Facts about Xela Part II

~The have water sachets here!  The little plastic bags of water that we had drank from in Ghana! I haven’t seen them sold, just the discarded plastic strewn about the street.  But I know that’s what they are.  I could recognize a water sachet anywhere.  (T.I.A.?)

~Doorbells here sound like birds chirping.  Mighty strange at first, but quite nice once you get used to it.  Occasionally it gets confusing when a real bird chirps…

~As a marketing strategy, companies will often have a car drive around the city with huge speakers mounted on top that play their ads at top volume.  The first time I heard it, I got freaked out because my mind immediately went to political propaganda.  Then I listened a little closer and realized that no, they were talking about fried chicken and phone services.  Great, Xela.  Thank you for that. 

¡Seño! ~ 9/5/12

Today was my first day working at the shelter.  I woke up early, scarffed down some eggs that Eli had made for me, and caught the rickety micro bus to the market, hopped off, got the rickety old school bus decorated with tassels, stickers of Jesus, and slogans about God, and made my way to the outskirts of Xela, passing sand quarries and corn fields.  I got off at my stop quite a ways later and walked down the little path to the shelter. 

Some women were doing laundry and others were cooking.  I barely put my stuff down when some of the children saw me and ran up to me to hold my hand. I took them upstairs and unlocked the outdoor terrace where we went outside and played.  The other volunteer wasn’t there yet and the other women were downstairs so it was just me watching about ten kids.  It was a little hectic at first.  One kid would get upset, hit another one which would make that kid cry and as soon as I got that kid to stop crying and had scolded the other one, another kid would start crying for some reason.  I made the stupid, stupid, stupid mistake of not turning the deadbolt on the door.  So when one kid got made at me because I made him share his toy cars, he ran inside and closed the door, locking all of us outside.  He stood on the other side of the door, crying and scowling at me. I tried being stern, I tried being sweet, I tried lying and said I had to go to the bathroom, but the little rugrat refused to open the door.  Only when I shouted for one of the workers did he open it and storm off.  But after a little while, I got out a storybook and got them all to calm down.  It’s really sweet how loving they all are.  I can’t walk anywhere without both hands being held and anytime I sit down of I have a child climb on each of my knees.  They all kept calling me “seño” which I learned is a shortened version of señorita and is a more professional way to say miss.  I’ve never heard this word before and I’m not sure if it’s just a Guatemalan thing.  (If any hispanohablantes want to weigh in, please do.)

We spent the rest of the morning drawing with chalk and doing scavenger hunts outside.  I’m not quite sure where my intense love for kids comes from. I didn’t do much babysitting when I was younger (slash practically none), but for some reason I just feel a pang of love for each of these children.  I wish I could soothe the scrapes from their faces and fix their tattered shoes.  They seem pretty happy though so I guess that’s the most I can ask for. 

This afternoon Eli showed me how to prepare the maize for corn tortillas.  It’s a very labor intensive process that she does about three times a week, depending on how much tortillas we eat (which let’s be real, is a lot).  She goes to her mom’s house down the street because her mom has a courtyard in the back with a shed where they build fires.  There are four big rocks in a circle and in the middle she builds a fire making teepees out of kindling and small logs.  She uses a special kind of wood. I’m not sure what the name was, but it’s supposed to be really good for fires.  Then in a pot, she combines water with this mineral mixture that has calcium in it.  She balances the pot on the rocks and the shed gets very, very smokey.  Then she pours in the corn kernels and lets it boil for about an hour, periodically stirring it.  It was really interesting to see this process that probably hasn’t changed very much over centuries. 

That’s actually as far into the process as I saw because when I got home, I helped Alejandra out with her English homework, afterwards we bonded and talked about everything from boys to music.  She’s a good kid. 

My nightly routine is I brush my teeth with bottled water, stand on the terrace for a while and look at the view, tidy up my little room, and hang my towel up, tucked into the doorframe to block the light that comes in through the glass on my door.  Then I turn off the light, cuddle up in bed, and write in my blog while listening to the same ten Aventura songs over and over.  I’m not sure whey the dogs bark more at night, but they do.  

I’ve always seen it as a right of passage in learning a language if you have dream in that language.  Well goddammit I’ve been waiting ten years for my Spanish dream and I’m not sure if I’ve had it yet.  The other night I had a dream with Spanish in it.  Jasmin, I dreamt I went to your Spanish class and helped tutor you all.  So I was speaking Spanish in the dream, but that just doesn’t cut it.  I want a full out, no English dream.  A dream where even the people in my life who speak English are speaking Spanish.  I want to wake up and not think anything of it until it hits me that the thoughts running through my unconscious mind were not in my native language.  It’ll happen. 

Orientación ~ 9/412

This day has felt like it lasted a year! This morning I woke up early and went to meet the other volunteers with Nuevos Horizontes.  It’s so weird speaking English with people! There were two volunteers from the States, one from Germany, and one from Holland.  Everyone has really interesting stories about what they’re doing.  Most people have been traveling around for a while, or Guatemala is their first stop in their grandiose travel plans.  It seems to me that other people are just traveling until their savings run out, which is strange to me because if I did that, I would have literally no money when I came home, money that I’ve been saving up for important things like a house someday or who knows, maybe even grad school.  But anyway, this one girl worked on a ship that sailed the pacific for a month.  Another woman has children who are grown up and she’s now deciding to just leave and experience other places.  Another girl just came back from two years doing research in Africa.  Really interesting people. 

            The coordinator, also named Allison, led us on a tour of the daycare.  We got on a bus that went to the outskirts of Xela, about half an hour from the center of town.  The daycare provides childcare to low income families, mostly single mothers who are working.  It’s a really incredible resource.  We walked into the house, tucked back in between some other houses and met the two Guatemalan women who work there.  There’s a dining room, a kitchen, a craft room, and what they call the carpet room where they do quite activities.  Ten little kids, all between ages three and five, were in the craft room and when Allison led us in, they all cried out, “HOLA ALLEEEEESOOOON!!!!!” It was actually the cutest thing ever.  Our responsibilities there will be two coordinate activities, help with meal times, help the older kids in the afternoon with their homework, generally keep them occupied.  I signed up for two shifts on Thursday so I’ll stay there all day.  I can’t wait to work with them.  I just love little kids. 

            Midday I read Ya Ya on the terrace and talked with Eli while we made tortillas for lunch.  Eli and I have been having a lot of deep talks about life and politics, which has been really nice.  We’re getting to know each other quite well and I’m finding out more about Guatemalan society.  It’s been interesting for me living abroad but not studying.  I kind wish I had a class like the ones I had in Cuba and Ghana that taught me about various aspects of society.  I have to find out for myself here.

            In the afternoon, I met up with Allison and another volunteer to tour the shelter.  The two facilities aren’t related to each other and are in completely different areas.  The shelter is actually located just outside of Xela.  We took a bus that made a few stops so the whole trip took about an hour.  We wound around on dusty roads, closer to the mountains with a clear view of the nearby volcano I saw the other day.  We passed dogs, cows, and goats on the side of the road.  Except the goats here belong to people, unlike Ghanaian goats.  Actually come to think of it Ghanaian and Guatemalan dogs and goats switched places…that’s funny.  Anyway.  We got off, walked down a dusty path to where a huge house was situated next to some gardens. 

As soon as we opened the door, two kids came running up to us and gave us hugs.  It was so sweet and really surprised me.  I though the children at the shelter would be more shy because that have come from abuse or some other difficult situation.  But I think they just want to be loved.  Allison couldn’t get through showing us a single room of the house without six kids hanging on us, asking us to swing them around by their arms and play with them.  They were all very sweet and quite a handful.  I can definitely see how the staff members need help.  Our responsibilities there will again be coordinating activities either for the children or the teenagers and mothers.  The house was huge and quite lovely.  Again I’m amazed at what this organization provides people.  Except their government funding just got severely cut so they’re in a financial crisis and they don’t know what the future of the organization will be…I hope they get some more grants soon.  I signed up for a morning shift tomorrow.  It will be nice working at both facilities. 

So now I’ve seen even more parts of Xela!  It’s really cool when things start to line up and make sense.  With all the walking I’ve done, I can now pictures where things are in relation to one another and how to get from point A to point B.  Dinner tonight was fried ripe plantains, refried black beans, Oaxaca cheese, and bread.  Yummmm! 

Escuela ~ 9/4/12

This morning I went to the school where Alyssa works to observe classes and talk to the coordinator about working there.  It was quite far so I woke up early and caught the bus to the licorera, wherever that is, and got off in a completely different part of town next to a field, a lawyer’s office, and a billboard for fried chicken.  Alyssa picked me up and walked me to the school.  Since there are so many fields around this area, it’s so open so you have a clear view of the mountain range and volcanoes all around you.  Breathtakingly beautiful.  We passed some cows and some construction workers and headed into the white, clean, sterile buildings of the private school.  I met with the coordinator and we spoke English because this school has a focus on language immersion.  During the English parts of the day, the teachers can’t speak Spanish and she advised me not to let on to the kids that I speak Spanish.  She went over the weekly schedule, how many classes I would have, what subjects I would teach, and when I would go through training.  The school year goes from early January through October and in November the teachers do grades and other preparations for the following year.  The students only get two separate one-week vacations for the year, so it’s quite the time commitment.  It was a bit daunting.

            Last night I started getting nervous about being here for a whole other year.  As much as I love Xela, that’s just a very long time to be away from home.  What if I was ready to go home in July?  I didn’t have a lot of time to mull this over because I need to give the coordinator an answer this week.  Last night I told myself to just buck up and take the plunge. 

            However, today at the school, I began to realize that maybe the reason I was nervous wasn’t because I was a sissy, maybe this job really isn’t right for me.  I observed some of the classes and the children were very sweet, but I just couldn’t see myself doing that every day for a year.  If I’m going to commit to something for a whole year, it needs to be something that I love, something I’m passionate about.  And teaching has never been my calling.  Teaching music, sure.  But grammar, spelling, and mathematics?  It’s just not what I want to do. 

            So later today I emailed the coordinator and thanked her for her time, told her she had a lovely school, but that it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I’m pursuing other employment options that have shorter time commitments and I feel very relieved about it.  I went to a meeting today for a group called Nuevos Horizontes (New Horizons) that has a shelter and daycare center for women and children that come from abusive households.  It’s the first ever women’s shelter in Central America.  They take volunteers to coordinate activities, and just spend time with the people they house.  I immediately felt more comfortable.  I signed up and am going on two orientations of their facilities tomorrow.  I had already decided that someday I’d like to work with Colombian refugees so this will be a good start for me to work with a human rights organization. 

            I’m starting to rethink the way my life is going.  I know that sounds really dramatic.  But this past year I kept thinking that the way the next five or so years of my life would go is that I would move to Latin American countries, find jobs, and sustain my life somewhere else.  But maybe what I should do is what I’ve already seen so many people do successfully which is work for a few months in the States, save up as much money as possible, and then travel somewhere where you have the financial flexibility to be able to volunteer.  I met some people doing that in Ghana.  They were doing a big journey down the entire western coast of Africa, volunteering at various local NGO’s.  Every time they ran out of money, they’d come home and pick up a job waiting tables until they had enough money to go back and last them a bit longer.  I always thought that lifestyle was so incredible and I realized that that’s kind of what I’m doing now.  Sure the ideal is still to find a paying job here.  But if I can’t find a paying job in the fields I want to work in, this alternative lifestyle sounds pretty good to me. 

            It is an absolute ridiculous privilege to live in the United States.  Two nights working in a New York City restaurant has paid for an entire month of food and lodging here in Xela.  It’s not fair, but it’s the way the world is right now.  So if I can use that privilege to do some good, I’m going to take the opportunity when it arises. 

I’m looking forward to working with the teenage girls in the shelter.  Maybe I’ll teach them how to beat box. 

 

Facts about Xela

~There is a stray dog that lives on our block and always lies in the exact same spot.  He acts as the neighborhood watch dog and if he sees someone he doesn’t recognize, he’ll bark at them.  He doesn’t bark at me.

~The guards at the banks carry shotguns that look like civil war muskets with wooden handles.

~People shorten “porfavor” to “porfa” when they’re slightly pissed off. 

~The busses that take you around town are old school busses painted crazy bright colored designs.  They have zero shock left in them which makes a ride over uneven cobblestones seem like sitting on an old washing machine. 

~If someone doesn’t hear you, the say “Qué manda?” instead of what I’ve always heard: “Qué pasó?”

~They have different flavors of Doritos than we have. 

~Some shops sell something called “Salsa Inglesa” or English Sauce.  I can’t figure out what that is but I think it has something to do with vinegar. I think. 

~The TV plays Latino versions of Jerry Springer and Judge Judy.  Hilarious. 

~There is a cheese shop that sells cheddar, gouda, and parmesan.  I’m a happy kid.

Priestess – 2/16/11

Today was quite the experience.  We split up into two groups and went to see an Akan priestess in her shrine.  We drove about an hour outside of Kumasi to this small town that only took up a few streets.  Down a rugged dirt road and between the banana trees, there was the framework of a cement building.  We walked through and found many of the townsfolk sitting around a clearing.  We went around greeting them all (right to left, the custom) and took our seats on one side.  The clearing had a square divided into four quadrants drawn out with white powder in a the dust.  On one side of us was the cinder block building and the other side had a small building with multiple doors that led to different areas of her shrine.

the shrine

The priestess, always referred to as Nana (the title for respectable elders), came out wearing white fabric that wrapped around her.  She welcomed us and invited us to ask any quetions.  She spoke about her process training to be a priestess.  The spirits choose who they want to become ordained.  She told us how in recent years, the Christian community hsas been preaching against traditional religions which is making coexisting difficult.  After the question session (which Kwame translated for), they began the ceremony.

Apparently this type of ceremony ocurrs a few times a month.  Nana began by throwing two raw eggs on the ground.  Depending on how the egg splashes, it is either a good omen or a bad omen.  With a good omen, you proceed but with a bad omen, you sacrifice a goat or a hen.  We recieved a good omen so the ceremony began with Nana putting the white powder all over her face, chest, and arms.  Then the drummers began to play.  There were two drums that had string around the edges so the drummer could squeeze it under his arm as he played.  They made this wicked cool undulating sound and paired with the other drums and bell, the rhythms were sick.  Nana told us that the first spirit she was calling was an aggressive spirit so we couldn’t take pictures because it would upset him.  She held a machete in one hand and stepped into the square.

the priestess dancing with the drummer (photo cred to Ashley O.)

She began to dance around the clearing until it became clear that she was possessed.  Her head wobbled back and forth until she motioned and three people rushed to her side and held her up so that she would not fall in the height of her posession.  They remained there for a bit and then guided her into a room of the house as the spirit left her.  Different stages followed this one with other town priests and priestesses who called forth different spirits.  They danced with the machete and the horse tail, all behaving differently when they were posessed.  One priest flailed about and jumped on another man and another priestess kept wobbling her head.  There was more powder, more handshakes, more rhythms.

 

After the posession dances were through, Nana and the other priests brought us up one by one to dance with them.  After I danced, the priestess dancing with me pulled me aside and said something to me in Twi.  I pulled Kwame over, he listened and responded right away.  After she left, he told me that she said the spirits want to marry me, meaning they wanted me to get posessed and become a priestess too.  Kwame told her I wasn’t allowed.  I felt somewhat strange after that.  I wondered what would have happened if I had said yes.

me with the priestess

After that stage, we all had individual consultations with Nana.  We all had very different experiences.  I went into a tiny room with Kwame.  Nana was sitting behind a curtain and another man was sitting across from us.  Supposedly, the spirits would talk to Nana, she would talk to the man, the man would talk to Kwame, and Kwame would translate for me.  I had some akwardness regarding a donation I gave her so my consultation was kind of uncomfortable.  She told me I should go to church and that I should be careful with a boy I like.  Strange.  After we were all counseled, we said goodbye.  I was still really struck by the spirits choosing me.  I would like to go visit another priestess under more comfortable conditions to be counseled and see what happens.  The donation thing kind of threw me off.

After we traveled back to school, we were done for the day so we had good group bonding.  We all took our lunch and hung out outside at this bar.  A man selling kabobs nearby made these delicious hot dogs.  He cut the hot dog so that it spiraled up the skewer.  Then he grilled it and dredged it in spices.  So delicious!  It was crispy, juicy, spicy, the way a hot dog should always be prepared.  Then we all went to Kwame’s house to chill and then went to Kandy’s were we hung out some more.  Then everyone left except the guys and me.  We stayed to eat jollof rice and watch the soccer game.  I’m really glad my host mom is cool with me staying out.  I feel infinitely more at ease here than I did in Accra.  Sitting there drinking beer in the breeze, for a second, it felt like Havana.

First Clases Wo Kumasi – 2/14/11

Valentine’s Day brought the first day of classes in Kumasi.  In the morning my host mom drove me as well as Kiki, Dan, and Kwame who all live in our town.  It’s quite handy having a host mom who’s also your Twi teacher.  We drove about a half hour to our class’ locale which meets at a secondary school.  (I just realized how funny it is that my half hour commute to Bement seemed so long, but now a half hour is close.)  The secondary school lies along a dirt road that has a great view over the houses and hills in the background.  At four tall stories high, the view is even better from the top.  We met there for our usual “Life in This Ghana” and Twi class.

Then in the afternoon, we tro-troed over to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Tech, or KNUST for short), our site for the afternoon classes.  We got lunch from the food stands outside and walked around the campus and nearby market.  In the afternoon, we had our field study seminar with Yemi and he spoke to us about interviewing.

View from the top

The site of our Twi class

Futbol! – 2/13/11

Today was awesome.  I slept in until 8:00.  Then I had a nice breakfast of eggs, bread, and tea and watched the news with Kofi.  I’m glad that I’m not as out of touch with the rest of the world as I was in Cuba.  Especially with all the shit going on right now in Egypt, it’s important to stay involved.

There was a news piece today about two Cuban dissidents what were freed after eight years of imprissonment.  They were arrested for speaking out for a  pro-democratic government. However, they were released against their will.  They both say they want to remain in prison until their acts have been pardoned.  Apparently th e Cuban government is making no comment and Fidel supporters are accusing them of being on a U.S. Payroll.

The football stadium

Then I hung around the house for a  bit and decided to go into town.  I followed Kofi’s instructions and was proud to make it to the Vodafone internet all on my own.  I checked my mail for a bit and then left to get a tro-tro to tech junction where I was to meet up with my group.  I nice man lead me to the tro-tros and waited until I ogt on one, again with the stranger kindess.  I got to tech and ate a whole pineapple for lunch.

Then my group went to a soccer game!  This was my first ever proffessional game.  We got to this huuuuuge stadium and paid 3 Cedi to get in.  All of the seats were painted in red, yellow, and green sections to mimmick the flag.  People walked around selling all kinds of snacks.  The game was between the Asante Kotoko and Cote D’Ivore’s Africa Sports.  There were so many people there blowing horns and clapping noise makers together .  Then as the players were warming up, the crowd all stood and started to go wild as a brigade of black Range Rovers drove into the stadium.  It was the King of the Asantes who had come to the game!  The cars blared sirens and sped a lap around the field as the crowd full of Asantes (The biggest ethnic group in Ghana) cheered.  Then it was time for the game to start.  In the first half, the Asantes were up 2-0.  But the second half brought three goals from Cote D’Ivore and we lost.

The team's flag (photocred to Ashley O.)

Later tonight, after I had fist stew at home, Kofi and I met up with Kwame and Dan at Kandi’s, the bar we went to the other night.  There was a live high life band.  We chilled and drank beer and danced.  We kept trying to get Dan to dance, but he wouldn’t.  Then Kwame left for a minute and all of a sudden, we hear the lead singer of the band saying into the microphone, “Danny boy, Obruni, come and dance!”  He kept saying it until Dan, cursing Kwame, got up and danced.  Then the singer called me up and dedicated the next song to the two of us.  It was absolutely hysterical.

Homestays – 2/12/11

We woke up this morning the latest we ever have since being in Ghana 7 AM! Woo hoo! Breakfast at the hotel was delicious, then we relaxed in our rooms until lunch in town.  This meal was probably one of my favorite things I’ve had so far.  We had rice with this bean mixture that had tomato and onion in it.  Then we had fried chicken, fried plantains, roasted peanuts, and fresh bananas.  So good!

After lunch we brought over our bags to town where we all waited for our host families to pick us up.  My host family is awesome!  The mom is one of our Twi teachers while we’re in Kumasi.  I’m going to get some great extra tutoring sessions.  This family seems much warmer than my last famliy.  They actually ask me questions and engage in conversation.  Living here are the mom, dad, sister, house help, and two brothers (There are two more away at shcool).  The kids are all in their 20’s so it’ll be nice to connect to people of my genereation and have them show me around.

The house is quite nice.  It’s a bit removed from the center of town.  You travel out and turn onto a dirt road surrounded by palm trees and other nice greenery.  They have a walled courtyard and a house that’s really quite big.  I have my own room with a really big bathroom attached.  There’s warm running water and a T.V.  I don’t know how I always luck out with the well-off families.

Tonight Kofi, my host brother, took me to use the internet.  I figured we’d just go for like a ten minute walk.  But he said there was a faster connection in town and offered to take me there.  We ended up on quite the adventure.  We took two tro-tros and a taxi and had to walk a ways after that.  It was dark at this point and pouring (I’m not sure why the rain is coming early this year).  But we finally made it and boy was this internet fast.  It’s by Vodafone and it’s advertised as the fastest internet in West Africa.  But this connection was seriously faster than what I get in the States.  Just another reason why I love Kumasi.

 

Kumasi – 2/11/11

At long last we are leaving Accra!  Today we are off to Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city.  We all met up at school at 7AM and packed up the bus.  The ride to Kumasi was about five and a half hours.  It was nice to look outside at the scenery.  Things got progressively greener!  I started to actually see bits of grass!  We passed by some beautiful rocky mountains  and a number or houses that had sticks as the frame and the walls were made of mud.  Thatch roof huts lined the streets where people sat selling oranges.

When we got to Kumasi, I think all of us did a big exhale.  We already like the vice of this city so much more.  It’s less crowded, with less traffic, and most of the streets are paved, making the air quality better.  We dropped our things off in the hotel and went out to lunch at this restaurant that made us delicious curried vegetables.  Vegetables!  Then we took a walking tour of the city.  We split up into groups and saw our school, the clinic, and lots of other sites around town.  We all kept saying how nice it was.  I think our group might be different than past groups because the vast majority of us really can’t take Accra.  But here, we feel so much more comfortable walking around.

Tonight we all went out to a bar.  I missed going out so much.  We got to this place called Kandy’s and were kind of like “mer…..”  because barely anyone was there.  But we totally started the party!  So many more people came and we started dancing to the raggalife music.  I’m starting to recognize the hits, one of my favorite parts of adjusting to a new culture.  I drank another Ghanaian beer called Stone.  It’s a really smooth, darker lager that tasted very good.  The alcohol content is slightly higher than Club or Star, so I think it’s becoming my new Bucanero.  We played pool, hung out, and danced until the bar closed (11PM bahaha!).  It was just so nice to relax.  I finally felt like I could do my own thing.  In Accra, I felt like I was back in high school.  I went to school, came home, had people telling me to take a bath and wash up for dinner, and then I’d go to bed.  Here, our homestays will be closer together so we can actually hang out.  So yeah, so far, Kumasi is really making me happy.

us at Kandy's (photo cred to Ashley)