Fi Jiam (Thank You)

This past weekend and the weekend before that the younger sisters of one my form 3 students Diana have come to hang out at my house for a few hours. Joyce is in primary grade 6 so will be coming to the JHS next year and Rachel is just learning to walk. Watching Joyce mother her baby sister is quite touching and endearing. One day Rachel took a nap on my floor and then later Joyce feel asleep. Rachel was trying to wake her big sister up so I swooped in and picked her up. And she let me! I walked around the house while holding her to keep her occupied. When she’s happy and smiles, she has these super cute dimples. I have a basket in my living room full of fun stuff for the kids to play with. It contains reading books, coloring books, crayons, toys, and games. One day I had- no joke- 10 kids on my front porch ‘painting’ (as they call it) and looking at the books. I should run a day care out of my house and start charging! In other kiddo news, a few weeks ago I passed this house on my evening walk and literally 3 kids jumped up and down yelling out ‘felika.’ The finally ran out to meet us and then got all shy but did manage to give their names. A few nights ago I went for a walk alone and the same three kids sang a chorus of ‘Hello’ and ‘Bye’ for a several minutes. It was pretty funny and definitely made me laugh aloud.

I’ve been giving my students a lot of homework this term because I know they have a hard time understanding my English despite my best efforts to speak clearly, slowly, and simply (which is rather difficult given the technical nature of computer terms). Well today I realized I had a complete fail yesterday. Earlier in the week I taught a lesson on the procedure to turn on and off the computer to my form 1 students. One of the homework questions asked why it was important to turn the computer on and off correctly. Many students answered ‘If you do not follow certain steps you can damage your computer vocabulary.’ Huh? You might be saying. In my notes I had them copy from the blackboard I wrote:
It’s important to follow certain steps when…damage your computer.
Vocabulary:
Booting etc.
I have no idea what possessed me to write vocabulary before giving them the new terms for the day ( I usually don’t) but I did. And I tried to explain what vocabulary is but obviously I did not do a good job! You live and learn right? Even as the teacher…

Next week I’ll be leaving class tests for my students to write (take) and notes for them to copy while I travel to Accra. The US Ambassador to Ghana has invited us to his residence (where we swore in) for Thanksgiving dinner. I’ve heard it’s not to be missed and know they ordered turkeys so I’m pretty excited especially since Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Plus it will be great to see friends again! Also I’m itching to travel and take a small break from teaching. I found out yesterday that I get to stay with a host for the 2 nights in Accra! Another volunteer and I will be staying with a woman who works for USAID. In the spirit of thanksgiving here’s my list of what I am currently thankful for: cool mornings & evenings, laughter (especially caused by the Engrish language as I like to call it and TV shows that make me laugh out loud), the internet, sleeping through the night without waking on a firm mattress, the beauty of the place I live (especially the sunsets, stars, and land around the dam), the students & teachers at Gbedema JHS, clean water, letters & packages, friends to share life with, malaria prophylaxis, fans, babies (both those who let me hold them and the ones that I make cry), hot tea, love, ice cream, family in the US and Ghana, holidays, health, peace & quiet, good conversations, electricity, the food available at market, books you can’t put down, smiles, community, TP, albums I can listen to over and over, my house, feeling safe & secure, shady trees, changing seasons, having help (students fetching water, sweeping, washing dishes/clothes for me), a newly filled gas cylinder, learning about balance & simplicity, travel plans, and you. Yes you! Thanks for reading this little blog. I so am thankful to have people to share this journey with. I am a blessed gal indeed. Have a happy Thanksgiving!