Sometimes
Theresa Patrine Ennin
Sometimes I want to hide in bed and not go out
I want to go stay out and not go in
A see saw of decisions
A maelstrom of emotions newly born, striving for supremacy
Sometimes a song evokes tears of remembrance
A tune incites dancing
A war for dominance
Equal measure of elation and deflation
Wonder and dismay balanced on the edge of the heart
Below the precipice
This is a poem from a book I bought at the U of Ghana bookstore. It's a book of poetry by all Ghanaian poets. This poem is what caused me to by the book.
I am quite tired so I am going to give short quick updates.
I volunteered today at the school and taught the students how to count to 15 in French. It was fun, and they of course fed us volunteers again.
Last night, an exchange student from Canada had a nasty fall while jogging. She was jogging at night and fell into the "obruni trap". There are gutters along all of the roads that are about 8 inches wide and then at least a foot deep. She fell into one and, literally, got a whole in her leg. She wanted to put a band-aid on it and go, but I encouraged her to go the hospital. So two of us plus the injured student went to the hospital last night. She ended up getting a few stitches. I just want to thank my WFR for last night. I was able to help clean the wound and give her the reason she needed to get it taken care of properly.
My camera is almost fixed...
I love my geography classes! One is on soils and biogeography, the other is on arid lands. These classes take me back to NOLS. Thanks NOLS!!! ...or should I now say me da se pa papapapapapa (thank you very very very much in Twi).
I am headed to the Volta region this weekend!!!
Thank you all for the comments!!! I love you!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Volunteering
Last week I went to a very small primary school (or elementary school). A German exchange student, Johannes, who helped to build the school. Here is the link http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=301958504056 if you are interested in reading the background of the school.
I went to the school with 5 German exchange students and one Ghanaian graduate of the University of Ghana. We took the tro tro and arrived there in the early afternoon. We did not get back to campus until around 8:30 p.m. It was such a great experience! When we arrived at the school, the students were in class despite the fact they this is their holiday. The students go to the school anyway. The three men who started the school are Cujoe, Kofi, and Solomon. They cook, garden, teach, build, and honestly, sleep at the school. They do all of this for the kids. Yohannes and another guy named Sean, who I have never met, helped get the materials for the school to be built, and I think allow for the school to exist--that's a detail I'm not very sure of.
So why we spent so long at the school is because they wanted to make us dinner. Johannes is a called "brother" by the teachers, and they are all one big family. The teachers made us benku. A traditional meal that is a bread type dish with a "stew"--or sauce. It took a few hours to chop and cook the food. The sauce had vegetables and fish in it. It was delicious!! They kept talking about how you have to cook the food for a long time so that you don't hurt your stomach. My stomach definitely smiled from this dinner.
Then we ate, but not without a ceremony of course. They said some prayers and poured some hard alcohol onto the floor for the ancestors and in gratitude. We had a few spirits then we ate with our hands. You only use your right hand. You take a piece of the bread type dish (it's like a big matzo ball that won't crumble), roll it in your hand and make a little bowl shape out of it with your thumb. You then dip the bread stuff (which is not made out of wheat--I don't remember what it is exactly made out of...maybe corn) and dip it into the stew. Everyone eats out of the same big bowls of food placed in the center of the table.
After dinner they played some drums for us and it was a mini jam session/concert. The teachers are a part of a band called 024 and they have a puppy that they named 024. They also happen to have a cat named Bush. They have a garden that has these "grass cutters". They are animals that look like oversized guinea pigs. Anyway, hopefully on Wednesday this week I'll head over to the school to start volunteering for real.
Other than this, I've been hanging out. I went to the bars last night. I did absolutely nothing on Saturday except nap and study Torah. Then went to Church on Sunday with some friends. I am getting more accustomed to being here, and I have been exploring different types of food at the night market. You can get rice, then some pasta, chicken, fish, eggs, cabbage salad, or plantains. It is quite good!! You order according to how much you will pay for. I usually get 50 peswas amount for rice, an egg which is 40 peswas, and fried plantains for 20 peswas. This is like a good cereal bowl size of food and it fills me up.
Well I love you very much!!!
I went to the school with 5 German exchange students and one Ghanaian graduate of the University of Ghana. We took the tro tro and arrived there in the early afternoon. We did not get back to campus until around 8:30 p.m. It was such a great experience! When we arrived at the school, the students were in class despite the fact they this is their holiday. The students go to the school anyway. The three men who started the school are Cujoe, Kofi, and Solomon. They cook, garden, teach, build, and honestly, sleep at the school. They do all of this for the kids. Yohannes and another guy named Sean, who I have never met, helped get the materials for the school to be built, and I think allow for the school to exist--that's a detail I'm not very sure of.
So why we spent so long at the school is because they wanted to make us dinner. Johannes is a called "brother" by the teachers, and they are all one big family. The teachers made us benku. A traditional meal that is a bread type dish with a "stew"--or sauce. It took a few hours to chop and cook the food. The sauce had vegetables and fish in it. It was delicious!! They kept talking about how you have to cook the food for a long time so that you don't hurt your stomach. My stomach definitely smiled from this dinner.
Then we ate, but not without a ceremony of course. They said some prayers and poured some hard alcohol onto the floor for the ancestors and in gratitude. We had a few spirits then we ate with our hands. You only use your right hand. You take a piece of the bread type dish (it's like a big matzo ball that won't crumble), roll it in your hand and make a little bowl shape out of it with your thumb. You then dip the bread stuff (which is not made out of wheat--I don't remember what it is exactly made out of...maybe corn) and dip it into the stew. Everyone eats out of the same big bowls of food placed in the center of the table.
After dinner they played some drums for us and it was a mini jam session/concert. The teachers are a part of a band called 024 and they have a puppy that they named 024. They also happen to have a cat named Bush. They have a garden that has these "grass cutters". They are animals that look like oversized guinea pigs. Anyway, hopefully on Wednesday this week I'll head over to the school to start volunteering for real.
Other than this, I've been hanging out. I went to the bars last night. I did absolutely nothing on Saturday except nap and study Torah. Then went to Church on Sunday with some friends. I am getting more accustomed to being here, and I have been exploring different types of food at the night market. You can get rice, then some pasta, chicken, fish, eggs, cabbage salad, or plantains. It is quite good!! You order according to how much you will pay for. I usually get 50 peswas amount for rice, an egg which is 40 peswas, and fried plantains for 20 peswas. This is like a good cereal bowl size of food and it fills me up.
Well I love you very much!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Ginger Tea
A few more fun things about this week...
About 5 people have gotten sick. Luckily, I am not one of them... and this is most likely because it hasn't happened yet. I have been making ginger tea for people and it has been helping! Woohoo!
The other day a few of us students took the tro tro into town to go the mall for some errands. The rush hour traffic starts at about 4pm here and we managed to hit it right at the peak when trying to go home. People were crowding onto the tro tros before we even knew where they were headed and before the other passengers could get off. So after trying for awhile we decided to take a taxi. Well after an intense price bargaining for the ride, 5 of us piled into the taxi. The taxi driver then hot wired his car, sending some smoke into the air and took off. He turned to us and said something like, "there are too many of you in the car. If the cops stop us, you'll get arrested." At this point I'm just rolling my eyes like "great, thanks for the late warning." We chose to walk some of the way, had to jump over a huge gutter. Needless to say, we got home very safe and sound. Ultimately, my friend Vanika and I were laughing most of the way home between conversations of firm bargaining. I also just want to say that overall, I do feel very safe here!!!
I am taking a dance class. All thanks to my current--maybe temporary--roommate, Emily, we went to a 200 level class. Oy vay, I didn't think I could do anything above a 100 level but it was fine. I could not stop beaming. It was soooo much fun!!! There are about 10 live drummers and 20 instructors with one head instructor who is an old man. He walks with a cane. However, he introduced himself to the class saying that in class he does not use the cane because we are all good people and that allows him to walk without it. There was so much fun, good and lively energy. I am so lucky that I get to take this class twice a week....Sorry Dad, but I might end up doing all dance and drumming classes.
I hope you are all having a wonderful day!! Much Love!!
About 5 people have gotten sick. Luckily, I am not one of them... and this is most likely because it hasn't happened yet. I have been making ginger tea for people and it has been helping! Woohoo!
The other day a few of us students took the tro tro into town to go the mall for some errands. The rush hour traffic starts at about 4pm here and we managed to hit it right at the peak when trying to go home. People were crowding onto the tro tros before we even knew where they were headed and before the other passengers could get off. So after trying for awhile we decided to take a taxi. Well after an intense price bargaining for the ride, 5 of us piled into the taxi. The taxi driver then hot wired his car, sending some smoke into the air and took off. He turned to us and said something like, "there are too many of you in the car. If the cops stop us, you'll get arrested." At this point I'm just rolling my eyes like "great, thanks for the late warning." We chose to walk some of the way, had to jump over a huge gutter. Needless to say, we got home very safe and sound. Ultimately, my friend Vanika and I were laughing most of the way home between conversations of firm bargaining. I also just want to say that overall, I do feel very safe here!!!
I am taking a dance class. All thanks to my current--maybe temporary--roommate, Emily, we went to a 200 level class. Oy vay, I didn't think I could do anything above a 100 level but it was fine. I could not stop beaming. It was soooo much fun!!! There are about 10 live drummers and 20 instructors with one head instructor who is an old man. He walks with a cane. However, he introduced himself to the class saying that in class he does not use the cane because we are all good people and that allows him to walk without it. There was so much fun, good and lively energy. I am so lucky that I get to take this class twice a week....Sorry Dad, but I might end up doing all dance and drumming classes.
I hope you are all having a wonderful day!! Much Love!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
First Week of School
Hey!! Very sorry for the slow response on the blog. I have been very busy with traveling up the coast, traveling around town and then getting ready for classes (of course, I am here to study abroad :-}).
The ISEP group went up to Cape Coast this weekend, which is about a 2 hour drive east of Accra. It was so beautiful and green. I really appreciated being out of the city. They took us to a place I can't remember the name of. It is a fort that was used for the slave trade. Apparently, there were so many of these forts across the coast that there was only a distance of about 18 kilometers between each fort. What impacted me the most was the reality of the slave trade. The amount of people, their treatment, and the global issue of humanity since slavery still exists today.
We then carried onward to our hotel which is on a crocodile pond :-). The next day we went hiking in Kakum National Forest. We did the canopy walk, where we walked on this rope/ladder system high above the main tree level. It was so beautiful! Turns out you can camp there, so I will be doing that hopefully!!
We also have taken some tro tro rides. This is very fun! And when I say fun, I mean something I would like and something mom would not like. Tro tros tend to be old vans that has someone shouting out the window where the tro tro is headed. If that's your intended route, you hop on then pay. But you have to be quick and aggressive because there is not a lot of room. We went to Medina mall. This is a local shopping area that has food, clothes, toothpaste, and everything else you want. The vendors sell live snails and live crabs. It is quite an experience of vendor after vendor crammed into a square and there are just narrow rows to walk down.
However, this not all of what Ghana is like. A very generous student took another ISEP student and I out for a simple Ghanaian bar experience. It was the most extravagant and fun "just going to the bar for a beer" that I could ever imagine. Hookah, chicken, and different types of drinks. I have learned that Ghanaians love to help you if you ask and they will go out of their way to make sure you are happy.
Alright, so the first week of school.....sometimes I wonder if it really is the first week of school because there are not a lot of people here. Teachers have not been showing up to some lectures. Only a third of the students are in class. I still don't know when my Twi (a local language of Ghana) will be. I'll find out in a week or so. It is the ultimate example of going with the flow. Supposedly, in a few weeks though I will have to be 30 minutes early to my lectures in order to just get a seat.
I miss you and love you!!!
The ISEP group went up to Cape Coast this weekend, which is about a 2 hour drive east of Accra. It was so beautiful and green. I really appreciated being out of the city. They took us to a place I can't remember the name of. It is a fort that was used for the slave trade. Apparently, there were so many of these forts across the coast that there was only a distance of about 18 kilometers between each fort. What impacted me the most was the reality of the slave trade. The amount of people, their treatment, and the global issue of humanity since slavery still exists today.
We then carried onward to our hotel which is on a crocodile pond :-). The next day we went hiking in Kakum National Forest. We did the canopy walk, where we walked on this rope/ladder system high above the main tree level. It was so beautiful! Turns out you can camp there, so I will be doing that hopefully!!
We also have taken some tro tro rides. This is very fun! And when I say fun, I mean something I would like and something mom would not like. Tro tros tend to be old vans that has someone shouting out the window where the tro tro is headed. If that's your intended route, you hop on then pay. But you have to be quick and aggressive because there is not a lot of room. We went to Medina mall. This is a local shopping area that has food, clothes, toothpaste, and everything else you want. The vendors sell live snails and live crabs. It is quite an experience of vendor after vendor crammed into a square and there are just narrow rows to walk down.
However, this not all of what Ghana is like. A very generous student took another ISEP student and I out for a simple Ghanaian bar experience. It was the most extravagant and fun "just going to the bar for a beer" that I could ever imagine. Hookah, chicken, and different types of drinks. I have learned that Ghanaians love to help you if you ask and they will go out of their way to make sure you are happy.
Alright, so the first week of school.....sometimes I wonder if it really is the first week of school because there are not a lot of people here. Teachers have not been showing up to some lectures. Only a third of the students are in class. I still don't know when my Twi (a local language of Ghana) will be. I'll find out in a week or so. It is the ultimate example of going with the flow. Supposedly, in a few weeks though I will have to be 30 minutes early to my lectures in order to just get a seat.
I miss you and love you!!!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The Beach!
Saturday, August 6, 2011
2nd Day
It is the end of my first full day in Ghana and it has been a full day! We started with a breakfast in the international hostel (international student dorm). Had some classes on safety and culture and then headed into the city. There are lots of international students, however, I am in a group of about 20 students. Only around 5 of us are staying for the full year. Our guides and the administration in charge of us are wonderful! All of the guides are students, except for Obed who just graduated. They crack jokes with us and it's as though we have known them for weeks. They are incredibly friendly. All Ghanaians are very friendly! An example is that if they bump you in the street they apologize. I have never been to a large city where this is the culture. On a side note, we have been completely fed and taken care of. All of my needs have been met and all of my questions answered.
Since we have been here we have gone to the mall twice. It is a mall just like a regular busy American mall. Mainly middle to upper class people go here as most of the population financially can not spend money on anything more than food or basic necessities. Driving through town it was easy to see this. We now have modems for the internet, cell phones, and plastic buckets. These buckets are for washing your clothes and self. The information sheet to come here talked about the water pressure not always being on for the plumbing and showering. Luckily, when I wanted to shower it was on but not when I wanted to fill up my water bottles for the day. A friendly Ghanaian student invited me to his room and gave me some water in plastic bags--like melted ice packs. You rip a corner off and drink. I ended up purifying it out of precaution. So I also purchased some water bottles today just in case.
The downtown area was exactly how I imagined while also being exactly how I could never have imagined it. There are old cars and busses on tight roads. There are crammed stores that are open to the public except for a wall, kind of like in China Town, New York. Some sell souvenirs, some sell clothes, and others sell household items like cleaning supplies. Many people wonder down the streets selling these items alone by carrying all the goods on their heads or in their hands. There are people selling bracelets and they try to get you to write down your name on paper so they make you a bracelet that you have to buy. Saw a few people urinating today in the gutters, or just around the street. Saw someone bathing. Overall though, I had a wonderful day experiencing this place due to the kindness of the people.
We also went to Kwame Nkrumah's burial sight. He was the first president of Ghana and did a lot for the African people. As far as I understand the history, he is the main reason for the democracy that Ghana has today. We also went to the memorial of W.E.B. Du Bois. This man was leader for the rights of black people and spent his last few years of life in Ghana.
One more fun story. We saw parts of a wedding party today, therefore opening up the conversation about Ghanaian weddings. Our tour guide gave us a very truthful and humorous account of what it takes to be a man getting married. The bride's family gives the groom a list of things he needs to buy. This includes her dress, her underwear, their plane tickets for the honey moon, etc... The expenses are numerous and ultimately divorce is very very uncommon it seems.
Well I am headed to bed for day number 2---they take us to the beach. I love you!!!
I will put pictures in my next post :-)
Since we have been here we have gone to the mall twice. It is a mall just like a regular busy American mall. Mainly middle to upper class people go here as most of the population financially can not spend money on anything more than food or basic necessities. Driving through town it was easy to see this. We now have modems for the internet, cell phones, and plastic buckets. These buckets are for washing your clothes and self. The information sheet to come here talked about the water pressure not always being on for the plumbing and showering. Luckily, when I wanted to shower it was on but not when I wanted to fill up my water bottles for the day. A friendly Ghanaian student invited me to his room and gave me some water in plastic bags--like melted ice packs. You rip a corner off and drink. I ended up purifying it out of precaution. So I also purchased some water bottles today just in case.
The downtown area was exactly how I imagined while also being exactly how I could never have imagined it. There are old cars and busses on tight roads. There are crammed stores that are open to the public except for a wall, kind of like in China Town, New York. Some sell souvenirs, some sell clothes, and others sell household items like cleaning supplies. Many people wonder down the streets selling these items alone by carrying all the goods on their heads or in their hands. There are people selling bracelets and they try to get you to write down your name on paper so they make you a bracelet that you have to buy. Saw a few people urinating today in the gutters, or just around the street. Saw someone bathing. Overall though, I had a wonderful day experiencing this place due to the kindness of the people.
We also went to Kwame Nkrumah's burial sight. He was the first president of Ghana and did a lot for the African people. As far as I understand the history, he is the main reason for the democracy that Ghana has today. We also went to the memorial of W.E.B. Du Bois. This man was leader for the rights of black people and spent his last few years of life in Ghana.
One more fun story. We saw parts of a wedding party today, therefore opening up the conversation about Ghanaian weddings. Our tour guide gave us a very truthful and humorous account of what it takes to be a man getting married. The bride's family gives the groom a list of things he needs to buy. This includes her dress, her underwear, their plane tickets for the honey moon, etc... The expenses are numerous and ultimately divorce is very very uncommon it seems.
Well I am headed to bed for day number 2---they take us to the beach. I love you!!!
I will put pictures in my next post :-)
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