Thursday, March 6, 2008
Rain
Everything went black, and to the beat of a thousand minute drums going 'pitter-patter' the rainy season came to Accra last night. Hitesh told me to grab my shoes and we ran out to the yard to pull things in from the lawn. As we stepped back under the eaves there was a sound like paper tearing and a great, heavenly bucket was emptied somewhere far above. Nils and I of course stood like grinning idiots under the torrential downpour.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Peace Corps, Double-Cheeseburgers, and the pursuit of fuses...
Feb. 27th
Ralph took Blake and I to Kumasi today. We took a cho-cho which is essentially an 18 seat van, there. The cost to ride it was about the same as the cost to ride a metro bus here. During the course of the ride, a man who was seated in front of me, paid to bring his live goat along. It rode underneath my seat. We arrived in Kumasi to face the large line waiting to arrive in the Lorry Park, so we just hopped out in the middle of the large, busy street and walked up the hill to the cultural center where we were picked up in the nice, air-conditioned SUV of the Peace Corps. The driver took us to what is essentially a hostel/business building for the volunteers. We gave them 4 laptops which can be very useful for teaching in schools...etc. I got to talk to a few volunteers, but other than deciding that the people are just really normal, empathetic, and completely tired but willing to keep going - I didn't really learn much about the program that I didn't already know. Although I was told by one guy, Mike, that the best place in West Africa to be a volunteer is Togo because they have French bread and German beer. I don't know about that... fufu and malta are hard to beat... cough. After we left the Peace Corps facility, we went to Vic Baboo's, a restaurant that serves "American" food. I ate a HUGE double-cheeseburger and a coffee milkshake, which was completely satisfying until that night, when my body decided it was actually too much to handle after a strict diet of rice and fish. Following lunch, we walked around town to various electronic stores looking for: 5 amp fuses, zip-ties, and writable CDs. We went to about 12 places before we found the motherload - one fuse. For the other 10 or so we needed, we just bought plugs. We found zip-ties at the same place. Interestingly enough, we found the CDs outside of a plumbing shop. We took a metro bus back, and made it safe and sound in time for dinner at BOASS.
Feb. 28
We finished the lab today. Damon kicked major buttocks on hiding all of the wires... which not only prettied up the lab, but made it safer for both humans and computers. Tomorrow we will use the lab to teach computer skills to students from each form. We also began hashing out all the issues in the typing room lab. It would be lovely if the electrical aspects of the room would be placed prior to our arrival... but other than that, computers are being cleaned and readied to be set up. Several people went into town to get FanChoco - basically the best thing since... well, actually ice cream I suppose. And I am pretty sure Paul may have purchased a few machetes...
Feb. 29
Today was crunch day. Everyone had something to do - whether it was clean computers with "Goof-off" (which is actually so potent, I swear it does make you goof-off...), teaching a tech class to a large group of BOASS students, preparing stand-alone computers for various places throughout the campus, or troubleshooting/setting up the typing room lab. In the end, it was all completed! That night, we were thrown a celebration/good-bye party from the school. They prayed that we always cherish our memories and relationships and that we have a safe journey home. It ended of course with Fanta, Cream Crackers, and a dance party.
Mar. 1
We woke up this morning around 5:00. We packed up all of our belongings and set them up on our porch, completely ready to go. We then went to the guy's rooms... and woke them up. In past mornings we had always been woken bright and (too) early by this obnoxious rooster that just kept going and going, and going. One day, I woke up to Sarah A. chasing the rooster with a stick and Sally (a student at the school) chasing after her yelling "You can't kill it, it belongs to someone!" Today, the rooster lay dead beneath the tree. I still don't know if it finally pushed one too many of Sarah's buttons, or if it just fell out of that tree (it would always be perched up there)... We left with several adults and students from the school and headed to Accra. Along the way we stopped at a local market, and then later at the side of the road to purchase grasscutter (ie. Giant, icky, Rat-on-a-stick...) We also went to Winneba beach again, where we soaked up the sun and enjoyed swimming in the great Atlantic again. When we arrived in Accra, we went to Ram's house, where we drank Fanta and enjoyed sitting in seats other than Old Yellow's. We went from there to an Indian restaraunt where we ate a delicsious dinner (and I ate a pepper that sent searing pain up and down my torso for ten minutes...) and handed out the birthday cards to Veronica, Alyssa, and Janet. We then went to Ram's friend, Amar's, house - if you could call it that. It was really a pink castle - with a pool, tennis court, and 28 air conditioners. It was pretty awesome. After a late night swim (mostly just to feel somewhat clean,) we hit the sack.
Mar. 2
This morning all we did was relax. After an American breakfast that included hot-dogs. We swam (taught the Ghanaians how to swim - it is really funny watching fully grown adults and teenagers so eager and excited to use goggles to fetch things out of the shallow end...) In the afternoon we all donned long pants and shirts and head scarves and ate lunch at the temple. The food was INCREDIBLE! Following that, we went to the craft market where we basically spent the rest of our cedis. From there we returned to Amar's house, packed, and headed to the airport where after a sad round of goodbye's, flew back home.
Mar. 3
We went to Amsterdam again during our lay-over. We ate some delicious foods - Old Amsterdam cheese (kaas) and coffee. We went to funny stores, and bought chocolate and other snacks for the plane. Upon our arrival in Sea-tac, (and after the ten hour flight, almost entirely comprised of movie watching and sleeping...) we were greeted by all of our loved ones, and King5 news!
It is so good to be home!
Ralph took Blake and I to Kumasi today. We took a cho-cho which is essentially an 18 seat van, there. The cost to ride it was about the same as the cost to ride a metro bus here. During the course of the ride, a man who was seated in front of me, paid to bring his live goat along. It rode underneath my seat. We arrived in Kumasi to face the large line waiting to arrive in the Lorry Park, so we just hopped out in the middle of the large, busy street and walked up the hill to the cultural center where we were picked up in the nice, air-conditioned SUV of the Peace Corps. The driver took us to what is essentially a hostel/business building for the volunteers. We gave them 4 laptops which can be very useful for teaching in schools...etc. I got to talk to a few volunteers, but other than deciding that the people are just really normal, empathetic, and completely tired but willing to keep going - I didn't really learn much about the program that I didn't already know. Although I was told by one guy, Mike, that the best place in West Africa to be a volunteer is Togo because they have French bread and German beer. I don't know about that... fufu and malta are hard to beat... cough. After we left the Peace Corps facility, we went to Vic Baboo's, a restaurant that serves "American" food. I ate a HUGE double-cheeseburger and a coffee milkshake, which was completely satisfying until that night, when my body decided it was actually too much to handle after a strict diet of rice and fish. Following lunch, we walked around town to various electronic stores looking for: 5 amp fuses, zip-ties, and writable CDs. We went to about 12 places before we found the motherload - one fuse. For the other 10 or so we needed, we just bought plugs. We found zip-ties at the same place. Interestingly enough, we found the CDs outside of a plumbing shop. We took a metro bus back, and made it safe and sound in time for dinner at BOASS.
Feb. 28
We finished the lab today. Damon kicked major buttocks on hiding all of the wires... which not only prettied up the lab, but made it safer for both humans and computers. Tomorrow we will use the lab to teach computer skills to students from each form. We also began hashing out all the issues in the typing room lab. It would be lovely if the electrical aspects of the room would be placed prior to our arrival... but other than that, computers are being cleaned and readied to be set up. Several people went into town to get FanChoco - basically the best thing since... well, actually ice cream I suppose. And I am pretty sure Paul may have purchased a few machetes...
Feb. 29
Today was crunch day. Everyone had something to do - whether it was clean computers with "Goof-off" (which is actually so potent, I swear it does make you goof-off...), teaching a tech class to a large group of BOASS students, preparing stand-alone computers for various places throughout the campus, or troubleshooting/setting up the typing room lab. In the end, it was all completed! That night, we were thrown a celebration/good-bye party from the school. They prayed that we always cherish our memories and relationships and that we have a safe journey home. It ended of course with Fanta, Cream Crackers, and a dance party.
Mar. 1
We woke up this morning around 5:00. We packed up all of our belongings and set them up on our porch, completely ready to go. We then went to the guy's rooms... and woke them up. In past mornings we had always been woken bright and (too) early by this obnoxious rooster that just kept going and going, and going. One day, I woke up to Sarah A. chasing the rooster with a stick and Sally (a student at the school) chasing after her yelling "You can't kill it, it belongs to someone!" Today, the rooster lay dead beneath the tree. I still don't know if it finally pushed one too many of Sarah's buttons, or if it just fell out of that tree (it would always be perched up there)... We left with several adults and students from the school and headed to Accra. Along the way we stopped at a local market, and then later at the side of the road to purchase grasscutter (ie. Giant, icky, Rat-on-a-stick...) We also went to Winneba beach again, where we soaked up the sun and enjoyed swimming in the great Atlantic again. When we arrived in Accra, we went to Ram's house, where we drank Fanta and enjoyed sitting in seats other than Old Yellow's. We went from there to an Indian restaraunt where we ate a delicsious dinner (and I ate a pepper that sent searing pain up and down my torso for ten minutes...) and handed out the birthday cards to Veronica, Alyssa, and Janet. We then went to Ram's friend, Amar's, house - if you could call it that. It was really a pink castle - with a pool, tennis court, and 28 air conditioners. It was pretty awesome. After a late night swim (mostly just to feel somewhat clean,) we hit the sack.
Mar. 2
This morning all we did was relax. After an American breakfast that included hot-dogs. We swam (taught the Ghanaians how to swim - it is really funny watching fully grown adults and teenagers so eager and excited to use goggles to fetch things out of the shallow end...) In the afternoon we all donned long pants and shirts and head scarves and ate lunch at the temple. The food was INCREDIBLE! Following that, we went to the craft market where we basically spent the rest of our cedis. From there we returned to Amar's house, packed, and headed to the airport where after a sad round of goodbye's, flew back home.
Mar. 3
We went to Amsterdam again during our lay-over. We ate some delicious foods - Old Amsterdam cheese (kaas) and coffee. We went to funny stores, and bought chocolate and other snacks for the plane. Upon our arrival in Sea-tac, (and after the ten hour flight, almost entirely comprised of movie watching and sleeping...) we were greeted by all of our loved ones, and King5 news!
It is so good to be home!
Exploding Cannons and Nose Goes
Feb 27.
Today was a busy day, with various groups working on several important projects. Mary, Blake, and Ralph headed back to Kumasi to give some laptops to the Peace Corps. They took a van and rode with a live goat under their seat for most of the way! Another group led by Amber and Mr. Rye went down to Spark FM, Dunkwa’s only FM radio station, to talk about GTA and introduce some songs on the radio. The rest of us stayed at BOA working on the computer labs, visiting classes, and doing laundry. With the help of some of the Ghanaian girls, our laundry system has improved a lot since the first day when they laughed at us struggling to wash clothes by hand for the first time in our lives!
Mike and Ralph have been working with the chemistry and physics teachers to design a couple experiments which they were able to do today. A huge group of Ghanaian students (many of whom were let out of their other classes to watch) gathered to see Mike shoot a Gatorade bottle out of a homemade cannon and crush a gas canister by drenching it with cold water. Both experiments demonstrated the effect of temperature change on the volume of gases.
The tech crew was able to finish checking all the computers in the lab (we had to stop early yesterday because of the power outage) and start putting the finishing touches on the lab so it will be ready for students to use tomorrow! We also inventoried, refurbished, and cleaned some of the school’s old computers which will be set up in administrative offices around the school. We’re also setting up computers in the school’s typing room, which will replace the typewriters they currently have. We’re still waiting for the floor to be finished so we can start moving in computers.
That night the school’s drama club put on a play for us. The plot centered around a college girl being pressured to join the Ghanaian version of a sorority. Afterwards we hung out up by the boy’s rooms for a while. The Ghanaians taught some of us how to pop dance and we taught them how to play nose-goes. We went to bed relatively early to get ready to work hard and finish everything up tomorrow.
Today was a busy day, with various groups working on several important projects. Mary, Blake, and Ralph headed back to Kumasi to give some laptops to the Peace Corps. They took a van and rode with a live goat under their seat for most of the way! Another group led by Amber and Mr. Rye went down to Spark FM, Dunkwa’s only FM radio station, to talk about GTA and introduce some songs on the radio. The rest of us stayed at BOA working on the computer labs, visiting classes, and doing laundry. With the help of some of the Ghanaian girls, our laundry system has improved a lot since the first day when they laughed at us struggling to wash clothes by hand for the first time in our lives!
Mike and Ralph have been working with the chemistry and physics teachers to design a couple experiments which they were able to do today. A huge group of Ghanaian students (many of whom were let out of their other classes to watch) gathered to see Mike shoot a Gatorade bottle out of a homemade cannon and crush a gas canister by drenching it with cold water. Both experiments demonstrated the effect of temperature change on the volume of gases.
The tech crew was able to finish checking all the computers in the lab (we had to stop early yesterday because of the power outage) and start putting the finishing touches on the lab so it will be ready for students to use tomorrow! We also inventoried, refurbished, and cleaned some of the school’s old computers which will be set up in administrative offices around the school. We’re also setting up computers in the school’s typing room, which will replace the typewriters they currently have. We’re still waiting for the floor to be finished so we can start moving in computers.
That night the school’s drama club put on a play for us. The plot centered around a college girl being pressured to join the Ghanaian version of a sorority. Afterwards we hung out up by the boy’s rooms for a while. The Ghanaians taught some of us how to pop dance and we taught them how to play nose-goes. We went to bed relatively early to get ready to work hard and finish everything up tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Medical Update
This is just a quick medical update for any worried parents :-) Our team is in pretty good health. We've managed to avoid getting sunburned, which I think is due to the fact that it is cloudy (although still very hot) most of the time. Mary's theory is that we have in fact, been so completely and disgustingly covered in dirt (we are so sweaty and the wind are carrying dirt from the Sahara) that we are just too covered up for the sun to get to us. Its actually gross. Every evening I keep thinking I have a mad foot tan, and it ends up being dirt... ew.
There have been some scrapes and cuts but nothing that bandaids and gauze pads couldn't handle. We now have 5 people in the Ditch Club (those who have fallen in one of the many gutters that line the streets and buildings in town and at the school): Raechel, Paul, Hanah, Veronica, Alyssa, and I'm sure we'll have a few more before we leave. We have plenty of water and are staying well hydrated, and the food here is delicious and hasn't caused many stomach issues. Hope you all are doing well!
Later,
Sarah
There have been some scrapes and cuts but nothing that bandaids and gauze pads couldn't handle. We now have 5 people in the Ditch Club (those who have fallen in one of the many gutters that line the streets and buildings in town and at the school): Raechel, Paul, Hanah, Veronica, Alyssa, and I'm sure we'll have a few more before we leave. We have plenty of water and are staying well hydrated, and the food here is delicious and hasn't caused many stomach issues. Hope you all are doing well!
Later,
Sarah
"HEY WHITE LADY, MY SISTER!"
In Ghana, I am refered to as either "White Lady", "Obroni" (which means White Lady) or "My Sister". As our time here in Ghana is coming to a rapid close, all I can think about is how sad I am going to be to leave this place and go back to the reality. I am looking forward to being called by my name, Mary, though.... I am going to miss this friendly place, where small kids laugh and giggle when you take the time to befriend them, and when other teens realize how similar to eachother we really are.
Our team made it into the national paper, page eleven. We were of course all trumped by the doubletruck and pages written about George and Laura Bush's recent visit. Funny, because most of the Ghanaians at this school that I have talked to don't like him - they absolutely love Obama.
Feb. 26
Today was the first of our all team work days. By this I mean, that practically every day of this trip there has been some people working, but the next several days it will be everyone. We had a tech crew working on finishing the lab (where they are currently trying to put in a carpet, so we have to work around the carpet layers...) and we had a classroom group: students not doing tech went to different classrooms and joined in on the lesson. We also had a town crew (internet cafe, toilet paper and soap shopping... machetes, icecream... you know, the neccesities.) and most importantly, we had a laundry crew (which for some reason was comprised of all girls... a problem that will soon be rectified!) I would just like to take this time to say how grateful I am for washing machines... hand washing sweaty, dirty, boy underwear is not really all that fun. Anyway, the people that walked into town also finished giving, Isaac (our tailor) all of the fabric for our shirts and dresses - he is feeling very swamped, pretty much everyone on the team is having him make one or more dresses or shirts. I went to a little stand where some guys paint whatever you want on a shirt - when I started back into town around 5:00 or so to pick it up, the wind suddenly kicked up so strong that it hurt to open your eyes to see where you were walking due to the dirt. We decided to take a taxi back to Boass - most shops were closing up. Just as we stepped out of the cab at school, it began raining. It soon became a thunder and lightning and rainstorm. It was incredible - all the Ghanaians must have thought I was so ridiculous dancing in the rain, it is hard to explain to them that it never rains that strongly in torrents in Seattle, a town that they only know as raining all the time. As we were eating dinner in the cafeteria, the power went out. One of my Ghanaian friends commented that it must be hard to see where my mouth was since I was spilling rice everywhere as I ate. Nils silently snuck under the table and began to lightly brush girls ankles - and let me tell you, Jamila FREAKED! Hahaha... We finished dinner and carefully walked back to the boy's dorms (aka. the team kickin' it spot) where we told ghost stories until the power went out. Last night was my favorite part of the trip so far... rain is an amazing element.
The goal for the rest of our time here is to finish installing the lab and networking today (hopefully!) and then spend the next several days teaching tech lessons. In addition we will continue to visit classes and hang out with our Ghanaian friends!
Our team made it into the national paper, page eleven. We were of course all trumped by the doubletruck and pages written about George and Laura Bush's recent visit. Funny, because most of the Ghanaians at this school that I have talked to don't like him - they absolutely love Obama.
Feb. 26
Today was the first of our all team work days. By this I mean, that practically every day of this trip there has been some people working, but the next several days it will be everyone. We had a tech crew working on finishing the lab (where they are currently trying to put in a carpet, so we have to work around the carpet layers...) and we had a classroom group: students not doing tech went to different classrooms and joined in on the lesson. We also had a town crew (internet cafe, toilet paper and soap shopping... machetes, icecream... you know, the neccesities.) and most importantly, we had a laundry crew (which for some reason was comprised of all girls... a problem that will soon be rectified!) I would just like to take this time to say how grateful I am for washing machines... hand washing sweaty, dirty, boy underwear is not really all that fun. Anyway, the people that walked into town also finished giving, Isaac (our tailor) all of the fabric for our shirts and dresses - he is feeling very swamped, pretty much everyone on the team is having him make one or more dresses or shirts. I went to a little stand where some guys paint whatever you want on a shirt - when I started back into town around 5:00 or so to pick it up, the wind suddenly kicked up so strong that it hurt to open your eyes to see where you were walking due to the dirt. We decided to take a taxi back to Boass - most shops were closing up. Just as we stepped out of the cab at school, it began raining. It soon became a thunder and lightning and rainstorm. It was incredible - all the Ghanaians must have thought I was so ridiculous dancing in the rain, it is hard to explain to them that it never rains that strongly in torrents in Seattle, a town that they only know as raining all the time. As we were eating dinner in the cafeteria, the power went out. One of my Ghanaian friends commented that it must be hard to see where my mouth was since I was spilling rice everywhere as I ate. Nils silently snuck under the table and began to lightly brush girls ankles - and let me tell you, Jamila FREAKED! Hahaha... We finished dinner and carefully walked back to the boy's dorms (aka. the team kickin' it spot) where we told ghost stories until the power went out. Last night was my favorite part of the trip so far... rain is an amazing element.
The goal for the rest of our time here is to finish installing the lab and networking today (hopefully!) and then spend the next several days teaching tech lessons. In addition we will continue to visit classes and hang out with our Ghanaian friends!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Dun...Dun...Dunkwa!
To continue the updates in chronological order:
Feb. 23
Today we woke up thinking it was going to be a relaxing Saturday and we could mess around and hang out. But if there is one thing that impresses me about this group of 28 people, it is how ridiculously hard EVERYONE works and plays. Today a select few - mainly our tech gurus worked on making the golden image and ghosting the computers... They also worked on a lab design. Several people went down to the internet cafe - which I swear is a brilliant business, think about this: you charge people by the hour, there is ridiculously slow service, you get paid more... brilliant - anyway, we updated the blog and made sure you parents weren't freaking out too much about your kids being far away in Africa. (And just a side note, there have been some slight sicknesses, but nothing more than being a little dehydrated and feeling a little funky for a while and then quickly getting over it after drinking a ton of gatorade and resting under a fan.) Some members of the team played in football matches with the Ghanaians. (soccer) We won one game, and tied the other, which was very surprising, since the Ghanaians are ridiculously good at the game - everyone here plays it, everyone here loves it, and pretty much everyone here is a lot more used to the heat then we are! Regardless they were good games. Also in the evening we had a "Talent and Beauty Pagent". Several Americans offered their talents, and only Ghanaians entered the "Miss Boass Beauty Pagent". Miran played her violin, Mary and Olivia sang James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" to a really cute Ghanaian boy... tehe, and Mike and Nils made up a rap in the local language (Twee, or Twi... I'm not sure.). At the end, all of the Americans got up and danced to "Soulja Boy" for the crowds of onlookers. It really is quite amazing how universal a lot of things are, such as dance and song, and laughter, and friendship. We had a little dance party... and went to bed.
Feb. 24
Today was a Sunday. Sunday here means you dress in white, you go to church, church, church. Boass is a Christian boarding school, but many of the kids here are from all different types of denominations or Catholic. A few are even Muslim. On Sundays, students wear either starch white dresses (if female) or pants and shirt or traditional Ghanaian robe (if male). This made me realize that these students basically have a uniform/dress code for everyday of the week... on weekdays, their bright green school uniforms, on Sunday their white outfits, and on Saturday, whatever they want, only most kids can only afford one more outfit, so the essentially have to dress in a uniform that day too. Sucks. Anyway. I woke up too late to go to the Catholic Church in the morning with the headmaster and his family, but in the evening, several of us attended the school's church session. The school works this way: it allows students to go to town to attend their own church of their own denomination in the morning, and then in the evening they host their own service. I went to the school's service. It is lead by the youth and students, including Stephan, the equivalent of our student body president at GHS. The service is a lot different then the quiet, clam lutheran services I'm used to - there is a lot of yelling and cheering and dancing and rejoicing. It was fun! When it came time to go up to the front to put money in the offering bowl, all of the GTA kids/adults that came put in one Ghana cedi (the equivalent of one dollar USD.) When Sarah A. went to put her money in the pot, some of the kids told her that they would go make change for her - it was too generous of an offering... Sarah said it was for all the students who couldn't come. When I put my offering in, a load eruption went out... inside the pot was only other small coins and the one Ghana cedi bills from members of our team. I left really moved at how alive their church felt.
Feb. 25
Today we went to Kumasi. We went to where they make Kente cloth as well as the market. It was amazing to see how fast the weavers can move. For many of the items that I purchased for just a few cedi, the weaver had worked for several weeks to make. It is so incredible. The market was bustling with people of all sizes selling their various good - often from buckets on top of their heads. We went out for a nice dinner and headed home. Lovely though, the roads to and from DUnkwa to Kumasi are paved.
The next several days until we leave for Accra on Saturday morning will be devoted entirely to the lab, and teaching computers, and visiting/teaching in various classes.
More later!
Feb. 23
Today we woke up thinking it was going to be a relaxing Saturday and we could mess around and hang out. But if there is one thing that impresses me about this group of 28 people, it is how ridiculously hard EVERYONE works and plays. Today a select few - mainly our tech gurus worked on making the golden image and ghosting the computers... They also worked on a lab design. Several people went down to the internet cafe - which I swear is a brilliant business, think about this: you charge people by the hour, there is ridiculously slow service, you get paid more... brilliant - anyway, we updated the blog and made sure you parents weren't freaking out too much about your kids being far away in Africa. (And just a side note, there have been some slight sicknesses, but nothing more than being a little dehydrated and feeling a little funky for a while and then quickly getting over it after drinking a ton of gatorade and resting under a fan.) Some members of the team played in football matches with the Ghanaians. (soccer) We won one game, and tied the other, which was very surprising, since the Ghanaians are ridiculously good at the game - everyone here plays it, everyone here loves it, and pretty much everyone here is a lot more used to the heat then we are! Regardless they were good games. Also in the evening we had a "Talent and Beauty Pagent". Several Americans offered their talents, and only Ghanaians entered the "Miss Boass Beauty Pagent". Miran played her violin, Mary and Olivia sang James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" to a really cute Ghanaian boy... tehe, and Mike and Nils made up a rap in the local language (Twee, or Twi... I'm not sure.). At the end, all of the Americans got up and danced to "Soulja Boy" for the crowds of onlookers. It really is quite amazing how universal a lot of things are, such as dance and song, and laughter, and friendship. We had a little dance party... and went to bed.
Feb. 24
Today was a Sunday. Sunday here means you dress in white, you go to church, church, church. Boass is a Christian boarding school, but many of the kids here are from all different types of denominations or Catholic. A few are even Muslim. On Sundays, students wear either starch white dresses (if female) or pants and shirt or traditional Ghanaian robe (if male). This made me realize that these students basically have a uniform/dress code for everyday of the week... on weekdays, their bright green school uniforms, on Sunday their white outfits, and on Saturday, whatever they want, only most kids can only afford one more outfit, so the essentially have to dress in a uniform that day too. Sucks. Anyway. I woke up too late to go to the Catholic Church in the morning with the headmaster and his family, but in the evening, several of us attended the school's church session. The school works this way: it allows students to go to town to attend their own church of their own denomination in the morning, and then in the evening they host their own service. I went to the school's service. It is lead by the youth and students, including Stephan, the equivalent of our student body president at GHS. The service is a lot different then the quiet, clam lutheran services I'm used to - there is a lot of yelling and cheering and dancing and rejoicing. It was fun! When it came time to go up to the front to put money in the offering bowl, all of the GTA kids/adults that came put in one Ghana cedi (the equivalent of one dollar USD.) When Sarah A. went to put her money in the pot, some of the kids told her that they would go make change for her - it was too generous of an offering... Sarah said it was for all the students who couldn't come. When I put my offering in, a load eruption went out... inside the pot was only other small coins and the one Ghana cedi bills from members of our team. I left really moved at how alive their church felt.
Feb. 25
Today we went to Kumasi. We went to where they make Kente cloth as well as the market. It was amazing to see how fast the weavers can move. For many of the items that I purchased for just a few cedi, the weaver had worked for several weeks to make. It is so incredible. The market was bustling with people of all sizes selling their various good - often from buckets on top of their heads. We went out for a nice dinner and headed home. Lovely though, the roads to and from DUnkwa to Kumasi are paved.
The next several days until we leave for Accra on Saturday morning will be devoted entirely to the lab, and teaching computers, and visiting/teaching in various classes.
More later!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
3 hours worth of internet cafe time...
Hey Everyone! I hope all is going well back in the states. I am currently in the second week of my month long travels. I spent a week in Amsterdam/Switzerland with my Dad exploring history and a potential college. I think that I have come to the conclusion that I don't want to go to Franklin College in Switzerland, it is definitely international based education, but more on a self involved diplomatic way. I want to be working and learning about more developing nations, as opposed to Europe.
Anyway... on to the cooler news. I am in GHANA. I met up with the team in Amsterdam last Saturday, Feb. 16th, and we explored the town a bit. Other than accidently setting a vespa alarm off... hahaha.... everything went rather smooth. I said goodbye to my Dad and headed with the group to this amazing country. We arrived in the evening to the airport. It is hot and muggy, a striking difference compared to the 30 or so degree weather I had gotten used to in Europe. We wizzed "Ghanaian whizzing...." through customs and baggage claim in their cramped small airport and made it outside to be greated with an awesome sign, the pre crew, the media, and some students and supporters of our contacts. We left and went to a large house in Accra where we slept... and well.
Feb. 17th
We woke up to Nescafe coffee and cornflakes (the universal breakfast) and sat on the porch as we watched street kids playing a game of football (soccer) and women walk by with large buckets and bowls of everything from smoked baracuda to bread, to firewood. We met up with two medical doctors Farhah and Ben who are in Accra to help people in the community for a few months. They came with us to a large market in Accra as well as to Kwame Nkrumah's memorial. In the market there are stalls after stalls of arts and crafts and football jerseys and the team had an interesting time learning how to bargain and how to stand up to the countless vendors who keep calling "Hey Friend!" (no, I am not your friend...) After that we walked to Kwame Nkrumah's memorial park and museum. Kwame was the first president of Ghana and the man that declared independence from the British in 1957. I guess you could say visiting his memorial was much like visiting the grave of George Washington. What may have been even better was that the little museum where they displayed much of Kwame's things (such as books, pens, pictures and even college dorm furniture) was air conditioned! That evening, we went back to the house where a party had been planned in our honor, and we ate great food (including this really hot pepper sauce that I wish they had warned me about) and had a great little dance circle. We went to bed late that night after playing several "bonding games" in the girl's livingroom. The team is amazing in that there really aren't any "clicks" in the group, we all just get along great.
Feb. 18th
Today we took the long bus ride to Dunkwa-on-Offin where Boa Amoponsem Secondary School is located - the school that we are working at. On the way, we met up with Nils and Sam P. and stopped at Winneba beach where we swam in the ocean for hours and ate a picnic lunch on the beach. We took tons of hilarious pictures, rode tons of waves, and only got a tiny bit sunburned on the cheeks, and thoroughly covered in sand. We then went the rest of the bus ride to Dunkwa. We didn't arrive until evening. We were greated by tons of students there to see the Oboruni "White people". We introduced ourselves to the staff and a few students and went to bed. The girls are staying in a little house with three rooms and a shower and bathroom - the guys have a similar situation, only one room just has all of our tubs in it. They are great accomadations. The people here want nothing more than to please us. They bought us all mosquito nets, and are feeding us incredible food.
Feb. 19th
Today we went to Kyirenkum, Nana (cheif) Labi's village. There we say all of the cheifs dressed in their regal dress and Nana Labi wore his crown. All the other cheifs did not wear their crowns as a sign of respect to Labi and Ram - Labi's development cheif and good friend. Many people on the team had not seen a village or community that far in poverty before and I think it really opened their eyes. While we were seated with the cheifs and respected, my thoughts kept going out to all the children with the malnourished, bloated stomachs that sat by in the sun watching us with wonderment. We had a small dance party... and got in the bus where we drove a ways and ate a quick lunch (the school packs us lunches) and we went to the paramount cheif - essentially the wise king of all the land. We had a visit with him in all of his regalness. You first must go around and shake the hands of all of the cheifs and then kiss the cheek of the Ama Hini (paramount cheif) - I think he enjoyed all the kisses from the ladies he got :D. The meeting took quite a while but it was endlessly amazing to see that we were there amongst such culturally and diplomatically important peoples. I learned that in the old days when the nana came to his village once a year or so they would have a huge ceremony and sacrifice a small child. This I learned after seeing a horn instrument made from the skull of a human. It is so amazing to see that such horrendous and indigenous acts that are not humane were happening so recently in a place that is only two days travel from my own home. Now the cheifs just talk and banter (what about I have no clue unless interpreted since they speak Twee). Now, they sacrifice a goat. Later that day I was talking to some of the adults and learned that when were at the beach the previous day a small child had been found dead on the side of the rode. That is such a hard thind to take in... that there are people dying all around in this world - innocent people, young people that have not yet had a chance to live fully. Life and death take on different meanings over here than they do back home. Perhaps that is why much of the music is so beautiful here - people have a lot to wail about. At the same time, in the middle of all of this poverty, everyone has a birght smile, and a hand to share. Never before have I seen so many loving and beautiful faces.
Feb. 20th
We went back to the villages today. Again we had a visit with the Paramount Cheif, and attended a dance party... We played with some chidren in the village, they loved seeing us. Once, there was a small rodent, I am not sure what, maybe a rat, that the kids chased after and caught and played with it. It was hilarious and a little freaky at the same time. On the way back, Nana Labi took us to one of the small villages and we all ate goat. It tasted so delicious! I got asked by one of the cheifs if I would ever marry a black man, I said maybe some day. He proposed it be him. Later that day another cheif asked me to be his Queen Mother (or first wife that bears his first children) while I was honored, I declined. Seriously though, I wonder how many goats I am worth.... haha. It was a long bus ride back, and on the way we slept as best we could on what has been nick-named "Old Yellow" - it is the school's school bus and is just a big hunk of metal that begins to hurt a lot ater a 3 hour drive on bumpy unpaved roads. We went back to the school and ate some dinner that they had prepared for us. Nana Labi was very happy to say that once again we had been invited back to see the paramount cheif. He could not believe what a big deal it was to be able to see him so many times. So we got well rested up for another long, hot, bumpy ride out there to the villages.
Feb, 21stWe have been eating breakfast with the students every morning in their cafeteria. I feel really bad though because they serve our team amazing food, and the school kids eat only porrige in the morning. We have been eating with one GTA student per table, so I have been drinking hot cocoa, eating eggs, beans, sausage, bread, and fruit right in front of them. We have asked that we get served food earlier so we can still sit with the students as they eat, but we don't have to eat in front of them. I tried thier porrige today though, and it is actually pretty good - I mean it isn't that bad, I would be more than willing to just eat that, but oh well. I have made so many friends already, but it is so hard to remember their names since they all wear the same uniform and have the same haircut. Anyway at the villages today, Labi was finally given full control and ownership of all his land by the paramount cheif, something that his family has been trying for 40 some years to do. In addition we are trying to make a mape using GPS readings of his land for him so he can more closely regulate if their are poachers, who lives there, if deforestation is occuring...etc. After the meeting with the paramount cheif, we had a FAT dance party, I can only describe it as this "I danced with all of Ghana tonight" - Sam Potter. They had a stack of what must have been fifteen fat stereos just blasting music. The whole team danced and danced a lot with many of the little children. I know that for them, that made a huge impact. Just that these tall Americans would want to know them and do something with them. We went back to bed that night exhausted but all around happy for the difference that had been made simply by our presence.
Feb. 22nd
We woke up early this morning and attended the morning assembly at school here. Every morning at 6:30 the students meet to pray and sing and hear a small sermon. The sounds of everyone's voices as they sing is incredible - and just a side note, they also have a midnight church service where they go out on the field and sing. For the last three nights, I have been falling asleep to the beautiful sounds of their voices. Anyway, after the assembly we got on "Old Yellow" and headed south to Cape Coast and Kakum. Kakum is the rainforest reserve. We went hiking into the canopy of the forest where we walked on rickity suspeded bridges over the forest. It was a little scary. Especially when Sam Galey and Mr. Rye made it swing a little... We bought some coconuts before loading back onto the bus and heading to Elmina Slave Castle. We arrived at Elmina Castle where we went on the 45 minute tour. We went inside the rooms that hundreds of Africans women and men were left in to essentially die or live in a hell on earth. We saw the governer's room, how he would punich women that refused to be raped by him, and finally the point of no return, where the African captives would be loaded from their two month long prisons and loaded into one on a boat. We saw where they would throw those that died out into the sea. It was a very sombering place to be, and a place that taught me a lot about the African perspective on the slave trades that essentially made my country. We met Peggy and her tour group outside of the castle and then we headed to Coconut Groves (a hotel beach) where we swam in the ocean and the pool and played pool. We headed back around eight from Cape Coast and finally arrived in Dunkwa around midnight - where again they had food for us, although I slept through it.
Anyway... on to the cooler news. I am in GHANA. I met up with the team in Amsterdam last Saturday, Feb. 16th, and we explored the town a bit. Other than accidently setting a vespa alarm off... hahaha.... everything went rather smooth. I said goodbye to my Dad and headed with the group to this amazing country. We arrived in the evening to the airport. It is hot and muggy, a striking difference compared to the 30 or so degree weather I had gotten used to in Europe. We wizzed "Ghanaian whizzing...." through customs and baggage claim in their cramped small airport and made it outside to be greated with an awesome sign, the pre crew, the media, and some students and supporters of our contacts. We left and went to a large house in Accra where we slept... and well.
Feb. 17th
We woke up to Nescafe coffee and cornflakes (the universal breakfast) and sat on the porch as we watched street kids playing a game of football (soccer) and women walk by with large buckets and bowls of everything from smoked baracuda to bread, to firewood. We met up with two medical doctors Farhah and Ben who are in Accra to help people in the community for a few months. They came with us to a large market in Accra as well as to Kwame Nkrumah's memorial. In the market there are stalls after stalls of arts and crafts and football jerseys and the team had an interesting time learning how to bargain and how to stand up to the countless vendors who keep calling "Hey Friend!" (no, I am not your friend...) After that we walked to Kwame Nkrumah's memorial park and museum. Kwame was the first president of Ghana and the man that declared independence from the British in 1957. I guess you could say visiting his memorial was much like visiting the grave of George Washington. What may have been even better was that the little museum where they displayed much of Kwame's things (such as books, pens, pictures and even college dorm furniture) was air conditioned! That evening, we went back to the house where a party had been planned in our honor, and we ate great food (including this really hot pepper sauce that I wish they had warned me about) and had a great little dance circle. We went to bed late that night after playing several "bonding games" in the girl's livingroom. The team is amazing in that there really aren't any "clicks" in the group, we all just get along great.
Feb. 18th
Today we took the long bus ride to Dunkwa-on-Offin where Boa Amoponsem Secondary School is located - the school that we are working at. On the way, we met up with Nils and Sam P. and stopped at Winneba beach where we swam in the ocean for hours and ate a picnic lunch on the beach. We took tons of hilarious pictures, rode tons of waves, and only got a tiny bit sunburned on the cheeks, and thoroughly covered in sand. We then went the rest of the bus ride to Dunkwa. We didn't arrive until evening. We were greated by tons of students there to see the Oboruni "White people". We introduced ourselves to the staff and a few students and went to bed. The girls are staying in a little house with three rooms and a shower and bathroom - the guys have a similar situation, only one room just has all of our tubs in it. They are great accomadations. The people here want nothing more than to please us. They bought us all mosquito nets, and are feeding us incredible food.
Feb. 19th
Today we went to Kyirenkum, Nana (cheif) Labi's village. There we say all of the cheifs dressed in their regal dress and Nana Labi wore his crown. All the other cheifs did not wear their crowns as a sign of respect to Labi and Ram - Labi's development cheif and good friend. Many people on the team had not seen a village or community that far in poverty before and I think it really opened their eyes. While we were seated with the cheifs and respected, my thoughts kept going out to all the children with the malnourished, bloated stomachs that sat by in the sun watching us with wonderment. We had a small dance party... and got in the bus where we drove a ways and ate a quick lunch (the school packs us lunches) and we went to the paramount cheif - essentially the wise king of all the land. We had a visit with him in all of his regalness. You first must go around and shake the hands of all of the cheifs and then kiss the cheek of the Ama Hini (paramount cheif) - I think he enjoyed all the kisses from the ladies he got :D. The meeting took quite a while but it was endlessly amazing to see that we were there amongst such culturally and diplomatically important peoples. I learned that in the old days when the nana came to his village once a year or so they would have a huge ceremony and sacrifice a small child. This I learned after seeing a horn instrument made from the skull of a human. It is so amazing to see that such horrendous and indigenous acts that are not humane were happening so recently in a place that is only two days travel from my own home. Now the cheifs just talk and banter (what about I have no clue unless interpreted since they speak Twee). Now, they sacrifice a goat. Later that day I was talking to some of the adults and learned that when were at the beach the previous day a small child had been found dead on the side of the rode. That is such a hard thind to take in... that there are people dying all around in this world - innocent people, young people that have not yet had a chance to live fully. Life and death take on different meanings over here than they do back home. Perhaps that is why much of the music is so beautiful here - people have a lot to wail about. At the same time, in the middle of all of this poverty, everyone has a birght smile, and a hand to share. Never before have I seen so many loving and beautiful faces.
Feb. 20th
We went back to the villages today. Again we had a visit with the Paramount Cheif, and attended a dance party... We played with some chidren in the village, they loved seeing us. Once, there was a small rodent, I am not sure what, maybe a rat, that the kids chased after and caught and played with it. It was hilarious and a little freaky at the same time. On the way back, Nana Labi took us to one of the small villages and we all ate goat. It tasted so delicious! I got asked by one of the cheifs if I would ever marry a black man, I said maybe some day. He proposed it be him. Later that day another cheif asked me to be his Queen Mother (or first wife that bears his first children) while I was honored, I declined. Seriously though, I wonder how many goats I am worth.... haha. It was a long bus ride back, and on the way we slept as best we could on what has been nick-named "Old Yellow" - it is the school's school bus and is just a big hunk of metal that begins to hurt a lot ater a 3 hour drive on bumpy unpaved roads. We went back to the school and ate some dinner that they had prepared for us. Nana Labi was very happy to say that once again we had been invited back to see the paramount cheif. He could not believe what a big deal it was to be able to see him so many times. So we got well rested up for another long, hot, bumpy ride out there to the villages.
Feb, 21stWe have been eating breakfast with the students every morning in their cafeteria. I feel really bad though because they serve our team amazing food, and the school kids eat only porrige in the morning. We have been eating with one GTA student per table, so I have been drinking hot cocoa, eating eggs, beans, sausage, bread, and fruit right in front of them. We have asked that we get served food earlier so we can still sit with the students as they eat, but we don't have to eat in front of them. I tried thier porrige today though, and it is actually pretty good - I mean it isn't that bad, I would be more than willing to just eat that, but oh well. I have made so many friends already, but it is so hard to remember their names since they all wear the same uniform and have the same haircut. Anyway at the villages today, Labi was finally given full control and ownership of all his land by the paramount cheif, something that his family has been trying for 40 some years to do. In addition we are trying to make a mape using GPS readings of his land for him so he can more closely regulate if their are poachers, who lives there, if deforestation is occuring...etc. After the meeting with the paramount cheif, we had a FAT dance party, I can only describe it as this "I danced with all of Ghana tonight" - Sam Potter. They had a stack of what must have been fifteen fat stereos just blasting music. The whole team danced and danced a lot with many of the little children. I know that for them, that made a huge impact. Just that these tall Americans would want to know them and do something with them. We went back to bed that night exhausted but all around happy for the difference that had been made simply by our presence.
Feb. 22nd
We woke up early this morning and attended the morning assembly at school here. Every morning at 6:30 the students meet to pray and sing and hear a small sermon. The sounds of everyone's voices as they sing is incredible - and just a side note, they also have a midnight church service where they go out on the field and sing. For the last three nights, I have been falling asleep to the beautiful sounds of their voices. Anyway, after the assembly we got on "Old Yellow" and headed south to Cape Coast and Kakum. Kakum is the rainforest reserve. We went hiking into the canopy of the forest where we walked on rickity suspeded bridges over the forest. It was a little scary. Especially when Sam Galey and Mr. Rye made it swing a little... We bought some coconuts before loading back onto the bus and heading to Elmina Slave Castle. We arrived at Elmina Castle where we went on the 45 minute tour. We went inside the rooms that hundreds of Africans women and men were left in to essentially die or live in a hell on earth. We saw the governer's room, how he would punich women that refused to be raped by him, and finally the point of no return, where the African captives would be loaded from their two month long prisons and loaded into one on a boat. We saw where they would throw those that died out into the sea. It was a very sombering place to be, and a place that taught me a lot about the African perspective on the slave trades that essentially made my country. We met Peggy and her tour group outside of the castle and then we headed to Coconut Groves (a hotel beach) where we swam in the ocean and the pool and played pool. We headed back around eight from Cape Coast and finally arrived in Dunkwa around midnight - where again they had food for us, although I slept through it.
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