Monday, September 22.

YAY...for another week completed!! Each day at school seems to get better and more exciting. I am beginning to feel more comfortable and confident with myself and my teachings. But with that, it continually makes me realize how different schools in American are as compared to Ghanaian schools. Classes don't have lunch count, calendar, community circles, read alouds; simple things that I have seen teachers start and end their days with. Teachers have a homeroom, but are only there when they are teaching their designated subject areas. If not teaching, they are doing lesson plans or marking homework in their office. Some days students may only see their homeroom teacher at assembly and at closing. The advantage of classrooms I have seen who do such activites in America is that is brings the students and teachers closer. You are able to really get to know each other and create the bond that will help you all year long. Seeing different ways are useful; it will help my to create my classroom just the way I want it!!

Teaching is going well. One thing that I have come to learn very well is the African concept of time and the clock. For everything there will be a set time when things need to be done, when they start, and when they end. HOWEVER...that does not mean they have to start, end or happen at that time. Since there are no clocks in the classrooms; teachers may go over their alloted time by ten minutes or leave twenty minutes early. Because of this I have been ready to start my lesson early and am able to add in a few extra points or questions because of the extra time, but at a different time I might not get to everything I had planned because my time was cut short. No one seems to notice; it simply is the African way :)

This weekend Walt and I traveled to Cape Coast. It is about two hours west of Accra. There we went to two castles; Elmina Castle and Cape Coast Castle. These two castles were owned by the British and Portugese and used to hold slaves. The tours were amazing! I was able to learn a lot of history and see things that most people are not able. We saw the male and female dungeons, the "door of no return" and the last view/scene that the African slaves saw before they boarded the slave ships. These castles can really bring tears to your eyes seeing exactly how and where slaves lived. We also went to a forest and went on a canopy walk. This was absolutely beautiful!!! It was about a 2o minute walk through a wooded forest area until you reached the canopy. The canopy itself lasted about 30 minutes. It was a small, narrow rope with a wooden board to walk on that rocked back and forth every step you took (a little scary and not for someone who is afraid of heights!). I believe we were about 100 feet in the area; above the trees looking out onto the city of Cape Coast. BEAUTIFUL :) The way back to Accra on Sunday was eventful. The two hour bus ride turned into almost 5 hours!! Surprisingly the bus took off only about 20 minutes late (on the way it was 1.5 hours late!!) but it also broke down an hour into the ride home. So we had to wait on the hot, stuffy bus for almost two hours until another bus could get to us and bring us back to Accra. Even with the bus troubles; the trip was definitely worth it. The history and sights that we saw were amazing!

The weather here is getting a little warmer each day. The rainy season is ending and the hot season is beginning to start. Whether truely the hot season or not, it is HOT to me all the time. The sun especially; it is burning!! As much as I love being sticky and glistening all day (haha, yea right!); I am ready to come home to the fall weather!
Hope everything is well!
Miss you.
Andie