Times flying, one month gone

I have completed the first month of the ten I will be spending on exchange.  This is so shocking to me it feels like I've been here barley a week.  But there are things that are normal now that definitely were strange when I got here.   

All my blog posts have been about big things such as arriving in country, a big celebration, my host family, and school but for this blog I would like to just focus on one day, a common day.  

Today you will learn about my day, today October 12th.  I was going to wake up at 4:55 to finish some notes, but when my alarm went off I decided to sleep in until 5:30, which is the latest I can wake up to get to school on time.  When my alarm went off for the second time I groaned and picked up my phone and turned on Three Little Birds by Bob Marley to motivate myself.  First I clumsily put my contacts in, which caused me to cry because I poked my eye really hard.  After the contact ordeal I went to the bathroom, and like usual the toilet was not flushing, so I got the bucket from the shower room and went down to the chicken barn place where our water tank is.  As I waited for the bucket to fill with water I checked in on the 550 baby chickens my dad brought home from Accra this past weekend, they are so cute, but by Christmas they will all be killed for selling.  Once the bucket was full I hauled it up to the house and came in the kitchen door so as to not spill water in the living room.  To flush you just pour the water in the toilet and it usually flushes pretty well.  After dealing with the toilet, I went and got another bucket for my shower.  Since getting to my family I have taken two bucket showers a day one in the morning and one in the evening.  This morning taking the shower I flinched when I poured the water on my head, the water was so cold.  The good thing about it being cold is that it is very effective in waking me up.  After my shower I came back to my room and changed in to my uniform and put my belt on with the assistance on a sewing pin.  After getting dresses I brushed my teeth, and took my malaria medication.  Once presentable I packed my backpack with everything for school except my lunch an water bottle. 

          Most mornings I have two eggs and a less sweet form of hot chocolate.  To get the eggs I went down to the barn, then came back up and fried them while water heated up for my drink.  My mom was also in the kitchen like she is every morning making me and Gladis (my little sister) lunch for school, so I greeted her with a smile and a good morning hug.  Once my breakfast was ready I brought it to my room were I ate and played games on my phone.  When I finished my food I filled up my water bottle by biting a sashe and pouring the water into the bottle.  Once I was completely ready to go I got my lunch from the kitchen which was vegetable rice with some tomatoe sauce and fish, all cooked Ghanian style.  With everything I needed for the day I headed out yelling goodbye to my mom.  I put my school shoes on and headed out.  My dad wished me a good day as I passed him leaving our "yard."  I left my house around 6:40, and I walk to school everyday which takes me about 15 min so today I arrived at 6:55.  Most boarding students (which is a every one) go to assembly in the morning at 6:20 but I don't.  So this morning everyone was just getting out of assembly  when I arrived, so I arrived at class with everyone else.

             My first class this morning was core math which is like pre-algebra so I already know most of it, but that is ok because so many other things in my life are new.  Math is from 7-8:20 then we have a break that is 20 min were many kids go eat breakfast in the dining hall but I don't and neither does my best friend here Idira, we just talk, copy notes, or finish up homework.  Today Idira was really tired and not feeling to well so she slept and I coppied notes.  Our next class was social studies where we're learning about conflict and peace.  But today got sidetracked and the teacher started telling us how homosexuals are unacceptable, then went on to explain rape very poorly.   I sat very tight lipped through that class because saying what I believe would not help anyone, it is very hard for me to not speak up because I'm used to standing up for what I believe.  That class was from 8:50-10:10, and then we had English from 10:10-11:30.  In English we discussed what literature is then started reading a play.  Everyone who had forgotten the play at there dorm had to go around the school and pick up 100 pieces of trash which was over half the class, so like 25 kids.  I did not have the play but that is due to me not being here last term so I got to stay and read out of Idira's book.  After English we had geography from 11:30-12:50.  It was the first time with this particular teacher and I think unfortunately he is not very good.  He asked a question and when 8 different people could not answers instead of explaining the answer he got them all in trouble.  So for the whole class my stress level was very high and I could not think clearly, thankfully the one question I answered I got correct.  After geography everyone expressed dislike, because not many people learn well under that high of stress.  

         Thankfully we had second break next which is a half hour.  Technically your not supposed to eat in class but I do everyday.  Me and Indira share my lunch because my mom gives me so much and Indira does not really like the dinning food.  We ate today and talked to lots of kids.  Indira's twin sister came and talked with us and I talked to many others who wanted to be friends with the white girl.  The last class of the day was CRS but the teacher showed up a half an hour late, had us do some class work while she left for another half hour.  So that class had a lot of talking and little work done.  School got out at 3:20, everyone went immediately to siesta, I talked to the PE teacher before heading home because of a verbal quiz he gave yesterday that I did not do well on.  I think it is because he says the question and gives you 10 sec to answer, and most of the time I can't understand his accent.  Thankfully PE won't matter when I go back to the USA and I only have it once a week.  

         My walk home is always pretty good, I pass by three stalls were the people know me and greet me everyday or have a full conversation with me.  To day the first lady I passed talked to me for a few minutes while I tried to figure out her broken English.  What I could tell is that she wanted me to study hard for school.  The second stall has a girl who talks to me, but today she was sick so she was not much into talking.  The third stall has three ladies who try to teach me Fante every time I pass by, and today was no exception.  

         I got home and got some food then lay down for awhile and played some games on my phone and now I'm writing this blog.   This was not a remarkable day, it is just like my others days.  What is special about today is that it is the first day since I got to my host family that I have not been homesick, so that is pretty great.  I hope it lasts I'm guessing it won't but it is a start.

Differences between Ghana and the USA

I'm going to make a list of everything I have found different about Ghanaian schools from schools in the USA.

•Most schools are boarding schools

•All schools have a uniform

•All students must have the same haircut (except for me)

•Teacers move classes instead of students 

•All classes are lecture style

•Caining is used commonly for punishment

•Schools start earlier and end later 

•The course you take will determine what job you get in the future instead of deciding in college

•Coleege means high school here and they call college universities only

•No phones are aloud at school

•Most kids have never used a computer in school.

•Most kids memorize classes instead of understanding them.  

•Teachers are treated with lots of respect and can take calls in class, can come late, and can not even show up for class

•Kids don't date or hang out

•Students are less independent

•Notes and homework can only be done in pen, no pencils

•Homework is done in assignment books, if you forget your book do the work on 2 attached pieces of paper because to give a teacher one piece of paper is disrespectful 

  

Differences in living in Ghana to living in the USA.

•Almost all people here are black

•Markets are how you shop, no grocer stores or malls

•You can take trotro or taxi almost anywhere you want to go for about the equivalent of 25 cents.

•When you see someone, even if they don't know you they will ask "how are you?" And you respond "I'm fine, how are you?"  

•Most people carry there things on there head, propane tanks, food, lumber, ect.....

•Food is spicy and fried

•Most people eat with there hands

•Cooking over charcoal outside is very common 

•It is coo on for blackouts to happen, also water will not always come out the faucet 

•I can't drink tap water 

•Almost everyone is fit because of there life style

•Ghanains eat the biggest meals

•Everyone wakes up at 4:30am

•My family watches a lot of TV

•Kising, hugging, and holding hands with the opposite gender is very uncommon in public

•Girls hold each other's hands all the time and so do boys

•I have to be home by 6 every night 

•Sweeping is done with a bundle of grass

•Dogs and cats are treated like pets in the USA, they just eat scraps 

  

There are many more things that I will probably have to explain later but for now here are the lists.

1 in 2300

       My school in Cape Coast is called Aggrey Memorial, it has about 2,300 kids and almost all of them board there.  My first day there was Thursday the 22nd.  But on the 20th I went to Aggrey with my contact person Mr.Forson, we went there to get my uniform which turns out is over ten outfits.  My school uniform that I wear on normal days is a purple dress with a yellow collar, I got two of these plus purple belts for each.  I also got two Friday dresses (which are much more comfortable) plus the two belts, I got two more dresses for special occasions these too have belts.  Then there are two shirt and skirt combos that I'm not sure what they are for.  Also given to me was gym cloths, I have very pink jerseys for gym class then another jersey that is white with red outlinings which is for my house at the school, Luccil.

       I was told next to nothing before heading to school the first day, all I knew was the outfit I was supposed to wear.  I woke up at 6am because Mr.Forson had told me that the school started at 7:30.  My mom drove me to school for the first day and I arrived at 7:05.  I did not even know what classes I was taking or where any of the buildings that I needed were.  I knew one thing, where Mr.Forson's house was (he lives on campus with his wife, because he is a teacher at Aggrey).  So I headed to his place, when I arrived the gate was closed, I had no idea what to do. Some boys who go to Aggrey just walked in the gate though, I'm not sure what they were doing because they immediately left.  After they left I went in through the gate, I could hear voices inside the house but I just stood there until I got enough courage to say loudly "hello."  I heard Mr.Forson tell me to come in, he and his wife were doing morning prayers so I awkwardly sat on the couch until they were done.  When they had finished prayers he told me that he needed to get ready then we would go to the school.  By then it was 7:20 and I was worried that I would be late to my first day of school.  Well like I had dreaded he was not ready to go until 7:45.  We walked to the class buildings there are three ( I think, there could be more that I don't know about).  We stood outside the administrative building, he was just talking to other teachers, and I was confused on when and where I would be going to class.  Mr.Forson stopped 2 girls to explain to me what classes I could take.  The thing about classes in ghana is that you choose a course and then you take all the same classes as the other kids in your class, the teachers move around instead of the students.  So in the end I decided on a general arts course call 2 Art 4.  2 because it is a form 2 class arts because it is general arts and 4 because each course has many variations.  

       I was showed to class where a very kind girl helped me get through my first day, now I sit next to her everyday and she helps me a lot.  These are my classes:core math, economics, Cristian religious studies, government, geography, social studies, PE, biology, english, information communication and technology, agriculture, physics, and chemistry.  Also I learned after the first day is that school assembly starts at 6:20am and school actually starts at 7am not 7:30, which means I get up at 5 or 5:30 every morning.  School has two breaks one after first hour that is 20 min for boarders to eat breakfast then a second break later in the day for lunch and that on is 30 min, school gets out at 3:20 so that is sitting at very uncomfortable desks for 8 hours a day, which is really hard for me, also I have not received any of my text books for my classes.  Thankfully Mr. Forson works at the school because without him I'd be so lost.