From Sam: Emily's Coming Home

Em leaves Hohoe tomorrow for the capital city Accra, flies Friday morning to New York, then arrives back in Chicago Friday night. Excited is an understatement.

Emily says she wants to use this blog as a teaching tool this fall, so she's going to post some retrospectives. Keep tuning in.

Thanks for your well wishes this entire time. They've meant a lot to both of us.

Sam

Continuing Adventures

Alright...another update.

It was so fun to read everyone's replies and emails and see what's going on with all my favorite people! I can't wait to talk to you all about what's going on in your lives when I get back. Things still continue to go well. I'm enjoying my placement, the other volunteers, and the town and it's people. I've started running in the morning, and it's amazing to to run on a dirt path through the forest as the sun rises over the mist covered mountains.

School ends next week, and then I will be working in an orphanage (picture posted above). I visited it this week, and it was truly heartbreaking. When we walked up all the little kids came running out, and all some of them wanted was to be held and hugged the entire two hours I was there. It was the first time I broke down on the trip. It's unbelievable to see how many kids are without parents.

I am also working with a couple other teachers on the trip to create a class management guide and video for future volunteers who aren't teachers but are placed in classrooms. The director of the Ghana program is really excited as a lot of previous volunteers have struggled with what to do in the classroom. Hopefully we can make a lasting contribution to the Ghana program.

This week we visited a mona monkey sanctuary for our weekly day trip. When you held a banana out to the monkeys, they would peel them in your hand and then eat them. I got some great pictures I'll send out when I get home.

This weekend we are traveling to a little rasta beach town and staying in little beach huts. On the way back to Hohoe, we are stopping to see a soccer game in Accra. Next week we have a group hike to some caves which is supposed to be pretty challenging, so I'm looking forward to it.

A few answers to questions I received...

1. The food is okay, and enough to keep us well fed. I'm definitely eating more rice than I ever have before. We stopped at a Shop Rite in Accra last weekend, and I bought some peanut butter and jelly and snacks, which was a real treat.

2. Our accomadations are decent. We at least have western plumbing (although we ran out of water yesterday) . I have three other roommates, and we all get a long great. I'm sleeping in a bed net every night, which I actually find to be nice and cozy. We pretty much feel dirty all the time given the amount of dust, sweat (no AC), and bug spray we're covered with. :)

3. While walking through the town, I've actually had several people approach me and tell me how much they like my laugh. I love it!

Alright...I have to head off to school. I'm glad the internet was working so I could send you all an update.

I miss talking to all of you and seeing those in Chicago. I can't wait to catch up in two weeks!

Love you all and hope your summers are going wonderfully. And Happy Birthday a couple days early to Ali and Scott!

I'll write again when I get a chance!

xo,
Emily

Ghana is Grrrreat

Hi Everyone!

The Internet I've found in Ghana is either not working or slower than slow, but I still wanted to let you know what I've been doing.

I LOVE it here, and everything is going perfectly. It's almost hard to know where to start. Perhaps breaking it down bit by bit is the easiest way.

Hohoe

The town I'm volunteering in is amazing. The people here are the friendliest people I have ever met, and I would feel completely safe walking around anywhere alone, morning, day or night. I've been learning the native language a bit, and the townspeople love to hear when you attempt to speak it. Usually they laugh at us in a playful way, as they love to tease juevos (white people). :)

Volunteering

I'm teaching at a public school that's in walking distance from my home base. Usually I leave in the morning and am greeted by five to ten students who want to walk me to school. I'm working with another woman who's a third grade teacher in San Diego (Anne). Initially we both were supposed to choose one of the class levels and work with the classroom teacher to assist in teaching the class. On our first day the first grade teacher approached us with the curriculum and expressed frustration about not being able to teach the standards on information, communication, and technology. She stressed that none of the teachers at the school were able to teach it.

Anne and I decided to tackle the class and are now teaching it to every level in the school as well as the teachers. We've worked to create unit plans for the different grades so that the teachers hopefully will be able to teach it in the future. The school was so excited that they set up our own classrooms, and it's been wonderful to work with students from ages six to sixteen.

Events

Along with teaching, I've kept busy over the past week through a number of fun events. Some include going to the market, eating home cooked meals at students' houses with their families, hiking a canopy walk at Kakum National Park (I know Kaeser has been there), and hiking to a breathtaking waterfall and swimming underneath it. (Don't worry...the water wasn't stagnant).

All in all my stay has been perfect. I love the people I'm volunteering with, the work I'm doing, and the people of Ghana (though I do miss being at home with my husband and cats terribly). Thank you so much for all your support leading up to my trip!

I would love to hear from you, but I might not be able to log in again for a week, so I'll get back to you when I can.

I hope you all are doing great, and I've been thinking about you!

xo,

Emily

Update from Sam

Hello People!
This is Sam, sending a quick update on behalf of my better half. Em arrived safe and sound in Ghana this weekend. The trip went smoothly and she's already settling in to what will be her home for the next month. I'm sure this will be no surprise to anyone, but she's doing wonderfully there--she's enjoying the people in her program, the Ghanaians and all of the challenges that naturally come with a new culture.

Unfortunately, the internet there is apparently pretty spotty. She says she hopes to post soon, so keep checking back. For now--she says she sends her love to all of you, thanks you for your support, your additions to her book, and your continuing good thoughts.

And, FYI, she's in Hohoe--which is in the Volta region in the southeastern part of the country. I think it's just north of the Falls in this map.

Tallyho-
Sam

Five Days to Go!

I can't believe I'm leaving on Friday! I received my assignment for the trip and learned I definitely will be teaching in a primary school (kindergarten through junior high). The name of the school is Musama Basic School and it has roughly 332 students. The classrooms are open, so they said to be prepared to hear noise from the other rooms. I guess I might have to muffle my laugh a bit since there aren't any doors to close. :) I won't know the exact age group I'm teaching until I begin.

I'm adding a picture taken by a previous volunteer so you can see what a typical classroom looks like.

New To This

I'm new to this, so I'm just learning how to do pictures, etc.
This is a picture of a fat cat in the dryer.

I'm BLOGGING!

So.... this is the blog I'm going to use as a journal leading up to and through my visit to Ghana this summer. I figure it will a good way for everyone who's reading this to keep tabs on my progress (I'll try to post pictures when possible) and to periodically assure my parents & Sam that I'm safe and sound. :)

I have no idea what internet access will be like in the village where I'll be based. I suspect it will be shoddy at best, but hopefully there will be an internet cafe or something where I can go every few days. Please, please, please, leave me your good thoughts in the Comments sections.

I'm anxious. But mostly excited. I have a feeling this is going to be really fun.

Only 6 weeks until go-time!!!