First Day of School!

Today was my first day of school with my students (if you're behind, I'm teaching fourth grade in Salt Lake).  It went surprisingly well!  I had no barf, no blood, and only a few tears.  I feel like (so far) my college experience actually did prepare me kind of well, go figure.  I did keep feeling like the real teacher was going to walk in any minute and take over, weird that I AM the real teacher.  I was talking to my mom and she remembers feeling like that after she had her first baby..."where is this baby's mom?" funny.  I think it will get better and better and I will feel more and more comfortable over time.  I am just so glad that I got this job, Stephen and I have really been blessed in the employment department.  Here are a few pictures of my classroom:

It might not look like much but it sure looks better than when I started! 

A Guy and a Doll

Stephen is home! It's been a great week having him back.  While he was gone I called my sister one night to ask her a question.  She couldn't talk long because she and her husband were going on a date, I was SO jealous.  I decided that when Steve came home we would definitely have to go on some dates.

Last night we went to the Sandy Amphitheater to see "Guys and Dolls".  It was so fun! We had a picnic and bought the cheap tickets so that we could lay on the grass at the top.  Steve's a pretty good husband for having fun going to a musical with me, I know, I'm lucky.

The Loneliness Birds

One of Stephen's favorite movies is "The Power of One", it is really great but sad also.  The main character is just a little boy at the beginning of the movie and he is separated from his family (I can't remember why?).  He talks about the 'loneliness birds' that lay eggs inside him.  It's a good movie and I think it's based on a book if you're looking for a recommendation.

Stephen stayed in Ghana two weeks longer than me, no big deal right?  That is what I thought before I was leaving him and traveling home alone and sitting in our quiet house that first night (and every night after).  It's been a LONG two weeks but he is coming home this Monday!  I couldn't be more excited for my loneliness birds to fly away and have this cutie back home...

Also coming up... I am starting my job this week!  I am teaching fourth grade and I have meetings and teacher work days this week, the kid's first day is the 23rd.  I am a little nervous about getting everything ready but ready or not, this week will go by fast.  I took some 'before' pictures of my room and when I'm done getting it ready I'll post some 'before/after'.  

Home! And Rainforest Camping....

After 24 hours of travel, over 15 in the air, I am home! Steve (sadly) isn't with me though, he is staying in Ghana for two more weeks to help with some NGO training in Accra. When my sister picked me up from the airport today (thanks again Ash!) she asked about some of my favorite experiences. There was one that automatically popped up in my mind, not because it was good, just because it was EXTREMELY memorable.

So Steve and I like camping as much as the next person, maybe even more. When we took a canopy tour in the rainforest about 20 minutes from our school and they mentioned that they offer all-inclusive (equipment, guide, etc) camping we were very interested.  Also, there is a "good chance" they say, to see wildlife if you camp overnight.  We persuaded the other American teachers at the school with us to come along for Steve's and my last night in Hemang. How can camping in the rainforest not be amazing and fun right? I know, red flags in retrospect.

It was about the time we were left at the campsite by the guide who went home to eat dinner with his family and when Steve opened the first mildew ant-infested tent that we began to have second thoughts. Oh, and I should have mentioned that we paid $20 per person for this great accommodation. Still, not so bad at this point, I can rough it a little right?

We had a few hours of nothing to do considering there were no fires aloud, our guide had left us, and it was about 3:00 pm (of course it was absolutely necessary for us to be there at this time, said the front desk when we made our reservation).  We took this picture....notice we are still smiling, it's early in the evening.

So all-inclusive meant that they had cooking materials or we could buy food at the restaurant.  We brought food to cook because that is just part of camping.  After the guide left Steve took a tour of the hut with the cooking materials.  The best pot and only spoon (serving spoon sized) were together in a puddle of standing water, appetizing no?  Bless Steve for rescuing them from the hut and cleaning them, I would have just skipped dinner.

When the guide finally got back it was dark.  He told us that the best time to go out looking for wildlife would be early in the morning.  Ok, early in the morning means...6, maybe 5?  Nope, 3:00 am, this is the time it is decided we will go hiking through the rainforest in search of monkeys, elephants, antelope, etc. We went to bed early so the 3 am sting wouldn't be so bad and what do we discover?  We all have a sleep pad made of foam covered in fabric and a sheet.  Not so bad if they didn't smell like mold and sweat (not our own) and have dried blood, etcetera covering them.  They never could have been washed before, I wouldn't believe it.  Out of sheer hygienic survival, myself and the other female teachers put on our most covering clothing.  We all slept in pants and jackets zipped all the way up with hoods on.  The boys laid out their extra clothes to spare their senses having to experience the surroundings more than necessary.  It might have looked something like this....

This picture is not a dramatization, we actually laid like this all night (notice I say "laid" not "slept").  But alas, we weren't in the tent too long (actually any time was too long) because 3 am comes fast.  Following after the guide, in the dark, through thick jungle, we set off on our hike.  Thankfully we did encounter some wildlife or this all would have been in vain.  That is right, we became very well acquainted with the biting fire ants all along the trail.  This new acquaintance was especially acute for Jenn, Robyn, and I who all wore our Chacos.  We hiked from 3:30 to 5:30 in the morning and saw no wild animals.  I was very tired and very stinky to say the least.  To top of the morning we boarded a 6 am tro tro back to the school where I had one Ghanian man practically sitting on my lap while the other 17 passengers huddled together and the mate (money collector) literally hung out of the open door while we did 100 km/hr on a pot hole filled dirt road.

When I watch nature films like Planet Earth I always see the rainforest and wish that I could just be there and walk around to see what it's like.  I am glad at least for the fulfillment of that fantasy however I'm not sure I will be camping in other countries any more.  Ever.