Mouse Funeral

Posted on September 1, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

I feel about a million times better today. Somehow, after I slept for like 8 hours during the day yesterday, I still managed to sleep through the night with no trouble at all. I guess that means I really needed it and I should probably be getting to bed earlier. I’m still wearing my glasses just in case I did scratch my cornea, but my eye already feels a lot better.

Amber had a bit of a traumatic morning. We have a mouse problem in the house, so they recently set a bunch of traps, including one glue trap. I’m personally not a big fan of glue traps because it takes so long for the mouse to die, and this morning, there was one stuck in it. Amber decided that she was going to save it, so she put on gloves, pulled it off the trap, and tried to clean the glue off. That failed miserably since they use ultra-sticky glue on those things, but she did her best and then put it in a tub to bring to the farm with us. About halfway there, she checked on the mouse, and it was dead. It definitely suffocated in the tub… so it wasn’t exactly the most successful rescue, but at least she tried? When I went to dump the body in the woods, it was completely stuck to the tub. That mouse didn’t stand a chance in the wild. I would say it’s the thought that counts, but in this case, I really don’t think that applies.

We hoed at the farm and had classes afterwards, but the mouse was probably the most eventful part of the day until around 3PM when new volunteers came! I was a little nervous because things have been going so well with our group for the last few weeks, but after meeting the new people, I’m feeling confident that the group dynamic is going to be totally fine. We have three new people: James (UK, 8 weeks), Sosane (UK, 3 weeks), and Isabel (Canada, 1 week). It’s kind of weird timing because we’re all leaving for the weekend tomorrow, with the newbies headed to Cape Coast and the rest of us going to Ada Foah.

Time to go pack! It should be a cool weekend.

Rain Shower

Posted on August 30, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

It rained today! Until now, it hasn’t rained during the day since we’ve been in Frankadua. It sounded like it was pouring when we woke up, but by the time we got outside to walk to the farm, it had stopped.

They’re so big!! This is one of the nests before we moved some plants out

The roof on our house (and also on the school) is metal, and it’s crazy how loud the wind or just a light drizzle can sound. So I think it was pouring in the morning, but who really knows?

At the farm, we moved some of the plants that we planted with Nico’s seeds. The instructions said to put 4 seeds in each nest, and after they start growing you’re supposed to leave only 1 or 2 in each and let the others die. We figured we might as well try to move the extra plants, so we carefully dug them up and put them in new holes. Fingers crossed that they live! This whole “keeping plants alive” thing is new to me (multiple aloe plants have died at my hands), but I’m hoping that I come home with some improved plant skills.

School wasn’t great, but we survived. We read a book in English and learned about more animals. By the time we hit Math class, the kids were all over the place. We combined with Avy’s P1 class for the elective because I couldn’t handle it anymore. She’s so good with them… they sang a few songs, and then the wind picked up, leaves started falling on the roof, and we couldn’t hear anything anymore. How the heck do they have school when it’s raining? I’m not exaggerating. Avy and I were standing next to each other and had to yell to be heard.

A couple minutes after the wind, it started POURING. Zero to pouring in a matter of seconds. The kids were freaking out, and I was just trying to shut the doors and windows so that they wouldn’t blow around. Then, just as quickly, it completely stopped. It was crazy.

Later in the afternoon, it started to pour again, and Fernanda and I took the opportunity to shower outside… WAY better than a bucket shower. It was such a good idea until we decided that it would be fun to play outside in the rain and started kicking a soccer ball around. Nico came out and joined, and in a matter of minutes I was basically covered in mud (also probably chicken and goat poop because that’s all over our yard, but I’m trying not to think about that). So much for that shower.

Eventually, Fernanda had enough and went inside, but Nico and I kept playing around. I taught him how to throw an American football and we had a catch until the rain stopped. It was funny seeing him use the football knowledge he’s gained solely from TV/movies. The yard was really muddy, so we both ate it (me a couple of times…) while running and maneuvering to avoid imaginary defenders. Everyone walking by looked at us like we were totally insane.

Badminton on our regulation sized court…

We also played a little badminton afterwards and got equally weird looks for that. It was so much fun though! I obviously had to shower again when we were finished, so I would say that it was a terribly unsuccessful shower but a very successful day.

Week 3 Already?!?

Posted on August 29, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

How is this already week 3? Part of me is feeling like I can’t believe 2 weeks have gone by, and the other part is amazed that it’s only been 2 weeks because it seems like I’ve been here forever. Somehow though, waking up for the farm hasn’t gotten any easier. This morning was even worse because my legs are still incredibly sore from Saturday, I woke up with a crick in my neck, and I didn’t get to bed as early as I had hoped last night (typical).

Luckily, the farm wasn’t bad this morning. We sowed another corn field, so it wasn’t as labor intensive as hoeing or as icky as shucking. I actually think sowing is pretty fun. Sometimes though, the ground is so hard that it’s impossible to drive the machete in to make a hole. Then I basically put my entire body weight on it and try to wiggle the dirt loose. Anddd then I feel like a total loser because one of the guys is nearby in the same hard ground, and it doesn’t even slow him down. But all in all, it was a good morning at the farm!

Our corn is growing!! This is one of the plants from last Wednesday’s sowing

The thing I was really worried about today was school. Since Maria left on Friday, someone needed to take over her P2 class. Nico and I basically had an hour long stare down last night trying to decide who had to switch classes because both of us wanted to keep P3/P4 but neither of us wanted to kick the other out. In the end, it seemed like it was somewhat assumed that I would switch, so I sucked it up and said okay.

Besides the fact that the kids are younger in that class, there are also usually way more of them. There were days when Maria had almost 20 kids! I can’t deal with that… She’s one of those people who just has a way with kids, and I’m absolutely not. Anyway, I put together a lesson plan last night and was feeling kind of okay about it until this morning when Avy woke up feeling horrible and asked if I could take the P1 kids as well. AHH!

Nico taking his usual post-farm pre-class nap

I shifted my plans to focus more on just trying to keep the class under control rather than getting through all of the material I had prepared. I started them out with coloring while I attempted (and mostly failed) to learn their names. In English, I read them a story and we talked about the animals in the book. In Math, I had them solve some problems, and we went over them together. Yay! I survived. And it wasn’t really that bad. They behaved well, so that was definitely a big help.

The rest of the day was great! The power went out right after we got back from school, so Fernanda and I sat on the porch and just enjoyed the day. It was so nice outside, and the kids weren’t yelling their heads off so it was actually possible to relax. I think we sat out there for like 5 hours until dinner and then went back out afterwards to play cards.

I was planning to go to sleep early tonight, but of course that isn’t going to happen. It’s just a matter of time until I get sick.

S’mores, Ghana Style

Posted on August 25, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

It’s starting to look like the days at school are just alternating between good and bad. Today was such a good day! But I’m getting ahead of myself…

This is from yesterday when we were shucking and de-kerneling, so today we just skipped the second step

We started out at the farm, as usual, and today’s activity was shucking corn. The good pieces will be sent to the orphanage, and the bad ones get fed to the chickens. It’s always nice when we have a less labor intensive day, but I have to say that I think shucking might be my least favorite thing we’ve done so far. Ehhh maybe not… I really don’t like hoeing. But it’s a close competition between the two.

With shucking, there’s probably a 50% chance that you’re going to find something unpleasant in your piece of corn. Usually it’s a worm or two and a bunch of icky worm eggs, but I had one where I discovered an entire ant farm inside and proceeded to scream and throw my corn. It was gross. The experience was basically an hour and a half of constantly feeling like there were things crawling on me and sometimes discovering that there actually were.

School was a breeze compared to yesterday. English was no big deal, Math we talked about times tables (again), and we played outside for the elective. Afterwards, all of the kids came back into the room and we played songs on my phone/Nico’s speaker. He’s been teaching them a French song which they all love to sing constantly, so we started with that and then moved on to the Hokey Pokey, “If you’re happy and you know it”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and the Chicken Dance.

By the end, ALL of the kids were in our classroom, and I was melting. It’s actually been hot here over the last couple of days, unlike last week. We’ve been spoiled. It’s fine when the sky is cloudy, but as soon as the sun comes out, it’s a totally different story. Today was sunny, and the classroom was HOT.

Our improvised supplies and my beautiful s’mores sticks

After school, the afternoon flew by. I set out on a quest to find good s’mores sticks and used Nico’s knife to get the ends ready. Then, we were all just sitting around talking when someone discovered a bag of embroidery floss with the teaching supplies. Next thing I knew, we were all making friendship bracelets, Nico included, until about 4 hours later when Maria realized it was time for us to run. Time flies when you’re crafting! I felt like we were a bunch of kids at summer camp.

The best part of the day, hands down, was the bonfire. Unlike last week, this one was mostly just the six of us, with a few other people coming in and out. It was partly sad because it’s Maria’s farewell bonfire, but it was partly super awesome because s’mores.

We made all of the kids go home at 9PM (they’re really supposed to leave by 8) and got out our makeshift s’more supplies. I was a little uncertain about how they would turn out, but they ended up being great! I love s’mores. I ate 4. At least. I think. Maybe 5. Ehhh not important.

Anyway, me + s’mores = best day ever. I’m going to bed happy (and stuffed) (and with a lingering sugar rush) tonight.

Sowing

Posted on August 24, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

We did something different at the farm today! Fernanda and Avy came along as well, and we sowed corn in the field that we cleared on our very first day. We had to remove kernels from the corn cobs first, and then we used the machetes to make holes in the ground and dropped the kernels in. To make sure the corn was planted in straight lines, they had long strings with stakes on each end that were moved as each row was completed.

Each time a string was moved, one of the volunteers and one of the locals would start at each end and work towards the middle, planting the seeds about one foot (human foot, not 12” foot) apart. I think I probably did about ¼ of each row, and the guy I was working with was so fast that he did the other ¾ in the same amount of time. I felt a little pathetic, but I have to keep reminding myself that they’ve done all of these things a million times and I’m just learning.

After the farm and breakfast, it was off to school again. Today was another brutal day. English was fine, but in Math we decided to teach the basics of measuring since it seemed like the kids needed a better review than we did yesterday. It was not great. I felt like I was talking to a bunch of cardboard cutouts. I explained what a “unit” is and why it’s important to say the units when you’re measuring. I explained what all of the lines on the ruler mean. I asked them a million example questions. They weren’t even trying today. I don’t know what’s gotten into them. I would ask a question, they wouldn’t answer, I would answer it and then immediately ask the same question again, and they would get it wrong. AHHH!! Is it even possible to have more than one day in a row where I feel like school is going well??

The rest of the day was nice and chill. Maria and I went for another run, and this time, we ran on some of the backroads around the town instead of just doing laps around the soccer field. It was way more interesting, but it was a tough workout because a lot of the roads are like running on loose sand on the beach.

Our big activity of the night was a lip sync battle. Yes, it was my idea, but when I suggested it last week, everyone was all about it! Today, there was some protesting, but in the end, it happened, everyone participated, and it was hilarious. People really went all out, and that’s the key. It doesn’t even matter whether or not you know all of the words. You just need to fully commit to the performance. Hehehe it was so good.

Anyway, below are some pictures of the house so you can get a better sense of what it’s like here on the day to day. I’m off to bed!

The view of our yard/the street from our house

The common area where we eat, make lesson plans, and hang out (and someone did laundry today so it’s also our laundry drying room)

The hallway from the common area to our rooms. So welcoming, right?

Amber’s and my beds… And our VERY organized stuff

One of the luxurious shower rooms, bucket and all

Happy Birthday Nico!

Posted on August 23, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

Today was SO much better than yesterday, thank goodness. It’s Nico’s birthday (!!!), so we had a day of fun planned to celebrate.

It obviously started off with the usual early trip to the farm. Want to guess what the activity was today? You got it – more hoeing! That wasn’t very exciting, but do you know what is? OUR PLANTS ARE GROWING!!! Yay!! I am really not a plant person, so the fact that any plants I’ve come in contact with are actually surviving is thrilling.

We sang happy birthday to Nico at breakfast and presented him with a semi-squished cake that we bought at the mall on Sunday. After two tro tro rides and a couple of days in the fridge, I’m impressed that it survived (though only barely).

School actually went well too! I was happy to be back in the P3/P4 classroom and to have another person teaching with me. Having a co-teacher makes the days way easier, and I didn’t realize just how much easier until yesterday when I had to control the kids and prep and explain everything by myself.

We talked about pronouns in English (very exciting, I know) and did more times table practice in Math. We also went over measuring distances with rulers, and the kids did NOT seem to get it. According to their textbooks, they supposedly learned it 2 years ago…? I did a quick review because I assumed that they already knew it, but everyone was staring back at me with blank expressions on their faces. I think we’re going to have to start from the beginning tomorrow.

Maria, Fernanda, Avy, Amber, me, and Nico by the river

After school was lunch, and after lunch we went to a hotel in a nearby town, Atimpoku. Supposedly they sometimes have functional wifi, but today was not one of those days. That’s okay. We all got drinks, sat by Volta River, and just hung out. We were only about 30 minutes away from the house, but it felt like we were in paradise. No kids, flush toilets, and fake Oreos (they’re decent fakes though) that Avy brought. Does it get any better than that?

We came home in time for dinner and afterwards headed to the soccer field by our house to stargaze. Today is the first day since we got here that the sky isn’t completely cloudy, and we wanted to take advantage. As you might guess, there aren’t a lot of lights here, so the sky is ideal for looking at stars. It was another one of those nights where I had that feeling of total contentment. It doesn’t get much better than laying in a field and staring at the night sky with a bunch of your friends.

It’s pretty late, so I should get to bed if I want to be able to wake up for the farm tomorrow. But yeah, today was a great day.

A Bad Case of the Mondays

Posted on August 22, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

Getting back into the groove today was rough. When my alarm went off at 5AM, I wanted to cry. I was hoping for another seed planting day at the farm, but no such luck. Amber and Nico planted the rest of the seeds, and Maria and I watered the seeds we planted Thursday and finished hoeing the weeds out of the eggplant field that we started working on last Wednesday. Definitely not my favorite activity. It’s pretty hard on your back, and the stupid chickens at the farm follow you around while you’re trying to work and do their best to get in the way. I’ve started to just continue working as I would if they weren’t there, and if a chicken loses its head, it’s not my problem (yes, I realize it kind of actually would be my problem, but I’m choosing to ignore that). I’m adding “catch a chicken with my bare hands” to my list of goals for my time here.

Maria, trying not to fall into the water hole while filling up a watering can (don’t worry, this isn’t where we get the water for our showers)

The day didn’t get much better from there. Fernanda is still feeling sick, so I took over her class for the day (P5 and P6, aka 5th and 6th grade). I was just getting comfortable with our kids, and having to adjust to a new group was a bit of a challenge. She helped me with the prep work which was good, but the kids were hard to control and it didn’t help that I don’t know most of their names. For the elective, I tried to put them into groups to construct paper towers and compete to build the tallest one, and it was a disaster. They kept switching groups and trying to get me to tell them how to build their towers. In the end, two out of the three groups had good attempts, and the third turned in a stack of papers.

The winning tower, complete with a door and a roof (because all of the kids wanted to build houses instead of towers, and I said fine as long as it’s a tall house)

By the time school ended, I was ready to have some time away from the kids. I’m still not feeling great, so I took a nap for a few hours and woke up just in time for dinner. I’ve been in a bit of a daze since then. I think I just need to get to bed early tonight and try to sleep off the rest of whatever I have.I should go prep for class tomorrow so I can get some sleep. Good night!

A Perfect Day!

Posted on August 19, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

If there’s such a thing as a perfect day, today might have been it. One aspect of my time here that I really haven’t talked about yet is the other volunteers. People are here from all over the world, and getting to know them has been a lot of fun. I’m constantly amazed by how well we can relate to one another even when we come from such different places. I also feel like I’ve known them all for much longer than 5 days… Just seeing that number is kind of throwing me off. But when you live and work together, friendships develop much faster than in normal life, and the group dynamic right now is incredibly good.

A few people left this week, but I want to briefly mention the ones who are sticking around so that I can refer to them by name. Two volunteers were already in the house when we got there, Avy (Hong Kong) and Fernanda (Mexico). They both played big roles in getting the summer school going and are awesome with the kids. Amber (Belgium), Maria (Portugal), and Nicolas (France) started at the same time as I did, and they all work at the farm with me in the mornings. Nicolas and I are teaching buddies, and Maria and I have been running together. Amber is helping at the medical clinic.

They’re all absolutely hilarious, and we also work well together which is a huge blessing. People share ideas and help each other, and we can be far more effective in helping the kids because of that.

Anyway, back to business. At the farm this morning, Nicolas showed us how to plant some seeds that he brought from France. We spent a couple hours making “nests” for the seeds- digging a hole and loosening the dirt inside of it to make it easier for the new plants to break through and grow roots. It wasn’t as labor intensive as the other days which was a welcome break.

Then, school went so well!! We’ve been working on coming up with more fun ways of teaching the kids. We did the hokey pokey to help teach them about nouns, adjectives, and verbs in English class and did some activities with shapes in Math. The kids were so good and I think they had fun and learned a thing or two.

After class, Maria had face paint that she used to give them some war paint, and they absolutely loved it. Seeing them get excited about such “little” things definitely makes you stop and think. Something may seem small to you, but you don’t know how it looks to someone else. In my mind, it was so simple, but for those kids, that was a big thing. It makes me rethink my previous ideas about not being able to make a real difference in such a small time. I think that you have to live as if your every action will have some lasting impact on the people around you, and whether it’s positive or negative is up to you.

Some of the kids showing off their war paint

The rest of the day was spent hanging out, watching the Frankadua soccer team play against a neighboring town, and after dark, having a farewell bonfire for the volunteers who are leaving this weekend. A bunch of the kids and locals came too, and the night was filled with Ghanaian music and dancing and good conversations.

This weekend, we’re headed to Cape Coast to do some touristing. I should go pack before it gets much later! So much for getting to bed early… (it’s almost midnight)

Juapong

Posted on August 17, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

The days here feel so incredibly long. When I think about working at the farm this morning, I’m blown away by the fact that that was today. I know it’s going to happen, but it’s hard to believe that 3 months are going to fly by when each day feels like a week. I think that it’s just because we do so much every day that it seems like it all shouldn’t be able to fit in 24 hours.

This morning at the farm, we helped to clear weeds in one of the fields by using hoes to slice the tops off. It was exhausting, but I was just happy that we weren’t using the machetes again so my hands have time to heal.

We also learned a little more about the locals who work at the farm. They also have farms of their own to take care of, so they spend hours working at the orphanage farm and then go home and rest by working at their farms too. I don’t know how they do it. An hour and a half each morning is more than enough for me.

School was rough. I’m still excited to work with the kids, but it’s so hard trying to reach a class with such diversity of skill levels. We did a writing exercise in English class, and some kids were great while others could barely put together a sentence. Where do we go from here? I find myself constantly trying to think of ways to engage them while also teaching them. I’m determined to figure this out.

We spent the afternoon at the market in Juapong, a town about 20 minutes south of Frankadua. It was great! We’re really not living in a tourist area, so practically everyone we encounter is Ghanaian. Going to the market made me feel like we’re really becoming part of the community, especially since, for the most part, no one gave us weird looks for being there. It’s nice to already feel that sense of belonging.

A couple of market shots. These aren’t great, so I’ll try to take better ones next time we go

I also experienced my first tro tro ride on the way to the market and back! A HUGE mode of transportation in Ghana is a bunch of privately owned minibuses that drive back and forth along set routes, called tro tros. They’ll pick you up from wherever along the route and will stop wherever you’re getting off. They can also get quite crowded… I’ve had multiple friends tell me about times when they had to hold random children on their laps due to the space. We got to the market for about 1.70 cedis each (the exchange rate to US is around 3.8:1). I still don’t totally understand how their routes work, but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it soon enough.

Okay, I need to go to sleep ASAP. Tomorrow is going to be such a mess. So. Tired. I need to start sleeping more! Good night!!!

Machete Monday

Posted on August 16, 2016March 14, 2019 by Lark

(I know it’s Tuesday but let’s just pretend because Machete Tuesday isn’t catchy.)

WOOO!!! I survived my first day!! Both mentally AND physically (which are both things I was slightly concerned about). This morning was brutal though. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep for at least a week now, and the 5AM wake up call was not exactly what I needed. We had to be ready to go to the farm by 5:30, so I pulled my stuff together, attempted to wash my face using a bucket, and inhaled a granola bar before Joe and John, two of the Ghanaians that run the farm, came by to pick us up.

The walk to the farm! This is what 5:45AM looks like

Some brief background info on the farm – it was started when they realized that one of the nearby orphanages never got fresh food. Now, half of the food is donated directly to the orphanage, and the other half is sold to buy seeds and fertilizer and other things required to keep the farm running.

The walk there was nice and gave us some time to wake up. It’s probably 15 minutes from the volunteer house, and part of it involves walking through water about 8” deep. I was happy to have rain boots (aka gum boots) to keep my feet dry. I had no idea what we were going to be doing, so when we got there and they handed each of us a machete, I was pretty pumped. We got to help clear one of the old corn fields to get it ready for a new planting by chopping the dead corn stalks at the base with the machetes. Believe me when I say that there’s nothing more satisfying than whacking a stalk and seeing it fall without even putting up a fight. Yay manual labor!

I wish I had gotten a before picture, but this is the field after we wreaked havoc

I felt quite accomplished by the time we finished clearing the field, but I didn’t even think about what the work would do to my hands. Talk about blisters! It’s okay… a couple days of sucking it up, and I’ll have the calluses I need to support my natural machete skills.

Once we finished at the farm, we headed back to the house for breakfast and to do last minute preparation for class. My teacher partner, Nicolas, and I were basically winging it for the first day just to get a reference of where the kids are skill-wise. We have P3 and P4 levels, and I think the kids are about 9-12 years old, maybe a bit younger. In English class, we had each of them introduce their partner to the group. For the rest of the time, we picked different letters of the alphabet and each kid wrote a word on the board that started with that letter.

I felt much more at ease in Math class. I put up some addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division questions and we gave the kids time to work on their own before coming back together to go over them. The biggest struggle was times tables, so we’re going to try to help them memorize those by the time school starts.

Just to give you an idea of the landscape here, this is a view of one of the houses/yards near where we live

We had the rest of the day after that to prepare for school tomorrow and relax. I went for a [slow and painful] run with one of the other girls and made some plans for classes. I’m feeling really excited and encouraged by the kids and our experience today. They’re all so well behaved and eager to learn! It makes me happy to teach them.

I also survived my first bucket shower experience. It really wasn’t as big of a deal as I expected. I can totally do this for three months, no problem. I feel like I’m living so sustainably now. There’s no running water for anything, and I only used about 2-3 gallons for my shower.

Anyway, it’s very late (almost 11PM) and I have another very early morning tomorrow. Hopefully it’s not another machete day! My hands need a change of pace.