This was my first day at International Community School. I walked into the classroom (we arrived early) and saw only the teacher (no kids). The teacher, my dad, and I sat down and had a little conversation about how school would go. Then, in came Paulina and Jesse. The teacher told them to say their names, and they did. Also, they said some things like “you are welcome” and “nice to meet you.” Later on, when the whole class was there, Grades 1 through 3 and 5 through 7 (that’s all classes except for mine) assembled in my room, and we had a conversation about the first day of school. Mrs. Debbie Yeboah (my mom’s former student) came in and asked all of the new kids to stand. There were about four of us. When everybody left, my other classmates told me their names. There was one absent girl who I will meet tomorrow (possibly). There is a set of twins named Charles and (forgot the girl’s name). And Charles (hmmm) has a (how shall I put this) crush on me.
My dad took a picture of Paulina and me. You can see that we have star stickers on our foreheads, because we read a story in a class story book and we had to write the synonym for the words that were highlighted (the key words). The girls and the boys traded papers to be corrected. The boys got three correct and four wrong, and the girls (including me) got all of the them right. So, the girls got … STICKERS! I also learned that I have swimming every Wednesday in the school’s pool.
When dad asked me about my first day, I said it was an “awesome first day.”
—Catherine
In addition to ferrying kids to and from school, Catherine and I took a walk to the Night Market for some groceries. Along the way, we saw ground cover that looks like a small cactus plant. But, the prickers are more like soft brushes than spikes. It is never uninteresting to experience Accra through the eyes of a nine-year-old.
In the photo, Catherine is straddling a cement gully at the side of the road. No need for curbs when the penalty for drifting off the road is undercarriage destruction!
At this point, all gullys are empty thanks to the lack of rain. That will change as the months roll on.
—Matt
