From 0 - 60 in three days

Shhh... don't tell Erik, but I am blogging now (this is Andy). I think if he knew that I was blogging, he might stop breathing, and we wouldn't want that.

Today was just too cool to not blog about. We had a "computer" day today. While it might not be as exciting to those of us who live on computers, it was a brilliant day for the thirty-four kids that are now confident computer users. We started the day with Erik leaving on another mission to attempt to get some money for the cooks. Apparently the money gods have put a curse on Erik Gregory's ability to get money. He couldn't get any money from the 300 Western Unions in Ghana. Luckily, Mark (the main guy at the Foundation) was able to stand in line at Safeway long enough to wire us some money directly.

While Erik was on his adventure, the kids and I were having our own adventure with Microsoft Paint. We discovered that the best way to get kids good at using the mouse is to get them into the Paint program. They mix art with coordination, and BAM! they are pros at the computer. Seriously. Once they figure out how to use the mouse, I taught them the movie-making program in about two hours. I have never seen a group of kids go from 0-60 so quickly. I told the older kids that it was their responsibility to look after the younger kids, and even the 8 yr. olds were editing movies.

We ended the day by reviewing all the pictures from the previous days. The kids screamed when they like a picture, and booed when they didn't like a picture. We are going to print out a booklet of pictures for each of the kids to take with them when we leave. Brilliant. It was just fun. Lots of dancing, screaming, and laughing with the kids. It's astounding when I think about what they have been through, compared to the unabashed happiness I see now. There's nothing better than bustin' out a dance in the middle of class, and having 34 kids start dancing with you.

Tomorrow we are going to have the kids start editing their own movies. It should be good.

One more story before I retire my blogging for another spell. When we first got to Ghana (4 days ago), Erik and I had slept for about 2 hours after the late night/early flight from Tanzania. We both got to the hotel and said "peace out" to each other (we both needed a nap). Right when I was about to fall asleep, I heard a massive crowd singing something. I thought there was a parade or a rally happening outside, so I walked out onto my porch/balcony to see what it was. It was silent outside. I opened my door into the hallway, and heard a HUGE wall of singing/chanting/stomping coming down the hall. I was so confused having almost been asleep. It turns out that the South African soccer team was staying in the same hall as us. They played Ghana on Sunday. Ghana won 3-1. The South African team was silent on Sunday night. It was pretty funny, but it was cool to meet the team.

Anyway... I think I might start into a seizure if I blog much more, so I will sign off.

Talk to you later.

A.

P.S. Ghana and Tanzania are two of my new favorite countries. They are just cool.