What’s Your Name?

[By Tai Le]

“Comment tu t’appelle?” [What’s your name?]
“Tu parles Français?” [Do you speak French?]
“Tu manges?” [Did you eat?]
“Aujourd’hui, tu as un Français test?” [Today, you have a French test?]**

I’ve been learning French on Duolingo for 292 days, so you can say I’m pretty much fluent. Not.

This fluent-not-fluency was the state of my French skills when visiting the Anani Memorial International School (AMIS) in Nima, Ghana. And guess what? I was able to have short conversations with the students at the school! Thank you, Duolingo. #IPromiseImNotSponsored

Last week, the Media in Ghana cohort was invited to the school by a friend of our advisor, Kofi Anane, the English-French school principal for AMIS.

Our goal: Have fun with the students

The Anani Memorial International School started in 1975 and teaches students up to sixth grade. Many of the students even travel from other parts of West Africa to attend this incomparable school. If that doesn’t already warm your heart, many of the students at AMIS are orphans and have their tuition fees waived by the principal, truly a cut above the rest.

Students of AMIS holding a poster saying, "Welcome to AMIS Oregon University. Thank you all." — The University of Oregon loves AMIS!

The school is located in Nima, a suburb of Accra, Ghana. You know, traveling around the world, I’ve really learned that cities and suburbs have different priority tiers. Nima might not be the number one tourist attraction, or the first stop when coming to Accra. Instead, it’s a place where the priority is not grandeur but rather community. The area is home to a multitude of migrant workers, many of whom sought it out for the low rent. A cultural melting pot of individuals and families coming to create a life together. It is not the ideal environment. As far as maintenance, and, honestly, concerningly contaminated water and sewage supplies go, there is much that could be improved upon. These issues do not, however, hinder the atmosphere or – for lack of a better word – the vibes of the people.

Walking to the school, we got to navigate the markets and houses with goats and chickens as our tour guides; really excellent, five-star reviews all around – we didn’t even get lost. Hidden inside a small alley was the Anani Memorial International School. We knew we were close to the school when we could hear chitter-chatter and laughter of children from around the corner. They welcomed us into the auditorium with smiles, waves, and adorable purple uniforms. I was suddenly embraced into a hug from one of the teachers at the school. She shouted, “he’s my favorite!”. Love her.

The students waiting for the welcome performances to start.

As we took our seats in front of the students, drums immediately started playing, and students came into the room singing and dancing to introduce their school. I was smiling the entire time! They were so cute! Having been a teacher for four years in South Korea, I was reminded of my students and missed them dearly.

Performance after performance, different groups of students shared their songs, dances, and even powerful poetry pieces. One poem stuck out to me:

I am Powerful. Courageous. Prosperous. Amazing. Royal. Original. Queen. Respectful. Blessed. Miraculous. Victorious. Successful. Creative. Bold. Intelligent.

These self-written poems shared the students’ love for Ghana, their school, and themselves. Such incredible and moving performances. I was so touched when I saw younger students, who looked like they were six or seven years old, share their poetry. It must have been scary standing in front of complete strangers and forced to recite!

Students dancing and singing for a welcome ceremony. — Students came in singing, dancing, and performing self-written poems.

Immediately afterward, the drums began again, and I felt two pairs of little hands pulling me up to dance. Currently, temperatures are in the low 80s, so you’d think it’s not that hot. But the 80% humidity really got a boy sweating! Two adorable girls pulled me up and held my hands as we jumped along to the beat of the music. They would looked at each other to cue what dance moves they would teach me first. I’m sure a photo or video of me dancing is floating around somewhere, but I will spare you the visual today.

A girl dancing with students. — Emma showing her dance moves with the students.

Jumping up and down, I leaned down to ask my dance partners, “What’s your name?”. First, in English, but when they seemed not to understand, I asked in French – which they responded to! (Again, I’m really not sponsored by Duolingo).

I find language so fascinating. I have already been able to connect with people through language over the past week. And in these moments just a short phrase in Twi (one of the main languages in Ghana) or even French allowed me to connect in a deeper way. Sure, one part is the novelty of – “Wow, a foreigner speaking my language!” – but it also shows the other part. The part of humility of humbling yourself and meeting somewhere at a different level – oftentimes uncomfortable. I know I feel the same way when I meet a non-Vietnamese person speaking Vietnamese – the feeling of, “Wow, you took your time to learn a piece of my culture, thank you.”

Here, I spoke not only Twi but also English and French. Of course, there were smiles and laughter when I pronounced something a little off, but my heart was in it, and the effort was there. The humor and entertainment—it’s priceless.

Spending time with the students of AMIS reminded me of and emphasized how substantial education and educational equity is for everyone. The school is working hard to make sure that the students are provided with many skills to give them opportunities to succeed now and in the future. While some students are far from family, many of the students do not have a home to return to. Yet, the teachers and leaders of AMIS genuinely care for each and every one of them. Some teachers even had infants on their backs, rocking them to sleep while trying to shush other students to pay attention.

Being able to visit educational institutions around the world has helped me understand that education may not always look like your stereotypical “American” school. White walls, projector screen, whiteboard, and desks. A physical setting is not what’s needed to learn (yes, it might be nice to have). What’s actually needed is the opportunity to be able to sit, learn, and have fun. Some children do not have that opportunity, and we must find solutions to bring that equity to everyone.

“Until we get ~~equality~~ [equity] in education, we won’t have an equal society…”

– Sonia Sotomayor (with a bit of revision added from me)

Ending this blog post by teaching you how to ask, “What’s your name?” in Twi! In the next one, I’ll teach you how to respond!