Keep Rollin’ With The Tides

Posted on February 25, 2014 by Anna Ralston

Officially crossed that mid-time marker and what a journey it’s been. I like to think I’m well established here and know how to get around and navigate the back alleys which are streets and the bustling traffic along the high way of huge trucks constantly honking and motorcycles swerving in and out. I know what to order and what and how to eat properly. I’m in a way a baby to life, having to re-learn all my basic skills along with language. Overall it’s great though.

This past week I got a new, lovely experience. Teacher’s are always looking for ways to improve the class and move forward in the styles of teaching. Having Educate Girls facilitate the training, the focus is really about teaching through play. I taught them a few English songs, with correlating hand motions, about the body parts and days of the week. They were very excited to teach them to their students.

At trainings, teachers are always very excited to talk to discuss the American school system. The want to know about a teacher’s salary and if they work in higher education if they’ll get paid more. The most surprising fact I tell them is that Doctor’s are more well respected and paid way more than teacher’s. This appalling to them and hard to believe.

From being at Western and chatting with almost everybody who walks by to knowing about 2% of what’s being said, it opens up alot of time to think and ponder life. I have much time to observe everything and everyone going on around me. This has helped in discovering more about myself and the culture around me.

This is the equivalent of Hwy 99

The God of Education with song prayers written on both sides

My favorite Master Trainer’s granddaughter, her name is also Annie

With every passing week, I realize more goals and dreams I have. I came to India in hope to find where my true passions lie and to test out others. I am happy to say I have realized alot about myself and in which direction I want my future to go. I have learned to channel all my passions into one collaborative group but it has been discovered. With great peace and metta ~ Anna

″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.” – Moslih Eddin Saadi

Opportunities.

Posted on February 24, 2014 by lault10

Where do I start?

I got the opportunity to be a part of the wedding for a woman I work with at the Beacon House. Her colors were pink and sea blue and it was beautiful. It was a Christian ceremony and, WOW, do Ghanaians get excited. There were about 8 pastors there simply to bless the marriage and pray on the newly weds. There was a lot of screaming and praying, there is no such thing as talking at these weddings. Everyone uses a microphone to yell their praises to God and it is as if the speakers are right behind your head! It was different from American weddings in that, there was only a Bridesmaid and Best Man up at the front with the Bride and Groom. However, there were typically about 4-8 people standing right behind them taking pictures of the first kiss (often even blocking the view of the parents). The couple went to the back of the church to go sign their marriage certificate, and then danced their way back down the isle for more praying. Everyone was dancing and praising and it was like the reception had already began! I got to escort the Beacon House kids to the wedding and on the way there, one of our cars got a flat tire! I had to pack 8 kids in a small taxi with me! They all had so much fun though! They got to dress in their nicest clothes and go see a part of Accra they had never seen before! It was cool to see them in a different environment and interact with other kids and adults!

Also, I was asked to participate in a panel session for a conference my site director here for AHA was putting on. It was an educational conference for staff members of study abroad programs. People from all over the US and even some from different parts of South Africa came to hear new and interesting information to help them be more involved in what the Accra programs do here for students studying abroad. I was part of the session for “Students Ventilating”. Two other students and I spoke of our experiences thus far, all having been here for different lengths of time. People were very interested and happy to hear what we had to say, so that they can know first hand what their students may experience when they come here to Ghana. I was even asked to speak again the following day, which made me feel very honored. I had a lot of people coming up to me to tell me how well I did and that made me feel so good! I even unexpectedly got paid! 🙂

Some of the attendees to the conference ended up coming to stay with me so that this big house did not seem so empty! One of which is my AHA contact from U of O, Jena Turner! It’s been so awesome getting to finally meet her in person, especially since we have met on the opposite side of the world! I got to do a lot of networking and meet some very intelligent, and well travelled adults! They even took me out to dinner! 🙂

Tournaments and shenanigans-

Posted on February 21, 2014 by Amanda Rolens

With it being summer here in New Zealand, we have tons of tournaments going on at the moment. I’ve been busy at working prepping for the events going on and then events to follow. We have a huge tournament coming up called the Wellington Open and the company I work for is trying a lot of new things then years in the past, so there is a lot of pressure riding on us to put on and host a successful tournament.

Aside from work, I’ve been planning some trips and will leave the last two weeks of work to travel the North island a bit more. I didn’t have the chance and time to visit the South Island at all, but I can promise myself that I will be back this beautiful coutry sometime again. My roommate and I have been going over to a friends house almost every night enjoying his company and having movie nights. He’s from New Zealand so it’s nice to learn and talk about the differences and similarities in our Countries.

I started reading a few new books to keep me company on my lazy days at the beach. After hectic days at the office and eventful nights with friends almost every night, it is night to have a relaxing Sunday at the produce market and then head to the beach for the rest of the day. I’m babysitting for my boss tomorrow night, her little boy and two kids from Denmark who are here visitng with their family. I’m excited to interact with kids as I love being around those from around the world.

Until next week,

Amanda

A sunny, relaxing day at Oriental Bay.

Mean Girls- Making our kiwi friend suffer through the typical teenage girl movie.

Week 11: Trafalgar Square, or I Wish I Could Title This Post Without Making Innappropiate Jokes

Posted on February 16, 2014 by Keats Chaves

Let’s face it, we’re only discussing Trafalgar Square because how else do you fit the words “blue cock” into legitimate conversation?

There’s a lot going on in Trafalgar Square: the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, and the plinths are the usual suspects. Nelson’s Column is really cool, but you can’t spit in London without hitting a monument of one kind or another, so the focus here is on the National Gallery and the Fourth Plinth.

The National Gallery is one of those few places that frown upon picture taking, etc., so I got nothin’ to show you. But it is a super cool gallery if you’re into the whole “art” thing. Monet, Degas, van Gogh, Da Vinci… Best field trip ever!

I used to go to art school, and I’ve always really liked the arts of all mediums, so the Gallery wouldn’t have been a total bust for me no matter what, but what really made me happy was getting to see this:

Don’t ask why, because I don’t know.

For whatever reason, this has always been my favourite piece by Da Vinci. It’s a cartoon: a drawing on several sheets of paper that was to be eventually used as a template for a later piece. Da Vinci never actually moved beyond the half-finished cartoon, though.

But this was supposed to be about cocks, not Jesus, so…

The Fourth Plinth.

The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar square is used as a centerpiece for modern art, as opposed to the other three plinths, which all have other, “normal” things on them—namely statues of actual people who did actual things. What exactly is on the Plinth changes in a revolving cycle—artists submit their pieces in a contest and the winner gets their design on the Plinth. The last cycle began last July, when Katharina Fritsch’s Hahn/Cock was selected. Everyone just calls it “the blue cock,” though. Because…well… That’s what it is.

See?

The next two installments have already been selected, and while the giant thumbs-up is…well…it’s a giant thumb, the skeletal horse of DOOM (and…economics…?) looks pretty fab.

Okay, fine, we’ll talk about the Column…

It was built in 1840-43 and commemorates Admiral Horatio Nelson, who died in 1805 in the Napoleonic Wars during the Battle of Trafalgar. The lions around the base were constructed twenty-odd years later. The end.

I’ll admit–it is pretty impressive.

The blue cock from across the fountain from over the lion.

The National Gallery all lit up at night.

Emma, Ellicia, Miguel, Tom, and I all went traipsing around Central London one evening and eventually ended up sitting on the base of Nelson’s Column. We’re not going to talk about how hard it was for me to get up there….

Days go by and poof it’s already mid February!

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Amanda Rolens

Week 5- kept in my journal

Ah I can’t believe time is flying by as fast as it is. I work more than I have to most days just because I love it here so much. I got offered a full time position this week, I wish I were closer to being completely done with my studies so I could even just work here for 6 months or so. I feel so blessed and lucky to have been placed with such a lovely company. We had another tournament that was really fun and I am starting to pick up everything!

I had mentioned going to the Rugby sevens in my last blog, and it was one of the most fun experiences I have had. It was a little crazy, but it’s something that is huge here so I felt like it was something I had to do. We dressed up as American girls the second night and actually went and watched the Rugby tournament and it was nuts in the stadium! It was so loud, with so many people everywhere in the craziest costumes! Some of the costumes were so amazing and hilarious.

My roommate Maureen and I have been going to the beach on nice days when we both get off of work. We always spend our Sunday mornings at the produce market and then usually do our grocery shopping afterwards. We met a group of people from all over the world the other night and had them all over and cooked dinner and talked about all the countries and it was a good night full of good laughs and learning.

Valentines Day was yesterday and a bunch of us girls went out and had dinner and then went out dancing. It was a lot of fun with great vibes and fun all around. The night life is really good here, so we spend our evenings out meeting people and going to different stores, night markets and galleries.

I haven’t had much time to go do too many touristy things yet, I have to work on the weekends a lot for tournaments that we have at the Tennis Center. The girls and I are planning a few weekend trips coming up, so hopefully we’ll get to see a little more of New Zealand here soon.

Until next week,

Amanda

During tournaments we often get out to watch some of our best juniors in the region for some good tennis matches! We were caught soakin up the sun 🙂

My roommate in the front and Anna, another intern here in New Zealand getting readty for our night out on Valentines day. I love these girls!

Shattered Preceptions

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Anna Ralston

One month down, two more to go! Any thoughts I’ve had about this wonderfully, diverse country have all been challenged, changed, redirected and shattered. I knew the western perspective had some misconceptions about India but I’m now realizing just how many. This week I had the chance to get to know two girls who came from Mumbai who just joined as part of the communications team. We spoke on many things together regarding Indian traditions, customs and the not so simple ways of life. From an outsider’s view women staying at home and working; cooking and cleaning and watching after the children is simple. Yes, the acts in and of itself may be simple but take a deeper look and there are many rules and customs to abide by. For example, when there are two bothers the oldest brother and the youngest brother’s wife aren’t allowed to have a relationship, at all. They can’t talk or see each other. When he enters the house he either coughs or calls to someone in order to warn her of his entrance so she’ll leave the room. In family pictures he’ll stand in the back and she’ll be brought in at the end, veiled and be ushered out first thing. The reason for this is to keep order in the joint family. If they don’t have a relationship it’s easier to give and take orders.

I have learned so incredibly much through these wonderful ladies and through conducting interviews with Team Balika members. This week I got to visit a couple more schools where the students adorably sang and danced for us and went to a temple opening festival. At the festival, was mass amounts of food for the whole village to be fed but still there were dividers set up for the division of the different castes to eat behind. In some ways there is so much progress and in other areas the old traditions have such a tight hold still. Traditions are great in order to not lose the base culture but some traditions are very harsh in discrimination and dividing the people.

Chatting with the leader of the village at the temple ceremony

Happy faces waving goodbye at a girl’s hostel

The quote on the bottom says, “Woman today don’t know how to pray but the speak English.” We pulled him over because are proud of this fact!

The more people I meet, the more my mind is filled with knowledge and history. Watching the young girls in the hostel sing and dance, with an extra shimmer in their eyes because they don’t have to go back to a home where they may have to work lots or abuse takes place was remarkable. Hearing them giggle and call after me “Didi, Didi,” (Big Sister) is why I’m here; to help make this whole world attainable to them. If Educate Girls can enroll just one more girl or convince one more father to let his daughter study past the age of 15 then our work here is done. Fighting for the cause. ~Anna

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Week 3: I meet Spider-man

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Eli Cox

The beginning of week 3 found me and 5 friends from UBECI headed to the beach for the weekend! After a long day of work Friday, I arrived home with a couple hours to pack and shower before catching an overnight bus to Guayaquil. However when I arrived home I was ushered to a surprise party for my families 4 year old nephew who lives in the apartment above us. What a blast, chocolate fruit, cake, juice, and lots of games and me dancing for the whole family, I had them laughing pretty good. Time flew by and before I knew it I had to leave for the bus station. As time was of the essence, I skipped the shower, didn’t change my clothes and threw some swim trunks and a towel in my backpack. Our bus left at 10 and after a cold, sleepless night on the bus. We arrived in Guayaquil at 6 am and through confusion and our tiredness purchased the wrong tickets to Montanita and missed the 9 am bus. We returned back to the ticket window to buy different tickets and found a line of 60 plus people and security guards around our window… Apparently everyone wanted to get to the coast. I used my Spanish and explained the mistake and a guard was nice enough to let me in the back way and I got us tickets for the 1 pm bus which we did not miss.

King of the hammock

We pulled into Montanita three hours later and were greeted by humid beach air, tan bodies, music, and dreadlocks. The little town was basically party central year round and was home to a lot of young, hip tourists from almost every country. Since we arrived so late in the day almost all the hostals were booked, however we lucked out and grabbed a random little apartment just outside of town by a minute or so. It came complete with two hammocks outside, a patio, a leaky toilet, and mosquito nets. Also the door locked behind you so if you left upon returning you had to climb through the window. My kind of place. The water was warm and the waves were big, perfect for a lot of body surfing and of course some sun burning. Night life there was pretty wild and I am thankful I outgrew my fiesta phase before coming to Ecuador. Instead I settled for some peaceful night swims, wandering through the town and getting into bed before 12. I did unfortunately lose my flip flops one morning as I went for a swim and found them

gone when I returned. Hopefully whoever has them now is putting them to good use. It was finally time to go and after a full day of riding back to Quito on the bus, I was so happy to get back to work and being with the kids.

Walking kids from the market to the UBECI area.

My 3rd week at Ubeci included more volunteers coming and saying goodbye to Debra at the end of the week. Debra is this amazing lady from Canada who was volunteering with UBECI. She basically took on the role of everyones mom and was so caring and sweet with all the kids in the market, especially the crying babies who she was able to calm like no other. She took the above picture of me and a few of the little ones on her last day. Very cool to watch and learn from someone who has experience working in orphanages around the world and is simply a kind soul. Being the 3rd week, I recognized a majority of the kids though we still met new ones daily. One of the new ones who stands out most in my mind was “spider-man”. A little boy who loved to pretend to be spider-man and would climb on my back after lunch and pretend I was a car. While it was fun giving him a piggy back ride everywhere, the old me would have simply left it at that. But thanks to experience and practice I have learned to turn something as simple as a piggy back ride into a teaching lesson. We practiced directions, left, right, back, and forward. Every time I came to a barrier in front of me I taught him the directions and made him pick which way we went. At first we made a lot of wrong turns but after 10 minutes and a longer than normal walk back to the UBECI site, he had his directions down. Teachable moments come in almost every situation and game with the kids. From naming colors of blocks they are playing with to having them pick out shapes and animals in books.

There are sad moments in the markets as well however. One little boy, Sergio, showed up this week with huge scabs on his face. He wouldn’t say what happened but it definitely had to hurt quite a bit. I hope it did not come at the hands of an adult, but most likely as the children have a lot of time to run around unsupervised, he probably had a crash and burn moment. He is a sweet little boy but he can be quite the mischief maker, which doubles as an attempt to gain attention. His mom is 21 and works all day as a construction worker. His father is addicted to drugs and largely out of the picture. Therefore he goes to the markets each day with his mothers friend and spends a good deal of his time by himself. I learned this about him after a difficult day where he repeatedly climbed on the windows of parked cars and wouldn’t come down. A good reminder for me to maintain patience when working with these little ones as many have similar stories.

Febru-where has the time gone?

Posted on February 10, 2014 by lault10

It has been exactly a month that I have been here in Ghana. I am frequently asked, “How do you see Ghana?” as in how do I like it here. I see Ghana as a an ever changing atmosphere of some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. Throughout the day, you can see the city slowly rise with the crow of roosters. People begin the hard days work early before it gets too hot. The city slowly turns into a hustle and bustle atmosphere before you know it.

When I respond to people of how I see Ghana, I tell them how much I am enjoying my time here. I love the that the streets do not have names, I love how people are so interested to speak with me and tell me how much THEY love Ghana. I love the food so much. I love that we eat mainly with our hands because it really indulges all of your senses. I love the little kids who yell to me “Obruni! Obruni!” (which means foreigner, or white person). I love responding to them with “Obibini!” (a non-slandering word for black person or African).

When I go to my internship at the Beacon House Orphanage, the kids and house mothers are as happy to see me as I am to see them. They have warmed up to me so much and so quickly, but even more so because they know I will be here longer than most of the people that pass through. I am by no means a teacher, but the kids see me as one and everyday they show me more and more respect. Something I believe is earned and not given. It can sometimes be stressful because I am the only volunteer there currently, so I have a lot of my plate as far as what needs to be done. Thankfully I can consider myself a jack of most trades, so anything I do I can do well. The other day, they had a water tank delivered. I knew before coming here how precious water was, however I did not fully grasp that concept until I saw how excited everyone was for that water. The kids, the housemothers, they were all jumping and screaming. It really put things into perspective for me.

This weekend, I traveled to Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region, to visit the Elmina Slave Castle. The castle was built by the Portuguese and also used by the Dutch and British, and was the last waiting place for slaves before they were smuggled to Europe, South America, or now the US. The castle was used for 3 centuries, and it was quite the experience to see where millions and millions of people were held for months at a time in horrendous conditions. Some were even placed in solitude to die of starvation and dehydration. Female slaves were forced to have sex with the guards, and if they refused, they were tied to a cannon ball in the middle of a courtyard to be beaten and tortured. It was so quiet there.

I also had the opportunity to visit Kakum National Park. Here they have a 7 bridge canopy walk. I am not particularly afraid of heights. However being held up so high about the earth on nothing but rope and planks was an experience that made me think about how little we need to rely on in this world. It also made me realize that everything in life serves a purpose. We are all part of a greater universe and interdependent on one another whether plant, animal, human being, or one of the elements.

Onto week 4- travel, tennis and more tennis.

Posted on February 8, 2014 by Amanda Rolens

I have been without internet and keeping a written journal until I could catch up.. So here it is. ( 2/07/2013)

I feel like my blogs are a bit boring, being in an English speaking country that really doesn’t feel much different than home. I worked my first tennis tournament last week and it was a lot of fun. It was a bit hectic with a lot of things to learn, but in the end it was rewarding being able to help out and run the last day of the tournament by myself. I fall more in love with this place everyday! The country, the people, and every other little thing that I encounter every day.

The people I work with are so amazing and welcoming and I have been babysitting one of the ladies little 8 month old boy. He is the cutest and so much fun! I finally have company at home now that my roommate moved in! It’s been a lot of fun being able to show her around and have nights out together. The Rugby 7’s is going on right now and it is a huge rugby tournament that takes place at the stadium. It is a huge dress up, city wide party and it’s crazier than a Halloween night in the states. We are going to the stadium dressed up tomorrow and we’re really excited.

One of the ladies I work with let my roommate and I take her car for a few days, so we went and took some time off of work and went around to surrounding cities and just kind of went exploring. The weather has been kind of crazy, it isn’t surprising to experience all the seasons in one day here. You never know if it’s going to stay really nice or rain all day.

I work all day and then go out exploring on foot most of the time afterwards, so my stories and blogs aren’t too exciting.

Until next week,

Amanda

One of the bridges my roommate and I found while exploring!

Tonight is the first night of the Rugby 7’s and we’re almost off for our night dressed as Minnie Mouse and a hippie!

WOW!! I love your picture!

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Eli Cox

Week 2 in Ecuador started off with a bang as I decided to go to the mall and buy a basketball so I could play with my roommate, host sister and her cousin David who lives next door, is my age, and speaks English fluently. Just walking around in the mall is an experience on its own as the place is gigantic and I stand out like a sore thumb. But I love the feeling. Its refreshing to be out of the comfort zone I have known my whole life and be immersed in a different world and culture. Though I am by no means fluent in Spanish, I know enough to have a decent conversation with people. Pretty fun getting a reaction out of someone when you start speaking to them in Spanish and they are taken a back. I hope that by the time I leave Ecuador I will be almost fluent. But back to Basketball.

It was a beautiful Sunday and we went to the park and must have played at least 2 hours, which was made harder due to the high altitude here. Great feeling to relax and just play a game with new friends and laugh. My team of Anita (my host sister) and I won, mainly because I learned Anita was really aggressive and at times resorted to pushing and shoving David and Tiffany. The following day I returned to the park by myself as I don’t have work on Mondays and everyone else was busy. I shot around for at least an hour and was starting to contemplate heading home as I was getting a little tired and it was pretty hot outside, yet something told me instead to sit for a minute, drink some water and play a few minutes longer. A few seconds after I got up again I noticed a boy watching me. He was sitting by the road and kept looking over at me as a dribbled around. I asked him if he wanted to play, he nodded his head and came my way. He must have been under the age of 14, was built a little differently and I wasn’t able to understand him but the next 2 and a half hours of playing with him were something else. He wasn’t strong enough to get the ball up to the hoop so I would hold it with him and help him make baskets by guiding the ball up to the rim after he released it. He loved trying to steal the ball from me and running from one side to the other. Sometimes he would sit me down and talk to me for minutes at a time. I would ask him questions and he would answer, and I tried my best to understand but I usually ended up going along with what he would say. I think humans need to feel understood and its an awesome feeling to sit and just listen to what they have to say, its validating. I finally got so tired and had to leave, first I found out from a lady nearby where he lived and made sure he was capable of getting back home. It was hard because he didn’t want to stop playing and honestly I didn’t either except I was just so wiped out. Loved his laugh, and he really cared about me and made sure I didn’t forget my water bottle. One of those goodbyes where when you finally head different directions you keep looking back to catch one last glimpse of them.

The work week was filled with so much laughter and hugs from the kids in the market, such a rewarding feeling. As well I finished my Spanish lessons in the afternoons on Wednesday and therefore was able to stay in the afternoon session Thursday and Friday instead of leaving at lunch time. My favorite memory of the week came in the Tuesday market as a little girl saw us from the other end of the market and booked it over to us. She had such a sweet little face and puffy little cheeks, but also a lot of wit and humor for a 3 year old. Often I feel the children in the markets are older than their actual age as many have had to work and care for their siblings. As well they navigate the busy marketplace with an ease and confidence that’s a little frightening as most stand no taller than 3 feet, and cant see over anything. They weave in and out of the bustling feet and stray dogs at lightning speed and I have a hard time keeping up. I thought I was tired just working a half day with the kids but finally working the full 9 hour day left me exhausted. Working with children requires high energy and expression to capture their attention. Sometimes after corralling 30 kids, convincing a group of 4 year old boys not to climb on the parked cars for the third time, and settling countless disputes over whose turn it is to play with a toy you are more than ready for a minute of down time. Yet no matter how tired you are, when a little kid shows you the picture they drew you always find the energy to exclaim, “WOW!! I love your picture!”

Putting puntitos of paint on Senor Sastre