September 12, 2008

HI everyone!

To begin, I'm in the internet cafe in Kpando and there is a funeral procession going by; there tend to be alot of those here. What's interesting though is that their funerals are much more of a celebration. They usually have a marching band and colorful outfits, and they are three days long.

Anyway, so much has happened since I last wrote! I mentioned last time that the kids speak very little English, and I just wanted to reiterate that. It has proven to be very difficult during lesson times, because we get frustrated with eachother pretty quickly. Also, they are all in different stages of learning. Some know the alphabet, some don't; some know addition, some multiplication, some no math at all. So it becomes confusing when we set them up in groups because someone usually answers questions before the others get a chance. It is a work in progress though, and they just went back to school this week. More on that in a minute.

Last Friday, I went on a trip to Cape Coast and the border of Cote D'Ivoire with 5 other volunteers (3 are at my orphanage and the other 2 are a friend of a friend). We arrived in Cape Coast on Saturday and saw the Elmina slave castle. It was intense and depressing. The castle is over 500 years old and was originally owned by the Portuguese and then the Dutch. It looks out on what is now essentially a shantytown full of fish markets (SMELLY ones) and huts. The view from the castle is pretty incredible. There was also a festival going on there on Saturday which we braved for a while but mostly felt out of place. It was still really interesting to see. There is such a beautiful tradition of celebration here, unlike anything I've ever seen really. It's so impressive to me that in the midst of such unbelievable poverty there can be such joy. We stumbled upon Ko-Sa beach resort, where we stayed Saturday night. Please look it up online so that you can get aproper image of it. The owners are Dutch and they live on the property in tents. Each room is its own separate bungalow. There are about 7, and all are painted with these really cool murals on the outside. The eating areas are also bungalows, but without walls, and they overlook the ocean. It was really peaceful and relaxing. On Sunday we went to Green Turtle Lodge where we stayed until Wednesday. This place was SO awesome. It is set up similarly to Ko-Sa in that it has bungalows overlooking the beach. It attracts a younger crowd though, I would say, which was fun for us. Green Turtle is an eco-tourism spot so it is all very green and aims to put money back in the community. I love the way it is set up, and highly recommend it. Hey guess what? They ONLY have outhouses there! And I was there for 4 days, aren't you so proud of me? The ocean there was filled with phosphorescents, so at night the sand glows under your feet, and when the waves crash, theyglow. We went on a turtle search one night, no luck on the turtle front but watching the waves was enough for me. It was the perfect place for a birthday celebration in Africa. We met some really cool people there, none were American. I did alot of journal writing there and came up with some interesting work. It was really great for me to hang out with people from such different places in this one beautiful spot.

We got back to the village last night and the kids were SO excited to see us. Funny too, we found ourselves in a hurry to get back to them. The tropical beach was only cool for so long. It was good to come home. Steph and I went to school with them this morning. Interesting. We spoke to the headmaster first thing, who told us he had nothing for us to do today. So we decided to stick around anyway to check out the setup. Apparently today was 'bring your machete to school day,' because all of the older children had them on their desks. I asked one of them why, and she said to weed (I first thought she said 'to read' haha I was like ummmm). Yes, they cut the grass with machetes on Fridays I guess. Don't worry, I got a video. I also sat in on a younger class with 5 of my kids in it. The teacher basically singles one student out at a time and has them write 'an alphabet' on the board, and when/if they can do it, she asks the rest of the class if 'this iscorrect.' I couldn't stay for longer than an hour, because it was excruciating. I also have a video of her talking through the window to one of her friends while the rest of the class just sat there. Needless to say, there is great opportunity for work in these parts. The good news is that my kids are so eager to learn and that makes the endeavor possible, at least. Starting next week, we will be going to school with them every day for the rest of my time here. I guess that's all for now, more updates as school continues.

Lovings.
moh