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.