Happy Citizen Day

So this last week of school was interesting. We had class monday/tuesday. then w/th/f. . . well. weren't school. wednesday and thursday were spent cleaning, organizing, decorating, and getting things prepared for the special occasion friday would bring. It was citizen day, and marking the one year anniversary of L'oreal sponsoring the Vocational Hair School. One girl, Dita, actually graduated so there was a ceremony, dancing, speeches, food and gifts to celebrate! So fun to see the success of some of the students there. and dita- she looked gorgeous!

Saturday- we headed to Accra. A bunch of us were able to attend the Accra, Ghana Temple and spend the morning there. It was so fun! Then we headed back to the mall, where Wallace met up with us to have lunch and shop around before the BIG GAME! Becky and I were on the trotro headed home from the art center when the US national anthem came on. OH me. I slap my hand over my heart and sing for those <20 people in the car. Gutsy i know. But then, the Ghana song came on. some woman started slapping my chest. "eh? whattt?" she said, "you're in ghana. get your hand up there. you cheer for us." yes ma'am. haha. fun experience. some kid even let me share his headphones so i could listen to the first half in english. well, we know the outcome of that Ghana vs. America game. I got phone calls seeing if i was ok, if i needed tissues, got some victory texts, not to mention that Tutu, the town right next to us, ERUPTED! it was so loud! and for so long! yeah. well. it was a hard loss. but then again, not at all. my kids loved talking about it on monday after my science lesson.

Oh science. I felt successful. I started to ask why i brought the examples i did last monday and what forces they represented. They remembered! and were fingerspelling the forces without their books open! i was so proud. so i got to move on to surface tension. it is going to be a race to the finish to see if i can get through all of the scheme of work before i have to leave. Can you believe 18 days? and for me that's 8 class periods left (that is if they have school. . . ever). So i just hope that MWF, we have school. Tuesday/Thursday. . .well. Today was voting for prefects. and thursday is African Union Day. . .so no school. SO! we will see about friday.

well. all is well. i swear a new breed of mosquitoes is out and they LOVE me. and- they must bite through clothes. nothing is helping. their bites are my african mementos. . . and i can play connect the dots if i'm ever bored.

Yes, i'm still alive.

So. school. it continues. i really am teaching science. still. pretty exciting that i can rely on that. not that relying on school happening is ever a good idea. things are always so flexible in ghana. so i've learned to be as well.

but in my jss 2 class we have moved on to the different types of forces, and me being the kinesthetic learner that i am, decided i didn't just want to explain in sign anymore. i wanted us to DO. i don't know if they were ever allowed out of their seats to swing water over their heads before, but for my lesson, we were playing with magnets, throwing chalk, and yes, my favorite centripetal force, swinging water over our heads. so i've been finding my ways to communicate science to this half-sleeping, half-focused class. i just pray some of it sticks. i mean, who could ignore me swinging water around and signing? i felt like a circus act...

this last weekend was half way! do you believe it??? i don't want to... but all the SOHI volunteers traveled to cape coast for the weekend to have a little bit of a break. well, let's just say that the canopy walk, slave castle tours and the beach could have been more of a break if i wasn't in the sun, in a black shirt, trying not to die of heat exhaustion. but i mean. overall. it was awesome. back to the canopy walk. SOOOO COOL! we were high. i wasn't very brave... none of that dancing or no-hands-ing it across the walk, but i looked down! and took lots of pics. then we went on to a slave castle at Elmina. what an experience. we toured the cells the slaves were kept in, and were taken out of "the door of no return" to look over the atlantic. i still can't comprehend how one human can treat another human in such ways, but thinking about those things really helps me be aware of my actions towards others.

but we are back at school this week with new motivation to teach. i'm excited to spend these last 4 weeks motivating and helping the students. i just really wish the power was a little more reliable so i always know: 1) i can shower 2) i can email 3) the students will show up 4) i can sit in front of the fan to prepare my lessons :) haha. but i'm a happy girl. loving it here. but can't wait for some mac and cheese...

All the important things. . .

So after I blogged last Tuesday, EVERYTHING changed. and i thought i was finally finding my place. oh there is no getting comfortable.

So, the head of department decided he was done teaching science to the JSS 2/3 class so he gave me the book, the schedule, and a good luck. They thought I couldn't handle the deaf class of 30. oh how they were wrong.

So I finished teaching them about water, and now we have moved on to the Circulatory System. They like that I'm an Obruni and can show them my arteries and veins in my arm. Oooooh exciting. (and all the primary school kids love that my skin is always a little pink, so they can pinch me and watch me turn colors.) So I teach an awesome class MWF, and still am helping a little with math for the Prep class. Fun stuff. That is what is happening at the school. I am giving a test friday, we will see how they are really doing. I am nice though. Give them little fun quizzes that i will use to make their test. they dang better pass. then understand why i make them review at the beginning of class every time. ehhh. and i'm still trying to get them away from just asking, "Right" or "Wrong." I don't care! I want to understand your thought process! grrrr.

For our last weekend trip, we travelled to Accra. Oh My People. So so busy. I bought so cute material, then we headed over to the art center to be harassed by all the salespeople. well, nik and i found ourselves being whisked away back into some little shop. yesss. these guys make drums :) so we had drum lessons. all the guys were impressed by my skill. so i broke down and ordered one from the bob marleys of ghana. it better be good. then we wandered around and found some cool art and little things. too crazy for me to enjoy that kind of shopping. yikes.

So i guess that is all. not too much happening. just keep waking up to the rooster and crashing when it's dark. going to school everyday and trying to help someone understand something new! i guess that's all i can do for now.

rain=rain bugs

So, from last Tuesday, it has rained: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and again today! Welcome to the rainy season. It is nice and cool when it rains, and you don't know what moisture on you is perspiration and which is rain, so that's kinda nice. BUT- at night, the rain bugs come out to play. uuuugggghhh! they are soooo nasty. Like an ant, maybe an inch or so long, with 4 wings (wingspan 3-4 inches). I don't think they do anything but crowd light, and make a yucky flutter when they fly by your ear. uuugh. i shudder just thinking about walking home tonight.

School!!! well, the math teacher showed up yesterday! he's fabulous! he will sit down with the one student that is struggling and walk him through it, again and again. There are sooo many teachers in the JSS, so i feel just like another body, correcting papers and such. Which is fine for now. The student teachers leave June 11 (which i think is just an excuse to watch the world cup) so then i will be the main go-to in the classroom. But i am helping quite a bit with math and science. But their multiplication tables are still lacking. And one on my lil prep guys didn't know how to multiply at all earlier today. the math teacher jumped right in and fixed it though while i continued with the rest. So i feel like the students get hovered over, and that they only care about right answers, not how they got there. So that's been my focus last/this week. i don't care about the answer, i care about the thought behind it. They think they can copy and cheat their way through class, but then they get to the country test, and fail. eeek. i'm here to prevent that, but they have to have the desire to understand the process of thinking for their own classes first. The ghanain education system is so different. it leaves no room for. . .creativity on the part of the teacher. There is a nationwide syllabus and schedule for all the schools to follow, with lesson plans and homework available. it's. . . different. but i'm starting to find my way through it all.

But. My purpose here is starting to unfold. I've started to find my place in the classroom and in the lives of these children. I'm so excited to get some improvements rolling, and just want some more power! haha. well, ok. just more time with them when they will actually pay attention. but still.

well i continue to sweat and live off peanut butter, tuna, and whatever Ghanain dish Cynthia brings for dinner. sit by the fan a lot and correct a lot of homework.

until next time

holli