Return to the US

Hello everyone! Sorry there has not been an update in a while... I've been a bit busy. Today we are going to Amsterdam:) and then on Monday, the 21st, I'll be back in the States. My flight comes into GR at 9:01 pm for those interested in coming to the airport.

I promise to give an update on my travels once I return to the US.
Until then,
I love you all and may God bless you in all you do!
Christina

Big changes!

Hello!!

My time in Ghana has ended. I admit, I am so incredibly sad. Leaving the village on Thursday was probably one of the hardest moments of my life and a memory I will never forget. Being in Ghana was the happiest time of my life and I wouldn't have changed anything about it, except for the fact that I wish it was longer. BUT, from talking with Mr. Ofie (the principal at my school) I may return in August!!

Friday was a day of goodbye again as I left my group in Amsterdam. While I was incredibly sad, I knew that I was going to see Victoria in a few hours. I borded the train and took a 3 hour ride to her. It was totally a scene from the movies when I got off the platform, we ran into each others arms! We ended up having to lug all of my luggage to her house because the busses were on strike. After an amazing lunch at McDonald's, we went shopping around Maastrict! It was so fun and nice to just hang out with my sister, shop, and see her city. I have really missed her. After shopping, I took a shower... with hot water and actual pressure!!! It felt amazing. Matt came home, and then we went out to a chinese dinner. It was pretty good. After that, we all just hung out and talked. I love it here.

Yesterday was my graduation day, and I spent it in Germany!!!! We went to Achen where they have a giant Christmas market. We talked around the market and then met up with Victoria and Matt's four friends from school. We all walked in the market, ate food and drank gluwijn (pronounced glue) wine which is a hot spiced wine. It tasted good. I admit, I was freezing and am pretty much cold all of the time. I'm not use to the weather here! At about 3:30 here, 9:30 Michigan time, I celebrated my graduation, in the middle of the Christmas market! It was fun, and I will never forget it!

Today, we went to the Christmas market in Maastrict. We went on the big ferris wheel, and I saw a lot of the city. I also purchased boots, a hat, and some scarves so I'm not so cold now. We then went to their church which was a lot of fun. Life is so different here, but I love the culture. This week will bring more adventures, and I'll keep you updated!!

God bless you all. Peace and love,

Christina

My last few days in Ghana

Wow... I cannot believe that my time here is coming to an end. I am sorry that it has been so long since my last post, but we have not had internet in the village, and there was one day we had no power!!!

Warning... THIS IS LONG!

Here is a quick (not really quick) update:
Wed. - Last day of exams at SOS -HGIC
Thursday- We woke up at 3:45 AM to leave by 4 AM to travel to Mole National Park. It was about a 16 hour car ride because our driver got us lost. One of the best memories of this day was when we were lost and driving around the jungle of Africa, all of us started to sing Christmas carols. It put me in such a better mood and everyone seemed happier. On a sad note, we learned that if we would have made it on time, an elephant would have been right next to the place where we were staying. Many of us were saddened by this, but we had hope that we would see one the next day.
Friday- We woke up for our 7 am Safari! We loaded into a Jeep and began to drive around the park. It was a VERY bumpy ride, but we are used to that by now ;)
We were lucky enough to see bush buck, water buck, baboon, warthog, Patas monkey, and cob. We were able to see whole herds of the bucks and cobs and we learned a lot about them. They are such beautiful creatures and they can jump extremely high! Oh another highlight... Nicole and I found a baby alligator in our toilet!
After our 2 hour Safari, we laid out by the pool. This place was amazing. We were laying by the pool, looking out over the jungle of Africa, seeing various animals. It was obvious that God was present. After lunch, most people napped, but I decided to read. Then, at 3:30, we went on our walking Safari. We tried to track an elephant, but were unsuccessful. It was still quite an adventure. Also, we were able to see a baby warthog who was only one day old! After dinner, we sat around and played cards and watched the World Cup draw.
Saturday - We slept in a bit and then left Mole for Kumasi, the second largest city in Ghana. About 20 minutes after leaving, I realized I had forgotten my I-pod! Everyone agreed that it was ok to turn around. Thankfully, it was waiting for me! We arrived in Kumasi at about 4:30 and went straight to the cultural center to do some shopping. This center was set up like a mall with various shops instead of like a market. Also, there really wasn't any bartering, so most of us did not buy very much. We then traveled to Kumasi University where we were staying the night. This guest house was one of the most beautiful hotels I've ever seen! We arrived and freshened up for dinner. I took a shower for the first time since Wednesday because we had not water in Mole! It felt SOO nice to shower! At dinner, we all ate WAY too much, but it was So good. We had Kelewele (cut up fried plantains). I then chatted with Dr. Magarry about his life while he finished his coffee. It was a very good conversation. Then, some of use went to me and Nicole's room and we watched a movie. It was pretty funny, but only Adam and I were able to stay awake!
Sunday - We had a yummy breakfast and then headed to Accra. Here, we went to the cultural center to finish our shopping. I purchased the last of my gifts and then just walked around. I met a group of shop keepers, and I sat down and chatted with them. They asked about snow, Michigan, and they asked about my dating life. They were shocked I told them I was single and asked me if I would date a black man. I said I would. I also told them that I was happy being single and they thought that was interesting. It was an awesome conversation and I'm so glad I had that opportunity. They told me they liked me because I talked to them and treated them with respect. We finally arrived him to find dinner was going to be late, but it was worth the wait! We then divided all the supplies we had brought over to give to the 13 houses of the village. It was a fun night. Just after I finished showering, the power went out.
Monday - We woke up... VERY HOT! A whole night without a fan was tough! We still had no power. School was fun because I was able to teach classes! It was my last day with 2 classes, and many of them told me they were sad I was leaving. I also invited some students from a visiting school to my class. They were visiting from St. Claire's International School in Oxford. It was fun to have different students in my class. I wrote my name on the board and one of the boys jumped up and said, "Your surname is Orefice?! You are Italiano?!" It was cute!
Tuesday - School was great again... And we had power! I had some of St. Claire's students ask me if they could come to my class. I ended up doing a interview activity with them and my students. It was great to see barriers being broken and questions being answered. My students later told me they had made new friends and were very glad they did this activity. After school, we had our going away party with our teachers. It was a good time. We then went around to each house in the village and sang Christmas carols and gave them their supply boxes. It was so much fun to see the kid's faces.
Wed (today) - Is my last day at SOS - HGIC. I cannot believe I am finished student teaching today and that I will be a college graduate in just a few days!!

Words cannot describe how amazing this trip has been. I hope that God continues to bless you all.
This will probably be my last post until I get to the Netherlands, so I wish you all well.
Peace and love from the bottom of my heart,
Christina

I'm in love!!

It is official... I am in love with Ghana! :) Last night, I Francisca did my hair! It was awesome because I was able to have a one on one conversation with her for about 1.5 hours! She asked me a lot of questions about the US, and told me she wanted to be adopted. Of course, I would totally take her home with me! She has a twin brother, Francis, who I also love, so I'll take them both!! (PS. There are 13 pairs of twins in the village and 3 sets of tripelts!)

Here are some pictures of her doing my hair.
In return, I gave her my WWJD bracelet because she told me she liked it the first day I was here.
I have not taken that bracelet off in so long, but it made me realize that holding onto material things is stupid and that something so small could mean so much to someone. I also think I'm going to give her a few of my shirts, because honestly, I have way to much stuff as it is!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Hello! Sorry this is a little late, but Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Our internet has been down in the village because the building where we get out internet is being redone. They hope that it will be up and running by today, but who know?!

Wednesday - Nicole and I walked to school to find out it was a day of revisions. My teacher didn't even end up coming to school, so I spent the day reading in the courtyeard and trying to keep myself entertained for the entire day. I did answer some of my student's questions, which was nice because my teacher was not here to answer them.

Thursday - Nicole and I took the day off because it was the first day of exams. We woke up and ate breakfast with everyone and then went to the pool until about 11:30. Then, we went to Whitney's class and observed her. She has about 35 3rd graders in one class and does a great job with them. She was teaching a lesson on body odor and she controled them, while still having fun with them. I also gave them some supplies that my students in Rockford gave me! They were very thankful!

We then all went to the pool and relaxed and celebrated Thanksgiving! We ended up going to a Chinese resturant rather than trying to find a turkey somewhere. It was an amazing meal, and the company was excellent.

Friday - Friday was a National Holiday for Ghana, so we all had the day off. We went to the pool and played around. Francesca, August, and Francis joined us! They are great kids and I'm really going to miss them. After a relaxing afternoon, we joined up with our friends from England, John and Nina. They moved to Tema in June for John's job. We all went to Accra and saw "New Moon". I forgot I was in Africa because the theatre was so nice on the inside... and AIR CONDITIONED :) The movie was pretty ok too. They took us home and we ended up playing some cards before heading to bed.

Saturday - We woke up and went to the Volta River for a boat trip. We purchased some jewelry and then got on the boat. It was a 2 hour ride to the island, and then a 2 hour ride back. The scenery here was so beautiful. We played cards and chatted. Also, we had an amazing lunch of chicken, rice, and spag! When we finally reached the island, it was like a scene from a movie. There were villagers playing drums and children waiting for us on the dock. A child would just come and take your hand and then lead you up this path. It was very sad because all along the way, children were asking for money. I gave my guide some coins because she told me she wanted to buy a book because she loves to read. I hope this is what she uses it for, but I know food is more important. On the way home, we met Maximus and Abraham on the boat. They are 2 guys from Nigeria who were visiting. Jen and I neded up dancing with them towards the end of the trip and it was a lot of fun. We even taught Maximus how to play cards!

In the evening, we went to the World Aid's Day Concert in Accra. It was amazing! The crowd was so diverse, and there were so many good acts, from a doctor speaking, to a theatre group, to rappers. I am so glad we went.

Sunday - Since we got back late on Saturday night, we opted to not go to church and to have our own service. We slept in... I slept that latest I have here... 8:30! and then, of course, we went to the pool. We had our service at the pool and it was great to just hear what people had to say and to talk about God with them. I feel so blessed to be here with this group. I know all of them are going to be wonderful teachers, and will go on to do wonderful things in their lives. I will be so sad to leave them. We have all joked about going somewhere and teaching together, but who knows?!

I hope you all had wonderful Thanksgivings! I will sadly, be leaving Ghana in 11 days. The happy thought I have though is that I will be with my sister and Matt for 2 weeks and then back with my family for Christmas!

If you need to contact me, just send me an e-mail, as our internet has been down in the village. I love you all and I hope God continues to bless you all!!!!

Peace and Love,

Christina

FOOD!

Many of you have been asking me about what we typically eat here, so here is the run down.

A typical breakfast consists of bread (they cut off the crusts here) with butter, orange pineapple, or apricot marmalade, or occasionally peanut butter (if we beg). We also either have cream of wheat (Which I have not tried because it looks like vomit), oatmeal (Which I did try and actually, I really enjoyed it!), corn flakes cereal, and once in a great while, eggs. Now, we get bread every day, but we will only get one other option, if we are lucky. Some days we have fabulous fruit juice, and we always have coffee and tea. I love the tea and drink it almost every morning. Most of the time with milk. The milk here comes in a box, and is rarely refrigerated.

Lunch is provided for me at the school. Here is the menu:
Monday ~ Boiled plantains, white rice, beef stew with a red sauce, or a spinach beef mixture
Tuesday ~ Banku (fermented corn dough) and Watch-ey (rice mixed with beans) and fish that sometimes still looks at you
Wednesday ~ Fried Plantains with white rice, beans, and fish
Thursday ~ Spaghetti with rice and red sauce with tender chicken on the bone
Friday ~ Fried rice with a chicken stew in a brown broth

My favorite days are Monday and Wednesday because of fried plantains. Really the only day I don't like is Tuesday. Banku is probably one of the nastiest things I have tasted, but I did try it. The Watch-ey is not bad, but not my favorite.

Dinners consist of some sort of rice (I have never tried so many different kinds of rice) with a meat/vegetable sauce. They love fish here and somehow, I have managed not to eat any of it yet! They also make things rather spicy. There is so much flavor to the food here! I love of the spices. We also have yam balls (a breaded mashed potato with onions) they are actually pretty ok. Peanut soup and rice balls have become a favorite of the group. No one in our group is a real picky eater, so that is nice. We are for sure not going hungry and I think most of us are gaining weight! For dessert, we usually get a fruit of some sort. I must say, I have become a huge pineapple fan! Sometimes, if we are really lucky, someone in the group will bring cookies!

To drink, we typically have bottled water or juice. When we go out, we usually drink orange Fanta, Sprite, or Coke. Also, Alvaro has become a favorite. This is a carbonated pear or pineapple juice. It's so good.

I love the food here so much that I have already looked into buying a West African cook book!!

More pictures

My amazing table!!!

Me with my IB I students who are all from different countries learning English!

Yes, I really do teach here. I'm not just on vacation!

My home for the past few weeks and the weeks to come.

Another view of my home. This is from the front door looking in. The door straight ahead is my bathroom. You can see the shower is just a lowered part of tile with no curtain.

My bed... of course with picture of my friends and family all around it, and sparkles!

Pictures!

The Ghanaian flags outside of a political center in Accra. Across the street from this is the National Football (Soccer) Stadium for Ghana.

A landmark in Accra with the Black star of Ghana and its founding date, 1957 and Motto: Freedom and Justice

Me teaching my IG II students, ages 15 - 16, about editing and revising. Na Na - Begine and Michael and Princess are pictured.

My lizard friend who sometimes likes to enter my classroom while I am teaching.

The courtyard of my school. The big building to the back left of the picture is the cafeteria. You can see students inside of it if you blow it up.

Morning assembly on Friday. All of the students gather for various presentations and announcements every Friday.

A typical classroom at SOS-HGIC.

Relaxing Weekend!

After I taught on Friday, Yvonne (my host teacher) asked me to make 7 lesson plans for her that she could teach the students once I leave because I relate to the students so well! This made me very excited and now gives me something to do :)

Friday night we went out for the first time in Tema. It was interesting to say the least. We first went to an upscale casino, so now I have been to a casino, but I did not gamble. Then, we went to Manillas which was an outdoor dance floor bar place. We made a "friend" right away. Her name was Shalia or something like that. She was interesting and VERY friendly. There were also some really creepy guys, so Adam told them we were all his wives. It was fun! Also, Kamau (John, the teacher from my school) was there and we all danced together. It was so crazy because the "Macarania" came on and we were the only people on the dance floor. Some of the locals joined in our dancing and thought it was very cool that we were doing a dance all together! We also met a really nice couple from England. They just moved here in August, but are very happy here. I think some of the girls are going to go to the movies next weekend because "New Moon" opens here!

On Saturday, we slept in a little and then headed to the pool. We played a few games of water volleyball and then just swam around. We also did some relays, which was really fun! Then, we quickly changed and got taxi's to take us to Accra. Of course, we had lunch at Frankie's. Pizza and pop... such a wonderful thing :)

After Frankie's we walked down the streets of Accra. I must admit, I bargained pretty well and I got some great gifts! I'm super excited for give them too :) I also found some nice things for myself.

After that, we tried to find the cultural center, but were unsuccessful, so we grabbed two taxi's and headed home. We spent a relaxing night. Most people went to use their computers, but I stayed back and played cards. I'm glad I didn't go to the lab because the internet was down.

On Sunday morning, we woke up early and went to the Baptist Church. It was great! After a 2.5 hour long service, we were welcomed by a minister and they prayed with us. Everyone was so welcoming and I loved it! After church, we went to the pool. It was being cleaned, so we could only swim in the small pool, but that was still fine. Then, after an amazing lunch of fried plantains and rice, we took naps. It was so hot though that I kept waking up! Nicole and I then got ready to go out with Yvonne. She was supposed to pick us up at 3, but didn't get to the village until about 4:30. It was her first time in the village, so I got to show her around a bit. I felt like it was really my home :) Then, she drove us around Tema. We actually saw the city which was cool. She took us to the harbor and we saw all the fishing boats. Then, she took us to her new house that is being built and to many beautiful subdivisions. They look like something out of the 1950's US. Then, we headed to her house for dinner. Her house is beautiful! We met her husband, Maurice, who had a lot of questions about the US because he has never been there. We tried to answer them as best as we could. Also, Yvonne though Michigan was in the South! That was something to laugh at! Maurice also told us a lot of Ghana and Ghanaian culture. We met her son, Kofe, and her daughter, Chelsea. Kofe is 7 and was SOOO cute! Chelsea is a very mature 12, but didn't talk to us much because she was nervous for her exams that started today.

For dinner, we ate lamb, rice, vegetables, and fried plantains. It was so delicious. For dessert, we had some amazing watermelon!

They were so hospitable to us and I feel so lucky to have had Yvonne as my host teacher. I would like to stay in touch with her too! I promise to get some more pictures up on this thing!

Love and God bless you all!
Christina

PS I cannot believe in 18 days, I'll be with Vic and Matt :):):):)

I'm A TEACHER!!

Over the past few days, I have had many break throughs as a teacher!!
Yesterday, Yvonne was teaching class and giving them a review of poetry. One of the students, Dodgy, said "Miss O. told us that we should look at the background information of the author when appreciating a piece of poetry." I had taught them this over a week ago! I'm so excited that I made a break through with the kids and that they actually learned what I was teaching!!!

Today's break through was the best!
I was teaching my English as a second language class for 80 minutes. First, I taught how to create guidelines. Then I taught Idioms. Now, I must give special thanks to my high school french teacher for giving me the idea of putting flash cards on the board to make a game. The students loved learned idioms and thought it was so much fun! They first had to figure out what each idiom meant, and then they would run up to the board and slap the meaning! It was great. There was a lot of laughter in my classroom today, and that made me happy.

After class, my teacher, Yvonne, came up to me and said, "That was amazing! I wish you would have been here all year. And I wish you were staying because that lesson was so good! I'm so sad exams come next week, but you can teach when exams are over!"
Getting her approval meant so much to me and made me finally feel as if I was her colleague. Today was a good day :)

Hope all of you are having good days!

God bless and love,
Miss O. :)

Almost a REAL teacher!

The past few days have been amazing! Yesterday, I truly felt like a teacher. On Monday, I attended John Kamua's class. John lives on our compound and he is a history and theory of knowledge teacher at the SOS-HGIC where I teach. He let me attend his class, and then gave me papers to mark! (that's what they call grading) Well, yesterday, my teacher saw me marking, and she asked me if I wanted to mark her student's work! I said yes! I think that because she saw someone else trust me with marking that she trusts me! :) So now I have a bunch of paper's to mark!!! :):):)


After school on Monday, John took Nicole and I to "the office". It is a local place where many business people gather after school. It was fun to just sit and chat and unwind from the crazyness that is school. The students are preparing for exams next week, so the teachers are stressing out about making the exams, and the students are stressing out about taking them.


Last night, we celebrated Barbara. She is leaving us today and many of us are sad. Nicole and I went to a shop after school yesterday and we purchased a cake, Fanta, and a tonic water because that is Barbara's favorite. It was nice to see how happy she was just because of a small gesture. I'll miss Grandma Barb. We also met our new professor last night, Dr. Magarry. He seems really nice so far, so that is good.


Other than that, things are wonderful! I realized that in 23 days, I will be a college graduate, with a teaching certificate on the way, in the Netherlands! I'm so excited for all of these things! It's crazy how much my life has changed in these past few weeks and how much it will change in the weeks to come.


I hope all is going well for all of you and I look forward to your e-mail updates!
God bless and love,
Christina

PS. I have started to run almost every night here!!! CRAZY!

Give a little, take a little

This weekend was amazing! On Friday night, all of us played Phase 10. Now, I must admit, I am AWFUL at this game, but it was fun. Then, Gradyon, myself, Jen, Christina and John (our friend who lives in our complex who teaches at my school) went to a gas station to pick up some snacks. I found popcorn!!! Then, John, me and Gradyon sat around outside talking. We stayed up very late, but it was extremely funny and a great time getting to know them both better.

On Saturday, we traveled to Accra, the capital of Ghana. We were able to see many sites including the first president's memorial (pictured here), the University of Ghana, the Gold House (like our White House) and a huge market! We all tried this corn malt drink. It was probably one of the nastiest tasting things of my life, but I'm glad I tried it. We also walked around the huge market. It was pretty overwhelming.

We then went to the cultural center. You barder for everthing here. I was nervous at first, and I know I paid too much for some things, but I did get a great deal, with a good story. So, I had been ripped off by a man selling some paintings, so I was very frustrated. I verbally stated I wasn't going to buy anything more. A man asked me to come and look in his shop. There was a beautiful mirror in the shape of Africa with shells and a giraffe print aroudn it. The problem was it was HUGE! I asked him if he had anything smaller, and he said he would check. He came back and did not, so I left. He kept tyring to get me to stay though. Well, I found a table that I fell in love with. I offered the different shop owner 10, but he said 20, then I offered 15, and he still said 20. I knew that he wasn't going to budge, so I was going to leave, when the original guy (with the mirror in his shop) came over. He told me he had a table and woudl give it to me for 15. I told him I really wanted the symbol on it, so he said he would crave it in, with my name. So, I am now the proud owner of a table shaped like Africa, with an elephant stand, with my name on it :) I was pretty proud of myself!

After shopping, we were all super hungry, so we went to Frankies. Here, we were able to eat pizza, which was amazing and ice cream!!! It was proabably the best meal I have had in a while. I just have really missed those foods. I was stuffed.

We then traveled to the Accra Mall. It is very similar to malls in the US, except the power goes out from time to time. I was with Adam and Nicole when this guy approached us. Turns out he graduated from CMU. Adam had been wearing a Tigers shirt and that is why Scotty approached us. It is so crazy to think that the world is so small!!! We were in the middle of the Accra Mall, and met a CMU Alum! CRAZY!!

On Sunday, we went to church at my school. It was the 19th anniversary of the school opeening and the very first church service there! It was so amazing to see my students in their traditional African dress. They looked so beautiful. Also, the singing was amazing! Words cannot describe how powerful and beautiful the voices singing were. The message was about how Jesus came to Earth to expereince what humans experience so he could understand it better. I think the kids really liked it, and many of them were excited to see me.

After church, we went to the pool for 2 hours. It was SOOOOO relaxing, and exactly what I needed. Then, we had lunch, and relaxed all afternoon. I took a nap and read for a little.

I miss you all and I hope things in your life are going well. Remember to always thank God and I hope he continues to bless you!

Peace and Love,

Christina

A mini life rant and things I miss

I am at the point where I am starting to miss some things from home. Of course I miss my family, friends, youth group and chruch friends, my rockford "family", and my dog. I know everyone is doing wonderful things in their lives and I am growing so much here too, but I honestly thought I would grow differently.

I have come to realize there are many people in my life currently who are just bringing me down. They are fakely happy for me and my growth, because they are so caught up in their own lives to honestly care about someone else. They don't seem to understand that I have to make an effort to come in contact with them. It is just frustrating. I have learned that in Ghana, any person, and I mean ANYONE will go out of their way to help you. For example, I have an old resident who is from Ghana. I recently talked to her and she gave me the phone number of her father and her sister because they both live in Ghana. She said if I needed anything, to just call them and let them know. That is like someone going to Iowa and me saying, "Oh I have an aunt there, you can stay with her!" But honestly, no one does that in the US.
Also, everyone smiles here!!! I LOVE IT! People are SOOOO HAPPY! Everyone says hello and asks how you are doing, and truly wants to know how you are doing!! :) Even strangers!

That's my mini-life rant. Now onto things I miss:
Chocolate, snack food (especially chips and dip and chips and salsa!), hot water for a shower, vegetables, hugs from my family, good conversation with my friends, playing piano, knowing where everything is, driving, fast food, ICE CREAM!, tap water, ... that's all I can think of right now

Things I DON"T miss:
TV, Having internet all of the time, a cell phone, the constant need to be in communication with others, text messaging, being on time (In Ghana, everything runs on Ghana time which is always being late!), stress, and being in a rush.

Life is just so laid back here and people live day by day. They want to help one another out, and will do so. People sho emotion in their faces and will look you in the eye to tell you about things. People love God and are thankful to him for being alive that day! They don't worry about what will happen in 20 years, or how they will pay their bills because they know He will provide for them, and if he doesn't, they have a family they can count on to help them. I love that the family unit is so important here. It doesn't matter if you aren't blood related, but if you see another Ghanaian in the US, he or she would be your brother or sister. It is a love for their country and each other that makes their society so strong.

I know this was sort of a crazy post, and not very informative about what I have been doing, but I'll up date on that soon.

God bless you all and I miss you!

A challenge and life changing weekend!

What a weekend!!!!
On Friday, after school was out, I had a dance party with the kids! Everyone else from CMU had gone on a walk, because at the College, we have the CAS (Community, Action, Service) program until 5 on Fridays. Nicole and I walked back and some kids were waiting for us. They told us everyone else went on a walk. We were sitting talking, when Edwin asked if I knew how to dance. Of course, this sparked the idea for one of my famous dance parties. I grabbed my I Home and started to blast the Cha Cha slide! They loved it!! Everyone else came back and we all danced until dinner. It was awesome!

After dinner, all of the CMU students and John (a teacher at my school who lives in our complex with us) played cards. We started with BS, then moved onto a violent game of spoons, but with Laffy Taffy. We ended the night with "Never Have I ever" and "2 truths and a lie". I haven't laughed so hard in a LONG time! It was a great night getting to know my group and getting comfortable with them. We even ended up talking about poop, so you know that means we are comfortabel with each other :)

On Saturday, we woke up early to take a 4 hour long ride to Mount Afadjato. Mount Afadjato is the highest mountain in Ghana, at an altitude of 880 m (2900ft). The mountain is located in the Agumatsa Range near the villages of Liati Wote and Gbledi, at the border with Togo. We were going to climb this mountain. About 3 hours in, one of the girls, Jen, had to go to the bathroom. So we stopped in a village. Keep in mind, we are in Africa. A public restroom is usually just a wall. If there is a drain, you are lucky. She decided not to go to the bathroom, but it did give us a chance to talk to some locals. I even got a picture!
So, we continued our journey to the mountain. Everyone was getting really excited. We were all awake because there are HUGE potholes along the road. Now, I know everyone thinks Michigan is bad... but compared to here, Michigan roads are great! We eventually found a nice guest house (hotel) for us to use before we hiked up the mountain. We also took the opportunity to put on sunscreen and bug spray. Bismark, our driver, could not get the van to start. He added in some fluid though, and it started up. We were all thankful for that.
We then began to head down a small dirt road... and I mean SMALL. It was a two-track road that seemed to be getting smaller and smaller. We ended up driving into a place where the road ended. Bismark said he had made a mistake and the road forked a while back. So, we drove backward about 15 minutes back. Bismark turned down the road... and...

Yup... we got stuck.

We all tried for about an hour to push the van and dig it out. Bismark went to the village for help rescue. Thankfully, a group of local villagers was walking by. There was one woman and about 6 children. They were carrying bowls of plantains on their heads. They did not speak Twi, or much English, but somehow, we communicated and they began to help us. They grabbed their machetes and started to dig out the van.

These complete strangers came to help us. It reminded me that there are wonderful people in this world. Bismark came to rescue us in another van. We loaded in, thanked the locals for helping us, and decided to forgo the mountain. We found some lunch at a place owned by a cute German couple near Wli Falls. This place was like a paradise. It was so beautiful.

The Wli Waterfalls is the highest waterfall in West Africa. It has two distinct falls --the lower falls, and the upper falls. It was about a 45 minute walk through the forest to get to the lower falls. The area of forest is part of the Agumatsa wildlife sanctuary and contains a large variety of butterflies, birds, and a huge colony of bats.

This place was beyond words. It was so beautiful. I felt as if I could truly see and feel God around me. His work is so wonderful. After the falls, we headed out to dinner a local place. The owner was extremely nice and most of us ate macaroni and cheese. It is a little different than the US, but it still tasted SO good.

We had about an hour ride to our hotel. After many police stops due to smuggling and armed robbery, we arrived at our hotel. It was actually REALLY nice... and we had air conditioning for the first time :)

On Sunday, we woke up early to go to the Monkey Sanctuary. The monkeys took the bananas right out of our hands! It was SO cute! We also met a guy from Michigan. His name is Tom Cruz :) So I met Tom Cruz in Africa! He is studying abroad in Accra, and he is interning with the World Aids Organization. He is in charge of a big concert on the 28th of Nov. and he invited us to come! All of us are really excited to go.

We all decided we want to see the upper falls of Wli. So, we climbed. It took about 1.5 hours to get up. This was very dangerous. There were many slippery rocks, and places where you could only fit one foot. Somehow, we all made it to the lower falls.

I conquered the highest waterfall in West Africa! The views on this hike and the hike it self was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I thought about a lot of different things and what I truly want out of my life. I felt so close to God in those moments. I wish I could have taken you all on this journey with me, but know that this is a moment I will talk about for the rest of my life. This hike challenged me in a way I never thought possible. One thing I thought about: While many college kids are wasting their lives drinking and partying in the US, in Africa, many are striving to stay alive. Education is important to them and they want to do their best. They feel as if they are privileged while many Americans feel like they deserve it. I have a new perspective on a lot of things now and I know my life has already been changed here.

My first week of school

Well.... I just wrote this really long post, and the internet went down! We been losing internet and power all week, but I guess it is just something I have to get used to. We didn't have power in the village last night until about 7 pm, and there has been no internet for about 2 days now. It's nice I can get on a school though!

My first week of school has been interesting, to say the least. I have about 4 - 5 hours of prep time each day!!! Insane right?! Also, I have not schedule yet, so I'm not even sure what I'm teaching. I will probably teach about 3 hours a day, if my host teacher lets me take over all of her classes (which I don't think she will). I am worried I will not get in all of my hours of teaching. Also, we have midterms in 3 weeks, which means NO teaching will take place! Also, I believe they placed me in the wrong placement. My teacher was so exctied about speech. Well, I found out that speech here is for English Langauge Learners, which means all of my students for that class, just started learning English in August! My host teacher said to me, "I'm so excited to teach the Oral lesson today so that you can see how we do it here. Next week, you can show us how you teach English in America!" Again, I remind you all, I have NO experience with this. I do believe my time with the Deaf students and studying communication disorders may help me, but I honestly have no clue. I have talked to my professor about it, but there has been no changes yet.

On a more positive note, an English teacher here asked me to come to her class to help teach about speech writing (she gets the whole speech thing!) I ended up totally taking over the class and taught the full 80 minutes! She was extremely impressed because she asked me about 5 minutes before class started to help. She gave me some really great feedback as well. I finally felt good about teaching here. Also, the students asked her if I could come back to their classroom and teach because they like me and my style of teaching. Again, it made me feel really good because all of my time thus far has been spent sitting around, not teaching.

I love living in the village too! Coming home after a day at the College is wonderful! The kids literally sit outside our compund and wait for us. The only bummer about being at the college is that we get our of school about 2 - 3 hours later than everyone else. Therefore, a lot of the kids are already at the pool or playing, but we just join in.

Two days ago, Emil, an 8th grader at the village, asked me to come to his "art" class at night. I agreed, so I went. Turns out this class is really just a time for the students to get extra help. Emil happens to always draw during this time. He made me a beautiful picture of 2 huts. I will try to take a picture of it and post it, but it's hard without internet in the village!

After the tutoring session, August, another 8th grader, and I walked back to our houses because we finished at the same time. We were just chatting about swimming because he is on the swim team and he wants to race me sometime. Then, I realized we had past his house! I said to him, "August, didn't we just pass your house?"
He replied, "Yes, but I will escort you home."
I kindly thanked him and told him I thought I could make it on my own. It was really cute and sweet.

I love living here and being with the kids. I cannot wait to start going out into the city and exploring it. Tonight, some of us are going to go to Community 1 (like a county) and go to a market! This weekend, we are going to Wli Falls, a huge waterfall and a monkey sancutary. We will also be climbing one of the tallest mountains in Ghana. The food has also been very good here! At school, we get to eat authentic Ghanaian food! It is very spicy, and there is a lot of fish, rice, and beans. I love trying new things though! Also, we get to each fried plantains (bananas). It makes me think of San Chez in Grand Rapids, but these plantains are SOOOOO much better tasting!!!

I hope to be able to post more pictures, but without internet at home, it gets to be pretty difficult. I hope all is well with all of you and I look forward to hearing how everything is going.

Also, I hope you enjoy the weather! My dad told me it's snowing :) It's about 89 here... on a cold day! ;)

God bless, Peace, and Love!

Me on top of Elmina Slave Castle with the Atlantic Ocean in the back ground!

The Tema SOS Children's Village consists of children from all over Ghana. The children are either orphans, or come from families that do not have the means to support their children through education. The children live right within the village and there are 15 family homes in the Village. Each home consists of a mother, and a up to 10 children. The village emphasizes community and family and wishes to provide the best education possible for the kids. People from around Ghana also send their kids here because the education is so good here.

Today, I met my host teacher. Though she does not measure up to Mrs. Lang, I know she will be a good fit. I will be teaching different classes, in 4 different grades: Literature, 2 writing, and 1 oral English for English Language Learners. I was also asked to help out with the Drama club and the debate team! I am so excited.

Prince Michael Djan, a real prince, his father is King Djan Kwesi II, and talked to us today about the culture of Ghana. He is the Prince of Akuapen Adonteman and he teaches at my school! He answered a lot of our questions which was great. I love learning about their culture! It is so incredibly different, but so great!

I hope all is well with the rest of you and I look forward to hearing from you!
The town of Elmina


Love and God bless,
Christina

My first few days in Ghana!

So, here it is.
My flights were great to Ghana and I was able to see some pretty cool things too. I saw the Swiss Alps, the Meditereanian Sea, and a first look at Africa! We landed safely in Accra, Ghana. Then, we went through customs. Now, I was the first to go through customs. I walked up to the booth, and the man took my passport and asked my why I was here. I told him to teach in Tema. He asked how long, and I replied "Two months." He looked me straight in the face, and said "I'll give you one month."
At this point, I about had a heart attack. I didn't know what I was going to do! I turned around to look at my coordinator for help, and then I heard the strangest noise... I heard laughing!!! The customs man was laughing at me!!! He told me he was just kidding and then let me through. It was awful at the time, but a great memory to have.
We all grabbed our luggage and the packed into a van to head to Tema. It was about 20 minutes. We were greeted with a snack of chicken and then we all crashed in bed. I'm staying in hut number 11 with my suite mate Nicole.
The next morning, we woke up at 7 am and got a tour of the SOS Primary School. Some of the kids sang us welcome songs that were really cute! After that, we had a little bit of a break which was very nice. After lunch, we headed out for a tour of Tema. We first stopped at the SOS International College, my school. I found out that I'm teaching GRADES 10 - 13, not ages!!! I'm excited about that, but also nervous!
After the SOS HGIC (me school), we had our tour of Tema, and I purchased my first object, Hello Panda cookies (similar to a Koala Yummy). They were yummy. I also brought a map of Tema, some cookies, and a Ghana scarf at a market. We finally got home for dinner, which was delicious. After dinner, we relaxed and hung out!
The next day, HALLOWEEN (which is not celebrated here), we traveled by van to Kakum National Park. We walked through a canopy walk and I saw my first monkey!!! Upon finishing the walk, we went to the Coconut Beach Resort in Elmina (al-me-na). Elmina is a big fishing city. We were SOOO spoiled here! Our resturant overlooked the ocean. So, we were sitting in a cabana... the coconut groove cabana (I personally thought of it as the coco cabana ;)) eating lunch. I also went in the Atlantic Ocean!!!
After that, we headed to Elmina Slave Castle. It was so amazing. Words cannot really describe it. We then started home to Tema. It took us VERY long because we were stuck in traffic, but some of us played Euchre to pass the time.
Today, we had a totally relaxing day. We woke up and ate breakfast at 8. Then, some of us went swimming. Some of the kids joined us, so it was really fun!! Then, we ate lunch and headed over to Barbara's (my coordinator) hut. She lives in more of an apartment. We played Blind Baseball and Spoons for 3 hours! It was really fun and a great way to get to know my fellow classmates. We then played with the SOS kids for 2 hours! I LOVED IT! Here is a picture:
So far, I love it here! It has been amazing and I feel great! I miss everyone and I hope you are all doing well and had a safe and fun Halloween. God bless you!!!

So, I'm extremely tired. I promise an update tomorrow!

So, I'm extremely tired. I promise an update tomorrow!

HERE!!

I AM HERE!!! SAFE! Tema is wonderful and it is so beautiful here! I know I'm going to love it. The people are so nice here and the village is beautiful. I have not seen my school yet, but I hope soon!
I love you all!

Detroit!

I have safely made it to the Detroit airport! Now I am enjoying my 5 hour lay over!!!! It hasn't been that bad. My flight from Grand Rapids was great. I sat next to a very nice man who gushed about his kids and his family. He is from Utah and was going back home. He told me his wife is a special education teacher, and he can tell that I am going to be a great teacher because I have ambition. It was very nice to hear that from a stranger. He also wished me luck and told me to "keep the Faith". I love meeting nice Christian people :) It makes my inside happy :):)
During my layover, I have been working on applications for schools in Michigan, though I know it will not be likely that I get them. It doesn't hurt to apply though.
Well, the next post I'll be sending out will be from GHANA!!!!
Love and God bless you all :):)

My placement :)

I just received an e-mail about my placement in Ghana!!!!.... Drum roll please........
I'll be taching with Mrs. Yvonne Nyarko-Mensah, in English & Speech, at the SOS-Hermann Gmeiner International College. My students will be years 10 – 13, so not quite high school age according to our standards in the U.S. I'm getting so excited!!!!

In 7 days... I repeat... 1 week from today, I will be getting on a plane and flying to AFRICA!!!!!!!!

God bless you all :):)

8 days!!!!

Wow... I really cannot believe that my trip is only 8 days away!! I had a family get together on Sunday, which was great. Everyone was there, minus Victoria and Matt, but that's ok. I get to see them soon enough:) I am having a going away party in Mount Pleasant on the 25th and a Girl's only night on the 23rd to hang out with some friends before I go. I am getting so pumped, but I admit, I will really miss my students in Rockford. They are so wonderful. I will keep you posted throughout the week... seeing as a lot will be happening!!!

Thank you to everyone who has sent encouraging e-mails! I have really appreciated the words, and blessings.

God bless you all :)

Almost here!

So... I officially had my first... and last... Ghana class. I found out that I am teaching at the SOS High school!!! This means that my students will still be from the village, but they will have had to have taken a test in order to get into the high school. I also found out that I will have great access to technology, like a projection screen, a white board, and a hook up for my laptop! I am getting so excited to go!!! I can't wait :)
At our class, we found out that our first excursion will be the the National forest and then to the slave castles! It is going to be amazing :)

Countdown... 39 days!!!!

VISA!

So... I must apologize for not keeping a proper update... according to Mark. So, here is the latest! I just moved into my new apartment so I have been busy. I finally got my Visa squared away at CMU, but still have to send in one single picture. I am very excited to not have to deal with that office anymore because they are so incredibly disorganized. I have started taking my Typhoid pills and have had no side effects thus far. They are a very picky pill so I have to make sure that I take them at the same time, every other day, and don't eat for like 3 hours. I have not yet heard when I will actually be haing my preparation class for the trip, but I hope to hear from my professors soon.
Sorry this is sort of boring, but I promise it will get more exciting!
COUNT DOWN UPDATE: 63 days!

COUNTDOWN!!

So... I decided to start a countdown for Ghana. I am leaving in (I think) 82 days. I may be a little off on the count. I am getting so excited that I just want to skip my student teaching here. I tried to turn in my visa at the International Education Office at Central and was denied. I had to have a meeting set up, so I will be returning to Central on Monday the 24th for my visa meeting. I really hope nothing goes wrong with it. The other student teaching trip to England was canceled because of visa issues.

I also set up my Skype account... so if you would like to talk to me while I am away my Skype name is christina.orefice

Hope your life is great and happy!

SHOTS and flight!

So... on Thursday, July 30 I went to the Kent County Health clinic and got my shots for Ghana. I received Hep A, Yellow Fever, and adult polio. I also got Typhoid and Malaria pills. The woman who gave me the shots, Sara, was extremely nice and told me about how she did Nurses Without Boarders for two years in Haiti! I am getting more and more excited to go, especially now that my flight is also booked! I will be leaving on October 28th and coming home on Dec. 21!

Oh!!! I also met a woman from Ghana named Dzifa. She sent me an actual Ghanaian outfit and gave me contact information of some of her family members who still live there! I am goign to be getting in contact with them this week!

More updates later!!!

God bless:)