12/2/2006 - It's amazing what YOU can do with AFS!
Paddy is currently on Community Service exchange in Ghana. He is now living a different life, one he would strongly recommend to anyone who is willing to be challenged, yet have the most incredible experience you can ever imagine. It really makes you grow and think about how fortunate we are in Australia. It also has allowed him to see a new lifestyle which places great importance on community values and sharing.
His letter has moved all of us at AFS, how about you?
Dear all,
After meeting the most extraordinarily hospitable people in the world, nearly dying with Malaria (but still loving life!) and tasting intriguing (a euphemism for horrible!) food, I thought I’d let you all know how I’m going.
It has been almost a month since my emirates plane landed in Accra airport along side the UN plane ready to do a drop off. Ever since I stepped on African soil, I have been hit with a massive culture shock, yet as I become more accustomed to the strange African habits (such as a handshake which consist of a slap and a click at the end) life here in Ghana is becoming easier and easier. Never before have I felt so welcome in a culture: from the beautiful smiles the old lady carrying pineapples on her head gives me (yes they really do carry things on their head!) to the ubiquitous chants of ‘Obruni Obruni’ (white man white man) that the school children sing as you walk past their run down classrooms.
I am living in a town called Berekum, which is about 50km from the west coast of the Ivory Coast. Within the village I am living in a small village called Koto Quarters. The village is amazing, it is a true community; children fetching water for other families, people laughing around the fire and the intense football games. I love the village and after fetching water and pounding fufu (a dough like food) I have settled into the village nicely.
My family are the best! My mum is the dream African mum! Fat, colourful and laughs constantly. She has really made me adapt to Ghanaian life; buying me the traditional dress to wear to school and eating fufu under the palm trees with her (with my hands) out of the same pot. I have about twelve brothers and sisters who have welcomed me so warmly into their house…. I have come to realize that sharing is such a major facet of African life…. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine. I also have a baby brother and a baby sister who cried every time they saw me in the first week…… it was a great source of laughter for the family….. now they shout ‘Paddy Paddy!’ whenever they see me riding home on my bicycle down the dirt track.
I have also started to teach at a school called “All For Christ” in my district. I walk into the classroom and am greeted with forty smiling seven year olds who love a game of Simon says and hang man…. The spirit and feeling in the classroom is so electric…. The only negative experience to date has been watching the little children getting beaten with the cane for getting an answer wrong… and when I say beaten I don’t throw the term around lightly… I asked one of the teachers if he could hit me with the cane to see how it feels…lets just say I have a lot of respect for the children’s’ pain tolerance! Children aren’t willing to try because they are worried they will be canned. Anyway, besides that, school is amazing and has allowed me to integrate myself into the community so nicely.
I am also working with my host brother on his organization called “Life Lovers.” He travels to all the local schools and teaches all the children on HIV and Aids in the hope of prevention for at least one child. It is truly inspiring and I really hope to get myself more involved with his initiative when I return. We are currently designing t-shirts…..its very cool.
I have also traveled quite a bit lately…. Actually quite a lot considering the amount of time I have been here. I have been to Kumasi and Accra, the two largest cities in Ghana. They are alive and vibrant, yet chaotic and disillusioned. Travel is also a bit dangerous, flying down sketchy roads at 100 km per hour in Tro Tro’s (dilapidated second hand vans which were run off in western countries and dumped in Africa). My host brother, Franklin and I have also organized a trip to Kintampo next weekend where we will see a Monkey sanctuary and the spectacular water falls…..I will be sending you some photos of my travel and family in the next update.
Don’t worry about me, life is hard but I’m loving every moment and learning new things everyday.
All the best,
Paddy (or Paddy Kuabenna Peprah!)
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