As far as news goes, things are going along as usual here. Last week we had a little excitement, though. It was lights out, and a tenant living in one of the apartments downstairs knocked a candle over onto the mattress and it went up. We heard shouting, and thought everyone was going to watch a fight or something outside, then we were told the house was on fire! My first thought was to get my passport, but it wasn't bad. We brought in buckets and put it out, and spent an hour or so helping them clean up the mess. It really turned out pretty well, all things considered. There is no such thing as 911 or a fire dept, and the homes are so close together it could have easily taken over the whole neighborhood in a heartbeat.
We are planning a trip up north for next weekend. It'll take a week, and we'll be going north to visit Kumasi and Tamale (major cities) and go to Mole National Park for a mini safari, Lake Bosumtwi which was created by a meteor and sacred since there are no water sources or outlets, and a couple of waterfalls. Should be really fun, and interesting, to say the least. Traveling is very time consuming here, since the roads are quite poor in most places, so we'll spend a lot of time on tro tros (15 passenger vans which hold 17+ people!) Should be quite the adventure to say the least!
Hope all is well with everyone, and please, if you have any questions or requests let me know. I'm getting to the point where things are normal now, so I may not remember to take pictures or write about them! :)
This is the private Anglican school right outside the music school. We hear them yelling obruni at us everyday during their lunch break!
This is Abba, my favorite student. She is 7 years old and learning violin. We go to their house to teach her and her brother, Kwesi, twice a week.
This is our house. We live on the second floor. The porch faces front, and there is another porch that faces out back too. The van in front belongs to the school but hasn't run in years. It's going to be my job to find a new mini van when I get home to send one to Ghana. Which reminds me... anyone have one for sale? :)
Sledding in Ghana! Yes, that's into the sewage river thing... luckily it's the dry season and not too messy! These guys are out here every day doing this! One day one of them even had a motorcycle helmet... smart!
This is the living room in our house. Pretty western, eh?
This is the piano room at school, the main room really. There is one other room with a dilapidated drumset, and two office rooms. The place itself is pretty nice, but the building is a dump. That's part of the problem in getting students... no one wants to come. Our space was newly painted right before I came, so it's pretty snazzy. We have a variety of instruments, (violins, keyboards, a few brass, guitars, bass, drums) but most people come to learn keyboard. Most of them want to learn to play in their church bands.
This is some construction outside of the school. Basically, the guys mix the concrete, and hand it up to the guy in a bowl, which he dumps into the mold for the support beams. It's a little shoddy looking, but apparently the method works... I haven't seen a crumpled building yet!
This is the site for the new school. Construction has come to a grinding halt, though. There's no water to mix the concrete. We are in the process of trying to raise money to dig a bore hole. This was we can continue building, as well as have well water for the school's toilets/sinks/ etc. It's going to cost around $6,000 for the system, so unfortunatly it'll be a while until construction can continue. We've been going around to big companies in town seeking sponsorship, but no takers yet. I suspect lots of people come to ask for money, and a music school would seem rather frivolous in comparison to an orphanage, or whatever. Understandable, really. In a country where many people don't have drinkable water, violin lessons are not a priority... still I hope it gets going soon! The building will have a kindergarten and accommodations for the volunteers as well. Plus it's right outside of the middle of town.
An incoming storm at sunset... this was taken from the front porch. It looked like a major storm on the way, but no rain came! Apparently it's raining all over Ghana and excluding Takoradi! But Jessie (house mom) says it always rains on Good Friday, so we'll have to see about that!
This is the walk we take to school everyday.
The walk we take above cuts through the grounds of a Methodist Elementary School. These are their toilets... sand pits really.
We got invited to a very fancy dinner (still don't understand what it was about) that was incredibly Ghanaian. It took hours to start, and then hours to finish. Katie was asked, as an honored guest (ie white) to pop the champagne!
Have a happy Easter, and keep in touch!
Love, Ecua
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