IG1 English Language Trip

Alas! The day for the long awaited English language trip to Prampram had arrived. The excitement in the air was palpable, as students were eager to put into practice, everything that had been taught in the weeks leading to this trip, such as sentence types and descriptive writing. We boarded the buses at 9:00 am and set off in high spirits for our destination. We passed by clusters of lush looking undergrowth, that sported a lovely green colour ,while enjoying a smooth ride since the roads were in good condition, as compared to the roads in other parts in Ghana. 

We arrived at our destination at 10:45 am and we were thrown into a state of incredulousness, as the scenery that greeted us was in sharp contrast to what we had observed earlier. Once we got down from the bus, the pungent smell of decomposing fish hit us squarely in the face and it was a very odious smell. We were instructed by our English tutors to start observing and describing the scene before us, as measures were being put in place to organize the serving of our snacks. After the snacks were served which consisted of a sausage roll or tuna sandwich if you preferred that instead and “kalyppo”, eating became an even bigger problem, as large flies hovered around us, touching parts of our food and making us lose our appetite. This was very frustrating, as most people were really hungry, considering the fact that the walk to school drained our very life force and we hadn’t had a meal after this. 

After consuming what was left of the snacks, we grabbed our books and pens and walked away from the coconut trees where we were stationed, towards the beach. The smell of human waste was unmistakable, as we walked closer to the beach and as if to emphasize its presence, the smell got stronger as we approached the seashore. The shores of the beach were lined with plastic waste and black rocks covered in moss, helping to control the rush of too much water unto the land. Wooden canoes stood in neat rows on the shore and were painted with oil paint and held interesting inscriptions, most of which were in the Twi and Ga languages. Naked children scurried about with no care in the world. Some lay on the seashore and ended up getting covered with sand, while others took a swim in the murky waters as small waves continuously crashed over their heads and tossed them to and fro. Others decided to perform daredevil tricks, such as standing at the stern of the canoe and jumping to the down to the blanket of sand that lay below. Although it was refreshing to see them having fun, it was also depressing to see children of such ages not being in school ,but rather roaming the seashore without supervision and engaging in all sorts of dangerous acts.

Walking along the beach was stressful, as every area of land was covered in sand, requiring for us to use extra force in taking our calculated steps to avoid falling into the pools of water that lay all around. At this point, we were still penning down everything we had observed and watched with interest as a boy used a plank of wood as a makeshift surfing board. Although it was unsuccessful, it was still a very creative option that was explored. We walked around most parts of the beach and wrote descriptions to best fit our observations during the time there, with the help of our committed English tutors. We finished our beach exploration at around 2:00 pm and then boarded the bus for our return trip. We had a stopover at a local eatery, near a beach for our lunch which consisted of jollof rice, grilled chicken and gravy, which had been prepared by the school. It was a truly sumptuous meal. After the meal, we relaxed a little and took pictures on the trending social media snapchat and engaged in lively conversations with our classmates and our tutors.

Sometime after this, we boarded the bus for our return to Tema to be thrown back into the HGIC life of stress and hard work, which we are getting accustomed to. Although it was a welcome change to be out of the confines of the HGIC environment, we still recognized the importance of the schooling experience in its entirety and were partly glad to be back to our second home.

Special thanks to the members of the English department for the initiative taken to enable us test our improving writing skills and utilize our senses, in a bid to pen down works that enable readers to feel every emotion or thought we would like to convey. Many thanks to Mr. Gogovi, Mrs. Achamfuo- Yeboah, Mr. Darko, Mrs. Deborah Sampson, Mr. Essigyan and Ms. De-Graft Hanson for accompanying us on the trip and guiding us on how to describe the scenes before us. We have learnt a great deal from this trip, the salient lesson being one of gratitude, since seeing all those children roaming the area made us think back on all the things we have which we take for granted. It is our hope that we will work to obtain knowledge in the service of Africa to eradicate poverty in our blessed continent. It is our greatest desire that we always remember to be mindful of all in our community. Thanks to our parents for their sacrifices. We appreciate every one of them.