New happenings in Africa...

hello there! it's been quite a while since the last time i wrote so i have quite a bit to say....

first off, the shift button on this computer does not work very well, so if you're wondering why every letter is lower case, now you know.....such is life in ghana.

i have been living in ghana for almost 5 months now (can you believe that!), and i finally have truely adopted the "look". last week for a grueling 6 1/2 hours i sat on a very uncomfortable and rocky floor while 3 ladies braided my hair. they weaved black into mine in the traditional long braid look...so turns out me having short hair was quite short lived indeed. i really like it though, looks cool. it was quite the experience though, with EVERY single person walking by finding it necessary to stop and see somboma (my name....literal translation: mother of sombo) getting her hair done. besides looking cool, it seemed to somehow gain me some kind of respect amongst the elderly ladies in town...which is such a great thing because it's hard for me to really communicate with them (most of the elderly in ghana don't speak english) besides the general greetings.

so, last time i talked briefly about how they practice corporeal punishment here in school, and how it bothered me, but i didn't really see what i could do about it. well, the teacher who is the most severe when it comes to hitting the students was master on duty two weeks ago (every teacher has to be "master on duty" once each term, which basically means you come in early when the students arrive and make sure they are doing what they're supposed to be doing (cleaning the compound, etc.)...i'll be master on duty the week ending november 14th :0 ) so anyways, because he was in charge you can imagine that the beatings were much more frequent and harsh that week. so, in response, i would show up after assembly each day (so i would not be subjected to seeing the morning caning) and at the end of the day during afternoon assembly i would purposly wait until after the students finished with their songs and anthem (which is when master on duty comes in to say whatever he/she has to say) and then i would get on my bike and ride away. well, this definately got the point across, as passive as it may have been. this teacher then came up to me afterwards one day, while we were having our "meeting" (this is what we call it when us teachers go and have pito together after school), and asked me about why i didnt want to see him caning the students. i told him that i don't believe in violence and that there were many other ways that we can punish the students that will actually be beneficial, like making them weed the yards, or having them write an essay about what they did (trust me, they need the english writing practice!!!). he listened to what i had to say, and for the rest of the week i waited until the end of each afternoon assembly and did not see him cane one person! i know he was just doing it for me, but i was still happy. the caning still happens...on a daily basis...but most of the teachers do not do it in front of me anymore. and one of the teachers (one of my favorites) told me that when he is master on duty he will let me come and we will try some different methods of punishment and see if they work. so, we'll see what happens...

while on the subject of school...i have 2 stories for you.
1. apparently there were 3 of the girls (two in form 2 (which would be the equivalent of 7th grade), and one in form 3) that were all "seeing" the same guy. i don't know exactly what that involved as yes, some are already having sex (although, keep in mind that some of the girls at my junior high school are older than i am!), and some are not yet. At any rate, one of the girls in form 2 wrote on the bathroom wall that the other girls should leave him alone, cause he was her boyfriend. well, when the girl in form 3 saw this she was mad! unfortunately for the form 2 girls, she was also the girls prefect (a prefect is someone who is in charge of all the others...usually chosen by the teachers because they are responsible and usually bigger/older). so, this girl decided she wanted to punish the girl who wrote this as she felt the boy was her boyfriend, but since she didn't know which girls were the ones "seeing" this guy...she made the ENTIRE form 2 girls clean the latrines. trust me, these toilets are disgusting, and it was quite the punishment. i thought the entire situation was quite funny, as i can still remember those silly fights over boys back when i was that age. in case you're wondering, the teachers caught wind of what happened and punished the form 3 girl for unjustly punishing everyone else.

2. i am currently teaching the students about plant and animal cells, so i decided to draw a huge picture of the cells to hang on the walls of the classrooms (which definately sucked because i have 3 classes, which means 6 huge cells to draw and color). so i finished with the first 2 cells, and hung them up in one of the classrooms. all was well....until i showed up at school the next day to find that not only had the posters fallen from the wall but some damn goats had decided that that paper would be the most ideal place for them to urinate. so here were my beautifully colored (if i do say so myself :) drawing soaked in goat piss! lets just say for the other ones i used about a roll of tape each to ensure they stay put!

so, my favorite holiday was yesterday in the U.S. :( but i hope everyone at home had an awesome halloween! as for me, i didn't get to dress up, but i did do something special. turns out that on the 30th of october people of the upper west climb this mountain that is about 2 hours from sombo to pray. well, i decided to join the women from sombo that were going. turns out it was mostly my favorite women who were going anyways. what i didn't know was that "praying" on the mountain top really meant HUGE party on the mountain! that night, there were well over a thousand people dancing and having a good time up on the mountain...and the stars were out and it was so beautiful! at 3 am my friend and i went down the mountain and walked to her fathers house (seemingly quite far!) to sleep. and they’re not really “houses”…its more like rooms that all share a common outdoor courtyard. anyways, as soon as we entered her room we heard some noises and flashed the light and there were 3 huge rats scurrying around :( gross! but we slept there anyways cause we were super tired, and besides what else were we gonna do?!? then at 7 when i awoke i was told that I had OVER SLEPT! i was then given my breakfast of pito, beer, and Tzed (a local dish made from millet that was served with okra stew)….we from there hiked back to (and up) the mountain where the party had once again begun. there was a mass there (everyone in the upper west who is christian is catholic) but we were late so only saw the last 5 minutes of it (i was ok with this…especially since otherwise it would have been about 3 hours of listening to a priest speak a language that i understand little of). but overall, it was quite a fun trip and i really got to bond with some of the ladies in my village.

so i just finished a book called “the journey home” written by lee carroll. it is one of the kryon book series and i found it quite interesting and would add it as one of my recommendations. it is a very easy read and it goes along well with that book about the cayce readings (so miranda, when you are finished with that one perhaps pick up this one...also, after you read them send me an email, i'd like to know your thoughts:).

in response to a message about the hippo sanctuary that is nearby my village, i have no details as of yet. i haven't had a chance to visit it yet, but most definately will. supposedly during the wet season it is very unlikely that you will spot a hippo, but if you go during the dry season, which is approaching very rapidly, you will see many. speaking of, it hasn't rained here in about 2 weeks, hamatan is on its way (about mid-novemeber through february), and very soon my body is in for something it has never before experienced.

i want to finish this blog by thanking those who have sent packages and letters. you can not imagine the joy and excitement that comes along with recieving something from home, whether it is a letter, or a package of very yummy smelling bathing goods (that i use every day...thanks girls!), or a package with my favorite candy (much love to you to!! <3 ). The price of airmail here just went up from 40 cents to 1 dollar, so it is a bit more difficult for me to send home,...but i'll do my best. i am currently trying to save money for a trip i want to take around christmas time, however, so far i have not been very successful (i never have been a saver, i'm much better at spending :) in the future, if anyone plans to send a package there are a few things that i could use that i can not get here: First, stuff for school: 1) the big, colorful chalk 2) markers and more markers 2) crayons 4) perhaps colored pencils 5) stickers to put on the papers when they do well. Secondly, for me: 1) COFFEE!! mom sent me some and it was the most wonderful thing ever! but i have used it to completion....and am now back on the instant stuff we can buy here...which is like being used to riding in a limo, then being reduced to riding on the back of an old, dying mule. sorry horrible analogy...but i try not to make my brain work too much on saturdays :) of course this blog is so long it may be sunday before you finish reading it :)

ok, so that it all for now. except that i love you all, and you are in my thoughts constantly. i would love to hear from you and find out exactly how life is going on that side of the world...post a comment or send me a personal email if you get the chance. ok, peace and love.

Diana

p.s. i will post pictures of my new hair doo and of the "prayer" on the mountain next time i travel to a big city, which will probably be the beginning of december.