It really has been awhile hasn’t it? I tried to upload an album and a test post from Windows Live Writer last week but I had only a few more minutes on the internet and well it turns out albums take a long time to upload… so it’s back to the old methods for now! Quite a bit has happened since my last post, here are some of the highlights:
• To make a really long and coincidental story short, I found out that the World Vision child I sponsor, Hardala, is actually only 20kms away from Pong-Tamale! After a trip with Ruth to the WV office in Savelugu (the district’s capital) I am now going through the rig moral of protocol to hopefully get to visit with Hardala before leaving Ghana in Decemeber!
• Jody visited Pong-Tamale and we had a “5 mile diet” meal. We killed our own chickens that we bought from a local villager in PT. Yes we are chicken killers. We killed them, de-feathered them, carved them, cooked them and ate them. See “chicken killers” story
• With Jody’s help, I moved out of the former principal’s house and into the girl’s dormitories. The dorm is a one story bungalow-style building with rooms that house either 2/3 girls. There are two “bathing rooms” one at each end of the building and a large cooking room two rooms away from mine. There is also a common hall with some couches and a TV. My roommate is Florence, a level 300 (final year) student. She is the top student at the school, is highly involved with the Student Union and is one of the best teachers of the Ghanaian way of life that I have had the pleasure of meeting.
• Us pro JFs had our retreat in Damongo. The 5 of us were all together again for the first time since our arrival in Tamale in early August. Damongo is about 3 hours East and slightly South of Tamale. Just North is Mole National Park, the location for the final day of our retreat and our chance to try and see some elephants and other wildlife as well as swim in the luxurious hotel’s pool. Nadia, Claire and I arrived a day prior to the retreat to check out the Agriculture college located in Damongo. We met with the principal and vice principal and sat in on a lecture in hopes of learning a bit more about the curriculum offered at this college and their direction moving forward. The retreat itself was awesome. It was great to hear about the life and work of the other girls. We did a lot of sharing, reflecting and laughing. Sarah even managed to bring a cake for us to celebrate all the birthdays that had happened since arriving in Ghana (everyone except Jody)
• Country and Sector Meetings in Tamale after the retreat with all the EWBers in Ghana: anyone else’s account of these days would probably be more exciting than mine as I was down with malaria again. The evening we got back from Damongo I started feeling the muscle aches and fever. The meetings that I did attend were great and informative and my friends were awesome in bringing me back food from the early Thanksgiving dinner and after-ultimate Frisbee dinner. I stayed in Tamale a few extra days, got tested, saw a doctor, got medication and started to feel better.
• Once back in Pong Tamale, the visit I had arranged for the Human Resources Director to come and visit the college was underway. He arrived with his deputy on Oct 9th and we had meetings with some of the school faculty before holding a school-wide assembly on education, youth leadership and entrepreneurship. It was highly motivating and exciting. The main idea behind the meeting was to link the high-level government officials from Accra and their vision for youth to become more innovative and self-sufficient and entrepreneurial to the grassroots level reality. Overall I’d say mission accomplished with many more ideas stemming from that Friday.
That is a little summary of what has been going on for the last 3 weeks or so. On the agenda in the upcoming weeks: visit to Upper East Region to check out the work Nadia, Claire and Ryan are doing with the AAB (Agriculture as a Business) curriculum, a Halloween celebration in Tamale, Country Meetings at the beginning of November, a visit to Kumasi to check out a Fair Trade Cocoa Production as well as another Agriculture college… busy busy! Before I know it, it will be December and I’ll have to start thinking about coming back to Canada! That thought is something we’ve definitely already started to think about as we try and figure out how to make sure our experience is continued in our home country. There are some pretty exciting projects underway, I’ll keep you posted!
Chicken killers:
Those who remember that day at Sarah’s (Marsden) cottage where I stayed behind while those of you went fishing will attest that I do not enjoy the “hurting” of animals. Even for food. I am that hypocrite who doesn’t like to prepare chicken or meat but smiles with delight while feasting on dozens of saucy wings. No better time or place than 5 months in Ghana to challenge myself into preparing the food I love eating. One of those loves definitely is chicken. The idea of preparing my own chicken came about while talking about food with some students during my first week in Pong-Tamale. They were surprised at my lack of knowledge in terms of preparing food from scratch. I admitted to buying boneless, skinless chicken breasts at the grocery store. To hold myself accountable to this challenge I told a few people. Some of my new friend in PT, some of the Pro JFs, some other EWBers and some people back home in Canada. I admit I “chickened out” hahaha a few times in that I didn’t arrive in time to help with the preparation but that all ended September 26th with Jody’s presence. George was back for that weekend (he had left for teacher’s college the previous week but it turns out that his semester was postponed by two weeks) and he was to practice his teaching skills with 2 terrified Canadians and 2 more terrified chickens. The whole thing was quite the event. It started at about 3pm. I rode with George to about 4 different houses before finding chickens. The lady selling them was a Dagomba (Tribe in the Northern region, the most common one to the area where I stay) who spoke only Dagbani (the local language), George is from the South and speaks Twi and well, I just am not that helpful with my English. It took half and hour, an old lady, a young girl, fetching of guinea fowl the Dagomba lady thought we wanted, returning of the unwanted guinea fowl, fetching of the chicken, bargaining of the prices in the language of hand gestures and smiles and pauses. It ended with George and I driving away as an odd sight. I’ve never carried chickens before, much less two by their feet tied together. They were oddly heavy. And flappy. And I suppose to show their discontent with the whole situation, one of them decided to poop on my hand/arm. This was obviously the one I decided I would be showing who’s boss.
Back at the Principal’s house, Jody meets us with a look that is caught somewhere between “this is so cool!” and “but we’re not really going to do it right?”. Before I knew it I was holding a knife, had one foot on the chicken’s legs and the other on its wings and was being instructed by George on how to kill it. I’ll spare the details but suffice to say that it did not feel like me doing it. And it was in no way pleasant. And I don’t think I would do it again. Jody just watched me in what was now just one clear look: horror. As my bird was taken care of and I was sufficiently shook up, I handed her the knife to which she said “when in Rome”. Not exactly Rome there eh Jody lol. Watching her do it was probably more scarring than doing it myself. But now that was all done, no time to lose, boiling water was poured on the birds and we went to the mighty pleasant task of de-feathering. Then the nerd in me emerged. “Cracking” open the bird and having the opportunity to see all the anatomy; things that are similar to humans and those that are compltetly different but completely necessary for the birds, well that was great. Unknown to us, Sunfred’s sister Erica actually videotaped us preparing the chickens; from de-feathering to carving. So all my geeky excitement was caught on film. It was a household effort as we very slowly and expert-lessly took care of the chicken while Sunfred and her mother, Doris and her sisters all took part in preparing the “light soup” which is A. delicious and B. primarily made of tomatoes, garden eggs (kinda like a cross between a tomato and an eggplant), onions, garlic, ginger, spices and our chicken of course. Foo foo was pounded over the next hour and bit; made from boiled plantains and cassava. Pounding foo foo is definitely working for your food. Despite all the drama, it is safe to say that the meal was one of the best I’ve ever had. And although I feel a little bit more true to the ambitious assertion that “if I enjoy eating it, I should be able to prepare it all the way from living to my plate”, I saw a cow the next day and had no desire to challenge myself again just because I eat the occasional hamburger lol. Small steps. Small steps.
Val’s day:
Of the many really interesting explanations of Ghanaian culture that Florence has enthusiastically shared with me, some are just really worth sharing. Like I’ve said before, she’s great. She’s the same age as me and is very smart. I don’t have to slow down my speech or change words; in fact she’s often outwitting me. Education, politics, social issues, gender issues, development issues, relationship issues, no matter what it is I can ask her and get real answers. But I digress. I don’t even know how we got to talking about Valentine’s day but somehow it came up. It was originially adopted in Ghana by the youth and they take “Valentine-o-grams” to the next level. In high school they would send parcels between schools to the people they were dating. But somehow the special day somehow started getting out of hand and it seemed like it was sex day instead of love day. There were nation-wide condom shortages around Valentine’s day that even caught the attention of the Government. 2 years ago Valentine’s day was changed to Chocolate day. The Ministry of Tourism saw this as an opportunity to decrease the alarmingly high prevalence of sex around February 14th as well as an opportunity to promote Ghana chocolate. So now people give heaps of chocolate to each other. Ghana chocolate does not may contain nuts. For all those of you who know me well know that this is like my dream come true. Too bad I won’t be here for chocolate day…
Oh and the reason it’s called “Val’s day” amongst the youth. They have a language called Pijin. It’s like a combination of English, Twi, other Ghanaian languages, some excerpts from Nigeria and a whole lot of abbreviations. I hear the students speak it all the time and I get excited because sometimes I recognize some English but then it quickly evaporates into this quick-tongued dance that I haven’t been invited to.
Time for Justice:
In an attempt to try and stay more in touch with the world, I was browsing BBC’s highlights last week. It seems a man involved in the Rwandan genocide has been arrested. This quote stood out to me:
“There is no time limit for justice, whether it comes fast or slow it is something we want to see,” said Augustine Nkusi, a spokesman for the prosecutor-general.
“Fifteen years is very little compared to what was committed in Rwanda. There are many victims who have not yet forgotten, who have not yet received justice.”
For those of you who have seen “Hotel Rwanda” or “Shake Hands with the Devil” (or read it) think back to those depictions of the horrible events of 1994 for a moment. It has been 15 years hasn’t it? Imagine if you still don’t know who was responsible for the death of your friends and family members. It made me think of the Tiananmen Massacre and the fact that Chinese Government still refuses to acknowledge that it took place. Media and publication censoring in China have attempted to erase the travesty from its history, leaving many parents of students without a feeling of justice.
It just made me think; how many more things are happening in the world that we are being prevented from seeing? How many more people are quietly waiting for justice?
IGF
I have recently introduced a project idea to my class called IGF. It’s a play on words for
1. Internally Generated Funds and
2. Initiative Guinea Fowl
And yes, I made up the second one. I know I’m a nerd lol. For those of you who don’t know what a guinea fowl is well here is my description (I had no idea these things existed prior to being in Zambia last year):
It is a bird that is shaped like a rugby ball with a tiny head. It is already pretty unattractive but its incessant squawking at all hours makes you want to wring its thin, disproportioned neck. Its feathers are not so bad, they’re dark with light spots and the meat resembles that of chicken only there seems to be more dark meat. It’s sort of equivalent to a chicken in terms of what you eat it with and how you prepare it…I tried to capture one on camera but the thing kept running away from me…
So the idea behind this IGF project is to see if we can try and pilot an entrepreneurial project this semester at the college. It is to practice skills of doing market research and trying to find a way for a project to really be profitable. I have split my class up into groups of about 6 students and they have an initial overview of the guinea fowl and the current hatchery at the college on their to do list They have to research health specifics of the guinea fowl, explore different markets and market prices, and answer some questions such as: is it more cost effective to buy guinea fowl eggs and hatch them or to breed the guinea fowl and hatch our own eggs? We’ll see where it goes from here!
A day in the life:
So what does a typical day here in Ghana look like for me? It’s actually a much more difficult question than you would think. Everyday seems to throw some sort of unexpected twist in my direction therefore making the day anything but standard. The best I can do is give you a description of what my days are like right now and then in the future, write another “day in the life” so you can see the changes:
• 0300: My roommate, Florence, wakes up by means of her internal alarm clock, gets dressed and goes to study across the field in an empty room with benches and broken windows. I roll over in my bed, under my mosquito net, and think “Thank goodness that’s not me.”
• 0500: Florence usually comes back around this time, I’m not altogether sure what she does because I’m still asleep but according to her she either goes back to sleep for an hour or stays up and gets ready to go for morning practicals at the college farm (they start at 630).
• 0620: Florence says bye, she tells me she’s filled a bucket for me to bath and she leaves. While still sitting in bed, I pull my mosquito net off the edges of the bed and twirl it and tie it in a lump so it is now hanging out of the way above the bed.
• 0620-0730: I take my time getting ready. This usually involves me boiling about half a liter of water in a little silver saucepan on the equivalent of a Coleman stove. ¾ I use for a drink of some sort and ¼ I use for oatmeal. I read while eating and then clean the dishes using the little bit of hot water left in the pot. Then I get ready for my bucket bath. I tie my 2-yard (literally 2 yards of cloth) around my body, grab my little bucket containing my soap and a cup and head to the bathroom at the end of the hall. The bathroom has three “shower” stalls and 2 “toilet” stalls. There used to be running water here, I don’t know how long ago, but currently the big, black polytanks (just a huge, black, plastic tank filled with water) at the back of the dorm is the water supply for cooking, cleaning and bathing. I use less than your average pail full of water to wash my hair and body. It’s amazing how little water we actually need to bath.
• 0730-0745: I get dressed, put on my contact lenses, take my vitamin pill and get my bag ready. I then bike to the school with my new, white, well-fitting bike! (for those of you who read story about the green bike early on in my placement, I have since replaced that craziness with a much more user-friendly bike)
• 0800-1400: This is where the variation starts. Depending which day of the week it is I will be doing different things during the day. But typically I bike to the administration office and greet Ruth and the other workers and the Principal. I walk over to the library, which is either open because Moses is already there or I open it. I sit in the library and let the day unfold. I work on my computer, interact with students and teachers and try to get some work done. On Tuesdays I teach my class. So that means at 0945 I am in the classroom adjacent to the library waiting for my students to arrive. Half the class usually takes place in the classroom where I use the time and space to pretty much whatever I’ve chosen to talk about that week concerning agriculture, ICTs and entrepreneurship. The second half of the class we go to the library and the students have the opportunity to use the computers. This week they were given the period to finish their overview of the IGF project.
• 1400-1900: This also is a variable period. Before moving into the girl’s dorm, I would often go home and relax for a bit and then go to the principal’s house to hang out and help make dinner. My routine now has not yet been set but it seems like it will be following this trend: I’ll bike to a nearby little stall and get some bread and tomatoes if I think we’re running low and then bike back to the dorm. Florence is there doing work or napping and so I read or work. Yesterday I visited the Vet Lab after closing the library and so was actually on the internet for a few hours. Supper is made around 1730ish and so far involves me trying to help but usually just results in me watching and asking questions and then eating.
• 1900: Study time. Florence has a study partner, Christiana (who is also a student in my class, as well as the only girl who participated in the Run to End Poverty) who joins her in the morning at that ridiculous hour and also in the evenings. I joined them yesterday to study and will continue to do so as it is a great opportunity to get in a few hours of solid concentration time each night. And it is very reminiscent of my studying when I was at McGill. Only this is not Starbucks, or the Redpath library. This is the room with broken windows where you share a small desk just large enough to place one book each. Florence sits on a wooden bench and I am given the privilege plastic lawn chair. Christiana uses a stool as her desk. I keep brushing little insects off my page as I try and figure out a way of containing my textbook and notebook in a small area….I’m used to spreading my stuff out everywhere. There is no coffee, no bathroom, and no power outlet but there are goats wandering outside that scare me periodically as I look up and see figures appear out of the darkness.
• 2200: studying over. I realize that not only is it possible to study without coffee and the amenities I am used to back in Canada, but for Florence (who is the top student at the school btw) and Christiana, and all their colleagues for that matter (there is a little community of night studiers that spread throughout any building with lights at night on the college grounds) it is necessary. This is how they study. These rooms and makeshift study areas are their libraries and Starbucks and Tim’s and local coffee shops. Florence was even telling me that students from the SS (Senior Secondary school) in Pong-Tamale come to study in some of the college facilities because there is light. Apparently they sometimes stay there until class the next morning because they fall asleep and then don’t want to walk all the way home in the dark.
• 2205: back in the dorm, time for bed. I read for a bit and then fall asleep. Last night I feel asleep around 2300 thinking “Wow, in 4 hours she’s going to be up studying again…”
and sure enough, at 0300, she was up quietly preparing to make the most of her day.
My days generally turn out to be observations of the days of those around me. I had no idea of this huge studying culture when I lived in the former principal’s house because I was never around the college in the evenings. You would think after two months in a district I would be familiar with my surroundings but it seems I am still learning and discovering daily.
Acronyms:
100 standard abbreviations. That was the assignment of the level 100s from their communicative skills class. Suddenly there were about a dozen of them in the library searching through whatever book they could find to try and find a list of common acronyms. I was curious as to what they were doing so I asked. I suggested they just start to make a list off the top of their heads and then go from there. I got a paper out and started to write them down as they said them. Before you read what some of their top ones were, make a list of your top 5 that come to mind….
Okay, here are a few of the ones in the first ten given to me:
UN (United Nations)
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization)
MoFA (Ministry of Food and Agriculture)
WHO (World Health Organization)
WV (World Vision)
GCB (Ghana Commercial Bank)
…
I bet the list differ somewhat. I can think of over 20 acronyms of TV channels alone in Canada and I’m not even a TV watcher. Developmental, political, economical and social discourse is not on the top of our minds as young Canadians. But for Ghanaians of the same age these topics are life. These are the acronyms found in their daily news, newspapers, billboards. I remember a conversation I had with Jody where she was describing a day in her life here in Ghana. She works with the government and often goes out for “drinks” after work. She says that about 90% of the casual discussions she has with her colleagues is around development. In developed countries like Canada and the States, we struggle to create awareness and harvest motivation around development. Let’s let Jon and Kate plus 8 live their lives and find something more meaningful to talk about! Make BBC your homepage! When you read something you’re unsure of, wiki it! Google it! If you have kids, ask them questions that make them think: if they could change something in the world, what would it be? If they could visit another country right now where would they want to go and why? If you don’t have kids, find some to ask, or ask yourself the questions!
I'm now going to try and upload some pictures!!!!!!!!! Stay healthy and inquisitive!!!!
