Suspended in Vast Plain by Stan Kasprzyk

Who am I going to be? Where in the world will I settle down? The journey into the future covers two years, from 1983 to 1985, as a young man who escapes native Poland in political turmoil and economic disaster in the heat of the Cold War to become a lecturer at FUTY, a fledgling university in Yola, a remote town in Nigeria. Vivid images of West Africa, the hardships of life in the "white man's graveyard", dealings within a small international faculty and with the "nomads" from Poland and countries of the West are the backdrop for the story. Obstacles pile up: bringing family from Poland; the military coup in Nigeria; bloody Islamist riots in town; possible shutdown of FUTY; the near-death of a friend. Anxiety and doldrums linger. Finally, the idea of "the second leap" gets a chance to come of age. However, its implementation is not without hurdles, and the departure from Yola is not without adventures. The events portrayed in the memoir split my life into two parts, almost equal in duration. Born in Poland, then separated from most of Europe and the world by the Iron Curtain, I had a peaceful childhood in a middle-class family. I enjoyed my schools and teachers and completed my education by reading economics; then, I was a lecturer and researcher, married and had a stepdaughter. In the second part of my life, I worked as a software engineer on many exciting projects in Canada and USA. I had a daughter, later two grandchildren, and retired. My hobbies include travel, photography, and gardening when I cannot travel. I also have a pair of cats, as I had in Vast Plain, suspended, some thirty-five years ago. You can purchase this book here: Suspended in Vast Plain by Stan Kasprzyk | Writers Republic Bookshop