Memory Spillover

www.hamptonroads.com

The bf and I were chatting about my postings on my primary school experiences, when I recalled something about my hair; I had jheri curl (insert: Curlt Kit texturizer ) from creche up till kindergarten two. Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I was totally adorable. (You will see for yourself next week. I am preparing a surprise)
In One Gold, my mum stopped applying chemicals to my hair, and started braiding it. I had a soft scarp and still do; it was difficult to braid but I loved my natural hair in braids. During Christmas, I got my hair braided with long-stranded-wig and hot-water-curled it.
The last day (Our Day) in Two Lilies, my elder sister hot combed my hair for the last time; remember Miss Addico did not like girls with their hair up in braids, she preferred it short. I spotted a huge afro to school and had a blast. Afro, because I wanted everyone to see I had a lot of hair, which will be cut off before we got to Three Matthew. :)

In the new year, I will continue the series with experiences in junior secondary school. Next week, I will post something small, yet exciting? :)

Responsibilities, Competition, Jealousy @ 6 Jupiter

6 Mercury, 6 Jupiter, hmmmm. I learnt a lot about leadership in my last year at primary school; I was selected the Compound Prefect (democracy had not dawned in my school yet, :))and informed  in a crazy manner, by the headmistress. Allow me to tell you something about that headmistress:
Back-flash: Mrs. RO was feared by everyone in the school; even the teachers, though they pretended not to be. No one dared walk on the same veranda with her. She had a perpetual frown on her face and can often be seen pacing up and down the veranda with a cane. We heard that she had given one teacher some lashes with that cane; it could have been true; I did not witness it. I had an encounter with her the first week in class 6. I did not notice her coming up on me while I was standing in front of my class. She punished me for not being in class by making me stand out in the sun for about an hour. It seemed longer.

Imagine my surprise when I was called to Mrs. RO's office. The thoughts running through my head were not too pleasant; I wondered whether she had discovered that I sometimes go out of school during lunch to go to the Ghana Library Board and get back almost thirty minutes after lunch break?, had she been told I hide storybooks under my desk and read during lessons?, did she know I sometimes ate in class while hiding my heading under my desk? I went to her office, greeted her and listened to her grudging response. After I had waited for 'eternity', she peeped at me atop her spectacles and said "You have been made the compound prefect. Do you accept?" without bestowing a smile. I said yes, then she said I could leave. I heaved a sigh of relief; was that all she wanted to say? Whew!
I was the class jump rope champion till a new girl came to join the class and beat me in the jump rope competition during a PE period. I must say, I was pretty jealous and tried to get over it by manipulating  for arranging another competition, but she won again, then she became a friend but I could never get her to teach me her technique.(Darn it! lol)
There were four work groups named Guggisburg, Mensah Serbah, Nkrumah and something (I cannot recall the fourth one; maybe it is on account that they were always the last in any competition.) We held spelling bee and mathematics competitions every Monday between the sections during general assembly and it was always a tight competition between Nkrumah and Guggisburg.(Of course, I was in Nkrumah and we always win!)
To commemorate our passing from primary to junior high (JSS), we had a class party; each class member contributed an amount of money, which we gave to the mother of one of our classmates to prepare something for us. It was a wonderful way to end the school year.
(I wonder why I can't remember most of my teachers' names with the exceptions being Miss Addico, 3 Matthew; Mrs. Quaye, 4 Alpha. Try as I can, I can't remember my class 6 teacher's name; he was a great teacher; disciplined and funny.)

My Account

Oh, stop sulking,
It doesn't become you.

But you kraaa, wat b ur wahala?
I should be the one putting up airs,
Of offence, hurt.

Maybe I shouldn't bother.
It will be back to the drawing board.
What to bet an eraser on it?

Continuation of my school days coming up on Wednesday. Enjoy the week.

Gal-in-the-Cupboard at 5 Toniolies

5Toniolies was great. I had discovered romance novels during the last term in 4 Alpha. I came across two Mills & Boons books in my dad's bookshelf (I had read all the other novels he had). I wanted more. I got more. I started exchanging books with students in higher grades. I started saving some of my allowance to buy books to read and of course, exchange. I remember closing from school and roaming around the doctor's flats at Korle-Bu to buy ice cream, which we had dabbed 'Gummy Bears' after the cartoon because of the colour. (5Selomey was the other class)

I 'locked' my classmate in the cupboard for the class. Please before you go judging me, she deserved it. Our class teacher asked me to write names of those who talk in class when she is away. After writing for awhile, I decided to give it to AK to write the names because I had a book I wanted to finish. I don't know at what point I spoke to someone but she wrote my name and I was given a beating by the class teacher when she came back. Our teacher said she was disappointed in me and that I was a culprit when I had been asked to be the police. I confronted AK during lunch break and asked her who I spoke with; she named someone who wasn't in the list she wrote. I asked her why she did not include that person's name on the list. She gave me a rather silly answer, which got me all 'mad'. The school does not allow for fights, and I did not want my anger to get the better of me, so I held her by the collar of her uniform and pushed her into the cupboard for our books in the classroom, closed the door and leaned against it. After she had pushed for sometime, she gave up and after waiting for a few moments, I stopped leaning against the cupboard, went out for lunch and came back in good time before the bell rung for break-over. AK had still not come out. I must say I did not really notice until someone asked where she was. I saw her come out of the cupboard; suddenly my heart started pounding. I was scared she will tell on me to our teacher, but she held her tongue. We are still friends by the way even though the last time I came in contact with her was when I accepted her facebook invite.

I was an early developer physically and was taller than the guys in the class; any guy who picks a fight with me is invited to meet me at the Indafa Park after school so we could settle scores. (I was a streetfighter! Ah!, just kidding). Somehow, the guys I pick fights with never make it to the park (if only they knew how much I prayed that they will not make good on the challenge I threw to them! All made from sheer bravado)

Next week: P.E at 6Jupiters 

4 Alpha- Mental Alabahda

"Pam! pam! pah!"; the sound Mrs. Quaye's whip made on my upturned palm. It is Monday, the day every pupil in 4 Alpha dreads; the period is right after morning devotion; the standard drill, "Take out your mental books". 'Mental alabahda' (a term coined from the craziness of doing mental mathematics) takes place Morning mornings after devotion. Mrs. Quaye, our class teacher, dictates the questions with only a minute interval between questions for answers to be written down. The maximum number of questions, ten(10), were too much considering the fact that for every mistake made, you get a lash from the slim-lined whip Mrs Quaye claims as hers. The frequency of lashing eased some-what when a pass mark is set, and the setting of it did not start until we were in our second term in class 4. I remember envying the other class, 4 Beta, because their class teacher did not conduct mental mathematics drills. I appreciated Mrs. Quaye for it, though I will always hate the lashes; I learned focus and practise.

Mrs. Quaye would usually send me(sometimes accompanied by someone of my choice) to get her 'fufu' from my cousin's chop-bar during lunch time.

I ate pork chops for the first time in class 4 when I had lunch with Mrs. Quaye's daughter, Sheila. I also learned I was allergic to pork because I got skin rashes right afterward and again when I disputed that fact. So please don't be offering me pork chops or anything to food to do with pigs any time within my lifetime.

Next week: 5 Toniolies

Busted!

You!
Who stand for what you believe,
Whose word means more than a promise.

You!
Who cares more for others than self,
Who bears the brunt of others' cusses.

Where are you now?,
Self-appointed administrator of justice.
What went wrong?
Where are your beliefs?

You said you will wallow in poverty,
Reel in misery;
Honour badges you will wear with pride,
You proclaim.

Where are you now!
What happened to your conscience?
Who bought it?

You!
Who wear a badge of poverty and misery,
Dwell atop a castle mountain,
Gawk upon our heads.

You!
We called our own,
Gave our throne,
Have we condoned.

A Wonderful Discovery; My Special Blend Of Forgetfulness

Off to 3 Matthews we go and I am 7 and a half years old. As usual, we heard the stories about our new class teacher, Ms. Addico, or was it Mrs. Addico?, she was strict, and had her spectacles perched on her nose while peeking over the lenses.

For each new class we got promoted to, we were given a list of books to get before school reopens. The standard text books and stationary appeared, then I noticed a new item; a story book. Just that, a story book; no title, nothing. My parents got me The Dog and the Hognobs (or something like that; I remember a dog and some hog thingy) I won't bore you with the story, but the dog, the farmer and his wife survived, can't say the same about the hognobs though. :)

The first term started in our new class, 3 Matthews (oh, the other class was 3 Marks) with introductions all around. We got the new time table and with it an understanding of why the story book, siesta time had changed to Library time. We exchanged books when we were done with our own. We started writing essays under a new subject, Comprehension. Comprehension was not really my forte in spite my reading of almost all the books the 55 members of the class had brought. At the end of the term, a damming remark from my teacher got me all messed up; spelling is good but comprehension is poor. During the vac, before the start of the second term, a visit from Cecilia, a classmate, changed me forever. Cecilia's elder sister was going to take her to the library everyday until school reopened and she wanted to know if I would like to join them.(of course!) I went to the Ghana Library Board in Accra, and I fell in love.
Oh? What? I fell in love with BOOKS! I have been reading ever since. (Check my handbag when you meet me, I either have a hard book or reading off from my phone) I read anything and everything I could get my hands on, and still do. I visited the library twice a week, taking two books at a time (I was given the extra card because I was visiting the library almost everyday). When I ran out of books in the library (I think I was in junior high then), I was given the books from the Library's book club, even though I was not a member. I was in senior high when I was given the nod to use the adult's library (that is the name we kids gave to the library wing with huge books where only adults visited). My stay there was not long because there were no chairs and I had only one library card as opposed to the two I had at the Children's Library. My best friend then had a card that allowed her to use the private library; you get to take twenty five books at a time and keep it for a month. Guess what? I used it more than she did. I visited the new community library in my neighbour; finished with the books there. The US Embassy library had some pretty serious stuff; there I discovered books on Linux operating system and a whole lot of science stuff. My dad took up membership at the British Council Library (when it still existed) and give me the cards to use; three cards for kid books, three for adult books and another three for movies. I discovered Dr. Who.(Remember Dr. Who?)

One thing I won't forget, that in 3 Matthews, for the first time, I forgot my own birthday.

Next week: 4 Alpha