t minus one month

North America » United States » Washington » Seattle
August 9th 2007

Published: August 9th 2007
 
 


Apparently this website crashed and erased my previous entry. So...I will begin again:

Less than a month until I leave. I fly out September 4th, which is coincidentally the first day of school in Renton. Poetic, I think. I fly straight from Seattle to Amsterdam, with a five hour layover, then straight to Accra, the capital of Ghana. I will be picked up by one of the volunteer coordinators, and will likely stay at least a night or two in Accra before boarding a bus to Kumasi, a city about five hours away. From Kumasi, I will take a "tro-tro," which is a taxi/van and finish the last two hours to Ejura.

I found out today that I'm going to be teaching art to all the kids at the school (kindergarten through 8th grade). I am really, really excited about that! It's funny; I got my master's in "Integrated Arts and Performance Learning," (or as one of my friends says, "finger painting"), which basically taught me how to use the arts in my classroom, but I never even considered teaching art in Africa. I'm not an art teacher, per se...but now I can't wait to teach it in Ghana!

I'm nervous about my work visa. I sent the application off a couple of weeks ago with a rush order and I still haven't heard anything. I bought a one-way ticket and since then I've heard that it makes it harder to get the visa when you can't prove your departure date. I hope I find out soon whether it was approved or denied so that I can figure out what to do next.

I've started making "the rounds." I drove to Bend this weekend to visit my best friend and her husband. On the way, I stopped and had lunch with my grandma in Yakima, and on the way back I met up with my aunts, uncle, cousins, and my parents in Vancouver. It was great to hang out with my family and friends over the weekend, but at the same time it's sad to know I won't see any of them for almost a year. The goodbyes suck.

I need to start packing up my apartment, and it's only been three months since I unpacked! I've loved living in West Seattle and definitely hope to return to this neighborhood when I get back.

That's it for now. I'm off to pack some plates!






Sarah C.
I am a middle school social studies in Renton, Washington, U.S.A., where I teach 7th grade World Geography and Culture. I have taken a leave of absence and am currently volunteer teaching at the International Neo-Humanist School in Ejura, Ghana. I teach remedial English to struggling students in the P5 and P6 classes (equivalent to about 5th and 6th grade) and I teach English Grammar and Composition to the P4, P5, and P6 classes, as well as one class of Art. I am living in a boys' home that houses eight boys between the ages of 9-20. An Indian monk, called "Dada" also lives there. He overs... full info
Joined: June 25th 2007
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Comments
Date: 11th December 2007


Hi Sarah: My son shows me yout travel blog. It's wonderful to learn your plan and the place you live... Thanks for teaching my son Best luck in your endeavor H

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