Some thoughts.....
It's my final day at AMASS...and I'm getting ready to leave my students, my school and my wonderful family behind! I say "family" which such ease...since I feel like I have an extended family here in Kumasi...though only meeting them 3 weeks ago, they have taken me in as their own, treating me like any other family member and making me feel like I was home. I am going to miss them tremendously...but know the friendships started here will be a lifetime..and look forward to the friendships growing with the years to come!
So much has happened the last few days...not sure where to begin, along with not knowing how much time I have on the computer before the lights might go out again, I will keep this post short! :)
My students started and completed their memoir writing project this week. Memoir writing was an entirely new way for them to write, and overall, they did an outstanding job. Some of the students really took the instruction and advice given to them, and wrote a memoir, that if I didn't know better, could have been taken from a bookstore shelf! They allowed themselves to open up and be creative with their writing, even if it was something that was so new to them! I wish know that this workshop could have been longer...since I feel I have tapped into their creative side, and it would be great to see the students go forward with their writing. But as I told them, and everyone..."Me Akwaba"! which means I"ll be back!!!! Looking forward to having a continuation of this workshop...who knows...maybe it'll extend into a year's project!:)
Last night, I was packing up my belongings since I'll be heading back to Accra tomorrow. My family was there with me packing...and some thoughts came to mind as we were there sitting together, talking about life, America, Ghana, etc. First off.....Ghanaians are truly special people. The way they have been so free with me, but more importantly, how they are so free with each other....we Americans have so much to learn from them, in terms of how they treat each other, and welcome even a stranger into their homes with open arms! No matter where you go in Ghana...you will always hear laughter and see smiles. That's what is so amazing about this culture. They might not have as much as Americans...but deep down...they have so much more than we do....their spirit, their love and their kindness!
One thing I realized as I was packing was how much Americans take for granted the everyday things we have in our lives....me included. Water, electricity, a nice home...and the everyday selections we have when we go to the supermarket, drug store, etc. I was trying to explain what the store Target is like to my friends here...and even with much explanation..I"m not sure if they really got the grasping of it...since if you describe it to someone who has never been ...it's almost alien like.....how can so many things be available to one person....is a thought they had. Going through what I could leave behind for my family....they were so curious at these things (band-aids, toner, bacitracin) , that... to me, I don't even think twice about having.....but for them, being in Ghana....it might be something that they would have never come across if it wasn't in my luggage. The big question is why we Americans need to have half the things we really have. For example, I brought some cleansing cloths with me, to wash my face. Of course my friends never saw them before, asked what they were...as I was explaining it to them...I was thinking to myself why I even have these...since soap and water would do the job the same...or even better. But, as an American, I'm used to buying these I don't really need....just for the sake of buying it!!!! (i think i'm rambling....but my mind is racing with thoughts! :)
Just some thougts to think about.....
OK....I beat the lights out..since I"m still typing and the electricity hasn't gone off :)
So much has happened the last few days...not sure where to begin, along with not knowing how much time I have on the computer before the lights might go out again, I will keep this post short! :)
My students started and completed their memoir writing project this week. Memoir writing was an entirely new way for them to write, and overall, they did an outstanding job. Some of the students really took the instruction and advice given to them, and wrote a memoir, that if I didn't know better, could have been taken from a bookstore shelf! They allowed themselves to open up and be creative with their writing, even if it was something that was so new to them! I wish know that this workshop could have been longer...since I feel I have tapped into their creative side, and it would be great to see the students go forward with their writing. But as I told them, and everyone..."Me Akwaba"! which means I"ll be back!!!! Looking forward to having a continuation of this workshop...who knows...maybe it'll extend into a year's project!:)
Last night, I was packing up my belongings since I'll be heading back to Accra tomorrow. My family was there with me packing...and some thoughts came to mind as we were there sitting together, talking about life, America, Ghana, etc. First off.....Ghanaians are truly special people. The way they have been so free with me, but more importantly, how they are so free with each other....we Americans have so much to learn from them, in terms of how they treat each other, and welcome even a stranger into their homes with open arms! No matter where you go in Ghana...you will always hear laughter and see smiles. That's what is so amazing about this culture. They might not have as much as Americans...but deep down...they have so much more than we do....their spirit, their love and their kindness!
One thing I realized as I was packing was how much Americans take for granted the everyday things we have in our lives....me included. Water, electricity, a nice home...and the everyday selections we have when we go to the supermarket, drug store, etc. I was trying to explain what the store Target is like to my friends here...and even with much explanation..I"m not sure if they really got the grasping of it...since if you describe it to someone who has never been ...it's almost alien like.....how can so many things be available to one person....is a thought they had. Going through what I could leave behind for my family....they were so curious at these things (band-aids, toner, bacitracin) , that... to me, I don't even think twice about having.....but for them, being in Ghana....it might be something that they would have never come across if it wasn't in my luggage. The big question is why we Americans need to have half the things we really have. For example, I brought some cleansing cloths with me, to wash my face. Of course my friends never saw them before, asked what they were...as I was explaining it to them...I was thinking to myself why I even have these...since soap and water would do the job the same...or even better. But, as an American, I'm used to buying these I don't really need....just for the sake of buying it!!!! (i think i'm rambling....but my mind is racing with thoughts! :)
Just some thougts to think about.....
OK....I beat the lights out..since I"m still typing and the electricity hasn't gone off :)
posted by Cari G. @ 2:42 AM
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