Article #15 in the YCC Kids Club Ghana Student Life Stories Project Nigerians Don’t Eat Human Flesh!!! By Okeke Melody, Age 11
My Father came from Nigeria and my Mother came from Ghana, so for the first three years of my life, I lived with my Grandmom and relatives in Nigeria.
In Kindergarten One in Nigeria, the kids always spoke the Nigerian language and never spoke “Good English.” For example, they would [...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!]
“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!]
It was too hot today to exist. My fellow YCC Ghana volunteer, Dan, and I spent most of the baking hours attempting to work while draped on chairs and benches and other surfaces, trying to remember to breathe and drinking giant bottles of Voltic Water and Alvaro Non-Alcoholic Pear Malt. The ceiling fans whirled wobbly circles at their maximum speed and only seemed to stir the thick air soup slightly.
This is [...Read More!]
It was hour nine of day two on the Mekong river boat. I was deep into a crossword puzzle, lying half off my seat, feet high on the bench in front. Suddenly I heard a gasp.
“Psst, Lil!” hissed the eccentric Australian computer programmer, her hand on her heart, “That Korean guy has been secretly taking photos of your legs!”
I glanced back and the man hurriedly hid his camera and [...Read More!]
One of the most hilarious aspects of teaching is having the opportunity to absorb the latest teen slang. It’s endlessly entertaining!
In the Boston Public School in which I worked for five years, one of many slang words for a nice, plump rear end was: a fatty.
“Oooh, she got a fatty!” girls would squeal as one modeled her tight jeans.
And what about the stereotypical White Woman Butt? Ah yes…
“Psht–” scoffed [...Read More!]
“Danny,” I typed to my former student via Facebook Chat, “They’re playing Chris Brown in this restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand!”
“On dogs??” Danny asked, aghast, from his apartment in Boston.
“On dogs,” I affirmed.
Throughout the two months so far of my year-long journey across the world, I have been stunned at the level of awe and adoration that people have for African-American culture. In the African-American music realm, Japanese twenty-somethings sport Tupac [...Read More!]
Because so many of the spectacular temples in Bangkok are along the river, a night boat along the Chao Phraya is a feast for the eyes… and a feast for the belly, too, if you opt for the dinner cruise. Check it out!
As you peruse these pics, let us ponder a major question for a Round the World Traveler: WHERE ARE THE AMERICANS?? A profound cultural difference is laid bare [...Read More!]
Attention! Through “Boston Bright” language school, you, too, can unzip your Thai skin and become a blue-eyed, English-fluent Whitey! Awesome!
Oh, the irritating stories I could tell of how light skin is prized here…
- Walking down the street with my mixed-race boxer buddies, the masseuses will scream and holler to the light ones “come in, come in!”– then abruptly shut up as the darker ones pass
- On the beach, vendors [...Read More!]
“For your safety and security, this party is for Westerners and Foreigners only.” What do you think about this? What are the reasons behind it? Safety in what sense?
In many “developing countries” with gorgeous natural resources, there are mini tourist-only playgrounds (some say “backpacker ghettos”) nestled in delicious strips of beach or hills. The idea is that tourists with money come to play… and want to be [...Read More!]