Ghana's 56th Independence Day Parade (6th March)

 why need perfection when we are happy with imperfection?

 "Oh my god! Wonderful, beautiful performance! Oh my god! Ladies and gentlemen just look at that" said the two speakers when the Omega schools' students started to march.

 It was the celebration of Ghana Independence day today. This was the second edition for Omega schools to celebrate it together. Children from the 20 Omega schools chain came to march and enjoy the celebration. The field looked yellow with the T-shirts they were wearing - the Omega school uniform.

The celebration started with a few music and dance performances from some children. It was so good. The children who performed looked very confident and happy to dance. I think that dancing and Ghanaian culture are very close. It is very interesting.  I was touched watching the kids marching. They do it with so much patience and determination. One by one the schools marched and showed their motto proudly. The other interesting part was to see the teachers marching together with the children! That was wonderful!

Ken gave a very good speech during the day. I wrapped up 2 things that he wanted his children in Omega schools to have and practise in their life to be successful which are vision for the future and a good attitude. I agree with him because a clear vision can make people aim for goodness and a good attitude can make sure the person is always on track to get the vision.

The ceremony continued with a few more dances from the children. Then followed a fantastic gymnastic performance which amazed me.

Really enjoyed the celebration as well as

the search of a mosque episode 1 7th March

Do you believe in miracles?

 Every now and then especially at Maghrib prayer time, there will be 'azan' that we can hear from the Macbeas Hotel. Farah and I, the only 2 muslims students in this trip were so happy to know that there is a mosque nearby. So, we decided to find the mosque. Eva, the hotel boy from Nigeria, agreed to help us to fine the nearest mosque.


 So at around 7:30, we walked into the village. Osamu and George also followed us in a quest to find the mosque. Eva, even though he works in the hotel, does not really know this village so well especially because he is not a muslim. But, he is a very nice guy.


We walked for almost 20 minutes but we failed to find a mosque. However, we found something interesting. A private primary school! It is a big and beautiful school with a big entrance. We decided to talk to a guy that lives near the school. He said that we can come to visit the school in the day and see the children. That was very nice! So, we definitely will come to visit the school and see the environment.

After that, we decided to go back to the hotel and continue the journey tomorrow. On the way back, we found a church. We stopped by to take a look at the church. There was a speech being delivered when were there, so we did not stay long as we did not want to disturb them.


No worries, to be continued....

ps: a tin of coke for everybody!

the shoprite 5th March

do you like to be judge?

After came back from the schools visit, I went to get a rest for a while. The experience in the schools make me feel so excited to start my research. In the same time, I am also a little bit worry thinking about the time that we really have to carry out the research. The first week will definitely we cannot do much on the research part except still doing the preparation. The schools will close on Wednesday and Thursday due to the Independence day celebration.

After the rest, around 5p.m, Joyce, Dimitri and me went out together to the supermarket called Shoprite. We used 'trot-trot' to get us there (I will write a special entry about this transport) next time when I have more time.

My real mission was just to get me a kettle! ahaha... I know it sounds very easy and not the most important things to do while traveling but I think to have a kettle will make things easy for me. The hotel is nice and have everything like refrigeratorin the room but not a kettle and they prefer us to ask for hot water in a flask if we need it. As I will stay more than a week, I make a huge decision to get one! ahah... for making coffe and noodles! woohoo... and I think the kettle really help me and everyone else!

On the way back from shoprite to the hotel, I had a nice conversation with Joyce. It was about how situation can changed people attitude and most of all change the culture. I think stress of the situation can make people becoming different from usual. Negative attitude like selfish, greedy and lie maybe will rise but at the same time maybe positive attitude can develop. I think at the end it depends on the individual itself.


ps: gathering every breakfast and night time! nice!

the schools 5th March

Is it really necessary to have the definition of developed and developing county?

We went to visit a few Omega schools today! woohooo! definitely worth remembering experiences. Ken organised a bus to bring us to 8 of the 20 Omega schools.

When we arrived at the first school, the children were so happy and were running to the gate to greet us. All of them cheering, smiling and laughing happily! They grabbed my hands and held on to them. Not just one child but so many of them...it felt so good to make them feel happy. Most of the schools that we visited the same happened.

The building of most of the Omega schools looks very simple and humble. It was built nicely and I could see that they have their trademark for the buildings. Definitely this experience inspired and touched me. Everybody wanted to be educated with the best quality that they can get. Even poor people, people in rural areas or even in the big city. We need to bear this in mind and support what we can in what ever ways that we can....

In one of the schools, I met with a little cute baby. The baby's mother is the cook for the school. She is a lovely women. I held the baby for a while in my arms and he was so calm and definitely a smily baby...it made my day and made me forget about the tiring Omega schools tour.

What was funny during the school visit was that everybody was so excited, cheering and laughing in the first school. Second school the same, third school the same...then in the fourth school things started to slow down a bit and a bit and a bit and so on.... aha... I guess the hot weather does have an effect on the mood. Everybody enjoyed the moment meeting the teachers and children. Do not worry, the schools and the children's story will not just end with this entry... I have more days to go ;) Let's see what happens


ps: the experience in the bus was like riding a horse! (even though I have never ridden a horse, just my assumption) ;)

the first breakfast 4th March

Will you find a way out from a hole or wait for the hole to open itself?

The first day was interesting. We gathered at around 8:30 downstairs. I think I had a good sleep last night. Queuing to get into Ghana during the last inspection at the airport was quite tiring. So a nice sleep was definitely refreshing!

The sunshine was bright very early. My mind keeps trying to compare the weather in Ghana and Malaysia. I'm not sure why I keep doing that but I just cannot stop it! aha... I guess it is interesting to feel and know the differences. I found that the heat in Ghana started very early even at 8 a.m while in Malaysia, we can still feel a bit cold at 8 to 10.

The interesting part during the first breakfast was not about the food. Definitely the sandwich and coffee were good for me. I can say that as long as it is Halal food (muslim food) I eat anything! ahaha... But the interesting part was about the discussion about the lizards. How to know the gender of the lizards...aha... No blame though, because the lizards were very attractive with some of them having an orange head!

We then headed to the Omega Schools office for the first time. Meeting with Ken (the Omega Schools owner) and his great colleagues. We talked about our dissertation and mini research a little bit for introduction and for Ken's record. Ken is a very good person with a big vision for education in Ghana. He told us the reason why Omega Schools, private schools for poor people, are successful. Its the quality of teaching and learning compared to the public schools. He mentioned 3 problems that always happen in public schools in Ghana which is very interesting for me to know. They are:

1. to get the teacher to go to the school
2. once they are in school, then to get them to go into the classroom
3. once they are in the classroom, then to get them to teach!

I believe, from what I can see at this moment, that Omega Schools do provide a good education that poor people can afford. With their famous daily tuition fees, it helps the poor a lot to get better education for their children.



ps: i guess it was not a bad idea to bring the suntan lotion after all :D aha

waiting for Katie and Dong 4th March

Did you ever feel that what you think is right might be wrong?

Maddie and I decided to go to the airport and wait for Katie and Dong - another 2 students arriving in Ghana. Yesterday, we arrived in a big group of 10 of us. We wanted to make sure that everybody arrives safely and gets to the correct hotel. The story that Dr. Pauline told us in the last session about other people might fake things and get others to follow them was too scary not to be careful. The journey took us about 40 minutes by car. I love being in the car at night time and feel the wind blowing in my face...definitely the same wind that I felt when I was in Malaysia driving through the paddy fields to go to my grandparents' house.

The only problem that we faced with meeting our friends is that we do not know one of them - Dong! We know Katie as she is our classmate for all the modules that we take in the university. However, we were not really sure about Dong. I volunteered to go because I thought I would recognise Dong but still i was not that sure.


When we arrived, we were informed that the flight was delayed. It was 7:45 pm and we waited until 10 pm and they still did not show up. We got a bit worried and went to check in and out, all over the place. Luckily, the airport is not big so it was easy to walk around. The only thing was that there were so many people. I was a bit confused by them because I could see that people were not really waiting for anyone or sending anyone away. Some of them I guess just used the airport as a place to hang around. I am not sure about this so I might be wrong.

After a while, I saw Katie...fuhhh, that was a relief ... at least we got one and were hoping that Dong had not just arrived and already taken a taxi or something. We definitely do not have any phone at the moment as we also just arrived yesterday. Luckily, after a while, Dong arrived and he was the Dong that I was expecting and he also seemed to recognise us. A tired night makes you sleep well! and Dong is my roommate for the next 22 days! woohooo! aha...


ps: the traffic is busier than some cities that I have been to before? uhmmm...

walking back 4th March

Is everything really need to be perfect?

After a nice lunch in a restaurant in JD Fast Food we decided to walk back to the hotel from the Omega school office. It was quite a long walk! It was fun to do but it seemed like people kept staring at us. I guess we obviously look like strangers and outsiders. Maybe it was a bit wrong to do it. It was just our first day and we were not really familiar with the street yet. Luckily the sun was not as hot as in the afternoon time and the wind kept blowing...it cooled me down...

Back to the lunch experience, I tried a new food. It's yam with palava sauce. I think I like it...definitely like the yam! The taste reminds me of tapioca my mom cooked for me back in Malaysia. And to be clear, yam is also a root vegetable, same as tapioca! I enjoyed the food ;)

ps: Friendly Ghanaian

the plane 3rd March 2013

If you got a chance to change one thing from your past, what would you change?

The journey was good. Not much trouble at all except watching Uni and Farah getting through the security check. They were checked carefully because of some accessories that they wore I guess. I saw Farah was like dancing with the security because she was a bit ticklish! that was a bit of entertainment ;) aha...sorry Farah!

The view from the sky was amazing! desert, mountain, snow and the cloud made the view beautiful. Even though I fell asleep all the time, but still, I managed to watch the beautiful scenery as I got a seat next to the window! lucky me! beside me was a Ghanaian lady called Eva, who was coming back to Accra for a holiday with her family. Next to her, Kristina and her boyfriend. All the others were scattered all around the flight which meant no contact with them on the plane. Except Louise, actively walking here and there checking everybody ;) So good!

While I was sleeping because of being tired and not getting enough sleep yesterday, suddenly one of the stewardess woke me up. She handed me food. I was a bit surprised that she said I asked for muslim food during the booking. I totally had no idea and had forgotten about it. I also thought that I had missed my lunch as I was asleep and assumed that everybody else had eaten their food. So, who doesn't like food right? I finished eating in a second...and felt proud of it, when suddenly 15 minutes later, I saw the stewardess started to give the others their food...oopsss....I guess I was wrong! nobody had eaten anything yet and I was the only one who had eaten! I felt so bad! but it's not my fault though....aha

The plane landed at about 8:25 pm Ghana time. When the plane was near to landing it was a bit shaky. I guess the cloud was so thick and heavy and that was why. Once we jumped out from the plane, everybody started to talk about the heat. Yeah! its humid and hot! wooohooo...Ghana! Here we come!

The process of checking out from the airport took a bit longer than we expected. There were lots of people queuing to get the visa checked. I think the airport looked very simple and more humble than other airports that I have been to before. I got through the check point with no problem. And then we met the Omega Schools representatives and they took us to the Macbies Hotel. It feels so good to be in Ghana!



ps: I love hot weather :) woohooo!

i'm ready, are you ready

do you prefer to be happy all the time or is being sad a good experience?

It's already 4 a.m in the morning...I can't really sleep tonight. So excited thinking about my trip to Ghana. I believe it will be a very huge new different experience for me. My first visit to the African continent! woohooo ;)

The main reason that I cannot sleep is because I haven't really finished packing my stuff yet....ahaha... and it is also my plan not to sleep too much because I just want to sleep in the plane later. Sounds weird but that is what I always do every time I travel. So, keep doing the regular activity ;)I

We talked a lot about African countries in our class, assignments and the latest one at the colloquim (the great pink booklet). We also discussed a lot about Ghana and Omega schools. This visit will be a practical experience - an experience that will definitely change my perception, change my views and most importantly giving concrete proof to what we have discussed in class before.

Ghana - a very interesting country with the same year of independence as Malaysia, 1957! I am ready to go, are you with me for the journey? come on!!!


ps: I cannot believe it. I bought sun lotion... lol! never used any in Malaysia before... the weather is quite similar between Ghana and Malaysia aha


i have some materials from Malaysia "pelikat" and "songket" to give as souvenirs...