Hello!
So, I'm up waaay past my bed time tonight. It happens. The reason though, is that I'm baking cookies for the seniors at school! They're trying to raise money for their senior trip next semester and tomorrow they're having a bakesale - somehow I told Ryan (their senior class advisor) that I would bring cookies. Well, it turned out to be much more of a hassle than I bargained for. Apparently, not all flour is created equal. I don't bake too much and when I do it's usually from a "just add water" box type deal because those are cheap in the States. In Ghana it's cheaper to cook from scratch. And once again, in America things are much easier because when you go to the store all the flour is pretty much the same price and you just buy the one that says "Flour" in big bold letters. Here in Ghana you have to be careful because a seemingly innocuous looking bag of flour might actually be $20... or more. So, thinking I was saving money, I did the math and bought the flour that was on sale not knowing that "self-rising four" is in fact not what you want to use for baking cookies. A very flat batch of cookies later I've learned my lesson and am now cooking using the correct ingredients thanks to the wonderful girls upstairs loaning me some flour. These cookies are much prettier.
Tonight was also really fun because our house was invited over to the Mozley's for dinner! The Mozley family is just so great. Last year, they had alllllll of us over for dinner every Monday night. This year we won't be able to do that just because there are so many more of us. So, tonight was just our house and we had delicious food and amazing conversation. It was just fantastic to be back in that house eating pita chips and salsa :-) mmmmm So many fun memories from last year!
"But Elyse," you wonder, "what's going on with the title of your blog???" I'm getting there.
I remember last year having a conversation with Mariah about how the word "desperation" really effectively summarizes your first year in Ghana. I agreed with her then but now looking back I really how seriously true it is - desperation describes everything about last year.
Every time a plane flew overhead I was desperate to be on it.
I was desperate to learn this crazy culture and feel like I understood it well enough to get around on my own.
I was desperate to feel like a part of an already established friend group.
I was desperate to figure out how the school was setup and run (still working on this one).
I was desperate to figure out how to handle 6 preps - 1 of which I was certified to teach.
I was desperate to blend in with the crowd.
I was desperate to learn how to count on God for everything and to get myself out of the way.
I was desperate to get home.
(You know how when you say a word too many times it loses all meaning? Just happened with the word desperate.)
So, the word for last year was desperation and I think the word for this year is "determined."
I'm determined to be a better teacher this year than last year.
I'm determined to be the light for Christ that I know I'm supposed to be and that I want to be.
I'm determined to finish the year well.
I'm determined to stay focused in Ghana.
I'm determined to just get through it and get home.
None of that probably makes any sense but I'm very happy with my word choices: desperation and determination. I enjoy alliteration.
Okay, well by now it's SERIOUSLY past my bed time and the last cookies are cooling on the counter. I'd better go put them away before the ants get to them.
Hope you're all doing great!!! Less than two months to break!
15 October 2009
04 October 2009
Morning puzzles...
So, I actually haven't been any better this year about updating... Yeah, sorry :-( It's just weird because my life here has become just that - my life. I don't do things during the day that make me think, "Wow! People would really enjoy hearing about that!" It's normal to be here and living in Ghana so I don't think about how getting to go to a Korean festival is all that abnormal but it is probably abnormal to people in the States. Anyway, that's my lame excuse for not updating :-)
Let's start with the Korean festival from last weekend since I already mentioned it...
One of the 7th grade Korean students at school has a father who is the pastor of a church. I guess every year they have this "festival" to raise money for charity. I'm not even sure which charity it was this year. They mentioned food and dancing and I was in - I didn't need to know anything else! Haha. But they had tons of amaaaaaazing food. Amanda and I decided that we would each buy a few things and then share. I ate so much kimbob (spelling?) that night, it was ridiculous. Kimbob is the Korean version of Japanese sushi. Delicious! They also had - now this is truly amazing - a COTTON CANDY MACHINE! Kim and I ate so much cotton candy - it was amazing. I'm a bad influence for her! Haha. We seriously marveled over the machine and how it's made - you just spoon sugar in and out comes this wispy cotton candy stuff. Sweet! Literally. It was funny to eat though because Ghana is so incredibly humid that by the time you're down to the last bit of cotton candy it's almost like jelly because of all the water it's absorbed from the air. Still good though. We ate it. After gorging ourselves on the amazing food then the entertainment started. I can't believe that at a church they let their daughters get up there and sing and dance raunchy style with tiny little shorts on. It was a bit ridiculous. Anyway, it was a really fun night!
This morning was a funny morning. I love getting up and having to figure out just what happened in the rest of the house while I was sleeping. Let me explain... Last night I was soooo tired and fell asleep at about 8:30 pm and was dead to the world until about 5 am. When I finally realized I wasn't going to go back to sleep I got up at about 6 am and walked in to the living room. In the living room I found our clothes drying rack full of clothes that I recognized as Christy's. That's odd considering we have a dryer. I wondered why she hadn't turned on the floor fan we have to help her clothes dry. Well, I looked around a bit and saw that the fan was pointing to the clothes but it wasn't on. Then I looked a little harder and saw that the power strip into which the fan and wireless router were plugged was not in its usual place and therefore the fan was not on. Puzzled, I turned around to the dining room and found the power strip was plugged in to the wall... which was plugged in to another power strip... into which the refrigerator in the kitchen was plugged. That's odd. Then, I tried to use the toaster and that wall plug wasn't working. Ahhhhhhh, it finally dawned on me - either a fuse had blown or ECG (the power company) has a phase off. For whatever reason, the power in our house isn't supplied by one line but two from the company. I don't know exactly how it all works but one of the lines was not (and is still not) supplying power. Thankfully, my room is unaffected. Anyway, it was just funny to be up so early and trying to figure out just what was going on. After solving the puzzle I got dressed and went for an early morning run. I love Ghana in the morning. It's still nice and cool outside and peaceful. I wish I could do it more during the week but when I get up it's still dark outside and it's not too safe to run alone in the dark.
After I got home from my run (and showering, of course) I listened to a sermon from home and spent the rest of the day reading. Which, by the way, if you haven't listened to Darrel's sermon about renewing our minds you seriously should. It was amazing and about how we have to set our minds on whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is noble - instead of the inane dribble that we usually think about because what we think about shapes our actions, which then shape our character. This power of taking our thoughts captive can only come from the Holy Spirit living inside of us. It was really convicting and I loved it - another point for Darrel! Anyway, I did finish the movie "Public Enemies," which I thought was pretty good. It was a bit dry but good. No, I didn't go to church this morning. I just don't connect with church here in Ghana and don't get anything out of going. There isn't a point to my going and being miserable when I can stay home and get so much more out of listening to a downloaded sermon from Dublin Baptist - so that's what I do :-) I miss church so much and CAN'T WAIT to be back there over Christmas break. Anyway, so then this evening the whole staff was invited over to the new business manager, Chris and his wife Nicole's, house for dinner. We had spaghetti and amazing chocolate cake! It was actually a really fun time and after dinner Ben played his guitar and we sang some worship songs. It was good :-) Nicole even sent us home with food! I love being part of the single girls that people take pity on and so they give us food! We have an amazing support system around us here and I feel sooooooo blessed.
Something I can't quite wrap my mind around yet is that having really good days in Ghana, like today, make me want to come home and be home that much more. Why should that be when I'm really starting to love living here and it feels a little more like my home everyday? While I'm feeling more and more like this is my home because it's where my life is right now I'm also starting to really get excited about coming home to America and finding a job and getting an apartment, etc. Sometimes all I can think about is job hunting and "oh crap what am I going to DO in America???" I just don't understand why when I'm doing so well in Ghana all I can think about is getting out. Interesting.
Okay, well what I thought wasn't going to be a very long update turned in to a pretty big post! Sweet. Maybe my life is more interesting than I thought :-) Hope you're all doing amazing in America and I can't wait to see you all!!! 2 months and 8 days :-D
Let's start with the Korean festival from last weekend since I already mentioned it...
One of the 7th grade Korean students at school has a father who is the pastor of a church. I guess every year they have this "festival" to raise money for charity. I'm not even sure which charity it was this year. They mentioned food and dancing and I was in - I didn't need to know anything else! Haha. But they had tons of amaaaaaazing food. Amanda and I decided that we would each buy a few things and then share. I ate so much kimbob (spelling?) that night, it was ridiculous. Kimbob is the Korean version of Japanese sushi. Delicious! They also had - now this is truly amazing - a COTTON CANDY MACHINE! Kim and I ate so much cotton candy - it was amazing. I'm a bad influence for her! Haha. We seriously marveled over the machine and how it's made - you just spoon sugar in and out comes this wispy cotton candy stuff. Sweet! Literally. It was funny to eat though because Ghana is so incredibly humid that by the time you're down to the last bit of cotton candy it's almost like jelly because of all the water it's absorbed from the air. Still good though. We ate it. After gorging ourselves on the amazing food then the entertainment started. I can't believe that at a church they let their daughters get up there and sing and dance raunchy style with tiny little shorts on. It was a bit ridiculous. Anyway, it was a really fun night!
This morning was a funny morning. I love getting up and having to figure out just what happened in the rest of the house while I was sleeping. Let me explain... Last night I was soooo tired and fell asleep at about 8:30 pm and was dead to the world until about 5 am. When I finally realized I wasn't going to go back to sleep I got up at about 6 am and walked in to the living room. In the living room I found our clothes drying rack full of clothes that I recognized as Christy's. That's odd considering we have a dryer. I wondered why she hadn't turned on the floor fan we have to help her clothes dry. Well, I looked around a bit and saw that the fan was pointing to the clothes but it wasn't on. Then I looked a little harder and saw that the power strip into which the fan and wireless router were plugged was not in its usual place and therefore the fan was not on. Puzzled, I turned around to the dining room and found the power strip was plugged in to the wall... which was plugged in to another power strip... into which the refrigerator in the kitchen was plugged. That's odd. Then, I tried to use the toaster and that wall plug wasn't working. Ahhhhhhh, it finally dawned on me - either a fuse had blown or ECG (the power company) has a phase off. For whatever reason, the power in our house isn't supplied by one line but two from the company. I don't know exactly how it all works but one of the lines was not (and is still not) supplying power. Thankfully, my room is unaffected. Anyway, it was just funny to be up so early and trying to figure out just what was going on. After solving the puzzle I got dressed and went for an early morning run. I love Ghana in the morning. It's still nice and cool outside and peaceful. I wish I could do it more during the week but when I get up it's still dark outside and it's not too safe to run alone in the dark.
After I got home from my run (and showering, of course) I listened to a sermon from home and spent the rest of the day reading. Which, by the way, if you haven't listened to Darrel's sermon about renewing our minds you seriously should. It was amazing and about how we have to set our minds on whatever is pure, whatever is right, whatever is lovely, whatever is noble - instead of the inane dribble that we usually think about because what we think about shapes our actions, which then shape our character. This power of taking our thoughts captive can only come from the Holy Spirit living inside of us. It was really convicting and I loved it - another point for Darrel! Anyway, I did finish the movie "Public Enemies," which I thought was pretty good. It was a bit dry but good. No, I didn't go to church this morning. I just don't connect with church here in Ghana and don't get anything out of going. There isn't a point to my going and being miserable when I can stay home and get so much more out of listening to a downloaded sermon from Dublin Baptist - so that's what I do :-) I miss church so much and CAN'T WAIT to be back there over Christmas break. Anyway, so then this evening the whole staff was invited over to the new business manager, Chris and his wife Nicole's, house for dinner. We had spaghetti and amazing chocolate cake! It was actually a really fun time and after dinner Ben played his guitar and we sang some worship songs. It was good :-) Nicole even sent us home with food! I love being part of the single girls that people take pity on and so they give us food! We have an amazing support system around us here and I feel sooooooo blessed.
Something I can't quite wrap my mind around yet is that having really good days in Ghana, like today, make me want to come home and be home that much more. Why should that be when I'm really starting to love living here and it feels a little more like my home everyday? While I'm feeling more and more like this is my home because it's where my life is right now I'm also starting to really get excited about coming home to America and finding a job and getting an apartment, etc. Sometimes all I can think about is job hunting and "oh crap what am I going to DO in America???" I just don't understand why when I'm doing so well in Ghana all I can think about is getting out. Interesting.
Okay, well what I thought wasn't going to be a very long update turned in to a pretty big post! Sweet. Maybe my life is more interesting than I thought :-) Hope you're all doing amazing in America and I can't wait to see you all!!! 2 months and 8 days :-D
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