Ghana Team Journal

Quote of the day: “Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just listen”

Journal by: Veronica Buxton

The day started with one man down – Nancy took a break due to health issues - and we headed into town for another day in the Senchi Ferry School System. Angie reported back that her letters for the eighth grade might not actually get to these eighth graders until they are 9^th graders – the jury is still out on where they will be. A mystery at this point. Julia and Katie apparently didn’t do much in the morning as there was a major awards presentation being given for her pre-K and there were parents there and everything so a big show was put on and they even had to leave early as it went on quite a while. Maria and I played at being teachers in the 4^th grade, which is possibly the toughest and most unruly crowd I personally have ever had to face. The grade levels are not consistent, but to make matters worse, the kids are just very rambunctious. We tried splitting the class into two. At one point, a student decided she wanted to be the teacher so I handed her the flash cards and said “It’s all yours honey”. That lasted about 10 minutes at which point Maria’s students came back with their desks and the teacher who had been absent to run a 45-minute errand for the head mistress returned. Lisa seemed pleased with her day though she is itching to get at some construction work soon.

The afternoon offered a chance to visit the crafts district – a veritable strip mall of artisan delights featuring mostly masks and other woodcarvings, drums and other things. Most of us bought things then I think wondered where we would put them on which walls and how to redecorate our homes to fit the new look, or whether or not the recipient would appreciate it as much as we do. We stashed our stuff into the van, stashed ourselves in after, and headed for the Botanical Gardens. The air was fresh and we could breathe which put everyone in a better frame of mind. So we sniffed allspice, tasted cinnamon, smelled crushed bay rum leaves and wondered at how different it all was from our usual surroundings. This was all under the expert guidance of Ethan – a trained botanist – who took us to the main events and even to the tree that had strangled another tree, which, though creepy, was actually kind of cool. Angie got her baobab tree, some of us scored mangoes to get us through the week and we arrived almost on time back at the St. James with gigantic appetites – except for Nancy who is still on the mend. Tomorrow is another day. While it’s our last day in the village as teachers, the group will continue with the mission without us for another week. So we leave you with the words of the famous Everest explorer who, upon realizing there was not enough food and virtually no chance of being rescued from the staggeringly wretched snowstorm, got up, opened the tent flap and as he walked out into the blizzard, said “Carry on. I may be gone for quite some time.”