alone – I always go with others. Maybe I should start walking now, and take my sweaty unshowered unpresentable self on over there. Ugh. I haven’t heard from Mahmoud, so I have no idea what Jordan will look like … I may be landing at the airport and be completely on my own. Ah, adventure.
posted by NOLA at 2:34 AM
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