The second month is already over. Time is flying!

I’ve slowly settled into my work placement.

I’m now at the E.P. Kekeli International School (the basic school) on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays. I teach German to four classes there, while Maite teaches the other four on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I’m really enjoying it. I can design the lessons freely, and it reminds me a bit of the tutoring sessions I used to plan and conduct in Germany. Some students and teachers greet me with „Guten Morgen“ in the morning and say „Tschüss“ in the afternoon, which I find really cool. I also don’t feel pressured to teach the children because my German lessons are additionally to the regular curriculum. The children would have a free period instead of German class if I weren’t there. So, sometimes, I can just play Bingo in German or talk a bit about Germany – although when talking about Germany, I do feel a bit more pressure because I’m afraid of portraying an incorrect image.

One challenge is the lack of textbooks. I have to write everything on the board, and the students have to copy it down. Additionally, I have to figure out how to effectively teach a new language, which is quite different from providing support in a tutoring setting. It’s sometimes hard for me to come up with age-appropriate lessons, especially since I’m teaching 8-year-olds to 4-year-olds. That’s where I feel the absence of formal training and teaching experience. Teaching older students is definitely easier for me, probably because I’m used to it from tutoring. So, if you have any tips on how to teach languages to basic school children (or songs for learning German), please share!

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I’m now at the church’s archive. The project was started by my previous volunteer, Marit, as the archive had been somewhat neglected over the past 20 years. My initial task is to review the documents, go through the individual boxes, and document their contents. This is something I can do even without much prior knowledge and will likely keep me occupied for the next few months. However, since I have no experience in archival work, I’m looking forward to the help of Dr. Rusch, who is coming next week and is knowledgeable about archiving. He wants to give me some tips. In the coming months, I’ll probably visit other archives to see how they work. The work can be a bit tedious, but it provides a good balance to the school. I also attend morning devotions at the church’s headquarters. It’s cool to meet some of the pastors and other staff members who kindly inquire about how I’m doing and how I like Ghana. I work in Edem’s office, and it’s going well. Eyram, who was Marit’s boss and is an important contact for Maite and me, checks on me at least once a day.

Outside of work, Maite and I have become part of the church choir. I’m really enjoying it, which I didn’t expect. We sing a lot in Ewe. Most of the songs are in the Ewe hymn book, and if they’re not, Fafali, a choir member, writes down the lyrics for Maite and me. The choir has four parts (I’m in the tenor), and we mostly sing very traditional church songs, like „Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr“ in Ewe. We also have drums and other percussion instruments. I learned from a music professor that percussion instruments were once forbidden in church services. The songs were only allowed to be accompanied with an organ or other European instruments. Nowadays, drums are often used in church music, and Christianity has become intertwined with Ghanaian culture.

Through the German news, I’ve been following the endless horrors of the Middle East conflict. Here in Ghana, there is also coverage of it, but it’s overshadowed by a disaster in the Volta Region: the Akosombo Dam had to be opened because it had filled up due to heavy rains. As a result, people lost their homes, and the area has been declared a Health Emergency Zone, partly because the drinking water is no longer safe. The EP Church provided drinking water, maize, and clothing to an affected town, Mepe, and I got to accompany the moderator (the church leader) when he visited the area to assess the situation. It was really intense to see that only the roofs of some houses were visible, and I still can’t fully comprehend it.

There has also been a change in our living situation. Amma moved out last Saturday because she is starting her National Service in Accra (In Ghana, everyone has to do a year of National Service at some point, which I believe is somewhat comparable to a mandatory voluntary year of service in Germany. However, you can’t choose where to do it; you’re assigned a location). It’s sad because I had really grown fond of Amma, and especially for the initial period, it was perfect to live with a Ghanaian since things can be a bit different here, and Amma was always there to answer our questions when things were unclear. She showed us how to prepare many Ghanaian dishes and became one of my best friends. I will really miss her. However, she promised to visit us often, which is some consolation.

Overall, I would say that the adjustment process is not yet complete, but I already feel very comfortable and I am grateful for the environment. I haven’t had a single day of severe homesickness, and I haven’t experienced a significant culture shock so far. So, I consider myself quite fortunate and look forward to the remaining ten months.