Home...but still updating :)

So I've been home for a week now. That's absurd! And while it's tempting to neglect the blog and disappear into my comfy bed, there are so many updates! This time though, I actually will do them in separate posts. My apologies for the huge posts before!

So this one's about the second weekend/my first travel weekend. We went to Cape Coast for the weekend.

As soon as Osado and Melissa arrived, the first thing we agreed on as roommates was making the most of our weekends. I couldn’t have been more excited. We also all agreed that we had to do the canopy walk at Kakum before we left. And so we started to plan our first weekend together.

That Friday night, we took a tro-tro to Cape Coast. Most major city-to-city tro-tros leave from Kaneshie Market. It’s the worst place in Accra as far as I’m concerned. There are vendors everywhere…and each one wants to have a love affair with your arm so they can stop you long enough to sell you something. It’s a bit overwhelming, especially at night. But we took a tro-tro from Kaneshie because it was cheaper than the STC coach buses.

The tro-tro we eventually got on was nice and cozy. The seats were somehow closer together than they are on the everyday tro-tros. I didn’t understand why this was necessary but quickly discovered it allows room for additional rows of seating, which further allows for exceeding the maximum seating capacity of the vehicle! By six! Thank goodness for innovation. And luckily, because of this cozy arrangement, discomfort is actually guaranteed. And should the tro-tro crash, I believe there was also some guarantee about shattering your knee caps. You get it, there’s just nowhere to move! Ha, I forgot to add that the side door didn’t close; the mate held it the whole time. But such is travel in Ghana. While the tro-tros are pretty unsafe, everyone really does ride them. Lord knows I took them everywhere; they simply are much cheaper.

Back to the weekend though. When we arrived in Cape Coast Friday night, we went straight to the Cape Coast Ikando accommodation. There, we met John and Melissa (who are doing their placements at Cape Coast School for the Deaf and live there) and Timothy and Chloe (who are also Ikando but are placed at Buduburam, a Liberian refugee camp). We were able to stay at the accommodation Friday and Saturday night…for free! It’s definitely different than ours. A family still owns it and had a distinctly stronger sense of home. While our accommodation is arguably more spacious, it can sometimes feel sterile. Their accommodation was nice and lived in and cozy.

Saturday morning, we woke up at six and were out of the house by seven. We arrived at Kakum National Park even before it opened at eight. We desperately wanted to get there before coach buses of tourists arrived. And we definitely did. We were the first visitors for the day. When we first reached the canopy walk, I felt great. The trees seemed to stop just a few meters below the canopy walk and the idea of the ground being far never really crossed my mind. And then I stepped onto the walkway after Osado. And we swayed. And it creaked. And I died a little inside. But every time I saw mama bird in front of me I felt reassured. And I got to the end of the walkway and felt great. But then I saw that there were more canopy walkways ahead. No one ever told me there were multiple walkways. And no one certainly ever told me there were seven! But all seven panic attacks aside, it was really incredible. After the canopy walk, we did an hour nature hike with our tour guide. Not too much luck seeing wildlife but well worth it for the views.

After Kakum, we made our way back to Cape Coast and then took a tro-tro to Elmina to see the castle. Elmina was the first European settlement in West Africa. Portugal originally used the castle as a base for gold trade but when the Dutch and then English took control, it was used entirely for slave trade. Our guide at the castle was perfect – he was extremely well-versed in the history of the castle and was actually excited to be sharing his knowledge with us.

After Elmina, we went back to Cape Coast. We got lunch at Oasis Hotel (where we ran into Fish Bone, my random Rasta friend) and then walked to and toured one of the forts in Cape Coast on our own…though we probably weren’t supposed to. We headed home after that because Melissa had texted us that the water at the accommodation was running again! It hadn’t been working the previous night or that morning. Then we all went to dinner at a restaurant with great local food and an alligator pond. Everyone was really tired after our whirlwind day so we went to bed as soon as we got back. Then we left pretty early Sunday morning so Osado could get some work done and Melissa and I could get back in time to go and hang out with Mary and her family!

All in all, it was a really great weekend. We saw some amazing sites and it felt wonderful to travel with people that I could call my good friends in Ghana. Definitely a success!

I'm still here I swear!

The lack of internet here has meant a lot of adjustments but unfortunately for you all, it means much longer blog entries. Sorry about that L But here goes…I’ve tried to split it up into sections. As usual, bounce around as you wish!

Social Life

What? I have one? Ha, sort of. I do at least have much more of a social network than I’d expected.

* Mary and her family have been a consistently amazing presence in my life. I met up with Mary and her family again Sunday before last, and brought along Melissa. They have definitely become our proxy family here. Her daughter’s friend Seiwah and I now chat every now and then on the phone just to catch up. She always ends our chats with “You be good.” As if I know who or where to go to be bad. I don’t. Don’t worry parents.

* My roommates! I cannot tell you how wonderful it’s been to have roommates. When Osato first moved in, I initially thought I’d prefer the room by myself for whatever crazy reasons I’d built up in my head…I think it was comparable to when I thought I’d prefer a studio apartment last summer in NYC and then adored living with Maria and Adrienne . Note to self, I like living with new people. Needless to say, I’ve really enjoyed having Osato and Melissa here. We get along great and are definitely there for each other to both laugh and vent. We’re all different for sure, but we’ve formed a great little unit and support system for each other. Osato is a bit older than us and has become our mama bird here. It doesn’t hurt that her family’s from Nigeria and she doesn’t let anyone mess with Melissa or me. It’s awesome. And she’s definitely rubbed off on me – whenever I’m getting from place to place on my own, I find myself trying to emulate Osato. She’s just a great woman. And Melissa and I are the same year in school so we have a lot in common. Her brother is actually going to Vanderbilt next year!

And two more roommates just arrived day before yesterday! The house is definitely livelier than when I first moved in. Erika is actually coming back for her second summer with an architecture firm here in Accra. She’s also the same year as me. Erika is a little quiet but as a return volunteer, also knows a ton about the area and started to open up about her experiences last night. And Evan is here to teach/play sports with kids enrolled in a school program for homeless children. He’s pretty extroverted and so far, our new house group has been getting along great.

* Timothy and Chloe! They both stayed at our accommodation for one night before heading out to their placement at the Liberian refugee camp about an hour away. But we keep in touch during the week and we actually traveled together this past weekend. They go to school together at Johns Hopkins and are just a year younger.

*Vandy in Accra? Well I’m sure it doesn’t compare to the Upper East Side Vandy presence but we are here. Thanks to Gabe, I found out that his friend Leah was here working. And then after contacting Leah, she told me that another Vandy grad, Kris, just moved here to work at the same company with her. So last week, Osato, Melissa, Leah and Sue (she stayed here just a few nights before moving on to her placement) met them for dinner and it was a blast! I’d actually had a Soc class with Kris sophomore year. And because we all got along so great, we’re all going to trivia night tomorrow at Champs Bar at Paloma Hotel, which is just a short walk from the Ikando accommodation.

*Ghanaian friends? That I randomly run into? Sort of! It all began with an incredibly sweet girl named Talya. Talya studied at University of Ghana at Legon this past semester and volunteered at Mrs. Dove’s center a few times a week. Out of incredible good fortune, she came in two Wednesdays ago to say goodbye to the kids and we hit it off great. And she was nice enough to invite me out with her friends the next night for her 21^st birthday.

So that Thursday night I found myself taking the tro-tro to the University to meet them for dinner. Her boyfriend, who she met in Cape Coast, cooked us all an amazing meal. And after dinner we all went out in Osu for ice cream at Frankie’s and dancing at Epo’s. It was the best time I’d had here so far. All of her boyfriend’s friends from Cape Coast came with us and no offense to any of the wonderful men in my life, but they can definitely dance better than all of you (even you, Dad). I had the best time with all of them. Talya and her two girl friends are actually dating three of the guys, and I was left to dance with Fish Bone. Did I mention all of the guys are Rastas? Ha, it was awesome – and definitely unique. And it was great to meet her boyfriend and his friends from Cape Coast because I already knew at that point I’d be headed there for the weekend.

So anyways, the unexpected encounters happened during our trip to Cape Coast two weekends ago. We were sitting down to lunch at Oasis Hotel and Fish Bone walked in to talk to someone. And there we were. So he came over to say hi and chat. It was a crazy coincidence. And then Talya’s friend Lauren’s boyfriend came to the bar at the restaurant for a drink. So we also caught up for a few. But then a few hours later, in a completely different area of Cape Coast, Melissa, Osato and I were walking down the street and a complete stranger grabbed my arm to tell me my friend was looking for me just down the street. And there was Fish Bone once again. It was the most ridiculous experience. ‘My friend’ in Cape Coast was just down the way and wanted to chat.

Marriage

To be clear, I’m not getting married. And I’m not engaged. But the number of marriage proposals I have received is absolutely absurd. If a girl really wanted to get married... I swear to you...Ghana's the place. And it’s not offensive or threatening in any way. Sometimes it is difficult to get them to drop the subject but from what Mercy at Ikando and my boss have conveyed to me, it’s just their way of flattering obroni ladies that they meet. Some of them are somewhat serious though. If they continue to push the subject, they’ll tell you that they’d like to discuss marriage so they can come and live with me in America. I suppose today’s proposal is one of the better instances I can try to share:

I get on the tro-tro to Nima from work.

Immediately, the ‘mate’ – the man that lets people on and collects money- smiles from ear to ear and says, “Hello white lady.”

I sit just behind him and as soon as the tro-tro gets moving, he turns to me and says, “I love you”. I turn to him and say, “You fall too easily.”

He retorts, “I would like to marry you.” And I say, “And I would like to alight at Nima Overpass.”

“But I love you and I want to marry you.”

“But I’ve had too many marriage proposals already. I’m sorry.”

At this point, the old woman next to me is laughing. So I turn to her for support and tell him, “Even she knows. You men fall too easily for the obroni ladies.” Everyone else in the tro-tro started laughing. It was probably the best community experience I’ve had so far. Then, one of the other ladies behind me asked me how I was in Twi and I answered in Twi. Which was mind-blowing to them. I was quick to let them know it was about all I knew how to say :)

But even after I’d formed these friends in the tro-tro, the mate continued to pursue marriage.

“You should give me your number. I can take care of you.” I told him, “I appreciate the thought but I’m just fine on my own.” At this point, the driver is now laughing at his mate.

When he realized he wasn’t getting anywhere with me, he said, “You could give me a white lady friend.” All I could manage was, “Excuse me? Give you a friend? What even makes you think I have so many white lady friends here. Do you see lots of white ladies walking around Nima? I’m sorry, I can’t give you a friend.”

I have to at least recognize his effort I suppose. He really didn’t relent – he continued to ask for my address in the States so he could come and visit. I mean, the level of audacity is impressive but clearly not anything to answer back to. And I’m truly never rude to any of the men. The marriage conversations are always comical; so really no matter how many times I reject, I almost always have a smile on my face. And they’re really not offended by the rejection; while they may persist, they do seem to have some level of understanding of how genuinely outrageous their proposals are.

Anyways, it’s starting to get late and I need to head back to the house. But I’ll come back tomorrow and add some school and travel updates I promise. Love to all and can’t wait to actually speak to you soon!!!

Refreshed and excited!

I realize I’ve left you hanging for a bit but I have lots of great updates. Feel free to take breaks if you’d like :)

*First and foremost – my kiddos!

So we still only have 3 full time students on a day to day basis. A little frustrating? Yes. Something to hold against the kids? Clearly no. Like I said, special education is not commonly recognized as necessary here and so essentially, the entire purpose of Mrs. Dove’s school is rejected by the general Ghanaian population. There are a few special education schools supported by the government; however, I should clarify what that government support entails.

- The schools are completely residential. Children live there for the entirety of their education. I visited one of these schools last week. There are 150 students there, and most either suffer from Downe syndrome or mental retardation. Out of these 150 students, the headmaster told me that approximately 5-6 parents show up on weekends to visit their children. Out of 150 children. I recognize that I can’t jump to definite conclusions because of the short length of my stay, but it seems to me this type of special education will only intensify the social stigma surrounding special education. If parents are dropping their special needs children off at these schools, hardly ever to see them again or visit the school and invest in any progress their child is making, are they really comfortable with the fact that their son or daughter has special needs? You get the point.

The bottom line is that because Mrs. Dove’s school is not supported by the government, it’s not free to parents. And a lot of parents that talk with Mrs. Dove seem to struggle with the idea of making a financial commitment that will benefit their child with special needs. Again, I can’t jump to conclusions because I absolutely don’t know the specific financial situations of any of these families. And while the cost of the center seems pretty reasonable, I can also recognize that parents from Nima, the neighborhood right next to my accommodation, would never be able to pay for SENCDRAC.

Which is why I need to go off on another tangent quickly…

I wrote home as soon as I got here regarding donations for the center. Because of the lack of government funding, the school lacks proper books, supplies, and trained staff. When I wrote I really had no idea what response I would receive and I have to say thank you, thank you, and thank you again to individuals that have donated. You all have already made incredible contributions. And because of the generosity of the donations, Mrs. Dove and I are now in the process of setting up a meeting with the Board of Directors of Education in Accra so the donations can be formally presented to SENCDRAC. Some of this money will hopefully go toward scholarships for families that cannot afford the cost of special education as well as purchase new materials and books so that the kids can progress further. We will hopefully have television and newspaper coverage…which is enormous for this school. I can’t describe to you all how incredible this kind of exposure will be for SENCDRAC, and for special education in general. You all are thousands of miles away and yet you appreciate the importance of education and trust me enough to do this for the school. I don’t know that I can express what your support means to me. It’s unbelievable.

As are these boys I am working with. I realize that I haven’t talked about them much and you have to at least get a glimpse of how unique and wonderful they each are. I’m already struggling with the thought of leaving them.

Let’s meet Lawrence first. Lawrence is my little man. Truly, he is a boy that just likes to pretend he’s a grown up man. When it rains, he walks me out with the umbrella and tells me, “I’m here to take care of you.” And when we pass the security guard outside an office on our walk to the tro-tro in the afternoons, he tells me why he’s going to be a perfect police man. It’s all adorable and charming, but Lawrence really does struggle with reality unfortunately. Or at least his present reality. I want nothing more than for Lawrence to grow up and become a police officer; however, for now he needs to be a boy in school and he doesn’t want anything to do with that reality. He has the most beautiful and fantastical imagination; it just often works against us in terms of academics. For instance, Lawrence doesn’t really ever come to school on Fridays. He always gets creative with his excuses though. But the excuses are really just a cover for some very deeply rooted anxiety that this poor little guy has towards school. He’s definitely the most loquacious and social of all the students. I honestly think he likes to talk so much because it keeps him from thinking about his struggles with academics. He’s certainly good at it, but would rather talk to you all day long than sit down and read a four-letter word. He is learning to trust me though and we’re definitely making progress. And I could never dream of giving up on Lawrence.

Nor could I do so to my sweet, sweet Junior. Mrs. Dove and I call Junior our little sweetheart. He is just the most adorable little thing you’ve ever seen…at fourteen years old. He’s extremely small for his age and is almost entirely nonverbal in English. He can tell me yes or no, how he is doing today, and that he is full at lunch time, but other than that he speaks to me entirely in Twi. (Just to clarify, English is the primary language here and all children are schooled in it.) He does usually understand what I say to him in English, but that’s also if he’s paying enough attention to me to process it. You see, Junior is truly one of the most extreme examples of a child with ADD that I have ever seen. He’s not ADHD, so he will at least sit still for me and remain quiet; however, if I ask him to look at me or at something on the paper, it’s a matter of luck if he will look at either for even half a second. He’s constantly distracted and focusing is clearly a challenge for him. In fact, if I ask him flat out to please focus and concentrate, he’ll quickly look at me, shake his head quickly and say no. And then smile at me as if he can get away with it. And this is why you can’t help but love Junior J He understands me and he honestly does respect me as a teacher, the poor guy just really can’t focus on much long enough to learn it. And I should go ahead and mention that Ritalin and Adderol are simply not prescribed here. Doctors, actually the one special needs doctor in Accra, often prescribes herbal remedies but as Junior is currently taking an herbal medicine, it certainly doesn’t seem to make much of an impact.

And then there’s Thornton. Thornton is actually Mrs. Dove’s son and is also fourteen like Junior. He is much bigger and looks just about his age. Thornton absolutely loves to sing and dance and when he’s distracted in school, he usually prefers bopping his head strangely and tapping his hands or feet. Thornton is also a really incredible artist. But he really struggles to retain the basics. Today, his mother showed me ‘tests’ he’d taken in the equivalent of first grade in his mainstream school and he is now unable to do many of the same exercises. His struggle to retain information is definitely one of our primary concerns regarding Thornton. Thornton also likes to give me a hard time. While Mrs. Dove swears that he goes home and tells his Daddy about me, he does frequently act out around me at school. It’s all sort of a game with Thornton – he’ll try to drink from my water bottle or have a bite of my lunch when I’m not looking. I feel like he’s trying to test out how authoritative I’ll be with him. I think he’s starting to figure that out quickly now that I’ve shown him I’m not afraid to let him know who the teacher is and who the student is. Part of me also has to remember that on top of having special needs, these boys are also at an age where hormones are crazy. So I do always keep my cool with Thornton. But he certainly doesn’t get away easy with eating my whole sandwich, as he did one day last week!

So those are my three main guys. On Mondays and Thursdays, we do also do a toddler program in the morning and I’ve met one of the two toddlers who come to that. Nana is quite the little ball of energy. We had a truly exhausting morning last Thursday. He is three and a half and doesn’t speak at all, either English or Twi. But the boy knows how to display his emotions. When he smiles you could swear he’s an angel but goodness gracious, if Nana doesn’t want to sit and you try to force the issue, you have to protect yourself. He is one feisty nonverbal little tot. He is able to trust people pretty quickly though and as soon as I pat or rub his stomach and tell him it’s ok, he usually settles down. Although he is tiring, Nana is definitely a refreshing challenge two times a week.

And then there’s Naneyaw. He’s twelve years old and is enrolled in a mainstream school in the area. But he comes to us Thursday afternoons after school to work on his speech and social skills. He’s slightly autistic and extremely quiet. So we’re working to break Naneyaw out of his shell and so far it’s actually been going great. Last Thursday, we made a fake microphone for him to use as he pretended to auction the rest of us in the room a brand new car. And you should of heard his little voice begin to boom. I think he feels really comfortable in our environment and isn’t as scared to speak up which is awesome. His mom tells us that he can’t wait for Thursday afternoons with us!

So those are my kiddos for right now. I have an undeniable amount of love for all of them already, which is a lot of why I get frustrated with their circumstances at the school. They don’t have the proper materials to learn from and it kills me not to see them progress. So I finally got honest with Mrs. Dove this morning. While I’ve never doubted that her intentions are that of an angel, I think she really struggles to ask for help. She’s started this school entirely on her own and it’s truly incredible how much she’s done all by herself. But she’s sort of reaching the end of the line, both emotionally and financially. Emotionally, that’s a bad thing because she’s exhausted to the point of not seeing that these kids are lacking essentials like a structured curriculum and proper learning materials. And financially, it’s terrible because there’s just no money to improve the situation. And so this morning, I came in and was just really frank. I told her that we really needed a trained special education teacher in the school to make sure that the kids have a curriculum to follow. And while she was defensive at first, telling me they had a curriculum, she eventually broke down all barriers with me. I’ve never seen the woman be so honest with me. She admitted that she knows they’re struggling and she doesn’t know what to do. And so I told her, Mrs. Dove, I’m not talking to you right now to bring you down. What you’ve done on your own is absolutely inspiring, I just want you to know that we can find people to help you out now. And then our day of new hope began.

We went just down the road to a mainstream Christian school called Emmanuel Restoration. This woman also began her school when Mrs. Dove did two years ago but it is now absolutely beautiful, with new furniture and brightly decorated walls and halls, a far cry from our appearance at SENCDRAC. And so we met with the Director of the school, Mrs. Campbell, and I encouraged Mrs. Dove to flat out ask her how she received her funding. And this sweet 74 year-old woman willingly shared her experiences with us. After a full hour in her office, we’d make contacts with both of the organizations that helped fund her school. One of the organizations is sending someone over to SENCDRAC tomorrow to evaluate the center and help us write up a business proposal. I have never been so mutually excited with Mrs. Dove. Today, we made tremendous progress both in terms of our relationship and the wellbeing of the school. It was an incredible day. So I’ll definitely keep you all updated throughout the funding process but I think we’ve definitely achieved some forward motion!

Quick update from Busy Internet

Well I'm here at Busy Internet... Accra's largest internet cafe. And quickly running out of minutes! So this will be less long-winded than the others I promise :)

First of all, pictures are up! Well, some of them. The connection here at Busy Internet is pretty slow but I'll get them all up eventually I promise!

Also, last night I got a new roommate! Her name is Osato and she is from Nigeria. She's probably in her late 20's and is in law school. And she's all about traveling within Ghana! So I finally have a travel buddy. This weekend I think we're going to venture to Cape Coast along with two other Ikando volunteers, Timothy and Chloe, who stayed at the Accra accommodation just last night before they continued their travels within the country. And then Timothy, Chloe and I already talked about doing the canopy walk at Kakum National Park the next weekend. So travel plans are shaping up!

And today at work Mrs. Dove took me to the GI school here in Ghana - it's the most prestigious private school in the country. The visit definitely added to my perspective on education here in Ghana.

Anddddd I have to finish for now before I get kicked off.

More to come soon! Love love LOVE!!

A successful first weekend :)

Friday night – After getting home later than expected from work, I came home to relax for a little while. I made some dinner and then as promised, I helped Quarshie with a project. He’s recorded four songs with his friends from another city but the tracks are all on different CD’s. I told him the first night I was here I could burn all of his music onto one CD if he wanted and he was baffled by the possibility. Anyways, I got it done for him and he was just fascinated by the speed of the process. He asked me how it works so quickly and I realized I couldn’t explain it. Sure, if I knew the exact logistics of the process I’m sure I could explain it technologically but the fact is, it’s just something I take for granted. Reality check number two hundred since I’ve been here.

Saturday morning – I woke up excited to explore the city on my own for the day. I decided to go to the National Museum first. After some confusion with the taxi driver regarding my destination, I arrived at the National Museum…and not the Cultural Arts Center, where he seemed to think I was headed. The drive there was incredibly refreshing. Nima and the part of Ring Road that I live near are relatively dirty and it was really nice to pass by some of the other quieter and cleaner neighborhoods. At the entrance to the museum, the woman selling me my ticket asked what country I was from. When I told her the United States, she smiled and asked ‘Obama or Hilary?’…I guess I’m that transparent of a democrat that McCain wasn’t an option J Anyways, I told her Obama all the way and she rejoiced, as did the nearby security guard. Clearly one of my favorite moments of the trip thus far.

Regardless of how this is evidence that the world wants Obama, I went on to enjoy my tour of the museum. I did pause in front of the fans every now and then to cool off but it was overall really pleasant. The museum was a perfect activity to do on my own. No one to rush me to the next case; no one to complain about anything. Just me and the crazy masks staring back right at me.

After I finished looking around, I went to the gift shop and bought a few things. I left the museum and immediately saw a hand painted sign for a craft shop behind the museum. I followed the arrows into a cozy and brilliantly colorful little shed where a man sat inside painting. All of his work was on display around him. I think I could have sat and watched him all day – the room felt so peaceful. As I looked around, he sat joyfully working on his art. I bought a small painting from him and thanked him for sharing his work with me. Ghanaians are generally happy people but this man was one of the happiest I've seen. I'll definitely be back to see him before I leave.

After finding my new friend I walked ‘aimlessly’ on purpose for about 45 minutes around the central Accra area. I had no schedule for the afternoon and I just felt like exploring. It was nice to experience the change of environment and do it on my own. Feeling content with my wandering, I decided to take a cab to Osu. Like I mentioned before, Osu is the very tourist friendly area of the city. I stopped at the renowned Frankie’s restaurant and got ice cream. As I sat on the porch enjoying it, a man on his break from the restaurant came over to chat. He sat next to me and started asking the basics. It was harmless; let’s be honest –it was broad daylight at one of the most frequented tourist spots in the city. I was fine. He asked what I’d done so far and what I wanted to do so I simply mentioned I was interested in seeing a show at the National Theatre. With that information, he thought he knew me I suppose. Ohhhh you like shows…I have a show we could go to on Thursday. You free? Great, we’ll go then. I laughed and explained I work early, etc. He accepted defeat, smiled and continued to be completely harmless. But before I knew it, the old Italian man sitting amidst me and the local Ghanaians stood up from his stool and called to the man speaking to me. The man was polite and turned to this Italian man. After all, Papa Italy was summoning him. And papa had quite a bit to say. “Why are you talking to her? Are you going to marry her? You all say that! You leave my little lady alone.” Ha, well I suppose it’s nice to know that somehow my grandpa made the trip to Accra with me J The guy I’d been talking with simply smiled at me and walked away. A few minutes later, I got up to leave and told my local Italian grandfather to enjoy his ice cream and have a wonderful afternoon. And he said, “You too. You get home safe now.” He was adorable!

I came home to relax for a bit and before I knew it, it was almost time to leave for the seven o’clock show at The National Theatre. I had called to find out what the performance would be but could only gather it was at seven. Well we arrived (at the air conditioned building!) and waited twenty minutes or so for the house to open. We sat for another half hour as they sorted out sound and then a projector began showing clips from “Stars of the Future 2007” on the wall. Stars of the future…as in the American Idol of Ghana. Since admission was free, Leah and I wondered if this replay of the show was it for the evening. But half an hour later, the host of Stars of the Future Ghana 2008 popped onstage, lights came on, and cameras started shooting. We were in the audience for the premiere of Stars of the Future’s Final 12. It was a ridiculously fun evening...of pure luck, I might add.

After the show, we took a cab back home. But we went for a drink at the Taverna Tropical first J It’s strangely close to our hostel – our neighborhood is entirely dirt roads but Leah discovered this little bar earlier in her stay. It’s owned by two Greek men, has live music on Friday’s and Saturday’s, and has air conditioning. It was definitely a treat to sit and relax with Leah for a while. Overall, it was a really great day.

And Sunday only got better! Mary came to pick me up around 10:30. When I stepped into her car she grabbed me for one of the most enormous hugs I’ve ever received. Man, I’d missed hugs the past week. Mary was just as warm and wonderful as she seemed on the phone. She took me home and I met her family – her father, brother, husband, daughter – and close friends. We drank litchi and guanabana juice, enjoyed the coastal breeze and discussed everything from marriage to sustainability in Ghana. It was awesome. A few hours later, I went to the mall with Mary, her friend, her daughter and her daughter’s friend. Yes, I did say mall. There’s no Gap or Macy’s though; clothing stores primarily consisted of South African imports. And Shoprite and Game were both huge stores laid out similar to Wal-Mart. After shopping, we ate in the food court. And no, there isn’t a McDonald’s. We ate at Barcelos “Flame Grilled Chicken” and there was also a bakery and an ice cream stand. And of course Mary wouldn’t let me pay for a thing all day. I felt extremely spoiled. And from what I can tell so far, we had a rather extravagant day by Ghanaian standards.

So after telling Mary and the girls thank you…thank you…and thank you again, they dropped me at the hostel. And then I joined Leah at the Paloma Hotel courtyard/bar to watch the end of the football match between Ghana and Syria. And Ghana won! It was a great end to the day. And overall, an incredible weekend!

Love to everyone!

I'm here!

After about 24 hours of traveling, I finally arrived in Accra. As promised, just outside of baggage claim there was a man in the crowd holding a sign with my name on it. He introduced himself as Quarshie and we walked toward a cab with my luggage. We arrived at the hostel, or rather ‘the accommodation’, and I can admit that I was pretty terrified that first night (don’t worry, I’m not still terrified!) My welcome pack just made it seem like I’d be greeted by a swarm of fellow volunteers staying at the hostel but when I arrived with Quarshie, there wasn't anyone in the house. It turns out I am the only person staying in my ‘girl room’ and there are just two girls in the other ‘girl room’. They were both asleep when I arrived. Quarshie did help me from dwelling on the circumstances too much when he asked me to come downstairs for a surprise. He had me sit down at the dining room table and explained that this surprise is something he does for every volunteer when they arrive, and that I would always remember it. He went to the kitchen to prepare for a few minutes and came back with two sandwiches and several bananas. The comforting gesture did help a lot – I was hungry after all of the traveling and it was really nice to talk. It certainly kept my mind from racing like it was!

The next day I met with Mercy and Gabriel for my orientation in the morning. We went through my volunteer placement as well as details like getting a cell phone, exchanging money and where to wash clothes outside. After I met with them, Quarshie took me out to shop. He’s a great person. I realize it’s part of his job to help volunteers as they adjust, but I genuinely appreciate how friendly and willing to talk he’s been. We walked to a very wide-variety market to buy a Sim card, my phone, and then credit for the phone. The process was pretty painless and definitely inexpensive. We grabbed some lunch at a place within the market and I had my first taste of banku. It’s basically fermented maize lumped into balls. It is rather slimy in texture but can be dipped into a variety of spicy sauces which does help it go down. We then took a tro-tro to Osu, where the large supermarket is. We walked around the area a bit – Osu is the ‘touristy’ part of the city so Quarshie wanted to show me some popular spots. At the supermarket – Koala – I found I would only be purchasing the basics. Imported American foods are absurdly expensive; as in no Special K Red Berries for me because it’s the equivalent of $12.00. I made out just fine though and we then took a cab to ‘The Factory’ where all of the purified water is made. We picked up four satchels of water – each the size of an ice bag you buy at the grocery store or gas station – filled with lots of smaller packets of purified water. All four cost the equivalent of just $1.50. They should last me quite a while but there are also lots of young girls and women who sell the small packets of water in baskets on the street. We returned home after The Factory and I met Misa. She’s very friendly and inquisitive and is here from Japan. For dinner, Misa and Quarshie made gari and I made a tomato sauce to go with it. Gari is similar in principle to banku – it’s served as rounded balls but it is made from cassava and is much less slimy! I definitely enjoyed the gari. As we were eating, Leah came home from work and I met her for the first time. She’s been here for 2 months and is sadly headed out soon. I went to bed that night feeling much better about things. I think I just needed to see the sunlight and the friendly smiles of Ghana.

Thursday, the first day of work, was good - definitely different than I'd thought it would be though. There are only a handful of kids at the center on a given day and the woman who runs it really heads up everything so it's just a matter of finding my niche teaching. It is also going to be a lot of primary special education instruction rather than just drama therapy because most of the kids are not in mainstream schools at all. And there's hardly any funding so there materials are lacking. Special education is quite the social issue here. There are no special education programs in the mainstream schools. Mercy (from Ikando) explained to me that a lot of the time, special needs children are either kept at home without schooling at all or left in the mainstream schools to struggle. Mrs. Dove’s program is unique and pretty progressive for Ghana. It’s going to be difficult for her to overcome a lot of the social stigma placed on special needs children but she is absolutely determined to increase an awareness and acceptance for it. She is initiating a lot of outreach in the public schools that I’m really looking forward to helping with.

And every single child here is absolutely adorable; just so beautiful. Some of them point and yell out to me "Obroni, obroni!" which literally means "white person!" And it’s not at all offensive; everyone smiles as they say it. They're literally just fascinated by my skin. I went to the local market on Wednesday and one little girl just stopped in this absurdly busy street to rub my arm. I do think there are more “obroni” around but the city is pretty large.

In terms of safety – for family/anyone who is concerned – I feel completely safe at the accomodation. We have a guard outside 24 hours and I have a lock on the door to my room. The only times it gets overwhelming is when I’m in a really large crowd...which can happen frequently...but it's nothing to feel scared over. A lot of things here are obviously just an adjustment.

Public transportation for example

- there are taxis

- and there are buses....but not many

- and there are trotros…which everyone takes

They're very cheap, and interesting. They're basically big vans with four rows of seats and people just pile in and get off at different stops. The odor inside these tro-tros is simply delightful as I’m sure you can imagine. But you can’t beat the price. I take two different tro-tros to work for the equivalent of about 70 cents. Not too shabby at all.

And one HUGE comfort…

Do you all remember my friend Gertrude from Simsbury I told you about? Well she gave me her best friend's number - Mary - she lives here in Accra. So I gave Mary a call on Wednesday night and she was absolutely adorable - just like a mother. She was really concerned that I hadn’t called her yet. Anyways, she wants to take me home with her so I can meet all of her girlfriends. She's just so sweet. So she's my Sunday morning date tomorrow.

Love from Accra like you wouldn’t believe,

Christen