Equinox, Spring 2013

Well,  I didn't exactly make the date.  Actually I have allowed too much time to pass since I updated my blog, and  I temporarily forgot how to do it. And way too much has happened for one entry, but I will try to outline the last month or two.  

Storm

On Wednesday night (March 20–Equinox, 2013) a terrific storm blew in while we were watching the last half of “Star Wars” at my “granddaughter’s” home. We moved inside and the roof rattled in the wind and for a while we couldn’t hear the movie for the din.  It didn’t last long and we were able to hear the crew briefings watch the death star explode.  All lights were out, but with the torch on my phone and the guidance of one of my “granddaughters” who sees well in the dark, I arrive at my flat with almost no mud on my sandals.  In the morning after my bike ride to Bogyawe (pronounced bojari), I was met by one of my students who said “the roof of the school blew away!”.  I rode over to it and sure enough, the roof was gone over the Form 3 Class room and the Teacher’s room and most of the Headmaster’s room too.  The student teachers and I had been teaching during a national teacher’s strike, but that will be suspended until Monday at the earliest when we will move to an abandoned school a short way from Sanfo.

Thursday Morning, March 21. We are so close to the end of the term and i was
banking on scabbing the absent teacher's periods to catch up on math lessons.

Mr Bruce, the Headmaster, lost the roof of his office too so they moved all the  papers and
supplies from his office and the teachers work room into the Form 1 (Grade 7) classroom.
Our room was the only one entirely intact. 

A Sad Event

Anaaba at the District Football/Volley ball match, on the day before he
died.

On Friday, March 15, a funeral was held for Anaaba, one of our two boy’s prefects, who was struck by a taxi after a football game in Bogyawe in February.  His family is Muslim so he was buried soon after he died, but the school held a more formal ceremony for him a month later, last week.

Anaaba's empty chair as his Form 3 classmates file by.

Independence Day, Ghana

JHS girls about to salute the Chiefs. Both schools and the Adventist's Brass Band
marched through the main streets of Aduam and Sanfo and then groups from
every school marched passed the reviewing stand.

Masula is not quite sure what
 to make of it all.

Independence Day, March 6^th, celebrates the day in 1957 that Ghana became the first African country to achieve independence from the United Kingdom.  In 1961, Ghana, also became the first country in the world to invite US Peace Corps Volunteers to serve.  We have been there continuously since that time.  I am fortunate to be serving in the Junior High School between the  towns of Sanfo and Aduam in the Ashanti region of Ghana.  Practices for the band and the marching took a lot of the school time earlier in the week. Then the children from the JHS, the Primary school and a Pre-school in town marched in groups past the two town chiefs.  The whole thing took more than three hours and my junior “granddaughter” played the snare continuously while my senior "granddaughter" lead the way.

Attaa Kakra played the snare drum.

Attaa Penni leading the way

2013 How about that

A truly wicked mouse trap. (probably good for removing
small fingers too.)

My roommate died yesterday.  When I first met him three weeks ago I thought he might be lizard.  He skittered out of a cardboard box that I use to keep my suitcases so fast I couldn’t really know.  Lizards I don’t mind because they eat insects, but mice are another story. But I would hear him at night and I could see clearly this was the mouse. I don’t know why this mouse stayed, because I don't keep food in my room.  I asked Esther, my neighbor, about mouse traps and she suggested poison bait.  I’m not fond of poison because often the first sign that it worked is the smell. (If I were poisoned I would definitely hide under my bed because I would be impossible to find.  My revenge would be sweet.)  New Years Eve I went to every hardware stall in taxi market and finally found one.  It's probably the cruelest mousetrap that I’ve ever seen-all sheet metal with jagged edges where the trap springs closed.

"Please scratch a little close to me ears, and I'll tell you what
I eat for dinner, honey"
The hotel keeps these crocs in their pond,
but they charge an extra 3 G to take your picture beside
one.  I didn't pay because this is not me.

New Years Eve I set that trap with a small bit of porridge on the spring.  In the morning the porridge was gone, and the trap was still set.  I reserved a crust of my egg sandwich and adjusted the trap so that it barely held in place.  My roommate actually climbed on my desk to watch me assemble this work of darkness, seeming to ask for a sample of the crust in advance.  It was almost like he wanted to make a deal and become a partner.   But fearful that he might want to include his extended family (extended families tend to be huge here in Ghana), I carefully slid the trap behind a box where my neighbor’s two year old would not discover it. I scattered a few crumbs around it and rode my bicycle to Bogware. When I returned the crumbs were gone and so was the mouse–for good.  

One of seven suspensions about 30 or 40 meters above the ground
with one quick exit after the 3rd bridge for any bothered by the
height.  You don't see much wildlife from here because of all us
noisy patrons.  Park rangers offer ground tours where you actually
 have a chance of seeing some wildlife.

Such is life during the term break.  I did travel for the first time since I started teaching in the Ashanti district, by riding to Cape Coast in the Central district  on the day after Christmas where I petted a crocodile and took the canopy walk in Kakum Park. 2013 seems to have arrived as has the Harmattan. The sky is cloudless and the haze from a 1000 smoking taxis, 1000 trash fire accumulates and stings the eyes.  The nights are cold enough to require a cover and a jacket if you happen to go out in it.  I’m looking at the start of Term 2 with that kind of nervous excitement and a hundred ideas how I might improve things and a hope that at least some of them work.

Merry Christmas Ghana

This is the month to
remember mom: Dec 17, 2007

Well, Merry Christmas in Ghana.  School is on vacation and I have no reasonable excuse not to update my blog.   It is warm, dusty and dry now.  I often wondered where all the smoke that comes from the behind of almost every truck, tro-tro or taxi on every hill or climb goes.  For my first six months the skies were clear with scattered clouds that gathered to produce some rain at least every other day. The result: no smog in the day and the night skies that are a wonder to behold when the power is out.  We haven’t had a drop of rain for two weeks or more and, just like Seattle, a haze has developed and turned the sky to a pale grey right to the zenith. The sun sets red and the moon only tries to shine through the haze.  It’s warmer in the day but the air is dryer and the nights are cooler now.

Emmanuel: Top Score in District
Math Exam, SA JHS

Betty: A really good
Math student at SA JHS

Ophelia: Another really good
Math Student, SA JHS
Form 1

Enough about the weather: my Form 1 students weathered their first set of district tests this month.  I expected them to struggle a bit with math, but was more than dismayed by both the difficulty of the test (many questions went beyond the text or they syllabus) and their performance on questions they should have mastered. I not only threw out three or four questions, I gave pupils credit for answering them correctly.  If all questions were properly within the objectives, many of them would have scored far worse. I have much work to do if they can turn math into a subject that they can handle.  Emmanuel Fripong who spent the last four weeks of the term in hospital after being hit by a car riding his bicycle obtained the best test score. Overall Betty and Ophelia Owusu got the best grades, because Emmanuel didn’t do homework or exercises while in the hospital.  I advised his class mates that if they did not improve their work by mid-term, I would break all their legs and see if 3 weeks in hospital would improve their marks (I may be kidding; we’ll see.)

Kukurantum Hub Language Trainers: Cecilia, Ida, Taj, Me & Moses

Part of the problem is their lack of confidence in their own thinking.  More than one student crossed out a correct answer and replaced it with an incorrect one that he obtained from a neighbor. Another problem they have is with the English language.  I relate with them for that; my struggle to bring my Twi up to a serviceable level makes me quite sympathetic.  This month I had to go to Kukurantumi to retake my language test.  I was sworn-in in August with the condition that I retake the test in my first 3 months of service.  So I returned to the Kukurantumi Hub where I passed the test, but I missed the last week of school.  One of the difficulties for my students was the number and length of my absences. 10 days in October at the Kumasi Sub Office when my septic system overflowed concurrently with a case of diarrhea. 10 days in November for Thanksgiving at the Ambassador’s residence and then 4 days in Kukurantumi. Not good for continuity and remediation of subject matter.  A lot of good Peace Corps is doing here so far, but I expect do better next term.  We have far to go in math and science next term. It was some comfort to discover that most of my fellow teachers experienced similar difficulties.

One of my hopes after “Wade in de Watah” was to start an after-school music program.  I thought I could teach a couple of African-American Spirituals and Christmas Songs, and learn a couple Ghanaian songs from them.  I have discovered this week that the largest denominations in my town make a point of not observing Christmas as a holiday.  Here children celebrate Christmas by asking for gifts of money or food whenever you greet them.  I faced the day ill-supplied.  Esther my neighbor suggests that if someone asks for a gift to ask them what they have brought for me.  I will give them their gift when they bring me mine

If I do something with music next term I will have to consult with my neighbor, Esther, she usually offers good counsel and her brother teaches music in a secondary school nearby.  An after school math/science club is also a strong possibility for next term.  I simply need to find what lies within the interest of the students and my ability to do something for it. 

Thanksgiving, 2012

Main Street, Sanfo.  on my way to Atta's house for a Saturday night
movie.

I have been in Ghana nearly six months.  I have taught for nearly three.  At this point the Peace Corps “invited” (aka “ordered”) all first term education volunteers to attend a week of in-service training. All have arrived and last night it was fun to actually spend time with the other teachers and hear their stories.  All in all it was encouraging if only because I could see that I was not the only one who struggled with classroom management and seeing children master the objectives provide so idealistically by Ghana Education Services.

Last Tuesday I gave my students a big test in fractions.  Actually I didn’t think it was a very hard test, but when I got the results I nearly cried.  In the class exercises they did quite well, but in the test they made every mistake possible. (i.e., adding denominators, comparing them raw.) Their errors were so correlated. It was obvious that most of them cheated (usually from the wrong person). And I left for Thanksgiving in Accra so I had no opportunity to challenge them or make them account for their performance.  In Accra I was able to print the test.  Normally all work is copied onto the chalkboard and they copy it into their workbooks.  We don’t even have clean paper that I can give them to do a test on.  At the Peace Corps office, I printed three section tests so that I can help them prepare for district end-of-term exams when I get back on Monday.

Anyway commiserating with Lou Triacci, the only guy in our education group who is older than me, he suggested that part of their problem is self-confidence.  Even when they know something, if they happen to see someone out of the corner of their eye with a different answer than theirs they assume their answer was wrong.  Lou taught in New York for many years and he says that he gives his pupils some feel-good exercises in addition to fractions and word problems.  I need to think of something that will give them confidence in their thinking as well as their feelings. Overall my kids are bright and working with them is a lot of fun. I only have 35 in my math class; Lou has 60. They work hard for their families to cook, wash clothes and farm.  They greet me with an enthusiastic “Mr. Jim” whenever I come near their compounds. We have a long way to go but the material is there.

This month was Thanksgiving. In that spirit, I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn to teach here, my good neighbors prepare delicious fufu, red-red and other Ghanaian dishes for me, my room is comfortable,  my family in America support and sustain me,  and my Peace Corps colleagues are amazing.

Three slices of pie on this plate, Apple,
Pumpkin & Pecan.

On Thanksgiving Day we had a full scale Thanksgiving Dinner at the home of US Ambassador Gene A. Cretz and his wife Annette.  All Peace Corps volunteers in Ghana were invited. Cretz is from Albany, New York and I got the opportunity to introduce him to a couple of our volunteers from his region.  We all enjoyed the time. I spent through Friday night in the PC Hq in Accra.  There are three rooms with bunks where we can hang out if we make a reservation or have an official reason to be there (i.e., medical checkup).  The air conditioner leaked onto the floor of my room so i spent an hour or more mopping the floor while the other residents were out for the evening.  The next day i met with the doctor who gave me three shots and weighed me.  160 lbs!  That's what i weighed when we first moved to Washington State in '75. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about that, because a lot of it was muscle.  I'm still soft in places. In the afternoon, I was reading in the PC library and Raven, a Utah PCV who dressed up as Tin-Tin for our Halloween party in Kumasi, asked if i wanted to see a movie.  Sure!  About 6 of us took 2 drop cabs to an American style shopping mall out past the airport.  We saw the latest Bond 007.  I don't want to spoil it, but i think the villain was the best (i.e., worst) I've seen. Fun stuff

Accra, Ghana Temple

Finally while in Accra I was able to attend the Mormon Temple there. It is an island of peace, solace and service, welcome to me in a time of personal stress.  It is also close to the Peace Corps office in Accra; I hope to find many occasions to attend during my teaching tenure here.