Today started really early! I woke up at 7 a.m. for my 8 a.m. internship seminar, which was actually really, really interesting. We had read a reading that discussed what an NGO is and what its functions are and how it is run. In one part of the reading, it defined the two types of NGOs, and how they are rarely mutually exclusive, but tend to overlap in their functions. Essentially, there are two types of NGOs: advocacy and operational.
Advocacy NGOs support other organizations with similar causes to have a voice. They raise awareness on an issue (e.g. - human rights, AIDS prevention, rights of homosexuals, etc.) and promote rights. The results of these programs are relatively intangible, as the programs’ main goals is education and spreading the message about the message or cause. Operational NGOs meet the needs of the community affected. Many will provide tangible means for their target groups (for instance, Habitat for Humanity is an operational NGO, because they provide tangible houses for their target group to use). These types of NGOs have programs, give out needles or beds, and have clinics of facilities. As I said, though, most NGOs do both operational and advocacy work, and there are very few that only focus on one. WAAF does both operational and advocacy work. Their advocacy programs are much like what Leigh and I will be doing—going into schools and educating the youth, aka, spreading the message for the cause. The operational work WAAF does includes the services and funding they provide to the 15 Orphans and Vulnerable Children we sponsor, as well as having facilities for people to get tested, passing out condoms, etc. I was really glad to know the difference, and am glad I can look at WAAF and the work its doing in the larger context of what an NGO is and does.
In my Society, Culture and Modernization class, we learned about marriage in the Ghanaian culture. It was a really interesting class and we had a really good dialogue with our professor about the differences between Western ideas of marriage and the Ghanaian ideas. Some of the things that stuck out to me most about the discussion were:
*Marriage is constitutionally defined as between a man and a woman, and same sex relations (even without marriage) is illegal in Ghana
*While most inter-familial marriages are discouraged, one type, the Cross-Cousin Marriage type, is actually encouraged. Essentially, in the Ghanaian culture, it is not considered a good thing to marry your first cousin (mother’s brother’s son, or whatever). This is strange to even Ghanaians, because family is so important, and most cousins are raised together like brothers and sisters, and then some eventually marry each other.
*Bouncing off of this idea, most marriages are not arranged, per se, but they are definitely discussed by both families, and most parents encourage their children to marry within certain groups.
*Marriage is also what our professor calls a union between two families, and the marriage is less about the two people getting married than it is about the two families coming together.
The part I found most interesting and disturbing all at the same time was the roles and expectations of the husband and wife.
*The wife is supposed to refer to her husband never by his first name. She may refer to him by his last name, as her children’s father, or, most commonly, by “my lord”. Our professor asked the only guy in our class if he’d like it if his wife called him “my lord,” and the boy replied probably not, that’d it’d be a little weird. The professor seemed taken aback that a man wouldn’t want his wife to call him that. We explained that in the states, husbands and wives call each other by their first names, and he just didn’t understand that.
*The husband is responsible for paying off the wife’s debt, taking care of her and providing for her, while the wife is responsible for bearing children and maintaining the household.
*Men typically do not want to marry a woman who is of equal or higher intelligence than he, because they feel they are superior to the wife in opinion, knowledge and thought. I guess a smart wife intimidates them too much, so they almost always marry down (in smartness). **The girls in the class, myself included, were NOT okay with this
*In the 1960s, the rate of polygamy used to be about 50%, and now it is down to 15-20%. For those husbands that practice polygamy, their first wives oftentimes help select the second wife, as she selects someone who will be of great use to her around the house and with the kids
*The main keyword in a marriage here is “respect,” but it is not usually a mutual respect. The term is most commonly used when referring to a wife’s submission to the husband, as in the case of intelligence, or using the term my lord.
Ultimately, many of us found this whole concept of marriage particularly disturbing. I’m no feminist, but I do believe in gender equality, and this just doesn’t sound like that to me. I think that’s the way it is though, and our professor didn’t sound apologetic about this being the case. It was interesting to get to talk with him about the differences between marriage here and marriage in the United States. I think both sides learned a lot from each other.
After that class, Gillian and I went to the Togo embassy and got our visas! They put a really big stamp in our passport, which we were both excited about. The visa lasts for a month, and we plan on taking a trip to Togo the weekend after Valentine’s Day weekend.
I got to take a two hour nap today, which was a godsend, and had a great dinner at Sunshine Salads. Some of us watched “The Nanny Diaries” tonight, which was a good reminder of New York.
I don’t have much to do tomorrow except visit the school that we are proposing to work with. That’s at 1:30, though, so I’ll get to sleep in. Hope all is well. Keep me posted!
love love love
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Monday, February 02, 2009
first day at waaf!
Today was my first day at WAAF! Leigh and I were supposed to meet Belynda, our boss, at 9:30 this morning, and shortly before arriving at WAAF after an hour of commuting a total of two miles, we got a call from Victor, the internship coordinator at NYU, telling us Belynda had an emergency meeting and that we’d meet her at WAAF at noon, instead. After a bit of frustration and grumpiness from the heat, Leigh and I made our way back home, but not before buying some fabric from the tro-tro station (weird place to buy fabric, I know, but it was cheap and good!). Long story short, we finally met Belynda at noon, and got started right away digging into the curriculum manual that we will use to teach the workshops at the five schools. Essentially, we do one workshop for one school for one week. The workshop is broken into three days, each day for about three hours. Leigh and I will work together, and have split up the topics we’ll be discussing and teaching the children. My assigned topics are Basic Facts on HIV / AIDS, Stigma, Assertive Skills/Sexuality, and Peer Education. Leigh’s topics are Basic Facts on STIs, Positive Living and Adolescence. We will alternate turns presenting the information to the students, all while having them engage with activities and group work to help them stay interested and have some fun. There are 20 children per Passion Squad, and their ages range from 3rd grade to 8th grade. They are selected by their teachers and serve as peer educators for their entire school. They are encouraged to keep a log of all the fellow students they’ve talked to about HIV / AIDS related issues, and have those students sign a log to show they’ve been educating their peers.
Today at WAAF we went through the manuals with Belynda and discussed what we’d be doing this week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are going to visit the five schools we are working with to re-establish relationships with them, and to find out times and availabilities for us to conduct the workshops. After we did this and talked about some restructuring we’d be doing within the workshops, Leigh and I were told to write a letter to the newest school we hope to have participate in the program. I wasn’t sure what exactly what to write, and in what format, but Belynda just let us write the letter we thought would be best. Similarly, the interns aren’t given much structure, and I work much better with structure and clear direction. I’m not used to this way of kind of just sending us out on our own to do these clubs however we want and to write letters however we feel best fit. I guess it’s great because she’s so trusting of us and our ability to do the work, but it’s also nerve wracking because I can’t judge my own progress or success in doing something when I don’t have a set goal or standard that I’m being held to.
Anyway, I am super excited about going into the schools and working directly with the kids. Gillian and I were talking about the program and it is just such a great thing that they do, because as much as funding for research and medication is important, nothing solves the problem of spreading the disease but educating the youth and enabling them to make educated sexual health decisions at an early stage. There’s no room for ignorance, and WAAF makes sure to educate as early as possible to help prevent future generations from being inflicted with the disease.
After work I stopped by the Acorn Tree, the store on WAAF’s grounds, and bought an AWESOME batik satchel bag for 9 Cedi that I’ll use as my book bag from now on. I met the woman who made it, Rebecca, and am very happy with my purchase!
After WAAF I had my Media and Society class at Legon, which was good but still quite frustrating because the students don’t seem to have much respect for their professor. If he makes a comment they find even seemingly controversial (and I honestly didn’t think he made any controversial comments) there would be an uproar of screaming and fist pounding and talking over each other. At one point, when the professor mentioned a fact about Ghana’s new president, a student stood up, turned around and stuck his butt up in the air. It just doesn’t make much sense, especially since it’s a 400 level class; I guess I expected a greater level of maturity. It’s quite frustrating, especially when Marykate and I seem to be two of very few people in the class that want to learn and hear what he has to say. Anyway, patience patience patience patience patience.
Tomorrow I have two classes, and afterwards Gillian, Marykate, Marika and I are going to the Togo embassy to get our visas for our trip to Togo in a few weeks. A few of us are going to cross the eastern border into Togo and spend the day visiting its capital, Lome. We also hope to spend a day climbing a mountain, apparently it’s beautiful and quite the experience.
Time for bed, I have class early!
love love love
Today at WAAF we went through the manuals with Belynda and discussed what we’d be doing this week. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we are going to visit the five schools we are working with to re-establish relationships with them, and to find out times and availabilities for us to conduct the workshops. After we did this and talked about some restructuring we’d be doing within the workshops, Leigh and I were told to write a letter to the newest school we hope to have participate in the program. I wasn’t sure what exactly what to write, and in what format, but Belynda just let us write the letter we thought would be best. Similarly, the interns aren’t given much structure, and I work much better with structure and clear direction. I’m not used to this way of kind of just sending us out on our own to do these clubs however we want and to write letters however we feel best fit. I guess it’s great because she’s so trusting of us and our ability to do the work, but it’s also nerve wracking because I can’t judge my own progress or success in doing something when I don’t have a set goal or standard that I’m being held to.
Anyway, I am super excited about going into the schools and working directly with the kids. Gillian and I were talking about the program and it is just such a great thing that they do, because as much as funding for research and medication is important, nothing solves the problem of spreading the disease but educating the youth and enabling them to make educated sexual health decisions at an early stage. There’s no room for ignorance, and WAAF makes sure to educate as early as possible to help prevent future generations from being inflicted with the disease.
After work I stopped by the Acorn Tree, the store on WAAF’s grounds, and bought an AWESOME batik satchel bag for 9 Cedi that I’ll use as my book bag from now on. I met the woman who made it, Rebecca, and am very happy with my purchase!
After WAAF I had my Media and Society class at Legon, which was good but still quite frustrating because the students don’t seem to have much respect for their professor. If he makes a comment they find even seemingly controversial (and I honestly didn’t think he made any controversial comments) there would be an uproar of screaming and fist pounding and talking over each other. At one point, when the professor mentioned a fact about Ghana’s new president, a student stood up, turned around and stuck his butt up in the air. It just doesn’t make much sense, especially since it’s a 400 level class; I guess I expected a greater level of maturity. It’s quite frustrating, especially when Marykate and I seem to be two of very few people in the class that want to learn and hear what he has to say. Anyway, patience patience patience patience patience.
Tomorrow I have two classes, and afterwards Gillian, Marykate, Marika and I are going to the Togo embassy to get our visas for our trip to Togo in a few weeks. A few of us are going to cross the eastern border into Togo and spend the day visiting its capital, Lome. We also hope to spend a day climbing a mountain, apparently it’s beautiful and quite the experience.
Time for bed, I have class early!
love love love
Sunday, February 01, 2009
welcome to winneba
WinnebaJust got back from Winneba, and the short version is: IT WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! WONDERFUL TIME WITH FRIENDS, MADE NEW FRIENDS, WENT TO THE BEACH, HAD COCONUTS PICKED AND GIVEN TO US BY LOCALS, WATCHED OUR FIRST AFRICAN THUNDERSTORM, SAW THE SUN RISE OVER THE OCEAN AT THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING, RESTED.
The long version may take several hours to write, and may take you a LONG time to read, but if you’re ready, I’m ready!
Day 1- Friday
So our trip began Friday morning. Six of were going to make the trip on Friday, and nine others joined us on Saturday. But the six that went were Gillian, Marykate, Mallory, Tina, Gabby and I. One of the most interesting parts of our trip began before tires even started rolling towards Winneba. First, the Solomon’s girls (Gillian, Marykate and I) met up with the Church girls at “Coffee Shop,” a local landmark here, and took a cab to the Tema Bus Station. We had originally planned on taking a privately owned bus, though when we got there, the woman said there wasn’t another bus leaving until 12:30, and it would cost us 6 Cedi each. We opted not to wait for two hours, and not to pay the 6 Cedi, so the woman told us there are tro-tros that leave for Winneba all the time, so we decided to make our way over to Kaneshi, the market where I got accosted (see previous post)/the place where tro-tros are. At the bus station we asked a cab driver for a lift to Kaneshi, which we knew was close by, but didn’t know the exact direction. He asked us for 6 Cedi, which is a huge rip-off. He wouldn’t even try bargaining with us, and thought we were really going to fall for his tricks. We’re all getting good at spotting good prices v. bad prices, and this was clearly a rip-off, since he was only taking us maybe a mile, probably less. So, instead, we decided to just walk to Kaneshi, being directed by friendly locals trying to help us out. We finally got to what we thought was Kaneshi, since there were a ton of tro-tros there, and were directed to a bigger, nicer, mini-van type of tro-tro that was going to Winneba. Great! We all got in and got settled and we were told it’d be 6 Cedi again! Tro-tros should never cost more than 1 Cedi, and that’s for really long distances. We tried to bargain to no avail, and finally just walked out while the guy was trying to explain to us why it was fair, etc. etc. A kind man saw us and decided to walk us to the right Kaneshi, where we finally boarded the right bus! It was a public metro bus, but bigger and taller than the metro buses we have in America, and painted bright orange. It was pretty new, and only cost us 90 pesewas!! While we waited for the bus to fill up, I bought a FanIce, plantain chips and a sweat rag out the window. Vendors crowd around waiting buses' windows because they know people will buy something because it’s SO hot.
The bus ride was nice. It took a little over an hour to drive about 60 miles west along the coast. The bus made frequent stops, as people will just call out where they want to be dropped off along the route. Thankfully, Winneba was the last stop, so we didn’t have to do much guesswork or anything. Once we got off the bus, there was a cab just waiting, so we took it to our hotel, Lagoon Lodge.
Gabby, our trip planner, had been speaking over the phone with Isaac, the owner, all week, and he greeted us warmly upon arrival. Lagoon Lodge is a beautiful hotel with an open courtyard in the center where their restaurant seating is. There are two floors, and one side of the hotel overlooks wide, open, African plains. It was an amazing thing to see, especially at sunset, but we’ll get to that later. The six of us shared three rooms, and it only cost us 10 Cedi per night per person to stay. Talk about cheap!!
*Winneba is absolutely incredible (I think I’ve used that phrase a whole lot), but it’s true. It’s a quiet, quiet beach town located 60 miles west of Accra, and there’s nothing touristy about it. Most people who see you are shocked that an Obruni is there, and are more than welcoming and hospitable because of that. It’s so unlike Accra, and it was such a refresher. There’s a lot of fishing that happens there, and families just mind their own business and go on living their quaint, perfect little beachside lives.*
After we threw our stuff down, we were so excited to get to the beach, so we asked Isaac where we needed to walk, and he directed us down a path which took us about 10 minutes to walk to the beach. When we turned the final corner and could hear the ocean, we all just squealed with delight and ran up to the beach, which is covered in palm trees, fishing boats, and white sand. It truly is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. It was so quiet and peaceful and the sound of the ocean can lull me into euphoria any day. Marykate and I walked down towards the water while the other girls stayed up at the top, and noticed a very good looking Ghanaian couple taking our picture. We turned to them and asked them if we could take their picture, and they agreed, and we spent the next few minutes taking various pictures of each other. They were grad students at the local university, and were enjoying their day off at the beach. After the pictures, MK and I joined the others and started walking to get food at a place Isaac recommended, Emmanuel’s. On the way to Emmanuel’s, we saw some Ghanaian children, and we always wave and say hi to the children, because they usually are so enthralled by seeing a white person. Mallory went up to one group of about 4 students, all different ages, but the youngest being no older than 3, and waved to them and reached out her hand. The youngest girl shuddered and began to cry when Mallory reached out her hand, because the girl had never seen an Obruni before. It was the strangest thing, but completely understandable. I’ve tried to find an equivalent to that in America, but I don’t think there is one, and since the US is such a diverse country already, nothing surprises us.
A fishing boat I just loved on the beach
The long version may take several hours to write, and may take you a LONG time to read, but if you’re ready, I’m ready!
Day 1- Friday
So our trip began Friday morning. Six of were going to make the trip on Friday, and nine others joined us on Saturday. But the six that went were Gillian, Marykate, Mallory, Tina, Gabby and I. One of the most interesting parts of our trip began before tires even started rolling towards Winneba. First, the Solomon’s girls (Gillian, Marykate and I) met up with the Church girls at “Coffee Shop,” a local landmark here, and took a cab to the Tema Bus Station. We had originally planned on taking a privately owned bus, though when we got there, the woman said there wasn’t another bus leaving until 12:30, and it would cost us 6 Cedi each. We opted not to wait for two hours, and not to pay the 6 Cedi, so the woman told us there are tro-tros that leave for Winneba all the time, so we decided to make our way over to Kaneshi, the market where I got accosted (see previous post)/the place where tro-tros are. At the bus station we asked a cab driver for a lift to Kaneshi, which we knew was close by, but didn’t know the exact direction. He asked us for 6 Cedi, which is a huge rip-off. He wouldn’t even try bargaining with us, and thought we were really going to fall for his tricks. We’re all getting good at spotting good prices v. bad prices, and this was clearly a rip-off, since he was only taking us maybe a mile, probably less. So, instead, we decided to just walk to Kaneshi, being directed by friendly locals trying to help us out. We finally got to what we thought was Kaneshi, since there were a ton of tro-tros there, and were directed to a bigger, nicer, mini-van type of tro-tro that was going to Winneba. Great! We all got in and got settled and we were told it’d be 6 Cedi again! Tro-tros should never cost more than 1 Cedi, and that’s for really long distances. We tried to bargain to no avail, and finally just walked out while the guy was trying to explain to us why it was fair, etc. etc. A kind man saw us and decided to walk us to the right Kaneshi, where we finally boarded the right bus! It was a public metro bus, but bigger and taller than the metro buses we have in America, and painted bright orange. It was pretty new, and only cost us 90 pesewas!! While we waited for the bus to fill up, I bought a FanIce, plantain chips and a sweat rag out the window. Vendors crowd around waiting buses' windows because they know people will buy something because it’s SO hot.
The bus ride was nice. It took a little over an hour to drive about 60 miles west along the coast. The bus made frequent stops, as people will just call out where they want to be dropped off along the route. Thankfully, Winneba was the last stop, so we didn’t have to do much guesswork or anything. Once we got off the bus, there was a cab just waiting, so we took it to our hotel, Lagoon Lodge.
Gabby, our trip planner, had been speaking over the phone with Isaac, the owner, all week, and he greeted us warmly upon arrival. Lagoon Lodge is a beautiful hotel with an open courtyard in the center where their restaurant seating is. There are two floors, and one side of the hotel overlooks wide, open, African plains. It was an amazing thing to see, especially at sunset, but we’ll get to that later. The six of us shared three rooms, and it only cost us 10 Cedi per night per person to stay. Talk about cheap!!
*Winneba is absolutely incredible (I think I’ve used that phrase a whole lot), but it’s true. It’s a quiet, quiet beach town located 60 miles west of Accra, and there’s nothing touristy about it. Most people who see you are shocked that an Obruni is there, and are more than welcoming and hospitable because of that. It’s so unlike Accra, and it was such a refresher. There’s a lot of fishing that happens there, and families just mind their own business and go on living their quaint, perfect little beachside lives.*
After we threw our stuff down, we were so excited to get to the beach, so we asked Isaac where we needed to walk, and he directed us down a path which took us about 10 minutes to walk to the beach. When we turned the final corner and could hear the ocean, we all just squealed with delight and ran up to the beach, which is covered in palm trees, fishing boats, and white sand. It truly is one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. It was so quiet and peaceful and the sound of the ocean can lull me into euphoria any day. Marykate and I walked down towards the water while the other girls stayed up at the top, and noticed a very good looking Ghanaian couple taking our picture. We turned to them and asked them if we could take their picture, and they agreed, and we spent the next few minutes taking various pictures of each other. They were grad students at the local university, and were enjoying their day off at the beach. After the pictures, MK and I joined the others and started walking to get food at a place Isaac recommended, Emmanuel’s. On the way to Emmanuel’s, we saw some Ghanaian children, and we always wave and say hi to the children, because they usually are so enthralled by seeing a white person. Mallory went up to one group of about 4 students, all different ages, but the youngest being no older than 3, and waved to them and reached out her hand. The youngest girl shuddered and began to cry when Mallory reached out her hand, because the girl had never seen an Obruni before. It was the strangest thing, but completely understandable. I’ve tried to find an equivalent to that in America, but I don’t think there is one, and since the US is such a diverse country already, nothing surprises us.
A fishing boat I just loved on the beachWe got to Emmanuel’s, which wasn’t a close walk, and much to our dismay, Emmanuel’s restaurant had been replaced by his little snack shop. There are many of these types of stores all over Accra, and they sell crackers and chocolate and the like. At this point we were all starving and had such an exhausting day already, that we asked Emmanuel where a good place to eat was, and he said there wasn’t one anywhere near this beach, but that he’d drive us to Royal beach, where there was an outdoor restaurant overlooking the beach. So all six of us piled in his nice station wagon, and he drove us for about 10 minutes to Royal beach. At the restaurant’s entrance there was a beach guard charging 5 Cedi to park. Emmanuel didn’t think this was fair, since people who are parking are paying to eat at the restaurant. Emmanuel proceeded to have a 5 minute long argument with this beach patrol man in Twi (so we couldn’t understand and word of it) and finally got us to the restaurant. Emmanuel gave us his phone number and told us to call him when we were done swimming and eating, and he’d come back to pick us up. The restaurant is basically a gazebo type thing overlooking the water on a hill and the people serving us were so friendly (as is everyone everywhere). While we were waiting for our food, we noticed a boy climbing what, I kid you not, was a 50 foot palm tree, carrying a machete in one hand and climbing the bare tree with just his arms and legs. It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen, and he literally just climbed up it like a monkey. I was enthralled, and watched him throughout our lunch as he sat in the palm tree and cut off coconuts and threw them to the ground. His friends were at the bottom just kind of watching, and the boy was up in the tree for a good 20 minutes. I wasn’t paying attention when he came down, but soon after, he and all his friends came over with 6 coconuts, cut off the tops of each of them, and gave us each one! We drank out all the milk (which I’m not particularly fond of, but had to be a good sport) and even had a chugging contest at one point to finish it off. When we were done, the boys cut open each of our coconuts so we could eat the meat of it (which, again, I didn’t particularly like). But it was just the most surreal experience—sitting by the ocean, being waited on by the most genuinely hospitable people, watching a boy climb a coconut tree, bring us the coconuts, and help us eat and drink the coconuts, and enjoying good company. We all just sat back and reminded ourselves of how lucky we are, and how “we’re in Africa!” and how incredible that moment and the entire day were.
Fresh from the tree!
Us with the waiters/coconut people!After we were done eating our rice and chicken (a standard dish here served at most restaurants), we walked the ten feet to the ocean and immediately ran in. The water was the perfect temperature, and was soooo refreshing. We collected shells and just swam and had a great time. Emmanuel had come and waited in his car until we were done. We told him we wanted to wash our sandy feet off before we got in his car, so he asked the owner of the restaurant (who also owns the hostel right next to the restaurant) to let us go into one of the rooms to wash our feet in the shower. He asked the owner all of this in Twi, so we didn’t know what he was saying until the owner showed us to a room. We were humbled by their graciousness but politely declined because we didn’t want to impose. Emmanuel said it was perfectly fine if we got in the car dirty, that he didn’t care. I sat in the front seat and talked to him the entire way back to our hotel. He told me that Isaac was right, he did once own a restaurant, but closed it when the students he housed (he also owns hostels next to his store for students to stay in over the semester) left for the break. He said he planned on opening it up again soon. He invited us over the following day for lunch, and said he’d open up his kitchen and cook us spaghetti with tomato and tuna sauce. Let me just say, this kind of hospitality and kindness is so beautiful. There were no ulterior motives, no weirdness, just pure, simple, kindness. One fellow human extending a hand to another and welcoming us into his home and family.
When we got back to the hotel, we showered and sat around talking for a long time, and ate dinner at the hotel. We all ordered grilled cheese sandwiches, which were great, and massive amounts of French fries (they get us every time!). Also, the hotel serves fresh (as in, cut up a pineapple in front of you and put it through the juicer) pineapple juice, of which we each got a glass.
the sunset over the plains
When we got back to the hotel, we showered and sat around talking for a long time, and ate dinner at the hotel. We all ordered grilled cheese sandwiches, which were great, and massive amounts of French fries (they get us every time!). Also, the hotel serves fresh (as in, cut up a pineapple in front of you and put it through the juicer) pineapple juice, of which we each got a glass.
the sunset over the plainsAfter dinner we all sat up on the hotel’s second level porch, and talked and read and just rested. After a while the wind really started picking up, and there was heat lightning every few minutes which would light up the entire sky purple and blue. In the distance we could hear drummers and singers playing music as it started lightening and thunderstorming. It was such a beautiful sight and sound to behold, and we just sat under the porch covering listening to God work his magic on the African sky and plains. We slept well.
Day 2- Saturday
Saturday morning we woke up around 10 and had breakfast at the hotel. I had oatmeal and a pineapple juice, both of which were good. After breakfast we went to the beach for a little bit, taking pictures (this time I brought my good camera, I had forgotten to on Friday) and just walking along the sand. We promised Emmanuel we’d be there at noon, so we didn’t swim in the morning. We got to Emmanuel’s at noon and he and his wife greeted us with open arms and broad smiles. They had set up a place for us in their “backyard” (which is huge and beautiful, since it’s also the hostel’s backyard). We waited for a few minutes while they finished cooking the spaghetti (I think from their own kitchen), and talked under a little beaded canopy hut thing. It was so cool and just, again, beautiful. The spaghetti was amazing, and I didn’t think I’d like the tuna, but it was actually really good because the tuna was in chunks and tasted kinda like chicken. Anyway, it was great, and Emmanuel joined us and we thanked him profusely for his kindness. He also showed us one guest house he has available for normal tourists, where they can stay for only 20 Cedi a night! If/when I go back to Winneba, I’ll definitely stay there! We took a picture with him and will send it to him. He called me later that day and asked us if we wanted breakfast before we left Sunday morning—that’s hospitality.
At the beach!
Day 2- Saturday
Saturday morning we woke up around 10 and had breakfast at the hotel. I had oatmeal and a pineapple juice, both of which were good. After breakfast we went to the beach for a little bit, taking pictures (this time I brought my good camera, I had forgotten to on Friday) and just walking along the sand. We promised Emmanuel we’d be there at noon, so we didn’t swim in the morning. We got to Emmanuel’s at noon and he and his wife greeted us with open arms and broad smiles. They had set up a place for us in their “backyard” (which is huge and beautiful, since it’s also the hostel’s backyard). We waited for a few minutes while they finished cooking the spaghetti (I think from their own kitchen), and talked under a little beaded canopy hut thing. It was so cool and just, again, beautiful. The spaghetti was amazing, and I didn’t think I’d like the tuna, but it was actually really good because the tuna was in chunks and tasted kinda like chicken. Anyway, it was great, and Emmanuel joined us and we thanked him profusely for his kindness. He also showed us one guest house he has available for normal tourists, where they can stay for only 20 Cedi a night! If/when I go back to Winneba, I’ll definitely stay there! We took a picture with him and will send it to him. He called me later that day and asked us if we wanted breakfast before we left Sunday morning—that’s hospitality.
At the beach!
Us with Emmanuel!After lunch, we split off into two groups—Gillian and Mallory went to the Fort of Good Hope, a slave castle a few miles away, and Gabby, Tina, Marykate and I went to the beach to just swim and lay out and read. I ended up swimming quite a bit, but there was one point when the tide completely overtook me and I got tossed around a bit. I decided I’d just lie out on the beach, work on my tan, sleep, and read. I think one of my favorite things in the world is sleeping on a towel on the beach during the day. The feeling of the sun hitting your back is pretty great. Anyway, at the beach Marykate and I met another friend named Richard, who is 17 and whose father and he own one of the fishing boats we saw on the beach. He offered to take us out fishing Sunday morning at 6 a.m., and of course we agreed! After the beach, Marykate, Tina and I took a taxi into town to visit the local market (MUCH MUCH smaller than Kaneshi market). It was SO much fun, because all the market people were so nice and weren’t hassling us or anything. Funny story—the kids here LOVE having their picture taken. When you show them their picture they absolutely die laughing, they think it’s the coolest thing ever to see themselves in your camera. So I was taking pictures of all the kids at the market, and slowly more and more started climbing on me, begging me to take their picture. They make hilarious faces and poses (I don’t know where the get these poses from!) and it’s just hilarious. I also found popcorn kernels (“popping corn”) at the market, which was great because I’ve been looking for it for a while and can’t find it anywhere.
After the market we went to a Catholic church in town, which was beautiful both on the outside and the inside. The inside was painted in bright pink, and the altar had tens of Jesus statues all over. It reminded me of the church scenes in “Romeo + Juliet”. The children’s choir was practicing as we walked in, and it was so great to see another kind of church here. After, we came back and had dinner at our hotel, again. I had oatmeal and french-fries, and strawberry ice cream for dessert—what a balanced dinner, right? Oh well, you only live once. Gillian and I decided to stay in and watch a movie in our hotel room, but the cable cut out about half way through, and it was already 1 a.m., so we decided to call it a night since we had to wake up at 5:15 to go fishing!
Day 3- Sunday
We got up at 5:15, as planned, and were SO tired. We all were ready on time, and headed over to the beach around 5:45, when it was still pitch black outside. As we were walking, nighttime slowly started to turn into dusk, which was really cool to see, since I’m never up that early. We got to the beach and were astounded by the size of the breaking waves. These were bigger than I’ve probably ever seen, and definitely not okay to take a pretty small fishing boat out in. Richard was already there waiting when we arrived, and after waiting for about 30 minutes to see if the waves would slow down, he told us it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out. It was a blessing in disguise though, because as much as I wanted to go out on the boat, it was incredible sitting on the sand and watching the sun rise through the fog and then just open up over the entire ocean. It was really amazing. Definitely the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. We thanked Richard and exchanged contact information, which he wrote down in his school notebook. Another interesting point—his school notebook is like a Ghanaian standard school notebook, every child is given one by the school. On the cover, though, there’s a black and white picture of Oprah grinning, probably taken in the late 1980s. I thought it was the funniest thing, and asked Richard if he knew who that was on the cover. He said no, and we told him she was a famous television personality and had TONS of money, and he just kind of smiled and didn’t seem to care. It was so funny to see how unimpressive, or really, just unimportant she is here. Anyway, we said bye to Richard, then headed back to the hotel and had a quick breakfast before leaving. We caught a bus right away and it left pretty soon after we got on, and we were home in Accra by 11 a.m.
Good morning!
Richard, Marykate, Tina, Mallory and me at 6 a.m.
After the market we went to a Catholic church in town, which was beautiful both on the outside and the inside. The inside was painted in bright pink, and the altar had tens of Jesus statues all over. It reminded me of the church scenes in “Romeo + Juliet”. The children’s choir was practicing as we walked in, and it was so great to see another kind of church here. After, we came back and had dinner at our hotel, again. I had oatmeal and french-fries, and strawberry ice cream for dessert—what a balanced dinner, right? Oh well, you only live once. Gillian and I decided to stay in and watch a movie in our hotel room, but the cable cut out about half way through, and it was already 1 a.m., so we decided to call it a night since we had to wake up at 5:15 to go fishing!
Day 3- Sunday
We got up at 5:15, as planned, and were SO tired. We all were ready on time, and headed over to the beach around 5:45, when it was still pitch black outside. As we were walking, nighttime slowly started to turn into dusk, which was really cool to see, since I’m never up that early. We got to the beach and were astounded by the size of the breaking waves. These were bigger than I’ve probably ever seen, and definitely not okay to take a pretty small fishing boat out in. Richard was already there waiting when we arrived, and after waiting for about 30 minutes to see if the waves would slow down, he told us it wouldn’t be a good idea to go out. It was a blessing in disguise though, because as much as I wanted to go out on the boat, it was incredible sitting on the sand and watching the sun rise through the fog and then just open up over the entire ocean. It was really amazing. Definitely the perfect ending to a perfect weekend. We thanked Richard and exchanged contact information, which he wrote down in his school notebook. Another interesting point—his school notebook is like a Ghanaian standard school notebook, every child is given one by the school. On the cover, though, there’s a black and white picture of Oprah grinning, probably taken in the late 1980s. I thought it was the funniest thing, and asked Richard if he knew who that was on the cover. He said no, and we told him she was a famous television personality and had TONS of money, and he just kind of smiled and didn’t seem to care. It was so funny to see how unimpressive, or really, just unimportant she is here. Anyway, we said bye to Richard, then headed back to the hotel and had a quick breakfast before leaving. We caught a bus right away and it left pretty soon after we got on, and we were home in Accra by 11 a.m.
Good morning!
Richard, Marykate, Tina, Mallory and me at 6 a.m.I’ve spent the rest of my day doing laundry, writing this blog, unpacking, and napping, and it’s been great. Tonight Gillian and I made Red-Red, the dish I’ve been talking about! It’s fairly simple to make, but takes a bit of time, since the beans have to cook for an hour. I had it for dinner and it was delicious! I can’t wait to make it for everyone in the states! We need palm oil, though, and I don’t think that’s readily available in America. Maybe they’d have it at World Market or Central Market or a specialty store like that. Anyway, it turned out great and I can’t wait to make it for everyone! In a little bit we’re going to watch a movie and eat popcorn while I read some manuals for WAAF. I start my first day tomorrow at 9 a.m.! I’m really, really excited, and can’t wait to work with Belynda, my boss. She’s incredibly sweet and I think is going to make this experience even better than it already will be.
Now that I’ve spent five pages of a Word document writing, I’ll shut up and wish you all well and hope that everyone is happy and healthy and had a great weekend! If you ever get the chance to go to West Africa, and have a limited amount of time, skip Accra and go to Winneba. You will not regret it. I miss everyone and love you all so much!
love love love
Now that I’ve spent five pages of a Word document writing, I’ll shut up and wish you all well and hope that everyone is happy and healthy and had a great weekend! If you ever get the chance to go to West Africa, and have a limited amount of time, skip Accra and go to Winneba. You will not regret it. I miss everyone and love you all so much!
love love love
Thursday, January 29, 2009
the four "H"s
So I guess I need to catch everyone up on the last few days. I thought because I had so much free time yesterday, I’d be able to fully update my blog, but turns out, I only uploaded pictures of our house! Anyway, yesterday was nice because I got to sleep in until about 10, when the cleaning people woke me up, and then the guilt of seeping in late kept me up. I really hate that, and wish that when I have the opportunity to sleep in, I just do it. Either way, it was good rest. I don’t remember much about what I did yesterday, probably because I didn’t do much of anything but lounge around the house until Marykate and I decided to go to Marjorie with some of the fabric we already had to have her make a few more things for us. I already have two pretty conservative dresses, and so I decided to get a halter top made from this really pretty batik fabric, and to also get a high-waisted skirt made from this bright orange and yellow fabric. She said she’d have them done by Friday, just in time for our trip! She also sells a lot of fabric, so MK and I took a look through it all, and of course, I bought more fabric! I have four new kinds of fabric, but don’t worry, none of them are for me. I’ve already started brainstorming patterns and designs for my friends and family at home, so I’ve been collecting the fabric for the designs until people start sending me their measurements and what exactly they want (HINT HINT).
Anyway, yesterday we had an “Adjusting to Ghana” workshop, and two American professors that teach at the University of Ghana came and told us about the four stages most people go through when living in a different culture for the first time. The first is the “Honeymoon” phase, which apparently can last the entire time for some people. This phase is pretty self-explanatory, but basically means that you’re enthralled with everything and think everything’s really great and kind of blind to the realities of a lot of things. The second phase is the “Hostility” phase, when the newness has worn off and you’re very homesick and tired and aren’t quite yet adjusted to the new culture. The third phase is the “Humor” phase, and this is when you begin to adapt and begin to recognize cultural differences and adapt accordingly, without making judgment calls or anything. The final phase is the “Home” phase, and this happens about 10 weeks in, when you begin to really feel at ease with everything, and truly call this place “home”. I think right now I’m in between hostility and humor, because I still get frustrated with a lot of things, but also try to take everything in stride and realize that’s just the way things are in Ghana. I don’t know if I ever went through the honeymoon phase to a large extent, but I definitely had my share of “This place is incredible!” moments. Anyway, just found this interesting and thought I’d share.
After dinner we came home and a few of us watched Superbad and made Valentine’s Day cards. Since it takes about 2 weeks (I think longer, actually) for a letter to get to the United States, Gillian and I decided we’d better get our cards out now so that hopefully they’ll be there in time for Valentine’s Day.
Today was pretty relaxed, too. A bunch of us had our African Popular Music class, which was great and went by pretty fast. There are like 15 of us in the class, the largest class we have here, for sure, and our professor is totally an African music genius. I think he’s from London but has lived in Ghana and taught at Legon for over 30 years. After our music class, Gillian and I were on a quest to find Ghanaian chocolate to send home! It’s rare here because Ghana is rich in cocoa resources, but don’t have the structural means to produce chocolate out of the cocoa, so they must export their cocoa, and then import the produced chocolate. It’s kind of sad and twisted, and is a result of British colonialism. We finally found chocolate, and then headed to the post office (not on our bikes, since we didn’t want the chocolate to melt). After the post office, Gillian, Mallory and I went back to Marjorie, since she called me and said my skirt and top were ready!! She works so fast but does a really good job, and I was pleased to have them before our trip to Winneba tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll wear the clothes soon and take pictures to post!
Tomorrow we’re going to Winneba, a town about an hour west of Accra along the coast. Apparently it has really nice beaches (that you can actually swim in, unlike the beaches in Accra), and at night we get to go turtle watching! I think about 15 of us are going by bus, and sleeping four to a hotel room, but it’ll be a really fun road trip. A few of us are also planning a trip to Togo, which we might take on Valentine’s Day weekend, but we’re not entirely sure on the plans for that trip yet! Anyway, I’m excited to get out of Accra for a few days and lie on the beach and get to know more people in our group better! I probably won’t have internet, meaning I probably can’t update this over the weekend, but certainly will update and post pictures when we get back!
Hope all is well at home! I miss you all and love you so so so so so much!
love love love
Anyway, yesterday we had an “Adjusting to Ghana” workshop, and two American professors that teach at the University of Ghana came and told us about the four stages most people go through when living in a different culture for the first time. The first is the “Honeymoon” phase, which apparently can last the entire time for some people. This phase is pretty self-explanatory, but basically means that you’re enthralled with everything and think everything’s really great and kind of blind to the realities of a lot of things. The second phase is the “Hostility” phase, when the newness has worn off and you’re very homesick and tired and aren’t quite yet adjusted to the new culture. The third phase is the “Humor” phase, and this is when you begin to adapt and begin to recognize cultural differences and adapt accordingly, without making judgment calls or anything. The final phase is the “Home” phase, and this happens about 10 weeks in, when you begin to really feel at ease with everything, and truly call this place “home”. I think right now I’m in between hostility and humor, because I still get frustrated with a lot of things, but also try to take everything in stride and realize that’s just the way things are in Ghana. I don’t know if I ever went through the honeymoon phase to a large extent, but I definitely had my share of “This place is incredible!” moments. Anyway, just found this interesting and thought I’d share.
After dinner we came home and a few of us watched Superbad and made Valentine’s Day cards. Since it takes about 2 weeks (I think longer, actually) for a letter to get to the United States, Gillian and I decided we’d better get our cards out now so that hopefully they’ll be there in time for Valentine’s Day.
Today was pretty relaxed, too. A bunch of us had our African Popular Music class, which was great and went by pretty fast. There are like 15 of us in the class, the largest class we have here, for sure, and our professor is totally an African music genius. I think he’s from London but has lived in Ghana and taught at Legon for over 30 years. After our music class, Gillian and I were on a quest to find Ghanaian chocolate to send home! It’s rare here because Ghana is rich in cocoa resources, but don’t have the structural means to produce chocolate out of the cocoa, so they must export their cocoa, and then import the produced chocolate. It’s kind of sad and twisted, and is a result of British colonialism. We finally found chocolate, and then headed to the post office (not on our bikes, since we didn’t want the chocolate to melt). After the post office, Gillian, Mallory and I went back to Marjorie, since she called me and said my skirt and top were ready!! She works so fast but does a really good job, and I was pleased to have them before our trip to Winneba tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll wear the clothes soon and take pictures to post!
Tomorrow we’re going to Winneba, a town about an hour west of Accra along the coast. Apparently it has really nice beaches (that you can actually swim in, unlike the beaches in Accra), and at night we get to go turtle watching! I think about 15 of us are going by bus, and sleeping four to a hotel room, but it’ll be a really fun road trip. A few of us are also planning a trip to Togo, which we might take on Valentine’s Day weekend, but we’re not entirely sure on the plans for that trip yet! Anyway, I’m excited to get out of Accra for a few days and lie on the beach and get to know more people in our group better! I probably won’t have internet, meaning I probably can’t update this over the weekend, but certainly will update and post pictures when we get back!
Hope all is well at home! I miss you all and love you so so so so so much!
love love love
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
where i live
This is our dining room/living room area.
(A little dark but) this is only half of our kitchen. Complete with three stovetops, three sinks and three refrigerators. 
This is my and Gillian's bedroom. It'd probably be pretty easy to guess which side's mine. So this are our digs. You wonder why we call it "The Real World" House.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
i <3 skype (when it works)
Marykate and I eating FanChoco and FanIce. It's made here in Ghana, and is INCREDIBLE. It's either vanilla, chocolate or strawberry ice cream in plastic packages. You rip off a corner with your teeth and suck the ice cream out. Boys with little trollies are EVERYWHERE selling these on the street for 30 pesewas (cents). It's a staple of our daily diet (especially when we're outside a lot) and SO delicious. This ice cream is incredible- I must find a way to get it back to the states!Today was pretty relaxing, even with the two classes I had. My first class was at 8 am, and was my internship seminar class. It meets once a week, and is where all the students doing internships for credit come together to discuss what’s going on in each of their internships. Should be a good and productive class. I also had my Society, Culture and Modernization class, which was great! I really am enjoying it so far. This week we learned about kinship in traditional Ghanaian society, and learned the difference between tribes (ethnic groups), clans and lineages, and their roles with each other and with society as a whole. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll add more to exactly what those are.
Afterwards, Gillian and I biked to Apapa to get the remaining ingredients for our Red-Red. Since we’ll be traveling this weekend, we plan on making the Red-Red either Sunday night or Monday, in order to have it for the rest of the week. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
After Apapa, I took a LONG nap, since I had the rest of the day free to do whatever. The nap was so nice and relaxing and good for me. This is one of the main reasons I chose to come to Ghana, as silly as it may seem, it was a pretty legit reason. Not necessarily to nap, specifically, but to just have rest. It is so nice here because when you’re sitting inside, you don’t feel pressure to be outside, to constantly be doing something. This city isn’t conducive to that kind of type-A behavior. New York is the exact opposite—there’s always something that needs to be done, even when there’s nothing that needs to be done. If you’re sitting inside then you’re a loser, so you better find something to do. I needed a break from that and am welcoming it with open arms.
After the nap we went to Sunshine for dinner, which was good as always. Then NYU hosted the first “Movie Night” of the semester, where we watched some footage from filmed by students who were in Ghana when Obama won the election, and then several 10 minute documentaries filmed last semester by a film class here at NYU in Ghana. They were really cool and I’m glad I went. We watched the films on a projector outside the Academic Center, and the cool night breeze was so nice to sit outside to.
Tonight I also got to Skype for a long time with my mom, sister, and Nana and Eric and Charlie, all of which were so refreshing. I love talking with people and friends from home and NY. Reminds me of where I came from and what I’m doing here. Thanks for all the prayers and good wishes you all have been sending my way.
Tomorrow, since I have NO class and NOTHING to do, I’ll try to post pictures of the inside of our house (Aunt Isha).
love love love
Monday, January 26, 2009
WAAF!
God answers prayers, for sure. This morning I had what I thought was going to be the group interview with WAAF. Turns out all three of us already had the positions and Belinda, the director of WAAF, wanted to just meet with us to tell us about the program and its facilities, and to discuss hours of availability. Victor, the community service coordinator, took me, Leigh and Emma (the three interns vying to work at WAAF) to the facilities around 10:30 this morning. We toured the facilities, which were so nice. Keeping in mind that it is Ghana, and buildings aren’t sprawling outwards and upwards, it was very modest but very, very professional. There is a clinic where anyone can come and get tested, along with several counseling rooms for those who get tested to have their pre and post-test meetings. There is a lab where the tests are read, a doctor’s office and a pharmacy, too. I knew the second I walked in there that it was a perfect fit for me, and when I found out I would be working there too, I was just so thankful and excited. I think once I conceded to God that, nope, I’m not in control, and that I’ll be put where I need to be, that’s when trust turns into reward. Anyway, WAAF is incredible and I am soooo excited to start working on Monday!
There are two “jobs,” I guess you could call them, that interns do, and each intern is assigned to a job for the semester. The first is what Emma is doing, which is called their OVC section. OVC stands for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and is a group of about 15 kids, ranging from newborns to age 13, who have lost one or both parents to AIDS, and who may have the virus themselves. Because elementary and primary education here is not free, these orphans’ caregivers (sometimes grandparents or aunts or uncles) have a hard time paying for school or anti-retrovirals for these kids. WAAF funds these children’s education and medicinal needs, which I think is just incredible. Emma’s job will be to basically do house visits with a counselor all semester long, going to each child’s home and conducting surveys and collecting information and how WAAF’s help is helping (or not), how the children are coping, etc. She’ll also play with the kids, I’m sure. It’s so worthwhile, and she’s perfect for the job.
Leigh and I are doing the Education part of WAAF, which I am SO excited about! Basically over the course of the next four months, Leigh and I will be going to 5 elementary schools throughout Accra, all of which have after-school HIV/AIDS Awareness clubs. Leigh and I will run a series of workshops which teach kids in each of the following 7 topics: Basic Facts about HIV/AIDS; Basic Facts about STIs/STDs; Stigma and Discrimination; Living Positively; Adolescence: Basic Sexual Health; Assertive Skills in Sexuality; and Peer Education. These children are self-appointed peer educators for their student body, and the goal is to get them to go out and spread the word about AIDS to their fellow students. We’ll start next week with creating an assessment which we will hand out the first time we visit the schools to 10 students in the club and 10 students not in the club, to note how much they know about HIV/AIDS. At the end of the semester we’ll administer the same survey again, and hopefully, as previous years have shown, the numbers will increase dramatically for both groups of students. We will also be responsible for creating a report at the end of the semester about the success of our workshops, and the outreach WAAF is doing as a whole. I am thrilled beyond belief to actually get to go into schools and work with young children, which I love doing, and spread this very important message to them. I am also coming up with new ideas on how to get other kids who aren’t in these clubs involved, and hopefully I can contribute them and help make the program even better.
One last, really cool, thing about WAAF is they have a store right next to it called The Acorn Tree, named after the tree they have in the front of the facility. Here, women who have come through WAAF before, and who have lost their jobs because they are living with HIV and the stigma that comes along with it, sell their handmade batik bags, clothing, and jewelry. These things are beautiful, too. Each item has a unique tag on it describing the premise of the store, and at the bottom, the woman who made the item signs her name, and every cent of that sale goes to that specific woman to help pay for her medicine. It’s an incredible idea. Be expecting gifts from here!
So I guess you could call the first few hours of my morning a great success! After I got back from WAAF, Gillian, Marykate and I went to Ashesi for lunch. They have really cheap lunch there, and it’s always WAY too much and so good! Afterwards we walked over the vegetable stand and I bought some apples and some tomatoes and such. Gillian and I then biked to the post office where I picked up my package from Mom! I had collected the other package earlier this morning, and was so happy to have gotten both today, along with a letter from Nana! Getting stuff from home makes me so happy and makes me feel a little bit closer! Mom, I have already eaten some peanut butter crackers and a slice of banana bread—thank you! Nana, your note was so sweet. Anyway, the bike ride to the post office was definitely better than the walk Gillian and I took a few weeks ago (wow! Can’t believe it’s been that long), but it was still really strenuous, especially because the entire road there is uphill then downhill then uphill, so there’s really no direction, there or back, that’s easier. It was still a good work out, though, and we are putting our bikes to good use. When we got back from the post office a few of us went to Koala, the third big supermarket here, and I got some more jelly (I’m eating toast and jelly like it’s my job), and some stuff to make Red-Red! I don’t remember if I wrote about it in my last blog, but if not, I’ll write more about it when I actually make it. Basically, it’s a delicious bean stewy dish that’s great and I can’t wait to make it.
Marykate and I had our Legon class today—Media and Society—and it was really good. The professor is great, and seems to know what he’s talking about. The students, however, were really immature, it seemed. It was like being in a 9th grade on-level class with all the interruptions and uproarious laughter when the professor said anything that could even in the tiniest way be turned into some sexual comment (Sarah!). It was so unexpected for MK and me, especially because we were told that the Legon classes were very strict and that we should behave even more appropriately than we do at NYU. On the way up there, we talked with our bus driver, Sammy, about how the employee/employer relationship works here. It makes so much sense and is so pain-free, and I don’t know why it’s so hard for Americans to just be nice to each other, to calm down, to take a deep breath and relax and little, and show respect to one another. Sammy told us in the Ghanaian culture, everything is about having one another’s respect and maintaining a solid reputation—it’s the most important thing you have. He said he cleans his van on Saturdays on his day off because Christa, our director, wants it to look nice for us. I asked why he would do that, and he said because he respects Christa and has to show her that, and in return, he has Christa’s respect. Everything is mutual and everyone is happy. It’s such simplistic logic, to do something just because someone else asked you to, and to be kind because he or she is your superior, but it’s lost in translation in America. Everyone’s too busy to be friendly. It’s a real shame. Life would be a lot more joyful if everyone would just be patient with and nice to each other, like they are here.
Essentially, it was a fantastic day. I am truly blessed and am feeling more and more at home here everyday. I’m thankful we are getting into the swing of actually living here. I no longer feel like a strange visitor, which is good. This will be a good semester, I can feel it.
love love love
There are two “jobs,” I guess you could call them, that interns do, and each intern is assigned to a job for the semester. The first is what Emma is doing, which is called their OVC section. OVC stands for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and is a group of about 15 kids, ranging from newborns to age 13, who have lost one or both parents to AIDS, and who may have the virus themselves. Because elementary and primary education here is not free, these orphans’ caregivers (sometimes grandparents or aunts or uncles) have a hard time paying for school or anti-retrovirals for these kids. WAAF funds these children’s education and medicinal needs, which I think is just incredible. Emma’s job will be to basically do house visits with a counselor all semester long, going to each child’s home and conducting surveys and collecting information and how WAAF’s help is helping (or not), how the children are coping, etc. She’ll also play with the kids, I’m sure. It’s so worthwhile, and she’s perfect for the job.
Leigh and I are doing the Education part of WAAF, which I am SO excited about! Basically over the course of the next four months, Leigh and I will be going to 5 elementary schools throughout Accra, all of which have after-school HIV/AIDS Awareness clubs. Leigh and I will run a series of workshops which teach kids in each of the following 7 topics: Basic Facts about HIV/AIDS; Basic Facts about STIs/STDs; Stigma and Discrimination; Living Positively; Adolescence: Basic Sexual Health; Assertive Skills in Sexuality; and Peer Education. These children are self-appointed peer educators for their student body, and the goal is to get them to go out and spread the word about AIDS to their fellow students. We’ll start next week with creating an assessment which we will hand out the first time we visit the schools to 10 students in the club and 10 students not in the club, to note how much they know about HIV/AIDS. At the end of the semester we’ll administer the same survey again, and hopefully, as previous years have shown, the numbers will increase dramatically for both groups of students. We will also be responsible for creating a report at the end of the semester about the success of our workshops, and the outreach WAAF is doing as a whole. I am thrilled beyond belief to actually get to go into schools and work with young children, which I love doing, and spread this very important message to them. I am also coming up with new ideas on how to get other kids who aren’t in these clubs involved, and hopefully I can contribute them and help make the program even better.
One last, really cool, thing about WAAF is they have a store right next to it called The Acorn Tree, named after the tree they have in the front of the facility. Here, women who have come through WAAF before, and who have lost their jobs because they are living with HIV and the stigma that comes along with it, sell their handmade batik bags, clothing, and jewelry. These things are beautiful, too. Each item has a unique tag on it describing the premise of the store, and at the bottom, the woman who made the item signs her name, and every cent of that sale goes to that specific woman to help pay for her medicine. It’s an incredible idea. Be expecting gifts from here!
So I guess you could call the first few hours of my morning a great success! After I got back from WAAF, Gillian, Marykate and I went to Ashesi for lunch. They have really cheap lunch there, and it’s always WAY too much and so good! Afterwards we walked over the vegetable stand and I bought some apples and some tomatoes and such. Gillian and I then biked to the post office where I picked up my package from Mom! I had collected the other package earlier this morning, and was so happy to have gotten both today, along with a letter from Nana! Getting stuff from home makes me so happy and makes me feel a little bit closer! Mom, I have already eaten some peanut butter crackers and a slice of banana bread—thank you! Nana, your note was so sweet. Anyway, the bike ride to the post office was definitely better than the walk Gillian and I took a few weeks ago (wow! Can’t believe it’s been that long), but it was still really strenuous, especially because the entire road there is uphill then downhill then uphill, so there’s really no direction, there or back, that’s easier. It was still a good work out, though, and we are putting our bikes to good use. When we got back from the post office a few of us went to Koala, the third big supermarket here, and I got some more jelly (I’m eating toast and jelly like it’s my job), and some stuff to make Red-Red! I don’t remember if I wrote about it in my last blog, but if not, I’ll write more about it when I actually make it. Basically, it’s a delicious bean stewy dish that’s great and I can’t wait to make it.
Marykate and I had our Legon class today—Media and Society—and it was really good. The professor is great, and seems to know what he’s talking about. The students, however, were really immature, it seemed. It was like being in a 9th grade on-level class with all the interruptions and uproarious laughter when the professor said anything that could even in the tiniest way be turned into some sexual comment (Sarah!). It was so unexpected for MK and me, especially because we were told that the Legon classes were very strict and that we should behave even more appropriately than we do at NYU. On the way up there, we talked with our bus driver, Sammy, about how the employee/employer relationship works here. It makes so much sense and is so pain-free, and I don’t know why it’s so hard for Americans to just be nice to each other, to calm down, to take a deep breath and relax and little, and show respect to one another. Sammy told us in the Ghanaian culture, everything is about having one another’s respect and maintaining a solid reputation—it’s the most important thing you have. He said he cleans his van on Saturdays on his day off because Christa, our director, wants it to look nice for us. I asked why he would do that, and he said because he respects Christa and has to show her that, and in return, he has Christa’s respect. Everything is mutual and everyone is happy. It’s such simplistic logic, to do something just because someone else asked you to, and to be kind because he or she is your superior, but it’s lost in translation in America. Everyone’s too busy to be friendly. It’s a real shame. Life would be a lot more joyful if everyone would just be patient with and nice to each other, like they are here.
Essentially, it was a fantastic day. I am truly blessed and am feeling more and more at home here everyday. I’m thankful we are getting into the swing of actually living here. I no longer feel like a strange visitor, which is good. This will be a good semester, I can feel it.
love love love
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