I am "Smart"

Yesterday and today are literacy class days.

Yesterday I did laundry in the morning; I needed to do it desperately since I haven’t since I was on vacation...yup, I am gross. I washed my bedsheets too which is SUPER hard to do. They are so thick and big and how the heck am I supposed to scrub them all the way? So I just soak em for an hour or so and then attempt to half-ass ring them out and put them on the line. It will be wonderful to be able to just stuff them into a washing machine again when I get home.

We walked to town to run some errands. We passed Smart and he was just passed right out in front of his store. There is something about the afternoon sun in Ghana that just puts everyone to sleep. No matter where they are.

We grabbed fanmilk on the way home and for 25 minutes, I literally just sat in front of my fan eating my frozen fan choco. It was a glorious feeling.

Class in the afternoon was small. The CAC church has built a HUGE new church building and half our class is from that church. They have a grand opening soon and so they women have been very occupied with that and some of them are responsible for keeping it clean each week so it takes them away from class which is too bad.

I had 2 women in my level one class; Victoria and Mercy. We actually learnt quite a bit with such a small class, not that I wish that for every class, but it was kind of nice for the day. I found a new word that they cannot say at all: “brush” and “toothbrush.” They cannot say the “r” and they say “blush” and “toofblush” all the time. It’s hilarious. Even Auntie Julie does it. She had me teach the entire lesson all alone since it was all about sounds and she could not manage to do them right. It was a lot of fun. We had some good laughs.

Vida came again which was awesome! She is wonderful to have around and her two children, Irene and Chester, always come with her which is so much fun! Irene was sucking on markers though, and had it all over her face...and Auntie Mary? I apologize, but she drew all over your school; on the pillars, on the step, on the floor...I would suggest bringing crayons with the new interns instead? I am sure the rain and the hot sun will make it disappear in no time, and she is WAY too cute to scold. I tag NOT being the one to do that.

All the beautiful little children from the hillside came down again and they were hugging me. We sang “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and they ALL knew my name. Finally! I don’t think I can express to you how excited I was that they all called me by my full name without hesitation at all. It’s an amazing feeling!!!!!

I found out yesterday that one of the girls in my class, Juliana Tetteh, just lost her sister and her father. She hadn’t been coming to class for the past 5 or 6 sessions and I was wondering why, but had no way to find out. Kujo informed us that she had lost two of her family members so keep her and her family in your prayers. She is only about 20 years old, so her sister and her father are probably not that old. I am not really sure what happened.

Next week we have review for the final test and then the following week we have the exam on the 24^th and graduation on the 25^th. It is coming quick. Pray for the ladies as they prepare for both the final test and the final ceremony. They are nervous about taking tests, even though I know they will do a great job, and they are very excited to have the graduation ceremony with their family and friends and receive their certificates!

The power went off at about 6:30pm, so I decided to just go to bed around 8:30 and I slept through until the morning. It felt fantastic!

This morning I went to go and buy some bofroot for breakfast. I sat down on the ground to chat with Auntie Essi for a bit and Belinda was there too. I have some little marks on my arms from my sunburns at the beginning of the trip and they look like mosquito bites so this guy came up to me and said, “oooh. You have mosquito bites. I am so sorry. Did they bite you in the night? You should come sleep with me!” ...no thanks...like THAT will help with mosquito bites? Blah.

It will be SO refreshing to go home and be able to walk down the street without the guys asking to marry you or telling you that they love you.

Smart was walking by too so we talked for a while. It is so nice to talk to a guy who is just friendly and has good English. I appreciate that about him so much!

We read outside of the store this morning and saw quite a few people we know walk by which was fun. The breeze is always so refreshing in the morning outside. Have to put in our time before it is unbearable outside!

Auntie Joe was walking around without sandals on this morning which is SUPER uncommon. That never happens. They wear shoes everywhere and always ask us why we aren’t wearing shoes.

When I asked her, “Auntie Joe! Where are your slippers? Why aren’t you wearing them?” She said, and this is the quote of the day... “Oh, I have left them in my room. I am doing acupuncture (as she walks back and forth on the gravel driveway). Sometimes you need to go barefooted on the small small stones to acupuncture your legs. It is verrrry nice.” Such a cute lady.

We walked to town to see Smart and Cynthia. Smart is a graphic designer and his Facebook page has a huge picture of his face and then a slogan that says, “I AM SMART!” haha. It’s hilarious.

Cynthia was setting up her table at her temporary place, which got moved down the road since unfortunately the man that she was beside before was not being very nice to her. She was very happy to see us and have us encourage her. I am very proud of her.

My Level One Ladies

Class today had a much better attendance. All of my ladies were there today!! That was great! Vida brought her kids again, and Emelia was there with her son, Samson. We brought stickers today and the kids had lots of fun putting them on their face and all over their colouring pages.

Samson, rockin' his stickers

We taught the women, “Our God is an Awesome God” and they caught on pretty quickly! We had to explain the meaning of “awesome” to them, but they got it.

The men that are building the wall around the school were almost finished today. At one point they all went behind the school to the creek to get water and to wash off and cool down. They all came walking back ... hmm... big, muscle-y guys without their shirts on...

After class, we went with Kujo and about 6 of the CAC ladies to say our condolences to Juliana. We walked from the school with them to Juliana’s house where there were a couple of benches and chairs set up.  Juliana and her mother and her brother were sitting there and we all sat down. I didn’t really know what to expect, but the 3 of them came around and shook each of our hands to say thank you for coming and then they explained what had happened.

Chester and Irene love stickers too!

Apparently the sister had been sick for about a month and she lived in a village a little ways away. They found out that she had died, so the dad traveled to the village to see the body and make arrangements. All of a sudden, he got really sick and the family was told that he had died as well. So the family has lost their sister, daughter, husband and father within a very short amount of time.

We said our condolences and then Kujo asked for one of Petra or me to pray for them. That was pretty intimidating. Petra had a VERY worried look on her face, so I prayed. I have no idea what it sounded like, but I was just banking on the fact that half the people there couldn’t understand a word I was saying anyways, and did my best.

Closing the Class

From there, Kate and Diane wanted to show us their house so we passed there on our way home. Their sister had just had a baby a month ago, so we got to see her as well. She was teeny tiny and Ghanaians, even if they will be super dark, are born with lighter skin. She was super cute.

One month old baby!!!

We got home around 7 and I was STARVED. Mercy gave us free bananas so I devoured a couple of those and then Belinda had supper waiting for us. Yum.

Smart even called me to remind me to finish up one of my scholarships. Merci beaucoup. 

 It was a busy and tiring day. Time to rest.