i don't eat enough peanut butter. . .

So getting on the plane over 50 days ago, i had a problem. my suitcases weighed too much. a lot too much. but i couldn't give up the peanut butter! so, i carried stuff in my arms and only giving up one grape jelly, i got to move on to boarding.

now i realize, i just wish i had some fruit snacks. i have MAYBE eaten 1.5 cups of peanut butter. that's rounding up. so my 3 unopened jars are collecting dust (k maybe mold. . .) in the cupboard and wanting to find new homes. So, i think i pawned one to Kelsey. I think i have some willing consumers in Mampong. I just don't eat enough peanut butter. Sorry mom.

well, after trying to organize my room so Charity can find her way onto my side of the room to do her hair in the mornings, i realized how much of Ghana i am bringing home. NO WAY that peanut butter will fit. I'm so excited about the things i've collected and the memories they hold. i can't believe i've lived in Africa for nearly two months now. Sorry America, i know it was your birthday and all, but i kinda don't want to come home yet. YET. i am looking forward to a nice glass of ice cold lemonade.

but with two weeks to go, our group sat down and made some goals. Mine? prepare this jss 2 class for their test. I want them to have confidence in their test taking skills, not only their recollection and understanding. I feel like they are so concerned about how to write the test, they overwhelm themselves to the point of overall confusion. so, go back at night. keep up on correcting their exercises. give them lot's of example questions and start to link their courses and understanding together. oh. and learn all their names again. i forgot some and i feel bad. . .

So it's revision week this and next week. we are supposed to be finished with the scheme of work. HA. not funny. i have at least 2 lessons to go. . . so hopefully i can get it done this week and review with them next. pray we have school all this week. it would make for our second or third full school week we have had since arriving in mid-May. crazy. it's been better now that they can't complain that they're tired from staying up too late watching Ghana in the world cup. . . oh yeah. that loss was SAD. ghana was sad. i was sad. watching Papa screaming and rolling on the floor cheering for his Black Stars, then seeing his look of disappointment, heartbreaking.

So the 4th of July in Ghana was fun. we got together and boiled corn on the cob, had watermelon, guacamole (thanks mom) and Lemonade! it was a little taste of home. we listened to our Americana music while enjoying the Sunday afternoon. Oh- Hollie even had pop rocks- fireworks for our mouths :D Not the same as those illegal ones i'm sure my brothers found time to sneak in between the cop drive-bys but hey, good for an African style Fourth of July.

well, let the countdown begin. ahh! or not. i don't wanna know.

love you all

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

on your mark, get set. . .

6 hours on the internet= 5 GH Cedis

Material for clothes= 12 Cedis

Artwork=10 cedis

Blogging to the sound of FuFu being made=Priceless.

We are finally finding our places in the schools. So i pretty much help with math in the JSS school. it's frustrating because they are supposed to have all of these skills. . . and they don't. multiplication tables are neglected, so when we try to simplify fractions. . . well, it doesn't work as you'd imagine. I have now started to implement the after school math room where we have had multiplication table races. i set up three students around the classroom, give them chalk, on your mark, get set, go. . .and they go do their number, x1-10 on the board. hopefully i can get them to memorize them. i'll have to find a way to bribe them though, or they might stop coming.

but teaching in the schools is way fun! i am working closely with some student teachers as well as the science teacher, Margarite. They are fabulous signers so i'm just there for support, or new ways to explain concepts. i get to add my little knowledge in many of their core classes so i get a full ghanain education throughout my day. pretty interesting.

yeah. i get sunburned here. the 30 spf does NOT cut it for my skin :S I'll have to do a little swapping with the girls here. we are already so close it is fabulous. our little family. but i've started to buy things. oh no. they use the Cedi here. . . so i get 1.40 for every dollar. and stuff is cheap. so today was some art and material, oh and more internet time from Kuami. He is ahead of his time investing in a little internet cafe. love it.

my mom wanted to know about my living conditions. sooo! papa ellis is our hotel owner guy. haha. he wants 8 american wives. . . how convenient. but we have running water and power, which means showers and a fan blowing at night. awww how i feel like i am living large.

It is African Union today so there was no school. we went and saw the gardens in aburi. it is sooo green here. oh my. and the humidity, i'm about to say that i'm used to being sticky. it doesn't feel so bad. and i'm wearing a sweater today! who knew? haha. ok it is hot. but i won't get sunburned. (although the farmers tan i am sporting really suits me, don't ya think?)

well, any math/multiplication table suggestions are welcome at sohi.holli@gmail.com

but, i will get them up to speed :)

Love from Ghana,

Holli

BUG KILLER!

so yesterday, i met the students. so exciting! they are so ready to learn in the JSS school so it is exciting to get to teach there. we just observed yesterday and met the faculty.

today on the other hand, i felt like i dove right in! there are the faculty, then student teachers, then us. i was observing a math class for the JSS prep class and. . .well we know me and math. i have my way of doing things. so, after the student teacher (because the real teacher doesn't think it is important to come to school) deemed my answers correct, i got to stand up and teach. and teach. and teach. for quite a long time! but i think they understand percentages now! woo woo! he told me i will be teaching science for him tomorrow and math again on monday. i guess my foot is in the door.

i love it here. it is hot. the children make it all worth it. especially those really bright ones who try not to pay attention. it's them i'm after. they have to fight to get into high school, so i want to make it possible for them.

so there is this store across the street from the school. i broke down today and finally bought some bug killer. that ate THROUGH my baggies and into my food. yes, they got my cookies from home. i ALMOST started to cry. . . but. i guess that's more of the african diet for me. ugh. but they were my favorite (oatmeal choc chip). *sigh* i'm over it. they have bofut here. . DELICIOUS. take a donut hole but add the taste of a scone. yummy.

till next time

holli