Ampei anyone?

Ampei is a children's game that you can play with any number of people. You can see it practically everywhere in Ghana. Normally played by girls, and instead of just being like a hand game where there's no real winner, this game runs with points. To play, you and one other person face each other, clap two times and jump twice. On the second jump you land with either your left or your right leg out, your choice. The way to win points is to have the result of your jump be what you call. Like calling heads or tails on a spinning coin, except in Ampei you decide heads or tails before you start playing and you can't change your choice throughout the game. The result of your jump can be either 'same' or 'different'. 'Same' means when both you and your partner put out a leg on the same side. For example, if you put out your right leg and they put out their left leg your toes would meet in the middle, forming a straight line, making it 'same'. 'Different' means when you put out a leg on one side and your partner puts out a leg in the other side. For example, you both put out your left leg making a sort of criss-cross in the middle, 'different'. If you call 'same' before you start playing and on every jump you and your partner's legs end up being 'same' you win. And the other way around. Every time it's your call you earn a point. You can play up to ten, twenty, however many points you like.

I might not be the best at explaining, so here's a visual:

(In the beginning of the video they stop suddenly, it's just because one of the student's mothers scolded them. I said it was fine. They keep going :D )

Hope this has been fun to see! It's sure been fun to play.

To Work and Back

A photo collection of a trip to work and back from my teaching project in Ghana. From the tro-tro ride there, to the children I teach. Just thought I should make good use of my camera, now that I've got a new one and time's running short. Hope you enjoy it!

To Work and Back

All of the lights

Just a little story:
The Semi-Celebrity Life of the Obruni
So, Jolien (AFS Belgium) and I were fabric shopping in a busy area of Accra together before she went back to her host family in Ashanti Mampong. We had a great time walking around, looking at fabrics, beads, and whatever else that interested us throughout the afternoon but by the time we were finished getting back home was looking a little more difficult than we had imagined it would be. In order for us to get back to our separate homes, hers being a temporary host family in Don Simon, an area of Accra, and mine on Spintex Road in a different area of Accra, we had to tro-tro to Circle and get another tro-tro from the station there. The line, or rather the mob of people waiting for a Circle tro-tro was pretty big. Over twenty at least, and every one of those twenty I'm sure had more experience pushing on to tro-tro's than we did. Add my fear about someone hitting Jolien's injured leg into it and we knew it might be impossible to get a Circle tro-tro, we had started to consider getting a taxi. Just then a tro-tro pulled up, the crowd yelled "Circle? Circle?" to the mate and he looked at us and shook his head. Then right as we turned he beckoned us over while putting out his arm so no one else could get on the tro-tro and said "Circle, Obrunis bra!" Startled and confused we jumped on without thinking and only realized twenty seconds later that he lied to that mass of people, told them he wasn't going to Circle, and let us on in the confusion. We sat there, gap-mouthed and tried to hide our faces from the other passengers and angry people we drove by. The right thing would have been maybe to let someone else on, someone who was waiting longer than we had been, but I have been beaten to a tro-tro Ghanaians before and it's normally not a very big deal. It just happens. So, as surprised we were, we were thankful and were able to get home before it was too late.
Being obruni in Ghana is sometimes like being a celebrity. Occasionally there is 'paparazzi', a Ghanaian coming up to you wanting to pose in a photo with you even though they don't know you at all or someone taking photos of you walking along beside them in sidewalk-traffic. Sometimes you get hassled and it's annoying. People can assume you're EXTREMELY wealthy and ask for money, people will ask for invitations to the US, and to marry you like they're asking the time. Sometimes you'll get a free piece of fruit or someone will pay for you on a tro-tro. Sometimes someone will walk you all the way to some place instead of just giving you directions. Sometimes people will just give you the shirt off their backs if you say you like it in passing. Or even, you'll get a helping hand onto a packed tro-tro. There's a line, I definitely think, between enjoying the advantage once in a while and totally taking advantage of your obruni status but in the end... it's all part of the exchange trip. Oh, Ghana!

'More Ghana'

While I was travelling by the coast I realized there was something I sorta missed about Accra, though I heard it on the beach sometimes, I missed the sound of street hawkers. On most of the roads in Accra, even dangerous faster-moving roads you can nearly always find street hawkers yelling out "Yess, puuure" and "plantaaiin". Men and women carrying anything and everything you would ever want to buy right outside your window as you drive past. The list ranges from toothpaste to wallets, jewelery to bread and butter, razors to plungers, and soccer balls to religious stickers for your car.

Woman carrying her child while selling bread and butter.

Before my trip, when AFS had us all meet in New York I met a girl who went to Ghana for the summer and sat in a bus writing a list of all the things she could have bought. I laughed at it then, but now I can even think of some things I might want that it's missing. The trick is to know about how much each thing costs, that way you can pay the exact amount and quickly switch the money for the item and not worry about the car moving off before you get your change or they get their money. I've seen some people be pretty sly, grab the things they're buying and drive off without paying, but not very often. Most hawkers in a certain area will help each other out though, if one can't find change quickly enough, or the car's moved off they'll help run after it. In one area there will sometimes be ten women all selling plantain chips. In order to keep all of that stuff balanced on their head, they use years of practice along with little rolled up scarves in between their load and their head.

Woman selling oranges near Tamale.

I've seen some of my students selling bananas. Unfortunately, children selling is not uncommon. I've thought a lot about it. When it comes down to 'supporting' them or not, I would rather give ten pesewas to the little girl carrying a bucket of purewater half her weight then deny her because of her age. I feel being in Ghana for so long has desensitized me to it, but in the beginning it was a challenge to see the children selling that way. Along with the street hawkers, something I still have to shield my eyes to a little are the beggars. Some roll along on skateboards with polio and other disease stricken legs. Some are blind , led by young children with hands outstretched, knocking on the windows and pointing to their mouths. Some can't follow the cars but just sit on the side of the road and look up at you, muttering with open hands. I've seen Ghanains give change, just like in the US where you'll see someone give their grocery store change to a person's cup on the way home. Not everyone, bet there really are kind people. Still, for every beggar, or tired young child you see collecting money you'll see a baby holding on to their mothers back making a funny face or a woman selling bananas will give you a bag of groundnuts free. Just like at home, nice things happen everywhere, you just can't be blind to them.

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Just seven weeks left! It's just coming right along!

During April most of the school's in Ghana have a lot of time off, so all the people in my chapter and I had time for a little travelling spring break. My time travelling was great, a mixture of fun and experience I couldn't have gotten otherwise.

Me and Jolien, enjoying the coast!

A group of volunteers and students met at Busua Beach and spent around one to two weeks there. It's a beautiful, beautiful spot with a wonderful beach, a mountain to climb, great street food (some western food if you're absolutely raving for it), a neat surf shop, other volunteers coming through, makeshift volleyball nets scattered around, and an abundance of cute little beach kids ready to play with you.

Fishing boat at Busua Beach.

Unfortunately, it being such a prime spot for tourists also means it's a prime spot for pick-pocketing. My camera was stolen a few days into the trip, miraculously my memory card was having problems so I took it out the day previous, but nonetheless camera's gone. While at the beach I learned how to surf from my great friend Jolien, it was awesome fun for a while even if I got beaten up a little bit.

My baby attempts at surfing!

Then out of the blue, Jolien had a pretty bad surfing accident. She's okay and healing now, but the fin injury had us anxious that she would be going home. The rest of our trip continued without a hitch, I went on to visit Jolien for her birthday in Mampong and then met up with my host family in Kumasi for the weekend. Now I'm back in Accra, starting work next week, and I'm ready to see my students again.

Being back with my host family has been nice. Little Abena says that I can't travel again, I have to stay forever because when I go she misses me. She's having an interview today to get into Ghana International School, the same school her brother and sisters attend. Wish her luck! This morning I quizzed her one last time on the questions she'll be asked and we sang her favorite nursery song, "Ba, Ba, Black Sheep". My host mom, Akosua and I have a nice time talking when we get the chance and she still laughs at the face I make when I try kenke (Kenke is millet wrapped inside of a corn husk eaten with stew, fish, and pepper). I try a small bite every other time she has it, and that's almost every day, to see if it's grown on me yet. It hasn't. So sour! My host dad, Frank and I still watch soccer together in the evenings. We've been following a few teams around, he's always determined to crush Barcelona FC. I just side with him unless the other team has given me a reason to like them better. Kelvin and I are good friends and we've had a scaring competition going on for a while now. 3-2, Kelvin's winning. We jump out from behind doors, curtains, and things and try and get a scream out of each other. Devita is a bit of a drama queen, but a really devoted little girl and I'm glad I could be a big sister to her for a while. Becky and Frimpoma and I still get along really well and watch Spanish soap operas together whenever we can, "El Nombre de Amor". It's intense. Just wanted to share a little host family news after I dove into something more serious. I was going to say 'more Ghana', but you know, this is all part of my experience.