planning the next trip

So, Honduras didn't work out this summer because of the political situation happening there. It's frutrating because I strongly empathize with the kids and the parents and the teachers I've gotten to know over the years and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm currently looking to plan the next trip, probably over the summer of 2010. Where am I going? Suggestions from readers are always welcome!

I love the fall

Well, I've not been as disciplined as I mean to be about writing this blog, but I was touched to read a comment from a prospective music therapy student and that has motivated me to write a little more. Because of the current political situation in Honduras we decided to postpone this summer's trip. The potential exposure to violence was too great, and when the state department issues a warning, it's important to listen. So, I've invested my energy in preparing for the new season and two new interns who arrive for orientation in about an hour. I am always excited to learn from them and hear their ideas as well as teaching and mentoring them through the exciting transformation from student to professional. Perhaps someday I will be able to include an international experience in the internship. (you may send in your donations at any time :) )

I think I have always admired the Jewish religion for celebrating the new year in the fall. I wholeheartedly embrace the season as a time for renewal and a fresh start. I am however, not looking forward to getting stuck in traffic behind school busses again.

Have a great day!

Closure, again.

It's that time of year again. . . time to say goodbye to some clients for the summer, time to say goodbye to interns moving on to bigger and better things and time to say goodbye to the comfortable routine I jumped back into when I returned from Ghana. While I welcome some changes, I'm always stunned at just how much I depend on predictability. I'd like to think I'm a person who can be ultra-flexibile and ready for any adventure, but the older I get the more OCD I become! I think it's time to travel again! I'm much more comfortable going with the flow when almost nothing is under my control and I have the freedom to just react instead of planning every day. So - I booked myself a ticket to Bermuda to visit a friend and am working on another trip to Michigan later in the summer before I go to Honduras. If only I could find a traveling music therapy position . . .

Like a pebble in a still pond

. . . the effects of my time in Ghana still continue to expand like ripples. I have a visceral reaction when I see water being wasted. I remember how it was a luxury to have enough water to shower, knowing that I would spend my day with people who didn't. I have spent a lot of time processing what I saw and did and I know that this isn't the last time I will travel somewhere that will challenge my sense of what I need. I keep coming back to St. Francis of Assisi, which surprises me, not being Catholic and never spending time studying the saints. But I found a great quote which says, "It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching." I haven't used this blog lately because I figured your interest was in my trip and now that the trip is over, there wasn't much more I had to say. But I do enjoy having a place to reflect on my experience, and I would be a fool if I thought my return to the US was the end of this adventure. I'm hoping to raise enough money by producing a High Life concert that the center will be able to move into a new building. I think it's important that it comes from folks in Ghana, to also help educate thoses citizens about the children with Autism living in their own communities. So - say a prayer that this project can get off the ground and I'll keep you updated on the progess. Oh - and by the way, I'm heading back to Honduras in August. Lots to write about there as well when I get back to seeing children I've gotten to know over the years and staying with our friends who have become like family. I guess I should consider changing the title of my blog . . . any suggestions?

Finally figured out how to post pictures and video

After not really having the time or the technology available, I have finally posted some pictures and video of the center and the children. I do have permission to use their images. I added some on previous posts as well if you care to revisit them.

Top left is Y. looking at the camera - hooray for eye contact and then him swinging on the playground. Top right are drums for sale, hand carved with goat skin heads. Very nice!

Heading home

So after flights being canceled, then rescheduled, then getting to London and seeing that the snow is just a coating, I'm thoroughly convinced that this country is in dire need of a reality check. And I'm tired of smelling other people's armpits. Other than that it's been a good traveling day. I left Ghana last night at 1:30 AM and slept most of the night. After all the delays and cancellations I will be arriving on a different airline, but luckily I will still be flying into Philly only a few hours later than planned. See you all soon!

Snow??

This is something I'm not looking forward to. Apparently London got a foot of snow and the Heathrow airport is closed. So - we'll see if I actually get to fly tomorrow. Perhaps my luggage and I will have to sit on the beach until they figure out how to plow the runways. :)

Thanks for the many prayers

I ended up getting very sick on Thursday and had to see a doctor on Friday. But everything is much better today, the proper medication makes all the difference! So thank you to all of you have kept me in your prayers, I'm sure that I wouldn't have had such a quick resolution without them. As for the center, I missed my last day because I was getting ultrsound, x-rays and lab work but I will stop in on Monday to say goodbye in person. Anyway - aside from all that it's been fun this past week. Who knew that salsa dancing would be popular here? It sure is! I went on Wednesday night and had a blast. They add a Ghanaian flavor to it but the basic steps are all the same. And I went to a family member's 70th birthday party on Monday and sang the Lord's Prayer. (It's becoming my signature song.) It was great to see the whole family again, some have been home to other countries and back again while I've been here all this time! So - this my be my last post until I return. See you all soon!

Closure

Closure is the one thing you can always plan on, but somehow, it escapes me. I've spent so much energy trying to make the most of my limited time here, to establish relationships with the kids and encourage the staff to lead that it has been tough to think about leaving. From day one, I knew that my last day would be this Friday, yet somehow, I have managed to pretend that I would never be leaving. I've seen amazing progress and felt extremely gratified by what we are all doing. To see it for yourself, visit facebook and search Autism Awareness Care and Training Ghana. This is thanks to Emily Kulpaka from Canada, a fellow volunteer from the center.
So in less than a week I'll be coming home with loads of stories to tell, and pictures and video too! See you all soon! Oh - and an interesting note, i was a guest at a live taping of Ghana's American Idol show and was featured on a TV program called mentor. When it airs I get calls from friends and family. And now wherever I go, people tell me they saw me on TV. So far, no requests for autographs though. :) The coolest part was that they gave me a tribute, introducing me as a music therapist at the end of the program. What fun!!

More than I need

So I have come to the conclusion that I live a lifestyle dedicated to having more than I need. This is why I will be donating a suitcase full of clothing and shoes to the "mothers" who care for orphans at the Osu Children's Home tomorrow. There is a special church service to thank these workers who care for some 300 children given up by unwed mothers, or left orphans by parents dying of HIV or other causes. It's the least I can do. Clothing, shoes, bags, all purchased to give a certain impression mean very little when compared to the daily gift of compassion these mothers share with these very needy children. Last week I met a girl who didn't speak at all, appearing to have at least mild mental retardation but who took my hand and led me to the door of the auditorium the church uses. Later she found me after the service, with her spare dress over her shoulder, perhaps in fear that it would be taken from her, I can only guess. I sat with her under a tree as she drank a coke and watched her spill a little on her dress and legs. Pulling a handi-wipe from my bag I encouraged her to wash the stickiness off and then watched as she scrubbed the dust off her feet and legs, using every inch of the cloth. She then just leaned into me and as I held my arm around her I just prayed that God would bless her and bring her health and joy and way out of having to beg for things. I hope to see her tomorrow. I don't even know her name. I may come home with empty bags but I know my heart will be full.

it's a two for one deal today!

Yes - I found more time to blog. And more to say - what a surprise!! I would be remiss if I didn't talk about how deeply the inauguration of Barack Obama was felt here. Being in the place where some 45 of the 54 castles which held slaves were held before being shipped off to other parts of the world and also being in a country just adjustng to their own democracy and settling into their own new administration, the intensity with which this inauguration was celebrated was amazing! To see the excitement as he took his oath, the hope and joy on my friend's faces was priceless. Obama tee-shirts and bumper stickers are popular here. We had a get together of about twenty people at the place where I'm staying which included other international guests as well as Kyiewa's and Linda's friends from here in Accra. It was kind of fun explaining some of the protocol and watching the reaction to all the pomp and circumstance. It was a challenge to remember all my history and government from 8th grade. sheesh - you know that was awhile ago! I've always been proud to be an American, but this is the first time in eight years that I've been proud of who my president is. Obama was on the front page of every newspaper this week. Even the kids at the center can say his name. (Ok - so I worked on that one all day . . .)

Hospitality like nowhere else!

Ghanain hospitality is legendary but words cannot express how much I have felt welcomed and embraced by al the people I've come to know. Especially by my hosts who have become like family. And God has done great things for me during my time here. I found a church much like Bethel on the grounds of the Osu Children's Home it was such a blessing to sing songs I knew (Yes! Lord, Yes, Lord. . .) and learning new ones. (I know that I can make it, I know that I can stand. No matter what may come my way, my life is in your hands.) Today at the center being Friday, we sang and danced for about an hour. Same praise songs! Some new ones with motions that really get the kids engaged. They react so differently to live music and watching the adults around them singing with feeling.
Yesterday I got to travel a bit and see the Volta region with a friend. Such a beautiful drive and a real introduction to the small villages. Very different from Accra. More later!

T. I. G.

This is Ghana. The refrain most often used when you have to explain why you can't do something as promised. Last night I made plans with an American couple to watch the Eagles at a bar near my place. We got there and despite getting Fox sports, it was soccer. T.I.G. They couldn't get the game so we went to Champs down the street. They advertised the game, but without sound because it was movie night. sigh. T.I.G. Lucky that we weren't watching the game though, we lost power for about ten minutes. Thankfully I was getting texts throughout the game and kept those interested informed. And, despite my indifference toward the Steelers, I found myself a little desperate to watch the game, no matter what else was going on. After several games of pool ( I lost all but one game.) we ordered dinner. After ten minutes, the waitress came back and told us the kitchen was closed (and had been for an hour.) hmmmmm, but, T.I.G. So you shrug your shoulders and move on. It's been awhile since my last post, the internet cafe I use was having problems and was soooo slow that I left. The NGO that worked out my accomodations has continued to be a dissappointment. It seems that I'm paying more for everything and yet getting less than what was promised. sigh - another "T.I.G." But - it's not all bad. The kids at the center continue to be a bright spot and are making great progress. This would be an excellent place for an externship in music therapy or special education. Perhaps that's what I need to pursue when I get home. And Uncle Ted, I am using the ASL I learned last summer. Most of the kids don't use speech and depend on sign and gesture. I nearly cried today when a boy (J.) sat with me under the tree and repeated the sign and said "tree" several times. I taught him that last week. :) God knows I needed just a little success to get through today!

Back to business!

So - after a weekend of relaxation and visiting with extended family of my landlord it's back to business at the center. Let me tell you a little of what I've learned about "Ghana Time." The official time zone is Greenwich Mean Time or GMT but here I prefer to think of it as "Ghanaian Maybe Time." As in, maybe the shop will open by the time posted on the door, maybe somone will show up when they say they will - but most often, it's a waiting game. Even at the center there is a lot of sitting and waiting for things to start, for things to finish, for people to show up to work, etc . . . It's not unusual to leave an hour or two after you decide on a departure time. It's a challenge to my sense of "wasting time," such an American point of view. But what the relaxed sense of time offers is time to focus completely on the person/people in front of you at the moment. Even the children at the center bear this waiting around much more patiently than I would expect of children with Autism. Today was another successful day in my opinion. I met two very young boys attending the center for the first time today and had a chance to make music with both of them individually. One who has a very astute musical ear and initiated "Twinkle Twinkle" singing every pitch in the melody and even finishing his playing on the keyboard in the same key. He's about three and half, maybe four years old. The other was very unsure of interaction with me but used my hand as an object to replicate a glissando I showed him. After that he began to vocalize along with the song I was singing and playing. I didn't recognize his words - not sure if it's gibberish or Twi or Ga or any of the other languages I can only hope to understand. I'm only now at the point where I can respond respectfully to people's greetings - which happens a lot here. Just walking down to the internet cafe this afternoon I counted four people who wished me a good afternoon and inquired about how I was doing. Perhaps I look as if I'm exerting myself walking in the heat, who knows??

Sooner or later . . .

I knew it would happen! After four days I finally have been sought out to play music by the kids. They've figured out that it's something I can do and they are intrigued by the keyboard. Yesterday a young man of about 16 "named I." sat down with me and was fascinated by the music and the rhythms. He clapped and danced as I played and sang and as we went on a few more kids joined us. It was the inauguration of Ghana's new President Prof. Atta-Mills and most of the staff sat and watched it on TV. The kids had no interest so I stepped out of the room and just started working with whoever wanted to interact. Another woman joined us and actually sang along with the chorus of my song - we'll call her "B." Together about five of us sat and sang and danced for about thirty minutes. I was amazed at the sustained interaction! Feeling like it was time to bring things to an end, I turned off the music and stored the keyboard, said goodbyes and we all left the room. About five minutes later "I" came out to the lobby, grabbed my hand, walked me back to where we had just been and said, "sit," then "play" pointing to the keyboard which he had already taken back down and turned on. So we played one more song and I showed him how to start the auto rhythms that seem to delight him so much. Today in the afternoon after sitting with him through a reading lesson he turned to me and grabbed my hand and led me to the keyboard. This time he turned it on, found a rhythm he liked and sang "Happy Birthday." Pretty soon we had another group of boys dancing and playing the keyboard along with some of the centre staff. Amazing interaction and such pure joy! This was after I spent a good portion of the morning as the only adult on the floor with the kids while they played with dry rice and beans and empty water bottles. (I'll be digging rice out of my hair for hours) I think some of the staff are unsure of how to receive me, but seeing the interaction and reactions we got today seemed to get us all a little closer to a mutual understanding.

I've also figured out that i can walk to the internet cafe in the afternoon after work without too much trouble, I just need to be willing to get my feet good and dirty. Right now if I took off my flip flop it would look like a tan line. And with that image, I'll say goodbye!

On perseverance

Throughout my career when my autistic clients were perseverating on something it has been considered prudent to intervene or interrupt. I started at the center yesterday and the only thing I've been able to do is sit and observe. As they are just coming back from break there were only a few children yesterday, more today but all are still very much in an unstructured period of adjustment. Lots of time is spent on the playground swinging and spinning, gathering, ripping and throwing leaves and running from person to person. I've already met a bundle of energy I'll call Yoohoo since that's his most frequently voiced sound. It probably means something different in Akan, but I'll just go with yoohoo. Y seeks out vestibular stimulation all day, in all ways - just meeting him yesterday he bounced using my hands for leverage for a good five minutes (only interrupted by him trying to steal my bag of water.) and yes, I said bag of water. Seeing that I wasn't going to let him have it, he went and got a cup and presented it - so of course I shared with him, then we happily went back to bouncing. Anyway - on perseverance. In the walk with God it's a good thing, to stay committed to what you believe, your convictions. To stay with a plan even when most parts of it have become inconvenient. And I can only wonder if these children have the same strong committment to their own movements and how short sighted it is to simply impose the grown-up, "shoulds". I know that all behavior has meaning and watching these kids over the last few days has introduced me to their own body rhythms, so now I've just got to start from there as I create a musical relationship with them. I cleaned off a small keyboard and checked out several decent drums (e are in Ghana!) I think tomorrow they will ask me to lead some live music and we'll see what happens from there!

Settling in

So I met my Volunteer Coordinator and drove past the center - they are on break until Monday. Looks like a great place to spend some time, I hope the kids share the trampoline with me! I also looked at my intended accomodation just a few blocks away from there but it was a mess. We looked at three "apartments" on the third and fourth floors - all with no A/C. Then they came up with one on the ground floor with A/C which looked promising until I spotted the moldy mattress and smelled the air coming out of the A/C - full of mold! And those of you who know me well know how much I'm allergic to mold. I will spare you the details of the smelly fridge. So - I called Edwin's cousin who owns the place we were staying before and moved back to Osu, which will give me a twenty minute commute but I will rest much easier with people I know nearby and an A/C unit that works. Think Philly in the midst of a heatwave and this is how it is everyday. Anyway, I've also managed to pick up a bit of a cold which has slowed me down a bit, but luckily you can buy meds - even antibiotics over the counter. Tomorrow I try to find a church, which shouldn't be too difficult, christianity is very prevolent here. Even the businesses have titles which indicate the owner's faith such as the Divine Creator Hair Salon or the In His Name Trotro (a minibus used as a shared taxi.) Although my favorite was on the way to Elmina - the "Peculiar Child Academy" - a Montesorri School. :) Today they officially declared Attas Mills as the president and there are people running the streets in celebration. I saw an Obama/Atta scarf being displayed on the way to the internet cafe. Had I been thinking I would have bought Obama t-shirts to sell here and made a mint! It's a new experience for me to be abroad and see this much excitement over my president. I'm sure it will be even more meaningful to see the inauguration from here. I'm still having trouble with uploading images so you'll just have to bear with my descriptions!