Written on August 26, 2010
I know it has been quite a while since my last substantial blog post. The combination of the many farewell parties for the teacher volunteers who finished up their service this summer and the ongoing work for my Camp glow took up mostly all of my time. July flew by. I cant believe I've been back for over a month now with less than 3 months to go.
After settling back into my Ghana lifestyle and sleeping off all the stuff I did in America (seriously I slept for a week- never had such a bad case of jet lag before!!!) I was ready to say some goodbyes to my teacher neighbors. One of my friends actually had two back to back parties- one for his birthday and the other for his farewell and instoolment. The instoolment was probably one of the coolest things I have seen so far in Ghana. I had yet to see someone instooled (made a chief and the fact that this instoolment was of a fellow volunteer, a white man, made it that much cooler.
Matt, a PC teacher at the JSS in town, was made a chief among his peers, friends, fellow volunteers, and townspeople. It was truly an event- typical of Ghana there were giant circus tents and massive speakers with pulsating music. But there was also a cultural element not always present in these big events- dancing by students, procession of the chiefs and the presentation of Matt on a palaquin, paraded around like a god dressed in full kente and gold bangle bracelets... complete with sword. I have never seen anything like it before.
The weekend after Matt's instoolment was Darren's goodbye party. Not quite as elaborate as an instoolment but still really really sweet. You can tell how much Darren's town and teachers really enjoyed having him there. All his students came to watch. There were speeches and dancing and gifts. There are always gifts. Everyone who attended also got a walkthrough of the computer lab which was finally wired and ready to be operated. Unfortunately Darren's time had come to an end and he asked me to help with setting up his lab while he's back in the states. This has become my new job... well sort of... but I'll get to that in a minute. First it's time to talk about...
CAMP GLOW!!!!
So most of my time back at site and in Ghana after my America trip was spent stressing over Glow camp. Getting t-shirts printed, getting posters, buying supplies, having girls register, etc etc etc holy crap was I stressed. I was running around Accra, Koforidua, Dorothy's site (where the camp was being held) and then back and forth from my site at least once a week.
Let me tell you what though, it was totally worth it.
For the first time in my Peace Corps experience I actually felt like I did something worthwhile for the greater and everlasting good. The young girls that came to the camp were extraordinary. Not like the usual JSS girls I normally work with at my school in town with my club. No, these girls were outspoken, motivated, opinionated... they were fun! I think we all really just had a fun time when it comes down to it.
We had lots of speakers come and talk about various topics, we had discussions. Real discussions. It was great to see these girls actively thinking about different issues that affect them daily. Normally they do not get to do that. Girls aren't really encouraged to do much of anything here except have babies. We touched on that also. Lots of family planning and sex discussions. It was great to get the girls opinions on it because most of these subjects are just not talked about.
In addition to all these sessions we also had lots of really fun activities. I guess planting vetiver grass and moringa trees may not sound that fun to everyone so we also had movie nights, a bonfire with s'mores (introducing the girls to marshmellows was fun- they loved it), tattoos, balloon games, games in general... so many things. We even dyed eggs with my Easter Dye kit from last year... the girls loved it. Mostly all the girls want to come back for the camp next year which is great to hear but it will probably have to be all new girls.
So I bet everyone wants to see pictures but there are SO many to choose from. I posted a ton (over 200) on facebook and I'm including the link here so please go there and check it out. Also, if the link doesn't work please leave a comment to let me know.
So now to just do a short little update on what's to come... I've really only got 3 months to go... pretty unbelievable, huh?
In a few weeks I'll be having my COS (Close of Service) conference at a super nice beach in Elmina (Cape Coast area). It even has a golf course. Very exciting. Right after that conference I will be going to Togo and Benin with my friends Sam and Kathryn... we plan to eat lots of tasty food and check out all things voodoo.
Most of the month of October will be spent working on Darren's lab... I am hoping to get bookshelves built for the library room in there and also have all the teachers trained before I leave on how to use the computers. The other PC teachers in my area have agreed to work out a schedule so that they will visit the lab at least once a month and make sure it hasn't burned to the ground... or that all the computers are still there. You know, basic Ghana check up.
Right now my return to the states is dated for the end of November. Currently torn as to whether I should fly home the night of Thanksgiving so that I can go to the Ambassador's house again and go swimming and eat all the good food and hang out with my friends for one last time before coming back to America for good. The more I think about it the more I like the idea.
Well, thats all I really have for you right now.
Probably won't hear from me again until the big Togo/Benin post and I promise to have lots of fun stories and pictures from the land of french speakers.
Au reviour! (I'm practicing)
I know it has been quite a while since my last substantial blog post. The combination of the many farewell parties for the teacher volunteers who finished up their service this summer and the ongoing work for my Camp glow took up mostly all of my time. July flew by. I cant believe I've been back for over a month now with less than 3 months to go.
After settling back into my Ghana lifestyle and sleeping off all the stuff I did in America (seriously I slept for a week- never had such a bad case of jet lag before!!!) I was ready to say some goodbyes to my teacher neighbors. One of my friends actually had two back to back parties- one for his birthday and the other for his farewell and instoolment. The instoolment was probably one of the coolest things I have seen so far in Ghana. I had yet to see someone instooled (made a chief and the fact that this instoolment was of a fellow volunteer, a white man, made it that much cooler.
Matt, a PC teacher at the JSS in town, was made a chief among his peers, friends, fellow volunteers, and townspeople. It was truly an event- typical of Ghana there were giant circus tents and massive speakers with pulsating music. But there was also a cultural element not always present in these big events- dancing by students, procession of the chiefs and the presentation of Matt on a palaquin, paraded around like a god dressed in full kente and gold bangle bracelets... complete with sword. I have never seen anything like it before.
The weekend after Matt's instoolment was Darren's goodbye party. Not quite as elaborate as an instoolment but still really really sweet. You can tell how much Darren's town and teachers really enjoyed having him there. All his students came to watch. There were speeches and dancing and gifts. There are always gifts. Everyone who attended also got a walkthrough of the computer lab which was finally wired and ready to be operated. Unfortunately Darren's time had come to an end and he asked me to help with setting up his lab while he's back in the states. This has become my new job... well sort of... but I'll get to that in a minute. First it's time to talk about...
CAMP GLOW!!!!
So most of my time back at site and in Ghana after my America trip was spent stressing over Glow camp. Getting t-shirts printed, getting posters, buying supplies, having girls register, etc etc etc holy crap was I stressed. I was running around Accra, Koforidua, Dorothy's site (where the camp was being held) and then back and forth from my site at least once a week.
Let me tell you what though, it was totally worth it.
For the first time in my Peace Corps experience I actually felt like I did something worthwhile for the greater and everlasting good. The young girls that came to the camp were extraordinary. Not like the usual JSS girls I normally work with at my school in town with my club. No, these girls were outspoken, motivated, opinionated... they were fun! I think we all really just had a fun time when it comes down to it.
We had lots of speakers come and talk about various topics, we had discussions. Real discussions. It was great to see these girls actively thinking about different issues that affect them daily. Normally they do not get to do that. Girls aren't really encouraged to do much of anything here except have babies. We touched on that also. Lots of family planning and sex discussions. It was great to get the girls opinions on it because most of these subjects are just not talked about.
In addition to all these sessions we also had lots of really fun activities. I guess planting vetiver grass and moringa trees may not sound that fun to everyone so we also had movie nights, a bonfire with s'mores (introducing the girls to marshmellows was fun- they loved it), tattoos, balloon games, games in general... so many things. We even dyed eggs with my Easter Dye kit from last year... the girls loved it. Mostly all the girls want to come back for the camp next year which is great to hear but it will probably have to be all new girls.
So I bet everyone wants to see pictures but there are SO many to choose from. I posted a ton (over 200) on facebook and I'm including the link here so please go there and check it out. Also, if the link doesn't work please leave a comment to let me know.
So now to just do a short little update on what's to come... I've really only got 3 months to go... pretty unbelievable, huh?
In a few weeks I'll be having my COS (Close of Service) conference at a super nice beach in Elmina (Cape Coast area). It even has a golf course. Very exciting. Right after that conference I will be going to Togo and Benin with my friends Sam and Kathryn... we plan to eat lots of tasty food and check out all things voodoo.
Most of the month of October will be spent working on Darren's lab... I am hoping to get bookshelves built for the library room in there and also have all the teachers trained before I leave on how to use the computers. The other PC teachers in my area have agreed to work out a schedule so that they will visit the lab at least once a month and make sure it hasn't burned to the ground... or that all the computers are still there. You know, basic Ghana check up.
Right now my return to the states is dated for the end of November. Currently torn as to whether I should fly home the night of Thanksgiving so that I can go to the Ambassador's house again and go swimming and eat all the good food and hang out with my friends for one last time before coming back to America for good. The more I think about it the more I like the idea.
Well, thats all I really have for you right now.
Probably won't hear from me again until the big Togo/Benin post and I promise to have lots of fun stories and pictures from the land of french speakers.
Au reviour! (I'm practicing)
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