To make you feel my love!
Door: Ronja Kuijs
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Ronja
27 Januari 2014 | Ghana, Accra
Hello family, friends and strangers who read this blog.
First of all, I am sorry for writing this in English, but since I have a Swedish family and also friends whom i speak English with, i thought it would be easier to have it in English.
So I have been in Ghana for a week now, and sometimes it definitely feels like I have been here for much longer, but then stuff happends and I realize I am still quite the newby.
I left Amsterdam at 10.45 am Saturday the 18th. Luckily it wasnt that hard to say goodbye this time and although I was feeling really scared, I was so excited as well. With a stop over in Frankfurt I finally arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana at 8 pm. The first thing I thought when I got out of the airplane was omg it’s so hot. That thought has not left my head ever since.. I went in to the airport, but when I was trying to get through the check thing, i noticed I didn’t have the papers you were supposed to have filled out. Luckily I got the paper from the not so nice lady. I had to write the adress of the place, but I of course didn’t know it, so in my panic I called mom but then luckily i remembered a few words, wrote that down instead and i could pass. There I found my bags really quickly, it amazed how many times I had to show people what was in my bag, and the last guy even asked me how much money I had with me, and when i told him i had 40 euros, he demanded 20. I told him no, a little bit insecure because I was scared he was going to hurt me or something, and then he said ah come on obruni (this is what they call white people, people here scream this at you whenever they see you) for new year. Then I realized this was probably just a typical ghanaian thing to do, and i moved along, although still scared he was going to pull his gun on me. I honestly don’t know why I get these scare fantasies..I quickly found the driver and we then went to the volunteer house. All the people in this house are so nice, and even though I was really nervous at first, that was gone the minute I got here I am sharing a room with a german guy named Kevin and an English girl named Ellie. There is also one American girl, one German girl, one guy from Gambia, a Scottish girl, a couple from Norway and 2 people from Sweden, and one girl from the Netherlands, so I can keep up with all my languages here!
The following day, Sunday we didn’t do very much, I have noticed that every thing i quite relaxed here, and I have gotten used to the term, Ghana time, as everything and everyone is always late here. Monday we went to the new building where we were painting and cleaning up. A couple weeks before I came, the director of my organisation here got a call from a friend if he wanted to help out an orphanage, they are really poor and couldn’t afford the payments on the house they were staying at now, so we bought them a new house and have been working on that the whole week. Later in the afternoon I went to the orphange, and it was amazing! I fell in love with the kids immidiately, when we opened the door the came running into our arms and we just played and cuddled with them all afternoon. It’s so refreshing to see how much fun these kids have with barely anything, they can play for hours with each other without using toys whatsoever. And there always happy, and they are definitely the best huggers in the world.
Tuesday Kevin, Ellie and I had orientation, because we were new. Albert, the driver and also the helper around here took us out to some places here in Accra. We took a trotro, which is like a minivan filled with people, and also not very safe and in great shape, but i really liked it, although I felt a bit oncomfortable from all the stares. We went to the independence statue at first, and Albert told us some really interesting things about Ghana. Then we went to this really big market, we walked for like 90 minutes but still only saw a quarter of it. While we were crossing a busy street I suddenly fell into thise hole on the ground with one leg, so while cars where still driving i was laying on the floor with one leg in this hole. I still have this really big bumb and some bruises on my leg. Later I found out those holes are actually called obrunitraps, although they call it Ronja traps now :( After the market we went on a motorcycle trip. I had never been on a motorcycle before, and since people here say you have to be crazy to drive in Ghana and that I read in my book that most people die from accidents on the road then from even malaria I was pretty terrified. It was so much fun though, but I have to admit I had my eyes closed a couple times and I said to myself please dont kill me please dont kill me about a 100 times. Especially when we ran a red light, I told the guy, who was really nice, that it was red and he said, yeah but that doesnt matter, if there are no cars coming, you drive. and apparantly its okay to pass a car from both left and rights. Then later we went to the artmarket and had jam b lessons, so much fun!!
The rest of the week I have gone to the orphanage, and also the fishing village, a small village close by which is poor, and we go there to teach. It’s outside, and only some kids have some paper and a pencil, so it was good that I brought lots of that with me, so thank you for the donations <3 Ellie and me teach english together to the first class, which has all the younger kids in it. It is pretty hard and stressful, as most of them don’t speak English really, and there are about 20 of them, packed on some benches. Also they fight a lot, and here it is normal to hit each other, as they learn that from the people around them, so I don’t know how many kids I have to comfort, and I am getting suspecious that some of the kids now cry on purpose just so they can sit on my lap. Which I of course don’t mind, because they are so cute! It is a lot of fun though, and I really feel like we are making a difference and helping those kids. They have gotten a lot better at not fighting and hitting each other as well, because we tell them that it’s not okay to behave like that.
Well my story has been getting pretty long, I hope I didn’t bore you guys of. Last but not least, everything is really great here, and I am loving it and enjoying it so much. I did have some difficult moments, because it is hard to see so much poverty and not being able to do anything about it. But I also have realized that it’s the small things that count as well, giving the kids some love is already making them so happy, and giving the homeless guy who lives on the dumb my water made him so grateful. For me it feels like I am not doing much, but for them it is. So I am very thankful for being here.
Hope you all have it nice in the coldness. When I get home I will never ever complain about having it cold again, because here I sweat buckets in just one minute, the heat never stops, only when I am having a cold shower, but once I am out of the shower I am already sweating again. Thankfully I am getting used to it now, and I can finally sleep a bit better.
Much love
Ronja
First of all, I am sorry for writing this in English, but since I have a Swedish family and also friends whom i speak English with, i thought it would be easier to have it in English.
So I have been in Ghana for a week now, and sometimes it definitely feels like I have been here for much longer, but then stuff happends and I realize I am still quite the newby.
I left Amsterdam at 10.45 am Saturday the 18th. Luckily it wasnt that hard to say goodbye this time and although I was feeling really scared, I was so excited as well. With a stop over in Frankfurt I finally arrived in Accra, the capital of Ghana at 8 pm. The first thing I thought when I got out of the airplane was omg it’s so hot. That thought has not left my head ever since.. I went in to the airport, but when I was trying to get through the check thing, i noticed I didn’t have the papers you were supposed to have filled out. Luckily I got the paper from the not so nice lady. I had to write the adress of the place, but I of course didn’t know it, so in my panic I called mom but then luckily i remembered a few words, wrote that down instead and i could pass. There I found my bags really quickly, it amazed how many times I had to show people what was in my bag, and the last guy even asked me how much money I had with me, and when i told him i had 40 euros, he demanded 20. I told him no, a little bit insecure because I was scared he was going to hurt me or something, and then he said ah come on obruni (this is what they call white people, people here scream this at you whenever they see you) for new year. Then I realized this was probably just a typical ghanaian thing to do, and i moved along, although still scared he was going to pull his gun on me. I honestly don’t know why I get these scare fantasies..I quickly found the driver and we then went to the volunteer house. All the people in this house are so nice, and even though I was really nervous at first, that was gone the minute I got here I am sharing a room with a german guy named Kevin and an English girl named Ellie. There is also one American girl, one German girl, one guy from Gambia, a Scottish girl, a couple from Norway and 2 people from Sweden, and one girl from the Netherlands, so I can keep up with all my languages here!
The following day, Sunday we didn’t do very much, I have noticed that every thing i quite relaxed here, and I have gotten used to the term, Ghana time, as everything and everyone is always late here. Monday we went to the new building where we were painting and cleaning up. A couple weeks before I came, the director of my organisation here got a call from a friend if he wanted to help out an orphanage, they are really poor and couldn’t afford the payments on the house they were staying at now, so we bought them a new house and have been working on that the whole week. Later in the afternoon I went to the orphange, and it was amazing! I fell in love with the kids immidiately, when we opened the door the came running into our arms and we just played and cuddled with them all afternoon. It’s so refreshing to see how much fun these kids have with barely anything, they can play for hours with each other without using toys whatsoever. And there always happy, and they are definitely the best huggers in the world.
Tuesday Kevin, Ellie and I had orientation, because we were new. Albert, the driver and also the helper around here took us out to some places here in Accra. We took a trotro, which is like a minivan filled with people, and also not very safe and in great shape, but i really liked it, although I felt a bit oncomfortable from all the stares. We went to the independence statue at first, and Albert told us some really interesting things about Ghana. Then we went to this really big market, we walked for like 90 minutes but still only saw a quarter of it. While we were crossing a busy street I suddenly fell into thise hole on the ground with one leg, so while cars where still driving i was laying on the floor with one leg in this hole. I still have this really big bumb and some bruises on my leg. Later I found out those holes are actually called obrunitraps, although they call it Ronja traps now :( After the market we went on a motorcycle trip. I had never been on a motorcycle before, and since people here say you have to be crazy to drive in Ghana and that I read in my book that most people die from accidents on the road then from even malaria I was pretty terrified. It was so much fun though, but I have to admit I had my eyes closed a couple times and I said to myself please dont kill me please dont kill me about a 100 times. Especially when we ran a red light, I told the guy, who was really nice, that it was red and he said, yeah but that doesnt matter, if there are no cars coming, you drive. and apparantly its okay to pass a car from both left and rights. Then later we went to the artmarket and had jam b lessons, so much fun!!
The rest of the week I have gone to the orphanage, and also the fishing village, a small village close by which is poor, and we go there to teach. It’s outside, and only some kids have some paper and a pencil, so it was good that I brought lots of that with me, so thank you for the donations <3 Ellie and me teach english together to the first class, which has all the younger kids in it. It is pretty hard and stressful, as most of them don’t speak English really, and there are about 20 of them, packed on some benches. Also they fight a lot, and here it is normal to hit each other, as they learn that from the people around them, so I don’t know how many kids I have to comfort, and I am getting suspecious that some of the kids now cry on purpose just so they can sit on my lap. Which I of course don’t mind, because they are so cute! It is a lot of fun though, and I really feel like we are making a difference and helping those kids. They have gotten a lot better at not fighting and hitting each other as well, because we tell them that it’s not okay to behave like that.
Well my story has been getting pretty long, I hope I didn’t bore you guys of. Last but not least, everything is really great here, and I am loving it and enjoying it so much. I did have some difficult moments, because it is hard to see so much poverty and not being able to do anything about it. But I also have realized that it’s the small things that count as well, giving the kids some love is already making them so happy, and giving the homeless guy who lives on the dumb my water made him so grateful. For me it feels like I am not doing much, but for them it is. So I am very thankful for being here.
Hope you all have it nice in the coldness. When I get home I will never ever complain about having it cold again, because here I sweat buckets in just one minute, the heat never stops, only when I am having a cold shower, but once I am out of the shower I am already sweating again. Thankfully I am getting used to it now, and I can finally sleep a bit better.
Much love
Ronja
-
27 Januari 2014 - 18:00
Mamma:
Vilken överrasking, din första berättelse från Ghana.
Det är så roligt att läsa om dina äventyr.
Blir lite nervös här och där.
Men, men...
Så skönt att höra att du trivs.
Att barnen skulle tycka om dig det visste jag redan.
Skönt om dig älskling. Njut till 200% och försök se så mycket som möjligt av Ghana.
Men du glöm inte att vara försiktig.
Tusen pussar& kramar
Mamma
Ps glöm inte -
27 Januari 2014 - 18:32
Rebecka:
Hahahaha dat ze het nu ronja traps noemen, doe je goed spons!! Ben blij dat je het zo naar je zin hebt daar!! Ik had wel verwacht dat je het ook moeilijk zou krijgen maar ben blij dat je er een realistische kijk op hebt en je jezelf niet te erg naar beneden haalt omdat je ze niet allemaal kan redden en mee naar huis kan nemen. Gelukkig ben jij er nu daar om al die kindjes te knuffelen en veel liefde te geven, dat is het mooiste wat je ze kan geven, liefde!
Ben heel trots op je!! En doe alsjeblieft voorzichtig!! Je mag niet meer op de motor van mij hoor!! Xxxxxxxx -
27 Januari 2014 - 18:43
Lisa:
Hej Ron! Because you wrote your story in English, I will write my reaction in English as well. Your story is amazing of course, how much impressions can a person get in just one week, from the heat to the poverty to the Ronja traps, haha! So much fun that last thing, though what you are doing is quite serious and I'm really proud of you doing this volunteering. And that you see it's also the little things that count. Take care! Puss och kram xoxo -
28 Januari 2014 - 09:06
Joost:
Heee ponchie! Ik schrijf gewoon in het Nederlands hoor! Je Engels klinkt trouwens heel erg Amerikaans, althans ik zie het jou echt al zo uitspreken met zo'n Amerikaans accent. Maar om op het verhaal in te gaan; erg leuk om te lezen! Hele leuke/spannende/grappige dingen maak je mee. Geniet ervan!!! xxxx -
28 Januari 2014 - 20:47
Petra:
Hoi meissie,
Wat een belevenissen maak je weer mee en dat terwijl je er nog maar een weekje zit. Mooi om te lezen wat het allemaal met je doet als je die kinderen ziet en als je mt e bezig bent. Daar kom je toch voor. Hou je taai, geniet ervan en neem voortaan maar een fiets i.p.v. op die brommer/ motor!!!
Dikke kus van Petra -
28 Januari 2014 - 23:36
Ome Jan:
OK Ronja, english it is!
Good to read that you had an amazing first week with all kinds of different impressions, I already thought that the people there were very poor , but I always must say to myself that we think they are poor because we look upon them with our rich eyes, I think they are happy if they have food and shelter and as long as they are healthy. you help them with education which is needed to get them further on the way
Are there also people who help them with all kind of deseases?
I wonder how you feel the first time you go to a supermarket in Holland and see and buy all the things that are on your list, I can imagine you feel ashamed by then. I already feel that way now! , somewhere in the reactions I have red that you cannot help them all but the feeling that you help anyway must be a good feeling, keep that in mind!
All african countries were colonised in the past by an european country, which country "owned" Ghana?
Now take care , close your eyes some times and open them when you hear children make fun
uncle Jan -
03 Februari 2014 - 16:18
Carolien Kuijs:
Hey Ronja,
Wat leuk om jouw verhaal te lezen. Klinkt als een super ervaring. En ondanks dat je het allemaal goed omschrijft zal het toch nog weer anders aanvoelen voor jou omdat je het met eigen ogen ziet. Wat zijn wij hier dan verwend.
Nou, ik ben benieuwd naar het volgende verslag, houd ons vooral op de hoogte.
Pas goed op jezelf.
xxx Carolien -
09 Februari 2014 - 07:30
Sabine:
Tack för att du ger oss en inblick Ronja!
Det låter som en mycket lärorik resa :-)
Fortsätt kramas!
Kram Sabine -
16 Februari 2014 - 23:13
Mormor:
Hej Ronja
Det var en mycket spännande resa du gjort. Roligt att läsa din berättelse och verkligen se att du trivs hos barnen och bland dina nya kompisar. Det måste vara intressant att få uppleva Ghana med alla blommor och människor och framförallt barnen som ni har kramkalas med,
Pss och KRAM från mormor -
28 Februari 2014 - 09:07
Judith:
Hoi Ronja,
Wat een avontuur :) Erg leuk om te horen en lezen over je belevenissen.
Ik heb net 5 EUR voor je "foundation" geven (je Moeder geeft het aan je door), je kan er vast wat goed mee doen.
Keep up the good work!
Grtjs Judith
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