Hiawa

I made it back from my Vision Quest with all limbs intact! It was quite the adventure. I first took a tro-tro from Accra to Kumasi. The "tro" was actually a very nice bus, with air conditioning and all! I was quite comfortable. We even stopped somewhere with flush toilets! This is not the norm.

What is the typical tro like (much like the one I took from Kumasi to Hiawa)? You first navigate the station, through a ridiculous maze of people shouting at you, grabbing your arm, and trying to sell you things until you somehow find the right tro. Once you get there, you pay the driver and you sit down. The thing is, they do not leave at set times- they leave when the tro is full. And full means 30+ in a van with a maximum capacity for 20. We're talking 6 people in a row for 3-4, not including children. Not at all comfortable, especially when you have children vomiting and peeing next to you, sometimes on you. Also, a tro can take all day to fill! If you are going somewhere remote, plan on a long journey. My tro from Kumasi to Hiawa took 4 hours to fill! That means I was sitting, squished in the corner, inside of a hot, hot, HOT 1970 van that was falling apart for 4 hours. 4 hours of people staring at me, yelling at me, touching me, trying to get into my bag, trying to sell me things, pointing at me.

The other thing about tros is that it is never quiet. There is always music blaring, or some sort of political speech/talk radio at full volume. As in, you may not even be able to hear the person next to you talking because it is so loud. That is a big trend in Ghana. There is always noise, from about 3:30 am to at least 8 pm, if not later. In fact, when you enter someone's home, they will most likely turn ON their television and radio, if they own one. Quite the opposite from America, where if someone comes over, it is customary to turn off anything making noise. I think it is a sort of welcoming gesture in Ghana. Welcoming is HUGE.

Anyway, you learn to zone out after awhile, but it is not comfortable. A 4 hour tro ride became an 8 hour trip. All in all, it took about 12 hours to reach my VQ site, though in a private car it would have taken around 7 hours. Traveling here is an adventure in itself. Oh, and it is the rainy season here. And tros do not necessarily have leak-proof roofs.

So if you are on a long tro ride and need to go to the bathroom, what do you do? Well, first, try hard not to eat or drink before you go. That is my strategy. But, in the event you do (which is pretty often), you yell one of two things to the driver or mate (and you must YELL over the loud music). You yell, "Driver, please stop, I need to urinate," or, "Driver, please stop, I need to shit." Those are the only two phrases they will recognize (Ghanaians in general really only use these phrases). Then the driver will pull over to the side of the road for you to do your business. Expect some observers. And don't forget your t-roll (toilet paper), because they sure don't provide it for you. Oh yes, tro rides, they are so much fun.

Upon my arrival in Hiawa, I was greeted very warmly (and I needed to urinate very badly). Erin was my VQ host. I was very lucky to be with her. I had my own bedroom and bathroom! While I was there I learned to do laundry- we have it so easy in America. I am going to have some ridiculously strong arms when I get home. Some of the children hid in the bushes to watch and laugh at me while I attempted it! Finally one of the children came over and showed me how to do it. Boy they are strong. Even the young children here have ripped arms- they are so buff. They start working at a very young age. We have no concept of hard work in America compared to what these children do here. There is not really such a thing as a "fat" Ghanaian. Some can be a bit heavy, but they are still very strong. In fact, in Ghana, to be called fat is a compliment. That means you are being fed well and taken care of. "Oh madam, I see you are fatter today," is not an uncommon thing to hear.

One of the children I met, Eunice, is absolutely adorable. Actually, every child here is adorable. Fortunately, I was informed that you must be a Ghanaian citizen to adopt an Ghanaian child. Otherwise, I would be coming home with a football team. But Eunice, she is special. I will post some pictures of her soon. She came over to bring Erin some tomato plants. This 8 year old girl and her machete planted them all like a pro, even cutting down some of the tree branches so they would get the proper light. Children carry machetes here everywhere, even sometimes to school! Wow. I did learn how to hack a scorpion in half with one- it was a powerful feeling.

Later that afternoon (Sunday), Erin took me to her Girls Club, which is her secondary project. Girls here are treated like second class citizens- they often do not talk (because their voice is really not well valued) and are pushed around by the boys. (In fact, as enlightened as the headmaster seemed, he would not even acknowledge that Erin has been running a Girls Club for over 6 months- even though his own daughter attends!) The Girls Club is a way to get the girls alone and work on projects and have discussions in a safe environment. On this particular day, the girls prepared some songs and dances to perform for me! It was wonderful. I also "flashed" them (took pictures), and will post them on Flickr soon. The girls have wonderful voices. Song and dance are deeply apart of the culture. Of course, they wanted me to sing for them and teach a song. Ugh. But, I'm in Africa, right? So, the only song I could think of was "Twinkle Twinkle." They learned it so quickly! They even found me at school the next day to perform it for me! It was quite special.

So, that brings me to school. Erin is a JHS teacher (Junior High School). I attended with her for 2 days. I have quite a bit to remark on the subject, though I am still processing my thoughts, so I will not write too much now. Ghana has an interesting education system. Unfortunately it is a partially corrupt system. Everyone takes something from the person below them. (As a side note, we met with the Minister of Education the day we arrived in Accra. We were fed so well there- so well that each meal equated to one computer. Our visit could have funded about 50 computers. Glad to see the money is going to good use). The schools have no money, sometimes no books. The teachers do not always get paid, and if they are paid, it is not very much money. Especially in the JHS. As a result, the teachers are not very motivated to teach. (I should say here, though, that this is only after visiting one school, though I hear it is somewhat common.) The teachers may just sit in their break room all day, not attending their classes, letting the kids roam free. Some may not even show up to work. Some may not teach and just tell their kids to copy out of a textbook. What they told me is that if they were paid more, they would teach better. They will not try if they are not paid well. I can understand that to a certain extent, although I do think there is such a thing as work ethic. Not all teachers are like this, but a good portion are, at least at the school I visited. This was not the most bothersome part to me, though. What I had a difficult time with is the caning.

Caning is a legal form of punishment in Ghana. Almost all punishment is physical (i.e. sit with rock on your head, sit on your knees in the sun, splashing the kids with dirt, etc), and caning seems to be the most common. I am told that at some schools it is minimal, but at the school I was at for the VQ it was pervasive. The canings are public- humiliation is a big form of punishment here. There are canings in the morning assembly, there are canings in classes, and there are canings in afternoon assembly. Depending on the teacher, the child is often caned for giving the wrong answer, talking in class, not attending church (!!!), or other larger behavioral issues. I have not entirely processed my feelings about this, but suffice it to say it is very disturbing. I do not think a punishment is effective if the child continues to do the same thing over and over. It was very hard not to say anything. I am trying to accept that my role here is not to come and change the way of things here, or to preach my views about these issues. My role is to accept, be supportive, and lead by example. I can explain why I do not like to cane if someone asks, in an attempt for cross-cultural exchange, but I must be very careful to not extend any judgement.

Anyway, Hiawa is a very welcoming town, and Erin knew everyone. Walking to get some food could take a half an hour because of the greeting! This is rather typical in Ghana. I had to go meet to chief and the council of elders, which was very exciting. I also was taken around town to meet many of the prominent PTA members. There was actually to be a meeting to introduce me to the PTA, but it began to rain, so it was cancelled (Ghanaians do not like the rain, they run like bandits at the sign of a drop!!). Once the rain stopped, the headmaster and a few of the PTA members came to where I was staying and presented with with 10 Ghana Cedis! It was a very nice gesture. That is a lot of money. For me, that is 5 days pay, that is a phone call home, that is a lot of money! It was very flattering. I also felt a bit uncomfortable. I did not want to accept it, but that would have been very rude and disrespectful. Gifts were abound in Hiawa! The children brought me different food with notes. It was adorable. I actually took photos of the notes and will post them on Flickr. It was hard not to cry. Especially when some of these children are hardly eating at home because they have no money, yet it was so important to them to welcome me. All in all, I came out with 2 pineapples, 2 coconuts, 1 pear (avocado), 2 apples (dragonfruit-type things), 2 bags of roasted peanuts, 2 bunches of bananas, and a loaf of bread.

Hiawa was a great adventure. Erin has done such a great job integrating into her community, you can tell she is loved. I hope that I will be able to be half as good of a volunteer as her.

Thinking back, I cannot believe everything that has happened in the past year. I have made some wonderful friends, I have learned to deal with loss, I graduated college, I found an awesome job, I had my first real roommate, I took the MCAT, I observed countless brain surgeries, I found a mentor, I moved to Africa, I travelled the frightening roads of Ghana solo, I met with the Ghanaian Minister of Education, I had drinks with the African head of USAID, I partied at the home of the US Ambassador to America, I have been eating fruit, I am learning a new language, I hacked a scorpion with a machete, and on and on. So much has changed. Life is hard right now, but I am so happy.