Ghana Team Journal

Quote of the day: “The best mind-altering drug is truth.” –Lily Tomlin

Journal by: Nancy

A soft breeze blew through the window, the curtains fluttering. And with that, they were gone. Today, we said goodbye to Carl, his grandson, Tyler, Pat and her granddaughter, Samantha. We had only known each other for one week (this is hard to believe!), and yet I feel like we are all old friends. The presence of Carl and Pat were especially reassuring to us as they had previously been to Ghana with Global Volunteers. Their sense of humor, kindness and welcoming spirit really set the tone right from the beginning and we will really miss them. Tyler and Sam were just a joy; teenagers with courage, spunk, and incredibly good manners. Even in just one week, we saw them grow and mature.

So, our day! Today is Friday, and I am quite sure that those of us who are staying here longer are grateful for the fantastic week we’ve just had, but also for the weekend break! Each day has its routines, plus unexpected challenges and delights. I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in my life! Here is our typical morning routine:

Get up around 6:15 a.m. Take a shower. Remember to take malaria pill and put on bug spray. Eat breakfast. Have our morning meeting. Walk through the community to our jobs at different schools and construction. Arrive. Sweat buckets. Drink water. Teach (or construct!) Drink more water. Sweat some more. Walk back through community. Children grab our hands, ask for photos, and accompany us cheerfully as we walk back towards the guesthouse. Arrive in our rooms. Rip off sweat-drenched clothes. Take shower. Put on clean clothes. Inhale a delicious lunch (today was rice balls and peanut soup). Go back to our rooms and rest. Put on more bug spray. Walk with our group through the community and arrive at the library by 3 p.m. Sweat. Drink water. Read to children. Sweat some more. At 4 p.m., we head back to our guesthouse, the children holding our hands with sweet smiles. We say goodbye to them for the day. Arrive at guesthouse. Rip off our clothes, drenched in sweat. Collapse on our beds under the mosquito nets and rest before dinner. Eat at 7 p.m., hang out together and talk, maybe play a game. Go to our rooms and try to get a good night’s rest.

Lunch was fantastic. Bless, our cook, served us more traditional food – rice balls and peanut soup. Plus mangoes. Delicious! A lovely woman had brought various fabrics, shirts and jewelry to sell to us. Many bought some items from her. All beautiful and reasonably priced. We then said our goodbyes to the Minnesota gang, culminating in a group photo in the courtyard.

I have to give Katie and Julia the “teachers of the day” award! After less than a day’s notice, they created a well-conceived plan to teach their 50+ kindergarteners about the alphabet and shapes. (Their teacher was away at a funeral and the “disciplinarian” did little to help.) From the looks of their classroom when we swung by to pick them up for lunch, it was obvious that they had conducted a highly effective lesson using limited materials, lots of ingenuity, and plenty of spirit.

After a delicious lunch, we did some shopping right in our guesthouse! A woman had brought jewelry, shirts, fabrics and more, and we had fun picking items to bring home to family and friends.

Samuel (the librarian) had to go to a funeral, too, (probably the same one) so the library was closed and we had the afternoon off. After some rest, we decided to go to the Volta Hotel again to use their Wi-Fi and computers. Veronica had hoped to go swimming, but sadly, the pool closed at 5 p.m. Next time, we’ll get an earlier start.

We returned to the guesthouse, ate another great meal, hung out and shared musical favorites, and collapsed in our beds.

Of course, our thoughts are always with Maria, who has been sick all week. She is doing her best to rally herself and join in what she can, but clearly she is suffering.