Second update
Friday I arrived in Cape Coast, the capital of the Central Region. It is quite an interesting city with Cape Coast Castle as its main attraction. It is one of the oldest forts on the Gold Coast and was the British' main base for slavery. Ghana is the country where most slaves came from so there is a terrible history connected to this. I am not going to the Cape Coast Castle this weekend but I definitely will go some day since I have heard from so many people that it indeed is very interesting - it is also a World Heritage.

The weekend has gone by really fast - I've had a very nice time. Friday was internet-day and in the evening Ben, Jasmin and I went to meet up with Lisa (a former OCEP volunteer and now OCEP staff) and some of her Danish friends (Christian, Mia and Patricia; volunteering for Africa Footprint), which was really cosy. We got there during the afternoon, watched some Ghanaian drummers and dancers rehearse and then a big meal was cooked with plenty of lovely fresh fish as well as rice and a great sauce. Afterwards we played cards and drank beers and wine and ended up in Cape Coast center at a so called winebar having a really good time - the night was REALLY late compared to my Ghanaian standards ... I got to bed at 5am :) We stayed the night at the African Footprint place and Saturday afternoon Ben, Jasmin, two of Jasmin's friends (Sven and Alisa) and I headed to Kakum National Park where we stayed the night on a tree-platform in the jungle/rainforest all alone...... really scary with all those animals and noises just sleeping under a silly mosquito net. And then suddenly we saw torch light that mysteriously turned off as they got closer to our platform - and then there was just darkness and quietness, so we really wondered who those torch light people were and where they went... would they maybe rob us or something?? Lots of horror fantasies were told and we got more and more scared but in the end, however, we went to bed and fell a sleep at some point... Scary at the time but really funny to look back at :) Sunday morning we met our guide at 6am and did the famous canopy walk (constructed in 1995 and consists of a 350m-long, 40m-high wood-and-rope walkway suspended between seven trees) where we saw quite a few monkeys. Because we had got this special arrangement this early (the park opens at 8am) we were all by ourselves in the Park and on the canopy walk, which was awesome. I think it would have been a terribly touristy experience if we had done the walk after 8am. After the Canopy walk we had a two hour tour in the rainforest mostly seeing different trees... Kakum NP protects what is among the most extensive rainforest habitats in Ghana with high rainfalls and a humidity level at around 90%. We have just got back to Cape Coast and head home to Akonfudi and Foso in a few hours.

School update
This week in the school has been busy! And very different from normal. Sunday evening after dinner Dacosta (the owner of the school) joined Jasmin and I and we had a long very interesting talk about the school and Ghanaian culture. He sure is an educated man with lots of great visions. He has been to London so he actually has a great inside to the Western culture and the advantages of it. He is very aware of Ghanas - and Africa in general - situation when it comes to development. It will take 250 years to get to the Western level, he says. And this comes down to one main thing: lack of planning. Ghanaians don't plan. They don't plan the future and they don't even plan the next meal. They most definitely live in present but this - according to Dacosta - keeps them back standing. You need to plan to make things happen - else will time just pass by. "Africans are foolish" he says. To sum up the interesting discussion, Dacosta's opinion is the following:

Ghana:
1.has a very unique culture when it comes to hospitality - everybody is always welcome
2.has a lot of nature resources, but
3.doesn't manage to make use of these, since
4.doesn't plan (they live 110% in present and do not think ahead, leading to a waste of time and money)
5.lacks national systems (e.g. school system) that dont change every 4th year when the two big political parties switch
6.has a hospitable population who, however, also is very selfish (this selfishness must be given up, Ghanaians must sacrifice a bit if Ghana shall develop (e.g. through national taxes and not only 3% VAT)
7.unfortunately has corrupt politicians

So yes, Dacosta is very visionary and educated and as a step on the way he will begin to spread out his visions to his own school.Therefore he has invested in a so called 'education officer' who shall help making more structure in the school as well as he has fired some teachers and hired some new ones. It all seems very promising…

BUT (of course there is a but..) forming changes in Ghana is NOT easy and straightforward! It all seems very good in theory but in praxis it just doesn't really work. Not yet at least. All the time things are stopping the changes for being fulfilled. Everyday something doesn't work. For instance: there are not enough teachers in the school. This hole shall Jasmin and I cover, which of course is very reasonable. We, however, must know, when we are teaching to be able to prepare the lessons, and that wasn't possible to tell us, since there were no timetables…and it had been 3 weeks since the school began! Therefore Jasmin and I became timetable makers which suited us very well. It was hard work though, but we got through it and the result was very good! :) Relieved we showed the timetables to Dacosta who was very positive and appreciative so we went on with the timetables and showed the teachers them. They, however, have no clue about appreciation. Except for one teacher who is very competent - he came with suggestions and also thanked. The rest said nothing. Next we needed to photocopy the timetables but Dacosta didn't keep his promise about this and only because we complained he managed to get it fixed so the teachers could get an example and be able to form the changes into reality. Things take time in Ghana! Finally the timetables were handed out and also put up in the classrooms so now it seemed like it was settled. But no. The teachers are like the children in Kindergarten - they need to have everything explained and they need to be told what to do and when to do it. They couldn't read the timetable! And it is so simple… So Jasmin and I ran around trying to find the teachers and bring them to the correct classroom. Pyh.. finally. But then the break times. They just cannot follow them! They don't ring the bell, and when they ring it they don't listen to it… hmm.. The first break finally seemed to work, but then it was canteen break time… One o'clock I went to lunch in Dacosta's wife's shop and at 1.30pm I was back in school to begin the last lesson. When I got back I found the pupils walking around not eating and I asked them if they hadn't eaten yet - no, they hadn't, because the canteen lady wasn't ready with the food yet! Sooo many stopping factors on the way towards change. It has been a very frustrating week because I really want the school to improve and I really did what I could but the school, the teachers and the pupils just don't follow. It seems like they don't care and don't even try and that is what annoys me. And they have so much patience! So much time. Dacosta has been very nice to come and ask Jasmin and I how our days have been and I have been very honest and told him that I was frustrated and didn't see the teachers trying hard enough, and he has tried to lower my expectations.
And I think he managed that. My expectations have got lower. I have realized that it takes a long time to change things in Ghana. And Friday the school started very well and it seemed like it has improved so that was pleasant. I look forward to next week to see have that goes :)

It is very interesting to be a part of these changes, though, and I like to be the organizing part of it helping Dacosta to make some structure after Western standards, which he really likes.

Generally
Kumasi last weekend was good. The big market was massive! I bought two fabrics which I brought to the tailor to get some dresses stitched. At the same time I picked up two skirts which are very nice.

I still enjoy my stay here. The village is very nice and time passes by fast. I cannot believe that I have been in Ghana for 3 weeks already! The last week has gone by extremely quickly! But that must be a good sign :)

I don't have settled plans for next weekend yet but I am definitely going to Cape Coast again someday and meet up with Christian, Mia and Lisa as well as going with them to their project placement. I also want to go to Accra to meet up with Patricia and see how she lives and get to know Accra a bit better. I look forward to these shorter travels :)
In Christmas break I plan to go to the North of Ghana and I also have a week to travel in after my volunteering finishes.

In general I have so much that I want to share but all of it can't be fitted in the time I spend in the internet cafes (though it is a lot). I think I am going to stop for now and then tell more next time.

I hope you are all good.

All the best,
Signe