Quotes of kindness:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. Plato

I never fully understood the significance of that quote until now.

More:
"I'll be very sad when you leave."
"You only have one week left? I'll have to watch you very well."
"I'll cry every day when you are gone. I'll think, 'Oh, I'm going to Emily's house to learn,' but you won't be there."
"You're my best friend. Do you want to know why? It's because you like learning. Every day, you're teaching me."
"You're beautiful no matter what hairstyle you have."
"Don't you know you're the volunteer of the year? It's because you teach us."
"That's why I like you. You always have time for us."

Some people are unfortunately fortunate. They never need to worry about money for high school or getting a pair of shoes or going to bed without eating. Some people believe that happiness can only come by social climbing, having the latest phone, or maybe the coolest clothes.

Well, the kids at the center are happier people than I've ever met in my life, and I think they all look great in the maybe 3 T-shirts they own.

The fact that I got to come here at all makes me an extremely lucky person - I have my parents to thank for that. But what probably makes me even more lucky was meeting the people in Eguafo. I'll never meet a more motivated person than the head of Sankofa, or someone with a more genuine smile than E2, or a cuter kid than little R.

Nobody will ever be as unintentionally delightful as A, and nobody will be so naturally entertaining as F is.

I'll never meet a more brilliant student than S, and I'll never have a better friend than E1. I wouldn't call this a village full of have-nots, because I found more here in 2 months than I have ever found in America. I'll be returning back to quiet, but maybe not to peace.

As I am sitting here in the Cape Coast Hospital with 3 children and 2 volunteers I realized that I'll be in Switzerland in almost a week. Like, no big deal, I'm going to Europe.

Most of these people have never even been out of their region, let alone the continent. I'm planning on changing that fact, so I have a lot of work to do when I get home. I have tons of ideas, and I'm going to start working on them ASAP.

You might ask me some questions.
If you ask if I've read The Cat in the Hat to a grown woman, I would say, "That's not all I can do!"
If you ask if I've ever taken a shower in the pouring rain? "Naturally!"
Have I ever almost been killed by a coconut? "You betcha!"
Have I ever hunted for and eaten African bush/suitcase snail? "Yum!"

So if you want to know if my experience in Africa has been a life-changing one, the answer is a resounding "Yes!"

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily

Success is our Failure

Let me explain something: I don't know how to explain things anymore. I could tell you a lot of good things or I could tell you a lot of bad things and either way I wouldn't be lying at all. I could tell you things that make me sad or tell you why coming here was completely worth it. I could tell you how much I've learned or grown as a person, about the people I've met, conversations I've had... Which is what I meant to be doing with this blog. But a blog can't even begin to describe my experience here. There's too much to say and too many ways to say them. There's so many sides to everything that I just can't explain it anymore. I don't even know the truth behind a lot of things, or what will happen in the future when I'm gone.

Ok. It's like this: I love you too much, but I'm so so worried about you.

That's the only way I can put it.

Emily

It's Nice to be Nice

This is what people in the city say when they're trying to get something out of me.

Example 1:
"Which of these paintings do you like? Just point to the one you like best and tell me how much you would pay for it."
"But I don't want a painting."
"It's nice to be nice."
"Ok but I still don't want one"

Example 2:
*40 year old grabs my hand while I'm dancing*
Me: "No thank you" *pulls hand off me*
"Hey, what's the problem? It's Friday night! Feel free! Let's dance."
"No" *pulls hands off me again*
"Hey, it's nice to be nice, right?" *Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that your pelvic thrusts in my general direction were an act of kindness. My mistake.*

On a happier note, how many people can say they've danced with Ghanaian orphans in the rain? This girl right here. Even though J kept looking at me like, "Good God, woman, is that really how they teach you to dance in America!?" Even so it was a blast. All of them are such fantastic dancers, I could watch them go all day.

Also, if you like tetris, you'll like this: we took all the kids to the beach on Saturday, and we managed to cram 30 people into one van. Impressed? Now that's the Ghana way. It's not often that they get to go somewhere, so it was fun to see their reactions. Especially F and A, who were both intrigued by and afraid of the water.

Ghanaian beauty standards: be big.
American beauty standards: be small.
Hmmm... are the most beautiful also the most difficult to come by?

My favorite things to buy in Cape Coast: fabric, lunch, yogurt drinks, mangoes. But then, I'm very privileged.

Because, you can eat all the animal crackers and cassava you want, but you're still going to be malnourished. How do you expect a child to do well in school when this is all they get?

But I can't keep giving people handouts. Sometimes I hate the way people ask me for things here. It's more like a command...
"Emily, where is my bread?"
"Emily, teach my class."
"Go away"
"Give me a biscuit"
"Madam, you are block my view!"
"Give me 10 pesewas (cents)"

But then there are special situations. Like what are you supposed to do...
If a girl says, "Emily, I haven't eaten since breakfast"? You know you have to give her some food.
Or if you say, "C, how many shirts do you have?" and he answers, "Two"? You know you have to give him one of your own.

Or if a little boy comes up to you and says, "I like you too much"? When you know you'll have to leave?
All I can say is,
Yoo, yen ko.
But really, it will be just me going.

Emily

My Current Train of Thought

I have a lot on my mind right now. Today I helped C learn addition and subtraction by counting out rocks. I felt pretty accomplished. I gave every kid in his family an article of clothing. I even gave J my favorite pair of workout shorts. That's when you know you've given from your heart - when you give someone something you love.

Sometimes if I am reading a book with the kids, I wonder how much they are truly understanding. But I guess it's good for them to just hear English being spoken. Especially with pictures etc.

I really want to stay longer. Already it's been one month...!!! And I feel like I've just gotten the hang of everything. I've really begun to live outside myself, which feels great. I'm not even sure I want to go back to Kenyon, at least not right away... What a different world it is! Here I have friends and there I have friends too... I suppose I need a degree in order to help people more. If I don't get a good job and earn money, how can I expect to benefit anyone? At the same time though, I've really fallen in love with the children in Eguafo. But maybe this is just the beginning of a long and fruitful journey.

So... What are you looking for?
A new pair of shoes?
A slingshot?
A chunk of raw meat?
A gigantic live snail?
Or how about a nice, medicinal dried bat?

Well, then Kumasi is the place for you! They have all that and more at the largest central market in West Africa, and I was there!

Unfortunately I didn't dare take any pictures. Taking out my camera in a place like that would not have been smart. It was so so crowded and of course everyone calls out to us because we're tourists.

Speaking of looking different, babies cry when they see me. The ones that are too young to have ever seen a white person before find me and the others very alien and scary. There's even this one little boy in the village who I always wave and say hi to. This is fine, until I start walking towards him, at which point he screams in terror and runs to his mom. I understand... But it's the first time I've ever felt this different.

Things I like:
Ghanaian children
Seeing progress that I'm making in the community and as a person
Fried plantains
Mangoes
Dresses
The other volunteers here

Things I dislike:
Being a young, white woman in Ghana
Dynamics that don't work and that I can't change

But hey, whatcha gonna do?

Anyway I realize that I haven't actually told you what I've been doing. Take that as a sign that I've been busy doing good things and having fun and haven't had much time to text my dad things to put on my blog.

Basically I've been teaching classes, tutoring one on one, writing lessons for S, hanging out with the other volunteers and villagers, and just having fun and playing with kids. Also odd things, like laundry, eating, making bracelets, sleeping, giving things to people, taking videos, observing... So yeah that's my life so

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily

Slip

Wow I have so much to say. Boy have I got some crazy stories. I'll tell you just one.

So last Sunday it rained all day. I went to church with one of my friends (let's call her S) in the morning. Afterwards, I went back home to eat lunch with the other volunteers. It was my favorite: rice ball with peanut butter soup and chicken.

As soon as I finished eating, though, S peered into the kitchen. Then, she came running in, looked out the window, and screamed, "Emily, please, you have to come with me!" She pulled me past everyone else and kept screaming, "Hurry, Hurry!" She pulled me away so fast I didn't even have time to grab shoes.

At first I thought it was a game, but soon I realized that she was actually terrified. She frantically explained, "The light pole is on fire! My sister is calling me!" That's when I heard an explosion and smelled smoke. I thought that I had to help put out a fire.

We, and many other women and children, were sprinting through the village, through the bushes and litter and sewage. S turned to me and asked, "Do you have any money?" I thought that was strange. Money won't put out a fire.

I said no and she said that we would have to take a cab to get out of Eguafo. I knew that I shouldn't get in the cab, but S looked so scared and so desperate (plus she was screaming at me me to get in) that I climbed on to someone's lap and off we went, seven of us.

By this point I was absolutely terrified. I didn't have my phone, any money, or shoes on. Everyone in the cab could see that I was scared. The guy in the front turned to me and said, "Do you believe in Jehovah?"

(Huh?) "Um, yes."

"That's why we're here."

Which is when I realized that everyone in the cab had been at the Jehovah's Witness church that morning. I asked S where we were going.

"Elmina." (The next town over.)

"For how long?"

"Until it's safe."

What??? I thought, 'I might be stuck in Elmina for days!'

As soon as everybody got out, I turned to the driver and said, "I need to get back to Eguafo."

He agreed to take me, while the others watched me go, all blank and stoney faced. Along the way, a gas pump attendant asked for my phone number, a man sat unnecessarily close to me while attacking me about America, "Why is it that you Americans are always in my country, but we Ghanaians can never go there? Are you afraid we'll take all your resources?"

"What???"

and just to make matters worse, the driver told me to sit up front, so he could stroke my hand, tell me he loved me, touch my cheek and ask for my number. Probably the last thing I needed at that point.

When we finally got back to Eguafo, I told the driver that I needed to go to my house to get the fare, and that I would be right back.

He more than doubled the fare, (5 cedis instead of 2), but at that point I just didn't care. I was just trying to hold myself together. Don't cry don't cry don't cry.

It was still raining as I got out of the cab, and I saw that pretty much the entire village was huddled under a few roofs. And all eyes were on me. I kept my eyes straight ahead, keeping my dignity, until I slipped on the mud road in my bare feet, skidding forward.

Every single person in the village burst out laughing. And then I knew it would happen. As soon as the volunteer house came into view, the tears came rolling down. Kids started swarming me.

"Is someone dead???" and the cook grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go until I told her, "I just need to pay 5 cedis to the driver."

D and M (two of the volunteers) came with me, along with the cook and a big group of kids. As we reached the main road, I could still feel everyone staring at me and could hear them snickering.

I handed the money to the driver, and the cook and the kids start interrogating and yelling at him in Fante.

When he told them where he had driven me, D shouted "Hey, it's not 5 cedis!"

At that point the driver decided to get the heck out of Egaufo, so he started to turn around. Next thing I know, he's backing straight into us, his car even touched my legs, just inches away from running me, D, and all the children behind us over.

D slammed his fist on the back of the windshield, then finally the cab took off. The cook took my wrist again as we headed for home. I wasn't going to look anybody in the eye until I heard someone say something very strange.

"You should lash her."

(Who even is this guy? I've never seen him before.)

"I'll lash you!" D cried.

The man started.

The man recovered. "You should lash her because she's afraid of fire. That's why she ran away."

That made me really mad. "I ran away to help my friend!"

"Yeah, you saved her life," he retorted.

The cook pulled me away, then stopped at another large group of people, speaking Fante with them. When I finally dared to look up at them, I saw the head of the orphanage there. He took me by the shoulders and told me to go sit at the children's center until I calmed down. I did, and I did calm down.

I walked back to the house and helped four-year old little F put his bracelet on, during which time he informed me that I was afraid of fire. That's right: a four-year old.

Anyway everything turned out ok. S and her friends came back to Eguafo, a little shaken up, but fine. The other volunteers and I played soccer at the center with the kids. It was super rainy and muddy so it was challenging but fun. And, everyone was slipping and everyone was laughing. But this time, in a good way.

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily

2.20

The exact fare for a cab ride to Cape Coast. Just when I thought I knew Eguafo, everything gets turned upside down. Am I trying to be deep? I haven't even scratched the surface.

Yoo...

Emily

Money

The teachers went on strike last Wednesday, which means fewer private English lessons and more classes for us volunteers. This job is totally draining, because the students don't really respect volunteers as much as they do their own teachers (understandably so).

Some teachers are not on strike, but still there are some classrooms which might not have a teacher for hours. It's reassuring, though, that those students with the most motivation to learn often go up to the board and give a lesson from the book and assign homework to the class.

I knew that reading English was difficult for many students, but yesterday I noticed something that I found to be a little disturbing. I was going over the homework with the 3rd graders, so I wrote the assigned passage on the board. The students kept asking to come read it and have the class repeat each sentence back.

I noticed that the reader would not always touch the pointer to the word he/she was saying. When I decided to move on and started to write a new passage for the students to read, one girl ran up to me and said, "Madam, we haven't learned to read that yet." It turns out that they had all just memorized the passages they they had to, and were hardly actually reading at all.

Last night I felt sicker than I have in my entire life. Should have paid more attention to my healthy guide to Africa book when it said 'don't eat frozen dairy products' (in this case, chocolate milk). Luckily, the two other volunteers really helped me out a lot, and took very good care of me. They made sure I took my medicine and had water and stayed in bed, etc. I really owe them one.

Speaking of volunteers, 5 more are showing up on Friday afternoon, which means we will have a full house - there are 8 beds total. Anyway, the ones I was with and I will all go on a weekend trip while the others are getting settled in. It will be interesting to see how the group dynamic will change this coming week.

Also, I can pretty much just never buy anything. As soon as I tell someone I'm going to buy bread, or someone sees me with a grocery bag, they always ask me for some. I completely understand, but it does make me feel a little uncomfortable. Once I give one person a gift, everybody might ask me, so I either have to say no, share the whole loaf of bread, or just never buy anything. Or do so in secret.

I can't believe I'm only spending 5 more weeks here. This week has really flown by. At the same time, thought, I feel like the best thing I can do for the Eguafo orphanage is to send money over on a regular basis. The organization runs solely on donations, so it's a sad fact that there are some nights when no food is available. Not that I'm pushing anything, but if you do happen to want to make a donation, just type 'Sankofa orphanage Eguafo' into Google and you should be able to find the website.

I'll be sure to keep you updated on the adventures of the next couple of days!

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily

Meeting Someone for the First Time

Children: "Obruni, obruni! (Foreigner, foreigner) What is your name?"
Me: "Emily."
Children: "Emiry."
Me: "Yes." (Well, it's close enough).

Me: "Hi, how are you?"
Women: "Fine. Come, sit. You are so beautiful. Is this your real hair?"

Man: "I am going to marry you. It's always been my dream to marry a white woman. I asked my mother and she said it was okay. Do you sleep alone? I knew the minute I saw you that I loved you."
Me: "Your friend said the same exact thing to me yesterday."
Man: "Don't listen to him. Give me your phone number."

*I should mention that not all men do this. Mostly just people I run into on the street, not my friends. It does happen a lot, though*

In other news, I'm grossly ill. I've gone down two belt sizes in the last week, which most American girls might be thrilled about, but the process has not been pleasant.

Also, I'm tutoring a girl in the village in English. It's even more difficult than teaching the primary school children because she's 15 and basically fluent. It's hard to know what to teach her because mostly we just have to do some polishing. (For instance, try explaining the difference between 'hardly' and 'barely.' It isn't easy.) She told me her dream was to become a scientist and live in America. This is the kind of person I really want to help out. I think that if I could figure out a way to get her a scholarship to study at an American university somehow, I could really change her life. I just have to keep working with her.

Oh my gosh, as I'm typing this, the goats are baaaahing. They bah all day and all night without stopping. It's actually hilarious, because some just sound so ridiculous. I'm laughing right now.

Also, there are megaphones in central locations around and people broadcast the radio, which is either music, news, or soccer games.

I really like it here in Eguafo. I went to Cape Coast with some other volunteers last weekend and while it was nice to take a break, I was super relieved to come back to Eguafo. I just feel really comfortable here.

Hmm well, I bought some fabric and am getting a dress made at the tailor. So that will be a nice souvenir.

Oh yeah, there was a huge rainstorm last night. Everything was flooded. School was closed this morning because the footbridge broke and everything was just too wet. The front of a brick building got destroyed, too. The goats are sick. They're not used to the rain.

That's all for now.

Yoo, yen ko!
Emily

Eh Ye

That means, "I'm fine" in Fante.

Well, I arrived here safely (although it took me 3 days) and I am currently in a little village called Eguafo near Cape Coast. Already I have made some good friends of all ages... 4 year olds, 20 year olds, 50 year olds... The only barrier is the language. Most of the kids speak English, but it's difficult to communicate with some people in the village. I'm trying to learn Fante, the language of Eguafo, but at the same time I think it's more important for the students to learn English. So I talk as much as possible to them.

I'm tutoring some students at the nearby primary school, and it takes a lot of patience but it's also rewarding to see improvement. The school system is completely different here: some kindergarten classrooms don't have teachers for most of the day, there can be 20 year olds in 8th grade, and the cane is used for punishing.

But one thing I really like about this place is that people are so happy all the time. Despite not having things that I used to take for granted (like pencils, showers, bandaids, etc.), everybody takes the time to be friendly to one another.

I felt welcome literally after taking my first step out of the cab. A little boy ran up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and said, "This is my friend." Mostly, I think, the best use of my time besides educating is just to give these fabulous, beautiful children some much needed attention.

I have to sleep now, but I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily

12 Hours

Akwaaba!

(That's Twi for: Welcome!) To my blog ^^

Well, I have just 12 more hours here in the US of A, then I'll be on my way to GHANA for the summer.

For those of you who don't know me, here's a brief overview: I'm a rising sophomore at Kenyon College in Ohio. I'm an International Studies major with a minor in Cultural Anthropology. Two years ago, I spent the year living abroad in the Netherlands with a host family. That really sparked my interest in other cultures, so when the opportunity to volunteer in Africa presented itself, I took it quite quickly! I'm volunteering with a program called IVHQ for 7 weeks. I've been reading about the customs and etiquette rules of Ghana... there are definitely some things I'm going to have to get used to, such as avoiding using my left hand and adjusting to a more laid back concept of time. At this point, I know a few things about what to expect:

1. I will probably be working at an orphanage.
2. I will be learning the Twi language.

Other than that, I don't know a whole lot. For instance, I don't know where I'll be living. Ghana is about the size of Oregon, with lots of diversity in terms of weather, geography, and demographics. Once I arrive in the capital city of Accra, I will be interviewed and the coordinators will look at which locations need the most help. Then, I will be placed and my adventure will commence!

Well, I guess I should finish packing and get some sleep. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

Oh, and I know one more thing:

3. This is going to be one great experience.

Yoo, yenko!
(Alright, let's go!)

 Emily