We Shall See...

Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan promising change.

Elections take place in April, but word on the street is that Jonathan has already won. We've recently been asking the Nigerian staff at school about the elections and who they are voting for. They seem to think Jonathan is the best candidate for various reasons. Here are some of the main reasons: he is not Muslim and he won't make us become Muslim, he does not have high morals (strange, but this was a real comment), and we want to see what he can do. One of our colleagues even said that Jonathan's opponent Ribadu was too principled.

Season Changes

As most of you know, Nigeria has two seasons; rainy and dry. The Rainy season begins sometime in April and ends anywhere from the end of September to mid October. Once the rains stop, the land becomes very dry and the harmattan (small dust particles that blow in from the Sahara Desert) begins to blow into Nigeria sometime in December.

These pictures illustrate the difference among seasons...quite incredible!

picture taken during a small dust storm

Who Would Have Thought

Much to our surprise, we had a nice rainstorm on Friday night. Rain does not usually start until April, so this was an unexpected, but welcome event. The best part, was that the rain cooled down the Saturday morning temperature and allowed us to take part in a walk/run event at school without dying from the Harmattan heat.

The Elementary PE teacher put together a walk/run event to raise money for an American foundation helping kids with AIDS in western Africa. We created a team with the Blazeks and set a goal to each finish 50 laps (12.5 miles) in the three hour event. We ALL reached our goal and did it in only 2 1/2 hours!

Back At It

As of today, January 31st, we are back to work.

We missed nine days of school, but the school board decided that we only needed to make up six of those days. During our break, the teachers met to decide how we would make up the lost hours. We decided that we would extend the school day by 20 minutes for seven weeks (that would take us to the end of 3rd quarter). We also realized we would have to have one make-up Saturday to insure that we could get back to our normal school schedule for the beginning of 4th quarter. The most important thing was to make sure that we did not extend into our Spring Break or Summer Break. Lets just hope that we do not have to close school during the presidential election or else we are going to have to continue with our extended school day into the 4th quarter.

Update on School Closure

Last we reported was that Pre-K through 8th grade was closed until February 1st, but the school was waiting to hear from the board about what to do with grades 9-12, as well as AP students. The board decided that the entire school would remain closed until February 1st, with the exception of AP students. Since Jordan teaches AP Comparative Government, this decision affects him. Since, no one wants to interrupt the upcoming week off, it was concluded that Jordan would meet with his students next Friday for a couple hours and then on the following Monday for another couple hours. This will allow for us to enjoy a full week off without interruption.

So, although this is not an ideal situation, we're making the best out of our extra time off. We have made plans to get out of Abuja and head up to Minna, as well as catch up on some things we've been wanting to do for months.

No School...for Now

The day before school was to resume after winter break, we had heard that the Nigerian government had closed all schools until February 4th for voter registration. The Federal Government stated that schools would be used for voter registration stations for the upcoming April elections. Our school, which is a private school, resumed on Monday, January 10th as scheduled with authority from the US Embassy. We made it through seven school days, but closed the day after this news article was published. On Wednesday, we were informed that Pre-K through grade 8 would be closed until February 1st. The board meets today, January 20th, to decide what to do with grades 9-12 and AP students. It is possible that both of us will have 2 weeks off, but it is also possible that Jordan will have to work for a couple hours a day to ensure that his AP students learn what is needed before the AP exam in May. We are awaiting the final decisions, but are keeping our fingers crossed for another holiday.

This article was published today, in light of our school closure.

One of our reasons for teaching abroad was to learn about a different culture and its political history and progress. Although this is a difficult time in Nigeria's history, it's exciting to be learning from our experiences in Nigeria.

Although the Ministry of Education has closed school until February 4th, recent statements from his office have not been as specific. Statements are now stating schools will open in February, with no specific date. Another worry is that when the elections take place, schools will be closed again. We have already been told that there will be three days in April dedicated as "no movement" days. We shall see what this election year brings...we will keep you informed.

The South Africa Gang

The start of our adventure...