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