Sarah C
Sarah C. Joined: June 25th 2007
Logged in: September 15th 2011
Logged in: September 15th 2011
I am living in a boys' home that houses eight boys between the ages of 9-20. An Indian monk, called "Dada" also lives there. He oversees the house and the school. Right now there are four other volunteers living there, as well. Maaike is a 24-year-old social worker from Holland, Katy, 18, has just graduated high school in Texas. Nathan, 22, is a college student from Missouri, and David, 24, is a musician/childcare provider from Vancouver, Canada.
I am having a wonderful time living in and experiencing another culture. I will be here until the end of April, when I will return to the United States and resume my teaching position in the fall.
Travel Blog Posts
One last blog. I've been procrastinating on writing this one...as it makes me sad to think this adventure is over. I feel the pressure to write something to beautifully summarize my entire experience. However, after a month of thinking and trying, I haven't been able to yet, so I will just write this: I arrived home in Seattle on Monday, May 5. (Oh, and by the way, I had zero hassle in Amsterdam with my bags - no tears were necessary. United Airlines allows 52 kilos and I was up to 54 by then. I was all prepared to ship my big bag home, but the lady didn't bat an eyelash and even allowed my two extra kilos. Sweet). My flights were fine and I avoided jet lag by staying awake during the entire ten-hour flight ... read more
The African Museum
...the land of steep stairs and rectangle spectacles. I arrived in Amsterdam on Thursday morning, after a stressful last few days in Ghana. I spent my last three days in Accra...enjoying the city. However, I also enjoyed a sketchy cheeseburger on Monday night and ended up with food poisoning! It was not a pretty picture. I was sick all day Tuesday and Wednesday. With my flight leaving Wednesday night, I decided to stop by the hospital after I plowed through the "Do not Enter, Cleaning in Progress" sign, and into the hotel lobby bathroom, and threw up right after the cleaning lady cleaned the stall. "Sorry - you may want to clean that one again." I was worried I might have malaria and didn't want to be stuck on an airplane feeling so awful. The trip ... read more
Visiting Kamilu in the hospital
Wow. My last week in Ghana is here. It's so hard to believe that eight months have passed so quickly. I remember the first three weeks went so slowly that I didn't imagine I would ever make it to the end. But, it's here. Of course, my emotions are all over the place...I am feeling so happy and excited to be going home, but at the same time it will be difficult to leave the friends I have made and the country that has embraced me for the past eight months. The past two weeks have gone by quickly. I've been busy preparing for my trip home...buying gifts, sorting through the clothes I brought with me, making room for the new clothes I've had made, and trying to find anything tasty to eat. I made rice ... read more
Watchie
When I was student teaching 4th grade in Bellingham, at the end of the week each student would get a stapled packet of all the work they had completed that week. It was graded and compiled by their teacher (or me) and there was a pretty little cover sheet that said, "A Week's Worth of Work" on top. As I look back on the past week in Ghana, let me see if I can compile and staple all of my "work" into a neat little packet for you. Our friend Aminu was traveling this past week to Koforidua to visit his family. Instead of closing his shop for the week, I offered to run it for him. I was finished with my volunteer work, so my days were fairly free…and it would give me a great ... read more
Akosombo Dam
Five more weeks to go - the countdown is on! My excitement about returning home is growing each day, and each day I think of another reason why I am happy to come home. While I do have mixed feelings about leaving Ghana, I am sure that I am looking forward to returning to Seattle. Thanks to all who have donated money to the education funds of Mahadev, Oppong, Jamila, and Babangida. So far, I have collected over two hundred dollars, and I am still awaiting donations from five more people. If you are still interested in donating, please send me an email and I’ll send you my brother’s address in Seattle. He can deposit the money into my account and I can access it from here. I will accept donations until April 15 (tax day, ... read more
Emmanuel Yeboah and I
Time for an update. As I noticed the date, I found it significant, as I’ll be landing in Seattle exactly two months from today. I was finally able to get a return ticket (THANKS, MOM!!!) and will leave Ghana on April 30, stop in Amsterdam for a few days to visit Maaike, one of the volunteers in Ejura, and then head home!!! I am starting to get really excited about my return to America! So things in Cape Coast are pretty much the same: hot and humid. Cooking remains a challenge, or at least finding the motivation to cook remains a challenge. I eat spaghetti about three times a week. Fanta continues to be a staple in my diet. Last week was rather exciting…some traveling took place. Katy and I had to make a trip to ... read more
the stinky toilet
I've been in Cape Coast for almost three weeks now. The weather has finally cooled off a little bit. By that, I mean probably about five degrees. The good thing is that my hair is finally long enough to put up in a ponytail. The bad thing is that it doesn’t look so nice. The really good thing is that I don’t even care. Katy and I have slowly been getting used to cooking. It is not all it is cracked up to be. We have to store everything in the room. And it is just a square cement room with no storage space at all. No cupboards or closets. Our clothes are in bags or hanging on lines strung in the room. There is no refrigerator. Just a two-burner gas cook top and a variety ... read more
Mahadev
Before I came to Ghana, several people (in the U.S. and in Ghana) told me I should fundraise to earn money for the school(s) where I would be volunteering. I did not, as I felt it was important to see firsthand the schools and meet the students, rather than blindly handing over money upon my arrival. (However, my friends and family graciously donated a huge quantity of art supplies for the school, a digital camera for me to document my experiences, and a generous amount of money to help offset my own costs). Now, after spending the past five months in Ghana, and seeing the living conditions and the scarcity of higher education, and meeting a variety of students, the idea of donating money is once again on my mind, and I feel compelled to introduce ... read more
The new house
Greetings from Cape Coast! I am happy to be writing from my new location. Katy and I left Ejura last Thursday morning. It was hard to say goodbye to the boys, the students and teachers at the school, the neighbors, and the townspeople of Ejura. We spent most of Wednesday walking around taking pictures of all the people we have come to know and love over the past five months. We stayed overnight in Kumasi Thursday night. Katy had to pick up a parcel at the post office and we stayed overnight in order to take the speedier option of the bus (vs. tro tro) to Cape Coast early Friday morning. Our post office buddies have become quite good friends by now. After my temper tantrum during my first package collection, I figured they’d write us ... read more
Watch it!
January 26, 2008 I just finished watching “Emmanuel’s Gift” with the boys at the house. What an awesome movie!!! (Thanks, Marcy, for sending it). It was a great experience to watch the movie with the boys - they understood the Twi that was spoken in it and could relate to the scenes that were shown. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It is the true story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah, of Ghana, who was born with a leg deformity. Instead of becoming a beggar, like most of the people who are disabled in Ghana, he decided instead to bring more awareness to the plight of the disabled by biking across Ghana. His courageous act brought much positive publicity and has helped change the stigma of being disabled in Ghana. After a successful ... read more
