24 hours in a day

1.28.09
a lot of you are wondering by now how exactly i pass the time here and what it is i do all day long in ghana...from previous blogs i've mentioned that i don't sleep through the night or a lot which is about the same. i usually wake up between 5 and 6 (or wake up for the last time i should say) and read, write in my journal, jot notes for my blog, or listen to my ipod. around 6:30 i walk across the road for breakfast (hot chocolate. water, bread, jam) then back to get ready for work. we meet our local "boss" kwesi around 8 and are either working in the village on housing projects or in tinkong (20 minutes down the road) working on the out buildings for an orphanage. work is anything from making mud bricks, moving bricks, mixing concrete, laying bricks, applying plaster (concrete) to a bricked structure or painting. work ends around 12 or 12:30 ( we don't work in the afternoon because of the heat) and we head back for lunch (yams/rice/pasta and sauce - sometimes a rare treat of meat or salad, plus fruit). the afternoon i have free to do laundry, nap, shower, play frisbee, read, write in my journal, play with the local kids, observe classes at the school, go to town etc. dinner (same food as lunch) is between 5:30 and 6 and then the volunteers hang out, play cards, talk, go for a drink at the local bar on occasion or go to bed. on wednesdays we gather in mamfe at the local office to hang out and talk (where i can charge my cell phone). today there wasn't much work today (lack of money) so my roommate and i observed a social studies class - it was very different from school in the US and deserves more than a couple lines. we are going to try to go back next week and sit in on a math and science class so i'll write a whole blog about that once i have more material!!! this weekend some of the volunteers are going to aburi to the botanical gardens and the wood market which should be fun. i hope you are all staying warm - have a good day!!!!