Lots of working on the classroom has been done this week.  It has been exhausting, and the dust from all the construction is making my head all stuffy!  It is very strange, but apparently people (not just me, but all of us) require more sleep here than in America.  Interesting.  I think some of it may have to do with it getting dark here around 6 - which makes 7 feel like 10 pm!  I also think that it is super draining to see life here.  This is what I see when I look right outside of my colorful new classroom.

Emotionally, it is taking a toll on me, and I hope that I never get used to it.  Just walking to school, I pass families who live and work on the side of the street.  I came home tonight and passed a mother sleeping on a bench with her children under it - crammed in, lying right on the red dirt (yes, red dirt - the land and the weather here are much the same as Auburn - the humidity and the red dirt - I feel terrible for all the adjusting the Yankees who have come over have to do).  But, I feel like I am "roughing" it and then I see these people who live with nothing, for nothing, with no expectation for tomorrow.  They say when a child dies here, almost no one shows up for the funeral.  But for an elder who has lived through the tough life here, there is mourning for weeks.  It is exactly opposite of the US.  It is terribly tragic when a child dies, while almost expected at a certain age.  They lost two orphans at the orphanage this week, and I have not heard any plans for a funeral.  This is normal here, and I do not want to get used to this part of Africa.  

Because of the high mortality rate, life for Ghanaians is all about what is right there in front of them.  There values are based on "immediacy."  A doctor in Accra attempted to better the medical standards for the country and bought an CT (or some kind of x ray/ bone scan).  When it was shipped to Ghana, the workers at the port took a bribe from a Doctor in Nigeria, and their country lost a chance to help its self.  Ghanaians do not look to the future at all.  Its tragic, and also so far from most American's way of thinking - where efficiency is a high priority.

I say all this to try to give you a glimpse of where I am.  I am going to get used to taking naps and trying to find new ways to bring the hope and peace of Christ to the people here.  

More fun cultural experiences this week have been LOTS of food tasting.  One good native food is boiled plantains with "Palava" sauce.  Plantains taste like potatoes, and the sauce was like spicy spinach - it was good, I would eat this again.  The main food here is called "Fufu."  If anyone has ever read the "Poisonwood Bible" this is the food the girls eat when they arrive in the Congo - that brings tears to their eyes.  It is some kind of mashed up and fermented corn, that is the texture of slime.  "Banku" is the same fermented corn, but in a paste form.  Neither of these dishes are to be chewed or tasted.  It is a way for the people here to have enough food extremely cheap.  They are both served with very spicy soups, and both you eat with your hands.  Recap: soup + slime with hands.  Super messy.  I could only eat a taste of each, and I will never choose to eat either one of them ever again, ever.  After this, we headed home for Mrs. Laurie's twice baked potatoes, pork, rolls, and veggies.  It's very simple things that I am thankful for today.

Tonight was one of the teacher's birthdays - so we met and played cards at a place the Americans have named "Rosemary's."  Here, we sat and heard Ghanaian music blaring - which is fun - it is much like the our music - except I can't understand any of the words.  We could also hear the preaching from one of the charismatic Ghanaian churches across the road.  Wow, one of the many "Africa" moments I don't think I will ever forget.  Then, we went over to her house for cookies and ice cream - a very fun night!  We are meeting at the school to pray at 7:15 tomorrow - I hope I can get up! Please pray for all of us, for strength and energy.  School starts Monday!