A day to reflect

I haven't done too much today. I've just been relaxing and reading at the Home Base.

Friday I was sent to a different orphanage in Hohoe along with another volunteer, Devon. This orphanage seemed to have much more structure than Christ orphanage, although I kind of miss the chaos at Christ.

When we arrived, Devon and I were welcomed and we were each given two different groups of children to watch over for the day. I was given a long bamboo stick and a piece of chalk and instructed to teach the children the ABC's and mathematics up through 10. It was a lot of fun, and the children were all hungry for knowledge.

It was difficult to give each child individual attention, and some needed more than others. One boy was scared to even touch the crayon to his paper, and when he did, other children would laugh and grab the crayon, showing him how to do it the "right way." Although they were trying to help him, they seemed to be intimidating him more than anything.

I spent a few minutes with him, trying to have him write the number 2. Finally, he was able to trace over one of my "2"s which was quite the accomplishment! His face lit up when he finished, and I was really excited for him.

Tonight I will work to develop more of a lesson plan for tomorrow, maybe make some flashcards or something. I'm not really sure because I can't even remember how I learned the ABC's...
Any ideas?? Please share in your comments!

Yesterday a group of us went to paint the napping room at Christ orphanage. I was sent more to distract the children rather than to paint, but it was a lot of fun :)

A few of us also walked around with trash bags and gloves to clean up broken glass and trash in the play area and the surrounding village. It was a productive, but tiring day.

Anyways, I'm gonna head back to the house now and lay on the hammock for a bit. I love you all and miss you!!!

See some of you in a week!

Oh, and mom, to answer your question... The Likpe caves were pretty neat, although it was honestly the challenge of getting through and around them that was the really fun part. There were bats in them though, which was cool too :)

Scaling mountains in Africa

Yes, it's true, I actually scaled a mountain today.

It started off as a somewhat difficult hour hike up the mountain. The goal was to reach the Lipke caves, only we were not warned that we would be rock climbing using ropes tied to various trees on the way up. After two hours of intense climbing after the hike, one of the girls cried as she was trying to make it up through the last cave. I had a blast though, honestly. Even after the mini rock slide that occured while I crouched down below covering my head. A few cuts and scrapes, but it was such an adventure!!! The last stretch involved scaling the side of the mountain with not much room for your feet and only a wire tied to trees to hang onto on the mountain side. Last, but not least, we took the hour long hike back down with our wobbly jello legs.

I'm surprised there was no waiver to sign our lives away. Seriously. Loved it! Lloyd, if you're reading this, you would have loved it too. I think...

Anyway, After that, I still managed to head to the orphanage and throw a few children around. I want to take them home!! (Well, at least a few to start) Lots of pictures and stories to tell :)

That is all for now. I'm loving it here, but at the same time I can't wait to get home and drink some milk and eat a Chipotle burrito. And see you guys of course :)

Love you all!!

Molly and Lex, I don't know when you guys will head to India, but have a safe and amazing trip!!!

By the way, incase you're wondering, I can't really download pictures to post unless I wait for 2 hours, so you guys will just have to see them when I return :)

Christmas in Ghana

So I've talked with most of you already, but here's a quick recap...

I had an amazing Christmas! It felt great to be at the orphanage celebrating with the children, and they are the most adorable things you will ever see. Aside from the occasional fighting with each other over who gets to sit on the Yevo's lap, they were all sweethearts. I made the mistake of spinning a couple of them through the air, and suddenly I was surrounded by who knows how many with their arms raised wanting to be tossed around as well. It was a fun, but tiring day. Definately a good workout :)

I spent the rest of the afternoon lounging, napping on the hammock and playing with the kids from across the road. I love kids here, they are SO easily amused.

After dinner we opened gifts from our secret santa; I got a really beautiful painting which I am very excited to hang up when I return :)

A few of us went to the local bar last night and danced around with the locals. Made friends with a girl named Bridget, who is now my new dancing partner for the remainder of my time here :) She's determined to teach me some new moves before I return, so watch out!

Alright, I love you guys and it was really nice to be able to talk to you nuts yesterday :)

Toodles!

The bumpy ride

Hi my favorite family!!

So I just returned from Cape Coast, and had a really fun time! Aside from the 16 hours of sitting in a van over RIDICUlOUS bumps... I'm talking spine-crushing, boob-sagging kinds of bumps... aside from that it was awesome.

We arrived late Friday night to the hotel, and woke up early the next day to start the day. We went for a canopy walk, and I got some really cool pictures! Can't wait to show you guys... Then we headed out for the slave castles and the beach. The castle was intense, especially in the dungeons where they kept the female and male slaves separate - I couldn't stay in there for more than a few moments... it gave me the willies.

Then we headed out to the Coconut grove. It was a nice resort, but a few of the girls and I decided to take a walk through the small fishing village nearby instead. After all, what's the point in coming to Ghana to stay in a westernized resort... honestly....

The village was fun, the kids would shout at us and sing a song, "How are youuuuu I'm finnnne Thankyouuuu!!!" Over and over again as we walked by. The boats here are so beautiful. The sails are made of colorful cloths sewn together, which made for some great pictures.

Last night, my roomie at the hotel and a few girls decided to stay at the coconut grove. Feeling slightly paranoid about staying back at the hotel room by myself, which was not near everyone else's rooms, I asked my friend Kara to stay the night with me... Now I seriously owe her because neither of us got any sleep. Aside from the virulent odor of pee and an air conditioning that sounded like pots and pans being banged together, some crazy preacher man started yelling into a microphone outside our window at 2 in the morning! He was yelling in another language (I'm guessing Ashanti?) and growling as he shouted. I was so tempted to tell him to shut up and to throw something heavy at him, but I decided against it... a wise decision looking back... Honestly though, it was tempting. He finally left, at least long enough for me to just fall back asleep before returning. Upon hearing his growls again, Kara and I looked at each other and just lost it laughing.

Couldn't sleep on the van since relaxing too much could cause you to fly off your seat at every "rumble strip," pot hole, and what seemed like stairs in the middle of the road. WEEEEE!!!

So I think I'm going to get some sleep now, even though I feel pretty hyper, I may be scaring the other yevos.

Anyways, I know that you guys are celebrating Christmas today so MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!! I love you guys soooo much and miss you!!! I wish I could be there!!! I'm gonna call you after I walk back from the internet cafe, so I should talk to you within the hour!

Nighty night!! or good afternoon to you slow pokes!

Ewe

Wow. It just took 37 minutes to load this one page.

Anyways, hello!!

Just wanted to let you know that I am leaving for Cape Coast with the rest of the group tomorrow afternoon, so I may not have time to blog or call... But I'll get back Sunday evening.

Hey Mattyface, to answer your question, Ewe is very hard to learn, but really fun. It is difficult to form connections to help remember, so it consists of strict memorization of strange/cool words and pronunciations that are very sing-songy. English is the general language spoken throughout Ghana, but there are over 100 different dialects, and Ewe is the one for the Volta Region. It may be different in the major cities like Kumasi and Accra, but here in Hohoe it seems that people's english is very rough, with knowledge of few words and greetings (though not nearly as bad as my Ewe). The children don't start learning english until later in school, so with many of the young children there is quite a language barrier.

Villagers really appreciate my attempts to speak Ewe with them. When I approach them with "Ndo" (good afternoon), many people will smile and laugh as they respond. They always seemed surprised when I continue on with conversation, impressed until they ask me something I've never heard and I stare blankly with a stupid smile on my face.

I will start working in a newly developed orphanage the second half of next week!! I'm really excited. I've loved my time at the hospital, and though observing can be quite frustrating at points, it's been a great experience. I can't wait to tell you guys more about it when I get home!

Love ya'll!!!

Oh! And don't you fret Mattmat, I got lots of pictures at Wli Falls and the hike up.

Crazy day...

My time at the hospital today was pretty intense.

It started off as usual, talking with patients, new and old, and making friends. After a couple hours there, an elderly woman in the corner of the room passed away. Two men, wearing only rubber gloves along with their tank tops and jeans, picked her up to put her on a stretcher. They were fairly rough with the body, pulling her by her skin to center her on the stretcher. The nurses asked if Gina, another volunteer, and I wanted to follow. We agreed and followed them down the road to the mortuary. We talked the the man in charge, who explained to us how the bodies were bathed, embalmed, and put in "the fridge" with tape across their foreheads labelling them by name. We entered a room to watch them as they bathed one body. The woman was probably in her twenties, and was beautiful. Watching them stretch her from one position to another and bathe her, I became quite emotional and stepped out. One man followed me and explained that she was pregnant, though he did not know how she died. Then, in an akward moment, one man proposed to Gina, and was turned down.

Gina and I walked back up to the Female Ward, and were asked if we wanted to see a nurse working on an "accident." We walked in to see 2 women. One was bent over the bed, burned down to her muscle from her toes and feet all over her behind up through her back and shoulders. She was waiting for the nurse to get started cleaning her burns. The other woman was lying in bed, burned badly on her face down to her breasts and stomach. The nurse started cleaning out the first woman's wounds with saline solution and cotton balls. I can't even imagine the pain the woman was in under no pain medication, but she hummed to herself, gripping the sheets as she whispered "Mon Dieu."

Outside, I spoke with the woman's son, and told him "Baba," or sorry in Ewe. Apparently, there had been a bus accident a couple days prior, when a bus hit a biker and then rolled and caught fire. There were 36 people on the bus, most of whom were in other wards.

When we went back into the main room with all the beds, we found out that another woman had died, Margaret, whom we had been introduced to yesterday, though she was unresponsive. She was 70 years old, blind, and diabetic. Her daughter was there when she died, and she began moaning and crying, shaking her mother trying to wake her up. Gina and I were both sobbing and had to leave the ward and take a breath, giving the daughter her space.


On a brighter note, upon returning to the home base, we set off for Wli Falls. It was a 30 minute drive and a 45 minute hike through the beautiful tropics of Ghana. We arrived to the Waterfall, which had a rainbow stretched across the base, and hundreds, possibly thousands of bats flying everywhere around the top. A few of us went into the water, and as we got closer to the waterfall, the wind and mist blew hard against us. There were some locals there, who would take people from the wrist and slowly pull us backwards under the waterfall. The pressure felt like large children being dropped onto my head and shoulders. It was so much fun!!!

We walked back, bought some souvenirs, visited the ostrich farm (those things are freaky!!!), and returned home for dinner and Ewe lessons.

That is the end of my crazy day. I hope you guys are all safe and having fun back in the states!! Miss you!!

Goats and cold showers

Sorry I haven't been writing, I couldn't figure out how to post since my profile was in italian... Anyways, I LOVE it here, and I am having sooo much fun!! All the volunteers are really cool, people in the community and really friendly and inviting, so it's easy to feel at home here >( That was supposed to be a happy face, but apparently the keys don't mean what they say... so just assume it's a happy face from now on >( Actually, that looks too angry... assume this is a happy face ,,)

The village is beautiful! There are so many goats, chickens and dogs here I just want to take some home!! Then we could eat fresh Ghanaian chickens and keep the goats and dogs for pets! ,,)

The home base is really nice, and even though you'd think in this heat that cold showers would be nice, they are really hard to get used to. My showers generally consist of soaping up and running back and forth through the running water. Then I do a sort of odd back bend to get my head in there without freezing my buns off... Too much information? Too bad!

Oh my god there's the cutest little lamb outside right now I just want to pick it up and squeeze it and name it Yooo!!!

Sorry, back to the blog...
This country is very laid back. You may have heard of the expression "Ghana time." Basically, you'll see people when you see them, but don't expect anyone to arrive within 1 to 3 hours of when they say they will. Hopefully I'll come home and find a balance between Ghana and the extreme fast pace in the US.

The display of friendship here is beautiful. Men hold hands with men, women with women, and their sexuality is not questioned. People are very close with each other throughout the community, and they welcome us yevus with open arms. Yevu is the word for white person in Ewe. Generally, all the children shout it at us as we pass, not in a derogatory way, but with smiles on their faces, determined to make new friends. ,,)

Today was the first day at our placement. We got to the hospital around 8, only to wait outside for an hour and a half as the director "finished up paperwork" aka when Ghana time had passed. I worked in the Female Ward. Sounds exciting eh? More frustrating to be honest. I knew to expect the lack of resources, lots of patients in one room, etc. What I did not expect was the staff's unwillingness to use the resources that they had. A man was in the ER with a baby who had been in a car wreck. The baby's head was bleeding and had bled through the dressing. He was arguing with the nurses since they took off the bandage and then tried to convince him that the baby did not need any more bandages as blood was dripping onto the floor. The father finally got the frustrated that the nurses gave in. Standing there watching and not being able to say or do anything is really hard. The hospital placement is for observation only, and so it goes.

I plan to finish volunteering at the hospital for this week, but next week I will switch to an orphanage. I look forward to observing and learning as much as I can within this week at the hospital, but I am here to be involved, not stand back and watch.

The children here are very friendly. Many of them play outside the home base after they get off school, and they are happy to read books and play games that you bring them.

I have so many stories to tell, but I will try to keep writing to everyone now that these technical difficulties have been solved.

Love you all!!

~Bear

Oh ya, sorry the phone got cut off today mom, but I love you too!! And I will be sure to keep writing in my journal!!! Muah!!

shiny and new

Soooo... this is my first post...

I leave for Ghana in FOUR DAYS!!!!!! I am very excited, a little nervous, haven't peed in my pants yet which is a good sign. I have packed WAY too much thanks to my mother, my personal Walmart (but better cause she feeds me and makes me tea :) )

I'm sad that I won't be able to spend christmas with those crazy people who call themselves my family and that even crazier guy whose cheeks I just want to SQUEEZE!!!! ... You know what cheeks I'm talking about. Ya. Those. But anyhoo, I'm hoping that this will be an amazing, safe trip and that I come home with new perspectives and many stories.

Oh ya, and for those of you who I haven't told yet, I will be volunteering at the hospital in the HoHoe district (pronounced Ho-way much to my dismay). YAY!!! Exciting, yes? It should be an eye-opening experience since Ghana does not have many of the resources that western medicine does. I'll try to keep posting blogs for those of you who want to know what's happening in HoHoe, ya KNOWWW???!!??

Now you may be asking yourselves... what does a picture of Dad riding a dolphin have anything to do with this post?

I dunno, but for now, I have to get back to studying biochem :D

I love you guys!!

~Sarah