My friend in Wa sent me a gift (via lorry). It was this tiny yellow bird inside of a hand-made cage. Quite a thoughtful gift, i think, and the bird is very cute.

I was explaining what dinosaurs were to my students (only 2 of the 100 had ever heard of them!!). And I ended up getting all these questions about how dinosaurs could have existed long before man when the Bible says otherwise....Help!!!!!!!!!

Interesting observation: The teachers in the US make lower (I think) than the average salary and naturally complain that it is not enough. The teachers here in Ghana make far MORE than the average salary and still complain that they dont make nearly enough....the average salary and naturally complain that it is not enough. The teachers here in Ghana make far MORE than the average salary and still complain that they dont make nearly enough....

So much for parent/teacher conferences here. A father came up to the school today and asked a fellow teacher of mine how his daughter was performing. He said "Oh, she's doing well."After the father left, he admitted to me that he doesnt even teach that student and has no idea how she is doing. So, of course, I inquired about the lie and he said "if we let the parents know that their student is doing poorly, instead of motivating them to do better, they instead completely neglect them, sometimes refusing to pay their school fees all together. Basically they just give up on them. I've seen it happen over and over again. Trust me, it's better to lie." Sad.

So it looks like my new camera is able to upload pics, so yeeeeeeaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! This means I will be trying to post more often, as I really want some documentation of all this after I leave.

Ok, later for now. Love.

OK, back to current life....

This is a bunch of us at a local festival drinking some pito. The pic below is of one of the dancers at the festival.

School is back in session and as I am walking to class from my house, I am reminded of my first day of school last year. On my walk about 1 MILLION flies decided to fly onto my back. I couldn't get them to leave me alone, for the life of me, and I remember being so nervous that when I met my fellow teachers for the first time, they would think "oh, great, they sent us someone who doesn't bathe and that all the flies follow". So you can imagine how relieved I was when I got to school and EVERYONE had a million flies on their backs! I didnt know so many even existed. Anyway, I had forgotten about them because 3/4 of of the year they leave, along with the rains, but rainy season is upon us again in full force!

I was talking with a friend/fellow teacher and found out if a woman cheats on her husband, she has to be cleansed before she can sleep with her husband again. This involves stripping her naked in front of some women and some men and performing certain "rites" on her, involving fowl's blood and "performing some things to her private parts". It's a very embarrassing show, and is used to discourage other women from cheating on their husbands. I asked, "yeah, but what if the woman doesnt tell her husband that she cheated on him?" And was told that if a woman cheats without telling her husband she will come down with AIDS-like symptoms but the HIV test will have negative results. She will continue getting sicker and sicker unless she confesses to what she did and with whom. This "juju", as they call these spiritual curses put upon people, is believed so firmly that it is enough to prevent people from doing many things.

Italy and since....

Ok, just found some notes I wrote on my Italy trip and want to post along side some pics:

1) Airplane food is NOT good, this I know. So why am I so appalled at all the food that people leave on their trays on the plane?? As I'm storing left-overs (covertly) in my backpack, (which by the way I tried to eat later and it was absolutely disgusting! I keep thinking how my students would give anything to have this food!

2) Arrived in Dubois at 630am. It's 95 degrees F!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No one smiles in the Dubois Airport. Why? Most just trun their heads when eye contact is made, the brave ones raise an eyebrow. But NO ONE smiles. Is it the same back in the states? I can't remember....

I realize now that my extremely colorful Ghanaian outfit is somewhat out of place in the first world. That makes me laugh.

3) Today I spent my 4th day in Rome. I visited all the "must sees" such as the Sistine Chapel with the famous ceiling painted by Michaelangelo, the Treve Fountain, and had dinner and wine along the Tiber River.

4) Off to Orvieto. This little town is located high up on a hill. It is a very charming place with the most beautiful cathedral we've seen so far.

5) I spent the night in Siena, my first night in Florence. It is as beautiful as I read about. Each place I visit has a view that is unbeatable, until the next place, that is. Had the most amazing pasta tonight (called pici, pronounced peachy). Tomorrow I head to San Gimignano, the home of Chianti wine...fun!

6) Just passed several huge fields of sunflowers, which just so happens to be my favorite flower. This place truly is paradise! San Gimignano has 3 things that make it quite noteworthy: First of course is the wine, which is superb, second is the unbelievably amazing panoramic view of the lands below, and third is Italy's largest torture museum. It is amazing all the different ways with which humans have managed to come up with to kill one another.

7) In the shower of every hotel we stay in there is a cord hanging down. I'm guessing it calls the front desk and it's for people who have fallen and hurt themselves. I want to pull it so so badly!

8) We have met up with our biking/hiking tour group which consists of 4 tri-athletes, a personal trainer and a doctor. The idea was to hike across Tuscany. Well, since my mom injured her ankle climbing the crazy tower that is the Leaning Tower of Pisa, I decided to try out a day with the bikers. After 40 km ALL uphill...no joke...I decided perhaps biking was not for me :) Did go on some amazing (and strenuous) hikes in Tuscany though. This is what I came to Italy for!

9) Finally, after 22 days, I entered the gate at the airport on my way back to Accra and sat down. I could overhear the Ghanaians sitting next to me speaking "Ghanaian English". I can't explain how sweet the sound was. The trip was fantastic, but I'm going home and I can't stop smiling Paaaaaaaaaaa.

That's all for Italy. Ps. the pics above are at Mt. Vesuvius (sp?), the only active volcano on the west coast of Europe.