Fifth update
This time not from Cape Coast… I am Takoradi (on Ghana's Westcoast) actually on my way home but had a quick stop here and found a very good internet café which gave me the opportunity to upload photos so my stay here has been extended some hours.

I have been on an extended weekend with Ben. We started out Thursday at noon heading to Takoradi for one night (only as via point) and Friday we headed towards the small village Beyin (further to the West). This village is lovely. Just by the beach and very friendly. From here we took a canoe ride to a stilt village (1 hour each way). Interesting with a village on stilts on a lake and a nice canoe ride but the people in the stilt village was not very friendly (probably because they have tourists there quite often staring at them..) and especially not compared to Beyin where Ben and I stayed the night in a very primitive hut located directly on the beach.
Early Saturday morning we went towards Butre (West of Takoradi, but East of Beyin) - a very beautiful beach by a nice small village. We enjoyed a beach day and stayed the night in a beach resort (there are only two resorts on this beach with 5 km between each other so the beach a nicely deserted).
Sunday it was time to head home. Sundays are however horrible travel days: almost no tro-tros or shared taxis so getting home on Sundays are crappy! And each weekend I have to go home on Sundays so each weekend the same problem. Anyway we have got to Takoradi and now only need one tro-tro to Foso. This should be easy but Ben just texted me saying that it will take hours for the tro-tro to fill up and leave and that we have to change tro-tro once - so no direct ones. Really annoying and waste of time. Anyway, as long as I get home before dark - and Dacosta's wife makes sure that I get dinner so no worries about that :)

School update
This school week has been interrupted by many things so it hasn't been very normal - all weeks, however, differs a lot from each other.

Monday and Tuesday Jasmin was traveling so my teaching in class 5 begun. I changed the timetable of class 5 so that I teach English in the lessons where Jasmin taught mathematics. The class is double as big as class 6 so there is a lot more noise and it is a lot more difficult to get everybody to understand - also, it takes a lot more time to correct exercise books! But the class seems alright and I think it is going to be fine.
They still have difficulty about the times at the school… The canteen break is from 1pm to 1.30pm. Monday the children had to go to canteen at 12.30 (in the middle of the lesson) because food was ready, and Tuesday food wasn't ready until 1.30pm. How many times do they need to have things told? Anyway, I think I made myself clear so I hope it's better the coming week.

Wednesday Jasmin and I finished the library so now it is very well organised :) Afterwards we didn't do much more in school since it was Jasmin's last day, and she needed some stuff in Foso so we went there. For lunch and dinner Ben joined us in Akonfudi, and we planned the travels for the extended weekend.

Thursday Jasmin went towards Accra and home, and Ben and I went on our weekend travels. Not having Jasmin around is going to be strange and it is going to have both good and bad sides. I will no longer have her second opinion which was nice to have (especially when it comes to school related questions). It is, however, also good to stand on my own now and just make the decisions myself. I will also miss her as the likeminded person with whom I could discuss the difficult and weird things about Ghana that I experience. This will have to wait till the weekends where I meet up with other volunteers and till I meet up with Ben, which will be fine. Even though it has been nice having Jasmin around it will also be nice to be on my own in the village and in that way interact some more with the locals - and improve my Twi… :)

And time will pass fast I am sure. In less than five weeks my Mom will arrive in Ghana(!), which I really look forward to. It is going to be so so nice to see her again and to be able to show her Ghana. She will stay here for almost 2 weeks, and after that it is Christmas break where I will travel around in Volta Region, and suddenly it is January with only 2 weeks left in Ghana. I cannot believe how times fly by.
Next weekend I am going to Accra to - among other things - book my flight from Ghana to Tanzania. Wonder how expensive that will be… But wow I look forward to Tanzania as well! To meet up with Natasha, climb Kilimanjaro, do safaris and treks, and end up at Zanzibar. Life is sweet :)

A typical weekday
Since Jasmin has left my days look different now. To give you an idea of a typical weekday of mine, this is how it looks like:

05.30 Running and showering etc. (3 times a week) / else I get up at 6.15
07.00 Breakfast
07.30 Preparing lessons / reading / Mondays: washing clothes (hand washing for 1 hour)
08.30 Reading lesson class 6/JSS
09.15 Preparing lessons / relaxing, reading, writing etc. / learning Twi / going to Foso
11.30 English class 5
13.00 Lunch
13.30 English class 6
15.00 Relaxing / preparing lessons / going to Foso / talking or playing with the locals
18.30 Dinner
19.00 Relaxation
20.30 Bedtime :)

***

So time has changed. Jasmin has left and I have got more lessons in school and more time alone and with the local people in my village. I look forward to see how the next weeks will turn out.

I am good - I hope you are too.

Love Signe