Week 1

Too much to write about for 1 week so you'll have to bear with me. I had one of those moments this week where I had to step back out of my body and wonder what I've done in my life to lead me to this exact moment. Picture this I'm standing in an enclosed turkey cage. 3 female turkeys. 1 baby. And 1 very loud male. I'm standing in this enclosure that is just above my head. Sawdust and turkey poop at my feet, definitely not up to American code for sanitation, with 3 Ghanaians and an Australian arguing about how best to raise goats. The Ghanian that owned the turkey farm was saying that goats need to roam free or they will never grow big enough for market and the Australian is replying that if he lets his goats roam free they will eat all of his vegetable crops.  And all I can think about is how fucking thirsty I am. 

So I'm going to go ahead and expose myself here and list some of the things that I didn't think about before coming to the third world.

The shops. Think of the sketchiest little corner New York City bodega that you've ever been in.. That's the nicest shop here. That's where you go to not get ripped off for being white. Also there are no franchises or franchise laws here. Something that you can get in one shop would be of totally different quality and price just down the road. And most of the stuff I've gotten here isn't even from shops. It's from the people dodging traffic with bags of water on their heads.  Most buildings here are either shops- hair salons, trinket shops, food vendors- schools, churches or some combination of the above. And they are all made out of the same concrete blocks that are made at a block factory (a place where concrete is compressed into the proper shape then lined up to dry in the sun.

The toilets. Sure the nice ones flush and I knew I was coming to a place where that would be a luxury. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about it is the signs that describe how to use the toilet.

The traffic. I knew the roads were going to be bad. They are worse than I expected though. Cars have to slow down every 10 minutes or so to drive over giant pot holes or areas where the road was dug up to lay pipes.  That's if you're on a paved road at all. What would be a 20 minute drive in the western world takes up to an hour here. The traffic though. No rules. No speed limit. People in the street. Cars passing on the right and left. Sometimes at the same time. And honking. Lots of honking. When someone is in your way. When you are going around a blind corner.When the person in front of you is driving to slow.  When your taxi is empty. I'm pretty convinced the drivers are sometimes honking just to say hi to each other.

The schools. As part of my orientation I got to sit in on a classroom for a day. And boy did that open my eyes. The teachers here only get paid the equivalent of $50 dollars a month. They aren't viewed in the same frame of mind as teachers in the western world. An untrained teacher is red dust on the bottom of your shoes to a lot of Ghanians. The worst part though? They have these thin pieces of wood that they use to smack the table when the kids are getting out of hand. Most of the time they hit the table. Sometimes isn't not the table. Sometimes it's the kid's arms or back.. Don't get me wrong though there were some really awesome things that I saw in addition. The teacher let one of the students sleep through class because he was sick. She also had a very intricate plan to get this one little boy lunch even though he couldn't pay his school fees that day. She played off like she miss counted the children that day when the lunch delivery guy came. And when he came back to collect the extra lunch, Osborne had already finished.  She was also giving the children a lesson on how every one is unique. Every boy is handsome. Every girl is beautiful. And if someone tells you that you aren't then they are 'everybody with me know' LYING!

I've been here a week now and I can't believe how much I've done already. I went to a church service. I let a bunch of 5 year olds touch my hair. I took my first Tro-Tro ride (more on them later).  I learned basic Twi phrases. I drank water out of a bag. I helped build raised gardens out of sticks and a failed corn crop.  I've fought dehydration daily. I body surfed in some of the biggest ocean waves I've ever seen. I was introduced to  the nutrition clinic I'll be working at (more on that later as well). And I spent the weekend traveling to an orphanage one of the other volunteers used to work at.  I love it already and I'm so excited for this adventure. 

Best thing I've eaten: Fried plantains

Coolest thing I've seen carried on someone's head: Television
Number of times the lights went out this week: 8

Raised garden beds that I helped make.

Watching the fishermen bring in the morning's catch. 

The place we stayed this weekend. We met some Germans that's were staying next door to us. We all drank beers on the beach and they out drank us by far.

My friend Richmond from the orphanage we went to visit. He cried when I left. It was the closest I've come to bringing a child home with me so far. 

Week 0

So I'm sitting in the airport after having gone through security twice (there was left over water in my bottle) and spending $3 on a stupid pen so I could write down my emergency numbers but I know this is just the beginning.  For those of you that do know, the next sentence isn't for you.  For those of you that don't know, I'M GOING TO GHANA!  For those of you that thought I was going to Peru.. no hablo espanol bueno, so they wouldn't let me go.  No worries, did I mention I was going to Ghana instead?

I've had some mixed reactions when I tell people.  Here are the common reactions and my responses to them so that we can all be on the same page:

• "Wow, really?"- "Yeah, really"
• "What will you be doing there?"- short answer: "Feeding babies", longer answer: "Well it's a volunteer trip and I'll be working at a nutrition clinic in a refugee camp, so I'll be focused on refeeding malnourished children", honest answer: "I don't actually have much to tell you because I don't really know that much about it.  I know where I'll be working and the organization that I'm doing this through has given me some information (see previous answer) but they also said that on a volunteer opportunity like this one you have to be ready for anything so my day-to-day life is going to depend on where my services are needed.
• "How long will you be gone for?"- "3 months, I'll be back right before Christmas."
• "What made you decide to do this?"- "Well, a volunteer trip like this has always been in the back of my mind and will just finishing my internship and everything, I figured what better time than now?"
• "Why Ghana?"- "Well believe it or not, a lot of these volunteer opportunities have projects for medical professionals like doctors and nurses, but not a lot of them are focused specifically on nutrition.  During my internet research I found only a couple of projects that do.  I was originally planning on going to Peru (as read above) but that didn't work out so I found myself going to Africa instead.  I'm at about peak excitement about the opportunity to work with nutrition in a struggling country at all, and the more I read about Ghana the more I am realizing not going to Peru ended up being a blessing in disguise."
• "Are you excited?"- "Very much yes, and nervous too."
• "I don't mean to sound ignorant, but where is Ghana?"- "it's ok I get asked that a lot.  It's in the north western part of Africa, along the coast of the Atlantic.. kind of in the armpit looking part.

• "Where will you be living?/ Will you know anyone there?"- "I'll be in a volunteer house set up by the organization.  The website says there is between 5 and 20 volunteers living there at a time so looks like I'll be making friends."
• "Will you have internet?"- "Yes, there should be some down the road from the volunteer house. And my project specifically says that I need to bring a computer so maybe there too?  I'm hoping to document this whole adventure weekly (and I'm hoping that by announcing that, I'll stick to it)."
• "Be safe"- "Thanks, and I will be.  I'll keep my wits about me and the Ghanaian government is fairly stable and has been since the early 90s.  They are just kind of stuck in a poverty trap because of war debts from years ago and that fact that nobody will trade with them (at least that's what I read in one of my pre-trip, poverty and economics books), but I've also heard that everyone there is super friendly."
• "Have fun!"- "I will!"

I've heard that trips like this change you.  And honestly, I know it will, but I'm secretly hoping.. not too much.  I'm not talking about the snobby- 'I just got back from helping a 3rd world country and I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread'- kind of changing that wears off once you're back for a few weeks.  I'm talking about the life long connection you develop with helping people and being selfless and giving away your service expecting nothing in return.  I'd like to think that the part of me that would be most affected by this is already churning at max capacity.
Buttttt let's be real.. everyone could use a little selfless tune up.  So I guess I'll just let this amazing opportunity change me for the better.

I'll try to get pictures as I can.  Here's the first one of everything I'm bringing (my favorite: the 99 pills of malaria medication that I have to take everyday)


So I'm all vaccinated, read, and packed.  This is week 0.  I'll be there for 12, which means 12 posts to look forward to.  I'll be posting about what I'm doing, adventures I go on, what I'm eating, to let you know that I'm safe, and frankly to say hi to everyone that I left behind.  My cell phone won't work there so this blog will be a primary mode of communication (this, email, and probably a little bit of facebook) so if you have any questions or want to fill me in on some gossip happening at home hit me up here.  Anything else and I'll see ya in December!