Friday November 13, 2009
I’m sitting at the Amsterdam airport right now. I honestly want to sneak back on a plane that is going to Ghana because I did NOT want to leave that country. I absolutely loved it there! It was very easy for me to adjust to their culture, and I’m not sure why. I don’t know if it is because it is so relaxed there, or that people are so friendly there, or what?? I woke up at 6:30 every morning (very early for me) and walked to class at 7:45. I would then teach until 11:30, walk home, and then we either had activities planned, or I would go to the orphanage. After that, we ate dinner, and then I got to read. I was never exhausted at the end of the night like I am in Texas. The job that I’m doing is definitely a lot different than waitressing, but for some reason I never got tired after a long day in Hohoe. I was never once stressed out while in Ghana, and the time during the day went by a lot slower than in the U.S. but too fast because I didn’t stay but for three weeks. It’s difficult to explain why I liked it there so much, but maybe you can try it out for yourself sometime! It was a wonderful experience and worth every penny! I would do it again in a heart beat!
All the volunteers have a couple friends that we hang out with and play cards with. One of them, Paul, is very outgoing and friendly, so I thought it would be a good idea if he came to speak to my class for just five minutes. I figured everyone would like him and look at him as a role model. He actually did come, and he talked about listening in class and wanting to learn and behaving, etc. After he left, the kids were perfect! I’m hoping what he said sticks with them! Yesterday was my last day at the school. I gave them suckers, their pictures, and a couple worksheets to take home that I had made. When I wasy saying goodbye, some of them started not just crying, but sobbing. It was very sad! Others kind of looked around, and I think they felt as if they had to cry or something. Either way, it was a sad goodbye. I gave the kids my address, so hopefully I will get a couple letters in the mail! I sure will miss Ghana, but I will definitely be coming back here sometime!
On another note, I arrived at the Accra airport, and it seemed completely different than what I arrived to the first time. This part of the airport was nice, and it had very cold air conditioning, which I was not expecting. A family sat down in front of me in the waiting area, and I noticed the kid’s accents right off the bat. They were half African, half Irish. I had never seen such a combination before! They were the most well mannered, friendliest, and funny boys! When I got on the plane, I was super lucky because I didn’t have anyone sitting in the two seats next to me. Unfortunately our tvs were not working, so I passed the young lads a note saying we could play cards to pass the time. The fourteen year old came and sat next to me, and we played cards for awhile, and I showed him my pictures from the trip. It made the flight go by so fast, thank goodness! He also asked me how I got my teeth so white lol, so I told him I used white strips a long time ago. He wrote his address down and asked me if I would send him some lol…so it looks like I will be sending a couple of white strips to Ireland. Hahaha…O, and one random thing: tons of people in Ghana have facebook. I just can’t get over it lol…what a journey! I can't wait to go back and do it again!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday November 6, 2009
Gosh, the days go by so fast here! Earlier in the week we went to Mount Afajato, and we climbed to the top! I don't think I have ever sweated that bad in my life! I didn't even know if I was going to make it to the top because it killed my knees, but I made it, and it looked awesome! We also had 2 speakers come in and talk about child labor and marriage in Ghana...very interesting and very confusing and contradicting at the same time.
I made thirty something worksheets for my students this week. They loveeeee worksheets for some reason. I have 5 boys that are very advanced when it comes to math, so I made their worksheets really hard, and they did amazing! The only problem is that they can't read. Today I tried to play a game outside for a change, and they were really excited and did real well for the first 2 minutes, but then the shoving and punching and beating people on the ground began, so we went inside. They just get so out of control! It is pretty much the adult's fault here when it comes to violence. The teachers cane the kids for no reason, and I recently found out that it is illegal to cane kids in Ghana, but somehow they get away with it. Sometimes I see grown men running down the street with his fist in the air about to strike a little kid.
One of the volunteers came home the other day and told us that a new orphan was brought to her orphange. She came from northern Ghana, and people up there thought she was a witch! She is only 4 years old, and they were planning on killing her. A peace core volunteer took her and kept her in his place of stay for about a month or so, and then he got in touch with an orphange here, and they told him she could come stay. He pretty much rescued her and saved her life! She is burned on one side of her head really bad, and she doesn't speak English or Ewe. The 2 volunteers here that are married, Stephne and Kerrin, traveled to Togo and Benin before they arrived in Ghana. Vodoo and such is very popular in Togo and Benin. About 60% of the population there believes in it. They had fascinating pictures and stories about witchcraft, and I wish I could tell y'all all about it!
Yesterday, I went with some girls to the orphanage outside of Hohoe. It was awesome! These kids were soooooo happy, and they all had big personalities! They are so different than the kids I teach it seems like. Even though they are all orphans, they wouldn't have it any other way. They were all very well behaved, and they wanted to show us everything! I walked into a bedroom and thought, wow, this is better than what I was expecting until Abby told me something. There were 3 sets of triple bunk bed, but they sleep four kids to a bed. It is a twin size at the most. Their clothes hardly get washed, and they bathe outside in front of everyone. Most of them like to run around naked anyways lol...2 girls really caught my attention, and they sang songs for me, so I videoed them on my camera. They loved watching it! Their names were Sarah and Patience. Sarah's parents both died of aids, and she doesn't know it yet, but a past volunteer is adopting here, and she should be going over to the U.S. very soon! She was loud, crazy, and full of life, and her hair sure did show it! I want to go back on Monday, so hopefully it will happen!
I can't post pictures at all because the internet is too slow, but I'll keep trying. The slideshow at the bottom is not mine...and I don't know how to change it.
Gosh, the days go by so fast here! Earlier in the week we went to Mount Afajato, and we climbed to the top! I don't think I have ever sweated that bad in my life! I didn't even know if I was going to make it to the top because it killed my knees, but I made it, and it looked awesome! We also had 2 speakers come in and talk about child labor and marriage in Ghana...very interesting and very confusing and contradicting at the same time.
I made thirty something worksheets for my students this week. They loveeeee worksheets for some reason. I have 5 boys that are very advanced when it comes to math, so I made their worksheets really hard, and they did amazing! The only problem is that they can't read. Today I tried to play a game outside for a change, and they were really excited and did real well for the first 2 minutes, but then the shoving and punching and beating people on the ground began, so we went inside. They just get so out of control! It is pretty much the adult's fault here when it comes to violence. The teachers cane the kids for no reason, and I recently found out that it is illegal to cane kids in Ghana, but somehow they get away with it. Sometimes I see grown men running down the street with his fist in the air about to strike a little kid.
One of the volunteers came home the other day and told us that a new orphan was brought to her orphange. She came from northern Ghana, and people up there thought she was a witch! She is only 4 years old, and they were planning on killing her. A peace core volunteer took her and kept her in his place of stay for about a month or so, and then he got in touch with an orphange here, and they told him she could come stay. He pretty much rescued her and saved her life! She is burned on one side of her head really bad, and she doesn't speak English or Ewe. The 2 volunteers here that are married, Stephne and Kerrin, traveled to Togo and Benin before they arrived in Ghana. Vodoo and such is very popular in Togo and Benin. About 60% of the population there believes in it. They had fascinating pictures and stories about witchcraft, and I wish I could tell y'all all about it!
Yesterday, I went with some girls to the orphanage outside of Hohoe. It was awesome! These kids were soooooo happy, and they all had big personalities! They are so different than the kids I teach it seems like. Even though they are all orphans, they wouldn't have it any other way. They were all very well behaved, and they wanted to show us everything! I walked into a bedroom and thought, wow, this is better than what I was expecting until Abby told me something. There were 3 sets of triple bunk bed, but they sleep four kids to a bed. It is a twin size at the most. Their clothes hardly get washed, and they bathe outside in front of everyone. Most of them like to run around naked anyways lol...2 girls really caught my attention, and they sang songs for me, so I videoed them on my camera. They loved watching it! Their names were Sarah and Patience. Sarah's parents both died of aids, and she doesn't know it yet, but a past volunteer is adopting here, and she should be going over to the U.S. very soon! She was loud, crazy, and full of life, and her hair sure did show it! I want to go back on Monday, so hopefully it will happen!
I can't post pictures at all because the internet is too slow, but I'll keep trying. The slideshow at the bottom is not mine...and I don't know how to change it.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday November 2, 2009
This past weekend, the new volunteers went to Cape Coast. We visited the Cape Coast Castle and the Elmina Castle. These were between 350-500 years old. They were slave and trading ports run by the Portuguese and Dutch, and eventually the English had taken over. We also went on a canopy walk. There are five canopy walks in the world, but this one was the highest of them all! The other group on our tour were volunteers with an organization called Global Volunteers from Austria and Wales. They were really nice and made the canopy walk even more interesting. Our van ride took 9 hours there and 9 hours back, but that was with the stop at the mall in Accra. The mall is ridiculously nice, but we were there to get things like peanut butter, drinks, candy, etc. Food that is not available here.
Today at the school, I taught more math. If I ever ask them what they want to learn, they scream math, so I might as well get them ahead while they are excited about it! I also took their picture today because I want to get them printed (which I can do here), and I want them to make paper picture frames and put their picture inside of it. This wasn’t my idea, but it sure is a good one! I also let them color and draw anything they wanted because they never get to do any type of creative art. It was neat to see how detailed some of their drawings and colorings were, and others kept it simple.
After lunch, we went to a shop and made batik. We were given a piece of cloth, and they heated up wax. We then got to pick a design, dip it in the wax, and put it on the fabric. They did the rest, and it was a very long process. It is amazing how cheap you can get this fabric for all the time that is put into making it! We also went to market again today. It wasn’t near as crowded and chaotic as last week, but it was still a challenge to get around. We also had a speaker come after dinner, and he talked about child labor. He is part of an organization called PLAN Ghana. He said there is a PLAN USA, Asia, Latin American, etc. He spoke very well and addressed all of our concerns, but it is too complicated to implement any kind of system in a developing country.
The phones here have been down for the last 6 days because of a storm last week. This also means that the internet has been down, so I have been writing my blogs, but I will have to post them all at one time, sorry! O, today was my first time to ever ride in a taxi! A little ridiculous, I know…
This past weekend, the new volunteers went to Cape Coast. We visited the Cape Coast Castle and the Elmina Castle. These were between 350-500 years old. They were slave and trading ports run by the Portuguese and Dutch, and eventually the English had taken over. We also went on a canopy walk. There are five canopy walks in the world, but this one was the highest of them all! The other group on our tour were volunteers with an organization called Global Volunteers from Austria and Wales. They were really nice and made the canopy walk even more interesting. Our van ride took 9 hours there and 9 hours back, but that was with the stop at the mall in Accra. The mall is ridiculously nice, but we were there to get things like peanut butter, drinks, candy, etc. Food that is not available here.
Today at the school, I taught more math. If I ever ask them what they want to learn, they scream math, so I might as well get them ahead while they are excited about it! I also took their picture today because I want to get them printed (which I can do here), and I want them to make paper picture frames and put their picture inside of it. This wasn’t my idea, but it sure is a good one! I also let them color and draw anything they wanted because they never get to do any type of creative art. It was neat to see how detailed some of their drawings and colorings were, and others kept it simple.
After lunch, we went to a shop and made batik. We were given a piece of cloth, and they heated up wax. We then got to pick a design, dip it in the wax, and put it on the fabric. They did the rest, and it was a very long process. It is amazing how cheap you can get this fabric for all the time that is put into making it! We also went to market again today. It wasn’t near as crowded and chaotic as last week, but it was still a challenge to get around. We also had a speaker come after dinner, and he talked about child labor. He is part of an organization called PLAN Ghana. He said there is a PLAN USA, Asia, Latin American, etc. He spoke very well and addressed all of our concerns, but it is too complicated to implement any kind of system in a developing country.
The phones here have been down for the last 6 days because of a storm last week. This also means that the internet has been down, so I have been writing my blogs, but I will have to post them all at one time, sorry! O, today was my first time to ever ride in a taxi! A little ridiculous, I know…
Thursday October 29, 2009
Today my teacher was in class, but she slept the whole time, no joke! It is better when she is there though because the kids listen more attentively. I was teaching them how to add and subtract three and four digit numbers. About 1/3 of the children understood and did very well. The rest of them had absolutely no clue what I was doing. They were too busy eating their pencils, and that is no lie. They put anything and everything in their mouths. As I mentioned before, they base everything off of memorization, so when I ask what 5+2 is, they count from 1. They can’t start at 5 and count 6, 7. I’m very hesitant at what to do now because the children that do not understand are being left behind. I need to find a way to teach all of them. Also, I have been more focused on trying to teach them, that I think I need to incorporate fun activities. Suggestions are more than welcome. Suggestions on teaching English: letters, sounds, etc are much in need right now!
Michelle, Abby, Karissa, and I went into town today. They were showing us around again, so when they leave, we won’t get lost. We bought some fabric, and then watched women make the patterns on the fabric. It was very interesting, and they made it look soooo easy. I can’t believe tomorrow is going to be the end of our first week in the schools! It has gone by so fast already. We are leaving for Cape Coast tomorrow after lunch, and we are all pretty excited. We get to see the slave castles, go on a canopy walk, go to the beach, and random places along the coast. I’ll write again on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I hope you enjoy reading my posts.
Today my teacher was in class, but she slept the whole time, no joke! It is better when she is there though because the kids listen more attentively. I was teaching them how to add and subtract three and four digit numbers. About 1/3 of the children understood and did very well. The rest of them had absolutely no clue what I was doing. They were too busy eating their pencils, and that is no lie. They put anything and everything in their mouths. As I mentioned before, they base everything off of memorization, so when I ask what 5+2 is, they count from 1. They can’t start at 5 and count 6, 7. I’m very hesitant at what to do now because the children that do not understand are being left behind. I need to find a way to teach all of them. Also, I have been more focused on trying to teach them, that I think I need to incorporate fun activities. Suggestions are more than welcome. Suggestions on teaching English: letters, sounds, etc are much in need right now!
Michelle, Abby, Karissa, and I went into town today. They were showing us around again, so when they leave, we won’t get lost. We bought some fabric, and then watched women make the patterns on the fabric. It was very interesting, and they made it look soooo easy. I can’t believe tomorrow is going to be the end of our first week in the schools! It has gone by so fast already. We are leaving for Cape Coast tomorrow after lunch, and we are all pretty excited. We get to see the slave castles, go on a canopy walk, go to the beach, and random places along the coast. I’ll write again on Monday or Tuesday of next week. I hope you enjoy reading my posts.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday October 28, 2009
Wednesday October 28, 2009
Today was my third day at the school. My teacher did not even show up today. The first hour and a half, the kids had worship. Very interesting, but less time to learn. My kids were very out of control today, but have been teaching them harder math, and they love it! We played a flash card game again, and I had split them in 2 groups. That is their favorite thing to do. We also went to the Wli waterfall today! It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Everyone here had pretty much seen a waterfall besides me, and they said this one would be hard to beat. It was a 45 minute hike. Also, it poured last night, so there was sooooo much water! We could not actually go under the waterfall this time like the previous volunteers because it was too dangerous, but I got some really neat pictures! I started taking my malaria pills at dinner, so that has solved the problem. I don’t have much battery left, but I will try to come back tomorrow!
Today was my third day at the school. My teacher did not even show up today. The first hour and a half, the kids had worship. Very interesting, but less time to learn. My kids were very out of control today, but have been teaching them harder math, and they love it! We played a flash card game again, and I had split them in 2 groups. That is their favorite thing to do. We also went to the Wli waterfall today! It was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! Everyone here had pretty much seen a waterfall besides me, and they said this one would be hard to beat. It was a 45 minute hike. Also, it poured last night, so there was sooooo much water! We could not actually go under the waterfall this time like the previous volunteers because it was too dangerous, but I got some really neat pictures! I started taking my malaria pills at dinner, so that has solved the problem. I don’t have much battery left, but I will try to come back tomorrow!
Monday October 26, 2009
Monday October 26, 2009
I’ve officially been in Ghana for 2 days now. Arriving at the Accra airport was definitely different than the awesome Amsterdam airport! No air conditioning, no fans, very claustrophobic, and people were rushing everywhere and running into us left and right. We spent over an hour just to get our bags and money exchanged even though everything was in one small room. Dellah, our driver for our time here, met us as we walked outside. He is extremely nice and welcoming, and he is everyone’s favorite person here. Accra, the capital of Ghana, was far more developed than what I thought. There were some very nice cars, a shopping mall, big banks, etc. The only downside was that there were no street lights, so everyone is driving carelessly around trying to beat everyone. As we were on our 4 hour journey to Hohoe, I started to see the “poverty” I prepared myself for. When I say “poverty,” I mean what Americans think poverty is. To Ghanaians, they don’t know any different, so everything is good to them, and they are always happy. All the roads have huge holes and huge bumps, so we were constantly slowing down and stopping and being thrown around the van.
When we arrived in Hohoe, we had a nice greeting from the staff and other volunteers. On Sunday, they drove us into town to show us the bank, the internet café, the post office, etc. Once again, tons of holes, bumps, crazy drivers, goats, chickens, and people. I don’t know how people don’t get hit by cars here because the cabs drive about a foot away from all the people on the road! We have cooks here at the home-base, and they make us some great food! I got sick the first two mornings, but it was from my malaria medicine, so I’m now taking it at night. We have sand volleyball set up in the front of the house, so it has been a fun way to pass time. It is definitely hot here, but it is still hard to get used to the freezing cold showers!
My first day of placement was very interesting. I’m teaching 3rd grade at Mussama school. It is the most structured school in Hohoe. The children have to stand outside in lines for about ten minutes before school to pray and sing to the teachers and headmaster, and then they march to class. They were very excited to see two volunteers coming to their classroom. They jump up and down and scream “yevo, yevo, yevo!” That means white person. My teacher told me at the beginning of class that she needed to step out for a minute, but she would be right back. I taught for three and a half hours before she got back to class. They told us that might happen, so I was prepared for it. The only thing is that I didn’t know how much they knew, or where they were in any subject. I didn’t have any books, or paper, or any kind of lesson plan from the teacher. The kids are very hard to keep under control. They constantly change desks and hit each other. When they do something bad, the teacher canes them. She has a bamboo stick, and she smacks them across the hand or face. It is horrible to watch, but I can’t do anything about it. But when she whips out the cane, they sure do listen better. The children also base everything they know and learn off of memorization, so even though they can say the ABC’s and count, they don’t know what letters look like or sound like; therefore, just about half of my 33 students cannot read. The teacher doesn’t care. She just tells me to not mind them and do other things. Three and a half hours at my placement might not seem long, but it is exhausting when it is 99 degrees, 100% humidity, wild children, dirt floors, and a school with a broken roof over it.
Today we got to go into town to the market. Wow, I have never ever ever ever seen anything like this! It was an absolute mad house! People were selling anything and everything. Two year old children were running around naked and without their parents. Women were carrying about 6o pounds of water on their head. Not only water, but anything you can think of! It was a very crowded place, extremely hot, and I didn’t even take any pictures because I was so in shock by the market! Next time we go, I will definitely have pictures. I hope to get internet tomorrow, so until then…
I’ve officially been in Ghana for 2 days now. Arriving at the Accra airport was definitely different than the awesome Amsterdam airport! No air conditioning, no fans, very claustrophobic, and people were rushing everywhere and running into us left and right. We spent over an hour just to get our bags and money exchanged even though everything was in one small room. Dellah, our driver for our time here, met us as we walked outside. He is extremely nice and welcoming, and he is everyone’s favorite person here. Accra, the capital of Ghana, was far more developed than what I thought. There were some very nice cars, a shopping mall, big banks, etc. The only downside was that there were no street lights, so everyone is driving carelessly around trying to beat everyone. As we were on our 4 hour journey to Hohoe, I started to see the “poverty” I prepared myself for. When I say “poverty,” I mean what Americans think poverty is. To Ghanaians, they don’t know any different, so everything is good to them, and they are always happy. All the roads have huge holes and huge bumps, so we were constantly slowing down and stopping and being thrown around the van.
When we arrived in Hohoe, we had a nice greeting from the staff and other volunteers. On Sunday, they drove us into town to show us the bank, the internet café, the post office, etc. Once again, tons of holes, bumps, crazy drivers, goats, chickens, and people. I don’t know how people don’t get hit by cars here because the cabs drive about a foot away from all the people on the road! We have cooks here at the home-base, and they make us some great food! I got sick the first two mornings, but it was from my malaria medicine, so I’m now taking it at night. We have sand volleyball set up in the front of the house, so it has been a fun way to pass time. It is definitely hot here, but it is still hard to get used to the freezing cold showers!
My first day of placement was very interesting. I’m teaching 3rd grade at Mussama school. It is the most structured school in Hohoe. The children have to stand outside in lines for about ten minutes before school to pray and sing to the teachers and headmaster, and then they march to class. They were very excited to see two volunteers coming to their classroom. They jump up and down and scream “yevo, yevo, yevo!” That means white person. My teacher told me at the beginning of class that she needed to step out for a minute, but she would be right back. I taught for three and a half hours before she got back to class. They told us that might happen, so I was prepared for it. The only thing is that I didn’t know how much they knew, or where they were in any subject. I didn’t have any books, or paper, or any kind of lesson plan from the teacher. The kids are very hard to keep under control. They constantly change desks and hit each other. When they do something bad, the teacher canes them. She has a bamboo stick, and she smacks them across the hand or face. It is horrible to watch, but I can’t do anything about it. But when she whips out the cane, they sure do listen better. The children also base everything they know and learn off of memorization, so even though they can say the ABC’s and count, they don’t know what letters look like or sound like; therefore, just about half of my 33 students cannot read. The teacher doesn’t care. She just tells me to not mind them and do other things. Three and a half hours at my placement might not seem long, but it is exhausting when it is 99 degrees, 100% humidity, wild children, dirt floors, and a school with a broken roof over it.
Today we got to go into town to the market. Wow, I have never ever ever ever seen anything like this! It was an absolute mad house! People were selling anything and everything. Two year old children were running around naked and without their parents. Women were carrying about 6o pounds of water on their head. Not only water, but anything you can think of! It was a very crowded place, extremely hot, and I didn’t even take any pictures because I was so in shock by the market! Next time we go, I will definitely have pictures. I hope to get internet tomorrow, so until then…
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