Week 6 Updates

So, I have been seriously procrastinating on writing this post, I think because I didn't know what exactly to include. I'm in a funny place now where most things here don't surprise me anymore, but that doesn't make them any less different and foreign and interesting. I realize that my new normal is still probably  hard to imagine for most of you in the US, so I've been wavering about including every little funny or strange thing that has happened to me or just skimming over the past couple of weeks with summary. I'll try to do a little bit of both.

Last week was my school's 15th anniversary week, and they went all out. We had no classes and instead had different activities everyday. Here was the schedule for the week:

• Monday - Clean up day (we weeded and picked up trash not just at school, but on all of the streets around school)
• Tuesday - A health talk and blood drive
• Wednesday - Gospel Rock Show
• Thursday - A health walk (we walked around town with our school marching band for four hours!) and exercise (mainly Azonto dancing)
• Friday - African traditional day. There were cultural presentations and everyone came to school dressed in the traditional clothing of their tribes or like different African leaders. 
• Saturday - The Anniversary ceremony and cadets parade

Because I am a cadet, a good chunk of each day was spent training for the parade that was Saturday morning. The parade went really well (I didn't make any mistakes!) and the highlight of my day was when the lieutenant from Accra Air Force Base looked me straight in the eye and whispered "congratulations" as he did his inspection of my flight (my marching group). Also, girls' soccer started practicing this week (turns out we're going to have a team after all!). It feels so good to get into the routine of playing again. The anniversary activities and cadets training and soccer practice combined to create a crazy week. I was at school basically from 6 am to 6 pm everyday and I fell into bed every night, but it was awesome.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - I love my school here! The students are all so, so nice and patient with me, and I have made several good friends. I love that the teachers and coaches know how to joke around and connect with the students while still earning their respect. I think the other exchange students and my host family are shocked when I say I actually like going to school, but it is true, and it has really made living here a lot easier. 

Here are some other random things from the past couple of weeks (that really could each be entire posts themselves):

• I voted for the first time! I ended up having to take off two days from school because the first time we went to the embassy it was closed for Columbus Day (should have thought of that...) and then I had to go through a confusing process to register and submit a write-in ballot. But it's done now! 
• My host family is on the website couchsurfing.com, so they occasionally have guests from around the world staying with them. Right now we have a guy named Melvin from Sierra Leone (who is married to a woman from Finland) who is waiting in Ghana to get his Finnish citizenship documents from the consulate in Nigeria (I know, very confusing). He will be staying with us until December or whenever the documents are ready.
• One day my host brother Desmond randomly came home from work bearing treats - Honey Nut Cheerios, cheesecake mix, and macaroni and cheese. I seriously have the best host family ever!
• Last Saturday after Twi lessons I went with a couple other exchange students to a beach called Kokrobite, filled with a cool mix of Peace Corps volunteers and Rastafarians and European travelers  We met up with Desmond and Melvin and a couple of Desmond's friends and spent a  nice afternoon there. In a couple of weeks we're gonna go back for their reggae night.
• After the beach we came home and we were all tired so we decided to have a family movie night. In the middle of watching 21 Jump Street and eating ice cream with my host brothers we heard screaming outside and thought we were being robbed. Everyone ran outside with baseball bats and we found out that a crazy completely naked woman had opened our gate and walked right into the other house on our compound! (Thank goodness she chose their door and not ours...I would have screeeamed). Once she was out of our compound she danced and laid in the street for a while and some neighbors went and took her clothes and then she got irritated and started jumping in front of cars and yelling, so the neighbors chased her out of the road. The sad thing is that at one point a police officer came and he just tried to talk to her for about thirty seconds then got back on his motorcycle and went away.
• My host auntie Nancy bought me some Kente cloth and took me to the tailor to have an African dress made to wear to church and for traditional day at school. I'll try to post pictures later today.
• I spend a good chunk of the church service every Sunday just observing what the ladies are wearing. It reminds me of sitting on my front porch in D.C. on Sunday mornings and watching all of the old African-American ladies in their huge hats and pastel dresses going to the church around the corner. 
• Try to say Irish wristwatch really fast :) This (along with inappropriate jokes, skateboard tricks, and more) is just some of the many things I have been learning from my younger host brothers haha.
• Saturday night I went out with Pearl and Desmond and Melvin and while we were out we ran into the Miss Ghana competition. All I can say is...So. Much. Hair weave.
• Yesterday I was coming home from a trip to the family's clothing store and a stop at the mall with my Auntie Aba and host brother Kwesi and our tro tro and our taxi cab broke down and I got stuck next to a drunk guy on the second tro tro. Worst luck ever, but it's always an adventure in Ghana :)

Anyways, I know this was long but it was kind of a catch-up post. My life has quickly gone from looking for things to do to trying to find time to do everything I want to. When I was in Paraguay, at one and a half months the vast majority of my free time was spent with my host family. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just took me a lot longer to make friends there than it has here. Also, one of the other Americans that I came here with went home last week, eight months early, and several of the other exchange students I've talked to are having a very hard time settling into Ghanaian life (due to host family problems, culture shock, boredom, etc.). With these things in mind, I don't take it for granted that I have lots to do here - I am thankful that I have made awesome friends (from school, other exchange students, and host siblings) and have fun things to do each weekend. 

Before we came, we learned over and over again about the roller coaster of emotions that exchange students generally go through. Our mood would supposedly go down in the first week or so in country, then go super high as we start to adjust to the country and meet new people. Then after a couple of months we would go back down as the surface adjustment high gives way to the realization that we are actually still "outsiders" and don't have as firm of a grasp on some of the major aspects of the culture as we thought we did. Right now I feel like I am on the tippy top of the roller coaster, hoping that I don't come down anytime soon. I am loving life here and am just trying to be proactive, keep trying new things, and show the same kindness that I have received (and that has made this experience so great so far) to every Ghanaian I meet.

Twi word of the day:

school - sukul

School Uniform!

I forgot to share this one with the other pictures:

Not the best photo quality, but I was rushing out the door, running late to school as usual (some things never change :) ). Gotta love those Catholic school uniforms! And yes, I do have to wear my hair up so tight that makes me look bald...because all of the other girls are bald!

In other news, we're painting my classroom today! My school is too cheap to hire professionals so they have each class buy the paint and paint their own room haha.

Shocking Questions

Questions I’ve gotten from my classmates over the past few weeks that have made me laugh, made me sad, or just made me think -

Why do you and Colleen have different colored eyes? Is it like everyone from Pennsylvania has green eyes and everyone from Washington, DC has blue eyes? Is your eye color based on the region where you were born? (Colleen is the other American, from Pennsylvania, who goes to my school)

Do they beat the children at your school in America too? (I tried to imagine the reaction if Mr. Trogisch or a teacher at Walls caned someone or made them kneel in the gravel for a few hours hahahaha)

But aren’t you scared that God will see you associating with a gay person and damn you? (I got this after I told them that many people in America support gay marriage and don’t think that it is impossible to be a gay Christian, unlike here. And that I actually know several.)

What is the difference between the UK and the US?

Is America in Africa? (Both of these questions are just sad. But then again many Americans know hardly anything about Ghana or African geography so I shouldn’t have that double standard I guess.)

Do you have to go to the hospital if you want to remove your nose ring?

But what if you had a boyfriend who broke up with you right before an exam at school? What would you do then? (Ummm just go ahead and take the exam? Colleen and I were trying to explain that dating in high school isn’t taboo in America like it is here and they were having trouble wrapping their heads around the concept.)

Have you ever been bitten by a mosquito?

Does it rain in the US?

Do you believe in science?

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth, Barack Obama, Obama, Jay-Z, and others are all part of a secret society and that they helped execute 9/11? (There is a popular conspiracy theory here about the free masons. A really incredible number of people believe it and they were shocked that most people in America haven’t heard about it. Scary!)

This isn’t a question, but it made me laugh: You’re not white, you’re red! (after I had just finished playing soccer)

It's official...I am in love with Ghana!

Hello!

This week flew by. It's crazy how fast time has been moving here recently. Here's what I've been up to:
Last weekend I spent a whole day at a park just outside of the city called Rufus Green with other exchange students, my friend Jeneni came over to my house and helped me do my laundry (whatta pal!) then we went to the Accra Mall. This weekend I had my first Twi lesson (so, so helpful!), got my cell phone fixed, had a hilarious conversation with a guy on the tro tro, went to a comedy show and out for pizza with my host brother and his friend (who was in the show and who I can unbiasedly say was the best act of the night). Today I'm going to the beach and then to a friend's house in Tema, which is a city just about thirty minutes outside of Accra. Otherwise I have been staying very busy with cadets practice and school stuff. Tomorrow I'm going to the U.S. Embassy to take care of my absentee ballot and later in the week we are having the first girls' soccer practice at school. Yay!

At home it was a week of change. My Auntie Hannah (who lives in the UK but was in Ghana for a few months and had been here since I came) went back home. My cousin Ekua, who I was really close to, left today  to start boarding school in her home village. I'm going to miss our walks at night to the market or in the morning to the bread stand, and her teaching me how to do basic things like washing my clothes. My 23 year old host brother Desmond just got back from a five week trip to Germany (where he was visiting an old exchange student), so I finally got to get to know him. This week we were without power most days (so many of the jokes at the comedy show were about how ridiculous and unresponsive Ghana Electrical Company is haha), and without running water until Friday. On Friday afternoon we were in the middle of cadets practice and we saw a huge gray cloud rolling in. We kept practicing and not more than two minutes later, it was suddenly POURING rain. Buckets of rain like I haven't seen since that huge storm in D.C. this summer. Everyone started screaming at the top of their lungs and frantically running back towards the school. It was total chaos and we all got drenched and it was hilarious. And that rain made us having running water again! It's the little things in life :)


Today marks exactly one month since I left DC. There are many times when this experience has been very challenging (you try hauling buckets of water in from the well outside every time you have to flush the toilet, even in the middle of the night!), but it is safe to say that I fall more in love with this country every day. On my walk home from school I go down a long road towards the sunset, and this is one of my favorite parts of life here. I know it sounds silly, but many times as I look around at the children playing soccer and the women pounding fufu and then look up at the red and orange sky, I am so happy that it brings tears to my eyes. I am absolutely in awe of this amazing country, and world, that I live in. All I can do to show my gratitude is to make the most of every single day. I am focusing on not taking a single one for granted.

Twi word of the day:
Medase (Meh-dah-seh) - Thank you

Pictures at last!

I realize this is heavy on people pictures with not too many pictures of day-to-day Ghana life. I'll try to balance it out in my next post! Click to make 'em bigger.

The awesome AFS Ghana group for 2012-2013 at our arrival orientation

Me and Ahmed at Cape Coast castle

With my friend Jeneni from Pittsburgh

With Lucie, from France, and Jeneni

Cool cactus tree at Rufus Green

Beach time!

Canopy walk - so high up!

Drinking coconut water with my amaaazing AFS liason, Sonny

Paradiiiise

Walking over the forest in Kakum National Park

Coconuts are just one of many yummy foods you can get on the street here.

Beach chillin

This is the view on my run in the mornings!

With Greet, from Belgium :)

Boats!

Ekua and Auntie Aba making dinner with no power

I get to eat a candlelit dinner every night. How romantic! (hahh)

Pounding fufu

My little host cousins, Kofi and Nanama. What an awesome smile! 

A Day In the Life

Hello! Sorry for my absence from the internet (and unresponsiveness to Facebook messages/emails). I love, love, love hearing from you all (so keep em coming!) and yes, I’m alive and well over here :) We've been having frequent power outages, usually right when I am planning to go on the computer.

Overall, I’m feeling really happy about life here. Sometimes I step out of my body for a second and just laugh at how crazy it is that I’m in GHANA, pounding fufu or squishing between two "obolo" (big, fat) ladies on the way to school or marching back and forth for an hour with a wooden fake rifle in the sun (more about that below). This week was week two of school and the first week of classes (apparently it’s normal here for no teachers to come for the first week haha). New experiences and learning about Ghanaian culture have been keeping me really busy – here’s a little of what I’ve done in the past week: I went to a couple different markets (THAT is an experience...they're a little different from Eastern Market), wandered around downtown Accra with some other exchange students, went out for milkshakes in Osu with my sister and a couple of her friends, played soccer with the guys from my class, learned how to make banku, helped my little host cousin Kofi learn his ABC's (by using old charcoal as chalk to write them on the ground), and much much more! I've also finished two really good books since I got here (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears), and I started a third today (The Millionaire Teacher). I was so worried before I left that I would be bored here in my first few weeks but actually I've been staying super busy. Last Wednesday we didn't do much to celebrate my birthday because most of the family went to Cape Coast for a funeral, so it was kind of sad being away from friends and family in DC for that. I'm 18 now though, woo hoo! :) Last Saturday I spent the day with some friends at an awesome mostly deserted beach, which was really cool.

There really is no typical weekend day, though I think my routine for Saturday mornings will be waking up early to do my laundry then going downtown to the AFS office for Twi lessons and Sunday mornings will be spent at a loooong church service.

On a typical week day I wake up at 5:15 or 6:00, depending on whether I am going for a jog on that day or not. Then I get my things together for school, take my bucket shower, put on my uniform, and eat breakfast. Even on weekdays, my host family makes awesome breakfasts like french toast or omelets.

At 7:00 my neighbor, Eko, comes over and we get a tro tro together to school (tro tros are big vans that are used here instead of buses). He is in Form 3 at my school (which is the equivalent of being a senior – I’m in Form 2), studying business. Depending on the day of the week we either go to mass, have class meetings, or line up in front of the school once we get there. I’m in school every day from 7:30 – 3:00 with a 40 minute break at 10:30 and a 15 minute one at 1:20. We have five classes per day, with plenty of free time in between because teachers are often late. There is a canteen that sells all of the typical Ghanaian food (banku, fufu, wakye, rice, stew, fish) as well as packaged cookies and chips and fresh fruit. Usually I’m not too hungry, so I get a pineapple or a couple bananas and a bag of peanuts (called “groundnuts” here). The fruit lady peels and cuts up whole pineapples while you wait, then gives you all the fruit in a bag with a little fork to eat it with. It’s awesome.

At about 3:30 I go to cadets practice, which is the junior Air Force training at school. We spend most of our time practicing marches and learning commands. I’ve gotten the basics down now – attention, at ease, about face, fast march, etc. – so now I’m practicing with the rest of the squad for a parade that is coming up. I never pictured myself marching and saluting for fun, but it’s basically the only extracurricular activity the school offers (besides choir, and I don’t think anyone would want me to join that haha) and it has been a good way to get involved and make new friends. And I actually, amazingly, enjoy it!

After cadets practice I walk home, which takes about 30-45 minutes. Once I get home I’m usually hot and tired. Sometimes, I take another bucket shower (then slather on the bug spray!). By this point it's about 6:00 and I have some time to do homework or go on the computer or help cook or play with my little host cousins. I eat my dinner at around 6:30 or 7 (meals here aren’t served family style and everyone eats at different times). After dinner my family likes to watch their soap operas and my host cousins and I usually just hang out and talk. Recently, the power has been going out every other night, which leaves not too many options for things to do after it gets dark. Perfect opportunity for my cousins to give me Twi lessons! I’m in bed by 8 or 8:30 because I have to start it all over again early the next day.

Twi word of the day:

Maakye – Good morning (pronounced mah-chay)

Please take 10 minutes to read this post by a fellow YES-Abroader!

Last week I was going to do a 9/11 blog post,  but I was too busy and decided that my priority should be a post about my first impressions in Ghana (see the post below). Instead, I encourage you all to read this amazing post by Hannah, a fellow YES-Abroader who has been in Malaysia for two months now: http://withlovefrommalaysia.blogspot.com/2012/09/11-years-later-how-living-in-primarily.html#comment-form . Reading Hannah's insights makes me feel so honored to be among such an awesome group of young people!
Also, as promised, here is the full list of other YES Abroad students and their blogs for the 2012-2013 school year (unfortunately I can't take credit for putting together this list):

Bosnia and Herzegovina:


Katie Wells - http://katieelise27.blogspot.com/


Anna Wright - http://ljubavfromsarajevo.blogspot.com/


Emma Goldrick - http://blogsnia.tumblr.com/


Savannah Wooten- http://savannahinbosnia.tumblr.com/


Helena Ratte


Ghana:


Sarah Bibbey - http://www.lifehomeandabroad.blogspot.com/


Lydia Larson - http://lydiainghana.blogspot.com/


Emily Simpson - http://goneghanaian.tumblr.com/


Jeneni Withers - http://www.jeneni.tumblr.com/


Ann Elise Trafford - http://annelisetoghana.blogspot.com/


India:


Ryley Conway- http://ryleyconway.blogspot.com/


Mila Loneman- http://mountains-to-milz.tumblr.com/


Lauren


Rowan Croswell


Maggie Alexander- http://overdosingonvitamind.blogspot.com/


Indonesia:


Julianne Thomson http://julianneindonesia.tumblr.com/


http://overthearchipelago.blogspot.com/


Morgan Lide- http://morganinindonesia.blogspot.com/


Sara Britton- http://skippingoceans.blogspot.com/


Sabine Rogers - http://yearinindonesia.blogspot.com/


Darlene von Maschmeyer


David Dennis http://indonesianenterprise.blogspot.com/


Hamza Awaisi http://hamzainindonesia.blogspot.com/


Avery


Malaysia:


Hannah Foster- http://withlovefrommalaysia.blogspot.com/


Teresa Califano- http://teresainmalaysia.blogspot.com/


Kaila Olson- http://kailagoestomalaysia.wordpress.com/


Rachael Acker- http://ackerrk.tumblr.com/


James Llewellyn- http://nznewbie26.blogspot.com/


Ari- http://purplethyme.com/


Morocco:


Caleb South- http://irabat.blogspot.com/


Cheila Diao- http://maroclebel.tumblr.com/


Kalyn Cai- http://24-aout.tumblr.com/


Manal Berrached


Noa Gur-Arie - http://lesoukimaginaire.blogspot.com/


Jonathan Liebman- http://shishka-blog.blogspot.com/


Oman:


Hannah Swearman- http://hannahadventuresabroad.blogspot.com/


Peter Atwill- http://peteratwill18.tumblr.com/


Lisa MacKenzie - http://lisacamillemackenzie.tumblr.com/


Claire Franco


Dylan Hoey


Thailand:


Augsuta Davis - http://doingthingsthethaiway.tumblr.com/


Carly Houk- http://carlyhouk.blogspot.com/


Christina Legradi - http://dreaminginthailand.tumblr.com/


Amina Shabazz


Alexandra Pryor


Turkey:


Rya Inman - http://ryagoesabroad.blogspot.com/


Olivia Astrid Lopez - http://edgyrawrish.blogspot.com/


Miranda Kubasti- http://mirandainturkey.blogspot.com/


Linnie (Saralinda) Schell


Ruby Fore - http://rubyfore.wordpress.com/


Bridget Houston


Hana Swift

For the past few days I have been without internet so I'm sorry if I haven't responded to your emails or Facebook messages! I want to do another post about the past week but I don't have time right now. Hopefully later in the week our internet will be back up and I'll have time to write.

In other news, I start school tomorrow! :)