LTPS in the house!

LTPS at YAP Ghana

Today we had a lot of fun at Yap Ghana.  We worked very hard in the morning session.  In the afternoon we created a video of the students and took many pictures.  The kids were so good throughout the ordeal.  At the end of the photo session we had a big dance party!  The kids love to have dance contests but judging and awarding first place gets a bit difficult since most of the students want to be the "winner." 

Notice the t-shirts that all of the students are wearing.  Only 1 teacher is wearing a t-shirt to represent LTPS. Emmanuel is dressed in the white shirt, Esinam (the house cook) is in tan, and Auntie Yei is wearing the white tank top.  LIS only has one shirt in the group (first in the line of students).  The Slackwood t-shirts were the hot item. The students were fighting over the eagle shirt.  Ben Franklin is well represented.  Thanks to all of the LTPS staff who gave t-shirts to me at the last minute.  The students were very excited with their gift. 

Here are some pictures from today.

Emily shares the admiration....I think it is true love

Hootie is getting well-deserved attention as Emily and An-An look on

Amos steals a kiss!

Students, Teachers, & Staff of YAP Ghana

Lawrence Intermediate School

Slackwood

Rowdy Slackwood

Ben Franklin

A typical day in the classroom...but a solemn night for Ghana

Sad News for Ghana

During the taxi ride back to the school we heard on the radio the terrible news that Ghana's president John Atta Mills died. It was a solemn mood at the school when we returned. The staff was watching the television when we got back. They watched as the vice-president was sworn in as the new president of Ghana.  

Our Next Adventure

We have 6 days until we leave so I feel rushed to get in a few of the attractions.  The plan is to work in the classroom until Thursday and head to Wli Falls on Friday.  Wli is in the Volta Region.  It is beautiful in that area. Jared and I will take this trip without Rebecca. She wants to stay back at the school and go to church with Emmanuel and the children. 

Right after class yesterday we went to the Accra Mall to get the weekly pizza special (Tuesday buy 1 get 1 free). We also bought fresh fruit.  

Return from Kumasi -- Return to the Classroom

Today we were back in the classroom.  Two parents came to observe their children during the work sessions.  I spent the morning in P2 and the afternoon in P1.  The day went so fast.   I helped Emmanuel with the P2 programs.  We worked on coming up with a schedule so he can rotate to each student every day.  The afternoon with P1 was calm today but it took 2 of us to work with 3 students.   

Playing with the students

Below are some pictures from Wednesday and Thursday after school. The students love to play games.  On Wednesday we played "There is a Fire on the Mountain." The chairs are not needed for this game but they are in the pictures below because we just finished playing many, many rounds of musical chairs.  In true Olympic spirit, musical chairs became a competition between countries when there were just 2 people remaining.  I am happy to report that the USA won 1 round (Bronze).  Liberia and Nigeria took a couple of the rounds (Silver) but Ghana walked away with the Gold!  On Thursday, we played with bubbles for awhile but somehow  we always end with soccer. BTW--Auntie Yei is the game master too.  She does everything!

There's A Fire On The Mountain

Bubbles 

Kumasi

We arrived back at YAP Ghana around 7:30 Sunday night. The V.I.P. bus was very comfortable. The return trip also took 5 1/2 hours. I just wonder how long the trip would be if the road was paved the whole way. The actual mileage is about 155 miles but I think at least 1/3 of the trip is on unpaved road.


We stayed at 4 Villages Inn.  It was a very nice bed and breakfast.  We ate a home-cooked breakfast each morning complete with eggs, toast, homemade sausage, muffins, fruit and fresh, and ground coffee. 

Chris, the owner, also does tours.  We booked the "Craft Village Tour."  We left the hotel by 7:30 a.m. The first stop was the Adinkra demonstration.  We learned about the tradition of using symbols to send messages to loved ones who have passed away.  We participated in preparing the ink and watched as it was boiled over an open fire.  The best part was learning what many of the symbols represent.  We used some of the symbols to create our own messages.

Adinkra

President Obama silk screen 

Yonso Bamboo Bike Project

We stopped to look at a project that was started in 2009.  The ower has been recognized internationally for his work.  He makes and sells the bamboo bikes and uses the proceeds to buy school supplies for rural schools.  He also employs several young men from the community.  Rebecca and Jared took the bamboo bike for a spin.

Weaving Village

We spent the majority of time with the weavers.  We were able to particpate in each phase of the weaving process.  Jared wants to become a weaver.  Women are not allowed to weave in the Ashanti culture since they believe it will delay childbirth.  Rebecca will have to stick to nursing.  After our tour of weaving we went to a section of the village where cocoa was being grown.  We got a short history of the importance of cocoa in Ghana and then we tasted a cocoa bean.

Master weaver doing the triple weave

Cocoa Beans

Our last stop on Saturday was the Kumasi Cultural Center.  We ate lunch and then went to various artisans and brought souvenirs to bring back.

Sunday, before we left to go back to Adenta, we took a tour of Kumasi's Central Market.  It is the biggest marketplace in West Africa.

Central Market

Hard work in the classroom then off to Kumasi

I am posting this from an iPhone. Those of you who have been following this blog know I have had considerable technology issues throughout my stay in Ghana. My latest incident is my own fault. I am currently in Kumasi at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast complete with broadband wireless Internet and running hot water. I remembered to bring the laptop but managed to leave the power cord back at YAP Ghana. The good news is I am only slightly disappointed. I have learned not to sweat the small stuff here. After all, I do have the iPhone with me so I am able email and Facebook. I decided to update the blog using the iPhone. I refuse to let the missing power cord ruin the experience of my 1st hot shower in 24 days!

Monday through Thursday was spent in the classroom. I worked in P2 the first 2 days. I Set up the programs for 3 of the students. I went through the rationale with the P2 teacher, Emmanuel. He has many, many great questions and I never seem to have enough time to address all of them. I made every effort to get back into the P2 classroom on Wednesday and Thursday but the demand in P1 is overwhelming. I felt the best use of my time was with the P1 teacher, Vida. Emmanuel was able to work in P1 all day Monday so he had an opportunity to work through individual programs there.

After class this week we played football (the American kind). Rebecca brought a "proper" football with her! Jared had a lot of fun showing the kids how to throw and kick this strange ball. The students demonstrated for us other games they play such as, "There's a fire on the Mountain" and their version of "London Brdges."

Thursday night we celebrated Lawson's birthday. The students made him a card and each student made their best attempt at signing it. We all sang "Happy Birthday." Later, after the students ate, we sat down to a delicious meal made by Auntie Yei and Esinam. They spent most of the day in the kitchen preparing 5 different stews. The favorite has to be the vegetable stew that Auntie Yei made. It was amazing served over rice! Lawson enjoyed himself...we all did.   Although it was against my recommendation, Rebecca stayed up late with the other volunteers, Kristy & Richie, and the staff Emmanuel & Esinam. It wasn't the best idea considering the 5:30 a.m. wake-up call for our trip to Kumasi. She was hurting in the morning! We left the school around 6:15 a.m. to walk to the main street to get a taxi to the V.I.P. bus terminal. We decided to take the bus to Kumasi. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get from the school to the bus terminal! It was nothing short of insanity. Traffic is so bad here but finally made it to the terminal. We bought the tickets and boarded within a few minutes. There was less than 1/2 hour wait before we started the 5 1/2 hour journey. The ride was comfortable.

We arrived at the "4 Villages Inn" safe and sound early evening on Friday. I will post details and pictures of the Kumasi trip when I get back to the school.

We worked at the school all day today.  Below are some pictures from a trip to Medina Market last week. I am posting more pictures from Kakum and Cape Coast.

Medina Market

 

Football Friday (Soccer)

 

Kakum National Park

Cape Coast

Not too far from the school you can find your local Walf- Mart