It's True, I'm Becoming My Mom

Well it's official, the journey to reach Ghana starts in roughly 90 hours! I have gotten to the spot where my lists now have sub-lists. (My mom will be proud.) All the clothes I'm taking have been washed and dried. In fact, they are all together and sitting next to my suitcase. Next to that is all the reading material, medicines, journal & pen/pencils, electronics, and toiletries I plan to take on the trip. (Mom is probably giddy with pride at this point.)

Tonight all the students and chaperones from each trip had dinner together at the IMU Tudor Room. I overheard one student say that the room reminded her of Hogwarts - and I'd have to agree. The walls are wood covered with a grand window at the focal point when you walk in. You can't really say it's all stained glass but made of several smaller panes of glass, some with crests of some sort. Quite interesting actually. And as seen in the great hall at Hogwarts, there are flags hanging from the ceiling. Except you can actually see what is attaching them to the ceiling. No magic there. Well, maybe not in the decor but the chefs did whip up a magical feast for each of the groups. The Ghana group was treated to a yummy dish called Red Red. It contained chicken, beans, rice, and fried plantains. There was a vegetarian treat of whipped sweet potatos mixed with tomatoes. It was sweet and tomato-y all at the same time and had the consistency of mashed potatos. All the other countries had food specific to the country they were visiting. I can speak with some authority, it was all very good. Yes I tasted them all. Heck, one never knows where she might get to go next year. It's always best to be prepared (another Mom statement).

The students. What can I say about the students? From what I have observed in class and tonight, we have a great group. Everyone is accepting and seems to be bonding nicely. There doesn't appear to be any animosity at all. And they haven't been together very much.

So now it's time to do what my Mom would do in this situation - organize my notes and get some of my stuff into a suitase. On second thought, I'm going to bed. I'll aspire to be more like Mom tomorrow night. But wow, it was a great night!