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.
No comments:
Post a Comment