Beautiful Ghana

I have been here now over two weeks and six days in the school. I have fallen love with my students! They(40+) are beautiful 6th grade girls going through puberty…they are anywhere from 12-19 years old. They are so sweet! This past wee I taught Math everyday, and now this week I will teach Math and English to two sixth grade classes. I have taught them many songs, like lean on me, my God is so big, Lord I lift your name o high, and Bind us together Lord. They are so eager and excited to learn nw songs. They also love to teach me fante, tre, and their other native language…I am having a hard time keeping them straight.
On Monday I was shocked and discouraged when my coordinating teacher called 22 girls to the front of the room to cain all of them three times on the back for talking too much. I thought, how am I ever gong to control 40 girls with out caning them…although this week has gone really well.
On Tuesday Night, I went to Madam Cynthia’s apartment for dinner(Rice and Chicken) with Ronella. On Wednesday morning we went to mass with our students, bc it is a Catholic School.
We walk about 35 minutes to/from school each day, every day we take a little different route, taking different streets and shortcuts through the market and people’s yard. Everywhere we go people shout “Obruni,” which means white person. They often ask, “what is your name? Or how are you? Way more often than what we are used to in the states. Everyone is very friendly, and wants to be friends with an Obruni! They Love Obama, there are Obama posters, clothing, and memorabilia.
I have got into the routine of walking home for school, sometimes stopping at the market, and then going for a run and a swim..shower..dinner..and then lesson planning and journaling.
This weekend, on Saturday we went to Accra to do some shopping for souvenirs and fabric. It was an interesting trying to catch a bus and taxis with 8 girls where ever we wanted to go in the crazy city. We were fortunate to have a tall Ghanaian man named Jerry to bring us around. Today we went to a church service that lasted almost 4 hours and it was mostly in fante….haha! Then when we got back, I went straight to the beach! Then I went to find a place with Ronella to watch the African Football Cup…they made it to the finals…. But sadly though they lost to Egypt. That’s all for now. I think I am going to stop checking my facebook, and just check my email and blog once or twice a week because the internet is sooooooooo slow! So if you want to contact me, try one of thoses..

First Day of School!

I had my first day of school today with 6th grade girls at Don Bosco, they are precious! I have over 40 girls in each of my two classes, which small compared to fourth grade boys which have two classes of 65 and 71….a total different world. All the children line up to sing and then march to their classes. My teacher’s name is Cynthia and she is the same one that Amanda had last semester. She is really sweet and has already tried to visit me at the lodge and bought me a Fanta and biscuits, and invited me to her house. Next week I will start teaching Math and then I will add English the next week. Today I taught the girls how to sing My God is so big and Lean on me. Cynthia and the girls love to sing!

First Day of School!

I had my first day of school today with 6th grade girls at Don Bosco, they are precious! I have over 40 girls in each of my two classes, which small compared to fourth grade boys which have two classes of 65 and 71….a total different world. All the children line up to sing and then march to their classes. My teacher’s name is Cynthia and she is the same one that Amanda had last semester. She is really sweet and has already tried to visit me at the lodge and bought me a Fanta and biscuits, and invited me to her house. Next week I will start teaching Math and then I will add English the next week. Today I taught the girls how to sing My God is so big and Lean on me. Cynthia and the girls love to sing!

Wow, I have only been in Ghana for a few days, but it feels like I have been here for weeks. The Ghanaian people are beautiful! We have gotten settled in the lodge where we are staying and have done some exploring and traveling. A couple people, Gideon and Collins have been very helpful in telling us about their people and showing us around. The lodge over looks the lagoon and ocean. It is just about a 10-15 minute walk to the beach, so we have already made a few visits. I love spending time "swimming" and walking and jogging on the beach, but I have to really careful not to get my cast wet. This is a very difficult task, bc of the strong current, but you can not keep me away from the water=)The internet cafes are extremely slow...or just dont work at all..so I am sure my postings will be short. Yesterday we visited Kakum National Park and walked across a canopy walk...which a few in the group were scared to death of...not me, I ended walking backwards with my eyes closed..haha! Then we went to Cape Coast where there was a slave castle, where many slaves passed through and were picked up from to bring to the Caribbean and the US. It was really impactful..Obama had recently visited there, so there are signs everywhere that welcomes OBAMA! We are now told that we wont start in the schools until Thursday, so we are just enjoying our free time to explore and trying to be flexible.

One week till take off!

In one week I will be on the plane and on my way to Ghana, Africa! I am excited and just about ready to go! I have all my shots and I have even taken my first malaria pill. On Sunday I will drive down to Tennessee and get my stuff moved into to my new off campus housing! Then will I leave next week Friday! I will keep this blog updated to let you all know what is going on while I am there.