Becoming "Teacher Jessica"

    Well Ghana's electricity issues are still going strong, so that is to blame for my lack of blogging once again. The lights have been off the past two nights from dinner until about ten p.m, so hopefully we make it ONE day with out them going off tonight.
     I have now been in my new school for six full days. My school is a ten minute walk from our house, and we are typically gone from about 7 until 3:30 pm. All the kids at the school absolutely LOVE Sarah and I. I wish I could say it's because we are really great teachers- but at this point I think it's mainly because of our white skin. The first few days I was there kids would come up and literally just pet my skin, telling me how soft it was. They also love feeling my long hair because no one here has it long. Anywhere I walk I have a parade of kids following yelling "Teacher Jessica, Teacher Jessica". It's very sweet, but also gets a little overwhelming at times, as one could imagine.
     I am teaching in two KG2 classrooms, which is equal to kindergarten in the United States. Between both classrooms I have about 45 kids, and right now my biggest obstacle is just learning all the names. Half of them I can barely pronounce, and on top of that they all have the same hair cut and uniform, so it's rather difficult to tell them apart at this point.
    The school day begins at 8 with an all school assembly outside which includes prayers, songs, and announcements. After everyone marches into the classrooms, there is two hours of instruction before a half hour snack break. The kids return to the room for about an hour and a half and then get a full hour for lunch. After lunch, the kids carry their chairs outside and the teacher sweeps the floor of the classroom and wipes down the tables. That goes until about 1:15, and then school closing is at three. The school days go by very quick, but even after six days I'm still amazed at how different it is from an American school day.
    I'm slowly getting more involved in the classroom each day. I can already tell that my biggest challenge will be classroom management, since many of the techniques used here in Ghana are ones that I will not be using myself. Since the kids are so used to the teacher's techniques, mine don't quite have the same effect at this point. I'm sure it will get better as time goes on, and I will just continue trying new things. It's a good challenge for me- that's for sure :)
   Today was our last day of school for the week, because now we have a nice five-day weekend for midterm break. Classes resume next Tuesday, and in the mean time, Sarah and I are headed to nearby Cape Cost for three days. We will tour the castle that slaves went through directly before being shipped to America, and also walk a bridge high up in a large rainforest nearby. I'm looking forward to getting out and seeing more of Ghana!