Friday, May 6, 2011
End of the Road
It has been a long time since blogging, but that's because I have been in the field for a month conducting fieldwork, and then getting my 45 page Independent Study Project finished and bound! But now we are DONE, just waiting to present our projects, and strangely waiting to return to the states. This has been the most life-changing journey I have had thus far, and I have met some of the most inspirational, beautiful human beings during my time in Ghana. This SIT group is my family, and I do not know how I will cope with being apart from them after forming this indescribable bond over the past 3 and a half months. Transitioning from life in Ghana to life in the states will be beyond difficult, but for all of us, our bodies need some physical and mental nurturing after traveling around this country without rest for quite a long time. I will miss this place so much, but I know that one day I will return. I also cannot wait for planning my next travel adventures with this family, for we are all like-minded individuals who live to see the world. For now, I will enjoy my last days in this country, with these beautiful people, and I will see everyone in the states very, very soon!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Simpler Living
Greetings! I have just returned to Kumasi for 2 days to type up the first half of my fieldwork before heading to another rural village for the last 2 weeks of my Independent Study Project! Then it's one week of presentations and goodbyes with my friends, and then back home... I don't think I'm ready! There's too much to write about these first 2 weeks, but I can say that they were some of the most beautiful and the most challenging weeks I have had here in Ghana. Fending for ourselves in a very rural village, interviewing all day long, walking miles in the excruciatingly hot sun between different villages for interviews, food, and charcoal for cooking, millions of bug bites (not just mosquitoes... stinging bugs as well!), heat rashes...but all worth it!
I have met some of the most incredible people during this fieldwork, and in particular, I realized that the homestay family I stayed with during my last time in the rural village neighboring the one we were just in is one of the most beautiful families I have ever met, I cannot even explain. I would walk to their village (called Ntinanko) almost every other day, both to do interviews and to spend time with them. Each time, they would smile, hug me so many times, give us cold drinks and bananas, and talk with us until the sun went down. They would not allow me to ever pay for the taxi ride home (at night taxi rides are the safest option) even though I found out that my homestay Dad recently sold his only car in order to pay for his 5 childrens' education. My homestay father is a quiet man who sacrifices everything for his children (but doesn't tell a soul... I just found this information out from his son Wise), and who works on his cocoa farm all day long. My homestay Mom smiles and laughs more than anybody I know, and whenever I see her I get a billion hugs. She works in processing palm nuts into palm oil. Somehow with these two jobs, my homestay parents can afford for their two eldest sons to go to University, and for their three daughters to go to school as well. My homestay Dad also built their house himself. They told me that if I ever needed a place to stay anytime between now and when I go back to the US, I have a family and a home with them. When I gave them parting gifts, the response was unreal; I got a shiny new bag for my homestay Mom, and she paraded around her family, laughing and crying, showing off her new bag. My homestay Dad gave me a triple weaved Kente cloth which he got when he went to his home village between the weeks I was not in the village; he said he knew I would be back, and that is why he got it for me. My homestay sister knitted me a purse. This family is beautiful, and I will miss them so much.
I will explain my fieldwork at a later date, but as of Tuesday I am off to another village called Krobo-Odumase to experience Dipo, one of the last traditional puberty rites practiced in Ghana! I love and miss you all... less than 4 more weeks until I am back in the states!
I have met some of the most incredible people during this fieldwork, and in particular, I realized that the homestay family I stayed with during my last time in the rural village neighboring the one we were just in is one of the most beautiful families I have ever met, I cannot even explain. I would walk to their village (called Ntinanko) almost every other day, both to do interviews and to spend time with them. Each time, they would smile, hug me so many times, give us cold drinks and bananas, and talk with us until the sun went down. They would not allow me to ever pay for the taxi ride home (at night taxi rides are the safest option) even though I found out that my homestay Dad recently sold his only car in order to pay for his 5 childrens' education. My homestay father is a quiet man who sacrifices everything for his children (but doesn't tell a soul... I just found this information out from his son Wise), and who works on his cocoa farm all day long. My homestay Mom smiles and laughs more than anybody I know, and whenever I see her I get a billion hugs. She works in processing palm nuts into palm oil. Somehow with these two jobs, my homestay parents can afford for their two eldest sons to go to University, and for their three daughters to go to school as well. My homestay Dad also built their house himself. They told me that if I ever needed a place to stay anytime between now and when I go back to the US, I have a family and a home with them. When I gave them parting gifts, the response was unreal; I got a shiny new bag for my homestay Mom, and she paraded around her family, laughing and crying, showing off her new bag. My homestay Dad gave me a triple weaved Kente cloth which he got when he went to his home village between the weeks I was not in the village; he said he knew I would be back, and that is why he got it for me. My homestay sister knitted me a purse. This family is beautiful, and I will miss them so much.
I will explain my fieldwork at a later date, but as of Tuesday I am off to another village called Krobo-Odumase to experience Dipo, one of the last traditional puberty rites practiced in Ghana! I love and miss you all... less than 4 more weeks until I am back in the states!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Back to Accra!
I am so sorry for not posting for a long time, but I have not had computer access for weeks. It has actually been extremely liberating, not being connected to anything that is not in front of me. It has allowed me to be so present, I am completely enveloped in the experiences I am having and the environment in which I am having these experiences. I cannot believe that in 3 days, my friends and I will be off to our separate parts of the country for our Independent Study Projects. They have become my family, I cannot believe we will leave each other in just 5 weeks time. I have never felt closer to such a large group of people who operate in this way, just laughing all of the time, dancing, completely enveloped in this life in Ghana.
After Tamale (the city in which I was sick with malaria), we headed to Cape Coast. I am beyond grateful that I completely recovered for Cape Coast, because it felt like our African spring break. We all stayed in a hostel together, visited the beach every day, celebrated two of our friends birthdays (danced and had the time of our lives), went skinny dipping in the ocean at night, experienced the music and dance of this part of Ghana, ate TOFU at a vegetarian restaurant! We also had some incredibly intense experiences visiting two slave forts here, going into the tiny chambers in which thousands of slaves at a time were forced to live for at least six months with barely any light, air, room to move, room to even breathe... one meal a day, nowhere to go to the bathroom. I cannot fully describe the unimaginable things that occurred in these places.
After Cape Coast, we went to Volta Region where tradition has been kept alive. We learned to make pottery which women here use to carry water on their heads, and we learned each and every part of the process of making pottery (from fetching the clay in the desert-like bush, to creating the pots, to firing them, etc.) We also saw some of the most incredible traditional dancing and drumming I have seen here in Ghana, one from the only all woman's traditional dancing and drumming group in Ghana, and one from a group of men and girls who presented war danced to us that were absolutely amazing!
We recently left Odumase, a small town an hour and a half from Accra where tradition has been maintained more closely than anywhere we have been in Ghana. Here, bead-making is extremely common, and everyone wears beads to symbolize different phases and aspects of life that they may be facing. We learned how to make our own beads, which are made out of recycled materials such as recycled glass. These beads are particularly worn in great quantities during a female rite of passage called Depo, which I will be studying during my Independent Study Project. Depo is one of the only traditional rites of passage in Ghana that is still practiced by an entire community, and it is a rite that is done by girls starting at the age of 12. Girls are taught how to become women during this time, and traditionally (before formal education was introduced) girls would go through this rite for a few years. Now, the majority of girls in this community attend school, and perform Depo rites of passage on the Easter break from school. It is interesting because the school and the church place a taboo on this rite of passage because the education system in Ghana is based on the British colonial system and both the schools and the church do not promote traditional cultural practices. However, the majority of girls in this community still perform this rite of passage. I think you could call this both the best balance of modernization and tradition, and the most terrifying clash of modernization and tradition, because it is not certain whether this delicate balance will hold and the tradition will remain.
For my Independent Study Project, I will be looking at both formal and informal education for females in Ghana. I will be spending 2 weeks in the rural village a little over an hour outside of Kumasi with 3 of my friends, a cook from the SIT staff who we love, and a traslator who we have worked with for much of the trip and who we love as well. I will be working at a school in the rural village, and I will be interviewing females of all ages to talk about formal education and how the informal education of "becoming a woman" is introduced without the presence of rites of passage (the rites of passage have dissappeared in Akan villages such as these). I have a feeling that the reality of many girls not going to school past a certain age in these villages may have to do with the lack of a rite of passage that creates an atmosphere where the girls can learn this informal education together during a distinct period of time, not during school days. These rites of passage also teach girls about sex and sexual health, and the lack of these rites may lead to the current situation that many girls are in in much of Ghana of getting pregnant at a young age because of their lack of access to sexual education. Today when we finally returned to Accra, two of my friends and I met with our advisor at University of Ghana named Dr. Delali Badasu who is an amazing woman. She gave us so many books and resources for our projects, and I will meet with her Monday morning before I leave for Afrancie (the rural village in which I will be staying!)
That is an update on everything that has been going on for the past few weeks, and I after Monday I will most likely have little Internet access for the next four weeks until I return to Accra to type up and present my Independent Study Project. So if you don't hear from me for a little while, don't worry, I am dancing and laughing through life here and do not want this experience to end!
After Tamale (the city in which I was sick with malaria), we headed to Cape Coast. I am beyond grateful that I completely recovered for Cape Coast, because it felt like our African spring break. We all stayed in a hostel together, visited the beach every day, celebrated two of our friends birthdays (danced and had the time of our lives), went skinny dipping in the ocean at night, experienced the music and dance of this part of Ghana, ate TOFU at a vegetarian restaurant! We also had some incredibly intense experiences visiting two slave forts here, going into the tiny chambers in which thousands of slaves at a time were forced to live for at least six months with barely any light, air, room to move, room to even breathe... one meal a day, nowhere to go to the bathroom. I cannot fully describe the unimaginable things that occurred in these places.
After Cape Coast, we went to Volta Region where tradition has been kept alive. We learned to make pottery which women here use to carry water on their heads, and we learned each and every part of the process of making pottery (from fetching the clay in the desert-like bush, to creating the pots, to firing them, etc.) We also saw some of the most incredible traditional dancing and drumming I have seen here in Ghana, one from the only all woman's traditional dancing and drumming group in Ghana, and one from a group of men and girls who presented war danced to us that were absolutely amazing!
We recently left Odumase, a small town an hour and a half from Accra where tradition has been maintained more closely than anywhere we have been in Ghana. Here, bead-making is extremely common, and everyone wears beads to symbolize different phases and aspects of life that they may be facing. We learned how to make our own beads, which are made out of recycled materials such as recycled glass. These beads are particularly worn in great quantities during a female rite of passage called Depo, which I will be studying during my Independent Study Project. Depo is one of the only traditional rites of passage in Ghana that is still practiced by an entire community, and it is a rite that is done by girls starting at the age of 12. Girls are taught how to become women during this time, and traditionally (before formal education was introduced) girls would go through this rite for a few years. Now, the majority of girls in this community attend school, and perform Depo rites of passage on the Easter break from school. It is interesting because the school and the church place a taboo on this rite of passage because the education system in Ghana is based on the British colonial system and both the schools and the church do not promote traditional cultural practices. However, the majority of girls in this community still perform this rite of passage. I think you could call this both the best balance of modernization and tradition, and the most terrifying clash of modernization and tradition, because it is not certain whether this delicate balance will hold and the tradition will remain.
For my Independent Study Project, I will be looking at both formal and informal education for females in Ghana. I will be spending 2 weeks in the rural village a little over an hour outside of Kumasi with 3 of my friends, a cook from the SIT staff who we love, and a traslator who we have worked with for much of the trip and who we love as well. I will be working at a school in the rural village, and I will be interviewing females of all ages to talk about formal education and how the informal education of "becoming a woman" is introduced without the presence of rites of passage (the rites of passage have dissappeared in Akan villages such as these). I have a feeling that the reality of many girls not going to school past a certain age in these villages may have to do with the lack of a rite of passage that creates an atmosphere where the girls can learn this informal education together during a distinct period of time, not during school days. These rites of passage also teach girls about sex and sexual health, and the lack of these rites may lead to the current situation that many girls are in in much of Ghana of getting pregnant at a young age because of their lack of access to sexual education. Today when we finally returned to Accra, two of my friends and I met with our advisor at University of Ghana named Dr. Delali Badasu who is an amazing woman. She gave us so many books and resources for our projects, and I will meet with her Monday morning before I leave for Afrancie (the rural village in which I will be staying!)
That is an update on everything that has been going on for the past few weeks, and I after Monday I will most likely have little Internet access for the next four weeks until I return to Accra to type up and present my Independent Study Project. So if you don't hear from me for a little while, don't worry, I am dancing and laughing through life here and do not want this experience to end!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Similarities to George Clooney...
I am now similar to the sexy George Clooney... we have both had Malaria! Not to fear though, I am feeling better already, laughing and enjoying my life. Malaria, if you have the money for treatment, is basically like having the flu. One of my teachers has had malaria 7 times in one year. A few of my friends had already gotten and recovered from malaria, so when the symptoms began, I knew exactly what was happening. I felt achy, my fever came on very quickly (although it never got above 101), and I felt very nauseous. Luckily I am in the best city to get sick, because the SIT staff know the doctor here well and I was the first in line when I reached the clinic. I saw the doctor, got a blood test, diagnosis, and my medicine within 2 hours! Last night was a bit rough because I felt like I had the stomach flu, but I couldn't get sick because I had to keep 8 pills down so that I could begin to feel better... and although it was a fight with my stomach all night, I managed to keep the medicine down... I win malaria! Today the nausea was much lighter, and the only symptom I had was feeling very tired and weak. I joked with my friends that I felt like an 80 year old woman. However, I couldn't imagine being sick with anyone else... my friends havebeen absolutely amazing. Last night, everyone staying in my hostel from my group (8 other people) came into my tiny room and we watched the hilarious show Modern Family on my friend Dan's computer, and my close friend Erica who is my roommate here helped me during the night. Today I was able to rest and watch a movie on my friend's computer, and all of my friends and academic directors came to check on me throughout the day. All I am hoping is that tomorrow I will get to go with everyone to Mole, where we will see so many different animals at a National Park! I love you all, and know that although I am not 100 % now, I will be back to health soon enough. I have been in Ghana for 6 weeks, so getting sick now is to be expected! My spirits are still high, and I am surrounded my so many incredible, nurturing, loving friends! I feel very, very fortunate.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Life in the North
Yesterday we arrived in Tamale, a city in the Northern Region of Ghana that has a very large Muslim population... very different from the strong influence of Christianity in the majority of Ghana. The city is much smaller than any city we have been in thus far. The population here is much poorer than in the other areas we have visited. It is here where 7 out of 10 individuals are living on less than $1 per day, below the globally-defined poverty level. We are staying in an international hostel, where we actually have running water (a change from the rural village), although the electricity goes out even more than in the village, and it is INCREDIBLY hot here. It's so hot that you cannot even concentrate, you are thirsty every second of the day. You could literally cook an egg on the pavement. I have yet to feel hungry in this heat, especially because, aside from the peeled fruit, we cannot eat anything uncooked. It's o.k though, I am still feeling happy and healthy despite the challenging weather and food situation! I will never take for granted the variety of foods we can eat in the states.
Not to scare anyone, but a fair portion of my group has gotten sick, from malaria to bacterial infections. We are all trying to take care of one another, and from here on out we have easy access to hospitals and doctors, but in the heat it is very difficult to be sick. Luckily, aside from feeling nauseous because of the heat, I have been relatively healthy. Those of us who are healthy are trying to help keep the spirits high of those who are sick, but we have all definitely realized that living in another country, particularly a developing country, for an extended period of time wears on your body quite a bit.
We have 4 more days in Tamale, where we are learning a great deal about the cooperatives and vast number of NGOs that have been set up in this city, and then we are off to a new location! We are in our fast-paced tour of the rest of the country, and then once the beginning of April comes, it's on to Independent Study month. I cannot believe how quickly this trip has been going! Still laughing and loving life, I hope you are all doing the same. Love!
Not to scare anyone, but a fair portion of my group has gotten sick, from malaria to bacterial infections. We are all trying to take care of one another, and from here on out we have easy access to hospitals and doctors, but in the heat it is very difficult to be sick. Luckily, aside from feeling nauseous because of the heat, I have been relatively healthy. Those of us who are healthy are trying to help keep the spirits high of those who are sick, but we have all definitely realized that living in another country, particularly a developing country, for an extended period of time wears on your body quite a bit.
We have 4 more days in Tamale, where we are learning a great deal about the cooperatives and vast number of NGOs that have been set up in this city, and then we are off to a new location! We are in our fast-paced tour of the rest of the country, and then once the beginning of April comes, it's on to Independent Study month. I cannot believe how quickly this trip has been going! Still laughing and loving life, I hope you are all doing the same. Love!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Onwards
I cannot believe that our time in this village is almost up. We leave on Friday morning, and I have just gotten used to living here. The quiet streets that I can walk on without worry of cars passing by with inches of room, the simple mattress on the cement that constitues my room, the kids and adults greeting us everywhere we walk. The constant greeting is at times frustrating because when you are so hot and exhausted that you want to lie down with a cold ice-pack on your forehead (impossible because the water gets warm within 10 seconds), the last thing you want to do is be followed by a million children. However, not having this will be strange and I will most likely miss so many aspects of a more simple but difficult life that is lived by those in the rural village.
After working with Herbalists for my mini-Independent Study Project, I have had some major realizations that have aided me on my path for my larger Independent Study Project. Working with Herbalists, I realized that if I decided to work with individual Priests and Priestesses who practice Traditional African Religion, I may encounter some frustrations. First and foremost is the issue of relying on one person (or a few people) as a mentor. I did not enjoy having to be on someone else's schedule at all times just to gain access to the knowledge I was interested in seeking. Secondly, after teaching in the village school in Ntinanko, I realized that if I am working on a project for a month, I need to be working in a setting that is hands on as opposed to simply observing. Thirdly, if I am working on a project for a month, I need to feel that I am making a difference in the community in which I am living and studying. Simply studying with Priests and Priestesses would not achieve any of these three goals. However, working within the educational system here in Ghana, particulary in the village schools that are underserved, seems like a more meaningful project that will allow me to sustain my involvement beyond my time here in Ghana. Additionally, because all teachers in Ghana have been on strike since Tuesday (although the teachers have been happy that we have offered to teach their students for them during this strike), it seems an opportune time to study the Ghanaian educational system. My passion for teaching will carry me through this project as well.
When I told my teacher Yemi about my new ideas for my project, he was so excited that I saw this as an opportunity rather than a challenge to study education during a turbulent time in the educational system. He gave me a few ideas, including the study of female education and the issues regarding the lack of knowledge on sex and sexual health, especially for female students. The classes are dominated by males, and many females are either told to stay home to take care of the house, the farm, or get pregnant at a young age and cannot continue their schooling. My teacher already has an advisor at the University of Ghana, Legon regarding education and women's issues, and I think that teaching, discussing these issues within the classroom, and even attempting to implement a sexual education class and/or discussion would be so incredible. I would love feedback from anyone at home! Additionally, my friend Tess and I (after teaching English and Social Studies) had a discussion with the class asking what the students felt they needed in order to learn more easily. Then today, we all put together some money to buy the school protractors, pens, pencils, chalk for the blackboards, paper, colored pencils. When I get home I hope to run a book drive and send the books to the school, because all of the students want to have a library so badly.
Anyway, I am sad to leave this beautiful village, but I am quite sure I will return to teach in the village school and compare this government-funded schooling with private schooling in the city of Kumasi. Also, I am loving life! I hope you are all loving your lives as well. Laughter is currently the music of my soul!
After working with Herbalists for my mini-Independent Study Project, I have had some major realizations that have aided me on my path for my larger Independent Study Project. Working with Herbalists, I realized that if I decided to work with individual Priests and Priestesses who practice Traditional African Religion, I may encounter some frustrations. First and foremost is the issue of relying on one person (or a few people) as a mentor. I did not enjoy having to be on someone else's schedule at all times just to gain access to the knowledge I was interested in seeking. Secondly, after teaching in the village school in Ntinanko, I realized that if I am working on a project for a month, I need to be working in a setting that is hands on as opposed to simply observing. Thirdly, if I am working on a project for a month, I need to feel that I am making a difference in the community in which I am living and studying. Simply studying with Priests and Priestesses would not achieve any of these three goals. However, working within the educational system here in Ghana, particulary in the village schools that are underserved, seems like a more meaningful project that will allow me to sustain my involvement beyond my time here in Ghana. Additionally, because all teachers in Ghana have been on strike since Tuesday (although the teachers have been happy that we have offered to teach their students for them during this strike), it seems an opportune time to study the Ghanaian educational system. My passion for teaching will carry me through this project as well.
When I told my teacher Yemi about my new ideas for my project, he was so excited that I saw this as an opportunity rather than a challenge to study education during a turbulent time in the educational system. He gave me a few ideas, including the study of female education and the issues regarding the lack of knowledge on sex and sexual health, especially for female students. The classes are dominated by males, and many females are either told to stay home to take care of the house, the farm, or get pregnant at a young age and cannot continue their schooling. My teacher already has an advisor at the University of Ghana, Legon regarding education and women's issues, and I think that teaching, discussing these issues within the classroom, and even attempting to implement a sexual education class and/or discussion would be so incredible. I would love feedback from anyone at home! Additionally, my friend Tess and I (after teaching English and Social Studies) had a discussion with the class asking what the students felt they needed in order to learn more easily. Then today, we all put together some money to buy the school protractors, pens, pencils, chalk for the blackboards, paper, colored pencils. When I get home I hope to run a book drive and send the books to the school, because all of the students want to have a library so badly.
Anyway, I am sad to leave this beautiful village, but I am quite sure I will return to teach in the village school and compare this government-funded schooling with private schooling in the city of Kumasi. Also, I am loving life! I hope you are all loving your lives as well. Laughter is currently the music of my soul!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Village Life!
Hello all! I am alive and well here in Ntinanko, our small village stay here in Ghana. Internet access is very difficult to find, but this village stay has been the best part of this trip thus far. Laughing SO much, dancing, farming (SO difficult), learning about traditional herbs in the bush with a 100 year old Herbalist who dances with me, teaching in the village school, sweating from the intense heat, feeling exhausted, feeling overwhelmed by the friendliness of the people in this village (who want to greet you even when you are so tired that you want to stop moving all of your muscles)... but incredibly happy! Savoring this sweet life. Love you all!!!
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