2 Weeks In Already!

It’s Sunday. We have been here 2 full weeks now. Crazy.

Petra and I woke up not feeling so great this morning. It’s the first time that we have felt sick so far, so for that we are thankful...but it’s hard to be thankful when you feel like crap. The power was out, so the fans weren’t working which made the stomach bug even worse in the 30 degree humidity.

We managed to go to Auntie Jo’s church this morning despite feeling gross; they wanted to introduce us there so that more women would come out to the classes. I won’t lie, 4 hour church services without fans, and all in Twi is a struggle when you are sick.

Observations I made while trying to distract myself from the pains:

-4 people (adults) picked their noses in church

-an older woman fell asleep in her chair off to the side

-the fans were only working on one side of the church (not our side)

-they sang a couple songs that have the same tune as those in our church back home

-people walk in and out of church quite often; apparently that’s acceptable?

We got introduced in front of everyone, but this time there was no translator. I am glad that our names, as well as “Canada” were recognizable, because that is the only indication, other than them waving their hands at us to come forward, that we should go up to the front. Auntie Jo introduced us in Twi and most likely told them the reason we were there? Couldn’t understand it, but that was the purpose.

One more lady registered with us for class after the service, and apparently there are more which is good!

We walked home, ate what lunch we could manage, and crashed for an hour before the ladies were supposed to come over for class.

At 2 o’oclock, the 3 women were scheduled to arrive for our first meeting about the business classes. This made me more excited and helped me to feel better. At 2:30, one had arrived; surprisingly earlier than I thought she would with this Ghanaian clock. The next got there at 3:30pm. The other, unfortunately, didn’t show up. Hopefully I can get ahold of her soon.

We discussed how the business program would work, and scheduled a time for me to interview each of them individually this week to learn about them and their businesses, and see how we can arrange the lessons to suit them.

They seem very eager, which was really encouraging for me. They were extremely willing to answer any questions that I had about themselves, and I thank Melissa for building that trusting relationship last year!

This week should be busier, and I am excited to really get to know these ladies personally. We talked for a while about learning Twi, and they tried to teach us some common phrases...I am learning slowly...very slowly...

They taught us a prayer in Twi, and helped us to understand some of the things that we keep hearing in church but didn’t know the translation.

Well, that’s all for today. The afternoon was really good; I even got to talk to my family back home for a bit. Goodnight :)