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Published: December 6th 2007
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It has certainly been a while since I have posted on here, I apologize! Life has begun settling into a pretty solid routine and I sometimes feel as if I have nothing new and exciting to report! Work has been pretty slow to non-existent over the last couple of weeks, save for some meetings, editing, and I helped to put on a re-orientation for the Eastern Region’s District Education for All Teams (DEFATs) a couple weeks back which included a trip to Koforidua, a beautiful town nestled into the mountains about an hour and a half north of Accra. The drive there was breathtaking - all of a sudden you are climbing up this hill/mountain that appears almost out of no where from the flat, coastal plains where Accra is settled and before you know it, you have a birds eye view of the whole city. On a very clear day, I’m sure you could see to the ocean! I unfortunately do not have any pictures, but next time I make the trip I will be sure to try and grab some. I really enjoyed Koforidua as it was a bit cooler, smaller, cleaner, and had beautiful scenery! I have included
a picture of the tropical lushness that was outside my hotel…
As for the program I put on, it was a very interesting learning experience in development and my work with GNECC. I realized I played a very minimal role in the preparation of the workshop and due to this didn’t ask enough pertinent questions about the research they were conducting. I had some issues with the questionnaires they were using and their methodology, but it was too late by the time I realized this to do anything about it! I will be entering the second stage of this process (data compilation and analysis) in the coming weeks, so it will be interesting to evaluate their research results and methodologies and see what recommendations I can make. Aside from that, I have also been very busy with my thesis research. As a part of my internship and completion of my degree, I have to select a research topic in which to begin primary research on this year in Ghana. I will then bring my findings back home to work on my thesis in my final year. I could write hundreds of pages of text no problem, but coming up
Marie's spot
This is literally right across the street from my house with a research question?? I don’t think there’s a harder part to research. Earlier this week I felt like I had a solid grasp on what I wanted to do, but my ideas are floating all over the place now. More to come when I have officially chosen my topic!
As for the outside work part of life, I am thoroughly enjoying Ghana as my social life has picked up! I spend the majority of my time on the weekends and after work at Marie’s shop with her and her family. Marie is a wonderful person and we get along great! It is so nice to have such a good friend close to home and that comes with a whole gang of caring and supporting family! The last couple of weekends I have spent hanging out with them enjoying cool and refreshing beers, chatting, helping Milli and Samyira to cook (well one Saturday anyways! Little Miss Milli got a new coal pot and was very excited to use it!), and getting Marie’s “spot” finished! They started painting this week and getting the thatched grass roof up… I was helping her trim the grass last weekend and I think we
will do some finishing touches this weekend. I have also been back to the beach again, it seems to have become a Sunday tradition! The last time we went, the brothers (Frank, Nana, and Dan - who I learned aren’t actually brothers, more like friends/business partners - that’s one thing about Ghana, it’s hard to get people’s actual relations down as people call each other brother, sister, aunt, uncle, mommy, etc. in so many different non-family related contexts! For example, Milli calls me “Auntie Courtney”). Anyways, they brought a ton of fresh fish to the beach combined with a hefty supply of liquor and a coal pot. We grilled up some fish with fresh ground peppe (hot pepper, onions, garlic, a little tomatoe) and oh man, it was delicious. We swam, laughed, drank and had a lovely time. Always brings the end of the week to a nice close!
Other then that, I’ve still been going to salsa, and although I wouldn’t say I’m learning tons, it’s a fun thing to do during the week. I also went to church one weekend with Delight which was certainly an interesting experience… for one thing, the service lasted for almost 4
hours! I couldn’t believe it. There were a lot of sermons, people from the congregation talking and praising god, and some singing which was nice, but all in all, I felt pretty uncomfortable. Again I was seated near the front, which only adds to ones discomfort when you A) aren’t very religious and B) have no idea what the formal processes are in the church. I noticed that people were donating A LOT of money though, and at the end, the pastor sums up all of the donations given. I was astounded as to how much was given from a relatively small congregation! Then to top it all off, at the end they asked all new people to the congregation to come up and introduce themselves. I was like ohhhhhh no, I am not going up! But there were other newbies, and those around me pushed me forward, so there I was standing in front of a congregation of people I had never met before while undergoing one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life being expected to introduce myself. So I briefly introduced myself (the only person speaking English, which is also embarrassing) and thanked them for having
me as a visitor to their church. Anyways, all in all it was a very interesting experience, but not one I think I am bound to repeat.
On the topic of feeling uncomfortable, that is a sensation I am becoming increasingly familiar with! I often feel very awkward in situations as in I don’t know how I should be behaving, what’s expected of me, do I need to pay this person for that, etc. I have come to taking the stance that as uncomfortable as a situation might be, it will always end, so grin and bear it. I seriously think there is no other way one can deal with instances like being laughed at in Twi on the tro tro or being expected to eat something you really don’t like!
In another comment on my outside of work life, I have hooked up with an organization that I am going to start volunteering with on Saturday morning’s come January. They are called the Osu Children’s Library Fund (http://www.osuchildrenslibraryfund.ca/ ), an NGO set up by a Canadian woman who has begun several libraries across Ghana. They do a lot of programs for adults and children relating to reading
yumm.... prawns!
AHHHH! Who is that ghost?! and literacy, as well as activities like drama, theatre and arts and crafts! I am very excited to begin as it will give me a chance to connect more with the community and children in particular. I will begin in January upon my return for the holidays, which I am also quite looking forward to! Me and a friend from UofT, Nathalie, who is doing her internship in Burkina Faso, are going to do some traveling. I will head up to Burkina for Christmas, and afterwards we are taking off to backpack Mali for about a week and a half! I am pumped to get some West African travel into my time here!
Other then that, I think that’s all for me! Enjoy the pictures and I will try to take some more of my neighborhood, traffic, Accra sites, etc for my next entry. Hope you are all bundling up against the chilly Canadian winter…
Lots of love,
Courtney
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it looks so nice and warm!
Toronto and Ottawa are currently ice rinks. You're lucky -you're missing the ridicule from a Sens 7-game losing streak (which finally ended last night). I love the dress. Have fun with Nathalie 'eh!