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XVP News: First Report from Ghana, January 2007 - Nick Crouch and Tom Leonard
We arrived in Accra on the 9th of January. On disembarking from the plane Tom was immediately frisked as the guards were quick to notice a northern thug but they let him away without too much harm.
After two days in Accra, in which we had the chance to visit the memorial of the first president of Ghana whose name I have temporarily forgotten, we set off on our thirteen hour journey to Wa. We also got the opportunity to try the local dish, "foo-foo", which was an interesting experience to say the least. The dish is like a ball of sticky dough with a thin soup and meat, but meat in the broadest sense of the word in that meat includes every part of the animal. After finding the fine balance of not being offensive in leaving the food and not eating too much that we threw up, we set off on the bumpy dirt roads to Wa.
On arrival we were thrown straight into Ghanaian culture with the funeral of a Monsignor. The funeral was not a sad occasion as he was an old priest and therefore the Ghanaians celebrated his passing to the afterlife. The party went through the night with singing, dancing and wailing. We started teaching the next week. At the moment we are only teaching computer theory as the computer lab is not open. We are pushing to get it open as soon as possible so we can start teaching properly and also pursue other possibilities such as restarting Chris and Andy's newspaper, the Xavier Xpress.
Teaching has been easier than we thought. Despite the fact we're about the same age as the kids they are remarkably well behaved and eager to learn. We have had a small barrier to overcome, since the pupils have never been taught Tom's native language of Mancunian/Lancastrian meaning Nick has become somewhat of a translator. But it has also created much amusement in the process for both the kids and Nick. In the school we have also been attending the choir practices, although we are not sure if the school will be able to risk using our voices on the unsuspecting public. We have joined in various sports practices and training. We have been embarrassed on the football field and basketball court. Despite our deceptive turn of pace, we are slower than we look.
Since we had a little spare time on our hands with no computer room at Xavier we are also teaching at Dan-Ibu school after gaining permission from Fr Panfiliou. The school is about a mile away and they have computers but no teacher. A friend told us they have been looking for help for some time and so we now take classes there on the days we don't work at Xavier.
In our spare time we have very much enjoyed experiencing the local culture and getting to know some of the locals. Almost everyone we meet is extremely friendly and whilst we have met some people who are obviously out for the money they are most definitely the exception and not the rule. We have also met up with most of the other volunteers in the area through attending 'nasala night' (white man night) and visit the legendary Jamboree night club. We particularly enjoy seeing how our interesting dance moves seem to be a lot better accepted here than in England.
The local dishes are taking some getting used to, but as we have our own cook this is never really a problem, although we have decided to draw the line at dog's brain and rat on a stick. We have enjoyed the local drink, Pito. Not that this is of any importance to us, but it is also alcoholic.
Last weekend we also visited the sacred hill Omborwura past the village called Kaleo. We were slightly miffed when the chief of the village asked us to buy him some alcohol to bless the Gods of the hill but they obviously weren't very thirsty as the village elders seemed to take most of the alcohol themselves.
We are both very much enjoying our time in Wa. From what we've experienced Ghana is a very friendly and safe place.
WEBSITE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION SEPTEMBER 2007
After two days in Accra, in which we had the chance to visit the memorial of the first president of Ghana whose name I have temporarily forgotten, we set off on our thirteen hour journey to Wa. We also got the opportunity to try the local dish, "foo-foo", which was an interesting experience to say the least. The dish is like a ball of sticky dough with a thin soup and meat, but meat in the broadest sense of the word in that meat includes every part of the animal. After finding the fine balance of not being offensive in leaving the food and not eating too much that we threw up, we set off on the bumpy dirt roads to Wa.
On arrival we were thrown straight into Ghanaian culture with the funeral of a Monsignor. The funeral was not a sad occasion as he was an old priest and therefore the Ghanaians celebrated his passing to the afterlife. The party went through the night with singing, dancing and wailing. We started teaching the next week. At the moment we are only teaching computer theory as the computer lab is not open. We are pushing to get it open as soon as possible so we can start teaching properly and also pursue other possibilities such as restarting Chris and Andy's newspaper, the Xavier Xpress.
Teaching has been easier than we thought. Despite the fact we're about the same age as the kids they are remarkably well behaved and eager to learn. We have had a small barrier to overcome, since the pupils have never been taught Tom's native language of Mancunian/Lancastrian meaning Nick has become somewhat of a translator. But it has also created much amusement in the process for both the kids and Nick. In the school we have also been attending the choir practices, although we are not sure if the school will be able to risk using our voices on the unsuspecting public. We have joined in various sports practices and training. We have been embarrassed on the football field and basketball court. Despite our deceptive turn of pace, we are slower than we look.
Since we had a little spare time on our hands with no computer room at Xavier we are also teaching at Dan-Ibu school after gaining permission from Fr Panfiliou. The school is about a mile away and they have computers but no teacher. A friend told us they have been looking for help for some time and so we now take classes there on the days we don't work at Xavier.
In our spare time we have very much enjoyed experiencing the local culture and getting to know some of the locals. Almost everyone we meet is extremely friendly and whilst we have met some people who are obviously out for the money they are most definitely the exception and not the rule. We have also met up with most of the other volunteers in the area through attending 'nasala night' (white man night) and visit the legendary Jamboree night club. We particularly enjoy seeing how our interesting dance moves seem to be a lot better accepted here than in England.
The local dishes are taking some getting used to, but as we have our own cook this is never really a problem, although we have decided to draw the line at dog's brain and rat on a stick. We have enjoyed the local drink, Pito. Not that this is of any importance to us, but it is also alcoholic.
Last weekend we also visited the sacred hill Omborwura past the village called Kaleo. We were slightly miffed when the chief of the village asked us to buy him some alcohol to bless the Gods of the hill but they obviously weren't very thirsty as the village elders seemed to take most of the alcohol themselves.
We are both very much enjoying our time in Wa. From what we've experienced Ghana is a very friendly and safe place.