First Week Update

Hello everyone! I have been in Ghana for just over a week now so I wanted to update my blog. I have been having a wonderful time and have enjoyed being in the school!

I finished my first week at school yesterday. The days are long, but I am only scheduled to be in a few classes a day as most teachers are, so I spend much of my time preparing for future lessons or sitting in on other classes. I will primarily be in history and introductory economics courses, but I have already visited business management, English, and geography classes. All of the teachers are very welcoming, and the students have already been recognizing me in the hallway and in class. Students have many of their courses only one day a week, so it has been interesting seeing them in multiple courses throughout the week.

I have led at least two lessons already, and it has been a fun experience because the teachers support me and trust that I am knowledgeable in the topic and can teach it. Despite my major being History, I have not taught history much yet in my pre-service teaching experiences, so I have been enjoying getting to teach my favorite subject. Class periods here are longer than I am used to as well, so I am enjoying taking teaching strategies that I am seeing here as well as ones that I learned and trying them. Yesterday, I got to watch students participate in a game of football (soccer) and it was a great chance to get outside and interact with students outside of a classroom setting.

Today, my host family treated me to some fresh coconuts from the coconut tree in their yard. I got to watch as the coconuts were picked, cut, and then handed to me to poke my straw in and drink. I did not realize how large fresh coconuts are, so I became full after drinking two! I also tried the coconut meat fresh out of the shell. Standing under the shade of surrounding trees while drinking from a coconut was a bucket-list experience for me and it made me happy! 

We took a walk through town today. Walking on the sandy roads with my host family in the gorgeous weather allowed me to see the surrounding area on foot rather than by car. I passed some shops that I hope to visit during my stay here.

I am learning many practical skills while I am here. Today, my host mom taught me how they handwash clothes here. It was relaxing to sit out on the porch with a few buckets of water and wash the clothes one item at a time. Hand-washing clothes is something that I do not do much in college outside of a few items, but it truly seems to make clothes cleaner while helping them to last longer than machine-washed clothing. I am glad that I will be able to bring this knowledge back to college with me.

Next week, I will be taking a leading role in all of the courses that I am scheduled for, so I am excited about that!