Saturday, February 26, 2011
Echoing Hills
This morning we arose at six to get on the bus to leave for our scheduled community service project. Unbeknownst to me the title of the organization, Echoing Hills, would represent the emotions that I would come to feel after we departed the home for the physically and the mentally handicapped. The children were thrilled at our presence and they would come to feel comfortable dancing with us and giving us hugs. Although the intention for our group was to clean up both the boys and the girls dorm by weeding, painting, scrubbing, brushing, chiseling, and other similar tasks the end product was a vast amount more. To say that we brought happiness to a group of wonderful people would be inaccurate; the truth is is that a group of amazing fun loving individuals brought joy and meanings to our day. The fulfillment from our venture to the organization came from the children who were extremely welcoming and allowed us to share the day with them, not to diminish the impact that our tangible work made.
The children ranged from four months old to adults. Some of the individuals were mentally retarded, others in wheelchairs, some are blind, others deaf, one had a prostatic leg, and still others were emotionally disturbed. The organization, which depends on support from groups like CIEE, maximizes each dollar by working with the vast array of challenges they are presented and making the best of the situation. The children have learned how to feed themselves, bathe themselves, raise chicken and goats, hold forks and knives, and perform other everyday tasks that they would have never dreamed of learning if it weren’t for Echoing Hills.
When we first arrived we were split into groups where we were assigned a specific task. My group was first to chisel and sand the gate, then we would continue by painting. The tasks varied greatly, but the similarity that tied them all together was the aspect of supplies. Each group was forced to take turns performing their specific task because there was a lack of supplies for sixty students to volunteer simultaneously. Although this may at first sound counter productive, the result of the situation was overwhelmingly positive. There were children from a nearby orphanage that were also on sight to assist us in our work and when those who were waiting for their turn to work were standing around they were able to make great use of their time by playing with the children. It was not the goal of our organization to entertain children; however, the tangible work got completed in a leisurely manner while children in need of human affection were provided immeasurable amounts of love. Some of the students were so good with the kids; they tossed them in the air, carried them on their backs, and ran around until they could no longer gather the energy to continuing in the festivities. The events were extremely eye opening; at that moment the young children were the happiest kids I have ever seen. They had tattered cloths, no shoes, and essentially no toys to play with, but they were excited and fun filled. They were enthusiastic about each new game we would show them and they did not stop smiling the entire time we were there. They participated in the cleaning with no words of disdain and they found time in between to play games with each other and pull at some of the students to have them join in on the entertainment.
I have worked tirelessly not to compare the United States to Ghana, but I believe it is vital to make one important comparison. The children here in Ghana are so thankful for every small thing they receive. We gave the kids pens, crayons, and some small toys and they were overwhelmed by our kindness. We were thanked a countless number of times and the children would find ways to make those toys last for as long a period of time as possible. The average child in America expects toys and quickly loosing interest in games and toys that they have received. The children in Ghana are also extremely imaginative and active; they can entertain themselves for hours with no tangible objects. They are happy to have time to play outside and just be a child, while children in America need constant entertainment and many times complain about being bored when toys surround them. The sheer happiness of the children is enough to bring me some comfort in the fact the children are homeless living a life that is never fair for a child whether that be in America, Ghana, or anywhere else in the world.
After we finished our tasks it was time for more fun and games. We were split up into groups, volleyball, football (American Soccer), and dance. Take a quick guess which group got the pleasure of my presence, football of course. No actually I chose dance to the surprise of most I am sure. I believe I danced for four hours straight taking no time to break. There were about twenty children in my group, including many individuals from Echoing Hills. There were some students that seemed to work miracles with the members of the organization. They were able to get so many of the physically and mentally disabled children to participate in the dancing. Astu rolled a woman around who may have been the most excited person I have ever seen. Others danced hand in hand with the people who were timid and did not want to dance at first. Some students danced in a circle with a group of members and spent time dancing with each member of the circle one at a time. I surprisingly did not find myself dancing with the members, which at first shocked me. I though I would gravitate towards entertaining those with disabilities, but I witnessed the joy on the faces of all of the members and realized I wasn’t needed in that area.
Instead I chose to spend my time with the children from the orphanage. There were about ten of them in a circle dancing better than you could imagine. Off to the side there were about another ten this group was made up of boys who appeared to be extremely shy. I began dancing and immediately the girls flocked towards me and one other individual in an attempt to get our attention. We quickly averted our attention to them and allowed them to showoff their dance moves for us. Then we would do some sort of made up move that the children would replicate. Anything we could think of the children learned and had a ball doing so. They learned the Macarena, cotton eye joy, the disco move, the Egyptian move, the move where you hold your nose and pretend to go in the water, some African moves I have learned in class, and other more hip shaking moves that the young girls would perform first and we would then replicate. Some of the children were five years old and they were able to dance in sync with the music and shake their entire bodies, I have no idea where they obtain these skills but I was shocked. Finally the young boys started to drift towards us so we engaged them by copying whatever they were doing. They in turn became more aggressive and started trying to dance with me and the other students. We clearly put an end to that before it began and made the boys stand far away to avoid any complications. The children were adorable and they were so excited to learn the silliest of moves, for the sheer reason that they were being shown how to dance by two individuals that were there to solely spend time with them. We were forced to give up our group when it was time to leave and I was so sad I had to leave them behind. They all gave me hugs, so many of them jumped on me at once that I fell right to the ground. I have mentioned several times the joy we brought to the children, but the impact the organization had on me was more profound then the impact we had on the children. I was able to witness first hand what it means to have so little and appreciate what comes your way in such a tremendous way.
As I walked out I saw a baby, he was only four months and the mentally handicapped individuals were passing him around. I naturally went over and took the baby into my arms; I was soon informed that he was an orphan. There were three babies onsite that were all abandoned by their mothers. Ghana has a law that does not allow for babies to be adopted until they are one year old, so those three babies are being taken care of by the organization until that time comes. It was so sad because they were so cute and I just wanted to take them home with me.
As we pulled away from the buildings and headed down the hill I could here the echo of the children playing and I hope to remember those voices forever. When I close my eyes I can still see their faces and I am determined to never let myself take what God has granted me for granted and to bring happiness to ever thing I do. The echoes will be in my head forever and I hope that those of you who are reading this take one thing out of my blog and that is that life is precious we have all been handed tremendous lives, make the best of them, and never forget to be thankful for the things you have that others can only dream of.
When we returned back to the hostel I went inside and tried to pass out, but I was over tired and I could get the children out of my head so I decided to try and work on my paper. I had finished all of the readings, made a solid outline, and got about three pages single-spaced done before I could no longer function and had to go to bed.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
I did not do much all day today, I really had to work on my paper so I woke up early and got to work immediately. Although I had made plans for the day, nothing got done besides my paper. I did take a break when for some reason Word stopped working on all of the macs. Hannah and I made salsa, which was delicious and a nice break from the same foods everyday. Lately my diet has consisted of oatmeal, rice, cabbage andfruit. Not the healthiest selections, so the tomatoes and papers were a good addition. I continued my paper and went to bed relatively early again.
Monday, February 28, 2011
I had my internship today, it took me about two hours to get there, but it was well worth it. I left my room around 6:45 and walked to where I could catch a trotro. I waited for about forty-five minutes and still I was unable to find my way to thirty-seven. The traffic at that time is unbelievable; the cars are almost at a standstill. Finally a loading taxi came that was going to 37 so I hopped on and was on my way. It took until eight thirty to get there; when the roads are not congested it is about a fifteen minutes drive. Luckily the walk from the stop is only about ten minutes to get the next trotro to Osu, where I get off at the last stop. I arrived at 9:02, while using American time I was two minutes late, using Ghanaian time I was the first one in the office. Once everyone arrived and I was given my assignment everything went smoothly. I really enjoy the work I am doing, and the people are extremely kind. My current assignment is to finish a project that the last intern began and never had the opportunity of completing. The name of the organization is WILDALF- Women of Law in Developing Africa and their focus is on aiding women and children in learning about and understanding the law system. My specific task is to go through the newspapers from the month and write a report on the articles that pertain to the goal of the network. Thankfully they have a satellite so their internet is almost always working, although it is painfully slow I can still manage to get on if I have something I need to do immediately.
The trip home from work is ten times simpler because not only is there no gridlock, there is also a direct trotro that gets me all the way back to school. It is not a struggle to find the right vehicle there is usually one waiting at the stop that leaves as soon as it fills. To give you an idea about the transportation system I should start with the buses. They run on a schedule that is not written down anywhere, you just need to go to the various stations and ask. There are three large companies that have buses, plus the government ran much less luxurious buses. For some of the companies you must go to the station the day before and buy a ticket in order to ensure you have a seat, while others you can’t buy the tickets until the morning of. So it entails waking up at four am and getting to the station early enough to hopefully get a seat on the one bus that is going at the time you need to leave. The buses usually run one in the morning around 8, another in the afternoon like 2:30 or in the evening at around 6. Each system is different and some of them have more than just two buses departing to certain destinations. The other source of transportation is the trotros, which are some how extremely organized but I have no inkling how that happens. They are private cars not sanctioned by the government and there always seems to be a plethora of them going to varies destinations arriving at each trotro stop regularly. Although there is no way to predict how long it will take you to get on a trotro and there is no specific times, if you are Ghanaian and aggressive you should not have to wait over thirty minutes. However, it is hard for me and other foreigners to understand what the mate (not the driver, but his partner that shouts the name of the trotro route out the window) is saying and the hand signals sometimes confuse us. By the time we figure out that the trotro is going to our destination it is to late because people have already shoved us out of the way. A trotro is essentially a large van there are photos of them on my facebook. Also for the most part there will only be one or two seats available on the trotro, so if we are in a larger group we have to split up and hope that another trotro comes quickly. Loading taxis are another source of transportation. The buses that are ran by the government are the most inexpensive, then the trotros, then the loading taxis, then the private buses for longer journeys, and then regular taxis. The loading taxis are regular taxis that pick up people from different places that all have similar locations and he will charge each person individually. I have yet to see a women trotro driver, mate or taxi driver while I have been in Ghana. Keeping this in mind, it is easy to understand why people always arrive to their appointments late and no one is ever on time. Every time I get frustrated I try and remember how difficult it is for me to get around and that they may be having the same difficulties.
After work I went to the veggie city stand, which was a great decision. I got a head of cabbage, two small tomatoes, and green beans all for 1 cedi. I am not sure how that worked, but I was thrilled to have obtained such delicious vegetables. I also got groundnut paste, which is the version of peanut butter here. But it is all natural with no sugar added. The interesting thing is there is no label on the jar, so the ingredients, nutritional facts, or anything of the sort is unknown to me and everyone else. I then went to Twi class, ate banku for dinner which I almost enjoyed my pallet has changed dramatically although I am still having a difficult time using my fingers to eat and cleaning them off by licking them, but I am working on it, and then went to dance for Astu. I got back and went straight to my paper, I didn’t get that much done because I was exhausted and needed to get to bed.
Tuesday, February 29, 2011
I woke up early this morning and went straight to working on my paper because I don’t have class until ten today. I had my computer class, which was canceled last week because there was no power so the computers were no use to anyone. The class is only four weeks long and it was canceled the first week and today the power went out half way through the class although it came back on quite quickly. Therefore, we only have two classes left and we have learned essentially nothing. Since I am always early and I though my class began at 10 I arrived there at 9:45. Surprisingly the class prior to mine was still in session and I learned my class didn’t begin until 10:20, which actually means 10:35 or so here. So I sat around for some time and tried to work on my paper. Something good ended up coming out of the class, I met up with Daniel someone I had met in my methods class the first week, but when my phone died I lost his number and hadn’t seen him since. So I was able to sit with him in class and not all alone in the sea of friends that usually surround me. Also in class a student was selling last year’s exam for one cedi, right in the classroom where the professor was teaching.
After class I went to Coffee Que for the first time, for a tune sandwich. I was so excited to try it because sandwiches don’t really exist here because there are no cold cuts to put on them. They also don’t eat peanut butter and jelly or any other sandwich combination. Egg sandwiches are the only types we have encountered, so tuna was a nice change. It turned out to be delicious, but it was much smaller than I had predicted. After we ventured over to the CIEE office and got to use the Internet before our Twi class. After Twi I made green beans and went off to dance. I got back and went straight to my paper once again. I finished at a decent hour, went to bed, and then woke up at six to finish editing before I submitted the paper.
Wednesday, March 1, 2011
I went to the IPO office early to print my assignment for my other class and get on the Internet to send my paper. When I got there I realized I didn’t know my professors name or his e-mail address so I had to scurry around like a chicken without a head to find someone in my class who had the email address. I did eventually find it and I was able to send the paper in time. I then went to class where I found out that he had received zero papers as of this morning, which came as a huge surprise to me, but no one else seemed to be fazed. After class I have to practically run to the IA center, which is off campus and I am almost always five minutes late to class. However, class usually has not begun by the time I get a seat. In class we tried a new food, I have no idea what it was our assignment was to find out and I am yet to do that. They looked like donuts, but the professor said they weren’t starch. They tasted like there was egg in them and they were very spicy. After class I raced to my tutorial, which is in the furthest building from the IA center. Again I am always late to that class, but since it is not a real class it doesn’t really matter. There are about ten of us who attend out of a class of fifty that are supposed to be there. It is the tutorial for the class my paper was due in and the professor showed up to check on our attendance, which was clearly poor. He informed us that he had received 19 papers as of then, and they were due almost six hours prior.
After class I went straight to the gym for our first salsa lesson, which we quickly learned was at 5 and not 4. So we returned to the hostel and decided not to go to the lesson, because we would then have to miss the lesson at Coconut Grove, which is free and entertaining. So we got ready and went to the hotel for our weekly salsa adventure. It was just two of us and we ended up having so much fun because we both found amazing partners that have definitely contributed to our improvement in salsa. Thankfully salsa is over at ten thirty so we always get back really early. I went to bed as soon as I got back because again I have to wake up before six for my internship tomorrow.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Another internship day which means up before six and arriving at work at 9:00. However, today was different I had an amazing transportation experience. First, I got to the stop a little late so I was nervous I would never make it to work. But a bus came by after only about ten minutes and it happened to stop at 37, which is where I need to go. So many people jammed onto the bus, we were packed in like sardines and I was stuck in between two men on the stairs. I was anxious because I had my laptop with me and I was being jammed back and forth so it was hard to keep tack of everything. Additionally, I was standing backwards so I could not really see where we were. After about thirty minutes I got nervous that I missed my stop so I asked the guy next to me, who informed me that he were getting off there so he would let me know. He turned out to be really nice, the trip was another twenty minutes and we kept talking the rest of the time. When we got off we learned that we were both going to Osu, so once again he took the lead and found the correct trotro to get onto. We got on and it started moving immediately, which is much more exciting than you may first presume. Because usually you have to sit and wait until the van fills before they leave and it is really hot with no air or breeze. We were not right next to each other on the trotro, so he paid for me before I go the chance to tell him that he didn’t need to do that. So in all it was a great trip with no mishaps and I arrived early to work. Since my stop is at the market I decided I would go shopping, but after I chose shoes I remembered I had forgotten money and the women gave me the shoes anyway and she told me to bring her the money the next time I had work, I don’t know how she trusted me, but she did.
Work was also amazing. When I arrived my boss asked me if I wanted to go to a wedding of one of the woman in the office, the wedding was is the Volta Region in a town called Ho, somewhere I had never been. So of course I accepted even though I had nothing to wear. I asked her how much it would cost and I was informed the car, food and gift were all being supplied by the company so it wouldn’t cost anything. I was so excited and I decided it would be nice if I brought a gift along anyway. So I asked my boss what I could get and she told me that at noon we would go together to the mall. We arrived at the mall she helped me pick bowls that were only four cedis for two and then we went to the market. I got milk powder and sugar, which I have really needed but haven’t had the time to pick up. We then went to Tema station where she put me on the right trotro and I was sent home, three hours earlier than usual. I had time to get all of my laundry done when I got home which was something that needed to get done. I may not have mentioned earlier that I got bed bugs; I woke up this morning with legs that look like they were attacked by millions of bugs. I brought my sheets and towels to the woman upstairs to wash and washed all of my clothes really well and the bugs seem to be gone, but I haven’t slept in my bed so I can’t be positive. I was thrilled that I was able to accomplish so much before class, so I went off to dance in high spirits. Dance class has picked up a lot and I have made two friends that always stand by me while we dance and tell me when I am doing things wrong. I also have a couple of the drummers looking out for me, so when I look ridiculous they let me know. I am happy I stuck with the class although I do wish it was smaller in number. After class I got ready to go out to a new place called Tantra. We were not sure whether or not we should go because they were running a special that is going to repeat each Thursday, but this was the first week it would be free for both en and women until midnight. We assumed that it would be overwhelmingly crowded, but we decided since it was free we would try it out. We weren’t exactly sure where it was located and the taxi driver ended up getting lost and driving in circle for about thirty minutes before he finally found it. It turned out to be an amazing night, the majority of the club was people from ISH (our hostel on camous), and so no matter who danced with me I knew them. That is always a relief and it also deters those who you don’t know from dancing with you. If one of them tried I could just scoot over and find someone that I knew and when you are dancing with a Ghanaian it is uncommon for guys to try and invade. The night was marvelous and we got back at a decent hour.
Friday, March 4, 2011
I literally did next to nothing today. I got up at around nine thirty and went upstairs to watch a movie. The set up was marvelous, the movie was projected onto the wall, so it was easy to watch. After the movie and just hanging out Brittany and I decided to go to the pool and lay out. We went until it was time for me to leave and go to dance. I got back, showered, and went to dance, which was not very productive, but it was a good workout and a lot of fun. I was going to go out after dance, but I was exhausted and didn’t feel like paying the cover charge at Wheezy Lounge, so I stayed in for the night.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
I went to my first wedding today and it was so exciting. It began at nine so we met at the mall at six o’clock. I woke up before five to ensure I could get a taxi in time and pick out an outfit. It was very difficult to get ready because my roommate was still sleeping when I got up and I had to try on a couple of different outfits, wrap my gift, make out a card, do makeup, and my hair. I got everything done with only a couple of mishaps like not having tape and went out on my way. I was able to get on a trotro thanks to a lady that helped me figure out which one would stop at the mall. I got there right on time, but I couldn’t find the bus we were taking. I called someone to ask where I should go and it took about twenty minutes for a response. You would think I would have learned by now, but I clearly haven’t because I began to get nervous that they were going to leave without me. When the bus driver called me over I realized there was only one person there and it was over an hour before everyone arrived and we were on our way. The ride was about two and a half hours long and we made it to the church by ten. In Ghana weddings are just like church, over three hours for just the ceremony. We danced and sang for about an hour, and then the rest of the wedding was similar to an American wedding. There were minor differences, one being that a pillow was brought out and the coupled kneeled down for about thirty minutes while all of the reverends and the bishop prayed in chants for the couple and the guesses made typical Ghanaian sounds. At the end of the wedding we left and got food which I found unusual, but the reception is usually done at someone’s house or a church so a meal is not served it is more like appetizers and cake. We then went to the reception for only a short time, where there was dancing, music and drinking. We headed home and I spent most of the time sleeping.
We got back around seven and I found out a couple of the girls were invited to be back up dancers in a gospel music video for Jael. I decided I would go along with them and we had a blast although it took much longer than expected. The director told us to behave like we were at a club, but remember that it was a video for a gospel song. So essentially we had to dance like we would if we were at church, but look like we were having the time of our lives. Afterwards she took us, in her hummer, to La Palm a casino and karaoke bar, and on the way we were stopped at the security check point. Because there were seven of us in the car Jael got scolded and had to pay the cop 2 cedis and leave her license. He said he wanted to show the foreigners that the Ghanaian cops are serious and that she should show us a better example. We sang Oops I did it Again and we all ordered ice cream which was amazing and then we drank vodka which is an interesting combination. Two of the girls and I decided we would stay all night at the casino, gamble, go to the beach and then head over to Independence square at six AM because it was already four and not worth going all the way back to campus. First the two girls gambles about five cedis just to say they had done it and then we went to the Dragon Room (the room with karoke) and took pictures and just danced around for a period of time. We then made our way to Labadi Beach and fell asleep on the lounge chairs for about thirty minutes before we got a trotro to Independence Square. Tomorrow is Independence Day and there is a huge parade where the president is present at the square. So we did just that and by the time we arrived the three of us really needed some sleep.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
I decided that I would save our seats by sleeping on the bleachers we would occupy while the other girls went and got egg sandwiches for breakfast. I must have slept for an hour it was phenomenal. The parade began at around eight and we had terrific seats although we were in the scorching heat and I thought we were all going to melt. All of the students marched in, in perfect formations and it was only about thirty minutes later that children began falling to the ground. At the end of the three hours over fifty kids had fallen right on the black top because they had passed out because they were standing still in the sun. Some of the children were only seven and eight and it was so sad every time we say someone running out with a stretcher. At one point three cannons were fired and about fifteen kids passed out from a combination of the heat and the fright. Three planes then flew by and I was still in shock from the lack of concern for the children to applaud. Besides the children fainting the parade was well organized and the children’s performances were phenomenal. There were vendors all over and I was able to get a couple of souvenirs that say Ghana on them and we tried a new drink that was essentially liquid starch. I would not suggest it to anyone. After the parade we got on a trotro and headed for the hostel. After we arrived I immediately got in the shower and passed out in my bed. I slept from about noon to four and then got up to get things done for school. I think at some point I fell back asleep because I received a phone call at eleven and it woke me up.
I decided to go out, so I got up, got ready, and we headed off to Aphrodisiac a popular nightclub. However, our taxi driver didn’t know where it was located even though he informed us when we got in the taxi that he knew where to go. First, he brought us to Jokers and then to Cinderella’s before we finally got to Aphro. By that time it was after 1 AM, which was a problem because the club was only free until one. We explained the situation to the bouncer and he let us in with no trouble at all and with no cost to us. We got inside and realized that everyone there was old and the music that was being played fit the scene. Luckily one of the boys we were with new the manager and asked him nicely if they could change the music to fit the needs of the college students who were in attendance. By two thirty the music was changed and we were able to have a great time. We left before four, which is atypical for Aphro.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Today I got to sleep in! I didn’t wake up until a little before nine and then I got ready to go to the beach. I spent a couple of hours updating my blog, which I am really sorry I took so long to do. We went to the beach at around noon and it was so over crowded. Since it is a holiday a lot of people go to the beach and it was clear that it was going to be a rough day. To no surprise we were harassed constantly and we needed the protection of the Ghanaian boys we were with on more than one occasion. We avoided the water, because the men in the water can get very inappropriate. Also it is interesting to see the lifeguards scolding the black locals and telling them not to swim in curtain areas, but when white people go to the same spots the guards turn the other eye. It is true that most Ghanaians do not swim well and the average American can swim. However, these are very stereotypical statements and the rules of the ocean should not lie on that bases. We left the beach at around five and I got back in time to work on my blog (in the dark) and then get ready for dance. Only two people showed up to dance tonight and I was one of them. The other girl said she wasn’t feeling well so at the end she decided to sit down and Atsu ended the rehearsal. I have a quiz tomorrow, which I still need to study for and then I plan on working on my readings for my classes that the packets just came out in.
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