The classroom environment is very different than the environment that I have encountered in the United States, the classes are a lot more note based than what I am used to for a middle school. The students are expected to take notes of what the teacher is dictating with use of highlight words and topics on the board. The big difference between the not taking is that the student write full sentences, and ask the teacher to repeat what was said many times. Every class does this and everyone's notes are expected to be almost identical. This is very different compared to the States where I dictate and the student jot down phrases or single words rather than perfectly constructed sentences that take a lot of time to write. The benefit to the way it is done here is that the teacher knows exactly what the students know and can evaluate them on what should be in their notes. The notes are the exact same as the previous years also with little deviation. Things are going well though and it hard to believe we are starting our fourth week of classes!!

As for our "home" life it is very, very nice. I feel very welcome and can go and come as I please but still have concerned parents. It does not feel like we are in someone else's home but rather we are "living" there right now. It creates an environment that doesn't allow me to get very homesick because I feel comfortable in the home. The boys that live there have become little brothers and we even have started teasing each other like family. It is very fun and Michael keeps us busy playing cards or watching him just run around. Partey and Michael started school this last week and are having fun because they get to see their friends and escape house work during the day.

This weekend was a blast!! Andrea and I did some incredible things. We went on a canopy walk that was nearly 100 feet off the ground. It was an awe-inspiring sight to see acres and acres of rainforest spread out in front of us. It was incredible. Then for lunch we ate at a little spot that had live crocodiles walking around!! You could walk up and touch them, at your own risk of coarse, it was a great time. After a nice lunch we visited El Mina castle and the Cape Coast castle. As a history teacher this was a great opportunity to snap pictures to show to my future classes. We stayed in a hotel overnight, but because of cultural aspects of Ghana we each had to have our own room, even though there were two beds per room. The rooms were only 13 dollars a night though so it was not a huge inconvenience. On our bus ride home that was only supposed to take 2 hours it broke down and we had to sit and wait for another bus for 2 hours in the heat. Overall this weekend was a blast even the broken bus gave me a great story to tell!!

After 5 Days Without The Net

My second week in the classrooms was much more valuable to my experience than the first week. In part due to the life lessons I have learned in and out of the classroom. The Internet had not been working in the school for 5 days and hindered me blogging also from contacting my family and friends. The thing one learns quickly when in Africa is that there may be many speed bumps in your path but if you take your time and go slow, one will come out of it unscathed. This idea was also shown to me in my home. The shower has not been running for the past 4 days, so I have had to use a bucket and pale. If the water did not work in my house in America I would be furious but the people here take it in stride because it is a common occurance and that has taught me to relax about small things like that.

In the classroom I have been becoming more comfortable being in front of the class and taking on responsibilities. The research is still very difficult and confusing but my teacher has shared his noted he uses to conduct the class in an organized manor with me. That is a very big help. We are more team teaching at the moment rather than either of us teaching a whole lesson. Soon I hope to take over full responsibility of the class!! The students are starting to become more friendly with me and see me as a teacher. I realized that marking assignments is a very tedious process that can take an exorbitant about of time. It may be only 10 questions but when I have to grade multiple classes it takes a lot of time for simple assignments.

Culturally, Andrea and I experienced a funeral this last weekend and saw the many differences. The Ghanaians tend to celebrate the persons life rather than mourn their death. There was much more singing and readings than the funerals I have attended in America. Everyone was invited to the house of the deceased person after the funeral. There was a band and food for people, we didn't stay long but it was a very nice thing for them to do.

Everything is going great with the family. I have been playing football a lot with the boys. My body is not used to the heat and makes it difficult to play for long because I get so hot. I try hard to keep up but these kids play regularly from birth and are very, very good at controlling the ball. Also they play in flip flops or barefoot which is amazing. I must look so silly running around chasing the ball they strategically pass to each other. I am having fun though, and I hope everything keeps getting better.

After A Week And A Half In Ghana

After my first week at school, and a week and a half in the country, I am loving it!! Everything has intrigued me, from the people to the weather. The people here all seem to be very caring and the community is as important than as an individual. I do not know if it is because I am a guest but everyone is very helpful and extremely friendly. Everyone is interested to see how I'm enjoying myself, or if there is something they can do to help make my stay better. Even the children at the schools say good morning/afternoon to me. A teacher and I were discussing the difference between American children and Ghanaian children. A major difference is their respect for elders and people of authority. A child in the states can walk past a teacher without even looking at them and not be confronted about it. But here a child almost always says "hello, good afternoon" and if they don't the teacher will confront them about it. That's how strong the sense of community is, it is expected and natural to say "good afternoon" to everyone deserving it. It is a nice change. Everyone loves to laugh and smile, I think everyone has a permanent smile on their face. A lot of the time it is because of something I have done, whether it is butchering a pronunciation of something or just how many questions I ask. The smile is not malicious and putting me down, it is more of an appreciation smile that I am interested in their lives. They respect that Andrea and I trying new things and broadening our horizons. They are more than willing to listen to anything i have to ask or show me how to do something.

The food is a lot different than the states, they have their own cuisine. I was trying to think of something specifically from the states that if a person from Ghana came to visit I could prepare for them. All I could think of is a PB&J , grilled cheese, and a hamburger. There is not very many things, we are just a culmination of many different types of cuisine. Here there is a strong sense of pride in their culture and they love to share it with anyone who is interested. The food is spicy, luckily I like spicy things! They take spice to a whole new level though, everything is spicy, even their juice. I had some pineapple and ginger juice, not my favorite but it was OK. Overall the food has been good! Using my hands was different at first but now is not strange and sometimes easier.

The schools are very different than what I have experienced in the U.S. I am not used to the private Catholic schools because I have been in a public my whole life except college. So the mass once a week and the everyday before school song is foreign to me. The teachers seem to be very relaxed and confident in their teaching abilities, it is a very supportive atmosphere for me because of this. No teacher is ever to busy to help if i need it. I haven't done much teaching yet, but I enjoy the class. I am in a Ghanaian history class, which is not something I have done extensive research on, a lot of my time has been spent reading and researching their history so I can be well versed in it. The classrooms are very airy and open, but both sides of the class are windows and that allows for a lot of distraction. Also it allows the noise from outside to flow right in. I have to really listen to hear the students and even harder to understand their answers because of their thick accents. I am working at it and getting better.

I feel this was the right choice for me, because the people are amazing and opening me up to be the confident relaxed teacher I hope to be in the future.