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Lindsay Jopes writes...

...about her experience while volunteering in Ghana.

Lindsay Ann Jopes: 8 June 2007

I arrived in Ghana two nights ago but have finally settled in with my host family. The culture shock will definitely take a few more weeks to wear off...maybe it won't at all. Everything is so different here, I expected this but nothing could have ever really prepared me. I've been told that I'm lucky I came at this time because it is so cool. It is 75 with 100% humidity, I can't imagine the normal temp of 95 with 100% humidity!! The air is so sticky and there's dirt and bugs everywhere...oddly enough it doesn't bother me to much. The streets are covered with people walking, napping, selling things...it's so chaotic but a very peaceful and welcoming environment. There are no rules on the road, the cars don't even have spedometers!! All the women, and some of the men, carry things on their heads. Name it and someone somewhere has it on their head. Whether it be food, clothing, buckets, live chickens!! There's also huge lizards...about two feet long. There legs are about three inches long so they seem really raised up off the ground...it's kind of hard to explain. The first time I saw one I just started lauging because they look so funny. The food is very very different. Everytime a meal comes I'm very wary and nervous to try it. A few have been inedible and others have been pretty good. All of them have been extremely spicy.

My host family is so nice and welcoming. They have gone above and beyond to make me feel at home. They have a woman named Joyce who does all the cooking and cleaning. She reprimands me anytime I try to help with anything...haha a little different from home. I've had to take two very cold showers but no complaints because at least they have running water. In Ghana they have an electricity crisis so on certain nights entire towns are completely dark, with the exception of candles. My host family has a generator so I haven't had to use candlelight but going through town is weird. Everyone moves their shops into the front of their stores and sells things by candlelight.

The school I'm going to be teaching at, Mummy's Darl, is located directly in front of the house I'm staying out. Today I got a tour of the school which is smaller then my house in CA. There are I think six classrooms with about 25 children in each. It's very crowded and not every child gets a desk or even there own chair. Despite these setbacks they are all so lively and excited to be at school. On Monday I get to start teaching and I can't wait. My class is so respectful and polite. The second I walk into any classroom the children point and swarm me yelling "obroli" which means white girl(it's not offensive though). I could go on and on about everything I've seen but I'll be writing again soon. Thanks everyone who reads this and is supporting me!!

Linz

Lindsay Ann Jopes: 12 June 2007

It's Tuesday at 4:45 and I finished my second day of teaching at about 2:00. It is really draining and frustrating would be an understatement. The children have a difficult time understanding my English and since they know I won't cane them or punish them as harshly as there other teachers, they basically walk all over me. Gradually I'm hoping to develop a technique to overcome this. Aside from those setbacks they really are delightful and you can see this fire in their eyes.

I'm also beginning to get used to the food. About 50% of it I end up liking. Yet, they think I eat like a bird, and a small bird at that. They serve me these huge portions and when I only eat half they ask me over and over if I didn't like it. They can't believe how little I eat. It's ironic because at home I eat more then most of my friends and family.

Everyone here (who has a car) takes it to the car wash almost everyday. I find this very strange because they get dirty so quick, and it's raining all the time, I don't see the point. The other day while we were waiting for the car a man with a maschette(I don't know how to spell that)walked up to a plant, sliced off something and proceeded to..."suck" on it. Imagine grabbing really thick corn husks by your teeth and rather barbarically wripping if off the corn and sucking on it with half sticking out of your mouth. That's the best way I can describe it. When I asked him what it was he told me sugar cane and seeing I'd never had it whacked it and gave he half. I tried some and found it very good but extremely sweet.

On Sunday, bright and early, I went with Edward (my host dad) to church. Wow, was that an experience. Faith is very important in Ghana and as often as you see a street light in America is how oftenyou see a church in Ghana. It's exuberant, with everyone singing and dancing with every ounce of their soul. In America I think I'm considered fairly outgoing, in this church I seemed so reserved amongst the other worshipers.

After Church and breakfast Edward took me to Lake Bosomtwe. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's tucked in the hills of the rainforest and is very tropical and picturesque. I went swimming but didn't last long because the water was almost to warm to enjoy. I took some pictures, layed out and listened to the rasta music and drank a cola which cost me a quarter. It was very simplistic but amazing. I guess that's a good update for now....I'll write again soon!

Linz

Lindsay Ann Jopes: 19 June 2007

So, I have malaria. HaHa, at least now I can honestly and wholeheartedly say I got the entire Ghana experience. It really isn't that bad. If it goes untreated it goes to your kidneys, but if it's diagnosed early you simply take an antibiotic and it clears up within two days. I had a pretty high fever and was achy but now I'm just a little fatigued. Anyways, aside from that I'm doing great.

This last weekend I finally did a little sightseeing. I'd been kind of a homebody up until this weekend but I finally ventured out of Santasi into Udon( about 15 minutes into town). The taxi driver barely spoke English so we drove about fifteen minutes in the wrong direction before he stopped and asked for directions. It was okay though because a the thirty minute taxi ride only cost me about two dollars. First I visited the military museum. Although very informative it was rather boring since I was by myself. It was good to get educated on Ghana history though since I'll be calling it home for another six weeks.

I then went to the Ghana Culture Center. Even though I was alone this was very fun and interesting. Here there were many different shops where people were making things specific to Ghanian culture. Such as pottery, jewelry, baskets, etc. Here at the culture center was where I recieved my first marriage proposal. It was very unexpected and although I found it funny he was very serious and I had to politely turn him down.

On my way back from the cultural center we pulled over and I bought "soft wine" from a little girl on the side of the road. When a palm tree dies and falls over they simply take the sap from the tree and it makes this milky colored wine. It was a little salty but very good, and it was naturally carbonated!!

Lately I've been walking to the Hotel Rexmar, which is about a ten minute walk away, to go swimming. It costs four dollars, which is quite expensive for Ghana, but is well worth is in this heat. The general manager is Hubert, and always buys me bottles of water and coca cola.

A few nights ago I went with Edward to the meat market. He bought a couple different types of shishkabobs and made me try everyone. One was just beef, the other was "mutton" or goat, and the other was liver and onions. The goat was a little chewy for me but tasted good. The liver and onions was amazing!! I loved it, I was actually dissapointed when it was gone!!

On Friday I'll be travelling to Cape Coast for the weekend which is about a 7 hour trip south. I'll probably write another journal entry when I return.

25-Jun-2007

So it's about three weeks into my trip and I think the culture shock has officially worn off. Nothing surprises me anymore and I've come to call Edward and Tina's house home. I've gotten into a routine with my teaching and with my freetime.

Every morning I wake up around eight to the kids screaming and laughing outside. I get ready and go to my class around nine after having a light breakfast (tea and a piece of bread). First I teach the kids character development using picture cards to describe each thing. This includes things from describing manners, personal hygeine, etc. to introducing them to possible careers such as dentist or banker. We then have math. They are still learning basic addition and subtraction so I try fun ways to teach this other then simple handouts. They then have reading circle. Next comes snack, all the kids bring extra bisquits to give to me. This is equivalent to bringing your teacher an apple in the states. They then have grammar, language development, and phonics. This week we're reviewing vowels and how they produce long or short sounds. I'm still in the process of assessing where each child is developmentally. Once I'm done with that, probably at the end of this week, I'll be able to split the children up and work on individual weeknesses. The kids have lunch around one and color or have a fun activity after. I'm done teaching around two.

Katie, the other volunteer and my new roommate, arrived last Thursday. Because of this I decided to not travel to Cape Coast. We've planned to go this weekend, Fri-Mon(the kids have a holiday Mon). She is really sweet and so helpful. She brought a lot of extra supplies for my class. On Friday Katie and I went into the main market in Katchetjcia. It was absolute chaos!! There's people everywhere and it's hot and stinky. Somehow, within this insanity there's organization. All the fruit is in one area, the meat in another and so on and so forth. I saw an entire pigs head cooking on a grill!! I tried to take pictures but no one would let me. They thought I would portray the market in negative way.

Last night, while hanging out with some of the neighbors, a giant cockroach fell onto my head and started crawling down my face! Of course, I did the typical girl response and absolutely freaked out. The locals thought I was a lunatic and couldn't figure out what the big deal was. I still have the heeby jeebies just thinking about it!!

Well, this journal was a little uneventful but I will definitely be travelling this weekend so the next one should be more entertaining.

Volta River/Last Entry: 31-Jul-2007

For our final trip Katie and I decided to visit the Volta Region. The Volta River stretches throughout Ghana, we decided to go to Akosombo which is south of Kumasi. Surprisingly enough, we had no issues with transportation, other then the usual time extensions due to the nature of Ghana. Akosombo was by far my favorite part of Ghana(that I saw firsthand). The area was so lush with greenery and had a much more mellow atmosphere.

We stayed in a hotel directly on the water, and had a personal dock where we could sit and relax. While sitting and eating breakfast, fisherman in handmade wooden canoes would slowly row by, it was so serene. The first day we simply relaxed and took in the scenery. The second day we went on the Dodi Princess, which is a fairy that takes you around on the river. It began really sunny and had live music as entertainment. Within an hour the weather changed and we were in a complete rainstorm. Also, we waited in line for over two hours for food, only to finally give up and eat later at the hotel. Although there were minor setbacks, Katie and I had grown accustomed to the...hurdles Ghana poses, and simply laughed at the situation.

I'd also like to report that each and everyone of my K-5 students graduated on! I was so proud while grading their exams, I wanted to cry as I went through each and every correct answer. They did even better then I anticipated, and I like to think that the little helping hand I extended gave them the confidence they needed to succeed.

I was supposed to be home on Wednesday the 26th. Seeing as nothing is simple in Ghana, my flights got rebooked and cancelled multiple times. I ended up travelling for four days, taking an extra vacation day in Milan, and arriving home on Friday. It was very stressful and exhausting but I know that I've grown and learned from every experience I've had these last two months, both the good and the bad.

The last two months were absolutely indescribable, despite my best efforts through this journal. While in Ghana, I was able to embrace a new culture and really step out of the comfort zone of SLO, CA. I discovered how little one needs in order to be content. The people I interacted with didn't live by a time clock and didn't have the constraints of money and greed. In America we're driven by the desire to succeed and when we think of tribal communities we automatically want to save them from themselves. These people, although impoverished and in need of help, our happy with their customs and traditions. They accept each and every personality they encounter and go above and beyond to welcome visitors.

At times their culture could seem invasive, and yet that is the way they extend their hospitality. If I ever looked distraught or down about something, even if I wasn't, they were determined to discover the cause. Everyone(people on the street, in the trotro station, in the market) ask you where you are going. They will then proceed to take you if you are unsure of how to get there.

The culture was boisterous and loud at times, but full of passion. They embraced life, they embraced death, and their sense of community and family ran very deep.