Well i left 1 month ago. I feel as though ive finally hit my stride and am now getting into the groove of things. It really only took about a week to get my homesickness to go away, but it was a very hard week. I thought it would never go away! But i just made myself realize that im going to be here for 10 month, and also realized that this trip was a pretty penny, so why waste any time mopping around wishing i was at home! I wont say that i dont have feelings of homesickness every once in awhile, but thats to be expected. And im feeling very comfortable. Ive started knowing where things are at, where to take taxis to, and people are starting to realize that im not just a tourist, im here to stay. I still get called "obroni" 50 times a day though. lol. Ive also started school so i feel as though im in a rhythm.
Speaking of school, its a whole nother beast than school at DUB C(WCHS, if youre not a student there). Ill just mention a few things. They wear uniforms, which ill wear in the next few weeks. They cane the "stuborn"(its like the teachers fav word) students, and its no tap on the wrist. Its a wind-back-and-hit-them-in-the-head-about-5 times kind of caning! The students have a stationary room and the teachers come to us. which can lead to a pretty boring day since your not walking to classes every 90 min like in the states. And sometimes teachers dont even show up, youll just end up sitting in the class for awhile with a bunch of kids speaking Twi. A few days ago, we only had 1 teacher come to class the whole day! luckily my fellow American lent me a book(The Kite Runner, if you havent read it, its awesome!) a few days ago, which i read the whole day.
Since ive been in Sunyani, ive seen like 5 white people other than Wess and Iris. So i stick out like a sore thumb! Everywhere I go i can feel the eyes on me. and its funny cause sometimes people will know me but i wont know them! For example, a few days ago i was walking home and this man in a car driving on the other side of the road from me stopped, waved, and said "Hey Richard!" I waved back at him and he drove off, but i had no clue who he was! That happens on a regular basis. I feel kind of embaressed when that happens because theyll say "Hi Rich" and i wont know there names. haha but the kids here are pretty obnoxious, its not like when grown ups say "Obroni" to me, the kids say "OBROOOOOOONI!". haha i kind of laugh though.
Im 215 lbs, so im not a small guy, but i dont consider myself fat. But good Lord do people love calling me fat and big. At first i was offended when theyd say that. Id just give them a Chuck Liddell stare and walk away. but then someone told me that its good to be big. So now, i just force a smile out when someone tells me that. Its still annoying though.
My little brothers are really cool. and very hard working! Everyday they wake up at 5:30 to clean the house. Its incredible. When i was that age, i was struggling to get up, let alone do chores before i go to school! Then after school they do more chores, and cook and clean after dinner. And they clean the whole weekend practically. They barely have time to hang out. I dont think they get appreciated enough, but they dont seem to mind. They do a lot for me during the week, so i repay them by hanging out with them and helping cook and clean as much as possible, also helping with their homework. and they dont get lunch money so on fridays and sometimes during the week i get them an icecream of something of that nature. Theyll grow up to be very hard workers!
I hope all is well! Ill talk to you soon!
Speaking of school, its a whole nother beast than school at DUB C(WCHS, if youre not a student there). Ill just mention a few things. They wear uniforms, which ill wear in the next few weeks. They cane the "stuborn"(its like the teachers fav word) students, and its no tap on the wrist. Its a wind-back-and-hit-them-in-the-head-about-5 times kind of caning! The students have a stationary room and the teachers come to us. which can lead to a pretty boring day since your not walking to classes every 90 min like in the states. And sometimes teachers dont even show up, youll just end up sitting in the class for awhile with a bunch of kids speaking Twi. A few days ago, we only had 1 teacher come to class the whole day! luckily my fellow American lent me a book(The Kite Runner, if you havent read it, its awesome!) a few days ago, which i read the whole day.
Since ive been in Sunyani, ive seen like 5 white people other than Wess and Iris. So i stick out like a sore thumb! Everywhere I go i can feel the eyes on me. and its funny cause sometimes people will know me but i wont know them! For example, a few days ago i was walking home and this man in a car driving on the other side of the road from me stopped, waved, and said "Hey Richard!" I waved back at him and he drove off, but i had no clue who he was! That happens on a regular basis. I feel kind of embaressed when that happens because theyll say "Hi Rich" and i wont know there names. haha but the kids here are pretty obnoxious, its not like when grown ups say "Obroni" to me, the kids say "OBROOOOOOONI!". haha i kind of laugh though.
Im 215 lbs, so im not a small guy, but i dont consider myself fat. But good Lord do people love calling me fat and big. At first i was offended when theyd say that. Id just give them a Chuck Liddell stare and walk away. but then someone told me that its good to be big. So now, i just force a smile out when someone tells me that. Its still annoying though.
My little brothers are really cool. and very hard working! Everyday they wake up at 5:30 to clean the house. Its incredible. When i was that age, i was struggling to get up, let alone do chores before i go to school! Then after school they do more chores, and cook and clean after dinner. And they clean the whole weekend practically. They barely have time to hang out. I dont think they get appreciated enough, but they dont seem to mind. They do a lot for me during the week, so i repay them by hanging out with them and helping cook and clean as much as possible, also helping with their homework. and they dont get lunch money so on fridays and sometimes during the week i get them an icecream of something of that nature. Theyll grow up to be very hard workers!
I hope all is well! Ill talk to you soon!
PS. The photo is of me and my host brothers!
2 comments:
I'm going to use this photo in a drinking game called "Spot the Obroni." It sounds like you're settling in nicely. I can definitely understand the feeling of sitting in a classroom all day waiting for teachers to come to you, although our teachers showed up on time for the most part. I thought it was interesting because the class had to get along since you have to deal with each other all day. In Chile, they assemble the group into one class then those 35 students stay together until they graduate 4 years later! Wow.
You know what you said about how people know who you are and call you by your name, and you don't have any idea who they are? Well, that happens to me all the time right here in Tennessee...wonder why????
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