School "Starts"

It's been a good week...although the "fairy tale effect" has worn off a bit since I first arrived. I think the reality of being in a foreign country is sinking in.

Katy arrived on Monday. She is from Texas and just graduated from high school. (I can't imagine doing this when I was 18). So, now there are four of us "obrunis." The other volunteers are great. We've become good friends quickly. Maaike is 24 and is a social worker from Holland. She and I are sharing a room here. (We got the biggest room)! Nathan is 22, I think, and from Kansas City. He will be starting Law School this winter back in the U.S. He's traveled a lot - he was in Thailand before he came to Ghana and will be going to Paris before he heads home for Christmas.

We went to the Market on Monday in Ejura. It was amazing. There were literally thousands of booths of food, shoes, clothing, fabric...mostly anything you can think of...it was there. I met a dressmaker named Olivia and she took my hand and said, "You are my daughter." I laughed, of course, and said, "Yes, you are my mother." Nathan was looking for a blanket, although no one here uses them. The only one he could find was a white baby blanket that said, "Sweet Baby." He didn't buy it, but he has earned a new nickname. =)

I finally got my phone working. I bought a new sim card and minutes to put on it. I think I bought from the lowest quality network, though, and I might change soon. But...my phone number is 027-486-2663. I think you have to add the Ghana code before it, though, which is 0233 or just 233. I'm not exactly sure, but if you have the patience to figure it out (and an international calling card) I'd love to hear from you. I think it's free for me to receive calls on my phone. (I think). I am 7 hours ahead of you.

I am back in Mampong today as we didn't have school. In fact, the whole idea of school "starting" has been an interesting one. It was supposed to begin on Tuesday. We all got up early, picked our best outfit, had a big breakfast and hit the trail to school. It's about a 5 minute walk from the house. We arrived in time to meet with Martins, the headmaster. He gave us a tour of the building and introduced us to the other teachers. He then told us that there would be no formal instruction this first week and that we should go home and rest. He also wanted us to think about what classes we wanted to teach. Needless to say, we were all a little disappointed. So, we went home to rest. We showed up again on Wednesday, but again were told to go home and rest. We did pick our classes, though...and it looks like I will be teaching social studies to the JSS 1 and 2 classes (equivalent to about 7th grade). Not art, apparently. I am disappointed, but I guess it makes more sense. It's all a bit confusing, to say the least. Martins told us that we, "the whites" did inspire the kids to clean the school...so we stayed a little while and walked around. He told us not to come today; instead to plan our lessons and rest up for the first day on Monday. I tell ya, we get a lot of rest around here!!!

The kids are great - I love the boys at our house the best. There are some neighborhood hooligans...it's entertaining, though, as they're only about 8 years old. The other day we were actually chased into our rooms and locked the doors and waited until they left. There are two boys that are especially naughty. One we've nicknamed "Cappy" for Al Capone...he seems to be the ring leader. The other is named Mobarric (Which sounds like "Mo-boddy"). We call him "Mo-Naughty."

It's hot here. Probably about 90 every day. My hair is crazy, of course (Leigh - you assumed correctly).

Oh - here's one last funny story. I have an admirer, it seems. The second day we were here, Maaike and I walked to town. I think we said hello to everyone we passed and many more wanted to know our names. White people are such a novelty here. We returned home and were sitting with the children and a man came by the house. He said he had met me in town that day and did I remember? I didn't, of course, but he had written my name down on a piece of paper. So he sat there for awhile and then left. The next day he came by to visit, but I was gone, so he left me a gift and a note with his phone number. The gift was a package of crackers. He came the next day again, to see if I had received the gift. He visited one more time and stayed for about and hour and a half. It was a little awkward, to say the least...as he didn't talk much and my wonderful friends didn't help me out at all. So, there I was trying to make small talk with a tree farmer who doesn't speak much English. He hasn't been back for the past few days, though, and I think he was just using me to speak to Dada (the monk) about some property disputes.

Tomorrow we are going to Kumasi to visit someone that Katy knows. It should be interesting. Love and miss you all!!!

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