Afterthoughts

JULY 13, 2009 AFTERTHOUGHTS If there is anything I have learned from experiencing a taste of Africa, it is this: You live and you learn. Appreciate as much as you can & count your blessings. There is a tremendous amount of work that needs to be done in Africa. Ghana is lucky to be one of the most stable African countries. There is an endless need there, but each effort makes a difference. I'd like to think that I left a piece of me in that small Cape Coast School in the dance department. If anything, the dance experience itself was incredible. If I can touch one person's life, I am thankful. As they said in church, "Be filled with the spirit."

Silver Liningssss

June 27 2009
Yesterday the dance teacher never showed up at the nursery so we went home...
Last night they served pizza at the diner (we've had the same food every night so this was amazinggg) and watched a great movie called "Kingdom" with Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Garner. It was great and spiced up our night a bit.
Today we went to Kakum National Park. It's about 40 minutes north of Cape Coast. Wild elephants and monkeys and other wildlife reside there but I think you have to go on an overnight camping trip to see them. So we didn't. However, we went on a canopy walk. It was incredible! We took a small hike up to this canopy stand and then had to climb it (there were stairs...no worries). There were 7 walks up top. It was so beautiful! We walked on these wooden boards that were supported by a metal frame with netting and ropes on the sides. There was a platgorm from each walkway on each tree. We were probably 30-40 feet up in the air.
Tomorrow we are meeting the real headmistress of Cape Deaf (she has been away this week on a study program) and delivering our gifts. Then we are going to Elmina Beach Resort for a late lunch. We have 2 days left at Cape Deaf and then we head home!

Just Dance

June 26 2009
Yesterday was much better than the day before. We did our normal routine and got up to go to Cape Deaf. I didn't go to my classroom, but instead went with Lea and Esther to the cafeteria to do art. We did that for an hour and then attended a sign language class with other teachers. We learned random words like strong and dark, but it was fun.
The best part of the day came next. Dancing. Of course. I learned one of their traditional dances and then taught my own version of hip hop, the macarena, and the electric slide in one combination. They were the quickest learners I have ever taught. Granted, they were in the dance club. But it was so great to please so many kids and see all of them having such a blast.
We had lunch when we came back (a new selection of food) and that night, had dinner at Elmina Beach Resort. The food was amazing. I had potato soup, fruit salad with the best pineapple ever, cake, and a pina colada. Eating on the beach was so calming.
We are trying to acclamate to the school system so we can use our time constructively without being overly frustrated. We are trying to understand and be more positive. Today we are going to visit a pre-school dance class!

Frustration

June 24 2009
Today I am angry. I was excited to go to Cape Coast today. When we were about to leave at 8, there was a huge storm. We waited it out. It lasted 40 minutes. When we left for school, we saw trees that had been uprooted by the side of the road. But we attended school anyway...
Many of the Cape Coast teachers did not. I showed up in my classroom ready to do the art project I had planned, and there were 30 kids waiting, unsupervised. I started the project anyway. I can't tell you how difficult it is to try and communicated to 30 deaf 6-8 year-olds who cannot read. I felt powerless. The teacher next door gave me a box of crayons. I brought pencils, paper, sharpeners, erasers, and a few colored pencils. It wasn't enough. They ripped each other apart to get their colors. Finally I asked the teacher next door to please come in and sign directions. The kids were calm for a few minutes until other kids from other classes whose teachers also didn't show up came into my class. So I was teaching 35-40 kids by myself.
A little girl vomited on the floor and they swept it out with a broom and a little water.
A little boy was sobbing and a teacher came by, popped his head in to say hi and smiled. When I asked him to come help me, he left. I went into the next classroom and sitting conversing were 3 teachers with a classroom of 10. Really?
The teachers don't care about their kids. Not at all. They put on a show when visitors arrive (like the Kipharts) and then we are left with the reality of it all. We (Lea, Esther, and I) have all been doing art projects with the kids. The headmistress has no interest in seeing it. It rains and teachers decide to bail on the day. It was more upsetting to me than seeing the malnourished baby clinic. At least they were being treated and cared for. At Cape Deaf, students who nobody cares about are doomed. Education is supposed to be a ticket out of poverty. Where is that opportunity for these kids? I am so sad for them. They are so young, away from their parents, disabled and uncared for. It breaks my heart.
I know I'm not supposed to point fingers, place blame, or pass judgment. It's just so difficult not to be able to trace all these problems to a single fix. This is Africa. Nothing is easy. The government is corrupt (side note: a police woman tried to bribe us in Kumasi). Teachers only make 500 dollars a month so they lack motivation. There is no internet in the schools so they can't communicate outside their school. There isn't enough food. Basic needs aren't being met. The government doesn't give them enough funding. They are given no freedom of creativity. Kids are completely neglected. Where do we start first? Clearly basic needs to be met, but how do we even do that? Where is the funding?
Africa is one of those places you read about, feel badly for, send condolences or maybe a check, but really have no grasp on until you are here. It's impossible to describe this place in one word. Impossible. I've been frustrated and angry, but at the end of the day, I'm just really sad for these kids.

Cape Coast Slave Castle and Cape Deaf

June 22, 2009
Yesterday we visited the Cape Coast Castle. It was so much more interesting and well-kept than Elmina. We decided to take the tour. A man got in an argument with our guide because the guide was saying that some Africans contributed to the slave trade and the man got upset because he said that we can't place any blame on Africans. Both the guide and the man were Africans themselves. I was a little confused with the rest of the fight, but the man left our tour group. The dungeons we went down were unbelievably horrifying. People had to eat, sleep, and breathe in their own and everyone else's feces. They say the slave ships were like floating coffins. I looked at a map in the museum that had a listing of all the slave castles along the coast of Ghana. There were probably around 15. Most of the slaves came from Western Africa. I have great pictures from the tour.
After, we went to the little shops in the castle courtyard. This is where I did the majority of my shopping. I got wooden figurines of different animals: one for each member of my family. (Guys- I have other GREAT gifts for you:). I also got a mask for my Grandma Tommy and some beads. All my little African treasures are amazing.
Today we went to Cape Deaf. I was put in a classroom with 25 7 and 8 year-olds. I sat with them in class for about an hour before I began teaching (if that's what you'd call it). I learned how to sign my name and several animals: lion, rat, cow, hen, fly, and dog. The kids are adorable. But since they are at a boarding school at such a young age, they beg for attention. And they will literally beat each other for it. Since they can't yell at each other, they shove to make their point. And the teacher is physically rough on them too. Anyway, I made paper cranes with them which took about 2.5 hours. It was tiring, but worth it. After we played "Duck Duck Goose" (of course), I tought them a new game: Lions and Rats (which I subsituted for Sharks and Minoes). I can sign Lions and Rats... Tomorrow we will hopefully do an art project. They don't really have their own supplies, but we brought some!

Adventures in Cape Coast

June 21, 2009
Ah! I haven't written for 3 days! The Kipharts left us on the 19th and we explored Cape Coast. we are staying in these Chalets at the University of Cape Coast. Friday night we spent time watching the movie channel. Now it's out and not working :(
Actually, on Friday we went to see the slave castle at Elmina. It was kind of a chilling experience. During the slave trade, this was where many slaves were kept until they were loaded on ships. The inhumanity of it was unbelievable and standing in that castle made you almost feel it. There was a female and male dungeon. There were tiny little spaces that looked like crawl spaces. I took lots of pictures. We opted out of the tour because we were tired of listening to people. It was a great thing to explore on our own.
Yesterday was a long day. Lea had been sick so we started our day late. We went to the Internet Cafe and into town. I bought some great souvenirs! (Everything is SO inexpensive and we bargain for it all). I'm excited for the school week to start because we haven't had a lot to do on the weekend. We are going to see the other slave castle at Cape Coast today and hopefully get outside and get some exercise!

Days 5 & 6

June 18 2009
Yesterday I didn't write because we didn't have time. I was both physically and mentally spent. We visited 10 wells (I think) and several villages. We went to the market (which was crazy) with this small middle-aged woman and her daughter. They took us on a 45 minute tour. The market was disgusting, but it was still very cool to see.
Today, we said goodbye to the 4 villages Inn and headed to Cape Coast. We took side roads and got there in 5 hours. It was an extremely bumpy ride. I will never complain about potholes again! Though I personally enjoyed some of the ride (I compared it to a roller coaster), I know the rest of the passengers were not fans of the mini road-trip.
We have 2 drivers take us around. Takyis (TAY-CHEE) and Freedom (who was my driver as well as Lea's and Esther's). I want to marry Takyis. BIGGEST SWEETHEART EVER. But he is married with two beautiful children and lives in Africa...oh well!
Cape Coast is beautiful. I feel like we are in Hawaii. we are near the beach which has tons of palm trees and rolling waves. We had dinner on the beach. It was great!
When we arrived in Cape Coast, the school of deaf kids performed some dancing for us. They wore beautiful and colorful outfits. This shcool is the top ard winning school in several academic areas (I will recall later) and has a population of 371 students: about 330 of them deaf and the rest blind. It was such a relief to come here and see such a successful happy group of people. It gives me hope for Africa and other villages.
I am really excited for Cape Coast. I think I will be teaching dance. Tomorrow we are going to discuss what we will do. This trip is great!

day 4

June 16 2009
This morning we left for Dr. Addai's clinic. We picked him up and went to one of his clinics in the village. We saw lots of women with babies, a few sick people, and lots of children. I taught them how to play Duck Duck Goose. Lea taught them the hokie-pokie. This one little girl was my favorite. I wanted to take her home with me. After that, we went to another village/school and gave more soccer balls. I bounced a ball on my knee and played with the kids. It was a little overwhelming though because there were about a hundred of them. A lot of them asked me for cash, but they didn't beg as much as the Krapa school. The real begging was when we went to the fabric stroe and guys my age were begging us to buyt all these embroidered keychains. Well at least I'm prepared for the market tomorrow. Overall, today was a successful day. I'm exhausted!

The first eye-opener

June 15 2009
Today was a more eye-opening day. First we went to an art fair type area and bought some souvenirs. I bought a beautiful card and a small wooden sculpture. Total cost was 6 cds. That is around 5 American dollars. The exchange rate is odd. After, we went to Dr. Annie's clinic. We saw many malnourished babies. there were hundreds of women there, many of them teenagers. Many women travel to the city with some guy and end up in the market, pregnant and abandoned. So it's hard for them to ask for help when they have been abandoned. I saw a two year old with eye liner on. It was unsettling. Many women buy make up over food to get attention from the men that abandoned them. It was hard to see all of it. But Dr. Annie is extremely positive and its amazing to see her work in that environment. We gave stuffed animals and many women left their babies on the ground crying to go and fight for the best animal. I saw a woman whose baby's neck was bouncing around. She didn't care. There was another woman with twins: one boy and one girl. She only fed the boy. The size difference between them was huge. I would have thought them 8 or 9 moths apart. Another baby had malaria and was attached to an IV. There were so many babies. After we left the clinic, we visited the Kenilworth Union School in Krapa. The Kipharts have done an amazing job. We delivered gifts like pencils, sharpies, cards, soccerballs, and the game Jacks. One of the difficult things is that the kids thinkw e are Santa and can bring them anything. Some of them had an attitude and no one was gracious. I guess we should deal with that. Part of real giving is not expecting anything in return. It's just hard when we've put a lot of work into our gifts and projects! Regardless, it was great to see all the progress made.

Sunday Sunday

June 14 2009
Today was awesome. We woke up at 7:30, ate breakfast at 8, and were picked up at 9 by our drivers to go to Church. We met up with Annie, her daughter Saint Anne, and Peter, our leader. I started the first of our videos. The church service was nothing like I've seen before. People in the audience would raise their hands and would get a chance to make a comment or ask a question regarding the discussion. Then there was a forty minute or so singing session. It was so powerful and so lively. It felt like there was so much spirit in the room. People go on their kenees. IT was nothing you would see at KUC, where peopel are more self-concious and more solemn during a service. Honestly, it was an incredible thing to witness. After chruch, we went to a village and met the midwife, Anna. She is this wonderful old woman who is a nurse that helps women through their pregnancy and can treate people for other medical issues (such as a snake bit). I videotaped her speaking about her role as a midwife. In the area, there were wandering chickens and goats everywhere. And really, all over Ghana. We saw these caged "grass cutters" which have some relation to groundhogs. The next thing we did was visit a village. There were tons of kids everywhere, all wanting to tell me their name. I've never seen so many elated faces. One girl's name was Sandra. She was about 4 or 5. We went to their communal area where honored and thanked us by giving us weaved scarves. We then gave them candy, toothburshes (ironic), and soccer balls. And we also gave them Obama shirts. Man, he is like a Saint here. Everyone knows who he is. The men we gave the shirts to just about died with enthusiasm. After we left, we went to another village that had recently been flooded. The houses were made of mud, so many of them were ruined. Mr. and Mrs. Kiphart gave them some money to fix their generator. After visiting this village, we mad our way back to 4 villages. We had a great dinner. Desert: spectacular. It was hot oranges and pineapple with ice cream on top!

day 1!

June 13 2009
So we finally arrived in Ghana! What a trip. We landed in Accra at 8:30 and then set out on our 5 hour drive to Kumasi. I've never seen so many children in my life. My favorite thing to see is the mothers carrying the babies on their backs. The babies look so content. We stopped at a rest stop after 2.5 hours of driving and of course see a giant lizard. Little was I aware, there are millions of them everywhere. Our next stop was at the first school the Kipharts built. It was great to meet their first friends. Also, I forgot to mention a Ghanaian clebrity was on our plane. When we landed, everyone clapped! he was wearing a leopard suit. It was so bizarre. Peter's daughter Naomi had no interest in the celebreity. It was such a difference between our cultures. Anyway, we just arriaved at 4 Villages Inn. It's beautiful!

The Adventure Begins...

June 12 2009
So the adventure begins...I left for the airport at 8am with Mom, Brit, & Lo. Everyone arrived at the gate at around 11 and our flight was delayed just an hour. We had a breezy trip to New York and here we are about to leave for Accra! I'm so excited. We are due to arrive at 8:30 in the morning which I think is about 4:30 am New York time. Then we have a five hour car ride. I brought 3 cameras so I'm sure I'll have hundreds of pictures. I kind of wish I bought a memory card with more GB so I could taken even more. Oh well...that's why I have three. I started "The Lecture" on the previous plane. What a perfect book to read before this trip, Alright, I'm off! Time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie they put on.

Charter Day Ball @ Miami

son's gonna rise in a mile- citizen cope

Happy New Year!

"Please don't text me, love P.B"

"To P.B, love P.B"

Life's a beach!

Time to Swim!

Paradise Island: Afternoon Delight

Oloff's!

Sunset

Warmth.

Quite the get-away :)