Hello Sports Fans!

Well, it has been another amazing Ghanaian week. Surely someone is blessing those rains down in Africa because it has been raining. and raining. and raining. In fact, on Thursday the girls and I had a rain dance and played outside during a particularly heavy rainstorm. Nycole and I washed our hair outside! Likewise, on Friday it started pouring in the middle of the P-4 (fourth grade) vs P-6 (sixth grade) soccer match (which was then cancelled as everyone dashed into the dining hall) and the rain continued for over FOUR HOURS STRAIGHT. I have seen it rain, and I have seen it rain for a long time. But I had never seen a downpour/lightning/thunder rainstorm that lasted that long. I had about 7 kids in my arms at once. They all say, "It is cold, wet! Keep me warm!" When we ran home, mud splattered all over the back of my shorts.

Saturday brought another tro tro trip to Accra. The group from Kibi came down on Friday night so that we could leave early enough (8:30am) to make it for our 10:30am appointment at the Temple! Side note: I can't remember if I have already explained the traffic situation in Ghana, so let me explain again. We ride in tro tros, which are like oversized vans, four to a seat and zero leg room (even for the shorties). Most of the roads are a mixture of paved and not paved. There are no speed limits, traffic signs, regulations for cars, regulations for pedestrians, etc. I have had a couple risky experiences. Traveling, or "tro-troing it" is always an adventure. Even despite the scary traffic, we arrived at the temple about half an hour early. Doing baptisms was excellent; one of the highlights of the trip for sure. It was very quiet in the temple, and the people were very accomodating. Loved it all. Afterwards, we took a lot of pictures and then headed off for Chicken Inn (pizza) and Frankies (ice cream). After eating, our group split off and determined to meet at home later. I went back to the art centre to pick up a few more things. This week was not as fun as last week-- pushier sales people, Ghanaian men grabbing and saying obscene things, everyone giving us a hassle. I was DONE with the art centre by the time we all were ready to leave! On our way back to the tro-tro station, I bought a mango which cheered me up entirely.

Sunday we went to church at the school with the students. They had a lesson taught by one of the JSS student teachers about "Walking in the Spirit." It was interesting. Those kids sure know their bible! After church, a few of my friends- Adwoa, Matilda, and Linda- came over to help me with my laundry. (Long overdue). They helped me get it done so fast! It was raining, so I had to hang everything on the porch or in our family room to dry. (It still isn't dry). I gave the girls crackers and PB with Milo (like hot choc) in thanks for helping me. They love peanut butter! They ate 2/3 of my crackers and 1/3 of a jar of peanut butter. "Sah-weet!" they say.

Monday, half of the girls were sick: Charity, Shea, Kelsey, and Catharine. Our house was quiet and dark. Those of us who were well headed off to school as usual, but even there it was a low-energy day. Lyndsey and I had to leave school a bit early to visit the ATM in Medina. While we were there, I bought a mango-- plus two more to eat this week! Yay.

Can't believe that today is the last day of June! How is the summer going? I hope you have some amazing plans for the 4th of July. I am sad to be missing barbeques and fireworks. Ghana celebrates Republic Day tomorrow, so we have no school! (Probably won't be having a barbeque though...)

I have tried, to no avail, to post pictures... sorry! Thanks for your patience.

Love and miss you all--

Brynn

All Downhill From Here

Hey folks!

So over the weekend we went to Cape Coast and had many fantastic adventures. First of all, we stayed in a hotel surrounded by a crocodile infested swamp! I saw many crocodiles "in the wild" and it was awesome. We threw our leftover chicken into the swamp after dinner and watched them "attack". Next, we walked in the canopy of Kakum rainforest! This was one of my favorite things in Africa so far. You hike into the forest a bit, then climb some stairs into this little hut where the canopy walk begins. There are wooden planks that you walk across from tree to tree. It was raining a little while we were there, so I got soaked! Now I am an official tree-hugger-save-the-rainforest-advocate. After the canopies, we went to 2 different Slave Castles on the coast. It was very sobering and quite sad to hear about how the slaves were treated, but very interesting and historical. Our last stop was the "coconut grove" resturant, which was RIGHT on the beach. We played around in the water, but we didn't swim (sorry Bay). Plus, I ate french fries. And vanilla ice cream (Grammy!). Even despite the ever-so-long hours in a tro-tro, it was a wonderful weekend.

Back to school this week, and it has been a great one. I am in love with these students! It is difficult for me to put into words the connections that we have made. Some things are difficult for me; for example, this week in a P1 (first grade level) class, I taught a writing lesson. As a class, we came up with the beginning and the middle of a story. I gave the students the assignment to finish it-- each one for his or herself. They couldn't do it! They really don't have a concept of "pretend". Rather than playing house or "lost kids", these kids grew up running races, playing hand-slap games, and copying pictures from books or movies. So to ask them to invent an ending to a story was literally unheard of for those kids. On the other hand, some things are easy and rewarding; for example, Nycole has been a bit sick this week and had to miss school for a couple of days. When she came back to school on Wednesday, the students came running and asking her if she was well again, hugging her, and rubbing her hands. Like I said, some of the moments that I have had with specific students is hard to put into words. It is hard to express the way the students love-- they are so unconditional and earnest in the way they love us. It is always gratifying to be around them (even on particularly frustrating days). I am glad that we have been able to spend some considerable time with them; I know the situation would be different if we were only here a week or so.

This weekend we are headed to Accra to explore and shop! We are going to the Art Centre, which supposedly has some very cool stuff. If you have any requests, let me know! :) Our trip is already over halfway through... Can't believe it.

Thank you all for your emails and support! I honestly thrive on your words and relish my internet time each week. I have never had such a hard (but rewarding!) trip, and I am so grateful for the constant foundation of amazing family and friends. I can't wait to show you all of my pictures when I get home! I hope this finds each of you well and enjoying your summer.

LOVE,

Brynn

Wonderful and Challenging

Hello everyone out there!  Ghana continues to be wonderful and challenging.  Happy June and happy summertime to all.

I must tell you about one of the best things I've been a part of so far.  Last Thursday (June 4) was the LOREAL 100th Anniversary in West Africa.  As a part of their celebration, they donated a training Salon to our school.  We arrived at school around 9:30 and were promptly seated in the dining hall to wait for the presentation.  We waited for a while (as we usually do-- Ghana standard time), and watched all of the students cram on to benches until the guests arrived.  The students performed their cultural dances (which I think I mentioned last week), the Headmistress and the Chairperson gave addresses, and the students cheered and applauded.  LOREAL gave everyone a t-shirt, lunch, and a few of the teachers hair service.  They also gave all of the students a "goodie bag" with some lotion, deodorant, and a few pieces of candy.  Everybody was thrilled!  There was so much energy and excitement in the air-- I loved being a part of it.

This weekend was Lyndsey's birthday, so Nycole, Catharine and I planned some festivities. (We celebrated Friday, Saturday, AND Sunday in true Bowthorpe fashion!)  We made a cake.  Nycole actually did most of the work-- one of the cooks at school helped her with the batter.  We will never take handmixers for granted again.  Try beating eggs with a wooden spoon...  She brought the batter home and we had to figure out how to light our gas oven, which was also an adventure.  We did manage to light it (without blowing anything up) and we had to guess on how hot and how long to bake it.  I helped with the frosting.  Again, I will never take my electric mixer for granted ever again... try beating butter, evaporated milk, and sugar together with a fork... it's no easy task!  The cake was pineapple flavored, so we cut fresh pineapple to go on top.  In the end, it was a 2 layer masterpiece!  We baked a cake from scratch (literally) in AFRICA!  Wahoo!  I was also in charge of the decorations, so I bought some tape and made a colorful paper chain and a "happy birthday" sign.  Ghanaian tape is not sticky at all, so it fell down within a few minutes.  Still, it was the thought that counts!  We filmed some of the students signing the "happy birthday" song, and they signed a card for her.  We went to Kofordua on Saturday and purchased all of the fixings for guacamole, which LaraLeigh made on Sunday for us to enjoy with plantain chips when we got home from church.  I hope she had a happy day(s).  It was a fun weekend for me, anyhow!

I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying your gardens, barbeques, sun/rain, and the first rites of summer.  I love you and think about you constantly!  

All the best, 
Brynn

Ghana, Day 19 (But who's counting?)

Hello to all of my friends and blog followers. Yes it's been 19 days in Ghana! 19 days of learning, of experiencing, of loving, 19 days of adventure, new friends, new sites, new tastes, new smells. Speaking of smells, yesterday Nycole, Kelsey and I spent about 3 hours doing our laundry... the old fashioned way. My knuckles literally bled, no kidding. But our clothes smell a little better. I'm afraid we would scare anyone at home away at about 50 feet!

On Saturday we were invited to the wedding of Marco, a former teacher and friend of SOHI, and his long-time girlfriend Hannah. It was in Kofordua, which is 2 hours away(ish). Very interesting! Most of the ceremony was in Twi (the native language), but our friend Samuel who works at the JSS interpreted for us (in sign) and the other deaf guests. It was long. We waited outside for a few hours because they have a traditional family thing inside the house. Then the bride and groom come out and there was the ceremony, a little sermon by the preacher, some scripture readings, and other words of wisdom for the couple. Then came the fun part: giving money to the bride and groom. Some of the things they did were similar to things I've seen at American weddings, but some were totally different! Popping balloons, dancing, etc. etc. Then we had a feast of fried chicken and spicy rice (my favorite thing in Ghana so far)! It was a cool event to be a part of.

So you know that Toto song, "I bless the rains down in Africa"? Well, I've definitely experienced some of those blessed rains. Honestly, I've never seen it rain so hard! It was like a Monsoon. The day after it rained, our house got attacked by these strange bugs that fly around until they lose their wings, and then crawled around EVERYWHERE. It was so disgusting! Luckily, it was a one-night thing and I have 98% DEET bug repellant! I'll be prepared for next time.

Teaching is still really hard for me here, but I'm learning and growing everyday. The students are marvelous and FULL of energy! They go go go all day, and then crash at night. We were at the school last night and I had 2 students who I was playing with fall asleep in my lap within a matter of minutes. One class (about 4th grade) is practicing for a cultural program to be performed on Thursday. The teachers play drums and other instruments and have taught the students a dance. That has been my favorite thing this week: to watch them drum and dance. Even though most of those students can't even hear the drums, they can just feel the beat in their soul. Truly amazing.

Thank you all for your support and love. Most of you are responsible for affording me this fantastic opportunity. I love you all and think about you constantly.

Love, Brynn