TALES FROM TALENSI

The stories and snaps of my 3 months in the Ghanaian sun. Volunteering with VSO through ICS to help with the education in communities in North Ghana.

[talesfromtalensi]

Reminiscing

It’s about exactly 2 years since we returned from Ghana, back to the UK and the colder weather and more reverse culture shock than anticipated. 

It feels like yesterday though, which most significant trips do. Before you know it you’ve got yourself a new life, or just a new chapter, and that’s still part of you. 

It’s instilled in me though, a passion to help others and continue a branch of work for smaller communities around the world. Whether it be education or health, I’m determined to keep this going. 

[talesfromtalensi]

[talesfromtalensi]

365 days

It’s been a whole year. I’m sitting here, snug in my new bed, in my new city. So much is new and everyday I am learning, but all with thanks to the strength I learnt in Ghana. 

Looking and reading back I so badly wish I spent more time documenting and writing what life was, because things are not the same when you just remember. I remember it being very difficult, but it’s also hard to know whether that’s just because I said it so many times, or if I remember specifically the pain I felt. With thanks though, I am a much stronger person today. 

Because of this though I am going to try and remember what happened, on particular days and moments. Starting now. 

[talesfromtalensi]

Tales after Talensi

3 months is a long time, trust me. They all tried to explain that to me but I shrugged it off and landed headfirst into this. Hindsight, as usual, is a stunning thing. I vividly remember sitting in Accra talking to my team leader and confidently saying there was not a thing I was afraid of, mainly because I wasn’t sure what to expect but I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He said that sometimes nerves are good. And I think maybe he was right, if I knew how to be nervous in that moment things would have been a lot different. 

It was tough. 

For 3 months I lived with the most beautiful family I have met aside from my own. The most giving, honest, sarcastic and loving family. A pregnant mother who cooked three meals a day, in between fetching litres of water (flip off those stereotypes for a moment) and cooking separate meals for the rest of the family. I was given a husband (woo woo) so got myself a second family and the kids flocked by the hundreds. All this under the warmest sun, like absolutely sweltering.  That wasn't the hard part.

[talesfromtalensi]

I think today marks 3 weeks away, which is crazy because it feels like it's been a lifetime. This is the first proper lazy day I've had since we've been here and I'm feeling well chilled out, reading in the shade with a sweet breeze cooling the air and Palace is playing and it's so nice to have music because I didn't for the first few weeks. Today's a public holiday for Ghana's Independence Day, which is actually the 6th but it fell on a Sunday so they moved the holiday, so we don't have school today. School is a difficult one, it's feeling a bit aimless, but we've definitely hit a plateau. Constant reminders that initiative is the key. It's crazy how this trip is more so about personal development than all else. It's been slightly challenging, I've not been entirely myself, which I guess is just something that needs to be improved with this 'personal development', which the boys never fail to remind us of such development. On the contrary the impact we have on the children at school and people in the community as a whole may not be entirely education heavy but also personal. For the ones who'll improve their English or learn about our homes, both in cities in Ghana and England. The ones who find happiness in our sunburn or our ability to respond in their language. I'd hope the things we leave behind will positively impact their future decisions, if not just leave them with stories and memories. Things I love about Ghana(ians): - they laugh at everything, so naturally I'm feeling well at home - the women in the community are angels and crazy inspiring with their work and ability to carry almost anything on their heads - the constant friendliness

[talesfromtalensi]

1 week exactly in the house today. Tonight for dinner is Banku and Palm Nut soup. I've been missing fresh food, so the sight of lettuce at dinner time is like heaven. Our host mum is an absolute gem, a dream cook and basically a super mum - she laughs at everything so I'm feeling very at home. This morning we went to church with our family, it was an experience that's for sure and very different from any church I've ever been to before. Tomorrow we are in school again. Sorting out what learning materials we can make for the classes. Inspirational posters, sentence structure cards, learning cards, counters. Another goal of ours is to get absent students back in classes, due to a variety of reasons like home issues, working issues, they're no longer attending. Each night most of the children from the community come to our house to see us. We sit out under what they refer to as the summer house and it's mostly a cocktail of bilingual conversations, no understanding and laughing. We learnt the odd word or two and what the kids want to be when they finish school.

[talesfromtalensi]

It's night two in our host home tonight and we are all sitting outside watching football on TV. When I say all I mean just about every child in our community because this seems to be the gathering place, I'm not sure if it's the icy poles that they sell or the for the TV - both are quite major factors though. The host home has been an absolute treat so far. We have fans in our rooms, a shower and an actual toilet, which is more than what others got. There's no running water though, so bucket showers and bucket down the toilet, and the bore is about a 4 minute walk from the house so not much to complain about. It's a wake up call just to how much water it takes to flush a toilet that's for sure. We got fed fish stew with rice for a late lunch which satisfied us into the evening. Breakfast was milo and bread, however I had leftover stew.

[talesfromtalensi]

My last night in Accra before a delightful 15 hours bus ride was spent playing cards, not different from the previous 4 evenings in the balmy Ghana evening. Headed for Bolgatanga we were given a packed breakfast for the 4am start, which the Brits in their wise nature had finished before we'd even left Accra. Leaving our 8am breakfast hungs unfulfilled. This past week has been an absolute delight and was been spent eating the most gourmet Ghanian food, laughing and playing cards almost every second. Being partnered with another Ghanaian volunteer over the week, we grew to love another, act as sisters and trust each other. However we were mostly all given new partners just in time to move into our host home, change is as good as a holiday, right. Learning about the differences in culture yet striking similarities between us all has only helped us grow closer. Some things are still quite opposite, like serving sizes. They are MASSIVE. I'm talking like 4 times what I'd usually put on my plate.

[talesfromtalensi]

Mango Tree in my backyard

[talesfromtalensi]

Ghana, my friends, is legit. Like amazing. Incredible and inspiring. We landed in Accra shortly before midday to a lush 30 degrees and acclimatising is definitely a thing. We met our team leaders and the rest of our Ghanaian counter parts, which has been incredible - they are hilarious and caring. And tonight we had a real good boogie inspired by African beats. A film of dark red desert like dust covers everything, while the locals wander through the traffic with buckets of produce for sale, on their heads, to make a living. I've learnt this is thing the locals utilise and in turn support the people, which is pretty cool. Also for you Aussies, milo is a thing here. Like a real road-side-sized-advertisement-big. Which is cool.

[talesfromtalensi]

Let's start at the beginning

12 sleeps until take off. 

Take off, in fact, with a group of people I will only meet hours before. 

That shouldn't worry me though, considering I've made the trek from one side of the world to the other all alone, but maybe it's the fact I'm with these people for 3 months in what could potentially be one of the most foreign places I've been. 

3 months to call Northern Ghana home and make friends and learn and play. I want to learn to cook their recipes, learn their stories, their dances and their games. 

Current thoughts are jumbled and hard to translate, however I’ve got excitement and fear in my bones and the rest just follows.