εte sεn (what up)

Hi everyone!  First, I'm sorry I haven't written more!  I don't have internet access in my host family's town or at the PC training site.  Today is a free day so after meeting the chief of my town this morning at the palace (yeah), a few PC buddies and I grabbed a tro (shitty old van) to Koforidua to use the internet cafe.  Also I am too tall for the seats in the tro, my patellas hurt.

Anyway, everything here is great.  I love the people (Ghanaians AND other PCVs), teaching, the food, my town, and life in general.  My host family is a blast. Margaret is my "sister" and Emmanuel is my "brother."  They speak decent English as they have had classes in school.  Emmanuel actually went running with me the other day.  He pooped out about a mile in, but he said he wants to keep going with me until he gets good at it.  Next time I'm here I'll upload some pictures of my town, family, and new friends!

I think I am assimilating nicely.. I am wearing a duku right now (head scarf wrap thing), I'm picking up more and more Twi, I've started cooking Ghanaian foods with my host mom, and this morning I carried water from the spigot in a bucket on my head.

Teaching... I taught high school chemistry this past week!! The high school is called OMESS (Oyoko Medthodist blahblahblah). We talked about orbitals, electron configuration, and a little about isotopes.  In the beginning of the week, I was a little nervous and talked too fast, but by Friday, things were going so smooth.  I LOVE my students.  They are intelligent, disciplined, respectful, and have great work ethic.  In fact, I love the teachers that I work with at OMESS also.  I could write an entire post about this dude named Ernest. In fact maybe I will sometime. I sort of wish I could stay at OMESS for the next 2 years...

Some other PCVTs and I with Intense Ernest

OH SPEAKING OF THE NEXT 2 YEARS... I got my assignment!! My school is in the Brong Ahafo Region in a town called "Menji."  Believe it or not you can actually find it on Google maps so check it out.  It is latitudinally in the middle of the country, but longitudinally out to the far west... almost to the border of Cote d'Ivoire.  In 2 weeks, I get to go visit for a week to check things out!! I am very excited :)  Just a few kilometers north of Menji is Bui National Park, which is home to warthogs, baboons, crocs, antelope, and various species of monkeys.  If you know anything about me, you know that I will be there as frequently as possible.

So I want to talk about food now. Since I am obsessed with diet and exercise, I was a little worried about nutrition before I got here.  But my macronutrient composition at meals is surprisingly superb.  Generally lunch and dinner consist of a starchy carbohydrate (cocoyam, plantain, cassava, or rice) with a big bowl of red/orange/yellow meaty stew... which might contain tomatoes, onions, palm or soy oil, peppers, peanuts (way tastier than it sounds), cabbage, carrot, kontonmire (like kale), various spices/ seasonings, eggplant, eggs, chicken, goat, or fish. Then on the side I might get avocado, pineapple, mango, or banana.  For breakfast I fry a mixture of eggs, cabbage, carrots, onions, and peppers in oil and eat it on a piece of bread.  Ghana bread kicks the ass of American bread.  I brought a giant stash of green tea, so that hasn't changed about me :) Still a few mugs of green tea every single morning.  Oh and also, the food is cooked in a pot over coals outside.  Oh and also, Ghanaians have flame-retardant hands.

Ok my time here is running out and I am getting hungry.  I miss you all, I love you, and I'm thinking of you.

Betsy