About a week before I leave for Ghana, I placed everything generously donated to me to bring to children in the schools at Buduburam Refugee Camp on my living room floor. The items include the following: 12 packs of colored pencils, 3 packs of crayons, about 400 unsharpened pencils, one small and one professional (wooden case) set of pastels, 10 black-ink pens, 5 scratch pads, two spiral-bound notebooks, 40 pencil top erasers, 3 professional erasers, 20 glitter pens, 3 stamp pad kits, 3 high-quality sketch pads, 5 pencil sharpeners, one yellow highlighter, 5 children's books, six workbooks on addition or subtraction or multiplication, one dictionary, eight jump ropes, $200 cash, and a new laptop computer. I have had to let the donated used clothes go due to space and weight requirements. While it is a lot in total, it is sparse to distribute among six schools. I have determined the lion's share (including the computer and the nice pastel set) for the poorest school and the only free school at the camp, Carolyn Miller Elementary. Its director, Karrus Hayes, has been wonderful to help me with contacts at his school and others at the camp.
Yesterday, I went to a Goodwill store and spent $40 to buy myself 5 pairs of slacks, 2 skirts, and 3 shirts that I can wear and then leave behind. I've got the school supplies packed, and I'm nearly done with my own suitcase that includes sunscreen, DEET insect repellent, malaria pills, anti-diarrhoea pills, antibiotic cream, and more.
Tomorrow, the day before my flight, will be filled with recharging cameras, voice recorders, and computers, as well as sending out last minute messages to my students. I spent 90 minutes on the phone with USF's Internal Review Board on Friday to get everything in order so that I can use whatever I find in terms of research. I am all for protecting research participants, but along with many researchers in the social sciences realm, it can feel like jumping through ridiculous hoops. I know they're only doing their job and need themselves to be accountable to federal standards.
I have often been amazed at the way in which contemporary travel occurs - and thus, changes our lives so quickly. Tonight I sit quietly at my computer in my home. In less than 48 hours, I will be en route, via Detroit and Amsterdam, to Accra, Ghana. Given our busy schedules, we have so much to do in our daily routines that we hardly have time to think about the fact that within a couple days, we may be half way around the world and involved with cultures that are completely different from our own. For example, I have been told that I must not use my left hand to offer anything in Ghana, as that is the hand that is used for unsanitary things. I am left-handed, so I will need to be cognizant throughout my trip. Another sign of our rapid transport: I have an 8-hour layover in Amsterdam, and I plan to leave the airport to see a bit of the city. Of course, Amsterdam will have a high of 30, and Accra is at 90.
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