"Yes mom, I do actually go to class!"

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So this past week I spent most of the time recuperating from all the crazy travel of the last couple weeks. Monday and Tuesday I spent cleaning up my room and unpacking and just catching up on sleep. I had a ton of laundry to do and sorry to disappoint you mom, but my handwashing clothes days are over. I did give it a shot, and lets just say it was a terrible failure. I have never been very good at laundry even with a machine back home. My idea of laundry is just throwing everything in and putting in detergent and hoping for the best. My handwashing efforts resulted in a couple of torn t-shirts and some really stiff clothes. I don't think I rinsed all the soap out or something. So now I resort to paying the cleaning ladies at the hostel to do it for me. They're really nice and enjoy the extra money and I enjoy the added convenience so its a win/ win situation!

Hanging around the hostel that long can get really old really quick and around Wednesday I started getting a little stir crazy. I went with Bethany to Teshie to go back to the school. I felt bad because I have been traveling so much and sort of abandoned them, but when I got back to the school I was just really frustrated with them. Right before we left we all sat down together and had a staff meeting where we discussed some changes that needed to be made and we hoped to redirect and refocus the guys. They were really optimistic and open to our opinions and we had a great talk. Then we leave for 2 weeks and come back to the same exact school. We walked in at 10:30 and sure enough the kids are running around like animals and all the teachers are in the office playing on the internet. Seriously guys? We talked about this... So that was tough, but then we had a little meeting and set goals for the day. Then we sent them out to teach the children while Bethany and I worked on administrative tasks. We are planning an even in a couple weeks were we would like for some organizations to come to the school and talk to the community about various health related topics such as STD/AIDS prevention, malaria, dental care, etc. We also would like for some dentists to come to the school and provide dental screenings for the children. We typed up letters requesting help from organizations and they were supposed to go out the next day. Long story short, Bethany got to the school the next morning at 7 am to go with Michael and delivery the letters. At 11 am Michael was still dilly dallying around and Bethany got so frustrated she just walked out. Before she left, she had a stern chat with them and supposedly they finally got the letters out. I am just having a really hard time staying focused and modivated to keep helping out this organization. It's really hard when they don't have the drive or work ethic to make the dreams become a reality. We have tried to direct them but at some point there is only so much we can do. It doesn't help any that they are volunteers as well, not employees so there really isn't much motivation for them to do a great job versus just half assing it. This week Rodney (the founder) is coming from America so hopefully that will help a lot.

Thursday I went to my religion class (yes, believe it or not, I DO go to classes here!!) and afterwards we went to a pool in Legon. A friend of mine here, Sonja, had to go home because she has been having a lot of health problems while she has been here and they couldn't figure out what was wrong so she had to go home to get proper medical care. It really sucked but made me feel better knowing that if I did get really sick while I am here, ISEP has my back. Well we went with her to the pool to spend some time with her before she left and then we headed to the wonderful Haveli's Indian Restaurant for dinner. Me and Bethany go there probably atleast once a week. The owner has gotten to know us now and we have a little routine down so that is a little scary! Maybe we should start trying out other places to eat?

Friday is my big class day, I have 3 classes which doesn't sound that big of a deal, but the classes are 2 hours long! So basically I am in class all day and Fridays kind of suck for that aspect. For lunch I met up with this guy Vincent who is in 2 of my Sociology classes and I talk to, but haven't gotten to hang out with him too much so it was nice to build that friendship some more.

Friday night we decided to go to Champs again for karoke and of course I sang. Sweet Home Alabama. Didn't quite have the same response as it does back home at LSU. Looking out into the crowd of Ghanaians just blankly staring at you while you and Beth belt it out and sing to the obrunis rocking out in the back of the room doesn't quite have the same feel as it does back home when the whole crowd sings along. Believe it or not, I actually missed the South at that moment. It was a fun night with friends but it ended with a little bit of drama. Bethany discovered that boys will be boys, regardless of where in the world you are. So I guess it's not a cultural thing, its just something attached to the Y Chromosome (or is it x chromosome? I dont know, freshman year biology is kind of a blur).

Whats the best way to forget about boys? Girls weekend!! Plus our hostel is out of water and they said it wouldnt be fixed until Monday at the latest so we definitely had to get out of there. We headed to Kokrobite which is a small beach town on the other side of Accra. Far enough to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life, but close enough for it to be an easy trip there.

Kokrobite was such a cool little village. There were a lot of Rastafarians just doing their own hippie thing and enjoying the beach adn we just relaxed and worked on our tans. The hotel we stayed at was so cool!! Big Milly's Backyard. There is no Big Milly. But it is the local hang out spot on Saturday nights when they have live music. When we got there we were lucky to get a room because they were pretty much booked up, but they fit us in at the House. We weren't sure what that meant, but turns out its the penthouse of Big Milly's beach huts! We walked in and had our own living room and kitchen area!! And a bedroom with an indoor bathroom and shower!!!!! Living the high life! After the guy left we noticed the stairs and went up them to find another bedroom and a huge balcony! Are you serious?! this girls weekend could get any better could it? Well then we found an Italian restaurant down the road and yup, sure enough, we hit the jackpot!

So after a great weekend of relaxation and reading on the beach, we headed back to Accra today. I started to realize this weekend that time has gone by so quickly since I've been here!! I only have like 6 or 7 more weeks!! That's so crazy! But then I look back at all my pictures and everything I have done and just think, wow, I have seen a lot this semester and been through a lot. I have learned so much about the world around me, but also about myself. I don't know if I have changed yet, I guess I'll find out when I get home. But I have definitely learned more about myself and what I am capable of accomplishing and what I stand for. Looking back, I wouldnt change a thing.

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