Progress

I do apologize for being a blog slacker this week. Between a bad Internet connection and busy days, the week flew by. I cannot believe it is already Thursday evening and that I haven’t written a post since Sunday. Erin is rubbing off on me! ;)

Things are going wonderfully at the school. This week was definitely a rewarding one. All of the hard work from the last year and even the last six weeks is finally paying off, and in a big way. We had two very productive teacher training sessions and two promising days of music. I’m proud to say that I did not lead a single activity today – the teachers took turns leading them all.

School is technically finished on July 27, but I have only made plans through next Friday, July 22^nd. I figure it is best to leave some wiggle room towards the end, just in case things don’t go as planned (imagine that!). I cannot remember a day at the school that went as I had planned. It’s been a great lesson in patience and flexibility. For that I am grateful. As it stands now, the individual teachers will each lead two 30-minute music lessons next week. They have now lead up to four activities in one lesson, so making the transition from co-leading to leading the entire thing should not be too difficult for them.

I was so proud of the teachers today. I could finally see all of the seeds that I have planted sprouting. All of the pieces are coming together. I can finally picture this whole thing being just fine, flourishing even, without me. With the confidence they have gained in the last few weeks, each teacher brought something new and creative to today’s lesson. The teachers and students were alive, right there in the moment, making music together. For example:

One teacher told me she wasn’t feeling well, yet she went through with the lesson anyway, and beautifully. She left her austere self at her desk and as she led the students in a dance was suddenly transformed into a peer; she led the activity with enthusiasm and intuitive creativity – keeping the students engaged by varying her volume and intensity, just as we talked about in the meetings. I attached a video below!

Another teacher exhibited improvisation that I as a third year music therapy student can only dream of. I don’t mean improvisation in an instrumental way. Rather, she took a good activity, and created something new from it on the spot. She transformed an “interactive singing” experience into a full on party. First, she led the group in singing the song a few times. Then, wordlessly, she created a train, with all the students following her around the room. Here, she changed her gait, swaying to the music as she walked, which the students copied. She created a circle from the train, passed out tambourines to everyone, and then danced in the middle. From there, she encouraged each student to bring his tambourine into the circle, enabling him to play, dance, and create with the support of his friends and mentors visibly surrounding him. I was blown away.

I was beaming at the end of each lesson, and the teachers could feel it too. They immediately asked me, “What did you think?” but they already knew the answer. Music was being made at the Aboom School for Special Needs Children today.

Believe it or not, we head back to the U.S. three weeks from tomorrow. I know I said I had something special planned for my halfway point last week, but in the excitement of last weekend, I did not have a chance to post it. I did take some time to assemble my thoughts last Friday. I took a step back, reassessed how I have been spending my time here, made a list of the things I still want to do. Took note of all I have done and seen here so far. I made two other lists: “Things I Love About Ghana” and “Things I Love About the U.S.” In no particular order, here they are:

Things I Love About Ghana:

Fresh fruit, especially pineapple

Eli’s cooking

Water sachets

Market shopping – cheap, local food everywhere!

The “Don’t Rush” mentality

Our big, loud fan

Using a gas stove

The ocean

Running, walking, reading, and eating outside

Cheap and abundant public transportation

The Global Mamas = great friends

Happy Ghanaians

Beautiful, breezy evenings

Early morning runs

Things I Love About the U.S.:

Ice cubes

A washer and dryer

WiFi – in my house!

Stable electricity

Trash collection

Air conditioning

Friends and family and dogs

Liquid dish soap

Full length mirrors

Tom’s of Maine toothpaste

Green vegetables

Tap water

Vegan cookies

My piano

Seatbelts

Blending things a.k.a. smoothies

Hot water showers

Cooking for myself

We have a big trip planned for this weekend. The five of us who made it to Nzulezo and back last week are at it again. We plan to leave Elmina by 7 a.m. tomorrow morning and return late Sunday night. I won’t jinx our plans by putting them on here, but am hopeful that Monday’s post will be an exciting one.