I believe I forgot to mention in my last blog entry that I have been teaching alone in the class with brief interjections from my teacher when needed. One of my classes is very inquisitive and asks very detailed questions that I may not know the answer to or struggle to explain. So my teacher will help me by giving them the background knowledge. Other than that I have been teaching my students. It is very rewarding when the students are interested in the material and would like to know more information than what I am giving them. It has been going pretty smoothly. I am starting to feel like an adult! Being away from home, getting up everyday to go to a job that doesn't pay enough (or in my case nothing, i pay to go), its very humbling and fun.

This last weekend was our most adventurous yet, we went to see some waterfalls an hours hike into the forest. It was a very beautiful walk that crossed 9 rivers and had beautiful plant life. The guide found some berries for us to try, blackberries(nothing like our black berries) and a berry that tasted like pure sugar. The sugar berries were good, but they left the taste of sugar in your mouth for nearly an hour, everything I ate or drank tasted like sugar. When we arrived at the falls I was amazed how large it actually was, and how cold the spray from pool was. It felt like I was walking into a storm. It was very refreshing after a long humid hike to reach them. There was a vine almost 7 feet off the ground that Andrea and I managed to clime onto and use as a swing. It was a lot of fun. The man who showed us around the town and kept track of us, Anthony, was very nice and really helpful.

I am starting to get excited about leaving because the thought of being with friends and starting a new school makes me want to be home. But at the same time I am very sad that the time here has gone by so fast, and thinking about leaving my new "black family" (as we call it) tugs at my heart. It will be a sad and emotional day when I have leave here because I have made a lot of new friends and family. The students are a treat and I know I will miss them. So it is going to be a bitter sweet departure from this gorgeous but hot country.

Africa being a great place of unexpected delays I have not been able to blog until today. Monday the day I usually write about the previous week and weekend the Internet did not work. So I was forced to deal with the inconvenience and move ahead. I was planning on doing it Tuesday but I found out that Tuesday was a holiday for the school and many workplaces. It was the end of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, so we decided to enjoy the day by venturing into a market and botanical gardens.

It is hard for me to believe that in 2 1/2 weeks we have to leave this beautiful place and even harder to believe we have been here for nearly 5 weeks. I have picked up on my teaching an getting better, the students are starting to respect me, but that has not translated into better grades. I corrected a quiz they were given on Friday and the students did not fair very well. It was disappointing. I have to find out what caused these poor results because they knew they were having the quiz so they had time to study, whether they did is another story. Other than that the class is going well. I am excited to come back and compare the two school systems. There are many differences and both could probably learn from the other, and I am hoping to be the bridge to connect them.

Andrea and I decided on Saturday to venture out on our own and go to the market to get gifts for friends and family. I was nervous to go because I am not good or comfortable with bargaining. When getting out of the overpriced taxi we were bombarded by warm welcomes into the many stalls. It was hard to say no to the invitations but after visiting the first 3 shops we quickly learned to keep walking and say no. They didn't bother me as much as they did Andrea because they could tell she was eager to see jewelry, while I on the other hand didn't look interested. Auntie gave us some valuable info about the markets and it is that whatever they say offer about 40% of that and then settle on a price a little above half the original. Even after doing that I know we still got ripped off but I'm only here once and it is still cheaper than at home. Also the people here need the money more than I do so I do not feel horrible for maybe paying a cedi or 2 more than I probably should have.

On Sunday everyone played soccer, even Andrea! It was her first time playing here and she said she really liked it. Everyone was excited and when the boys saw her play they were surprised and very happy she was playing. That day decided to be extremely sunny and hot so it was tough to play in but we were having so much fun that dehydration couldn't stop us. A cold shower never felt so good in my life after playing with everyone on Sunday.

Over the Holiday Auntie took us to a new market and had us pick out some fabric so we could have a shirt or dress made. The market wasn't busy but I could still barely handle it in the market because the walk ways were so narrow and there was zero circulation. It was worth it though to get some nice fabric. Later that day we went to the botanical gardens, which was mostly just trees, and had a blast. It was a long trip to get to the gardens because it is high in hills. The trees were five times larger than any I have seen at home. There was this one tree that was hollow and I stood inside of it, it was the craziest thing.

It was a great week, and it is sad that soon these incredible adventures and learning experiences will be over.