Monday the 23rd

Sorry all - this is a bit out of order - this is from Monday but i forgot to post it - whoops!

What did i do today? Well, not much.

Yeah, welcome to ghana.


I mean i got up early at like 6am, i set my alarm to go off at that time but to be honest there's no a high likelihood that i could hav stayed awake much longer anyway because of the cacophony of goats and chickens in the courtyard. I dressed and martha, the woman who's cooking for me, brought me breakfast of eggs and toast and tea which i was actually hungry for and ate happily. Alex came and informed me that he was going to town but that afterwards he planned on taking me to an internet cafe. So while he was gone i had a bucket shower. I should wash my hair but have you any idea how much of a mission that is with a bucket of cold water? Plus it wasn't warm enough this morning so i didn't feel like the chill of that whole experience. I then washed some clothes. Seriously hanging out for israel and a freaking washing machine. b/c scrub as i might in my little bucket of cold water it's just not going to ever really get all the dust and sweat out of my clothes. After that Alex came around and we went to the internet cafe, i blogged and then we bought some butchers paper and a texta for when i teach. I came home and lunch was ready, rice and beans and SALAD! Now on the one hand salad is exciting b/c it involves vegetables. On the other hand who knows if they were washed? Sadly i'd forgotten about this in the excitement of my first fresh vegetables in almost 2 months. That is, until after i'd finished eating. So now i'm just waiting to see if i'm going to get sick. Only time will tell.


At around this time Alex disappeared. As far as i understood this afternoon we were meant to have a meeting to set a curriculum for my kids afterschool classes and the adult evening classes as well as decide what the two of us will study in the mornings. But he's disappeared. Hrm. There was also supposed to be a meeting of the community this evening to meet me but so far it doesn't look like that is going to happen. I know that he's going to kumasi tomorrow. He will probably be back in the evening/afternoon.


This is super frustrating, particularly when i could have spent the day teaching in kumasi. But then again, this is ghana. Things happen slowly and inefficiently. And i'm trying to get used to it.


So this afternoon Bernard and Joseph Junior (aka JJ) and Rachel, ie: Joseph Armah's kids, kept me company. We finished watching the rest of alice in wonderland. We talked a bit. Bernard gave me a talking to about black magic and the bad things it can do and how i should be super careful. It seems that he is christian, i'm gathering this b/c he wears a cross around his neck. But it might not be right. Dinner was boiled yam, tomato and bean sauce and a boiled egg. It looks like i'm going to be having a lot of eggs here.


Another off putting event happened today, JJ, came to me and asked for 4 cedis to buy him new sandals. I asked him if his father knew about this. He said yes, but i was suspicious, so i told him that i'd speak to Alex and we'll see. If his father comes to ask me for money, i'll consider giving it to him. But i don't want to become to local atm. Not that there is actually an atm here locally.


So what will happen tomorrow? Who knows. The kids go to school, the adults go to work/farm and Alex will be in kumasi. I need to remind myself that i'm on summer holidays and that if i don't teach every day it's not the end of the world. But i am feeling pretty frustrated at present.


And so that is all i have to share at the moment. Fun times.