Day 40 (wednesday)...half way there!

Just a small pile of lawn mowers.

Kweku, waking up as I gave him my sandwich.

A sweet little girl observing me as I was doing the same of her at the junction just before I got home.

 

Woke up this morning at a decent hour, right around 5, and had to get up so I could get ready and realized that the power was off, just in mine and Maureen's room, meaning that the manager had to get more credits for power. Although it started raining, I was absolutely ready to visit Bekwai again. I waited for some time (I began to assume that Lisa wasn't going to come because it started to get late. The previous time she came before 7 and now it was well after that. Apparently she thought she informed me that she would be later when she called last night but that must have been after her credits expired in the middle of our conversation). I was preparing to lay back down and get some rest and just as I was getting comfortable, Lisa called and was ready to meet up. I packed some food and water and set off (Maureen insisted that she help flag down a tro tro for me to make sure I got to the right place). I met Lisa at a hospital nearby as it was closer to her place and on the way. I waited for a little while with no real way to get a hold of her (my phone was out of credits) but enjoyed this new part of town and just observing the surroundings. I saw a street kid (homeless youth) eating some food that had been spilled on the street (keep in mind it's mostly dirt and loose gravel). There were several flies on this child and his clothes were dirty, torn, and literally hanging by a thread and he was just crawling around some bushes in the middle of this intersection (like a round-about) and it was almost as if he didn't exist. I waited for Lisa and then a tro tro pulled up and the guy hissed at me and waved me on, I declined and then Lisa poked her head out so I boarded and we started the adventure. It was a terribly exhausting journey to get there, it was long and the roads were rough (we had to take several side streets as the main roads were jammed) and the space was crammed (she does it 2 times a day 5 times a week but now has a place close to work). We finally arrived and we were both very exhausted and could have used a rest but we set our things down and started making the rounds. I observed her facility and monitored some students taking a practice exam which comprised of fairly simple questions and essays. It was interesting to see the improper use of grammar in some of these questions (I know, mine isn't great here either) that the teachers were using as examples (the teachers aren't entirely qualified and are sometimes leading them in the wrong direction (they take tests in English so they are required to practice that way). A short time later I decided to visit the infirmary but couldn't find Rahaman (I was going to inquire about helping out around the facility and to check the progress on the painting of the buildings). I walked down and visited with Kweku, he was super happy to see me and screamed out my name (just abruni) so I went to his quarters and we both sat down on some unstable benches (he couldn't speak english so I just sat with him for awhile...we just seemed to understand each other) and I gathered he was hungry (this wasn't similar to having someone begging). I learned Lisa was staying in Bekwai for the night so I would have to make the journey alone (which ended up being interesting and very time consuming), I was getting pretty hungry but just before I left I decided to visit Kweku one more time and give him my sandwich (he was sleeping and woke right up when I called his name, he tried to get up but I suggested he didn't need to...he was soooo happy, it was really nice) and he said thank you and good bye. I made the journey home and a man on the first leg spoke to me during the trip (I bought him a bag of water and he was very thankful) and he helped me get a car to campus (it was much nicer to take a taxi rather than a tro tro so I didn't mind spending a few extra pesoas). I walked around for a bit thinking that things looked familiar (I realized the campus is bigger than I thought) and realized that I wasn't sure which direction to go. I had to ask a couple people how to get to where I needed to go (originally the person I asked pointed me in the wrong direction) but eventually made it to where I needed to go. I was super exhausted but walked across the campus to the soccer field and waited again for a car (I wasn't up for walking this time, I found the perfect amount of change sitting on the bench to hire a taxi home). I got home, ate, talked with Gladys (a friend of Maureen's and staying in her room for a couple nights) who was over to prepare for an exam being held on friday. She headed to campus and I headed to bed.