About
Me...
-
I
was born at Sekondi, along the west coast of Ghana.
Together with Takoradi, Sekondi forms Sekondi-Takoradi, the twin capital
of the Western Region of Ghana. I only spent a short time in Sekondi
before moving to Accra, Ghana's capital which is also along the coast. - My first school was St. Bernadette's Nursery School in Tesano, close to North-Kaneshie, the suburb in Accra where I lived most of my childhood. Most of my neighbors at North-Kaneshie attended St. Bernadette's as well, and we had some mad fun! Anyone of you out there? Remember the song "Yea yea, I'll tell Mrs. Anim-Addo"? There are some interesting stories about some of my encounters at nursery school, ... but hey, let's just leave it at that!
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Some of my most vivid memories of childhood are of my elementary school,
Bishop
Bowers School.
The time I spent there has had a great impact on who I am today.
I had such good times, and at the same time learnt so much. No wonder
I went back there after high school to teach. - After Bishop Bowers I took the Common Entrance Exam at Mamprobi Sempe "11" Middle School, and got accepted at my dream school, St. Peter's Secondary School, up on the Kwahu Mountains in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Can you imagine living away from your parents with about 799 other guys for seven years? That's what I did. And honestly, even though the first few years were very tough, I look back at those years as some of the most exciting I've had so far. I bet every Perscodian (that's what guys who went to St. Peter's are called) agrees that we had some exciting experiences! "Mangoha, Pool-site, Apoofi, Osaman, White-house, Mfra, Alele-kapito, Trypa!" Those are words that describe some of the experiences, words that only Perscodians can fully understand.
- So after St. Peter's I had to do my National Service, and I chose to return to Bishop Bowers School - as a teacher. Imagine how it feels to teach alongside the same teachers who taught you! And can you imagine how difficult it can be to teach the younger siblings of your school mates when these kids know the capers you used to pull as a kid too!? Okay, let me give you an idea:
- I'm now in college at Swarthmore, close to Pennsylvania's capital, Philadelphia. Swarthmore College is fun as it's tough. You bet I miss the good friends I've made all the way up to now. I miss the tropical warmth I had grown accustomed to, the smiles and openness of Ghanaians, how relatively laid-back things were... But I've made really swell friends here in the US too. Before coming to Swarthmore I was told that I'd make some of the most lasting friendships of my life here. I can see the truth in that. Being far away from home can be tough, but what place away from home could be better than Swarthmore College!
There was one kid in fourth grade who always burst out into giggles anytime I went to teach his class. Why? His older sister, who used to sit in front of me in third grade had told him some of the pranks we used to pull on each other - hiding each other's books, throwing pieces of paper into each other's desks, tickling each other's ears with broomsticks, ... The kid found it most amusing that I, his teacher, could ever have done that, and he told all his friends!
I guess because I had been through most of the same situations as the kids, we related to each other wonderfully well. They were more of my friends than my students, and I loved being with them! No wonder I ended up teaching for two years after high school. One of my pleasant memories is when on my nineteenth birthday, I had the greatest number of "Happy Birthday" songs I have ever had being sung to me in every class I taught - and I never received more gifts! No doubt, teaching at Bishop Bowers School is one of the most fulfilling things I've done and I still keep in touch with my teachers and students - or colleagues and friends, whichever you choose to call them.
