Yesterday we introduced Putubiw's Primary 4 students to bears, the Berenstain variety. Although all the kids know farming, the red barn and silo pictured on Farmer Ben's farm reflect none of the small plots of plaintain trees and cassava plants of the fields surrounding the village. At least the hens looked familiar. I had them each draw an animal on the chalkboard: the goat, sheep, and dog alluded to skillfully simple rhinos. Today, 10 more Primary 5 boys and girls are leaning over their exercise books as Ben gives them and impromptu spelling test. The idea is to reinformce grammar and improve spoken english with a different Primary grade each weeknight. We played games and reviewed colors and adjectives most of this week.
Rebecca and I are discovering the need to review basices at the JSS too. Our Form 2 review of pronounts, subject, and object was quite similar to last week's 5:00 classes on nouns. Both forms have now completed, though not mastered, paragraph writing. Some errors like subject-verb agreement are to be expected in a new language while others like the exclusion of all periods (full stops) result from the lack of reading/writing practice in any language. With time, we've begun to understand how to divide lessons between reading, notes, and written exercises to keep the classes in a semblance of order. It's difficult when the JSS is staffed by 3 teachers who appear for seemingly ad hoc lessons without regard to their timing; we greatly confused 2 of them when we asked to look at the master class schedule.
New topic, new line, indent new paragraph. The weeks are starting to flow together, a sure sign that I'm settling into a Putubiw routine. We still remark about the abundance of goats, leave a trail of children calling "obruni, how are you, i am fine, thank you" in our wake, and rely on Kelvin to translate what the mothers call from their stoops once they exceed our knowledge of mfantse (fante) phrases:
welcome akwaaba
good morning mema wo ache
how are you? otee den?
(or "apume", accompanied by wild hand gestures, according to the woman who greets Rebecca and I on our way to school with the deep exclamation)
I am fine me who ye
My name is Sarah Wofre me Sarah
goodbye (Putubiw kid style) Obruni-bye-bye
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Adventure No.2
Finally a keyboard that types normally! This weekend United Planet organized a trip for us to see the sights of the Central Region; we hit all the major points on the itinerary, with a few unexpected happenings to keep things interesting.
Our first stop was Kakum National Park for the canopy walk. Yes is was touristy, yes we did see more white people than expected, and yes we did have an entire secondary school class in our tour group. But Ben, who drove and accompanied us, wisely kept us at the front of the group and once on the walk it was easy to get lost in the "tropical semi-deciduous rain forest." The walk is 7 suspended walkways connecting trees that stoically stand tall above the canopy. More than one person on a walkway at a time brings back memories of the playground plank bridges we used to run across as kids. Peering down towards the ground yields an unexpectedly simple view of the forest: as overwhelmingly green, as diverse in shapes and forms, and as still as it appears while looking up towards the tree tops.
After departing, we briefly paused at the side of the road to buy Fan Ice, vanilla ice cream sold in pouches. It's the consistency of slowly melting soft serve, but the fact that there are frozen treats sold from carts along every major road is enough to leave me in awe. Sachets are big in Ghana; water is sold in expensive bottles as well as 500ml packets known as "pure water" for a few cents apiece. You can't walk more than a few feet in Cape Coast without hearing girls calling "Purewataaa."
Next stop was Elmina Castle, the largest castle used in the slave trade in sub-Saharan Africa. The tour was incredibly interesting: dungeons for the women and men connected separately to the same 'room of no return'; two churches; and the governor's expansive living quarters. His two-part living room is approximately the size of the largest cell used to house 100 women awaiting departure. Atop the castle, there were amazing views of the palm-lined beach, fishing boats lined up along the canal, and the small roofs of Elmina.
Our UP-sponsored weekend stopped unexpectedly once Ben helped us check into our hotel with the promise of a 1:00 pick up the following day. The hotel, housed in one of the colonial era buildings, Bridge House, was in an awesome location just across the canal from the Castle. Left with a free afternoon and access to the hotel's second branch on the beach, the three of us decided to wander toward the other Coconut Grove property. The walk was a little longer than anticipated, but made our drinks on the beach a little more enjoyable. It was strange to imagine spending an entire Ghanaian vacation at a resort, without meeting any of the people we've encountered in Putubiw or those who we greeted on the walk there. We startled quite a few women by replacing "how are you?" with "o tee den?" We can successfully count to 59, greet, inquire "how are you," and ask names. The kids that flock to the windows of the library every night find us even more amusing now.
After dinner on the porch looking directly at the Castle's formidable whitewashed walls, we called it an early night and enjoyed having a warm shower, AC, and a top sheet on our beds. This morning we walked around the fishing town at a less than strenuous stroll and saw a few of the posuban shrines that decorate the area. To the best of our understanding, historically each "company" in town decorates a site that may have been used as storage and/or a meeting place. They are bright, often with full size figures. We passed a sailing ship above one building, Adam and Eve and other various characters, and a more simply decorated but equally bright shrine with lions. All have multiple stories and balconies that allude to the colonial architecture still prevalent along the main road in town.
We spent quite a while pouring over our 3 identical copies of Bradt's Ghana guide, discussing which idiosyncrasies we would write to Philip Briggs about. Our next few weekends of travel (Accra, Green Turtle Lodge on the Western Coast, Biakpa in the Volta region) should be great.
Our first stop was Kakum National Park for the canopy walk. Yes is was touristy, yes we did see more white people than expected, and yes we did have an entire secondary school class in our tour group. But Ben, who drove and accompanied us, wisely kept us at the front of the group and once on the walk it was easy to get lost in the "tropical semi-deciduous rain forest." The walk is 7 suspended walkways connecting trees that stoically stand tall above the canopy. More than one person on a walkway at a time brings back memories of the playground plank bridges we used to run across as kids. Peering down towards the ground yields an unexpectedly simple view of the forest: as overwhelmingly green, as diverse in shapes and forms, and as still as it appears while looking up towards the tree tops.
After departing, we briefly paused at the side of the road to buy Fan Ice, vanilla ice cream sold in pouches. It's the consistency of slowly melting soft serve, but the fact that there are frozen treats sold from carts along every major road is enough to leave me in awe. Sachets are big in Ghana; water is sold in expensive bottles as well as 500ml packets known as "pure water" for a few cents apiece. You can't walk more than a few feet in Cape Coast without hearing girls calling "Purewataaa."
Next stop was Elmina Castle, the largest castle used in the slave trade in sub-Saharan Africa. The tour was incredibly interesting: dungeons for the women and men connected separately to the same 'room of no return'; two churches; and the governor's expansive living quarters. His two-part living room is approximately the size of the largest cell used to house 100 women awaiting departure. Atop the castle, there were amazing views of the palm-lined beach, fishing boats lined up along the canal, and the small roofs of Elmina.
Our UP-sponsored weekend stopped unexpectedly once Ben helped us check into our hotel with the promise of a 1:00 pick up the following day. The hotel, housed in one of the colonial era buildings, Bridge House, was in an awesome location just across the canal from the Castle. Left with a free afternoon and access to the hotel's second branch on the beach, the three of us decided to wander toward the other Coconut Grove property. The walk was a little longer than anticipated, but made our drinks on the beach a little more enjoyable. It was strange to imagine spending an entire Ghanaian vacation at a resort, without meeting any of the people we've encountered in Putubiw or those who we greeted on the walk there. We startled quite a few women by replacing "how are you?" with "o tee den?" We can successfully count to 59, greet, inquire "how are you," and ask names. The kids that flock to the windows of the library every night find us even more amusing now.
After dinner on the porch looking directly at the Castle's formidable whitewashed walls, we called it an early night and enjoyed having a warm shower, AC, and a top sheet on our beds. This morning we walked around the fishing town at a less than strenuous stroll and saw a few of the posuban shrines that decorate the area. To the best of our understanding, historically each "company" in town decorates a site that may have been used as storage and/or a meeting place. They are bright, often with full size figures. We passed a sailing ship above one building, Adam and Eve and other various characters, and a more simply decorated but equally bright shrine with lions. All have multiple stories and balconies that allude to the colonial architecture still prevalent along the main road in town.
We spent quite a while pouring over our 3 identical copies of Bradt's Ghana guide, discussing which idiosyncrasies we would write to Philip Briggs about. Our next few weekends of travel (Accra, Green Turtle Lodge on the Western Coast, Biakpa in the Volta region) should be great.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Call Me Esi
Each day and sex has a name in Fante and therefore everyone has two names to remember. for me it is now Esi, a Sunday-born girl.
As Rebecca said on the ride to Cape Coast, it will never cease to be a marvel that taxis come to Putubiw. How any car can make that trip -- across puddles that look like ponds and hills reminiscent of roller coasters -- more than once in its lifetime will forever puzzle me.
The Form 2s were tolerably well behaved today, and the dreaded reading is behind us. Ghana time being what it is, we may make it back in time for dinner and the JSS session at the library. I really like working with the students and Ben and Kelvin our hosts at PUSU are fun to be around too. This weekend we are looking forward to a trip to Kakum National Park for a canopy walk as well as tours of Cape Coast and Elmina castles. All is well, and the sun even shone a bit this morning.
Til the next taxi trip...
As Rebecca said on the ride to Cape Coast, it will never cease to be a marvel that taxis come to Putubiw. How any car can make that trip -- across puddles that look like ponds and hills reminiscent of roller coasters -- more than once in its lifetime will forever puzzle me.
The Form 2s were tolerably well behaved today, and the dreaded reading is behind us. Ghana time being what it is, we may make it back in time for dinner and the JSS session at the library. I really like working with the students and Ben and Kelvin our hosts at PUSU are fun to be around too. This weekend we are looking forward to a trip to Kakum National Park for a canopy walk as well as tours of Cape Coast and Elmina castles. All is well, and the sun even shone a bit this morning.
Til the next taxi trip...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
It Must Stop Pouring
7Sunday was a great beach day; otherwise it's been gray since last friday. The past 4 hours of rain have competed with Kodwo's blaring R&B as thesoundtrack to my afternoon.
Rain is Africa's pause button.
If it doesn't stop, there will be no library hours tonight: nothing to do. Especially in and around Putubiw, where the channels engraved by downpours like this cut 6" wide and twice as deep into the roads, travel is both unpleasant and unpractical in the rain. Usually, at 5 we walk up the hill to PUSU's office/library (about a dozen books, a desk, a chalkboard, and benches). Primary school students come for an hour lesson in English grammar andreading. Yesterday we began helping with an open homework help session for JSS students between 7 and 9. It keeps the nights busy and is easier than working with a full class of40.
Mornigs at the JSS are slowly finding a rhythm. 1 or 2 classes each morning, though the number of children in attendance varies more than the rotating class schedule. Their textbook resembles our foreign language texts with a combination of readings, grammar, and oral/written exercises. However, the school still operates on a memorization-based system. Questions have a right answer, and my prompting of "why?" is met with blank stares. Our accents/vocabulary, lack of enforcement mechanism (I'd look ridiculous trying to wield a cane even if I desired to), and their age (between 11 and 17, with an average of 14 or 15) create a trying situation. The Form 1 class is more receptive and paragraph writing lessons yielded a small improvement. It's no small request to ask kids who have rarely read a story and whose native speech is an oral language to write compositions on a prompt such as "describe your clothes in three paragraphs." The Form 2s are good at avoiding gazes and bad at silence, but the reading we're trying is over their heads, and mine too as I try for the 1st time to explain it in English. My memory for simply synonmys and my ability to generate concrete concise definitions is improving.
There"s still thunder outside. Here, there is never confusion that a rumble was just a car or a trash can. Luckily all three volunteers brought 4 books and we have already scoped out the bookstore in Cape Coast. Since Casey arrived, major brainstorming has filled notebook pages, but assessing the practicality and value of such schemes is still to come. Working on Putubiw time is part of the experience.
Rain is Africa's pause button.
If it doesn't stop, there will be no library hours tonight: nothing to do. Especially in and around Putubiw, where the channels engraved by downpours like this cut 6" wide and twice as deep into the roads, travel is both unpleasant and unpractical in the rain. Usually, at 5 we walk up the hill to PUSU's office/library (about a dozen books, a desk, a chalkboard, and benches). Primary school students come for an hour lesson in English grammar andreading. Yesterday we began helping with an open homework help session for JSS students between 7 and 9. It keeps the nights busy and is easier than working with a full class of40.
Mornigs at the JSS are slowly finding a rhythm. 1 or 2 classes each morning, though the number of children in attendance varies more than the rotating class schedule. Their textbook resembles our foreign language texts with a combination of readings, grammar, and oral/written exercises. However, the school still operates on a memorization-based system. Questions have a right answer, and my prompting of "why?" is met with blank stares. Our accents/vocabulary, lack of enforcement mechanism (I'd look ridiculous trying to wield a cane even if I desired to), and their age (between 11 and 17, with an average of 14 or 15) create a trying situation. The Form 1 class is more receptive and paragraph writing lessons yielded a small improvement. It's no small request to ask kids who have rarely read a story and whose native speech is an oral language to write compositions on a prompt such as "describe your clothes in three paragraphs." The Form 2s are good at avoiding gazes and bad at silence, but the reading we're trying is over their heads, and mine too as I try for the 1st time to explain it in English. My memory for simply synonmys and my ability to generate concrete concise definitions is improving.
There"s still thunder outside. Here, there is never confusion that a rumble was just a car or a trash can. Luckily all three volunteers brought 4 books and we have already scoped out the bookstore in Cape Coast. Since Casey arrived, major brainstorming has filled notebook pages, but assessing the practicality and value of such schemes is still to come. Working on Putubiw time is part of the experience.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Happy Flag Day
this birthday mimicked the last: rainy, gray, and at the beach. But an overnight in a hut at the Anomabo Beach Resort is quite the (welcome) departure from a day full of seining in the Nature Center's communal waders.
the white noise of waves hummed at Rebecca, Casey, and I as we ate on the porch restaurant overlooking the beach and, later, as we used the covered recliners as an escape from the dripping skies rather than the sun. Despite the drizzle, or perhaps because of the calm that seemed to pervade the day, I quite enjoyed the 14th.
In honor of the holiday season, happy anniversary Grandma and Grandpa, happy fathers day Dad, happy birthday Grandpa, and happy flag day to the rest!
the white noise of waves hummed at Rebecca, Casey, and I as we ate on the porch restaurant overlooking the beach and, later, as we used the covered recliners as an escape from the dripping skies rather than the sun. Despite the drizzle, or perhaps because of the calm that seemed to pervade the day, I quite enjoyed the 14th.
In honor of the holiday season, happy anniversary Grandma and Grandpa, happy fathers day Dad, happy birthday Grandpa, and happy flag day to the rest!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Slow Start
the place that United Planet and its volunteers have in Putubiw is hard to understand. the oddity that is our presence here is certainly a door for cultural exchange but is also extremely brief. We're caught in a paradox: we're here to use our own knowledge and skills towards projects we can accomplish but are also tethered to PUSU. And any indigenous development project must demand that their volunteers work with its own vision. It's hard to balance enacting PUSU projects and filling in idle time.
It's easy to notice how far I've ventured into unfamiliar territory during the down time in week 1. Afternoons have been saturated withreading and apathy. Helping PUSU figure out what to do with us is mostly a trial in patience.
But there's hope yet. Rebecca and I will begin teaching at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) on thursday. In the evenings there will be a session for primary students. Yesterday we accompanied the students to a day of athletics (a track meet) in a nearby village Acrofo. It was fun, even as an unaffiliated spectator, to experience the unabashed joy of a hundred students whose years don't outnumber their fingers cheering for one of their classmates. The women, on reprieve from selling snacks, often yelled the loudest and jumped the highest. I guess some aspects of motherhood are universal.
It's easy to notice how far I've ventured into unfamiliar territory during the down time in week 1. Afternoons have been saturated withreading and apathy. Helping PUSU figure out what to do with us is mostly a trial in patience.
But there's hope yet. Rebecca and I will begin teaching at the Junior Secondary School (JSS) on thursday. In the evenings there will be a session for primary students. Yesterday we accompanied the students to a day of athletics (a track meet) in a nearby village Acrofo. It was fun, even as an unaffiliated spectator, to experience the unabashed joy of a hundred students whose years don't outnumber their fingers cheering for one of their classmates. The women, on reprieve from selling snacks, often yelled the loudest and jumped the highest. I guess some aspects of motherhood are universal.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Back to slow internet
Hi all,
We're in Cape Coast for the afternoon basically to check email. It's only about 20-30 minutes by taxi (which from Putubiw is a regular sedan). The keyboard is a bit troublesome, but if all works well, there should be two posts below from my first week. I'll be sharing a phone with the two other ND volunteers, the number is 00233248493396, just in case I can't email it. Wishing for some AC,
Sarah
We're in Cape Coast for the afternoon basically to check email. It's only about 20-30 minutes by taxi (which from Putubiw is a regular sedan). The keyboard is a bit troublesome, but if all works well, there should be two posts below from my first week. I'll be sharing a phone with the two other ND volunteers, the number is 00233248493396, just in case I can't email it. Wishing for some AC,
Sarah
Saturday, June 7, 2008
The Place Where the Yams Are Kept
re The intrigue of travel often lies in the juxtaposition of foreign and familiar: what attracts, what is relevant to the known, what frightens or bewilders. Today, after watching A Cinderella Story, something staring Amanda Bynes, and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, I walked to the porch where I was immediately spotted by a band of pointing 5-year-olds. The transition from watching American films to waving at Putubiw"s youngest made me realize why snippets from my own life in DE felt like scenes from a TV show when i got back from Uganda. White people are "abruni" here; I heard that a lot today.
Ghana is beautiful. Trees are tropical, the non-major roads are peachy tan earch eroded by the rainy season, the coast is in places both rocky and sandy and always alive with breaking waves. Putubiw, which means "The place where the yams are kept" was named for its useful location atop a hill. It overlooks plenty of green and 4 other villages. Our first task upon arrival (after a jaunt to Cape Coast to pick up mattresses) was to meet the chief. Observing tradition, a "linguist" was present to speak for us, though the chief Nana is a seemingly welcoming and reasonable leader and spoke to us directly as well. Having been accepted into Putubiw officially by the chief, we"re protected, are part of the village of 2,000, and are freen to move around. Putubiw,while rural is what would come of a Kampala suburb chipped away from the city and transplanted a 20min drive away. The first thing we were shown upon arrival was the open air distillery (series of covered water tanks and containers of fermenting sugarcane juice) where "apatuchi" is brewed. One constant during the days has been the putter of the machine 100m from our house pressing sugarcane to extract the juice.
At the bottom of the hill lies "Beatrice"s House" where we"re staying. It is a concrete structure with water and electricity both larger and nicer than my homestay in Kampala. There are 5 bedrooms, a spacious living room, small kitchen, and a bathroom with a working shower (!). The issue of hot water is not relevant. We spent most of today with the kids of the house watching movies on the desktop computer set up there. We also walked to the school, about 10min away. PUSU"s Ben, Kelvin, and Joseph seem very nice and dedicated to the project; PUSU"s been working with volunteers from UP since they began arriving about a year ago. It is still a tiny operation, and I"d guess about a dozen volunteers have been through. On monday, we will go meet the head teacher and will know more about the teaching which will begin Tuesday.
Ghana is beautiful. Trees are tropical, the non-major roads are peachy tan earch eroded by the rainy season, the coast is in places both rocky and sandy and always alive with breaking waves. Putubiw, which means "The place where the yams are kept" was named for its useful location atop a hill. It overlooks plenty of green and 4 other villages. Our first task upon arrival (after a jaunt to Cape Coast to pick up mattresses) was to meet the chief. Observing tradition, a "linguist" was present to speak for us, though the chief Nana is a seemingly welcoming and reasonable leader and spoke to us directly as well. Having been accepted into Putubiw officially by the chief, we"re protected, are part of the village of 2,000, and are freen to move around. Putubiw,while rural is what would come of a Kampala suburb chipped away from the city and transplanted a 20min drive away. The first thing we were shown upon arrival was the open air distillery (series of covered water tanks and containers of fermenting sugarcane juice) where "apatuchi" is brewed. One constant during the days has been the putter of the machine 100m from our house pressing sugarcane to extract the juice.
At the bottom of the hill lies "Beatrice"s House" where we"re staying. It is a concrete structure with water and electricity both larger and nicer than my homestay in Kampala. There are 5 bedrooms, a spacious living room, small kitchen, and a bathroom with a working shower (!). The issue of hot water is not relevant. We spent most of today with the kids of the house watching movies on the desktop computer set up there. We also walked to the school, about 10min away. PUSU"s Ben, Kelvin, and Joseph seem very nice and dedicated to the project; PUSU"s been working with volunteers from UP since they began arriving about a year ago. It is still a tiny operation, and I"d guess about a dozen volunteers have been through. On monday, we will go meet the head teacher and will know more about the teaching which will begin Tuesday.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Accra
"Ghana is what people see in their dreams. Those who are here are the lucky ones." That's how United Planet's young assistant describes his country to volunteers.
Lucky is: humid.When we touched down in Accra at 9:30am, it was 84F. Now at7:30pm, the heat of theday has at last escaped the buildings but it's still ridiculously muggy. Yao, the assistant, met Rebecca, another ND volunteer, and I at the airport and took us to a hotel in
Osu, a smart part of town with plenty of restaurants and a Wrangler Jeans store. After a briefing, we ate lunch at a cafe on a cliff overlooking the Gulf of Guinea. A flight of steps, tall and steep, led to multiple levels of tables which were protected by a wall from the drop-off and the spray of the waves throwing themselves toward the coast. We visited the tomb of Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president, and a small museum about the history of the slave trade in an old fort. Accra is hot, roads are paved and relatively clean, named shops sell specialized types of goods, and people stare much less than in Kampala.
Tomorrow we'll travel with Raj, the UP coordinator, to Putubiw in the central region, west of Accra and just northeast of Cape Coast. Rebecca and I will most likely be co-teaching English in the junior secondary school (~middle school, lucky us indeed) for 1-2 classes each morning. After a free afternoon, we'll help with the review sessions run in the evening by the Putubiw Student Union (PUSU). the Union is our host in the village. We'll be living in a home (essentially as boarders) with a family just out of the center of Putubiw. What all of that will be in actuality once we reach the village is yet to be seen...
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