Midterm

This past week was midterm week with a holiday on Thursday and no school on Friday. Wednesday was a staff development day. Tuesday, as part of child month was a school fun day. I did have Monday to teach. A good way to ease back into school after the week on St. Lucia I guess. However, as we had a PTA meeting after school that day it was a bit long.

Assembly on Monday

A police officer gave a talk at the PTA meeting

Our school joined with another nearby school to enjoy the day on Tuesday. Grenada had rain every day I was in St. Lucia and it continued through Tuesday, but we still got to play on our field most of the day.

Kids from both schools hang out together



After the rain delay

Part of the activities was cricket. There was a girls match and a boys match. Our school won one and lost one. The teachers played the tie breaker. I have been watching the game but some things still do not make much sense. I asked one of the other teachers a few questions, but she was not a sports fan.

Ready to field the ball.  Never noticed my hands are so white

Using my lack of knowledge about how to play would have been bad form as the game was just for fun. Who, adult or kid, would not want to see an older white man who had never played get out on the field?

So while a number of our teachers did not play I was one of those who took to the field. Not that I was any good but played more than some. Besides, even as a horrible bowler our team won. Our team bat second and we won before I could embarrass myself with the bat. Maybe next time.

What form!  >> ?? ha
Thursday was a holiday and an opportunity for the parish to hold it’s harvest festival. It was a nice time to mingle with the people in the parish and the community and to pick up a few baked goods and fried food. I also got a few school supplies that I’ll donate.

I came early to help set up

Checking out the various tables

Some of the guys having their own table
Friday was a school holiday and an opportunity to pay the electric bill in Grenville, do some shopping, and catch up on laundry.

This week coming up will be a bit more busy. Parent teacher conferences are Tuesday morning. I also have to quickly go to St. Georges to get a US flu shot afterwards. (As one of those times I’m treated as a government employee rather than a volunteer.) The semester is slipping by and with the new school soon to be completed (finally) we might end a week or two early so we can move the stuff before the start of the next term.

Love always,
John

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pito – brewed millet

Image
Corn, rice, and millet are the common grains grown in my region of Ghana. All three are used food, but millet is also used to produce the local brew – pito, or daa in the local language. “N nyu daa” - in Dagaree means “I drink pito.” There are several varieties of millet grown here – a red and white varieties have loose heads. These are used for pito and other foods. There is also a smaller seed variety with a tight head of seeds that is mainly used for porridge. (Don't have a picture of that variety yet.) In all varieties millet grows on a stalk with the grain head at the top of the stalk. White and red millet in the field Two bundles of while millet to be used for seed next season Converting a grain to alcohol is a common practice in various cultures. It provides a way to capture and digest the nutritional value of the grain. In some places, like Germany and the beer brewing monks, the making a beer was a way to preserve the harvest. In Ghana the millet is
Read more

Yam harvesting

Image
Roger and I went to farm to harvest yam on Saturday morning, September 13, 2014.  In Ghana a yam is a root crop that is different from a sweet potato.  We have sweet potatoes here as well. Yam recently harvested Preparing a yam for boiling The yam has a white flesh – softer than a white potato. In this area the yams are planted between April and June.  Harvest continues into December and January depending on the weather and pigs getting into the field. The plant is a vine – which is grown on stakes rather than allowed the spread out.  The plants are placed on a raised bed about 2 feet high.  The beds are surrounded by flat trenches.  This allows the rains to flow around, but not wipe out the yam crop.  Intercropping seems to be common practice with yams planted in the raised bed, soybeans around the edges, and rice in the trenches.  The occasional corn or okra plant is also among the yams – although the bulk of those crops are in other fields.   Row of ya
Read more

Mid-service Training

Image
This past week was mid-service training (MST). The conference was held on St. Lucia at the Mount of Prayer Coubaril run by the Benedictine Nuns. It was a lovely place with hospitable people as you would expect from Benedictines. A couple of years ago in Ghana I was able to spend a little time at a Benedictine Abby (popular with volunteers) – so it was a nice connection with the two Peace Corps services. I got a little spoiled with the great meals and the WiFi. I intentionally don’t have WiFi at my house so I’m less tempted to stay inside. I do have better data service than Dondometeng in the Upper West - no complaints there and so none here. Their Church Their view Their conference room Getting ready for a meal My room was the only one with a television.  It did work, but I didn't watch anything. My guess is the picture was a little fuzzy because of all the estrogen, but that's just a guy theory with a dirty phone This was actually my firs
Read more