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.
Friday, November 6, 2009
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.
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