Entry 2: My Dreamlike Journey by Tina Lin

My dreamlike journey
-Tina lin
This journey is more like a dream than a trip for me. The blue sky, the shinning sun, children’s smile, people’s help all give me a great memory. This journey make me love this place successfully, I want to be back again when I grow up to study abroad at the university.

After I entered the airport in Louisville, my hosts: MRs Ghali Iman Georges came ande carried me home. They gave me some balloons to celebrate my arrival and provided me a brilliance bedroom. Then I give them back something in China as the gifts. That night was peace and quiet, and my hosts’ enthusiasm and sanguine give me a really good impression.

Then the second day I went to the school with Iman. That is really different from Chinese school and it’s also the most important things that I’d like to share with my friend in China. I think maybe American education da more care about children’s interest than Chinese’s. They have lots of interesting classes, and all the teachers are very nice. I think that’s not only a class but a family. They say hallo to everyone and talk with others play with others, not like the relationship between children and teacher in China.

Then I became friends with Iman lilian Gracie and so on. Such as the American girl in my memory, they are very cute and always smiling at me. We study together, eat behind a same table ande go shopping together, just had a wonderful time. And we still keep contact on Instagram now.

I have to say that I love the sun set in America so much, and certainly I took so many picture there. I think that’s my favorite memory.

I love this dreamlike journey so much. Wish I can back to America again in the future.

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Entry 1: My Time in Louisville by Wei Yinna (Joyce)

This winter holiday,I went to Louisville,America to be an exchange student for two weeks.It was a really memorable experience for me.

I lived with Rachel Rawlings, a teacher in KCD.She's a really kind person.I usually can't speak very well,and make some mistakes,but she didn't mind and was never impatient of that. She told me lots of things about America,like cultures,rules,habits and so on.She was always very careful to take care of me,just like my mother.I love her very much!

In Louisville,we studied with American students in KCD.Teachers and students there are friendly to us.The first day in KCD,Mr. Mahaffey took us on a walk around the school.They held a celebration for us. Students sang,played the piano and danced to the music.It was really exciting!After that,we went to a world history class,it was my first class there.Teacher arranged some classwork for American students,and gave us some students' homework about religions to read. Students found some introduce and pictures about five or six religions to make into the shape of the book.They are very beautiful.Actually,that's the first time I really felt the Americans creativity.

The second day,we went to Rachel's class. After we told students that our class begins at seven thirty,and ends at 10pm,they said"How can you survive?"with surprised.We heard that twice there.Actually,we also complain like that sometimes, because it's really tiring.
In KCD,I like ceramic class best. It was the first time that I saw the process of making ceramics, and it's really interesting to make a ceramic by myself!
The thing about America that surprised me most is we never heard a whistle.Maybe it's normal for American,but it's amazing for Chinese.The other thing that is amazing for Chinese is that high school students can bring their computers to classes,and they can use them. They can even leave their seat in classes.You know,in our classes,the only thing that we can do is look at teachers and listen to them .It's really boring,isn't it?
At the end,I want to say,I love America,I love Louisville,I love KCD,I'll be back!

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Entry 7: My story with the Nelsons by Wang Tianhe

My Story With The Nelsons
——Wang tianhe

In this winter holiday, as a member of Jiujiang teacher and student delegation, I attended a U.S.A. exchange program organized by the City Board of Education. This was also my first time to America. I feel lucky and grateful. The city for exchange is Louisville, Kentucky. We arrived the airport in Louisville in the evening of January 31stafter a long flight. Host families had already been waiting there. In the distance, noticing a lady and a handsome little boy holding a board with my name on it, I walked toward them excitedly. That’s how I met The Nelsons. It’s also the beginning of my story.
Mom, from my host family, drove us home. Hardly to see night view of the city in the car because of the snow, Mom caringly stopped the car and walked with me for a while. She pointed to the nearby Ohio River and introduced it is the only river in the city. Dense woods lay around it. Separated apartments are orderly arranged on each side of the road. My first impression of the town is...what a tranquil, natural and clean place!

 Car finally stopped in front of a red apartment. That’s my host family, the Nelsons’ home. Although it was snowing outside, I felt very warm inside, especially with a fireplace burning. I only saw this kind of house design, maybe a European style in general, on TV. Mom guided me to my room, a large place with a big bed in it. The decoration warmed my heart. I felt home.

 The Nelsons has four people. Mom is Tricia, Father is Jim, the bigger brother is Jamie, the younger one named Connor. The brothers are very adorable, especially Connor, lovely as a doll. They also raise a dog, Rocko and a cat, Dusty. Now, I am accepted as another member of the family. They are my American parents and brothers.

Because this was my first time ever being abroad and I was new to this family. At first, I was a little bit reserved, not knowing how to react or communicate. But all the family members were very enthusiastic; the two brothers always invited me to play with them. Gradually, I was influenced by their hospitality, involved in my new family and started to experience a new life whole-heartedly.

I’ll start with the food. Different from what we eat for breakfast in China, like crullers (“you tiao” in Chinese) and steamed buns (“baozi” in Chinese), every morning, Mom would make each of us a dessert, along with tomato sauce and a glass of milk. Jamie and I would have lunch in school cafeteria, normally it’s a buffet. At first I couldn’t get used to it, because vegetables there are eaten raw, not like everything in China are thoroughly cooked. However, I adapted myself to it. On weekends, we normally go outside to play and ate fast-food, like KFC. Compared with KFC chain stores in China, local KFC tasted better, but poor on products’ variety. KFC’s hometown is Kentucky; its headquarter locates in Louisville. At evenings, we usually ate at home. The family sit together. Dishes were served in order by Mom. Then we’d pass the course around, each spooned out the amount needed. We often talked while eating; I would tell them what had happened during the day. Communication brought us closer and added more and more intimacy among us. In three meals, dinner was always the most fancy one. My American parents would cook by themselves, serving soup, fried dishes and fruit salad.

Attending American classes was an important part of our exchange program. I was allocated to study in an independent school, KCD, equivalent to a domestic key school. Mom drove Jamie and I to school everyday. Father would take Connor to another school. On campus, while Jamie went to his own class, I would sit in on different classes of each grade with other Jiujiang students. Classroom arrangements are casual. Almost each subject has its own classroom, decorated in different styles. We had classes from history, art, music, physics to P.E. The room for art and craft lesson displays vivid clay sculptures. We made potteries with local students. There are various instruments in music room. Students sit together in a circle to learn. The platform in physical schoolroom is a standardized lab table, very convenient for teachers’ demonstration. I showed them the power-point I made and introduced Jiujiang’s scenery and history. There are only 19 students in each class, so they have lots of space to move around. Kids are divided into different groups. Same group members sit together around a desk. We as visitors can join whichever group we’d like and communicate with them. Each classroom has bookshelves. Students can leave seats to fetch whatever books they need in class without informing teachers. During P.E. Class and lunch breaks, they have various physical activities, some I had never seen in China. For ball games only, they play basketball, football, ping-pong and Cross. Besides, they play frisbees. In KCD, foreign language study has three main kinds, including French, Spanish and Latin. Children can choose one or two to learn. Classes start at 8:05 a.m. everyday and close at 15:05 p.m.. After school, while Jamie was finishing his homework on library’s computer, I would go online and waited Mom to pick us home. The library is large. Librarians here carefully fulfilled their duties, wrapping each book, sweeping the floor. Outside the library, there is a small fountain. The whole place looked clean and neat, showing a unity of standstill and movement.

Everyday, after school is our entertainment time. The Nelsons’ basement is specially designed for this purpose. Jamie, Connor and I would play ping-pong down there. The ping-pong table was put up with boards and battens, temporarily found by father. We would watch TV or practice basketball shots with a small ball. My two brothers really like slamming dunks. They usually became sweaty after practices. Speaking of basketball, I have a LOT to say. 11-year-old Jamie joined two basketball teams; 9-year-old Connor joined three. From these, you can see their passion about playing basketball. Sometimes, after school, we played in the open area just in front of the house. Occasionally, father would join us and gave instructions from time to time. We were devoted but also with great ease. Sometimes we lowered the basket and dunked, it felt so great! Jamie and Connor had trainings twice or three times a week. I often went to watch them. Players in training classes were small, including both boys and girls. Their bodies were only about twice as large as the ball. All the players were very devoted during the training, competing against each other. I once asked Connor, is attending three basketball teams tiring? His answer was NO, because he loved it. Through them, I can tell why America’s basketball leads the world. Besides regular training classes, on weekends, they had competitions to play now and then. I watched some of the matches. Despite players’ young age, they fought for scores aggressively. Audiences also played a vital role, full of passion. I remembered at the end of one competition, when a small player hit an amazing 3-point buzzer and sent the match into overtime, he won a standing ovation. What a wonderful shoot! Jamie and Connor had great performances too. They were the main players on the court. Jamie scored 6 points once. Connor gained 8 points in another game. However, they never cared much about the results. They thought it was even more important to eat good food after games. How lovely!

Compared to NBA, a name more familiar to us Chinese; Nelsons prefer NCAA, namely National Collegiate Athletic Association. They knew how I loved watching basketball games; so on a weekend, they drove me to KFC center for a female basketball game. It’s my first live game in a large stadium and it felt really different! All the cheering squad dancing, passionate young fans yelling were infectious and awesome! Sometimes the big screen flashed “MAKE SOME NOISE!” and waves of shouts and whistles erupted like crazy. We watched another male basketball game on TV at home, with guest team University of Louisville against home team University of Notre Dame. Just when we thought the game would end with University of Louisville’s sweeping victory, University of Notre Dame miraculously scored 12 points within the last 42 seconds, throwing the whole game into overtime. At both the second and fourth overtime, University of Notre Dame worked wonders and equaled the score at the last moment. Jamie, Connor and I applauded for the fifth overtime on our couch. Finally by the end of the fifth overtime, University of Louisville missed a three-point shot and lost the game. Fans for University of Notre Dame flooded into the filed, celebrating with players as if they’d won the National Champion. We watched the whole game till dawn. I’m so lucky to watch such a wonderful game with five overtimes during my short visit in Louisville. I’m going to share my excitement with my classmates in China.

I had a great time with the Nelsons. They took me shopping, watching horse racing, bowling and playing Ping-Pong. We even visited a Swiss man in his eighties and invited other children for party at home. Sometimes I taught Jamie and Connor simple Chinese characters and dialogues. All in all, every day is full of joy.

On the Eve of Chinese New year, Mom and I pasted spring festival couplets and paper-cuts to the door and windows, a perfect harmony between Chinese and western culture. I sent them some gifts with Chinese features, such as pens, chopsticks, cups and pencil vases made of porcelain, Peking opera facial masks and Chinese knots. The school held a delightful spring festival party for us and there I even had a long-lost taste of Chinese food.

How time flies! The exchange soon came to an end and I had to leave Louisville and the Nelsons. The evening before my departure, I lied in bed, replaying in my mind every moment with the Nelsons during those days. Sleep escaped me, so I went to my litter brothers’ room. Sensing my sadness, they didn’t say a word, just hugged me tightly.

In the morning of Feb. 11th, 2013 local time, we got up very early. Mom cooked my favorite food. This was the last time I had breakfast at the Nelsons, who knows when I can have another opportunity?

After breakfast, mom gave me a notebook with photos and letters from each member of the Nelsons. I clutched the notebook and hugged them again. All I could say was I love you! I also gave mom a notebook with my wishes for them in Chinese. My English wasn’t enough for my feeling, if only they could understand Chinese! I hope my small gifts from China can be a reminder of our time together.

Finally it’s time to say goodbye. After Mom led me and Jamie in the bus I waved goodbye to dad and Connor through the window glass. I was so sad that I just couldn’t spare them more glances. After the bus pulled up at school, I hugged mom and Jamie again. Mom was smiling, but there were tears in her eyes. I’m afraid I’m going to cry too, so I said “Mom I love you” and didn’t dare to look them in the eyes again.

I’m very grateful to Nelsons for their care and hospitality. The different culture and life style I experienced there have become one of my sweetest memories. I will always love my American mom, dad and little brothers as I love my own family.

Adieu, Louisville! Adieu, my dear Nelsons!

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Entry 8: My Time in Louisville by Xu Shengwei

It’s was snowing when I walked out of the Louisville Airport. The white snow in the wind fell on my cheek, but it felt sift and I didn’t feel cold. At that moment, I began my life and study exchange with American students.

As initial visiting the Collegiate School, we found it is not a big one but is fully equipped. Here, there are all kinds of classrooms such as Chinese, physics and even biology with boa constrictor etc. However, in China, our school is very different. It’s amazing! Surprisedly, I found three exchange students from China. They introduced us the Collegiate School in Chinese and communicated with their classmates in fluent English. Sometimes there are some local students talking with us and asking us some questions in Chinese, they can not speak Chinese very well so that we had to answer their questions about China in English, but I thought it was a wonder chance to me. In that case, I forgot to express myself in Chinese. I got used to the life here.

The weather in Louisville varies with days. It was on a rainy day that I took a photography lesson whit a Chinese student, the teacher of which is a kind middle-aged woman. She was surprised and pleased when I took her lesson. During our lesson we stayed in a darkroom which is equipped with advanced facilities for developing films. Of course, all films should be developed by students themselves. We really felt happy when one film after another was developed by us.

Besides photography lessons, I also took three periods of art classes about mask. In class we created a strange and exaggerated mask with a kind of paper board and waste newspaper and then carved it with a kind of mud. Finally we colored it with bright colors. When we did it attentively, the teacher also helped us with it patiently. But in China, we choose to devote our attention to science classes instead of art classes. It is a different way to access to education, so the school lives are different between China and America. I love Chinese school but then I was really moved by the diversified environment, the open attitude and the close relationship between students and teachers. The students here, no matter what race, no matter where they come from, sat together in the same classroom studying actively and enjoyed their favorite lunch together. Here anybody would like to open the door of the teaching building for you no matter what the weather is like.

Ten days’ trip to Louisville was over soon. We said goodbye to them. It was a sad time because I thought it was too hard to say goodbye to Louisville, to the Collegiate School, to my host families, to the teachers and students here. It was not sunny day like California here, sometimes it rained and sometimes it was sunny, sometimes the wind runs behind your eyes and sometimes the snowflakes are sleeping in your hair. There are four seasons obviously here and the weather is changing anytime, what is unbreakable is that the people here are passionate and warmly.

With the time passing by, wish the trip gave us lasting impression forever! I will never forget the short history about my time in Louisville.

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Hays Hopkins: Closing out my stay in Mainz

Today is the day that I receive my certificate and I am already aware that I have received excellent results.  This is despite all of my worries to the contrary.  It was truly a difficult course, but, for that reason, extraordinarily helpful.  After taking the A2 certificate test in May, I arrive in Mainz and actually skipped ahead to B1.5 instead of just B1.  That slight bump up immensely increased what I have been able to take from this experience.  The benefit of an experience like this cannot be replicated in one's private studies and I will greatly miss it.

Beyond the academics, the lifestyle is one to which I know I could grow accustomed.  I've used public transportation only a handful of times and have, instead, gotten around town on a bike that the Freundschaftkreis was generous enough to lend me--not to mention the amazing barbecue they invited me too.  There has been more than one day where I have found myself in some new area just through a spirit of adventure afforded by having a bicycle at my disposal.  I have found more places and experienced more sights.  I will remember my time here without even the slightest tinge of negativity.

I would like to end on a note about my German teacher here.  It is probably true that us Americans can be a little behind Europeans on politeness.  However, that does not serve as any indication of my level of respect for Stephan Stachorski.  His humor and liveliness can serve as a complete rebuttal of the stereotype of German severity.  These qualities also made five hours of German course a pleasure.  It is hard to imagine feeling more engaged in the material and being more excited by German grammar!  For all of these reasons, my time here has been invaluable and I would highly recommend a visit to our sister city, Mainz.

 

Hays Hopkins: My Arrival in Mainz, Germany

My first week and a half in Mainz has been both fantastic and fast.  It started with getting a lift from Frankfurt airport by Frau Karst of the Mainz Freundschaftkreis; after being in Heathrow for 8 hours overnight the appreciation of this gesture cannot be overstated.  After arriving at my place and taking a short nap, my first night ended with me being treated to dinner by Frau Karst and, another Sister Cities member, Frau Bell Koehler.  These gestures on my first day are entirely indicative of my stay thus far.

Classes started, and continue, in a flurry.  My teacher is so patient and conscious of the students that I feel that I’ve had no trouble integrating into an all German-language classroom.  I wish I could say the same for the times that I have hung out with German students!  It is difficult to keep up to the normal pace, but I have been hanging in there.  The students in my dormitory have asked me out to play soccer and just walk along the Rhine.  Along with the leisure program of the summer course, my schedule is rather full.

As to the theme of what I have learned so far, I do have an interesting story.  Another member of the Mainz Freundschaftkreis invited me to his house for a BBQ.  Herr Licht graciously invited me into his home and we entered into a discussion on cultural differences.  He reminded me that, although Americans can often find Germans too rude or direct, that I must not interpret actions from my own cultural vantage point.  Having to keep this in mind on a daily basis brings my academic learning to reality; however, I have, admittedly, had  little chance to exercise such understanding, as everyone has been so welcoming.
Bis bald!

My Final Days in Tamale

I must apologize for the length of time it has been since I’ve last blogged. I’ve been writing so much in my personal journal that I have forgotten to update my blog! There has been a lot going on since I last wrote, so I will try to touch on as many things as possible!

Health: Last week Saturday I fell very ill with a terrible cough, chest congestion, and a pretty high fever. The fever lasted well into Monday, but by Monday evening it began to break. For all of Saturday and Sunday, I remained in bed dozing in and out. I did manage to read four books in between Saturday and Monday though J On Tuesday morning, Chief and Prof’s friend, Doctor Turner, came by to examine Chief and me (since Chief had been sick since two day before I fell ill). Dr. Turner said Chief’s illness was doing better and gave her some exercises to help get rid of the cough. He said that since I still had a fever, he believe I had acute bronchitis on top of a common cold and prescribed me an antibiotic. That seemed to help, and by the end of the week I was doing much better. However, that weekend when we took a road trip, Chief’s health took a turn for the worse. On the drive home, she started experiencing extreme vertigo that led to her getting sick very often. Unfortunately, we had a bumpy 4 hour drive home that didn’t help her sickness. After a while, she was able to nap for short periods of time which seemed to help, and eventually we made it home. Dr. Turner came over that night and got her some medicine which seemed to help. Now she is doing much better.

Travel: While we are somewhat on the topic. Last weekend, I accompanied Chief and Prof on a road trip to Binaba, which is a town about 160 Km away I believe. We left very early Saturday morning (7:30) and—due to the quality of the road—arrived at their friend’s house in Binaba at about 11:30. The scenery was very pretty on the way there. We caught a glimpse of the Tong hills and the White Volta and witnessed a slight change in scenery as things grew a bit grassier and hillier. We chatted and had lunch at their friend’s house. I cannot remember his name, but I know is a retired bishop from the area. For lunch, his daughter made Red Red (fried plantains and beans) along with rice and ground nut soup (ground nuts are another name for peanuts). I would give it a definite 5 stars (that kind of falls under the food category). Then, the bishop showed Prof and me around town. Chief wasn’t feeling well so she stayed back and rested. At about 2 o’clock, we decided to head home since we had a bit of trip ahead of us. On the way out to the car, Chief got sick in the yard L. However, I believe she really wanted to get home if possible so that she could be in her own bed and seek medical attention, so we started the journey. We stopped at the market in Bolgatanga so that Prof and I could do a little shopping and so that Chief could rest peacefully without the bumps from the potholes and speedbumps in the road. They make very neat baskets in Bolgatanga, and I had a hard time not buying every single one in sight. It took a great deal of self-control, but since I only had a certain amount of cash, I was forced to control my spendings J Eventually, we started back on the road and unfortunately, Chief wasn’t feeling any better. We arrived back at the palace a little after 7:30 (a mighty long ride in what is not a very comfortable truck!) and Prof and Razak ushered her inside and called Dr. Turner. Since there wasn’t much I could do (besides make Prof and I dinner), I made dinner and went to bed.  If you factor out the cramped travel arrangements and Chief’s awful sickness, the trip was nice!

Health Work: I spent the last week observing the activities of the nurses at Kalpohin Health Clinic. All of the nurses there are SUPER nice and helpful and I had a great time working with them. Each day they placed me at a different station so that I could get a glimpse of all the different aspects of the clinic. I have found that child and maternal health is of the utmost importance in Ghana, and so, while it is not my number one interest personally, I have definitely been introduced to the importance of it in the health field in Ghana.

The first day, I sat in the family planning room which is where ladies can come for birth control. They offer two different sets of pills and two different shots. The pills are taken daily for three weeks. One of the shots is administered monthly and the other is administered every 3 months. The nurse explains the options to the women, and they are able to decide which type of birth control they want. However, before they are given any of the drugs, they must take a pregnancy test, because, I found out, many of them that come in for the pills are already pregnant and are under the impression that the pills will take care of that.

The next day, I observed the immunizations table which was basically the exact same as the one at Tamale Central. 12 immunizations are offered and each one ends the same way…with a screaming baby L Although I LOVE children, this is my absolute least favorite section of the clinic, because not only am I not able to play with any of the kids, but I have to sit there and watch them scream and cry L

On Friday, I went out with two of the nurses to do house visits. They said usually they carry some vaccines and such with them in case a child is in need of one, but that day they didn’t have enough, so we just did some routine check-ups. This consisted of going to random houses and asking if there were any children in the house. If there were, then we collected their health record book (which is given to them by the clinic for free when they have a child). We checked to make sure all of the immunizations were up to date, and then asked the mom some questions about her health and the child’s health. The nurses explained to me that sometimes the mothers won’t come to the clinic if they have problems because there are so many people around, so the nurses make house visits so that the mothers have more privacy and so that the nurses can impress upon them how important it is to keep their children up to date on vaccinations! I enjoyed the visits because it provided a change of scenery and it felt a bit more personal than the clinic. The thing I dislike the most about the clinics is how impersonal and mechanical it feels. While the nurses are very chatty and friendly amongst each other, they aren’t so much so towards the mothers and children. Not that they are mean or rude by any means, but they just don’t smile and show a real concern towards the patients. I know by now that is just a part of the culture because service is like that everywhere in Ghana, but it is something that I have a hard time getting used to since I’m so acquainted with the high customer service expectations of America.

Monday I went with some nurses to one of the schools to give a presentation on the importance of hand washing. We gave one presentation to the P1 and P2 classes combined, and then we gave another to the P3 students. (P stands for primary). The nurses really stressed using CLEAN water AND soap and ALWAYS washing hands AFTER going to the bathroom and BEFORE eating!! They explained to the kids that they can get diseases such as Cholera and rotavirus if they fail to wash their hands properly.

  They also touched on the proper places to go to the bathroom. Since many of the schools (the one near Kalpohin health clinic being one of them) and most houses do not have private bathroom facilities, people will go to the bathroom wherever suits them. This is oftentimes in a grassy patch of a yard. Obviously, this can lead to MANY problems, a major one being the spread of disease. Apparently this is something that has to be stressed upon the children very often. It’s amazing to me how limited bathroom facilities are in the area. Most families do not have a bathroom in their house. Instead, there are “public” bathrooms located somewhere in town or villages where people can go to the bathroom in pits or holes that have been dug inside a building. However, considering those facilities are not right next to every person’s house or a school, many people resort to going in a bushy area or something of the sort! That was very eye-opening for me.

 My favorite part of the presentation came when the nurse was reviewing her talk with the kids and asked “So what will happen if you don’t properly wash your hands before eating or after going to the bathroom?” One of the P1 students raised his hand in answered, in earnest, “You’ll get AIDS!” All of the adults got a bit of a laugh from that, but it was then explained to the kids that that was not the way one could get AIDS, however, one could acquire many other diseases from improper hand washing.

My last day at the clinic, I observed the antenatal room where the midwife explained their process for examining the pregnant ladies. Since they don’t have any high-tech machines or anything, they can only do very basic examinations. However, they refer the women to the Teaching Hospital to get an ultrasound and they also give referrals to a nearby lab to get blood, urine, and stool tests. I was able to feel the fetuses of a few of the women and I also heard a few heartbeats through this little cone type thing they used. That part was pretty neat J

My time at the health clinic served as a very eye-opening experience for me. Although I’m aware that I would have to spend years here to encounter and understand even a portion of the problems that some people face here, I believe I have a much better understanding of the difficulties that arise in the area of sanitation and health in under-developed countries. I often find myself wishing I had they money or means to build proper bathrooms for each family and school I visit or wishing I could help all the beggars on the side of the road that are missing limbs or clearly suffering from some sort of disease. Although it is discouraging that, at the moment, I don’t really have the ability to do any such thing, it is slightly encouraging that I have chosen a profession that will someday, hopefully, allow me to do such a thing. If nothing else, this trip has helped me to validate my choice of a future career in the Health Field J

Food: My favorite topic J Yesterday, I ate at Mariama’s restaurant and she made me fufu and light soup. Fufu is basically a huge dumpling made of yam (my favorite!!) and I’m not sure what is in light soup exactly, but I do know that it has quite a kick! Overall, I would give it four out of five stars! I ate the whole huge bowl of it and enjoyed every bit, however I would have to say that I actually like banku better than fufu. Not that I wouldn’t eat fufu a thousand more time before I left, but I would probably eat banku a thousand and one more times ;)

As I mentioned earlier, when we were at the bishop’s house, his daughter made red-red and rice with groundnut soup and I can say that, without a doubt, it was my favorite meal I’ve had since I’ve been in Ghana. Probably because I LOVE groundnut soup (since it is essentially warm, soupy peanut butter) and fried plantains are to die for!! Yuuuuummmyy!!

Gifts: This week, Fatimata finished making the two dresses that I gave her cloth to make for me. They are both very, very cute! Although I might look a little goofy wearing one around in the United States, I fit in wonderfully wearing one here. Now, I have had three dresses made for me (I bought the cloth and then paid someone to sew the dress for me). Plus, two days ago, Madame Fati and Mariama had me pick out a third dress (which is a different style than the other three I have…which are all different styles themselves) that they gave to me as a gift from SCT. And yesterday, two of the teachers and one of the students from the JSS I taught at brought me a dress as a gift from the school (it was yet a different style than the other four!!). So, I now have more dresses than I think I’ve owned at one time in my life. Haha!! They are all very cute and I believe that my sister will probably want to be borrowing them when I get back ;) I also gave all of the gifts I brought from home to the people here that have helped me during my trip! That included Bro Zee and Fatimata and their children, Jehanfo, Madame Fati, Mariama, Razak, Kintampo, and Jon. And I’m pretty sure they all absolutely loved them J Madame Fati actually screeched and did a little dance, haha!! It made my day to see how happy they all were to get their gifts J I love giving people gifts, especially when they have helped me as much as everyone here has!!

I know my mom is probably wondering, so I will let her know that, yes, I have gotten gifts for almost everyone back home now ;) Madame Fati and Mariama took me to the Cultural center yesterday and a neat little shop called Colwood that sells a bunch of gifts that are made of tie-dyed fabric! It’s a very neat store J So, as long as I can fit everything in my suitcase, I will have lots of nice gifts for  my family upon my return. I made sure to save a bit of room in case I find some things in Accra that strike my fancy ;)

That leads me to my last topic: Final Plans: Tomorrow is my last full day in Tamale! And it will end with a potluck dinner for the SCT members (which I will allow to double as a small going away party!). Sunday I leave bright and early (boarding time 6-7:30 a.m) for Accra!!! I’ve already talked with Solomon who said he will be waiting for me at the airport (this time I vow not to panic if he is not there immediately when I land, and since I now know what he looks like that will make things much easier too). Between Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, I will get in as much touristy activities as possible (I’m leaving the scheduling up to Solomon) and Wednesday evening I will depart for home!!!

While I am going to be very sad to leave all the wonderful people I have met here in Ghana, I cannot say that I am not also extremely excited to see my family again and sleep in my nice, comfy bed (without tucking in a mosquito net ;) )!! I look forward to all these last few days hold and plan to make the most of every moment J!