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Published: July 17th 2008
Well, I made it to Ghana! My first experience traveling from the airport to my town, Hohoe, was very difficult. On our way, we arrived at a large bridge. Unfortunately, part of the bridge was beginning to collapse. ( A piece of the bridge had fallen into the water below earlier that day.) The police wouldn't let any cars go over it. Our leader pulled some strings and settled on an agreement with the police. Our van was not allowed to drive over it with all of the people in it, bc it would be too heavy. Our driver asked us to get out of the van with our luggage and walk over the bridge. He said he would drive the van over himself and to be careful walking bc the bridge could collapse at any moment. Thankfully, I made it over without anyone getting hurt! This was only 2 hours into the trip and I almost died. I was a bit worried about what would come next!
My first day of school was shocking. Mother Suzzy welcomed me to the school and asked me to pick a classroom from 1-4. I chose 1, not knowing what I was getting myself into. She brought me to the classroom, which is basically a little fence with a roof over it. She then said, "Have a good day, Queen Elizabeth." I was left with 35 3-4 year olds staring at me. No teachers to help, no books, no curriculum-just a chalk board with no chalk. I've never felt so out of place in my entire life. The entire back of my shirt was soaked! The most difficult part of the day was seeing children being beaten with a stick for misbehaving. There are scars all over their arms. I've instituted a new behavior system, so this will no longer take place. Although it was incredibly difficult to think of lessons to do, they all had smiling faces and were very eager to learn. The best part was when we arrived/left. They all were running toward the volunteers to hug them and implored us to pick them up. I felt like a celebrity!
The next day I chose to go to a different classroom. I am now in classroom 4 with 7 students between the ages of 9-12. They are amazing. Since it is expensive to go to school, many of the children that are supposed to be there do not come. It's heartbreaking to think that I should have 35 children in my room as well, but bc of the cost of school, they can't come.
At our house, we have a list. "You know you are in Ghana when..." I thought I would share it with you...
1. You get picked up in a cab and notice a baby sitting on the lap of the driver. (I have a picture to prove it.)
2. You see students going to the bathroom in the school's play area bc there is no toilet.
3. You see a cab driver drinking a beer.
4. You see a child running down the street holding a chicken by its legs.
I don't have much time to write today, so I'm sorry for the choppy letter. I'll write more after the weekend. Miss you all!
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Erin
non-member comment
WOW!
Sounds like you're seeing so many interesting things!! I can't wait to see all of your pictures! Keep the blogs coming...they're great to read!! Be safe! Love you!