I believe I have already mentioned this, but if not
here goes, so as you may or may not know, I have been named after the Queen
Mother of Afere, Nana Akua Nyarko. Akua means you are Wednesday born (which I
am not, I am Tuesday, which is Abena) and I just recently found out that Nyarko
means "dove" in Twi. Not going to lie, it's a pretty sweet name.
Although when I first heard Nyarko, I immediately thought of the word
"nark," however, any anguish I previously felt has been assuaged. Anyways,
that explains the title of this post. Initially I thought I would have a tough
time adjusting to being called something other than Hayley. But now I turn my
head as soon as I hear Akua or Nana Nyarko.
So today was one of those days where I was
constantly thinking, "Wow, this is my job. I literally have the best and
coolest job in the world." It was a great day. The day even started off
with a magnificent breakfast - a spinach, cheese, chicken, delicious seasonings
omelet! The ultimate test, we have decided, and by we I am referring to my
friend Gayle, is that if we would enjoy the food in America, then it's actually
good food. So this morning, the omelet was America good. I would have
definitely ordered that back home, so just going to give myself a pat on the
back for how well I did this morning. I have a lot of free time, so I'm turning
into a master chef. I even made Pad Thai the other night and it was bomb dot
com. But before all this happened, I had to walk into town to get some
ingredients, and all the while doing this, I carried my sister, M'Adowa on my
back - Ghanaian style. If you didn't already know, we don't have Baby Bjorns
over here. Ghanian women (and actually on Tuesday I saw a man doing this, which
is very rare) throw their babies on their backs and strap in with a two-yard
piece of fabric. No belts, buckles, or anything. The babies don't even hold on,
they just bounce around as happy as clam. Me on the other had is just staring
and waiting for a baby to plop on the ground. But anyways, yes, I carried my six-year-old
sister like that for about 15 minutes. I was very proud of myself.
But on to other business...I spent the majority of
my day with the teachers at the JHS. Around 9 am I headed over and mingled. The
students just finished their last day of exams, so everyone was working hard
today. The teachers were busying coming and going throughout the day, so I got
to see and talk with most of them. I even learned a new word,
"invigilate." One of the teachers used it while we were talking and I
must have made a weird face because he said, "I hope you get me..." I
definitely did not. So he explained it to me, after which I said,
"Ohhhhhh. Well in America we usually use a different word, like
'proctor.'" So we had a little cultural exchange there, Peace Corps Goals
2 and 3! BOOM!
Throughout the morning I helped the teachers stamp
and authenticate answer sheets for their exams, all the while talking about
everything under the sun, or is it moon? Either way, it was filled with great
conversations. I've also become rather comfortable and completely used to long
silences. Normally, my eyes would start darting around and I would feel the
need to say something. But I was perfectly comfortable just sitting and
starting out the window or watching the small children run around. I wonder if
that is something that will wear off once I get back into the hustle and bustle
that is America.
As you may or may not know, the national language
of Ghana is English, so everything is taught in English. The problem is,
English is not usually the language spoken at home, so most students struggle
with it. The other day one of the teachers showed me a student's response to an
exam question...the answer didn't even make sense. There was no way you could
even guess what they were trying to say, and that is really sad. Clearly this
student is not learning the subject matter. If you want to succeed in school
here, you have to know English - it is the only way you are going to do well.
I've started thinking about forming an informal English Club for next term. It
would be something very casual, after school, where the students can come and
sit and practice speaking English. I figure talking with a native English
speaker, or at least listening to me speak, might help them. I pitched the idea
to one of the teachers and he thought it was great, so hopefully I can get more
support and get something going for next term.
After the school day finished, all the teachers and
I headed into Juaboso. The Afere teachers and Juaboso teachers played each
other in a football match. They played last Friday as well and the game ended
up 1-1. However, this time, Afere won! One of my teacher friends was not
playing today, so we stood on the sidelines and chatted. In Ghana, once you
complete university you enter the National Service and one of the services is
teaching. The Afere JHS has four service teachers from different areas in
Ghana: Takoradi, Afere, Accra, and Greater Accra. I've become pretty good
friends with them and I'll be sad when they all leave in a few weeks. The other
teachers are cool too though! Hopefully the next round of service teachers are
just as awesome.
Not the most exciting day but it was definitely a
great day nonetheless.
Happy belated birthdays to one of my best friends,
Betsy Black, and Janice Nash! Both lovely ladies had their birthday on July
18th!
An an even more awesome note, I'm sure you've all
seen the news...Uncle Phil, AKA Phil Knight, is building a 68 million dollar
football facility. Oh yeah, it's going to be awesome. Pac-12, what what!
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| The chief and elders bought me a fridge! Two elders here. |
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