Saturday, July 29, 2017

Ghana 2017 - Day 28. Final exams are done and graded. I am free!

Today was the last day of classes, so I gave my final exams and promptly stashed them in my backpack, to ignore them as long as possible. The students were going out for a celebratory lunch at The Hub, and I joined them to partake in their delight at being done. There was much talk about making a last trip to Accra on Saturday to buy presents to bring back home (a strange custom that I am glad I shed off many years ago).

Then I had to go back to my apartment, to face the inevitable grading blues, and in no time whatsoever it was time to go out again, to attend the final performance of the students who had enrolled in African Dance. There were about 9 of them, but they were joined by Auntie Abigail (to make an even number), and the two instructors. The performance was great! Everyone performed with energy and gusto, at the rhythm of a loud drummer band of four musicians. African dancing can be, at the same time, graceful, fluid, and athletic, so everyone got a good deal of cardio exercise.

Back to the grading, but before that I went to the balcony to study the milling crowd that was moving through campus, many of them headed for Volta Hall and carrying suitcases. Could it be that the students were coming back, full two weeks before the Fall semester starts. On closer inspection, and looking at how young some of the participants were, I concluded that this must be the High School Summer Program, perhaps augmented by the youth summer camps of several churches. It is great to see the university coming alive with small clusters of smiling students. It may not be the full force of the regular 46,000 students (which must certainly be a sight to behold), but clearly the place is coming out of its summer slumber.

I could not procrastinate any longer, so I sat down to finish my grading, make comments on the term papers, calculate the final grades, and e-mail them to both the students and the Resident Director. Now I am free!

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