Category: Uncategorized

Teaching at Heritage Academy

On By eswheelinIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Teaching has been challenging, fun, and rewarding. I never thought I would teach because I have always hated speaking in front of people. I took this trip to Ghana because I knew it would push me outside of my comfort zone. The kids at Heritage are adorable and facinated with the “Obroni” (foreigner) that are on campus. At first this was exciting and I loved to be swarmed by little kids.  After eight days it has become exhausting when I get swarmed walking from a class while the little kids are screaming “Obroni!” and fighting for my hand. I love them anyways and can’t resist hugging them and trying to communicate with them in their limited english.The fact that the kindergarden is taught under a tent makes this especially hard to control. One of my favorite things to do with the little ones is teaching them American nursery rhymes like Old McDonald and The Itsy Bitsy Spider (I will have to video tape it – it is adorable). 

My first two periods of the day are reading periods where I sit with a small group of kids and help them read a book. We learned quickly that the kids vary a lot in reading levels. To solve this the group of reader have set up a system where one person hangs back and picks out the kids that need extra help from our groups once we begin to read. The students favorite thing to read by far are the Disney Princess Story books and Junie B Jones. What we have been working on with the kids is reading comprehension. The kids are not fluent and may seem like they can read but most just sound out the words without having any idea what most of them mean.

My first class is the 6th grade in the shed and after lunch I teach J2a and J2b in the main building. I was nervous on the first day when I walked in and realized it would not be easy. The students are eager and have a lot of energy, the key is to figure out how to channel that into learning. They were excited to see us and introduce themselves, but, just like the sixth graders at home they were rowdy… jumping around, hitting eachother, and shouting. A tool that works is shouting, “If you can hear me raise your hand”. The windows and doorways are open, which makes sound travel extremely easy between classes making us have to talk in a louder than normal voice. I love how eager the kids are to learn. We have taught them grammer, poems, and are now starting on short stories and plot structure. Teaching here consists of a lot of copying and memorizing and it is hard to teach them to think forthemselves: to say write there own story or poem. I have loved teaching and even though it has been hard and discouraging at times when kids don’t get it I do feel that I have been able to teach them about creative writing and about my culture. I hope that I will be leaving here with some short stories they have written to share at home. 

My students love to write notes and everybody wants to be your penpal. Their favorite thing is to have their picture taken. They will ask in class and run up to you outside saying “snap! snap!” and all cram infront of the camera. In Ghana time is much more relaxed, us Americans call it Ghana time. Ghana time for Americans means calm down, class will start when it is ready. Periods are set times but they are just guidline, school periods start and end a bit differently eachday and people get there when they are good and ready. I have learned to be flexible and time has taken on an entirely new meaning (getting back to the Westtown schedule will be hard).

Teaching in Ghana has been amazing and has taught me so much. I love the kids and have learned a lot from them about their humility and kindness. I have loved becoming close to my students and the high school students here. Traveling into town to learn about their families, Ghanain culture, and food has been my favorite part of this trip. I love town because I get to see what my kids lives are like outside the classroom.

We’ll miss you DC!

On By katiradobbinsIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

After over a week of crazy adventures in the wonderful city of DC, our group is departing for Westtown tomorrow. We have had many unforgettable experiences here and I have definitely gotten closer with the other students in my group. We have learned a lot about each other and have laughed a lot! From Apples to Apples, to eating out for dinner, to just walking around the city, we have had some really great times. 

One of my favorite things about bonding with this group, is what we all like to call “Tom-isms” which are things that Tom Gauger says that are totally hilarious. I kept a list of all of the funny things he said, which I’m sure if anyone else read they would not understand. It was awesome to become so close with my classmates who I was not that familiar with before.

Since the project was service oriented, we did many different service projects including working in a food bank, serving breakfast to the homeless, sorting vegetables, and helping a blind woman by building a staircase in her house. The most eye opening project we did was on the one day that it snowed. Our original plan fell through because we could not go anywhere, so we grabbed a couple shovels and went out to help out the neighborhood. Rather than doing it for free, we decided to hit two birds with one stone by going door to door asking for donations for socks to give out at Union Station. After shoveling out about a whole two blocks, many people gave us socks and money; we purchased some more socks and headed down to Union Station. When we got there we assumed it would take about 20 minutes to distribute all of the socks, but it turned out that it was harder than we thought. after about an hour and a half, witnessing an arrest, and being called angels but a few people, we had finally given out most of the socks. I walked away with mixed feelings. I was happy I had helped, but I knew that regardless of all the socks we gave away, these people were still going to be sleeping out in the cold.

Apart from service, we have also explored the tourism side of DC by going to museums and monuments. We live right down the street from the Capitol Building, the Supreme Court, and the Library of Congress. On the other side of the Capitol Building is the Mall. As a group we went to the Holocaust Museum, and some of us went the the Art Museum and the Air and Space Museum. A few of us went into Georgetown, some went to Arlington National Cemetery, and some saw the outside of the White House. We also ate at many restaurants around the city including Ben’s Chili Bowl which is a historical establishment, Shake Shack, We the Pizza, and District Taco. (The only thing we were missing was a Wawa.)

After many days of fun and service, we are all quite ready to pack up and take the train back home. It was an experience none of us will forget.

From Pittsburgh to State College

On By Alexandra CorinneIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Due to a weather delay, my mother and I left Wednesday instead of Tuesday to visit my brother, Danny, in Pittsburgh. He had surgery on his meniscus at 4 am the following day. He currently has to keep his knee at 180 degrees, so I am the one to take care of his two 4 month-old puppies. He heard that he needed to get the surgery 4 days after he got the puppies. At least they are adorable.

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Danny’s French Bulldogs, Pudge (left) and Mojo (right).

On that Friday, I met my mom’s cousin Judy (Mama Trudy’s sister’s daughter). She will be sending her mother, Anne’s, potato kugel recipe and pictures soon! My mom, Danny, Pudge, Mojo, and I went to State College Saturday to see Mama Trudy and Papa Sam. Danny and his puppies will stay at their house until the end of the month when he will hopefully well enough to go back to Pittsburgh. I think he’s doing pretty well so far- I am just happy he has his puppies to keep him company.

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Danny (with his knee brace) sleeping with Pudge and Mojo.

When I got to State College that Saturday, I showed Mama Trudy, Papa Sam, and Aunt Renee (my mother’s older sister) my poems I wrote about Mama Trudy’s family a week or two ago. I have tried posting them here for over an hour but the website appears to just not want to have my poems.

They all really enjoyed my poem, and we ate Mama Trudy’s homemade brisket with mashed cauliflower right after. On Sunday (yesterday), Mama Trudy and I started off the day making noodle kugel.Image

And then after that, we made carrot soup. Here is a picture of Mama Trudy and I making it.

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My mom has been raving about this chocolate dessert Mama Trudy would make all the time when she was little. Her and Renee would always eat them frozen because they were too impatient to let them defrost. We found the name Petites Four Squares, and made them too. After following each direction to the letter, it tasted exactly how my mother remembered it.

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We also made “liver pâté,” but we all know it’s just chicken liver ground up with onions and garlic. That is not my favorite, but here is a picture of it anyways!

ImageAfter that, Papa Sam made his Southern fried chicken. He learned how to make it when he was growing up in Saltville, VA. He hadn’t made it in over 50 years! Mama Trudy told me that he didn’t make it in so long because he would always make a mess, getting grease on the floor, the counter, and even the ceiling!

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Papa Sam and I cooking up some fried chicken!

When we were done, Mama Trudy said that he was much neater making it. And it tasted delicious.

DSCF6899I will probably be updating you frequently from now on. We are making strudel and stuffed cabbage soon! I gotta go! It is going to be a busy couple of weeks!

Teach, Eat, Sleep

On By arielleinghanaIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014, Uncategorized1 Comment

Hi guys!

Sorry I haven’t posted anything in a while. We just got internet recently and we only have a limited amount of time we can use it for. So much has happened since I arrived in Ghana. I don’t think I can fully summarize everything I have experienced but I’m going to at least try. Teaching has been fun. It started off as a struggle because we have about 30 kids in each of our classes, which is a large amount to keep fully engaged and under control for 50 minutes. I was upset at first because I felt like I wasn’t engaging all of the kids enough but then we had a discussion with our group leader about the purpose of this trip and I realized that the purpose is not to have an effective lesson every time or to have every kid engaged at all times. The purpose of us teaching Kwesi said is for the students to understand that even if we look different or act differently than them we are all human which makes us all the same. These kids are not used to seeing foreigners and they look at us like we’re aliens a lot of the time. So the purpose of us teaching is to help the kids be comfortable with us and realize that we are all the same. So there’s no reason to look at us differently.

That said, teaching my classes has still been a lot harder than I anticipated. I manage to somehow use all 50 minutes each time. (Colored pencils always help time fly faster.) I realized that they love learning new games so I have been trying to teach them American hand-clapping games because even though I’m teaching choir these games help teach them about rhythm. I try to connect the class. I tried playing some American pop music for them too but  they said they needed “faster music” to dance to. I guess our music doesn’t have a good enough beat to shake to.

The food here has been great. I’ve tried everything that we have been served and I’ve loved it all. My love for rice has been reestablished because we have rice with every meal and it is delicious. The fruit here is also incredible. The mango is indescribably good and so is the pineapple. When I return to the U.S. I won’t be able to look at fruit or rice the same way.

The last thing I want to talk about is being not just a minority but a spectacle. You may have read from some of the previous posts that people refer to us as “obroni” which means foreigner (or,a lot of times, “white person”). The people here are very blunt and will call you what you are. It’s not meant to be offensive. It’s just the name they use to call us. It gets frustrating a lot of times being an obroni here though because you might be walking through the market and a little child or maybe even an older person will stop in their tracks to literally just stare at you. It makes you feel very self-conscious and almost like there is something wrong with you. My entire life I’ve lived places where I was the majority and for once I understand what it’s like to be the minority. I know it’s not meant to be hurtful but I hate being treated differently or looked at differently because of the color of my skin. I hate when kids stop and point and yell “Obroni!” I’m beginning to just deal with it but it’s a constant reminder that I will never fit in here. I love the culture here, though, and the people are all very nice and friendly.

I think I’ve written enough for now. I will share more later when I get the time. I’m not really sure when that is going to be, but stick with me!

Until next time!

~Arielle

The full Ghanain experience

On By billyhavilandIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014, Uncategorized1 Comment

ImageHey guys!,

I am so sorry that I have not been able to get on here and blog more often. We have been having so much fun in Ghana, and have been pretty busy. It is very hot here. I hope you are enjoyiong the cold weather at home 🙂

Yesterday we drove an hour and a half to go to Cape Coast. We explored the slave castles and gladly lounged at the beach/resort. The resort was so nice. We ate a serene lunch along the ocean. We then sat by the pool and swam for hours.

This morning, we went to a Catholic church service. It was extremely different than the masses I am used to back in the states. It involves a lot of dancing and shouting. It was a very interesting experience to see how others worship.

The trip so far has been everything that people said it was going to be; life changing. The students in Heritage Academy have all been so welcoming and happy to see us. Although I miss home, I am having a blast here in Ghana. It is the trip of a lifetime. I have been keeping a journal every night with things we are doing. It would be a little challenging to upload them all onto here; but I can tell you that we are very much so enjoying ourselves, and we will fill you in on everything when we get back home.

I will see all of you in a week or so!

Bye!

 

Living Stones

On By johnbaird1799In Israel/Palestine Trip 2014, UncategorizedLeave a comment

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We returned to Jerusalem this evening after two days in Beit Sahour and Bethlehem, in the southern part of the West Bank. We are inside the walls of the Old City, which is becoming famiIiar as I begin to get my bearings on our third time here. It was also nice to be able to take a hot shower here in the guest house after two long days on the road! I continue to be impressed with the cohesiveness, engagement, and positive spirit of our group and the visionary planning and organization that Jon and Melissa Graf Evans have done in organizing this Senior Project. Our days have been packed with meetings, conversations, lectures, tours, and visits to holy sites and museums.  I have been wanting to see Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, for a long time. Seeing and hearing the portrayal of the persecution of the Jews and the personal stories from the ghettos and death camps, realizing that the accounts that we can hear are an unimaginably small fraction of the victims, was heartbreaking. I was thrilled to dip my toes in the Sea of Galilee; and standing in a circle  outside the church on the Mount of the Beatitudes and reading from the Sermon on the Mount on a beautiful sunny afternoon was  simply breathtaking. I have been excited to see the Dome of the Rock and the churches in Jerusalem, Galilee, and Bethlehem. I have been struck by the walls:  the Western Wall, the walls of churches, temples, and mosques…I have seen pilgrims touch or kiss the thresholds of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Church of the Nativity, and the Wailing Wall, and a Druze Temple with great devotion…I have seen the “Security Wall” covered with graffiti as it cuts across Palestinian neighborhoods and refugees camps. There are walls that divide and walls that connect.

On our first night in Beit Sahour we met with a group of Palestinian students and shared a delicious dinner. Some beautiful traditional Debke dancing was followed by lively participation by the whole group and a birthday cake for Nate. Afterwards we split up for the first of our two homestays. We were welcomed with warmth and generosity by our host families, and had the opportunity to talk on a personal level about their lives and what we’ve been learning and experiencing. One of our hosts said to me, “Many people come to visit the holy sites, but they don’t take the time to meet and connect with people. Beyond the stones of the church itself – what about the people who worship there – the living stones?”

Our Senior Project is affording us amazing opportunities to see the sites and the rugged beauty of the land, and to get to know and hear the stories of people who live and work and struggle and celebrate life and seek peace and justice here. I believe that education like this, in which we connect with and learn from people who live halfway around the world and on both sides of this enormously complex conflict, who sometimes even can’t or won’t talk to each other, can make a difference. Tomorrow after breakfast we head to Ramallah to attend Meeting for Worship, visit Ramallah Friends School, and stay again with host families.

From a poem by Maya Angelou that was spray-painted on the Wall outside the Palestinian  refugee camp in Bethlehem:

“Love recognizes no boundaries

It jumps hurdles, leaps fences.  penetrates walls

To arrive at the destination of hope.”

Obroni’s Arrive in Ghana

On By eswheelinIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014, Uncategorized1 Comment

We have internet!

My first week in Ghana has been amazing. I had no idea what I was getting myself into but Ghana has welcomed me, suprised me, and taught me about myself and the world I am in. I was nervous to start teaching but have found it to be amazing (I will upload more about that later!). I have kept my blog in my journal so I can just pop it up on here as I get the time (I have to type it up and there is always a line for the computer so I can’t do it all at once).

Arrival

The plain ride was long and cramped but we all forgot about it as we stepped off the plane onto the hot asphalt of the runway (no more snow!!). The excitment was gone quick. A hot cramped shed awaited us as we took the long walk through customs, each lugging two suitcases (one of donations). Following customs we had our joyous reunion with Kwesi and met Alaska, Heritages driver. Ghahna is hot and the cars are like ovens. Are spirits however could not be stiffeled as we experienced Ghana for the first time through the few hour drive to Heritage.

I just want to say a little about the roads before I get into what I saw out the window. In Ghana the unsaid rule of the road is that you can only drive once you have five more people than you can comfortably fit in the car. Seat belts dont exist and I have seen few cars without cracked windows and mix-matched parts (just to say they would not be allowed on the road in the states). And not to say we don’t have bad potholes but they are nothing compared to the roads here. Cars weeve in and out as they floor it around other cars and bad pavement. It is kinda fun, like a rollercoaster.

I was surprised at how underdeveloped everything was. I had expected the city to look a bit more like a city, the main airport a bit more like an airport. Only a few unfinished highrises graced the air, the ground around them was littered with disorganized shacks. As we drove through the hectic streets I experienced the culture I would soon be immersed in through a window. I saw women with baskets on their heads, clothed in colorful patterned fabric. Men carrying pounds of fish through the market. What astounded me about Ghana was that there were so many children, they are everywhere. Six year olds with one year olds strapped to their backs, young boys playing pickup soccer in the street, girls selling to the cars carrying water pouches and plantain chips on their heads. Everything seemed so chaotic and young compared to my home. Children had a level of freedom and responsibility at age that I had never experienced in the United States.

As we got closer we drove through the villages that many of my students would be from. The villages had a main rode with small shacks that had stores in them facing outwards. Behind these spread out rows of makeshift shelters, roofs of old tin and sides of plywood or handmade brick, all leaning against eachother. Between them was a jumble of clothes lines, children playing or working about, and groups of adults vending, cooking, doing laundry, or simply sitting around.

The glimpses I have seen of this culture through the drive to the house have made me excited and nervous to experience a new way of life and to learn and teach. The poverty and filfth in Ghana is at a level I have never seen and experiencing it for the first time shocked me and humbled me. I hope I can build great relationships with these kids, learn about their culture, and help them throughout the next eighteen days and after.

Fanti word that I will be using: Obroni, it means traveler and is what the local call us white people.

6 March!

On By jordanweirIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014, UncategorizedLeave a comment

March 6

We got to sleep in until 8 this morning because there was no school. I rolled out of bed to find pancakes and delicious eggs waiting for me. After breakfast, we all got dressed and walked over to the marching grounds at the local education university. As we watched the military march, and kind of listers to the speech being made, we felt raindrops. It is currently the dry season here, but this rain cloud just couldn’t hold it in. As the students began to march, the rain came down harder, and the wind blew it into my body. The students continued to march while others ran for cover under trees and small tents. I embraced every second because I finally wasn’t on the verge of sweating just from standing around. When tree branches started falling we saw lightning, and decided to head home.

When we got to the house I changed into dry clothes and sat on the porch to watch some of the group play soccer with some of our students. The rain didn’t stop football. Everybody came in for PB and J’s for lunch. The living room was dark (the power was out and the sky was grey) so everybody decided it would be a good time to nap. We all fell asleep at some point somewhere in the house and woke up late I the afternoon. We spent the rest of our time playing card games and speaking with locals.

After dinner, we decided to go to town. The rain had finally stopped and there was nothing to do in the powerless house. Bright took us to Jimmycom (a local bar) and we danced outside with very insistent people. Everybody wanted to dance with the white people. In order to keep some of the older men away we lied about having boyfriends, but they taught us some dance moves anyways. After we had enough, we walked back to the house, reflecting on the day as we went. When we got home we settled for watching a tv episode and started a movie. Hopefully we will finish it tomorrow.

Green Paint

On By jordanweirIn Heritage Academy, Ghana 2014, UncategorizedLeave a comment

March 5

I woke up to my alarm today. I’m surprised that my phone didn’t die overnight, given that it only had 10% battery when I went to bed. We had pancakes for breakfast; a nice way to start our day. As soon as we got to school I could tell it was going to be a hot day. We all sat in the shade for our first reading period, trying our best to avoid the overwhelming sun. One of the students in my second reading period was surprised to know that I had remembered that today was her birthday, and couldn’t stop smiling for the whole time. Today they asked me to read some for them, and then tried to repeat the way I spoke: like an Obroni.

Our first class went very well today. All the kids were in a good mood and seemed to like our introduction to poetry. I was excited about this because I had been a little bit nervous about the lesson plan. It was very difficult to teach because of the constant sound of drumming outside of the classroom. The students were practicing marching for tomorrow, the Ghanaian Independence Day. As soon as it stopped, it was much easier to speak from the front of the classroom.

We spent our free period up in the “point breeze”. It’s a small room up in the high school where there is constant wind. I was glad to have the opportunity to cool off after a long morning. Lunch was delicious. We had red red and plantains (my favorite meal so far). The classes that followed went well and I feel like we are getting closer and closer to the kids. However, I still can’t remember all of their names. Still many come up to me telling me that they are the second Jordan they know. Thanks to a friend, most of the kids already knew I was coming.

We began our work project after school today. We split into three groups: library, painting and cement block making. I decided to go with the painters group. We were asked to paint one of the future classrooms. We were given a bright green color, watered down of course! My arms soon became tired from reaching as high as I could (I was the tallest in the group). After about an hour, we retired our brushes to some if the heritage high schoolers who had been watching us paint. We decided to walk home opposed to taking a cab. Although it was a challenge for my boot, I enjoyed the fresh air. After dinner and group meeting, I showered and rinsed all the green paint off of my body. We spent the rest of the night making friendship bracelets (the only thing we do to pass the time, thanks to Laura), watching episodes of a crazy tv show (thanks to jack) and sitting underneath the stars. The highlight if my day however was talking to somebody from the US. I’m missing all of my friends and family (and proper running water. Although I find comfort in the simplicity of life here).

I am very excited to watch my students march tomorrow, but I think I’m more excited that I get a break from teaching. I have a new sympathy for all of my teachers. Tomorrow I’m going to work on replying to all the students that wrote me notes, and talking my lesson plan through with Erin. Until tomorrow, obronis!

Hot and Hungry

On By jordanweirIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

March 4, 2014

I woke up to the laugher of people outside of my bedroom. Luckily, it was cooler today than it was yesterday. I managed to get out of bed and get dressed in five minutes and managed to get a slice of bread for breakfast. I loaded up on sunscreen and opted out of walking to school with most of the other kids in the group (I figured that my boot might not have made it the ten minute walk to school).

When we arrived at school we began with two reading periods and snack. Everything went pretty smoothly. By the time class began, many of the kids were practicing marching for March 6th, Ghanaian Independence Day. Each school sends teams of marchers to compete. Apparently heritage academy wins every year. The classes were a little more difficult to keep under control today. The kids seemed to be more hyper than the day before. And much more sassy. When my free period came around, I finally felt like I could take a deep breath. Teaching is much more of a challenge than I though it would be.

My last two classes were just as hard as the first. However, games of hangman lightened the mood and kept the majority of the kids interested. Finally it was time for the last reading period, and again I spent it reading with Benjamin. He handed me a letter as if to thank me for spending the time with him. This was my seventh letter so far (most of them just ask for my friendship or to be my pen pal). He had a hard time reading, but we made our way through an entire book.

After classes we went to Mankessiem, one of the larger towns near us. The second we stepped of the bus we heard shouts of “obroni” and women shouting random days of the week trying to find the one you were born on to attract your attention. Mine, Wednesday, is Ekua. The outdoor market was full of smells and sights. There were rotting fish sold on the side along with yams and fabric. Our group spent a decent amount of money on fabrics, hoping to get the tailor to turn them into shirts and dresses. We finished our time at the market by buying frozen yogurt which we enjoyed on the van ride back to the house. I really enjoyed the rides to and from the market. It showed so much of the culture.

As soon as we returned I took the opportunity to take a cold shower. I felt especially dirty today after the trip to the market and the shower was rejuvenating. We ate dinner and hung out in the living room for the rest of the night. That is until somebody suggested that we all huddle around a computer to watch the Wolf of Wall Street. Bedtime could not come sooner, and hopefully tomorrow morning I will wake up in time for a proper breakfast!