Week 2

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I can’t believe I’ve already been in Ghana for two weeks. It is a LOT different from home, but I am loving every minute of it. The flight over here was nerve-racking. I was so excited but nervous at the same time. I didn’t sleep at all so I had 10+ hours to think about the trip. I was so nervous that when I got off the plane I would be so overwhelmed that I wouldn’t be able to find the people I was staying with, but luckily they found me and then we left the airport for Abokobi.



The drive to Abokobi was almost unreal. I felt like I was in a movie, and the heat was unbearable. For some reason it was exactly how I imagined it, but that’s probably because I’ve seen so many pictures. When we got to the house (or compound as they call it) I was so overwhelmed. There were so many people but they were all so friendly. It definitely took me a few days to adjust to everything because of the time change, weather, and even the food. But after a few days I was back to my normal self and was able to really explore the village, meet people, and get a hold of everything.



There are a lot of small things that I pick up on that are so different than back at home. One of the biggest differences is the drinking water. They drink water out of plastic bags and to open it you just rip it open with your teeth and then throw the plastic on the ground. Showering is also a lot different than at home since there is no running water. Here there are stalls and you get a big bucket of cold water and then a smaller bucket and you just have to dunk the smaller bucket into the bigger bucket and then pour it on you. Surprisingly the showers here are better than the showers at school!



School is off for the holidays so I’ve just been traveling around locally with the family that I am staying with. So far I’ve been to Accra where I went to a craft market, Osu, which is Ghana’s version of Times Square, and Boti Falls, which were these beautiful waterfalls in the Eastern Region. This past weekend I went to Cape Coast. I went to Kakum National Park and did the canopy walk, visited a monkey sanctuary, and went to the Cape Coast Castle. Tuesday I start volunteering at the school, and I am really excited to meet the children and start the pen pal project with them!

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