London

Hey all,

I'm at Heathrow, waiting for my flight home :)

I was going to write something meaningful and profound about my experience in Africa, but I'm going to sleep a little instead.

Not to worry, I will write again soon!

But I did have a great last day in Ghana ... Maybe one quick story...

So the last day at the orphanage, Devon and I were playing with the kids outside when the founder of the orphanage, Nicholas, drove up on his motor bike to tell us we had to see the new structure being built for the orphanage. He told me to hop on the motorcycle and then pointed at a bicycle, telling Devon to follow us. Devon laughed, "you want me to follow your motorcycle on that?" Nicholas started the engine and we were off, as Devon struggled to hop on the bike and pedal as fast as he could.

I started cracking up, and kept looking backwards to see Devon still laughing, peddling as fast as he could through the dust trail Nicholas was leaving for him (remember that the roads in Hohoe are very BUMPY dirt roads).

It was pretty funny, honestly.

When we returned, the kids sang some songs for us, we received certificates, and we were off after saying our final goodbyes. It was really hard to say goodbye. I keep wondering how the children must feel with us being there just long enough to form a bond of friendship, and then leave. I just hope that our presence there left a positive impact.

I really want to go back. There is a place for volunteers to stay at no cost at the new orphange being built. Any takers? Let me know :)

That's all for now, time to take a nap. I miss Ghana already, but I'm excited to come home as well.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!!

I hope you guys had a great time. I haven't been able to get the correct phone card for a couple days, but I'll try to find the right kind today. I talked to Lloyd earlier for the 1 minute and 30 seconds I had left on a card, and I know you guys (i.e. mom) need the number here.

I'm a little frustrated that the number they gave me to give to everyone is wrong... Sometimes things here are more disorganized than I was expecting.

Here's a number that hopefully works:

Dial the country code (which I think is 0233)
The number is 0935-20212 or 0935 20252.

Let me know if that doesn't work. Oh wait... you can't!! Ha! No worries, I'll call you.

Anyways, I'm safe and happy :) A little sick though, I may have MALARIA!!!! duh-duh-duhhhhh!!!! Just kidding mumsy, it's just a sore throat :)

New Years was fun, we went to church and then to a bar (go figure). Apparently the majority of the town celebrates the New Year in church, dancing, singing, and drumming until dawn. The church was PACKED. We seemed to arrive a little too early for all that fun stuff though, so we listened to a sermon in Ewe for a while until we headed out.

Back at the bar I drank a bitchpop and headed back home (bitchpop = new word for girlie beer). I had fun but I missed not being able kiss Lloyd on the count down :( Next year!

I wasn't able to go to the orphanage today since they were going away for some celebration, not quite sure what... So I returned to the hospital with Gina and Anela one last time.

We went to the lab today, which was interesting to say the least. The man taking blood samples refused to wear gloves and didn't wash his hands between patients. He explained to Gina and I that he didn't need gloves because he knows how to "handle a needle." Gina tried explaining to him that it wasn't just for his own protection that he should wear gloves, but also for the patients. He nodded and smiled as if we just didn't understand his needle skills. He explained one more time, "I don't wear gloves, I know how to do it without them." Sooo I told him just to be careful and we watched patiently.

On the bright side, we did get to look through a microscope and see malaria parasites!! Exciting!

Anyhoozie, I love you guys and I'll see you in a few days :)

Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!