What Is That Language?

By: Amanda Hobson and Paula Watson

Boy do we need to practice our Fante! As we were riding home from St. Cyprian’s Basic School our tro tros came to a traffic checkpoint. As the group proudly sang

a Ghanaian children’s song in Fante, the officer looked confused and asked, “Are you speaking Twi (another common language in Ghana)?” We all looked at each other and laughed coming to the conclusion that today’s Fante lesson would not come too soon!

Now back to the beginning of our day… Over breakfast, Chastity shared a devotion on patience. She reminded us that when we pray for patience God will surely grant us many opportunities to practice what we pray for. Thanks Chas!

Traveling to and from St. Cyprian’s we often find ourselves reflecting on the beauty of the land. As we drive the two-lane highway, dodging potholes, we are surrounded by lush greenery, palm trees, tall stalks of maize (corn), and colorful flowers. The school is situated at the top of a hill surrounded by the same amazing landscape. While teaching, our eyes are often drawn towards the beauty. Another distraction to our teaching are the many friendly goats that frequent the classrooms, checking on our lessons. Actually upon our arrival today we were met by the “King of the Goats” whose throne was a pile of cement bricks outside the school building.

We are beginning to feel at home at St. Cyprian’s. Day two has allowed us to get to know our students and the teachers a little better. We felt a warm welcome when the Kindergarten teacher presented each of us with a small gift. We were especially jealous of Amber and Lindsey’s beautiful earring and necklace sets! As we were gathering together at the tro tro to head “home” our driver Dominic entertained us with a juggling act.

Our afternoon was filled with visits to the market and the streets of Cape Coast (yes we love to shop!) while others stayed at the Fairhill resting, planning lessons, and checking emails. We then headed to Fante lessons back at Tuwohofo. We were greeted with cheers, smiles, and hugs from the children as we made our way to the library for our lesson. As our Fante needs some “fine tuning” we had a well needed review session with our beloved teacher, Thomas Baidoo.

Our day ended with good fellowship around the dinner table, lesson planning, and yoga. Until next time…