Training is almost over, I am spending most of our time now studying language or just hanging out. I'm not worried about the language assessment tomorrow, I've been working with my trainer, Mark, for the past two months, and I think I have a pretty good basic understanding of Gurune. I can do greetings and personal introductions. I can ask and answer questions about location, directions, food, health, family, and time, somewhat. I even know a children's song. The tune is close to friere jacques.
in Gurune (Frafra):
N soh la n mma, (x2)
Ya gihire me? (x2)
Duusid la daane mam. (x2)
Vii, Voo, Vii (x2)
in English:
Father and Mother,
Are you sleeping?
Mosquitos are bothering me.
Vii, Voo, Vii (the sound of mosquitos)
It's fitting to the culture and the environment, and I think I'll sing it for the swearing in ceremony we have coming up to show everyone how much I've learned. You can all sing it too, and teach it to your children and your students! I'm specifically thinking of my friends and family members who work at day cares. Incedentally, mosquitos are not bothering me. I take my malaria prophylaxis medicine every week and sleep under a treated net, so don't worry!
Love,
Toby
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Sirigu: first impressions
My site is so nice! I spent the last few days getting to know the place I will live and work for the next two years. The community of Sirigu is very small and the area it's in is very rural. The countryside is pretty open, it's savanna in the north, but not like in the Lion King. There are trees here and there, a variety of shrubs and grasses, and lots of grazing animals. The land is flat, and the hills in the distance are Burkina Faso, or so I'm told. The people here are almost all subsistence farmers, growing millet, soy, and other crops. Many still live in very traditional mud compound-houses with geometric designs painted on them with natural red, black and white dyes. Photos to come. There are animals everywhere: chickens, guinea hens, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, donkeys, horse(I only saw one), dogs and cats.
The village itself has maybe a few hundred people living in it, and there are some small shops and a market every 3 days. It is on a rough dirt road that connects it to other small villages in the area, and to larger towns nearby. There is also a stream that runs past the village and the road crosses it on the way into/out of town. There is an uncompleted bridge over the stream, so you actually have to drive through the water. It's not too big of a deal when it hasn't rained in a few days-the stream may only be a few feet wide, but right after a rain the stream gets big-up to 15-20 feet across. It can be a problem, because when it rains here, it rains a lot all at once. The water runs off fast, and the ground absorbs it so it only takes a day or so to dry out. There aren't too many cars around, taxis only really come through one at a time. Here in the north, everyone has a motorcycle or a bicycle. I'm excited to get a bike and start riding.
The house I'll be living in is just near the school. Sirigu Senior High School is outside of the village, a 10 minute walk cross country, but there are paths. The building is a nice finished bungalow that I share with another teacher and the headmaster part-time. I have my own room and bathroom, and share the living room and kitchen, although I don't think the other guys cook much. I'm excited about setting up my own kitchen and cooking for myself. At the site, I'm replacing another volunteer who just left after two years of teaching there. Jason left me some good stuff, too: a bookshelf full of books, a nice bike with a bent rear axle(I'll get it fixed...), a stove, plenty of pots, pans, plates, and silverware, and other random items, including a small solar panel set-up. The latter could be useful, because there is currently no electricity to the building. It is wired and there are ceiling fans and light fixtures there, so if they ever actually connect us, we'll be fine. They say it will happen in the next two months, but I get the feeling that they have been saying that for a while.
Everyone I've met has been very nice and helpful, especially my counterpart, Bismark. He showed me around town, introduced me to the chief, and other important community members, and welcomed me into his home. I ate most of my meals with him, and got to know his wife and two young daughters. Photos to come.
I've got two more weeks of training and then I will finally get to move up to Sirigu permanently. It will be a lot of work, but I'm excited to make the place my home, and become a part of the community. I'll keep working on language, because almost no one there speaks english.
Love,
Toby
The village itself has maybe a few hundred people living in it, and there are some small shops and a market every 3 days. It is on a rough dirt road that connects it to other small villages in the area, and to larger towns nearby. There is also a stream that runs past the village and the road crosses it on the way into/out of town. There is an uncompleted bridge over the stream, so you actually have to drive through the water. It's not too big of a deal when it hasn't rained in a few days-the stream may only be a few feet wide, but right after a rain the stream gets big-up to 15-20 feet across. It can be a problem, because when it rains here, it rains a lot all at once. The water runs off fast, and the ground absorbs it so it only takes a day or so to dry out. There aren't too many cars around, taxis only really come through one at a time. Here in the north, everyone has a motorcycle or a bicycle. I'm excited to get a bike and start riding.
The house I'll be living in is just near the school. Sirigu Senior High School is outside of the village, a 10 minute walk cross country, but there are paths. The building is a nice finished bungalow that I share with another teacher and the headmaster part-time. I have my own room and bathroom, and share the living room and kitchen, although I don't think the other guys cook much. I'm excited about setting up my own kitchen and cooking for myself. At the site, I'm replacing another volunteer who just left after two years of teaching there. Jason left me some good stuff, too: a bookshelf full of books, a nice bike with a bent rear axle(I'll get it fixed...), a stove, plenty of pots, pans, plates, and silverware, and other random items, including a small solar panel set-up. The latter could be useful, because there is currently no electricity to the building. It is wired and there are ceiling fans and light fixtures there, so if they ever actually connect us, we'll be fine. They say it will happen in the next two months, but I get the feeling that they have been saying that for a while.
Everyone I've met has been very nice and helpful, especially my counterpart, Bismark. He showed me around town, introduced me to the chief, and other important community members, and welcomed me into his home. I ate most of my meals with him, and got to know his wife and two young daughters. Photos to come.
I've got two more weeks of training and then I will finally get to move up to Sirigu permanently. It will be a lot of work, but I'm excited to make the place my home, and become a part of the community. I'll keep working on language, because almost no one there speaks english.
Love,
Toby
Friday, August 1, 2008
Puppy and Site Visit
My host family gave me a puppy! The puppy was just hanging around the house and no one was taking care of it, so I started to. I think it will be alright, and there are other people to help me take care of her at homestay, and I think I can work it out at site. The other thing is that she doesn't need as much care as you'd expect. This is Ghana after all, and people here don't treat their animals the same. During the day, she mostly sleeps or entertains herself, playing with whatever or whoever is around. I feed her when I eat, and she eats what I eat. She sleeps outside under a bench or on a piece of cloth or plastic or nothing. I think because she was taken away from the mother at such a young age, she has learned to survive by herself earlier than is usual for an American dog.
I wasn't neccessarily planning on getting a dog here, but I knew that it was a possibility. I'll worry about what do to with the dog at the end of my service when it comes. For now I am excited and hesitant. I know I have seen the best dog trainer at work, my dad, but I still worry that I won't have enough time or won't do a good job training her of raising her. I guess that's a parent/pet owner thing to feel. anyway, I call her Akramine-baa, which means little dog in twi. I'll give her more names as we go. She's really small- i'd guess about 6 weeks old now, but I don't know. She is very independent, and sleeps outside and takes care of her self most of the time. I feed her and play with her when I can, and she mostly tries to play-fight with my hand. Also, she has fleas like crazy. I gave her a bath, but I can't compete with them. There are very limited veteranary services here, people don't really keep animals as pets, just as farm animals, even dogs and cats. I'm asking my parents to send some frontline dog stuff to me.
Right now i'm in the Kumasi Sub Office. It's a really nice spot where PCV's can rest and regroup, or hang out. It's just a rest stop while I travel to Sirigu for my site visit. It will be the first time that I'll get to really see what my site will be like. I'll get to visit my school, see the house I'll be living in, and what good stuff the previous volunteer, Jason, left for me. I'll get to find out about my community, talk to the people in Gurune, and get a look at the land. The North is totally different than the South, they say. I already met the Headmaster of my school, James, and another teacher there who will be my contact person, Bismark. They are both very nice and laid back. We had a 2 day workshop where we got to know one another and talked about what it would be like at site. Now Bismark and I are traveling back up to Sirigu, and I'll spend about 5 days there before I have to go back for the last two weeks of training in Kukurantumi.
Tomorrow, we are meeting at 5am to try to get the early bus to Bolgatanga. There will be a line, and the bus will leave around 6, as soon as it's full. If we miss it, we'll have to take the second bus, but it could leave anywhere from 7 to 10, depending on when it fills. The ride is around 9 hours, so we want as early a start as possible. We are taking a bigger bus, not a trotro, so it will be more comfortable, and I'll get some reading (and hopefully some sleeping) done.
I'll let you know all about my site very soon.
love,
Toby
I wasn't neccessarily planning on getting a dog here, but I knew that it was a possibility. I'll worry about what do to with the dog at the end of my service when it comes. For now I am excited and hesitant. I know I have seen the best dog trainer at work, my dad, but I still worry that I won't have enough time or won't do a good job training her of raising her. I guess that's a parent/pet owner thing to feel. anyway, I call her Akramine-baa, which means little dog in twi. I'll give her more names as we go. She's really small- i'd guess about 6 weeks old now, but I don't know. She is very independent, and sleeps outside and takes care of her self most of the time. I feed her and play with her when I can, and she mostly tries to play-fight with my hand. Also, she has fleas like crazy. I gave her a bath, but I can't compete with them. There are very limited veteranary services here, people don't really keep animals as pets, just as farm animals, even dogs and cats. I'm asking my parents to send some frontline dog stuff to me.
Right now i'm in the Kumasi Sub Office. It's a really nice spot where PCV's can rest and regroup, or hang out. It's just a rest stop while I travel to Sirigu for my site visit. It will be the first time that I'll get to really see what my site will be like. I'll get to visit my school, see the house I'll be living in, and what good stuff the previous volunteer, Jason, left for me. I'll get to find out about my community, talk to the people in Gurune, and get a look at the land. The North is totally different than the South, they say. I already met the Headmaster of my school, James, and another teacher there who will be my contact person, Bismark. They are both very nice and laid back. We had a 2 day workshop where we got to know one another and talked about what it would be like at site. Now Bismark and I are traveling back up to Sirigu, and I'll spend about 5 days there before I have to go back for the last two weeks of training in Kukurantumi.
Tomorrow, we are meeting at 5am to try to get the early bus to Bolgatanga. There will be a line, and the bus will leave around 6, as soon as it's full. If we miss it, we'll have to take the second bus, but it could leave anywhere from 7 to 10, depending on when it fills. The ride is around 9 hours, so we want as early a start as possible. We are taking a bigger bus, not a trotro, so it will be more comfortable, and I'll get some reading (and hopefully some sleeping) done.
I'll let you know all about my site very soon.
love,
Toby
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
