“ Walking with my brother to school one morning, our tables on our heads, our chairs in our hands, our feet bare, we travelled the long distance to our new school. Everything seemed strange; a dramatic and shocking change in circumstances. We, who used to be pupils at the prestigious New Era Preparatory School at Tudu, now reduced to this. The difference was clear between our new school, Bethel Primary and Middle School, a public school otherwise known as ‘Saito’, and what we were used to. We were too young to understand, but from the gossip of our older siblings, we learned that our mother was no longer working in the bank, and our father was finding it difficult to make ends meet. It was an unpleasant time indeed for our family. I remember the dread I felt when we changed schools, as I was kind of ostracised by my peers because I came from a wealthier, more refined background. Each time someone suggested leaving me out of a game, or out of a conversation because I was a ‘dada ba’, my little heart would beat with such fear. My desire to be accepted at Bethel Primary and Middle School, and to make friends there was so great, that I would remove my shoes and hide them in my bag, so I would fit in with the many barefoot children that attended it. Even though my skin would recoil each time my clean solesmade contact with the red clayey soil, I hated theway the red dusty particles clung to my well-moisturised feet. It was for that same reason, that I stopped speaking English at school, and resorted to speaking vernacular. Anecdote Each time someone suggested leaving me out of a game, or out of a conversation because I was a ‘dada ba’, my little heart would beat with such fear. We were too young to understand, but from the gossip of our older siblings, we learned that our mother was no longer working in the bank, and our father was finding it difficult to make ends meet. “ 4 The Birthday Journal
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