I know it has been March since my last post and I am very sorry for that! Kpando is my home now and all of the things which were new to me and seemed to be strange at first are now totally normal parts of my days! I have adjusted to life here and I feel as if nothing I write about will be that interesting!
I just returned from Ho, which is the regional capital of the Volta Region. It is about an hour and a half drive from Kpando. In Ho there is a “nice” private hospital called Trifaga, which has a very good ART (anti-retroviral treatment) department. One of the children at the HardtHaven, I will call her T, is VERY sick and another volunteer and I had to spend the past 3 nights in the hospital with her!
In the developed world, I love children’s hospitals because they are so bright and cheery and the sick children get so much attention. At children’s hospitals in America they have people who are literally toy specialists. The main objective is to make children smile while they have to be brave and fight an illness, get surgery, undergo chemo-therapy etc.
The children’s wards in African hospitals are nothing like their cheery counterparts in America or Europe. They are downright depressing, save the sparse paintings of animals that decorate the walls. One boy next to us was in the throws of cerebral malaria…when the malaria parasites reach the brain stem. He was seizing and foaming at the mouth. And all that could be done for him was an injection every 4 hours and an I.V. Another child had a burn all over her body, with only a bandage covering it. Since the resources at hospitals here are so limited they can only give minimum care to the sick children.
In fact, the doctor who was looking after one of HardtHaven’s children does not work in the children’s ward, let alone enter the children’s ward. He was treating T as a favor for Edem and he said he absolutely hates coming to the children’s ward because there is usually only sad news coming from it.
Another frightening tid bit about the children’s wards in Ghana is that oxygen is seen as too valuable to give to young children. I don’t mind being in a hospital in America, it brings me a since of security because I know that there are great doctors and people are getting better inside the walls. In Africa, or at least in this particular part of Ghana, I HATE being in hospitals because a hospital is where people go to die. I can’t count the number of times I have seen mothers, brothers, daughters wailing on the grounds of the hospital because they have just lost a loved one. The statistics are alarming. Something like 50% of people who go in for surgery do not make it through.
The one thing I do like about the children’s ward in African hospitals is that during visiting hours family members, priests or ordinary people come in and the ward is filled with song and prayers. One woman who came into the hospital while T was there did not know anyone who was sick, but she just wanted to come in and pray over all of the sick children.
T is doing a little bit better but has a long way to go. Please keep her in your prayers!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
pocket of love
So a couple of weeks ago I went to observe an HIV support group in Nkunya, one of the most underdeveloped villages in Kpando district. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS is very high in this area because two of the tribes were at war for so long and that war had a negative effect on education and development in the area. Most of the children who are at the orphanage are from Nkunya; it is about a 10 minute taxi ride from the center of Kpando.
I didn’t know what to expect at the support group because, as I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the stigma for HIV is so big. I wasn’t sure if there would be people throwing eggs at us or if we would be shoved in a secret room with 20 locks of protection. Upon hearing of the support group, I had mixed feelings about it. I thought it to be an amazing resource to have for those who are HIV positive, a safe place where they can disclose their status, express their problems and seek information and medical help without being ashamed. But on the other hand it also seems a bit dangerous because if you make one person in the support group angry for whatever reason, they can disclose your status to whomever they wish and there goes the rest of your livelihood.
Stigma, why is there a massive stigma that goes along with HIV/AIDS in Africa? Well from what I have concluded, it’s because previous to the Anti-retro viral treatment (medicine), if you were found to be HIV positive it was basically a death sentence, because AIDS was inevitable, it would come and take your life. Therefore, if you were positive you were good as dead, and in most cases, your family would stop taking care of you because in their eyes, they would be dumping resources into a black hole. Ju Ju, a form of black magic and/or sorcery was the traditional religion in Ghana before colonization brought Christianity, so there are still traces of this belief throughout the culture. AIDS and Ju Ju also go hand in hand. In some cases, if you are HIV positive, you are thought to be cursed and dangerous.
Nkunkya sits at the bottom of a huge, lush, green mountain. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, thinly paved roads winding around the lush countryside. The taxi Anthony and I took pulls over on the side of the road, about 4 km outside of the Nkunya center. A beautiful woman in a yellow t-shirt greets us at the roadside, takes the huge suitcase of donations we brought and heaves it atop her head then starts to lead us through the bush. We walk for about 5 minutes until we come upon a partially finished building of mud bricks and wooden beams filled with about 25 to 30 people singing and praying.
Everyone’s attention is now fixated on us, suspicious looks, happy looks, confused looks. Foster and Ella are the two who organize this support group which meets once a month. They introduce us as friends from Kpando who work for an NGO called UNiTED. We are not automatically welcomed with smiles and praises, because they are wary of our position, will we tell people? Can we be trusted with this information? It is only after we explain our position, that we are hear to observe and see if we can hopefully help in anyway possible, do we get smiles and praises from the members of the group.
There was a lot of translating going on during this meeting. Nkunya has its own language, then it is translated into Ewe then Anthony translates it into English for me. My head was spinning as I was taking notes. The meeting started out with very technical questions about how you can give HIV to others and how you can become re-infected with HIV. Then it got more personal, individual testimonies were given about how the Anti-retro-viral treatment (also called ART or ARVs) has changed his/her life, made them healthy again. The woman who met us at the roadside stood up and told her story. She confesses, her eyes watering, that she was a walking skeleton, days away from dying. Her parents abandoned her and her boyfriend left her upon hearing she was HIV positive and she was basically left to die alone. Foster and Ella found her on the streets, scooped her up and took her to the hospital and got her on ARVs which she has been on for 2 years now. She looks healthy and is extremely beautiful. She feels strong now and says she has something to live for again. Hearing these testimonies and the encouragement and cheers from the other members hurt my heart, yet warmed it at the same time. The stories were so humiliating, sad and unimaginable. I found myself crying as Anthony was translating the stories to me. However the praises, support and love in the “room” was so immense. These strangers have been brought together by this awful sickness, but are helping each other navigate their way through it, every month, here in this unfinished room, in this pocket of love in the bush.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with Magic Johnson; he is a major spokesperson for HIV/AIDS. He is HIV positive, but is taking ARVs to keep him healthy and prevent him from contracting AIDS. Anti-retro-viral treatment is a drug cocktail consisting of 3 or 4 different medicines, different for every person, to keep the virus from replicating and attacking your immune system. You must take these drugs at the same time every morning and every night for the rest of your life. The drugs essentially keep the virus dormant, you still have the virus and can still pass it to others, but it no longer takes your life. These medicines have been available in the US for some time now, but have only become affordable to places like Ghana in the past 3 years. It costs 5 Ghana Cedis ($3.50 US) each month for a month’s supply of the ARV drugs. There is a lot of work to be done to let the people know about how these drugs can help prolong life and hopefully eradicate stigma. With these medicines, being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence.
I didn’t know what to expect at the support group because, as I have mentioned in previous blog posts, the stigma for HIV is so big. I wasn’t sure if there would be people throwing eggs at us or if we would be shoved in a secret room with 20 locks of protection. Upon hearing of the support group, I had mixed feelings about it. I thought it to be an amazing resource to have for those who are HIV positive, a safe place where they can disclose their status, express their problems and seek information and medical help without being ashamed. But on the other hand it also seems a bit dangerous because if you make one person in the support group angry for whatever reason, they can disclose your status to whomever they wish and there goes the rest of your livelihood.
Stigma, why is there a massive stigma that goes along with HIV/AIDS in Africa? Well from what I have concluded, it’s because previous to the Anti-retro viral treatment (medicine), if you were found to be HIV positive it was basically a death sentence, because AIDS was inevitable, it would come and take your life. Therefore, if you were positive you were good as dead, and in most cases, your family would stop taking care of you because in their eyes, they would be dumping resources into a black hole. Ju Ju, a form of black magic and/or sorcery was the traditional religion in Ghana before colonization brought Christianity, so there are still traces of this belief throughout the culture. AIDS and Ju Ju also go hand in hand. In some cases, if you are HIV positive, you are thought to be cursed and dangerous.
Nkunkya sits at the bottom of a huge, lush, green mountain. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, thinly paved roads winding around the lush countryside. The taxi Anthony and I took pulls over on the side of the road, about 4 km outside of the Nkunya center. A beautiful woman in a yellow t-shirt greets us at the roadside, takes the huge suitcase of donations we brought and heaves it atop her head then starts to lead us through the bush. We walk for about 5 minutes until we come upon a partially finished building of mud bricks and wooden beams filled with about 25 to 30 people singing and praying.
Everyone’s attention is now fixated on us, suspicious looks, happy looks, confused looks. Foster and Ella are the two who organize this support group which meets once a month. They introduce us as friends from Kpando who work for an NGO called UNiTED. We are not automatically welcomed with smiles and praises, because they are wary of our position, will we tell people? Can we be trusted with this information? It is only after we explain our position, that we are hear to observe and see if we can hopefully help in anyway possible, do we get smiles and praises from the members of the group.
There was a lot of translating going on during this meeting. Nkunya has its own language, then it is translated into Ewe then Anthony translates it into English for me. My head was spinning as I was taking notes. The meeting started out with very technical questions about how you can give HIV to others and how you can become re-infected with HIV. Then it got more personal, individual testimonies were given about how the Anti-retro-viral treatment (also called ART or ARVs) has changed his/her life, made them healthy again. The woman who met us at the roadside stood up and told her story. She confesses, her eyes watering, that she was a walking skeleton, days away from dying. Her parents abandoned her and her boyfriend left her upon hearing she was HIV positive and she was basically left to die alone. Foster and Ella found her on the streets, scooped her up and took her to the hospital and got her on ARVs which she has been on for 2 years now. She looks healthy and is extremely beautiful. She feels strong now and says she has something to live for again. Hearing these testimonies and the encouragement and cheers from the other members hurt my heart, yet warmed it at the same time. The stories were so humiliating, sad and unimaginable. I found myself crying as Anthony was translating the stories to me. However the praises, support and love in the “room” was so immense. These strangers have been brought together by this awful sickness, but are helping each other navigate their way through it, every month, here in this unfinished room, in this pocket of love in the bush.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with Magic Johnson; he is a major spokesperson for HIV/AIDS. He is HIV positive, but is taking ARVs to keep him healthy and prevent him from contracting AIDS. Anti-retro-viral treatment is a drug cocktail consisting of 3 or 4 different medicines, different for every person, to keep the virus from replicating and attacking your immune system. You must take these drugs at the same time every morning and every night for the rest of your life. The drugs essentially keep the virus dormant, you still have the virus and can still pass it to others, but it no longer takes your life. These medicines have been available in the US for some time now, but have only become affordable to places like Ghana in the past 3 years. It costs 5 Ghana Cedis ($3.50 US) each month for a month’s supply of the ARV drugs. There is a lot of work to be done to let the people know about how these drugs can help prolong life and hopefully eradicate stigma. With these medicines, being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Scouts
NOTE: I have uploaded a few pictures. If you click on the picture in the left corner above the caption "my life lately" it will take you to an album I have created.
Last weekend I gave an educational lecture on STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) and HIV/AIDS to about 60 boy and girl scouts! They range between the ages of 13 and 17. I was so nervous about speaking in front of a large number of teenagers, not to mention about such an EMBARRASSING and sensitive topic! When I was told I had to give this talk and who the audience would be, the scene from Varsity Blues immediately came to mind. When the Health Teacher stands up in front of the class and before talking about reproduction and STDs asks the class to repeat after her then says in her thick Texas accent, "Penis, Penis, Penis, Vagina, Vagina, Vagina."
Anthony, one of Edem's friends, accompanied me to Ho Hoe, which is about a 30 minute taxi ride from Kpando, and also where they were having their camp-out. It was in the cab that Anthony informed me I was the "key note" speaker, talk about some news that did not help with managing my nerves. We arrived at around 7:30pm and it was VERY dark. As we drove up to the compound I could faintly hear singing voices. There were about 10 tents set up that in the darkness looked like gigantic caterpillars. As we got closer, the voices got louder, it was the scouts singing and dancing around in a circle. These scouts are very similar to what we have in the states. They learn survival skills, leadership skills, how to tie a knot, etc.
Greetings are a big deal in Ghana. If someone comes to great you, you stop whatever you are doing, face the person fully and greet them. The formalities of it all can take up to 15 or 20 seconds and if you think about it, that's a long time just to greet some one in passing. I greet Harrison, the scout master, and Evelyn, one of the other women in charge and we chatted for about 20 minutes. I tell them where I am from, what I am doing in Kpando and about the work UNiTED is trying to do. I feel like now is a good place to mention that every Thursday I have been observing VCT (voluntary counseling treatment) for HIV patients at the hospital. I have enjoyed doing this SO much and told Harrison and Evelyn so. They must have heard me wrong or something, because Harrison introduced me as, "Doctor Rosie, a very good white doctor working at Margret Marquart Catholic Hospital in Kpando. She is very knowledgeable about STDs and HIV so ask as many questions as you would like." It took everything in me to keep from bursting with laughter.
All in all the talk went extremely well. I truly believe that they learned something and after saying the words penis and vagina out loud two or three times the awkwardness fell away. I guess the teacher from Varsity Blues had a point with that silly exercise! I was actually floored by some of the questions/answers I got from them. Just to see where they were in terms of knowledge on the topic of HIV, I asked a few questions before I started the lecture. The first question I asked, "How does a person become infected with HIV?" Three hands shot up with confidence. The first boy, about 16 years old and an obvious leader of the group, said, "Doctor, yes you can get HIV by sharing bread with someone who has HIV." My mouth momentarily dropped open before I could tell him that he was incorrect. The second boy, around 13 said "You can get HIV by sharing the same toilet or spoon with somebody who is infected." Again, WAY off! Finally, a girl raised her hand and said, "You can get HIV from having sex without condom with someone who is HIV positive." A grin spread across my face upon hearing her answer. I told her yes she was correct and explained that the HIV virus only lives in the blood and sexual fluids of a person who is HIV positive and that the virus does not live on their skin or in their breath.
With the HIV/AIDS epidemic being SO bad in Africa, i was shocked that these children did not know more about the virus and that it wasn't covered in schools. They are of an age where this topic should be covered in school. These kids are scouts, they are leaders among their age groups so their lack of knowledge, or mis-information is not only disheartening to me, but also a problem for their generation. This is a prime example of the stigma HIV/AIDS holds around here. With that being said, after I gave the lecture I was so proud of myself. I think they listened to me, probably because I am a doctor...hehehe. They answered the questions correctly the second time around. I feel like I educated them about something useful that will hopefully keep therm healthy, STI free and HIV negative.
I want to take this opportunity to mention how impressed I was with this scout camp out. The scout master, Harrison, has poured so much of his time, energy and love into teaching scouts to be responsible, educated citizens. He is trying to raise funds for the camp grounds where retreat weekends like the one I spoke at are held. They have already built a building, toilets and a kitchen all by hand and are now trying to build showers. By showers I mean a concrete structure with a couple of openings where they can take their bucket bath. Normally children around here bathe without a structure, but the scouts are adolescents and can no longer bathe without something covering them. I asked Harrison approximately how much it would cost to build them. He told me the supplies would cost around 360 Ghana Cedis and the labor would be free because it would be done by the scout troops. 360 Ghana Cedis translates to about 240 US Dollars. I am not sure if anyone reading this blog is involved in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts of America, or has children who are in a troop, but this could be a great opportunity to help fellow scouts a little less fortunate than them. If you know of any troops back home looking to raise money for a cause or form a relationship with an international troop, this would be a great opportunity! Please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested! rosemarianbryan@gmail.com
Also, several people have been asking me what they can send me. I don't need anything, but the orphanage needs things like: boys belts, small boys underwear, MEDICAL TAPE especially, GOOD Band-aids, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol wipes, HAND SANITIZER, gauze, any other first-aid supplies, balloons and DVDs are always fun too.
Send any packages to:
Rosie Bryan
HardtHaven Children's Home
P.O. Box 216
Kpando, Volta Region
Ghana
Thank you again to everyone who has given me prayers and support!
Peace and Love from Africa!!
Last weekend I gave an educational lecture on STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections) and HIV/AIDS to about 60 boy and girl scouts! They range between the ages of 13 and 17. I was so nervous about speaking in front of a large number of teenagers, not to mention about such an EMBARRASSING and sensitive topic! When I was told I had to give this talk and who the audience would be, the scene from Varsity Blues immediately came to mind. When the Health Teacher stands up in front of the class and before talking about reproduction and STDs asks the class to repeat after her then says in her thick Texas accent, "Penis, Penis, Penis, Vagina, Vagina, Vagina."
Anthony, one of Edem's friends, accompanied me to Ho Hoe, which is about a 30 minute taxi ride from Kpando, and also where they were having their camp-out. It was in the cab that Anthony informed me I was the "key note" speaker, talk about some news that did not help with managing my nerves. We arrived at around 7:30pm and it was VERY dark. As we drove up to the compound I could faintly hear singing voices. There were about 10 tents set up that in the darkness looked like gigantic caterpillars. As we got closer, the voices got louder, it was the scouts singing and dancing around in a circle. These scouts are very similar to what we have in the states. They learn survival skills, leadership skills, how to tie a knot, etc.
Greetings are a big deal in Ghana. If someone comes to great you, you stop whatever you are doing, face the person fully and greet them. The formalities of it all can take up to 15 or 20 seconds and if you think about it, that's a long time just to greet some one in passing. I greet Harrison, the scout master, and Evelyn, one of the other women in charge and we chatted for about 20 minutes. I tell them where I am from, what I am doing in Kpando and about the work UNiTED is trying to do. I feel like now is a good place to mention that every Thursday I have been observing VCT (voluntary counseling treatment) for HIV patients at the hospital. I have enjoyed doing this SO much and told Harrison and Evelyn so. They must have heard me wrong or something, because Harrison introduced me as, "Doctor Rosie, a very good white doctor working at Margret Marquart Catholic Hospital in Kpando. She is very knowledgeable about STDs and HIV so ask as many questions as you would like." It took everything in me to keep from bursting with laughter.
All in all the talk went extremely well. I truly believe that they learned something and after saying the words penis and vagina out loud two or three times the awkwardness fell away. I guess the teacher from Varsity Blues had a point with that silly exercise! I was actually floored by some of the questions/answers I got from them. Just to see where they were in terms of knowledge on the topic of HIV, I asked a few questions before I started the lecture. The first question I asked, "How does a person become infected with HIV?" Three hands shot up with confidence. The first boy, about 16 years old and an obvious leader of the group, said, "Doctor, yes you can get HIV by sharing bread with someone who has HIV." My mouth momentarily dropped open before I could tell him that he was incorrect. The second boy, around 13 said "You can get HIV by sharing the same toilet or spoon with somebody who is infected." Again, WAY off! Finally, a girl raised her hand and said, "You can get HIV from having sex without condom with someone who is HIV positive." A grin spread across my face upon hearing her answer. I told her yes she was correct and explained that the HIV virus only lives in the blood and sexual fluids of a person who is HIV positive and that the virus does not live on their skin or in their breath.
With the HIV/AIDS epidemic being SO bad in Africa, i was shocked that these children did not know more about the virus and that it wasn't covered in schools. They are of an age where this topic should be covered in school. These kids are scouts, they are leaders among their age groups so their lack of knowledge, or mis-information is not only disheartening to me, but also a problem for their generation. This is a prime example of the stigma HIV/AIDS holds around here. With that being said, after I gave the lecture I was so proud of myself. I think they listened to me, probably because I am a doctor...hehehe. They answered the questions correctly the second time around. I feel like I educated them about something useful that will hopefully keep therm healthy, STI free and HIV negative.
I want to take this opportunity to mention how impressed I was with this scout camp out. The scout master, Harrison, has poured so much of his time, energy and love into teaching scouts to be responsible, educated citizens. He is trying to raise funds for the camp grounds where retreat weekends like the one I spoke at are held. They have already built a building, toilets and a kitchen all by hand and are now trying to build showers. By showers I mean a concrete structure with a couple of openings where they can take their bucket bath. Normally children around here bathe without a structure, but the scouts are adolescents and can no longer bathe without something covering them. I asked Harrison approximately how much it would cost to build them. He told me the supplies would cost around 360 Ghana Cedis and the labor would be free because it would be done by the scout troops. 360 Ghana Cedis translates to about 240 US Dollars. I am not sure if anyone reading this blog is involved in Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts of America, or has children who are in a troop, but this could be a great opportunity to help fellow scouts a little less fortunate than them. If you know of any troops back home looking to raise money for a cause or form a relationship with an international troop, this would be a great opportunity! Please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested! rosemarianbryan@gmail.com
Also, several people have been asking me what they can send me. I don't need anything, but the orphanage needs things like: boys belts, small boys underwear, MEDICAL TAPE especially, GOOD Band-aids, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol wipes, HAND SANITIZER, gauze, any other first-aid supplies, balloons and DVDs are always fun too.
Send any packages to:
Rosie Bryan
HardtHaven Children's Home
P.O. Box 216
Kpando, Volta Region
Ghana
Thank you again to everyone who has given me prayers and support!
Peace and Love from Africa!!
Friday, February 12, 2010
You Are Welcome
My first few weeks in Kpando I was introduced to loads of people and almost every time I met someone new they would say "You're welcome." Immediately I thought, "Oh no I didn't say 'Thank you', was I supposed to say thank you?? Am I being rude? Why are they telling me you're welcome when I didn't say thank you" As these panicky thoughts ran through my mind at every instance I would just awkwardly smile and giggle. About a week ago I realized that they are saying, "You are welcome." As in, "you are welcome here in Africa, here in Ghana, here in Kpando, you are welcome here in this community, my community." In which the proper response would be a smile and a thank you. I guess I am so used to the exchange of "Thank you and You're welcome" back in the states that it threw me off every time I heard some one say "you are welcome" after meeting me. I never really sat back and pondered the meaning of the exchange, but now that I have, I think it makes more sense the way the Ghanaian people do it...
You are welcome.
Thank you!
So this weekend I found out that Ghanaians really LOVE to party! Funerals here are a big deal, tons and tons of people attend, the family saves for months and they last 4 days! This particular funeral was for a woman and her mother in the compound across the dirt path from my home and it was quite the affair! They were close friends of Mary and Peter. The girl was 35, finishing up her masters at Cape Coast University and complained of chest pains, she went to the hospital they gave her an injection and she went into a coma, I think she was probably allergic to the medicine. Her mother, who lived across the road from where I live was told the news and collapsed a week later.
The funeral for both of them was held last weekend and was a full on celebration. There were probably 800 people in town for it! Cars and vans and buses lined both sides of the street. On Friday afternoon, the family and friend pick up the bodies from the hospital and play drums and trumpets as they caravan down the main street in Kpando, dancing, crying and shouting praises the whole while. During this part of the ceremony is also when the friends and family mourn, and boy they REALLY mourn...outbursts of sobbing, murderous screams, wailing and flailing, they don't hold anything back, which I think is healthy..."Get it all out girl, get it all out," I thought to myself while witnessing one woman mourn. But during the funeral ceremony there is a great deal of celebration as well. They were playing drums and doing the traditional bo bo bo dance until the better part of 5am Saturday morning. They had at least three bands and everyone, the men especially were DRUNK! I pulled out my trusty CVS first aid kit (which I have used at least three times every day here) and patched up several cuts and scrapes on drunk mens faces. Where almost every time there was a marriage proposal.
My bed time around here is usually 8pm. I am SO TIRED everyday I just pass out. When I tried to go to sleep Friday night it never happened because of the blaring music (my door and window face directly where the celebration was happening.) SO I decided that I would join the fun!I went to the shop to help Patience (my sister) serve alcohol. At about 1am Peter, my cute sweet dad around 57 years old, (who was also hammered) insisted that he take me "downtown" to get a drink with his brother who had just arrived from the Northern region (a 12 hour journey). Downtown was all of a two minute walk to a shack with a blue light. We chatted about Barrack Obama, Ghanaian royalty (my family is the royal family here...which I like to think makes me a princess!) and stole chairs from a drunk who passed out at the table next to us.
After we drank our huge beers Peter grabbed my hand as we stumbled back to the party. They tried to teach me to bo bo bo dance (specific to Kpando), which is basically bending over and shaking your booty while in a moving circle around men playing the drums and trumpet. Then we paid our respects to the bodies and viewed the corpses. This, for me, was by far the most strange part of the ceremony. Mainly because everyone who went into that room to pay their respects was at least four sheets to the wind! After viewing the corpses you take a shot of palm wine (so gross and like 100% alcohol) and continue to dance. I went back to helping patience in the store until about 3am then called it a night, but they were still going!
At about 6am they transported all of the chairs and tents to the church of the deceased, which must have been a lot of work because there were tons of chairs and at least six tents. I went to the actual funeral mass Saturday morning with Mary...it was very sad, they are survived by one brother. I thought I was going to pass out because I was under the noon sun, dressed in black and I thought hungover! But I later found out it was because I had Malaria.
Don't freak out, because I am fine now, but being sick is never fun, whether you are in Texas, Ghana or Switzerland. It just brings out the worst in you and you never really feel yourself when you are sick! That is the reason this post is so late because I have been ill this past week. So I went to the hospital on Monday when I had an on and off fever, headaches, chills and terrible stomach pains. (I am taking anti-malaria meds and sleeping under a mosquito net, but there is nothing that 100% guarantees you won't get Malaria.) I am friends with Jones, one of the Pharmacists at the hospital and he made it his job to make sure I was O.K. and taken care of properly. I think I got faster treatment here than I have anywhere back home.
There were several people waiting on the benches to be seen. I told Jones and James that I wanted to wait in line because it wasn't fair that I cut in front just because I was white. They looked at me like I was stupid and completely ignored my request. Next thing I know I am ushered into a room with a nurse taking my temperature and blood pressure. I tell my symptoms to a nice Cuban woman doctor and then she ordered a blood test. I go to the lab, they take a sample and it turns up negative for Malaria. They take me back to the Cuban woman and she says that I have all the symptoms of Malaria, so the bacteria must be premature and not showing up on the lab work and she wants to treat me anyway.
Off to the injection room we go, which is no bigger than a small pantry. Again I asked to wait in line, but another Cuban doctor, took my hand, told me he was paying for my medicines and took me into the injection room. In the room there was another nurse, a mother and two little girls. One girl screaming as the nurse administered a shot right in her buttocks! I was thankful it wasn't me because injections in the ass hurt the most!
The Cuban doctor fills up the syringe with the meds and as I start to roll up my shirt sleeve he gives me a smile and says, "Around, its for your butt." UGH I think, but if it will make me feel better its worth it. I didn't get one injection, but two...one in each cheek. I was so glad it was over, but little did I know that there were two more of those I had to take for the next two days. Painful? yes. Worth it? Hell yes! I finished my treatment on Wednesday and feel like a new woman today! No more stomach pains, headaches or fevers! TAKE THAT Malaria!!!!!
Sorry it was long!
Peace and Love from Africa
You are welcome.
Thank you!
So this weekend I found out that Ghanaians really LOVE to party! Funerals here are a big deal, tons and tons of people attend, the family saves for months and they last 4 days! This particular funeral was for a woman and her mother in the compound across the dirt path from my home and it was quite the affair! They were close friends of Mary and Peter. The girl was 35, finishing up her masters at Cape Coast University and complained of chest pains, she went to the hospital they gave her an injection and she went into a coma, I think she was probably allergic to the medicine. Her mother, who lived across the road from where I live was told the news and collapsed a week later.
The funeral for both of them was held last weekend and was a full on celebration. There were probably 800 people in town for it! Cars and vans and buses lined both sides of the street. On Friday afternoon, the family and friend pick up the bodies from the hospital and play drums and trumpets as they caravan down the main street in Kpando, dancing, crying and shouting praises the whole while. During this part of the ceremony is also when the friends and family mourn, and boy they REALLY mourn...outbursts of sobbing, murderous screams, wailing and flailing, they don't hold anything back, which I think is healthy..."Get it all out girl, get it all out," I thought to myself while witnessing one woman mourn. But during the funeral ceremony there is a great deal of celebration as well. They were playing drums and doing the traditional bo bo bo dance until the better part of 5am Saturday morning. They had at least three bands and everyone, the men especially were DRUNK! I pulled out my trusty CVS first aid kit (which I have used at least three times every day here) and patched up several cuts and scrapes on drunk mens faces. Where almost every time there was a marriage proposal.
My bed time around here is usually 8pm. I am SO TIRED everyday I just pass out. When I tried to go to sleep Friday night it never happened because of the blaring music (my door and window face directly where the celebration was happening.) SO I decided that I would join the fun!I went to the shop to help Patience (my sister) serve alcohol. At about 1am Peter, my cute sweet dad around 57 years old, (who was also hammered) insisted that he take me "downtown" to get a drink with his brother who had just arrived from the Northern region (a 12 hour journey). Downtown was all of a two minute walk to a shack with a blue light. We chatted about Barrack Obama, Ghanaian royalty (my family is the royal family here...which I like to think makes me a princess!) and stole chairs from a drunk who passed out at the table next to us.
After we drank our huge beers Peter grabbed my hand as we stumbled back to the party. They tried to teach me to bo bo bo dance (specific to Kpando), which is basically bending over and shaking your booty while in a moving circle around men playing the drums and trumpet. Then we paid our respects to the bodies and viewed the corpses. This, for me, was by far the most strange part of the ceremony. Mainly because everyone who went into that room to pay their respects was at least four sheets to the wind! After viewing the corpses you take a shot of palm wine (so gross and like 100% alcohol) and continue to dance. I went back to helping patience in the store until about 3am then called it a night, but they were still going!
At about 6am they transported all of the chairs and tents to the church of the deceased, which must have been a lot of work because there were tons of chairs and at least six tents. I went to the actual funeral mass Saturday morning with Mary...it was very sad, they are survived by one brother. I thought I was going to pass out because I was under the noon sun, dressed in black and I thought hungover! But I later found out it was because I had Malaria.
Don't freak out, because I am fine now, but being sick is never fun, whether you are in Texas, Ghana or Switzerland. It just brings out the worst in you and you never really feel yourself when you are sick! That is the reason this post is so late because I have been ill this past week. So I went to the hospital on Monday when I had an on and off fever, headaches, chills and terrible stomach pains. (I am taking anti-malaria meds and sleeping under a mosquito net, but there is nothing that 100% guarantees you won't get Malaria.) I am friends with Jones, one of the Pharmacists at the hospital and he made it his job to make sure I was O.K. and taken care of properly. I think I got faster treatment here than I have anywhere back home.
There were several people waiting on the benches to be seen. I told Jones and James that I wanted to wait in line because it wasn't fair that I cut in front just because I was white. They looked at me like I was stupid and completely ignored my request. Next thing I know I am ushered into a room with a nurse taking my temperature and blood pressure. I tell my symptoms to a nice Cuban woman doctor and then she ordered a blood test. I go to the lab, they take a sample and it turns up negative for Malaria. They take me back to the Cuban woman and she says that I have all the symptoms of Malaria, so the bacteria must be premature and not showing up on the lab work and she wants to treat me anyway.
Off to the injection room we go, which is no bigger than a small pantry. Again I asked to wait in line, but another Cuban doctor, took my hand, told me he was paying for my medicines and took me into the injection room. In the room there was another nurse, a mother and two little girls. One girl screaming as the nurse administered a shot right in her buttocks! I was thankful it wasn't me because injections in the ass hurt the most!
The Cuban doctor fills up the syringe with the meds and as I start to roll up my shirt sleeve he gives me a smile and says, "Around, its for your butt." UGH I think, but if it will make me feel better its worth it. I didn't get one injection, but two...one in each cheek. I was so glad it was over, but little did I know that there were two more of those I had to take for the next two days. Painful? yes. Worth it? Hell yes! I finished my treatment on Wednesday and feel like a new woman today! No more stomach pains, headaches or fevers! TAKE THAT Malaria!!!!!
Sorry it was long!
Peace and Love from Africa
Monday, February 1, 2010
THIS is Africa
I feel at home.
My host family is amazing! My father's name is Peter, he is precious, always listening to the radio with his shirt off and feeding the goats. My brother is James, he is 22 and has become a very good friend!! My mom's name is Rose Mary (crazy right), but every one calls her Mary or Mama. She is the matriarch of the neighborhood. They have a shop in front of the compound, where she sells everything; ice cream and booze being the top sellers! For many kids in Kpando, her shop is the first stop on the way home from school, where they pick up the delicious ice cream she makes sometimes for free and sometimes for 5 peshwas (equivalent to 3.5 cents). I love Mary, she is so sweet and has taught me how to do many things the way Ghanaians do. I think the feeling is mutual because whenever I run into some of Mary's friends on the street they all say, "Mary loves you too too much!" She has already told me that even though it is a long way away, she is sad that I have to leave.
I love my living situation! My accommodations are extremely nice by Ghanaian standards. The nicest and biggest room is given to their guests. I have a queen size bed, a fan, a table, two chairs AND a freezer! The toilet is an outhouse consisting of a concrete slab with a hole in it...that took some getting used to, but its all good now. This might be hard to picture...to get to the shower I walk down a path usually accompanied by goats and chickens. We have a spout where I fill up my bucket, that is when the water is running. The families who don't have a spout have to fetch their own water, they get it from the police station, which is miles from many homes. It takes several trips to get enough water for the family to bathe, cook and clean for one day. It has made me appreciate water sooo much and not take it for granted. Now don't get me wrong, if I had a choice between my shower at home or my bucket shower here I would pick my shower at home. But I don't have that option, so...when in Rome, do as the Romans do! I don't hate the bucket shower by any means, I actually like it, especially at night. There is no ceiling on the shower so I get to bathe under the moon and the stars...it is really neat and spiritual. It was a full moon the other night and I didn't even need a flashlight to bathe.
There are several kids who live in the compound. The ones who are around the most are Prince, 12, Freddy (Edem's youngest brother), 13, Paulo, 3 and Rachel and Ester,11. Rachel and Ester are always together! They help Mary and their older cousin, Patience, with everything. The other night I watched Ester, Rachel and Patience cook Banku, a local dish made of Cassava and corn crushed and mixed together until its mushy, its my FAVORITE thing I've eaten here. Little Ester had her feet on the iron stems of the pot which was about 6 inches away from the hot, burning charcoal. She muscled the huge wooden stick in the pot and would touch the pot with her bare hands moving it around several times to get the right angle so she could continue stirring the thick substance. I asked Patience if the pot was hot (I was thinking surely its not too hot because she doesn't make a peep when she grabs hold of it). But I was wrong. Patience answered, "Ooo yes, es very hot, but Ester here is a strong strong girl. Here in Africa we teach the girls to cook at a very young age." When the Banku became thicker and too hard for Ester to muscle around, Patience didn't say a word, she just gave Ester a tender look, Ester popped up and Patience took the reigns. Patience mumbled something in Ewe to Rachel and then asked me, "Do you want to go with Rachel to my auntie's house." I said of course, so off I went through the village, hand in hand with Rachel and Prince. It was during this moment I felt...THIS is Africa. The sun had set and it was dark, my eyes had to adjust so I didn't trip on the rocks jutting out of the dirt path. Families were crowded around an orange flame as they cooked their dinner. Silhouettes of babies were laughing and running around trees as their mothers were chasing them. I was not a tourist, I was part of this family, part of this community. I was so thankful in this moment as I felt the heart beat of my tiny neighborhood.
We finally got to Auntie's house and she and her son were sharing a bowl of Fufu (another local dish) eating under the dim light coming from the kitchen. The little boy, Francis, was taken aback when he saw me! "Yovo?" he blurted as he nearly fell off his stool. I just laughed and said yes. They immediately pulled up a chair for me to sit and offered me some food...here they say, "You are invited." if they are offering you some of their food. We picked up some things for Mary to make her famous ice cream and headed back home.
UNiTED is going well. I am working on the framework right now, which consists of getting everything down on paper and defining what UNiTED is, its goals, who it will serve, etc. I am also preparing for some interns who will be coming in late March. They are getting their masters in International Public Health from a university in the Netherlands and have come to help identify the health problems that are most taxing in Kpando. I am reading a really good book right now! Its called "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. I found it at the children's home, just lying in a corner and something told me that I should read it. Its about Paul Farmer, a brilliant doctor from America who does work in Haiti. He witnesses a huge amount of poverty and the book details his feelings about it and how he helps. It really is the perfect book for me to be reading right now, not only because he is trying to improve the quality of life of those living in poverty, but also because
there are a lot of cultural similarities between Haiti and Ghana. The people of Haiti originated from West Africa, primarily Ghana, as a result of the slave trade 200 years ago. So they kept many of their traditions and beliefs. The way he identifies the problems in Haiti has a lot more to it than just taking everything he observes for face value! He understands the culture, the religion, the language and then starts to make some conclusions! I LOVE this book and feel that God placed it in my hands right now to keep on inspiring me to do his will, sort of like hinting to me that there is a right way to go about the research in this town for this project...from the bottom up.
Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers!
Peace and love from Africa
Rosie
My host family is amazing! My father's name is Peter, he is precious, always listening to the radio with his shirt off and feeding the goats. My brother is James, he is 22 and has become a very good friend!! My mom's name is Rose Mary (crazy right), but every one calls her Mary or Mama. She is the matriarch of the neighborhood. They have a shop in front of the compound, where she sells everything; ice cream and booze being the top sellers! For many kids in Kpando, her shop is the first stop on the way home from school, where they pick up the delicious ice cream she makes sometimes for free and sometimes for 5 peshwas (equivalent to 3.5 cents). I love Mary, she is so sweet and has taught me how to do many things the way Ghanaians do. I think the feeling is mutual because whenever I run into some of Mary's friends on the street they all say, "Mary loves you too too much!" She has already told me that even though it is a long way away, she is sad that I have to leave.
I love my living situation! My accommodations are extremely nice by Ghanaian standards. The nicest and biggest room is given to their guests. I have a queen size bed, a fan, a table, two chairs AND a freezer! The toilet is an outhouse consisting of a concrete slab with a hole in it...that took some getting used to, but its all good now. This might be hard to picture...to get to the shower I walk down a path usually accompanied by goats and chickens. We have a spout where I fill up my bucket, that is when the water is running. The families who don't have a spout have to fetch their own water, they get it from the police station, which is miles from many homes. It takes several trips to get enough water for the family to bathe, cook and clean for one day. It has made me appreciate water sooo much and not take it for granted. Now don't get me wrong, if I had a choice between my shower at home or my bucket shower here I would pick my shower at home. But I don't have that option, so...when in Rome, do as the Romans do! I don't hate the bucket shower by any means, I actually like it, especially at night. There is no ceiling on the shower so I get to bathe under the moon and the stars...it is really neat and spiritual. It was a full moon the other night and I didn't even need a flashlight to bathe.
There are several kids who live in the compound. The ones who are around the most are Prince, 12, Freddy (Edem's youngest brother), 13, Paulo, 3 and Rachel and Ester,11. Rachel and Ester are always together! They help Mary and their older cousin, Patience, with everything. The other night I watched Ester, Rachel and Patience cook Banku, a local dish made of Cassava and corn crushed and mixed together until its mushy, its my FAVORITE thing I've eaten here. Little Ester had her feet on the iron stems of the pot which was about 6 inches away from the hot, burning charcoal. She muscled the huge wooden stick in the pot and would touch the pot with her bare hands moving it around several times to get the right angle so she could continue stirring the thick substance. I asked Patience if the pot was hot (I was thinking surely its not too hot because she doesn't make a peep when she grabs hold of it). But I was wrong. Patience answered, "Ooo yes, es very hot, but Ester here is a strong strong girl. Here in Africa we teach the girls to cook at a very young age." When the Banku became thicker and too hard for Ester to muscle around, Patience didn't say a word, she just gave Ester a tender look, Ester popped up and Patience took the reigns. Patience mumbled something in Ewe to Rachel and then asked me, "Do you want to go with Rachel to my auntie's house." I said of course, so off I went through the village, hand in hand with Rachel and Prince. It was during this moment I felt...THIS is Africa. The sun had set and it was dark, my eyes had to adjust so I didn't trip on the rocks jutting out of the dirt path. Families were crowded around an orange flame as they cooked their dinner. Silhouettes of babies were laughing and running around trees as their mothers were chasing them. I was not a tourist, I was part of this family, part of this community. I was so thankful in this moment as I felt the heart beat of my tiny neighborhood.
We finally got to Auntie's house and she and her son were sharing a bowl of Fufu (another local dish) eating under the dim light coming from the kitchen. The little boy, Francis, was taken aback when he saw me! "Yovo?" he blurted as he nearly fell off his stool. I just laughed and said yes. They immediately pulled up a chair for me to sit and offered me some food...here they say, "You are invited." if they are offering you some of their food. We picked up some things for Mary to make her famous ice cream and headed back home.
UNiTED is going well. I am working on the framework right now, which consists of getting everything down on paper and defining what UNiTED is, its goals, who it will serve, etc. I am also preparing for some interns who will be coming in late March. They are getting their masters in International Public Health from a university in the Netherlands and have come to help identify the health problems that are most taxing in Kpando. I am reading a really good book right now! Its called "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. I found it at the children's home, just lying in a corner and something told me that I should read it. Its about Paul Farmer, a brilliant doctor from America who does work in Haiti. He witnesses a huge amount of poverty and the book details his feelings about it and how he helps. It really is the perfect book for me to be reading right now, not only because he is trying to improve the quality of life of those living in poverty, but also because
there are a lot of cultural similarities between Haiti and Ghana. The people of Haiti originated from West Africa, primarily Ghana, as a result of the slave trade 200 years ago. So they kept many of their traditions and beliefs. The way he identifies the problems in Haiti has a lot more to it than just taking everything he observes for face value! He understands the culture, the religion, the language and then starts to make some conclusions! I LOVE this book and feel that God placed it in my hands right now to keep on inspiring me to do his will, sort of like hinting to me that there is a right way to go about the research in this town for this project...from the bottom up.
Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers!
Peace and love from Africa
Rosie
Sunday, January 24, 2010
I understand captain planet today
I have finally made it to Kpando! Internet is going to be a bit of an issue here. There is only one internet cafe and slow does not even begin to describe the speed at this place! It seems the server does not like gmail very much, it takes a while to do stuff so I won't be responding to emails as much as Id like! Please do send letters, packages or whatever you'd like to the address to the left.
We ended up having to stay in Accra for an extra night because Edems car had issues and he was very ill with malaria (once you get it it comes back in waves). It actually worked out well because I was able to take time to adjust to the time difference, 6 hours ahead of Dallas. Arriving in Accra at 1030pm was a little bit scary, mainly because I was by myself. I didn't get off the plane and immediately feel like I had returned home to mother Africa. There was no grandeur moment reassuring me that I was supposed to be there. I was HOT, nervous (mostly about my bags) and a bit scared! I wanted to get my bags, find Edem and the the H outta the airport!
My first impression of Edem was that he is the strong and silent type. Boy oh boy was I wrong! When I first met him he wasn't saying much because he felt like crap due to the malaria, he wasn't complaining, he just wasnt speaking. On the way to Kpando, I got to see the true Edem, the giggling, talkative and extremely goofy Edem! We talked about UNiTED a lot on the way here and he is just full of ideas, never thought I could meet someone more idealistic than myself. I have my work cut out for me! I am essentially assisting with getting this organization off the ground, more details to come! He asked me if I had ever seen the cartoon Captain Planet. OF COURSE!!!, I enthusiastically answered. He continued to say how much he adored the cartoon as a child, it was his favorite show and he never missed it. In my head I was thinking about the random selection of Western entertainment that catches on in Africa (Texas Walker Ranger, Celine Deon and Phil Collins just to name a few) and giggled to myself. Anyway he said, AS A CHILD I MISSED THE MESSAGE OF CAPTAIN PLANET, but that I UNDERSTAND CAPTAIN PLANET TODAY. Next thing I know I am belting out the theme song of Captain Planet with my new Ghanaian friend as we wind through the potholed roads of the Volta Region...
One of his ideas is to create a cartoon about HIV/AIDS, inspired by Captain Planet, of course! A cartoon that kids will like to watch so education about HIV and AIDS can begin at an early age therefore reducing the stigma associated with it. The stigmas here are unbelievable. No one in Kpando (except a few people at the hospital) know that Hardthaven helps children who are HIV positive. Edem said if people knew, they might not sell food to them and completely shun them! I am actually really nervous writing this because I am in the internet cafe and don't want any nosy characters peeking over my shoulder reading it. I think the cartoon is a great idea, but it probably will not happen right away...baby steps I keep telling him, baby steps.
We arrived in Kpando at 530 pm on Thursday. It was market day in Kpando and we drove right through the city center. The street was filled with people! Several women balancing metal tubs, cages, or sheets of fabrics on their head and walking like it was nothing. Music was blaring from the shacks, Edem was shouting warm greetings to his friends and children were running up to his car yelling, YOVO YOVO (means white person in Ewe...the other language they speak here)with big smiles spread across their faces! I loved everything about this moment. I have arrived in this strange African town, which is now going to become my new home.
Peace and Love from Africa!
We ended up having to stay in Accra for an extra night because Edems car had issues and he was very ill with malaria (once you get it it comes back in waves). It actually worked out well because I was able to take time to adjust to the time difference, 6 hours ahead of Dallas. Arriving in Accra at 1030pm was a little bit scary, mainly because I was by myself. I didn't get off the plane and immediately feel like I had returned home to mother Africa. There was no grandeur moment reassuring me that I was supposed to be there. I was HOT, nervous (mostly about my bags) and a bit scared! I wanted to get my bags, find Edem and the the H outta the airport!
My first impression of Edem was that he is the strong and silent type. Boy oh boy was I wrong! When I first met him he wasn't saying much because he felt like crap due to the malaria, he wasn't complaining, he just wasnt speaking. On the way to Kpando, I got to see the true Edem, the giggling, talkative and extremely goofy Edem! We talked about UNiTED a lot on the way here and he is just full of ideas, never thought I could meet someone more idealistic than myself. I have my work cut out for me! I am essentially assisting with getting this organization off the ground, more details to come! He asked me if I had ever seen the cartoon Captain Planet. OF COURSE!!!, I enthusiastically answered. He continued to say how much he adored the cartoon as a child, it was his favorite show and he never missed it. In my head I was thinking about the random selection of Western entertainment that catches on in Africa (Texas Walker Ranger, Celine Deon and Phil Collins just to name a few) and giggled to myself. Anyway he said, AS A CHILD I MISSED THE MESSAGE OF CAPTAIN PLANET, but that I UNDERSTAND CAPTAIN PLANET TODAY. Next thing I know I am belting out the theme song of Captain Planet with my new Ghanaian friend as we wind through the potholed roads of the Volta Region...
Captain Planet he's our hero, gonna take pollution down to ZERO...
One of his ideas is to create a cartoon about HIV/AIDS, inspired by Captain Planet, of course! A cartoon that kids will like to watch so education about HIV and AIDS can begin at an early age therefore reducing the stigma associated with it. The stigmas here are unbelievable. No one in Kpando (except a few people at the hospital) know that Hardthaven helps children who are HIV positive. Edem said if people knew, they might not sell food to them and completely shun them! I am actually really nervous writing this because I am in the internet cafe and don't want any nosy characters peeking over my shoulder reading it. I think the cartoon is a great idea, but it probably will not happen right away...baby steps I keep telling him, baby steps.
We arrived in Kpando at 530 pm on Thursday. It was market day in Kpando and we drove right through the city center. The street was filled with people! Several women balancing metal tubs, cages, or sheets of fabrics on their head and walking like it was nothing. Music was blaring from the shacks, Edem was shouting warm greetings to his friends and children were running up to his car yelling, YOVO YOVO (means white person in Ewe...the other language they speak here)with big smiles spread across their faces! I loved everything about this moment. I have arrived in this strange African town, which is now going to become my new home.
Peace and Love from Africa!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Ghaana go to GHANA
Well the blog is back and I promise to keep it more concise this time around! First off I want to say thank you thank you thank you to all of my friends, friends of friends and family who have supported me on this decision to do work in Ghana and to all of my parent's friends who hired me to work for them in exchange for a donation! It meant more to me than you will ever know and your generosity will change lives in Ghana!
Today is the day of the 21 hour journey to Africa. I am extremely excited and a bit afraid of the unknown, as it is my first trip to Africa. I have always felt a strong pull to Africa, I'm not sure why but I'll find out sooner than later. Edem, the co-founder of the organization I am working for, is going to pick me up at the airport in Accra and then we drive 3 hours to Kpando. I will be living with Edem's family for the first couple of months and I cannot wait to meet them! I've stocked my bags with bubbles, nail polish and puzzles for the children at the orphanage, even more excited to meet those kids. If you want to check out the orphanage you can visit www.hardthaven.org and for you facebook users, they have a facebook page which has a lot of great pictures. I'm not sure what to expect upon my arrival except a huge sensory overload and a lot of people offering to help me with my bags, which I definitely will need!
Things have been a little crazy the past couple of days as we had a family emergency. Most of my family is out of town and mom has helped me pack and get organized for the trip, and will be the one to send me off at the airport. I LOVE YOU MOM! I am going to miss everyone back home, especially my family, VISITS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED.
E-mails are enthusiastically encouraged. In Cambodia, getting an e-mail about life back in the states paralleled with the excitement of opening presents at Christmastime. I am not sure what my internet access will be like, so letters in good ole snail mail are welcomed too. My address is at the top of the blog, so if you get the urge, send an old fashioned letter my way!
Everything about this opportunity has just unfolded before me and it all feels so right. The people I have met, connections I have made and information I have received about Ghana within the past 2 weeks are little signs from God reassuring me that I am on the right path and supposed to be doing this! I would appreciate it if yall can keep me, the project and the people of Kpando in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you again to everyone, the next time I post will be from Africa!
Today is the day of the 21 hour journey to Africa. I am extremely excited and a bit afraid of the unknown, as it is my first trip to Africa. I have always felt a strong pull to Africa, I'm not sure why but I'll find out sooner than later. Edem, the co-founder of the organization I am working for, is going to pick me up at the airport in Accra and then we drive 3 hours to Kpando. I will be living with Edem's family for the first couple of months and I cannot wait to meet them! I've stocked my bags with bubbles, nail polish and puzzles for the children at the orphanage, even more excited to meet those kids. If you want to check out the orphanage you can visit www.hardthaven.org and for you facebook users, they have a facebook page which has a lot of great pictures. I'm not sure what to expect upon my arrival except a huge sensory overload and a lot of people offering to help me with my bags, which I definitely will need!
Things have been a little crazy the past couple of days as we had a family emergency. Most of my family is out of town and mom has helped me pack and get organized for the trip, and will be the one to send me off at the airport. I LOVE YOU MOM! I am going to miss everyone back home, especially my family, VISITS ARE ALWAYS WELCOMED.
E-mails are enthusiastically encouraged. In Cambodia, getting an e-mail about life back in the states paralleled with the excitement of opening presents at Christmastime. I am not sure what my internet access will be like, so letters in good ole snail mail are welcomed too. My address is at the top of the blog, so if you get the urge, send an old fashioned letter my way!
Everything about this opportunity has just unfolded before me and it all feels so right. The people I have met, connections I have made and information I have received about Ghana within the past 2 weeks are little signs from God reassuring me that I am on the right path and supposed to be doing this! I would appreciate it if yall can keep me, the project and the people of Kpando in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you again to everyone, the next time I post will be from Africa!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
A wonderful weekend
Chum Reap Sour Neak T'haing Ok'niea (That means "Hello Everyone" in Khmer)!!!!!
I am sorry about being MIA from the blog lately. I have been super super busy with preparing lesson plans, teaching, evaluating lesson plans, thinking of art projects, reading for class, preparing workshops for teachers and administration at PIO and taking a language class for Khmer. The past week has been great, but also a lot of work.
I taught kindergarten again on Tuesday, (my class is pictured to the left) but it was at the other school, Borey Santhepeap, the school that is on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. I used the same lesson and we did another hand print rainbow. Teacing was SO much easier this time, I had 2 RUPP students with me and the teacher who usually teaches the class. Thins went a lot smoother this time around. At Borey Santhepeap, there is much more space to move around than in Borey Keilah. The children loved the art activity and as expected were soo soo sweet! During the break they picked flowers and gave them to me, it was SO cute! One little boy made me some sort of instrument by weaving vines together. They would say, "Teacha, teacha, this for you" and shyly hand me a flower or a weed. At the end of class I was saying good bye and a swarm of kids ran up to the front of the classroom, they put their hands in the praying position and said, "Saaunk You Teacha, Good luck to you." and they dropped their hands and gave me a HUGE hug, a squatted down to get on their level so I could hug them back, and about 45 kids swarmed me to try and get a hug in and I fell over, hahahaha!!! It was pretty embarrassing yet so funny! They were all laughing and trying to help me up. On Thursday I was supposed to teach level 4 at Borey Santhepeap, but Kristin got sick so I had to take over for her last minute. I ended up having to teach levels 3 and 4 at Borey Keilah (they are on a totally different section that level 4 at Borey Santhepeap and I had to create 2 separate lesson plans for the two sections. They are in the same classroom, but learning different materials...complicated, I know) so I had to totally re-do the lesson plan, it ended up working out, but it was a little stressful at first. Level 4 made flags and learned about the different countries that spoke English: Scotland, Australia, America, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain and South Africa. They loved this activity and were so proud of their flags after they finished! 
Level 3 was learning about directions (turn left, turn right, go straight, make a U turn) and about places (super market, cinema, hotel, restaurant, internet cafe, temple). For this art activity I had them make buildings with construction paper, after they made the building I made a small city on the white board with roads and taped their places on the board and had them give me directions of how to get from one place to the next. It was successful and again they were proud of their artwork. This class is very bright. They could read and write a limited amount of English very well. I did not have an RUPP student with me at all on Thursday, the teacher helped a little bit, but the students understood most of what I was saying. I enjoyed teacing the older kids, Pictured above is 3 girls from the 2 classes so proud of their artwork! Thursday night a couple of us went out on the town for the first time since I've been here! It was pretty fun, we went to this place called the FCC and had a couple of beers and split a pizza! The FCC overlooked the MeKong river; it was full of foreigners enjoying the plesant night.
We just got back from Siem Reap, also called Angkor Village, where all of the beautiful temples are! We saw 7 temples this weekend, they are all so magnificent and absolutely stunning!
Friday morning we left Phnom Penh, via bus at 8am. The drive through the Cambodia countryside was a treat! I never got tired of looking at the houses on stilts the entire 7 hour drive to Siem Reap. I loved seeing daily country life. We saw everything from rice paddy fields to cricket catchers to children moving oxen across the land to cows grazing along the side of the deep orange colored dirt roads. The bumpy and scenic bus ride put us in Siem Reap at 4pm. We checked into our hotel and then went to a buffet and dance performance, the dancers were SO cool, it was APSARA dancing where they wear really cool costumes and dance in the traditional ways that they used to dance during Angkorian time. Apsara means a celestial being.
Saturday we woke up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at the sacred waterfall but missed it because the drive took too long, but we saw the sunrise from the bus; pictured to the left is the sunrise over the Cambodian jungle. This waterfall (I forget the name) in Cambodian history, supposedly is where "life began." We hiked through the jungle for an hour and finally arrived upon the stream where the ancient people carved religious statues into the bed of the stream, so as the water runs over these statues, it becomes sacred, we followed the stream all the way to a waterfall where the water is most sacred, a few people in the group, including Dr. Lewis, went underneath the waterfall to get drenched in sacred water. I sat on top of a rock and took it all in. There were butterflies everywhere at this site. One of which landed on my finger and stayed on me for a solid 5 minutes, it was really cool. After we climed down from the waterfall, we went on to see 2 more temples, Banteay Srei and Banteay Samrei, they too were amazingly beautiful. Banteay Srei is a temple that was dedicated to women. It is small in comparison to the others, but extremely intracite. Banteay Samrei was my favorite. It is pictured to the right! 
This temple is off the beaten path, so there were no tourists there except for us. It was so peacful and very idyllic at this temple. I sat inside a doorframe and reflected for about 30 minutes, something I have never done before. After 7 hours of touring temples, we went back to the villa, kicked it poolside and ate some banana pancakes! It was so nice to relax under the sun. It was my first time to be in a pool all summer!
Saturday night we went to a concert at one of the childrens hospital in Siem Reap, called Kantha Bopha/Jayavarmmann VII. OH MY WORD, this was my favorite thing we did all weekend. The concert is an effort this man, named Dr. Beat Richner, pictured below, does to raise money and awareness for the hospitals he has built in Cambodia.
I am sorry about being MIA from the blog lately. I have been super super busy with preparing lesson plans, teaching, evaluating lesson plans, thinking of art projects, reading for class, preparing workshops for teachers and administration at PIO and taking a language class for Khmer. The past week has been great, but also a lot of work.
I taught kindergarten again on Tuesday, (my class is pictured to the left) but it was at the other school, Borey Santhepeap, the school that is on the outskirts of Phnom Penh. I used the same lesson and we did another hand print rainbow. Teacing was SO much easier this time, I had 2 RUPP students with me and the teacher who usually teaches the class. Thins went a lot smoother this time around. At Borey Santhepeap, there is much more space to move around than in Borey Keilah. The children loved the art activity and as expected were soo soo sweet! During the break they picked flowers and gave them to me, it was SO cute! One little boy made me some sort of instrument by weaving vines together. They would say, "Teacha, teacha, this for you" and shyly hand me a flower or a weed. At the end of class I was saying good bye and a swarm of kids ran up to the front of the classroom, they put their hands in the praying position and said, "Saaunk You Teacha, Good luck to you." and they dropped their hands and gave me a HUGE hug, a squatted down to get on their level so I could hug them back, and about 45 kids swarmed me to try and get a hug in and I fell over, hahahaha!!! It was pretty embarrassing yet so funny! They were all laughing and trying to help me up. On Thursday I was supposed to teach level 4 at Borey Santhepeap, but Kristin got sick so I had to take over for her last minute. I ended up having to teach levels 3 and 4 at Borey Keilah (they are on a totally different section that level 4 at Borey Santhepeap and I had to create 2 separate lesson plans for the two sections. They are in the same classroom, but learning different materials...complicated, I know) so I had to totally re-do the lesson plan, it ended up working out, but it was a little stressful at first. Level 4 made flags and learned about the different countries that spoke English: Scotland, Australia, America, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Great Britain and South Africa. They loved this activity and were so proud of their flags after they finished! Level 3 was learning about directions (turn left, turn right, go straight, make a U turn) and about places (super market, cinema, hotel, restaurant, internet cafe, temple). For this art activity I had them make buildings with construction paper, after they made the building I made a small city on the white board with roads and taped their places on the board and had them give me directions of how to get from one place to the next. It was successful and again they were proud of their artwork. This class is very bright. They could read and write a limited amount of English very well. I did not have an RUPP student with me at all on Thursday, the teacher helped a little bit, but the students understood most of what I was saying. I enjoyed teacing the older kids, Pictured above is 3 girls from the 2 classes so proud of their artwork! Thursday night a couple of us went out on the town for the first time since I've been here! It was pretty fun, we went to this place called the FCC and had a couple of beers and split a pizza! The FCC overlooked the MeKong river; it was full of foreigners enjoying the plesant night.We just got back from Siem Reap, also called Angkor Village, where all of the beautiful temples are! We saw 7 temples this weekend, they are all so magnificent and absolutely stunning!
Friday morning we left Phnom Penh, via bus at 8am. The drive through the Cambodia countryside was a treat! I never got tired of looking at the houses on stilts the entire 7 hour drive to Siem Reap. I loved seeing daily country life. We saw everything from rice paddy fields to cricket catchers to children moving oxen across the land to cows grazing along the side of the deep orange colored dirt roads. The bumpy and scenic bus ride put us in Siem Reap at 4pm. We checked into our hotel and then went to a buffet and dance performance, the dancers were SO cool, it was APSARA dancing where they wear really cool costumes and dance in the traditional ways that they used to dance during Angkorian time. Apsara means a celestial being.
Saturday we woke up at 4:30am to see the sunrise at the sacred waterfall but missed it because the drive took too long, but we saw the sunrise from the bus; pictured to the left is the sunrise over the Cambodian jungle. This waterfall (I forget the name) in Cambodian history, supposedly is where "life began." We hiked through the jungle for an hour and finally arrived upon the stream where the ancient people carved religious statues into the bed of the stream, so as the water runs over these statues, it becomes sacred, we followed the stream all the way to a waterfall where the water is most sacred, a few people in the group, including Dr. Lewis, went underneath the waterfall to get drenched in sacred water. I sat on top of a rock and took it all in. There were butterflies everywhere at this site. One of which landed on my finger and stayed on me for a solid 5 minutes, it was really cool. After we climed down from the waterfall, we went on to see 2 more temples, Banteay Srei and Banteay Samrei, they too were amazingly beautiful. Banteay Srei is a temple that was dedicated to women. It is small in comparison to the others, but extremely intracite. Banteay Samrei was my favorite. It is pictured to the right! This temple is off the beaten path, so there were no tourists there except for us. It was so peacful and very idyllic at this temple. I sat inside a doorframe and reflected for about 30 minutes, something I have never done before. After 7 hours of touring temples, we went back to the villa, kicked it poolside and ate some banana pancakes! It was so nice to relax under the sun. It was my first time to be in a pool all summer!Saturday night we went to a concert at one of the childrens hospital in Siem Reap, called Kantha Bopha/Jayavarmmann VII. OH MY WORD, this was my favorite thing we did all weekend. The concert is an effort this man, named Dr. Beat Richner, pictured below, does to raise money and awareness for the hospitals he has built in Cambodia.
He is very talented at playing the Cello; he is also a truly amazing man. I feel honored to have heard him play and speak. I was so moved by this cause and his concert that I bought his book and have already read it! I am considering e-mailing him and telling him how great and noble I think his works are and how we need more people like him on this earth. The reason this is such an amazing hospital is because the Cambodian government and the Ministry of Health are EXTREMELY corrupt and Dr. Beat Richner runs his hospitals (Kantha Bopha I, II and III) as corruption free organizations. Corruption of the Cambodian government is causing a "passive genocide" of Cambodian children. In Cambodia, you can only receive medical treatment if you have money. The Cambodian government and well as international Health organizations (such as World Health Organization, UNICEF and others) have set up the Cambodian Health system this way. Well 95% of the population is poor, so 95% of the Cambodian people either go without medical help or recieve the wrong treatment. Let's say that a poor family has no money to get medical treatment from an NGO children's hospital in Camboida, which follows the rules of WHO and the Ministry of Health. The hospital diagnosis the child with tuberculousis and thells the family that they must pay $200 in order for their child to be treated. So this poor farming family sells their oxen and half of their belongings to get money so their child can be treated. At an NGO hospital overseen by the Cambodian Ministry of Health, they are only allowed to use "cheap medicine," because Cambodia is a "poor country with poor people." This cheap medicine in turn makes the child treated even more ill and in most cases the child dies. The medicine this hospital uses to treat tuberculosis in Cambodia is with a treatment that is outlawed to use even on CHICKENS in Western states. So now this family has sold their oxen and half of their belongings and has also lost a child to a disease which could be treatable with the correct ( a little more expensive) but correct medicine. Dr. Beat Richner thinks this concept of cheap medicine for a poor country with poor people is ridiculous and inhumane. So his hospitals are free of charge for anyone and serves all of the poor families in Cambodia. He carries the correct vaccines and medicines for the diseases that plague thsi country. The Cambodian government and international health organizations are trying to shut him down even though the statistics for this hospital are astoundingly successful, especially when it deals with cost to healing ratio. They want to shut him down because his hospital is not corrupt, therefore they are not reaping the benefits of the success of his hospitals. The hospitals run solely on private donations, which is why he holds a free concert every Saturday in the training center at the Jayavarmann VII hosptial in Siem Reap, in hopes to get more donations from tourists. The Cambodia government does not give him any money to run these hospitals. I want to tell you the whole story about his hospitals and the history of Cambodia within the context of the hospitals, but its way too long to type right now. If you are interested please visit their website http://www.beat-richner.ch/ Dr. Richner is talking about starting a children's hospital in Africa, so I am thinking about e-mailing him my resume and asking for a job, no joke!! I was truly moved by his words and the amazing and meaningful work he does for the poor children of Cambodia.
On Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn (4:45am) so we could make it to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. When the sun rises over Angkor Wat, it looks like the temple is floating on a sea of gold because there is a reflecting pool in front of it. Angkor Wat is HUGE, it took us 4 hours to go through it, although it was at a leisurely pace. Two children are looking at taking in the beauty of Angkor Wat in the picture to the left. Angkor Wat is the largest temple in all of Siem Reap-Angkor Village. After Angkor Wat we went to another temple called Bayon. Bayon is a temple that has huge faces on all sides of the large pilars. We were invited to eat lunch at a friend of Dr. Lewis' village. The village was an hour away from Siem Reap. Dr. Lewis' best friend from home is a Cambodian man and he wanted her to see his village and meet his family who still lives in Cambodia. The man's sister hosted Dr. Lewis and all of us to their village. She made this huge delicious meal and I think the whole entire village came to meet us ( and by that I mean watch us eat...it was strange having 70+ people watch me eat, but it is normal for their culture, so I just went with it). I am SO glad we did this, it was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had!!!!!!!!!!!! So we had this delicious noodle meal with vegetables and a special green sauce that was to die for!! The niece of the woman who cooked all of this was so nice and chatty, her name is Sophea (pronounced Soapy), she is 19 years old and goes to school in Siem Reap on the weekdays and volunteer teaches English to 152 children in her village on the weekends, she is an amazing girl. So she told some of her students that Americans were coming for lunch and there were about 40 kids there wanting to practice their English with us. They were some of the most precious children i have ever met. They were so happy that we were there and they meant every word of praise and thanks that came out of their mouths. They would say, "I will miss you." or "I will never forget you, good luck and all happiness to you." We played a game with them called Zip Zap Bong, it was pretty fun and easy to play with such a huge language barrier. During our visit we also were invited to the village temple to be blessed by the monks. This was so neat. We drove down the road from the woman's house and turned down a road with heavy wooded forests on each side and at the end of the road was a small pavilion made out of tin and concrete, in the middle of the pavilion was a beautifully painted Buddha carving and a monk was sitting on a raised platform, we met the grandmothers of the village, who all have shaved heads (it is part of a traditional Buddhist belief for grandmothers to shave their heads as a sign of letting go of worldly possesions). 
They are so beautiful and look so wise. We hung out with some kids for a bit while we were waiting for the monks to come. They were looking at us like we were so strange... (You can see pictured above, one of the village children and on the right of the photograph the monks are arriving to give us the blessing). Dr. Lewis isa practicing Buddhist so she did the whole bowing to Buddah. THEY LOVE HER AT THIS VILLAGE!!! The monks finally arrive and we take our shoes off, walk into the pavilion. There were 5 monks total, 1 king monk and 4 of his proteges, they took their seat on the platform next to the other monks. We chum reap soured the monks and knelt in front of them. The monks start chanting the blessing, where again I felt so surreal. I felt a very peaceful presence during the blessing, I can't really explain it other than that. The king monk had kind eyes, and an extremely sincere expression the entire time. I really wanted to hug him, but you aren't supposed to touch monks, not sure why, I'll look into that though. After the blessing we went back to the village and played with the children some more. We taught them the song, you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey, you never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away. They were so adorable and I was so sad to leave! After the village we went to see Sunset at Phnom Bakkheng, another temple; it is on the biggest hill in Angkor Village. I rode an elephant up to the temple with Lisa and Brittney, 2 other girls on the program; it was a really cool experience. Sunset from the temple was breathtakingly beautiful; you have to climb up extremely steep steps to get to the roof of the temple; it was kind of scary (because the steps are SO narrow) but fun! When I made it to the top a couple of monks started asking me questions, they wanted to practice their English with me. So I paid my respects to them, with a Chum reap sour and a bow and sat next to them.
This morning, Monday, we woke up early and saw one last temple called Ta Phrom. This was an amazing temple, the jungle is "overtaking it" i.e. tree roots have started to crumble the temple and it makes for an amazing sight. I took so many pictures this weekend and when I upload them I will send yall a few. After the temple, we checked out of the hotel and went to the silk center on the way out. This place was SO cool, they show you exactly how silk is made, from growing the mulberry trees to feed the silk worms the mulberry leaves, to how the silk worms spin spools of silk as a cocoon, to how the people turn the silk in to spools of thread to how they die it and weave it. It was amazing. I got a log of presents there for my grandmother, mom and aunts! My favorite temples were Banteay Samrei (which was the last one we went to on Saturday) it was so peaceful, nobody except for us was there, Phnom Bakkheng (Where we saw the sunset) and Ta Prohm (the one the jungle is overtaking). All in all I LOVED Siem Reap, I like it more than Phnom Penh because it is a lot more open and breezy, not as rushed and crowded, it is not as congested is a lot cleaner and a bit more touristy spots. I still love Phnom Penh, but Siem Reap was absolutely wonderful.
Sorry for the long blog-post, I got a little carried away, but I had a lot to tell!! I must go to sleep soon, we have been invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony for PIOs orphanage (just built), which has been built on the trash cite of Stung Mean Chey. I am SO excited because I thought we were never going back there since they already have volunteers. They have invited us as their "distinguished international guests," (hahah there is nothing distinguished about me so I think its pretty funny). The children at this school were my favorites during the tour of the 3 schools, they were so personable and had such a lively spirit. The ribbon cutting ceremony supposedly is a pretty big deal, papers are coming and everything! Dr. Lewis said that PIO built this orphanage with the money they received from CNN Heroes, so it is causing a lot of media attention! After the ribbon cutting ceremony we will come back to the villa, have lunch and then go to Tiny Toones, they are doing a performance for us!! check out this article to read more about them and watch the video! Tomorrow is a big day and I've got to get my sleep. BTW June 1st is Children's Day in Cambodia, so HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY TODAY!!! I am having a great time in Cambodia. The longer I stay the more I love it, I discover something new and exciting about Cambodia each day, she is slowly revealing to me all of her wonders, Mom you might loose me to the beautiful Kingdom of Cambodia...
until next time!!!! Liahiii (Bye in Khmer)
Rosie
On Sunday we woke up at the crack of dawn (4:45am) so we could make it to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. When the sun rises over Angkor Wat, it looks like the temple is floating on a sea of gold because there is a reflecting pool in front of it. Angkor Wat is HUGE, it took us 4 hours to go through it, although it was at a leisurely pace. Two children are looking at taking in the beauty of Angkor Wat in the picture to the left. Angkor Wat is the largest temple in all of Siem Reap-Angkor Village. After Angkor Wat we went to another temple called Bayon. Bayon is a temple that has huge faces on all sides of the large pilars. We were invited to eat lunch at a friend of Dr. Lewis' village. The village was an hour away from Siem Reap. Dr. Lewis' best friend from home is a Cambodian man and he wanted her to see his village and meet his family who still lives in Cambodia. The man's sister hosted Dr. Lewis and all of us to their village. She made this huge delicious meal and I think the whole entire village came to meet us ( and by that I mean watch us eat...it was strange having 70+ people watch me eat, but it is normal for their culture, so I just went with it). I am SO glad we did this, it was one of the coolest experiences I have ever had!!!!!!!!!!!! So we had this delicious noodle meal with vegetables and a special green sauce that was to die for!! The niece of the woman who cooked all of this was so nice and chatty, her name is Sophea (pronounced Soapy), she is 19 years old and goes to school in Siem Reap on the weekdays and volunteer teaches English to 152 children in her village on the weekends, she is an amazing girl. So she told some of her students that Americans were coming for lunch and there were about 40 kids there wanting to practice their English with us. They were some of the most precious children i have ever met. They were so happy that we were there and they meant every word of praise and thanks that came out of their mouths. They would say, "I will miss you." or "I will never forget you, good luck and all happiness to you." We played a game with them called Zip Zap Bong, it was pretty fun and easy to play with such a huge language barrier. During our visit we also were invited to the village temple to be blessed by the monks. This was so neat. We drove down the road from the woman's house and turned down a road with heavy wooded forests on each side and at the end of the road was a small pavilion made out of tin and concrete, in the middle of the pavilion was a beautifully painted Buddha carving and a monk was sitting on a raised platform, we met the grandmothers of the village, who all have shaved heads (it is part of a traditional Buddhist belief for grandmothers to shave their heads as a sign of letting go of worldly possesions). They are so beautiful and look so wise. We hung out with some kids for a bit while we were waiting for the monks to come. They were looking at us like we were so strange... (You can see pictured above, one of the village children and on the right of the photograph the monks are arriving to give us the blessing). Dr. Lewis isa practicing Buddhist so she did the whole bowing to Buddah. THEY LOVE HER AT THIS VILLAGE!!! The monks finally arrive and we take our shoes off, walk into the pavilion. There were 5 monks total, 1 king monk and 4 of his proteges, they took their seat on the platform next to the other monks. We chum reap soured the monks and knelt in front of them. The monks start chanting the blessing, where again I felt so surreal. I felt a very peaceful presence during the blessing, I can't really explain it other than that. The king monk had kind eyes, and an extremely sincere expression the entire time. I really wanted to hug him, but you aren't supposed to touch monks, not sure why, I'll look into that though. After the blessing we went back to the village and played with the children some more. We taught them the song, you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy, when skies are grey, you never know dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away. They were so adorable and I was so sad to leave! After the village we went to see Sunset at Phnom Bakkheng, another temple; it is on the biggest hill in Angkor Village. I rode an elephant up to the temple with Lisa and Brittney, 2 other girls on the program; it was a really cool experience. Sunset from the temple was breathtakingly beautiful; you have to climb up extremely steep steps to get to the roof of the temple; it was kind of scary (because the steps are SO narrow) but fun! When I made it to the top a couple of monks started asking me questions, they wanted to practice their English with me. So I paid my respects to them, with a Chum reap sour and a bow and sat next to them. As I was talking to the 4 of them (orange robes and all) I was thinking to myself, "Who the hell do I think I am just sitting on the top of a temple in Cambodia talking to 4 monks at sunset... it was definitely surreal. The sunset was gorgeous, there were clouds in the shape of Angkor Wat, which is the biggest temple in Siem Reap-Angkor Village. There was also a lightning storm the the left of the sunset, so every couple of minutes a lightning strike would accompany the setting the sun. (The picture above is from the top of Phnom Bakkheng temple, you can see the city of Siem Reap in the distance.)
This morning, Monday, we woke up early and saw one last temple called Ta Phrom. This was an amazing temple, the jungle is "overtaking it" i.e. tree roots have started to crumble the temple and it makes for an amazing sight. I took so many pictures this weekend and when I upload them I will send yall a few. After the temple, we checked out of the hotel and went to the silk center on the way out. This place was SO cool, they show you exactly how silk is made, from growing the mulberry trees to feed the silk worms the mulberry leaves, to how the silk worms spin spools of silk as a cocoon, to how the people turn the silk in to spools of thread to how they die it and weave it. It was amazing. I got a log of presents there for my grandmother, mom and aunts! My favorite temples were Banteay Samrei (which was the last one we went to on Saturday) it was so peaceful, nobody except for us was there, Phnom Bakkheng (Where we saw the sunset) and Ta Prohm (the one the jungle is overtaking). All in all I LOVED Siem Reap, I like it more than Phnom Penh because it is a lot more open and breezy, not as rushed and crowded, it is not as congested is a lot cleaner and a bit more touristy spots. I still love Phnom Penh, but Siem Reap was absolutely wonderful.
Sorry for the long blog-post, I got a little carried away, but I had a lot to tell!! I must go to sleep soon, we have been invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony for PIOs orphanage (just built), which has been built on the trash cite of Stung Mean Chey. I am SO excited because I thought we were never going back there since they already have volunteers. They have invited us as their "distinguished international guests," (hahah there is nothing distinguished about me so I think its pretty funny). The children at this school were my favorites during the tour of the 3 schools, they were so personable and had such a lively spirit. The ribbon cutting ceremony supposedly is a pretty big deal, papers are coming and everything! Dr. Lewis said that PIO built this orphanage with the money they received from CNN Heroes, so it is causing a lot of media attention! After the ribbon cutting ceremony we will come back to the villa, have lunch and then go to Tiny Toones, they are doing a performance for us!! check out this article to read more about them and watch the video! Tomorrow is a big day and I've got to get my sleep. BTW June 1st is Children's Day in Cambodia, so HAPPY CHILDREN'S DAY TODAY!!! I am having a great time in Cambodia. The longer I stay the more I love it, I discover something new and exciting about Cambodia each day, she is slowly revealing to me all of her wonders, Mom you might loose me to the beautiful Kingdom of Cambodia...
until next time!!!! Liahiii (Bye in Khmer)
Rosie
Friday, May 22, 2009
First day of teaching...Oh Shi* (literally)
I just got back from my first day teaching. I was assigned to the Kindergarten classroom at Borey Keilah this afternoon. Borey Keilah is the school that is in the slums of Phnom Penh. The picture to the above is a picture of a child who lives in those slums. I was pretty nervous about teaching there because that entailed walking through the village, aka peoples’ homes. I was not sure how the community would view these foreign girls walking in their homes and taking over as teachers to their children. Well my fears were alleviated this afternoon when we were standing outside of the slum under the blistering sun. The bus had just dropped us off to teach and we were waiting outside of the school for the RUPP students who had gotten lost. An older, weathered woman with a shaved head, a couple of teeth and scarred arms came up to me, Dr. Lewis, Lisa and Brittney and started pointing and talking to us in Khmer. I could not understand if she was asking for money or yelling at us. Dr. Lewis was on the phone at the time (giving directions to the lost RUPP students), so she could not talk to the woman or translate what she was saying. I used all the Khmer I knew and told her we were neakkroo (teachers). She kept on talking and pointing, first to us and then to a place across the street. It seemed like forever until Dr. Lewis got off the phone. Finally Dr. Lewis translated what the woman was saying to us. It turns out she was inviting us into the shade of her home, which was a piece of tarp attached to the building and held up with 2 poles…wow! I felt like such a jerk. It is scenarios like this that I have experienced from this culture. No matter how little these people have, they have offered it to me with a smile. Here I am thinking she is asking for money or cursing at us in Khmer, while she is only trying to provide some shade to a few sweaty American strangers. It really touched my heart and has made me love and respect Cambodian people even more than I already do.
We gave up waiting for the RUPP students and walked through the village to the classroom. Just to paint the picture for you, when I was creating my lesson plan, I took into consideration that I would have a Khmer teacher who would help me translate and learn the students’ names and that I would also have 2 or 3 RUPP students teaching with me to help translate and settle down the 50+ rambunctious children in the Kindergarten class. So I walk into the extremely small classroom expecting to have at least 3 to 4 translators and there is all but zero. Suddenly this lesson plan is going to have to work with me flying solo. No teacher, no RUPP students and 50 or so students in my class…yikes!! We teach English in the afternoons on Thursdays. Needless to say, it was hot, it smelled terrible and I was so nervous. But none of those things could have held back or kept away the smile that emerged on my face when the students started to greet me with their angelic voices. They start every class with the cutest chant that they have memorized; they stand up with their hands in the praying position belting at the top of their lungs. After they welcomed me, I walked to the front of the room, so nervous, because I now knew that I was in charge and responsible for these kids. I unloaded my bag of goodies that I brought along to assist me in teaching the colors of the rainbow,which was my lesson plan for the day. For whatever reason, their regular teacher just didn’t come to class that day, I guess she figured I was going to be there so she didn’t need to come (I’ve found out that in Cambodia, a lot of things get lost in translation).
The room is tiny, stifling hot and smells pretty bad, a little like sewer. I look over at the 3 boys in the front row of class and they are trying to tell me something in Khmer and are pointing to a corner, I glanced at it, didn't see anything and obviously couldn’t understand them so I went on introducing myself and the lesson. Finally the RUPP students arrive, or should I say student, only one RUPP student made it and she had to leave early. Her name is Kalyan, I was relieved I had her, even if it was only for one hour, because her English is very good. I asked her to help me figure out what the little boys were trying to tell me. She conversed with them for a while, looked over at me and said, “Shit,” I looked at her confused (and wondering why she is saying shit). Kalyan then pointed to the same corner and sure enough there it was, a piece of shit in the corner, yes I mean human feces, and it wasn’t from a child either, it was adult poop. Since this school is in the slums there are very few, if any, restrooms, so I am thinking either someone wandered in at night and used the classroom as a toilet, or some one thought the window of the classroom was a sewer, used it has a bathroom and their business dropped into the classroom. (the class is kind of underground, so the window looks out to the “pavement” of the street). Who knows how it got there, but it was definitely there. I looked up at the boys and they were holding their nose and waving their hand in front of their face, the universal sign for peeeeeee- uu! I mean these poor kids are having to learn with shit on the floor. I almost lost it and freaked out but I kept telling myself to stay calm and ignore it but it did smell AWFUL! Unfortunately I think my nose got used to the smell because it didn't bother me after about 10 minutes, mind over matter, right…I just ignored it and went on with my lesson. The children were fabulous, the language barrier was difficult but smiles and clapping can transcend that very easily, so that’s basically all we did. Kalyan taught me how to say “What color do you want?” in Khmer, so I could finish the art project after she left. (Above is a picture of the children I taught while they are on their break).
For the art project I wanted to make something that involved the whole class and something that could be left in their classroom after we leave, unlike Kindergarten classrooms in America, the classrooms at this school do not have much color or posters that decorate the walls. Studies have shown that young children love color and animals on the wall, and a room with educational value on the walls is conducive to a better learning environment. Since they are learning colors today, I came up with the idea of a handprint rainbow. The first part of class we went over all of the different colors, they knew them pretty well. I had flashcards with a Red circle and the word Red, and the same for all of the other colors. When I was going over the colors, I went out of order to see if they could still identify the colors and they could! They could say them and spell them, which really surprised me. I wish I could have engaged the students who sat in the back more, they did not know how to say the colors as well as the children in the front, but this was hard to do with just me in the classroom. If I went to the back of the classroom all hell would break loose in the front, so I had stay at the front and try to give them extra attention, practice and directions when they came up to put their handprint on the rainbow. The handprint rainbow was a HUGE success.
Here is a picture of the finished rainbow! And also pictured here is the corner that had poop in it, the bottom right corner of the photo.
Before class, I taped 16 pieces of paper together (they don’t have poster board or butcher paper in Cambodia) to make one big piece of paper and drew a rainbow on it. During class I taped it to the board and had the kids line up one by one. I then asked them in Khmer and in English “What color do you want?” They usually just pointed to the color on the rainbow, so I would ask them to say the color in English, if they said it in English correctly then I painted their hand that color and they stuck it on that color in the rainbow! The children loved being able to pick a color, have their hand painted and create art with their handprint! I lost track of who had already gone and they were already trampling one another to try to get to the front of the classroom, so I had to be firm with the sneaky ones and tell them to sit because they have already had a turn. The art project was a little messy, but that’s part of what made it so fun! I struggled a little bit because I didn't have a translator, but when I felt overwhelmed I would just teach them a song. They LOVE the Itsy Bitsy Spider and I’m a Little Teapot. Overall my first teaching experience went pretty well, I have major respect for teachers, it truly is a gift to be able to teach and especially teach to kindergarteners. I barely got by and I doubt the kids learned much that they can remember. I thought it would be a breeze because I am goofy and silly and at the very least I knew I could make them laugh, but it takes a lot of work, patience, and in my case a pretty strong gag reflex to teach children!!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Reality
My internet has not been working so I am just now posting this...
These last two days, Monday and Tuesday, have been the best so far! This has been my favorite day because we FINALLY got to do and see the reason I came to Cambodia in the first place, to teach/hang out with vulnerable and underprivileged children. Seeing the schools has further inspired me to do a fantastic job and has also provided me a peace within about being here. Its about 6pm on Tuesday and we just got back to the Villa from touring the 3 schools where we will be teaching with the RUPP students. I should not have been so nervous about meeting them on Monday, they were just as enthusiastic if not more about meeting us. There are 17 of them and 6 of us, so I have many new Khmer friends.
They are so nice and have VERY good English. Its cool to be with my peers who are from another country. We have so much in common, yet we are also so very different. Monday we went to the Royal University of Phnom Penh, it was an expansive campus with students all over the place. The class we are working with at PIO are all 2nd year psychology students. Dr. Lewis and their teacher (Neakkroo Hema) have been working together on research projects and such for the past couple of years so that’s how this is all working out. We basically had a meet and greet with them; found out about their families, their studies, their favorite hobbies, favorite foods, dreams, aspirations etc.
After the meet and greet with the RUPP students, which was so fun, we went back to the villa for lunch then we ventured off into our neighborhood and shopped around in a cute part of Phnom Penh, there were so many cute cafes that catered to foreigners. A coffee shop or cafe, Cambodian style, on every corner filled with ex-pats on their computers or enjoying a meal. I felt completely safe in that area. There were also several NGO shops that sold cute arts and craftsy type items. After exploring that part of town we took about a 3 mile walk to and from the river front. I was so excited to do this because I have felt like a caged bird in the villa lately; we did not leave the villa at all on Sunday and I was just rearing to go and get out and see the city via foot. I think walking around in a new place is the best way to get to know it. You can see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the air and scents of daily life. It was a beautiful day and started getting cooler, so the walk to the Mekong River was nice. We snapped lots of pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Cambodians, especially children, love having their photo taken, which is great for me because I love taking pictures. This is a video of some precious children who LOVED the camera, I gave them a quick English lesson.
Tuesday morning (this morning) came early, we woke up at 5:45 am, ate breakfast and were off to pick up the RUPP students to tour the schools. It was so wonderful getting to know them a little more. I talked to three of them for most of the time on the bus their names are Keam, Malen, and Rattanak Ly. They are helping me with my Khmer, I’m trying to get to the point where Khmer people don't laugh their ass off after every time I attempt to say something in Khmer...that's a good goal right? It was almost all of the RUPP students’ first time to visit these parts of Phnom Penh as well. This took me by surprise. I just assumed that the educated and/or wealthy knew about the poverty and underprivileged in their own country, but I have found out that it is not the case. Phymean Noun, the founder of PIO, is actually a revolutionary. Most organizations in Cambodia that serve the poor are Western NGOs, which is not a bad thing, but it contributes to the problem of this ignorance or turn a blind eye approach by other Khmers. Since Phymean Noun is a Khmer woman who started an organization helping other underprivileged and poor Khmer people, I am hoping and praying that her work will inspire other Khmer people, like RUPP students, to get involved with PIO or even have a dream to start their own organization similar to PIO.
The first school we visited was Borei Santhipheap II, it was about a 30 minute drive. It is located in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL drive, the Cambodian countryside is breathtaking. It is so lush with beautiful flowers of fushia and lavender blooming from Lilly pads, houses on stilts and cream-colored cows grazing the pastures. Borei Santhipheap is a small, extremely poor agricultural community. It is filled with simple homes storing just the items a family needs to get by , yet the village is still very colorful and alive. The drive to the school was an experience in and of itself. We got to the school and the children greeted us with THE most adorable song, it went something like "Gooooood Mooorniiiing Teeeacherrrrr, How are yooou today?" (teacher would answer) "I am fine, Thank you, teacher" But its much cuter when you hear it! The children are so full of life and so eager to learn! They showed off their English to us. Almost every conversation I had with a child went like this, I would ask. "What is your name?" They would answer, "My name is..." then they would ask, "What is your name?" then I would answer. Then they would ask "How old are you?" followed by "Where do you come from?" It was so fun hanging out with the kids, I was so in my element, teaching them songs, and laughing with them. 
I must say, I am so so so so so happy that the RUPP students are teaching with us because they are phenomenal translators, we can make MUCH more progress working side by side than alone. I have so many cute pictures; my finger just could not stop pressing the button. At the end of our tour it was lunchtime for them, so we took a big group picture. If you can't tell I have made 2 new friends, they just jumped into my arms. The little boy is holding up his money hahaha
Sorry this is getting lengthy so I will end it quick. Every school had its own personality. The second school we went to is called Borey Keliah, it is the school that is in the middle of the slums. A family's only possession might be a hammock, which doubles as their living room. It is quite a sight to see, there is one room, split up by tin into 3 different classrooms... There are SO MANY students packed into 1 room, Mary and I got up in the front of the Kindergarten classroom and sang the itsy bitsy spider, they LOVED it, we had to do it like 5 times hahaha. We finally made it to Stung Mean Chey, the school that is in the dump. This is the place that affected me the most. As we drove into the village, or community you could begin to detect the stench of garbage. There were heaps and heaps of garbage that went on and on and on. We kept drivin
g down the street which was lined with homes and a few vendors, women covered from head to toe scavenging through the trash. There were children running next to the bus and when we got out and walked into the school, amidst all of the trash, we were greeted with the biggest brightest smiles. We met a few of the classes and then they performed traditional Khmer dancing for us, its was ADORABLE! I made friends with two little girls and taught them the hand/clapping game Mrs. Mary Mack. We became great friends. After the show, Pryth, one of the boys who performed the dance wanted to show us where he lived. We walked about 40 steps down the “road” to a freshly painted building. We walked into a big room that had nothing in it except for a few murals on the wall and a poster with about 40 pictures of individual children on it. Pryth had just taken us to PIOs orphanage. He gave us a tour of the orphanage, the first room we saw was the boys’ room, I’ve posted a picture of it below. Pryth was SO proud and boasting at the fact that everyone had THEIR OWN toothbrush and toothpaste. The platform is their bed and the shelf against the wall holds each boy’s belongings, ALL of his belongings. Lisa, one of the girls also in the program, said is perfectly, the room where the children slept and kept all of their things was a perfect visual to the excess that we have. This is so true! I mean you should have seen the suitcases I packed to come over here. Upstairs was the girls’ room, same thing but no platform for a bed. 
Stung Men Chey was my favorite of all the schools because the children were extremely lively since they’re so used to interacting with foreigners and also because the dump, filthy as it was, made for a great sight to see. Unfortunately that was my first and most likely my last visit to Stung Men Chey while I am here. It is for an extremely great reason though. Since Phymean Noun won the CNN award, the Stung Men Chey school has gotten a great deal of publicity and is already full with volunteer teachers. Dr. Lewis told us that we are desperately needed at the other 2 schools because no foreigners have ever volunteered there.
So much for that short ending… I guess I just had a lot I wanted to talk about.
Aah I am tired of typing! I didn't read it over, so sorry in advance for all of the errors..haha
Much love!
Rosie
These last two days, Monday and Tuesday, have been the best so far! This has been my favorite day because we FINALLY got to do and see the reason I came to Cambodia in the first place, to teach/hang out with vulnerable and underprivileged children. Seeing the schools has further inspired me to do a fantastic job and has also provided me a peace within about being here. Its about 6pm on Tuesday and we just got back to the Villa from touring the 3 schools where we will be teaching with the RUPP students. I should not have been so nervous about meeting them on Monday, they were just as enthusiastic if not more about meeting us. There are 17 of them and 6 of us, so I have many new Khmer friends.
They are so nice and have VERY good English. Its cool to be with my peers who are from another country. We have so much in common, yet we are also so very different. Monday we went to the Royal University of Phnom Penh, it was an expansive campus with students all over the place. The class we are working with at PIO are all 2nd year psychology students. Dr. Lewis and their teacher (Neakkroo Hema) have been working together on research projects and such for the past couple of years so that’s how this is all working out. We basically had a meet and greet with them; found out about their families, their studies, their favorite hobbies, favorite foods, dreams, aspirations etc.After the meet and greet with the RUPP students, which was so fun, we went back to the villa for lunch then we ventured off into our neighborhood and shopped around in a cute part of Phnom Penh, there were so many cute cafes that catered to foreigners. A coffee shop or cafe, Cambodian style, on every corner filled with ex-pats on their computers or enjoying a meal. I felt completely safe in that area. There were also several NGO shops that sold cute arts and craftsy type items. After exploring that part of town we took about a 3 mile walk to and from the river front. I was so excited to do this because I have felt like a caged bird in the villa lately; we did not leave the villa at all on Sunday and I was just rearing to go and get out and see the city via foot. I think walking around in a new place is the best way to get to know it. You can see the sights, hear the sounds and smell the air and scents of daily life. It was a beautiful day and started getting cooler, so the walk to the Mekong River was nice. We snapped lots of pictures and enjoyed the scenery. Cambodians, especially children, love having their photo taken, which is great for me because I love taking pictures. This is a video of some precious children who LOVED the camera, I gave them a quick English lesson.
Tuesday morning (this morning) came early, we woke up at 5:45 am, ate breakfast and were off to pick up the RUPP students to tour the schools. It was so wonderful getting to know them a little more. I talked to three of them for most of the time on the bus their names are Keam, Malen, and Rattanak Ly. They are helping me with my Khmer, I’m trying to get to the point where Khmer people don't laugh their ass off after every time I attempt to say something in Khmer...that's a good goal right? It was almost all of the RUPP students’ first time to visit these parts of Phnom Penh as well. This took me by surprise. I just assumed that the educated and/or wealthy knew about the poverty and underprivileged in their own country, but I have found out that it is not the case. Phymean Noun, the founder of PIO, is actually a revolutionary. Most organizations in Cambodia that serve the poor are Western NGOs, which is not a bad thing, but it contributes to the problem of this ignorance or turn a blind eye approach by other Khmers. Since Phymean Noun is a Khmer woman who started an organization helping other underprivileged and poor Khmer people, I am hoping and praying that her work will inspire other Khmer people, like RUPP students, to get involved with PIO or even have a dream to start their own organization similar to PIO.
The first school we visited was Borei Santhipheap II, it was about a 30 minute drive. It is located in the outskirts of Phnom Penh. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL drive, the Cambodian countryside is breathtaking. It is so lush with beautiful flowers of fushia and lavender blooming from Lilly pads, houses on stilts and cream-colored cows grazing the pastures. Borei Santhipheap is a small, extremely poor agricultural community. It is filled with simple homes storing just the items a family needs to get by , yet the village is still very colorful and alive. The drive to the school was an experience in and of itself. We got to the school and the children greeted us with THE most adorable song, it went something like "Gooooood Mooorniiiing Teeeacherrrrr, How are yooou today?" (teacher would answer) "I am fine, Thank you, teacher" But its much cuter when you hear it! The children are so full of life and so eager to learn! They showed off their English to us. Almost every conversation I had with a child went like this, I would ask. "What is your name?" They would answer, "My name is..." then they would ask, "What is your name?" then I would answer. Then they would ask "How old are you?" followed by "Where do you come from?" It was so fun hanging out with the kids, I was so in my element, teaching them songs, and laughing with them. 
I must say, I am so so so so so happy that the RUPP students are teaching with us because they are phenomenal translators, we can make MUCH more progress working side by side than alone. I have so many cute pictures; my finger just could not stop pressing the button. At the end of our tour it was lunchtime for them, so we took a big group picture. If you can't tell I have made 2 new friends, they just jumped into my arms. The little boy is holding up his money hahahaSorry this is getting lengthy so I will end it quick. Every school had its own personality. The second school we went to is called Borey Keliah, it is the school that is in the middle of the slums. A family's only possession might be a hammock, which doubles as their living room. It is quite a sight to see, there is one room, split up by tin into 3 different classrooms... There are SO MANY students packed into 1 room, Mary and I got up in the front of the Kindergarten classroom and sang the itsy bitsy spider, they LOVED it, we had to do it like 5 times hahaha. We finally made it to Stung Mean Chey, the school that is in the dump. This is the place that affected me the most. As we drove into the village, or community you could begin to detect the stench of garbage. There were heaps and heaps of garbage that went on and on and on. We kept drivin
g down the street which was lined with homes and a few vendors, women covered from head to toe scavenging through the trash. There were children running next to the bus and when we got out and walked into the school, amidst all of the trash, we were greeted with the biggest brightest smiles. We met a few of the classes and then they performed traditional Khmer dancing for us, its was ADORABLE! I made friends with two little girls and taught them the hand/clapping game Mrs. Mary Mack. We became great friends. After the show, Pryth, one of the boys who performed the dance wanted to show us where he lived. We walked about 40 steps down the “road” to a freshly painted building. We walked into a big room that had nothing in it except for a few murals on the wall and a poster with about 40 pictures of individual children on it. Pryth had just taken us to PIOs orphanage. He gave us a tour of the orphanage, the first room we saw was the boys’ room, I’ve posted a picture of it below. Pryth was SO proud and boasting at the fact that everyone had THEIR OWN toothbrush and toothpaste. The platform is their bed and the shelf against the wall holds each boy’s belongings, ALL of his belongings. Lisa, one of the girls also in the program, said is perfectly, the room where the children slept and kept all of their things was a perfect visual to the excess that we have. This is so true! I mean you should have seen the suitcases I packed to come over here. Upstairs was the girls’ room, same thing but no platform for a bed. 
Stung Men Chey was my favorite of all the schools because the children were extremely lively since they’re so used to interacting with foreigners and also because the dump, filthy as it was, made for a great sight to see. Unfortunately that was my first and most likely my last visit to Stung Men Chey while I am here. It is for an extremely great reason though. Since Phymean Noun won the CNN award, the Stung Men Chey school has gotten a great deal of publicity and is already full with volunteer teachers. Dr. Lewis told us that we are desperately needed at the other 2 schools because no foreigners have ever volunteered there.So much for that short ending… I guess I just had a lot I wanted to talk about.
Aah I am tired of typing! I didn't read it over, so sorry in advance for all of the errors..haha
Much love!
Rosie
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