Excursion to the Mountains of Ghana

This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to the Volta Region with AFS Ghana.  The trip included the German, Belgium, and American exchange students.  We all traveled to Ho, Ghana, which is the Capital of Volta Region.  The first day we traveled to Ho, we had dinner then went straight to the hotel.  The hotel was very nice. It had a mini-golfing, a pool, a park, sports bar etc.  It's located in a serene spot in the mountains, which made the stay very relaxing.  On the second day we went hiking at Paradise Mountain.  I for one, love hiking and was very excited to hike in Ghana.  It was a nice, long hike and I choose to venture off, and take the harder route back up the mountain.  It was extremely fun because we had to trek through the African jungle and repel down parts of the mountain.  We hiked past the Paradise Mountain waterfall and got to relax by the waterfall.  After the hike was concluded some friends and I went to town to buy fabric and other trinkets.  It was interesting to see the difference between Accra and Ho.  Ho, although it is the capital of the Volta Region, was less urban than Accra and also less Westernized.  Back at the hotel we ate and watched movies in our rooms and enjoyed the hot water that the hotel provided for showers! A large supply of hot water is a rarity in most parts of Ghana.  The next day we headed home, stopping to buy yams and fresh tilapia on the way.  Although the trip was short I enjoyed myself and loved visiting the mountains of Ghana.    

Christmas in Ghana

Where I live in America once December hits it becomes cold and snowy, and people get in the “Christmas Spirit”.  Lights and trees decorate houses; Santa Clause and Mistletoes appear around town.  Everywhere you look you see green and red.  Along with acknowledging Jesus’ birth I had always associated the commercialized part of Christmas to be part of the holiday.  But this 2014 Christmas I got to experience something new.  A Christmas in Ghana is very different from a Christmas in America and it was wonderful to be able to experience it with my friends and family here in Ghana.

On Christmas Day my family and I attended a traditional Ghanaian engagement.  The engagement is the traditional marriage that binds the bride and grooms families together.  This engagement was taking place between a Ghanaian groom a bride who was born and raised in America. At the engagement the couple wore traditional outfits such as kente cloth and then after the marriage was complete the changed into more westernized clothing and attended the reception.  At the engagement the groom and his family presented the bride and her family with the bride-price which is given to the bride to show that the groom is worthy enough of marrying her.  Scriptures were read, songs were sung, and dances were performed.  It was a very informal wedding and the audience members could speak during the ceremony freely.  I was happy to be able to experience a traditional wedding in Ghana.

After the engagement my sister and I went to a gathering with friends where we ate and talked and enjoyed Christmas together.  There were traditional foods such as fufu, kenkey, and kelewele etc. music was playing, and games were played.  It was a nice time to sit around and enjoy the holidays.  Following that we went back home and had a get together at our house.  Christmas day proved to be relaxing and a time for friends and family to come together and share traditions.  The rest of the Christmas holiday I spent at beaches, going out to dinners and lunches and just enjoying Ghana. 

The Northern Trip

Being a participant of the AFS organization, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be a part of the AFS trip to the North.  This trip allowed us to have the opportunity to travel to Kumasi and Tamale and learn more about Ghanaian history and be exposed to more Ghanaian culture.  Although it is only the fourth day of the trip I have learned a lot about the Ghanaian people in Kumasi and realized how different the Accra life is from some places in Kumasi

On the first day of the trip we left Accra around two o’clock in the afternoon and arrived in Kumasi around seven in the evening.  We stayed at the Champion International Hotel for the night.  The following morning we headed out to go to Ntonso and Ahwia, which are two locations where Kente is made in Kente Village.  Kente is a colorful cloth made in Ghana.  It can be woven as a single stitch, double stitch, or triple stitch.  The process for making Kente is very tedious and the weavers can sometimes work on making Kente cloth for days at a time. 

The first stop we made in Ntonso was at the trademark village, Bonwire, and is the traditional home of Kente.  History says that the man who started weaving Kente cloth had learned how to do so by watching a spider weave its web.  At Bonwire we were shown how Kente is woven on the loom after which I was given the opportunity to weave Kente cloth.  Under directions from a weaver, I sat in his loom and he showed me how to continue weaving a strip of Kente. The process was simple; first you have to put these two strings in between your big toe and the toe next to it on your right and left feet respectively.  Next, you put the string wrapped around a wooden handle through the Kente attached to the loom.  Lastly, you pound the string that you just wove with a vertically lined block to ensure that the stitches are compact.  During this process you alternate pulling your right foot down and then your left foot like your pedaling, which makes the loom actually weave the string you are feeding it. 

Also at Bonwire we had the opportunity to buy Kente cloth and different souvenirs.  Once everyone was done with their purchases we gathered outside the building and waited for the group before getting on the bus.  We were greeted by little children who wanted to hug the “obronis” (that means foreigners in twi, one of the local languages in Ghana).  The little kids were so adorable and I loved being able to interact with them and see their faces brighten when I would say hello.  Once everyone was ready we got on the AFS bus and headed to the wood-carving place in Ahwia.  Here we were shown how Kente dye is made.  It takes about two weeks to get just a pot of black Kente dye.  The process involves getting “bade3” bark from a tree in the North and soaking it for about three days, then pounding the bark, boiling the bark, and extracting the color out of the bark.  We also were shown Adinkra symbols.  These are blocks of wood that have Ghanaian symbols carved into them.  Each participant picked a symbol and dipped it into the Kente dye and stamped it on a strip of kente cloth for AFS.  I also bought my own strip of Kente and made my own design with the symbols meaning: go back to your roots, the power of God, and love.

That concluded our Kente portion of the day and then we moved onto having a tour of the Manhyia palace museum where we learned about the Asante hene (which is the Asante regions chief).  It was cool to find out the history of the Asante chiefs and see how the traditional system of chieftaincy is still engrained in the Asante people even though Ghana is under a democratic rule of John Dramani Mahama.  The Asante region is honestly like its own little part of Ghana—it even has it’s own flag.

The following day we visited Kintampo Falls which is a gorgeous waterfall in Ghana.  We got to learn the history of the three parts of the Falls and we got to go into the waterfall.  It was a beautiful sight where lots of Ghanaians just came to have fun and play in the water.

On the fourth day of our trip we went to Mole National Park.  Although we didn’t get to see any elephants, we hiked through the park and got to see baboons, monkeys, bush pigs, kobs, and wild deer.  The land was beautiful and I felt as though I was one with nature as I was able to walk alongside the animals.  Preceding the hike we headed out to Tamale and stopped in a small Muslim village of about 4000 people.  Here we were shown the oldest Mosque in Ghana.  It was so amazing to see this mosque still standing and in use after all these years.  I got a sneak peak into the inside of the mosque was actually pretty spacious inside even though it looks quite small from the outside.

Pictures

A motorcycle transporting water sachets (bagged water)

Cow herding in the East

Akwatia, Ghana

A Village in the East

Payless came to Ghana

Swimming Pool

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Me, my host nephew, and my liason

My Host nephews 1 yr old bday

Crepes are the best

Teachers sitting and watching the Interhouses

House 3 vs House 1 Volleyball

Coaching Volleyball

WASSARIANS

In our Classroom

Form 1 Block

Football field in the Distance during Interhouses

ICT Block

Form 1 Block

Form 2 visual arts and Business Block

Administration Block

Form 3 block

The road to WASHS

Patriotism

Just wanted to shine some light on schooling.  So as I said before in Ghanaian schools they have four different programs you can participate in.  There’s Science, Visual Arts, Business, and General Arts.  Each program has a selection of electives that you can pick from.  I am in the General Arts program.  The electives I take are Geography, History, Government, Economics along with the core classes of English, Math, Science, Social Studies, ICT (Intergraded Computer Technology), and PE.

In each class there is a head class prefect and assistant class prefect.  They are in charge of collecting homework, passing out papers, informing students of what’s happening in the school, keeping the class in order, calling the teacher to come to class, taking attendance etc.  This is a different dynamic of Ghanaian schools that American schools don’t have: Delegating a select few to have power over the whole class without resentment.  I think it’s pretty cool.  There are prefects for everything: house prefect, disciplinary prefect, entertainment prefect, sports prefect, cleaning prefect etc…

Forms:  In Ghana there are three forms: Form 1, Form 2, and Form 3.  It’s basically like Freshman, Junior, Senior.  Seniority is big in Ghana so Form 3’s have the power to do a lot in terms of punishing Form 2’s and 1’s.  You can differentiate what form people are in based on the belt that the person is wearing with their uniform.  There are form specific belts.  The form 2’s and 3’s start their first term in September and continue throughout the school year.  On the other hand the form 1’s admission starts in November and December due to the fact that their results (result’s from the test the took in Middle school or junior high school, as it is called here) do not come back until those times.  Therefore all form 1’s don’t appear on campus until the second semester.  Each form is divided into blocks (buildings) based on what program you’re in.  For example there would be separate General Arts form 2 block and the General Arts form 3 block.  And in each block the classrooms are divided based on what electives you take.  So in my General Arts form 2 block I am in Classroom C because of my electives.  Classroom B takes Christian Religious Studies instead of Geography so they are differentiated.  Each Classroom has a Form master who is the teacher or administrator in charge of performing form activities and they are the support system for those students.

Houses:  There are Five Houses: House 1, House 2, House 3, House 4, and House 5.  Every student is placed in a house.  I am in House 3 (The Knights) and we honestly are the best house.  Each House has a plot, which is a section on the school campus that they are responsible for tending too.  Students may be required to weed (which is done by cutting the grass with a machete), sweep, clean, scrub etc.  The workload is given out by seniority.  Form 3’s will oversee the Form 2’s and when the Form 1’s come the Form 2’s will oversee the Form 1’s.  Another exciting part of houses is that the school hosts interhouse competitions.  This is when the houses compete against each other in sports and it is a huge event.  House three won that too!!!  During interhouse competitions there are “scouts” who pick the best players from the whole school to compete in interschool competitions, which is when all the different schools in the Accra region compete against each other.  There are also house meetings and House head mistresses and masters.

Typical Mon-Fri schedule:

Monday- arrive at school between 5-8.  Go to work on your plot if needed.  Drop your bag off in your classroom.  Go to Assembly.  History. Government. Social Studies. Geography.  Close from school.

Tuesday- arrive at school between 5-8.  Go to work on your plot if needed.  Go to classroom and meet with Form Master/Class prefect and discuss and problems.  English. Government. Math. Science. Close from school.

Wednesday- arrive at school between 5-8.  Go to work on your plot if needed.  Drop your bag off in your classroom.  Go to Assembly Hall for Worship.  Economics. ICT.  Geography. History. Close from school

Thursday- arrive at school between 5-8.  Go to work on your plot if needed. Go to classroom and meet with Form Master/Class prefect and discuss and problems. History. Science. English. Geography.  Close from school.

Friday- arrive at school between 5-8.  Go to work on your plot if needed.  Drop your bag off in your classroom.  Go to Assembly.  Government. PE. Economics. Math.  Close from school.

Arriving to school:  Yes there are kids that show up to school at 5am.  That is one thing I might never understand because that is entirely to early when classes don’t start until 8am.  And then there are the student’s that stroll in at 9am, 10am, 11am or better yet they don’t go to school they just come for sport’s training after school.  I on the other hand show up at a “normal” time of 7:30am.

Assembly: On Monday’s and Friday’s we have assembly.  On Monday’s you line up outside on the grass by your class.  On Friday’s you line up by your house.  Everyone from Form 1 to Form 3 is there so it’s a ton of people and you’re all out in the hot sun.  During Assembly the school song is sung, the national anthem is sung, the Lord’s prayer, the pledge of allegiance is said, and a student preacher delivers a sermon.  After that the administrators say what’s happening in the week and can announce things.  Businesses frequently come it and try to get kids to register for things such as Banks wanting students to open up accounts.  After we are dismissed from assembly we all go back to our respective blocks and classrooms.

I entitled this entry Patriotism because during assemblies I feel ‘some type of way’ when the national anthem and pledge of allegiance happens.  Like it’s funny because I’m like well I can’t pledge allegiance to Ghana when I’m an American, but then everyone’s is looking to see if I’m going to say it, but I’m not.  Usually me and the other exchange student at my school look at each other and chuckle and we just don’t say it.  I mean it’s not really like we could because we don’t know the pledge and anthem, but yeah I just find that funny.  Go America!!  But I still love Ghana!


Worship:  Another really big deference in Ghana is that religion plays a huge role in school.  We have a mosque on campus and the Muslims go to pray during second break (around noon) and then they can choose to pray after closing or wait until they get home to pray.  For the Christians (and even if you’re not a Christian—but mostly everyone is) the assembly hall is the “church”.  On Wednesday’s everyone goes into the hall including the Muslim students and they dance and sing and praise God.  The school band is live and it’s just a joyous time.  There’s the school choir and preacher.  The student preacher preaches and then an actual adult preacher preaches a short sermon.  There’s offering and everything.  You would never find this happening in America, but I find it really cool that the teachers and students and Muslims and Christians can all come together in peace and be able to sit through assembly.

A Mosque Between Two Churches

On October 4^th AFS put together an excursion that allowed us to observe the Muslim holiday Eid Al-Adha and learn about the Islamic religion.  Since we were going into the Muslim communities we were all instructed to wear a hijab to be respectful of the Muslim religion.  We were all picked up by the AFS bus in the morning and driven to a mosque.  The mosque we went to was very close to a military base and it was nice to see the military men mingling with the Muslims and talking to them.  Another gorgeous aspect of this mosque is that it’s between two churches.  I found that so beautiful because it goes to show that religions can tolerate each other and get along even if you don’t practice all of the same things.

We were able to go into the mosque and sit with the rest of the Muslim ladies at the top of the mosque (the men were downstairs).  I learned that the reason Muslims celebrate Eid-Adha is to commemorate Abraham's faithfulness to Allah when he was commanded from Allah to kill his only son. Upon hearing this command, he prepared to submit to Allah's will. But when he was all prepared to do it, Allah told him that his "sacrifice" had already been fulfilled by him showing that he would lay down his own life or the lives of those dear to him in order to submit to God.  After the service we witnessed the slaughtering of two cows at the back entrance to the mosque.  That was a very interesting thing to watch, I had never seen a slaughtering before.  The symbolism behind the sacrificing of an animal shows the willingness to make sacrifices in our lives in order to stay on the Straight Path. The animal meat is sectioned into three parts.  One-third of the meat is eaten by immediate family and relatives, one-third is given away to friends, and one-third is donated to the poor. 

After the festivities concluded at the mosque, we met up with a Muslim man who acted as our guide for the Islamic religion.  We took the bus to his home and were able to ask any question we wanted about Islam and discuss the religion.  This part of the day was very intriguing.  I enjoyed hearing a Muslims point of view on certain issues and understanding the misconceptions people have about Muslims.  Many times non-Muslims will say that the Muslim women are being oppressed and they don’t have rights etc.  But what I came to understand that day was that choosing to be a Muslim is a choice—therefore if you choose to become a Muslim and follow what Allah, it’s not oppression at all.  You have subjected yourself to following Allah’s word and you have agreed to do what the Quran says.  Moreover people have a bad perception of the Islamic religion and always reference terrorist groups and Muslim extremist, but in fact those acts that are done do not line up with the Quran at all and that is not what the Islamic religion represents at all.  All and all the day was great an I’m grateful that I had this opportunity to look into the Muslim way of life.

Some Pictures