mah-main

June 13, 2012

First off, I just want to say that today was FANTASTIC!!  Secondly, I want everyone to know that all the stereotypes of roosters are 100% incorrect!  Roosters do not cock-a-doodle-do when the sun rises and only when the sun rises.  They do it all day.  And all throughout the night.  They have no schedule.  It’s insane.  The first night here in Anyinasin, I woke up at 1:30am, 2:30am, 4:00am, and 6:00am all because of the roosters.  But luckily, last night, the rain kept most of them away, and I got a ton of sleep.

Anyway, today’s lectures were mostly focused on classroom management and lesson planning.  It was pretty useful.  The only downside was there was no wind to keep us cool, and the benches we sat on hurt everybody’s backs.  So most of the time we were all pretty uncomfortable.  Other than that, it was interesting, and I actually learned a lot. 

I came home for lunch, and my “mother” gave me pineapple (yum!), fried potatoes, fried plantains, and a bean sauce to dip them in.  My “brother”, Kofi, had me try some of his Banku (bahng-ku).  It is a dough-like ball and a soup.  You pinch off a small piece of dough with your fingers and dip it in the soup.  It had the consistency of sticky mashed potatoes, and that was what I pretended I was eating, because I 100% hate dough.  It wasn’t bad.  I learned a phrase today that I will be using a lot.  Mah-main.  It means “I am satisfied”.  I have used that phrase at every meal because I just cannot finish my food.  They give me so much!  But I no longer feel bad for not finishing, because I know it will not go to waste.  That everyone else will eat part of it, so it gets completely finished.

At the afternoon session, we talked about classroom rules and discipline.  Very interesting because the discipline in Ghana is much different than in the states.  Here in Ghana, we have no detention.  We have no disciplinary figure.  Yes, we do have a Head Master/Mistress, but they are not necessarily in charge of disciplining students.  So we must handle that task on our own.  It will be very different.  We were also told to be their teacher, not their friend.  I think I will have some trouble with that.  I want my students to respect me, so if I convince myself enough to be a hardass, I will. 

After all of the sessions, I went back home.  I happily greeted everybody (as you are supposed to) saying “ma dwo” (pronounced mah-JO).  And everybody in the family was smiling and responding, and I actually felt like I belonged here.  It was so amazing.  I’m slowly becoming part of the family.  I had my “mother” give me dinner outside so I could sit with everybody, and she sat with me!  It was fantastic!  During dinner, I had them teach me a few words and phrases in Twi.  I think I am going to make a blog post of just language and add to it every time I learn new words and phrases.  After I finished (mah-MAIN), Aquia and I showed everyone how we dance the Macarena.  It was so fun!  Everybody was smiling and laughing. 

It was starting to get dark, so I decided to go to bath (may co JAH-ray ah-bah).  After I was finished with the bath (they tried to teach me how to say that in Twi, and it took me forever, and I still don’t know it), I told Ama and Aquia we should go work on our homework.  I actually had some too!  We have to give a short lecture on anything we want.  I am going to show the class (all of the volunteers) how to make a valentine.  Simple as that.  Aquia got all of her homework finished (and it was all correct!), and Ama didn’t have any, so we went to the other room to watch some television.  My whole family came in and told me they were going to church.  At 7pm!  That’s awesome!  I kind of wanted to go with them, but I was in my pajamas, and it would have taken me a while to get ready.  Aquia, Ama, and I played a bunch of games.  They showed me these hand games that were super fun and made me cackle a few times.  It was so great.  Everyone is really starting to like me, and it is starting to feel like home.  At 8pm, I told the girls I was tired (mah-BRAY), and must go to bed.  I need some “me” time at the end of the night where I can write blog entries which help me reflect on the day.  Side note, in one of the sessions, we talked about how reflection is one of the best teachers.  And I agree.  Just looking back and thinking about today makes me realize I am in the right place doing the right thing.  It’s great. 

Tomorrow, we must take a taxi to Kukurantumi for a Seminar Day.  We have to be there by 8am.  The taxi ride takes about 30 minutes and costs 1 cedi 70 pesawas.  My group is meeting at the taxi station at 7:15am, so I need some sleep.  Oh, one more thing, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GERY!!!!  Wish I could be there to celebrate, but I hope you enjoy your steak and fries!!! J  Much love to everyone!  I miss you all, and I can’t wait to share these stories with you!  Day-EE-ya!!