Survivalists! Yes oh!! That’s what we were…after been thrown into the water to sink or swim, we swam…not only did we swim, we did it for 6 years! When our parents dropped us off in BSS, we cried, had our form 1 week and week of grace… with those done with, we were left with the option of running away, or staying and facing whatever it was that came to us by way of traps set by seniors, frog jump, angle 90, and varied punishment that we cannot even remember their names. A lot of us chose to stay… having chosen to stay, we were left with--and learned faster than even we thought we could learn—the option of learning to survive, chief among which is the skill to lie(bobo),closely followed by “dodging”. We lied in the early mornings, afternoons, nights, and any other time of the day! We became so good at “bobs” that it came naturally to us… we just lied without thinking… A senior boy will accost you “Kai, zo kayi mun wanki”…and we will be like “the Principal has sent me”…We got by like that. Now recall that the worst days in the life of a JS 1 boy back in the days, were weekends. Saturday was sanitation, after which was reporting by the front of room 70(prefects). After receiving the normal dose of flogging and some frog jump (which was called physicals) for whichever crime we committed, or they claimed we committed, seniors would give out their washing. Breakfast would come up shortly, after which we were left to roam free!!! After the close of dinning, we will tuck in our spoons in our pockets, and dash to the river, some to hide in the staff quarters, some still went to places like GovCol, angwan mupun, while a few would hideout in the school area. The river was my favourite place of dodging. We went there together with other seniors, mainly JS 2 boys. While there, we would swim till we were out of energy, when hungry, we would pluck (or properly put, steal) mangoes, guava, dig out sweet potatoes, and cassava, sugarcane, like it was our own farm. I remember all too clearly well, how we renamed “Nagwak” to “treasure island” as it was like paradise to us junior boys. We were, while there, truly free. We played like primary school pupils, and would only come back to school when it’s close to supper time, as that too, was compulsory. On Sundays, we would go to church (Morning Service), and for the juniors, it was the first service, come back and hang around for the seniors to return from the second service, after which it was time for lunch. Sunday lunch and breakfast are among my favourites, as we were given masa to go with the almost fermented kunu, which made us sleep in church…A senior was always standing by to take down the names of those that slept in church. I remember again, that most often than not, there always was reporting to the livingstone old hostel…to the front of Markus Audu’s(christened Kefas…for his oblong head) room. They’ll fish out those who did not do D-wash, Comb or cut their hair short, for stained/dirty or soiled whites (Dinning hall badge). It is also there that the list of noise makers or sleepers in church would be called out. If you fall under any of these category of “criminals”, then the inevitable round of frog jump, flogging as well will follow. With that done with, we would go back to our various hostels and to avoid getting the whites dirty, would change to our compound wear of green check and brown. Just like it was on Saturdays, we would again thin out…to our various favourite dodging destinations…only to come back in good time before the evening service, which for the juniors, held at the Vincent Hall of the Girls’ High School. On Saturdays, there could be some social night or film show, and on Sundays, it was some thanksgiving night, Christian programme or the like. My most horrible and longest Sunday ever in BSS that I recall was when a Raleigh held at Bwalbwong. It was made compulsory, and we were there for like eternity…what made it worst was I still to this day cannot recall a single thing about what it was for, and why we needed to be there. On closing, we had to trek back to BSS on hungry stomachs, to a dry and cold supper. I hated Raleigh, but above all, I hated Sundays and Saturdays in BSS as a form 1 boy!...but ultimately,as long as form 1 seemed for us, we survived it all...with only some few casualties(runaways)
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 08:17:31 +0000
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