Sept 25 Tro-tros and "Children of the Light"

September 27, 2010 I went with one of my housemates to a small mission school named "Children of the Light" on Saturday. I'm attaching a photo of a little girl from the mission; The little ones are always so cute, but often they expect a treat if you take their photos. Although it's probably only thirty miles from here as the crow flies, it took almost two hours to get there by "public transportation". The tro-tros are the closest to buses available; they are a series of old vans with extra rows of seats added. One photo is attached of a passing tro-tro. As many people as can be packed into the condemned vehicles go from one location to another on roads that are not necessarily paved with pot holes easily two feet deep sometimes as close as every five feet. It makes those bucking bronco rides look tame, and the vans are sometimes at a 15 to 25 degree angle from being vertical in either direction.I banged my head good several times against the window. Now imagine that when the rains wash out the roads (it rained early Saturday morning before I took my walk) these pot holes are filled with water so you never know what is in store. Vehicles drive on the other side of the road to avoid the holes, but not necessarily avoiding the oncoming vehicles.And they take detours whenever they want, sometimes getting themselves in worse traffic jams on remote streets. Being at the mission school wasn't half the adventure of getting to it was! I got a good photo of the vendors on a very good part of the road on the way to the mission, going past the President's vacation house. Since it gets dark around 6 pm, when we actually left the mission, the ride home was all at night. We took one tro-tro to Medina, a smaller city outside Accra with a crazy, crazy marketplace jammed with blocks and blocks of shops, vendors and LOTS of shoppers. We weren't there to shop, just to change tro-tros to another place but boy was I glad I didn't have to figure where to go by myself. We left my neighborhood around 1:45 and got to the "Children of the Light" around 4 pm (one photo is the road we walked up to get to the school); we left here around 6:15 and had some difficulty getting the second tro-tro the lines were so long. We finally decided to get a taxi (and I use the word loosely) for the second leg of our trip home. Here you have to haggle for the fare before you get in the cab, and unless you know from experience what the fair price is you'd be as lost as me! Where the tro-tro cost 35 pessoahs (sort of cents to the Ghanian dollar or CD), the taxi for three of us was 5 CD's. It was worth every cent to get home by 8:30 in the dark. I took a hot shower and laid down to watch my third movie since I've been here (actually a crummy DVD on my little computer screen, but I could lay down and that's what mattered to me). I fell asleep anyway! Speaking of sleep, it's past my bed time now; 5:15 am comes mighty early to get up.
God bless you; He has provided all my needs each day, and allowed me to beter appreciate my blessings of friends like you.

Missing photos

September 12 - 17 NICS visitors

This week our school hosted a conference for  tne Network of International Schools (NICS) Directors in Asia, Indonesia and Africa and the home office people in Memphis, Tennessee. Lots of pressure on the Crosby's, and next week progress reports are pressure for me. I'm so glad the school isn't bigger or I'd be worn out! The Directors took the faculty out to a very fancy dinner Thursday (at least four forks per place setting). and I don't even know what all I ate. Then last night was a Korean festival/ fund raiser about an hour's ride away. There is a large part of our school that's Korean; the kids sang foreign songs (even an Elvis song) in Ghana . . .  what an international overload. The food was authentic, but expensive, so I didn't eat much. I have left over American stew I made two days ago, so I'm set.

Today I started out with good intentions. By 7 am I had a load of clothes in the washing machine (go while the power is on) and was walking in a light drizzle. About ten minutes into the walk the sky opened up and I got soaked to the bone! I went to the school to grade some papers and find a grade book I left behind, and again the rain poured down. Three hours later I was heading out wen it let up a bit and was fortunate enough to get a ride home.   Everyone had gone out somewhere and I had the solitude of the whole Palace. I got all my laundry washed and dried. and now the internet is back up so here I sit. I plan to get horizontal soon and watch a movie while all the younger teachers gather at someone else's house for dinner and dessert. I've discovered I am really an introvert, and communicate with children under ten better than all the younger teachers. One generation is really a world of experience difference, and I miss the conversations with gray haired people!

I'm attaching some photos of my neighborhood walk. Buildings like houses are built much differently here, it may take years to construct, because the land owners have only so much money.They build what they can afford over time. Some of the residences of the teachers are rented by the school giving a lot of money with the provision it will be rented to us for the first year or two (paid in advance actually). This is an upper middle class neighborhood, all houses have barbed wire around a tall wall and a guard 24 hours. About three blocks way are the street vendors, and the school is really an ongoing expansion of several large houses or hotels. It really is amazing anything here functions. Business sense is not what Americans expect, but the saying "It is Ghana"  means don't expect anything to be as planned, and you can't do anything about it. If the power isn't shut off, if the roads hold out and if there's water for even a simple shower then maybe you might have some control. It does teach me to appreciate that simple things get done, like laundry or a special trip somewhere like the Korean festival, or an e-mail gets through. God is in controll, not me!

So I hope your day is going well, and you find time to enjoy life. I'm fine, and looking forward to watching on of the CD's in the house. Oh to just watch televison for an episode of Grey's Anatomy or pick up a phone and call a friend back home.

Sunday, Sept.13

It's Sunday, September 12 and I just walked to the grocery store. Boy is it good to be sitting in the direct line of my fan now! There is a small "mall" about a 15 minute walk from my house, but you can't be sure what the grocery store will have, nor how much you'll pay. Adjustments come in unexpected places. I've been as busy at home as at school, and trying to see new things on weekends gets me backlogged everywhere. I really am glad I'm not in an apartment by myself, but I do wish at least one other person in "the Palace" was at least twenty years older or closer to my age. Joyce and Tim have been so kind, but this week is the Convention/ meeting of all the directors in Asia, Indonesia and Africa plus people from the home office of NICS meeting here at our school, so it's hectic for the Crosbys for a while.   

Cooking consists mostly of sharing the dinners at home five nights. I'm making dinner tomorrow, and substituting what is available for what I really want. The three other girls in the house with whom we rotate dinner making are all in their twenties and don't know how to really cook, so I eat a lot of burnt frozen vegetables and rice put in a pita. Last week I roasted some chicken and cooked carrots with onion in some butter; if I want a real homecooked meal I'd better plan to make it myself.We'll have some beef with gravy made from onion soup and cream of chicken soup mixed with milk (there is no canned mushroom soup, thus the chicken soup substitute). The girls appreciated my home cooked “Mom meal" and the feeble ginger snaps I made Friday (even with the right ingredients the results aren’t the same). Since the house had no cookie sheets, cooling rack or oven safe dishes it has been a challenge (I bought that stuff this weekend, necessary for my sanity). The stove has numbers from one to ten (no temperature gauge), since I was successful with the chicken at 6 or 7 for an hour and a half, I concluded that was about 350F. The first week my main investment was a high voltage protector, a power strip surge protector/ extension cord and power adapters. The second week was a cell phone/ trac phone and minutecards. Now I can address the cooking needs as I see them.

Friday was the last day of Muslim Rhamadan, so a national holiday. Although Accra is mostly Christian, the country is still predominantly Muslim. I enjoyed the day off from school, and went for a short excursion  with my housemates to a different part of Accra. The "Art Mart" is like a poor flea market full of stands with Ghanians hawking their wares; I'm still in the looking stage trying to get a feel for what souvenirs to buy. Then we took a bus (really a run down van with lots of people crammed in). We had to go to a big station with at least a hundred vans to find one going where we wanted, and none of the vehicles would pass a Car-max inspection. . .  I never would have ventured out by myself, and was glad to be with four other young teachers experienced in bartering for better prices. Actually almost everyone is young, about half my age, and truth be told,  I get weary of them at times. 

They went to a fabric shop where you can get clothes made or buy what she's already got. The fabric is neat, mostly batik and quite colorful. I will eventually get something made, but I want to draw a picture of what I want. Joyce had a pants and long dress outfit made that was nice: had pockets, flared for easier fit, and I think incorporated princess seams at the side (not common in African clothes). Ghanians are not especially noted for good craftsmanship, so I 'll go to someone Joyce recommends. Riding a cab or tro-tro (bus) is a real trip in itself: crazy drivers honk all the time to say "here I come, move over", and other than on the downtown streets there's shacks on the sides of most roads with miscellaneous stuff. Lots of food vendors, but then a hubcap hut, landscape plants, pineapples & bananas, then casket vaults. Makes no sense. 

About my school, although there are some native Ghanaians as students atAIS, most could not afford the school. It's mostly children of CEO's of big companies, diplomats or embassy type people, or kids of missionaries out in the more remote areas (nannies take care of them at home in Accra). They are respectful, and from a lot of different countries (I think I heard mentioned about 20 different) but all classes are taught in English. The school has a generator, but power fluctuates all day.  There's cold water and power at schhol, even when it’s locked up, so teachers go in as early as 6:15 am. Sometimes I'm told to turn off the air conditioning, sometimes I'm told to turn it on because if there's too much excess power. the internet crashes. This month I decided to get the main lunch every day: usually rice or noodles with some meat and a spicy sauce. They call it chicken stew or spaghetti, but believe me it's not what I know as stew or spaghetti! I think in October I'll do the opposite and get just the fruits or yogurt. Even coleslaw would be more helpful to my diet that this spicy pasta stuff. I don't mean to be complaining, but it is an adjustment, but I have learned the hard way to drink LOTS of filtered water.

Last night I went with some other teachers to an Ethiopian restaurant for their New Year's celebration. I had been invited to go but didn't realize the only other person from “the Palace" had left without me, and I had to walk by myself in the dark about four or five blocks to "the Pink House" where they were meeting. Then I  learned that I don't especially like Ethiopian food since it's spicy and you eat everything with your fingers (no utensils at all). It was about twice the cost I expected, so I learned to maybe inquire more in advance before going out. It was an experience, but I doubt I'd go again. Live and learn.

 How I miss our Sunday church services back in Charlotte;. I’ve been going to Elim International Church with my friends the Crosbys, and while it is uplifting, it lacks the traditional aspects I love. The American International School has better fed my faith, and the whole staff is so caring and devoted to God, it lifts me through the many adjustments. Every Monday and Wednesday mornings we have devotionals and prayer before school, and the faculty meetings on Tuesday afternoons are begun and ended with prayer too. It is an incredible experience, and I really am well cared for.

It is a different world here, and there is so much I am grateful for. Although there is air conditioning, this is the “winter” and so we use ceiling fans when the electricity is working. You can see the gaps in the windows and doors (all of which have bars over them) and the small refrigerator and stove are enough to get by for  a few days. The other five women in my house are all about Jeremiah’s age, not really accustomed to cooking balanced meals or washing dishes in hot water; I admittedly miss older company to talk with, but I’m glad I don’t live alone.

Admittedly the younger teachers are more willing to go places on their own that I wouldn't: like last night I was included in a group going to a restaurant to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year. I didn’t realize the group was meeting at a house about five blocks away at 7 pm. It gets dark here at 6 pm, and I was extremely uncomfortable walking by myself at night. It is not something I expect to repeat, although nothing happened; and I learned I do not enjoy the spicy food you eat entirely with your fingers (no utensils of any kind). Some things you just chalk up to experience.

Speaking of chalk, I also learned I need to put “ant chalk” on the legs of my bed. Apparently some ants feasted on my hands one or two nights ago and left little pus filled bites. Here I thought I’d done so well with my mosquito repellant at night and sunscreen on weekend outings. I feel so much better at night if I can take my shower before bed; each bathroom has a small barrel size water tank (that if you think about half an hour ahead) that can heat and hold hot water for a trickle shower. This morning the water pressure was low (why I do not know) so the shower was a real sparse trickle if at all; of course this is not the same as a power outage or  running out of gas, As long as I’m at school the generator kicks in when the electricity shuts off, so it’s not so bad, and they have water coolers to get very cold water at school. At home we put the tap water through a pottery filter to purify drinking water, but obviously that isn’t cold.

So far I’ve been able to use lesson plans from my past teaching jobs. Materials are extremely limited. Paper is expensive, many supplies like blue carbon paper are difficult if not impossible to find locally. I don’t even have large construction paper, poster board or stubby paint brushes. Anything sipped from America is likely to be held up for a bribe. “Officials” open packages and put “taxes” that can shurpass the price you paid in America. Most supplies that the Crosby’s order in the summer are sent over in crates through JARS (I believe they are home based in Waxhaw, NC; they get missionarys supplies to remote areas and are involved with the Wycliff Bible translations).

Please understand I am not meaning to complain. I just wanted to explain the circumstances the school (and the country) is operating under. American International School in Accra is doing a remarkable job representing Christ to some students who are not even Christian.  The parents feel that the caring, nurturing environment at AIS is important to their children, even if the family is not Christian, and they agree to the Bible study requirements and realize it will be part of the curriculum at all levels.

Neighborhood children at the "Palace"

Neighborhood children at the "Palace" with Christy

The photo mentioned in September 8 entry: neighborhood poor children at Christy's "Sunday School Lesson" every other Tuesday outside our house.

Sept 8, 2010

Another day, another adjustment. Learning a procedure doesn't mean getting the task completed . . . today it was how to get my lesson plans to print on the school computer. Only something is wrong with my files so it doesn't work. It was my turn to make dinner tonight, I walked to the store to get the ingredients and figured what to substitute, only I got home to find we don't have any ovenproof cassarole dishes. I tried to plug in my computer and the fan last night and sparks flew. Literally!  My roommates had no idea why, I bought a new surge protector strip and a small adapter plug today after school, but the bigger surge protector I bought less than two weeks ago doesn't work. Some days are just frustrating.

I did get a grade for all my students' work last week; that was an accomplishment for me. I've talked to each student and learned how to pronousce their individual names. There are about twenty different nationalities represented and even simple names are not pronounced as I would think. The grading period ends in less than two weeks, so I have to keep up. Our school is hosting the NICS (Network of International Christian Schools) Directors Meeting next week; all the big wigs from Africa, Asia and Indonesia will be around Monday through Friday, so everything needs to look its best. Lots of bulletin boards for me to fill up too. All the teachers are so kind and flexible, it makes me want to do my part too, but admittedly I'm still emotionally near a meltdown. I have all I can do at school, and at home I seem equally busy just maintaining. The internet and electricity can go down indefinitely at any time, hot water and the clothes drier are variables too and it teaches us all to adjust on short notice.

The picture I'm attaching is from last week. One of my roommates invited the poorer neighborhood children over every other Tuesday for a Sunday school lesson. The kids are children of the people who work in the houses of this neighborhood, very needy. Last week there were about thirty-five kids waiting for Christy at 5:30; it was amazing.

Well, it's about 8:30 and I hope to get a shower before bed, and I need to borrow an iron to get my clothes ready (or decide to go wrinkled). I get up around 5 am and hope we have electricity. I had hoped to take a walk in the morning, but it would mean going out by myself to walk about  6 blocks to meet two other girls. I decided it just was too much of a risk being out in the dark by myself. Some decisions are simple; the risks are not worth it to me. That's about it for this post, I hope you have a good nights rest.

Sun, Sept 5

Just another photo from yesterday of an Aburi village. Sometimes the people don't like their photos taken, or expect you to give them money. The people are so very poor and their homes are shacks at best.

Sunday, Sept.5

Yesterday was a real treat, an adventure outside of Accra into a more rural area with the Crosbys. We went to the high school principal's home for lunch and then the five of us went to visit a small shop that makes colorful glass beads in small glass kilns in quite primative kilns. Then we drove out to another area to visit the man who supplies the school with drinking water. Kofy is a remarkable Ghanaian with a real vision for conservation. Fourteen years ago he began his vision to preserve about 30 acres with native plants and develop a santuary/ retreat place that is so serene and beautiful Itotally was amazed. He has survived many legal conflicts and had to endure bribes and threats to work towards his vision, and he knows so much about the trees and plants. With this post I hoped to include some photos; but evidently I only get one  photo with each blog entry so today you'll see me and Joyce Crosby at Kofy's  sanctuary.

September 2 - 4, 2010

September 2  I've been out of internet access and wanted to post I'm fine. I've got my schedule and am supervising as many study halls as teaching art (grades 1-7). I'd been trying to keep up with my apartment-mates and realized I'm running myself too thin. Sometimes some teachers from the "Pink House"  (maybe five blocks away) go walking in the morning when it's still dark out (5 am), but that's been hit or miss. My back needs the exercise, but I doubt I'll ever go by myself even in the morning. Teachers are at school at 7 am and students are in the class at 7:45. 

The diet will take adjustment on my part. Faith and Christy eat pasta or macaroni as a main ingredient in most things (except pitas), and the school lunches are meat and some pasta or rice; always with the same moderately spicy seasoning. I'm hoping to see which local street venders are safe to buy fruits from; already I'm missing salads and fresh corn most.

Well, it's late and I learned this morning to pack up stuff before going to bed. Last night we had a power outage from 2 am until about 9 am, so we get dressed by candle light and since there's no power, there's no way to make oatmeal for breakfast, so no taking medicine. Since the school has a generator, I took all my stuff, left early and made instant oatmeal at school. If I learn one thing, it will be to be flexible!  Even at school the power fades or goes out for a while.

September 4  Thank God it’s Friday; really, I AM thanking God I’ve survived my first week here, and the classes I teach. I have wondered what I’ll do with my classes next week, especially since I’ve exhausted my favorite lessons this week! Supplies are very limited, like no paper heavy enough to paint on, and I’m not sure how to clean up without sinks big enough to fit a quart bottle under OR buckets anyway. For the  first week I didn’t even know the questions to ask; now I’m beginning to realize many questions have no clear answers, or not expected options. May I have some paper towels: yes. Are there any thicker than a Kleenex? Yes but outrageously expensive; so forget about it. Can I get a printout of my lesson plans I’m to hand in Friday? Probably, but start on Wednesday in case the power goes out or the internet is just not available for two days. In the isolated community of the school everyone helps each other, but the culture is not as “success oriented” on getting ahead.

Tonight I’m staying home. Everyone else is going to a special church program that was previewed in chapel at school on Wednesday. I needed to get some laundry done, and that may take hours (if the power stays on). The drier doesn't really totally dry anything, but if we put damp clothes on the drying rack they may be dry in 12 hours.  The washing machine at  my house is smaller, everyone washes all colors together in cold, and the drier sort of works in smaller batches that may take an hour each to reach basic "damp". The Palace gets internet starting at 7 pm, my back wants to be horizontal, and I’m missing friends and family back home. I thought maybe I’d leave school earlier and take a walk, but I’m barely able to venture to and from school by myself, leave alone experience the heat through streets that have no street signs. Big houses are sometimes hotels, clinics or schools; streets are so rutted I barely want to walk on them (I’d be afraid to risk driving here) and cars navigate by honking and barging full speed ahead swerving to avoid the biggest potholes.

The Palace is in a moderate neighborhood, good size houses with some landscaping, but not the area embassy people would be seen. The people who work in these homes are poor; our guards mop the floor, sometimes do ironing or extra little things to be more valuable to keep their jobs. There’s a wall around each house with an access gate and guard on duty all the time. Plants are in front of the  house, but not a real yard or acreage. We are directly in the flight path for the airport, and our street has a concrete gutter three or four feet deep on each side of the paved road. Three blocks down the road the street dead ends, and we walk about three blocks on a sandy bumpy dirt path/ alley that ends near the school.

Two mornings this week I walked with one of the female teachers who lives upstairs and two other teachers from the “Pink House” while it was still dark, but they don’t have the same urgency with back problems, so faded out as the week wore on. I doubt I’ll venture out by myself, but it was interesting to see the sun rise and be in a more business area. Shacks where people sell stuff evidently are where they live too. Native Ghanaians carry things on their heads without even needing to hold on to the load with their hands. Babies are wrapped around the backs of mothers with a large scarf, and tro-tros (taxis) drive in even the more remote streets.