So, I know it has been forever since I have posted last and
it is not because I haven’t wanted to! Unfortunately, we have had major
problems with the internet provider, Vodaphone, that we use for our wifi
connection and we have been completely without it for over a week now. Luckily,
Dr. Herlin (Chief) has purchased a portable modem that we can use!
Unfortunately, it charges by minute or data used or something, so my time is
limited. In any case, I will summarize everything that has been going on with
as much pertinent details as possible!
We will start with school. I began teaching last week and I
absolutely love it! I only taught on Tuesday and Wednesday because Thursday and
Friday were the annual “Sports days.” Which is somewhat like a “field day” in
the states. I went to sports on Thursday and had a great time. It was quite a
sight to see! The event took place in a large arena type area that was
basically a huge dirt field surrounded by a chain-link fence with barbed wire
on top. Inside the fence, there was a “track” of sorts. Basically, it was a
large circular indented path that had just been created by so many people
running it. This is where all the races took place. There were students from
many of the schools in the region; some were competitors and some were just
spectators. I would say there were at least 200 kids there. There were all
kinds of events that took place and a student from each school would
participate in each race. First were short sprints, like a 100 meter dash.
Eventually, there was the longer race which would compare to our mile race I
believe. None of the races had a defined starting or finish line, they were
both just kind of outlined by the teachers who helped organize it all. I saw a
great deal of racers passing out at the finish line!!! In fact, it actually
seemed like a somewhat common thing to do. I got to see a lot of the girls I
teach while I was there and they were SUPER excited to get pictures with me, so
I have quite a few pictures with some of my students now J
As far as actually teaching, I LOVE it!! Despite being
totally terrified every time I walk into the room (due to the 50 plus faces
staring back at me each time), I have a wonderful time. So many of the girls
are so excited to participate and answer any and all of the questions, and they
also seem to understand what I’m saying and teaching! I do hear a great deal of
giggling as I’m writing on the board which always makes me self-conscious, but
it usually ends up being directed at my pronunciation of some word. Especially “water.” I’ve found that they
emphasize different syllables in their words and sentences as well which I’m
sure makes many of my statements and questions sounds a bit odd to them. At any
rate, I’m really enjoying teaching!!
In the Public Health setting: I met with the director of
Administration again last week and he gave me a rundown on the health care
system in Ghana (which I will have to review a few times, but is fairly
straight forward)! He also offered to set up some meetings with other doctors
as well, but that has yet to pan out. This Monday, however, I am supposed to be
working with Mubareck, the SCT secretary on setting up some work in that area.
One of Chief and Prof’s friends from England, Patricia, is actually a professor
of Occupational Health at the medical school here and offered to set up some
meetings with people there to get me introduced and hopefully start with some
work! Apparently, it is the only public health school here that sends students
out into the field to do the health work while still in their beginning levels
(from what I understand). Another contact that I have acquired is Nash, who is
an alum of the Zo-Simli-Naa scholarship and aid fund and who now works in the
Health Department of Tamale! I think with the help of Mubareck (and a great
deal of determination and pushing on my part) I will be able to set up a pretty
good program for the public health part of my internship!
So far, I have interviewed 33 scholars!!! And I have yet to
hear a story that isn’t truly inspiring J
I have also visited a few of the alums at their jobs now! My favorite visit was
to the Shekinah Clinic where Mariam, one of the first batch of scholars, works.
This is a health clinic that offers its services free of charge to the severely
needy . Mariam’s husband is the head doctor and Mariam is one of the nurses
that volunteers at the clinic. It was a truly amazing place!
Probably the most important announcement I have to make is
that Dr. Herlin, aka Chief, and Wyatt, aka, Prof, arrived in Tamale on Sunday,
June 10th. I was fortunate enough to join the welcoming posse at the
airport to greet them! The group consisted of at least 10-15 people (3 of which
were drummers). It was quite the little ceremony I must say and I was happy to
be part of it. Back at the palace, there was another welcoming ceremony in the
greeting room (where Chief sits two days a week to welcome people who come to
visit her) and I was formally introduced to everyone. This week Chief has been
very busy with greeting people and scheduling events and all, but we are all
able to eat lunch and dinner together and sometimes meet for mid-morning or
afternoon tea, too J
Today, I joined Chief on her first visits to some other local chiefs, and that
was very, very interesting! I borrowed one of Chief’s traditional outfits to
wear for the occasion (the print on the dress is actually Sister Cities 25th
anniversary print!) complete with the head garment and all (someone helped me
tie it on my head!). We visited two nearby chiefs, Lamegushu and Dakpena (the
spelling is just an educated guess). The chiefs sat in their welcoming hall in
a big chair with the crew of their elders sitting around their feet, and Chief
and Prof sat in chairs to their right. I sat with Chief’s crew of elders in
chairs to the welcoming chief’s right. The whole ritual was really interesting
and intriguing and fortunately I was not expected to do or say anything because
taking it all in was almost too much for me!
The food here continues to be amazing! My favorites remain
the same, but so far I haven’t tried anything that I haven’t liked (and I’ve
tried quite a bit!)
There was a bad storm last week that blew down a mango tree
and the electrical wires and Bro Zee had quite a time trying to get it all back
in order before Chief arrived!! For a while, we were without electricity and
wifi. Then the electricity was restored, but there was a water shortage in town
that left us without running water for about a day. Soon after the electricity
was restored, there was a power surge that ruined a great deal of our
appliances, including the refrigerator, microwave, toaster, and my A/C unit.
They fixed most of it, but still haven’t been able to fix the A/C unit, so I
have been relocated in the other guest room that does have a working A/C unit J Now, the only thing we
still lack in a reliable internet connection! But, that is not a huge worry to
me!
I’m getting to know more and more people that frequent the
palace and Razak is working on teaching me Dagboni phrases so that I can greet
them in their local language! I have also formed quite a strong bond with Magi
and Ediya, the two littlest kids that live here. We play for an hour or two
every evening in the courtyard around the palace. We have played hopscotch, had
wheelbarrow races, and practiced writing numbers and letters in the dirt. I
absolutely adore them both! And I believe that they have taken a strong liking
to me as well!
So, in all, I have started adjusting pretty well to the new
culture and environment that I have been living in for a little over three
weeks now! There is still a lot that I have to learn and understand about how
things works around here, but I’m slowly catching on, and everyone here is more
than happy to help me along ;) Hopefully, I will be able to keep you up to date
a little more frequently soon!
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