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I have now been in Ghana for 2 weeks but it feels like forever! i have settled into a routine of teaching class 5 which is very challenging as they do not pay the least bit of attention to me or their teacher. The children are very aggressive and start brawls in the middle of the classroom! they hit each other, bite each other, kick each other! it is most bizarre- i remember sitting quietly and paying attention to the teacher in year 5, i probably didnt learn much but at least i listened! Another difficulty with teaching is that there are constant interuptions and distractions in the classroom. The younger children are always wandering in to get their pens or money or lunch bowls from their older siblings, everyday a lady comes in to collect 10pesowas for lunch from each student, and once a week the children who have not paid their school fees ares sent home to get them. it is most disrupting to my teaching- it is tempting to give up as the children do not appear to want to learn but i guess i should soldier through.
On Tuesday afternoon, the other 3 volunteers at the school and i went to Bonwire a nearby village which is famous for weaving the traditional Kente cloth. They weave the cloth on looms using both their hands and feet to pull the thread through. The cloth is woven in thin strips which are then sewn together. Nowadays they use synthetic threads such as nylon, but traditionally the cloth was made of silk. It is very cool to watch and the outcome is very pretty- the colours and patterns are quite similar to the South American material. As soon as we arrived in Bonwie we were immediately bombarded by men who wanted to take us to their shop- in the end however we followed one man who took us round the back of some houses and down an alley to where some men were weaving the cloth. All of the men said they wanted to marry us as all men seem to here, even when i say i have a boyfriend they tell me it doesn't matter because he is not in Ghana. We did however managed to escape without having to marry any of the men in Bonwire.
The weavers expected money from us for taking pictures of them, which i guess is ok but they asked for so much. Everyone here assumes that i am rich just because im white. A lot of the time i think when they look at me they just see a wallet. The children in the home and the school seem to be used to getting money and possesions from white people and see no problem in asking for it - most of the time they simply say give me and don't understand why i won't give them everything they want. I imagine this would be the same anywhere that a volunteer organisation would take you as the people are all used to volunteers and therefore used to being given things. I think next time if i want to find somewhere to volunteer that is not spolied by the idea of money i will have to skip the organisation and just find an orphanage or school directly. These are just a few of my observations that may change with time.
I am enjoying my time in besease at the school and the home but am going to visit mampong babies home tommorow where i was originally supposed to be sent to see if i would prefer it there- simply because the children are younger. If i like it there i may spend 1 more week in besease and the next four in mampong.
sorry if i have rambled i really hope this is somewhat interesting- being here is definately interesting i just need to find the right way to portray it all in words. miss you all- only 7 and a half more weeks. xxx
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