ERASERS ARE NOT CANDY! Do not try this at home!

By: Priscilla and Jessica

Today began with an inspiring word from the one and only Pastor Clerico. He reminded us of how big the Lord is and how much he loves us all. After a scrumptious breakfast we jumped in the tro tro’s and skedaddled to St. Cyprian's Basic School in Efutu-Koforidua. We were greeted with smiling faces and open arms. The children were very excited to see us once again. A quick walk through the school and you would be able to hear all of the songs that we taught them two weeks ago. During break time our team was busy asking questions and gathering information to add to our teacher and student narratives. They are really starting to come together.

After our morning at St Cyprian’s, the tro tro’s split up into different directions. One tro tro left for Fairhill while the other traveled to Abaasa Village to deliver books for their new library. They were delighted to receive them and cheered with excitement. Unfortunately, there was no Christmas music in the background to set the mood (as was the case when we visited Abaasa two weeks ago). While waiting, some of the village children snacked on erasers. Maybe snacked on is not the correct phrase - more like demolished. The children thought the erasers were candy. Liz and Lindsey tried to fix the “sticky situation” by attempting to give them real toffies (candies are referred to as “toffies” in Ghana). The kids wanted nothing to do with the “real” candy because they clearly had a bad taste in their mouth already. It is obvious that we have made an indelible impact on the children in Abassa Village. We’re sure their digestive system will thank us later this evening.

After the return of the second tro tro everyone joined together again for lunch including chicken light soup over rice and fresh rolls. Lunch was very quiet today. Dr. C told us that the exhaustion we were experiencing was a combination of the sun and heat. So what do you do when you’re completely exhausted? You take a nap! We slept so hard that Dr. C made house calls to each of the rooms to ensure that we were actually awake and preparing to leave for our afternoon Fante lesson. We just love Mr. Thomas Baidoo and his gentle way of teaching us his native language and about the history of the Fante people.

On our way back to Fairhill the red tro tro picked up the driver's son Samuel. The group fell in love with him last year and the bond is even stronger this year. He has a special fancy for Lindsey. To show his appreciation of their friendship he presented her with two beautiful dresses. The expression on his face was priceless. It turns out that the eleven year old boy has really good taste. It was a priceless moment for the entire group! Cost of the fabric about 20 Cedis, cost to get the dresses made about 15 Cedis, expression on Lindsey's and Samuel's faces PRICELESS!

Dinner soon followed after our return. Can you say popcorn shrimp? I think we can say that again. Everybody now...POPCORN SHRIMP! The kitchen staff has an amazing recipe for frying shrimp and I think it is fair to say that the POPCORN SHRIMP REALLY BLESSED OUR LIVES TONIGHT! We will never be the same! Don’t you wish you sat at our dinner table tonight. See a member of the TLG Team for your opportunity to learn how to make this delectable snack that everyone is sure to love. Our evening concluded with black-outs and power outages. Who knew how dark it could get in Africa. Thank God for cell phones, Kindles, and flashlights because they were definitely useful in guiding us safely to our rooms tonight. It has been another wonderful day here in lovely Cape Coast but it’s beginning to set in that our trip is coming to a close. We are all experiencing bittersweet moments here and there, and are so grateful for the opportunity that we have been granted. Shout out to the U.S. Department of Education! As our kids would say...”Good lookin’ out!”