Since arriving in Ghana, the people here have gone so far out of their way to welcome Annie and I and to make us feel comfortable. It has made me really excited about doing as much as I can for this community. It is not as if I didn't come into this experience with the desire and the drive to offer as much as my time and skills would allow, but it was because of my personal beliefs in the importance of education and reading and on an idea that all people deserved the opprotunity to expand their world through books, helping them to realize that, just like characters in the books, thye have opprotunities as well. Being able to do this while at the same time satisfying a selfish desire to travel and experience a new culture was what made this trip seem so incredible at first. Now that I am here, I still feel that all children deserve access to books and a place to feel free to express their creativity, but now I feel so incredibly lucky that I have been given the opprotunity to help THESE children, these people who have done everything to help me.
Now that I am here, I have realized how much I can actually do for the library. We have so many ideas for programs and for organization at the library that are only possible because we went to so many libraries and after-school programs when we were kids. That, coupled with an education that has given me the skills necessary to articulate and initiate my ideas has given me the capability to have a lasting effect on this community.
I pray that something I do here helps to enusre that this library continues to serve as a place where children learn and have fun long into the future.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
My Birthday! written 7/13/2007
Today I celebrated my birthday in Ghana (my actual birthday was in the 11th), and trust me, I am definately bringing Ghanaian birthday customs back to the U.S.! A bunch of the librarians threw me a birthday/welcome to Ghana celebration at 'The Spot,' a local hangout that only serves drinks, which we are at atleast twice a day! And by 'librarians,' I don't mean a bunch of old ladies with wire rimmed glasses whose only sound you ever hear coming from her mouth is a high pitched screeching "SHHHH." No, here the librarinas are a group of 20-something, super fun guys.
When we got to the spot, they had a whole speach planned out where they said how happy they were that Annie and I had come to Ghana and that even though they didn't have much money, they wanted my birthday to be special. Then they gave me some gifts, which were small but extremely thoughtful. Then Lucas (one of the librarians) mentioned something about a baptism that I sort of just ignored--I thought he was just being weird :) The rest of the night we talked, hugh out, alughed ALOT, danced (they taught us some African dances, which seem like a combination of the running man and the funky chicken, and we shwed thme how we dance in the U.S., which included head banging and sort of just flailing around). Then all of a sudden everyone got quiet and Annie busted out her camera--I turned around just as Darius (another librarian) started pouring a bucket of 'pito' on my head (pito is a local drink)! It's supposed to prepresent birht and renewal, but Isecretly think they just enjoy having an excuse to dump pito on someone! :)
Overall, I can't think of any better way to have celebrated my birthday. Even though I missed my friends and family back home and I was sad that I could not spend this day with them, the people here made my birthday special and memorable. They made me feel welcomed and loved in a place I had only known for a few days, and I couldn't be more grateful.
When we got to the spot, they had a whole speach planned out where they said how happy they were that Annie and I had come to Ghana and that even though they didn't have much money, they wanted my birthday to be special. Then they gave me some gifts, which were small but extremely thoughtful. Then Lucas (one of the librarians) mentioned something about a baptism that I sort of just ignored--I thought he was just being weird :) The rest of the night we talked, hugh out, alughed ALOT, danced (they taught us some African dances, which seem like a combination of the running man and the funky chicken, and we shwed thme how we dance in the U.S., which included head banging and sort of just flailing around). Then all of a sudden everyone got quiet and Annie busted out her camera--I turned around just as Darius (another librarian) started pouring a bucket of 'pito' on my head (pito is a local drink)! It's supposed to prepresent birht and renewal, but Isecretly think they just enjoy having an excuse to dump pito on someone! :)
Overall, I can't think of any better way to have celebrated my birthday. Even though I missed my friends and family back home and I was sad that I could not spend this day with them, the people here made my birthday special and memorable. They made me feel welcomed and loved in a place I had only known for a few days, and I couldn't be more grateful.
My Hopes for the Library
July 16th, 2007
The day we visited the Osu Children's Library in Accra was the day I began to really appreciate how much potential we have to shape the success of the Sumbrungu library. As we sat with Johana, the head librarian at Osu, and listened to her explain how their library works, what programs they offered, how they are organized, etc. my mind began to flood with ideas and I could not put my pen and notebook down. We could do a pen pals program, a storytelling hour, a coding system to keep track of the books,, reading to the elderly- the possibilities are endless. And it was this inspired realization that made me appreciate just how blessed I am to have a college education. Even though Christi and I have no background 0r experience working with libraries, the simple fact that we have a college education presents us with so many skills that I was not as easily aware of surrounded by so many others in the US with the same educational opportunities. But everything from the way the librarians look to us to our own ability to recognize solutions and improvements to the library demonstrates just how poweverfully an education works to allow an individual to make strides in society.
Appreciating this bliessing, I became more determined than ever to do something wonderful for Sumbrungu. And after meeting and experiencin the people here and their genuine thoughtfulness and hospitality towards us, this desire to give something to the community was all the more determined in me. These were my reflections from our time spent exploring the libraries in Accra. Now that we are in Sumbrungu and have settled in and have had more time to reflect, we have been developing a vision for what we realistically hope to accomplish while we are here, and what we hope the librarians will continue and accomplish after we leave.
I hope that when we leave, there will be a general sense that we have stimulated and contributed to a reading culture- that we create a positive energy around reading and education in a way that the library becomes more than a place with books but a place of community , a place where kids and adults can be challenged and supported to think about the world and how to make it a better place. Through my own sustained enthusiasm for reading, for education, and for creative expression, I hope that we might make more people excited about coming to the library. I think achieving this goal relies mostly on our attitude, and so I pray for enduring faith and confidence in our abilities and willingness to really animate the library.
More specifically, I hope we will initiate several projects that the libraries may develop and continue over time. We hope to start an effective coding system based on a simplified dewey decimal system, which will include number and color labeling as well as keeping a catalogue of all of the books. We also hope to add more structure to the story telling hour (depending on how it already is- Lucas tells us kids aren't as engaged as they could be). We have already begun a pen-pals program which we hope will continue back and forth between kids in the US and Ghana long after we leave. We have also started a new book registration system which willl hopefully simplify book checkout for the librarians. These are just a few of our hopes thus far, and daily we are coming up with more ideas.
The day we visited the Osu Children's Library in Accra was the day I began to really appreciate how much potential we have to shape the success of the Sumbrungu library. As we sat with Johana, the head librarian at Osu, and listened to her explain how their library works, what programs they offered, how they are organized, etc. my mind began to flood with ideas and I could not put my pen and notebook down. We could do a pen pals program, a storytelling hour, a coding system to keep track of the books,, reading to the elderly- the possibilities are endless. And it was this inspired realization that made me appreciate just how blessed I am to have a college education. Even though Christi and I have no background 0r experience working with libraries, the simple fact that we have a college education presents us with so many skills that I was not as easily aware of surrounded by so many others in the US with the same educational opportunities. But everything from the way the librarians look to us to our own ability to recognize solutions and improvements to the library demonstrates just how poweverfully an education works to allow an individual to make strides in society.
Appreciating this bliessing, I became more determined than ever to do something wonderful for Sumbrungu. And after meeting and experiencin the people here and their genuine thoughtfulness and hospitality towards us, this desire to give something to the community was all the more determined in me. These were my reflections from our time spent exploring the libraries in Accra. Now that we are in Sumbrungu and have settled in and have had more time to reflect, we have been developing a vision for what we realistically hope to accomplish while we are here, and what we hope the librarians will continue and accomplish after we leave.
I hope that when we leave, there will be a general sense that we have stimulated and contributed to a reading culture- that we create a positive energy around reading and education in a way that the library becomes more than a place with books but a place of community , a place where kids and adults can be challenged and supported to think about the world and how to make it a better place. Through my own sustained enthusiasm for reading, for education, and for creative expression, I hope that we might make more people excited about coming to the library. I think achieving this goal relies mostly on our attitude, and so I pray for enduring faith and confidence in our abilities and willingness to really animate the library.
More specifically, I hope we will initiate several projects that the libraries may develop and continue over time. We hope to start an effective coding system based on a simplified dewey decimal system, which will include number and color labeling as well as keeping a catalogue of all of the books. We also hope to add more structure to the story telling hour (depending on how it already is- Lucas tells us kids aren't as engaged as they could be). We have already begun a pen-pals program which we hope will continue back and forth between kids in the US and Ghana long after we leave. We have also started a new book registration system which willl hopefully simplify book checkout for the librarians. These are just a few of our hopes thus far, and daily we are coming up with more ideas.
Pen Pal Program, written 7/21/07
Annie and I have spent practically every second together over the last 16 days, and as a result we have talked about pretty much everything! During one of our many conversations, we started talking about how much we had loved having pen pals when we were younger (we actually wished we still had a pen pal!). That's when Annie suggested that we should start a pen pal program between the kids in Sumbrungu and kids in the United States. We feel it is so important for kids to feel connected to one another, even though they are thousands of miles apart and will probably never meet face to face. This also presents the opprotunity for kids to learn about a different culture. Most of the kids in the U.S. don't know a lot about what life is like for kids in Africa, and the kids in Africa have a lot of questions about life in America.
When we got to Ghana, we told the librarians our idea and they thought it was wonderful. Darius suggested that we should go around to the different schools in Sumbrungu and invite them to come to the library and write a letter. Darius also wanted us to introduce ourselves to the kids in the community and to inform them that the library has changed locations. A note for future volunteers: if you want to speak to large groups of people, make sure you have a translator with you. Even though all of the kids spoke English, they had a very hard time understanding us because of our accents. Every time we went into a class, Annie and I would talk and then Darius would repeat everything we had said in FraFra. All of the children seemed really excited by the idea, and after school was released for the day, about 50 kids came to the library to write their letters. We wrote up sample questions for them to answe in their letters, such as: Name, age, where are you from, what is your village like, what sorts of animals do you see, where do you go to school, what is your favorite subject, what do you want to be when you grow up, describe your family, describe your friend, what is your favorite sport, and what is your favorite food?
If I were doing this again, I would definately pre-make a sign with all of these questions on it to hang up on the wall so that all the kids could see it and so we would not have to write it over and over again whenever the paper gets lost or torn.
Every day, more kids come to write letters--by now we have around 100 of them! We told the kids that we will be bringing the letters home to the U.S. with us, and giving them to children in grade schools. On our way home, Annie and I will read through all of the letters and determine which age groups we think the letters should go to. Some of the letters are very well written and thoughtful, so we will try and give those to junior-high aged students, where as some--written by younger children--are very simple and so we will try and give those to younger grades.
As soon as we get back into the states, both Annie and I will talk to grade schools in our various hometowns about having their classes do the pen pal project. Our hope is that this project will help these students foster a relationship so that they can share and learn from one another.
When we got to Ghana, we told the librarians our idea and they thought it was wonderful. Darius suggested that we should go around to the different schools in Sumbrungu and invite them to come to the library and write a letter. Darius also wanted us to introduce ourselves to the kids in the community and to inform them that the library has changed locations. A note for future volunteers: if you want to speak to large groups of people, make sure you have a translator with you. Even though all of the kids spoke English, they had a very hard time understanding us because of our accents. Every time we went into a class, Annie and I would talk and then Darius would repeat everything we had said in FraFra. All of the children seemed really excited by the idea, and after school was released for the day, about 50 kids came to the library to write their letters. We wrote up sample questions for them to answe in their letters, such as: Name, age, where are you from, what is your village like, what sorts of animals do you see, where do you go to school, what is your favorite subject, what do you want to be when you grow up, describe your family, describe your friend, what is your favorite sport, and what is your favorite food?
If I were doing this again, I would definately pre-make a sign with all of these questions on it to hang up on the wall so that all the kids could see it and so we would not have to write it over and over again whenever the paper gets lost or torn.
Every day, more kids come to write letters--by now we have around 100 of them! We told the kids that we will be bringing the letters home to the U.S. with us, and giving them to children in grade schools. On our way home, Annie and I will read through all of the letters and determine which age groups we think the letters should go to. Some of the letters are very well written and thoughtful, so we will try and give those to junior-high aged students, where as some--written by younger children--are very simple and so we will try and give those to younger grades.
As soon as we get back into the states, both Annie and I will talk to grade schools in our various hometowns about having their classes do the pen pal project. Our hope is that this project will help these students foster a relationship so that they can share and learn from one another.
Fooooooood
Our first taste of full on Ghanain food (we opted for the most American items on the menu our first few days here!0 was fufu- a dish consisting of pounded yams (which forms a doughey food), tilapia or goat meat, all served in a ground nut soup. It was super spicey, and Lucas the librarian got a good laugh at our inability to eat fufu without coughing/ chugging water.
Ghanaian food is extremely heavy, and often consists of just one food type- for expanle, we often have a huge portion of rice for lunch or TZ (pronounced tizette) which is a goey dough made out of millet that is broken off into pieces and then dipped in some sort of soup. And when I say a huge portion- I mean painfully HUGE. Every time Christi and I eat its a marathon to finish everything- but we figure it makes us stronger mentally and phyiscally, as long as we don't get sick. Our mother, "Vick" , a construction worker at the Women's Center, said that if we eat enough TZ we'll be strong enough to beat up any girl in the U.S. I guess thats how the women here are so strong! As I write this, I can see women carrying 50 lb bags of cement on their heads like their feathers!
The best thing about Ghanaian food is that we eat everything with our hands, and as you might imagine, I am having so much fun with that! (eating with my hands however can't mask my messy eating habits though and the librarians get a good laugh out of that- sorry mom and dad)
Every now and them, we are treated with guinea fowl eggs (guinea fowls look like kind of like a cross between a turkey/ chicken) and they are so flavorful we eat them hardboiled without any kind of seasoning. But my favorite food of all has to be the fried plantains. Lucas brough us a burner and pots so we've been cooking on our own lately , and last night we fired plantains in palm oil- so sweet and they kind of tasted like bananas.
For the most part, Christi and I have been trying to stay vegetarian, which has been a little tricky because in addition to the starchy foods, they eat a good amount of meat here. Yesterday, we were served rice balls in a soup with strings of goat fat and intestines- no thanks!Luckily, Darius was kind enough to eat the meat parts for us. But the other day, we tried goat skewers with onions- of course it tasted just like chicken! It was actually quite flavorful and tasty, a little chewier thank chicken, but tasty.
In general though, we figure it is best for our health to avoid some of the meats. I had a really interesting conversation with Lucas about vegetarianism the second night we were here. He said that he would like to be a vegetarian but it would not be possible with the way Ghanaian culture works . In Ghana, people often share food out of the same pot, especially families, and if he were not to eat meat it would be taken as a sign of disrespect and superiority. That was really striking to me because even the way the food is eaten heredemonstrates how Ghanaian culture is so much more focused on the community than on the individual, which has prompted alot of reflection in me being that I come from a culture that emphasizes individualism. I love the communal eating though- there is something very intimate about washing eachothers hands before we eat and then eating the same food out of the same pot. Eating here is a very engaging experience and I don't know that I'll ever want to go back to my grab a snack and go eating habits!
Ghanaian food is extremely heavy, and often consists of just one food type- for expanle, we often have a huge portion of rice for lunch or TZ (pronounced tizette) which is a goey dough made out of millet that is broken off into pieces and then dipped in some sort of soup. And when I say a huge portion- I mean painfully HUGE. Every time Christi and I eat its a marathon to finish everything- but we figure it makes us stronger mentally and phyiscally, as long as we don't get sick. Our mother, "Vick" , a construction worker at the Women's Center, said that if we eat enough TZ we'll be strong enough to beat up any girl in the U.S. I guess thats how the women here are so strong! As I write this, I can see women carrying 50 lb bags of cement on their heads like their feathers!
The best thing about Ghanaian food is that we eat everything with our hands, and as you might imagine, I am having so much fun with that! (eating with my hands however can't mask my messy eating habits though and the librarians get a good laugh out of that- sorry mom and dad)
Every now and them, we are treated with guinea fowl eggs (guinea fowls look like kind of like a cross between a turkey/ chicken) and they are so flavorful we eat them hardboiled without any kind of seasoning. But my favorite food of all has to be the fried plantains. Lucas brough us a burner and pots so we've been cooking on our own lately , and last night we fired plantains in palm oil- so sweet and they kind of tasted like bananas.
For the most part, Christi and I have been trying to stay vegetarian, which has been a little tricky because in addition to the starchy foods, they eat a good amount of meat here. Yesterday, we were served rice balls in a soup with strings of goat fat and intestines- no thanks!Luckily, Darius was kind enough to eat the meat parts for us. But the other day, we tried goat skewers with onions- of course it tasted just like chicken! It was actually quite flavorful and tasty, a little chewier thank chicken, but tasty.
In general though, we figure it is best for our health to avoid some of the meats. I had a really interesting conversation with Lucas about vegetarianism the second night we were here. He said that he would like to be a vegetarian but it would not be possible with the way Ghanaian culture works . In Ghana, people often share food out of the same pot, especially families, and if he were not to eat meat it would be taken as a sign of disrespect and superiority. That was really striking to me because even the way the food is eaten heredemonstrates how Ghanaian culture is so much more focused on the community than on the individual, which has prompted alot of reflection in me being that I come from a culture that emphasizes individualism. I love the communal eating though- there is something very intimate about washing eachothers hands before we eat and then eating the same food out of the same pot. Eating here is a very engaging experience and I don't know that I'll ever want to go back to my grab a snack and go eating habits!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
The first of many...
Whoa, I can’t believe I’m in Ghana! This has been one of my most frequently uttered phrases since arriving here 10 days ago, second only to “I can’t believe how welcoming these people are!”
It wasn’t until I started packing up all of my things in preparation for this trip that it finally hit me—I was about to journey half way around the world to work in a small community library in a remote village in Africa. What was I thinking!!?? I had absolutely zero ideas about what I was going to do once I got to Ghana, not to mention how the hell I was going to make the 20 hour trek from Accra (where we landed) to Sumbrungu (our village). I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and needless to
say, I was terrified. As much as I tried to put on a brave face for the benefit of my family and friends, who were already so worried about me, I don’t think I could hide how nervous I was. During the course of our day long sequence of plane rides from Portland to Ghana (stopping in LA, Detroit, and Amsterdam along the way) the petrified feeling that had overtaken me began to melt away, slowly becoming replaced by anxious excitement. The moment we stepped off the plane, it began—Annie turned to me and in her best California surfer accent exclaimed, “Dude, were in Ghana!”
It wasn’t until I started packing up all of my things in preparation for this trip that it finally hit me—I was about to journey half way around the world to work in a small community library in a remote village in Africa. What was I thinking!!?? I had absolutely zero ideas about what I was going to do once I got to Ghana, not to mention how the hell I was going to make the 20 hour trek from Accra (where we landed) to Sumbrungu (our village). I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and needless to
say, I was terrified. As much as I tried to put on a brave face for the benefit of my family and friends, who were already so worried about me, I don’t think I could hide how nervous I was. During the course of our day long sequence of plane rides from Portland to Ghana (stopping in LA, Detroit, and Amsterdam along the way) the petrified feeling that had overtaken me began to melt away, slowly becoming replaced by anxious excitement. The moment we stepped off the plane, it began—Annie turned to me and in her best California surfer accent exclaimed, “Dude, were in Ghana!”
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