Praise God for the small, but encouraging, bits of progress made lately. In terms of math, the kids here really struggle. Most of them failed math last year and still struggle with the basic facts-- even in 6th grade. This makes learning higher level concepts pretty difficult. Part of my job here is to train the teachers and coach them on how to teach math more effectively. I was also hoping to start some type of math club after school to help the students catch up on important concepts they've missed through games and other activities. However, upon coming here and realizing the extreme need for learning math, I've been almost paralyzed. It's as if the need is too great and every idea I come up with seems to small-- too insignificant-- to make any difference at all. However, I know you can't get anywhere by standing still, so on Saturday I rounded up some of the P5 & P6 kids and had my first math club. I'd say it was a success, considering I said we'd meet for maybe 45 minutes and after 2 hours, I had to kick the kids out! They wanted more! So, I'm still throwing around ideas on how to best serve all of the students and how to use my time most effectively with the clubs. It looks like I may have different grade levels meet after school on certain days.
I was also encouraged by a one-on-one tutoring session with a third grade boy today. His confidence and self-esteem is quite low, partially because he's getting teased by classmates for doing poorly in math. Today I did some informal assessment to see where he's at and then had a short tutoring session. It was encouraging to hear that he had told Papa Jim that he really enjoyed that time and even learned something! We have a long ways to go, but I'm praying that God will not only use this opportunity to improve his math skills but also to improve his confidence. He's such a sweet boy, and it's encouraging to me to think that even if I make a difference for one child while I'm here, my time here was well spent.
I'm learning-- maybe slowly-- that life (especially in Ghana) is best taken one day at a time...by putting one foot in front of the other. :)
Monday, October 12, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Communication Chaos!
As I have mentioned before, communication with the African people here can prove to be quite a challenge. Although at times it's very frustrating, for some reason this week I've been able to find the humor in the out-of-control conversations...maybe because I wasn't directly involved in these situations! :) Here's a few stories that will help you understand a little bit of what it's like...
1. Papa Jim has a friend who's beginning to sell health care products, so he's come around trying to sell some of these to us. He decided to buy some type of aloe product as a supplement to relieve stomach problems. The man who sold him the product told him there would be no side effects with this product, but the next day he called back to see if he's had any side effects.
Papa Jim reminded him that he just told him yesterday that there would be no side effects and decided to play with him a little bit and jokingly said, "Well, I just fell on the ground and starting experiencing tingling in my left arm and chest pains (signs of a heart attack); is that normal?"
The man replied, "Yes. Yes. That's normal."
So Papa Jim continues, "Ok. So even though I fell on the floor and lost consciousness, that's okay?"
"Yes. Yes. That's okay," he said.
As I stood there laughing, Papa Jim repeated the question about losing consciousness and the man replied, "Yes. You can even take more."
Yikes!
2. Mama Carolyn and I saw Daniel, the driver, head toward the gate in the van, and we wanted him to pick up some bread for us while he was out. So, hoping to catch him before he left the compound, we called his phone...no answer. Next we quickly dialled the guard's phone, hoping that maybe he could catch him before he went out. The conversation went something like this:
Mama Carolyn: "Hi is Daniel there?"
Samuel (the guard): "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Could I talk to him please?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Hi. Is this Daniel?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "I was just calling to see if you were going out."
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Dana and I were wondering if you could pick up some bread for us?"
Samuel: you guessed it..."Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This isn't Daniel, the driver, is it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This is Samuel, isn't it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Has Daniel already left?"
Samuel: "Yes."
As you could probably conclude...no bread for us! :)
3. Mama Carolyn called Mr. Yeboa, a man who is a carpenter and made some desks for the school, to see where his shop is located since it recently moved locations. Here's how it went?
Mama Carolyn: "Hi Mr. Yeboa...I was wondering if you could tell me where your shop is because Papa Jim wanted to come pick up the desks."
Mr. Yeboa: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Okay. Where can we find your shop?"
Mr. Yeboa: "Okay, okay, okay!" Click...
Challenging may be an understatement in terms of communication...thus the title...Communication CHAOS!!! Like I said, I've found it's best just to laugh it off...sometimes easier said than done though.
1. Papa Jim has a friend who's beginning to sell health care products, so he's come around trying to sell some of these to us. He decided to buy some type of aloe product as a supplement to relieve stomach problems. The man who sold him the product told him there would be no side effects with this product, but the next day he called back to see if he's had any side effects.
Papa Jim reminded him that he just told him yesterday that there would be no side effects and decided to play with him a little bit and jokingly said, "Well, I just fell on the ground and starting experiencing tingling in my left arm and chest pains (signs of a heart attack); is that normal?"
The man replied, "Yes. Yes. That's normal."
So Papa Jim continues, "Ok. So even though I fell on the floor and lost consciousness, that's okay?"
"Yes. Yes. That's okay," he said.
As I stood there laughing, Papa Jim repeated the question about losing consciousness and the man replied, "Yes. You can even take more."
Yikes!
2. Mama Carolyn and I saw Daniel, the driver, head toward the gate in the van, and we wanted him to pick up some bread for us while he was out. So, hoping to catch him before he left the compound, we called his phone...no answer. Next we quickly dialled the guard's phone, hoping that maybe he could catch him before he went out. The conversation went something like this:
Mama Carolyn: "Hi is Daniel there?"
Samuel (the guard): "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Could I talk to him please?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Hi. Is this Daniel?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "I was just calling to see if you were going out."
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Dana and I were wondering if you could pick up some bread for us?"
Samuel: you guessed it..."Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This isn't Daniel, the driver, is it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "This is Samuel, isn't it?"
Samuel: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Has Daniel already left?"
Samuel: "Yes."
As you could probably conclude...no bread for us! :)
3. Mama Carolyn called Mr. Yeboa, a man who is a carpenter and made some desks for the school, to see where his shop is located since it recently moved locations. Here's how it went?
Mama Carolyn: "Hi Mr. Yeboa...I was wondering if you could tell me where your shop is because Papa Jim wanted to come pick up the desks."
Mr. Yeboa: "Yes."
Mama Carolyn: "Okay. Where can we find your shop?"
Mr. Yeboa: "Okay, okay, okay!" Click...
Challenging may be an understatement in terms of communication...thus the title...Communication CHAOS!!! Like I said, I've found it's best just to laugh it off...sometimes easier said than done though.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Number Crunching
Well, it’s been 40 days since I set foot on African terrain! In honor of this momentous anniversary and also due to the fact that I’m a math teacher and just a number guru in general, I thought I’d compose a list of numbers that pertain to my life here in Ghana that you may find interesting!
0—the number of McDonalds in Ghana! (I’m pretty sure this is the first country I’ve been to that hasn’t been invaded by the golden arch!)
1.5—the number of miles some village people walk (one way) to charge their cell phones…and then they have to wait for it to get charged!
1.43—the exchange rate of Ghana cedis to the US dollar
2—the number of poisonous snakes killed since I’ve been here
$2.30—the cost of most canned vegetables (I won’t complain about the fact that it’s much cheaper to buy fresh produce than canned!) J
6:30—time that it gets dark each night
$10—the cost of a small head of broccoli and cauliflower
20—the numbers of minutes it takes to attach a picture to an e-mail
$22—the cost of a large jar of peanut butter
40—the number of days I’ve been here, thus also the number of malaria pills I’ve taken
68—the number of eggs I’ve eaten since I’ve been here
$70—the cost of the game Uno Attack
86—the average daytime temperature right now
90—the number of minutes it takes to get into Accra (even though it’s only like 15 miles away!)
$100—the cost of a black ink cartridge for my computer
$105—the cost of the game Taboo
Don’t worry…I haven’t had to buy any of these outrageously priced items yet!
Please continue to pray for clear communication between the teachers and myself, because although I feel like I’ve seen some improvement in certain teachers, there’s lots of room for improvement! It can be frustrating to explain something and see someone do the complete opposite thing 10 seconds later when it seems like they understood. It leaves me baffled at times. J
Also, just today there was a situation that came up with a couple of the older girls that I’d like to ask prayer for. For whatever reason, the older girls here (ages16-18) haven’t been very welcoming to me. I believe they’re upset with me for not catering to their needs and treating them differently than the other kids. However, I feel like I’ve still been very kind to them and trying to treat them fairly. Today a couple of the girls walked by and directed some rude comments toward me and then when I confronted them, one of them wouldn’t respond at all and the other admitted that although there was no problem between us and I never did anything wrong, she would not be able to say hello to me when I greeted her. So we’re currently dealing with the situation and it will involve some pretty major decisions, so I humbly ask for your prayers that God would give us wisdom and we would act out of love and that the kids would see that we’re making decisions in the best interest of them.
Thanks again for your loving support, prayers, and e-mails. If I haven’t responded to your e-mail, it’s because my computer has been very temperamental lately and I’m lucky to even be able to check my e-mails some days. I still love hearing from you!
Blessings on your week!
Love,
Oburoni
0—the number of McDonalds in Ghana! (I’m pretty sure this is the first country I’ve been to that hasn’t been invaded by the golden arch!)
1.5—the number of miles some village people walk (one way) to charge their cell phones…and then they have to wait for it to get charged!
1.43—the exchange rate of Ghana cedis to the US dollar
2—the number of poisonous snakes killed since I’ve been here
$2.30—the cost of most canned vegetables (I won’t complain about the fact that it’s much cheaper to buy fresh produce than canned!) J
6:30—time that it gets dark each night
$10—the cost of a small head of broccoli and cauliflower
20—the numbers of minutes it takes to attach a picture to an e-mail
$22—the cost of a large jar of peanut butter
40—the number of days I’ve been here, thus also the number of malaria pills I’ve taken
68—the number of eggs I’ve eaten since I’ve been here
$70—the cost of the game Uno Attack
86—the average daytime temperature right now
90—the number of minutes it takes to get into Accra (even though it’s only like 15 miles away!)
$100—the cost of a black ink cartridge for my computer
$105—the cost of the game Taboo
Don’t worry…I haven’t had to buy any of these outrageously priced items yet!
Please continue to pray for clear communication between the teachers and myself, because although I feel like I’ve seen some improvement in certain teachers, there’s lots of room for improvement! It can be frustrating to explain something and see someone do the complete opposite thing 10 seconds later when it seems like they understood. It leaves me baffled at times. J
Also, just today there was a situation that came up with a couple of the older girls that I’d like to ask prayer for. For whatever reason, the older girls here (ages16-18) haven’t been very welcoming to me. I believe they’re upset with me for not catering to their needs and treating them differently than the other kids. However, I feel like I’ve still been very kind to them and trying to treat them fairly. Today a couple of the girls walked by and directed some rude comments toward me and then when I confronted them, one of them wouldn’t respond at all and the other admitted that although there was no problem between us and I never did anything wrong, she would not be able to say hello to me when I greeted her. So we’re currently dealing with the situation and it will involve some pretty major decisions, so I humbly ask for your prayers that God would give us wisdom and we would act out of love and that the kids would see that we’re making decisions in the best interest of them.
Thanks again for your loving support, prayers, and e-mails. If I haven’t responded to your e-mail, it’s because my computer has been very temperamental lately and I’m lucky to even be able to check my e-mails some days. I still love hearing from you!
Blessings on your week!
Love,
Oburoni
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Accra Adventures
Wow…what a day! I took the day off from school today to go into Accra to help buy tennis shoes for the kids, get started on renewing my visa, and get some groceries…or so was the plan! J Needless to say, things didn’t go exactly as planned. We hoped to leave by 9 a.m., which then get pushed back to 10, because we had an inspection this morning. Well, since the inspection crew arrived late, I believe we were on the road by about 10 after 12! I could’ve been at school after all. However, it was really nice to have a relaxing morning and to take some time to get ready for tomorrow’s inservice.
Well, we braved many a stores to buy shoes for the kids, which was once again an adventure! We’re getting better, though. We bought 30 of the 48 kids shoes, so we’re getting there. After awhile, style and color preferences tend to fade; if it fits, it looks great! :) Because of our late start and the shoe adventure, we didn’t have time to make it to the immigration office, so it looks like I’ll be doing that next week sometime. We started to head for the mall to get some dinner and groceries, but because of a wrong turn, ended up stuck in traffic for quite awhile! Once we finally got moving, we were pulled off to the side by three policemen who claimed we ran a red light. (Note: If you are not fond of sarcasm, read no further!) Hmm…who would’ve known there was a red light??? The cars in front of us, behind us, and beside us all were charging through the same “red light”. Considering most of the traffic lights here don’t even work (literally…most aren’t lit at all), I have a hard time believing that we really did, or even if we did, it was impossible to see it because of the crazy rush of the traffic and people. However, they said we did, so I guess there was no arguing.
Here’s where our adventure really begins…the policeman hops in the back seat of our truck, claiming he’ll need to “arrest” us and take us to his office so he can fill out the paperwork for Papa Jim to go to court tomorrow. So, he directs us through the crazy traffic, and I kept thinking that if he really claimed to try to protect the people, then perhaps something should be done about the fact that no one follows any sort of traffic lane rules, there’s pedestrians running out in front of cars, and a bike that swerved right in front of us. He talks around and around in circles—making it quite obvious what he was after. Then, after leading us off the main road onto some other side roads, he tells us that he’s stopped taking us to the office…I’m still wondering if this “office” even exists! So, instead we go out to the main road again (which we just came from about ½ hour earlier!) and meet up with another policeman who repeats what he heard happened and says he’ll need to fill out the paperwork to go to court tomorrow. So, we agree and wait patiently—knowing the whole time that all they really wanted was a bribe! About 45 minutes after we were “arrested” (ha!) and 5 policemen later, I think they finally realized that we weren’t going to bribe them, and they let us go with a stern, “Next time you see a red light, you better stop!” So much for policemen doing their job!
Well, we braved many a stores to buy shoes for the kids, which was once again an adventure! We’re getting better, though. We bought 30 of the 48 kids shoes, so we’re getting there. After awhile, style and color preferences tend to fade; if it fits, it looks great! :) Because of our late start and the shoe adventure, we didn’t have time to make it to the immigration office, so it looks like I’ll be doing that next week sometime. We started to head for the mall to get some dinner and groceries, but because of a wrong turn, ended up stuck in traffic for quite awhile! Once we finally got moving, we were pulled off to the side by three policemen who claimed we ran a red light. (Note: If you are not fond of sarcasm, read no further!) Hmm…who would’ve known there was a red light??? The cars in front of us, behind us, and beside us all were charging through the same “red light”. Considering most of the traffic lights here don’t even work (literally…most aren’t lit at all), I have a hard time believing that we really did, or even if we did, it was impossible to see it because of the crazy rush of the traffic and people. However, they said we did, so I guess there was no arguing.
Here’s where our adventure really begins…the policeman hops in the back seat of our truck, claiming he’ll need to “arrest” us and take us to his office so he can fill out the paperwork for Papa Jim to go to court tomorrow. So, he directs us through the crazy traffic, and I kept thinking that if he really claimed to try to protect the people, then perhaps something should be done about the fact that no one follows any sort of traffic lane rules, there’s pedestrians running out in front of cars, and a bike that swerved right in front of us. He talks around and around in circles—making it quite obvious what he was after. Then, after leading us off the main road onto some other side roads, he tells us that he’s stopped taking us to the office…I’m still wondering if this “office” even exists! So, instead we go out to the main road again (which we just came from about ½ hour earlier!) and meet up with another policeman who repeats what he heard happened and says he’ll need to fill out the paperwork to go to court tomorrow. So, we agree and wait patiently—knowing the whole time that all they really wanted was a bribe! About 45 minutes after we were “arrested” (ha!) and 5 policemen later, I think they finally realized that we weren’t going to bribe them, and they let us go with a stern, “Next time you see a red light, you better stop!” So much for policemen doing their job!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A "Normal" Day...
I thought I'd share with you a "normal" day...as if those really exist here! :) I woke up around 6 a.m. (That's what happens when you go to bed at 10..and you live near chickens!) The other night I thought about writing a letter to the neighborhood chickens. It would read something like this: "Dear Chickens, Don't you think 3:50 a.m. is a bit too early to be cock-a-doodle-doing!? I do, and would most certainly appreciate it if you could set your alarm clock a little later. Thank you."
I was in my apartment until about 8 a.m. We were planning on going for a jog about that time. So, I went to go round up the kids, but found out they had a farming meeting to plan where they'd plant their garden plots. So...I went in to help Mama Carolyn sort and size shoes for the kids. (We're trying to get all the kids new slippers and tennis shoes, which are desperately needed!) It's not as easy as it sounds when you have 48 kids and whether or not they fit is determined by laying the shoe on top of a tracing of their foot. Anyways, we worked on that until about 9:15.
Then, it was jogging time! We made it to Medie and back...a good 3 miles I'd say!
After a shower and some more shoe sorting it was time to head to Nsawam to take the cook to a place where he gets the bread dough kneaded, buy some more shoes for the kids, and pick up some veggies. Here's a picture of me learning to carry our purchases "African style". As you can see, I still have to use my "training wheels" (hands). The ladies here are amazing...I don't know how they balance those things...sometimes in addition to a baby on their back and another load in their hands!
I'm getting lots of practice with my driving skills these days! I'd have to say that I'm really starting to get the hang of those potholes! We got back around 2:45 and went down to the kitchen to help form the bread into rolls.
After that, it was back to shoe sorting! By about 5:30, we had successfully matched all the kids with some shoes! So we passed them out around 6 and took some pictures to send to the people who donated the money for them.
Then, it was time to make dinner and banana bread! :) Mmm....now it's about 10 pm and the power just went off...must be time for bed!
I was in my apartment until about 8 a.m. We were planning on going for a jog about that time. So, I went to go round up the kids, but found out they had a farming meeting to plan where they'd plant their garden plots. So...I went in to help Mama Carolyn sort and size shoes for the kids. (We're trying to get all the kids new slippers and tennis shoes, which are desperately needed!) It's not as easy as it sounds when you have 48 kids and whether or not they fit is determined by laying the shoe on top of a tracing of their foot. Anyways, we worked on that until about 9:15.
Then, it was jogging time! We made it to Medie and back...a good 3 miles I'd say!
After a shower and some more shoe sorting it was time to head to Nsawam to take the cook to a place where he gets the bread dough kneaded, buy some more shoes for the kids, and pick up some veggies. Here's a picture of me learning to carry our purchases "African style". As you can see, I still have to use my "training wheels" (hands). The ladies here are amazing...I don't know how they balance those things...sometimes in addition to a baby on their back and another load in their hands!
I'm getting lots of practice with my driving skills these days! I'd have to say that I'm really starting to get the hang of those potholes! We got back around 2:45 and went down to the kitchen to help form the bread into rolls.
After that, it was back to shoe sorting! By about 5:30, we had successfully matched all the kids with some shoes! So we passed them out around 6 and took some pictures to send to the people who donated the money for them.
Then, it was time to make dinner and banana bread! :) Mmm....now it's about 10 pm and the power just went off...must be time for bed!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Take Cover!
"Okay, please send Matilda over nex....ahhh!!! Never mind!" haha...This morning I was sitting in the middle of the activity center doing some math testing, and I saw some really dark clouds rolling in. It was quite obviously going to rain. What I didn't know is that it would come within a matter of seconds and bring a dust storm with it! There was no warning and I soon was trying to shove everything into my bag while being blinded by the dust blowing into my eyes! It started POURING, and since three of the classrooms are in the corners of this open-sided activity center, class was temporarily suspended. :) The water poured in and some kids ran out in it, while others huddled in the corners for protection from the rain and dust...like me! :) The rain was so strong that the desks were soaked and even one of the math lessons on the chalkboard was erased from the rain coming in on it! Just another reason to be flexible here in Africa! :)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Who needs video games...
…when you can just drive in Ghana and experience 10 times the excitement live??? Today I got to live through my very first real-life video game experience. The kitchen crew needed to make a trip to the market in Nsawam (a nearby town). Since neither of the cooks drive (even though they are considerably older than me), they needed someone to take them and to stay in the van to watch the goods as they continued to go out for more. Carolyn was going to go, but since she has a friend visiting I offered to go in her place, because apparently it’s quite the venture…which I soon found out! (I waited in the car for 3 1/2 hours while they shopped! But that was fine; I had a book!)
So, here’s “Ms. Oburoni” (white girl) driving two Africans to the market…seem a bit ironic? I thought so! I was a little nervous, because the drivers and the roads here are crazy, but I thought it’d be fun to give it a try. So, we made it safely to and from the marke. And let me tell you…it was an adventure. I felt like I was playing a video game where you have to navigate your way through all sorts of obstacles in order to be promoted to the next level. You have to watch the biker coming up on the right-hand side, while the taxi scoots by on the left, only inches away…oh, there’s a man walking in front of you…and a pothole…oh, a speed bump!
Here’s a picture of one of the roads we had to go through to get to the market…you see what I’m saying now???
So, here’s “Ms. Oburoni” (white girl) driving two Africans to the market…seem a bit ironic? I thought so! I was a little nervous, because the drivers and the roads here are crazy, but I thought it’d be fun to give it a try. So, we made it safely to and from the marke. And let me tell you…it was an adventure. I felt like I was playing a video game where you have to navigate your way through all sorts of obstacles in order to be promoted to the next level. You have to watch the biker coming up on the right-hand side, while the taxi scoots by on the left, only inches away…oh, there’s a man walking in front of you…and a pothole…oh, a speed bump!
Here’s a picture of one of the roads we had to go through to get to the market…you see what I’m saying now???
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)