Greetings from Accra, Ghana! After months of planning, anticipating and zooming, the Witness Tree Institute of Ghana’s 2021 program has begun!
Some arrived by air from the U.S. – Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts
Others arrived by ground from within Ghana — Madina, Asutsuare, Dzorwlu
Tete picking up U.S. participant Julie from Kotoka International Airport
Delah arriving from his school in Asutsuare to our first full cohort meeting in Accra
Until finally, all were present and finally our Cohort of Educators was united at last!
Our first group photo (not including Delah, who snapped this shot!) and joined by our first guest speaker Reverend Pashington Obeng (more on our time with Pash tomorrow!)
Over the course of the next 14 days we’ll be posting here almost-daily with updates and reflections from our program. Each post will be authored by a different member of our cohort – and starting it off is, well, me! Rosalie! The intention of this collaborative blog is to build a narrative that will weave together the varied perspectives from both our Ghanian and U.S. educators. While we can’t know yet what lessons we will leave with, we do know that our circumstances are aligned for deep, personal and communal growth.
In addition to our robust itinerary, we’ll also be taking part in daily journaling, as we grapple with critical questions and process our personal experiences. Elizabeth Cobblah, one of the cohort leaders guiding these exercises, offered our first journal prompt – What are your multi-sensory first impressions of the Witness Tree Program ? What have you seen, heard, smelled, tasted and touched? Below you’ll find what’s piqued my senses so far, on my first few days in Ghana before our program commenced. As I mentioned, there will be many lessons learned throughout our journey, but the first ones to draw our attention often come from food!
Please check back here with us as we share more with you, and feel free to leave a message for the 2021 cohort in the comment section! More from Dela tomorrow!
SOUND: The Fan Milk Bicycle peddler selling frozen treats – we missed him so many times!
TOUCH: Our first meal out we ordered Fufu – a soft, tacky plantain-cassava paste in a warm, spicy broth with goat – and it ate the traditional way with our right hand.
SIGHT: The meditative sway of the Coconut Palm in the front yard of the house
TASTE: With help from neighbor Kwesi, I proudly knocked down a ripe pawpaw from the tall backyard tree. The flesh was sweet and juicy, and seeds a burst of pepper and crunch.
SCENT: The fresh, bright spritzing aroma of a tree-ripened orange, peeled to order by a local vendor,
