Sunday I took a break from my work to go to church in the first time in a while. But since it’s farming (sowing and weeding specially) season here church was pretty empty and the madam who comes to lead the Mass was absent. I’m still really glad I got out of the house and went there because… I got to hold 2 of the 3 triplets! A lady in our community had a set of triplet boys a few months ago for the first time in recorded history (from the clinic) for the village. I hadn’t had the chance to meet them yet. They came to church in matching yellow and blue outfits and got passed around among the women and girls to hold. Taking a break from marking papers to hold babies is a lovely way to spend time in my opinion. I was able to snap a photo of them with their mother (on the left), her sister, and Auntie (as she’s known in the village, on the right). Though we didn’t officially have service, another madam led us in some songs and prayer. They also had the kids (and some of the women did it too!) practice traditional dancing during the some of the songs which I always enjoy watching. They tried getting me to dance but I really need lessons first! People here have been doing the local dances since they were wee little ones so I have a lot to learn.
A couple of weekends ago I went to Bolga for a volunteers meeting and stayed at another volunteer’s site one night. She works at a school for the deaf and told me that TOMS had come to her school recently but she wasn’t around to meet them. She thought of letting me know since I have so many (ok only 2 here and 2 back home) pairs of TOMS that it made her think of me. Apparently they give out plain black TOMS so we joked about being disappointed that it wasn’t literally 1-for-1 style and all. It’s funny to dream about a kid in Africa wearing a pair of TOMS that match my Calculus ones but alas plain black ones makes a lot more sense. I always enjoy English funnies so here’s a nice one I discovered on the taxi ride back into Bolga from Lauren’s house. Saw a flyer advertising a hairdressing schools ‘passing out’ which we deciphered meant a graduation ceremony. Come one, come all to my passing out!
To end with, I have the opportunity to work on a project with other volunteers in the northern regions, get some books for our school library, and start a reading club. So…if you’re looking for a way to donate to a good cause (aka my school and the village) shoot me an email and I can send you more information about the North Ghana Book Project. I have 2 committed donors so far but need 3 more to participate and further share my love of reading with my students while at the same time helping improve their English. Thanks for reading my blog with my random ramblings from my time here in Ghana so far! Stay tuned for when I return to school in September...
Hi! I randomly came across your blog while looking up the Tongo Oasis to see what's happening there. I was a PCV in the UER from 06-08! Is the school for the deaf your friend works at in Gbeogo/Tongo? That was my site! I was not the teacher there but I was an environmental volunteer in Gbeogo. I was the first...and the last! (There wasn't much work and there were a lot of problems with housing in the village itself.) My friend Jesse was a teacher at the school though, and overlapped with me for about a year.
ReplyDeleteTake care! Enjoy your break in the US!
Hi Katharine! That's cool you found my blog while researching the Oasis. And yes my friend teaches at the Gbeogo School for the Deaf! I can put you in touch with Lauren if you're interested. Did you enjoy your time in the Upper East? I'm back in Ghana now after my vacation in the States. What're you up to now? Take care!
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