Today we ran sooo many errands (well at least it felt like it). I don't know about everyone else, but I am POOPED! It's ALL BECAUSE OF the heat---the pollution---the crowdedness---the noise---I AM extremely tired!!! What a looong day---WHOOOO(wiping the sweat off my face)! When we have days like this, it makes me want to go home to Joanna's cookin and then upstairs to my room where the AC is blasting at 16 degrees! At times I want to just sprawl on my bed and take a nap. I've only had that opportunity ONCE! Jamie and Erik have so many errands in a day it's almost impossible to shut my eyes for a second! Haha...naw we get plenty of leisure time. I love it! You know what's really getting to me though??? The guys (as a matter of fact, one of the guys here at the internet cafe keeps staring at me)! SOOO annoying!!! But the guy who runs the place, Emmanuel, yeah he's great---he was born here in Ghana but his permanent home is in Virginia U.S.A. I like meeting Ghanaians who have been to America because I love to hear their stories and what they like/dislike about us haha. Speaking of Americans...I was taking a walk with Naomi and Vivian and one of the locals shouted out, "AAY! ARE YOU FROM JAMAICA?" I was like, "Okay, I'm caramel---I definitely can't pass as a Jamaican...Vivian's vanilla...and Naomi---well she can pass haha. But Jamaica though???" We told him we were from America and he was like, "Oh! Good good (stretch the 'ooo'). But that's exactly what I LOVE about the Ghanaian people. They are opened-minded, but they know what to say and when to say it. Manners here are taken very seriously. So if a Ghanaian says, "Etisen(how are you)?" you must respond with a "very fine" or a simple "I'm well thank you". I just love talking to the people because that's just how I am. When I'm feeling low or missing my family, I look at the people and that injects that warmness only family can give you. When James or Richmond(our substitute driver if James isn't available) drive us around town, I stare out the window and smile at everyone I make eye contact with. That makes my day so much more complete---putting that simple touch into a person's life. When we arrived at Nima to meet with the students( who didn't show up on time by the way---class was suppose to start at 5, but it didn't start until after 5:30), the other children who attend at other schools around the area spotted our tro-tro---man I almost cried because they had this spark---they were so happy that we came. When Richmond pulled over to park(he was our driver for the day), the kids crowded around, opened our door and started to scream and shout. THEY WERE VERY EXCITED HAHA. Many of the girls there know us and I made friends with them. When I was making my out of the tro tro, I heard one of the girls tell her friend, "Make way for Madame Beauty!" Altogether, about 6 girls pulled me down and literally jumped on me for a hug! WHAT LOVE!!! I FELT SO SPECIAL!!! When we left it just broke me to pieces...when we finally got home, I went straight to my room (you know it!) I just sat down for a few minutes and started contemplating about my future. For a second, I thought, "Where am I gonna end up 5---10 years from now?" You know you just have those random thoughts...but then I thought, "Man...where will the children end up?" That thought just made me want to stay longer! But I miss home, don't get me wrong haha. It's just I can't imagine how the children will react once we leave.
Monday, June 30, 2008
THE SEWERS!!!
OKAYYYY...... WELL TODAY I FELL INTO MY FIRST SEWER! I WAS IN NIMA TRYING TO TAKE PICS OF THE KIDS THAT WERE PLAYING OUTSIDE. IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE THEIR EXCITMENT WHEN THEY SAW US PULL UP INTO THE SCHOOL! AS SOON AS I GOT OUT OF THE VAN, THEY ALL HUGGED ME AND GAVE ME HUGE SMILES! I WAS TRYING TO TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK BECAUSE SOME OF THE FIRST PICTURES I HAD TAKEN OF THESE KIDS CAME OUT TOO CLOSE TO THEIR FACES, SO I WAS TAKING STEPS BACK, WHEN THE KIDS GOT TOO CLOSE, AT THAT MOMENT I FELT MY FOOT FALL INTO AIR! NOTHING SOLID TOUCHED MY FOOT. THE MOST EMBARASSING PART WAS THAT THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE WATCHING ME. MOST OF THE PEOPLE MADE A SOUND THAT SOUNDED LIKE "OOH!" BUT THE KIDS WERE SO NICE THEY MADE SURE I WAS OKAY. LUCKY FOR ME, THE SEWER WAS DRY! MY THIOUGHT AT THAT MOMENT WEAS THAT I AM SO LUCKY THAT I DID NOT FALL INTO A BIG MESS, OTHERWISE I REALLY WOULD HAVE STARTED CRYING! I JUST THOUGHT ALL YOU PEOPLE NEEDED TO KNOW THAT I WAS THE FIRST ONE FROM THE STUDENTS TO FALL NITO A SEWER, LUCKILLY DRY... =)
OH YEAH, AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT MY LESSON WENT PRETTY GOO EVEN IF IT WAS A LAST MINUTE CHANGE!!! THANKS ERIK!!!
OH YEAH, AND JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, I FEEL THAT MY LESSON WENT PRETTY GOO EVEN IF IT WAS A LAST MINUTE CHANGE!!! THANKS ERIK!!!
Yaya
hello,
Yesterday was such a great day. We went to the beach with the kids and we had so much fun. I am so in love with one of the kids in the class, his name is Yaya(BIGDADDY). He has a smile that is so innocent. He kinda reminds me of my nephew when i think about it . We sat by each other on our way to the beach. When we got there he took off his pants,his shirt.and went swimming in his spider man boxers,he looked soo cute. Yaya is like my strength here. sometimes I feel like I cant handle being here, but when I see him smile at me I gain this abstract strength. His smile is like medicine to my soul. I hate to think about when I have to leave him. He has taught me a lot since I've been here. He smiles in the mist of his poverty, he's a leader amongst his peers even though they might be older than him , and he loves photography. With his passion, determination ,and obedience. Yaya will go very Farr in life.
Yesterday was such a great day. We went to the beach with the kids and we had so much fun. I am so in love with one of the kids in the class, his name is Yaya(BIGDADDY). He has a smile that is so innocent. He kinda reminds me of my nephew when i think about it . We sat by each other on our way to the beach. When we got there he took off his pants,his shirt.and went swimming in his spider man boxers,he looked soo cute. Yaya is like my strength here. sometimes I feel like I cant handle being here, but when I see him smile at me I gain this abstract strength. His smile is like medicine to my soul. I hate to think about when I have to leave him. He has taught me a lot since I've been here. He smiles in the mist of his poverty, he's a leader amongst his peers even though they might be older than him , and he loves photography. With his passion, determination ,and obedience. Yaya will go very Farr in life.
blog catch-up: the market, junior art club and the beach
the market: art center
wow, what a cool place. the art center is a huge market where you can do one-stop shopping for anything and everything. jamie thought it would be a great place to take us for buying souvenirs
and things. all the people were really friendly and helpful when it came to finding what i needed. i
found everything plus more there--literally. even a husband...haha, yea right. one of the boys who
was helping me, asked my name. now one thing i learned if not anything is to not give my real 1st
name because they will be calling for you when they see you. so i use my middle name iesha and
that's a common name around so i don't have to respond since there are plenty of iesha's around.
so anyway, i told him my name was iesha and he dramatically fell to the floor and made this face
that cracked me up. i asked him why he was acting like that and he said he dreamt he'd marry an
iesha and i was "the one." hahahahahaha, PUHHH-LEEEASE. after that, he just wouldn't leave.!
he followed me around the whole time. in this case, i made the one exception to tell him that that
wasn't my real name but he didn't even wanna hear it after that.
besides felix, i met tons of other cool, nice people and having the name iesha played as an advantage and they gave me deals they weren't giving anyone else. i bought a neck bag &
two shirts from a guy named abraham--the two shirts cost me 10 cedis and the neck bag was
only 6 cedis--compared to 30 cedis for the two shirst and 15 for the neck bag. how'd i get that
kinda deal.? his daughter's name was iesha so he said he'd charge me cheap.! i also bought
some really cute bracelets and a keychain for under 12 cedis. i went broke for the day but also
got my money's worth. they have so many cool things and it's so much cheaper than back home
and all this stuff is handmade and one-of-a-kind, which i love.
junior art club
awww, what's not to love about these kids. they were so welcoming when we came and i just had so much fun playing games, learning new words to say in twe, hausa, ga and ewe, and just hangn
out. i taught the girls some games i used to play back in elementary in exchange for a new game
for them to teach me. we also played a game that was similar to duck duck goose so we went ahead and taught them that too.
wow, what a cool place. the art center is a huge market where you can do one-stop shopping for anything and everything. jamie thought it would be a great place to take us for buying souvenirs
and things. all the people were really friendly and helpful when it came to finding what i needed. i
found everything plus more there--literally. even a husband...haha, yea right. one of the boys who
was helping me, asked my name. now one thing i learned if not anything is to not give my real 1st
name because they will be calling for you when they see you. so i use my middle name iesha and
that's a common name around so i don't have to respond since there are plenty of iesha's around.
so anyway, i told him my name was iesha and he dramatically fell to the floor and made this face
that cracked me up. i asked him why he was acting like that and he said he dreamt he'd marry an
iesha and i was "the one." hahahahahaha, PUHHH-LEEEASE. after that, he just wouldn't leave.!
he followed me around the whole time. in this case, i made the one exception to tell him that that
wasn't my real name but he didn't even wanna hear it after that.
besides felix, i met tons of other cool, nice people and having the name iesha played as an advantage and they gave me deals they weren't giving anyone else. i bought a neck bag &
two shirts from a guy named abraham--the two shirts cost me 10 cedis and the neck bag was
only 6 cedis--compared to 30 cedis for the two shirst and 15 for the neck bag. how'd i get that
kinda deal.? his daughter's name was iesha so he said he'd charge me cheap.! i also bought
some really cute bracelets and a keychain for under 12 cedis. i went broke for the day but also
got my money's worth. they have so many cool things and it's so much cheaper than back home
and all this stuff is handmade and one-of-a-kind, which i love.
junior art club
awww, what's not to love about these kids. they were so welcoming when we came and i just had so much fun playing games, learning new words to say in twe, hausa, ga and ewe, and just hangn
out. i taught the girls some games i used to play back in elementary in exchange for a new game
for them to teach me. we also played a game that was similar to duck duck goose so we went ahead and taught them that too.
TIGO TIGO FREE NIGHT CALL
tigo tigo free night call
areeba transfer
ontouch call me back
kasapa tigo go go tigo go
tigo tigo free night call
areeba transfer
ontouch call me back
kasapa tigo go go tigo go
areeba transfer
ontouch call me back
kasapa tigo go go tigo go
*this is a hand-game based on the different cell phone companies or cell phone card companies
MY GRANDMOTHER ON MY WAIST...
she don't know how to salute
the time is on six o'clock
we are ready to brush our teeth
we are ready to comb out hair
we are ready to go to school,
school, school school girls
*this game is similar to miss mary mac; very fun
in exchange, i taught the girls slide, big mac fillet-o fish and lemonade. i loved the girls--they were a lot of fun and very energetic. the boys were just the cutest.! some of my favorites out the students were dorinda, gloria, deborah, fati, victoria, eric, mohammed, and abraham. there were two boys just hanging around that were adorable named paul and STANLEY. oh that little boy is CUTE.! don't get me wrong though, none of them take the place of my heart AJARA. NEVER. :)
the beach: tawala beach
we took all the kids, piled into two tro-tros and headed to the beach. it was nice and everyone had so much fun but it doesn't beat Labadi Beach. it was still fun playing in the water, watching the boys dump each other in the ocean (they even got Marcio), and just relaxing. yahaya was so funny looking in his little spiderman boxers just running down the way and throwing himself in the water. all the other boys like yao and steven would roll their bodies in sand then swim and rinse themselves off. seeing them play and get all wet reminded me of myself as a little kid--i don't know how they did it. some of them were in JEANS.! they knew we were going to the beach and yet, some of them still dressed like they were going out to run errands or something. i tried to ask some of them if they wanted to changed but they didn't want to and when we got to the beach almost all of them got into the water. i was wearing swim trunks and a plain t-shirt and i was only wetting my feet.! i had so much fun with the kids and it was great to get to hang out outside of class.
KELVINS KIDS/ THE BEACH!!
HEY PPL!!! WHERE TO BEGIN???
GETTING TO KNOW KELVINS STUDENTS WAS THE BEST! THEY WERE SO NICE AND FRIENDLY!! SOME OF THE GIRLS WERE TEACHING ME HOW TO PLAY HAND GAMES AND A POPULAR GAME KIDS PLAY OUT HERE CALLED "AMPE" ALOT OF THEIR GAMES ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONES I REMEMBER PLAYING WHEN IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THEY TOOK ME BACK TO SO MANY MEMORIES!! IT WAS FUNNY HOW THE KIDS APPROACHED ME AND TOLD ME "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL" AND ASKED IF MY NAME WAS "MARIA CLARA" AND IF I WAS FROM VENEZUELA. I TOOK SO MANY PICTURES WITH THEM, I WAS TIRED BY THE TIME WE SAD GOOD BYE TO THEM.
YESTERDAY WAS ALSA FUN DAY! WE WENT TO THE BEACH WITH THE KIDS! IT WAS GREAT SEEING THEM SPLASH IN THE WATER, JUST HAVING FUN. NOT ONLY WAS IT FUN BECAUSE OF THEM, BUT BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH TO PHOTOGRAPH! I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT.
GETTING TO KNOW KELVINS STUDENTS WAS THE BEST! THEY WERE SO NICE AND FRIENDLY!! SOME OF THE GIRLS WERE TEACHING ME HOW TO PLAY HAND GAMES AND A POPULAR GAME KIDS PLAY OUT HERE CALLED "AMPE" ALOT OF THEIR GAMES ARE SIMILAR TO THE ONES I REMEMBER PLAYING WHEN IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. THEY TOOK ME BACK TO SO MANY MEMORIES!! IT WAS FUNNY HOW THE KIDS APPROACHED ME AND TOLD ME "YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL" AND ASKED IF MY NAME WAS "MARIA CLARA" AND IF I WAS FROM VENEZUELA. I TOOK SO MANY PICTURES WITH THEM, I WAS TIRED BY THE TIME WE SAD GOOD BYE TO THEM.
YESTERDAY WAS ALSA FUN DAY! WE WENT TO THE BEACH WITH THE KIDS! IT WAS GREAT SEEING THEM SPLASH IN THE WATER, JUST HAVING FUN. NOT ONLY WAS IT FUN BECAUSE OF THEM, BUT BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH TO PHOTOGRAPH! I LOVED EVERY MOMENT OF IT.
More flicks! More FUN!
Stephen Manteh, age 16
Jemila Iddi, age 7
Nuru Karim, age 15
Yaw Asiamah, age 15
Mastura Razak, age 8 
Francois Ayiefey, age 12Learning to Pioneer It
My mom's favorite line is: "Just pioneer it!"
And I have been...absolutely.
On June 28th, at approximately 11:00 pm, we had a power outage. Yes, we had a
P-O-W-E-R O-U-T-A-G-E!!!
"NOOOOOOO!!!" we all cried out.
I could hear the thunder...the rain falling hard...and then there was a loud
BOOM!
A loud ROOOOOOAR!!! My poor friends in Nima! Haha- what am I saying? I know for a fact they can deal with no electricity because they live without it almost everyday. As for me, the only problem I had was coping with NO AIR CONDITIONING!!! Sad...sad...very sad
So that same night the power went out, we stayed up watching movies on the laptops. HAHA NAOMI AND KAREN GOT BIT UP GOOD BY THE MOSQUITOS. HAHAHAHA...I guess someone forgot to close the window...tsk...tsk...
OPEN WINDOW= ANNOYING MOSQUITO(S)= BUZZIN ALL UP IN YOUR EAR=
NO SLEEP!!!
All I know is this- I can go home and tell my mom that I actually pioneered it!!! haha.
Kindess and Humility
I attended worship services with Naomi and Karen. Check this out---we rode out to the city by ourselves for the first time---in a cab!!! Yes!!! Day by day we are learning how to get around.
The lesson on Sunday covered the issue of kindness. What a good topic to instill in us. I learned that kindess attracts. And it does. Just look at all our pictures and the many friends that we created bonds with. The power of kindness goes a long way.
"Kindness giving is kindness received."
So true.
FUN AT TAWALA BEACH
Despite all the garbage and pollution around, the beach still had potential (beauty-ful). We arrived to pick up the children at Nima around 2:30 in the afternoon. They all came running towards the tro-tros (type of mini bus) filled with excitement. Did we have fun, or did we have FUN!!! Every chance, every opportunity with the love's---I'm all for it. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I will cherish these happy moments. I won't forget them ever.
Highlight of my day: Watching the look on every child's face- Mastura laughed and warmed up to us! After seeing her smile, I knew everyone was having a FABULOUS TIME!
At the Beach
We spend the day at the beach with the kids and it was so much fun, except for the part when they threw me in the water and I was soaking wet. I got them back at the end but I did end up with a few scratches and cuts. The beach was really dirty and was filled with garbage, but just the thought of the kids having fun, getting all wet, and making the best out of it made it all better for me to forget about the garbage. I know Abu had fun at the beach because at the end of the day, he came out of the water wet, sand in every pocket, and he had the biggest smile on his face. But I am never going to pick up Abu again because everytime I do, more and more kids jump on me and it turns out to be a work out. It's so much fun and I can't wait to do my second lesson plan today.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
MORE PICTURES and MY DAY
me and stanley. isn't he adorable.!
me and my man
me and mohammed. handsome boy.!
me, felix and beth
beauties
cute girls.
GROUP PIC WITH MY GIRLS
THE BOYS.!
New friends.
Michael and Me. 
Naomi, Michael, Me
CHEESE!!!
Hannan my sweetheart!!! He melts my heart everytime.
I got up pretty early this morning because I was excited to go to the internet cafe. We try to make it a habit of posting blogs everyday, but sometimes it's difficult to squeeze that into such a tight schedule. After about 1hr 1/2 at the cafe, our driver James FINALLY arrived to pick us up (he always runds on Ghanaian time). Our first destination- the post office. After mailing out letters and purchasing a few calling cards we went out for lunch at Sunshine Salad Bar. My stomach was having major issues (aka diarrhea). Marcio gave me 3 anti-diarrhea pills so the next time I GOTTA GO, I'll take one. So for lunch, I decided to stick with fries(in Ghana they call french fries "chips"). That should trigger something...haha.
Crazy shopping day at the market!!!
I don't know if I want to go back...everyone wants you to buy from them. If we shove hard they just pull harder! On top of that, it was just a busy and hot day. I made new friends, Mama Unice(she calls me "the daughter from my stomach"), Felix Quaye (he is in love with Naomi), Abraham Sarpong (funnny!!!), Bismark (what a joker), and Michael (the boy who wants to be "best friend"). It was fun talking with all of them, so I just might be back for some last minute things.
Fun with Kelvin's Students
Kelvin is a long time friend of Jamie, so we visited with his students. They tought us some of their traditional games and songs. When it was our turn to teach them, they went crazy!!! Everyone wanted to participate in Duck-duck-duck goose!!! I think I was having just as much fun because it brought back memories from my elementary school days. The kids were great and they treated us like celebrities almost because they wanted our signatures as a keepsake. After a while I got so tired because I didn't have energy left- but the kids kept going and going!!! I played with a few of the girls and they tought me a game called, "My Grandmother". The words go like this:
My Grandmother on my waste.
She don't know how to salute.
The time si now six o'clock.
We are ready to brush our teeth.
We are ready to comb our hair.
We are ready to go to school,school, school, school
Etisen! ('How are you' in Twi)
It's been 9 full days here in Ghana, but it feels as though we have been here for months. As you can see from the previous posts, we have trekked all over Accra in the short time we've been here. Our days are spent in various parts of town- at the beach, the Dubois Museum, etc., and we usually head into Nima in the late afternoon to meet the Ghanaian students for photo class. The heat and humidity are not nearly as bad as I thought it would be, but that could just be because I grew up in Houston, TX. Despite the relative discomfort, everyone in the group has been doing so well with all of the walking, pollution, heat, and intermittent A/C. As Jontonnette said at dinner one night, the kids in Nima are her medicine, and she instantly feels better when she sees them.
Other highlights for me have been the Ghana vs. Gabon World Cup qualifying match, the reggae concert at Alliance Francaise, and mostly the time we've spent just sitting outside the students' homes dancing and talking with them and their parents. Our first meeting with the students and their families was truly unforgettable. Everyone was so warm and open, and I felt so grateful to be able to share in this experience based on the goodwill that Jamie has aleady established here.
Other highlights for me have been the Ghana vs. Gabon World Cup qualifying match, the reggae concert at Alliance Francaise, and mostly the time we've spent just sitting outside the students' homes dancing and talking with them and their parents. Our first meeting with the students and their families was truly unforgettable. Everyone was so warm and open, and I felt so grateful to be able to share in this experience based on the goodwill that Jamie has aleady established here.
One of the scariest moments for me on this trip occurred on Monday morning when I woke up to Erik pounding on my door. I am a very deep sleeper, so apparently his knocking had escalated to pounding by the time I woke up. All I heard was that my sister (and roommate) was on the phone and my mind began racing- thinking that something must be terribly wrong at home. Everything is fine now, but she was calling to let me know that San Bruno Mountain was on fire, and since we live in Brisbane, she could actually see the flames from our balcony. Evacuations in Brisbane were beginning, so she was calling to ask me what I wanted her to take with her in case she would need to evacuate as well. While the trip has been equal parts amazing and challenging, it has given me so many opportunities to remember what really matters.. good health, friends, and family. Hope you enjoy the photos.. more to come!
L-R: Marcio, Naomi, Karen, Vivian (back row), Jontonnette, Bethany, Jamie (back row) and James, our tro-tro driver/ personal DJ.
Gathering on the porch of one of our photo students' home in Nima.
Jontonnette, Karen, and Bethany with some of our students outside St. Kizito, the school in Nima where we meet for class.
Naomi teaching the first class and presenting a color wheel.
Erik helping Yaw (15 yrs. old) with his camera before heading out into the neighborhood to shoot.
L-R: Mastura and Yahaya at Jamie's birthday/ dance party.
Abdia, Ajara, Bethany, and Mastura walking through the streets of Nima after class for a photo assignment. 
Many neighborhood children who want to join the class gather outside the classroom and watch through the wall openings.
L-R: Jontonnette, Vivian, Karen, Jamie, Bethany, and Naomi - girls' day out at Labadi Beach.
Jontonnette taught everyone how to do sign language before leading her photo class on using the camera to capture unique perspectives.Friday, June 27, 2008
MORE PICTURES;;the wonderful kids
my little princes;; YAHAYA and ALIWU
my boys;; YAO, NURU and STEPHEN
the boys messing around, wrestling
the coolestcool RICHARD, KOJO and MORGAN
me, ABU hugging me, and some local boys. aren'tthey cute.!?
CUTE LITTLE BOYS FROM AROUND NIMA
FEDAWUS listening to 2face, a famous African artist
adorable JAMILA acting silly with mine and Karen'ssunglasses.
i just love love love these kids as you know. i had
a relapse fever but i just couldn't miss out on NIMA
because that's the one place here where i forget
about everything and all my energy is in the kids
as well as my happiness. as soon as we reached the
school, i started to feel better and by the time class
was over, my fever went way down.
i just love love love these kids as you know. i had
a relapse fever but i just couldn't miss out on NIMA
because that's the one place here where i forget
about everything and all my energy is in the kids
as well as my happiness. as soon as we reached the
school, i started to feel better and by the time class
was over, my fever went way down.
Nima Children
Boys...
This girl wants to be in the class so bad
Olivia(left), age 12, and Florence, age 15, are hard at work
Fedawus, age 11 concentrating to get her work done on time
SMILE FOR THE CAMERA! I had a blast teaching the class that day.
SO FAR, THIS WEEK HAS BEEN FUN!! WE HAD A GIRLS DAY OUT AT THE BEACH, THE BOYS STAYES BEHIND. I LOVED BEING ABLE TO BREATH THE OCEAN BREEZE AND DIPPING MY HANDS AND FEET INTO THE WATER. I WAS ALSO VERY EXCITED BECAUSE I GOT ON A HORSE FOR THE FIRST TIME! THE GUY THAT LET ME GET ON HIS HORSE GAVE ME SOMEWHAT LESSONS. WE THEN HEADED TO NIMA TO BE WITH THE KIDS. I AM LOOKING FOWARD TO TEACHING MY CLASS, EVEN THOUGH THERE WAS A SLGHT CHANGE OF PLAN! I FEEL THAT THIS NEW LESSON WILL BE MUCH BETTER AND EASIER FOR THE KIDS TO UNDERSTAND!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
IM BAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm back
Hi readers. I'm back and feeling better than ever except for one little part of my day. Today was like one of the best days of my life. The ladies went to the beach and we enjoyed ourselves. The temperature was just right, and I met me a new friend. He's a little younger than my prince charming. After the beach we headed towards Nima . This is where my day began to get really exciting.
Before entering into Nima I got some very disturbing news, which made me cried. I wasn't for sure if I was going to be able to present my lesson today, because of how I was feeling. Once I walked through the drive way I seen Yaya smile at me. At that moment all of the hurt I was felling in the inside disappeared. His smile gave me the energy to teach my lesson. The first part of class I taught the children the ABC's in American Sign Language. They where so excited to learn ALS. They helped each other with the signs, and they gave me no problems. The second part of class I told them when were out taking picture they are not allowed to look through the view finder. It was fun to see them use their creative side . My prince charming is Kojo. for Siamack LOL HERES MY REAL PRINCE CHARMING
Hi readers. I'm back and feeling better than ever except for one little part of my day. Today was like one of the best days of my life. The ladies went to the beach and we enjoyed ourselves. The temperature was just right, and I met me a new friend. He's a little younger than my prince charming. After the beach we headed towards Nima . This is where my day began to get really exciting.
Before entering into Nima I got some very disturbing news, which made me cried. I wasn't for sure if I was going to be able to present my lesson today, because of how I was feeling. Once I walked through the drive way I seen Yaya smile at me. At that moment all of the hurt I was felling in the inside disappeared. His smile gave me the energy to teach my lesson. The first part of class I taught the children the ABC's in American Sign Language. They where so excited to learn ALS. They helped each other with the signs, and they gave me no problems. The second part of class I told them when were out taking picture they are not allowed to look through the view finder. It was fun to see them use their creative side . My prince charming is Kojo. for Siamack LOL HERES MY REAL PRINCE CHARMING
THE MAN WHO MADE MY DREAMS COME TRUE
Kids in Nima
The Kids in Nima are so cool and funny! My favorite is Abu, he is a 9yrs old and he is great. I gave him my lead pencil and he started to wrrite everywhere in my notebook! The other kids are great too. They all have a special talent and they are all cute. They always want us to take there picture. I already taught my class about self-portiats, and I had a team which I was to take care of, and everytime I tok a picture of something, they did the exact same thing. Here is some picture of some kids and me in class, but they aren't student, they just wanted their picture taken.
Lovin' it.
June 25, 2008
La Badi Beach
We all had a late start in the morning, so we decided to kick it at the beach for lunch (just the gals-Erik and Marcio missed out!). When we finally arrived, Jamie got mad at one of the workers there (she's been to La Badi Beach before and got in for free). But this time the guy decided he wanted to charge us 1 cedi($1) each! It wasn't a big deal but whatever. My only concern was getting close to the water for some wind- it was SOOO HOT THERE!!! The sand was burning my feet at first but I got used to it. All I know is that I wanted to find some shade and wet my feet. But as soon as we got settled, I spotted a local with a horse!!! "A HORSE! GUYS LOOK! LET'S RIDE HIM!" I was so juiced, I dropped my bag, grabbed my camera, and ran towards the guy. He laughed because I had this big urge to get on NOOOOW!
He got the saddle ready and I asked him, "Do I have to pay?" He said, "Yes sistah, I give ride to you fo five cedis($5)."
"REALLY??? I CAN RIDE ALONG THE WATER ALL THE WAY DOWN AND BACK?"
"Of course sista, I will guide him and you can go whereva you like."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW YEAAAH!!!" [I'm such a kid.]
The ride went fairly smooth, but the bouncing and wobbling- uhuh I was NOT HAVING IT. My horse's name(yes he's mine) is Victory. He's a racer and it took a lot of hard work to train him. The guy owned him and told me that he's been in love with horses since he was 7(and I'm guessing he's at least in his late 30's now). WOW HE MUST REALLY LOVE HORSES. I was so mad when the ride was over but I was not about to pay extra for another ride. I don't love horses that much.
The girls and I just kicked back and soaked up some sun, and had lunch of course(I had grilled chicken cabobs with onions and fries---BOMB!) I was getting annoyed by all the flies though---I wish someone could invent a machine that would just burn them in mid air haha that would be the day. I loved the beach though because it gave us some time to relax and set our minds on positive things. I got to meet a group of kids from the orphanage in Accra. They were so much fun and they were happy that I wanted to take pictures of them. Oh yeah this one guy was wind surfing and he went out sooo far and them after a while I couldn't see him anymore. Hmmm wonder what happened…a shark got him I know it. Hahahahahahahahaha hope not. After we left the beach, we went to the bank and then made our way to meet our students in Nima.
Happiness
When I'm with the children, they give me joy. People that have been a part of my life have touched me too, but the children just give off a different feeling all their own. I never knew I could feel like this. They give me hope because if they can be happy with what little they have and STILL look towards a brighter future, I should be able to do the same. I don't have time to complain about using the bathroom at an outhouse or about the food not looking so good, or how bad the air smells. This is how they live everyday, and yet, they manage to survive.
When we met the children today, Jontonette taught the class the alphabet in sign language. The children participated in the activity and caught on FAST. They are so eager to learn and never turn that chance down. I was just talking with my group and I can't believe we've already made it through a whole week here. That means only 14 more days left with the children!!! I don't even want to think about leaving the them. I wouldn't care if I had to bring them all home with me. I will miss them all sooooo much. It's going to feel like losing a brother or sister 1,000 times and more. Because out here that's who we are- we are FAMILY.
La Badi Beach
We all had a late start in the morning, so we decided to kick it at the beach for lunch (just the gals-Erik and Marcio missed out!). When we finally arrived, Jamie got mad at one of the workers there (she's been to La Badi Beach before and got in for free). But this time the guy decided he wanted to charge us 1 cedi($1) each! It wasn't a big deal but whatever. My only concern was getting close to the water for some wind- it was SOOO HOT THERE!!! The sand was burning my feet at first but I got used to it. All I know is that I wanted to find some shade and wet my feet. But as soon as we got settled, I spotted a local with a horse!!! "A HORSE! GUYS LOOK! LET'S RIDE HIM!" I was so juiced, I dropped my bag, grabbed my camera, and ran towards the guy. He laughed because I had this big urge to get on NOOOOW!
He got the saddle ready and I asked him, "Do I have to pay?" He said, "Yes sistah, I give ride to you fo five cedis($5)."
"REALLY??? I CAN RIDE ALONG THE WATER ALL THE WAY DOWN AND BACK?"
"Of course sista, I will guide him and you can go whereva you like."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW YEAAAH!!!" [I'm such a kid.]
The ride went fairly smooth, but the bouncing and wobbling- uhuh I was NOT HAVING IT. My horse's name(yes he's mine) is Victory. He's a racer and it took a lot of hard work to train him. The guy owned him and told me that he's been in love with horses since he was 7(and I'm guessing he's at least in his late 30's now). WOW HE MUST REALLY LOVE HORSES. I was so mad when the ride was over but I was not about to pay extra for another ride. I don't love horses that much.
The girls and I just kicked back and soaked up some sun, and had lunch of course(I had grilled chicken cabobs with onions and fries---BOMB!) I was getting annoyed by all the flies though---I wish someone could invent a machine that would just burn them in mid air haha that would be the day. I loved the beach though because it gave us some time to relax and set our minds on positive things. I got to meet a group of kids from the orphanage in Accra. They were so much fun and they were happy that I wanted to take pictures of them. Oh yeah this one guy was wind surfing and he went out sooo far and them after a while I couldn't see him anymore. Hmmm wonder what happened…a shark got him I know it. Hahahahahahahahaha hope not. After we left the beach, we went to the bank and then made our way to meet our students in Nima.
Happiness
When I'm with the children, they give me joy. People that have been a part of my life have touched me too, but the children just give off a different feeling all their own. I never knew I could feel like this. They give me hope because if they can be happy with what little they have and STILL look towards a brighter future, I should be able to do the same. I don't have time to complain about using the bathroom at an outhouse or about the food not looking so good, or how bad the air smells. This is how they live everyday, and yet, they manage to survive.
When we met the children today, Jontonette taught the class the alphabet in sign language. The children participated in the activity and caught on FAST. They are so eager to learn and never turn that chance down. I was just talking with my group and I can't believe we've already made it through a whole week here. That means only 14 more days left with the children!!! I don't even want to think about leaving the them. I wouldn't care if I had to bring them all home with me. I will miss them all sooooo much. It's going to feel like losing a brother or sister 1,000 times and more. Because out here that's who we are- we are FAMILY.
GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CREATIONS;;the kids
L-R: AJARA;;my heart, JAMILA;;my favoriteand MINA;;little miss attitude.
U-D: ABU and YAHAYA;; two of my prince-charmings
RIGHT: YAO;;my ultimate favorite
me and AJARA;;my heart. i love her so much.
YAHAYA;;one of my little princes
L-R: marcio, ABU and ALIWU;;two of threeprinces. i love them.! they light up my day.!?
JAMILA;;ajara's junior (younger) sister.
AMDIA;;one of my princesses. isn't she BEAUTIFUL.!?
these are only some of the students. i love them with an ultimate passion. i cried today when i started thinking about the day we'd have to leave them. that's going to be a hard day. i've just met these kids and we've already touched each others lives--a beautiful feeling. not only have they extended their love and warmth to us, so have their families. i forget about everything when i'm with the kids, it's crazy. i was running a fever yesterday and when i reached NIMA and met up with the kids, i felt better for those few hours. i'll just briefly tell you a little bit about some of them to give you an idea of who they are. AJARA--words cannot describe my love for her. the first day we met up with the students, she approached me and ask me if i was Chinese because of my eyes. i laughed and laughed and told her i wasn't. we introduced ourselves and suddenly she rushed in and gave me a BIG hug. after that, i could never stop smiling and she was with me all the time. YAHAYA--what a cute, sweet, heart-warming child.every time i'd glance at him, he'd give me this smile that reached from ear to ear and he just brightens up the room. ABU and ALIWU--they're always together so i have to talk about them both. my little PRINCES.! they never used to hug people but when i come, they rush in and give me a GIGANTOID hug. we always say to each other "kenerekyao" which means you're cute or handsome or beautiful. every time i say it, they give off this contagious laugh and it just keeps you smiling. I JUST LOVE THESE KIDS--i can't say that enough. i hope you feel a taste of what i and everyone else feels when you see their pictures and read this.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)