Ghana Choir to Perform in Milwaukee

Even though Cori and I are not yet in Ghana, we can at least get a flavor of Ghanaian culture here in Milwaukee.

The Winneba Youth Choir is performing in Milwaukee this week. Lucy tells me they are very well known throughout Ghana; She has seen them perform a number of times and says they are quite good.

From a DC-area community newspaper:

The Winneba Youth Choir has been called the most outstanding youth choir of its nation and is made up of singers between the ages of 10 and 22. The full choir has 130 members, and the international touring choir has 24 members.

The choir was founded in Winneba, Ghana, in 1989 by George Mensah-Essilfie and John Francis Arthur-Yamoah (Paa John). According to Fred Onovwerosuoke of African Musical Arts of St. Louis, few youth choirs from Africa or elsewhere can demonstrate the diverse artistry for which the Winneba Youth Choir of Ghana is famed. With voices evenly balanced between boys and girls, they approach with ease a repertoire that ranges from complex choral harmonies to folk, American spirituals and gospel, always remaining true to their unique niche of African song and dance traditions.

Although it is from Ghana, the choir proudly bears a banner for all of Africa and thus showcases selections from around the continent. As musical director, Yemoah is well known and respected in choral circles in Ghana and the United States.

So you have the chance to see and hear this choir in Milwaukee:

Tuesday, Oct 20
7:00 PM
Our Lady of Lourdes (Directions)
58th & Forest Home

Foot Ball

I'm not a soccer fan. Never have been. But in my limited experience with teaching abroad, I have had some significant "soccer moments."

Ghana just won the U-20 (under-20 years old for you soccer "newbies") World Cup Championship beating Brazil.

Back in 2006, while teaching in Hungary, I had another brush with international soccer, watching the World Cup, being held in nearby Germany, from a street tent in the center of Szolnok (Hungary didn't qualify for the tournament, but that didn't seem to quell the Hungarian's interest).

Next summer, while Cori and I are in Ghana, the 2010 World Cup will be held in South Africa. Ghana has already qualified for the tournament.

Interestingly, in route to winning this week's cup, Ghana defeated Hungary in the semi-finals. The Hungarians went on to take third place.

Aronow 2.0

To be perfectly honest, discovering Cori is pregnant, just three days before we were planning to leave for Ghana, has really left our heads spinning.
Of course, we had been planning for months to be in Africa by now: our bags have been packed (or at least they were packed before we had to start digging into them for clothes to wear); we have rented our duplex, fully-furnished, for the year; Sabr is living in Boston; we even canceled our car insurance. Most importantly, we were mentally and emotionally prepared to go. But now we are having to wait once again.
Since I have a few weeks to kill before we [hope to] leave next month, I am volunteering to sub temporarily at Germantown High School. It's uplifting to see and talk to so many awesome students who I have developed relationships with during the past few years. That has really helped rekindle a somewhat downtrodden spirit within.

Meanwhile, Cori is home with morning sickness, a head-cold, and a budding sinus infection. It's no small wonder that she has felt some resentment over news of the pregnancy...It's not like the fairy tales. We're both warming up to the idea of parenthood, and sometimes a positive boost comes from an unexpected place. That was the case this week when I received this email from my contact at the US Embassy in Ghana:

I am also excited to make your acquaintance. I can see clearly that you are one teacher who is committed not only to teaching, but to working hard to be part of the positive development of others of the human race. You have the beneficiaries of your profession at heart, and it shows. Bless you.

The prospect of little Michael/Cori Aronow entering into this still wonderful world through Ghana is also exciting for me. I have met a few Americans who were born here and the bond that was established between them and the people of this country has remained and matured. I would not be surprised, if in barely three decades hence, Michael Aronow II returns to Ghana to immerse himself into a project that would improve the lives of my people.

I look forward to meeting all “2.5” of you in November. All the best.

I forwarded this to Cori. Her reply:

I do love it! maybe I'm warming up to this 2.5 thing a TEEEEEEEEEEEENY bit.

And that in turn makes a husband very happy.

"Peace" is the Key Word

Given that our world has increasingly fissured along cultural and religious lines during the past 20 years, I don't think it's insignificant that the leader of the world's most powerful nation has shown through his attitude and actions that he is intent upon drawing us closer. He has emphasized the role of multilateral talks among rival nations seeking solutions that have the good of all people, not only Christian Americans, in mind. As long as the word "Muslim" remains a slur in parts of Christendom, and "Christian" the same in the Islamic world, we will have work to do. Let this award represent the overwhelming global hope for peace. It means less about Barack Obama and a lot more about the American people and our responsibility to foster that peace.

Can't we work together on this?

First Pictures

I never thought this blog would emerge as a "pregnancy tracker."

Yes, we are still going to Ghana. Cori and I have been researching all sorts of info about pregnancy in Ghana, all the risks involved, especially malaria. We'll be making some decisions very soon about when we will leave. Once we do I'll post it here.

In the meantime, here's the first look at our tiny, 6 week old, baby-to-be...



And, here's the fetal heartbeat...

This Time It's Not the Achilles

A week ago Cori and I were just a couple days away from boarding a plane in Milwaukee destined for New York City. There, we would wait a few hours before getting on a different aircraft. The next morning we would wake up somewhere over the Eastern Atlantic. Within minutes we'd be gazing out our window, squinting against the early morning sun, and watching with wonder as a vast brown and green landmass called Africa appeared on the horizon.

However, a week later we are still in Wisconsin! Again, we have postponed our departure. A month ago it was a re-ruptured Achilles that put the trip on ice (and my leg, too). I was pretty frustrated and angry that time. This time around, I'm not feeling that way at all. How could I be upset? I'm going to be a daddy!


It was last Sunday night, after a week of fatigue and nausea, that Cori called me into our temporary bedroom in her parent's house.
"It's positive" she said.
Staggered, I uttered, "seriously? ...Seriously? ...SERIOUSLY?"
The week that followed has been a spin cycle of emotion and questions.
Elation.
"We're having a baby!"
Uncertainty.
"What does this do to Ghana?"
Worry.
"Can you take anti-malarial medication while pregnant?"
Fear.
"What about malaria itself?!"
Concern.
"What does Ghanaian health care look like?"
Frustration.
"We were this close to leaving!"
Relief.
"Other ex-pats have had successful pregnancies in Ghana. We can still go. We just have a to wait a bit."
Excitement.
"We're having a baby!"


Cori and I have been married for a little longer than five years. If you had asked us if we wanted children, the answer probably would have depended on the day. People have told me if you wait until you're ready to have kids, that you'll never have kids. I think that's true about a lot of things. I don't believe there's any greater plan for each of us in life, although Cori might disagree. I think life is just a series of events, some affected (and effected) by us, others just the randomness of nature. It's how we respond in the face of these events that determines the type of life we live.

Nature has given us the opportunity to have a child. A week ago I wouldn't have told you that I was ready to be a dad. I still probably wouldn't. But if all goes well, in a little more than 7 months that's what I'll be. And I'm pretty damn excited.