Baby Pumpkin Tomatoes

How cute!

In the Name of Religion

...literally!

Baby Splits

No wonder the Africans are great athletes, so agile and flexible!

They're doing the splits from birth!

And lifting weights from when they're babies themselves.

What Teaching Taught Me

(so far at least, based on a few weeks' experience)

1) It's such a high! As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. And it IS a lot of power, as well as responsibility! You quickly realize that you can control an entire room full of teenagers and you can do with them as you wish!!! You may walk in and see most of them sleepy or just plain lazy (and I don't blame them, by the way, the heat is making me sooo lazy too), but you can speed up the class and get everyone excited, jumping out of their seats, fighting to get the right answer first! Or you can quietly find a hook that intrigues them enough to just give you their focused undivided attention. Either way, it's really draining, mind you! 

My kids

You control the tempo, the volume, the solo acts, etc. You see, you have to play conductor of sorts - prompting the kids to participate, getting them to actually do all the hard work, encouraging them when they get it right, correcting them when they get it wrong, helping them find ways never to repeat their mistakes, let them play along at their own pace in their own way yet make sure they still keep up with the rest of the class, eeufff! Because ultimately you need to ensure that they all work together with you in harmony. Oh and yes, you also have to find a way to get them to practice what they've learnt at home! BUUUUT if you're successful, there's nothing more rewarding than feeling the energy in the room (you really do feel the crescendo!) and having everyone stay on past class time because they don't want to go to their next lesson.

Showtime!

2) You shouldn't walk in thinking you're a teacher. Because you really need to think like a student instead. If you can successfully put yourself in their shoes, see what is difficult in their eyes and why, only then can you be a successful teacher and find the right ways to reach them and engage them. Only then can you think of creative ways, exercises, and ideas to bring sometimes really boring facts to life. Like for example, the class was finding Shakespeare very difficult - they just couldn't get the vocabulary, let alone remember it. So when I realized how they all love to draw, I challenged them to a game of Shakespictionary to shake things up. Let's just say the word meanings became much more memorable after they got a turn at the drawing board. Much like my background in marketing, I've come to realize that teaching is all about the packaging of the material/content in order to change the way a person thinks and behaves.

Speaking of behavior...

m'mates

3) You have to take certain decisions about your style of discipline. I was having a discussion the other day with some teachers who use certain tactics in their classroom that I'm not too fond of myself.  So they asked me in turn what I feel is the best way to discipline the students. My reply went something like this... Of course I would want to have the children's respect, but in order to do so, I would want to create a culture in my class first. One that promotes experimentation, spontaneous participation (ie. fun), and above all else, teamwork. I am but a team captain, maybe a more experienced and older member of the team, but still just an equal member of it. If we can all respect each other equally on the field, have everyone engaged and playing ball, with one clear goal in mind and a collaborative strategy to get there that plays on our different strengths, then I don't foresee any teacher vs. student conflict. Because a teacher vs. student relationship doesn't exist in the first place - we're actually on the same team! In fact, if you've truly earned the respect of your students/team mates with tough love vs. discipline, with a single look of disappointment you can make them feel guilty for walking in late. And trust me, you would be effectively changing their behavior because they wouldn't want to disappoint you next time.

The "look"

4) Correction's a draaaaaag! It's quite painful, really. Especially when you want to give as many comments as possible to help the student improve his/her writing, but then realize you have 200 more papers piled up waiting for your attention. Let's just say, I've had to get creative even with my method of correction, so I'm testing a new way of getting it done this week. I hope it will create some healthy competition and encourage them to give each paper their best shot. I'll then read the papers and highlight the sentences the entire class can benefit from correcting for each other during the next lesson. Let's see how it goes...

ALWAYS

caught

correcting!

5) "Students don't want to learn" is a load of crap. That's just a lazy teacher's excuse for the class getting bad grades. But it's not the truth. It's our job as teachers to make them passionate about our subjects. The truth is, the biggest troublemakers, you know, the ones that sit at the back and love to act up and pick on the girls and disrupt the class because they apparently "don't want to learn"... get this: they're your biggest ally as a teacher. Because they're really really smart! And they're resourceful, opinionated, charismatic, and most importantly, they're leaders. So if you can just channel their otherwise negative energy to the benefit of your classroom, you can be sure no child will be left behind. Good luck winning them over though, teens can be a tough crowd!

I walk in with the objective of getting the back of the class to sit up
(whether I manage to achieve my objective is another matter, ha!)

PROPS TO ALL YOU AWESOME TEACHERS WHO MAKE IT LOOK SO EASY!

A Curious Find

So just like I have to visit all the national touristic sites a travel destination has to offer, I am also destined to enjoy a first-hand tour of a hospital there too!

Operation Theatre. Dramatic, no?

Without a single computer in sight, EVERYTHING was on file.
The poor woman had to do a lot of digging around.

Under the Weather

Knowing my travel sickness record, I guess it was only a matter of time before my immunity system would crash, huh?

Even though I traveled here having packed a whole apothecary, I still stayed up all night yesterday cursing my forgetfulness. Of all the things I coulda left behind, it just HAD to be the Strepsils! grrrr.... my throat hates me with a passion.

Gone With The Wind

With a huff and a puff, the wind blew the boarding house down :(

 The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind, in every sense of the word!

This was how the unfortunate sequence of events unfolded last night:

It all started with a knock knock. Actually, more like a BANG BANG. "Boarding house down, boarding house down". What does that mean???

Godwin the school principal, another teacher, and I, rush over to the school through the storm (by the light of a mobile, whilst trying not to slip in the mud. Yes, trying).

We arrive to find 200 students traumatized by the ordeal, but thankfully all safe. Though they should have been in their rooms, their dinner had run late and all were in the dining hall instead. Hm....

Olivia's fainting though somehow escalated to suffocating status and resulted in a pulse that was nearly no more. BUT she miraculously recovered on the way to hospital. Hm....

Couldn't have been happier to snap this picture of her the next day...
Ah, the beauty of post-traumatic memory loss!

Back at the school, everyone set up camp on the classroom floors.

This is baby Kevin, the girls, and I, safe and sound in the nursery/makeshift bedroom

The destroyed building had to be closed off for fear of the children's safety: water + electricity = an even bigger disaster! Hm....

Can you spot the loose cables? And notice the rain?

Aaaah, it has truly been a difficult day to say the least as we picked up the broken pieces.

But thankfully we didn't have a funeral to plan!!!!! It is only damage which can be fixed (with a measly 10 grand of course), and superstitious parents who can be PR'd, ha!

 Notice the fallen cement bricks on the left. Hm...
Also, the only remaining section of the roof was the building's connection to the electricity pole. Hm...
That is how Godwin (on the right) and the rest of us managed to stay positive.

Some guys really rose to the occasion and did more than just help.
Philemon, seen here second from left, was INCREDIBLE with Olivia & all the manual labor.

Awww... The day students (who can barely pay their tuition, if at all) collected as much as they could
to donate the first 10 bags of cement.

Please, if you too can help in whatever way possible, all donations large and small would be greatly appreciated as we work hard to raise the needed funds to put the children's house back together again. You can:

1) Donate money to the Bank Audi account I opened, for transferring collected funds to the school, IBAN: LB27 0056 0008 0583 1461 0020 1003
OR...
2) Donate money to the school founder directly:

PS: You can see additional pictures of the Whirlwind Aftermath on facebook.

If I Were Born Ghanaian

I would:

1) Be totally obsessed with my hair. It would be such a hassle to maintain, so I'd either wear a wig for obviously practical reasons, or visit the hairdresser's every coupla weeks.

2) Take the expansive African sky for granted. Which is too bad because it’s my latest obsession right now. It makes you feel so small, which ironically in turn makes you feel so alive just knowing you’re part of a world that stretches far beyond you. And at night? It’s heavenly, especially when the clouds move over to let the moon light your path, with no streetlight in view. I've never enjoyed my iphone Starwalk app as much as I have over here. Brings to mind the starry night scene in The Lion King musical.

3) Be able to walk around without wearing a "look at me" sign plastered on every inch of my body. Currently, I glow in the dark, even during the DAY. Which is why I can be visible practically a mile away. Being completely surrounded by Africans in the village, it was only when I visited Accra this weekend and saw other foreigners like me that I realized how brightly "colored" I must look. I actually laughed out loud at the seemingly bizarre sight of 2 Chinese men.

Carted myself off to Accra in a tro tro, sardine-can-style.
Loved the people I met, very friendly.

4) Struggle to find THE one. At 25, it does seem like the average age I’d be looking into marriage. But whatever religion you follow here (Christian/Muslim/Traditional African), it's common practice for the men to have several wives. Of course, it would be difficult for me to accept being 2^nd best, so… it would be reasonable to assume my love life would be complicated.

5) Put your dancing talents to shame! And just like everyone else, I'd be obsessed with this song at the moment, replaying it endlessly, and practicing every move studiously.

6) Rarely use any cutlery, and only my right hand to eat. It’s a matter of habit. And requires, for obvious reasons, a thorough cleansing ritual before and after.

Accra market kids I befriended, enjoying Banku and coke

7) Wear a jacket even in 35 degree weather. Though I still have not figured out how this could be physically possible to endure, whether born here or not! But it would be THE fashion statement I guess, for some unfathomable reason.

This is me dehydrating to death - couldn't IMAGINE wearing a jacket!

8) Not be too fond of the Lebanese. "Where you from?" is my most dreaded question believe it or not. Apparently, the Lebanese here have imported, along with their immigration status, all the bad our country has to offer. In a very Nadine Labaki “And now, where to?” kinda way, they decided to faction off their friends here and split their resources to flock together with birds of same feather. And if they can’t respect each other, and run very big MAJOR businesses that employ Ghanaians, then how can one expect the Lebanese to be respected by locals here? Too sad.

9) Thoroughly enjoy the fresh coconut.

You were right - this one went out to you samsammer :)

Coco nutty behavior

10) Regard hierarchy with the utmost respect. A little too much actually, if you ask me. So it’s no wonder that as soon as a child gets the first chance to exercise power on someone his junior, he will be bossing him around just for the sake of it. Grown opinionated adults are reduced to mutes just because they are in the presence of an elder or superior. Whatever happened to having personality and having something to say? And why is it that people respect others blindly? Old or young, I think those that deserve to be respected are those that inspire respect and not just command it. But hey, that's just me being opinionated. 

A Curious Find

Ghana School Exercise Books

I just thought these were really funny when I saw them! How random for front cover pix, right?

Hm, I wonder: Are photogs allowed to snap shots of the president? Or was this taken BEFORE he became Mr. President? Or was his head simply retouched onto a 6-pack? Hey, after an unflattering peak at Prince William, I don't think retouching was part of the equation.

Unexpected Numbers

Since I'm in a teaching mood these days, here's a bit of a math lesson for you...

In 2002, Godwin set up a school for 16 primary children in a rural village that had been promised a school by politicians for -infinity# of years.

1+ Year, he had 78 new kids enrolled and 5 new teachers added.

With volunteers helping with the funds, the school has been able to grow

JHS Building

I>> 6 years, the school (reaching Junior High School) was the best performing JHS out of 56 in the district, graduating 100% of its pupils onto Senior High Schools (0 of them with 1 textbook).

Fact: 1,500 district JHS students graduated that year. Only 500 continued their education at a SHS level.

Q: Whatever happened to the other 1000?

A: At least 300 of them the following year (can you guess the year?) were NOT on the street, but in the newly set up Anmchara SHS.

Already at full capacity, sometimes students have to sit 2 to a desk.
I wouldn't want to be sitting BEHIND them!

Q: So then what happens when the school grows beyond its means, and can't afford to build new facilities for the 2nd year students?

A: The school literally starts this school year frozen under construction and coups the students in the dining hall for classes. Wish I could say this increases the children's appetite for learning!

SHS Building 2 put on hold until further notice

Q: But surely Godwin knew he was stretching the school's resources and expanding beyond its means? Afterall, 1 + 1 = 2 = < min 4!

A: In the words of Godwin, "You lead in faith and sow in anticipation of the rain".

I guess all great leaders and entrepreneurs trust that the margin of error is < than the risk, huh?

(Note to self: Must buy a hand-woven fugu/smock like Godwin's before I leave!)

Well, you can imagine the surprised smile on his face when I told him that thanks to all of you who have been so gracious in contributing, he can now spend $2,500 to buy the cement he needs for the first two classrooms and move the kids out of the dining hall. You can imagine the smile on MY face when he said “you have removed the sweat off my back”. Ha! That’s a funny way of putting it, since the work has only begun!

Though he ultimately needs $6,000 to complete the entire building, AND the primary school is falling apart as you can see below, this positive start is certainly an improvement, wouldn’t you say?

Would hate to be the student stuck under one of the gaping holes in the tin roof when it rains!

Will be sharing over the next few weeks “The Making Of” pix for the SHS building 2 you helped make possible. 

THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!

In Sega, Ghana, I am...

1) First and foremost a Blefono "White". I kept hearing the village kids call out to me "blefono, blefono", including a girl so tiny I was surprised she could even talk at all! I thought, "surely, THIS can't be the first word out of her mouth!" Children either run away from me in fear, or follow me around and try to touch my skin to see if my color rubs off on them. Talk about feeling like the odd one out!

This is one example of the followers that stick around, even when I'm inside

Little Mr. Sunshine & Little Ms. Shy

 2) Surprisingly good at French! I mean, I was sitting in on a class for 11 or 12 year olds, so how unsmart could I be, right? Let's just say, they were thankful to have me (whispering answers). Hm, which reminds me, I have homework to do.

Maybe the kids can return the favor and help me out with this

3) Kaki. The locals give any newcomer a local Dangme` nickname, usually after the day of the week you were born, or the order in which you joined your family. In my case, being the firstborn and female, Michael/Ka-ti dubbed me Ka-ki. Which makes my sister, the second born, Di-de`.

4) Being woken up by a rooster outside my window every morning, as early as 3am. Enough said.

The scene of the crime

5) Running every morning. We'll see how long this running phase actually lasts, but for now, it's fun and it's a healthy way to meet the locals and chat with the kids who are walking to school. Especially since I'm already up so early thanks to Rooster, my next door neighbor.

Jumpa & Sodo & I, after breaking out in a sweat

6) Teaching a student with recall difficulty. So if anyone has any tips or tricks to help with studying and memorizing, please do share. Will be trying out everything with her till we find a strategy that works.

7) Probably losing weight. And NOT because of my morning runs. You see, the local dishes certainly do have some interesting flavors (like peanut soup, yam, etc), but so many of them heavily feature fish, which I am not a big fan of (and that's an understatement).

Cooked bananas + plantain sauce with pepper & fish

8) Undergoing therapy. Am loving the wind!!! It's so relaxing and refreshing. Zero pollution. I had the best office in the world, right under the shade of a tree, in the middle of a field, just me and my laptop. Working was truly a pleasure.

9) Actually Ghanaian, believe it or not! And this is according to Ghanaians. Strictly due to my hair of course. I cracked up laughing when women in the market pointed at my hair and called it Indomie.

I have microwavable hair, apparently!

10) HAVING A BLAST!

Enjoyed today with Pat, the Ghanaian equivalent of 25 year old me