June 14, 2012
Today was also fantastic!
We spent aaaaaaaaallllllllll day doing sessions and lectures about
sexual assault awareness, what to do if/when it happens, and one on STDs. It was pretty interesting, but going 9 hours
on those topics is kind of a downer. So
the PCVTs (Peace Corps Volunteer Trainers) took us to their favorite chop bar
(almost like a bar and grill…without the grill) to have dinner and a few
drinks. I ordered a Star beer, which is
a light beer that tasted deeeeelicious! It
was a huge bottle for less than $2.50.
Even better! For dinner, I had
one ball of rice and ground nut soup.
The soup was ground nuts (obviously) and some type of oil and some
spices mixed together. It was actually
pretty good! But we all got to sit
around and hang out, talk, laugh, vent, and whatever we wanted. We didn’t have to talk about sessions or
listen to anyone give a lecture. It was
just so nice to finally get away and have some social time. I mean, yea, we see each other every day, but
never in this type of setting. It was
great.
It was getting dark so we decided to head out. Angel, Sam, and I were trying to find a taxi
together, but a tro stopped next to us.
We told them we wanted to go to Anyinasin, and I asked the driver how
much he would charge. He said 15,000
(which converted from the old currency to the new meant 1.50). I said perfect! So the three of us got in, and they started
driving. It was just the three of us,
and it was now dark out, so we (at least I was) were a little nervous. We stopped for gas, then kept going. When we got to Anyinasin, we handed the mate
the money, and he just looked at it with a puzzled look. So I said “1.50, right?”. He said “Nooo!!! 50,000 each!!” Which meant 5 cedis each. No way!!
That is waaaaaay too much! We
tried to argue with him, but decided to cave in since it was late, and we felt
we wouldn’t get our way. In the end, it
was my silly fault for thinking he said 15,000 when he actually said
50,000. Oops. Angel and Sam weren’t mad at me or anything,
and we all agreed it was a good lesson to learn from. We’ll know better next time!
Once I got home, Aquia and my “mother” gave me a
hug! They were so happy to see me! I assume it was because I hadn’t been home
all day. I told them “may co toilet” (I
am going to toilet). Aquia pointed out
that every time I come home, that is the first thing I do. It’s true.
And I don’t know why! J I thought it
was kind of funny. I told Aquia that I
also had homework to do, so we all (including Ama) came to my room to
work. It was a lot of fun. I helped Aquia with her math homework
(subtraction) and used bananas as an example.
I had them teach me how to say banana in Twi (kwa-due), and we had a
(pretend) bunch of bananas and eat them to show subtraction. It was so much fun!
I get to teach a 15 minute lesson tomorrow on anything in
the science syllabus. I chose to do mine
on changing the state of matter. I had
to write out my lesson plan for it (and notes, because you have to turn in your
lesson plan before you begin your lecture).
I don’t think it is too hard, but I guess we will see tomorrow! Fingers crossed!
The PCVTs have told us that one of the biggest battles to
overcome while teaching is enunciating and slowing down when we talk. So I have caught myself overly enunciating
the letter “t” when I speak. Sometimes I
annoy myself (ha!), but I know I need to get used to it, so I can teach like
it. So if you are ever talking to me,
and I talk like that, now you know why J
Today was such a good day, again. It’s starting to worry me because I feel like
a bad day should be coming up (knock on wood!).
Hopefully the days keep getting better, and hopefully my fellow
volunteers’ days keep getting better. We
are all in this together, and I feel like we can all help each other out to get
through it. It’s awesome. I love (may pay) everyone. May pay what I do. May pay my homestay family. And I hope that love continues when I get
sworn in and finally begin teaching in my own classroom.
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