Crack the Whip & Get 'er Done!

Jessica Hunter & Priscilla Johnson

Today marked one week until our return to the States and it also marked the official crack of the whip on writing our teacher and student narratives. Dr. Clerico warned us on Saturday evening that this week would be the most demanding of them all; but some begged to differ. Well, as the day has progressed and the writing has begun, some of us are feeling a little like Dr. Clerico was right.

This morning began with a late breakfast and morning devotion by Lindsey who reminded us to let love be the center of why we teach and to express that love always to our students, the kind of love that comes from above. Did we mention that we are soooooo glad to be eating at Fairhill again? Who knew French Toast could taste so amazing!

We departed Fairhill for a much awaited trip to Tuwohofo-Holly International School to gather final tidbits of information from our teachers and students in order to make our narratives complete. We arrived to complete and total madness! Hundreds of kiddos were running rampantly around the village, some playing and clearly not working while others were sweeping and cleaning the village in preparation for the "big day!" Tuwohofo-Holly will be celebrating their 25th Anniversary on Saturday morningish (GMT - Ghana Maybe Time) and we are pretty amped about it as are they. To our delight, students were free to socialize and talk with us after they finished their assigned cleaning duties and that is something that we all definitely cherish.

After leaving Tuwohofo-Holly, we hopped aboard the tro-tros and headed off into the sunset. Not really! We actually headed off in the hot, hazy, equator sun to exchange money one more time at the Foreign Exchange Office better known to us as the ForEx. Fun Fact: This group has boosted the Ghanaian economy moreso than any other group that Dr. Clerico has brought to Ghana.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog! Lunch immediately followed our final ForEx trip. We enjoyed a smorgasbord of delectable delights including mac & cheese fit for a king or queen, watermelon, bananas, fresh rolls, coconut water, and what lunch is complete without a variety of products sponsored by Coca-Cola, Co.

Then the writing began! The writing continued. The writing is still continuing. Just a side note: we will be writing tomorrow, too! Dr. Clerico petitioned Dr. Pottier, also known as Celeste, to allow his sweet darlings to have a 2-hour break for a shopping excursion in the heart of Cape Coast. She agreed, and the O'brunyi's piled into the tro-tro once more to spend that mean green!

Everyone returned in time for a special dinner with a special guest. Veronica Fry-Annan, retired District Superintendent for the Cape Coast region, and newly declared chicken farmer met with us this evening to share her knowledge about the Ghana Education System (GES). It was indeed a pleasure meeting her and listening to the similarities and differences between Ghanaian and American education. Our American education system isn't perfect, but I think we have the right to be grateful for the stability we do have within our system, especially after hearing how frequently the GES changes. We said our thank you's and good-byes and concluded our evening with...oh yes...you guessed it...more writing!