Ghana Update Weeks 4 & 5: My Favorite Things {Part 3}

The last few posts have been all about food. I love food but it's
time to move on to more important things. This post is all about
people. It would be impossible to list or talk about all the people I
hold dear here. So instead I'll just mention all the ones I recently
visited when I travelled these past 2 weeks. Sorry I can't include
pictures right now. I'll try to upload some when I get back in the
US.

The teachers and staff at the HCA Nkwatia Campus

Like I mentioned in a previous post, not many visitors to HCA have an
opportunity to travel to the Nkwatia campus. The drive from the
Fetteh Gomoa campus would be far but completely worth the effort. The
weather is cool, the landscape beautiful, and the teachers are
wonderful.

Madam Rita and Madam Amelia are possibly my favorite teachers. Madam
Rita teaches Primary 1. She is young, quiet, and shy. But she is
also extremely patient and calm in the midst of her energetic class.
One of the things I love about Madam Rita is her smile. She has a
huge smile that makes a surprise appearance whenever she feels shy or
is unsure. It's very disarming and comforting to those around her who
might feel the same way.

Madam Amelia is probably the oldest female teacher at the school. If
pressed to guess, I would say she is between 40 and 45. She is a
leader at the school. I would go crazy in her kindergarten class. To
me it is chaos. But Madam Amelia is forever calm. She has a quiet
confidence coupled with a sharp, energetic sense of humor. Whenever
you are not entirely sure what to do, just ask Madam Amelia because
she'll be kindly direct or correcting.

Sir Richmond is the head administrator at the Nkwatia Campus. I met
him when he was teaching at the Fetteh Campus. I love talking with
Sir Richmond. Every conversation is a wealth of information. He also
has the rare gift of anticipating miscommunication. If you ask him a
question, he will answer not only the question you posed but continue
to explain how this is different from the question you were ATTEMPTING
to ask. He is very analytical, eager to toss around conflicting
points of view.

The Essel Family

After leaving Nkwatia, I headed to Accra where I stayed in the Madina
area with the Essel family. Mr. Essel is on the board of Hope
Christian Academy and I met him last year when he came to campus for a
meeting. He kindly invited me to his home and to visit the university
he directs. So this was my second visit to his home and the
university. Mrs. Essel is about 10 years my senior and we get on
really well. During my last visit we would stay up late talking
nearly every night. This visit was no different. The Essels have
four children. This one of the reasons for our late night talks – we
can't get started until the kids go to bed! My conversations with
Alice have been really helpful in revealing cultural differences,
miscommunications, I love that our conversations are a mix of serious
and silly.

Thelma

Thelma cracks me up. She is awesome. We met while she was working at
Hope Christian Academy in the HR department. I love saying ridiculous
things that can't possibly be true and seeing her stellar facial
expressions. I got to go with her to work on a Saturday. It might
sound crazy, but I loved it. I loved that she felt comfortable enough
with me to just ask me to join her and do some work for her. Maybe I
would have enjoyed that less if I had been working with her ALL day,
for like 10 hours. But really, it was about 2. And she treated me to
dinner afterward  So really it was great.

Shaibu, Asuo, and Columbus

Shaibu, Asuo, and Columbus all go to school together in Accra. They
are all in their early twenties and just started university last year.
They remind me of my younger brother – especially when they tease me
like a big sister. Don't worry, I give as good as I get. It was
great to just hang out with them and talk while visiting them at
school. It was good to hear the things on their heart: frustrations,
fears, joys, contemplations. I get to hear those things when they
call me in the US but it's not the same as sitting under the trees
with the entire afternoon at our disposal. I'm really thankful I got
to do that.