Angel...

I went to the Volta region of Ghana last weekend with one of the other Fulbright teachers and had a nice time. I saw (supposedly) the tallest waterfall in West Africa (Wli- pronounced ‘Vlee’- Falls), and swam in it! It was awesome. I Also went to the original Kente or “Kete” weaving village named Kpetoe. It was pretty neat. I got to try and actually do some of the weaving on the traditional looms and it was fun.

While getting on a trotro to go from Hohoe to Hoe (Wli Falls to the city near the Kente village) I met Angel. Angel is a Ghanaian girl who cannot be more than 7 or 8 years old and sells juice boxes for 10 pesewa (cents) from a tray she carries on her head. She saw Rebecca (the other Fulbright teacher) and I and could not stop staring and smiling at us. She spoke absolutely no English and the region we were in, the Volta Region, is a region that speaks “Elwe”, of which I don’t speak a word. So she just stood there staring at us and smiling, the cutest little ‘Angel’. Either she was simply awestruck be seeing two obrunis, or the best con-artist in the world because I gave her the rest of my FanYogo (a frozen yogurt treat that they sell of the streets here which really is delicious). She smiled and started to eat it and slowly walked away staring at me the entire time. However, she only got about 10 yards from the trotro and continued to just stare and smile. Rebecca had bought a “ginger drink” and did not like it so asked if I wanted it. I said sure and promptly signaled Angel to come over. I gave it to her and she again smiled and walked away staring. Same 10 yards, same smile, same stare. Eventually, she came back over and smiled and rubbed her stomach which I took as a kind thank you. She went back to her ten yards and smiled and stared. (Please keep in mind that there are these types of sellers all over, usually not as young as her, but they are all walking around and actively hawking their wares. Not Angel, she just stood, smiled, and stared.) Eventually I bought some rolls to give to her, but as I was buying them, she vanished. We sat in the trotro for another 15-20 minutes before we left, but she never came back. I asked 4 or 5 different sellers if they knew Angel and if they could show her to me, but to no avail. I did not even eat the rolls, I gave them to one of the other little vendor girls. Call me crazy or soft or whatever, but it is people like Angel and Wisdom that make me a little sad; they have so much potential, such a big heart, a limitless future, but have so little in life. The image of her standing outside the trotro window is not one that I will soon forget.

Mamobi Clash...

This afternoon I was on my way to Mamobi with Wisdom, who had just come over to hangout, and we were not but a few hundred yards outside of the campus and I saw a huge crowd of people in the street. As I got closer I realized that it was a political rally for the NPP, the incumbent party. It is important to note that Mamobi and Nima (the neighbors I live in and around) are staunchly NDC, the opposition party. I stood there with Wisdom and just watched the people as they got on 3 busses and numerous flat bed trucks and about 50 motorcycles to apparently drive around to try and drum-up support. The motorcyclists started driving around in circles in the middle of the street yelling and honking and actually standing on the seats of there bikes! One guy was riding around with another guy riding on his shoulders, not just on the back of the bike, but actually on the drivers shoulders. As I, and everyone else is watching this (and the rest of the Ghanaians who are NDC supporters are frowning upon all of this) about 50-60 NDC motorcyclists show up. All of a sudden there was a huge tension in the air. The girls at the intersection that are always there selling pure water ran off the street and all everyone watching took a collective step back. One lady came up to me, the only obruni, and asked if I wanted to go inside. We moved back some, but I wanted to see what would happen. I was thinking that this was it. This would be where and when the trouble would begin; two days before the elections in Mamobi, a notoriously lawless and rough neighborhood in Accra…and I forgot my camera!

The NDC motorcyclists turned on to the street where are the NPP supporters were and started to drive, on the wrong side of the road, directly at them, so NPP did the same thing after a few minutes of them just riding in and out of each other, the NDC supporters simply left. About 5 minutes later the NPP people were all loaded up and drove off yelling and shouting party slogans. The entire thing was peaceful. No conflict. No violence. An entirely peaceful expression of democratic ideas and freedom. It really was pretty neat to see. After the NPP group left the Mamobi ladies had nothing positive to say about the group and all seemed to want to tell me.

The runoff election will be held this Sunday and I am hoping to go around and take pictures. I think that it will be an interesting day to be out and see what is going on. On the 7th, I went out to see, but everywhere was very quiet. Rumor has it, that, with round two, it will still be peaceful, but that the city will not shutdown like it did three weeks ago. We will see, I will keep you posted as to the outcome, assuming we get one this time.

Rhythm...

On December 5th, I went to the Dubois Center for a Bead Society meeting which was ok. Afterwards, myself and one of the other Fulbrighters walked out and heard drumming so we went to check it out. We bought a coke and sat down to watch and listen. As we sat down, the two guys motioned us over next to them. They were good. They sang and played for us and it was really neat. Then, they asked us to play with them. On the extra two drums, they gave us a beat to follow and they did the improvising. It was neat. Now I would love to be able to tell you that it was easy and that I picked up on it without problem, however, that would not be the whole truth. Now, many of you may be thinking, “Well, duh! You are a white boy from the cornfields of Illinois.” In my own defense, I don’t think it is quite that simple. I play guitar, and although I am by no means talented, I can usually keep a pretty simple rhythm without too much problem. It took everything I had just to keep a basic rhythm and was frankly a little embarrassed. Later, as I left, I started to think about it and it has stuck with me ever since. I think that such an incident is a physical manifestation of the experience, as a whole, that I am having thus far in Africa. Allow me to use an analogy:

The best that I can do to explain what I am experiencing, culturally, here in Africa is to use music, and I am not sure this is even a good analogy, so please bear with me... When I first came here, everything was a blur, moving so fast, a million miles an hour, and I could not pick up any rhythm to it, I could not even hear the music. Then, slowly, I heard the background noise; that there was some type of music to hear (speaking of the culture in general), and therefore there must be a rhythm somewhere. In time, I have started to pick up the beat, the basic baseline. Every society, however, is a symphonic masterpiece, with millions of different instruments and movements. They all move together to form one song being played by 23 million people. Different towns and areas are different sections and play their own unique instruments and with their own special and one-of-a-kind style, but they fit together to make an original piece of music that can not be duplicated or identically replicated. Some other countries, societies and peoples may attempt, but they, too, will add, by nature, their own instruments and changes based on their strengths and talents.

Just to hear the beat is an incredible feeling, to hear the music is beyond words. It is a true Ghanaian who actually participates and plays in the music. I am not there yet, and, truly, don't know if I will be there in a year even. However, I think that it is important to realize a beat of the society/culture/people/country even exists. Some tourists and other obrunis that I have met I think are oblivious to the beat and music that surrounds them. I know that I am not yet part of this society, or ever will be for that matter, but I do recognize that there is music and a beat here and can therefore, strive to become part of it.

Election Update: Runoff...

After the election here on Sunday all of the votes were tabulated and the Electoral Commission officially announced the results on Wednesday afternoon; no party received the necessary 50% plus one vote to secure a victory. Therefore a second round or a "runoff" election is necessary and has been scheduled for December 28th. In this second round the two top vote-getters in the Dec. 7th election, and only those two, will face off again, thus ensureing that with only two parties one will take greater than 50% of the voter turnout.

The reaction in the country has been very mixed. Some are estatic that democracy is working, while others are a bit more skeptical and believe that a second round will just lead to more money wasted on campaigning and more tension in the country. The headmistress does not like the idea of having to prepare the school again to be a polling station and the headache and uneasiness that comes with having military personel stationed at the school.

Whatever the outcome, it is fascinating to watch and see how people react and respond. Everywhere I go I try to ask people about the election and they all seem to have their own opinions and views. Some are very open about who they support while others are quite reserved. All, however, agree on the fact, and promise me, that, like round one, the round two runoff will be peaceful.

Election Day...

“Today is a day that will live on in infamy.” FDR said this in regards to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Yesterday, all day, I had his quote ringing in my ears.

Yesterday was Election Day here in Ghana. The race between the two leading parties has been very close leading up the election and no one, with any certainty, could call the outcome. More than 24 hour later, after all the polls have been closed, the results, unofficial or official have not come out. The winning candidate must have “50 + 1”. This means that, unlike the US, Ghana does not use an electoral college, nor do they simply say whomever has the most votes wins. Here, in order to win you must get at least fifty percent of the voter turnout, plus one more vote to win. In other words you must have a majority of the number of people that voted not just simply more than all of the opponents. If, because there are four major parties here (only two of whom stand a real shot of winning), no one gets “50 + 1” there will be a run off between the top two vote getters. Those are the nuts and bolts of how the election here works, now the more interesting part…

I have been reassured by every Ghanaian that I have spoken with about the election that “it will be peaceful”. On the surface, that is a very nice and calming thought, but it actually has made me more nervous. Never in the US has someone told me, not to worry that the election will be peaceful. It is simply understood that it will be. Here, however, is a different story.

This is a country that has never had a peaceful transition of power from one democratically elected president to another; a country that has JJ Rawlings, a man who started two coups, killed hundreds (maybe thousands), and is still alive, free, and campaigning for one of the front running parties; a country where the UN has been called to monitor the election, a country where people proudly show you the ink on their finger that demarcates the fact that they voted; a country where the people must assure themselves that this will be a peaceful election; a country where people woke up and were in line to vote at 3 am though the polls would not open until 7; a country where the army stationed 30 armed military patrol men inside Accra Girls’ Secondary School (a polling station) for three days to ensure that law and order is maintained; a country that is wrought with corruption; a country that has a literacy rate hovering near fifty percent; a country that has just discovered billions of collars worth of oil; a country that is in the midst of Africa with pirates in Somalia, genocide in Sudan, riots in Nigeria, killings in the Congo, power-sharing in Zimbabwe, and countless other conflicts.

Two days before the election, I was walking around town and everyone was talking about the election. There were political rallies all over and trucks with loud speakers blaring political theme songs and speeches. I have never felt such a strong and lasting tension. That afternoon, with poetic irony, the biggest storm that I have seen since arriving in Africa poured down rain from black clouds all afternoon and most of the night. However, I went out on Election Day to Makola Market, which claims to be the largest market in West Africa, to see and feel the atmosphere. When I got there the place was like a ghost town; no one was there. Today, the day after the election I went out again to the local market, and although there were a few people and shops open, more than half were still closed. All has been entirely peaceful, but there is still much tension in the air. Rumor has it that the results will be released sometime tomorrow. This entire Fulbright experience is neat on many different levels, but to be able witness this election in Ghana is truly an historic event.

Mamobi...

As with many major cities in the US, Accra is broken up into different neighborhoods. Accra Girls’ is right on the cusp between three different neighborhoods, but because it is a walled, totally enclosed campus, it is kind of an entity unto itself. However, directly behind Accra Girls is Mamobi. Most of these neighborhoods have a market of some kind and Mamobi is not exception. Some parts of Accra are very nice and others are “still developing”; Mamobi is one of the latter. However, I love going to Mamobi market. Here, there are 3 or 4 “grocery stores” in the entire city and they are ridiculously expensive even for American standards. Almost all Ghanaians do their food shopping (all of their shopping, for that matter) in the local markets. For these reasons, I do almost all of my shopping for food and other necessities in Mamobi market.

The first few times that I went to the market, was very nerve-racking. Everywhere I went people stared at me and in a 30 minute trip, I would here “obruni” at least a dozen times. But, with a little persistence, patience, and a lot of smiling, things have turned around and I now love going to Mamobi market. The fruits and vegetables are so fresh and good that they don’t really even compare to American standards. The selection may be slightly limited in comparison to US grocery stores, but there are many things here too that I do not normally cook with in the US (pineapple, papaya, mango, garden eggs, green onions, etc). The real joy of going to the market however, is not in buying the food (although, do not misunderstand, I do like food), but rather is talking with the people. Now, after 2 and ½ months, the people recognize who I am and actually call me by my name as opposed to obruni. Also, I have learned that I will go to the same ladies (ladies are the only ones who sell in the market, no men) and but the same things from them each time I go. One lady I buy milk and soap and cookies from, another lady I buy all of my vegetables from, another fruit, another bread, etc. All together there are about 6 or 7 different “shops” I stop at to buy what I need. This way I get to talk with the ladies and they get to know me as well. Now that they know that I will be here for a while and that I am not all bad, they give me real Ghanaian prices for things, not inflated “white man/tourist” prices. Even though I have been told on different occasions that I should not shop in Mamobi by myself, I feel more comfortable there than I do in any of the more well-established well-to-do areas. A place like Osu, which attracts many white tourists, in turn, attracts many pickpockets, scam artists, and prostitutes. In Mamobi, I am the only white person I have ever seen. Therefore, there does not exist the plethora of nare-do-wells that thrive on obrunis in other, more affluent neighborhoods. Although this culture is still completely foreign to me and I try to be aware of my surrounds wherever I am, I feel comfortable in Mamobi.

Last week I received two packages from home. In one of them was a bag of miniature Heath bars. The last time I went to Mamobi I brought my bag of Heath bars and gave one to each of the women that I buy from. They loved it! There is nothing like American chocolate to suck-up to a market vendor!

Wisdom...

About two weeks ago I was walking back to Accra Girls’ and a young boy saw me, crossed the street and asked if he could walk with me. Although this may seem strange in the US, it happens on a fairly regular basis here (it is crazy when I run, a pack of school children will often follow along for half a mile or so). Normally the children will want to ask tons of questions and hold my hand (because it is white) and. Inevitably they ask me for money, or food, a phone number, or an address. However, this kid was content with just simply walking. I asked him his name and he told me; Wisdom. For real, Wisdom. After walking about half a mile, I started to ask him questions and found him to be very cordial, polite and well spoken. As we reached Accra Girls’ I had to buy a loaf of bread, and again, he asked if he could accompany me. He asked for nothing, but actually translated what the bread women were saying in Twi about me (they said they liked that I try to speak Twi with them). So I decided, since this kid had not asked for anything and been so nice to buy him a Fanta (soda). We sat on the curb and drank our Fanta and this kid turned out to be super cool. He is 13, goes to school, has a sister, his favorite class is social studies, wants to be a lawyer, likes soccer, and wants to visit the US. I gave him an SHG pen and told him that if he ever makes it to the US to call the number and come and visit Springfield. I also gave him my phone number here in Ghana. He then told me that he does not even have a phone to call me. So we parted ways after a nice conversation nonetheless.

About two weeks later Wisdom called me. He borrowed a phone and told me he would show up at the gate of Accra Girls’ at 2pm! I met him there, we walked to the market, I bought some fruits and vegetables, and we sat and had a Fanta and a conversation about Barack Obama being president elect and what that means for the world. This kid is 13, acts like a 30 year old, and his name is Wisdom! I invited him over for dinner and he and I cooked for an hour making fried rice. A really neat experience: cooking with a 13 year old Ghanaian. We sat down to eat and, he did not like the rice, but he tried to eat it. I asked him what he usually eats for dinner and he said “Banku with okra stew” (a traditional Ghanaian dish). I asked what he usually eats for dinner each night: “Banku with okra stew”. I asked what he eats for breakfast: “Banku with okra stew”. For lunch: “Banku with okra stew”. How cool is that! He gets to eat his favorite food for each and every meal! I can now understand why maybe he did not like the fried rice. After dinner we chatted for a while, he was for polite and said thank you more than enough and then excused himself to go home.

After he left, I found myself just sitting there mulling it over in my head and really being impressed with the kid. I am not sure what really to take from the whole experience, but I know that it was cool. Wisdom is one of the brightest, most polite 13 year olds I have ever met. I can’t imagine doing something like that in the US, but it was neat to have such an evening here in Ghana.

Ouagadougou (Wa-ga-do-gu)…

Last Monday I learned that Accra Girls’ has a midterm break that would start on Tuesday after school and last until the following Tuesday morning. With 6 full days off, I wanted to take advantage of it and to travel and see as much as I could. I learned that some of the other Fulbrighters were planning a trip north to Burkina Faso and the capital city of Ouagadougou and they invited me to come along. Every other year there is a weeklong festival of African arts and crafts in Ouaga that supports more than 28 different countries. The only thing that stood in my way was the fact I did not have my passport. Upon arriving in Ghana, I turned my passport over to Ghana Immigration Service so as to get a 1 year residence visa. I had not gotten it back yet, so I went down to the Immigration on Tuesday after classes just to find out that they did not have my passport ready. I tried everything I could, but to no avail, I could not convince them to give me a visa. They did give my passport and told me I could get into Burkina with it, but that when I returned I would not be allowed back into Ghana without the visa. They promised that by 10am Wednesday morning I would be able to pick up the passport. So, unfortunately, the other Fulbrighter took off Tuesday afternoon from Accra. I was able to get my passport, with visa, and got on a bus Wednesday afternoon, and there I sat for the next 15 hours. I got into a town in northern Ghana at around 4:30 in the morning, met one of the Fulbrighters, and stayed with a friend of a friend of a friend. Then next morning, we met the other Fulbrighter and her husband in a small, neat village called Bongo. We spent the day and one night and the next morning caught a taxi to the border. We changed just enough money to pay for a visa into Burkina and then got on a bus to Ouaga. Three hours and a pretty bus trip later, we were in the capital of Burkina Faso. We arrive around 4 pm and the situation was this; We were in a French speaking country (none of us speak any French more than what was learned from one year in high school), no water (this is city on the edge of the Sahara so it is hot and dry), no money (little did we know there is no place to change Ghana Cedis to Cefas- currency in B.F.) and no place to stay (we were suppose to meet a Ghanaian lady who was selling at the festival, but had no idea where she was). So after about 2 hours of walking around and darkness falling, we were able to find a Ghanaian women who helped us find our contact, Florence. Florence was amazing! She loaned us 10,000 cefa (not a lot, but more than enough to buy water), and told us that the house we were staying in was only a few blocks away. What started out as a pretty trying experience in Burkina quickly turned out to be really cool.

We all went back to the house (which was very nice), bought pasta and tomato paste, because it was what we could find and afford cooked dinner and then talked with Florence, her husband, and “the boys” (the workers she brought along, I am not sure if they were really her boys or not). The next morning dawned anew and we were able to find an ATM and two of the others had cards that worked and so we were able to withdraw money, a nice feeing. The next couple of days we explored the festival and the city. The festival was nice and Ouagadougou was ok. It is so hot and dry that there is dust everywhere; it is actually hard to breath sometimes. Also the country is so poor that food can be hard to come by in comparison to Ghana. Regardless, it was a very neat experience.

Monday morning at 8:30 two of us got on a bus to in Ouaga to head back to Accra…22 hours later (6:30 am) I was walking back on the campus of Accra Girls’ having had almost no sleep, dirty, carrying my backpack, and a 6 day beard on my face. The girls all have chores to do in the morning on campus so they all watched me walk back to my house. I took a bucket bath, shaved, got dressed at was in the classroom and teaching at 7:40am. Tuesday is my busy day so I taught seven classes and then went home and crashed. But because Tuesday was the election, I had to get up in the middle of the night here and I went down to a hotel in Accra that was broadcasting the election results. I stayed there until around 5, long enough to hear Obama’s speech, then went to the embassy because they were having an election celebration breakfast. Then it was back to school to teach.

A side note on the US election here: 99% of the people here that I have talked with support Obama. I was told by some other Americans who have been here for elections before, that if Obama had not won that people would look at me differently and some may even blame me. However, with an Obama victory, many Ghanaians approached me and congratulated me; not only for the result, but also for simply having a smooth, non-violent election!

All in all I think that in a three day period I slept only a handful of hours. However, it was a really neat experience and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Thinking…

As most of you know, my idea or philosophy behind teaching and education in general, is to get students to learn and, even more importantly, to think. I try and do that at SHG and I have brought that same philosophy here to Ghana. However, like everything else here, the education system is very different. Although in many respects the students here are similar to the students in the US: similar likes and dislikes, fear and frustrations, there are certainly some differences, especially in the classroom.

At the end of each term all of the students have to take exams. The exams here though are a bit different than in the US. Instead of each teacher making up his or her own exam, the entire social studies department makes up one exam for each level. Therefore, some of the extra things that I may teach in my class, will not go on the exam because none of the other teachers will have taught it. The philosophy seems to be that it makes curriculum more uniform throughout the school. For terms one and two, this department exam is protocol. For term three, instead of the department making the exam, the students are to take an exam, that is cumulative over the entirety of the three terms, that is written by some type of West African Education Examination Council. The teachers do not see the test and, from what I can tell, have no input as to what is on the test.

What does all of this mean? First of all it is simply a cultural difference that offers a unique learning experience for myself. Also however, it makes me change my teaching around and rethink my own teaching philosophy if only for a year in Africa. Again, as many of you know, as I grade the students, I ask them to grade me. I have continued to so that here and the feedback that I have received in not at all what I expected. I thought that the students would love to learn more about the world outside of the walls of the campus and the borders of Ghana and West Africa. However, they told me that they want more notes, more dictation, more lecture, more tests, and more homework! Most did like to discuss current issues and deeper level thinking questions, but did not see the relevance and did not want to waste the time when they need to be preparing for the exams. In the grades that they put for me, there was an incredible range; from A+ all the way down to an E (yes they use A, B, C, D, E, and F)! I am happy to say that no one failed me, but obviously, some think that I need to pick it up!

The conundrum then is this: How am I to not only get the students ready and prepared to do well no the exams (which are very much based upon rote memorization, and I don‘t write) while also getting them to learn (not just memorize) and become independent thinkers? I have been teaching here now for almost 6 weeks and feel that I have learned a great deal, but also have realized that I have even more yet to learn.

Any suggestions are more than welcome, I would love to hear your input. My first year teaching at SHG was a mile-a-minute and I learned a great deal and had a great time doing it. Here, I feel similar in that the curriculum that I am teaching is different than anything I have ever taught, as well as the entire education system is different. One of the reasons that I came to Ghana, besides wanting to work on my tan, was for the challenge of it. I was not sure exactly what form those challenges would take, and now that I have been here for almost two months, I am beginning to see the shape they will take. It is a challenge that I embrace and look forward to tackling it in one way or another.

Ghanaian/American Pizza Night...

Saturday night was the first official Ghanaian/American Pizza Night in Ghana, and it went over very well, at least in my estimation. I love to cook and I love pizza, so I though it only natural to have some of the other Fulbrighters over to have pizza and to talk about our experiences in Ghana. My house here at Accra Girls’ is probably the most centrally located of all the Fulbrighters here in Ghana, so it is slowly becoming a meeting point for anything that we all do together.

Saturday, myself and one of the researchers went out in search of ingredients. Pizza is not common here at all and therefore some of the basic ingredients are a bit hard to find. Nonetheless, we made do with what Ghana has to offer. After two traditional markets and two “Continental” grocery stores, I had flat bread for the crust, tomato paste, tomatoes, a can of stewed tomatoes, onion, garlic, green pepper, and fresh basil (which was incredible), and mozzarella cheese (crazy expensive). I could not find sausage or pepperoni, but it is probably better because two of the other Americans are vegetarians.

People started arriving between 5:30 and 6 and so I started to make pizza. Please, keep in mind that this is Africa and the ideas of an American kitchen cannot really be applied here. There is not running water, but instead I have a trash can that I fill with water every few days and use a small bucket to dip with. Also, it is in the mid eighties and to make pizza I need to light the oven, which makes the kitchen, well, it makes Africa hot even hotter! After some difficulty, I finally got the oven (or “gas cooker” as it is called here) and realized that there are no temperatures settings just a picture of a big flame on one end and a little flame on the other. I made my best guess, and put the pizza in. If I can say so without sounding vain, it turned out pretty well…it was at least edible. We made five pies altogether for six people and had only a few pieces leftover, so I think that everyone enjoyed it, and no one has called me telling me they got sick (on that level alone I consider it a success).

After pizza we all sat and talked about our experiences so far and I had invited the headmistresses’ son over to eat with us, so we were able to ask him different questions about Ghana as well. It was a fun night and it was neat to hear about everyone else’s experiences thus far. The researchers are studying the elections here and it is fascinating. Plus, as a teacher, it is always good to bounce ideas off of another teacher, especially when the culture and educational system is so different.

All in all the first Ghanaian/American Pizza Night (or GAP Night) was a success. I got to cook, eat, and converse with some interesting people.

Busua Beach…

Last Friday night the two other Fulbright teachers and one of the Fulbright researchers met here at Accra Girls’ and we all went out to dinner with Akordy. We all had a nice time talking about our experiences thus far. Everyone spent the night at my house and we got up at 4am and caught a bus to Takoradi, about 5 hours away. We then took a trotro and taxi another 45 minutes or so to this tiny little village named Busua on the ocean. It is beautiful! The town itself is all of about 200 yards, but the beach it sits on is a pristine sand beach of about 2 miles! We checked into a hotel that was right on the ocean (you hear the waves crash all night), and then went to the beach. There is one surf shop in Ghana, and it is Busua. So I rented a surf board and spent about 4 hours learning to surf and getting pounded by the ocean. The water is so warm though that it was a blast. In the evening we all took a walk around the little town an talked with some of the locals, it is mainly a fishing town, very poor, but really neat as well. We had dinner on the roof of the hotel, looking out at the ocean and the sunset to the west. It was such a neat experience, that it was a bit surreal, like many of the things I have experience here in Ghana. Saturday night we went down to the beach and just sat looking at the ocean and a crystal clear sky, and say a handful of shooting stars! The last time a saw a shooting star was probably 15 years ago!

Sunday morning, I was way too excited to sleep, so I got up as early as was possible and I went down to the beach to go for a run. When I stepped on to the beach, I looked up and down, and did not see a single person; I had a tropical beach to myself to go for a run at sunrise! I ran for awhile, went swimming and then went back to have breakfast with everyone. We stayed until noon and once again I spent about 2 hours or so trying to surf (the waves were bigger on Sunday) and got up on my knees but never was able to stand up, but it did not matter, it was a lot of fun regardless. Also, there is an island about a mile off the coast of Busua. So I talked with one of the local fisherman and he agreed to take us out to the island. We got into a traditional, handmade, African fishing canoe (about 30 feet long) and had to paddle out to the island! I had never been on a boat on the ocean! Within the first 3 minutes we had hit two whitecaps and the bottom of the boat had a foot of standing water that we had to bail-out like mad. But, we kept going and eventually reached the island. There were 5 locals that took us out and I asked if I could help paddle, I thought, I am in good shape, it is only a mile, it will be cool. Well, these men do it everyday and after about ¼ of the way to the island I was spent, and they were still going strong, there was no possible way I could keep up with them! The island itself was very cool too, beautiful with tons of beautiful shells, plus a very interesting visual perspective of the coast and the ocean.

When it was time to go we took a taxi back to Takoradi to catch our bus. The taxi driver told us that he was the son of the chief and would be the new chief soon. He also told us that he was a Rastafarian in this heart but “not on his head” (he did not have dreads), and proceeded to sing along with the Bob Marley tape he was playing. The bus trip back to Accra was fine, but by the time I got back to Accra Girls’ the sun, surfing, and lack of sleep caught up with me and I was exhausted. The trip was incredible and I would love to be able to go back to Busua.

International Dinner...

Last night I had a full house for the first time since I have been here. Three of the Fulbright researchers came over to my house as well as the headmistresses son, Akordy. We all had dinner together and talked about a variety of topics. Akordy, prepared traditional Ghanaian fried rice (which was excellent) and I made a simple salad (Ghanaians don’t really eat salad, so although simple, really hit the spot, at least for me). It was a neat experience to be sitting in my house in Ghana, West Africa talking with 3 Americans from all over the US, all researching fascinating and different topics here in Ghana, and a Ghanaian who has had the opportunity to travel to the US. We talked about politics (US and Ghanaian), cultural differences, economics, the bailout plan (the little we know about it), and of course, food. It was a fun evening. I am still not sure that I have fully grasped the fact that I am in Africa! It still seems surrealistic at times. Regardless, I am enjoying it and I hope to share as much with the Ghana as it has with me.

Marathon...

I ran a marathon this morning here in Ghana, and once again, what an experience! I have been training (sorta) for the last few months and was not sure that I would really go through with the actual race until two days ago. When I arrived here and tried to run, it was much harder. The air here is so thick with humidity and with diesel fuel (almost all the cars and trucks run on diesel and there is no EPA so the pollution is bad). Regardless, I thought while I am in Africa, I really should make the most of every opportunity.

I woke up this morning at 3:30 am and took a taxi to downtown Accra where I was supposed to get on a bus just for the marathon that was to leave at 4:30. After some difficulty finding exactly where we were to all meet, I did meet some of the other runners and waited for the bus…and waited….and waited. Finally, at 6 it showed up and we all piled onto this bus that was packed well beyond capacity. A group of runners, for some reason, had decided to bring drums and other instruments and proceeded to play music (that was really good and different from anything I have ever heard) for the next 45 minutes to an hour as we drove to the start of the race. When we arrived, we all got out (in, seemingly, the middle of nowhere, it is actually a little beach town 26.2 miles from Accra called Prampram) and after about five minutes they said “Go!”. We were supposed to have started at 5:30, but did not start until 7, but I think that is good for Ghana ( I am still adjusting to that and am not sure I ever will). I felt great for the first ten miles or so, but then the sun came out and I started to tire. I was still ok by the half way mark, and just kept pushing. Once we hit the half way mark the whole course goes directly along the ocean for 6 or 7 miles, and it was beautiful, even though the sun was HOT by this point. As we neared Accra we ran through some very poor areas but everyone I saw was cheering us on; a neat feeling. However, because these areas are so poor there is no sidewalk and being that close to the ocean, there is no dirt, but rather just sand, so those miles, running in sand, were not all that fun.

With about a mile left I was just trying to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other when I ran up on a kid who could not have been but 9 years old. He was walking and as I passed him, I waved him to run with me and he did. I asked him if he was running the marathon (I am not sure he understood a single word I said), but he shook his head and it obvious that he had been running for a while. At one point he fell back a few yards and I motioned him to keep up, so he did. As we neared the finish line and it was at last in sight, I looked down to notice that he was wearing flip-flops! This 9 year old kid just ran a marathon in the same time I did, in flip-flops! We crossed the line together and it was almost surreal (as many things here have seemed): Here I am finishing a marathon in Africa, running with a 9 year old boy in flip-flops, the finish line is right on the beach overlooking a picturesque ocean and the first thing that happens when I finish is, instead of handing me a bottle of water, someone hands me a coconut! Another guy takes it, cuts it open with a machete for me to drink the water that is inside (there is about a liter), and then I am supposed to hand it back to him and he cuts it open so that I can eat the meat, which is soft and juicy too- not like American coconuts that I have had.

Although, by no means was it fast, I finished a marathon in Africa and it was quite the experience.

Democracy...

I am very glad to be in the classroom and teaching, it is, however, very differnt here than in the US. Not better or worse, but just different. In the Government class that I am teaching we have started talking a lot about the election in Ghana. The students seem very knowledgeable (at least in comparison to me) and I have been genuinely impressed. I have also talked about the election in the US and the students know about both the canidates and seem pretty informed about our democratic system. Ghana is one of the few African countries that is a democracy and has a history (all be it short) of peaceful elections. In discussion I asked them, if they were of eligible age, would they vote. I was shocked when more than two-thirds of the students told me very honestly: "No". They had a myriad of differnt reasons, but they all ended with; "so that is why I will not vote". I tried to enphasize the importance of participation in a democratic society, but I am not sure if I got my message across or not (I had anticipated teaching that). I guess I expected that democratice participation would be a honor of sorts here, maybe even more than it is precieved in the US. It goes to show what expectations in Africa, are out the window. I hope to be able to teach these students, but as of right now, I am the one going to school and learning from them.

Slavery...

This week is the first week of classes where I am able to actually begin teaching new material. In the social studies classes I have begun with giving a very brief history of Ghana focusing on geographic factors of development. It is impossible to discuss the history of Ghana and West Africa though, without discussing slavery. Discussing slavery is a difficult, but interesting, topic in a US classroom that is predominately white-European. Here, there are so many more dimensions to the topic and the discussion that follows. I am the only white-European in the room, and for that matter, the school. These students may have ties to slavery of some kind. How, as a teacher, do I teach this coming from such a background? I have had absolutely no problems in the classroom, but it is just a very interesting topic, in a very interesting place and really does give me pause for thought. Not sure how I feel about it at the moment, just trying to absorb everything, journal it, and take it in stride.

P.S.- The "chalk/candy" is actually something that is edible! It is, however, only something that pregnant women eat. Why did the lady sell it to me?

"Candy"...

Today I had about a 25 minute break in my teaching this afternoon, so I decided to walk just off campus and get a pop. On my way to get a drink I saw a lady selling candy so I decided to stop on my way back to get a piece. Keep in mind that the candy here is, for the most part much different than US candy, it is often homemade, and even if it is not homemade, I have never heard of most of the brands. After I got my pop, I came to the candy lady just in time to see her packing everything up (it looked like it was going to rain) She had one container left out of this powdered football shaped thing. I asked her what it was and in Twi she told me, so I had absolutely no idea. But, I thought, it is candy, how bad can it be. I asked her if it was good and pointed to my mouth and she just smiled and nodded. So I gave her 10 pesewas (cents) and she gave me six pieces! AS a walked away I looked at them and realized that they really had a lot of powdered sugar on them. I took one and bit into it only to realize that the white powder on the outside was the entire thing, and it was not powdered sugar. It was chalk. I then proceeded to spit and spit and spit and rinse out my mouth with the pop I had just bought, but for the rest of the day my mouth has had a bit of a gritty feel. Live and learn, I guess, but, in the future, I may be a bit more discerning as to what kind of “candy” I buy.

Lost Email Contacts...

Due to a server crash last week, I lost almost all of my email contacts. If you emailed me within the last week or so and I have not responded, please resend it. Also, to anyone who wishes to get in contact with me, I have no way of reaching you. Please send me an email at coryell@shg.org so that I may a least have your contact info. Any of the old contacts that I had, including students and staff, have been lost. Sorry for any inconvience and hope to hear from you soon!

Beginning of School...

School started on Tuesday! The students began to arrive Monday evening and then Tuesday morning we had our first assembly at 7 and then the students cleaned the campus until 11AM. (As the students cleaned the campus I spoke with another teacher and he asked me if we did the same type of thing in the US and I said no, that most of the students probably would not clean the school. He looked at me shocked and said who cleans. I told him we have a maintenance staff and he was amazed.) Classes then began and I stood in front of an African class for the first time! It was fun. I have been ready for classes to begin for awhile so I was excited for school to start. However, this week we are still using the schedule from last year because the new one is not yet ready. Therefore, many of the classes I am supposed to have now I will not have next Monday. Also, the Form 1, or first year students will not arrive until the first week of October, so for now, things are beginning, but they will change in the next few weeks. Regardless, I did get to teach one class yesterday, one class today and, I think, three classes tomorrow. Something that I am finding to be very nice and interesting to me is that (even though it is early) despite how different the two cultures are, the students are remarkably similar. The same things that I say in the states that the students laugh at, the students here laugh. The same things that I use at SHG to get students attention, work here too. Granted I have not been in the classroom long, but I thus far find it neat that the cultures are as about as opposite as can be, but that the students are so very similar. I am excited about the teaching and am anxious to really get into in the weeks to come.

Boti Falls...

On Saturday I also did a bit of traveling through Ghana with one of the other Fulbrighters and one of her coworkers to Boti Falls (probably the most beautiful waterfall I have ever seen in my life). There was a little shrine there as well that was for traditional African gods and it was super cool to see that and to just think about religion and nature and different peoples views and how they worship and celebrate. While there, I said a prayer of thanks. (How many Americans in their lifetime have been able to pray before a traditional African shrine in front of a gorgeous waterfall in Africa…a truly blessed experience.) We then went to a little village where we put on traditional funeral attire and went to pay our respects to an Aunt of the Ghanaian we were with whom had just lost a son. It was quite an experience as well. Then we checked out the Aburi Botanical Gardens which were ok, pretty, but not awe-inspiring. I did notice that a lot of plants that are here, are in the states, more specifically, my house! Moses and the bulrush, wandering Jew, philodendron, ficus, and Norfolk pine, a neat thing to see.

Visiting the Chief...

The weekend here has been VERY busy, but great as well. Sunday I went to a “Charismatic Christian Church”. I got up at 5:15 or so and we were at church by 6 and it went for 2 and a half hours! The singing was great and the dancing was cool too.
Aftewards, Akordy (headmistresses son) and I met up with the other Fulbrighter in Accra and took a trotro up to Tema and and met with the 3rd and final Fulbrighter. The 4 of us and a couple of Ghanaians from Tema all went to PramPram which is a fishing community near Tema right on the Atlantic. The city was founded, or so it is told, by freed slaves that came back to Ghana. We were able to see how they fish which was neat…a lot of manpower, not engines or motors at all. Some of the little kids that would yell “Obruni” were adorable and I played with them a little bit (looked at them, turned my back to them, and then flinched like I was going to chase them, they got a huge kick out of it as did I) and they wanted to feel my hands and what white skin felt like. Weird, but an unforgettable experience for a white boy from the Midwest.
We then went to a nice beach resort a bit further down the coast where we checked out the ocean for a bit and then had lunch (rice and chicken, nothing fancy, but fine). It is really very pretty. The ocean is beautiful, but honestly, the whole thing is so new, so different, so overwhelming, that even the awesomeness of the ocean is diminished.
After lunch we drove for to another little beach where there was a lagoon that has tides come in and out like every 4 minutes. I was in the wrong place and the wrong time and the tide started to come in and I had to run for shore! The Fulbrighter from Tema was right behind me and was not quite as quick and caught up to her waist or so in water! Nothing serious but pretty funny for us and hilarious for all of the Ghanaian spectators. Then, we got back in (we were in two cars by the way, the two girl Fulbrighters in a nice car with a Ghanaian teacher from Tema and his cousin, and they in a rickety old taxi with were Akordy and I…the Taxi driver did not understand the difference from left and right, so you had to point, the car had no seatbelts, the passenger airbag was deployed and hanging out deflated, the engine visibly smoke whenever above 60kmph, had no suspension whatsoever and ran on a methane gas tank that was in the hatch-back portion of the car) and took off again for 45 minutes down a the bumpiest, dustiest dirt road ever. Finally we came to a small traditional village where we were formally greeted by the chief of the entire region. We sat and talked with him, he gave us fresh coconuts to drink and eat and also he got out a bottle of Whiskey. The girls both politely refrained, but I, being the only white male, felt a bit obligated to drink with him. Keep in mind that this chief is a rather large, imposing man, he is a chief, we are in his kingdom, at the end of nowhere and I am the only white male and he makes a great deal of eye contact with me, more so than anyone else. So He poured us some whiskey and he started on it pretty hard. I went slowly, which was fine. After some fine conversation about Ghana and the US we went to leave. I set my glass down on the table with about a shot of whiskey left in it (hoping I could just leave it behind) and he saw me, and asked “Oh, don’t you want to finish your drink?”. So, when in Ghana… I was a little light headed for the next hour. As we walked out of the village with the chief, one of the Ghanaians explained to us that it is usually customary to bring a gift (alcohol) to the chief when visiting, but this was ok today. As we were getting in the cars, I took a shell from my pocket that I had picked up at the beach (someone had told me that a long time ago the shells were used as a form of currency in Ghana) and gave it to him and told him that I had nothing else, but it was a token and that he was invited to Accra Girls’ anytime.

Makola Market, A Whole New Perspective…

Today, Madame Headmistress took me to Makola Market in the center of Accra. We had to take two trotros to get there and when we did is was an interesting experience. Most everyone in Accra, or Ghana for that matter does all of their grocery shopping in the markets, not at a grocery store. (I think there are only 3 that exist in Accra). This market is the biggest in Accra and, rumor has it, the largest in Africa. We got off the trotro and walk around for nearly 3 hours and still did not see even half of it. I was amazed. We walked into one of the entrances from the street and as we walked through, I glanced over to notice a railing and that below us there were 2 more levels! They sell anything and everything that you can imagine and every 3 steps is an entirely new cacophony of smells (some good, some not so good). Many of the things in the market are things that I have never ever seem before. I asked the headmistress what some things were and she tried to explain it, but more often than not I just nodded my head and stared in amazement. It was a neat experience and a bit overwhelming as well. I think that, initially at least, I may stick to the smaller market nearer to the school, but maybe not, there is still much exploring to be done!

Thank You...

As I have now arrived here in Ghana and just begun to get my feet under me, I would be amiss if I did not thank some very important and key people. There have been a number of people that have helped me get to this point and I am sure that I will continue to call on many of them in the future. Thank you to SHG for the opportunity to be able to do this. I know I asked many people in my department and the school to go above and beyond and all of them came through with great character. Theresa Duffin and her family were especially helpful in easing the transition for, and opening their home to, Mrs. Kpobi. Thank you to the Social Studies Department for doing everything they can in welcoming a new department member. And thank you to Sister Margaret Joanne and Sister Katherine for there work and support behind the scenes in making such an experience possible. To Sister Phillip, thanks for helping in whatever ways you have been. Also, thank you to the Rotary Club of Springfield and their generous donation to help make this Fulbright year as rewarding and successful as possible in the eyes of not only myself, but the students here as well. Susan Gustavson of Whitney Young School in Chicago has been a wealth of information and advice that has already been worth its weight in gold; thank you and have a great school year. Last, but certainly, not least, thank you, thank you, thank you to my family and Stacey who have all gone out of their way to help me in whatever way possible. You have been there for the last few months, were an enormous help in the days immediately prior to departure, and I am sure that you will be of indescribable help in the year to come (at least I hope). To all of you, any many others I am sure I have failed to mention, I offer you my sincerest thank you.

Laundry Day...

Laundry, or “wash”, here is not quite the same as it is in the US. Here it is by hand, it takes much longer, and is hard work. Yesterday for the first time I tried to do it and it was not pretty. I started way to late in the day. I did it around noon when the sun was hot and it was humid and there is not enough day left for everything to dry by the evening. Regardless, I did 24 pieces of laundry. I have never counted laundry in the US in my life, but here, after an hours worth of hard work, I counted to see how much I did.

I took two huge bowl like buckets and filled one with soapy water the other half full with clear water. You take the clothes in the soapy water and scrub them together one by one, dunk them in the clear water, rinse them again from a huge “poly tank” and put them on the line to dry. I did this, but I don’t; think I used enough soap or scrubbed long enough. Needless to say, some of my t-shirts still don’t smell or look the greatest. This morning, after my run, I redid some of the wash and it is on the line to dry right now. Hopefully it will be better.

Trip to Kakum and Cape Coast...

Saturday I went with Rebecca Watt (Fulbright teacher from the US at another school in Accra) and Samuel (Ghanaian) and Kasa (Ghanaian) from Achimota School to Kakum National Park and St. Georges Castle at Elmina near Cape Coast. A very interesting trip. They picked me up at my house at 6am and they said it would take about an hour to get there; 2 and a half hours late were arrived in Cape Coast and still had 45 minutes to go to get to the park. I think that I am learning that when Ghanaians say a time, double or triple it and that is closer to reality. However, when we got to Kakum, it was neat. It is a tropical rainforest that has hiking trails and a canopy walk. They have taken not quite half a mile of rainforest canopy and suspended a path 40 to 50 feet in the air so that you get a very unique look at the area. There are only 4 canopy walks in the world so this was pretty cool. The park was neat, but it was definitely a very “touristy” location; many “Obrunis”.

We then left and went to visit Samuel’s wife and baby girl at Cape Coast University. Samuel stayed with his wife, while Kasa, Rebecca and I went to the St. George’s Castle. We took the tour and it was fascinating on many levels. In Springfield the Lincoln Home is kinda neat, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is pretty cool, but this was different. The castle was built more than 500 years ago; white men were not even in America; Columbus had not sailed the ocean blue. In addition to its age, the most astounding part is that between 12 and 14 million slaves passed through the castle on their way to being shipped across the Atlantic on the Middle Passage. We were allowed to see the actual cells and the “Room of No Return”- the last time the slaves were in Africa before the Middle Passage. Still not sure how I feel about the whole tour, I think I need to let it sink in a little bit. We also visited a festival they were having in Cape Coast where the President of Ghana had come to visit. The traditional chiefs invited him and they paraded in with great pomp and circumstance. But also, from each neighborhood, there is one youth chief that paraded down the street. They were not allowed into the formal ceremony, but it was neat to see all the costumes and the dancing. They were all just having a good time.

We left and then need to “quickly” stop at Kasa’s village. Probably the most remarkable part of the trip. We drove about an hour from the main road over a very bumpy dirt road through these tiny villages with mud huts with no electricity or running water before we got to his village. When we arrived, Kasa went to talk to the elders about a scholarship that would allow any of the children that could pass a specific West African Standardized Test free secondary schooling. Meanwhile, here I am, sitting in a car waiting. Within 120 seconds, 40-50 children, 11 and under, gathered about 10 yards from the car and were just staring. I can assume that they don’t see cars that often, but it could be the first time in their life, that they have ever seen a white person. So I got out and was really nervous, but introduced myself (I wrote my name with a stick in the dirt and we all sounded it out), asked them their names and ages, and did a magic trick. It was really just kind of an eye opening experience. Places like Americans see on TV really do exist.

On the way back to Accra we were stuck in traffic and had not eaten so I decided to get a loaf of bread for a vendor to share with everyone. Kasa was in the front seat, so in Twi he called the lady over and asked how much for a loaf. She told him 5000 (about 50 cents). So from the back seat I handed it out the window to her and she looked at my hand, saw I was white and said 10,000 ($1). As soon as she saw I was white, or that a white person was buying the bread the price doubled. I have no problem paying 10,000 for the bread, if it is a fair price, but I told her no and gave her 5000 and that was fine. Everywhere I go people stare. Sometimes they will yell out “Obruni” (white person). They think that because I am white I have money. I have already seen people try to befriend me because they want something. It is difficult sometimes to have to be so careful as to who you can trust and not. However, the vast majority of people have been very nice and very friendly in a very forthright and honest way. Everyone that is associated with the school has been genuine with me thus far, which is nice to be able to fall back upon.

Arriving in Africa...

I left for Africa on Monday, September 1. The goodbyes were tough, but no regrets. I left Springfield at 2:20pm and did not arrive in Ghana until 1:20 pm (IL time)- 23 hours of flying is a long time (plus, I can’t sleep on planes). When I arrived in Ghana, I went through immigration without problem, got 1 checked bag without problem, but the second one never arrived. I had to wait in line for almost an hour to report a missing bag, (which still has not come in a day later) and then went through customs. I am not sure if what I did was good or not, but when I walked through customs I did just that, walked through, never stopped. There were officials sitting at desks helping other people coming into the country, but none of them said anything to me, so I just walked through. I hope that is ok. Then I left the airport to see a huge crowd of people standing outside the doors. I was hoping to see someone holding a sign with my name, but no such luck. So there I was; an “obruni” (white person) in Africa, at night, in a city of 2.5 million people, not knowing a soul, missing a bag, very little money, exhausted, and with no ride. I decided to hire a taxi (with a very nice driver) and he took me to a reasonable hotel that I could afford. I crashed there for the night and decided to worry about things in the morning. The next morning I was able to get a hold of my contact at the embassy and the headmistress and one of her sons who picked me up and brought me to Accra Girls School. They showed me to my new home for a year. Today, I was able to, not only be driven around Accra, but also went grocery shopping, ate fufu and got a local phone number. The headmistress and her two sons have been very helpful.

A Little About Ghana...

Ghana is a country in West Africa about the size of the State of Oregon. It was a British Colony for quite sometime and therefore the official language of the country is English. However, many people still do speak native languages. The most common of these native languages, from what I have read and been told are Ga and Twi (pronounced "tree"). Ghana lies just north of the equator between Cote D'ivoire to the west, Togo to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. The Atlantic Coast, which borders Ghana to the south, has been known in the past as the gold coast and later the slave coast. In 1957 Ghana received its independence from Great Britain and became the first sub-Saharan African country to gain its independence. Being so close to the equator the climate is hot with temperatures year round between 70 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The capital city (where I will be living and working) is Accra and has a population at roughly 2.5 million people and is on the coast. This year is an exciting year for Ghanaians as they will have a democratic election in December.

I do not know too much more about the country, I have talked with many people about the country and everyone says that the people are some of the most friendly people in all of Africa, which is reassuring. Although I am reading up on the country and its history and culture, I think that the best way to learn about it is to go... so, in two weeks from today, I leave for Africa!

Welcome!

I am a teacher at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School in Springfield, Illinois. In October of 2007 I applied for a Fulbright teaching exchange and will be leaving on September 1 for Ghana, West Africa. Theodora Kpobi is my exchange partner who will be teaching Modern World History and Geography (my old classes). While in Ghana I will be teaching her classes, Government and Social Studies. Hence, the following blog is a journal of my experiences in Ghana for a year. It is my hope that anyone and everyone can benefit from my experience and I will be able to stay in touch with a greater number of people. More so, this blog may help to get SHG students interested in different peoples and cultures around the world. Thanks for your interest and support as I embark on my Fulbright year in Ghana.