Happy day of love, chocolate, and the fiery ire of single lovelies like me!
Let us now take a brief pause from the lovely Ghana Student Life Story Project (HUGE thanks to all the readers who are leaving encouraging comments for the students!) to talk about the concept of… ceremony.
When was the last time you took part in a ceremonial moment of reflection and ritual celebration? If you are in a [...Read More!]
Want a custom-made dress for just $7.50 for the fabric and $7.50 for the sewing, making a grand total price of just $15 U.S. dollars?
Just follow these simple steps!
1.) Fly to Ghana. (Don’t forget your visa and your vaccinations.) I told you this would be easy, right?
2.) Trot over to the nearest hectic, madly bustling outdoor market you can find.
In Sogakope, this market (pictured to the upper [...Read More!]
I looked at the list of words on the green chalkboard. For the past ten minutes, the sweet Ghanaian pupils of this Volta Region school had been raising their hands to share the words in their donated independent reading books that they did not understand.
Here were a few of those words:- Weirdest - Garbage- Massachusetts- Mallow-blaster cookie - Scarecrow - Arnold
I was mystified. These children in the Total Child [...Read More!]
I shrieked when I looked down the long dirt road and saw what Seth and Oliver were doing.
“You said it would be easy!” I screamed as I ran towards them. “You said it would be ‘no problem’ to move the TV here from the office! This is NOT easy!”
Perched precariously atop Seth’s grinning head was the massive television, jerking heavily with every step Seth took as he strode towards [...Read More!]
YCC’s Director, John, has given me some serious homework.
The task: to read African Cultural Values, by Kwame Gyekye, and then to devour the very hefty A History of Indigenous Slavery in Ghana, by Akosua Adoma Perbi, ultimately digesting all this new information into lessons to add to the curriculum of the twice-weekly Cross Culture class.
I accept this mission, sir! And thus I am halfway through the easier of the two [...Read More!]
“We don’t mean it to be rude at all,” explained YCC teacher Derrick, smiling his luminous smile, “it’s just, you know, it’s unusual to see a pale person, and so the people get excited.”
YCC’s Director, John, laughingly explained at YCC orientation that volunteers will begin to think there is a national song in Ghana that goes something like this: “YEVUUUU!”
What does this strange howl mean? The answer is easy: [...Read More!]
(Note: All photos for this article were obtained by walking to the closest school today and saying, “I’m an American teacher and have never seen a punishment cane. Can you show me how it works?” It may seem bizarre to be smiling in photos about corporal punishment, but here, the whole affair is discussed with levity.)
“How many of you were beaten with canes by your teachers TODAY?” I asked [...Read More!]
There are a whole lot of heart-warming, tear-jerking ways I could start this article, but let’s just begin like this: it’s really fun to do a photo shoot with an Edge USB Wireless Modem. (Gorgeous results pictured, left.)
And now let’s move on to business.
In Sogakope, just two hours from Ghana’s capital city of Accra, there are no telephone lines. This means that high-speed, low cost DSL internet is impossible.
Ghana’s official language may be English, but be prepared for looks of utter shock if you take certain words here in Ghana for their American meanings!
Here’s a handy guide of Do’s and Don’ts for a few Ghanaian phrases to keep you out of jail.
1.) “Flash me.”
DON’T: Yank up your shirt, wiggling your bare chest and screaming, “Throw me some Mardi Gras beads, baby!”
DO: Call the person on their cell [...Read More!]
“Why do we feel so at home here in Ghana?” Dan and I have been asking each other.
Slowly it’s dawned on us: it’s not just that the people are amazingly friendly and kind, though that helps. It is that the echoes of our American culture are everywhere here in Ghana, because, we are now understanding, the echoes of Ghana are everywhere in America. Oh the power of the African diaspora!
Here [...Read More!]