Monday, September 6, 2010

Well, it looks like it is Woe' Zon from now on which is Ewe for welcome. Actually the on part of the Zon is spelled with a letter that doesn't exist for us and I don't know how to find it on the computer. Woe' sounds like way. Passing the language proficiency exam meant being able to memorize enough to get through an interview which had us doing greetings, going shopping, giving directions and taking transportation. I have some familiarity with the Ewe alphabet and sound structure but basically now all I can do is say hello to people both in Twi and Ewe. Since most people here speak a little English and there is so much to do regarding school and teaching and community projects, I'm afraid that the Ewe is going to remain rudimentary. Unfortunate because when I am in groups of people and they are all speaking Ewe, I have no idea what is being said. I love the way the various languages sound.

I have been officially sworn in as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer at quite an official ceremony. I have been in Mepe now for almost three weeks during which I have tried to meet as many people as I can and also have spent time helping another art teacher with an outdoor sculpture for the school that he designed. I helped a little with the construction in cement but mostly it was a chance to participate and get to know some of the people at my school which is called Mepe St. Kizito Technical School. It is the high school where I will be teaching General Knowledge of Art or GKA. I have also got some other projects which I am figuring out how to get going. One of these involves cleaning up the little school library in which you will find spider legs and the occasional whole spider coming out from the pages of every book on the shelves. I needed some art reference material and figured out that I could have the students cleaning up the library and then using some of the children's books and old encyclopedias as reference for them since there are no books on art specifically. The library (one room) was a one time donation probably awhile ago and is clearly little used. I also have several long term project ideas which are more specifically art oriented.

My camera has broken and I don't know yet how I will replace it. I will figure out how to post some of the pictures I did take. I have also just set up my computer. The connection here in Mepe is extremely slow but at least I do have it by way of a modem which is a USB key. I have to disconnect while writing to save on my prepaid MB's and then reconnect, so if the electricity goes off (which it often does), I have lost my posting.

I will get on to the Italian part of the posting now since tomorrow is our first staff meeting. Next week classes start.


Woe' Zon! E' come si dice akwaaba in Ewe. Attualmente si scrive diversamente ma la lettera che representa la on di zon non si trova nel nostro alfabeto e allora faccio cosi' .. zon. Abbiamo dovuto passare un esame/intervista nella lingua Ewe ma per la maggior parte conosco solo salutazioni e certe espressioni relative al come fare lo shopping per verdura ecc. Conosco l'alfabeto and un po' della costruzione della lingua ma credo che il resto rimarra un mistero siccome c'e' talmente tanto da fare qui e dobbiamo insegnare in inglese. Cosi' quando la gente chiacchiara intorno in Ewe, allora, non ho idea cosa viene detto.

Sono ufficialmente una United States Peace Corps Volunteer e adesso mi trovo a Mepe dove insegnero' per i prossimi anni. Sto cercando di incontrare piu' gente possibile mentre faccio programmi per lezioni e anche altri programmi che ho in mente tipo ripristinare la piccola (una stanzetta) biblioteca della scuola. Ne escono delle pagine di ogni libro gambe di ragni piu' tutta la polvere. Stavo cercando del'informazione d'arte e siccome non c'era ho pensato di fare in modo che i ragazzi puliscono e poi utilizzano qualche enciclopedia (vecchia) e libri con illustrazioni per ragazzi come libri dove possono trovare del'informazione e qualche esempio relative al materiale che studieremo.

Provo di postare qualche foto quando posso. La mia macchina fotografica si e' roto e non so se sia possibile prendermi un'altra. Communque, un po' di foto sono riuscita a fare prima che mi si e' roto la macchina.

Vi saluto e vado a preperarmi per il primo giorno di scuola domani.

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