Site Visit, LPI, and the Light at the End of Training

In the latter part of July, Peace Corps hosted our group of trainees as well as Ghanaian teachers working in schools to receive volunteers for a weekend of lectures and group activities. Shortly after sunrise Monday, one teacher from each of our schools, Hallie, and I were driven by Hallie's headmaster's to our new home. Our drive was interrupted, as expected, by a half-hour ferry ride across a portion of Lake Volta. Beneath us on the third and highest level of the pontoon were vehicles packed three rows wide, students, farmers, workers, and casual travelers heading to the the district capital of the Kwahu North Region, Donkorkrom. Around noon, one hour after arriving at the walled compound we share with Hallie's headmaster, we crossed the street together to visit Donkorkrom Agric SHS. We met a few of Hallie's future co-workers before our presence was requested aside an ensemble of student drummers and dancers. For the next hour female students sang traditional Ghanaian songs and danced in formation while male students thumped out drumbeats and handclaps. For the last number, Hallie and I were invited and obliged to join the dancing. Afterwards, we traveled a few minutes down the road towards town to Atakora JHS. We greeted my future co-teachers as the 120 students convened in one classroom. Hallie and I sat in front of the students as one teacher prepared our introduction. When it was my turn, he simply said "This is Yaw," (Twi-speakers assign names to eachother based on their day of birth, I was born on Thursday) and the classroom erupted with cheer (I hope they carry that same enthusiasm into long division). Only after they quieted did he explain that I will begin teaching late September at the start of next school year. We spent the next few days meeting two nearby Peace Corps Volunteers, visiting the orphanage in town, exploring the market, and paying additional visits to the schools before returning to Kukurantumi. Sunday morning, we began our trip on the daily charter bus that departs around 5, then to the speedy motorized canoe crossing Lake Volta, and last taxis. The focus of training for the following week was language, six hours per day, in preparation for the language proficiency interview. The interview was essentially a fifteen minute conversation in Twi with a PC trainer recorded on tape to be sent to Washington. We were given such prompts as: "Tell me a little about yourself"; "I want to visit your site, how do I get there?"; "Pretend you are in a market, approach a vendor and buy ingredients for dinner." With testing completed, we are preparing to be sworn in as volunteers this week and move to Donkorkrom next week.

Pictures from top to bottom: wooden crests of Atakora JHS and Donkorkrom Agric SHS carved by a student from Atakora JHS, Hallie eating fufu(mashed plantain and cassava), our host brother Kwame displaying his excellent balance