“You never know when you’re making a memory.”
Yesterday I touched down at Dulles, flew to Boston, took a bus to the Cape and was in my house by 5. By 8 I was asleep-on Ghana time that was late for me, midnight. This morning I was up at 4:30 and went out to the deck. The morning had a chill and a dampness. It was quiet. The whole street was still asleep. I decided to do a bit of laundry, out of necessity, brew real honest to goodness coffee and read the paper, my usual morning.
In Ghana the mornings are busy and loud. Roosters crow and women, bent over, clean the ground using brooms which are merely pieces of straw held together by a string, and you can hear the scrapes as they sweep. My students used to sweep the dirt in front of my house around 6 until I told time that messy dirt was fine with me. In Bolga, the m0rnings are cool this time of year, the only cool part of the day. I could hear women talking as they walked to market and lorries on the road moving with unhealthy sounding engines. In the air is the smell of charcoal fires and smoke rises to the sky. I was in bed early and up early every morning.
Today I ‘d like to tell you a bit about my trip to Bolga. I’ll save the rest for tomorrow.
We arrived in Bolga from Tamale, a trip I made often. I found my hotel, dropped off my bags and the driver and I went wandering. I had decided to hire a car and driver for an enormous amount, but the choices were limited: a 16 hour bus ride was the best of the other options but then I would have no way to get from place to place. Remembering how I was told by so many that this was the trip of a life time, I went with the car and driver. Thomas was my driver. Right away I had him drive around Bolga. It is enormous and I did not recognize the streets we drove through until we rode down the main street. There was the Hotel d’ Bull now called The Black Star. My post office looks the same and from there to the end of the street was my Bolga, looking old and in need of paint, but I knew every building. The Super Service Inn was still there but the roof was hanging on one side. The entry to the market now led only to the old market, my market; a new one was on the other side of the lorry park. We drove up the hill I walked so many times to Girls’ Secondary School which is where my school once was. The school compound was filled with many buildings, but I directed Thomas exactly to my house. Behind it are now many staff houses, but I knew my house right away. I knew the road by heart. We also found the classroom block where I taught and the dormitory of which I was house mistress.
That first night, I ate at the hotel. Jollop rice and Guinea fowl were dinner, two favorites of mine. As I walked to the outside dining area, I passed a table with four people, two men and two women. I said good evening in Hausa as I do not know FraFra, the local tribe’s language. I sat down and started reading. I heard fragments of English in their conversation, and they mentioned teaching. I leaned over, excused my interruption and asked if they were teachers. Yes. I asked the younger of the two women if she knew of any students from Women’s Training College. She pointed to the other woman. I asked her what year. She said she finished in 1971. I told her I taught there from 1969-1971. She leaned closer, looked at me and yelled, “Miss Ryan?” I said yes and she rushed over and gave me a giant hug. I had found the first of my students.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: Bolgatanga, Ghana, mornings
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
September 12, 2011 at 9:14 am
Welcome home, Kat!
What a perfect first day, finding most of what you remembered and an old student!
I will be looking forward to the rest of your trip.
September 12, 2011 at 2:31 pm
Thanks ,Caryn,
It still feels strange to be here. When I think of those two weeks, I am sorry that I was not there longer!
September 12, 2011 at 10:22 am
How lovely to have you back. And what a time you must have had,
So looking forward to the further adventures of Super Kat in Ghana.
Trust you are healthy, sated & still the wicked humourist.
Missed you so.
September 12, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Thanks, Pete,
For many reasons I’m happy to be back but for many others I was sorry to leave. Most places are enormous now, but I found the bones of my Ghana ands felt quite at home.
September 12, 2011 at 11:02 am
Welcome home! That’s a wonderful story of meeting one of your students!
September 12, 2011 at 2:35 pm
Thanks, Larry
I was glad for the hot bath and the brewed coffee. Home has many pleasures, not the least of which is all of you!
September 12, 2011 at 11:07 am
That’s awesome!
Welcome home. I look forward to hearing many more tidbits.
September 12, 2011 at 2:36 pm
sprite,
Lots more to come! I was five days in Bolga and loved all of them.
September 12, 2011 at 11:50 am
what a great beginning!
September 12, 2011 at 2:36 pm
Greg,
Tht’s how I felt that very first night-it was amazing to me.
September 12, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Welcome home Kat. I am still sleeping, but that’s a hell of a story!
To end it with meeting your first student. I can’t wait to hear the rest and what music you’ll be sending. I really missed you and thought of you often. Jewels woke me up and now she is asleep ( of course) so I will join her ( of course ).
Sleepy Waves,
Lori
September 12, 2011 at 2:37 pm
Lori,
Thanks-everyone is glad I’m home!
I have great stories though some seem short they are no less of a marvel for me.
September 12, 2011 at 1:24 pm
I´m so glad You met one of Your former students and already the first night 🙂 🙂 🙂 and as You wrote You found Your first student I guess You met more 🙂 🙂
I´m glad that You recognised Your old Bolga too. We all know how fast neighborhoods can change.
I´m glad You are back though, I´ve missed my coffee so much!
Looking forward to read more 🙂 Have a great day!
Christer.
September 12, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Christer,
Your guess is correct, and I’ll tell you more. You’ll hav e to be patient!
Thank you for missing me. I topok more pictures in 2 weeks than I did in 2 years! I’ll start posting tomorrow!!
September 12, 2011 at 1:56 pm
Really looking forward to reading more about your trip! Thank you for sharing this bit of your life along with such wonderful music. Catch up on sleep and keep catching us up.
September 12, 2011 at 2:41 pm
El Zee,
I just took a nap but before I did I called my sister. We both agreed that it is remarkable how what used to be so simple takes such a physical toll as you get older. About this trip, I am buresting and can’t wait to share.
It is my pleasure to share the music!
September 12, 2011 at 2:10 pm
How perfect that one of your former students is now a teacher.
You know you had an impact on them.
s
September 12, 2011 at 2:39 pm
Scott,
That they remembered and recognozed me was a miracle. They had stories of me and when I was with them. We talked long and often!
September 12, 2011 at 3:34 pm
How wonderful to be remembered. Your impact there lives to this day – and beyond.
s
September 12, 2011 at 3:40 pm
Scott,
You never think about that when you are there. It is still remarkable to me!
September 12, 2011 at 8:08 pm
How awesome to find your student in just that way! Glad your trip was swell. Went to a funeral led by a Ghanian priest on Saturday. Thought of you.
September 12, 2011 at 9:08 pm
Cuidado,
I will always find it remarkable that I was so lucky to find my students. I had a glimmer of hope, and it was enough.
How did a Ghanaian priest end up in your neck of the woods?
September 15, 2011 at 8:07 am
I’m not sure of his story. He performed a funeral like mass and interred the ashes of my uncle. This was in New Brunswick, the mainland.
September 12, 2011 at 8:16 pm
Welcome back Kat!
Finding your former students is one of the great rewards of teaching.
In 1975 I had a young student from Monterrey Mexico who had flown his own Cessna 210 Airplane to Dallas to learn instrument flying. He came from a very wealthy family. When I asked how many hours was required to become a private pilot in Mexico he replied seven. It’s a minimum of 40 in the states. It turned out that he hired an instructor who only taught him how to takeoff and land. Then, he then paid the Mexican aviation authorities several thousand pesos and they gave him his private pilot license. He found Dallas by using a Texico Road map to navigate.
He and I flew training flights twice daily for a year. I not only taught him instrument flying but also all the other things he needed to be a commercial pilot that he didn’t learn. He didn’t mind and was having a great time. He left for Mexico in 1976 and I had not seen him until last year. One day at lunch time a middle aged and slightly over weight hispanic client walked up to me in the training center and gave me a big handshake and a hug. It was the same student from 1975. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that he was the chief pilot of the largest charter operator in Mexico and that he had been flying captain on Gulfstream and Hawker jets internationally for over thirty years.
Glad to hear that you discovered your former student and that she is successful. It’s great when you discover that the students learn because of your efforts.
September 12, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Bob,
The students come and go each year. We teach and we hope they have learned. Usually we hope it is more than just the subject. I always hope my students learned respect, a love for learning and the joy of accomplishment, but it is seldom we find out if our hopes for these students were realized. How wonderful for you that your student found you. The hug had to have made it perfect.
How lucky we both were to find out the impact we had.
September 13, 2011 at 8:01 pm
Welcome home, we missed you
September 13, 2011 at 8:08 pm
Thank you, My Dear Hedley
It was a wonderful trip, but I am happy to be home!
September 17, 2011 at 1:30 am
I’ve been sick with a giant head cold (my head felt incredibly large) for some days. Nearing normalcy now. Coming in for a reality landing. Welcome back and glad you had a safe trip.
September 17, 2011 at 8:35 am
Rick,
Thanks!
Nothing is worse than a head cold which takes its good old time leaving. I’m glad you’re feeling better!