Thoughts : Fifth Day in Ghana

It's hard to believe that's it's only been five days. I'm still very glad I came. It was a struggle to be at all excited about this place, and I'm still trying to figure out how exactly I have been touched while I've been here.

Water. The awesomeness of accessible, clean water in the U.S. makes me very proud. No one does I dehydration in the States. Here, the Street Kids Academy have a water tank they have to fill in order for the kids to drink. And right now, finances are tight, so the $50 it would take to supply them for three weeks isn't there.

However, they have been feeding and providing the kids with bags of water for lunch, which, in this hot and humid climate, is not enough.

One of the activities in the afternoon, besides table tennis, is drumming and dance. As distracted and uninterested as the kids can be with their lessons, they are so focused and enthusiastic about dance. When coming up to answer questions on the board, Ishmael regularly dances he way up then does a little jig before getting down to business.

I watched a chicken scratching the dirt behind the school as I taught today. It was a bit surreal.

I've decided to ignore all the random spots and rashes I may (or may not) be developing. The mosquito bites are for real (and here's to malaria pills, hoping they'll work). And maybe that's a heat rash on my arm.

The other volunteers (all of which are German) are planning on staying much longer than we have been here - like three months to a year. I can't even imagine what a month here would be like. I suppose you adapt, but how do you get any sort of injury to heal? It just feels like it would be open and infected with all the dirt around.

We have had great luck with electricity though, thankfully. I've noticed some surges, but it has never gone out.

The beds and couches are made of this foam that conforms to you right away, then stays. Not very spongy, but more comfortable than a floor.

Let's talk about the kids. I don't mention them very much, which is sad. They have experienced such different backgrounds than us that it is hard to imagine what they must go through. Luis is constantly telling them to make sure they get their friends to come to school, since that is the only way they get kids.

They are a pretty scrappy group. There is a lot of fighting, with a lot of hits and rude comments (or whatever rude would translate to in Twi).

My group jumped from four to six today (with the total amount of kids at afternoon assembly being a little over 40). Me and "non-vest" Daniel (one of the teachers) had the two student Daniels (the younger one and the troublemaker one), Anna (the only girl in the group, and looks older than the others), Michael (the bossy one), Dubris (the picked-on but pushy one), and Ishmael (the attention-seeker).

They are quite the guess-and-check-ers. They will make part of a number, then look at me for approval. It is hard to figure out the balance (especially when "no teaching" is sometimes being yelled from the other kids.)

The kids, after they have done something on the board, often are told "clap for them!" meaning that some I'd them do a 1-2, 1-2-3, 1 clap pattern in unison (or roughly thereabouts).

We learned something called "2-4-6-1-1-gato-gato" yesterday with the kids. After a slide and clap beginning, you then "high ten" the other person twice, then four times after the next chorus, then six, then one, then one, then back to two until you mess up. Then you point the finger in blame and start again.

While teaching my kids "Go Fish" today, I realized how difficult it was for them to take turns. It was a mad scramble. And it's a sad thought to think that in survival, there is no turn-taking when it comes down to it. Grab for the water, food, money, attention.

The cameras are an intrigue for all the students. They want to see themselves, and also want to take pictures. Mayer I could use that to my advantage tomorrow.

I could think up some things to do. Words are a struggle, so we played "I Spy" where I wrote down the word to see if they could read then find it. Once I said it aloud, they could get body parts, but not from just the text. I think we'll try rhyming and words that start with the same letter tomorrow.