Independence AND classes

The Wonders of Ghana on Independence Day

Independence day in Aburi with the M.O.P. kiddos: March 6, 2012
NEW CAR FOR RENEE
Brendan, Emma, Katie, and I caught a taxi to Kisseman junction (near the school I teach at) and met Renee (the once ISEP student who started this school for disadvantaged youth) in a SMASHING NEW CAR. She got it from one her WONDERFUL donors. We happily got in and went off to Aburi with 5 children from Kisseman, 4 that attend the school.

Gardens: after a windy drive up the mountain we arrive at these WONDEROUS GARDENS, which were PACKED full of people. The entrance was a line of palm trees…something you would see on a Beverly Hills movie. Many of the plants were labeled and described. I got to see a coco tree…WHICH WAS AMAZING.

The music: we wondered through the gardens and ran into a stage with music and dancing going on. Through out the day there were various dance competitions, music jamming, and a spelling bee (which of the words I only knew what one of them meant).
ICE CREAM: during the course of the day we ran into a lady with ice cream on her head. This ice cream was UNLIKE fanchocos…it is like a serburt, but not tarty…rather sweet. This ice cream IS LITERALLY THE BEST ICE CREAM I HAVE HAD HEAR. Apparently it is the local ice cream, unlike fanchocos and fanices. I recommend you FIND AND EAT THIS ICE CREAM IF YOU EVER GO TO GHANA…it is life CHANGING.

Sausage/hotdogs: for a quick lunch ALL OF US had a sausage from a stand grilling them on a charcol fire…this is how bbq is done in Ghana. The sausage tastes like a half sasuage, half hot dog. I HATE hotdogs…but oddly scarfefd this down. 

The world through Mary’s eyes: I gave one of the MOP kiddos my camera for the day. I have many pictures that she took. It was fascinating what pictures she took and her perspective on life. She took A LOT of pictures of trees and of us walking. I took some pictures of her and showed them to her…SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I think I will try to get some of the pictures printed and give it to her on the last day. SHE WOULD LOVE IT.

Later in the day we found ourselves under a tree…which Brendan climbed (along with another tree) and some of the boys of MOP climbed. Suddenly, 3 MOP kids broke out in a rap and then a song. THEY WERE A SIGHT TO SEE. The just seemed to be loving and living life to the fulliest. Goodness I LOVE ALL OF THEM SO MUCH!

KEEP AWAY…even with a lady selling satches and her child.
We brought a small volley ball with us, which the children kicked around the entire time. Brendan acquired it and then we played keep away: boys vs. girls. It was SO MUCH FUN because the children had a blast (and even I did) at this simple game. With this joy we attracted a bit of a crowd. A lady selling bagged water and her daughter stopped and watched…before we knew it, they joined (Emma involved them by passing to the little girl at first…WAY TO GO EMMA ). At that very moment when we had to strangers playing with us and laughing all the while, I realized: THIS IS WHY I AM IN GHANA…to embrass every moment. I think this experience will stick with me the rest of my life. These simple event mean so much. The mother was actually AMAZING! She could be a linebacker in football (in the US). They ended up leaving and we meandered around a bit more…running into a helicopter and children playing on it (with NO SAFETY RESTRICTIONS MIND YOU).

This day was blissful and WONDEROUS…A very WWA day (Wonderful World of Africa).   HAPPY GHANAIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY!






Things I love in Ghana
* RED-RED (fried plantains and a bean stew)
* The song “African Man”…don’t worry when I get back to the states I will play it ALL THE TIME.
* The smiles from Ghanaians when they see I am not so different from them.
* BEING IN THE TROPICS! (I am in a rainforest)
* The markets…you never know what you are going to find. It is kind of like a Big Lots in the United States (shout out to my family and our ritual visits to Big Lots…love you guys)
* The M.O.P. kids. THEY ARE TO DIE FOR!
* The fruit…it is SO FRESH AND TASTY! (pineapple, mango, coconut, and sugar cane)
* The vegetables…REALLY GOOD! (avocadoes, carrots, onions, peppers)
* Plantain chips (almost taste like potato chips)
* Mars bars (they are like milky ways…except better and expensive)
* Fanchocos (frozen chocolate milk), Fanices(frozen milk but basically ice cream), Fandangos (frozen citrus juice)…ALL AMAZING!
* Milo (kind of like hot chocolate except more chocolately)
* Soda (like coca-cola) out of a glass bottle (the coca-cola is literally THE BEST HERE…mom you would LOVE IT)

Things I miss in America
* GUMMY BEARS…OH SO MUCH
* A good steak and a baked potato
* My mom’s frito pie (LOVE YOU MOM)
* The mountains in Colorado
* A good glass of sweet tea from the south (LOVE YOU ARKANSAS)
* OF COURSE FAMILY AND FRIENDS
* CANDY
* CEREAL

What is all the talk about? What do I talk about here? What are the common trends?

Food: we talk about food we miss and food we eat here. This is a VERY COMMON conversation among international students. In fact I will talk about it at least ONCE A DAY!

Poop: we tend to celebrate A LOT WHEN SOMEONE HAD A SOLID poop…no seriously though! It is something to smile about…because it is a rare occasion…sorry about the non-professional manner…but it is the truth!

Toilets…toilet paper…and everything that comes with it: The struggle of Ghanaian bathrooms:

WHEREVER YOU GO…you MUST bring some hand sanitizer and some toilet paper…because YOU NEVER KNOW WHERE YOU WILL END UP. 97 % of bathrooms in Ghana don’t have soap, toilet paper, or paper towels…so you have to come prepared EVERDAY. EVEN IN THE DORMS! In my hostel, I have to bring my soap and toilet paper in the bathroom and then back to my room. This is one detail that can get annoying before you know it…especially if you are sick. It does make you VERY GRATEFUL for the WONDEROUS WORLD OF THE US where the toilet paper AND soap is at your disposal.

In fact, there is ONE washroom (they call bathrooms washrooms here because of the British colonization) on campus that has SOAP, TOILET PAPER, AND PAPER TOWELS…there is a guard protecting the area…but if you are sneaky…you can enjoy the pleasure…yes MANY INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS CELEBRATE THIS OCCASION! Silly as it sounds…it can truly make one’s day. 

Travel does NOT equal easy access to urinals or toilets out in the BUSH

While traveling so far, the bathrooms are VERY INTERESTING. Urinals in the rural areas consist of a cement slab that you need to pee on…but the problem is it comes right back at you splashing your feet and shoes…I still haven’t master the technique…but asking other Ghanaians how they do it…it seems they haven’t either…all PREFERING THE BUSH (the wilderness) to this messy situation.


SING…SINGING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS
“She will be loved” Maroon 5
At times when I think everything is getting to me…I go to my room and crank up my itunes. Singing to familiar songs allows me to decompress and connect to my mother land (sorry I just had to say that hahahahaha). The Maroon 5 song just hit me…at the moment it fits how I am feeling.

Getting back into ATTENDING CLASSES AND WALKING: 7th week in Ghana

After being in and out for three weeks, I enjoyed moving around freely this week. I enjoyed walking around campus and having the freedom of doing what I wanted to (aka not being cooped up in ISH all day).

Waiting for a class outside of Central Cafeteria, I spotted a boy…PLAYING FIELD HOCKEY! I sprinted over to him and asked him if I could try out his stick. He has a composite that had an awfully thick grip. I pranced around for a couple minutes satisfied that I got to ACTUALLY PLAY! I was just complaining to one of my friends Liz Lancaster…LOVE YOU…that I couldn’t play…and here I was PLAYING FIELD HOCKEY. I then asked if the boys practice regularly. GUESS WHAT? THEY DO! So every Friday, hopefully, I will be playing field hockey with the men’s University of Ghana field hockey team! THIS LIFTED MY SPIRITS COMPLETELY. Just those couple of moments with the stick reminded me of HOW MUCH I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE FIELD HOCKEY! Who knows, maybe I could bring the Mauwvio’s (now I will refer to them as M.O.P., which is Mawuvio’s Outreach Program) kiddos to play someday?

These little experiences make me love Ghana to the next level!

CLASSES SO FAR:

OHH BOY, SO CLASSES, they are something else completely! I have a professor for two of my history courses…she HAS US READ OUT LOUD FOR THE CLASS EACH WEEK. What? Are we in elementary school playing popcorn? She does this for BOTH OF THE CLASSES. So my perspective of history is a bit tainted…at least I don’t have to do the readings before class…SINCE WE DO THEM IN THE CLASS. I am making a couple of friends in the history courses…which make the class more bearable…some of them Ghanaian …even a guy that DIDN’T ASK FOR MY NUMBER…PROGRESS! The two history courses are Ghana in the 19th and 20th Centuries and Africa 1500-1800.

Other than history courses…there is A LOT OF VARIETY!

Twi: this class I miss A LOT because it intervenes with my dance class…so I end up getting a half to full hour of Twi a week. BUT THIS WEEK I GOT A FULL TWO HOURS! I had the professor, which I LOVE (his name is Kofi), review everything they have learned. My goal is to get down the greetings and the simple talk so I can keep a conversation and impress some Ghanaians.

Sociology: Poverty and Rural Development: this class seems to be DEPRESSING MOST OF THE TIME! There is so much talk about sad disease and death. This last week’s subject was on maternal mortality and frankly I was a little in a downer after the class. Things in the United States I REALLY take for granted…like GREAT HEALTH CARE…isn’t received in Ghana. Yet, many of the Ghanaian in the class…okay the MAJORITY laughed at the situation…why, because they are all fairly immature…or want to deny the reality of the situation. The professor cracks jokes a lot to lighten the mood, but sometimes…the jokes can’t lighten the mood (for me at least). His class is very power point based.

Religion: Islam in Ghana, this class is very fascinating and informative. I enjoy each class period. I did learn a rather hard lesson in this class though, speaking in classes, as an American…just can’t happen. I spoke in this class and EVERYONE, INCLUDING THE TEACHER, laughed at me...OF COURSE I AM NOT GOING TO SPEAK AGAIN…AFTER THAT. Yet, besides the embarrassing moment, I enjoy the discussion of Islam in Ghana. First being in this country I noticed the dominance of Christianity…but as you go further up north there is dominance of Islam. There is one Muslim in the class…and at times she is questioned…a kind of awkward situation to be put in.

Geography: Introduction to Resource Analysis, this class is very informative. The class is a power point based lecture with the professor focused COMPLETELY on the material. I participated once in this class as well…the professor didn’t laugh…but I was still uncomfortable when the class laughed. I have never thought of resources in such an economic perspective…but I very much enjoy it. 

African Dance: I LOVE THIS CLASS. It is hard to motivate myself to want to move and shake every Tuesday and Thursday night…but once I do…I realize why I am in the class. I have officially master one dance…I don’t know how to spell the name, but it involves A BUNCH OF SPINNING and hitting sticks with other sticks. The songs and passion in each dance is refreshing. Each class I learn a bit more about their culture. If only I was a good dance, I would take more dance classes. If I can get someone to film our final…then I will post it on the blog for all to see how neat Ghanaian dancing is. The live drumming and constant song makes for a PERFECT DANCE environment. 