Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A little ironic....don't you think?
I felt the need to quote a classic Alanis Morisette song today because as I was driving home from work, exhausted from my 8 hour entertaining gig at Carl Sandburg Elementary, I could chant in my mind...38 more days til summer. I can do it. Now it may seem that I hate my job. Those of you that know me really well must know that in fact I do love my job mostly because I fit in with my first graders all too well. However, those of you that are teachers, or have lived with one, been close to one, or just hear one talk frequently, know that spring fever, unconditioned classrooms, short attention spans, and just the pure annoyance of staring at the same back of the head all year just starts getting to you...and to the kids ;). Now for the fun irony. I am now nearing the end of my 3rd year (2nd 1/2 for you technical folk), and was thinking about how fast it has come. Naturally I started thinking of my first year and how much smarter I am since then. For those of you that also know me extremely well, know that I am sentimental and cry over just about anything. I remembered a time when my eyes glistened when I talked to my dad about sending my "adorable little first graders" off to second grade. After that flashback, I couldn't help but giggle to myself. "I was sad? Sad about what? That they wouldn't say hi to me in the halls?" It is sad to see some go but not tears worthy sad. Ok, sorry some tears are shed to see some go...but those are more tears of joy and relief :). Again, it was just another moment for me to realize that although I am no longer in college or continuing my education (until July and I start my master's) I am learning and I am getting smarter. :)
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Brown-nosing according to a six year old
This is the time of year when my students start getting spring fever and getting a little crazy. One of my students that I have a contract with didn't have a good day. On his way out, instead of looking down trodden and sad, he tried another approach. He packed his backpack and said "Teacher, you are the best teacher in the world...and the cutest." Now wasn't that nice way back when, when you could say whatever you wanted to someone else and not worry about their reaction?
Friday, March 26, 2010
Signs of Spring
After a long winter, or really short but cold ones lately, I welcome the signs of spring...no matter how unusual they are.
-Birds chirping in the morning
-Blizzards in the morning, sunshine in the evening
-A sunny drive home :)
-Cadbury chocolate eggs
-No more big coats, "All you need is a light jacket!"
-Bugs on my window (yuck!)
-Really long days and really short nights...of sleep
-Kids bouncing off the wall because "it's warm outside!"
-Tattling around the clock from my students, "Teacher, she keeps looking at me!"
-Counting down the days until summer vacation. :)
-Birds chirping in the morning
-Blizzards in the morning, sunshine in the evening
-A sunny drive home :)
-Cadbury chocolate eggs
-No more big coats, "All you need is a light jacket!"
-Bugs on my window (yuck!)
-Really long days and really short nights...of sleep
-Kids bouncing off the wall because "it's warm outside!"
-Tattling around the clock from my students, "Teacher, she keeps looking at me!"
-Counting down the days until summer vacation. :)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Life Happens...
I initially started this blog to keep friends and family members informed of my trip to Africa. While that was an excellent way to not only let them know I was alive and well, it was fun. I like to write, especially about myself ;) just kidding. But I seem to have been bitten by the blogging bug. Since Africa, a lot of life has happened. Although I am as single as ever, my single adult side has grown. First step, I have made the big final move out of the parents house into an apartment. It was such a big move that we still have the same zip code. Baby steps right? This situation was ideal and I have met some great new friends. Since the big move, my relationship with my roommate Kami is blossoming and we have taken many trips together with our friend Brooke to the Caribbean and we just ran a race in Moab. We are currently looking for a house and hoping to expand our family, our roommate family that is. Not quite what I was expecting for my life at this time but I couldn't have asked for a better roommate and friends for this everlasting long stage of life.
My roommates Steph, Kami and I at our 1st and most likely last annual Ugly Sweater Party.
After all of our races in Moab. Brooke ran the half-marathon and Kami and I ran the 5-mile.
Waiting to go swim with some sting rays in Grand Cayman with Brooke and Kami.
My roommates Steph, Kami and I at our 1st and most likely last annual Ugly Sweater Party.
After all of our races in Moab. Brooke ran the half-marathon and Kami and I ran the 5-mile.
Waiting to go swim with some sting rays in Grand Cayman with Brooke and Kami.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Bittersweet like 70% dark chocolate
Well today is my last time writing from Africa. It is a bittersweet time. I am really sad to leave and I might actually cry...weird I know. I have already said goodbye to the children and held it together pretty well because they didn't understand I wasn't coming back tomorrow. I have absolutely loved my time here and even though I can't wait to return to life and comforts of home, I can't believe how fast my time has gone by here. To remember Ghana and give you more insight of the things that I love most about here, I am going to list what I will miss most.
*Warning: some may be sarcastic. I know I wasn't sarcastic before but it must be something I picked up here :).
I am going to miss: being called "Yevu", our white parades, the happy faces of the children waving from behind every corner and fence, the happy, friendly of the faces of the Ghanian people as we walk by, the laughs from the Ghanian people as we try and speak Ewe, going to Ghanian hospitals with thoughts of malaria in my head, taking anti-malaria medication, the sticky yet wonderful aroma of deet in the morning, the high-carb diet, Fan-choco, choco delight (sigh), the smell of freshly burned coal in the morning, the enormous potholes filled with bacteria infested water, the goats and chickens aimlessly wandering the street and amazingly dodging the taxi cabs, the sounds of the taxi cabs honking at anything in its way cause in Ghana taxis and vans have the right a way. I am going to miss seeing how tough these Ghanians are as they carry fridges and suitcases on their heads, to name a few. Yes these were witnessed. I am going to miss tucking myself in my bed with my mosquito net every night only to wish I had gone to the bathroom before I did so. I am going to miss boiled groundnuts(peanuts) and drinking soda from a glass bottle. I am going to miss the cultural music radiating throughout the neighborhood until 4 in the morning on Wednesday nights from the church next door. I am going to miss late night chats with Alpha that usually turned into late night U.S. state capital lessons because he knows more than me. I am going to miss fuzzy hair, sticky, sweaty face, no make-up, I look like a boy in pictures look. I am going to miss the stickers that dangerously cover the back window of taxi cabs proclaiming their faith in God. I am going to miss Hi-Life dancing. I am going to miss the smell of the banana tub and the swarm of fruit flies that fly out each time I want a banana. I am goint to miss letting my yellow mellow and having to throw my soiled toilet paper in the garbage can. I am going to miss fans. I am going to miss my feet looking tan from the orange dirt. I am going to miss hand scrubbing my clothes in wash bins and line drying them only to have them rained on. I am going to miss the green grass and plants that grow abundantly and are trimmed with machetes. I am going to miss cold showers that remind me of Bear Lake and only to become sweaty shortly after. I am going to miss not wearing white shirts but creme ones from the children's dirty hands. I am going to miss all the marriage proposals ;). I am going to miss getting urinated on. I am going to miss the chatter of the children and the call of "teecha". I am going to miss the petting of my head because of the amazement of soft hair. I am going to miss the pinching, rubbing and poking of the children wondering if my white skin will come off. I am going to miss spiders on me from the flowers the girls put in my hair. I am going to miss those brown heads. I am going to miss flies, mosquitoes, ants, lizards and anything that crawls and does crawl on my food. I am going to miss the staff here, Christine, Atsu, George, Dela, John, Joe, Alpha, Rebekah, Bertha, Prosper and Xzibit. I am going to miss my fellow volunteers and the moments we have shared. I am going to miss walking by light of a flashlight only to wait 5 minutes for this site to load each link so I could keep you all informed. I am going to miss the quiet peacefullness of this town, the fireflies that you can see dotting the dirt path, the stars that have nothing to dim their light, the wonderful forests and lush plants that surround the area. Most of all, I am going to miss the people and the simpleness and happiness they live everyday. The happiness they have of life when they have next to nothing. The happiness that we all should have everyday when we think of all the wonderful things we have even when we think we don't have much. I am really going to miss how much these people remember where everything they have comes from, our Savior Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to me that just like the scriptures say, the meek and the poor are the ones who do remember the Lord the most. It has become very evident here and is one thing I hope to take with me. I also hope that from this trip I will remember every day that happiness is dependent on my outlook on life and nothing else. I am grateful for a wonderful family and friends that are with me through the good, the bad and the sad. I will miss Ghana and the people, maybe even cry the whole way home, but I am most grateful to have a great home to come back to where we have been fortunate enough to have the presence of the Lord in our lives.
*Warning: some may be sarcastic. I know I wasn't sarcastic before but it must be something I picked up here :).
I am going to miss: being called "Yevu", our white parades, the happy faces of the children waving from behind every corner and fence, the happy, friendly of the faces of the Ghanian people as we walk by, the laughs from the Ghanian people as we try and speak Ewe, going to Ghanian hospitals with thoughts of malaria in my head, taking anti-malaria medication, the sticky yet wonderful aroma of deet in the morning, the high-carb diet, Fan-choco, choco delight (sigh), the smell of freshly burned coal in the morning, the enormous potholes filled with bacteria infested water, the goats and chickens aimlessly wandering the street and amazingly dodging the taxi cabs, the sounds of the taxi cabs honking at anything in its way cause in Ghana taxis and vans have the right a way. I am going to miss seeing how tough these Ghanians are as they carry fridges and suitcases on their heads, to name a few. Yes these were witnessed. I am going to miss tucking myself in my bed with my mosquito net every night only to wish I had gone to the bathroom before I did so. I am going to miss boiled groundnuts(peanuts) and drinking soda from a glass bottle. I am going to miss the cultural music radiating throughout the neighborhood until 4 in the morning on Wednesday nights from the church next door. I am going to miss late night chats with Alpha that usually turned into late night U.S. state capital lessons because he knows more than me. I am going to miss fuzzy hair, sticky, sweaty face, no make-up, I look like a boy in pictures look. I am going to miss the stickers that dangerously cover the back window of taxi cabs proclaiming their faith in God. I am going to miss Hi-Life dancing. I am going to miss the smell of the banana tub and the swarm of fruit flies that fly out each time I want a banana. I am goint to miss letting my yellow mellow and having to throw my soiled toilet paper in the garbage can. I am going to miss fans. I am going to miss my feet looking tan from the orange dirt. I am going to miss hand scrubbing my clothes in wash bins and line drying them only to have them rained on. I am going to miss the green grass and plants that grow abundantly and are trimmed with machetes. I am going to miss cold showers that remind me of Bear Lake and only to become sweaty shortly after. I am going to miss not wearing white shirts but creme ones from the children's dirty hands. I am going to miss all the marriage proposals ;). I am going to miss getting urinated on. I am going to miss the chatter of the children and the call of "teecha". I am going to miss the petting of my head because of the amazement of soft hair. I am going to miss the pinching, rubbing and poking of the children wondering if my white skin will come off. I am going to miss spiders on me from the flowers the girls put in my hair. I am going to miss those brown heads. I am going to miss flies, mosquitoes, ants, lizards and anything that crawls and does crawl on my food. I am going to miss the staff here, Christine, Atsu, George, Dela, John, Joe, Alpha, Rebekah, Bertha, Prosper and Xzibit. I am going to miss my fellow volunteers and the moments we have shared. I am going to miss walking by light of a flashlight only to wait 5 minutes for this site to load each link so I could keep you all informed. I am going to miss the quiet peacefullness of this town, the fireflies that you can see dotting the dirt path, the stars that have nothing to dim their light, the wonderful forests and lush plants that surround the area. Most of all, I am going to miss the people and the simpleness and happiness they live everyday. The happiness they have of life when they have next to nothing. The happiness that we all should have everyday when we think of all the wonderful things we have even when we think we don't have much. I am really going to miss how much these people remember where everything they have comes from, our Savior Jesus Christ.
It is amazing to me that just like the scriptures say, the meek and the poor are the ones who do remember the Lord the most. It has become very evident here and is one thing I hope to take with me. I also hope that from this trip I will remember every day that happiness is dependent on my outlook on life and nothing else. I am grateful for a wonderful family and friends that are with me through the good, the bad and the sad. I will miss Ghana and the people, maybe even cry the whole way home, but I am most grateful to have a great home to come back to where we have been fortunate enough to have the presence of the Lord in our lives.
Monday, July 6, 2009
A New Meaning to Fast Food
While driving to and from Kumasi, I have come to discover a new meaning for fast food. When driving anywhere in the city you will find these "fast food" vendors. It reminds me of Blue Comedy Collar tour where he talks about spontaneous buys such as hot tubs at the county fair. This applies to Ghana. Just in case you didn't have a mirror to check out if you have food in your teeth in the car, why settle for a hand-held? You can buy a full length mirror right in the comfort of your car. There are various things you can buy but I wanted to talk about the food. Our crazy driver, who apparently got hungry on his drive was able to get his meal, roasted snails and some water pouches. This process goes like this. The vendors walk by your car and reach in your window if open or stand there staring at you. All you have to do is reach out your hand and there it is. I actually saw one situation where a woman was running after the car, grabbing food off her head while the car was passing the food down and exchanging the money. Like I said, a new meaning to fast food. Talk about service!
Well today was a normal day, I went to my placement at Happy Kids where the kids are, very happy. P.S. Tara if you want some twins Peter and Paul are adorable. Basically I want to take a lot of them home though :). The lady said it wasn't hard to adopt but I am not sure if she fully comprehended either. I am really enjoying my placement and wishing that I had more time. I can't believe that this is my last week and I only have 3 more days here!! Where did the time go? I am not going to lie, tears will be shed. I know big surprise to those of you that know me well :). I am teaching the 6-7 year old kids the alphabet sounds and trying to show them how to blend words. It is a bit trickier since they don't have a big English vocabulary and they can't tell if the words sound right. I do have some bright kids in my class and I feel very much at home teaching these kids how to read. Again, I wish I had more time.
We had our last Ewe lesson today and learned our African names, my name I made up Afi, since it goes by what day of the week you were born and I don't know. But don't be surprised if I am fluent when I get home...yeah right. One thing that you may need to be warned about however. Some girls were laying out trying to convert themselves from Yevu to Amaybo(black person). They asked our guard Alpha how many more times they would have to lay out to become Amaybo. Thinking it was a clever question and after getting a lot of sun that day, I asked Alpha how many times I would have to lay out. He just laughed and said I am already Amaybo.
A few other important details, I saw my first huge African spider today in our house. It wasn't huge I guess but big and nasty and it almost escaped and I almost lost the ability to sleep the rest of the week with it on the loose. I have also found besides big spiders, that men here are anxious to get married...another reason to stay here. After stepping out of the cab I immediately got a "I'll marry you" no questions asked. Wow that easy huh.
Other than the marriage proposal and big spider, life is great here.
Well today was a normal day, I went to my placement at Happy Kids where the kids are, very happy. P.S. Tara if you want some twins Peter and Paul are adorable. Basically I want to take a lot of them home though :). The lady said it wasn't hard to adopt but I am not sure if she fully comprehended either. I am really enjoying my placement and wishing that I had more time. I can't believe that this is my last week and I only have 3 more days here!! Where did the time go? I am not going to lie, tears will be shed. I know big surprise to those of you that know me well :). I am teaching the 6-7 year old kids the alphabet sounds and trying to show them how to blend words. It is a bit trickier since they don't have a big English vocabulary and they can't tell if the words sound right. I do have some bright kids in my class and I feel very much at home teaching these kids how to read. Again, I wish I had more time.
We had our last Ewe lesson today and learned our African names, my name I made up Afi, since it goes by what day of the week you were born and I don't know. But don't be surprised if I am fluent when I get home...yeah right. One thing that you may need to be warned about however. Some girls were laying out trying to convert themselves from Yevu to Amaybo(black person). They asked our guard Alpha how many more times they would have to lay out to become Amaybo. Thinking it was a clever question and after getting a lot of sun that day, I asked Alpha how many times I would have to lay out. He just laughed and said I am already Amaybo.
A few other important details, I saw my first huge African spider today in our house. It wasn't huge I guess but big and nasty and it almost escaped and I almost lost the ability to sleep the rest of the week with it on the loose. I have also found besides big spiders, that men here are anxious to get married...another reason to stay here. After stepping out of the cab I immediately got a "I'll marry you" no questions asked. Wow that easy huh.
Other than the marriage proposal and big spider, life is great here.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Kumasi
Yesterday I started our weekend journey to Kumasi. Kumasi is west of where I am in the Ashanti Region. The drive should have been 5-6 hours but complications with our driver made it a 9 hour journey. Our journey started out with a crazy driver who drove like a maniac to make sure he could follow his buddy in front of us so he could make it to Kumasi. On our journey on the road, despite our abnormally, for Ghana, crazy driver I discovered that the reason why they don't have painted road lanes, because nobody would use them. There were four or five cars passing in the oncoming lane at a time. Yes I did worry for my life.
Today when we traveled around Kumasi. Instead of taking our driver you endangered our lives and had no idea how to get around this town, we hired a car from the hotel, or a 30 passenger bus for Heather, Val and me. Our driver Steve was able to tell us a lot about the town and take us around to the good sites to see. Our first stop was the culutral center. It was more like a small courtyard with things around it but it was a lot of historical items from the Ashanti king and kingdom. A couple pieces that were really interesting were, a treasure satchel made out of elephant skin that the tour guide said hadn't been open since the 1700's for fear of the fall of the Ashanti kingdom. The second was a drum made of a leopard skin that was used as a war drum. When you rub a stick across the top, it really did sound like the growl of a leopard.
Our next stop was the Kumasi market. Now in order to travel through the Kumasi market there are a few requirements:
1. You need to walk at a fast pace when following our guide Steve.
2. You must be willing to change lanes, cut people off, and bump into the to go where you must go.
3. You must have a strong stomach because the smell of fish, raw meat of all sorts and parts of the animal's bodies will surely make you want to throw up.
4. You must be good at manuevering not only your body but your head around the large, and I mean large items the women are carrying on their head.
5. You must have eyes on your thighs, feet and all sides of your head so as to not step or bump into the raw meat on wooden platters in all directions.
6. You must be willing to walk around in hot, humid weather, that absorbs the smell of fish by the way.
**If you should survive the market, without feeling nausea, getting some kind of liquid on you, not getting your feet ran over by a big cart or being separated from your group, consider yourself lucky:).
The Kumasi market was really quite the experience. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of the animal hooves, and large snails, among the other things because the people were afraid that us Americans were going to sell their ideas in the states :). So all of you that are tempted...don't! Kumasi market for me was more a place to be survived rather than a place to shop. But with that and malaria, I think I can call this trip a success!
Today when we traveled around Kumasi. Instead of taking our driver you endangered our lives and had no idea how to get around this town, we hired a car from the hotel, or a 30 passenger bus for Heather, Val and me. Our driver Steve was able to tell us a lot about the town and take us around to the good sites to see. Our first stop was the culutral center. It was more like a small courtyard with things around it but it was a lot of historical items from the Ashanti king and kingdom. A couple pieces that were really interesting were, a treasure satchel made out of elephant skin that the tour guide said hadn't been open since the 1700's for fear of the fall of the Ashanti kingdom. The second was a drum made of a leopard skin that was used as a war drum. When you rub a stick across the top, it really did sound like the growl of a leopard.
Our next stop was the Kumasi market. Now in order to travel through the Kumasi market there are a few requirements:
1. You need to walk at a fast pace when following our guide Steve.
2. You must be willing to change lanes, cut people off, and bump into the to go where you must go.
3. You must have a strong stomach because the smell of fish, raw meat of all sorts and parts of the animal's bodies will surely make you want to throw up.
4. You must be good at manuevering not only your body but your head around the large, and I mean large items the women are carrying on their head.
5. You must have eyes on your thighs, feet and all sides of your head so as to not step or bump into the raw meat on wooden platters in all directions.
6. You must be willing to walk around in hot, humid weather, that absorbs the smell of fish by the way.
**If you should survive the market, without feeling nausea, getting some kind of liquid on you, not getting your feet ran over by a big cart or being separated from your group, consider yourself lucky:).
The Kumasi market was really quite the experience. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get pictures of the animal hooves, and large snails, among the other things because the people were afraid that us Americans were going to sell their ideas in the states :). So all of you that are tempted...don't! Kumasi market for me was more a place to be survived rather than a place to shop. But with that and malaria, I think I can call this trip a success!
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