I would hate to leave without typing up a final entry. However, the whole idea of packing up and saying goodbye and my final reactions and first reflections are just too big of a concept to lay out on this computer screen at the moment. Just know that I am returning the night of Dec. 14th!...with presents! I would like to cook up some Ghanaian food soon after I get back for whoever might be interested. The elections here so far have been successful. I have been told by the porters of my hostel who listen to the radio all day [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well I made it back from Lome! But first, allow me to begin with recent come-on's by guys: 1. to my friend Rachel while she is seated in a taxi in traffic "What is your name?" "Rachel" "Richard?" "Rachel" "Richard." "no Rachel!" "Richard, are you a boy or a girl?" "I am a girl." "Give me your number." 2. to me while I am sitting in traffic in a tro-tro being forced to listen to the preacher who has gotten on and has been preaching for the past 20 minutes: "Why did you take my picture?" "Because you were giving a [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello again…17 ½ more days in this adventure, really? My perception of these last two weeks changes every couple of hours. Two days ago I was having a, “ugh really, if I am going to be sick for the majority of my time left JUST GET ME HOME,” kind of a day. Two days before that I was having a, “*%^#@@@@, I only have three weeks left…where did the time go…how could I have done this all better…what can I still do…hm maybe I should get a Fulbright and stay in school and travel and study (forever)…Latin America, no what about [View Full Entry]

---

---

Oh my hello there. It has been a long time. Let me begin by saying that the internet has been insanely unhurried the past few weeks. There have been a few times when I have typed up a blog only to find the internet too slow to post it or save it. I’ve been trying for about a month to schedule my classes for spring at Pitt and can not open e-mails from my advisors. Such is Ghana, as our USAC saying goes: “So often slow and broken.” Allow me to hit on the finer points of the past few weeks: [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello! So I have noticed that my writing has become more sporadic these last couple weeks, and I am absolutely aware of the reason: the heat. The dry season has hit Ghana with a vengeance, and it is hard enough to drink my usual 3 cups of instant coffee per day and go for a run, let alone make the walk across campus to use the computer. Instead of my usual internet walks, I have been substituting extra reading, extra wine and cheese parties with the girls, and extra adventures. Anyway, the internet here has been painfully slow as of late, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, how time is flying! Back to some stories of last weekend. In between going to the football game our group stayed at this place called the Hideaway Lodge, anddddd man was it hidden, actually. It was miles away from town on bumpy dirt roads and right on the ocean. The water was perfectly clean and rock free with the exception of one giant rock perfectly placed by the water's edge, perfect for climbing up and watching the waves hit and the night sky. We stayed the first night split up in little tree houses, and the second night all in [View Full Entry]

---

---

Hello! Well I am back on campus after a fantastic weekend trip four hours west to Takarodi and Busua Beach. I headed over on Friday morning with 4 students I haven't traveled with before, and then met up with some USAC students later in the weekend. The main objective of the trip was to see a World Cup qualifier match between Ghana's national football (soccer) team and Lesotho. The second objective was to enjoy the beautiful beach about an hour away. By some stroke of luck we were successful on both accounts...andddd it was wonderfull. Where to start: The game. Completely [View Full Entry]

---

---

well hello again! i wish i could say that I had many interesting and enlightening travel experiences to impart to you all, but, as I have been focusing on my health and healing, I have done very little in the past few days (with the exception of going to the Accra mall and studying Twi with espresso!!!) (and buying spinch and eggplant at a grocery store to cook with). So, that being the case, I will update you with stories of what other international students have been doing as I have been healing. First, there is a girl in our group, [View Full Entry]

---

---

Sigh, not much to report because today is the first day I have stepped outside my hostel since 6:30 Friday morning because I have been sick, of all things with a throat infection, how exotic I know. However, it had my fever up to 103 for a few days and the rest of me in too much pain to sleep much...so basically the last few days have been wretched. However, some good points remain: 1. I am getting better! 2. My mom, Perry, and dad succeeded in almost making me feel as if they were there to take care of me [View Full Entry]

---

---

Well, another week is about over, ready to head into October! This past weekend was incredible. A group of six of us decided to use the weekend to travel to Ada, a coastal village that is situated between the South Atlantic Ocean and the Volta River. We took a variety of tro-tros to head east about 2 hours. In Ada, there is a market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and getting there on a Saturday, we were able to spend most of the day at the market looking at cloth, eating banku, and playing ping pong with some locals. While I like [View Full Entry]

---

---