It always surprises me how adaptable human beings are, how quickly we make a new space, new surroundings, our own. Soon after we fill a place with our things and settle into a routine we start feeling like we are at home. And as we become known to the people on the streets of Busua, and become friends with them, then that is a sure sign that we are becoming a part of the place.
Like the volunteers who came before us, we live in a little complex attached to the Busua Community Library. We have a room, a bathroom, and a shared kitchen.
The complex is near Busua's Primary School, so life is never boring :)! Singing comes regularly from the classrooms, during breaks the school yard is full of lively talking and laughter, and the grassy field infront of the library becomes the training ground for Ghana's future soccer stars in the afternoon!
The liveliness of the whole scene is accentuated by families of goats and sheep grazing around the library, and happily chewing the grass. There are also chickens wandering about followed by processions of chicks, and little lizards; my good friends from Madagascar. In Africa there is no place for loneliness!:)
About 100 meters from our temporary home a sandy beach stretches along the ocean, which is said to be one of the most beautiful in Ghana, and alo good for surfing. One of our first impressions of Busua's beach came through Frank - “the juiceman”. A smiling and insistent middle-aged man who was already there when we first stepped onto the beach. And the second time. And the third time. :) Soon after we met Franck we met Daniel - “The pancake man” and George-”The Lobster Man”. All of them offered their respective products to us, and we have already tried both Daniel's and Frank's goods :)
We start our days with the ocean. Before breakfast we are already in the water enjoying the waves, and throwing ourselfs in like childern. This is a time for uncontrolled laughter, some dancing of the Vienese Waltz, and the building of sandcastles and also long talks and contemplative silences. When we return we eat some of Franks pineapples, mangoes, papyas, or bannanas. We feel like we are trying all these tropical fruits for the first time; they don't really resemble the stuff we get at home.
After these magical mornings we get ready for teaching. Often, we already start “brainstorming” on the beach and later we just make a more specific plan. Because we are running after-school workshops, our workday starts around 15.00. Around 13.00 the hunt for a taxi, or the preparation for a long, hot, and above-all “sweaty” hike to Butre :)! And then we meet the children—hungry for knowledge, playful, simple beings, for who it is worth walking a difficult path!! When we return home – especially after we come from our two hour walk to Butre – we fall into bed, turn on the fan, and try to cool down a bit.
As a rule, the evenings are marked by the ill-selected repertoire of the DJ of the neighboring hotel, which is intended to attract tourists but seems to do the opposite.
We were formally accepted into the community of Busua with a visit to the Chief (we will recount this interesting experience in a later post). The informal road to acceptance is, of course, much longer, full of authentic contact, walks along dusty Busua roads, everyday banter, and business dealings. But one thing is for sure – we are on a good path! :)
Vednoznova me preseneti dejstvo, kako prilagodljiva bitja smo ljudje, kako hitro vzamemo nov prostor in okolico za svojo. Hitro po tem, ko prostor napolnimo s svojimi stvarmi, uvedemo svoj red in rutino se v nas prikrade občutek domačnosti. Ko tujci na vaških ulicah postajajo znanci, in le-ti prijatelji, pa je znak, da se počasi zlivamo tudi s skupnostjo.
Kot prostovoljci pred nama, sva tudi midva nastanjena v prisrčnem manjšem kompleksu s knjižnjico. Imava sobo, kopalnico ter kuhinjo.
Kompleks se nahaja v neposredni bližini šole, zato življenje tu nikakor ni dolgočasno:)! Iz šole doni petje, med odmori je dvorišče polno živahnih pomenkov ter smeha, trava pred knjižnjico pa popoldne postane teren za urjenje bodočih nogometnih zvezdnikov!
Za še bolj živahno vzdušje skrbijo ljubke družine koz in ovc, ki pohajkujejo okrog hiše, ter zadovoljno smukajo travo. Po dvorišču se sprehajajo tudi kokoši s procesijami piščančkov in majhni, nič manj ljubki kuščarji, moji dobri stari prijatelji z Madagaskarja:). Tako v Afriki samotarstvo pač ne pride v poštev! :)
Približno 100 metrov od najinega domovanja se vzdolž oceana vije peščena plaža, ki velja za eno najlepših v Gani, primerna je tudi za surfanje. Eden od prvih vtisov busujske plaže je bil Frank - "the juiceman". Nasmejan in nadvse vztrajen možakar srednjih let naju je pričakal že prvič od vstopu na plažo. In drugič, in tretjič:)! Hitro po Franku sva srečala še Daniela - "The pancake mana" ter Georgea - "the lobstermana". Vsi so nama prijazno opisali svojo ponudbo, s Frankom in Danielom pa tudi že "poslovno" sodelujemo:)!
S plažo začenjava svoje dneve. Še natešče oddrviva med busujske valove, kjer se kot otroka veselo mečeva po vodi:). To je čas nekontroliranih salv smeha, zabavanja ob utrjevanju dunajskega valčka in gradnji gradov iz peska, pa tudi čas neskončnih pogovorov in kontemplativnega miru.
Ko se vrneva, nič manj navdušeno planeva po Frankovih ananasih, mangih, papajah, bananah. Zares, zdi se da prvič okušava tropsko sadje, ki v prav v ničemer ne spominja na tisto, kar dobimo doma.
Po teh čarobnih jutrih se posvetiva pripravam na pouk. Velikokrat imava že na plaži "brainstorming" in pozneje samo dodelava učni načrt. Ker izvajava pošolske delavnice, se najin delavnik prične šele okrog 15.00. Okrog druge ure se začne lov za taksiji, ali priprave na dolgo, vročo predvsem pa "potno" pot do Butre:)! In potem srečanje z otroki - vedoželjnimi, igrivimi, preprostimi bitji, zaradi katerih je vredno prepešačiti še tako naporno pot!! Ko se vrneva domov - predvsem ko prideva z dvournega sprehoda z Butre - največkrat kar padeva v posteljo, prižgeva močno ventilacijo in tako čakava da se občutek savne vsaj malo omili.
Večere praviloma zaznamuje ne prav izbran repertoar DJ-ja sosednjega hotela, ki naj bi sicer privabljal turiste, a se zdi prej obratno:).
V skupnost Busue sva bila formalno sprejeta ob obisku župana ter Chiefa (o tej zanimivi izkušnji bom spregovorila v eni prihodnjih objav). Neformalna pot je seveda neprimerno daljša, polna pristnih stikov, sprehodov po prašnih busujskih ulicah, drobnih pomenkov, "poslovnih stikov" itd. A eno je gotovo - sva na dobri poti! :)
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