Questions & Challenges

A note from Mrs. Dalimonte's 3rd grade class (and my attempt at the answers)...

First of all who is the cute child we see every time we log onto your blog?
He is one of the cutest little boys, isn't he? His parents and family came into Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory one day (where I work in Chapel Hill), and I asked his mom if I could take photos of her kids...she said yes, and I have been in touch with the family ever since.

Now for questions regarding Ghana:
How do Ghanaians celebrate birthdays?
This differs from Ghanaian to Ghanaian. I was talking with a Ghanaian in the computer lab about this and he has not ever (as far as he can recall) received a birthday gift. He even forgets his birthday from time to time, he said. However, some Ghanaians celebrate their birthday with family, food, and sometimes even with birthday cake. Ghanaians put a lot of emphasis on the day (of the week), rather than the date which he/she was born. I found a website that explains this system more thoroughly:

"The naming system in Ghana is very unique and unlike any other system in the world. When a child is born,it is kept indoors for at least seven days. During this period the mother is allowed to come outdoors but the baby is not supposed to come out, except in a case of emergency or when it is really necessary. On the eighth day, the child is given a name. The child is not assigned a name before the eighth day because during that period it is considered as a stranger from the ancestral world who has come for a visit. However, the logical reason was that in the ancient days when child mortality was very high a lot children died before their eighth day and therefore the elders decided that they are going to wait for the eighth day after which if the baby is still alive, then it would be considered as a human being and then given a name. The waiting period was to lessen the pain that the mother would go through should the baby die before the eighth day since the elders believed it is more painful for to name the baby for it to die before the eighth day than for it to die nameless.

Days of the week in Ghana are very important aspects of the naming culture. In Ghana everyone is supposed to have a day name in addition to his other names, which will be disclosed in due course. The day of the week on which one is born determines what name he is called. There are day names for each of the seven days. The names come in pairs for each day; one for a male, the other for a female born on that day. Below are some of the names that people are called by and the corresponding days on which they were born..."

DAY OF WEEK (MALE, FEMALE)
MONDAY: KOJO, ADJOA
TUESDAY: KWABENA, ABENA
WEDNESDAY: KWAKU, AKUA
THURSDAY: YAW, YAA
FRIDAY: KOFI, AFUA
SATURDAY: KWAME, AMA
SUNDAY: KWESI, AKOSUA

Thus, I am considered "YAA". Many Ghanaians that fluently speak Twi more than they speak English, go by his/her "day of the week" name. For example, at the night market, the fruit lady that I buy fruit from every day goes by "YAA" (she is Thursday-born, as well). This "Akan" naming system is also where Kofi Annan (Friday-born, Secretary-General of the United Nations, as well as the new Chancellor for the University of Ghana) got his name.

Do they celebrate Christmas? If so what kind of presents do they wish for?
A few days ago, I was talking with a Ghanaian about Christmas in Ghana. He said that he cannot recall a single gift he's ever received for Christmas. Ghanaians come "home" (to their native village/town) to celebrate Christmas together, and they attend church services. There is not a strong emphasis placed on gifts/materialism/Christmas consumerism, like there is the US. However, the presence of gifts in "Corporate Ghana" is a little bigger, as companies often give gifts to their clients during that time of the year.

Orianna wanted to respond to your question - her favorite animals are dogs and monkeys.
Orianna, you would love the monkeys here! They are for the most part very friendly and will eat bananas right out of your hand.

In the cafe, do you use laptops or computers?
We use Dell flat screen (PC) computers in the particular Internet cafe that I use. I definitely miss my MacBook :)

Could you tell us again the Twi words for ...
answering Ete Sen; Goodbye and any other words you think we might enjoy using - we are using Ete Sen and Medasi.
A brief Twi lesson...
Meh daasay = Thank you
Akwaaba = Welcome!
Ete sen = How are you?
Eh ye = I’m fine.
Boco = I'm good/great!
Na wo so eh = And you, how are you? (sounds like "and na woo sway")
Wo din day sen = What is your name?
Meh din day Carly = My name is Carly
(I hope that helps!)

If you see Mary, the students are curious about school lunch - do they take their own or is it provided? If it is provided, what kinds of food do they provide?
The students can either bring their own lunches, or pay for the school to provide lunch for them. Mary & Sarah are currently bringing their own lunches from home (rice, etc.), but we are working to raise enough money to cover the girls' school lunch expenses (it costs about .50 per day, I believe, per girl). I will look into the specific kinds of food that they provide (I will be visiting their school next Monday), but I would assume that they serve the typical Ghanaian dishes--rice, stew, fufu, banku, jolof, etc.

What kinds of board games do they play in Ghana? Do they play Mancala? We have several of these games and the students all love to play it.
Mancala is actually extremely popular here, as well! I haven't seen any children playing it, however, but they sell alligator and other crazy-shaped boards all over the streets here. Most of the children play futbol (soccer) more often than board games.

CHALLENGES COMPLETED:
Letters to Mary and Sarah are in your care package being mailed tomorrow.

Here are the 10 countries with 4 letters that the students found using maps/atlases:
Togo
Chad
Cuba
Peru
Mali
Oman
Fiji
Iraq
Iran
Laos

Thanks for this challenge - it was fun!
Congratulations, class! That was a tough challenge! Have any of you been to one of the 4-letter countries?

We have to go to lunch now - take care and have fun in Togo this weekend!

Love,
Mrs. Dalimonte's 3rd grade

Keep the questions coming ;)