July 2010 | Wings of Art

Blessings Beautiful People,

I'm happy to say I'm safely back in the states, even though it was emotionally difficult to come back.

I was in beautiful Cape Coast, Ghana (Africa) for 2 weeks!

If there's one thing I can recommend for ANYONE and EVERYONE that would be to 1 day in their life to go to Africa or at least to another country. It's an eye opener to see what other people value, to see witness another culture, their living situation, love of the ARTS, as well as, to appreciate what one has as an American.

I lived with a host family with my roommate from California named Ellie, where we both volunteered at a school for 2 weeks. Ellie and I both have a love and passion for the ARTs so we decided to have an after school program for the kids.

In the curriculum, there was little creative time for the kids. So we brought colored pencils for the kids to draw their family and what they want to be when they grow up. The kids were so EXCITED and PROUD of their artwork that they would show each other what they drew, as well as, Ellie and I. They were more excited when they found out that they could take their drawings home to show their parents.

Besides drawing, I wanted the kids to express themselves in an artistic way so I decided to have a talent show. When I mentioned a talent show they weren't too sure what that meant, but when it was explained they were ALL for it! In the beginning they were shy to perforn in front of each other, but after the 1st day their talents were BEAMING, as well as their smiles and the laughter. Even some of the teachers were surprised to see how the kids came out their shells because it's a side they've never seen. Also, some of the teachers performed.

We had some kids who sang, recited a poem, rapped, but it was mostly dancing and drum playing.