This Thanksgiving I have so much to be thankful for. Being in Ghana for the past 3 and a half months has been great. It has been quite interesting and a very good learning experience. I have had to adjust to life here, and I have had to learn to be more patient, thanks to the obnoxious, relentless children I get to deal with everyday. But the kids I get to teach everyday are all awesome kids, and I love all of them. God has blessed me with the opportunity to learn so much while teaching incredible kids and I am so grateful for this. This past Thursday, I took a break from my incessant, useless thoughts to really think about the friends and family I have back home. I am so blessed to have so many people in my life who really care about me, and when I got to thinking about it, I mean really thinking, I couldn't even wrap my head around just how richly God has blessed my life with people who care for me. If you are reading this, I thank you for caring and thinking of me, even as I am thousands of miles away. I pray that everyone has had a great Thanksgiving. God has given me so much to be thankful for and I am really working on trying to feel grateful everyday. It is so easy to forget how much we have to be thankful. When we look around at others, we can easily see that some are "better off" than ourselves, and if we are not careful, we will become filled with delusion, thinking our lives aren't good at all, and we have nothing to be grateful for. But this is a very dangerous thing to believe, because denying God the thanks He is due is ignorance on our part. Meister Eckhart once said, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough." So give thanks, and be joyful because of what the LORD has done!
Here in Ghana, Thanksgiving is not a holiday so I was forced to go to school last Thursday! What an outrage! But I somehow survived, and made it through the week to Saturday. Jennifa and I were invited to celebrate Thanksgiving with a missionary family from the U.S. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as food, but I wasn't hopeful enough to expect all the traditional dishes served on Thanksgiving. However, after being here for 8 years, the Nichols(the family who invited us over) really have mastered the celebration of holidays, and for our Thanksgiving lunch we had all the food one would normally eat! It was unbelievable. They had mashed patatoes, ham, turkey, sweet patato pie, casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce. I was blown away by the selection of food and I was even more blown away by how amazing it all tasted! I did not expect this at all. It was such a blessing to be able to enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal and spending time with this family was a ton of fun. I think we got to eat some of the best food I've had since being here. And although we didn't know the Nichols well at all, they we so friendly to us and treated us like we were their best friends. Saturday was a great day to relax and recharge. We ate around 1 and just hung out the whole afternoon, talking with the Nichols and some other friends they had invited over. For desert we had the choice of pumpkin pie, cherry cheesecake, and butterscotch pie! I chose all three. The Nichols have an 11 year old son who they adopted here in Ghana. I was the closest one to his age, so I joined him in some seriouswii fun video games. We were hanging out there all afternoon and into the evening, and it finally got so late that the Nichols insisted we stay the night. So we ended up sleeping there, and I got to watch a movie, for the first time in quite awhile! And we ended up getting lucky, because the Nichols weren't serial killers and we weren't murdered in our sleep. But we got even more lucky when we got ham, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast!!! And then leftovers for lunch!
To top the already great weekend off, we had a circus here at our school on Sunday evening. Now I say circus, but as to not give the wrong idea I will clarify. It was just one guy(French) who did different acrobatic feats and other circus-like displays of talent. He had a whole act to go along with the show, pretending that there were supposed to be other performers who didn't show up so he had to fill in for them. Unfortunately, he didn't speak English so someone had to translate, but I was still very entertained by the show. In fact, I was even part of the show!! At one point in the show, the guy said he usually has a piano player, but the man wasn't there so he asked the audience if anyone knew how to play the piano. Well no one was volunteering(and I wasn't about to volunteer, mind you) but then out of the uneasy stillness, I hear Jennifa yell my name. Sitting nearby was the director of the school, who caught my eye and signaled for me to go up there. I was trying to tell him I can't really play and the circus guy saw and he too signaled for me to come up and play. So I was forced, more or less, to go up on stage and play piano(video coming to facebook soon!). I wasn't really excited or upset about having to go play, but it ended up being kinda fun. I threwdown a little Fur Elis, followed by some 5 for Fighting, and then went into a little bit of jamming. I played for 5 to 10 minutes, without any practice or preparation, and I'm not trying to brag, but I was pretty dang amazing. But the show went on another 30 minutes, with some impressive juggling, and hanging from ropes and tightrope walking. In my opinion, it was a very entertaining show and I really enjoyed it. This was a great end to an awesome weekend.
Next week we are having final exams, so there is a lot of grades to be entered on the computer which will make this a busy week. We have some other projects we gotta finish up as well. But after exams next week, we have one more week and then we have a 2 and a half week break! So that is what's been going on over here. Pretty exciting stuff eh? I hope everyone reading this is doing well and I appreciate your love and care.
Much Love and Blessings to all!
Peace(is where it's at)
Jordan/Kwaku
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Adventures in Accra...
A long, long time ago, in a city far, far away, I went on a pretty cool adventure and then got really lazy and took over a month to write about this adventure... But at long last, I am coming to tell the story of my adventures in the land of Accra!
Accra is the capital of Ghana, located about 150 miles, and 5 to 6+ hours, from where I reside in Kumasi. Kumasi is a very large city and it is fairly developed as well. However, compared to Accra, Kumasi is a small village, years behind in its development. Before my weekend trip to Accra, I had only passed through briefly and I never really got to see much of the city. This trip was very interesting and it was a lot of fun. We traveled down to Accra to hang out with some friends we had made while at the Village of Hope(a bunch of goofy college kids). On Friday we got to Accra in the early evening and met up with our friend Enoch. He took us to their school where we met up with our other friends, Phillip, Ato, Derrick, Joshua, and Caleb, and we got a tour of the school, even meeting the president. It was a cool school, very small but a nice campus. After touring the school, we headed to a very large, very nice hotel where there was a very big High Life concert going on. High Life is a genre of music originating here in Ghana, that is kind of like pop, with hints of jazz, raggae, hip hop and other genres. I guess it was a very famous Ghanaian musician playing at the hotel, although I have never heard of him, and don't even remember the name... But anyways, the music was pretty good, although it wasn't my favorite, and it wasn't entirely captivating. After awhile, me and a few other of our friends went inside the hotel to the "Jazz Bar". This place was soo nice, I couldn't believe I was still in Ghana. It was such an awesome atmosphere and the room was dimly lit with a very small stage up front. It was quite an intimate venue for a concert, and the vibe of the place was very much Jazz Bar-like. After a few minutes, a keyboarder and a drummer went up to the front(about 10 feet in front of the red leather couches we occupied) and started playing some really funky tunes. They just went on jamming for about 20 minutes or more, and I was blown away by the talent of the keyboarder. The drummer was great as well, but the guy rippin up the organ was just melting my brain with his very jazzy and funky keyboard playin. Then the bassist joined and very shortly after a horn player joined the gang. The next 2 hours were incredible, and I could not believe the talent of these jazz musicians. They were playing just straight jazz, and the style of their music was so complex and intriguing. The horn player switched between tenor alto and soprano sax. It was a ton of fun, and it was much needed because I was really having withdraws from the lack of live music. After staying at this place till about 11 30 we headed to the beach and ended up hanging out there until about 3 AM! It was a very fun night, and the time we got to spend with our friends was a great blessing.
The next day, Saturday, we went exploring the town a bit. After breakfast, we went to a couple souvenir/gift shops that had a ton of cool stuff, drums and paintings etc. We also went to a gelatto shop that was very similar to a coldstone in the US, except that the Italian ice cream blew coldstone away! We also got to go to a fast food restaurant that was 3 stories tall!! And full of people too! That evening, we met up with our friends Paul and Earnest, who were raised at Village of Hope, and we went to the mall to look around there. The mall in Accra is very nice; however, everything there is ridiculously expensive and you can really only shop there if you got some big money. But it was cool to walk around there, and check out the 2 grocery stores inside it. We ended up getting some pizza at one of the restaurants in the mall. After this we went back home and got to sleep at a much more reasonable hour that night. We went to church the next morning with Paul and Earnest. It was a church of Christ, located at the University of Ghana, which has a HUGE campus. The church service was really fun and it was a very upbeat worship service. After this we ate some lunch quick and then went to the bus station, where we waited about 2 hours for a bus! There was a big football match in Kumasi that day, so any bus that came filled up right away, and there were very few buses that came. We finally got a bus and got back to Kumasi safely.
So this is how my exploration of Accra went, and I really hope to spend some time there again. It was a ton of fun and it was cool to see how different it is from Kumasi. Some parts of Accra could really pass as a town in the US! I didn't get many pictures of the city, unfortunately, but if when I visit there again, I will be sure to take a lot of photos.
I hope everyone has had a great thanksgiving. I actually got to celebrate a real thanksgiving with all the traditional food! But that will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day, because it is getting late and I'm getting sleepy!!!
I miss you all! even if I don't know you. And I appreciate the support and prayers you are all saying for me! God bless you all!
Much Love
Jordan
Accra is the capital of Ghana, located about 150 miles, and 5 to 6+ hours, from where I reside in Kumasi. Kumasi is a very large city and it is fairly developed as well. However, compared to Accra, Kumasi is a small village, years behind in its development. Before my weekend trip to Accra, I had only passed through briefly and I never really got to see much of the city. This trip was very interesting and it was a lot of fun. We traveled down to Accra to hang out with some friends we had made while at the Village of Hope(a bunch of goofy college kids). On Friday we got to Accra in the early evening and met up with our friend Enoch. He took us to their school where we met up with our other friends, Phillip, Ato, Derrick, Joshua, and Caleb, and we got a tour of the school, even meeting the president. It was a cool school, very small but a nice campus. After touring the school, we headed to a very large, very nice hotel where there was a very big High Life concert going on. High Life is a genre of music originating here in Ghana, that is kind of like pop, with hints of jazz, raggae, hip hop and other genres. I guess it was a very famous Ghanaian musician playing at the hotel, although I have never heard of him, and don't even remember the name... But anyways, the music was pretty good, although it wasn't my favorite, and it wasn't entirely captivating. After awhile, me and a few other of our friends went inside the hotel to the "Jazz Bar". This place was soo nice, I couldn't believe I was still in Ghana. It was such an awesome atmosphere and the room was dimly lit with a very small stage up front. It was quite an intimate venue for a concert, and the vibe of the place was very much Jazz Bar-like. After a few minutes, a keyboarder and a drummer went up to the front(about 10 feet in front of the red leather couches we occupied) and started playing some really funky tunes. They just went on jamming for about 20 minutes or more, and I was blown away by the talent of the keyboarder. The drummer was great as well, but the guy rippin up the organ was just melting my brain with his very jazzy and funky keyboard playin. Then the bassist joined and very shortly after a horn player joined the gang. The next 2 hours were incredible, and I could not believe the talent of these jazz musicians. They were playing just straight jazz, and the style of their music was so complex and intriguing. The horn player switched between tenor alto and soprano sax. It was a ton of fun, and it was much needed because I was really having withdraws from the lack of live music. After staying at this place till about 11 30 we headed to the beach and ended up hanging out there until about 3 AM! It was a very fun night, and the time we got to spend with our friends was a great blessing.
The next day, Saturday, we went exploring the town a bit. After breakfast, we went to a couple souvenir/gift shops that had a ton of cool stuff, drums and paintings etc. We also went to a gelatto shop that was very similar to a coldstone in the US, except that the Italian ice cream blew coldstone away! We also got to go to a fast food restaurant that was 3 stories tall!! And full of people too! That evening, we met up with our friends Paul and Earnest, who were raised at Village of Hope, and we went to the mall to look around there. The mall in Accra is very nice; however, everything there is ridiculously expensive and you can really only shop there if you got some big money. But it was cool to walk around there, and check out the 2 grocery stores inside it. We ended up getting some pizza at one of the restaurants in the mall. After this we went back home and got to sleep at a much more reasonable hour that night. We went to church the next morning with Paul and Earnest. It was a church of Christ, located at the University of Ghana, which has a HUGE campus. The church service was really fun and it was a very upbeat worship service. After this we ate some lunch quick and then went to the bus station, where we waited about 2 hours for a bus! There was a big football match in Kumasi that day, so any bus that came filled up right away, and there were very few buses that came. We finally got a bus and got back to Kumasi safely.
So this is how my exploration of Accra went, and I really hope to spend some time there again. It was a ton of fun and it was cool to see how different it is from Kumasi. Some parts of Accra could really pass as a town in the US! I didn't get many pictures of the city, unfortunately, but if when I visit there again, I will be sure to take a lot of photos.
I hope everyone has had a great thanksgiving. I actually got to celebrate a real thanksgiving with all the traditional food! But that will have to wait until tomorrow or the next day, because it is getting late and I'm getting sleepy!!!
I miss you all! even if I don't know you. And I appreciate the support and prayers you are all saying for me! God bless you all!
Much Love
Jordan
Monday, November 15, 2010
Another Adventure in Ghana...
Greetings to everyone! I hope all is well in the United States. Life has been going well over here. Last week was a busy week for the elementary school art department. We have a few projects we are doing with some of the kids, so it has kept me very busy. With the 2nd grade kids, we did a "bead workshop" where they all got to make bracelets out of some beads from here in Ghana. That was a ton of fun and all the kids really loved doing that. But when your dealing with second grade kids, making bracelets can be extremely complicated and time consuming. Not to mention, someone would send a whole handful of beads scattering across the floor, about every 4 minutes. The cleanup process after the bead workshop was a little tedious and annoying, but doing something different with the kids was a lot of fun and the thoroughly enjoyed it, as did I. With the 5th grade kids, we just started painting a mural in the dining hall. We have been working on "People in Action" with the 5th graders and we recently introduced them to Keith Haring and his style of artwork. Because the 5th graders aren't all superb artists, we decided to paint the mural in the style of Keith Haring because his style is fairly easy for these kids to draw. If your not familiar with Keith Haring, his work is somewhat cartoon-like, very colorful and mostly just outlines of people. So we have been painting this mural in the dining hall with the 3 5th grade classes, and this project has also been a lot of fun. Before this, the dining hall was very boring and plain looking. It's really cool to see how much funner and nicer it looks, and the kids get to know that it looks nice because of them. This project involves some time and effort as well, but it has been a blast.
This past Friday, we (Mrs. Nnurom[the art teacher I work with] and myself) took the 3rd grade students on a field trip to the palace museum here in Kumasi. This was a very interesting experience, but it was a lot of fun. The kids are a little crazy and even with us telling them to keep quiet every 3 and a half minutes, they were talking throughout the whole tour. I don't know what it is, but these kids love talking and they very rarely listen to any teachers when told to be quiet. I guess maybe they're just kids... But it can still be a bit frustrating at times. But even with the talking and misbehaving, the field trip was a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed it. We are now getting close to the week of final exams, so we have a lot of grading assignments to do in the next couple of weeks. It's crazy to me that we are only a few weeks away from the end of this term.. The time has really flown by.
This past weekend, Jennifa and I were invited to Mrs. Nnurom's friend's house. Her friend, Carmen, has a bunch of Ex-Pats(Ex-Patriots, the term given to any foreigners, which I just learned this weekend) come over with their kids to do an art club. I didn't get too involved in the art, I guess it was just a little too much art for me. But it was fun to hang out at Carmen's house. She lives in the nicest part of Kumasi and the house she and her family live in is incredibly nice. We walked in and I really didn't feel like I was in Africa. The house was decorated very nicely on the inside, and we go out back to a patio area where they have a large yard with.... a swimming pool! So my Saturday morning was spent hangin out on Carmen's back porch, feeling like I was in Florida or some other nice vacationing spot, due to the palm trees around the yard. It was nice to go relax and hang out over there, and I even met another American, a lady from Maryland. After this we went shopping a bit in town and then headed back to school. Yesterday was very relaxing, I got to sleep in some, went to church here at the school and then took a nap yesterday afternoon.
I got to get back to work, preparing for the week and whatnot so this will be all for now. I will be posting again in a day or two so be sure to stop by again soon!
I sincerely hope life is going good for everyone reading this, whether family, friend, or friend of a friend of a family member. Thanks for being interested in what I'm doing here.
Much Love to everyone
Peace
This past Friday, we (Mrs. Nnurom[the art teacher I work with] and myself) took the 3rd grade students on a field trip to the palace museum here in Kumasi. This was a very interesting experience, but it was a lot of fun. The kids are a little crazy and even with us telling them to keep quiet every 3 and a half minutes, they were talking throughout the whole tour. I don't know what it is, but these kids love talking and they very rarely listen to any teachers when told to be quiet. I guess maybe they're just kids... But it can still be a bit frustrating at times. But even with the talking and misbehaving, the field trip was a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed it. We are now getting close to the week of final exams, so we have a lot of grading assignments to do in the next couple of weeks. It's crazy to me that we are only a few weeks away from the end of this term.. The time has really flown by.
This past weekend, Jennifa and I were invited to Mrs. Nnurom's friend's house. Her friend, Carmen, has a bunch of Ex-Pats(Ex-Patriots, the term given to any foreigners, which I just learned this weekend) come over with their kids to do an art club. I didn't get too involved in the art, I guess it was just a little too much art for me. But it was fun to hang out at Carmen's house. She lives in the nicest part of Kumasi and the house she and her family live in is incredibly nice. We walked in and I really didn't feel like I was in Africa. The house was decorated very nicely on the inside, and we go out back to a patio area where they have a large yard with.... a swimming pool! So my Saturday morning was spent hangin out on Carmen's back porch, feeling like I was in Florida or some other nice vacationing spot, due to the palm trees around the yard. It was nice to go relax and hang out over there, and I even met another American, a lady from Maryland. After this we went shopping a bit in town and then headed back to school. Yesterday was very relaxing, I got to sleep in some, went to church here at the school and then took a nap yesterday afternoon.
I got to get back to work, preparing for the week and whatnot so this will be all for now. I will be posting again in a day or two so be sure to stop by again soon!
I sincerely hope life is going good for everyone reading this, whether family, friend, or friend of a friend of a family member. Thanks for being interested in what I'm doing here.
Much Love to everyone
Peace
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
It's been awhile, huh?
My apologies, mis amigos y mi familia. I have been slacking on this whole blog thing. You may assume that I have an excuse to not be blogging, that maybe where I'm at in Africa, it is really hard to find any sort of internet access. The truth is, I have the opportunity to use the internet just about every day, so I've really just been quite lazy. So sorry, I'll be adding a few new posts in the next couple a days.
It has been quite some time since my last post, and a lot has gone down over here in Ghana. I think it was 3 weekends ago, my new friend Chris came to visit from the U.S. He is friends with my youth minister Clint and he runs an organization called Mercy Project that is working on economic developing here in Ghana. It was great meeting Chris and hearing about his plans for Mercy Project. But I'm gonna come back to that in more detail at a later date. In the meantime, check out their website, mercyproject.net, Chris has got some great plans to do some really incredible stuff over here.
Anyways, for this post, I'm gonna focus on my trip to the Village of Hope, which took place 2 weeks ago? Yes I believe it was. Man, I really need to blog more often or I'll forget everything before I can write it down! Anyways the school here had a midterm break from October 19th through Sunday the 24th. We had(well, all the other teachers had...) conferences on Monday so we left Tuesday morning. We got into the Village of Hope around 5 or 6 that night, with no idea of just how interesting our entrance into the guest house would be. We walk inside and are welcomed by a tall Ghanaian guy dancing and jumping around in his boxers, while reggae music plays in the background... It was certainly the strangest welcome I have ever received at VOH(which stands for Village of Hope). After being introduced to this guy, and the 9 other Ghanaian guys and gals in the guest house, we found out that it was a group of university students coming to VOH for their midterm break to do community service. From the time we walked in, I was thinking that it was going to be an interesting week...
The kids at VOH didn't have break that week, so I spent my days helping my pal Katie(an American volunteering as a music and dance teacher) teach dance and art classes. This was a ton of fun(although the art wasn't thaaat exciting...). A few of the university students also helped out with the dance classes, so usually one of the guys would teach me a drum beat and we would both drum while the kids learned to dance. This was a blast, and it was really neat to get some drum lessons. So this is how the days were spent, but it was really nice because I didn't have to be to school on time, and I got to sleep in some too.
In the afternoons and evenings, I just hung out with the kids and played some b-ball and guitar and other fun stuff like that. Being there this time, I realized just how many kids are there at VOH. Every day it seemed like I met new kids, sometimes as many as 10 kids I had never met before! Being there during the school day, I got to meet some kids who are just day students, and a bunch of these kids are really cool too. It was great meeting even more kids this time around. And at night time, after the kids had gone to sleep I would go back to the guest house and hang out with the university students there. Hanging out with these guys was always filled with humor, and it was a good time. One guy there was a musician, so we talked about all sorts of stuff. He plays drums and keyboards and is really into jazz, so we had some similar taste and had a lot to talk about. He showed me some videos on his laptop of him and his friend playing and they were all really good, and very inspiring too. All of the 6 guys(Derrick, Caleb, Joshua, Ato, Enoch, and Phillip) love "foolin" or joking around and teasing each other. It was awesome to hang out with these Ghanaian university students because I saw that they were just the same as college students anywhere. One night, Derrick, Caleb, Katie and myself got into a discussion about religion and faith, and we were all able to share our views and opinions. It was cool because we all agreed on so much and Derrick and Caleb had very similar views and beliefs as I do. We all discussed what we believe Christianity should be and it was a really productive and interesting discussion. After this we just talked about what college was like. It was great talking to them for a couple hours.
As usual, throughout my stay at VOH I was asked about 23 times a day to "do the beat, do the beat!" I don't really mind it at all, but when I'm having a conversation or something, it can be slightly annoying. But it really was bothersome, and it didn't "worry me". Anytime someone or something is annoying or bothering someone here, they say, its worrying them. But the whole week was a blast and it was so good to spend time will all my friends at VOH. Saturday was a work day, so all the kids had to break down dried corn cobs into just the kernels. I joined in the work, and had a pretty good time doing it. It was terribly hard work or anything, so we mostly sat around talking while we worked. It's just a chore for the kids, but I can't imagine my younger sister doing that for 3 hours!
So it's getting late here, so I'll wrap it up. We stayed for church Sunday and left afterwards. It was an awesome week and I had so much fun hanging out with all the kids there. I love being at the Village of Hope, but leaving, I felt a deep peace and joy because I also love the kids at this school here, and working here has been great and a really good experience. I enjoy being here, and enjoy visiting VOH, and all I can say is that I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to explore a new lifestyle living here in Ghana. Thanks to everyone who has been praying and thinking about me. I miss all of you! And I truly hope life is going well back home.
With Love,
Kwaku
P.S. You may be wondering, "But what about this university kids you met? What ever happened to them, and did you ever see them again?!?" Well, do not fret, but rather stay tuned for the next webisode, "Adventures with Newfound Friends in the Big City!"!!!!
It has been quite some time since my last post, and a lot has gone down over here in Ghana. I think it was 3 weekends ago, my new friend Chris came to visit from the U.S. He is friends with my youth minister Clint and he runs an organization called Mercy Project that is working on economic developing here in Ghana. It was great meeting Chris and hearing about his plans for Mercy Project. But I'm gonna come back to that in more detail at a later date. In the meantime, check out their website, mercyproject.net, Chris has got some great plans to do some really incredible stuff over here.
Anyways, for this post, I'm gonna focus on my trip to the Village of Hope, which took place 2 weeks ago? Yes I believe it was. Man, I really need to blog more often or I'll forget everything before I can write it down! Anyways the school here had a midterm break from October 19th through Sunday the 24th. We had(well, all the other teachers had...) conferences on Monday so we left Tuesday morning. We got into the Village of Hope around 5 or 6 that night, with no idea of just how interesting our entrance into the guest house would be. We walk inside and are welcomed by a tall Ghanaian guy dancing and jumping around in his boxers, while reggae music plays in the background... It was certainly the strangest welcome I have ever received at VOH(which stands for Village of Hope). After being introduced to this guy, and the 9 other Ghanaian guys and gals in the guest house, we found out that it was a group of university students coming to VOH for their midterm break to do community service. From the time we walked in, I was thinking that it was going to be an interesting week...
The kids at VOH didn't have break that week, so I spent my days helping my pal Katie(an American volunteering as a music and dance teacher) teach dance and art classes. This was a ton of fun(although the art wasn't thaaat exciting...). A few of the university students also helped out with the dance classes, so usually one of the guys would teach me a drum beat and we would both drum while the kids learned to dance. This was a blast, and it was really neat to get some drum lessons. So this is how the days were spent, but it was really nice because I didn't have to be to school on time, and I got to sleep in some too.
In the afternoons and evenings, I just hung out with the kids and played some b-ball and guitar and other fun stuff like that. Being there this time, I realized just how many kids are there at VOH. Every day it seemed like I met new kids, sometimes as many as 10 kids I had never met before! Being there during the school day, I got to meet some kids who are just day students, and a bunch of these kids are really cool too. It was great meeting even more kids this time around. And at night time, after the kids had gone to sleep I would go back to the guest house and hang out with the university students there. Hanging out with these guys was always filled with humor, and it was a good time. One guy there was a musician, so we talked about all sorts of stuff. He plays drums and keyboards and is really into jazz, so we had some similar taste and had a lot to talk about. He showed me some videos on his laptop of him and his friend playing and they were all really good, and very inspiring too. All of the 6 guys(Derrick, Caleb, Joshua, Ato, Enoch, and Phillip) love "foolin" or joking around and teasing each other. It was awesome to hang out with these Ghanaian university students because I saw that they were just the same as college students anywhere. One night, Derrick, Caleb, Katie and myself got into a discussion about religion and faith, and we were all able to share our views and opinions. It was cool because we all agreed on so much and Derrick and Caleb had very similar views and beliefs as I do. We all discussed what we believe Christianity should be and it was a really productive and interesting discussion. After this we just talked about what college was like. It was great talking to them for a couple hours.
As usual, throughout my stay at VOH I was asked about 23 times a day to "do the beat, do the beat!" I don't really mind it at all, but when I'm having a conversation or something, it can be slightly annoying. But it really was bothersome, and it didn't "worry me". Anytime someone or something is annoying or bothering someone here, they say, its worrying them. But the whole week was a blast and it was so good to spend time will all my friends at VOH. Saturday was a work day, so all the kids had to break down dried corn cobs into just the kernels. I joined in the work, and had a pretty good time doing it. It was terribly hard work or anything, so we mostly sat around talking while we worked. It's just a chore for the kids, but I can't imagine my younger sister doing that for 3 hours!
So it's getting late here, so I'll wrap it up. We stayed for church Sunday and left afterwards. It was an awesome week and I had so much fun hanging out with all the kids there. I love being at the Village of Hope, but leaving, I felt a deep peace and joy because I also love the kids at this school here, and working here has been great and a really good experience. I enjoy being here, and enjoy visiting VOH, and all I can say is that I am so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to explore a new lifestyle living here in Ghana. Thanks to everyone who has been praying and thinking about me. I miss all of you! And I truly hope life is going well back home.
With Love,
Kwaku
P.S. You may be wondering, "But what about this university kids you met? What ever happened to them, and did you ever see them again?!?" Well, do not fret, but rather stay tuned for the next webisode, "Adventures with Newfound Friends in the Big City!"!!!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Greetings!!!!
Hello again, friends and family! I hope all is well back in the United States. Life is going great here in Ghana. I am still having an awesome time teaching, and living at the boarding house is getting to be more interesting and fun as I meet more kids here. The past week I've been a few new people who stay at the boarding house and I've become better friends with some of the kids I already knew. There's one girl, Faustina who I have been talking to who is very interesting and fun to talk with. She is a really nice person, but has tons of interesting stories about all the fights she used to get into! It's hilarious to hear her tell these stories because she always cracks up laughing about how she used to fight girls in her school, or beat her older sister. She definitely seems a lot nicer now and she says she hasn't fought anyone in a long time, which is very good, because I really don't care to get beaten up while here. I enjoy talking to Faustina because she is really open and we are always discussing our faith and how we believe we should treat others. It has been great getting to know her.
I have also been getting to know some of the older guys pretty well. A couple weeks ago, we had a holiday on Tuesday, so that Monday night all the kids were allowed to hang out during the time when they normally do their homework. Some kids had heard me beatbox so they asked me to come beatbox in the "chillout circle". I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, so I went to go lay down some fresh beatz and then some kids started rapping over it. It was really cool and a couple of the kids were pretty good and making up rhymes on the spot(also known as freestyling). So this past Saturday night a few guys asked me to beatbox some more, but no one was really stepping up. It was still cool, I just got to talk with the guys for awhile and I talked about where I was from. Some of the guys were still trying to keep the rapping going, but nobody was really doing it, so...
I had to step up to set the pace
There wasn't any competition so I knew I'd win the race.
Opening my mouth, I started spit flame out,
And buy the end I had bought the whole game out.
And that was the rap I "spit", more or less. The guys were going crazy, thinking it was awesome and really good. After this we got into talking about rap and Hip Hop, and so I got my laptop and showed them some of the Hip Hop I like, which isn't the horrible noise you here on rap radio stations... They thought it was really good music, and I felt good that I had shared some REAL rap with them. It was cool getting to know these few guys better and I'm glad I'm starting to make some friends close to my own age.
Backtrack to Friday. That evening, I went out to Sir Max, a hotel/restaurant owned by Lebanese people. We went out for Ms. Charity Apam's birthday(This is Jennifa's assistant in the classroom). It was Jennifa, Ms. Apam, Mr. Owusu(teaches same grade as Jennifa), Mr. Freeman(another American teacher who has been here in Africa for 3 years), and myself. The hotel was really nice, with a swimming pool, and even hookahs you could rent!(Although we didn't rent one!) Me and Jennifa split a salad and I had some beef shwarma, which was incredible! I was so excited to be eating Mediterranean food in Ghana! It was a great time and the food was very much appreciated. Saturday we just hung out at the school all day, I was quite thankful for the relaxing day. Yesterday we went to church here at the school, with all of the boarding students. The church service was fun and the praise, with drums and keyboard, clapping and dancing, was slightly more lively than the worship at the Church of Christ we've been going to... I really enjoy the worship at the Church of Christ, but this was a nice change from the hymns that we sing most Sundays. The class was also nice, and the lesson was really good! This past weekend was a lot of fun and it was a great weekend, but like all other weekends, it went by too fast! But such is life.
So today it's back to teaching. Thankfully, this week is a very easy week for us because all the art classes are having unit tests. Last week was a pretty good week as well and I taught a few classes throughout the week, all of them going smoothly and without problems. Also, on Thursday I went to the High School music club to try and teach some of the kids guitar. I wasn't sure how this would go, but it went surprisingly well, especially because I had the only tunable guitar with 6 strings. I just went over some of the basics and showed the kids a few chords. The kids were actually catching on to it, and when I passed my guitar around there were a few kids who could really remember a lot of the chords and even were able to transition between chords while playing. I'm excited to continue helping with the music club, and I could see that the kids were all very excited as well. The next club meeting will be this Friday so I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes.
Thanks for following me on my adventures here in Ghana. Also thanks to everyone who is praying for me and thinking about me! I miss you all! And I hope life in the States is going well. I am doing great over here, and I am so grateful for each day I am blessed with.
Much love to everyone!
-Jordan
I have also been getting to know some of the older guys pretty well. A couple weeks ago, we had a holiday on Tuesday, so that Monday night all the kids were allowed to hang out during the time when they normally do their homework. Some kids had heard me beatbox so they asked me to come beatbox in the "chillout circle". I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, so I went to go lay down some fresh beatz and then some kids started rapping over it. It was really cool and a couple of the kids were pretty good and making up rhymes on the spot(also known as freestyling). So this past Saturday night a few guys asked me to beatbox some more, but no one was really stepping up. It was still cool, I just got to talk with the guys for awhile and I talked about where I was from. Some of the guys were still trying to keep the rapping going, but nobody was really doing it, so...
I had to step up to set the pace
There wasn't any competition so I knew I'd win the race.
Opening my mouth, I started spit flame out,
And buy the end I had bought the whole game out.
And that was the rap I "spit", more or less. The guys were going crazy, thinking it was awesome and really good. After this we got into talking about rap and Hip Hop, and so I got my laptop and showed them some of the Hip Hop I like, which isn't the horrible noise you here on rap radio stations... They thought it was really good music, and I felt good that I had shared some REAL rap with them. It was cool getting to know these few guys better and I'm glad I'm starting to make some friends close to my own age.
Backtrack to Friday. That evening, I went out to Sir Max, a hotel/restaurant owned by Lebanese people. We went out for Ms. Charity Apam's birthday(This is Jennifa's assistant in the classroom). It was Jennifa, Ms. Apam, Mr. Owusu(teaches same grade as Jennifa), Mr. Freeman(another American teacher who has been here in Africa for 3 years), and myself. The hotel was really nice, with a swimming pool, and even hookahs you could rent!(Although we didn't rent one!) Me and Jennifa split a salad and I had some beef shwarma, which was incredible! I was so excited to be eating Mediterranean food in Ghana! It was a great time and the food was very much appreciated. Saturday we just hung out at the school all day, I was quite thankful for the relaxing day. Yesterday we went to church here at the school, with all of the boarding students. The church service was fun and the praise, with drums and keyboard, clapping and dancing, was slightly more lively than the worship at the Church of Christ we've been going to... I really enjoy the worship at the Church of Christ, but this was a nice change from the hymns that we sing most Sundays. The class was also nice, and the lesson was really good! This past weekend was a lot of fun and it was a great weekend, but like all other weekends, it went by too fast! But such is life.
So today it's back to teaching. Thankfully, this week is a very easy week for us because all the art classes are having unit tests. Last week was a pretty good week as well and I taught a few classes throughout the week, all of them going smoothly and without problems. Also, on Thursday I went to the High School music club to try and teach some of the kids guitar. I wasn't sure how this would go, but it went surprisingly well, especially because I had the only tunable guitar with 6 strings. I just went over some of the basics and showed the kids a few chords. The kids were actually catching on to it, and when I passed my guitar around there were a few kids who could really remember a lot of the chords and even were able to transition between chords while playing. I'm excited to continue helping with the music club, and I could see that the kids were all very excited as well. The next club meeting will be this Friday so I will be sure to let everyone know how it goes.
Thanks for following me on my adventures here in Ghana. Also thanks to everyone who is praying for me and thinking about me! I miss you all! And I hope life in the States is going well. I am doing great over here, and I am so grateful for each day I am blessed with.
Much love to everyone!
-Jordan
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Written: 9/24/10
So it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I apologize if this isn't frequent enough for some of you, I'm working on it! The past two weeks have flown buy! It is crazy how fast the days seem to pass by here. Every week, it seems like we start school Monday and then the next day is Friday... I guess I have been keeping busy here; although I can gratefully say, the work isn't overwhelming or stressful. It's a nice balance, being kept busy but never having too much work on my plate. This week, however, has probably been the most busy one yet. On Monday, my colleague, Mrs. Nnurom, and I had to start moving our art classroom to another room. They are splitting the 2 kindergarten classes into 3 so they drove us out of our class, being next to the other kindergarten classrooms. We are now located in the building where the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes are. We are also right next to the computer lab, which is very nice. But all day Monday we were packing boxes and I was actually carrying some of the tables and benches over to the new class. The easiest way to carry the tables was on my head, like the Ghanaians do here, but all the kids and teaches that saw me thought it was pretty hilarious. Moving the classroom has kept us busy all week, and we aren't completely finished.
On top of all that, an American lady, Rosie, came to the school Wednesday to give an art presentation to Junior and Senior High students. This activity took a TON of preparation and had me running around all day to get supplies in order for it. It was a really cool presentation, in which the lady painted a picture with her hands, and the picture kind of told a story and had a cool message about Jesus' Love behind it. Also, the students all got to paint as well and they really seemed to enjoy that. It was a really neat activity for the kids, and a nice change from their normal routine, but it was also a very tiring day. Yesterday(Thursday) I taught all 4 of the art classes because my colleague had to take her baby daughter to get vacinations. On Wednesday after school we discussed the lesson plans so I was pretty well prepared. And teaching by myself for the whole day ended up going pretty well. The first class, Year 6(5th grade) was very well behaved and they all listened and payed attention. What a great way to start the day! It made me feel pretty good and gave me confidence that the rest off the day would go smoothly as well. However, the next class, Year 5 was very noisy and it was so difficult to get the kids to settle down and stay quiet. It was crazy how different the 2 classes were, even though they are only a year apart. In the afternoon, I had a Year 3(2nd grade) class that was pretty well behaved. After them was a Year 2 class, who I expected to be very troublesome, which they were. So the day had its highs and its lows, but all in all I thought it went pretty well and in all the classes we got the work done. I had a lot of fun teaching yesterday and wouldn't mind being a teacher, but it is definitely nice to work with someone.
Today was also busy, as we finished moving stuff from the old classroom. We also had art club today, from about 1 to 2:30 pm. We didn't prepare very well for this so we were rushing in the morning to get something planned. It ended up going well and I am happy to say I have made it to the weekend. I can't wait to get some rest this weekend. I think we will go to church in Bomso, at the church we attended last summer, so we should get to see all our friends there. We went there last Sunday, and after church we went over to our friend Lydia's house and spent some time there. Last Saturday we also went into town and we visited our good friend Francis at his house. So last weekend was very eventful, but it was nice to see our friends and spend time in their homes. I think this weekend will be a little more relaxing. At least I hope so..... Anyways this is all for now.
I hope Life is going well for everyone everywhere.
Much Love!
Kwaku
So it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I apologize if this isn't frequent enough for some of you, I'm working on it! The past two weeks have flown buy! It is crazy how fast the days seem to pass by here. Every week, it seems like we start school Monday and then the next day is Friday... I guess I have been keeping busy here; although I can gratefully say, the work isn't overwhelming or stressful. It's a nice balance, being kept busy but never having too much work on my plate. This week, however, has probably been the most busy one yet. On Monday, my colleague, Mrs. Nnurom, and I had to start moving our art classroom to another room. They are splitting the 2 kindergarten classes into 3 so they drove us out of our class, being next to the other kindergarten classrooms. We are now located in the building where the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classes are. We are also right next to the computer lab, which is very nice. But all day Monday we were packing boxes and I was actually carrying some of the tables and benches over to the new class. The easiest way to carry the tables was on my head, like the Ghanaians do here, but all the kids and teaches that saw me thought it was pretty hilarious. Moving the classroom has kept us busy all week, and we aren't completely finished.
On top of all that, an American lady, Rosie, came to the school Wednesday to give an art presentation to Junior and Senior High students. This activity took a TON of preparation and had me running around all day to get supplies in order for it. It was a really cool presentation, in which the lady painted a picture with her hands, and the picture kind of told a story and had a cool message about Jesus' Love behind it. Also, the students all got to paint as well and they really seemed to enjoy that. It was a really neat activity for the kids, and a nice change from their normal routine, but it was also a very tiring day. Yesterday(Thursday) I taught all 4 of the art classes because my colleague had to take her baby daughter to get vacinations. On Wednesday after school we discussed the lesson plans so I was pretty well prepared. And teaching by myself for the whole day ended up going pretty well. The first class, Year 6(5th grade) was very well behaved and they all listened and payed attention. What a great way to start the day! It made me feel pretty good and gave me confidence that the rest off the day would go smoothly as well. However, the next class, Year 5 was very noisy and it was so difficult to get the kids to settle down and stay quiet. It was crazy how different the 2 classes were, even though they are only a year apart. In the afternoon, I had a Year 3(2nd grade) class that was pretty well behaved. After them was a Year 2 class, who I expected to be very troublesome, which they were. So the day had its highs and its lows, but all in all I thought it went pretty well and in all the classes we got the work done. I had a lot of fun teaching yesterday and wouldn't mind being a teacher, but it is definitely nice to work with someone.
Today was also busy, as we finished moving stuff from the old classroom. We also had art club today, from about 1 to 2:30 pm. We didn't prepare very well for this so we were rushing in the morning to get something planned. It ended up going well and I am happy to say I have made it to the weekend. I can't wait to get some rest this weekend. I think we will go to church in Bomso, at the church we attended last summer, so we should get to see all our friends there. We went there last Sunday, and after church we went over to our friend Lydia's house and spent some time there. Last Saturday we also went into town and we visited our good friend Francis at his house. So last weekend was very eventful, but it was nice to see our friends and spend time in their homes. I think this weekend will be a little more relaxing. At least I hope so..... Anyways this is all for now.
I hope Life is going well for everyone everywhere.
Much Love!
Kwaku
Monday, September 13, 2010
Village of Hope!
This weekend we got to travel to the Village of Hope, finally!! VOH is the orphanage that I spent 2 weeks at last summer and while there I met some of the coolest kids in the world. We had school off on friday so we left in the morning and got there around 5 that evening. Most of the kids, if not all, were not aware that I would be coming so they were very surprised. It was incredible to get out of the taxi and have all these kids come running up to greet me, all so excited. I was at least as excited to see them too. It was incredible to see how they have grown the past year and some of them were twice as big as before! Being here in Ghana has been awesome, for the entire time that I've been here, but I gotta say the highlight was getting to see all the kids at the orphanage again. The joy that I felt upon seeing them was enormous and they were so happy to see me too. Needless to say, I had an awesome weekend. Friday night was spent hanging out with the kids and going around greeting them. I didn't see everyone Friday evening so I also got to greet more kids throughout Saturday. In the morning I went over to where they prepare their food for lunch and hung out with all the kids while they were cooking. All day, I was asked to beat box for them, probably 30 times within each hour. I guess that really impressed them last time... Throughout the day Saturday I got to spend time with amazing kids and I also was able to meet a few more kids. In the afternoon I played basketball with a bunch of the younger guys and that was a lot of fun. I also took some pictures while there so I will upload them to facebook. Saturday evening I hung out with some of the girls and boys in a house called Prestoncrest, and I was there until they went to sleep. Sunday morning I went to church there and it was an awesome service. The songs they sing are so fun to sing and the kids all sing as loud as they can. It is awesome how the kids there are raised, with incredible faith and devotion to God. Throughout the weekend as I would be talking with different kids they were always saying things like, "I pray that God will bless you and give you a good job so you can come visit us every year!" And this would be coming from a 9 or 10 year boy or girl. It is mind blowing how much these kids believe in the Power of the Almighty. Sunday we had to leave pretty soon after church so we would get back into Kumasi at a reasonable hour. The visit was a little shorter than I would have liked(actually I could have stayed there until May...) but it was an incredible weekend and I had such a great time. It looks like the next time we'll get to go back is mid-October, but that time it should be for about a week.
So it has been quite awhile since my last post so I'll also give an update on how teaching is going. Teaching has been going pretty well the past two weeks. Because I am just the assistant, I haven't really had to make lesson plans, which is nice. But I have been helping with other things. This past week I made some powerpoint pressentations to show the kids with pictures of the different themes they're working on, for example I made one of still life, portraits, and also the artwork of Keith Haring. It's fun to have some pictures to show the whole class because they haven't had that past years. The kindergarten and 1st grade classes are consistantly noisy and very difficult to control... But it's still a lot of fun. All the classes are very different and so it keeps the week interesting and it never really gets boring. I'm still teaching a number of classes on my own, while the main art teacher helps. Its been really cool, she will teach the first few classes of the week and then when we have that grade again I'll get to teach them. Im really enjoying teaching and it is such a great experience. I have learned a lot and I am still learning everyday.
I hope everyone, everywhere is doing well! I miss everyone back in the states and I'm praying for you all! Thanks for showing interest in what I'm doing over here, I hope the updates on here have been at least somewhat interesting :)
Love you all!
Kwaku
So it has been quite awhile since my last post so I'll also give an update on how teaching is going. Teaching has been going pretty well the past two weeks. Because I am just the assistant, I haven't really had to make lesson plans, which is nice. But I have been helping with other things. This past week I made some powerpoint pressentations to show the kids with pictures of the different themes they're working on, for example I made one of still life, portraits, and also the artwork of Keith Haring. It's fun to have some pictures to show the whole class because they haven't had that past years. The kindergarten and 1st grade classes are consistantly noisy and very difficult to control... But it's still a lot of fun. All the classes are very different and so it keeps the week interesting and it never really gets boring. I'm still teaching a number of classes on my own, while the main art teacher helps. Its been really cool, she will teach the first few classes of the week and then when we have that grade again I'll get to teach them. Im really enjoying teaching and it is such a great experience. I have learned a lot and I am still learning everyday.
I hope everyone, everywhere is doing well! I miss everyone back in the states and I'm praying for you all! Thanks for showing interest in what I'm doing over here, I hope the updates on here have been at least somewhat interesting :)
Love you all!
Kwaku
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
So it has been over a week now since the last post. The past week has been very interesting… But it was also a great week and I learned a lot and have been having a great time. In my last post I explained what I’ll be doing here, which is helping out the elementary school art teacher. We have finished one full week and I have to say it was a bit more difficult than I had expected. The art teacher here, Mrs. Nnurom, has a 3 month old at home and so she has been going home early everyday to be with the kid. This means that I have had to teach a few classes on my own. It has been very interesting, as I said, but I’m also learning that teaching can sometimes be very stressful and difficult. So last week I had to teach a class of kindergarteners on my own, and it was nearly impossible to get any of them to listen. The kids were going crazy the whole time and they didn’t really pay attention to anything I would say. Then Thursday I had a class of 1st graders who were just as bad. All the kids were out of their seats and talking the whole class period. If only beating children wasn’t so frowned upon… Although here in Ghana caning kids (or wacking them with a stick) actually isn’t socially unacceptable… But don’t worry! I won’t be beating my students anytime soon! Today I had the same class of kindergarteners and I just tried taking a more strict approach. The kids still were very difficult to control but I was much sterner today, and sent at least a dozen kids out of the classroom for talking and running around in the classroom. I think I just need a few class periods to show the kids that they can’t come to my class and do whatever they want. I also taught a 4th grade class today and those kids were much better listeners, actually getting their work done without me having to yell at them!
It has been very interesting, teaching on my own, and I have certainly learned a lot in the past week. Luckily, the lady I’m working with is really fun to work with and she has been helping me a lot, while also treating me like a fellow teacher. She decided to teach one class of each grade, so I can see how she does it, and then I teach the same grade later in the week. It has been working out well so far and I am really enjoying it. This past weekend we went to church at Bomso Church of Christ, where a lot of our friends here go. It was great to see everyone again, and it was also nice to spend some time away from the school. Living here on campus has also been a very interesting experience. My little roommate Gandhi has settle down some and doesn’t come running into my room 10 times a day anymore. But it can be quite noisy, especially early in the morning when all the kids wake up and get ready for school. At 5:30 a.m.! But I have actually been getting plenty of sleep each night, which is great. Last Friday, I played tennis for awhile with my apartment-mate, Mr. Appiah. It had been quite a long time since I’d played and so I was pretty bad. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get some exercise. After I played tennis I played basketball with a couple kids for a little while. Then again on Sunday afternoon I played basketball with another kid who lives at the boarding house. It was nice to meet some kids who are closer to my age, because I’ve mostly been hanging out with a bunch of 7 and 9 year-olds. If your 7 or 9, no offense! There’s nothing wrong with young kids, but it can be hard to be with all younger kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ..
I feel like I’m probably forgetting a lot, but I’m just not feeling the blogging thing too much at the moment. If I think of anything interesting to add, seeing as most of this post isn’t all that exciting, I will be sure to update it.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for you prayers! I hope all is well back in the U.S.
Love,
Jordan
It has been very interesting, teaching on my own, and I have certainly learned a lot in the past week. Luckily, the lady I’m working with is really fun to work with and she has been helping me a lot, while also treating me like a fellow teacher. She decided to teach one class of each grade, so I can see how she does it, and then I teach the same grade later in the week. It has been working out well so far and I am really enjoying it. This past weekend we went to church at Bomso Church of Christ, where a lot of our friends here go. It was great to see everyone again, and it was also nice to spend some time away from the school. Living here on campus has also been a very interesting experience. My little roommate Gandhi has settle down some and doesn’t come running into my room 10 times a day anymore. But it can be quite noisy, especially early in the morning when all the kids wake up and get ready for school. At 5:30 a.m.! But I have actually been getting plenty of sleep each night, which is great. Last Friday, I played tennis for awhile with my apartment-mate, Mr. Appiah. It had been quite a long time since I’d played and so I was pretty bad. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun, and it was nice to get some exercise. After I played tennis I played basketball with a couple kids for a little while. Then again on Sunday afternoon I played basketball with another kid who lives at the boarding house. It was nice to meet some kids who are closer to my age, because I’ve mostly been hanging out with a bunch of 7 and 9 year-olds. If your 7 or 9, no offense! There’s nothing wrong with young kids, but it can be hard to be with all younger kids 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. ..
I feel like I’m probably forgetting a lot, but I’m just not feeling the blogging thing too much at the moment. If I think of anything interesting to add, seeing as most of this post isn’t all that exciting, I will be sure to update it.
Thanks for reading, and thank you for you prayers! I hope all is well back in the U.S.
Love,
Jordan
Monday, August 23, 2010
First Day of School...
What a busy weekend it's been! Saturday, we went to a youth rally with all the churches of Christ in the area. There were probably over 250 people there, with many activities, including volleyball, football, "chair dancing"(musical chairs), and board games. I participated in the volleyball, which was a lot of fun, but unfortunately our team lost in the first round.. The church I was a part of, Bomso Church of Christ, won their first soccer game, which means they should have gone on to the next round... However, around 3 o'clock, it started raining very hard and it didn't let up until 4 or later.. So for that hour to an hour and a half, we just hung out under a pavilion, which actually wasn't too boring. I befriended a few young girls who were selling water and talked with them for awhile, while eating coconut and some traditional snacks that are sold on the streets here. It is amazing to see so many young children, ages 6 and up, spending their saturdays selling water or snacks on the streets. Most kids in the U.S. could never imagine doing anything like that, but this is just life for many of the kids here. As we we're leaving, when the rain finally let up a bit, I bought one more water "satchet" and told the girls to keep the change, all 15 cents of it. I was blown away by their excitement at getting what we would consider an insignificant amount of money and they kept saying "God bless you!" as I walked away. This very small act of kindness didn't even cause me any trouble, but these kids were so greatful for it, and it was awesome to see. All the churches left when the rain let up, and we just got a ride back to the school. At the school we ate dinner in the cafeteria, fried-rice and chicken, which I enjoy a lot, and then it was off to bed.
Sunday morning, 6:15- I wake up to a knocking on the door of my room. A whole hour before i needed to get up for church!! It was my little roomate, Gandhi who is 6 years old and insanely hyperactive and crazy! He is a really nice kid and pretty dang hilarious, but I don't think he has the slightest understanding of peace and quiet. I opened my door and he comes running in, going over to my clothes, my maleria medicine, my books. Gandhi had no hesitation when it came to examining my belongings and he would grab anything and everything he saw! I wasn't too tired, so I didn't mind getting up so early, I was mostly just amused by it all. Anyways, we went to church, and got to see all our friends, which was awesome. Then after church we just walked around town some, getting fried rice on the road side, a full meal for about $1.50! We headed up to the sports stadium here because there was some radio evangelist who was to be speaking out front of it for free. We hung out at the stadium for awhile waiting for the program to start, but when it finally did, we didn't hang around long. It was a pentacostal gathering, and it's not that there was anything wrong with the program, it was just my first experience with the pentacostal church and it was much more "energetic" than any church service I have attended before. I really wasn't prepared for all the shouting and speaking in tongues and whatnot, but all in all, it was really interesting and pretty cool to witness. We only stayed for maybe 20 minutes, but I'm thinking about visiting one of the pentacostal churches nearby, just to see what a sunday morning service is like. After leaving the shouting, dancing crowd, we went to the supermarket to get stuff for the apartments. I'm pretty bad about knowing what I need so I got soap to wash my clothes. And that was it. Jennifer was thinking about it a little more and she ended getting a bit more stuff for here room and bathroom and whatnot. I'll be needing to make another trip to the store, but for right now I've got what I need to survive. After the store we came back the school, where I ate, read, played some guitar for Ghandi and another boy, and then went to bed.
Once again, I was woken up at 6 this morning by a small boy knocking on the door of my room. I'm predicting a long year ahead of me... I think(or at least hope) Gandhi will eventually give up on being my wake up call. Especially after I just ignored him this morning... Ha, I told him I was still sleeping, and after knocking for another minute or so, he gave up and I went back to sleep. After waking up, I went to brush my teeth, and while in the bathroom, I heard the door to my room open.. I went back in to find Gandhi going through some of my clothes... It is pretty hilarious, the way he goes through my stuff as if it were his own, and I can honestly say I'm not annoyed with it. Yet... But I'm sure he will be a fine roomate, especially once he has finished examining all my belongings and has nothing left to keep his interest.
So today was the kids first day, and I was assigned to be an assistant for the elementary school art teacher. I'm pretty stoked about that! The past week or so, I've really been wondering what I'll be doing, and I was just hoping that I would have something to do, something to keep me busy. God definitely answered my prayers, because when the head of primary school told the art teacher I would be her assistant, she was sooo excited, saying "Praise the Lord!!!", commenting that she always had too much to do. The art teacher is a really nice Dutch lady who has lived here for something like 12 years now, married to a Ghanaian and with 4 children. Even after spending just one day with her, I feel confident that I will be able to help out a lot. I'm also really excited to help teach art because I think it will be a lot of fun. I feel like it is definitely going to be a blessing to both myself and the art teacher, Mrs. Nnurom. I think I will also be helping her husband out some as well. He teachers art to the high schoolers, so that should be really cool. I'll probably be learning more than teaching when I help him out, but that should be really fun. Mrs. Nnurom didn't have any art classes today, juts because it was the first day, so we spent the day organizing her classroom and getting it ready to start teaching. I think I might even teach a couple classes a day, because she has to leave around 1 or 2 because she has a 3 month old at home. I feel like this is going to be a great experience and the feelings off uncertainty I had just yesterday are now completely gone!
I hope everyone, everywhere is doing well, whether it be friends, family, and church members back in Littleton, Colorado, or those who are just starting college this week. Everything is going great over here and I am really appreciative of everyone who is thinking about me and praying for me! I am praying for you all as well! I will keep everyone updated on life over here, and I will start posting pictures soon. Maybe...
Once again, if anyone wants my new digits, email me, jsiebold1@hotmail.com
Peace and Love ;)
Kwaku(Kwey-ku) Jordan Siebold
P.s. for anyone wondering about the name Kwaku, over here everyone has a name for the day of the week on which they were born. I was born on Wednesday, and Kwaku is the male name for Wednesday-born.
Sunday morning, 6:15- I wake up to a knocking on the door of my room. A whole hour before i needed to get up for church!! It was my little roomate, Gandhi who is 6 years old and insanely hyperactive and crazy! He is a really nice kid and pretty dang hilarious, but I don't think he has the slightest understanding of peace and quiet. I opened my door and he comes running in, going over to my clothes, my maleria medicine, my books. Gandhi had no hesitation when it came to examining my belongings and he would grab anything and everything he saw! I wasn't too tired, so I didn't mind getting up so early, I was mostly just amused by it all. Anyways, we went to church, and got to see all our friends, which was awesome. Then after church we just walked around town some, getting fried rice on the road side, a full meal for about $1.50! We headed up to the sports stadium here because there was some radio evangelist who was to be speaking out front of it for free. We hung out at the stadium for awhile waiting for the program to start, but when it finally did, we didn't hang around long. It was a pentacostal gathering, and it's not that there was anything wrong with the program, it was just my first experience with the pentacostal church and it was much more "energetic" than any church service I have attended before. I really wasn't prepared for all the shouting and speaking in tongues and whatnot, but all in all, it was really interesting and pretty cool to witness. We only stayed for maybe 20 minutes, but I'm thinking about visiting one of the pentacostal churches nearby, just to see what a sunday morning service is like. After leaving the shouting, dancing crowd, we went to the supermarket to get stuff for the apartments. I'm pretty bad about knowing what I need so I got soap to wash my clothes. And that was it. Jennifer was thinking about it a little more and she ended getting a bit more stuff for here room and bathroom and whatnot. I'll be needing to make another trip to the store, but for right now I've got what I need to survive. After the store we came back the school, where I ate, read, played some guitar for Ghandi and another boy, and then went to bed.
Once again, I was woken up at 6 this morning by a small boy knocking on the door of my room. I'm predicting a long year ahead of me... I think(or at least hope) Gandhi will eventually give up on being my wake up call. Especially after I just ignored him this morning... Ha, I told him I was still sleeping, and after knocking for another minute or so, he gave up and I went back to sleep. After waking up, I went to brush my teeth, and while in the bathroom, I heard the door to my room open.. I went back in to find Gandhi going through some of my clothes... It is pretty hilarious, the way he goes through my stuff as if it were his own, and I can honestly say I'm not annoyed with it. Yet... But I'm sure he will be a fine roomate, especially once he has finished examining all my belongings and has nothing left to keep his interest.
So today was the kids first day, and I was assigned to be an assistant for the elementary school art teacher. I'm pretty stoked about that! The past week or so, I've really been wondering what I'll be doing, and I was just hoping that I would have something to do, something to keep me busy. God definitely answered my prayers, because when the head of primary school told the art teacher I would be her assistant, she was sooo excited, saying "Praise the Lord!!!", commenting that she always had too much to do. The art teacher is a really nice Dutch lady who has lived here for something like 12 years now, married to a Ghanaian and with 4 children. Even after spending just one day with her, I feel confident that I will be able to help out a lot. I'm also really excited to help teach art because I think it will be a lot of fun. I feel like it is definitely going to be a blessing to both myself and the art teacher, Mrs. Nnurom. I think I will also be helping her husband out some as well. He teachers art to the high schoolers, so that should be really cool. I'll probably be learning more than teaching when I help him out, but that should be really fun. Mrs. Nnurom didn't have any art classes today, juts because it was the first day, so we spent the day organizing her classroom and getting it ready to start teaching. I think I might even teach a couple classes a day, because she has to leave around 1 or 2 because she has a 3 month old at home. I feel like this is going to be a great experience and the feelings off uncertainty I had just yesterday are now completely gone!
I hope everyone, everywhere is doing well, whether it be friends, family, and church members back in Littleton, Colorado, or those who are just starting college this week. Everything is going great over here and I am really appreciative of everyone who is thinking about me and praying for me! I am praying for you all as well! I will keep everyone updated on life over here, and I will start posting pictures soon. Maybe...
Once again, if anyone wants my new digits, email me, jsiebold1@hotmail.com
Peace and Love ;)
Kwaku(Kwey-ku) Jordan Siebold
P.s. for anyone wondering about the name Kwaku, over here everyone has a name for the day of the week on which they were born. I was born on Wednesday, and Kwaku is the male name for Wednesday-born.
Friday, August 20, 2010
So far, so good.
Greetings friends and family! I hope everything is well in the States.
Already I have been here in Kumasi, Ghana for over a week. My apologies for taking this long to post an update. I could say I have been very busy since day one and I haven't had the time to write; however, that is not the case. It is mostly due to my own laziness that I have taken so long, so please forgive me. I did start writing something the other night and I thought I saved it as a draft but I guess I didn't, unfortunately.
Anyways, we(myself and Jennifer Johnson[friend from my church, for those who don't know..]) arrived in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, last Wednesday(August 11th) at around 10 in the morning. We were picked up by two men from the school where we will be working this year(International Community School, Kumasi, Ghana). That first night here in Ghana, we stayed at a very nice hotel in Accra, along with 50 or so students from the school who had just returned from a "field trip" to the USA. The next day, Thursday, we went to the embassy so the country would be notified of the students return. After the embassy, we all boarded the bus and headed for Kumasi, a very large city a few hours north of Accra. Now, I say a few hours from Accra, and normally it takes about 4 to 5 hours to make the trip. This time, however, the trip took over 8 hours, almost twice as long! I think this was mostly due to some road work that caused us to move very slowly for the first 4 or 5 hours. After that we started moving at a reasonable pace, although the roads here are very rough, so it wasn't reasonable in comparison to travel in the US. We were told we would be staying with a family for the first few nights while the apartments where we would stay were being cleaned. But when we got here, the father of the family we were supposed to stay with said he arranged for us to stay in a hotel instead, which was no problem at all. This hotel was also very nice and the man even insisted on paying for it! So that is how we came to be in Kumasi.
The next day(Friday), we had our friend Amos come to the hotel and he took us into town. While in town we bought some cheap cell phones and got accounts activated. If anyone wants my number email me and I will send it to you! So after town we came back to the hotel where we ate dinner and just hung out until we went to sleep. The next day we had some other friends come to meet us, Francis and Elizabeth(Dufie-Doo-Fee-Ay). We hung out with them for awhile and then decided we would go to the youth class that evening at the Bomso Church of Christ. It was so awesome going to the class because we were able to see a bunch of the friends we had made last year at the church! It was great to see them all again. The next day we went to church and got to see even more of our friends from last year. It was really cool to already know some of the people here and we were welcomed back by all of them. That afternoon we returned to the hotel with our friends and hung out there until they had to leave and we went to bed.
Monday was the first day we got to visit the school and we met with the doctor there. The campus is really incredible, much nicer than I had imagined. We were given a tour of the school and after that we went into town with our new friend Eric. Tuesday through today(Friday) we have been coming to the school for teacher's meetings and planning. I haven't had a whole lot to do, I've just been hanging out here, getting to know some of the teachers. This morning we brought all of our stuff here to finally move in! I found out yesterday that I will be staying with a teacher and his son, who looks about 7. I also found out they have a music club here where the kids learn to sing and play keyboards. I was very quick to join the club and I can't wait to play some keyboard and play music with the kids here! The kids are arriving here this weekend so I'm sure once they start coming I will be very busy. They have a very nice football(soccer) field here as well as a backetball court and a tennis court, so I'm sure I will being playing sports often. I can't wait for the kids to get here!
Wow.. I nearly wrote a novel just now... I will have to learn how to be a better blogger and I'm sure as I write more I'll get better at summerizing and leaving out the boring stuff. But that's all for now folks, I hope all is well back in the States. I will be sure to post updates more often from now on. Maybe...
Well, until next time! Much Love to you all!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our minds and our hearts are often filled with worries, and thoughts, and troubles. Our daily lives can easily become occupied by cares and concerns. Often we become so occupied by minor problems and concerns that we forget what really matters in life, we forget to really Live. Today, take time to clear your head and open your heart, and let Love come flowing in, refreshing and renewing you with strength to carry on.
Already I have been here in Kumasi, Ghana for over a week. My apologies for taking this long to post an update. I could say I have been very busy since day one and I haven't had the time to write; however, that is not the case. It is mostly due to my own laziness that I have taken so long, so please forgive me. I did start writing something the other night and I thought I saved it as a draft but I guess I didn't, unfortunately.
Anyways, we(myself and Jennifer Johnson[friend from my church, for those who don't know..]) arrived in Accra, the capitol of Ghana, last Wednesday(August 11th) at around 10 in the morning. We were picked up by two men from the school where we will be working this year(International Community School, Kumasi, Ghana). That first night here in Ghana, we stayed at a very nice hotel in Accra, along with 50 or so students from the school who had just returned from a "field trip" to the USA. The next day, Thursday, we went to the embassy so the country would be notified of the students return. After the embassy, we all boarded the bus and headed for Kumasi, a very large city a few hours north of Accra. Now, I say a few hours from Accra, and normally it takes about 4 to 5 hours to make the trip. This time, however, the trip took over 8 hours, almost twice as long! I think this was mostly due to some road work that caused us to move very slowly for the first 4 or 5 hours. After that we started moving at a reasonable pace, although the roads here are very rough, so it wasn't reasonable in comparison to travel in the US. We were told we would be staying with a family for the first few nights while the apartments where we would stay were being cleaned. But when we got here, the father of the family we were supposed to stay with said he arranged for us to stay in a hotel instead, which was no problem at all. This hotel was also very nice and the man even insisted on paying for it! So that is how we came to be in Kumasi.
The next day(Friday), we had our friend Amos come to the hotel and he took us into town. While in town we bought some cheap cell phones and got accounts activated. If anyone wants my number email me and I will send it to you! So after town we came back to the hotel where we ate dinner and just hung out until we went to sleep. The next day we had some other friends come to meet us, Francis and Elizabeth(Dufie-Doo-Fee-Ay). We hung out with them for awhile and then decided we would go to the youth class that evening at the Bomso Church of Christ. It was so awesome going to the class because we were able to see a bunch of the friends we had made last year at the church! It was great to see them all again. The next day we went to church and got to see even more of our friends from last year. It was really cool to already know some of the people here and we were welcomed back by all of them. That afternoon we returned to the hotel with our friends and hung out there until they had to leave and we went to bed.
Monday was the first day we got to visit the school and we met with the doctor there. The campus is really incredible, much nicer than I had imagined. We were given a tour of the school and after that we went into town with our new friend Eric. Tuesday through today(Friday) we have been coming to the school for teacher's meetings and planning. I haven't had a whole lot to do, I've just been hanging out here, getting to know some of the teachers. This morning we brought all of our stuff here to finally move in! I found out yesterday that I will be staying with a teacher and his son, who looks about 7. I also found out they have a music club here where the kids learn to sing and play keyboards. I was very quick to join the club and I can't wait to play some keyboard and play music with the kids here! The kids are arriving here this weekend so I'm sure once they start coming I will be very busy. They have a very nice football(soccer) field here as well as a backetball court and a tennis court, so I'm sure I will being playing sports often. I can't wait for the kids to get here!
Wow.. I nearly wrote a novel just now... I will have to learn how to be a better blogger and I'm sure as I write more I'll get better at summerizing and leaving out the boring stuff. But that's all for now folks, I hope all is well back in the States. I will be sure to post updates more often from now on. Maybe...
Well, until next time! Much Love to you all!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our minds and our hearts are often filled with worries, and thoughts, and troubles. Our daily lives can easily become occupied by cares and concerns. Often we become so occupied by minor problems and concerns that we forget what really matters in life, we forget to really Live. Today, take time to clear your head and open your heart, and let Love come flowing in, refreshing and renewing you with strength to carry on.
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