Day Fourteen; Wednesday, March 19 '08

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Early morning as we woke up at 6:00 am to go hiking which was a 25 minute drive. The hike was about 45 minutes when we stopped by a rope swing and Michelle got a pretty great "Glamour Shots" picture of me. We continued on the hike to six caves which were extremely dangerous to climb.

We visited one cave which had a window that our leader, Boss, said is "an act of God" int he fact that it cannot be seen outside. Another cave only had a small hole to enter and was covered in bats. After a small panic attack, I calmed down enough to be quiet when a bat hit me in the head.

After we were throught with the caves we approached the summit of the mountain which was absolutely breathtaking. It's weird how close you can feel to natuure when you're finished doing something so spectacular.

After a super hto hike and a tro tro ride back to base we showered and took off to Malaysia to meet the queen of Hohoe. It downpoured while we waited and JaWill offered to take us to meet teh queen. lWe took off our shoes, walked in, sat down, and were informed of everything we did that was inappropriate.

First of all, we were supposed to make an appointment. Next, the speaker explained that you wouldn't just walk in to the Buckingham Palace soi t was not okay to just walk in to her residence. He then explained the need to bow and bring two bottles of fine liquor.

After being properly introduced, they offered us a drink where you pour some ont eh ground, drink, and pour again. We were then informed that we are supposed to wish the king and queen long lives before we drink.

We left, walked home, and I did some laundry. It's weird to think of how excited I will be to use a washer and dryer when I get home. All of these things you take for granted back home are treats here in Africa. Even food or electronics. Kids here are so hungry that they chew on plastic bags, and as imaginative that they could play with a tin can for hours. People are so genuinely excited to see you here. It will be weird to go back and only be a regular person walking down the street. And it rains here liek crazy. Monsoon rain. The only good thing about the rain is that it stops the roads from being so dusty.

Went to Malaysia's at night as it was someone's last night out.

Miss you all!
Love.

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Comments

[Beth]

WOW WOW WOW
I can not even fathom the experience you are having right now. BTW your blog has now become my new facebook. I don't know which one I check more. Travelblog = boredom cure. I see pictures and videos of kids just like that all the time in my classes of those in third world countries but I don't think anyone truly has the sense of how oppressed they are until witnessing in person. Your experiences so far are already motivating me to look into the African programs for studying abroad. Were the king and queen glamorous? Prayin for ya every night Kacie, hope things continue going well. Oh and also....While you're in Ghana I hope you don't get Gonorrhea! Ohhhhhh ME SO FUNNY!

[Mark, Carol, Chris, Ben]

Praying for you
Kacie - fun to read your blog. Just wanted to let you know that we are thinking and praying for you here in MN. We had 8 inches of snow last week. A white Easter! blessings to you. May God be with you.