Akowe: student ( Yoruba language)
A chunk of my time in Nigeria is spent at the Homaj International Secondary School. So Mummi Helen, on top of being one of the sweetest women ever, is also a Philanthropist whose opened multiple schools in Nigeria. The Homaj secondary school has students ranging from 10-19 years of age. It is an optional boarding school and an impressive academic center. They learn english, math, computer science, geography, French, Yoruba, chemistry, biology, home economics and more. Every morning I'd travel to the school.
My first day at Homaj , I was warmly greeted by the principal, staff and students at an assembly. When the students were told I was an American who would be teaching them , they were beyond excited. Some waved and others laughed or whispered to their friends. I knew this would be an adventure.
Sister befriended 3 Staff members at the school and after the assembly, I was personally introduced to them. These young woman also gave me a warm welcome with hugs and laughter and questions about my trip.They were all such beautiful women, all ranging in skin tone and hairstyles but unified in their sweet countenance. They commented on my hair and when I told them that I planned on putting it up because of the heat, they decided to do it for me. One of my fondest memories of Nigeria are these lovely ladies removing cornrows from my hair and putting my long dreds into a regal updo. I felt so grateful to meet such kind women here. This was only day 3 in Nigeria and I was already falling in love.
When I started to get to know the super respectful intelligent students, they became my ultimate joy in Nigeria. My first time teaching preteens was exciting but not as smooth as the picture I had in my mind. I spoke about myself and where I was from. I thought things were going great until I looked into my students faces and saw the puzzled look that I learned to understand as " you're speaking too fast but we don't want to offend you...so we'll just nod when you look at us". I also had difficulty understanding them at times as well. Slowly but surely, we began to understand each other and I grew an emotional bond with them.
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| The Intelligent Homaj Students! |
I taught U.S. facts, English pronunciation, and geography. I was not the best teacher! Some classes were awesome and I left the classroom feeling like Sister Mary Clarence in sister act 2. Others were not successful, like when I tried to teach over 70 African children about American slavery in 40 minutes outside...without a mic...(that was a disaster). Even with the problems, they listened because they loved being taught by an American. Some of the best moments occurred when I told the students that they can ask me anything about America or myself. The questions were hilarious. "Do you know Beyonce...what about Rihanna?" " Do you know my uncle?...his name is ...and he lives in Maryland ." " What do you do with people when they die?... I saw a movie where they were burned" " Do vampires live in America?" "Please tell me about the Illuminati." But there were also questions about my hair and my name, about universities and children their age. We laughed and talked. But I avoided one question like the plague. "Auntie Shanique, can you please sing us an American song?" I'd say "hmmmmm....how about you sing me a Nigerian song." Then they'd sound like angels as they sang, making me more adamant about hiding my not so good singing voice. I taught one class Nas' "I know I can" and they yelled it in unison "I know I can...be what I wanna be...if I work hard at it...I'll be where I wanna be! " I pray the lyrics touched the core of them, especially the insecure ones.
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