Happy 4th of July (It is July 4th here as I post this...4 hours ahead of NJ)!  I will miss the fireworks this year but I am gaining the experience of a lifetime.  My laptop crashed and is not able to be repaired until I get home.  I am relying on an old computer that was given new life by one of the volunteers from Ireland staying here.  He looked at my fried Dell and delivered some unfortunate news.  He was not able to help me out with it.  I continue to take pictures although I will not be able to post them for awhile since the internet and computer are sluggish.

Monday was a holiday here so there were no official classes. The actual holiday, Republic Day, was on Sunday, July 1st, but offices and government buildings were closed on Monday since it fell on the weekend.  I used the opportunity to work individually with several students.  I have begun working on independent feeding with one of the students.  He is 20 years old and very strong.  He says "No" by slapping, punching, or biting his own hand.  Obviously, communication is going to be high on the priority list.  He has had 20 years of escaping demands so there is a lot behavior work to do too. Another little boy has been exposed to the language Ga and is able to say a few words in his language. The problem is, nobody in the school speaks Ga.  Everybody speaks English and Twi (pronounced 'tree'). Again, communication will be key here.  There is another young man from Nigeria.  He is 19 years old and loves to help all of the teachers.

Today it was very rainy.  I hope tomorrow will be nicer since I have a lot of laundry to do.  The laundry is done by hand and hung out to dry.  I didn't do my last load though.  One of the employees offered to do it.  I paid her 5 cedis.  I didn't feel comfortable with that arrangement so I am going to ask her to show me how to do it.  I brought Tide pods and they were used on the last load.  I wanted to be more authentic so I bought a bar soap that they typically use. We'll see how it goes.

Thursday I hope to get to one of the big markets to buys some supplies. I hope to see more sights on Friday.  Jared wants to go back to Accra and go to one of the large markets or the mall.

So, on this 4th of Juyly, eat a big, juicy, hamburger (well-done) for me!  Enjoy Independence Day and stay safe.