So, some exciting things start this week. On monday we woke up at 6am to take an early bus down to the PC office where some of us needed to get some more shots and we also had some more mini Twi lessons. On monday evening we attended a party at the US ambassadors house, which we were told would be formal and be very "american" themed. So we all dressed our best and took the long journey through Accra to the ambassadors house. And indeed the ambassadors digs were very nice. He had enclosed property with a pool and a courtyard as well as a patio where entertaining guests seemed to be pretty frequent. We were served a wide variety of appetizers from guacamole and chips to spring rolls and for the meat eaters some chicken shish-kabob. I guess that is what the ambassador considered american dining. but all in all everyone had a great time, it was great to talk to other americans about their experiences in Ghana and some of the things we could expect living in country.
On Weds. we moved out of our luxurious stay at Valley View University and made our way to the training center in Kukurantumi. Although the bus ride there was only supposed to be 2 hours long we, for some reason, made numerous stops and in doing so found out the delicate art of using the outdoor "bathroom". Which, in parts outside the main city, are basically some cinder blocks built up enough to make a small enclosed area with a tiny trench. Personally, im perfectly fine going au natural in the bush, but i digress. We made it to the training center and were welcomed enthusiastically by all the staff, who were very eager to meet us. We went through a welcome session and met all of our trainers and some current PCV's who would be with us during the course of our training. The current PCVs took us on a tour of the community and one of them mentioned a local bar where they spent a lot of their down time and said that the owner was very nice and welcoming to the new PCVs every year. So that night we ventured out for the first time together to go grab a couple of cold beers and relax. The place was empty when we came in but they were blasting miley cyrus so we kinda came to the assumption that they were expecting us. One of the current PCVs was there with his homestead brother from last year and they encouraged us to try the local liquor called Apeteshi(sp?), which is made from palm fruit and, from what we were told about it, was basically the Ghanaian form of moonshine. Needless to say, it was disgusting. After that we just chilled out and ended up having a great time.
The next day started our training. Another long day but we did get to learn about our individual site specific material and have our interviews which would determine where we would be placed for the next two years. So i found out i will be teaching ICT at a teacher training college. I find out which college ill be teaching at in about a week and I will also find out what other language I will be learning. So yay! im excited to start getting some concrete information about what i'll be doing! What's interesting is that my ICT class will be the first PC group to begin teaching at the college level. So my peers and i will be paving the way for this program. I guess that makes me a little nervous, but still really excited that this is a new project and it will probably leave me a lot of room to make mistakes and correct them. We had various sessions over the next couple of days including some peer teaching where we simulated a typical class lesson to our peers and then got evaluated. We were in small groups which made it a little easier but i think everyone was a little nervous, mainly in part because most of us have never taught before. My mini-class was a lesson in drumming. I entitled it "drumming 101" and set up a little drum circle and taught my peers a simple beat and then at the end, encouraged them to begin drum circles in there own communities. I think i did a pretty decent job, it was interactive and fun, and my evaluators agreed! Next week we kick it up a notch and do micro-teaching at a teacher training college with 10-15 students. That's a tad bit scarier but having so many other people in the same boat as me takes the edge off a little. Saturday homestay begins, so to celebrate our first week of training and our last night in our "hotels" the PCV trainers decided to have a dance party at the local bar. A couple of brave PCVs went for the apeteshi because they hadn't tried it yet, and some went for round two. Crazies. I pleasantly declined the apeteshi and we all danced the night away to some local ghanaian music called High Life, with a little beyonce and miley cyrus thrown in periodically.
Saturday we moved into our homestay's in the mid-afternoon. We were placed in surrounding areas of the PC office located in Kukurantumi. We were split up by groups, so ICT and Visual arts were together and we moved out to a town called Asafo, about 8 km from Kukurantumi. So far, my homestay is great. I met with my homestay sister, Naomi, and her daughter Rebecca, who i think is about 3 years ago and super adorable, at the PC office. When we got to Asafo, my home wasn't far from the main street and shopping area. Immediately after arriving, a couple of children greeted me and started bringing my stuff to my new home, i found out soon they were my homestay nieces, nephews and cousins. They actually spoke english quite well and were very excited to meet me, as i was to meet them. They sat me down and the oldest child went through the names of his brothers and cousins. I thought i was doing well with remembering until what seems like a continuos stream of children kept lining up. So i decided to break out the notepad and start jotting some names down. They were all good kids and not shy at all and made note to giggle when i pronouced things in Twi(pronouced chwi) horribly wrong, so i just giggled back. Then i met my homestay Nana, who doesn't speak any english but just has the sweetest disposition. After situating myself, i watched as my Nana and brother made Fufu. Which is a mixture of plantain and cassava dough. The way it is prepared is so interesting. Basically you take a long skinny wood log and continuously stomp it into this dough mixture while the other person continuously moves it around. It actually looks pretty dangerous, like you could get your fingers smashed very easily. But im sure that my Nana has been doing this since long before i was born, so i wasn't worried so much for her, but it will definitely take me some time to get good at. Hopefully when i get to know my family better i can start taking some pictures and maybe even a video of the whole process.
Well, I tried my best to stay a vegetarian here in Ghana and was doing really well until today! But the dinner that was cooked for me was some kind of fish soup that was meant to be eaten with the Fufu. So vegetarian no more, i guess I did manage to have them understand that i don't like meat so lets now see how long i can be a pescatarian... It was an exhausting day of moving and i went to retire to my room for the evening but just my luck there were some creepy crawlies lurking, and i think everyone knows of my arachnophobia, so i got a little pale faced when i saw some of those "s" things in the corner. Thankfully my sister noticed my very recognizable fear and wanted to know what was wrong. All could think of was to point at them and make a shudder. When she and the other kids saw what i was talking about they all had a nice little laugh. And she said to me that she understood and swiftly did away with them. I laughed and thanked her continuously and she laughed back. Well all i can say is that im glad some good came out of my silly childhood fear, a nice big laugh and some family bonding.
No comments:
Post a Comment