"Do not scream. It is bad." and Ghanian Hospitals

First of all, I hope this doesn't raise an alarm but I did get to experience a Ghanian hospital yesterday. After getting back from the weekend trip, we went to placement as usual in the morning, I started at an orphanage called "Happy Kids", which Tara I picked out your little boy his name is Junior:). He is so cute and is one that likes to learn most of the time (for a 2-3 year old) and very energetic. Near the end I started getting abdominal pain, lightheaded, headache and feverish no big deal so our groups leaders decided better safe than sorry. We drove 1 hour and a half to Ho because the hospital in HoHoe would have been a little scarier. We got there and went on what felt like a wild goose chase getting our information in a folder, blood tests (don't worry they had sterile needles) after 3 1/2 hours we finally got to waiting for the doctor which took another 2 hours of waiting before we got into seeing the doctor for him to read our blood results. It was a long, icky process for him to say well you probably have malaria. So I tried not to get sick but it looked like it happened anyway. Don't worry Jenny I'll get rid of the germs before I come home :). After taking the medication as much as I don't want to have had malaria, I feel much better. The other volunteers think it makes a cool story to say that I had malaria anyway. What do you think? Ha I would have rather not.
So today thinks were back to normal we had another typical Ghanian rainstorm which is nothing that you would see in Utah. It will be overcast pretty much all day and maybe sprinkling then you can hear the downpour coming. Now, this isn't just any downpour it is like you are underneath a faucet. These rainstorms have all possible downpour power. You will be soaked in seconds if you are caught in it. The rainstorms also usually only last for maybe 10 minutes if that so like some other volunteers if you get caught you can just hangout under a overhang with some goats and chickens til it stops.
After the rainstorm the day went on like normal and I learned another Ghanian lesson. Screaming means something here. I was walking with the twins, Kaitlynn and Jen on our way to the internet cafe and we heard the bullfrogs that hangout in the 3 foot ditches here. Since we don't normally see bullfrogs we like to shine our flashlight down and look at them. Now it rained a good 3-4 inches so there was alot of water in the ditches. We shined our light down and normally the bullfrogs can't hide cause there is no water, but today it did a little fish jump and jumped out at us and then under. All three of us got startled and just let out a little scream. Immediatly 3 big, strong, Ghanian men came to our rescue:). They asked if we were ok and laughed at us that we screamed over a frog. Then they told us that you don't scream here it means your in big trouble. It was really great that the people here are so anxious to help when they here someone scream. We also decided that these people must be really tough if screaming is rare.

The Weekend

This weekend a group of eleven of us piled in a van and traveled to Cape Coast. Normally the trip would take about 6 hours but we hit 3 hours of rush-hour traffic in the capital city Accra. Salt Lake rush hour doesn't seem so bad no does it? Basically it is because there are no lanes, people are right up at your window selling things and everyone is trying to just squeeze in. Our trip was made a little longer by our named friend Bruce, a cockroach, who decided to peek out his head and say hello from inside the seat. Yes, mom I did scream and No I couldn't help it. After leaving the house at 12:30 we finally got to the hotel at 10:00. The hotel was called One Africa. It was right on the coast and absolutely beautiful. I also acquired my first Ghanian boyfriend. He was talking to for 20 minutes while my group very politely left me alone to talk to him. He was very sad when I said I was going to go to bed instead of staying up with him...weird :). The next morning we woke up and traveled to Kakum National Park which is a rainforest and went on a canopy walk. There are seven bridges that are built in the canopy of the rainforest. It was absolutely amazing. I took several pictues but words nor pictures can describe how beautiful and crazy it was to walk in the tree tops. Our next stop was Hans Cottage where we got to touch and have a picture with a crocodile. I know scared of a cockroach but want to touch a crocodile. I can't explain it. Of course though when I step off the step to approach the crocodile, he starts crawling toward me so I jumped back on the step. After the crocodile, we traveled to Elmina where they have one of the first slave trading castles. It was really interesting to see and really sad to learn about the conditions of the slave trade. A lot of us being white, felt like we shouldn't be there; but it was a really good experience. After the castles we walked through the town just looking around. It was amazing the difference between Elmina and HoHoe(where I am staying). The town seems poorer and not as friendly. They probably get more tourists and some seem to be shaking their heads thinking, "Here are more of the rich white people." That evening we had a delicious meal of chicken and french fries. Although the food is wonderful here, we have realized how lucky we are to have a variety of types of food instead of the same basic staple foods. So French fries were a treat! There was a show of native dancing and I went to go peer over the edge of the balcony and one of the dancers started creeping over like it was a hunting dance, I started backing away and he ran after me. He pulled me down on the floor and he taught me some dances. It was kind of embarassing but fun. After we did our own little African dances in the waves that were coming up on shore.
As we were walking through town, I saw one of the most welcoming and familiar sites. A big red building with a black sign that read "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints visitors welcome". I have to say that was a highlight of the trip. Earlier outside of the castle a boy I talked to had gone to church at the "mormon" church before so he told me the starting time. I was able to attend on Sunday morning and a fellow volunteer, Travis, came with me. Even though one of the speakers spoke in the local dialect, it felt like home away from home.

"Hello" "I am fine"

I didn't explain the title. Whenever you say "Hello" the Ghanian people just reply "I am fine."

"Hello" "I am fine"

Another wonderful day in Ghana. I am really starting to appreciate the slow pace, we often refer to as "Ghana time". Everything is fine when it happens. Schedules are not important and actually you can expect things to not happen on time or right away. The people are so trust worthy and happy and friendly. Today some children came up and just started hugging us in the street. I joked with a fellow volunteer, Val, about how they haven't had the "Don't talk to strangers" talk. The wonderful thing about Ghana is it isn't necessary. Plus being white we are absolutely loved here :). Maybe I'll stay.... ha ha jk. Today at the daycare was good. Another day of being the human playground but amongst the playing and the subconscious repetition of my "teaching" I did teach the children "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" which they absolutely loved. There are a few children that are between the ages of 4-5 that asked my name today and now instead of calling me "Yevu" the call me "Alitha". I guess now I can add that addition to the many names that I have been called. It was funny because on little girl Florence, who is probably 4-5, kept correcting the little ones about how to say "Alitha". It was so cute I couldn't bear to correct her. :) This afternoon a few children from Val's class came to play soccer, all 45+ of them. They asked to see pictures of me so I brought out a few pictures that I brought from home. So Smith's and Gracie you are famous now! They were really interested that I had an "Amaybo" (black person) family member. It became a game to find me in the picture because my fuzzy hair up in a pony tail and no make-up doesn't really look like the person in the pictures. A young girl was really excited to have a new "Yevu" friend and asked me to read a book to her. There are so many things that are taken for granted at home. I think of my kids in my first grade class that don't have a lot and get excited to have a new book, but that is nothing. These kids are excited to see a storybook and to be able to own their own would be a dream come true. Any kind of toy or belonging is precious. In the daycare today, a boy brought a toy car with him which was obviously cheap plastic. By the end of the day it was in pieces but instead of being tossed to the side, the children were fighting over each piece. One piece was used as a cell phone :) . Children are the same worldwide, their imagination is all they need.
For our culture experience tonight we had a talk about the cultures of marriage. Just as our countries view is changing so is theirs. They used to be betrothed, have forced marriages(if their children seem to be having a hard time the parents will abduct a girl and lock her in a room with a boy until they get married, mom and dad don't get any ideas), they did get married for love but betrothal was more common. In this country, the woman clearly stated that man was between a man and a woman as god intended, live in mates are frowned upon as well as divorce. It was comforting to know that some places still think that.
That is another thing that I really love about this place. They are really religious, predominately Christian, and they are not afraid to show it. They love Jesus, they pray all the time, and even kind of funny, the shops all have some sort of religious name for example, "Share the Love," Light of Christ" and then it will have some word or two of what they sell like fabric or food. It is really funny but cool at the same time to see their dedication to the Lord.

Hohoe Central Market Daycare

First of all pretend this is Tuesday.
Today was my first day of placement. I went to the Hohoe market daycare. To better help you understand the conditions of the daycare, there were about 60 kids between the ages of 1-5, mostly 1-3, in about a 20x30 space outside fenced off with dirt floors. The 3 hours I was magically transformed into a human playground. The children were so excited to see a "Yevu" that they all wanted to touch and play with me. Some children would approach me and poke my skin as if they were wondering if it was possible that it could really be real. Well not a lot of learning took place as I am sure would be hard in the first place for the 3 ladies there. It made me think of how much I complained about the mess that my own class made with math manipulatives or game pieces when the only way these kids could learn is from two posters, animals and fruits and vegetables, and the teacher pointing and they repeat. Education in Ghana is a lot of memorizing because there is not enough supplies for each child. How fortunate we are.
Among the chaos, one little child started saying something to me in Ewe, of course, I had no idea what she was saying. She looked distressed about it and after several huh's and umm's she said in broken English..."ur-i-nate". Oh go go was my response. As I followed her with my eyes as to where she was going, I noticed a nice line of children outside paints down "urinating". I didn't realize it was potty break time. :) Oh the simple life. After a short ride, the "Yevu" ride began again. I attempted to teach a few body parts by incorportating the tickling and touching but I think they just liked the tickling and touching. The taxi driver obviously heaven sent, arrived to save me from turning into the ride.

Wednesday:
I would just copy and paste the above message and you would get today's message about the daycare. To save you some reading time and me some typing time I won't. After our placements today, we went on a casual hike to some waterfalls. I can't remember the name of them but they were really amazing. We all took some time to allow the waterfall to beat on our backs and walk underneath it. It was really fun. Also along the cliff were a lot of brown spots. (This is for Uncle Dave) I thought they were goats on the mountain :) but it turned out to just be bats. But it wasn't just 50 bats, 100 bats, I think it would be safe to say there were thousands of bats covering the wall. The were screeching and flying around and everything. It was quite the sight to see but I am really glad they stayed up on the cliff. Everything about Ghana is so culture oriented and community oriented it has been really fun so far. I sometimes forget I have only been here for 4 days and cannot wait to see what happens in the next 2 1/2 weeks. Thank you all you loyal blog readers (and commentors). Pardon my spelling and grammar, it shouldn't be affected but it is :). I also want to apologize for the lack of pictures. It takes about 15 minutes to load them on a good day and good days are rare. I will post pictures when I return so you can view them then and I can have the luxary of fast internet:)

Veggimate vs. Choco Delight

Well, let's think about that for just a second. Which sounds better? Well so you can make an informed decision Veggimate is basically yeast spread which tastes like salty brown goop and Choco is short for chocolate. All I can say is they must have known I was coming because there is all the Choco Delight I could dream of.
Today in the land of Hohoe,(Ho-way) we had some more orientation. Not the most exciting, and then we visited the markets. I always enjoy going and visiting the markets and seeing the variety of things being sold there. I both some fabric which I am hoping to take to a tailor tomorrow to have dress made. There were all sorts of things from fish in all forms, headless to body parts, purses from a Thai rice bag and all sorts of fabrics. After the market, it seemed as though we walked around the entire town of Hohoe to get to the bank. So lucky for us we got to continue our "white parade" becoming even more familiar with the shouts of "Yevu" (white person). One day I'll remember the response of "black person" in Ewe to shout back at them.
After our journey around the town, we had a traditional drumming and dancing festival. It was a very cool time to see their traditional dances. I think however, the real reason why they wanted to come perform for us was to see the white people who don't know how to dance. Well we tried anyway and sure enough the had a good laugh. It was fun regardless.

My room equipped with mosquito nets In front of Lake Volta

Woezo! (Welcome)

I have arrived safely in Ghana! My first few days have been exhausting and overwhelming. After a 24 hour trip I finally arrived safely arrived in Hohoe in the Volta Region of Ghana. The plane ride was long and the 4 hour bus ride was bumpy. I discovered that in Ghana, they don't use seat belts to prevent you from falling out forward but to keep your head from hitting the ceiling. It is like a little roller coaster with the little lurch in your stomach as you go up and down the bumps. After a long trip, we arrived a home base. We took a tour around town and become what felt like the "white parade." We did a lot of waving,"hellos," and nodding of the head to the local spectators. In return, we received a lot of "Woezo!" and "Yevu"(white person). The children are absolutely excited to see these white people. The people here are friendly and not shy. We saw a little boy with great talent, who while waving and saying hello, also was relieving himself :).
Yesterday we had our first visit with the children and played a game of catch. After a long day of traveling, parading, and playing, I layed on the couch, since I was too tired to sit up and took a long nap. I woke up, had a cold shower and slept some more. I slept in a bunk bed covered with a mosquito net. I felt like a kid again when I would make forts out of blankets. It was a very peacful sleep. To those of you that know me well, it will be a surprise for you to know that with all that excitement I woke up this morning, or this afternoon, around 12 just in time for lunch.
I had my first Ewe [e-way] lesson today where I was able to understand exactly how my English Language Learning students must feel and the exact point that my professors in ELL classes were trying to get me to understand. I practiced forming my lips exactly right to make the correct sounds just to forget it 5 minutes after the lesson.
So far it has been good and has brought me nothing but excitement and anticipation of things to come.
I will try to post pictures as much a possible but am not sure how long they take to load. Until next time, I love you all and so far have not contracted any illnesses, come across any big bugs, and haven't seen many animals, just goats.

Ghana here I come!

Africa!!!

Hey all-
Many of you have been bugging me about starting a blog so here I am caving into peer pressure. I begin my adventure in 10 days!! Hopefully I will keep this up to date:/ For those of you that know me really well I am bad at any kind of communication other than phone or face-to-face. I will do my best.
Love you all!