There is a lot of time to think here. Have I ever mentioned that? Like on busses, on motos, at night in my house. A lot of thinking time. So I think about random things – like specific heat capacity. You’d be surprise how often I think of it. For example, I have just boiled a pot of water for a shower. I’ll shower in 20 minutes. Where should I keep the water – in the steel pot or in the plastic basin? Or I’ve made some coffee in the press, how much should I pour into my cup for the first cup so that I leave just enough in the press so that it stays hot enough for my second cup? Then I wonder, is this even specific heat capacity at all or is it another sciency phenomenon that I was supposed to learn when I was taking Chem 30 by correspondence in grade 12. Oh my mom would be so disappointed right now!! Still…these are the things I think about. Also, Jeopardy. That’s right, Jeopardy. Like what would it be like if there was a Rwandan Jeopardy and in which categories would I excel.
My students once asked me “Miss, have you always wanted to be a teacher?”
“Well, not exactly” (My parents would disagree because we had a chalk board in one of our houses in Whitehorse and when I was a kid I used “teach” things to no one in particular. I think I just like standing in front of a chalk board…..)
“My first degree is actually a degree in Political Science and History” (and this is where I begin to lose them except I continue by saying) “I took that degree because I thought it would help me in Jeopardy.”
Okay, now you’re all probably thinking that I’m crazy. The truth is, I always did want to be a teacher and I could have gone into Education right away but I really felt that I needed my B.A so that I could do well in Jeopardy. This was my goal. I think that most of the questions on Jeopardy are about history and geography except the really hard ones about literature (like obscure phrases from the lesser known works of one of the Bronte sisters) and sciencey ones which are generally pretty basic (especially if there are questions about specific heat capacities). So, there I was, U of A student working along side all these wanna-be lawyers and reluctant to admit that no, I wasn’t really interested in writing my LSAT. (I did toy with it for a few short weeks in my third year). I even took a history course about the Atlantic provinces which was a night class on Wednesdays and held in the Tory building and I, living in HUB mall, could race home during the break to catch the beginning of Jeopardy with Laurel. Sometimes I never went back to class! Whoops….. but the history of Eastern Canada? Okay here it is: three provinces wanted to be part of Canada, there were some Acadians, Halifax explosion, Anne of Green Gables and Joey Smallwood. Got it. And who are kidding? That was NEVER going to be a final Jeopardy. I was much better off practicing in my living room. And while some of Jeopardy is less about knowledge and more about patterns and strategy (we figured that if the ‘answer’ was a “native American woman’ the ‘question’ was almost always “Pocahontas”) the knowledge component is still pretty important.
And where am I going with this?
So, I was thinking….”What if there was a Rwandan Jeopardy?” What would the categories be? How many francs would I bet in the final Jeopardy? (I suppose that would depend on the category and whether I was playing against Ken Jennings….) I’ve thought of a few categories in which I would excel, namely:
· Telling time in Rwanda(‘simply’ add six and convert into Kinyarwanda or Swahili depending but you’ll need to know when to translate into what. And if that fails, say it I French. And if you still can’t say it, write it down!)
· Words that start with R…uh…L….uh….R….uh….L (Answer: this four – legged bouncy bunny with two long ears has this other name.)
· Kenny and/or Dolly songs (I have heard the following no less than 10 times at decimals no less that ‘holy-crap-my-ear-drum-just-burst’: Islands in the Stream, the Gambler, Coward of the Country and Coat of Many Colours – of which I know the words too ALL of them! Sadly, I knew them before I arrived in Rwanda.)
· Name that Stamp! (Contestants would be shown an official stamp – not a photocopy – and must correctly name the district)
· Bug Bites and Other Rashes (again, contestants would look at a picture and name the cause of the bite/rash. VSO could even supply its volunteers as models because God knows that, as a group, we’ve had everything! Me? I’m an expert in Nairobi Fly, thank you very much. At least I’m sure that’s what it was.)
Of course, what would the final Jeopardy category be? (Because we ALL know that the outcome of the game can change in a few short – 30 – seconds and some strategic betting). But I envision it going something like this:
“And the final Jeopardy category is….pause to show screen….Acceptable passenger numbers in buses. We will be right back.”
And now its’ a commercial break and that’s where me (and the other two contestants) would place our bids and I’m thinking that I wouldn’t risk all of my Francs at this point even though I’m pretty sure I know the answer.
So when we return, Alex reads the answer.
“The category is Acceptable passenger numbers in buses and the answer is: In a Sotra bus, how many people is an acceptable number? Good luck”
Do, do, do, do
Do, do, dooo
Do, do, do, do, do!
D-d-d-d-do (Repeat twice)
“Okay, Anna, we’ll start with you. And you wrote:
Honestly! How do we answer this question? First – are we talking about a big bus or a small bus. In a small bus, from the outside we might think it can hold 10 people or so but at closer inspection inside, it looks like 15 could sit comfortably but I’ve noticed that it always fills to 19 and this is capacity - and comfort isn’t a concern - and sometimes we can add a few more, bringing the total to around 21. And that doesn’t include children and babies sitting on the laps of their parents. Nor does it include the chicken walking around at the back. And, so if we add all of these together I believe that the correct number is 25! 25 people, including babies and children and animals”
The look on my face will tell Alex and the crowd that I’m actually quiet pleased with myself, especially for writing all of it that small on my little etch-e-sketch pad thing. And I grin for the camera and wait for Alex to say “Correct and what did you wager?” Until Alex says:
“I’m sorry. You did not write your answer in the form of a question.”
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