Hey All!
First off, i hope that this makes it to you ok, and that is legible(it has taken 15minsto load thepage,and asyou can see, the space bar is being rather tempermental!) Sorry it has taken so longto get this secondemail going, I tried to send one last week, but the computers were all down due to rain(all electricity is rendered entirely redundant when there is the slightest precipitation around here!!!)
I am have a fantastic time, and credit goes to antipodeans (we have been talking to other volunteers through SYTO, and no one is as prepared, or has a great back-up system like we do. I think we have the best volunteer situation by far.)
Also, I'd just like to let you know that Seth (our local co-ordinator) is amazing. He has been a huge help to all of our projects, and continually checks on everyone's progress and always involved in ensuring that we have a fantastic time. Basically everything with antips has gone swimmingly!!!!
So, how is Africa??? Still incredible,amazing, surreal and all that jazz! But for the details of the past couple ofweeks:
The school i am teaching in is a continual challenge,but also continually rewarding. There is only one other teacher that comesregularly,and on a goodday, he manages to stay for a whole 4 hours! It took a week before the principal 'dropped in' for 10 mins to say hi(this is despite the fact she is meant to teach the 40 odd kids in the kindergarten class.) When the other teachers do make a random appearance, they never seem to make it into their actual classrooms. Whether their doing each other's hair, looking after their own toddlers or sleep under the shade, their teaching servicesare scarce. Therefore, between running our own class, we skip into the other classes to set them work- otherwise the kids will come and sit in an empty classroomallday everyday!
BUT- desipe allthat it sounds, i love it. Everyday i'm learning something new about the dynamics of human relationships, and the way different people respond todifferentlearning methods.
(Alsoforgot to mention the caning: corporeal punishment is stillat large here,and it is devastating to see kids whipped... often for a habit that they have learnt off the teacher themself-i.e. if a teacher does not arriveuntil 12pm, and one of her studentsarrives at 12:05, the child is whipped for being late. The absence of logic doesn't cease to astound us.)
On another note: last weekend we had a pretty incredibletime in a jungle 'somewhere is africa'.
We lunched at a restaurant on a lake that wassurrounded by dozens of crocs from the nile. Some managed to make their way onto land and up near the tables. Upon asking one Ghanaian if they were friendly, a friend and I approached one that was on land with its babies. With adrenaline pumping crazily, we touched its tail. NOT A SMART IDEA! It snapped and ran(in the opposite diretion)but i didn't know that, for as soon as i saw it twich i wasoff and running/ screaming until i had madeit to'higher ground!!'
That weekend, we also hiked in the jungle(where we cut down a cocoa shelland ate it raw-YUM-) to a 3 story, vertical rockshrine. To make it to the top, we had to climp up the verticalrock face with nothing more than the vines hanging from the trees and all of the arm strength we could muster(which, mind you, was none). After reaching the top (which gave a breathtaking view of the jungle), we had to use the same vines to absail back down (nothing like OHS around here).
We then canoed down a very gentle but unbelieveably beautiful white waterriver. When we made it back to the village, i witnessed one of the most inspiring events: The kids in this village were very malnourished and all had potbellies as a result. I gavemy rice to one 5 yr old boy, and instead of eating it himself, he broke it off into pieces for his 4 younger brithers, keeping only a mouthful for himself. It made me realise how well off our kids in aus are, and how much we don't appreciate the little things that make up our day!
The next day, we went on a tree top walk over rope bridges that were 40m high, suspended between tree trunks. I can't even justify the view withwords. That night, we slept under fly nets, in the jungle in secluded little two-man alcoves. I didn't get any sleep after a woke toa mice in our net going through our food bags! That morning, we dragged our groggy selves out of bed at 4:30 for another 'game spotting hike'. We clearly weren't quite enough, and so didn't get so see any large animals, however we all cowered when our guide pointed out the moo(thats right, a moo) of a leopard that was (apparently) right behind us.
This past weekend, four of us tavelled out to a stunning, secluded little palm lined beach in the atlantic ocean. It was a heavenly break, soaking up the sun on hammocks, and just chilling by the sea. A local hippy jamacian had us over for a traditional dinner and fire on saturday. He made a coconut cake from fresh coconuts- a taste that was to die for. On the way home ( a 6 hour trip in 3 different tro tro's), we had to wait almost three hours forthe tro tro to fill up... but hey, thats africa! (A tro tro is any van/tarago looking vehicle that is missing doors, tire's or any other nesecary funtinos. They don't have scheduled leaving points, but leave when they are full. You can get one at atrotro station, or by 'hitch-hiking' forone on the road side. IT generally costs about 70cents for an hour's drive.)
The orphange (which we still visit at least once a week) is as heartwarming and heartbreaking as ever. It soo much fun dancing with them, looking afterthe babies and todlers(which last week had all soiled themselves and were crying in a room 100m away from any adult by the timewe had arrives.... alot of these kids are only months old- its terrible). The orphange house is now finished and painted, so teh kids have somewhere sheltered to sleep. However, so many of themare still sick from drinking the river water that runs behind the house. One thing that breaks my heartis that they neve have food. Often, when we arrive at 4pm with crackers, they haven't eaten. THe madame who runs the orphanage sold her livelyhjood to look after them, but has nothing left to sell for the 60odd kids to eat.After living through these things, i don;t think i could ever look at life the sameway. Its so clear now, how my priorities wereso misjudged.
About three weeks ago, it was our aunty macy's 70th brithday (our nextdoor neighbour), anhd our other neighbour, Jimmy's wedding. So we partiedthe night away ( at jimmy's house)- jimmy managed to get so over excited that he was feeding the vodka to his puppies(i'm hoping it is cultural)!
I am now an expert at washing cloths in a procession of4 buckets (which takes an 1hr30mins before school), and cooking traditional Ghanaian food. OUr older brother cam home from uni the otehr weekend,and taught me how to pound a substance called fufu. He used a tree trunk to pound, whilst i flipped the fufu between bangs (after afew bruised fingers, i learnt to be quicker).
One thing i love here is meeting other tourists/volunteers. There are people from allover the world that we have met on our travels(asthey all congregate in the sameplaceson the week end). We've travelled with people from the peace corp, people working at liberian refugeecamps,and have met a number of english women who met ghanaian'sand arenow married and living here. Wednesday afternoons arethe best. Wehave obruni (white) meetings, where we meet other voluntters and chat about life in ghana. All the peiople here are like minded, and so chilled... i haven't met one person that wasn't willing to have a chat, hang out, or travel after meeting foronly a couple of minutes.
Last week,we lost power*(again) anmd this time ouir water as well. This gave usthe primeopportunity to learn the art of bucket showers( fill a bucket of water, add a truck load ofdetol and throw it over your head!) A quick-drying process now that my hair is braided from head to toe! ALthough somedays, the dirt gets so bad that i cant tell the difference between dirt and a tan!
The other day, our AUnt macy was weeding her garden(which grows pineapples, casvava and contomery). Even though she is 70, the woman is a litlle pocket rocket. But i still felt bad when i saw her,and so ignorantly volunteeredto help. Well it turns out that im no good with a machette. I blistered my finger,and barely made a dent in the weeding work. But it gave them good laugh(me a really sore back haha!) THat night, kwame(our little brother) showed us how to kill oneof Aunty Macy's chickes....and no-they don't run around after their head comesoff - a shocking discoverty... buthey,you learn something new everyday!
So i think that takes us up totoday(orthere abouts). This week we are getting started on the painting ofour school(theplastering finally finished, sotheir shell-like school now somewhat resembles a proper structure). I hope you enjoyed this thesis. Im now going to go back our into that searing heat so we can buy the paint and hopfully find someone selling coconuts from their heads(i'm dying of thirst, and those little luxuries make all the difference!)
Miss you all.
Take Care
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