Though this could come across as a shock, I LOVE my internship. I love teaching and getting to know the kids and the other teachers. So far, it has been a great experience. I've taught several classes by now on informal letter writing. We practiced writing thank you letters and a letter to someone in America. The letters are HILARIOUS to read. I crack up the whole time in the corner while grading. First of all, almost every sentence mentions God or the Lord or something related. Ghana is an EXTREMELY religious country so it fits. Also, they have really funny/cute expressions that they use. They often write, "I hope you're fit as a fiddle," meaning I hope you're doing well. I was so confused when I first read this. Also, when the kids were writing letters to "pen-pals," I told them to pick one specific cultural difference and explain it. In Ghana, everyone is named after the day that they were born. I'm Tuesday born, so my name is Abena. One kid wrote, "The common names in Ghana are Abena, Kofi, Ama, (etc. these are all day names). The common names in America are Bruce, Yamit, and Richard." I died when I read this. If only he knew that there are no other Yamits in America.
Another really cute aspect is how this kids ask to go to the bathroom. They generally say, "Can I go urinate?" which was unexpected. Sometimes the boys ask to go to the gents. I had to go to the bathroom the other day for the first time so a teacher sent a student to go show me the teacher's bathroom. I was really impressed that they have their own bathroom because it's not uncommon for schools to have no bathrooms at all. So we go in the regular bathroom (which is co-ed) and she just points to a specific stall and tells me that's the teacher's bathroom. It wasn't any different than any other stall. And then of course, the sinks didn't work.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Cape Coast
Water update: We have not had water for almost four days now. I cannot do laundry and we cannot wash dishes. People have been buying bags of water that are meant for drinking (like choco b'sakit) and using them to bathe. Bottom line, we need water need water.
Anyways, last weekend we went to Cape Coast, which is about 4 hours away. Rivky, Zahava, and I were taken a day early and we got a private tour. We took a van that seats twelve people and schlepped our food for three days.
One of the most popular tourist sites is there- Elmina Castle, which we visited. This is one of the main forts that the Europeans used to keep the Africans in, before they boarded the ships to the New World. Generally, the slaves would stay in the "castle" for about a month in dire conditions before they were transported. The castle was fairly small and not much remains there. Our director was with us and asked how it compares to concentration camps in Europe. (Many people draw comparisons between visiting the camps and the castle because many African Americans are descendants of people who once inhabited the castle). The two experiences are completely different. Not much is known in terms of numbers regarding the castle and it's very small, as compared to the camps, which are massive. The camps are have extensive collection of artifacts, whereas the castles were basically empty rooms. However, many of the same emotions are felt at both types of cites and the focus on how humanity could have watched idly.
Afterward, we returned to the hotel and ate shabbos dinner, which could have been better, and just relaxed on Saturday.
On Sunday, we went to Kakum National Park, which has a canopy walk. It's basically a series of bridges that are high above most the trees. The bridges connect from tree to tree and are basically made from ropes with narrow wooden slates to walk across, so it feels very unstable. But, since the canopy walk was build in '95, no one has fallen off. Supposedly there are animals there. We saw ants. I really enjoyed the walk, though if you have a fear of heights, you may have a heart attack. My director says it's therapy for those who fear heights--so Mom, I think this is your excuse to come to Ghana.
Anyways, last weekend we went to Cape Coast, which is about 4 hours away. Rivky, Zahava, and I were taken a day early and we got a private tour. We took a van that seats twelve people and schlepped our food for three days.
One of the most popular tourist sites is there- Elmina Castle, which we visited. This is one of the main forts that the Europeans used to keep the Africans in, before they boarded the ships to the New World. Generally, the slaves would stay in the "castle" for about a month in dire conditions before they were transported. The castle was fairly small and not much remains there. Our director was with us and asked how it compares to concentration camps in Europe. (Many people draw comparisons between visiting the camps and the castle because many African Americans are descendants of people who once inhabited the castle). The two experiences are completely different. Not much is known in terms of numbers regarding the castle and it's very small, as compared to the camps, which are massive. The camps are have extensive collection of artifacts, whereas the castles were basically empty rooms. However, many of the same emotions are felt at both types of cites and the focus on how humanity could have watched idly.
Afterward, we returned to the hotel and ate shabbos dinner, which could have been better, and just relaxed on Saturday.
On Sunday, we went to Kakum National Park, which has a canopy walk. It's basically a series of bridges that are high above most the trees. The bridges connect from tree to tree and are basically made from ropes with narrow wooden slates to walk across, so it feels very unstable. But, since the canopy walk was build in '95, no one has fallen off. Supposedly there are animals there. We saw ants. I really enjoyed the walk, though if you have a fear of heights, you may have a heart attack. My director says it's therapy for those who fear heights--so Mom, I think this is your excuse to come to Ghana.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Start of my Internship
I started my internship this week, which entails teaching composition (aka writing) in a private school to upper elementary (8-11 year olds). So far, I have just been observing, but starting on Tuesday I will begin teaching.
Needless to say, this school (as are all schools in Ghana) is extremely different than in the States. The most notable difference is the use of caning. The teachers all have sticks that they hit the children with, which is really hard to watch. If a child doesn't listen or disrespects the teacher or any other number of offenses, s/he will most likely be beaten with the cane. On top of that, it is not just one or two smacks; rather the teacher generally beats the child several times. When this happens, I generally look away, literally holding back my tears. I was discussing this with my supervisor upon being asked some of the differences between Ghanaian and American schools, I told him about this difference. He basically just nodded and asked, "Well how you do discipline kids who do not listen?" And I told him that we have other forms of punishment, that does not involve physically hurting someone.
Other than this, there are tons of other differences. Whenever I enter the room, the children all rise and recite in unison, "Hello madame. We welcome you to our class" (or something to that effect that is a little longer). Also, though this is a private school where most of the children come from wealthy homes, the classrooms are pretty basic. They are basically a square room with old wooden desks and a chalkboard. Basically, the room looks like how I would picture a classroom in the early 20th century.
On Tuesday for my first day of teaching, we will focus on informal letter writing. I was basically given a syllabus and told to teach it. There is not much room for my personal creativity, but we'll see what happens.
Despite the differences, I enjoy the school so far. I really like the other staff and feel very comfortable there. I have a lot of leeway in terms of my hours and what subject to teach, which is great.
Needless to say, this school (as are all schools in Ghana) is extremely different than in the States. The most notable difference is the use of caning. The teachers all have sticks that they hit the children with, which is really hard to watch. If a child doesn't listen or disrespects the teacher or any other number of offenses, s/he will most likely be beaten with the cane. On top of that, it is not just one or two smacks; rather the teacher generally beats the child several times. When this happens, I generally look away, literally holding back my tears. I was discussing this with my supervisor upon being asked some of the differences between Ghanaian and American schools, I told him about this difference. He basically just nodded and asked, "Well how you do discipline kids who do not listen?" And I told him that we have other forms of punishment, that does not involve physically hurting someone.
Other than this, there are tons of other differences. Whenever I enter the room, the children all rise and recite in unison, "Hello madame. We welcome you to our class" (or something to that effect that is a little longer). Also, though this is a private school where most of the children come from wealthy homes, the classrooms are pretty basic. They are basically a square room with old wooden desks and a chalkboard. Basically, the room looks like how I would picture a classroom in the early 20th century.
On Tuesday for my first day of teaching, we will focus on informal letter writing. I was basically given a syllabus and told to teach it. There is not much room for my personal creativity, but we'll see what happens.
Despite the differences, I enjoy the school so far. I really like the other staff and feel very comfortable there. I have a lot of leeway in terms of my hours and what subject to teach, which is great.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)