"Can you say Boot?"

I'm pooped! Isaac and I decided to leave extra early this morning and visit 6 schools. That may sound like an easy thing to all you Obrunis, but here in Ghana even the shortest trip can take you hours.

One look at the roads, traffic, hawkers, and police checkpoints and you start to understand why. The hawkers I don't mind so much, especially the frozen yogurt type. They have often been angels of mercy on skin-blisteringly hot days, offering up cool, refreshing, frozen yogurty goodness along almost every stretch of road. Remarkably enough, every yogurt I have ever had has been extremely cold, which begs the question of how they get and keep the yogurt frozen when it's 100 degrees and there is no electricity for miles? You think on that, I'm moving on.

Anytime I visit a school here I am humbled by how fortunate I have been, even when living in backwoods Missouri (no offense), in regards to schooling. Always within my reach and always present. But what struck me today was how many things I have learned from even mundane, everyday activities like shopping and watching television. Perhaps not all of it is crucial or that important in and of itself, but it's still learning. Two classrooms I visited today were missing teachers. Remarkable thing number 1,857, all the students were in class and sitting quietly at their desks even without a teacher present, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. So I took over, feeling my recent degree would more than qualify me for the task of teaching elementary school classes. I found a nib of chalk in the dirt and began drawing on the board. I drew a shoe and asked "what is this?" to no response. Finally one brave boy answered "boot." I then asked him what were on his feet. He pointed to his power ranger sneakers and said "boots." I pointed to the girl next to him and her sandals and said "what are those?", "boots." Again I went to the chalkboard, and using all my Dillards shoe salesman knowledge, began drawing different types of shoes. "This is a boot, see it's higher than a sneaker.", "This is a slipper (sandal), it doesn't have any laces." Then I drew a pair of stiletto heals and asked them what they were, sheer silence fell over the class. I asked one of the older girls in the class and again, nothing. So I switched from shoe salesman to Charades champ and started walking on my toes while pointing to the picture. Silence was overrun with shrill laughter, and then I had 20 kids following me around the room on their toes, giggling and saying "high heels" in unison. Not on the test, but still important.

We moved on to glasses, shorts, shirt, pants, car and then I was out of artistic power and class was over, at least for me. Then they wanted me to spell things on the board as they said them. We went through names, Elisha, Gladys, Enoch, Chris. Then I asked them to spell "Bafono", their dialect's version of Obruni. They giggled and all of a sudden chalk came out of every pocket as they wrote furiously on the board for me to read. I now know cracker in Twi (obruni), Ga (bafono), and Ada (brofuni). I can't order food, I can't say thank you, I can't find directions; but I can make fun of myself all day long.

"Obruni, Marry Me!"

Today started out as normal as they ever do in Ghana, with a marriage proposal. For breakfast I decided to walk down the street to my favorite place, Paparazzi. I don’t know if it’s named after the Lady Gaga song or not but either way, I love their food! I always get the same thing, chicken with plain rice and small small sauce. That’s right, I said small twice. The sauce is so spicy that I have to make sure they know I only want a little bit. So I walked up the window and said my usual, “chicken with plain rice and small small sauce” to which the lady answered “Obruni*, marry me!” I was somewhat dumbfounded, but seeing as this wasn’t my first offer (I mean I did attend BYU after all) I replied “No thanks, just the rice please.” That’s when I knew this would be a great day!

*To explain, Obruni is like the non-derogatory, Ghanaian cousin of Cracker.

And things just got better from there. Isaac and I were supposed to meet the BYU MPA students at Big Ada, where a boat would take us to visit Pediatorkorpe Island. We left with plenty of time but didn’t factor in the new police presence along the way, which we were quick to find out thought our Tata Sumo SUV looked suspicious. (In case you were wondering, the Tata Sumo is its real name and is in fact made by the world’s largest automobile manufacturer, Tata Motors. It’s also ok if you’ve never heard of them because they are not sold in the US, the safety requirements are too expensive, which makes me feel safe every time I hop in one.) The first police stop took nearly 30 minutes and convinced me that I don’t want to ever see the inside of a Ghanaian police station on a Saturday, It has to be the busiest place on earth considering how many cars were pulled over right along side ours. The system in Ghana is somewhat different in that you don’t get a ticket; you get taken to the police station right then and have to wait in line to pay your fine. We finally got released without a fine, thanks for Isaac’s smooth talking, and were on our way. We were making good time until the second police checkpoint came and we were told to pull over again and Isaac was sent to the guard station. This time, however, he came back after a few moments smiling and we were off. Wondering what had happened, I asked why they let him go. He responded “the officer remembered us, we brought him frozen yogurt once so he let us go.” I guess that’s a lesson, always buy the checkpoint officers treats when it is hot.

More than just getting out of jail free and an early morning marriage proposal, today was good because the trip to Pediatorkorpe reminded me of why Empower Playgrounds exists, to give opportunities to children. This island has had an electricity-generating swing and merry-go-round for some time and has really grasped onto the concept and values learning. It is good to see how the play-powered lanterns have given the children more access to education and how grateful the parents are for the opportunity their children now have to go onto high school and college, to one day help the entire community. I met several students who were preparing to take their exams that will allow them to go to high school and they were excited to move forward with their lives and educations. I thought of these kids paddling their canoes across the river to another island where they would go to school and I remembered my own high school experience where I would often whine about having to drive the 15 miles to school. It seemed so long in those days, now it just seems as though I never valued my education as these children do because I have always had it. I have never had to work for my next class or struggle to be admitted so it has been seen as a burden rather than a blessing. Here, where nothing is free, everything is seen as a gift and treated as such. And how refreshing that point of view is!

To learn more about Empower Playgrounds visit www.EmpowerPlaygrounds.org

JFK, we meet again.

Luggage wheels clicking on the concrete, hurried steps and overpriced cinna-buns. Airports are quite possibly my favorite places, absurd as that may sound, offering up a sort of raw excitement and nervousness akin to that diet coke breakfast I regularly have. The anticipation of seeing things in a new light and from a different time zone makes these experiences addictive. The JFK international airport and I have shared a few of these experiences and rarely reneges on its promise to offer a good time, whether I’m coming home or heading out. This visit is somewhat different, however, as this trip isn’t merely for fun.

I’m setting off on a four-month trip to Ghana to work with Empower Playgrounds Inc. (EPI). I’ve been to this sub-Saharan nation a few other times but for substantially shorter trips. These previous encounters have developed in me a deep love for the people, culture, and beauties that only Ghana can deliver. Fresh mangoes, chicken and rice, and the best pineapples on earth await me, along with some of the best friends I have ever had. Heat, humidity, and lots of bugs await as well; a small cost indeed for the experience. Working alongside EPI Country Directors Isaac Darko-Mensah and Enoch Narteh, I will get to visit over 20 schools that already have electricity-generating merry-go-rounds and help in the selection and training of 10 more. This will mean a brighter future for thousands of children around Ghana, but most importantly, future generations who will have the benefit of parents that love and value education.

I guess that’s another reason that I love JFK; it will always be attached to the hope I have for the children of Ghana and my love for this country that stands as a beacon of hope to an otherwise dark situation.

-For more information on EPI please visit www.EmpowerPlaygrounds.org