Ndo!

Good afternoon, everyone! This is Lesedi writing. I finally found the time to sit down and update the blog. I don't really have much time, I get charged by the minute, and as cheap as it is, Katherine and I have other plans while we're in town. So I'll just type up a few excerpts from my blog. I'll write more next week.

6/20 So I am on my way. I am writing with a kickass complimentary clicky pen, eating salsa flavoured pretzel nuggets, as I contemplate the sheer awesomeness that is World Traveller Plus.
Despite nervous and drastically pessimistic thoughts, no mishaps in the airport. I ate sushi with a fork - which is probably criminal.
Was properly obnoxious on plane and photographed leg space and cup holders.

6/21 Flight was surprisingly good. Watched Kite Runner, ate stuff. Slept. Drooled a little bit on Katherine. Sorry Katherine.
Arrived at Heathrow. Good spirits dissipated upon entering the airport. Feeling cranky and out of sorts. Exchange rate bites. Katherine and I exchanged forty dollars between the two of us and got like fifteen pounds back. This bought me a breakfast of coffee and a sandwich form Starbucks.
I lost my ring. The one my parents got for me on my birthday. I put it in the pocket of Rachel's sweatshirt - which I was wearing - only to find out later that it must have fallen through a hole. I am disappointed but...there isn't anything I can do.
On the brighter side, Katherine and I have been bumped up to first class. We met some girls from the program while waiting to board, Navi and Carly, they both seem really nice. (Edit: Carly ended up being a teacher at Musama with me.)
We had starters. cheese mousse or some such culinary delight - it was delightful. And then, main course? Lamb. Yes, lamb with roasted potatoes and carrots. And it was soooo good. for dessert I had some cheese cake. I just finished napping - my seat becomes a bed. When I awoke I was immediately offered a sandwich. I accepted along with a cup of green tea with Jasmine. YUM. I have also peed on this airplane no less than four times. apparently high altitudes make my bladder shrink.

Really late or really early:
I am not in g good mood. Bag put on top of van and got soaked during three or four hour drive from Accra to Hohoe. Everything inside, soaked. And worst of all, I'm not with Katherine or Rachel. They are in the South base and I am in the North.

6/22 Spirits much better today than they were last night. I still haven't' seen katherine or Rach yet, but everyone here is really nice and we all get alone fine.
I woke up early. sleeping didn't come easy; it was hot; the fan was noisy; and my pillow is like a thick bundle of pebbles. But I wasn't tired when I finally lifted the mosquito net and rolled out of my bottom bunk. The shower was cold but refreshing and I felt about a million times better after finally being clean.
It is beautiful here. Despite the trash and dirt roads, the I am struck silent and still just looking about me. Walking out of my house I see three different types of tropical trees - I must learn their names - and beyond them are the mountains, whispering delicious secrets. Up above, the sky is intimate and large. Now it is draped with heavy rain clouds as I sit on the porch and write.
Walked about town a bit with Audrey, my roommate. We waved and said hi to everyone, they all said hi back. The children were the best. Their faces lighting up as we said hi to them or shook their hands.
The streets are all dirt and side stores with signs like "lord Have Mercy" and "I am afraid of my friends even you" are the norm.
The food here is great and Grace, our cook, i adorable. Had an ewe lesson today but forgot most of it.

6/23 Orientation was long and boring. I learned that if I am proposed to, I should simply say that I am already married. As Katherine puts it, Ghanaian men are not afraid of commitment.
No soccer, but a lot of dancing. A group of children came to do traditional drumming and dancing for us. I got some great pictures. t the end we danced with them and the children all laughed at us. The children all loved posing for pictures and playing with the cameras. It was a good time and ended too soon.
Talked to Akos about switching houses; she didn't seem to keen. I agreed to wait until Friday to see how often I actually get to see the others.
It gets dark very early here. Erin and Ariel played guitar and sang for us. It was nice. The trees seemed to breathe time and calm instead of just oxygen. It is intoxicating. I feel so much at home.

6/24 Today was my first day at Musama. I was put in front of a kindergarten class. There are two teachers in the class with me, and they are both very good. Today I mostly just watched and got to know the kids. I played soccer at break. The children are lovely even though I can't remember most of their names. Tomorrow I am supposed to teach.
After lunch, Audrey and I went into town. We came here, to the Internet cafe, and up to the bank. We took a taxi home and I think we overpaid him, but I don't really mind.
Then a bunch of us when to Christ Orphanage. We picked up over fifty children and walked with them to a big field where they basically went crazy. The children were all adorable but more interested in my braces and the others' cameras than anything else.

Today:

School today was much more challenging for me. I had to teach the entire three hours that I was there. We worked on letter and numeral recognition and the children are all enthusiastic and some of them are really bright, but they are not where I feel they should be. I taught them a few songs and played some games, but mostly I worked on different ways of teaching them to recognize letters and to understand what the numbers they were saying meant. We also played Simon Says, which was great fun.

Tomorrow we go to the waterfalls where we can swim! I am so excited.

Lots of love to all of my friends and family,

Lesedi

P.S. I will again try to get Katherine or Rachel to post something.