school is cool. (actually it's really hot).

Ok - I am trying a new thing today. I typed up my blog on my laptop in Ejura and I'm going to try to upload it here. OK...I tried. It failed. I typed out this whole long description of my week and when I uploaded it, there were spaces between all the letters and was impossible to read. Anyway, I will try to type quickly and update you. Sorry it won't be as great as the original, but I am not patient enough to delete all the spaces...I will try to fix it and post the original next week.

Thursday, September 27

I sit here typing in the dark with my headlamp pointed at the keyboard. I'm not so good at typing on a laptop keyboard yet...I am trying to type some information before our weekend trip to Kumasi...so that I can upload it from a memory stick and not have to sit and type the whole time at the internet cafe.

It is Thurday night. 6:15 p.m. The electricity goes out about every fourth or fifth night at 6 p.m. and comes back on in the middle of the night. Ghana has electricity shortages and there are planned outages. It makes everything more time consuming, but in general, it's not too much of an inconvenience. I am very glad to have a headlamp, though. It's a necessity if you are going to do anything.

To recap the week: Nathan got really sick last Saturday. We thought it might be malaria. Made a trip to the hospital in Ejura to get a blood test. Came back negative, but dr. said it could still be malaria. He took malaria meds, though, which made him even sicker. So...he stopped taking them and is now feeling much better. He missed the whole week at school, though.

So, I took his spot, teaching English, Grammar and Composition, and ART (!) to the P4 class (about 4th or 5th grade). It was more difficult than I thought. My teaching skills seriously came into question. But, by the end of the week, things were actually functioning quite smoothly.

One student invited us to her house to watch her mother prepare porridge. We went on Tuesday after school. It was interesting.

Another student has invited us to visit his grandfather, the chief of Ejura, on Monday. I'm looking forward to the trip and will hopefully get pictures and a good story to post.

I love the kids - especially the JSS kids! They all speak more English...and are interested in what I have to say.

More details will follow. Sorry to not be able to give you more at this minute. Katy, Maaike, and I will be traveling to the Cape Coast next weekend (Thursday - Monday) so I will hopefully be able to access the internet then. Overall, things are going well. School is going better, and time is passing faster. I am almost one-eighth of the way done. =)

Thanks for all the letters and phone calls from home. It's so nice to keep in touch with everyone. Thanks to the Nelsen girls for the great package! It made my entire week! If you still want to send a letter, you can. =) My address is:

Sarah Cockle
International Neo-Humanist School
P.O. Box 90
Ejura, Ashanti Region, GHANA, West Africa

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