Just another day at school??

Greetings web-looker! I encapsulate this with a quotation from an unknown author, at least to me: “The camels are coming!”

Certain things occur here that simply could not happen anywhere else, short of the African Sahel ( look it up if you don’t know the term ‘sahel’). I am teaching teenager about a most interesting book “Ancestral Sacrifice” when a student who usually pays good attention tells me to look out the door. As I do I see a very large animal passing by the school yard just 5o feet from the classroom. It is , of course, the aforementioned camel! It is white and big and large in stride. Atop sits a colorfully dressed nomad (at least that is my immediate conclusion that later deems correct). I gawk, immediately forgetting I am teaching 27 students. So the students join me in this pastime. The nomad notices our interest so turns about and goes to our door on the camel. He does not speak the local language but does speak some French. Oh goody! I get to speak French! He tells me he is from Burkina Faso , the country just north of Ghana. He asked for money. I am quite used to that and quite used to saying “NO” . Otherwise I would turn from being a vessel of knowledge ( ok .. a little hypoerbole here) and become a vessel of coins, with no peace in my day. I tell him I have none, which coincidentally is true. My pockets only have the main tool for teaching – chaulk.  Later in the day three more nomads show up all riding white camels – sounds rather ghostly does it not? The camels are released but with hobbled  legs to graze where they wish. They cause a spectacle. After teaching choir in the afternoon , I notice that al four are saddling up. I chat with them a bit. They are not looking for work as they know that is impossible. They are enough of an unusual sight to gain some profit. This turns out to be true on this day as I rush home to tell Lisa to grab the camera. We take off to find the camel heading for Bolga. I give them 2 cedis to grant the priviledge of taking a few pictures. You would see the pictures now if we did not have so many problems with internet here. We will try to get in on later. You will like it!