Time Flies

It's been a while, huh? I blame it totally on "Ghanaian time". And believe me, "Lebanese time" is reliably PUNCTUAL in comparison! I know some of you even got worried there might be something wrong (I must admit, I did enjoy all the extra attention, thanks for your emails and calls), but I assure you all is well with the world. As I know it at least!

So what have I done with my Ghanaian time since the last time I blogged?

- Well for starters, I spent significantly less time on the internet, right? Good detox I believe. Helped me enjoy some more reflective reading and thinking, peace and quiet* time.

(From a library I visited)

- I spent a lot more (less peaceful) time dealing with exam papers! Ugh, you know I was never one to stress over my grades in school. I never really cared too much because even as a student I never believed my grade defined me. That's precisely why, now? I'm reeeeeeally stressing about my school grades... as a teacher! It breaks my heart to give some students a low grade when I know they're trying and it's an improvement for them. I also don't want to be lenient with others who can get complacent and quit* trying. At the same time though, I don't want to discourage them either by marking them down. Aaah - what a struggle! It's a very tricky job to hit the mark. At least for me. It's just soooo subjective. How can one be objectively fair?

- I've been showing Nix around town**. As the newest volunteer here, from The States, she's my friendly next-door neighbor at The House. It's funny how a newcomer's arrival made me realize how far I've come since the day I myself landed in Ghana. It feels good to know I've adapted well and can take her around and share all the valuable tips I've had to learn the hard way. It made me wonder whether I would have liked to have another volunteer already here, when I first came, who coulda showed me the ropes... Uuuum? No, not really. As convenient as it may be, you get a great sense of achievement getting things right (even if it means you get it VERY wrong along the way and end up in an unknown area opposite in direction to the destination of your choice). Truly, what's important is that you're on for the ride, and you enjoy the experience and the people you meet along the way. And if you get lost? It may take longer, true, but it will certainly be more memorable.

The joy of reading?

- Continued the Christmas Story by continuing to secure books for the library of course. In fact, I will be going on a shopping spree at the Ghana Book Trust on Wednesday... Call me bookish all you want, but their sale IS my idea of fuuuun! And instead of bar hopping in the city, we did some library hopping last week. It was truly inspirational, gave us many additional ideas on what we can do and change here in the village. Can't wait to see things shape up! The building itself is starting to shape up thanks to the kids' extra help on the foundation.

Boys vs. Girls Showdown!

You go girls!

It was so funny to be shut down by my own student! Prefect Elijah politely came up to me and said "Madame Dima, please, you're distracting us with your camera. We're really working here". Oooookaaaaay then! I think I'll just take a little walk. (ukh, what's with the Madame? Makes me feel so old!) 

- Passed it on. A friend lent me his camera to practice with when I was just starting to learn photography (which I am STILL just starting to learn, by the way, almost two years down the line). So it was nice to pass on that favor and lend mine to Jacob. He's one of my students that just loooooves to snap pictures. Portraits to be exact. So he is using my camera instead of a really old bulky unbranded digital camera with a busted flash to answer all his classmates' "snap me!" requests. He then actually proceeds to extract ALL their pocket money, all 40cents worth, for a print. So he runs quite a photo delivery business that arrives right at one's classroom doorstep! Way to put my camera to good use, huh? Kids here are just obsessed with having their picture taken! I had also brought with me a photography book which I promised him he could read... AFTER the exams, that is! And sure enough, on the last day of exams, I heard a knock knock. Who's there? It's me. It's me, who? Jacob. Aaaah yes, I knew exactly which one he was out of the countless Jacobs I've met here.

Um, what else is there worth mentioning? Oh yes!

- Planned a senior high speech giving contest, which I just launched in class today. A while ago, I was sitting with a student that was complaining about this, this, and that. Hey, she WAS a good talker! So remembering all my other students that wanna be Mr/Mrs. President one day, I just looked at her in a very Kennedy "ask not what your country can do for you" kinda way, and encouraged her to actually do something about it. Well, since I have to cover the topic of speech writing this month, I figured a little competition could do even more than simply help their writing. Perhaps it can help the community at large. So that was their brief: to identify a problem/need in the school/village and propose a feasible solution for it. The team of four that succeeds in persuading a panel of judges composed of villagers, parents and teachers during an event, will actually be funded to proceed in implementing their idea as project leaders. How very Donald Trump of me, right? Actually, not really, I haven't quite* figured out how to get the funding, ha! Maybe, how Ted of me. Will be projecting a speech marathon in the kids' dining hall this Saturday for inspiration (thaaaanks for your TED archive Patty). But actually come to think of it, how very Leo Burnett of me! Essentially what I'm teaching the kids to do is pitch their ideas.

By the way, for any Burnetters/designers OR educators reading, this TED talk is for you!



Ok, well, that's all I can think of sharing for now. Um, I honestly do hope to keep you posted : /


* Oooh! This is a word we worked on in class, how to pronounce, spell and define using an example, the words: quit/quite/quiet. I shamelessly bribed my students with a game of "chocolate, catch!" for the first correct answer. Pandemonium I tell you! (Just imagine in slow motion: one piece of chocolate and countless body parts all up in the air)
** My mum happened to call me when I was leading Nix around the Accra Market maze. I quote: "Shou? Sirti bint el balad?" (Translation for non-Arabs: "You're now a local, huh?") And as if to prove her right, Alfa musta overheard our conversation or something because my Lebanese sim card suddenly decided to disown me. So no, I will no longer receive any messages on my +961 number.

I'm So Sorry!

In the name of all humanity, I apologize for our evil unfeelgooding :(

IN EVERLASTING MEMORY

OF THE ANGUISH OF OUR ANCESTORS

MAY THOSE WHO DIED REST IN PEACE

MAY THOSE WHO RETURN FIND THEIR ROOTS

MAY HUMANITY NEVER PERPETRATE

SUCH INJUSTICE AGAINST HUMANITY.

WE, THE LIVING, VOW TO UPHOLD THIS.

Having attended a British school for a big part of my life, 

I had of course read all about the international slave trade

and seen the pictures in my history books.

And yes, it certainly was very sad. 

But it was, er, um, I don't know how to put it... 

It was tooo painfully sad, like from the bottom of my heart, 

to literally be standing in the world's capital of slavery.

And even though you know that humans can be evil, 

it's hard to comprehend the extent of this until you find yourself 

in places like the Cape Coast and Elmina slave castles.

 What a "dirty" history!

This is honestly what the place really felt like: haunted.

"Scholars debate about the total number of Africans caught in the slave trade, 

but estimates range from 12 million to 25 million".

I just couldn't bring myself to pose for a picture here like everyone else. 

Even though it was a nice photo op, somehow, it just didn't feel beautiful. 

Care to be 1/300 in here?

There was just a one inch gutter in the middle of the floor. 

So can you guess what 300 people had to sit in? 

Piled up feces, urine, vomit, blood, decaying bodies, etc. 

Quite a hell-hole! Specifically, about 50cm deep. 

The sludge was apparently piled up 

to the roman numeral chalk marks on the wall above.

Most of it has been cleared up, but you can still see here

the "hard" evidence of dried up excrement, bones, etc, 

left behind and crumbling on the floor.

Fungus of course lined the walls.

The captain's job had quite a few "perks" 

and his bedroom balcony had quite a beautiful view.

He would stand there (like the man in yellow)

and watch all the ladies on their way to their cells.

The chosen one he wanted would be led up these stairs...

... and exit through a trap door conveniently located inside his bedroom.

Any house guests would simply assume he's slipped out

for a quick bathroom break. Quite a quickie indeed!

It was very moving for the roles to be reversed 

as we traced the slaves' footsteps.

We all leaned over and stretched our necks 

to peer out at what would have been

their last view of their beloved homeland.

But unlike them, we were able to move on 

and return through these doors.

They, on the other hand, moved on to the ships, and this:

What was most striking about both castles was how each had a church hall

right above the underground dungeons. And I'm sure their hymns 

would have been audible all the way down there.

Psalm 132 is a prayer for blessing on the sanctuary. 

But how could they possibly think this place could be blessed?!

Once you make your way out of the castles and dungeons though, 

you can better enjoy the Cape Coast 

with its coconut-lined beaches and charming fishing villages

Such beauty... It is a blessed (and cursed) land!

The First Supper

Get this: Everyone spends New Year's in church here. Apparently, even prostitutes and drunkards!!! There's no countdown. No kiss at midnight. Instead, there's "Oh my God! It's the end of the Earth!" So they make sure to be in the house of the Lord should that really turn out to be true. Of course, once the clock strikes midnight and they realize the world hasn't come to an end they simply go back to life as usual. Anyway the point is, most people celebrate the night of the 1st instead of New Year's Eve. We were no different. Which is why what would have been our last supper of 2011 became our first supper of 2012. (But we still ate as if it were our last supper on Earth!) Good times...

Wasn't all glamorous though... If there's ONE house chore I absolutely HATE, it's doing the dirty/slimy/greasy dishes! Ukh... Where's the dishwasher when you need it?