Blogs from Ashanti, Ghana, Africa - page 13

Rabina and I have done very well in Ghana with developing friendships with our fellow teachers and locals in the community. We go out to eat and drink at restaurants, have meals in each others homes, attend church and community events together, and sometime just plain hang out. It has been a great way to have fun and enjoy each other’s company. However, understandably, the friendships still remain much more at a superficial level than they could be at this point. In part this is due to the fact that we have only been here for just under three months. (However, I have developed stronger connections with individuals in less that time.) But I think for the most part it is due to the cultural differences between us. As much as you would like to forget ... read more

A Hero’s Welcome Saturday evening, Kojo and his wife received a Hero’s Welcome. They were welcomed with shouts of joy as they arrived home to the village of Apebouso. For the past two months Kojo Konni has been seeking treatment for his infected foot. Now they sat under their own shade tree, surrounded by their children, family and friends. They talked, laughed, thanked God, shared current event stories and ate home cooked food! The welcome crowd (consisting of everyone present in the village at that moment) finally diminished after a few hours. I wanted to tell them (the crowd), “It’s not over yet. This is merely a rest bit.” But really there’s no need. They already see the blood oozing from the heavily bandaged foot. They already know it’s not over yet … let them all ... read more

Hei alle! Saa er vi desvaerre naaet til min sidste tid paa babyhjemmet! I morgen har jeg min sidste dag, og jeg frygter at det bliver den mest triste dag i mit liv overhovedet! Allerede i dag kan jeg maerke at jeg er ved at graede bare jeg taenker paa det.. toer overhovedet ikke taenke paa i morgen! Jeg ELSKER de boern saa overdrevent meget, og jeg vil helt sikkert spare penge sammen og komme tilbage om 1 eller 2 aar! jeg har snakket med nogen her om at komme tilbage i foraaret 2010! Saa jeg skal bare spare penge sammen! De her boern har givet mig den mest betydningsfulde oplevelse i mit liv! Hvis jeg bare kunne forklare nogen hvor meget de betyder for mig og hvor meget jeg kommer til at savne dem! Det ... read more

It’s been quite a week. Too much happened to give a report on all so I’ll give you the two most intense stories. The week began with our regular trip to Apebouso (village where the school is located) Sunday evening. Along the way I picked up a man who then informed me that Praises Mother and Grandmother (and several others from Oseakrom and Kwami Tanokrom) had been in an accident on Saturday. It had been a serious accident and the two along with others were now admitted to the hospital in the near by town of Obuasi. Needless to say Monday morning Kirk, I and Praise set off to search the hospitals. After some time of searching we did in fact find them. Praise’s little friend Godlove (7yrs) and his mother were also in the accident. ... read more

Over the past two weeks, I would say a significant part of my free time has been devoted to funerals - both in attendance and preparation. More specifically, I attended the funeral of the mother of one of our teachers and also the state funeral of the finance minister (who was from Agogo) who died in September. As you will soon learn, these funeral experiences have little to nothing in common with funerals that I have experienced in Canada - besides maybe wearing the dark clothing. Appropriate attire is very important during a mourning period. And since Rabina and I had a very long mourning period to take part in, we had to get dresses made to have enough clothing to wear to these events. Mourning cloth is either black, dark brown or red and is ... read more