It's that time again, weekly update! After my crazy tro tro experience last week the week wasn't super exciting until I got my phone fixed on Thursday. For the beginning of the week I just studied for my developmental studies mid-term that was on Wednesday.
Friday morning Jessalyn and I were catching a tro tro at 6am to get to Agbogbloshie for our first time teaching at their only school. We got there about 30 minutes early and just sat there meeting the children while they petted our hair and skin non-stop. Because this is the biggest slum in Ghana it's not exactly a tourist destination which means that they see even fewer white people than most in the Accra area. I helped teach a class of kids ages 8-10 with their science class. It's very interesting because since not all kids have books or pencils most of the teaching is done through repetition over and over and over again.There was a lot of dancing in the afternoon because it was Friday but it's so crazy to be teaching in this school. It has two floors. The first is an open room that houses three different classes the youngest age is 3 and goes up to at least 10 on my floor. There are no room dividers so the classes are just taught simultaneously leading to a lot of chaos. Upstairs the rooms are slightly more defined and most of the older kids are up there but it still can get pretty chaotic because I can't even guess at the number of kids that are in that school. What was great is that you can tell the kids really want to learn which is key if they want to get out of the slum in the future.
Jessalyn, Paige, Anil, Erica, Cassie, Cassie's brother Nana and his friend Nana and I all went out for a fun night of bar hopping before going dancing at Hollywood again. If you know me at all, you know I'm not a big dancer...however I can't stop myself from dancing in Ghana...and it's not the alcohol. I mean it! The music here is just so catchy and makes you want to dance! Here are some of my current favorite songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu1_tYAhE8E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAqv3mtlDNY&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17vC8qZILJE
This is one of the newest dance crazes in Ghana that has recently gone international, called Azonto...it's just the repetition of random movements similar to what we would call the "shopping cart" etc. haha it's pretty fun though all the Ghanaians make fun of me for not doing it right: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTUIlOudlHI
Saturday we had a Durbar (party) for all of the international students on campus. I went mostly for the free food which didn't dissapoint...there was mashed potatoes and lasagna among other things!! Delicious! The rest of the event was cultural performances and performances by students. There are two videos at the end of this post of some of the professional cultural dancers...they always make me wish I could dance or was in a dance class!
Saturday night my sister Rachel took me to a friend's soccer game. Afterwards we went to Jerry's for kebobs and what ended up being a couple drinks...it was fun until the 30-year-old in the group decided he really really likes my personality...even though we hadn't talked to each other in at least an hour...I was stupid and gave him my number and am now dealing with the consequences of numerous calls per night..I haven't been answering but I know that if I want to hang out with Rachel and her friends I'll have to see them again and most likely him...going to have to answer soon and let him know that I'm taken haha.
Sunday, I went to church with my Aunt Edith and then came home and rested for most of the day because I was thinking I might be getting a cold.
Monday of this week we went to our internship again and started getting ready for the new class of trainees to come in and we'll begin teaching them on Monday! I also spoke with my Auntie Grace about some problems I was having with the teenage girls in the house going through my things but luckily she was super nice about it and took care of it right away! She also referred to me earlier in the evening as Tera Aduovo (our family's last name) which made me smile all night long because I've been waiting to really feel like part of the family and being called by their last name is about as close as it gets. I'll also be able to spend the weekend with the family in our village called Battor next weekend for a funeral and I'll get to wear the same fabric as the rest of the family which is really exciting because the entire family wears the same pattern...and I'm part of the family!! :)
**It's important to note that I have a new pet... he's been in my room for over a week now with no signs of leaving...I'm not a big fan of lizards .or anything with hands..but I just keep reminding myself that he is harmless and actually helps me out by eating mosquitoes ..but I'm really struggling to keep it together when he gets close to my bed!!! I'm taking suggestions for names if you have any!
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| Jessalyn, me, and Paige on another fun night out dancing. |
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| Abena and Boatemaa who work in our CIEE office are AMAZING...they help me with literally everything and I'm going to miss them an incredible amount when I leave! They both checked in on me at the hospital and even took me home from the hospital when I first got here! (thank goodness that seems so far in the past!) |
Here are some videos of the dancing performances at the durbar on Saturday:
I suggest you name your lizard "Ned" as that is a very dignified name for a gecko!
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