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First day of Workshop

What a day!

I have been writing about the previous day for two days now. I sort of have some other things to read and write about. its work, eating and sleeping. yea, some hanging out with fellow budding and established writers when eating some sumptuous meal in the pool side restaurant. I get to meet a lot of people here and its fun I tell you.

Yesterday started out with me waking up(obviously) from asoothing hard bed with about 4 soft pillows(all white) and three small pillow(Don't know what they are called exactly). Its actually fun sleeping with them all alone. I read the word and came over to my PC to play Bishop oyedepo's 2009 Eagle's summit message(The first one). I listened to this till I left the room to do something at the reception. Yea, i remember, I needed to get some files online on "creative non-fiction" at the three PC-furnished cybercafe just opposite the wide reception of the exqusite Dover Hotel, though you'd have to go outside through the entrance of the hotel to get there though. I got some files, even got to know a old guy who the web article claims invented creative non-fiction (also got some history of this too). I read them later in the room. I had saved the files on my Samsung GT-2222 mobile phone with a 2GB memory card. I preferred to read in the comfort on my beautifully furnished room on my mini MSI laptop. Besides, other people in the hotel could get to use the internet there. I did read the documents; one from wikipedia, the other written by Lee Gutkind(he could be the old guy sha) and one on reading and writing on creative non-fiction. The whole purpose was to get into the writing thing. I went towards the reception again to change my cute green coloured Fidelity biro given to me as the one i had was broken at the middle. It was changed and then i saw Mr Uche Ogonna( Not sure I got the surname right) talking to other writers at a lounge not far from the recption. Got to know he's from Fidelity Bank. he spoke to us about the programme, told us a few other things. I got to know about 500 people sent in stories and 30 were selected (Imagine! Kunle was part of the 30). I was loving the moment. He told us about the bank doing this as their CSR(Coporate Social Responsibility o!), bringing in award winning writers and that they change the facilatators every year. This year, its the 'Measuring Time' author, helon habila, Aminatta Forna and Sally keith who is a professor with helon at the george Mason University. he told us about Helon being in the national newspaper, vanguard some years back till he got the African Caine prize for writing which set him to the international stage with lots of people calling for him. He told us about other writiers that have left the school that have won prizes like the CNN prize..I immediately said Tolu Ogunlesi...I had seen that while browsing the internet in my "wonderful" computer laboratory back in Obafemi Awolowo University where I'm presently working on using the Wavelet and Neural network in analysing gait signals from normal, hemiplegic subjects and other subjects with Osteoarthritis for a masters degree. He told us the bank had committed more than 15 or 17 million naira to the Hotel for this project(Hope I got the facts right). I marvelled. He also told us they wanted us to be comfortable (yea, i could see that) and go on and win awards. Hopefully, we get to acknowledge their input to our lives.

We later went for breakfast. I had boiled yam, fried yam, egg, vegetables and water(we get to have a lot of water). then off to class. We were instructed to have been seated by 8.40am. We were and Mr Uche came over to talk with is more(he needed to talk to everybody, I had seen him by chance earlier). Helon, Aminatta and Sally came some minutes later introduced themselves (I'm rushing the writeup now, its about 7.54am and breakfast is by 8am, and you know...be seated by 8.40am) with Helon going first, he was going to handle the fiction part and Aminatta next, she ws going to handle the non-fiction class(hey, my Class!) and then, Sally to handle poetry. We re-arranged the hall forming classes with the tables and chairs. My class was a four-sided one formed with the tables and we, sitting on the outer part. Aminatta sat on one sided alone with her students sitting on the three other sides. Class was fun, i got to learn a lot this first day. Though it lasted for 3hours. its going to be 9am-12pm everyday, them we get to meet again with them between 5 and 7pm if we had any questions on our minds. I wont be telling much of the day as its alread 8am. Got to go for breakfast. Catch you later.  

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