Hi!
Wow I didn’t realize until I started writing this to you that I’ve forgotten so much about the trip!!! I will just have to highlight things in a probably inaccurate order.
My first trip to Mathias’ village: We went to the funeral which was in many ways the same as a Christian burial here. There were 3 people being buried at the same time though, and the ceremony went on basically all day long with people coming and going through the church grounds. There was a marching band playing there with young kids, and a really small boy went up and played the trumpet like a pro. Mathias’ mom is about 80 years old and looks like she is 45-50. She cooked amazing meals all weekend for me. She even gave me a beautiful cloth that is apparently very valuable as it is a bunch of local, traditional fabrics sewn together. We spent such a large majority of the weekend walking and talking to his family. But in a strange way it was really fun. We went to the funeral grounds early on where there was traditional drumming and dancing going on. They taught me the dance and it became a sensation. All weekend long I had to dance for everyone we saw because they’ve barely seen white people, yet none of them has seen a white person dance like that (in their traditional way). Basically, it was a weekend full of incredible hospitality - drinking, dancing, and eating in a gorgeous village. As we were leaving early in the morning, Mathias got a phone call saying that his cousin, who I had been dancing with merely the night before, had died mysteriously. He was in his mid-thirties. This became one of the reasons I went back to the village for a second time.
Before I talk about the second village trip I’ll briefly talk about my second placement. I began working at the Kaneshie daycare within walking distance of where we stayed. The first day I was there, I thought I would just be observing and teaching one subject, but they had me teach a class of 20 four year-olds by myself for the entire day. I was exhausted very quickly because there was absolutely no discipline when the kids are used to being beaten by a cane. I also had a hard time explaining things to the kids. In a lot of ways the placement was great because the kids were really cute and it was a great learning experience. The kids had the shortest attention span ever and I literally had to dance around like a clown to keep them interested. As soon as they weren’t interested they would start beating on each other and I would hear dramatic little voices “Aunty Becky he’s beaten’ me!” and as a response...”IT’S A LIE! IT’S A LIE”. And then there would be like 5 of these fights going on at once at which point I was ready to cry or scream or fight myself. So I would tell stories and play games and do magic white lady tricks and try not to laugh when they gave me confused looks about most of what I said. The best day was the last day. I went to Kaneshie market looking for “treats” for them. At first I felt bad because I didn’t have anything left for them - I had given it all to the other placement. So at Kaneshie I was just looking for anything I could use to entertain them and I found balloons, buttons, string, candy, toilet paper, and a few other odd items. We made necklaces with the buttons, we danced, we played keep up the balloons, we created chaos with the toilet paper and string, we had a picnic and scavenger hunt, and all sorts of things. So basically it was a magical last day full of whimsical fun.
Alright - there’s most of it. There’s still the last trip to Dzodze to tell you about. Tell me stories about life as a med student. I’m obviously not good at condensing things, so write as much as you can! Its so nice to hear from you :)
p.s. I will probably post this email on my blog because I feel bad about not finishing that off properly lol.
Monday 17 October 2011
Friday 5 August 2011
Ada Foah, an Island Paradise
There are three "Adas" in this area, but according to Lonely Planet, "Ada Foah" is the only one worth visiting. Claire and Nicola had been there before, but for myself, Stephane, Melanie, and Kheira, this would be our first weekend trip and chance to get out of polluted, crowded Accra. It was to be about a 2 -3 hour trip. As soon as we got on the tro, waiting for it to fill up with people, it was already evident that it would be a uncomfortable, squished, and sweaty ride there. It was bad enough for me, but Melanie had been sick, and once we started moving after waiting in the hot tro for about 20 minutes, Melanie began to throw-up. Then she filled the plastic bag, it broke, and she threw-up out the window. I think the rest of us were in a state of panic, not really knowing what we can do to help. Nicola was able to act super quickly and dig into the bottom of her pack and pull out an extra plastic bag. I was kind of just frozen. Firstly out of concern for my friend Melanie, but also wondering if the motorcyclist passing by the tro knew what was happening. Nope. Anyway - Melanie didn't complain for one second, stuck some gum in her mouth, and proceeded to have a super awesome weekend.
The air became fresh quickly once we were out of Accra, and already the trip was worth it for me. We started seeing anthills the size of trees, and scenery so gorgeous that it almost made my heart ache. We had to take a small motor boat to the island and saw some huge expensive houses along the way. By the time we had our dinner, it was dark (it takes forever to get your food here!), but we were all so excited that nothing could bring us down. Our "room" was a little hut with mosquito nets over the beds and sand as the floor. What more do you need than a gorgeous island with ocean on one side and a lake on the other, good company, good food, alcohol, a bonfire, and no worries?
The next day we went to a neighboring island with a sugarcane rum factory. We were given a tour (it was a very small island and a very small "factory") and shown how the sugarcane ferments and then is filtered into rum. We were then able to taste the rum. Wow it was so good! It and after two or three shots some of us bought bottles of the rum to take home to our family and friends. It was a very high concentration of alcohol - we estimated about 65%. It didn't take us too long to realize that we actually really didn't like the rum.
The rest of the weekend was literally spent lounging in paradise. I did end up breaking my camera in the process, but that and any other small set-backs really can't compete with a weekend in paradise!
Monday 11 July 2011
First day at the Autism Centre
Today was my first day of placement. It was a very eventful weekend (to be explained later), and it was difficult to get up early today. But the excitement of starting my placement provided me with fuel. It took about an hour to get to the Autism Centre - walking through the market to the tro station, taking the tro across town, and then walking through the town. I was to observe and not stay for long today. The Autism Centre was started by a woman whose child has autism when she realized that there was nowhere to go for help. Many people began bringing their children to her and she began renting a building. Because we had a VERY strenuous day yesterday, and since it was my first day at placement, I was told that I would be able to leave early. I was to observe for awhile today, and then tomorrow I will be discussing ideas for programs or jobs that I can do while I am there. I was placed with the preschoolers, and as I walked into the class they were having "music time". How perfect for me right? I knew most of the songs so I joined in singing and dancing while I observed (wheels on the bus, baah baah black sheep, shake my sillies out, etc.). Some of the children started interacting with me immediately. There was one volunteer/worker with each child at this point.
After music time we moved on to "number time", "academics", and then "snack time". As time passed, the volunteers seemed to be disappearing until I ended up just starting to help some of the kids with the number activities. One of the kids counted to two for the first time!!!! Luckily his mom was there to see it. Eventually, one of the boys became anxious for snack time and was getting very upset. When it was finally snack time, he began to have a tantrum and was holding my hands. I was leading him to the sink to wash his hands and he began trying to scratch and bite people. I was having decent luck consoling him, and very good luck getting him to wash his hands, when the volunteer who had been working with him earlier came. The boy got upset and bit him. The volunteer laughed and said luckily it didn't break the skin. Good thing I got my rabies vaccinations. As we led the boy back for snack time, we noticed another boy peeing on the floor, and one boy taking other people's food. So the volunteer went to get a mop. All of a sudden I was alone with four kids who all needed to stop what they were doing. Observing means something different here :). Luckily, things got sorted out soon enough, and it was already time for me to leave - or so I thought. As I was leaving, a young woman hissed at me and gave the hand signal for me to come to her (hissing also means come). I walked back and she wanted to show me something. She helped me wash off the mud from my feet and legs from the journey there and told me that I need to always look my best because "you never know when you will meet Mr. Right". I just laughed really hard and thanked her. I got slightly lost on my way home because it was different from the route on the way there, I got a couple marriage proposals, avoided a few mishaps, and then successfully made it back home from my first day. Every time you go somewhere, there is a new obstacle course to master. Today's was muddy.
Wednesday 6 July 2011
Music - a universal language
 |
| Khiera and I met these two school girls in the back of the tro on our ride to the nearby town Osu. The girl in the middle is studying music, and specifically voice, so we asked her to sing us a song. Like anywhere else, she got a bit flustered and had a hard time suggesting a song. So I used my super music therapy skills and asked what type of music she likes, zeroing in on a song I thought she might know. She did! That's how we ended up singing "Here I am to Worship" in the back of a tro. |
Tuesday 5 July 2011
"Me din de Afia" (My name is Afia)
It’s starting to feel real here now. For the past four days I’ve felt caught in one of the crazy ‘malarone dreams’ from my malaria medication – but now Ghana, with all its charm and challenges, is truly coming to life. I’m in a house with about 10 other volunteers, and some Ghanaian staff members. The people I am getting to know the most right now are three francophone med students from Ottawa (this is because we are doing our orientation week together). When I say med students, I really mean super-med students. They are really some of the most astounding people I’ve ever met! Orientation week has consisted of cultural and language training, along with traveling around to local areas to learn how to get around, and to interact properly. The other people in the house are also amazing. I think it takes a certain amount of nerve to do this sort of thing, and I wildly respect the people around me for this. I tend to leap into things wholeheartedly without thinking them out, and then not giving myself time to be afraid. By the time I was afraid, it was too late.
Some of the things we’ve learned:
- Twi Alphabet (one of the local languages): ABCDEƐFGHIKLMNOƆPRTUWY (The pronunciations of the letters are closer to French than English)
- You don’t do anything with your left hand here – it is extremely rude.
- Bargaining: People will do anything to get you to buy their wares…even give you something for ‘free’, or make a bracelet with your name on it, or say that it is the only way they will be able to feed their children, follow you, etc. Generally half the price is a fair price to pay.
- Many Ghanaian people’s names are from the day of the week that they were born (soul names), and there are male and female versions of these. There are also temperaments/ personality traits that go along with these. These names are meant to convey a sense of familiarity due to the communal nature of the culture. You already know something about the person when you first meet them.
Weekday | Twi Girl’s name | Twi Boy’s Name |
Sunday | Akos | Kwasi |
Monday | Akwoa | Kwadwo |
Tuesday | Abena | Kwabena |
Wednesday | Kukua | Kwaku |
Thursday | Yaa | Yaw |
Friday | Afia | Kofi |
Saturday | Ama | Kwame |
Characteristics of Each Day
- Monday's child is the father or mother in the family; nurturing in nature, dependable and organized, and protective of his/her family.
- Tuesday's child is the problem solver and planner of the family. They are structured in nature, neutral in all matters and never takes sides.
- Wednesday's child is fully in control of every situation, does not want to be told what to do, knows it all, is spontaneous, vibrant and cordial. Be sure not to cross his or her path, though...
- Thursday's child is quiet in nature and incredibly observant. They are generally listeners, not talkers, and analyzes situations very well.
- Friday's child is a leader, not a follower. He/she is very temperamental but has a big heart. Generally the instigator of everything.
- Saturday's child likes to take control of family situations. He/she runs the show and make the rules, but will go out of his/her way for others any time.
- Sunday's child is the passive, sensitive and warm member of the family. He/she tends to be shy and likes to keep to his/her self, but is very aware of his/her surroundings and usually is the secret keeper of the family.
It is about more than having to live without some of the comforts we’re used to here. It’s also about having to adopt the customs and culture around us – but not completely. We cannot oppose the customs and laws if they contradict our beliefs. But we also cannot accept things exactly as they are. Women are viewed as property here, belonging to their husbands. Children are caned here when they misbehave at school. Traffic is notoriously chaotic. What can I possibly do to help? I can’t change anything, but I can influence some people’s lives as well as my own. I can experience life in such a different way while I’m here – I can try to carry things on my head like the locals and get laughed at, I can try to speak Twi and get laughed at, or I can do anything else and go anywhere and get laughed at. I have certainly learned a lot - especially that white people, or “Obruni”, are hilarious.
Obruni! Obruni! Picture!
 |
| Most people are excited to see us and they call us "Obruni"/ white person. They laugh and smile and wave. The woman are not really interested, but the children can't believe we're real, and the men look us completely up and down unreservedly. While we were on a tro (van taxi vehicle), we saw the first other white person so far, and they all said it was my father....but he was old so I said "no no, that's my GRANDfather". They all laughed...because everything I do is funny and strange anyway. |
From a Golden City to a Golden Coast
I started my adventure in the wrong line at the airport. But being in the wrong line allowed me to meet a 100 year old woman who was on her way back to her birthplace - Mississippi. Hopefully the rest of my adventure and all its mishaps will also lead to similarly wonderful discoveries. Maybe I will stop asking myself "Why did I decide to do this again?!?", and at some point feel certain that it was a great decision. If I don't get any strange diseases or fall into other disastrous scenarios, it will be much easier to determine whether or not this was a good idea after all...
Sunday 3 July 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)