Advertisement
Published: February 15th 2008
The Ladies at the Beach
L to R - Katie, Kate, and Jen ejoying a platter of yam and chicken with beer!So this entry is a bit outdated as the African Cup of Nations concluded last weekend, however the events of the games made quite an impression on me and I wanted to include it in my blog. The Cup of Nations is a biannual football (soccer for all us crazy North Americans) tournament held for the continent to display the talents of the various nations. This year, the games were held in Ghana, which only amplifies the excitement of your country playing in any major football tournament! The games lasted for three weeks and were played in four stadiums across the country. Although I completely dropped the ball on buying tickets and never actually went to the stadium, I did get to watch a number of matches in some crazy scenarios!
The most striking aspect of the tournament is the hyped sense of national pride that the Black Stars of Ghana seem to be able to create. If you think you’ve seen patriotism, go stand in a crowd of Ghanaians on game day! If Ghana was playing, you could be sure people were dressed in Ghana shirts, flags, colours, car flags (like we have for hockey), whistles, horns - you
name it! And if they WON? Shit, it was crazy town. One newspaper cited a warning from officials that citizens need to tone down the “excessive celebrating after matches”. I often wonder just what encompasses excessive celebrating, however on opening game night I did get a little taste of what this means when Ghana defeated Guinea. I went downtown to watch the game in a bar with some other WUSC volunteers and it was crazy! When Ghana won, everyone poured out from the bars and the streets turned into a giant impromptu party. Horns honking, loud cheering, and people dancing, singing, and drinking like mad. I even saw a man walking around in nothing but a thong… (perhaps that is what’s deemed excessive?). Anyways, it was lots of fun to be in the midst of the action. My big plan was to go see the final game at the stadium, although banking on a team winning isn’t the greatest plan, and thus, when Ghana lost in the semi’s to the Lions of Cameroon there went my final plan. I went to the Fan Park (essentially a gigantic outdoor concert ground, only with a big TV for watching the game), which
was packed with thousands of fans to watch the semi final match. The attitude was infectious - it was like the crowd was one making collective cheers, sighs of frustration, and calls at the ref. Unfortunately, the Black Stars lost and the opposite side of excessive jubilation came out - the town was QUIET. It was like everyone packed it in after that loss and that was all that was talked about for the next couple of days. They won third place against Cote D’Ivoire, scoring an amazing 4 goals, which only infuriated the Ghanaians wondering why they didn’t play like that against Cameroon! Regardless of the outcome, I really enjoyed the spirit of the community and watching the games - those are some very talented players!
In other news, what have I been up to? As I mentioned, I saw the opening game with some other WUSC volunteers. They had 3 Students Without Borders (another volunteer sending program WUSC supports) arrive the week before and I got to be a part of the orientation. As I am the only one living in Accra, I also offered to take them around on the weekend. The volunteers consisted of three
Sunday afternoon match at Marie's Spot
Sporting Milli in a wonderful Ghana flag umbrella hat! recent graduates from various Canadian universities named Kate, Katie, and Jen, and it was really great to have some other Canadian, FEMALE company! They came over for dinner on Friday night, then on Saturday we did the Madina tour and then hung out at the beach, followed by an evening of drinking downtown. On Sunday we went downtown for the festivities, which Renee also joined and it was great! I am excited to see them and the rest of the volunteers again in 2 weeks as I head north to Bolgatanga for a WUSC partner meeting. I am hoping to get to squeeze in some time at Mole National Park, exploring Bolga, and spending a few nights in Tamale. So really, I am not considering this work, more of a free holiday :P
The following weekend, I got to do a little traveling as I went to visit my friend Emelia, the Ghanaian woman I met this summer in Antigonish, at her home in Takoradi (a city about 4 hours west of Accra on the coast). It is a beautiful drive along the coast and Takoradi is much more tropical and less crowded then Accra. It was nice to
I touched the pitch!
I forgot to mention that while I was in Takoradi, I got to see the Sekondi Cup of Nations Stadium, built especially for the games. So although I didn\'t get to go to a game, I still touched the pitch! get away and Emelia was a wonderful host, making sure I was comfortable, well fed, and got to see lots of the city! We drove around town on Saturday seeing the sights, the beach, and meeting some of her friends and family. She is the principal of a Secondary Vocational School in Takoradi and I was staying with one of the teachers in the dorms, as Emelia didn’t have enough beds in her house. It looks like the school is a wonderful place for the students - a warm welcoming attitude and it offers a lot of practical courses. It was nice to get to hang out with some of the students. On Sunday, we went to Emelia’s sister’s house and I learned how to pound fufu! I have mentioned this favorite Ghanaian dish before (pounded plantain and cassava or yam), but I’ve never made it. Man, is that ever hard work! I learned how to pound and also how to “drive” (turning the fufu while the other person pounds). Almost got my fingers caught a couple of times, but Emelia was patient and it was fun! I then hopped on a tro tro and made my way back to
Accra, after promising to return soon!
Other then that, life has been work and home. At home, I have begun my cooming "apprenticeship" with Divine. We have gotten into a habit of cooking together in the evenings which is nice. I officially have a love for spicy food and will be cooking with hot peppers when I return! I also still enjoy playing with the kids around the house. I hosted a colouring and reading session on Saturday afternoon and they were having so much fun I couldn't get them out of my house at dinner time! As for work, it’s going alright. As I’ve said, I am learning a lot working at the national level, and am beginning to understand how my experience is a bit different from some of the other IDSers. I am working for an organization that is classified as a civil society organization which is also a Coalition focused on education advocacy and lobbying. Being a coalition means that the structure of the organization is comprised of regional chapters, members for each chapter, a National Secretariat coordinating all activities (where I’m working), and an Executive Council who is responsible for approving work plans and
the budget. I am learning a lot about the aspects of Coalition building, the constant funding constraints that plague development, and the relative feeling of uselessness that comes with being an intern! Although since Christmas I feel much more a part of the team and have been given more responsibility (like helping with the 2008 work plan and budget for the Coalition, as well as attending various high up meetings, and being in contact with the Regional Coordinators for any number of issues), I still don’t feel very satisfied with what I am doing. I wish that I got to work more with the regions doing some grassroots work (like community sensitization and mobilization), however I am tied to the Secretariat and find it hard to convince my boss I would learn a lot from the regions! In saying this, I will get some field experience in the coming months as I have the training projects I was working on with my WUSC sector funds. I am still finishing up with the Eastern Region (currently in the middle of compiling all of that data! Yowza!), and am planning on doing a similar training in the Central Region in March. I
am excited about that and have learned from my past mistakes with the Eastern Region - I will be much more involved in the whole process with the Central Region and I will definitely tag along for some of the tracking they will be doing! I am also hoping I will get to be a part of a Gender Needs Assessment of GNECC’s programs to be occurring in March and April.
Apart from work, there is also the dreaded thesis. As a part of my internship I am expected to come up with a thesis idea to begin pursuing through primary research while I am here. I have had a lot of trouble narrowing down a topic (it’s like being given the entire academic world of development and saying here, pick something!), but I think I am finally on the right track! I will not reveal my topic until I have truly narrowed it down and gotten it into a research question, but suffice to say it will be dealing with the history of education and the affects on current cultural systems. I also found two really good libraries at the University of Ghana campus which I have been
going to - one is the Institute of African Studies and it is a goldmine of information! I am excited to go back and dig into some more history texts!
That’s it for me! Life is Ghana is going well for the most part and I look forward to my upcoming Bolga trip as well as a visit from my wonderful Mummy at Easter! For all of you who are worried about her and the bug situation, have no fear! We have come up with solutions for while she is here (which is to not stay at my house hahaha) and she has definitely proven to be up to the adventure! More to come on that after the holidays…
Lots of love,
Courtney
Advertisement
Tot: 0.051s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0271s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ange
non-member comment
sounds like a blast! Stanley Cup fever-like 'eh :) The kids are too cute. Wanna bring a few back with you?