Monday, September 10, 2007

Cross-Cultural Orientation

Jim and I recently finished an excellent one-week orientation course at the Tamale institute of Cross-Cultural Studies (TICCS). This organization was founded by Dr. Jon Kirby, who is a respected anthropologist and a Catholic priest of the Society of the Divine Word. We were twelve participants in all - represented by Norway, Japan, the Congo, Kenya, India, South Africa, the Netherlands, Canada and the U.S. We ate and slept on the grounds of this unique facility and began friendships that will hopefully be nourished well into the future.
In addition to interesting lectures on topics concerning politics, tribal chiefs, economics, health, kinship, religious beliefs and language, we visited a Diviner, a local chief, various tradesmen, and a clinic run by a remarkable Ghanaian physician, Dr. David Abdulai, who ministers to the poor free of any charge. One night we ate fu-fu on the compound of a local village and were warmly welcomed by both elders and children alike. On our last evening, we watched a performance of the Choggu Dance Troupe & had a lot of fun with audience participation. Jim even filmed me "in motion" thoroughly enjoying learning the "moves" of the African steps. This was followed by a fantastic Ghanaian buffet in the garden with a variety of over thirty specially prepared dishes.
The course was extremely beneficial and demonstrated how many Ghanaians who welcome modern development still have one foot firmly entrenched in the traditions of the past.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Cyndy
Your course sounds wonderful. Now that you have licenses, did you get your pick-up? Are you planning to use that as an RV? Just kidding.

Pat

juplife said...

beth is afraid that you love me more than her since i always get to your blog before her and leave funnier comments.

you hear she had a date with her 65 year old boyfriend from paris last night.

Anonymous said...

Dear Cindy - I'd kill to see your African dance moves! I love that you and Dr. Murphy are recording your adventures on this blog. Also, I'm curious about beth's 65 year old boyfriend (above).

Now that I see where Beth gets her writing skills I'll enjoy reading your adventures to come.

mille bises!

Estefania