Hey all,
I hope all is well and happy in good ol' Atlanta. As for Ghana, things are just fine.
First, I want to say that unfortunately you will not be seeing any pictures today. I am seriously trying to get them from my camera to the computers here, but you wouldn't believe the difficulty I'm having with it! Today the reason was because my camera uses a high-speed USB, but the computer does not. Apparently they are not compatable. I had no idea that USBs had speeds associated with them! Learn something new everyday. So, next I will try the other computer cafe in Wa. Probably next weekend. If it doesn't work there, I will try when I travel (I am going to Tamale first weekend in October..and I have high hopes as it is a big city :) . Soon, my friends, soon.
So, I am just finishing up with my relaxing break before school starts. I've had a friend from Kukurantumi visit me on her way to a job interview in the Upper West. It was nice to have some company at my house (although I thought she was only staying one night and it turned into 4 and by the time she left, believe me, I was quite ready for some time alone). It was so funny too, because she doesn't speak Degarre (because she is from the south, she speaks Twi), and she kept saying to me "You won't believe how frustrating it is...I don't have any idea what anyone is saying" and I just laugh...and let her know that I'm sure I can relate.
Also, I've been hanging with some other volunteers on the weekends. It's fun to get to speak at the normal "American English" pace. Although sometimes we find ourselves slipping back into Ghanaian English when talking with one another.
So, school officially started last Tuesday. However, the first week is entirely devoted to the students cleaning the compound (ie. weeding, working on the school farm, sweeping the classrooms, etc.). So, basically we (the teachers) just sat around all week chatting or going around and having some pito :) I had so much down time, but was pretty much required to be there, so I have already written my lesson plans for the first 2 1/2 weeks of classes. If I can manage to stay on top of them like this, I think I will prevent much unnecessary stress throughout the term.
So, classes will start this Monday. I am excited! It's going to be quite interesting...these kids are coming straight from primary school, so there is a very good possibility that some can barely speak English...and I'm asking them to not only understand Ghanaian english, but then to be able to hear through my accent as well. We'll see how it goes..Wish me luck!
Other than school stuff, I've been riding my bike A LOT! I've been going to the nearby (5-10 kilometers away) villages to check them out. The otherday I found a river that some boys were swimming in...and I'm sure I'll put it to good use as soon as the weather gets really hot. I've been told that October is the month for swimming as the rains will have washed all of the pollution and snakes away. I don't have any idea how valid that statements is...you kinda have to take all advice here with a grain of salt. For example, you shouldn't eat pork because pigs lead us to water. Wow, I didn't know that....at any rate, I'm ok with them not eating pork :)
The language is coming along smoothly. I'm learning around 1-2 new phrases/words per day and this seems to be an ok pace for me. I can understand much more of what is being said now, which is nice when I'm sitting around with the ladies. At first I never knew if I should make eye contact or not because I had no idea what they were saying and I didn't know which facial expressions were appropriate. But I'm kinda used to it now, and have found an ability to be completely comfortable sitting with them silently. Sometimes I even fully understand the questions they ask me, but many times it takes me so long to formulate an answer in Degarre that they assume I don't understand. But these are very patient people, I am very lucky in that respect, and they are very helpful in guiding me through this learning journey.
Ok, my internet time is up. But I will soon write again (and hopefully upload pics...cross your fingers!) and let you know how classes went. I hope the US is treating everyone well, and I hope you are all eating delicious food and doing lots of laundry (my hands have tons of scabs from hand washing my clothes!). I love and miss you all.
Diana
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This is me at the Amsterdam airport after far too many hours without sleep! I didn't realize quite how scary I look in the picture until I posted it...but I think it's funny.
This was one of the first meals I ate with my homestay family. I soon figured out that it was not customary for Ghanaians to eat together like this (they were just doing it as a sort of introduction to the family) and I ended up eating most of the meals over the next 10 weeks alone, which I was totally ok with. It also is not customary to talk while eating in Ghana (due to the abundant amount of spices used in the food, they are afraid they will choke if they try and talk while eating) so eating alone is virtually the same experience anyways.
Here is a pic of me and the girls at a spot. Check out the gigantic beers they serve here (for only 1 Ghana Cedi too!).
I took this picture while riding in a car on the way to Bote Waterfalls. At first I was like "shoot I think I accidently got those people that we were passing in the photo", but once I saw it I thought it was a really cool pic.
This is Kukurantumi, the town where I had training. It is right before the daily rain...
A kiss for you!
2 comments:
Sounds amazing! If I wasn't such a chicken I would be student teaching in Ecquador! One of these days!
Love ya!
Hopey
You're staying busy over there! That's great. At least you have a bike to get you places and you get to see the country-side, although you've probably get enough of your share anyway. Glad to hear you have some down time to yourself. Happy to hear from you, as always, and look forward to the next post. :)
Love ya,
Miranda
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