ktravula attempts here to answer some questions he’s been asked more than once from Nigeria.

#10.

Q: “Is the Fulbright FLTA programme a degree-awarding  programme?”

A: No, it isn’t, but each participant gets a Fulbright-branded certificate at the end of the programme. The certificate is given in the participant’s home country, hereby providing one more reason for the grantee to return home.

#9.

Q: “Why then does KT attend Master’s classes in Linguistics, GIS and Creative writing?”

A: Because, in addition to teaching, one of the prerequisites of Fulbright FLTA programme is that the grantee takes at least two courses every semester. The two courses could be for audit or for credit, and they are paid for by the Fulbright programme.

#8.

Q: “Why Creative writing, GIS and Linguistics?”

A: Because he likes them, that’s why.

#7.

Q: “How many times does the traveller teach his class every week, and when?”

A: Twice a week, Monday and Wednesdays.

#6.

Q: “What does he do on the other days?”

A: He goes to his other classes. Or stays at home to either sleep, blog, go out to buy groceries, ride on his bike, go out to watch a movie, or queue up on a long line waiting for a hamburger.

#5.

Q: “Does he still feel cold?”

A: Not anymore. By a miraculous transformation that he cannot yet fathom, he now feels warm while many people around him feel cold. He has been able to go out many times in a t-shirt and jeans without a jacket.

#4.

Q: “Why does he blog?”

A: 1. Because he’s sometimes bored, and he cannot understand why after a day of nice, memorable experiences, he returns to his room and feels bored, so he writes out his experiences, hoping that by putting them down in his words, he might make someone smile somewhere. And most times, people smile. Some laugh even, and he can’t understand the whole paradox of it.

#3.

Q: “Why does he have a roommate? Isn’t he supposed to be a scholar, professor etc allwhatnot?”

A: He has a room mate because he wanted one. He lives in an apartment that has both a single user bedroom and a shared bedroom. When he moved in there, he had a choice. And he chose one with a roomie. Deal with it. (Meanwhile, this doesn’t mean that he will make the same choice next semester.)

#2.

Q: “Why would any American students want to learn Yoruba, and not Spanish, French or German?”

A: There are already those who learn those other languages. The Foreign Language department in the University offers so many languages, and students have a choice to take any they want either for credit or for audit. If you ask me, I’d say I don’t know why Yoruba particularly, but now that they’ve chosen it, I am going to try to make it worth their while.

#1.

Q: “Now that he’s settled into the programme, passing the mandatory honeymoon phase, what else does KT look forward to in the course of the year?”

A: Snow and winter. More blogging. Meeting Maya Angelou, speaking with her and taking her picture and autograph. Meeting Eugene Redmond, again. Going to watch an American Football game. Getting a new camera. Going to Washington in December, and the opportunity that will provide, to see more of the East Coast of America. Spring. Doing more line-dancing. Halloween. Swimming. Going to Chicago. Writing short stories. Beginning a major work in literary translation.

questions@ktravula.com