A day in the life of a Ghanian

November 20^th, 2008

Things that I've seen in Ghana that I've never seen before:

· People walking down the main roads with machetes in their hand and nobody scared for their life.

· People asking the tro-tro driver to stop so they can squat real quick, in viewing distance for all to see.

· Numerous of exposed breasts (old women walking around with them saggin low or a nursing mother whippin out a nipple for her child to eat from anywhere, anytime).

· Goats stealing children's afternoon snacks (peanuts), resulting in the child chasing them with a stick shouting in Ewe.

· Riding in public transportation with living chickens sitting in the back and goats tied to the roof.

· A man selling aloe lotion, a toothbrush, a new testiment bible (purse size), matches, a pen, and a pencil all in one package deal for one Ghana Cedi (close to $1.00 in America), and people taking him serious; not looking at him like he's a crack head...

Hello all! I'm loving Ghana, and I wanted to share with you a list of things that I've seen that I find to be humorous in comparison to our American living. So that is the reason for the list.

Anyway...yesterday was a fun but long day. We went to Vli Falls which is a waterfall like 3 hours away from our village but worth the trip. Oh, and 'we' meaning me, Sarah, and Dela. We took a Tro-Tro into town. I don't know if you ever get use to the Tro-Tro. I was squished between people and sacks of coal. I felt like I might pass out from lack of air to breath and I also couldn't stop myself from thinking of what my escape plan would be if the tro-tro tipped over. The road is so bad and the tro-tro tips super far from the left to the right as it drives down the road. I just have to shut my eyes sometimes and think of happy thoughts lol. But when we got to Ho, we got on a 15 passenger van (the best 2 hours ever in a car seeing that I hadn't felt cold air for almost 2 weeks and it felt so good). When we got to the village, we had to take a cab to the Falls which was about another 20 or 30 minutes. Traveling here is tiring to say the least. After a small hike we were at the falls. It was so beautiful! The water was nice and cold so we wade in it for a while. It was pretty nasty though when Sarah pointed out the thousands of bats posted up high by the waterfall. But other than the bats being there it might have been the most beautiful place I've ever been.

When we got to Ho (the town that I come to once a week) it was dark out and we almost didn't catch a tro-tro back to the village. We ended up having to pay a cab driver 10 Cedis total (basically $10) to take us into the village. It really isn't a lot at all compared to the cost of a cab in the U.S. But here, the cabs to the village would normally be 1 cedi each. So after a long bumpy ride we made it home.

Today was my first time washing my clothes which I have to give these woman a lot of props for and anyone reading this blog that has ever had to do it. Washing by hand (in the hot sun) is no joke! The two ladies that cook all our food helped me wash my clothes and it seemed to take forever. I wish I could just wear the same thing for like a whole week so I didn't have to wash so much stuff but since there's dirt/sand everywhere and kids everywhere I get dirty so quick. So I guess I'll just be really good at washing by hand by the end of my time here.

After I washed my clothes, Me and Sarah cooked lunch for Dela and are caretakers Mary and Eunice. We cooked French Toast with honey and pineapple. We were going to make it for breakfast but we decided since we've been having to get up and do things somewhat early, that we would “sleep in” and make it for lunch instead. Oh yea and I love that the one day I have a chance to sleep in I wake up at 5:15 and couldn't fall back asleep. But anyways, the lunch was really good and they liked it a lot. The honey was made in the village by a bee farmer and it was amazing and the pineapple we bought at the market yesterday and it was also amazing and I might just buy them all the time seeing that they are like .20 cents.

So life in the village is good and more and more I have appreciation for things such as wash machines, safe public transportation, and toilets. If I don't post another blog before Thanksgiving I hope everyone enjoys the holiday and eats a little extra turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, greens, corn, and pie, for me! And also I really love and appreciate all the comments from everyone. They really make me smile! Love ya all!