It is very hard to keep up with a blog in Kumasi with unreliable electricity! It keeps up with the lack of water or internet.
This week/weekend has been very hectic but very educational. On Monday, we did go to the Olympic size pool with our friends Damian, Saddem, Jeff, Anthony and Kwame. None of these grown men knew how to swim. It is interesting to see that in the pool (with awesome diving boards and a seventeen foot deep end) all the Ghanaians in the three-five foot end. Most Ghanaians have never learned how to swim. Because of their dense bodies that have very little fat on them, they find it hard to float, thus, making swimming a difficult task. I started showing Kwame and Damian what it feels like to float and, soon, the shallow end had men holding men practicing to float- quite a hilarious sight! We even tried “big arms” and kicking holding onto the wall. All of the Ghanaians were very interested in learning but most really did not. It was nonetheless. Even after we got out of the pool, the Ghanaians continued our game of Marco Polo.
This past week of school, I taught in school only Tuesday, Wednesday and half of Thursday. Similar to last week, I was left alone most of the time with the children. When I had the chance, I continued with the chapter book of Pinocchio. The students really look forward to the chances to hear the story. I tried to read to the students outside but, since it was something so new and exciting, they were not able to handle it quite yet. In Maths (what Ghanaians call Mathematics), I introduced subtraction and using the expanded form of the numbers to solve the problem. I have kept the style similar to their Maths teacher, Joseph, but have added some American touches to the lesson. The students enjoy coming to the board to demonstrate their knowledge as well as shouting out load together the answer to a problem.
Throughout the day, I become very exhausted with the overwhelming heat and continuous teaching. This will help me prepare for many of the conditions in Thailand, however. I sometimes feel that I am being mean to the children in order to get their attention and focus. The class is used to the threat of the cane that my techniques are very much less severe. I have noticed, however, that when I approach the team points log with a pen, the students quiet down in hopes of receiving a point. It works almost as well as Madame holding the cane. Nonetheless, even with exhaustion and, sometimes, disappointment, I ended the week with such excitement for the next week. On Thursday, my teacher did not come to school until 10:30am. I was responsible for the class during Maths and singing time. Starting the day off with just me in the classroom, helped reinforce my authority to the students. My behavior management techniques worked wonderfully. My lessons were educational as well as fun for the students. When I met up with my supervisor and some other girls to leave for the afternoon, I was thrilled with how successful the morning was and actually wished I could teach the rest of the day.
One of the teachers, Margaret, offered to take the group to a market call Adoon. It reminded me of Chinatown- vendors all over the place with customers haggling the prices. We dipped into an alley way with numerous vendors selling gorgeous fabric. Most of the fabrics are five cedis per yard. In Ghana, there are seamstresses on every street that make the most beautiful dresses, shirts, pants, jewelry, purses, etc. A custom made dress would be about ten dollars in the United States. We explored the market some more visiting stores with more luxurious fabrics and vendors with traditional African jewelry, paintings and carvings.
Thursday afternoon, we attended a college class on campus. It was a geography class about the different roles of gender all over the world. The class of about fifteen students shared their presentations that led into a discussion of the differences between America and Ghana. The college classroom had windows open to the hallway, like the dorm rooms, so it made hearing difficult. I tried to imagine myself attending a class in the academic building but I noticed I was too distracted by the noise in the hallway and the electricity constantly shutting off. I gave the students of the class a lot of credit for sitting through a two hour class in a room with these conditions. After the class, we were able to interact with the students, which, as usual, were very friendly and curious. We hope to see them again before we leave Kumasi in two weeks.
I haven’t had as much fun as I did Thursday night in a long while. Kwame, Damian, Saddem and Jeff came over and we played many childhood Amercian games such as “Wa,” “Animals,” and “Quack Diddlyocious.” We all really appreciated their company and had an amazing time. It was interesting to see grown men playing these games and having a great time as well- wanting to play over and over again throughout the night. I hope when I am in Thailand I will make friends such as this group to help me through the years!
We found out late Thursday that we could not secure a bus for Mole Park- the African Safari. We are crossing our fingers that it will work out for next weekend. We spent Friday, running errands and conferencing with our supervisor. I had a great talk with Sherry about my teaching experience and my future goals. She is really impressed with my natural abilities as a teacher and I was thrilled to hear such a comment. We spoke about the difficulties of the Peace Corps and it was nice to have someone extremely supportive to talk to. Although, she does relate with my mom!
After a productive day, we were excited for the weekend ahead to relax and do some shopping! Saturday, we took a bus to a woodcarver and a village where they make Kente cloth. The woodcarvings made by the locals we absolutely stunning. There were many carved faces, elephants, giraffes, unity tables, etc. It was absolutely overwhelming but fun! The girls and I definitely did a lot of shopping for Christmas gifts hoping everyone will like what we bought.
After spending all of our money, we continued to the Kente village to see how they make such beautiful fabric. The villagers use tree bark and soak it into water for a long time. They mash the bark into tiny pieces and leave it boiling for about five hours in order for the fabric to be workable. Once the thread is ready, they have machines that use both feet and hands to create the fabric. To start, a worker presses down on the right foot, sends the thread through the template and then bangs a wood piece onto the new layer to make it tight. I had the opportunity to try this and could not believe how hard it was. It is almost like rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time- a lot of things to think about at once. After I practiced my weaving, they took me over to dress me in the Kente cloth like the Asante queen.
After an exhausting day, we all took some time to talk with friends and family and prepare for the week ahead. I look forward to be back in the classroom and see my students again! Only nine more days of teaching and thirteen days left in Kumasi. This trip is going by so fast!
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