Cape Coast

                                          The road to Togo, on our way to the bat caves

                                          Outside slave castle in Cape Coast

                                         Cape Coast

                                                    Going up into a bat cave!

                                                    Canopy walk at Kakum

                                                   After the bat cave's.

                                          Cocoa

                                                   Wli Waterfall

                                          Cape Coast

Grass Cutter. I ate one!

                                          Cape Coast

                                          Sewing shirts for the special school.

                                           Hohoe

Parting Comments

My time in Ghana felt both way longer than it was, but also shorter. After being in Germany a week I'm finally heading home, and though it's only been a few days Ghana seems to have taken place much further in the past. The purpose of this last post is primarily for the benefit of future volunteers.

GADKO School:

My last week at GADKO was encouraging. Even though I felt I needed more time to fully have an effect, I saw improvements in the children, so that was nice. These children are very under stimulated. They have no resources at the school, and it has been my observation that they have no toys or objects at home with which to learn and be creative. Introducing the building blocks and crayons/paper was at first shocking. Not a single one could put the blocks together, and had to be shown that they even could. Over the 3 weeks, we spent a half hour or so (whatever their attention span allowed for) on most days playing with the blocks. Over that time I watched most of them take off with it, creating significantly large structures by themselves. I am an advocate for play like this in young children as it teaches cooperation (learning to share, etc.) as well as creativity which is always a fountain for learning.

With the crayons, most of the time was spent just scribbling, as that's the style of such young people. I was excited to see, however, that with the accompaniment of my work on shapes with them, they became eager to learn and try drawing them.

I made a new syllabus/schedule for them as asked by the headmaster, though we followed it very roughly. Everything depends on their attention span for a certain subject. If you sense they are getting bored or distracted you can always do some movement activities and/or songs and dance, then return to your "lesson plan".

My last day there was very special. The headmaster and proprietor surprised Andrew and I with polo shirts with the school's name etc. on it, then we took a plethora of pictures with the kids, teachers (all 2 of them!), headmaster and proprietor. They have all been very welcoming the whole time.

That being said, I have tips for future goals with this school. It is a private school, meaning the teachers don't have to have any training, education, etc. to apply for the job. They have little to no understanding of child development and perhaps are not as motivated as a traditional career teacher might be in the US. Although I was able to introduce a different teaching style and different activities, I wasn't able to get my teacher engaged. She just watched as I taught, or even was on her phone or napping! I was not as outspoken as I should have been about this, as I was perhaps too focused on teaching the children. But for a contribution that is more sustainable, I urge future volunteers to take more of a backseat. Discuss with the teacher what ideas you have, but let her try them out herself. This is very important.

Misc tips:

1) Pack light. Even in the rainy season it is very warm, and you're inside so much that protection from the rain is not an issue. I could have gotten by with 2-3 capris, 4-5 shirts, sleepwear, and 8-9 days worth of underwear. DO bring swimwear, you will want to get in the water at Wli waterfalls (CCS should be taking you there in an afternoon after placement). DONT bring sunscreen or bug spray. There is soooo much left behind by past volunteers, brand new, there is no need to pack these.

2) If you have any plans of going to Accra, there is a HUGE craft market where you can find really good deals (clothing, jewelry, masks, carvings, etc). I'd bought most of my gifts at the waterfalls where there are also shops, so was out of money by the time I discovered the art market in Accra, but I recommend checking that out (perhaps on your way to or from cape coast if you go there for a weekend).

3) Money: I spent about $350 for 3 weeks. A significant chunk of this was just for cape coast though, so if you dont plan on making that trip, your cost should be a lot less. I do recommend that trip, however. The beach is such a nice change of scenery/atmosphere, and the canopy walk at Kakum was memorable.

4) Grasscutter: I tried grasscutter (a very large rodent) my last week in Hohoe at one of the chop bars. It wasn't good but I recommend the experience anyway. Try grasscutter. It tastes like pork at first, but has an aftertaste of garbage. BUT, the "dining" experience overall was worth it, in my opinion.

Hmm...I can't think of anything else important at the moment, but will be happy to answer any questions!
OH! Pictures! I will be posting some photos once I am back and settled at home.

Wounds/Illness and an Extraordinary Day

First, I apologize for the sloppy writing style and typos in the last post. My time spent on the computer is limited, so these are a bit more rushed than I would like. But, it is better than no internet. A group of us went in on a mobile broadband "stick" to use with the laptop I brought. It was a little over 80 cedi, but splitting the cost made it cheap; the only downside is that my laptop isn't just mine to use anymore, and prying some girls off of facebook can be a laborious task.
So, wounds and illness:
Future volunteers, the placement sheet you get right before you go will tell you to wear close toed shoes. This is not necessary and I recommend going with nice sandals unless you have very comfortable shoes you'd rather wear.
I wore an uncomfortable pair of close toed shoes my first day of placement thinking I had to. I figured no big deal, if I get a blister I can just put a bandaid on and that'll be that. No. My ankles were both rubbed raw, and sure it wasnt a big deal, just a normal situation us ladies often find ourselves in. But this is Ghana. Almost any wound, sore, raw skin you have will get infected. the flies are ruthless and will be on a sore in a heartbeat, and they are not phased by normal swatting; you have to touch them or flick them to get them to move. So, both my ankles became incredibly infected. I'll spare you the details, but it has not been pretty.
That being said, you can go to any pharmacy and pick up penicillin etc without a prescription for about 12 cedi (about 7 USD) for a weeks worth, no insurance, nada. Makes you really question the pharmaceutical companies in the US...I was also given hydrogen peroxide, methylated spirit, and iodine, all three bottles for 10 cedi, or about 5.50-6.00 dollars.
In the midst of all this, I fell slightly ill, vomiting etc. CCS took me to a clinic in Ho to see a doctor, which cost 15 cedi, and I was given medication for another 6 cedi.
So my advice is this: Pack neosporin and bandages, wear comfortable shoes, but should you suffer any injury or illness, do not worry, you can get what you need for very cheap. The staff at CCS is very concerned with our health, so even if you think its food poisoning or something, they will take you to a doctor to make sure its not malaria, cholera, typhoid, etc. But if you do get malaria, Ghana's the best place to have it. It is common with the locals here, and is looked at with no more concern than we would have over the flu.
Ok, fun stuff! My day!
I'm not sure whether to start at the end or beginning. How about the end...
So my day ended with trudging through razor grass down a mountain in a torrential rainstorm, praying not to get hit by the lightening that was touching down all around us, and gaining an understanding of flash floods, as my mountain trail soon turned into a raging creek several inches deep within minutes.
The day started with the expectation to see ancestral Likpe caves, which we did, but not in any way I'd envisioned. I was thinking of big, easily accessed caves that you walk into, look around, say "neat", and leave. What it turned out to be was essentially rock climbing, hiking for hours, and walking on narrow ledges of rock on the side of a cliff.
Just a few of us went. On the weekends, we are left to do whatever we want and the others had either stayed home or gone elsewhere. I'm 100% sure our day beat theirs. I wish I could have taken pictures to do any justice, but I couldn't capture how steep and at times ridiculous it was. Like I said, we went rock climbing, unexpectedly, just using bare hands, and our tennis shoe-d feet to grab and stand on what we could. It was a bit scary, but exhilarating and exciting. At times, we'd look up (or down), and stare asking "we're supposed to go there?!" Oh! I didnt even mention, they're bat caves! You crawl into this tiny holes, that I barely get through, and the inside of the cave has bats just flying all around. Very neat. It was an awesome experience I highly recommend for those of who travelling to the Volta Region of Ghana.
On the way down the mountain is when the rain started. We heard it first in the distance, unsure if it was a nearby waterfall, or what. Then it came. So refreshing (then soaking)! But then the lightening came, as we were IN the clouds. The lightening struck and lit up the air all around us (Not above. Around.) So neat!
Well this concludes my rambling. I am visiting a church tomorrow with Mowsi, a local who works at the deaf school with our volunteer Mary, then going back to the Wli waterfalls in the afternoon. Should be a mellow, but fun day.

Hohoe, Placement, and Travel

Ndo! A week and a half as gone by, but it feels much longer due to the constant flow of experience. There is much that has happened, but I will summarize starting with the country and town of Hohoe. It is an interesting mix of westernized culture and very basic civilization. Some people wear traditional wrapped cloth, while others where jeans and polo shirts. They are modern in the sense that most people have phones and music devices with accommodating stores, but the stores are still shack-like with either aluminum or palm leaf thatched roofs. There are many taxis and vans in the streets, but they are mostly just bare structure, ripped of any carpeting etc, they may have previously had. The streets are shared with pedestrians, but the vehicles will honk as they approach, warning you to "move it or lose it" essentially. My expectation of the smells was not accurate. With all the lush green vegetation, I expected crisp, clear air. To the contrary the humid air is heavy with an array of olfactory sensation: diesel, urine, dirt, and smoke are prevalent but sometimes I catch a whiff of something sweet and satisfying.

Placement:

I am teaching preschool at GADKO school; this is a school that has just been established January of this year. So far there is only a preschool and KG1, so there is one other volunteer, Andrew, teaching KG1; w are the first volunteers to be placed here. My first day was rough, I have to admit. My driver accidentally took me on 3 hour detour and this mistake was not originally communicated the the proprietor and headmaster. Thus, I got an earful from them both about how unacceptable it is for me to be late, and that I mustn't repeat my error. The first day I was allowed to just take a seat and observe for the most part, but towards the end, I was asked to introduce some new songs or rhymes. Everyday since, the teacher I am working with has become less and less active, to the point where I teach all day and she uses her phone, listens to music, or naps. Starting tomorrow I will try to find ways for us to both be engaged with the children.

The children do not speak English at this age, but are expected to start learning, so I just talk away in English while I'm there so they are exposed. We are working on the numbers 1, 2, and 3, basic shapes, animal names and noises (that they can recognize, such as lion, elephant, dog, etc), and fun activities. They've never played with blocks before, so for a bit every other day I bring large leg-style blocks and show them how to put them together. They usually just grab a couple blocks and play with them like cars.

The school is reminiscent of stalls found on a farm. We have a chalkboard dividing the stall, making the two classrooms. Other than that, the school has no educational supplies, so I bring reading books, blocks, paper/crayons, and a soccer ball most days. The children need a new activity about every 20 minutes so future volunteers, start thinking of ideas!

Travels:

The first weekend a group of us went to Cape Coast, an 8 hour drive from Hohoe. We went to an old slave port, and to kakum nationa park, where they have a canopy walk. It was a trip worth while, but be prepare to spend a lot, primarily on paying the driver to get there and back.

We went to the monkey sanctuary yesterday, and it was AMAZING. Wild monkeys come jump up all over you and will eat bananas out of your hand. Baby monkeys cling to the bellies of their mothers. Very very cute.

Ok, I have to go or I'll miss out on a ride to town. I will post again this weekend (if the internet is working). Mia do go!

The Start

Hello! I am alive and well. The people of Ghana are very friendly, and being the only white skinned folk here,  we're a bit like celebrities. Whether you are riding in a van or walking, most people you pass will smile and wave at you, and if you are walking they will all want to talk to you. The children are very cute; when they see you, they shout out "yevu!", meaning white person. Being a person that overly researches her trips, I knew that a humorous and acceptable response would be "amebo", meaning black person. Indeed, they find it quite hilarious and endearing when I say that back to them.
Unfortunately this first post is going to be disappointing to you with regards to my trip and placement details so far. I have A LOT to tell, but I have much planning to do for my kids' lessons tomorrow. The internet here is awful at best, so posting is a bit more of a task than I'd anticipated. I am visiting cape coast this weekend, but hope to have a substantial post up next week. Stay tuned!