Blessings in Disguise

Shucks…it’s going to be hard to keep posting everyday without internet at home…sorry!  But I’ll do my best to keep the entries as frequent as possible.

Yesterday was a good day, but today was a great day!  I think this is partly because, instead of getting on the internet (or even writing a blog entry), I went right to bed…so today I felt SO rested and wonderful!  Gosh I love sleep…haha = )  But yeah…thanks mama…you’re totally right.  It’s looking like having no internet is proving to be a blessing in disguise = )  

Anyways…yesterday, the whole day was spent writing letters to the parents who still owe fees, and passing out those letters to hundreds of students with the warning that if they didn’t pay by next week, they’d be sacked.  It was not fun, but at the same time I felt for Marian because she’s trying to run a school, while short on money, because so many families have not paid for their children’s school, lunch, and transport fees.  It’s mid-terms right now…and there are still people who haven’t paid a pesewa (penny…haha)!  Daddy mentioned starting a school…but seeing what it takes to run a school…I’m not so sure I’d ever be up for it.  You have to manage children, parents, and staff…and it’s a huge, never-ending job!  This is also giving me greater admiration for principals and secretaries…but at least in public schools you get the money that you’re promised.  Here, we have to go around begging and threatening the parents in order to get the money we need, for everything from teachers’ salaries to whiteboard markers, fuel for the school vans to soap for cleaning (which we go through absurdly fast because the kids wash their dishes each meal, the floors are mopped each day – and we don’t even use soap for things such as washing hands), electricity to toilet paper.  Anyway…I can’t even begin to describe all of the headaches involved…but they’re endless and major!  I was happy to get all the letters out before the close of school, though, so I felt accomplished = )  I also got to talk to Natasha for awhile while I was printing the letters (the printer here jams if you put in more than one sheet at a time, so printing is quite a time-consuming endeavor…haha), and that was a lot of fun.  We’re experiencing a lot of the same things, being white Americans in Ghana.  I feel bad for her, though, because she has her children to worry about.  If I’m having trouble adjusting to something…I can just tell myself to suck it up.  But you can’t do that with a 1 ½-year-old and a 3-year-old.  Plus, she’s having to learn how to shop and cook here (which, thanks to Mandy = ), I don’t have to worry about…and which seems like one of the hardest adjustments to make).  Anyways…it was really fun getting to know her better!

Today, I came home just feeling so happy!  I’m not sure why exactly – it was a stressful day at work with more angry parents than usual (since those letters just went out), and we had to stay extra late because we couldn’t find the office’s key.  But I was just in such a good mood = )  It’s amazing what a difference attitude can make.  I’ve really been praying hard for charity, especially for angry, difficult people…haha = )…and Heavenly Father’s really been helping me.  I’ve also been praying to be more selfless, and I think it just makes you a lot happier when you’re not worrying about yourself so much = )  

A couple of highlights of the day: I talked to Marian more than I ever have before, and feel like I’m really getting to know and understand her now = )  It never fails, huh?  The more you get to know someone, the more you like them = )  Then on the way home, I ran into Chuks brother and got to talk to him for a long time.  I’ve only talked to him a couple of times before…so it was fun getting to know him better, too!  I found out that his favorite football team is FC Barcelona also…so that was exciting…haha = )  And then when I got home (it was already dark because of the delays), I saw Aunty Vero sitting in the courtyard balancing a pan on her lap (like a circular cookie sheet with a diameter the size of a car tire), with one hand holding a flashlight and the other sifting through a bunch of dried beans.  She said that when the beans are dried, they’re usually just spread on the floor, so when they’re picked up and bagged to be sold, hundreds of tiny little stones are also picked up and mix with the beans.  When you’re making cooked beans for an entire school…this job becomes SO tedious and never-ending!  She said they’d been sifting through the beans since morning!!!!  So I held the flashlight so she could move more quickly and talked to her for a long time also = )  It’s so much fun connecting to human beings on a deeper level than just basic pleasantries = )  So…yeah…the day was pretty unremarkable…but wonderful at the same time = )

Interesting side-note: bluffing doesn’t mean lying here – if a person is bluffing, they’re like a strong personality who always think they’re right…or something like that…haha.