Eh Ye

That means, "I'm fine" in Fante.

Well, I arrived here safely (although it took me 3 days) and I am currently in a little village called Eguafo near Cape Coast. Already I have made some good friends of all ages... 4 year olds, 20 year olds, 50 year olds... The only barrier is the language. Most of the kids speak English, but it's difficult to communicate with some people in the village. I'm trying to learn Fante, the language of Eguafo, but at the same time I think it's more important for the students to learn English. So I talk as much as possible to them.

I'm tutoring some students at the nearby primary school, and it takes a lot of patience but it's also rewarding to see improvement. The school system is completely different here: some kindergarten classrooms don't have teachers for most of the day, there can be 20 year olds in 8th grade, and the cane is used for punishing.

But one thing I really like about this place is that people are so happy all the time. Despite not having things that I used to take for granted (like pencils, showers, bandaids, etc.), everybody takes the time to be friendly to one another.

I felt welcome literally after taking my first step out of the cab. A little boy ran up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and said, "This is my friend." Mostly, I think, the best use of my time besides educating is just to give these fabulous, beautiful children some much needed attention.

I have to sleep now, but I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Yoo, yen ko!

Emily