Passion in Ghana

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

Saturday about 7:30 pm, on main street in the village where I live. These residents are not waiting to get into a club, but are watching football (soccer) at a small kiosk that sells small house hold items and has a TV. It is the Ghana National Team's second match in the first round of the African Cup. They defeated Botswana last weekend and are playing Mali this evening. The Ghana Black Stars are one of the favorites to win the Cup.

I have not seen or experienced anything else in Ghana that reaches even near the level of passion that football does. Any object that is even a little round quickly becomes the ball by the young children and the match is on. Work stops and a crowd gathers to watch the Primary and Junior High school teams compete.

The school where I teach has a team which is ranked in the upper quarter of the teams in the local Junior High School league. They practice and sometimes compete on a field that is uneven, half dirt and half grass, full of stones and goat droppings, the school porch sitting on one inbound line, and a old tree stump just to the left of one goal. The game is fast, straight ahead and physical. Players must strap everything on tight and bring their "black and blue" game in order to compete. They are "all in" and cannot wait to get the game going. Spectators are no less involved and disputed calls often result in a large number of fans on the pitch pointing fingers, yelling loudly, often not even involving the single referee attempting to control the match. I attended the soccer games my three children played, but they were not even close to this level of intensity.

I am rooting for the Black Stars and it would be a neat experience to celebrate winning the Cup with the Ghanians. The village just erupted in cheers as the Stars scored their second goal in the match.

I will also have the opportunity to be a witness to the election of a President of Ghana this coming December. Listening to the morning talk shows with the other teachers, it seems the campaign has begun and like the campaigns in the USA, will be competitive and full of passionate debate on the issues.

Interesting times in my village and in the country of Ghana.

A weather report from Ghana

The contents of this website are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. government or the Peace Corps.

It is usually difficult for an amateur to capture the brilliance of a sunrise or sunset. This was my amateur shot taken this morning, just past 6:30 AM as I am walking to school for my 7 o'clock class. It is unexpectedly cool and you can see the two school girls in uniform ahead of me have added a jacket. The farming region of Brong Ahafo is almost two months into the dry season with no rain expected until late March, early April. Most vegetation is brown and very dry, except the large trees. Many wild fires springing up. The picture captures a little bit of the conditions of this season as a consequence of a phenomenon in this part of the world, the Harmattan winds off the Sahara far to the north east. Although it may look like smoke or fog, the reduced visibility and covering of the rising sun is the dust and grit in the air that has come with the dry season winds and will last until the rains begin again. Some spectacular sunsets, but also dust and grit settling everywhere, causing me respiratory coughing during the night and some serious "ring around the collar" during the day. One of the interesting aspects is that the mornings are now comparatively cool. Not sure why, but it may have to do with less daylight as a result of the overcast sky. I sleep under two sheets with socks on and many of the Ghanians are in long sleeves, sweaters, and coats early in the morning, but by mid morning it is what I expect of a day near the equator in Africa. I am told it will get much warmer and in the northern regions easily top 115 degrees F.

School has begun again and the days and weeks are full and pass quickly. The "book" says I should be experiencing "over zealousness, homesickness, uncertainties about adapting, and intolerance of the host culture." So far so good in coping with those circumstances. Much of that I credit to you and your continuing interest in my new job and what I am doing with my time. My health is excellent and I am grateful for a supportive family and group of friends.