Hello again everyone! I hope this post finds you all well. Things in Ghana have been waning a bit. This past week I think I hi the bottom of the study abroad S-curve that everyone teaches you about before you leave on your academic adventure. In the beginning of the trip everything was exciting and it was sensory overload all the time. However, this past week I started to get frustrated with everything in this country. When I was eating oatmeal for the umpteenth time for breakfast, I began to get angry that there wasn't enough dietary variety here. When I was sitting in my Poverty and Rural Development lecture, I began to get frustrated about not being able to understand the professor and resented the fact that despite our very long reading list, the professor ... read more

Hello again to everyone. Again I have been warned by my father about my bad spelling problem, so again I apologize for any mistakes I make. This week has proved very interesting. Since yesterday our house has had to endure a power outage...the first long one we've had since we arrived in Ghana. It turned off yesterday at 11a.m. and didn't return until today at noon. And no power = no fan or light. Last night we were very careful not to burn down the house with all the candles we lit, keeping them anchored in empty beer and Fanta bottles (not the most sturdy apparatus'). This morning the heat was so unbearable that many of us sought refuge yet again at the pool, which proved for a very relaxing afternoon. I also used FanIce as ... read more

I wouldn't go as far as to say that things have come to a stand-still here in Ghana, however, this last week seems to have been fairly laid back. When I first arrived here it was sensory overload all the time and I was constantly learning new things. However, as of right now I feel pretty comfortable with everything. I have become quite accustom to being stared at, honked at, yelled at, and proposed to. Because I am blond haired, blue eyed, and tall, I stick out like the sorest of thumbs here. And being an oburoni (finally the correct spelling of this word) of such, I have learned to ignore the local men who consider me as their ticket to the U.S. and what they think is a better life. I believe I have had ... read more

I'm slowly but surely starting to get the hang of things. Knowing the lay of the land is one thing, finding the essentials like food, water, toilet paper, laundry soap is another. I found out today that absolutely nothing but the internet cafe is open. Therefore you must make sure that you buy food on Saturday so that you can actually eat on Sunday. Church rules this country. People are up at 6am and are in church until noon, I don't know how they do it. The weather is becoming easier to bare. It starts off muggy in the mornings, gets extremely hot and humid at midday and then cools down during the late afternoon and night. I'm fortunate that I haven't run into any big problems with bugs, but I'm not holding my breath. The ... read more

So that feeling starts...the feeling that I am about to embark on a life-changing experience; or at least I hope so. I'm ready for warm weather and different food, soda with real sugar and glass bottles, a different culture and way of life. Sure I'm a bit scared and a bit worried, but hey that comes with the territory. What worries me more is making sure I get everything here at home finished before I leave for six months. I'm afraid that I'll become ignorant to things happening around the world, but hey, a change of pace is what I need. The lack of rigid schedules, deadlines, pressure and stress should do me some good. I need to feel as though I'm actually living my life, instead of constantly feeling like I'm just completing a large ... read more