Questions + Answers

I've been mailed some questions about daily life, etc etc that people have been asking my parents; Ill try to answer them here.

I generally wake up between 5 and 5:30 when the cocks make a serious go of crowing, and the Ghanaians get up. I then go back to sleep for another couple of hours, and actually get up around 7 for breakfast sometime between 7:30 and 8. Breakfast takes quite a while, especially since it is often late arriving. My first lesson is usually at 9:10 or 8:00, depending on the day. School starts for the children at 7:30 with an assembly and 'worship' - they sing religious songs and a couple of children play drums. On Wednesdays they have 2 and a half hours of worship in the timetable, where they all gather in a classroom and do essentially the same thing. The noise is incredible - there are 100or so children singing their lungs out and a bass drum and 4/5 other smaller ones really going for it. The music is amazing - all we can hear in the mornings is the dru patterns, which are incredibly complex, change constantly, and are always syncopated and off beat. The hymns are sung in Fante - the local language - and sound somewhere between traditional African songs, Negro spirituals and old fashioned church hymns. School finishes for us around 1:30 when we have lunch. In the afternoons we go to cape coast, or o touristy things or play with children. Tomorrow there is going to be a large outdoor party for the younger kids after school, which they should love. I expect it will be in my next entry. Tea (or dinner) is normally around 7:30, we then sit and talk for a while and go to bed. The sun sets by 6:30 without fail, and by 7 it is pretty dark. 8:30 feels like 11 o clock does in the UK, but the moon is generally very bright - almost as bright as street lights.

The locals don't stop anything on a Saturday, except for things like school. Most shops and small business run as usual, but everyone concentrates their efforts on the home chores that got missed in the week. We generally get very touristy during the weekend, visit castles, jungle parks, or stay in luxurious hotels elsewhere for a night or two. Everything stops on a Sunday - everyone goes to church, dressed in incredibly good looking Sunday best. Church services aren't that different in structure to in the UK, apart from that the last from 9 to about 1, and you can come and go as you please. The music is an amazing mix of traditional African drumming, old 'western' hymns and even canticles, which often end up merged into a kind of fusion thing. Hymn books aren't common, so the music leader and/or the choir sing the first line of each verse, then the congregation follow, in harmony. Sometimes the call and answer will be for every line, until they know the hymn better.

Getting internet access isn't a problem as long as there is power. I have been going to a place called 'Ocean View' by the Castle, which is OK. The computers are slow, but the internet is very fast if you have a laptop (I don't). I have been able to get my clothes washed - they get very dirty very quickly, especially if you touch the kids. Esther, the lovely teacher who also looks after the volunteers has been doing my washing, and I have been forcing a small fee on her (she would do it for free if we let her). The children wear a uniform of a yellow shirt and brown shorts, apart from the numerous exceptions. The girls either wear a shirt and a dress, or shirt and skirt, or any other combo. Most of it is a bit big, and rather old, or a bit small and rather old - hand me downs and things bought with plenty of growing room. The uniforms get smeared with mud or dust depending on the weather, and if you play with the children - lifting them up, or whatever - then they smear you with muck too. The most popular, in fact only, sport is football. Aubrey (the guy who started Sabre and the volunteering) tried to introduce rugby, but I don't think its taken off. The children are pretty good at football as far as I can tell. We will know more later when we play the teachers (average age: 20) in a 5 a side football tournament.

I've been helping in the JSS with English and reading mainly. We (Eilidh and I) have been taking small groups out of free lessons and doing some intensive reading with them. It seems to be working really well, but Its frustrating how long it has taken to really get going. The children are pretty keen, they enjoy reading and individual attention, so thats definately encouraging. i think we have made an impression, but it will take a continuous stream of volunteers to make a lasting difference.