Matt's last day and Adventure in Accra

Time is really flying and I am having a hard time keeping up with my blogging because of my access to internet has been slow or non existent, so sorry for the slow updates. Matt left on June 22^nd, and our day is Accra was full. We went to James Town for the morning and met with a man named Nii who runs a children’s after school program entitled Streetwise and a drumming and dance group entitle Jaynii Cultural Troupe. The center and troupe headquarters is on the beach and he is in the process of building a school and dormitory there. His organization supports low income children by paying for school fees, making school uniforms, teaching drumming and dancing lessons as well as providing a library. He has a small bar and if you purchase drinks there the money goes to the organization. His main form of financing Streetwise is through Jaynii Cultural Troupe performances and lessons. I have decided to send him school supplies when I return home. He is really in need of laptops or computers for the library, but is open to any assistance. If you want to check out his organizations you can go to www.jaynii.com.

We then left and went the original home of the fancy Ghana coffins. The Ghana coffins were something I had read about when I was really young in a magazine. The coffins are designed after an individuals' profession. The original coffins were designed in Teshie, Ghana (about 10 miles outside of Accra) in the 1950s by Seth Kanekwei. Seth designed the first coffin for a chief (chiefs are buried in a snail or tortoise shaped coffins). People saw the coffin and soon others wanted their own specialized coffin. Still in business, Seth's grandson, Eric now runs the business with his father. Coffins are 600-800 Ghana cedis and most of the Gn people (the original tribe that the coffins were designed for) can no longer afford them, but people throughout Africa and the world come to get personalize coffins made. In the shop, Eric had a fish, coke bottle, filming camera, water bottle, and hammer on display. He says it takes about 10 days to make a coffin and he sells about 4 each month. There are a handful of Americans that come over and go through carpentry apprenticeship programs with them. If you want to learn more about the coffins check out Eric's website at www.Ghanacoffins.com. It was exciting to finally see these coffins in person. It used to be the only thing I really knew about Ghana as a kid. They are really quite amazing!

Matt is safely back home now!!!Miss you honey!!

What a week!

So Matt has been here a week and we have been busy exploring and taking in Ghana. We made reservations at Peter's Pizza last Wednesday. It is a small green restaurant that sits on the edge of Aburi town. Peter went to culinary arts school in Italy and can make french fries as long as you give him a days notice, so he can get potatoes from Accra. It was quite a treat. We had hamburgers and fries, listened/watched Ghana music videos and played cards with Maren and Cara. It was a fun night. We have also been to the wood distrust in Aburi, which is 3 blocks of wood carving artist who have individual shops set up. It is like an outdoor shopping market and you can either purchase items off the shelf or have things custom made. Matt, of course has been trying new Ghana foods, and I have encouraged him on the sides. I was content eating my American snacks and being good company while he explored.

This past weekend we took a group trip to Cape Coast. I have had mixed feelings of excitement and anxiousness about visiting the slave castles. We left Friday morning and 20 of us (both the Mampong volunteer team and the Kibi volunteer team) crawled into a trotro and headed down the street for our 6 hour ride to the coast. It was a beautiful and interesting ride. We stayed at an Crocodile hotel. There were crocodiles in the water that surrounded them and the food was pretty good. Saturday, we headed to Kakum National Park. It is a protected area by the Ghana government and is the home to several different types of trees, the Forest Elephant, and various other animals. They also have 7 rope bridges, which allow you to walk from treetop to treetop appreciating the amazing views and looking down at how dense the forest floor is. The rope bridges are pretty narrow and only 4 people can be on them at a time. It was a highlight of our trip.

We then then headed to the Cape Coast Slave castle. More than 2 million slaves can through this castle and were sold into the Transatlantic Slave trade. It was crazy to walk through such a beautiful fort and know and feel the horror that happened there. We walked through the dungeons, the torch rooms, the governors' living corridors, the kitchen, and the trading market area. Our guide was very informative, and I was happy that I had gone to the National Museum in Accra the week before, so I had a better understanding of what he was talking about and could ask more in depth questions. We ended our tour at the "Door of No Return." The door of no return was haunting at the museum and even more so standing next to it. Knowing that hundreds of thousands of slaves from around Africa walked through that door and perhaps my ancestors was overwhelming to say the least. Choked up, but determined to get through that door, I was greeted with what is now the fisherman's community on the other side. Very different than what it would have been for captives being send to various places within the Americas. The guide said that the Cape Coast community had a memorial ceremony at that particular castle several years ago and the other side of the door now read the "Door of Return." The hope is that the African Diaspora (all Africans that live throughout the world) will come home and reconnect with their roots and culture. When you walk back through the door you are greeted with Awaaba which mean Welcome in Twi. We took another 30 minutes to explore the castle on our own. I didn't feel like it was enough time to see and take everything in. I had 30 minutes, only one minute for each year I have been alive, to take in and process a place that many Blacks will never see. I was frustrated by the lack of understanding that I needed more time there. Others were greatly impacted too, but not the same way I was. Many just couldn't understand.

We left the castle and headed to a resort to play on the beach and have dinner. Uneasy with the transition from the slave castle to a privileged private beach resort, I tried to just sit by the ocean side and think. I don't really have words for the day I had. We had dinner and headed back to the crocodile hotel that night. We left Sunday morning and headed back to Mampong. It was quite a weekend.

It is a beautiful warm Tuesday!

So it is a really beautiful day, so I decided to journey to the Internet cafe. Matt, my husband, arrived this last Saturday, and it is really good to see him. He didn't sleep at all on the plane, but he met a really interesting man who shared a lot about Ghana's culture with him throughout the 10 hour plane ride. Though we had a challenging morning trying to get him (our TroTro was 2 hours late and Matt struggled a bit to get through customs), it all worked out in the end. We spent the day in Accra, picked my African drum (it is amazing and I love it), headed to Independent Square again for Matt which allowed us to see the beach, and then to the Accra mall for pizza and cake. It was amazing. Loving Day was on June 12th (the anniversary of the case that legalized interracial marriage), so we celebrated a day early on June 11th at the mall with a little comfort food.

I am heading into my fourth week here and the challenge is consistent yet always changing. I can't change a broke educational system, but I know there is a purpose for me being here. I was given advise from a friend to narrow my focus down to what will really matter once I leave Ghana in July. As I reflected on what really matters I thought about how much I have adapted to this place. I live a simpler life.....mostly cold showers, a mild breakfast (one slice of bread and applesauce), I walk most places, wear the same clothes for several days, am learning Twi, and find it just as important to greet each stranger I walk by similar to the locals. I appreciate sitting in my new friend, Ben's, cell phone shop just looking out the door at the green mountain ranges.

At the school, it is important for kids to lean to read and do math (the students are growing and improving each day), but if I can't be completely successful at that, and I only focus on that, then I will miss what matters most here. Their education is paramount to their success, but so is encouraging them to dream and have hope. The aspects I have control over is hugging each of those little and some times big kids each time they reach out, and showing them that they matter to me if only for a moment. It is learning as many names as possible because when you can remember their name when they ask you, it means you are friends and will not forget them and that matters.

This experience has been an emotional roller coaster. I have had moments of frustration, fear, uneasiness, happiness, success, excitement, laughter, panic and joy. Though I don't have control over every aspect of this experience, I have control over many aspects which are typically the most important ones. This doing what matters each day has become my new outlook, so I can appreciate and fully experience Ghana and give what I am here to give. This experience is continuous beginning a new and I still have plenty of time to make the most out of it.

City Life...Accra

Maren, Cara and I spend the weekend in Accra. We originally went down with the group Saturday morning. We hit up the fabric district (thousands of different fabric prints). I picked up fabric to get a shirt and dress made. We then headed to the National Culture Center, which has a misleading name because it is really an outdoor wood and craft center. I met a man named Dontty there. He was a tall Rastafarian man. His mom is from Ghana and his father is from Jamaica . His locks came down to his shoulders and he was tall and dark. A bit skinny and pushy, but a kind spirit it seemed. He approached me right outside the center walls and asked me to come to his shop. After a lot of negotiation, I decided to have him make my African drum. I took an African drum lesson about two weeks ago and decided I wanted to have a drum made while I was here. I am really excited about it. It will take him a week, and it will be black and red with a variety of adinkra symbols and my Ghana name.

It was so interesting talking to him about his Rastafarian life and he asked me which of the Rasti values I practiced. My hair is locked but I do not currently practice a Rastafarian life. It was an interesting awaking for me to think about what it means when you take one aspect of a culture and do not educate yourself on all aspects of it. This motivated me to look more into Rastafarian culture and values. I don't have to believe in them, but I should be able to speak to what I do believe in and why and visa versa. An interesting moment of self awareness!

So we also went to the Accra mall- they have AC, pizza and ice cream- it was just what I needed!!! After the mall, we split from the group and went to get our room key for the place we'd be staying. We found a person on couchcrashers.com that was renting rooms in Accra, so we made arrangements with her. It was a nice place, but we quickly met Ms. Maggi, the landlord, and head out for movie. We saw Fast Five. It is always cool to go see a movie in a different country. Unfortunately, no Ghana movies were playing at the time.

Sunday, we woke up and headed to the National Museum, Independence Square and Ghana's first President's memorial. It was a very informative day, and it felt good to get a better understanding of Ghana's history from their perspective. I think this new information will help me be a better teacher.

We headed back to Mampong around 2:30pm on a Tro Tro (bus) and arrived home around 4pm just in time to unwind and celebrate Kaylee, one of the volunteer's birthday. It was a good city weekend, and yes, I did run into some ants, but no major bugs or animals.. I love city life!

They can TELL TIME!!!

So today was a successful day in the classroom. The day before we were teaching the kids how to tell time. We had visual aids, hands on activities, colored chalk, etc. trying to get them to connect the idea of time to their daily lives. One activity we did was having the kids pass a old peanut jar filled with bottle caps to each other in a straight line. They stood facing each others' back and had to pass the jar over their heads and under their legs until it reached the last person. We were trying to teach them about seconds. They had one practice round and then were timed. We showed them the stopwatch at the end. It was a lot of fun.

Today in class, we reviewed the concept of time. All but one or two remembered how to tell time. I feel like we're finally making some progress. Their multiplication tables are coming and we're moving onto division, so we have a lot of work to do. I am most concerned right now about their reading skills. I think most of the kids are memorizing, which means they cannot really read. I am trying to figure out how to teach them how to read when we keep moving forward with lessons. Wow.. this is challenging..I am trying to meet them where they're at, but reading is so foundational..deep breaths today.

Matt is coming early. He will be here on Saturday, and will stay until June 22nd. His work schedule changed, so he was able to move his flight without any problems or major fees. It will be good to see him and share this experience because culture shock is real. I could use a little home right now.

Ants, Snakes, Dead Frogs Oh My!!

So this blog is all about the interesting creatures I have encountered while in Ghana. I heard about the ants and the importance of doubling up all my Ziploc bags for my snacks because some ants will eat through plastic as well as not throwing food away in my trash, but I clearly underestimated the sophistication of the ants here. They are different sizes and colors, and the hardest working things around. The red ones work in large packs each morning creating redish colored lines across the drive way, and I almost step in them daily. You can see their hard work by the tunnels they create and the numerous mounds everywhere. The black ants should not be stepped on because they bite. Maren got bit yesterday....good grief they are huge and nasty little things!

Now, I have come across 4 dead frogs so far which I'm not sure is a blessing or not- alive or dead they all make me jump and scream in disgust. I live among the lizards as we have a mutual respect for one another. We stay out of each others way. They stay on the walls and I stay off the walls. They are hunger, and I welcome them to each the other bugs in my room. They move when I walk and I try hard not to step on them.

Now the snakes on the other hand are a very different story. I have no desire to have a relationship with them. I would just prefer never to see them. However, while walking to school the other night, Maren and I made it almost to the bottom of the drive way and her head light spotted a light green and white snake stretching the length across the driveway and about the size of my hand cupped like a letter "c" touching each other. I screamed and ran up the hill . Needless to say, I didn't make it to school to play with the kids that night. I wish I could just get over the bugs and animals, but I'm just a city girl.. I am headed to Accra this weekend and am looking forward to a few less bugs--- hopefully!!

Oreos- I'm the Chocolate Stuck in the Middle

I love Oreos specifically double stuffed oreos. Maren and I have one each night cold straight from our small ref. It's a way to connect to home, end a day and bond as friends. It is a moment we take each night before bed and wouldn't missed for the world. In many ways an oreo is a good representation of how I feel most days expect inside out. I, a chocolate person, am stuck in the middle of an all white group. When we go out taxi drivers, guides, community members, etc approach me first to ask questions, negotiate prices, to collect the group's money, sell items to the group, etc. Charity, our group leader is a Deaf woman. I try to push people to talk to her, but in many situations I end up interpreting for her and the person doesn't have an interest in talking with her. I do more translating information than interpreting because of this, which doesn't allow me to walk away from a situation and let her handle it as our group leader. It can be really exhausting and requires me to be mentally on all the time. Some days it make me not want to participate in group outing, just do my own thing in smaller groups. I thought about what it might be like to be the only Black person in this group, but I didn't really imagine this. Not sure how to navigate it yet.

Maren and I found more BOFU (like a donut) on the street today and bought 15 of them.. Oh my gosh they are so GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!! It's going to be a good breakfast morning. Typically, when my breakfasts start off well the dinner is good to.. Fingers crossed

At school, yesterday Maren and I arrived to a group of children standing outside along the road. As we walked over, we were greeted by the African Momma, Dora, who said that the children were waiting for the President of Ghana to pass by to wave and pay their respects to him. He was on his way to Koforidua. We stood on the street chatting with Dora and her husband, Samuel, the school librarian and sign language teacher. My chatting was interrupted by the sound of sirens coming down the street. There were 4 individual cops on motorcycles zooming down the street zig zagging back and forth down the street. They were followed by two large vehicles and then the President's car. His window was down and he was waving out at the children. The children and all of us out there started waving hysterically at each car and in minutes after standing for a little over an hour the President and posse were gone within minutes. It was a cool experiences.

It's a rainy day in Ghana

So.. I started by second week in the schools today. I wasn't very busy in the morning. I mostly watched the two teachers teach. I spent the last half of the day (2 hours) helping individual students with math. I can be so challenging because I am not sure what aspects of the math concept isn't clicking for them. They are typically taught by copying information from the board, so their thinking skills aren't as developed. Before I can help with math, I have to help them learn how to think. Some just want the answer or guess, which doesn't mean they're learning. Feeling exhausted and overwhelmed with teaching right now.. just can't get a break through!

We had an amazing thunderstorm today. It was like buckets of water were being dumped on us. The thunder was loud and the whole atmosphere was great for sleeping. Thank goodness, I got our clothes off the line this morning before school. It took Maren and I 2 1/2 hours to do our laundry yesterday and the thought of them being soaked because of the rain makes my heart hurt.

I am a picky eater for those that do not know. When I say picky, I don't even eat peanut butter. Yesterday, I had a great food day. I loved everything that touched my lips. I had a Bofu for breakfast.. this amazing little bread ball that tastes a like a donut, tuna for lunch with a COKE, and rice and omelets for dinner. I don't like eggs, but this omelet was to die for. It was something about how it was seasoned. Today, however, was a different story. This was a bad food day. Plain bread again for breakfast, which unfortunately, doesn't last long in your system and whole fish fried for dinner. I couldn't even sit in the same room with everyone eating fish with the eyes still in. I just couldn't do it...so I had granola and an orange for dinner. Tomorrow is a new day..hopefully it is a good food day!!!

Thank God for Outhouses

So today our group went to Boti Falls. It is an area that has two waterfalls and hikes to various beautiful views. We took 1 taxi, and 2 Trotros (small buses) to get there. The weather was not looking great, but we decided to press on. As some of you may know, I am not a person who is overly excited about rain or getting my hair wet, so I brought a shower cap. Yes, I got a lot of stares and of course I looked ridiculous, but my hair was dry. I put my cap on and started down the 250 steps to see the two waterfalls. This is the best time of year to see them because in June, July and August the waterfalls flood the beach area and you can not get close to the falls. They are beautiful and the tropical trees and leaves are large, green and majestic. After taking a few pictures I headed back up the 250 stairs with our guide Mary. She pointed out the different types of trees and what they were used for. After getting to the top of the hill, I asked for a bathroom. I knew it would probably be an outhouse and I was prepared for the worse. I brought my toilet paper and I took my book bag off. I went in to examine the situation. After closing the door, it got too dark and I started imagining little animals crawling on me, so I decided a better idea was to have a friend stand in the door way so I could have light. My mission was accomplished, and overall, I thought it was a pretty clean outhouse. I have seen worse in Ecuador. It had a tin roof with cement walls. The toilet was brown and black and had little ants crawling on it, but I was still impressed. I quickly switched places with my friend and as soon as she was done the strongest rainstorm we had in Ghana started. The rain almost hurt you hand to touch. We were both stuck in the tin roof, dirty and smelly bathroom. I was holding my breath, and telling myself "I can wait out the storm no problem"... then 5 minutes went by and then 10 minutes. The rain would not let up. By this time, another volunteer was standing outside under a tree and she rain to the outhouse too. There were then 3 of us in a smelly, but spacious outhouse trying to wait out the rain. We talked about strategies to get to another shelter, but nothing seemed possible until I realized I had an umbrella in my bag!!! I am so crazy. I just spent 15 minutes in a dirty outhouse, when I could have left at any point.. good grief..

Overcast day in Ghana!!

Okay.. let me try this again. We have been trying to figure out where we are located on the Ghana map for a week. We are in the Eastern Region in a small town named Mampong. We are an hour north east of Accra. I think that is right now.. I let you know if I have more changes!

Let's see what has been happening....I have been in the schools three days now, and I have gone back to play with them two nights this week. The team goes back after dinner which is around 5:30pm. The first night they taught me a few of their traditional Ghanaian dances. Many hearing people don't realize how much Deaf people dance specifically the Black Deaf people I have met here in Ghana and Jamaica. I would compare the dance to a mixture of line dancing, partner dancing, and individual free flowing. I quickly caught on, and joined in their circle. After, I taught them the electric slide, which they were excited to learn. I wasn't able to teach them the full thing, but I hope to finish that at some point. They each asked me a lot of questions. They couldn't believe that I was from America because I looked like them. Some of the children didn't realize that Black people existed in different places specifically the U.S. They ask several clarifying questions such as "Were you born in Ghana and then moved to the U.S?, Were your parents born here and then moved to the U.S. where you were born?, Is most of your family here and you just live in the U.S.?" and I always answer them the same as their eyes look a bit puzzled. I share with them that there are Deaf and hearing Black people in the U.S. and I am only one of many. They eventually believe me, but soon bring another friend over who must ask me the same questions for themselves just in case their friend got it wrong.

They are also quite interested in my hair. Most of the girls at the school and around Ghana have very short hair (this is not all women as I have seen all types of hairstyles). Having short hair is easier and cheaper to take care of, so that is very common at the school. I have had a handful of woman around town and teachers ask me how I do my hair, and when I went to the beauty salon to see if they could twist my hair they had no idea what I wanted. Regardless, I am grateful because the salon women are going to let me use their hair dryers, so when Maren and I do my hair, I have some place to dry it.

Today in school, I showed the kids how to play with corn starch and water. In their science class, they are learning about how liquids, gases, and solids can coexist in the same place and time. For those that don't know when you add water to corn starch it becomes both a solid and a liquid. I added food coloring and they loved it. There are not a lot of resources around the school such as science equipment and educational learning tools outside of the teacher, so having an opportunity to touch and feel the play dough like substance was something they enjoyed. I also took my show on the road and visited some of the younger children on the first floor and allowed them to play with it. We also worked on multiplication tables today. I think that is some of the problems we are having with their division skills. They are taught how to copy information from the board, which doesn't mean they are always understanding the lessons given, so practicing multiplication tables was good today.

I have to share the fun festive internet cafe I am in. It is managed by a young guy who is always blasting loud Ghana/Americanish gangster rap. His name is Emmanuel and he works here from 7:30am-9:30pm. He is the only person that I have ever seen work here. His friends are often around, so it is always a lively space. Today, I walked into them playing a football game on the computer. It is always a fun place to hang out and I appreciate that.

Catching Everyone UP- May 25th

Hi Everyone

Yes, I made it to the internet cafe two days in a row. Today is African Day, so there is no school, but yesterday was the first day that we went to the school. The school is about a 15-20 minute walk from my hotel. It is a good leg workout. When you first get to the school you can see the dorms. There are about 200 plus kids at the primary and middle school which is behind the dorm area. The buildings are mostly cement and two levels. We have had some challenges getting things set up the with the school administrators, but I am in the primary school now. They do not necessary have grades. Many Deaf children have a delay in their education because their parents do not realize they are Deaf and they stay in the hearing schools missing a lot of information. The different levels here are based on their individual competency level and not a 1st, 2nd, 3rd grade type of system. My class is called A3 and B3. There are 30 kids and their ages range from 11-16. There are two teachers in this class, but I have only had the opportunity to meet one so far...Ms. Ester. She has been teaching at the school for about 2 years and doesn't know much sign, but she tries. School goes from 7:30am (starting with group worship) until about 2pm. They cover 3 major areas a day (math, creative arts, language literature, sign language, etc.) and stop about 9am to have breakfast. They do not have a formal lunch break because school is over early and they eat as soon at they are done with their last lesson. For example, school was over around 1:15pm yesterday, so they ate early. I will head back to school on Thursday morning.

The children are wonderful.. full of smiles and questions. I must have answered a million questions about my tatoos, my camel water pack bookbag and how the water comes out, my nose piercing, and how to spell my name. They have wonderful memories and they quickly learn how to fingerspell your name and sign your sign name. They also think that it is interesting that white people change colors when you press into their skin, and they wanted me to know that I was not like that and I looked like them. They are very sweet, and I am quickly picking up Ghanaian signs from them. I taught my class division of two digit numbers... good grief... I have always respected teachers for the hard work they do, but I have a whole new appreciation and admiration for their profession. I know how to divide, but trying to explain the concept of division in a second language while trying to learn a third is more challenging than I ever could have imaged. Oh..yes..I told you there were 30 of them..right...I was trying to keep everyone's attention, stop them from hitting each other, wake one person up, acknowledge those that had questions, check in to make sure everyone understood, etc.. WOW!!! I was exhausted by the end of the day. I am hoping the two teachers give me one subject that I can focus on all summer and better plan for each class.

I think the highlight of my school day was meeting a woman the children call African Momma. She is a Deaf women who lives in the dorms with them. She is a wonderfully cheerful woman with a big smile and heart for people. When we first arrived at the school she saw me and signed "wow you look like me." She stood up and quickly walked over to me and hugged me. She said you are the first, the first black person and she signed "same" while rubbing her skin. She couldn't stop hugging me. This very warm greeting was unexpected, but I deeply appreciated and received her loving welcome. I think most people around the community, Deaf and hearing, are surprised to see me. Most don't know what to make of me...it creates interesting moments each day.

Oh.. I can't leave this blog without telling everyone about my laundry adventure. Everyone here washes their laundry in buckets outdoor and hangs their clothes to dry. It is a great way to conserve water, but I still had no clue on the proper techniques until last Monday. Our hotel manager Joyce graciously helped us fill out buckets and set up the three step process. One large black bowl to actually wash the clothes, a smaller clear bucket to complete the first rinse and a three to really get the soap out before hanging them. I sat on a small stool with Joyce coping her technique. She sweetly looked over at me as I was washing my bath towel and said you take this one and handed me a sock. Apparently, my laundry washing skill is lacking and I am only at a sock level. She washed most of my clothes in about thirty minutes and I was still struggling to finish small items such as socks and underwear. I have much to learn!!

What's coming up....

I have a half a day African drum lesson this weekend
I'll go back to school on Thursday
We have a Saturday weekend trip to Boti Waterfalls with the group from Kibi

Hope to talk to everyone soon!!

Taking it all in- May 22nd

So today I am going through email withdraw. I never thought about how much I use it and how challenging it would be to get access to here. There are a few things I want to clear up.- First, I am in Mampong, and there are several cities named Mampong in Ghana. I am in the Eastern side Asanti Region near Accur. I am about one hour from Accur. When you look on a map you will see a Mampong city north of Kumasi...that is the wrong place. I am a little north east of Accur.

Today, I am not doing anything.. yes.. I have no plans. Sunday is truly a day of rest for people here, so most stores are not open. I woke up and did a run with Maren (my friend from California..I'm not sure I have introduced her before now). I then came back and took a shower and had lunch on the veranda. Our hotel, the Courtyard, it is in Tutu and not Mampong (it is only a short walking distance from me). Courtyard sits on a hill and has great views. It is a 3 story building and each room varies. Maren and I are grateful to have a real nice room. It is spacious, we have our own bathroom and ref. The cement building is full of character with bright colored walls (pink, blue, green,etc) and various family and friend pictures put up by the owner. There is a lot of African artwork- masks, painting, standing pieces and plants. It is a fairly big place- 2 kitchens, formal dining room, and large living room. Not a bad place to spend 2 months!

A Colonized Mind- May 21st

The most challenging moments to sit with today is the issue of whiteness and the colonized spirit that is here. Ghana was colonized by many different countries, but the last before achieving their independence was Britain. Ghana has been independent for awhile now, but there is still residue from colonization meaning whiteness is better than blackness. I want to be clear that there is a tremendous amount of pride among the Ghanaian people, but twice in one day I have heard comments such as "if we had white teachers parents would send their children to this school" and An African man working at our hotel said, " I would never marry an African woman only a white woman." When I questioned him he said, he could not give me a reason, but he shared more openly with the other white female volunteers. I am left with a heavy heart regarding this. I am not white, but American and Black but not African... I am somewhere in between all of this confusion. Any thoughts from those following the blog?

A Love Affair with Electric- May 21st

Electric...have you thought about how much you use it..mircrowaves, cell phone chargers, ref, stove, tv, hair dryers, curling irons, computer, printers...etc., etc. It is almost crazy when you think about it not being available or consistent day to day or night to night. My electric in Ghana has departed me every night I've been here without even a good bye. One minute we have it and the next we don't. When we don't have electric the lights and shower water are very limited. The moments of frustration are real and privileged ones. People here live and do what they want to do within the limits of their resources and that is humbling to see and experience first hand. Thus far, i have received a Ghanaian name Amaasonta which means the day of the week i was born Saturday and the region I am currently living in Asanti. This is a common name for Ghanaians. Everyone has this type of name and then many go by nicknames. I have learned the basic skill of carrying water on my head and it is more than a challenge. It is a skill and talent my western neck is unable to master at this point. My new friends Albert, Julianna, and Alberta were gracious enough to teach me. Julianna owns a restaurant and club in the center of Aburi and Maren, Cara (another volunteer) hung out with them one day. They taught us local Ghanaian dances and Twi (local Ghanaian language) and we taught them a few signs. It was a good exchange of cultures and laughter, and I desire to find more ways to connect with local people. It has been hard to read people's body language and interactions that come across as natural with other Blacks in the US are misunderstood and ineffective here. The general head nod as a greeting is not reciprocated, but smiles and right hand only hand waves seem to be better (I just accidentally waved with my left walking to the cafe today.. big cultural mistake.. really working hard on that). I'm also having a hard time reading and understanding cultural behaviors between men and women. What is appropriate is unclear. I'm very conscious of both my color and dress. Physically I look like them, but I don't understand the elders or initial greetings. I have been trying to push myself to simply talk to strangers and spend time even if I'm incredibly unsure of how it will turn out. I am asking many questions.. and I'm up to 8 new Twi words and it is only day number 2.

Wow this is hard!!!

Hello Everyone

So the internet situation is much harder than I anticipated. I just wanted about 4 miles to get this this internet cafe and the other day the internet was so slow that it couldn't pull up my blog. Unfortunately, I have many pics to share, but the internet system here is too slow to upload them, so I will try to be descriptive.

First, hello.. I have been in Ghana for 5 days now, and there has been a lot going on. I have been journaling everyday, so I'm going to try and give a quick glimpse of each day. The next few entry will cover the past couple of days!!

Ghana is Beautiful!

hello all

i have safely arrived in Ghana Wednesday.. sorry for all the lower case letters, the keyboard is different here, so i'm happy getting this much out. anyways.. our plane was three hours late because there were mechnical issues, but we arrived on wednesday at 9:45am to Accur. we then drove about 1 hour to our hotel which sits on the side of a hill in mampong. the country is quite simple but lovely. it is very colorful and the people are friendly. our drive to mampong was bumpy as there are potholes everywhere and the roads are slender. as we were driving you could see small shack shops along the road. people were selling clothes, food (pineapples, meat, bread and water bags), fixing cars, hanging out and more. There were women all around carrying various items for sell on their heads. That is a skill i hope to gain before i leave here.

Maren, my friend from California, and I were able to get a phone yesterday. We met a man named Ben who took us all around the town trying to negotiate a good price. After 2 hours, we found a good deal at the post office. I learned a lot about the 5 different Ghanaian languages, the Mampong area, his family, and negotiating prices. We successfully got a phone, but were unable to charge it as our electric went out last night, so without a phone or a shower we simply eat dinner by candlelight. You really have to go with the follow.. it was a good day.

Today (Friday), we went to the wood district. It is about a mile of small outdoor stores with various wood carvings. I am hoping to get a drum made and start drumming classes next week we'll see. Our goal is to start our work in the schools next week. We have to ask special permission to start work, so things are done differently here. They need official volunteer letters so we are working on that now. I have had a chance to meet some of the high school students and they are wonderful. I met a small group of girls that ran up to me with huge smiles. It was good to be able to communicate with them. They kept say "you look like us." I have not met the children i will be working with yet, so i'm looking forward to that hopefully starting on Tuesday. Well, my 15 minutes are up...so good bye for now

I'm headed to Mampong, Ghana

So I am leaving for Ghana tomorrow morning at 7am and will arrive in Ghana on Thursday at 7:20am. It is about a 10 hour ride. I am hoping I can fall asleep for most of it. I started my malaria pills on Monday and made the mistake of taking it with yogurt. The pharmacist told me at least four times do not take the medicine with dairy products. I thought she was crazy because I had no intention of taking my pill with a glass of milk, but leave it to me to find the only other dairy I eat on a regular basis to take with my pill. Rough start, but my stomach can't afford for me to make that mistake again!!!!

So for those that don't know why I'm going to Ghana...let me catch you up. I am traveling with a group called Signs of Hope International which is housed in Utah. It is a nonprofit that was started about 6 years ago to support 5 Deaf residential schools in Mampong and Kibi Ghana. They take volunteers for two months each year to work in 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and 1 high school. We will be working as teachers' aids, teachers, and doing anything they need to support the kids. I will be working in grades k-6th probably focusing on reading and science. I am excited to work with them. Before getting into my current career, Higher Education, I always said that college students would be my career, but young people would be my vocation and a space I would always connected with through service. It feels good to spend time in this space.

To get a since of how big the Deaf community is in Ghana, Signs of Hope International compares it to the state of Oregon because Ghana is about the same size. Oregon has 1 State Deaf school and Ghana has 13. Oregon school for the Deaf has about 110 students and Ghana has more than 2,700. The Deaf Ghana population uses a sign language that hopefully I will understand. It is a mixture of American Sign Lanugage, Ghanaian Sign Language and Signed Exact English. I have four pages of new signs I need to learn before arriving Thursday... good thing I have plenty of plane time.

Well, I think that is it for now...it is gettting late and I need to be up for a early flight. Thanks for following my blog, and thank you to everyone who has financially and spiritually supported this journey. Your contributions have been a huge blessing and I look forward to share each moment in Ghana with you. My goal is to blog weekly as long as I can get to an internet cafe.. until we chat again.. peace and love!