Advertisement
Published: September 29th 2008
“Rain, rain, go away, come again another day!” This has been the rhyme in my head and on the lips of my school children for the past few weeks. The rainy season is upon us in Agogo. The weather brings wet humid rain storms almost every day and of course, mosquitoes. Everyone is concerned that I am going to get malaria and ask me constantly if I am taking my medication and spraying myself. At first, my caretaker thought that all my moles and freckles were in fact mosquito bites. He was quite relieved when I showed him the difference. Along with the mosquitoes, I have also given up the hope of ever having fully dry laundry for the next month or so. We are told that hopefully by November we should be entering the dry season - what a wonderful thing to look forward to!
I have found that life in Ghana is so much more relaxed than it is in Canada - especially living in a small town. I am learning to slow down my pace which at first was quite difficult since I am always on the go with something to do, somewhere to be, and someone to see. I still go for a run almost every morning to the laughs and cheers of individuals at the side of the road. The old women especially love to see me pass every morning. Afternoons will often include going to the market after school, reading, writing, and walks. Life shuts down around 9pm in Agogo - which suits me fine as we are up by 5am every day anyway. Rabina and I often spend the evening sitting around talking with our caretaker’s family or drinking tea and milo on the porch.
School is going well. I have still been observing in the class. I have also taught a number of English, Math and Science classes as well. It is interesting to not the very different teaching styles found here compared to Canada. Everything is taught by memorization and repetition. This is mostly due to the fact that the teachers are trained in the colleges to teach this way and the fact that the only resource most classes have is a chalkboard and books for about a third of the class. What I am also finding is that while there are some very bright students in class, they are not being encouraged to think and formulate independent thoughts on their own - a skill that Canadian students are much better at. Rabina and I have begun our ChildSpeak project by taking class photos and introducing the letter writing component to the classes. Hopefully by mid October we will be starting our afterschool component of the project.
Rabina and I have also slowly started to make friends with the locals. We find that the guys have absolutely no problem approaching us and starting up a conversation (as compared to females). By the end they are always asking for phone numbers and email addresses. (Is it cynical for me to think that all they are thinking is “free ticket to Canada”? - as it is always ends up being the direction of the conversation! ) Many individuals in Agogo are actually fairly educated and because of the university, many schools, and famous hospital. Many people we end up talking to are fellow teachers, students or nurses. The other major jobs are farming and shop keeping. We are also starting to get to know some of the other younger teachers at our school. Since it is a holiday tomorrow - for Eid (end of Ramadan) we are going to be shown around by a fellow teacher Diana. And on Wednesday we are having dinner with two other teachers as well. It will be interesting to find out what people actually do here in Agogo for fun. The one restaurant/bar/hotel/club called “Dollar Spot” has been the source of many friendly introductions - but I have yet to see it busier than a couple patrons in the restaurant/bar area!
This past weekend Rabina and I left Agogo to go and explore Kumasi - the second largest city in Ghana. It is about a 2 hour drive away over which I was able to experience my first “tro tro” rides. (Or should I call them death traps…) I have come to realize that I will not die or get hurt by malaria, some mugger, or a wild animal here in Ghana - but my most likely cause of injury will be the tro tro. (These 20 passenger vans that are literally falling apart race along the highway past the carnage of other accidents.) I am hoping that they take it a little slower/safer when we are in the van because we are foreigners… Anyway, Kumasi was a great escape for the weekend. We saw many sites including the Fort, market, National Cultural center, etc. I also started to buy some souvenirs! (I know, I know - I still have till Feb…) Anyway, I look forward to more of the exploring we can do around this area.
Finally, as a conclusion, I will end this section with some interesting occurrences that have happened to me over the past week:
1.The head of the PTA asking me if I could talk to my people at the Canadian embassy in Accra so that he can get into Canada. He didn’t quite understand that I don’t really have any influence in that area and was visibly taken aback when I out right refused to marry him in order to get into the country!
2. A neighbor boy we have gotten to know has asked me to email Gameboy so that I can ask them to send him a free GameBoy - because all his friends are doing it.
3. A request from a local to find a Canadian pen pal for their 18 year old daughter. (By the way anyone interested?)
4. Being labeled as a “spinster”. Apparently at 24 years old - I have almost “expired”. I need to get married before I am thirty so people don’t start to wonder what is wrong with me. However, I was told a wedding could be arranged before I left. (Hmmmm - should I be taking this seriously??)
Anyway, this is getting long enough now. Thanks for all the comments/messages/emails I have been getting from everyone. I do love keeping in contact! I will update again soon!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 7; qc: 50; dbt: 0.0626s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Melinda
non-member comment
True to Your Word
You are completely true to your word when you say that you will not die from malaria, but rather the tro-tro - either that or a taxi ride. Both are quite dangerous and I can personally attest from my own experience of a near-death situation! Did I tell you about that before you left?! And no, it is not cynical for you to think that everyone else is looking at you as the white girl who will get them to Canada. I can say that from the people that I did give out my email address to, only one local has ever written me...guess the message? - "Help me get to Canada". Slow pace, Milo, tro-tros, and odd requests!!! How I miss Ghana!!