Madam, Auntie, Sister, Maame Yaa

This week has really been all about the names. As I mentioned in one of my first posts, it is proper to call a woman older than you Auntie or Sister. Most of the time I am called Auntie, but every now and then someone throws in a Sister Amber. The grandchildren call me Auntie Amber most of the time, but they will also call me Auntie Miner because that is easier for them to say. Uncle Steven, who is Auntie Agnes’ son also calls me Auntie Miner.

Maame Yaa is a new name for me. The day that you were born is very important here. Even the Bible study groups at church are organized based on the day you were born. Sister Monica, who is Uncle Steven’s wife, now calls me Maame Yaa. This name means I was born on Thursday. I like it, and maybe I’ll even keep it as a nickname when I get back to the states. I also really like the name Adjoa which means you were a girl born on a Monday. 

The other name I have is Madam Amber, which is what the students call me at school. The teachers here also go by their first names, for example, my cooperating teacher is Madam Dora. Being a teacher is becoming more of my role this week. I have taken over the math portion of the day, as well as occasionally teaching other subjects like grammar and comprehension. I am happy to be teaching, but it also faces more challenges. My voice that I thought was pretty loud does not carry very well in the classroom with a door and 4 windows that are always open to the outside. The discipline is hard for me because I do not cane the children. The more that I teach I think it will get easier and they will understand my expectations, but with 36 kids it is hard. I also think I am losing my voice, so that does not help. 

On Wednesday I had the students by myself for an extended period of time because my cooperating teacher was in a meeting. Chaos was a good way to explain it. Most of the bad things that happened did not occur in the classroom, but they were my students, so I still had to deal with them. I had one boy trip another boy on the way to the washroom (bathroom), and he had a scuffed up knee. I had another child decide that he didn’t want to do the prayer before we went to lunch, he didn’t like it very much when I made him pray by himself after everyone else was done. I also had another student get a bloody lunch while at lunch, so I had to deal with that too. It was an eventful 30 minutes or so, but hey we survived.

Aides do not exist here. The classroom teacher basically plays the role of all the other extra positions you can think of. There are a couple days a week where we don’t have a break and are with the students the entire day. The only class where the students leave the classroom to go somewhere else is library. The classroom teacher is the P.E. teacher, the lunch room supervisor, aide, and much more. Some of the students like to eat their lunch in the canteen, but at least half of the students each their lunch in the classroom. Also, some of the children don’t get picked up right away at the end of the day so they will either stay in the classroom and work on their homework, or go out on the compound and play until their driver or parents come to pick them up. It is common for children to be picked up and dropped off by a taxi. The students that do this often have a specific driver that always drops them off and picks them up. 

Friday we had a day of celebration to end the week of Catholic Education. The only work the students did was write down their homework assignments in the morning. We then had a trivia game to finish out the morning before lunch. After lunch was games. It was basically free time for all of the students in the school. Some played outdoor games like soccer or football as they call it, volleyball, and skip rope (jump rope). They also played games like monopoly and other Ghanaian board games. 

Side note: The last few days have been cooler, and by cooler I mean 70-75 instead of 90. Some of the children think this is cold and have been wearing sweatshirts and sweaters. I think it is nice because I am not sweating as much and can actually wear my hair down instead of always having to put it up. I just thought you all back in Wisconsin might find this funny since I know it is actually really cold back there and some of you will only be wearing sweatshirts when you go outside.

I also learned at lunch today that if you eat with your hands, which you do here for almost every meal, it is rude to eat with your left hand. So I who is left handed am learning how to eat with my right hand and not look like a messy child. I usually eat my meals with a spoon and that is ok to use your left hand, but I am trying to embrace the culture while I am here.

A Week of Changes

I haven’t been here for very long, but already there are changes happening. I am a little sad now because Partey, who has been the one helping me and showing me around my first week and a half, is now gone. He had to go back to school, and I will not see him again before I leave. However, Auntie Agnes is sill making sure that I always have someone to travel around with me. A college student, Doreen, from her church has offered to go places with me. On Tuesday we went to the Accra Mall. She is also taking me to the beach on Saturday. I am very grateful that Doreen is willing to take me to places around the area as well as show me how to navigate through the buses which they call trotros. 

While at the mall we went into a fabric shop. When I was at the Arts Center I kinda glanced at everything, but didn’t look very closely. This time I tried to look at the fabrics individually and was overwhelmed. The fabric looks at lot different on the self than it does made into a dress. I had a hard time looking at the fabric and picturing how it would be once made into a dress. The patterns on the fabrics looked too crazy, but I have seen many dresses that I like so I know that when made into clothing it looks well. 

Another change was the classroom set up. The first week I had gotten pretty good at knowing students by where they sat. Over the weekend our chalkboard was covered with whiteboard material, so the teacher rearranged the classroom to now face that board. There are two boards in the classroom, and they were facing a different direction. While I think the set up now is better for the students to learn it is harder for me because now I am sitting behind the children instead of on their side. This means that I can’t see their faces, and their seats have changed so it is a lot harder for me to recognize students right away. When I check their work I will say their name to them, so that I remember, and if I don’t remember I ask them to tell me their names. I am getting better at names, but there are a few kids that I think look too much a like so I forget their names or mix them up.

For the first time since leaving the airport, I saw other white people. I saw a few at the Art Center and a few at the mall. They looked so out of place, which makes me realize that is probably what the Ghanians think of me. It also made me stop and think that I really am in the minority here and I do get treated differently because of it. 

Also, even though they are teaching the same material, I have learned that teachers here have a very different teaching style. I try to take as many notes as I can about the differences, so that I can learn how to incorporate some of their style into how I teach.

Things I am Learning about Ghana

I love the clothes! The patterns of the fabrics are beautiful, and I will try not to bring home a complete new wardrobe. I will be getting a few dresses made before I leave though. You buy the fabric at the market and then bring it to a seamstress to make it into a dress, skirt, or shirt. The people are very friendly. In the market and even on the streets people will try to sell you stuff. I have been told by Aunite Agnes to always cut the price in half and then barter from there. The people will try to sell things to me at a higher price especially because I am an American and they think I have a lot of money. 

The day that you were born is very important in Ghana. Many people even have that as apart of their name. For example, Kofi means you were born on Friday. It is common for people to have multiple first names. This also makes remembering names harder. 

On my first day I mentioned that there were people selling things on the side of the road. Well today I have established you can buy anything from those vendors. Today I even saw them trying to sell toilet paper. They sell phone cards and perfumes along with the food and beverages.

Saturday I went to KFC to each lunch. The menu is pretty similar, but no mashed potatoes instead they have rice. They also have what they call a burger, but it is more like a crispy chicken sandwich. Their drinks are only in bottles, but they have pop like coke and sprite. After eating Partey showed me around Accra a bit. We walked by the Accra Sports Stadium and many government building. We also walked to the beach, so I was able to walk along the coast of the ocean for a bit. Later in the day we stopped at a place where we could sit and relax with the view of the ocean. 

Another place that we went in Accra was the Art Center. This place was insane! It was like a craft sale, but it was crazy because many people were selling the same things. Each little shop as they call then had some of the same things, but some had a few different items. Everyone was trying to get my attention to sell me their items. They kept telling me they would give me a good price. There were three main types of shops; carving, clothing, and beads. The carvings were beautiful and most were handmade by the people who were selling them. The carving shops included small tables, bowls, stands, serving spoons and forks, animals, masks, and maybe included symbols. There were meanings for most things that they were more than willing to tell me all about. Some of the wood carvings even had beading in them with made them very beautiful in their own right. There were lots of elephants and I wanted to buy ALL of them! There were many clothing shops, and some even included beads. There was a lot to look at. Some people had fabrics for you to buy to be made into clothing, but many of the shops here has some pre-made dresses, and shirts. The dresses had elastic at the waist so they would fit multiple people. There was even a lady who had a skirt that you wrap around and tie that she put on me to try to get me to buy it. The beads ranged from simple beads and cheap looking to hand carved beads that looked beautiful. At the bead shops there were also many souvenir type gifts such as magnets, cups, and small plaques. They also sold many wallets and small purses. There was even one shop that specialized in purses and bags. I found the perfect teacher bag to carry around everything, but I was not buying anything today. 

A few stories from our day at the Art Center. One was this man who really wanted to get me to buy one of his masks. He thought that Partey and I were married, which  we both looked at each other and laughed. He really wanted me to buy something today even though we told him that we were only looking many times. Another story was of this man TK. He was very kind and knowledgeable. He showed me around his sisters bead shop, as well as a few other shops before showing me his own shop. There were many things in his shop that were a little different than what was in all of the other shops and it was a nice change of pace. He had a few things that I know I want to buy for sure and I will be going back to his shop when I go to buy gifts to bring home. He also called me a queen. 

First Week Of School

I am teaching 1st grade in a Catholic Primary and Junior High School. They have children from age 2 to 9th grade in the school. Every morning they have an assembly where they pray and sing songs. The teachers also go over any rules or important information the children should know at that time. On Wednesdays they have a longer assembly. 

This week was their first one back from break. It was a four day week which was nice because it gave me an extra day to adjust here before heading to school. Tuesday all the kids stared at me, which was no surprise because I am the only white person around here, or at least that I have seen since leaving the airport. My class was a little surprised, but now that they know my name they love to say it. 

On Tuesday I went out with the children during their lunch break and learned a few games. Once I joined them everyone wanted to be around me. Students will come up to me just to say hello or ask my name. My desk is in view of the door way, so many people will wave or adults will even come into the classroom to meet me. I have learned many names, but know faces better than names at this point. There are some people that have English names, but most people have Ghanian names that I am slowly getting better at pronouncing. 

There are about 35 kids in my 1st grade classroom. It is a big class even for here. One responsibility I was given right away was a to help check papers. This has really helped me to get to know students names. Often times class work is checked right away and the students have an opportunity to fix their mistakes before we put a score on them. We score them after they have completed the assignment correctly or we have moved on to the next task. For homework they have notebooks and the teacher writes the assignments on the board and then the students copy them into their notebooks. I also check those to make sure that the students wrote the problems down correctly, but I do not make any marks on them. The students writing their homework down takes a long time, but worksheets don’t really exist here. There are some students who get done early, but then have nothing to do, I am thinking of setting up an extra work station with books and paper and maybe even puzzles, so that those students are occupied with something and do not distract the others from finishing their work. I think this will also help with the times when the students are pretty rowdy. 

The classes that are taught here are pretty similar to those in the United States. The students are learning the same things in math, science, and grammar. They also work on handwriting skills. The students are learning two languages, TWI (a local language) and French. One thing they do not have is specials. There were three days this week when the classroom teacher had the students the whole day. Friday there was supposed to be someone coming in, but they did not show up. The end of the day on Friday they have exercise which is basically an extra hour of recess. There are some organized games going on, but mainly for the older children. 

I get my lunch from the canteen which is like a school cafeteria, but also serves as a concession stand where kids can buy snacks and drinks for their first break of the day. So far I have eaten eaten everything they have fed me, but I have learned to ask for sauce in moderation. They do not hold back on the spices like my host family does. My teacher has also been very generous in sharing her food with me. She lets me try her food, and even has brought me snacks to eat during snack time. On Friday she gave me a treat that she also gave the children. It is called Mr. Snacky corn snacks, but they are basically cheesy puff corn or cheese balls. The children were really excited to get them. The people I am surrounded with are very generous and are always trying to make me feel comfortable. 

One big difference about Ghanian schools is that they punish students. The teacher will walk around with a cane sometimes and hit students that are talking too much or misbehaving. My teacher uses more as a warning than actually punishing the students, but she has used it a few times. 

I am looking forward to starting to teach and getting more involved in the classroom.

The ICT (computers) teacher asked me if I have made a website before, so I will also be helping them set up a website for the school. They have one now that a previous student from St. Norbert helped create, but they have no way of updating the site.

Jet Laaaaaagggggggg

I took a short nap on the day that I got here hoping that I could then sleep through the night the next day. Little did I know that I would sleep through the night and then half the next day. I woke up on Saturday at 4:30 pm. The whole day or what was left of it was a daze. I was asked if I was tired multiple times. After dinner I went to the market with Auntie Agnes’ oldest grandson and one of her nephews. Her grandson has kind of been my tour guide and has been looking after me whenever we leave the house. At the market I got a phone for here and now have the whatsapp to communicate more readily with people back home. 

The next day I woke up at 9:30 am. I was told that I looked much better that day. As soon as the grandchildren came home from church they asked me to play cards. The night before I taught them how to play crazy 8s and spoons. Spoons is a big hit with the children, they also have uno so we played cards for hours. 

Sunday was also a birthday celebration! I ate dinner with the children and then we celebrated with cake and champagne. The champagne was sparkling grape juice and the cake is not your traditional birthday cake in the United States. It is more like a pound cake, or a dense angel food cake. It was very delicious and I didn’t even miss the frosting, well maybe a little.

I was hoping that the jet lag was over, but my body has not quite adjusted to the 6 hour time change. I went to bed pretty early, I fell asleep around 10, but sadly I woke up around 12:30am and could not fall asleep for a few hours. I was still able to wake up by 8 am and get ready for the day. School starts tomorrow, so I will have to wake up a few hours earlier in the up coming days.

I went to visit the headmistress, but she was busy when we first went to the school, so the second time I went by myself! I successfully made it, and now I will be more comfortable walking to my first day of school.

It is hot and sunny. I sweat a lot, but its not as bad as I thought. One of the children asked me why I was crying last night because my face seats the most. If there is a breeze its not too bad. In general it is a quiet place where I am at, there are random noises that you hear throughout the day such as the speakers from the Mosque during the times of Islamic prayer. I think I am adjusting pretty well, but I also feel like I am just on vacation, not that I will be here for 11 weeks. 

Side note: The grandchildren call me Auntie because it is not polite to call someone older than you by their first name only. 

Also while the people here know English when speaking to each other they use their native languages such as Twi, which is a language taught in the schools. My host family speaks Krobono. I have learned a few words, and have learned that when people refer to me they will often call me obroni which means white lady. 

The Newly World Traveler

I don’t want to jinx it for the travel home, but I handled navigating 4 airports like a boss! I had some help along the way especially when I got to Ghana. The man who was sitting next to me on the flight made sure that I got everything that I needed. When we reached the baggage claim area he got me a cart and showed me where to stand to see where the bags first came out. He even waited to help me make sure that I found both of my bags before leaving that area. 

Navigating was one thing, but the flights were another. I learned a few things in my two shorter flights to ensure that my longer flight would go better. Motion sickness is something that comes pretty easily to me, and flying made no exception. 

1. Pepto Bismol is your friend. I got over my fear of taking Pepto Bismol real quick. (Last time I used it I got sick and threw up and haven’t touched the stuff in years.)  
2. Don’t look out the window during take off or landing,
3. Don’t try to focus on something during turbulence or rough air as they always called it over the speaker.
4. Always stay hydrated and have snacks. Almonds and water were my best friends when I had a very short turn around between my first two planes and still had an upset stomach from the first flight before the second flight took off.

One downside to the traveling was the lack of sleep. I got roughly 2 hours of sleep the night before and then during the course of the day/night I got about 4 hours of sleep if I’m lucky. The shorter flights I actually got more sleep than on the 10 hour overnight flight. Luckily there were screens for each seat and I could watch movies. 

I was met outside the airport by my host family. Auntie Agnes along with one of her sons and one grandson were there to greet me. They then were kind enough to take me to the super market to get me a few things to eat that I know I like, so that I have something to eat in case I don’t like something or mire likely that my body doesn’t like. One thing that I’m really going to miss is milk. Here they have something that they call milk that comes in a box and is not stored in the refrigerated isle. I haven’t tried it yet, but when I do I will let you know the outcome. 

I’m glad that we didn’t have too far to drive because the people around here drive like they are crazy. Everyone is impatient and always honking their horns. It seems that there is no real rules to driving even though there  are signs and even stop lights. One guy tried to drive in the dirt shoulder on the opposite side of the road, but was quickly met by the police. There was also a bus that had broken down and was just left in the middle of the road which we had to then drive around.

My first Ghanian meal was jallof. It is a seasoned rice that is made by cooking the sauce and then cooking the rice in the sauce. You can add some vegetables to the rice as well. It had a little kick to it which tasted delicious. Today we ate it with some fried chicken, and then for dessert we had oranges. The oranges here are a little different. The peel on the orange is actually the color green. Now after seeing this I thought the orange itself might be green also, but it was not. The peel on these oranges are tougher, and they typically cut it off instead of peeling it off clean. The orange then has the white coating around it and you cut it in half. Then you eat out the orange and drink as much of the juice you can. These green oranges taste about the same, but they have more juice than your typical orange oranges.

Something I found interesting:

People walk around with baskets on their heads! Picture a sporting event or the Medora musical where there are vendors walking around trying to sell you food and beverages. Now take that image to the streets. There are people that walk around and through traffic at stop lights and other places where traffic is held up trying to sell you food drinks and much more. And some of these people carry their items that they are selling on their head.