I Am Ghana (And So Can You!)

Mayi Mava

2011-10-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Conclusion

Mr. Padhiar completed his Peace Corps service in Ghana on August 10, 2011.. He will forever remain a Peace Corps Volunteer

It has been just about 2 months since I ended my service, it was a truly beautiful experience.. Friendships, lessons, and memories which I hope to keep forever

And I thank you, the reader, for allowing me to share some of my experience with you

Each Peace Corps volunteer is required to write a Description of Service (DOS, in the 3rd person).. The DOS serves as the official Peace Corps reference for returned Volunteers.. It describes the Volunteer's training and select overseas activities in non-evaluative terms

I leave the reader with my own DOS from Ghana (with some minor edits):

Peace Corps Volunteer Manish Padhiar

Description of Service

Ghana 2009-2011

Ghana is a West African nation of 24 million people. It became the first sub-Saharan colony to achieve independence in 1957. With a GDP per capita of less than $1,100 and an average life expectancy of 57 years, Ghana is listed as a developing country.

Peace Corps Ghana traces its roots and mission to 1961, when President John F. Kennedy sent the very first 50 Peace Corps volunteers to serve their country in the cause of peace by living and working in Ghana. Celebrating its 50th year in Ghana, Peace Corps is more vital than ever with volunteers working at the grass roots level in education, health, and agribusiness.

Pre-Service Training (PST)

Mr. Padhiar arrived in Ghana on June 4th 2009 to begin an intensive PST program. The 10-week training program was held in the lush hills of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Mr. Padhiar lived in the small farming community of Old Tafo with a loving host family where he was introduced to new foods, languages, norms, values, jokes, etc. – in short, a new culture. Sticky balls of starch, chicken alarm clocks, “Akwaaba!”, loud indistinguishable music, and cramming 6 into the backseat were all part of Mr. Padhiar’s new life. In addition to his homestay experience, his formal cultural and technical training included:

 100+ hours instruction in Èʋegbe (local language spoken at his site)

 50+ hour of area studies (history, economics, and cultural norms of Ghana)

 2-week teaching practice at a host high school (teaching methodology, classroom management, rules & regulation of the Ghana Education Service)

Having satisfied all training competencies and achieving an intermediate-high level on Èʋegbe, Mr. Padhiar was sworn in as a Peace Corps Volunteer on August 12th 2009.

Tsiame, Keta, Volta Region

Mr. Padhiar was assigned to live in Tsiame located in the southern municipality of Keta in the Volta Region – approximately 150 km east of Accra. The approximately 5000 residents are primarily subsistence farmers and many are master-weavers of colorful yet simple & elegant kente cloth. And as the traditional military headquarters of the Anlo-Èʋe tribe, Tsiame is the site of the enstoolment (or enthroning) of any chief in the Anlo community.

Mr. Padhiar was provided with a humble two-room accommodation in the Deme part of Tsiame. His first month in Tsiame was spent trying to set up his house and learning the layout of the village. Mr. Padhiar immediately started to develop personal bonds with several town folk, particularly the local waakye (rice and beans) seller whom he soon regarded as his site mother.

Tsiame Senior High School

With a passion for education, Mr. Padhiar enthusiastically started his service as a Science Educator at Tsiame Senior High School. The school was established in 1997 to provide idle youth in town the opportunity to further their education. It consisted of two-buildings with six classrooms and a daily attendance of ~150 students.

The local senior high schools in Ghana consist of three academic levels (or “forms”) – the American equivalent of 10th through 12th grades. In all his official duties, Mr. Padhiar reported directly to the Headmaster – whom he regarded as a mentor throughout his service.

Mr. Padhiar cultivated life-long friendships with his fellow Ghanaian teachers over his two years. Mr. Padhiar especially enjoyed sitting under the cashew tree in his school with them to share meals, enjoy the cool breeze, and discuss issues ranging from classroom discipline to world politics.

Teaching

At times the only science teacher in the school, Mr. Padhiar taught General Science to all three forms. He was solely responsible for all material and course development, including creating original & creative lesson plans and visual aids. He also faced the daily challenge of managing classes of 60+ students, many of whom had failed their high school entrance exams, and many of whom were older than he. However no matter the situation, Mr. Padhiar always maintained a positive atmosphere in his classroom.

A year into Mr. Padhiar’s service, Tsiame SHS was furnished with a new computer lab (with satellite internet connectivity) by the Government of Ghana school connectivity program. Happy to have the opportunity, Mr. Padhiar spent countless hours training students (and teachers) on the fundamentals of computers and the internet. In a town with about a half of the population still living in mud-brick houses and straw roofs, there was high-speed internet availability a few feet away – a stark example of the reality of his service with which Mr. Padhiar was forced to come to terms.

Boyeyey Club

In addition to formal teaching, Mr. Padhiar and a fellow teacher started a life-skills club at Tsiame SHS (Boyeyey Club) to develop confidence within students. Activities included a vegetable garden, tree planting, poster competitions, and a mural. The club demonstrated the feasibility of and introduced the proper cultural practices for growing vegetables in an area otherwise not known for such farming. Lettuce, squash, peppers, cucumber, beans, and groundnuts were in plentiful supply during the club’s growing season!

The club’s crowning achievement was the completion of a 30’ x 15’ World Map mural to beautify the campus in August 2011. With a lack of even a globe or world maps, students (and teachers) were ignorant of the geography of the Earth. “What country is the blue?” asked one student referring to the ocean. As the map took form, Mr. Padhiar took delight in watching community members staring, pointing, and discussing world geography.

Basketball Court

As a member of the school’s Sports Committee, Mr. Padhiar and several interested students raised money to construct a basketball court. A half-court, made of laterite stone, was completed June 2011. The school now includes basketball as part of their sports program.

Secondary Activities

Spelling Bee

“Definition please?” “Please, use the word in a sentence?” were questions Mr. Padhiar heard constantly during the time he spent coaching the students of the local Tsiame JHS in preparation for the 2011 Spelling Bee. With the help of the JHS English teacher, he coached a group of 10 students over the course of 2 months for the Volta Regional Bee held in November 2010.

One of JHS spellers was successful in the Volta Regional Bee, and they traveled to Accra together in March of 2011 to tackle the National Bee. Though Godfred was knocked out in the second round, Mr. Padhiar is certain that Godfred (and other students) took away with them the confidence that comes from training and preparing for such an event.

Mr. Padhiar also worked closely with the Spelling Bee executive team in Accra to identify best ways that Peace Corps volunteers might support the Ghana Bee.

Students Taking Action Reaching for Success (STARS) Conference

Mr. Padhiar had the unique opportunity to interact with Ghanaian companies and international organizations in the capital of Accra as the Fundraising Coordinator for the 2011 STARS Conference. The conference was a Peace Corps Volunteer-supported leadership conference for 60 exemplary Ghanaian senior high school students. It took place in June at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology college campus in Kumasi, Ashanti Region. The conference focused on leadership skills, female empowerment, HIV/AIDS education, and the realities of tertiary education.

As the Fundraising Coordinator, Mr. Padhiar was responsible for the procurement of all corporate donations for the event. He managed professional relationships with members of the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service and a slew of corporate sponsors, including Nestle Ghana Limited, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, Tullow Oil, and HFC Bank.

Peace Corps Volunteer Trainer (PCVT)

In June 2010, Mr. Padhiar was selected to be a trainer for the incoming group of Peace Corps trainees. Along with training staff and fellow PCVTs, Mr. Padhiar helped to shape and implement the Pre-Service and In-Service Training programs with primary responsibilities in the Education sector. Official duties included the development of lesson plans and facilitation of sessions.

During PST, eleven Science Education trainees looked to him as a link between training sessions held in Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region and the reality out in the field. His valuable input in the need for Education volunteers to “get in the field” during training was a significant addition to future training program design.

He continued his duties as a trainer at IST where he was responsible for reconnecting with each volunteer as well as their community counterpart to discuss lessons learned and help shape a plan of action for work and projects they hoped to accomplish at their various sites.

Serving in the role of a PCVT was an excellent opportunity for Mr. Padhiar to reflect on his own initial aspirations for joining the service.

Project Advisory Council (PAC) Member

Mr. Padhiar was also chosen as a volunteer representative of Science Education at the PAC meeting in early 2011. The committee consisted of prominent figures of the Ghana Education Service, staff from sister international volunteer agencies, fellow Peace Corps volunteers, and Peace Corps executive staff. The goal of the PAC was to evaluate the current over-all project plan of the Education sector of the Peace Corps in Ghana and provide guidance for future alterations. Mr. Padhiar added valuable personal experience from his service to help establish the role of education volunteers in the Ghana.

Cultural Exchange

Peace Corps was established to promote peace and friendship through the understanding of cultures. Mr. Padhiar traveled to all ten regions of Ghana. He witnessed the wide spectrum of cultures that is Ghana: from the grand Asante culture to the industrious Eves to the peaceful Gonjas; from the pre-dominantly Christian south to the Muslim north; from traditional village life to the cosmopolitan Accra lifestyle. In particular, Mr. Padhiar integrated in to the Anlo-Èʋe community of Tsiame.

Daily Activities

Though Mr. Padhiar’s teaching duties were demanding, he found time to join the Tsiame people in doing daily and seasonal activities. On numerous occasions, he went to farm where Mr. Padhiar used simple tools such as a cutlass and hoe to plow the land as has been done for centuries. He also went to the Keta lagoon to set fishing traps and fish with a net – a memory that Mr. Padhiar hopes will never fade.

Southern Volta is well-known for one specific food – akple (cooked corn dough). Akple, sometimes taken for all three meals a day by the locals, quickly became Mr. Padhiar’s staple dish for supper.

Traditional Society

As most societies in Ghana, Tsiame is traditionally governed by chiefs and the opinion leaders of the area. Mr. Padhiar developed strong bonds with various opinion leaders, including the Chief, the Queen Mother, and the Assembly man. Mr. Padhiar actively sought their guidance and views on the development of the school and the town. And more importantly, he got to know intimately the structure of the traditional leadership and learn the history & culture of the Tsiame people through numerous conversations.

Traditionalists – people who follow the beliefs of their ancestors – are thought to be uneducated and uncivilized. However, appreciative of the richness of their customs & beliefs, Mr. Padhiar on many occasions joined them at their ‘church’ – aptly named Sankofa (translated from Twi to mean "go back and take"). There he would enjoy the beat of the local drumming and dancing, in which he frequently took part.

Hiplife Music

A small but meaningful part of Mr. Padhiar’s service was his passion for the increasingly popular Hiplife music scene in urban centers. Hiplife, which finds it roots in jazz and hip-hop, was found blaring on speakers through the country – in restaurants & stores, on all public transport, and on most mobile phones. Mr. Padhiar was introduced to Hiplife literally on the first day in country and continued to explore its lyrics & beats throughout his service. This provided Mr. Padhiar a more complete & meaningful portrait of Ghanaian social culture.

Close-of-Service

For his dedication and service, Mr. Padhiar was honored with a personal plot of Tsiame land from Togbui Shikabli. Mayi Mava (“I will go and come” in Èʋegbe) were the last words to his mother at his site in Ghana.

Mr. Padhiar has become a citizen of the world. Because of his Peace Corps experience, he has become sensitive to differences in cultural values, comfortable sitting on sand floors and talking to tribal leaders, happy to share a bowl of akple with friends, and in awe of the struggles of financially-poor people who manage to maintain their dignity and care for their children.

Mr. Padhiar completed his Peace Corps service in Ghana on August 10, 2011. He will forever remain a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Untitled

2010-11-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

Introduction

A lot of major events have transpired since my last post.. Here are just a few glimpses:

Going Home

For those that do not know, I went home-home (LA!) for a few weeks during my school break.. I wish I had made that visit under different circumstances, but that is life

Here are some thoughts on how the trip in its relation to my Peace Corps experience:

The trip forced the realization that my time in Ghana is very limited.. 2 years! But with months quickly passing me by.. I now have only 10 months left!

Moreover, I missed my life in Ghana in that short period.. The simple, natural surroundings and people.. However, I didn’t miss the food that much – I was too busy gorging some American favorites :).. Although I did get sick for part of the trip and didn’t get a chance to taste all the flavors I had hoped ;(

I am definitely not ready to call my Peace Corps time quits.. There is still much I have to learn and still much I hope to accomplish.. The “much to accomplish” part is what I am worried about.. It took me all this time to just get used to life, and yet with only 10 months left, I still have a lot of items on my “To-Do List”:

- improving my teaching

- starting my Boyeyey Club

- doing the World Map project with my students

- learning to weave kente-cloth

- go fishing in the lagoon

- teaching kids bhangra! ;)

With 10 months left, the trip home also forced me to realize the giant shift in my lifestyle coming in the near future.. An even more intimidating shift than the original one from life in the US to the one is Ghana.. For my Peace Corps experience was somewhat structured, whereas the next stage in life is completely open to the imagination

However, I will not bore/confuse you with my jumbled thoughts the next steps in my life, but it is terrifying to start planning for a life 10 months in the future!

One thing I have already started to develop is a POA (plan-of-action) for coming back to visit Ghana!

Another major event was the visit of 2 friends (J and Z)! I have to admit, it was a lot of work than I had expected.. As a rural volunteer, you quickly forget the little difficulties you faced in the transition period from the US to Ghana.. Those little difficulties become “normal” as I tried to explain in the last blog

My own standards for cleanliness, punctuality, food have changed dramatically.. That makes planning a trip for 2 US citizens a bit tricky.. Rather very tricky!

Though stressful at times, I was delighted to have 2 friends come and visit.. There are very few people who even think about visiting a friend in such conditions and I am glad I have 2 who not only thought about visit, but acted upon their thoughts.. Thanks guys :)

Here is a brief overview of the trip:

- Accra

- Tsiame (my site) – A chance to see first hand the rural lifestyle.. One afternoon, we were all dragged into dancing the “chicken dance” at a funeral event.. We, however, did forget to visit my school!

- Atimpoku – A nice relaxing visit on the Volta River front.. We took a speed boat to go look at the Volta Dam (generates the majority of power for Ghana!)

- Old Tafo – A quick stop over to see my Home-stay family

- Kumasi – The capital of the Asantes.. People sometimes refer to Kumasi as an “urban village”.. It reminds me of Mumbai due to the sheer number of people in the market there.. Here, we visited some shrines and got to see a glimpse of the Asante king during a visit to his Palace!

- Techiman – A hidden monastery.. Peaceful, serene, and it has the most incredible views from top of these huge boulders

- Cape Coast / El Mina – The castles at both the places tell chilling stories of the slave trade that transpired there.. We also visited Kakum National Park – with its 40 foot high canopy walk!

1^st NOTE: To read an experience directly from one of my friends, scroll down to the end of this blog entry for their guest blog section :)

2^nd NOTE: As the reader already is aware, pictures are this blog’s forte.. Only enjoy.. There are some on Facebook

School!

School official began September 27^th – after a 2 week nation-wide delay due to inadequate infrastructure for a new 4-year high school education system that was being implemented

Much debate has ensued on the change from a 3-year high school system to a 4-year one and back to a 3-year one.. Note that the students in the incoming class will be doing 3 years of high school, whereas the students already enrolled will be doing 4 years.. A bit confusing even for volunteers here :/.. And a lot debate focuses on current facilities – which cannot support the new incoming freshman class.. Sadly, many people say it is more of a political issue than an educational one

The new freshmen class have started, sluggishly, to pour in (Note: Enrollment will probably last a few months).. I love the look of fresh faces :)

I have also.. FINALLY.. Started my BC Tsiame (Boyeyey Club of Tsiame) with some of the students in the school.. Our first project is what else but a garden in the school :).. I have some more things in mind, but those will have to wait.. Maybe bhangra lessons ;).. I will keep my readers updated on the projects

Scripps Spelling Bee

A small side project I am doing is working with the primary/junior high schools here to enroll some students into the Ghana national Spelling Bee (associated with the Scripps Spelling Bee in the US).. One contestant from Ghana will compete in the finals at Scripps!

We (the English teachers and I) have completed the School Bees and some winners were selected.. We now are in the process of training them to compete in the regional level.. Hopefully, we can have at least 1 representative to the national level in Accra in February!

Boyeyey Gardens

Most of the nursery was eaten by snails! Thus, only the seeds that we planted directly are growing.. American Sweet Corn is doing just fine here and the Squash is doing incredibly well in the African continent.. I bought some local seeds to supplement the lost nursery.. I have my fingers crossed :)

Fin

And so I end another post.. Short, sweet, and very late

Enjoy

Year In..

2010-08-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home
It feels great being back in Tsiame.. We just finished up the year with finals this past week.. The month of August marks my 1 year anniversary as Tsiame as my Home.. It has been a hell of a year.. An experience I wouldn’t easily give up.. And yet, I know I have plenty to learn.. Boyeyey!
So the 1 year anniversary got me thinking.. Thinking about the reasons for joining Peace Corps.. And if I was on the track.. I am not too good at analyzing.. Or at least not too good at expressing them in written word.. I do, however, have something for the blog

Re-Connect
Disclaimer: In hindsight, I should have posted these at the beginning of my blog to frame the reader’s experience.. Enjoy.. The following compositions were part of my application (the headings provide the subject at hand).. Thus, the following will (hopefully) be in proper English, and not all this.. smiley face crap ;).. Well, in the name of transparency, here it goes.. O by the way, the compositions are dripping with naiveté ;)

1. Cross-cultural Experience:
I was born into a small town in the heart of South India called Coimbatore in the state of Tamil Nadu. Although the major language in the state was Tamil, I attended an English school, studied Hindi as a second language, and spoke Gujarati (because of our West Indian ancestry) at home. With language being a major barrier between cultures, my understanding of so many languages illustrates the variety of cultures I was exposed to at a very young age. Though I did not know it at the time, this background allowed me to understand the many differences inherent in people because of their ancestry and culture.
The most significant cross-cultural experience was yet to come when my parents decided to move to the United States in September of 1994. I was an 8-year-old kid who found himself lost in a completely different melting pot. Although I spoke English, it was as if they spoke a different language in America: people spoke with a different accent, used different words, and enunciated differently. The cultural disparity did not stop at the way we spoke English, but extended to how different people looked, ate, and thought.
It was a tough but rewarding experience to learn and adapt to the norms and customs of American society. Because of my unique childhood, I never saw ‘culture’ as a means of exclusivity, but rather as a different way of addressing the same questions in life. However, many kids in American schools were not as open minded and did not see different cultures with the same tolerant mind I had. Initially, they saw my culture and appearance as something unusual and so were hostile towards it. The most common tease toward me was the character of Apu from the Simpsons – people would either imitate Apu in front of me or would tell me to imitate him for their pleasure. And though I do not consider this a healthy cross-cultural experience, it was the understanding that I carried over from my childhood that helped me develop patience and love towards my peers. Moreover, it created a drive in me to understand my own traditions so that I could convey that our differences are not conflicting.
My current perspective of life and culture is significantly based upon the multifaceted combination of my upbringing in India and my parent's decision to immigrate to the United States. Exposure to various people and thought processes was key in defining ‘culture’ in an open manner – for I believe, culture is both up to the individual and to the community. The differences in culture should act to enrich society as a whole and add diversity to our lives. In addition to tolerance and acceptance, a major trait I owe to this experience is respect; I respect and love each and every person not only because of our similarities, but also because of the differences that make us all unique. These qualities have led to me to apply to the Peace Corps because I see this experience as an opportunity to expand and develop these characteristics even further.

2. Motivation Statement:
Simply put, my goal in life is ‘to live a life that is worth living’. But what kind of life can be defined ‘worthy’? My parents have ingrained in me the importance of giving back - not only by monetary means, but also by my actions and intent. My upbringing in India and immigration to the United States has developed in me an open-minded and respectful attitude toward all cultures. With those teachings, I define my life to be ‘worthy’ if I am able to offer my services to make a positive difference in the world.
When I learned of the Peace Corps, I saw it as an ideal outlet to allow me to pursue my goal of giving something back. I know that I am not going to change the world with my service, but my two years will hopefully improve the lives of a few souls including mine. And though it seems natural to me to join the Peace Corps, many of my family and friends are a bit more skeptical. A standard question that comes up when I tell someone that I am interested in the Peace Corps is: Why do you want to leave everything behind?
My response to them has been that, I do not think I am ‘leaving’ anything behind but rather think of my two years as ‘gaining’ an experience of a new culture and life views. ‘Leaving behind’ is the complete opposite of what I see as a genuine Peace Crop experience; rather, I see it as an opportunity to take the love, beauty, knowledge, and morals I have experienced in my life and share it with someone else and vice versa. The beauty of the Peace Corps is that I will have little or nothing in common with the local people of the country I will work in; the idea of connecting with someone just by the fact that we are both human carries with it a transcendental aspect to the Corps which I greatly admire. I would love to put into greater practice this idea of relating to and communicating with a person without any expectations which is a subject that I have been constantly exposed to through a spiritual movement called "Swadhyay" or self-study.
Another reason I want to volunteer for the Peace Corps is that I will get to go abroad and gain an experience that is unattainable in the United States. There is so much information and awareness that I would like myself to be exposed to, which is impossible through mere travel or reading. Peace Corps will allow me to interact with a community in a structured environment and provide me with a platform to communicate with people of a different background than myself and help build a better life for their community. I see the Peace Corps as a medium through which I can ‘give back’ and at the same time shape my world-view in a positive manner.

3. Aspiration Statement
[Note: This was written just prior to my departure and sent for review by Peace Corps Ghana office – not part of the original application.. I don’t remember the 5 categories, but still a interest read-thru :)]
A: “The toughest job you’ll ever love.” With this tagline, it seems that a Peace Corps volunteer requires a certain kind of self-confidence – a confidence that allows him to see past the hardships to the fruits of his service. I hope to use this self-confidence to guide me through my two years of service.
What fruits do I particularly hope from my service? Well, simply put, I hope to build self-less relationships with the local Ghanaians; to make a positive difference in the local community – be it to one person or to the whole town. Other than that I have no particular expectation other than I expect my service to be nothing like I imagine it to be while writing this statement.
I have learned in the past few years that the world does not revolve around any singular person. We are all in this together, so why not make the best of it for all of us. Thus, in addition to self-confidence, patience and flexibility are also important attributes to me. I intend to go into my service with not only a tolerant mindset, but one that accepts other cultures for what they are (other ways of life). “Respect” of culture and all human beings will be at the forefront in my mind.
In particular, I hope that my experience in tutoring and education will allow insight into my assignment as a Math/Science Teacher. Though there may be countless differences between the American and Ghanaian education systems, I hope to feed off the commonalities. For example, the unquenchable inquisitiveness of children/youth is true the world over and I hope to use that to my advantage as a teacher.
B: My former director gave me the following advice when he heard about my Peace Corps service: “Listen.” As a manager, he had learned from his experience to listen to what his employees wanted. He imparted this knowledge onto me: listen before you act. Patience and cultural awareness play crucial roles in working together, but I believe they come after truly listening to what the community wants from you (as a Peace Corps volunteer).
In addition, I hope not to impose any unsuitable American paradigm (of education or culture) upon the students or the local community. To work effectively, I know will have to gain respect for the culture and people of the community and vice versa.
C: I was born into a small town in the heart of South India (Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu). The state language there was Tamil, school was taught in English (with Hindi as a second language), and Gujarati was spoken at home (due to my West Indian ancestry). I was bombarded with a variety of language (and hence cultures) at a very young age. However, my most significant cross-cultural experience came when I moved to the United States (Sept 1994). I was an 8-year-old kid who found himself lost in a completely different melting pot. Although I spoke English, I thought the language here was alien: people spoke with an accent, spoke really fast, used different words, enunciated differently, etc. The cultural disparity did not stop there, but extended to how different people looked, ate, and thought. And tolerance was not universal – children tend to bully that which they don’t understand; countless times did I get made fun of for being Indian (be it because of my skin color or my accent). Though by no means a health cross-cultural experience, I did learn the importance of patience and understanding in cultural crossroads. I have come to understand that ‘culture’ is by no means a question of exclusivity, but rather as a different way of addressing the same questions we all have of life.
The knowledge gained from my past experiences will help me to adapt to the culture(s) of Ghana. I hope to learn and understand the cultural norms and mores of my community rather than blinding following suit. I believe this approach is not only more effective in adapting to a culture, but will also enrich my Peace Corps experience as a whole.
D: Technical, language, cross-cultural, health, and safety training – these are the training issues outlined in the Ghana Welcome Book. All 5 issues seem to be crucial to train a prepared volunteer on his 2 year service.
During pre-service training, I intend to focus on the skills that deal with culture. Language is the key to unlocking the world of beauty and knowledge otherwise locked within the local community. I hope to focus my efforts to develop my language skills the best I can. In addition, knowledge of indigenous Ghanaian norms will be an important step in allowing the local community to trust me and become comfortable with my presence. As a Teacher, the respect and trust of the community is a primary issue of concern and I hope to rid these as soon as I can when I arrive at my community of service.
I don’t expect to learn every nuance during the 10 weeks of pre-service training, but rather a foundation of policies, skills, and resources necessary to successfully begin my 2 years of service.
E: Independence, leadership, tolerance, understanding, gratitude, etc. – the Peace Corps service will no likely help foster and develop these qualities. These are standard and seem almost automatic with service, and all of which I hope to call upon after my service ends.
Additionally, I hope my experience will help to define my future goals after service. A standard question that comes up when I tell someone that I am serving in the Peace Corps is: Why do you want to leave everything behind? My response to them has been: I do not think I am ‘leaving’ anything behind; rather I think of my two years as ‘gaining’ – gaining a knowledge and experience of a new culture and life views.
My professional and personal aspirations center on the idea that I should never stop learning. I see my service as an opportunity to take the love, beauty, knowledge, and morals I have experienced in my life and share it with someone else, and vice versa. As I stated earlier, I probably will have little in common with the local people of Ghana; the idea of connecting with someone just by the mere fact us being human carries with it a transcendental aspect to the Corps which I greatly admire.
That being said, I know my Peace Corps service will have a direct positive impact on my personal and professional goals. Whether I choose continue down an international path of NGO development work or return home to graduate schooling or back to my former job, the Peace Corps will set a precedent of learning which I hope to never give up during my lifetime.

Analysis
Like I stated earlier, analysis is not my forte.. So, I am just going to leave you with this.. My naiveté is not completely dead (I hope not) :)

Blackstars
Before we get to my self evaluation.. I just want to say how happy people are here for defeating the US in the World Cup.. I still hear about how Ghana is superior to the ‘great’ America in football.. Enjoy enjoy.. I tell them I was supporting Ghana (the locals never believe me).. I am absolutely happy Ghana won that game
But! But! But! The way that the Blackstars were knocked out of the tournament was a tragedy.. The cheap Uruguayans! If you saw the game.. It was amazing.. It went to overtime.. And Ghana (with seconds left on the clock) shot the ball directly at the net.. But! This player - Suaraz - on the Uruguayan side blocked the ball with his HAND! CHEAP! And it turned out that the Blackstar player missed the ensuing penalty kick! Obvi! Asamoah Gyan! O how that hurt.. They then went on to play penalty kicks.. And Ghana ended up losing.. :/
It was absolutely heart-breaking to see Ghana (the last remaining African team) go out with the ball inches away from a victory ;(
Here is a link to the handball at the end of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUWZuioV_DY
And here is a link to FIFA's recap of the whole game:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/round=249718/match=300061508/summary.html

INTERNET!
O and by the way, a government sponsored program recently furnished Tsiame Senior High with 20 new computers (though the Windows on them doesn’t pass the genunine test :/), a laser printer, and a year of free satellite INTERNET!.. ONLY ENJOY IN LIFE!

PS
I’m lost in the “The Hidden Library of Individuals” too! ;P
Boyeyey!

GHANA vs. USA!

2010-06-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

My Apologies
It seems like it has been ages since my last blog entry.. I’ve used the internet many times, but I just didn’t have enough time to write out my thoughts for the blog :/
Thus, my apologies.. My apologies to all of you who keep up with my blog (i.e. MOM! ;)).. I will my best to post at least once a month! Enjoy
So, one reason I wasn’t able to keep up was the fact that I was on VACATION! Woot woot! 4 weeks of freedom.. Or I had thought.. In fact I was ridiculously busy the whole time! And still am! :/

Easter
The school vacation coincided with the Easter holidays.. And during Easter, Tsiame is a BUSY place.. It is a time for “home-coming”.. Welcoming all those Tsiame people who have moved to the city to come back “home” (for what they consider the most holy time of the year)
Let me give you an idea of how busy it gets:
1. An out-door DANCE CLUB! Yup, a dance club opens up during those few days.. Loud music, alky, dancing, disco lighting! It’s ridiculous.. I went one of the nights to check it out.. It was hopping
Half my students were there, so I didn’t really dance or anything.. Though I really wanted to :).. I’m in love with Hip-life music! (as it is called here).. If anyone is interested, let me know :)
But just imagine a out-door dance club in this usually quiet little town of a few thousand in the middle of nowhere.. Ah enjoy, I guess everyone just loves to dance! :)
2. Easter is also time for the annual DURBAR for the communities in this area.. A durbar (for those that don’t know – I didn’t know until Easter!) is a meeting of the community to discuss the development of the community.. All the chiefs and opinion leaders of the community are present.. This year’s durbar in Tsiame focused on Education.. The board of the senior high school was raising money to buy type-writers for the school.. I don’t exactly know why they wanted type-writers and not computers, but they collected over GHC 3000! Boyeyey!
NOTE: I don’t remember if I have explained this in any earlier blog, but Ghana (and I assume the rest of sub-Saharan Africa) has a very intricate governing system.. Power is held with the federal government of Ghana (democratically elected).. But it is shared on the local level with the tribal Chiefs -- traditional leaders at the rural community level.. Each community will have a main Chief and many Sub-chiefs.. And even a Queen Mother! And the durbar is one of the main events held by the community and its leaders for their own development :)

Nomadism
For most of the break, I was traveling for a variety of reasons:

1. GES Teacher Training Workshop
Two teachers in the all the Core subjects (English, Math, Science, Social Studies) from all senior high schools in Ghana were asked to come to a week long workshop.. The whole project was funded by Agricultural Development Bank (or something like that).. The purpose was to train Ghanaian teachers to be better teachers in their respective fields.. But being one of two science teachers in my school (by the way, we are both volunteers!.. The other one being a Ghanaian national service volunteer), I went along not knowing what to expect.. It turned out to be an awesome experience.. I got to meet the science teachers from the surrounding schools.. Some of the highlights included:
- Getting taught about ‘biotechnology’.. It’s a new topic added to the senior high school syllabus (so they were catching up the science teachers on the topic).. It was interesting to see the topic being taught without even the teacher himself never having been exposed to the biotechnology industry.. But he called on me to clear up some ideas.. I was happy to talk about my favorite biology topic :)
- Getting into a discussion (alright fine, argument) about the role of “God” in a biology classroom.. Especially in treating the topic of Evolution.. Growing up in a very religious (yet peaceful) country, people here do not really separate Church and State (e.g. Wednesday mornings are “Worship” time at my school).. All in all it was a good discussion/argument.. No feelings were hurt :)

2. All-Volunteer Conference: At the end of April, we had a week-long union of all the Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana.. I don't remember too many of the details, but it was a blast to meet volunteers from all the different parts of Ghana (I am all the way in the south-east corner, so it highly unlikely for me to casually meet up with people from the northern regions.. Enjoy).. I do remember that the event was sponsored by PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan Fund for AIDS Relief).. Thus, we had an exhausting dose of how to incorporate HIV/AIDS activities into our service here

3. STARS! = Students Taking Action Reaching for Success!
I talked about this on the last blog.. It was absolutely wonderful! Thank you for all of those that contributed thru the website!
Let me give you a quick overview:
I took 2 very bright students from my school.. One boy (Bright) and one girl (Elizabeth), both in their second year of SHS.. The conference was held in Kumasi (a bit far from my site), but we stopped in Accra for a day.. I took the kids to the National Theatre there.. There was some women’s day event going on there.. And they were testing people for malaria and HIV/AIDS.. All of us got tested for malaria.. And one of the students was brave enough to test of HIV/AIDS.. From there we headed to the University of Ghana, Legon campus.. And finally to the Accra Mall.. Now this may seem small to you, but it these kids never had seen a university campus before.. And this is the only major Mall in Ghana (I wish I could have taken them to see a movie :/.. Next time :))
The conference itself started Monday (May 31st) and continued till Friday (June 5th).. There was a different focus each day of the conference.. For example, one day was dedicated to on how to be a good leader.. Another focused on HIV/AIDS.. Then there was Tertiary Education day.. Guest speakers from various backgrounds were chosen to inspire the students to pursue higher education and become a leader in their community.. In addition, there were night activities, such as a talent show and a dance party, which really let the kids get loose and enjoy themselves.. The conference surpassed all my expectations.. This was probably the first time for most of the students might have a chance to leave their region and see another part of Ghana.. The first time to see a university campus.. The first time to interact with students from across the country.. I had a great time watching the students have fun (and learn)
The week after the conference.. The students presented what they learned during the conference to their fellow pupils in the assembly hall.. It was amazing! Elizabeth, usually very quiet and timid, was able to go up in front of the whole student body and give a presentation on leadership (I like to think the conference gave her that confidence).. Moreover, the 2 students even did a whole little HIV/AIDS spiel.. And a condom demo! In front of the whole student body! And teachers! Obviously, the auditorium went into an uproar during the demo.. But it was absolutely heart-warming to see the students take what they learned in the conference and apply it in their lives
Again, thank you to all the people who were able to donate! :)

4. Training Redux
Lastly, I applied.. And was chosen (somehow).. To be a trainer for the incoming group of trainees this year to Ghana (I'm at the training site as I write this :))
I'm getting to re-experience the training I had during my first 3 months.. Except from the side of the training staff team.. My goodness, it is hard to coordinate things here in Ghana.. Ridiculous.. Enjoy though.. Patience :)
The new trainees have arrived and are basically going through the same experiences (e.g. the starchy food, the constant attention, the Homestay families) as my training group had.. The trainee group is 70+ youthful, energetic Americans ready to take on the challenges of Peace Corps life in Ghana.. I love their positivity!
Observing the new group of trainees has highlighted for me the 'new normalcy' (as our Country Director calls it).. I hardly find the little things of Ghana strange now.. The attention, the goats and chickens, the bare taxis, the go-when-the-car-fills public transport system, the goats and chickens on top of tros.. Its all just life now
Only enjoy in life
The new group has also reinforced my view that Peace Corps is primarily a personal journey.. Sure the infrastructure for the Peace Corps is provided by the US government (aka the US taxpayers.. Thanks guys ;)).. But as this new group, my group was just one of many that have come to Ghana since 1961.. There have been thousands of volunteers that have completed their service in Ghana (NOTE: Ghana was the first country in which Peace Corps volunteers started.. And guess what, they were all Education volunteers :)).. Not to say, Peace Corps volunteers aren't making any difference, rather all difference/experience happens at the grass-roots level at your individual site.. And I love the fact that even though I am one of thousands of volunteers, the core of my Peace Corps experience is completely unique to me :)
Moving on.. Just a few days ago, I found out I am going to have some new neighbors at site! It won't just be Derek and I in Southern Volta.. 3 of the new trainees will be coming to the surrounding areas.. The closest is going to be science teacher going to the senior high school in my taxi town (Abor)!
In addition, the 3 weeks I'm spending at the training site is allowing me to re-connect with my Homestay family.. I had missed them.. And their food.. So much :)
Home Sweet Home
I can not wait to get back to Tsiame after all this traveling! I miss my school.. my students.. my Site Mom.. my house.. my neighbors.. my Peace Corps life :)

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP - SOUTH AFIRCA
Coming to the most important segment of the blog ;).. World Cup fever has infected Ghana.. I hope all of you in the US are following the games.. The country comes to a halt during all the Ghana games as everyone finds a TV to watch their beloved BLACKSTARS take the field
The World Cup started June 11th.. In South Africa.. And the first round (group stage) is about to come to a close
Yesterday, both Ghana and the US qualified to go to the round of 16.. And guess what?! GHANA faces the US (1 game elimination!).. The game commences at 6:30 pm this Saturday(Ghana Time)! (I'm rooting for Ghana :).. ‘When in Rome..’)
Sadly, Ghana seems like it is going to be the only African team to make it to the second round.. This is especially disappointing as this is the first World Cup on African soil :(.. But on the positive side, the Blackstars now have the support of the whole continent :)
I leave you with a link to the official World Cup song to get you into the spirit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRRXXWLviI0&feature=related

NOTE:
For those of you following.. You now know some highlights of my life in Ghana, if you could send me updates of your life.. That would be wonderful, just so I don't lose all contact :)
As always.. Only enjoy in life

How fast does Milk BURN?

2010-03-31T12:26:00.001-07:00

Introduction
I blame the tropical sun! Its too hot to sit inside my house.. Thus.. I haven’t written anything blog till now ;(.. My sincere apologies to my followers (i.e. my mom!) ;)
Anyway, today is a spectacularly gloomy day.. No sun, still hot, but not so much.. Thus, I write this blog :)

IST
In-Service Training (IST).. All the teachers were asked to bring a teacher from our school that you felt somewhat close to.. I took the Economics teachers.. Its been so long that I unfortunately do not remember much of what we went over during IST.. We did go over how to apply for money for projects (see STARS conference below :))
My favorite part of IST was going to visit my Home-stay family.. This training was at our Pre-Service Training (PST) site.. My Home-stay mom (her name is Rosemond) was just the same.. No English, but full of laughter.. It was great to be back with the family after so many months away from them.. It reminded me of how much I loved their company.. And food.. Comfort (the daughter) made me her signature egg sandwich.. I almost cried

Avatar
Well after IST, the Econ teacher and I were traveling back to Tsiame.. And we had to stop in Accra.. It seemed like a great idea of take him to the Mall there (the one and only mall in Ghana and maybe even West Africa – excluding Nigeria).. And on top of that, I wanted to treat him to a movie in the mall movie theatre
The only problem was which movie to take him to.. ‘Avatar’ was playing.. And having heard rave reviews about it.. I decided to go for that one
Let me tell you straight out.. I was not a fan of the movie (and even if I saw it in 3D, maybe I’d appreciate the effects, but the story was so cheesy).. Enjoy enjoy
Anyway.. Just try to imagine watching Avatar with a person who doesn’t really see American movies.. Has no concept of sci-fi or CGI.. Never been to a mall or a theatre.. He told me that he liked the movie.. But I know he did not get the concept of the other planet stuff.. During the movie, I would take my eyes from the screen to his face.. It was hilarious, he had a blank face with eyes wide open not knowing what the hell was going on

The Kitchen is now OPEN
The biggest change in my life right now is food.. I started cooking for myself in the past few weeks.. O my goodness.. It’s a huge chore.. I’m already dreading making dinner for tonight as I write this.. A meal doesn’t just include the process of cooking.. The following is the short version of what I go thru each time I cook:
Decide – It takes me about an hour to decide what I want to eat (well it also has to correspond to what I can actually make)
Gather – I don’t have a fridge, and it is way too hot inside my room to keep veggies or any perishables.. So before every meal I will go gather ingredients from a local stall (usually tomatoes, onions, garlic, eggs)
Prep – Because of the lack of my culinary experience, I have to prep everything before I turn on the stove (I added this step recently, as I kept burning everything :/).. Enjoy in life :)
Cook – Finally I start cooking.. Depending on what it is (egg sandwich, vegetable stir-fry, pasta, navratan korma), it takes anywhere from 15 mins to 2 hours! (I got the egg sandwich down to a science)
Eat – Eating.. My favorite part! I devour anything I make.. And usually make too much so I invite the local kids (who spy on me while I am cooking) to join in :)
Clean – Dishwashing.. My least favorite part! There is no sink.. Enough said
Bath – By the time I cook and eat and clean.. I am a sweaty mess.. So I usually have to bath by the end of the nightly dinner event :)
All in all, it takes about 3-4 hours! I miss FAST-food :/
(P.S. – Thank you to the Thakar and Pandit families for their many instant meals! And MOM! Boyeyey! :))
Milk burning.. So coming to the title of this blog.. How fast does milk BURN?.. Well, I don’t know.. But it sure it burned to a crisp after an hour :/.. One of the first days I started cooking for myself, I was able to get a hold of some cow’s milk (hard to get here).. And I wanted to boil it before I drank it.. Put on a low heat.. And then went to grades some papers while it was coming to a boil.. Well, I was so into my work, I completely forgot about the milk.. It just kept on boiling/burning.. Finally someone knocked at my door asking if I was roasting anything inside.. I turn around and the pot is pure black.. The white of the milk was completely gone.. I had never seen anything like it before
I have come very far from that initial stage of milk burning.. I have successfully cooked many edible foods (sometimes a little burned ;)).. From rice and tomato stew to pasta to even navratan korma.. My favorite thing to cook (because it’s easy and fast) is the “versatile egg”.. Scrambled, omelet.. Well those are the only types I cook :).. But I can make a mean Egg Sandwich.. Esp. when avocados are available.. Mmmm.. You are all invited!

A Blow-Dryer, a Kimono, and a Telescope
So I recently purchased the above named items in whim.. It was awesome.. From where? Well there is this other volunteer organization.. The acronym is JICA.. Japanese International Cooperation Agency.. Its Japanese people volunteering in countries abroad for 2 years (we call it the Japanese Peace Corps).. Well somehow I ended up at one of their meetings in Accra.. Very strange to be in Ghana and end up in a meeting full of Japanese people.. The departing JICA volunteers were selling all their belongings.. I was lucky enough to snag a blow-dryer (to keep my hair smooth and full of volume), a kimono (cause it looks totally awesome), and a telescope (to gaze at the stars.. I just wish I knew how to use it :/)

School
The school is nearing the end of the Second Term of the year.. We are about to take our exams.. They are being typed as I write this.. And I don’t mean on a computer.. By the TYPIST on a TYPE-WRITER! They are going to use an old time copying machine to make copies from the stencil the typist types the exams on.. This should be interesting
Some of the highlights of this past term include:
The school held its athletics at the beginning of the term.. Where the students compete in different track and field events.. 100 m, 200 m, 400m, X-country, relays, high jump, javelin, etc. It was great to watch the students compete and perform.. UNTIL, the Sports Master challenged the other teachers to a 100 m race.. Being the youngest, I thought I could beat the other teachers.. So I joined.. O what a mistake! Those guys are fast! Well, I could have still competed (and even won).. But I tripped at the beginning and then fell tumbling in the middle of the track (which was half dirty and half grass).. Now this was in front of not only all the other teachers and students, but most of the town (as they came to see the events).. Embarrassing to the max.. Enjoy in life
I was able to borrow a microscope from the neighboring school.. The kids did a science “practical” in which they saw animal and plant cells under the microscope.. To someone who has studied in the US, I did not fully understand the significance of having Teaching and Learning Material (TLM, as they are called).. In my school, we had many microscopes, and each of the students learned how to handle the instrument.. I completely took that for granted.. Here, my school doesn’t have a single TLM for science.. And that simple act of looking the microscope made it much easier for the kids to connect what we were learning in class about CELLS to life outside the classroom.. I’m hoping I also see an improvement on their test scores
Lastly, in the second week of March, all the schools in the district brought all their athletes and competed in all the sports and athletics events.. I went for a few days, but it was great fun.. About 70 students from each school (10 total schools), and some teachers.. If you have seen ‘Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander’, it’s exactly like that! Except our school wasn’t anywhere near the winner end’s.. Over-all we got LAST place :).. But hey, we are by far the smallest school in the district.. Next year, I want to take a Basketball team (yeah, they had Basketball!).. Just need to make a makeshift court at the school.

STARS
Talking about school.. There is this conference that is coming up that volunteer’s host every year.. STARS = Students Taking Action Reaching for Success..
A bunch of volunteers bring 2 students each from their respective communities (Senior High School students) to participate in a week-long conference.. It is unfortunate, but this is the last thing I am typing :/.. I got 5 mins left in the internet café..
But here is nice little blurb on the official Peace Corps website:
https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=641-291 (I hope it links :/)
I will definitely be taking 2 of my brightest and best students
That website above is also the official funding website.. hint hint :)

TIA
“Peace Corps types only stay around long enough to realize they’re not helping anyone. Government only wants to stay in power until they’ve stolen enough to go into exile somewhere else. And the rebels, they’re not sure they want to take over. Otherwise, they’d have to govern this mess. But TIA right?
Whats TIA?
“This is Africa”
[A scene Blood Diamond]
Now, I don’t believe the Peace Corps part.. But it seems like the “TIA” part is ingrained in people here.. The teachers and I are get into (friendly) arguments about various things.. The day before I watched Blood Diamond, we were arguing about how the student body president was appointed even after the students rejected him in voting.. At the end of an hour of going back and forth.. One teacher finally says “This is Africa.. This is how it is done here”.. He says this as if things in Africa can’t be changed because this is how it has been done in the past..

Peace Corps Times
“I believe in the power of the day to day, the simple yet otherwise impossible conversations, the truths that I speak and live that affect the people around me as I learn from the truths around me, in turn.”
[So-Youn Kim (PCV in Morocco) – RIP]
Her quote speaks volumes for the way I perceive my Peace Corps service.. Its not about “Development” and “Aid”(in the terms people use to describe the actions of the United Nations and World Bank).. Its more about the grass roots level.. Learning another way of life, making self-less relationships, the “day to day”..

The Joy of AC
O how I miss thee.. Air Conditioning.. “Day to day”

Conclusion
To all the people thinking about joining the Peace Corps (e.g. MOM?):
“Life in the Peace Corps will not be easy. There will be no salary and allowances will be at a level sufficient only to maintain health and meet basic needs. Men and women will be expected to work and live alongside the nationals of the country in which they are stationed—doing the same work, eating the same food, talking the same language.
But if the life will not be easy, it will be rich and satisfying. For every young American who participates in the Peace Corps—who works in a foreign land—will know that he or she is sharing in the great common task of bringing to man that decent way of life which is the foundation of freedom and a condition of peace.”
[John F. Kennedy]

2010 – The Year of the Blackstar

2010-01-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

Introduction
Happy New Year! 2010! Woot woot! :)
Here are a few glimpses of the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010

The School:
Nearing the end of the term in the school.. We had a couple really interesting events:

1. Inter-house Sports
All the students of my school are placed into 1 of the 4 ‘houses’.. These houses are used for any intra-school competitions.. The first of these I experienced was the ‘Inter-house Sports’ at the beginning of the month of December.. Football, Volleyball, Table Tennis
Classes are suspended for 2 days and the whole school partakes in the above sports (well, each house chooses players to compete in the events and the rest cheer for their team).. It was absolutely beautiful
2. Form 1 Initiation
Kind of like hazing.. The Form 1 had to go thru a semi-humiliating ceremony to be officially initiated into the student body.. The more note-worthy item was the dancing and rapping that went on during the ‘talent show’.. It was ridiculous.. The kids are so damn intelligent (maybe not in academics.. but in general).. Here were these teenagers who are at least bi-lingual.. If not tri- or quad-lingual.. Rapping.. In a language not their mother tongue (they rapped in Twi).. I caught some of it on my camera (you guys will just have to wait to see it till I get back I guess)
3. End-of-term Test
To save some money, the school decided to administer end-of-term ‘Class Tests’ rather than the official Exam (which would require the school to print out test for each class and student (by the way, printing is expensive!)).. That was an interesting experience.. I thought the first years were difficult.. I got the most trouble from my Form 2s.. They would not let me start the test.. It took an hour just for me to get them gathered and write their name and date on a piece of blank paper :/.. Well, I did get annoyed by the end of it.. I actually said ‘Shut-up’ to the class at one point.. My lowest point in Ghana ;(.. Once we got the test started it was fine.. Didn’t catch anyone cheating (as I did in the Form 1 class) :)
[By the way, I graded the test.. ;(]

Students = Sculpture
While on the topic of School, I heard this very inspiring story linked teaching.. This former teacher/professor (came to Tsiame for a funeral) told me a story about how as he was walking thru the streets of Togo, he came across this Sculptor.. Here is it (at least what I remember of it): He asked the Sculptor why he was using this very ugly piece of rock to work on.. The Sculptor said that there was beauty in every rock.. You have to go beyond what you see and be able to see its potential.. The former teacher related that story to teaching.. He said as the various rocks (crude in their natural state) so are the students that enter any school.. It is up to the Teacher to bring out the beauty of the students by sculpting their intellects :)
And here is a quote I came across recently.. I read it everytime I wonder what I am trying to achieve here in Ghana:
The single most important factor in determining student achievement is not the color of their skin or where they come from. It’s not who their parents are or how much money they have – it’s who their teacher is.
(President Barack Obama)

Vacation Feeling
After all that talking about teaching.. I was soooo glad for the WINTER BREAK.. 14 weeks for a term is just too long.. I am used to the quarter system from college (10 weeks.. Boom! Done!).. I was mentally tired from lesson planning, disciplining students, making up test questions, etc.
So what did I do on break.. Well, I spent both Christmas and New Year’s Eve with other Peace Corps volunteers.. It was nice to have a break from your routine Peace Corps life.. And be with only Americans again.. It re-energizes you in one way to go back to Site and work hard.. And in a different way, it can make you very home-sick :/
Being with other PCVs and it being the holidays.. Being alone at Site after the fact is not fun.. But I think I got thru that hump.. All the candy, letters, movies, etc. from home really helped (I especially enjoyed Soji’s card.. Its was very creative.. The abstract drawing really made me think ;))

I’m Singing in the Rain
So I haven’t written about this yet.. But there is a outside bathing area in the compound I live in.. It is my favorite part of the house (especially when there is water in the tank).. Taking a bath/shower outside is thy most wonderful way to get clean.. And when its raining, O it is heaven to be outside and being one with nature :).. I have decided.. In my future home.. There will be a designated outdoor shower.. Everyone is invited :)

Short and Sweet
Sorry to be so short.. But school and the holidays have kept me pretty busy.. Enjoy.. This coming week I will be attending IST (In-Service Training) with all the other Education volunteers from my year.. Where we will apparently be learning about different grants, HIV education, and effective teaching methods.. In addition to other things.. And for IST, each volunteers get to take a counterpart teacher along with them.. I picked the Economics teacher at the school to take with me.. I’m excited!
Moreover, the IST is being held at the PC training site near Old Tafo.. That mean I get to visit the Family I stayed with during PST (Pre-Service Training).. Boyeyey!
I hope your holiday was blessed as mine.. A very Happy New Year from me to you all :)

P.S.
Blogging shouldn't be a one-way channel.. I would appreciate any feedback you can provide to make me want to write :)
For example, I was told to write about my 'feelings'.. But I'm a guy, I ain't going anywhere near my feelings ;)

6 Down; 21 To Go ;)

2009-12-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

Introduction
Happy 6 months! My Peace Corps group has hit the 6 month mark of our time here in Ghana.. I heard that 2 volunteers recently decided to leave their service (for different reasons).. ;(.. I’m sure the decision was the correct one for them
Well, in other news.. The ‘Boyeyey’ is force now.. My teachers saw the word on one of my t-shirts and have picked it up instantly.. They’ve even added their own Ghanaian flare to the word.. Enjoy! :)
My new favorite past-time: FreeCell.. It is a damn addicting game!

My Life & Football
To use LG’s advertising tagline.. “Life is good”
As I stated in the last blog, my life has developed a routine.. The main activity being school (I’ll come back to that later)
Outside school, my interest in football (soccer) is developing at a considerably high rate: I not only play a few times a week, but I find myself in conversations revolving around the UEFA Leagues, the Africa Nations Cup, and the World Cup (I mostly listen ;)).. And recently, I just finished reading How Soccer Explains The World: An {Unlikely} Theory Of Globalization (Franklin Foer)
And now, although I have very little knowledge of the players on the team, my favorite Champions League team – FC Barcelona (their motto: ‘mas que un club’ – ‘more than a club’).. The team represents a ‘discreet charm of bourgeois nationalism’ (as Foer explains).. Who can resist some good ole’ bourgeois nationalism? ;)
To end this section, I’d like to state that any video/books on the history of or how to play football would be mighty helpful :)

Old Habits Are Hard To Break
While on the topic of routine.. It should be noted that come of my not-so-beneficial old habits are coming back in full force
For example, last Friday I went to bed at 10 PM.. Normal time for sleeping here.. But I woke up Saturday morning at 10 AM!! 12 hours!! I haven’t slept that long since I was on good ole’ USA soil :)
I love it!.. Even the intense sunlight of Ghana can’t force me to be a morning person ;).. To add a cherry on top, I then took a 2 hour nap Saturday afternoon after lunch :)

My Main Activity: School
As I hinted at in the last blog, my 2 main activities while I’m at school are: sitting under the shade tree and teaching ;).. The first one is self-explanatory.. So let’s go into some details of the second
I teach 7 (40-minute) periods of Biology to all 3 years in the school.. It’s broken down like this:
First Year class = 4 periods a week
Second Year class = 2 periods a week
Third Year class = 1 period a week
Note: That 1 period a week is an absolute waste.. By the time I get started on the topic, its time to end the Biology class for the week.. Let’s hope things shift a little next term
The schedule is a very relaxed one.. No more than 2 periods a day.. And I have no class FRIDAY! :)
Note: Here the year you are in school is commonly referred to as your ‘Form’.. So, first year in senior high school, you are a Form 1 student.. Second year, you are a Form 2.. And so on..

The Form 1s
Turning our attention to the first year students.. About 60 students in number (expected to reach a 100 next term)
I administered a test covering 3 basic topics: Introduction to Biology; Scientific Method; Classification.. Unfortunately, more than half completely failed the test.. From my analysis, there are 3 reasons to explain the below par performance:
1. English – The government maintains English as the official national language.. And thus school is to be taught in English.. However, most of these senior high school students do not possess some basic spelling and grammar rules.. Sentences structure, syntax, word choice.. Most things native English speakers take for granted are lacking here.. And to add to that, they have me as their teacher (with my American with a little bit of Indian accent).. Though they all say they understand me, I have a feeling about ½ have no idea what I am saying most of the time :/
2. Memorization – The students focus too much energy on memorization of facts and definitions.. [One student wrote the birth and death dates of Carolus Linnaeus when I had just asked for the name.. Who does that?].. And because of they spent the majority of their time developing the skill of memorization over the years, the students seem to have weak critical thinking skills.. Only one student received credit for the one question that required them to analyze information and make a judgment.. However, this seeming lack of critical thinking may just be a symptom of the first problem – the inability to express themselves properly in English – rather than an actual inability to think analytically
3. Resources – Blessed are we in America where students have abundant sources of information (e.g. books, magazines, TV, internet, encyclopedias, parents, etc.) Unfortunately, the students here lack most of those basic resources.. For instance, I can not just tell the First Years to go read about a certain topic in the textbook.. Because most can’t afford one :(
Although all the above statements create for a depressing situation, I am very optimistic about the future of these students.. I see much potential in their young and innocent faces :)
Note: After writing this part of the blog, I heard on the local radio that the Ghana Education Service (GES) is going to begin to implement a slow move from local language to English in the primary schools (modeling its efforts after a South African NGO).. Rather than just teaching in English.. Findings suggest it is much more practical to explain concepts and ideas in a student’s local language and then translate that knowledge into English

Hope
The Senior High Schools in Ghana revolve their curriculum around the content 1 main exam: West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE – pronounced ‘wa-see’).. It’s a test administered by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).. Students in the last year of High School usually take 8 separate WASSCE subject exams, the best 3 Core (Math, Science, Social Studies, English) and best 3 Elective scores make up their aggregate WASSCE score.. The best score would be 6 points (A = 1; B = 2…).. It’s like golf, the lower the score, the better
The results of last year’s students who took the WASSCE exam are in.. And there were some pleasant surprises.. But first, the bad news: more than ½ the students failed Math and Science completely (actually much higher than ½)
As for the good news: one student received ‘A’s in 4 out of the 8 exams.. His total score is good enough to allow him to enter university!.. Now, the only problem is financing university :/.. The good news doesn’t stop there.. A few other students also scored enough to allow them to enter some tertiary educational institutions (Teacher training colleges or Polytechnics).. Baby steps
The results of the last year’s WASSCE just bolster my optimism for the enter First Year students :).. They have 4 years to get that University-level score

Wa-Ga-Shi
In a completely unrelated matter.. But just as important ;).. I have access to milk! Real, white, beautiful, sweet Cow Milk! Last week I had a glass of real chocolate milk (Ovaltine).. And this week, one of my students made a local cheese out of the milk.. It’s called ‘wagashi’.. And the best part.. It tastes like string cheese!.. I love string cheese.. BOYEYEY! :)

A Brief History Lesson
Note: You’ll need this to appreciate the next section of the blog :)
Much of modern day Ghana was annexed by the British as the Gold Coast Colony in 1902.. However, World War II proved decisive in ending the colonial era in most of the Africa (and for that matter, most of the world).. The first serious call for Ghanaian independence came in 1947 with the formation of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), formed by Dr. JB Danquah.. They demanded ‘self-government within the shortest possible time’
Danquah invited Nkrumah (who was studying abroad in the US and UK) to act as UGCC’s Secretary General.. He accepted
In February 1948, colonial officers opened fire on a peaceful march killing 3 people (similar to events such as the Boston Massacre during the American Revolution or the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre during the Indian Independence movement).. This sparked riots all across the country.. Putting most members of the UGCC in jail (including Nkrumah)
After his release from jail in 1949, Nkrumah left the UGCC to form the more radical Convention People’s Party (CPP).. Their motto: ‘self government NOW!’.. The CPP started ‘positive action’ which included a series of boycotts and strikes (similar to the civil disobedience movement in India – ‘Quit India Movement’).. This eventually led to the installation of a new constitution to rule the Gold Coast.. Under the new constitution, Nkrumah was elected Prime Minister.. And as Prime Minister, he set about writing another new constitution.. One that gave the Gold coast virtual self-government
In 1956, he was re-elected and his CPP party won 74 out of 104 seats on a ‘pro-independence’ ticket.. Thus, Britain had no choice but to acquiesce to popular demand and granted the Gold Coast self-government on March 6, 1957
The Gold Coast was the first African colony to be granted independence in the post-war era.. And Nkrumah was elected as the first President.. The name ‘Ghana’ (adopted from an ancient West African empire) was chosen by Nkrumah “as an inspiration for the future”
Note: Most of the information for this section is from the Ghana Bradt guide book (4th edition) :)

Nkrumah = Brainchild?
Ghana recently celebrated Dr. Nkrumah’s 100th birthday (he died in 1972).. The celebrations stirred up arguments about putting him and only him in a pedestal for Ghana’s freedom from British rule (similar to saying Gandhi was the only reason India got its freedom).. To add fuel to the fire, the government has declared Nkrumah’s birthday as national ‘Founder’s Day’
Last week, our school district recently held their annual debate.. Fittingly, this year the topic was: ‘The independence of Ghana in 1957 was the brainchild of only Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.’
All the schools prepare arguments FOR and AGAINST the about motion/topic.. I sat in a few of the prep events, and was thus invited to join some of the students to the debate :)
My school (Tsiame SHS) beat the neighboring school in the first round.. Boyeyey! It was a big win for us (being the smallest school in the district).. However, the victory was short-lived as we lost to another neighboring school ;(.. Enjoy enjoy.. Next year, first place :)
One thing I’d like to write about is the female representation in the 2 schools that made it to the finals – each had 1 female member.. When either of them spoke, it was like listening to a professional debater.. Although both had a different style.. One was fiery (slamming a book on the judges table.. flashing newspaper headlines in front of the audience); while the other was calm and analytical.. Both were not only articulate, but very confident.. I would have quivered if I had to debate either of those girls.. It put a big smile on my face to see such confident Ghana females (gives me hope for the girls at Tsiame SHS).. I’m sure they both finalists have successful futures ahead of them

O Togo, Where art thee?
This seems to be a recurring issue in my blog.. The Tigo network is acting extremely strange – I’ve lost reception in most areas in town.. I still get 1 bar by my bed (if I’m lucky).. So, I have had to resort to using both my sim cards.. Tigo and MTN.. Some places in town have no reception on either sim :/.. Enjoy enjoy
My numbers again:
Tigo: 027-924-2710
MTN: 054-050-9894
Good luck getting a hold of me! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!
I forgot to mention that for the Form 3 Business students, I am their ‘Form Advisor’.. So during our weekly meeting.. I introduced the students to the Thanksgiving holiday.. Focusing on the importance of ‘giving thanks’ in our life.. I went around in a circle, giving each student a chance to say what they were thankful for in their lives.. It turned out to be a beautiful exercise.. I gave them the example that I was thankful for “ACs and fridges”.. But the students skipped all the material objects and said they were thankful for their parents and their health :)
Written in no particular order, I am thankful for:
clean water, my family, non-bucket showers, my American friends, my Ghanaian friends, not getting sick yet, my students, Google, Wikipedia, my education, my Indian heritage, my American up-brining, The Simpsons, milk, being in Ghana, the fan in my room, fridges, the Boyeyey
For Thanksgiving, the Peace Corps volunteers here were invited to the US Ambassador’s house for dinner.. :).. Without going into too many details.. It was a feast! (except no main veg dish.. Enjoy).. About 80 of us volunteers were able to make it for the dinner.. And the US Embassy made arrangements for all of us to stay with various American families working at the Embassy.. So over, good food, good company.. It was a mighty fine Thanksgiving
O by the way.. I miss not being in Shibir this year ;(.. Krutagnata 4 Life! ;)

BEEP BEEP BEEP! The Sound of Routine

2009-10-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
I have now been at my site for almost 2 months! And over 4 months since I have been in Ghana! O how time flies..
Like the sands thru an hourglass.. So are the days of our lives ;)

My Routine:
6:00 am.. BEEP BEEP BEEP!.. My alarm goes off..
I wake up.. Just to snooze it :)
6:30ish.. I wake up, shower, brush, get ready..
Go to eat breakfast (usually just some bread and hot chocolate)..
O how I miss the days of training when my family made me the most wonderful Egg Sandwiches in the world everyday for breakfast..
8:00 am.. I reach the school compound..
Do my thing at school:
If I have class, go and impart the awesome knowledge of Biology to students..
If not, enjoy the breeze under the Shade Tree with my fellow teachers ;)
12:00 pm.. I eat lunch at the school canteen..
It is either Wa Chi (beans/rice cooked together) or Ken-Kay (fermented corn balls)
3:00 pm.. I go back home
Maybe bathe.. Usually chill.. Read something
5:30 pm.. Head back to the school side to my Headmaster’s place for dinner
Eat dinner.. Sometimes even cook :)
7:00 pm.. Come back home
Visit my student's family close to me.. Play with his small brother
Then come back home and usually prepare for class the next day :)
NOTE: obviously there are variations.. But this is the barebones basic version of my day

The following were 3 days with special significance to me:

October 1.. Thursday.. My birthday :)
To celebrate, there was a little party at where some of the other teachers live.. Now let me tell you.. I went there expecting very little.. Just a few chairs and a few beverages.. We would sit and chat.. Basically, just chill chill.. Just chill ;)
Not to be so.. They had set up a computer and speaker system in their balcony area.. That over looks the grassland.. It was awesome.. Though there weren’t many women.. That by no way meant the teachers and I weren’t going to dance.. We danced the night away (just us guys).. Here are some songs from the play list:
Rihanna – Umbrella (feat. Chris Brown)
TLC – Scrubs
Blaque – Time After Time
Ja Rule – Always On Time (feat. Ashanti)
Afro Man – Cuz I Got High (my favorite :))
Then some reggae songs from Upriser (a teacher at the school!)
And lots of Barry White for some reason.. Enjoy enjoy
It was a birthday to remember for sure

October 12.. Monday
This was the day the first years for our School were supposed to report.. So the count at the end of the day.. 2!
2 first year students showed up for school! Now all they did was clean the classroom and sit on a bench.. I should have known.. Teaching obviously doesn’t begin the first week that you show up ;)
The next day about 10 showed up.. So that was encouraging.. The estimates for enrollment range anywhere from 20 students to 100.. I think we’ll end up probably having somewhere in between.. I’m excited to start teaching a completely new batch of students unaware of the exciting world of Biology! :)

October 13.. Tuesday.. A day that will live in infamy.. (Not cause it was Bhavin’s birthday.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!).. But because of what I found (or rather lack thereof) when I home in the evening
It’s about 8 pm.. I go to take my usual evening bath.. I’m in my towel.. Go to the bathroom.. Turn the faucet.. No water.. Hmm.. Maybe the pipe is locked.. So I go to the lock.. It’s open.. Hmm.. Let me check the tank..
The tank is EMPTY! No water! ;(
It is one of my nightmares.. I had no idea what to do.. It is 8 pm.. The public taps are locked.. How was I going to bath.. How was I going to use the toilet.. How was I going to brush!
…… ;(
Fortunately, one of my students brought me some water for the evening.. And even filled my buckets in the early morning.. :)
But it’s bucket-bathing REDUX.. I was not mentally prepared to go back to the life of an actually Peace Corps Volunteer.. I enjoyed my ‘Posh’ Corps experience with my own water tank and shower :)
I’m still a little shaken from that dreaded Tuesday.. But I think I’ll get over it.. Once my tank is refilled ;)

Buddhism:
Now, on the more philosophical level.. I started reading this World’s Religion’s Book (Smith).. I recently got to Buddhism.. I came upon this interesting little tid-bit that made me introspect.. Here is the paragraph from the book:
There is the question of whether people are independent or interdependent. Some people are most aware of their individuality; for them, their freedom and initiative is more important than their bondings. The obvious corollary is that they see people as making their own ways through life; what each achieves will be largely of his or her own doing. “I was born in the slums, my father was an alcoholic, all my siblings went to the dogs – don’t talk to me about heredity or environment. I got to where I am by myself!” this is one attitude. On the other side of the fence are those for whom life’s interconnectedness prevails. To them the separateness of people seems tenuous; they see themselves as supported and vectored by social fields that are as strong as those of physics. Human bodies are of separate, but on a deeper level we are joined life icebergs in a common floe. “Send not to ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.”
Now.. I thought a little.. But then my head started hurting, so I stopped ;)
The Peace Corps experience has definitely highlighted both choices of the question for me: Independent and Interdependent
I did the Peace Corps with the confidence that ‘I’ can achieve whatever ‘I’ put my mind to.. The sky is the limit
Hmm.. True to an extent.. I am in control of my life.. I am in Ghana after all
But.. Now there is a big but.. Coming to Ghana has made me realize how interconnected I really am.. There are plenty of periods where I doubt my decision.. Not because I don’t like it here.. Rather I think to myself: My family.. My friends.. My life is back there.. All my connections.. The people and the places that define me are back ‘home’
But then I usually snap out of that thought.. I move on
To the ‘iceberg’ part.. One of the main reason I joined Peace Corps is my belief in the oneness of all people.. Be it your family or your neighbor or a random Ghanaian in Tsiame.. So with this thought, I get re-energized with my Peace Corps experience
And to tell you the truth.. Now, I am making new bonds here: New family.. New friends.. New life here.. All different connections.. Not that these take the place of those back ‘home’.. Rather they add to new value to those old bonds
So, I guess what I’m trying to convey is that.. I am both independent.. And the interdependent type
Alright, enough of this rambling..

WORLD CHAMPIONS!
The Ghanaian Under-20 Soccer Team (the Black Satellites) are the winners of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup that was played in Egypt (Oct 16!).. Ghana beat Brazil in the finals (in sudden death penalty kicks!).. It was RIDICULOUS how dramatically the game ended. But in the end “we are the Champions / no time for losers / cause we are the Champions / of the World” :)
By the grace of Diwali.. I was in Accra that weekend and the capital was going nuts.. There was a huge street party with music and lights.. People were going absolutely wild.. Yelling, Dancing, Cheering, High-5-ing.. Merriment all around
Being in America, we usually turn the channel when news of Football (i.e. Soccer) comes on.. But to the rest of the world (excluding India :/), football is thy sport.. It is the global past-time.. People in Ghana (including me) see this victory as something special.. It puts Ghana “on the map” as the saying goes (especially because we beat the highly favored big dogs of football - Brazil).. Sudden death penalty kicks.. RIDICULOUS!

Diwali!
So the reason I was in the capital for the Under-20 Championship game was because of Diwali.. The 4 Indian volunteers were invited to a small party hosted by former Peace Corps volunteers that now work at the US Embassy in Ghana..
Divas.. Good food.. Fireworks.. Desert
Good night overall

By The Way:
And I’ve found internet (thru someone’s phone) in my market town!.. But to tell you the truth, I’ve gotten used to life without Youtube, Craigslist, Google, Wikipedia, Gmail.. It feels good to be less connected in a way.. This forces new bonds to be created here.. And thus, indirectly reinforcing those I left (as I described earlier :))

Till Next Time!
HAPPY DEEPAWALI! NUTAN VARSHABINANDAN! :)

Settling-IN!

2009-09-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
It feels like ages since I last posted on the blog. I have (quasi) settled into my new site/home – I’ve done everything from scrubbing the floor to meeting my neighbors to even cooking some of my own meals :).. Let’s explore in a little more depth shall we:

My Name:
I don’t remember if I explained this earlier, but Ghanaians have names for various conditions.. And they love when the “yewu” (Ewe for “white man”) uses the Ghanaian names:
- The most popular name throughout the country is given to you according to the day of the week you were born.. So basically, everyone in the country can be categorized using 7 names.. October 1, 1986 being a Wednesday – I am automatically given the name ‘Kaw-Ku’
- Then there are also names given to what child you were to your parents: I being the youngest of 3 boys – I am called ‘Bensa’
- My Headmaster’s son called me ‘Adem’ meaning “savior” – no one really calls me that, but I really liked the name :)
- Lastly, I was also given the surname ‘Dosu’ as I am living in the family house here in the town.. One night when the Dosu brothers got together at the house, they inaugurated me into the familySo my name now stands as:
Manish Kawku Bensa Adem Boyeyey Mahesh Dosu Padhiar

My Families:
So, let me just say it now.. I have multiple families here in Ghana.. My ‘Homestay Family’ that I stayed with for 8 weeks during my training I have introduced in a previous post.. I now also have an ‘Accra Family’.. And a ‘Site Mom’
The Accra family is my home away from home.. Let me just throw a few keywords out there:
Big Screen TV
CNN
BBC
ESPN
Air Conditioning
INDIAN food
Enchiladas
Shower with HOT water
Wii
Guitar Hero
INTERNET!
Anytime I might get overwhelmed by my Peace Corps service, I can take a few days to gather myself.. I’m a happy man.. All thanks to the ‘Patel Network’ ;)
And then there is also my ‘Site Mom’.. Well, she is my Headmaster’s brother’s wife (Note: I thought she was my Headmaster’s wife until last week ;/.. The family units, the ones we are familiar with in the US, are pretty hard to distinguish here in Ghana.. Everyone in town is related.. Either that person is a brother/sister/mother/father/wife/husband/grandmother/grandfather.. Enjoy huh).. But I probably spend the majority of my time with her.. As she cooks all my meals.. And as I love to eat, it was a natural attraction ;)

Cooking:
While we are on the topic of my Site Mom, I’d like to share with you my dining/cooking experience so far.. Usually, I eat whatever they throw at me.. Be it Ken-kay, Akple, Banku, Jolof.. (vegetarian versions of course)I thought food would be a great platform by which to explore Peace Corps Goal #3 (I think that is the number) which states to impart the culture and thus a better understanding of Americans on the local people of your site:
To achieve that goal, I introduced my Site Mom to Garlic Bread (one of the few things I know how to cook).. She loved that so much that the next day she prepared it for BREAKFAST! It was a bit difficult to explain the concept of appetizers, side dishes v. main dishes, deserts, etc.. But it was all good, I loved her enthusiasm
And just recently, I tried my hand at a semi-Indian meal: Thepla with Cabbage & Yam shak.. Mmmm.. It was delectable.. My Site Mom said I was a better cook than her.. :).. But I doubt that, she makes some mean stews
O, and I am stilling waiting for my kitchen table to be built to put my little stove on.. I guess its being made in Ghanaian Time
Enjoy in life :)

Tsiame Senior High School (TSHS):
So my School ‘opened’ Wednesday (September 9th)..
The Assistant Headmaster is leaving the school for a teacher’s training college in Northern Volta.. His reason for leaving was simple: the government pays nowhere near enough for him to support his family and the students at TSHS are in no condition to pay extra fees to support the teachers.. So, he needs to go to the school where he can earn more than just his government salary.. Family.. Students.. Family.. Students.. I guess family wins out in the end for most people.. Can’t really blame the guy for leaving huh
And I guess that is one thing Ghana has in common with the US: It doesn’t pay our educators anywhere close to what they are worth (that was for your Meeta! ;))
Though, Ghanaian teachers did just get a 17% increase in salary.. But hey I heard inflation was around 15% last year, so it’s not much of a raise
On the non-administrative side of school.. I thought classes would begin when school opens.. DEAD WRONG! In most (rural) schools in Ghana, most classes don’t begin for a few days/weeks after school opens and that’s for a couple reasons:
(1) They have to wait for students to come to school.. Particularly, in Senior High Schools because they are all boarding schools (i.e. students leave their hometowns to come live at the school for the term).. Students may not show up the first couple weeks at all
(2) Some time (usually the first week or 2) has to be given to weed the school yard and clean the rooms up a bit.. And when I mean weeding, its hard-core weeding.. There aren’t any lawnmowers or garden tools.. Just a cutlass (a BIG knife).. Which the students use that to chop the grass to a manageable size
(3) The incoming students to SHSs just found out their Junior High School (JHS) test scores now.. So now according to their test scores, they can apply to the SHSs of their choice.. The students that score the best on their JHS test (and if their parent’s can afford it) get to go to the top-notch SHSs (Note: In Ghana, only Elementary and Junior schools are free to attend).. This will take a few weeks/months to sort out
My site’s SHS is not by any means a top-notch one.. Regardless, I love the school here.. It is actually my favorite part of my site.. And who knows, maybe it can be a top-notch one in a few years :)
And an interesting tid-bit I found out about TSHS.. The school has no electricity, but someone in town introduced himself as the ‘School Electrician’.. Hmmm

Derek’s Site
So Derek.. My closest neighbor in Peace Corps lives in a small little village called Glime.. Its part of this bigger community, but his village is basically this small ‘island’ with a man-made road going to it.. It is on the Keta lagoon.. To describe it in two words: “ridiculously beautiful”
And I would say about 30 families live in the whole village.. Could walk the whole town and greet everyone in 15 minutes.. The people of his town say that their ancestors are from my town.. And they tell me that Tsiame (my site) has a lot of history associated with it.. I’ll report my findings soon :)
Back to Derek, he is an Environment volunteer.. He is helping them plant some trees on the lagoon in hopes of bringing back the natural bird life there.. And he wants to develop a tourism industry there as it is so beautiful.. I invite all of you reading this blog to come visit! :)

Funeral
Right in front of my house.. A Funeral.. Now I’ve explained about funerals being a big party before.. Loud music and dancing all thru the night.. And let’s not forget random gunshots at dawn (right outside my window!) to honor the deceased
The deceased was an uncle of the boy that was helping me clean and get acquainted with the town (and it was right in front of my house), so I went to some of the events.. I can’t handle the body being propped up so I skipped the whole burial part
BUT, I did end up going to one of the events that involved DANCING the “Ak-ba-ja” (the Ewe version of Chicken Dance).. I did a few rounds.. All the people were blown away by my rhythm ;).. It was a site to see.. It was fun for sure though.. But I had to call it a night at 10:30 PM, which is super late for me.. (sadly).. The loud music outside my room continued till 5 AM in the morning
Enjoy

Furthering Goal #3:During the funeral events, I met a few very cute little kids.. These particular kids loved me.. They would run to me only to stop and stare at me
A thought occurred to me! Why not teach them something educational and fun? But what?
TEAPOT! I taught them the “I’m a little teapot..” nursery rhyme.. Dance and all! So for the rest of the week that they were around.. They sang and danced the rhyme to me.. It was awesome! :)
And this one time, one of the kids started singing another song to me:
“War! Wha! What is it good for?..”
That’s all he knew.. I thought it quite random that he would know a 1970s song being only 5 years old, but I told him I agreed with him 100% about the content of the song ;)
Those particular kids are long gone.. But I have now thought of another activity to teach them next time they visit: BHANGRA! :)

Coconut Trees:
So there are plenty of Coconut trees here in my town.. One day this man in my town decides he wants me to try Coconut.. I said ‘sure’.. He instantly calls this kid of about 10 years of age over to us.. Tells him to climb the Coconut tree in front of us.. Now these trees are probably 50 feet high.. The kid somehow climbs that tree in 2 minutes flat and starts to throw down the Coconuts.. Now, I am praying the kid doesn’t fall, but no one seems to find it weird that a 10 year old kid is 50 feet in the air hanging on to Coconut leaves.. Enjoy enjoy.. The Coconut was really good though! MmmMmm
On the subject of tasty things.. They have Sugarcane here! MmmMmm
:)

My First Day Teaching:
I did get to introduce myself to the 3rd years in my school:
I made all the students come to the front..
Make name tags..
Drew a map of the US..
Told them about my Indian background..
Explained the importance of Biology in society (that’s what I’ll be teaching.. for the first few weeks at least)
In short, the interaction was awesome

Picture!
I don’t know how, but Pari found a very random pic my school! The only thing is that students wear a lime green uniforms now :). Here it is:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wzSA7UbveeI/SKBBgCgorjI/AAAAAAAALYo/NVkyA8t8qSk/conor%2B2.JPG&imgrefurl=http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9PMjy_2MlqnzeOVW15J7_Q&usg=__RaCqhkyO1JMWAiKrcKGelvNKlYY=&h=1200&w=1600&sz=18&hl=en&start=32&tbnid=1hJs6BsCVmj2gM:&tbnh=113&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DTsiame,%2BGhana%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D21%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26start%3D21

The Shade Tree:
When the teachers aren’t teaching, they come and sit under what I call the ‘Shade Tree’.. It is this huge tree right outside the classrooms that gives shade radius of about 10 feet.. There the teachers discuss things from the weather to football to politics to Obama/America.. O how they love Obama
The teachers: about 12 total.. 8 of who are in their late 20s and early 30s.. So I got lots of good company
O but the reason they use the Shade Tree.. Because without light, the Teacher’s lounge (a room with some desks.. also serves as the ‘library’) is a pretty gloomy place to be ;(
But I love the Shade Tree. It is my favorite spot of my town

Separation Between Church And State:
In the US, Church and State are separated religiously.. Here at my school (and the rest of Ghana), not so much.. Every Wednesday morning, the kids attend ‘Morning Prayer’.. During school hours (in the school).. It’s basically an hour and a half of Church.. I saw teachers giving sermons – discussing stories from the Bible.. And even sing hymns
I explained that in the US, Church and State are very separate entities.. But the teachers (and students) don’t find anything wrong with mixing Church and State.. They see it as moral education for the students.. Nothing wrong with moral education I guess.. But I was taken aback by choosing Christianity as the source.. Most the student body is Christian.. So that some what justifies the choice.. But having my US educational background, it’s hard to get on board with the ‘Morning Prayer’ at school

My First Football (‘Soccer’) Match!
Smallboys of Tsiame SHS vs. Association of Tsiame SHS Teachers International
Final score = 2-3 (Teachers won!)
So, the teachers played the students in a football match last week.. I can safely say, I was the least experienced and thus the worst player on the field.. I am pretty sure most people watching the game were laughing at my inexperience play.. Enjoy :)
In the 90 mins of the game.. I kicked the football once.. And the ball accidentally grazed me maybe 3 times.. I would say pretty good for my first full football match.. And not to mention the Teachers won! :)

Sacred Heart!
So this is basically for Vipul.. The name of the hospital closest to me (in my market town = Abor) is called ‘Sacred Heart’.. Which happens to be the name of the hospital in the show SCRUBS!

Till Next Time:
So, I have written this blog entry on and off for a few weeks, so there might have been some disconnect in topics.. Moreover, some topics may not be covered to the extent I intended, but school has started.. And now I am actually busy (sometimes) ;).. Sorry for that ;)
But till next time..
O by the way.. I miss not being able to celebrate Navarati ;(

Peace Corps VOLUNTEER!

2009-08-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Intro:
So it has been a long time since I last was able to update you on my life.. I have a feeling this might be the trend for the future.. I have not yet found reasonable working internet near by my site yet ;(
A lot of things have passed since my last blog post.. I am now officially a Peace Corps VOLUNTEER! I’m done with training! Woot woot!
Well there are pros and cons to that.. E.g. O, I get cook what I want in my own house (pro) and O, I gotta cook for myself (con) :)
I am now at my site in Southern Volta (a.k.a. SoVo)!

Swearing-In:
Our swearing-in ceremony was awesome (and longgggg).. All us trainees that made it through training took the oath to uphold the US constitution (apparently the same oath senators and state dept employees take!).. The US Ambassador to Ghana was there to swear us in at the ceremony
I do not remember if I stated this earlier in the blog, if I did enjoy it again.. The US Ambassador repeated a little blip of the speech he had given when we had visited his house earlier in training: the difference between 'ignorance' and 'stupidity'.. I’ll paraphrase here a little: In Ghana, many of the rural villagers do not have the same access and opportunity as we do in the United States or even their urban counterparts.. But that does not in anyway they are stupid.. They might not know what’s going on in the world or what ‘credit crunch’ means.. But they do know just about everything to do with their village and its surroundings.. The Ambassador stated "Please, do not make the mistake of thinking people in your village are stupid because they do not have access to the same education we (as US citizens) enjoyed.."
I will leave you to think about that on your own..
Heavy stuff aside, there were plenty of fun activities during swearing-in!
EVE SKIT: All the different language groups performed skits/songs/sayings in their respective languages (NOTE: there are over 70 languages spoken in Ghana!).. The Eve group decided to do a skit.. It consisted of a robbery, a mob attack, a funeral, a marriage, and a naming ceremony.. It was 3 minutes long :)
DANCING: There was also drumming and dancing session by the new sworn-in volunteers.. I was in the dancing section.. I couldn’t follow beats in American music; nothing has changed about that fact in Ghanaian music :)
VIDEO: Also, one of the trainees (Guillermo) filmed a “May-huu-yeaah-paaa!” (it is Twi for “I am doing very fine”) skit.. I played a little part in it.. I heard they might put it up on the internet somewhere, I will try to put the link up if they do.. I gotta say, its pretty funny.. Even our ‘ridiculously awesome’ training director (Grace) was in it!

Host Family!
I don’t know if I mentioned it, but my host family gave me 2 Ghanaian fabric shirts when I returned from my site visit.. Very sweet of them.. I say this just to let you know the relationship we had built in just a few weeks
It was very hard to say good-bye to them when I was finally leaving for my site after swearing-in.. My host mom actually cried (I think) cause she wouldn’t come of her room at the end when I was catching the taxi from the house.. She was extremely worried about my vegetarian situation (even more than me)
I do have to say I miss their food.. Comfort (my host sister) made the best vegetarian Ghanaian food.. And o those egg sandwiches every morning.. Carrots, cabbage, peppers, onions, eggs, bread.. MmmmmM.. My mouth is salivating just by writing about it
One more thing about my Old Tafo training experience.. I will miss the whole town (esp. THE BIG BOSS!).. You really get used to things once they fall into place.. I am even going to miss my neighbors there.. I made strong relationships with the kids there.. I hope to visit them soon! And I hope I can replicate the relationship building at my actual site.. I say the host family part made it easy; at site, I am all alone in the house ;(

Good-byes
There was a big party after swearing-in by all the new volunteers (at ‘For You’ – the local volunteer spot).. The party was basically an event to say our final good-byes to the other 62 trainees that were with you for 10 weeks.. The bonds created between us were also very strong (e.g. I could meet someone 30 years from now and whine about the little stuff in training ;)).. I hope to keep these bonds up with at least a handful of people from our different sites all over Ghana.. There is a strong possibility I might not see them for a long time coming! ;(

Accra Traffic:
So one thing I found out on my way to site.. I passed thru Accra.. The traffic here is RIDICULOUS! I thought LA traffic was bad, but I was stuck in a tro for 2 hours in Accra and we traveled about a mile! I left Accra around 4:30 pm from the tro station.. And I got to my site at 10:00 pm! It should only take 3 hours!
I thought I would frequent Accra often, but this traffic thing has me reconsidering ever going back

SITE!
School doesn’t start for another couple weeks, so the town is pretty quiet.. When I arrived at 10 pm.. There were only a couple people awake at the main junction in town.. Just about everyone seemed to have gone to sleep! The teachers and the students of the school are also in their respective towns..
NOTE: The Senior High Schools here are all pretty much boarding schools, so students from the surrounding area living in my town to go to school..
The first few weeks are actually ‘settling-in time’.. My house is lacking a lot of necessities: furniture, a kitchen, a gas stove, pots/pans, food, curtains, etc.. So, right now I am working on fixing up my house before school starts
Currently, my Headmaster’s family is cooking for me and I go eat there.. As much as I would love to have my food cooked for me, I am ready to start cooking a few meals at least for myself (I can add the flavors I want rather than the tomato base that I get everytime :)).. I will keep you update on my food situation
Just a couple kms from me is actually another volunteer (Derek).. He is an environment volunteer and my new forced best friend.. We are the only people next to each other, so ENJOY! I hope to visit him soon once I buy a bike

‘Developed’
One thing I wanted to discuss this time was the definition of ‘developed’.. The definition of the word changes dramatically so quickly here in Ghana.. It all depends where you are.. e.g. Accra is not developed compared to America; my town is not developed as the Ghanaian cities; the towns without paved roads or electricity are not as developed as my town.. And my school is nowhere developed to the one we had our training at.. There is this whole sliding scale of development in Ghana.. In the words of Punit: “Its all relative”..
My site has electricity and my house have plumbing, but many of my fellow volunteers are in sites that have neither.. Their day ends at sunset and they have to fetch their water from a bore hole or a well! All the power to them!

Enjoy:
Here is a small event from my life I would like to share with you.. I went with my Headmaster to the Volta Region district capital (Ho) to do some official school business and some shopping.. It got dark by the time we left and the drive is pretty terrible to begin with.. Here is a text message I sent to one of the other volunteers describing the drive back to my site: “So it is raining.. It is dark.. It is foggy.. We are driving on a dirt road.. It is hella hilly.. There are long weeds on both sides of us.. It feels like that scene when ‘Newman’ in Jurassic Park is driving at night and gets killed by that black dino that does the face things”.. All in the day of a PC Ghana volunteer! :)

BYE-BYE!
This blog is not as long as the past 2, but I hope you enjoyed the little tid-bits of my experience here in Ghana..
And again, I apologize for not having pictures.. You will just have to come visit :)

PS!
I met the lady that is updating the Bradt guide for Ghana recently.. Her name is Kim.. Told her about the 'boyeyey!'.. I have my fingers crossed about getting the 'boyeyey!' in the new edition

INDIAN FOOD

2009-07-31T11:31:00.000-07:00

Kohinoor!
I don't know how.. But I forgot to mention that I had INDIAN FOOD in Accra!On my way back from my site, I had to pass thru the capital and casually stopped by one of the Indian resturants in Accra.. Kohinoor!Paneer Makhani! Malia Kofta! Garlic Naan! Green Chillis and Onions! MMMMMMM! I probably ate the most Indian food in my life at that point..I just thank God I did not have to stop the tro-tro on the way back to my training site!

Visiting MY Site!

2009-07-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

tiGo
Exit code for US: 011
Country Code for Ghana: 233
My tiGO number: 0279242710
So, to call from the US, you dial: 011-233-279242710
Before I begin, some important information for contacting me.. I have joined the tiGO network in Ghana.. Fierce competition for service and features between phone companies here exists here in Ghana just as in the States.. tiGO offers a better texting plan ;)
Note: I may still use my MTN sim card (my first phone number) from time to time.. So if you are trying to get a hold of me, I suggest you try my tiGO number first and then my MTN.. In addition, there are many other phone providers.. Vodaphone, Kasapa, Zain.. So, this may not be the end of the phone numbers I might have.. I’ll keep you updated :)
Enjoy in life..

Ghanaian Time!
On July 19 (Sunday), the education volunteers left our host families and went on our way to meet our counterparts at Bunso College (just a few miles from our training hub site).. I’ll explain what ‘counterparts’ are in a bit
But, before we get on with that, I wanted to share a rather interesting experience to share.. We were told the bus to pick us and our bags up to take to our sites would come at 2 PM.. Long story short.. The bus came around 4:30 PM to pick us up at Old Tafo.. Understandably, there was a hold up at the other sites where volunteers were being picked up, but it didn’t seem necessary to call to all of us waiting in the hot sun for 2 hours with our big bags in the street in our small town.. Ahh, enjoy!
PATIENCE – if anything, I will come back to the US with more patience ;)
NOTE: I got to listen to the radio for a few minutes today.. The topic while I was listening to it just happened to be how the new Ghanaian President John Atta Mills closed the doors on late comers (including the American Ambassador) to a meeting.. He stressed that Ghanaians need to learn to be punctual.. He stated something in the lines of: investors invest in places they feel most comfortable, thus to make outside business investors feel comfortable in Ghana, Ghanaians need to be punctual.. He went on to say “time is money”.. And then the radio shut off..

Bunso College:
A shower!
A nice mattress!
A nice pillow!
Clean bed sheet!
O man, Bunso College was a nice place.. The shower was one of those rain-head; I jumped in the shower right when we got there.. It might have been the best shower I have ever taken.. After a few weeks of bucket showering, a shower-head can definitely make you realize how nice plumbing really is..
We all had room mates.. And mine was Scott, I had mentioned him earlier in my Philly post.. Long-haired hippy! Just kidding, we had some intense conversations on Destructive Capitalism, Subjective v. Objectivity, etc.. Well, usually we would start out disagreeing and then I would realize, I know very little on the subject.. Enjoy!
NOTE: Scott’s mom, if you are reading this.. He is doing just fine.. He received your package with the soccer ball, crayons, teething toy, candy, etc..
In addition to the facilities, there was also some great food.. The cooks used a spice called ‘adobo’ for the vegetarian dish.. It might be the best spice in Ghana!

Counterparts:
A ‘counterpart’ is the person in the community you are supposed to go to first for all information regarding the community.. My counterparts are Theophilus Apenuvor (Assistant Headmaster) and Isaac Anyana (Senior House Master) – they are both from the Tsiame Senior Secondary School (the school I will be teaching at!)
Both of the gentlemen are maybe in their late 40s, early 50s – they seem like very nice people.. Isaac was a bit quiet, but I am sure he will start opening up when I have gotten to know him for some time.. I talked to Theophilus quiet a bit, he is very knowledgeable and can speak excellent English.. And more importantly understand my accent without a problem..
NOTE: Both said they love to dance (the Volta dance.. I forgot its name)! I guess I will be really good at the dance by the end of my service.. The dance is almost like the ‘Chicken Dance’ back in the States, except you use your shoulder blades a lot

Traditional Night:
The Peace Corps training staff set up a night of food and dancing from the different areas in Ghana.. They had school children doing the drumming and dancing from the South and Volta regions and had some professionals doing the Northern drumming/dancing.. The beats and the dancing are very different in style (I can tell the dancing/drumming apart when I see/hear them, but still not the languages when I hear them).. Enjoy!
I actually got to the Northern dance in the traditional outfit.. You wear a heavy coat (somewhat like a short frock) and have a metal stick in your hand.. You go around a circle that has the drummers in the middle.. You move in a circle and hit sticks with the people next to you.. It reminded me a lot of Raas – the dress, the sticks, the drums, the circle! But I still was no good at it
Theophilus actually went up and joined the dancers when they played the Volta Region beat.. He was having a blast and seemed to be very good at it.. Can’t wait to learn the dance myself!

Travel to Site:
4 ‘check-in’ bags
1 ‘hand’ bag
1 water-filter
Traveling with luggage on the public transportation in Ghana is no joke.. Well, it depends, there are people who travel with big bags, pots/pans, and even chickens and goats.. But for new comers, it’s a pretty daunting effort.. Loading and unloading all those bags from one tro to another tro! If my counterparts were not there to help me, I have no idea how I would have lugged my stuff to my actual site.. Enjoy!
NOTE: A thing Peace Corps Ghana loves to do is give their trainees books and paper (lots of handouts!).. I have a whole bag full of stuff Peace Corps gave me after I landed in Ghana..

Background: TSIAME, VOLTA REGION
NOTE: Here is a little background info the Peace Corps provided me with..
The Community
Tsiame has a population of about 6,000.. The people are engaged mainly in peasant farming, petty trading, kente cloth weaving, and fishing.. (Definitely cannot wait to learn kente weaving!).. There is no major market in town; however, there are many big markets in the surrounding towns..
Tsiame Senior High
The school was established by the community in 1997.. The government took control of the school 2 academic years ago.. It has a total enrollment of about 208 students (90 girls; 118 boys).. It is a day school and it runs the General Arts and Business programs
Accommodation
The accommodation is a self-contained outhouse about 1km from the school.. There are toilet and bath facilities.. Water supply is from rain catchment.. Electricity is from the national grid, but there can be occasional outages

My first IMPRESSION!
Around 4 PM we reached my site.. Tsiame (pronounced like ‘chai-may’ (kinda)).. The town is small.. More like a big village I would say.. It has electricity, but only some of the town people enjoy that luxury in their house
We pulled up to a house.. Probably the biggest and nicest in the town.. I thought we were stopping to pay visit to the Chief and announce my presence.. Nope.. This was my pad! (Well, 2 rooms of it)
It has running water and electricity! It is enclosed by a cement wall.. There are both pros and cons to living here: I wanted to integrate into the community and be living in a more ‘humbling’ place.. But I guess that is not going to be the case.. On the other hand, no BUCKET bathing and a FLUSH toilet! I guess I will just have to work harder to get to know the town’s people..
The first night of my site visit, my food situation was not completely fixed.. Meaning, I got no food.. ;( (NOTE: But that changed quickly, from the next day on I started going to the Headmaster’s house to eat)

Tsiame Senior High:
The School is a very on the outskirts of the village.. The town I forgot to mention is near the lagoon; there is marsh all over the place.. The School is beyond some marsh land.. 10 minute walk from town.. It has beautiful white sand.. And its gets some of the best wind I have experienced.. Direct from the Atlantic Ocean.. I could sit under the big tree all day there..
The School consists of 1 (unfinished) administration building, 2 classroom building (with 3/4 classes each), and a square open building that serves as the cafeteria where the local ladies come to sell food during break.. The students sit on wooden desks that I can hardly fit into.. And in Ghana, the teachers move from class to class while the students remain in the same class.. There are 14 teachers on staff, but many have gone to study further for the time being.. The teachers I met include: Jonathan, Leon, Edwin (all 3 guys are under 30 and seem pretty chill) and the ‘Madam’ (she will be trying to teach me Ewe (the local language here in the Volta)!)
I am visiting right before the end of term exams.. The School is in ‘revision week’ (so, the teachers are not teaching any material.. just there to answer students’ questions).. From the 208 enrolled, I would say about 75 were in school the first day I went (Thursday).. And the second day (Friday), maybe 30 (but that was because of the funeral that was to be held Saturday)..
There is no electricity in the school (BUT, there is this guy in the town that calls himself the electrician for the school).. The students and teachers depend on the natural light of the sun..

A Good-bye?
Nick, the science trainer, just finished his 2 years of service and is leaving back to the US.. His site was about an hour from mine.. I decided to attend his going away party that his school (Kilkor Secondary Technical) threw him on Friday..
His school was pretty big compared to mine.. It had sound system that they had set up for the party! There was a big assembly with speeches, music, photography.. The works for his 2 years of service there..

Public Transport!
When I was traveling back to my site from Nick’s school, there was some definite efficiency in the use of vehicles..
The tro I got on first somehow had 17 other people in it.. And the mate told me to get in.. I got in and sat in the mate’s seat wondering how he was going to come back in the van.. He didn’t.. He just stood on the edge of the van hanging on to the door!
Then, I had to pick a taxi from where I got dropped off back to Tsiame.. It was wooden interior.. Well, it was wooden planks the owner had put in when the real interior feel apart I guess.. Most of the car was gutted to the extreme.. where the bear steel frame was visible.. There were no mirrors, a very cracked windshield.. And 6 people + the driver!
Personal Space is not an issue in Ghana Public Transport!
Ram Krishna Hari!

Dosoo:
My ‘pad’ was actually owned by the former First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (basically, he was the second in charge of the Ghanaian Federal Reserve).. He came to town to see me and for the funeral..
A few things about him: He studied in NYU, worked for Chase Bank, lived in the US for about 30 years (a lot of those were in South Pasadena, CA!).. We had a lot to talk about.. Thru the weekend, we talked about everything from the change in currency in Ghana and private investments in Ghana to ‘Mi Piazza’ in Old Town Pasadena and Westwood Village.. He lives in Accra.. Tsiame is his hometown! He comes to relax to Tsiame.. Every few months.. So, basically I will be living in the compound with me, myself, and I (and the houseboy that comes to sleep at night there)
The owner took me everywhere he went.. From people’s house to the Funeral site.. He was very nice and kept saying that he wanted my stay to be comfortable.. I couldn’t ask for much more.. He went back to Accra Sunday

Funeral:
Now, funerals are a whole another deal here in Ghana.. They usually wait at least a month after the death to hold the funeral.. And it is a BIG party.. With drumming and dancing.. And lots of local liquor flowing.. They freeze the body until ready and then instead of a coffin, they usually dress the dead up and sit them down for people to pay their respects..
Friday late night, we went to pay respects.. It was one of freakiest moments of my life.. The body was sitting up in a very extravagant white dress with a swirling ‘twilight zone’-like background.. The party was Saturday and lasted pretty much the whole day.. And then the body is buried
I didn’t stay for the burial, but I was there for the drumming and dancing (the Volta ‘Chicken Dance’).. It was a very interesting cultural event to say the least..

My Hosts!
I returned to Old Tafo to my host family.. And what did they have waiting for me.. 2 shirts in Ghanaian fabric! They look awesome.. A little big.. But awesome nonetheless.. And what did I bring them back.. Some chocolates and bread (it is tradition to bring bread for people when you go out of town).. Enjoy!

BYE-BYE!
I am sure that was a lot of blog to digest.. It was definitely a lot of writing.. I am not big on revision so I hope it all made sense.. I am sure there are some (or a lot) of grammatical/spelling errors.. Enjoy! HOCEY!
If you have any questions or if you want more information on a particular topic, just comment on the blog or email me.. I will try my best to get back to you.. Though I have to mention, the closest reasonable internet near Tsiame (my site) will be at least a 2 hour ride away!
I am still in training for the next couple weeks and will still be living in Old Tafo, Eastern Region with my host family.. I have to take a language test (EWE!) and my final interview will be held in the next couple weeks.. If I pass, I swear in as actual Peace Corps Volunteer in mid-August after which I will go to my respective site for 2 years!

WELCOME HOME, OBAMA!

2009-07-14T08:51:00.001-07:00

THE NEWS:

Wednesday afternoon - I am at the main office for our Training Site.. The training director -- Grace -- calls me over and says "I have a surprise"

The only word in my mind was: "OBAMA!"

She said we are going to get an opportunity to see US President Obama! Not only that, we would get to see the Ghanaian President Mills and hear them both speak (at Obama’a farewell at the Accra Airport)!

And the trainees have a chartered service to and from Accra! This was exciting stuff.. The news spread like wild-fire; this was probably the most exciting news any of us had heard throughout training..

We were getting a chance to see our President – the first president in US history to have African-descent – speak.. in Africa! This was probably the first time most of us would see him.. And we are doing exactly the kind of action he built his platform around = public service at the grass roots level.. ENJOY!

There was great hype in all of Ghana for Obama’s visit.. He is regarded as almost like a ‘hero’ here.. People will randomly yell Obama at you.. There are many shirts and batiks (local fabrics/designs) with Obama’s name or picture on them.. It is exciting for the people of Ghana to be the first sub-Saharan people to have President Obama visit them..

RAJ'S BIRTHDAY:

With all of this excitement about President Obama’s visit, there was even more to celebrate as one of the trainees’ birthday (Raj) was the day before Obama’s farewell.. Many of us trainees got together at a local spot in Old Tafo to celebrate both events

OBAMA DAY (i.e. SATURDAY)!

Recently, I have been getting into old habits of waking up late (Well, late in Ghanaian terms is like 7 AM!).. So, I guess it is not that bad.. But, there was no way I was going to miss a chance to see Obama! We had to be at the Peace Corps Training main site at like 8:30 AM.. So, my alarm was set well in advance to give me enough time to shower, shave, eat, and travel.. 6:45 AM! ;)

The distance from our training site and Accra is about 3 hours.. 63 trainees and our director (unfortunately, the Ghanaian training staff did not get a chance to come with us) in 2 buses and a van!

On the way, I picked up a Ghanaian newspaper (‘Daily Graphic’).. Its headlines: “Welcome Home, Obama” (referring him coming back to his father’s roots in sub-Saharan Africa).. The newspaper states that the choice of Ghana “primarily hinged on the country’s remarkable democratic credentials”.. Ghana has been a democratic republic for the past 16 years.. And has gone through a rather peaceful exchange of power in the last Presidential election in December..

When we finally got to Accra.. We got stuck (not in traffic as expected).. With Police blockades.. They wouldn’t let us enter the street to the US Embassy or even the Peace Corps Head-quarters.. After a lot of waiting in front of the blockade, we finally got the go-ahead from a senior officer

We got to the PC Headquarters and got our ticket to the event (and lunch)!

Then we were chartered to the US Embassy.. Where we got of one chartered bus and all got onto other chartered buses.. Let me tell you, the US Embassy is seriously like being back in America.. I didn’t get to see the inside, but from the outside it looked all American: the structure of the building, the modernity, the parking lot, the cars in the parking lot, the grass, etc.

Anyway, the Embassy bus was an experience in itself.. I was lucky enough to get on the bus that showed “Sheena”.. Which I am sure won multiple Oscars for its screenplay, acting, montage sequences, dialogue, etc.. And I am sure if there was a category for animals impersonating other animals, it would have taken that Oscar as well (there is a Horse painted as a Zebra!).. I would highly recommended renting the DVD (and if available, blu-ray) of “Sheena” to all those back in the states! ;) The reason I bring up this particular event (though it has nothing to do with Obama’s visit) is because I would never have in my wildest dreams expected to be watching “Sheena” in front of the US Embassy.. In GHANA.. In a bus chartered by them to take people to go see the President speak! Cross-cultural experience = CHECK!

We finally got to the Accra airport around 2 PM.. Maybe earlier.. All I know is that we saw about half of “Sheena” during our waiting time.. There were loads of people waiting to get into the airport.. Ghanaians and Americans.. There was even a little drumming and dancing by the Ghanaians waiting to get inside

We got inside.. And I got my position.. I was on the right side of the stage (when facing the stage from the audience) at about the 3rd row from the front.. It was awesome! Apparently, I was on TV a lot – I guess I was in the camera’s view during the Presidents’ speeches and after they left.. The Ghanaian trainers and even my host family said they saw me dancing! Here is what I saw from my vantage point: Air Force One behind the stage, the flags of Ghana and America flying high together, the cameras to capture the event, the hoards of people, and the excitement in everyone’s faces for the upcoming moments!

The only thing that was not awesome = waiting from 3 PM to 6 PM at the same spot for the Presidents to arrive.. It was a LONG wait in mid-day.. One girl next to me actually fainted, but came back to claim her spot after some time.. But it was all worth it!

Around 6 PM.. The helicopters flew in.. (NOTE: Obama had visited Cape Coast – there is a castle there that was used by traders to take slaves to America from there).. I learned yesterday that Ghanaian ports (with the rest of West Africa) were used for the majority of the slave trade to the Americas).. About 20 cars were in a convoy to take the President from the helicopter landing site to the podium site (about 50 yards)..

There were about a 100 or so musicians and 30 drummers/dancers to welcome President Obama and President Mills to the podium.. The scene was awesome.. President Obama was walking with Michelle and their 2 children down this red carpet..

Both the Presidents stepped up to the stage.. And the crowd went wild.. Peace Corps volunteers and trainees were literally front and center.. And the banner for the Peace Corps started to fly

President Mills spoke first.. The audio was so low that I could hardly pick up any of the words of the Ghanaian President.. He did mention the reasons for President Obama’s choice of Ghana (the reasons I listed that were in the newspaper).. He spoke for about 5-10 minutes.. And then it was President Obama’s turn.. The crowd went wild.. It seemed like the as the Americans there, the Ghanaian were also waiting to hear the US President talk..

Obama’s speech was awesome.. He talked much of ideals and the hope of Ghana and Africa as a whole.. Of the Ghanaian-American relationship developing.. Of the Peace Corps! (NOTE: Peace Corps began in 1961 in Ghana – it was the first country to host Peace Corps volunteers!).. All the volunteers and trainees were wild whenever he mentioned Peace Corps (a couple times actually).. It was about a 15 minute speech.. The vernacular he used was airy and lofty.. It reminded me of his “Audacity of Hope” speech.. :).. It was awesome! Just being there in that moment felt historic.. BOYEYEY!

Moreover, the President Obama and his wife Michelle came to shake hands of the people in the front.. ME! Well, I did not get to shake Obama’s hand.. But I did get eye contact! Woot woot! And I did get to shake Michelle’s left hand.. :).. Yup, the wait was all worth it! And I got to be on Ghanian TV!

MICHAEL JACKSON:

So the news did arrive here instantaneously of Michael Jackson’s death last week.. And the memorial from Staples Center was televised here LIVE! Though I did not get to see it..

But what was awesome was that after seeing the Presidents of the US and Ghana.. Outside the hotel we were staying at in Accra, they had a Michael Jackson tribute DVD being played on a big projector.. The trainees staying at the Accra hotel (including me!) probably sat for around 3 hours watching old music videos and concert clips of the superstar! Thriller.. Earth Song.. Smooth Criminal.. Beat it.. Billie Jean!

I appreciate Michael Jackson’s talent more now in Ghana than ever before.. I just wish I would have gone to one of his concerts..

BYE!

I don’t know when the next time I will get to write on the blog is.. Next week, all the trainees are off to “Site Visit” – where we visit the actually site that we will be living at for a couple days to get a feel for the lives we might be living for the next 2 years!

Tsiame, Volta Region baby! Should be very interesting!

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-05T09:59:00.001-07:00

4th of July!
The education trainees here in Ghana decided to celebrate the 4th of July - America's birthday - in a classic American style: a barbeque, hot dogs, some beer, an American flag, and a CD of America's most patriotic songs (e.g. This Land is Your Land, Proud to be an American, The Star Spangled Banner).. It was great fun; got some of our Ghanaian trainers to come join the festivities

Laundry:
I just got a few minutes left, but I wanted discuss the issue of laundry as its fresh in my mind. Most everything I have taken for granted in the US is a chore here in Ghana - including doing your laundry.
It took me an hour and a half to wash and hang up to dry one load of US laundry yesterday.. And that was with the help of my younger host brother and mother! And I was sore after it! I am sure I will just have to get used to that.. ;(

Excursion:
Today, the education trainees got to go on an excursion to Boti Falls and a cool Rock thing (I forgot the name).. It was just a few kms away from our Peace Corps training site.. The falls were beautiful and very powerful.. The mist of the waterfall was euphoric (as someone put it, it felt like an AC.. and o how I could use an AC here in Ghana 24/7).. Anyway, after that, we hiked up this mountain to reach a rock formation with an awesome 360 degrees view of the landscape.. All you could see was greeeeeenery!
One this though that was disturbing was the amount of trash.. A beautiful waterfall and some green mountains.. And then 100s/1000s of plastic bags on the floor.. There is a problem with trash here in Ghana (as in many developing countries) - for that issue, I here and now vow to have a trashcan in every class room in my school at my site! :)

NOTE:
I apologize for the lack of pictures, but the internet is hard to work with here (not to mention the viruses that may infect your pen drive thru using these computers).. I will try getting some pics up soon enough.. Enjoy!

My Host Family!

2009-06-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Internet is a precious commodity to me now!
I came for the internet a couple days ago.. Unforunately, the internet here in New Tafo decided to go down that day.. Enjoy!

Host Family!
As I wrote earlier, I am currently living in Old Tafo, Eastern Region, Ghana. I am staying with a host family here.. I thought I would write a little bit about my them today:

My pad:
I got my own room.. Right at the corner of 2 streets (1 is a main road).. So, I usually wake up around 5:30 AM with either the rooster right outside my window or the people talking really louded right outside my window (apparently its a hang out spot).. Enjoy!
Actually, today was the first day I did not get out of bed before 7 AM.. Today, I slept in till 9! Woot woot! I feel good!
NOTE: I finally got my laptop with me now, so I hope to put some pictures up soon enough..

Host Mom:
Rosemond Afrah.. Two-of-a-kind.. The other one is named "Amita Padhiar" (my real mom!).. My host mom worries just as much as my real mom! She needs to know where I am going, when I am going, for what reason I am going, and when I am going to come back (and if she doesn't like the time, she lets me know).. And a lot of this communication is usually through body gestures (because she does not speak a word of English!) :) NOTE: Mom, do not worry, I am in good hands for the next 2 months with my Host Mom.
She owns a shop right across the house in which she sells plastic buckets/baskets and accessories of the sort.. Usually there during the whole day.. Sometimes I go there just to chill after training.. We can't really communicate, but its good stuff to just stare off blankly sometimes..

Host Dad (Need to figure out his name still :))
He is interesting.. He is a farmer (have not visited his farm, but hope to soon).. He usually is playing cards outside the house.. A queit kind of person.. But seems to be very knowledgable and does speak good English.. I hope to sit down and have a real conversation with him soon enough (and ask him his name!)

Host Brother and Sisters (Emmanuel, Comfort, Margaret, and plus 1)
Emman is about 10-ish.. Just likes to follow me around.. Lots of times just stares at me for minutes on end.. I finally told him not to do that cause it was wierding me out.. He is a good dancer though.. He taught me the "Heartbeat" step.. I taught him how to play "Boom-chika-boom-boom-boom-BOOM!!"
Margaret is pretty quiet.. She is probably like 13-ish.. Have not really gotten to know her
Comfort is in her later teens.. And she is the cook for the family.. She has been making some good stuff..
HIGHLIGHT: Jolof rice = fried rice with spices! I told them it was my favorite.. She made it 4 days in a row.. Enjoy! I will have to write a blog on the food here soon enough.. very interesting/different stuff..

Alright, time is up! Peace Easy..

To Raj's mom: Raj told me you were reading my blog.. I just wanted to let you know that he is fine.. He and I live in the same town and we are sorely looking forward to some nice Indian food whenever we get a chance! That is what the majority of our conversations revolve around (FOOD!).. Also, Raj loves Jolof rice as well

Good Ole NOKIA

2009-06-23T05:02:00.000-07:00

I have a PHONE!
I paid a whopping 34 Ghana Cedis (GHC) for it.. (for some perspective, we get 2 GHC a day for training!)
Enjoy! Here are some features:
NOKIA
Orange skin
Black and yellow screen
Snake Xenzia game!

My mobile # = 0540509894
I haven't bought credit for it, but I should be able to recieve all calls!
CALL ME!!
Can I get a BOYEYEY?!

No Phone ;(

2009-06-22T03:09:00.000-07:00

New Tafo:
Thinking it was Monday (a business day), I came to New Tafo to get a phone. BUT a business day does not necessarily translate to actual business here in Ghana. The people at the phone shops said they would probably have new phones to sell tomorrow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!!

DISCLAIMER!
I was reading some Peace Corps policy.. And they state that I should put a disclaimer on any public content you put online.. So here is mine:
'The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps'

Internet Galore!

2009-06-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

Internet! WOOT WOOT!
2 weeks without internet; feels like its been 2 YEARS!
I have had almost no news of the outside world either -- except some scores of football matches!
GO GHANA BLACKSTARS baby!

There is so much too say, and so little time!
Right now: I am in an internet cafe in New Tafo, Eastern Region, Ghana, Africa

Let's start:

Arrival!
Landed in Accra airport (probably the 1/2 the size of Burbank airport - for some perspective).. It was around 8 AM! Got whisked straight to the Peace Corps HQ in Ghana. After a 'Welcome Ceremony' that included some local shot and some fresh coconut, us 'Education' sector people were in for a whole day's worth of paper work and walking around! (NOTE: this was after a 9 hour plane ride mind you!) Enjoy, enjoy..

Summer Camp!
The next few days felt like summer camp.. There were 67 trainees (NOTE: we are officially not volunteers until we finish training) total that landed in Ghana. All of us were staying at Valley View University (in the burbs of Accra).. We got food prepared for us by these lovely hard-working ladies (they woke up at 3 to begin prep for breakfast for us!). I particularly became close to them.. Well, for one reason I am vegetarian and two I love FOOOD! It worked out, they taught me how to cook and I got to try a varieties of Ghanian dishes with them (including FUFU!)
Highlight: Got to play basketball with BARACK! That was the name of a kid that came to play basketball the same time some of us trainees were playing.. I got a picture with him :)

Accra Quest!
Well, during our 4 days at the University, we got to experience Accra the capital city of Ghana for a day.. I think of my group as being the luckiest group for that day! First, our trip began with getting of a 'tro-tro' (the preferred mode of transportion that first about 18 people in a small van). The mate (the guy who yells out the direction the tro-tro is heading to stander-bys) named Eric was hilarous! We talked about everything from Tupac and Ghanian Hip Life to the 'Boyeyey' and 'That's what's up'.. That was what was up!
Next, we visited the University of Ghana, Legon. And by chance met these wonderful Art students there, who showed us some of the campus.. Here are some highlights: traditional Ghanian dancing, air-conditioning, and Need For Speed II!

US Ambassador!
We got to go to the US Ambassador's house in Ghana! It is a ridiculously huge house.. One of a kind here in Ghana.. All of us trainees had great fun.. A little wining, a little dining, and a little dacing.
The ride back on the bus was deathly scary! 90% of the time - the horn was ON! 75% of the time we were not on our side of the road and 50% of that time, we were not on the road at all (more like the side walk)! And mind you, this was on a huge bus with like 40 people in it. I gotta say, Ghanian driving definitly compares to night driving in India.

Vision Quest!
All the trainees pretty much went alone to see a current volunteer in action! I visited Jennifer Rozzell In Brewonaise, Volta Region, Ghana for 5 days. She is a Art Education teacher at the Senior High School there. There was lots of fun stuff to talk about, but no TIME! I got 4 minutes left!
Her Ghanian counterpart - Emmanuel - was awesome! We did a lot of cross-cultural stuff! I tried to teach him the 'That's what she said' joke; He tried to teach me a Twi maxims (e.g. 'When a bald man enters a Barbershop, his hair is not his concern'). Neither of us were successful at making the other understand.. It was fun though!

Pong!
All of us met up at the training site in the Eastern Region, Ghana after our respective Vision Quests. We got to stay in Hotels for a few days (with AC!). We took a few class sessions and a lot of fun stuff here.
Highlight: Guierllmo (one of the trainees brought with him Red Plastic Cups and Ping Pong balls! He introduced the US college night-time game to Ghanians).. Now there is a true culture sharing activity!

Homestay!
This last Thursday was a big day: we all got our assignments for the next 8 weeks and then for the 2 years of service as a Volunteer (see below)! For the next 8 weeks, I will be living with this wonderful family in Old Tafo, Eastern Region, Ghana (Husband, wife, 4 children (3 at home), and their neighbor who speaks very good English). The make some very delicious Ghanian vegetarian food.. Who says you lose wieght when you come to Ghana?! They eat soooo much here; my pants are already getting tighter :(..
There are many activities planned out for the next 8 weeks, including teaching at Ghanian schools next week! Got a make up my own lesson plan (Nutrition is my topic!)

My Assigment!
Science Education
Senior High School (for the name)
Tsieme, Volta Region, Ghana
It is a town of about 6000 people -- very exciting to finally know where I am going to be for 2 years!
Unfortunately, there aren't too many volunteers near me, but I am only 15 mins from the beach, and 1.5 hours from Accra! Woot Woot!

The End!
I hope to write a bit, but let's see how things turn out. There is so much to write about.. So many lifestyle difference, I hope to tackles some of those in the post hereafter.. I hope to write about topics, rather than just a time table of what happened to me. Enjoy!
I am now working in 'Ghanian Standard Time' (very similar concept to 'Indian Standard Time' except add a few days to your schedule rather than a few hours)
And I hope to get a phone soon as I can (maybe tomorrow).. I will let you guys know the number to contact as soon as I can! :)

PS - CONGRATULATIONS to all thoe youngstesrs who graduated UCLA last weekend! Only enjoy in life!

Staging

2009-06-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

Staging:

12pm - 7pm

One long day of meeting some really cool people, registration, policies, skits, and good old group bonding.. It already feels like a sort of family.. A close knit group of people able to share some of their depestest emotions about your next 2 years

I am officially a "Peace Corps Trainee"..

Boyeyey!

Just for me to remember:

Scott - Cool guy with long hair

Raj - Indian guy from Cleveland.. Down to go to the world cup in South Africa

Jake - Damn good at pool

Austin - Really loud.. And funny

Matt - Also lound.. And also funny.. Italian

Etc. - So many cool people in the group!

Unfortunately, I did not take my camera to Staging :(

Next few weeks:

I most likely will not be able to access Internet for the next few weeks in Ghana

Tomorrow = Leaving for a flight from JFK to Accra at around 5 PM EST (direct flight!).. We reach Accra around 8:45 AM!

First 4 days = At the Women's Adventist something in Accra

Then for 5 days = On a "Vision Quest".. independently travel Ghana to visit a current volunteer site and shadow for a couple days.. Pretty worried, but also extremely excited!

Training = Real training begin in Kukurantumi (small village in Ghana) for 8 or 10 weeks! I will be living with a host family in a near by village (I think!)

Note:

The address you can probably reach me at for the first few months is.. I say probably because even I am not sure how much access I will have to Peace Corps Ghana headquarters when I am training:

Manish Padhiar

Peace Corps Ghana

PO Box 5796

Accra North

Ghana

West Africa

But do send letters if you find the time, would love to recieve any communication from the US!

Enjoy in life.. Bakie sab Bhagwan!

In the beginning..

2009-06-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Background:

Got interested winter of 2007.. Applied spring of 2008.. Invited spring of 2009

Organization: Peace Corps

Position: Math or Science Teacher

Duration: 2 years (after 3 months of training)

Country: Ghana (West Africa)

Friends/Family:

Lots of visitors.. Didn't know how close you are with people until you have to say good-bye to them.. I am glad to have you be a part of my life:

UCLA (+ Jai), DB, the Bay, Pasadena, Bhabhi!

Keep up the BOYEYEY!

Packing:

1 latern (for those midnite bathroom attacks), 6 pairs of shoes (for anything.. Barack), 20 pairs of socks (to stay fresh and so clean), 25 underwear (nothing needs to be said), and lots of packing/repacking later..

I end up with 2 check-ins and 2 carry-ons.. Over all probably around 150 pounds.. I have no idea how I am going to manage (limits supposed to be like 80 pounds)!

And a wheel on my suitcase fell off today..

Enjoy!

Last Meal:

Del Taco (2 am)

LAX:

Its raining.. Tejas driving.. car into the side wall at LAX!

Nothing to worry about.. everyone was OK

Parked, went to Terminal 5.. Delta

O wait! My flight is United.. 1 hour left.. hurried to Terminal 7.. rushed thru security

Got to the gate just as they started boarding.. Phew!

Staging:

I am at the staging event for Peace Corps Ghana - Philly, PA! Thats where I am writing this blog from..

The beginning of the beginning!

Met Katharyn (aka Miss Ambivalent), Rachael (whose birthday is today - June 1), Arjun (also a UCLA grad - 2007), and my room mate Nathan (whose birthday is tomorrow - turning 26!)

June 2 - Staging actually begins.. 67 people going to Ghana!

NOTE:

I do not know how much access to internet I will actually have, but I will try to keep this updated to my best capabilities.. I want to share this experience with my loved ones best I can :)

Please feel free to comment on here with any thoughts, comments, suggestions, or even just to say 'Boyeyey!'

Miss you all!