Still Alive
So in case you were wondering, the oranges here are green. They were green. They’ve actually turned yellow, now. And while traveling, I saw some that were orange. Life is crazy that way I guess!
It’s been a while since I posted to my internet weblog. I’ve been real busy-like. The week after my previous entry I visited the capitol for some follow-up training with VSO. This was a little bit awkward for me, seeing as how the scope of volunteers’ missions are typically calibrated for 2-year placements, and the training is oriented around that; in a group of about 15 volunteers, there were maybe three 1-year placements, and I was the only 6-monther. I’ve become acutely aware lately of the nebulous netherstate which I inhabit; I’m here long enough to make the experience a significant interruption in my life, but not long enough to be able to commit myself fully to a project of great consequence; I’m here long enough that I need to think seriously about what I’m doing here, but not long enough that I can forget about what’s going on back in my “previous life” either.
It’s always a little weird coming home after an extended stay elsewhere, which is generally a place that’s a lot more luxuriant than my own. In this case I went from a fairly decent hotel to my house which has dirt floors in the bathroom (okay, that’s an exaggeration; it’s merely dirty concrete.) At the same time another volunteer (from Toronto, even), Hiromi, came to live with me. It’s a lot easier to work on improving living conditions when you’re part of a team, and the last couple of weeks have been a blur of work, buying groceries, buying plastic containers, the occasional beer at bush bars, excited children, and friendly but slightly overbearing adults who frequently express interest in visiting Canada.
There’s a lot to talk about in there — there’s a lot of nascent blog posts, half-formed in my head, about a variety of topics. Like I said, life’s been a bit of a blur lately, and a blur feels a lot like normal life. “Normal” life generally doesn’t feel remarkable enough to write about. That is to say, I’m becoming desensitized to everything. I suppose desensitization to everyday existence is a hallmark of the suburban middle-class net-generation that I carry with me wherever I go. But I keep reminding myself that, “Goddamn it Fono, you’re in rural Nigeria, it’s pretty interesting over here.” So more bloggings will follow shortly.
