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