Pictures

You might be wondering what Peace Corps Volunteers do in their free time. Or maybe you've never thought about it until I just put that idea into your head. Either way, I'll give you a little insight into my free time. Since I'm a teacher I'm pretty busy during the school term and I don't get a whole lot of time to myself. We're on break now though so I've had a bit of free time.

A few days ago I decided it was high time that I clean my room. Those of you who reallllllyyy know me, know that my room is usually in the state of extreme chaos. Not necessarily dirty, but cluttered with clothes, shoes, books, girly stuff, etc. You name it, its lying on my floor somewhere. Anyways while reorganizing my things I came across a ton of pictures I brought from home and a bunch that have been sent. I've also hung at least 80-100 pictures on my wall. Sometimes when looking at old photos we just flip through them quickly without really observing them. I took the time today to really look at my old pictures and it was an intense walk down memory lane.

I tried to remember the exact mood of every picture. Was it joy? Love? Intoxication? Maybe a candid shot showing a more serious side?

I looked at the faces of the people in the pictures. Some I know I'll never see again. They've either been taken from this world, or our friendship, although once thriving like a strong baobab tree, has dwindled away to nothing more than a mere acquaintance. Others were, at the time, not very important in my life, but they've slowly become a major part of what makes me happy. I can't imagine my life without some of the people in my pictures. Some of their faces tell the story of a love that was, but no longer is. Some are family: those who will stick by your side through thick and thin.

I looked at the scenes of the pictures. Halloween, college parties, family reunions, staff parties, graduation, school trips, prom, sporting events, birthdays/celebrations, and those that were taken for no particular reason other than someone had a camera at that given time. It forces you to remember the memories that are attached to those pictures. Some make you smile or laugh. Some make you regret the events which came after the photograph was taken. Mostly they make me miss my past. Being young and free without a care in the world. Remembering (blurry) summer nights with friends and six packs of what ever we could get on sale. They make me miss my friends and family too. I haven't seen some of these people in years let along taken any new pictures with them.

Pictures, to me, are a strange phenomena in this world. A digital hard copy of a single split second in time that can never be changed, replicated, relived or erased. I've heard a picture is “worth a thousand words”, but it's only when you really let your pictures speak to you that you hear what they have to say.

I can only hope that my future has many more beautiful moments than my past and I can't wait to put more memories on my wall.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving.

Americans have been celebrating the wonderful holiday known as Thanksgiving for a long time now. It became an official federal holiday in 1863. Abraham Lincoln said that we would use this holiday to give thanks to God for the good things in our lives. That was 150 years ago. Today we typically use it as an excuse to gorge ourselves on turkey, potatoes, stuffing, dinner rolls, and lets not forget the pie. Pumpkin, chocolate, apple, the list goes on. Once fully satiated we kick back on a comfy couch and become absorbed in the football game. Thanksgiving has very little, if anything, to do with religion these days. It has very little to do with giving thanks for anything, let alone any divine being.

Around this time of year I become confused about why people start posting facebook statues about “Today I am thankful for …..”. So does that mean you are only thankful for these things one day a year? What about the remaining 364 days of the years? Or is thanksgiving only important to some people because of Black Friday the next day? The amazing Christmas deals that only come around once a year seem to be what many people are concentrating on.

Here are some things I'm thankful for 365 days of the year.

1. Family – Where would any of us be without our family? I'm not only talking about those we have blood relations with because sometimes those people make our lives harder than it should ever be, but I'm talking about those people in your life who love you unconditionally, they support your dreams and visions, and they are there for you in your very darkest hours. For me I am lucky to have an amazing family. They've never doubted my life goals and they've supported me every step of the way. It doesn't stop there. I have so many “friends” that I consider family. Living in Ghana has helped me realize the importance of this. Family, brothers and sisters, isn't about your blood relations. Its about your heart.
2. I don't need to mention friends because they are my family.
3. My health. If you ask my parents they can tell you how many times I've been to the emergency room, but somehow I've grown into a healthy woman. Even since I've been in Ghana I've had very few encounters with any tropical diseases and I've been able to fully recover.
4. My life. The experiences I've had whether good or bad are all so valuable. They've made me the person I am today and I wouldn't change that for the world. Do I believe things happen for a reason? I'm not sure. But I do know that all the wonderful and terrible things that have happened to me have brought me to this very moment in my life and I'm happy about that so I wouldn't change anything.

Sometimes I'll just be sitting on my steps at night watching the stars, and I think that my blessing in life amount to more than all the stars in all the galaxies. I'm just one person on this huge planet full of millions of people and I have so much to be thankful for. Not just one day out of year though. I count my good fortune any chance I get.

Living in a different part of the world has open my eyes to so many issues that you can never fully understand until you experience it. I've become thankful for not only the things I have, but also for the things I don't have of I've never had to experience. I am not saying I've seen or experienced all of these things in Ghana, but I have at least learned about these things happening in many parts of the world today.

1. I'm thankful that I am not currently suffering from malaria. Fever, chills, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, body pains, etc.
2. I am thankful that I am not a mother of malnourished children who are crying in the night with empty bellies.
3. I am thankful that I have not lost my parents or any loved ones to HIV/AIDS.
4. I am thankful that I don't have a distended stomach full of worms.
5. I am thankful that I could take a school bus to school instead of walking up to an hour both ways.
6. I am thankful that I have an endless supply of clean drinking water.
7. I am thankful that I'm not abused every day by a parent/spouse.
8. I am thankful that I don't live every day in fear of bombs being dropped on my home.
9. I'm thankful that my life hasn't been lost to drugs, alcohol or prostitution.

The truth is I could go on for years. I think the list of things that I'm thankful for not having is much longer than the list of things I'm thankful I have. I see that as a good thing.

I think we all get lost sometimes in our own worlds without ever even considering the fact that no matter how bad our lives are, there is probably someone worse off. Every time I imagine that it's very humbling.

This year for thanksgiving I traveled to my friend Jessica's site in the Upper West Region of Ghana. We didn't celebrate on the actual day, but that weekend we feasted. Fried guinea fowl (kind of like chicken), yam salad (like potato salad except with yams), instant mashed potatoes, stove top stuffing, mac and cheese, green bean casserole, and deviled eggs. Everything was delicious. The best part about our thanksgiving feast wasn't the mass quantities of food though. It was sharing our feast with two Ghanaian friends. We took pictures and explained the meaning of thanksgiving to them. We made them try each and every dish and the best part was that their favorite dish was the boxed mac and cheese. Who knew that the cheapest, easiest thing would be such a hit! We had a wonderful time sharing stories and laughing. I will remember this thanksgiving forever.

As I write this I only hope that people around the world can learn to be a little more thankful for the things they have instead of wishing for more. Also, we all need to take a second and realize that so long as we are alive, and we have food/water/shelter, then our lives aren't really that bad. We struggle and suffer. That's life sometimes. Speak to people with kind words and always have heart for them. You never know the struggles they are dealing with in their lives and you never know if one day someone will be thankful that you took the time to appreciate them and give them a reason to live.

I Don't Know About You, But I'm Feeling 22!

Hi friends and family,

In case you didn't know, my birthday is November 26th, which is next Tuesday. I will be turning 23 years old! YAHOO! Anyways, since I won't be home to physically celebrate I thought I'd give you some other options  =D  

 

 

Please check out my friend Jessica's project for her school and donate to her cause, the links are below.

 https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-641-033

www.Jessicakeeton.blogspot.com

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oyhd9b7rxko65sn/School%20Construction%20Project.wmv

 You can also feel free to send me a package/letter to:

Samantha Bobbe, PCV
Peace Corps Ghana
P.O. Box 5796
Accra-North, Ghana
West Africa 

 

Receiving any type of mail is always amazing! I like chocolate and any other goodies like that. Velveta cheese is awesome here or any cheese flavored things. Deodorant is appreciated. Or really anything else you could think of including will be put to good use somehow. 

I am also making a special request that on my birthday you send me some sort of e-message (either a comment/message on here or facebook) reminding me of something awesome we did together, you're favorite memory, or something like that. I miss everyone so much and I know those message will make my birthday awesome. 

While cleaning my room the other day I found a notebook which was passed around at my going away party. Most of my closest friends were there and wrote something hilarious (mostly because alcohol was involved), but these messages have been an awesome pick me up a few times since I've been here. I'm hoping you guys can replicate that feeling. I'm including some of my favorite parts of messages from my notebook:

Stay safe and we'll party when you get back. Wish you the best in Ghana. - Jessica 

Thank you for everything you have done for me. I love you with all my heart. - Rachel

You are such a great friend. We def need to conversate while you are gone. P.S. I love these slippers! - Jason

I <3 Sam. - Corey

Have fun in Ghana and go to a lot of clubs. (Are there clubs in Ghana?).... if not... make one. YOLO! - Julia

I hope your plane doesn't crash. Did you feel that turbulance? Yeah, that wasn't good. - Julia

But for real... teach those kids some real good math and try not to get attacked by lions. - Julia

(Thanks Julia! Yours makes me laugh the most every time!)

I think you are a great girl and you deserve a great guy. I think you are beautiful and I know you are out of my league. You are one of my best friends.I will rock your world whenever "as a friend". Signed: your hubby, Will Bakke

I love you... BITCH - no signature

Don't die of super monkey AIDS. You're doing wonderful things for people. - Breezy

You're smart, nice, welcoming, non-judgmental and most of all: fun. You are going to do great in Ghana and we all know you will make a difference. My only regret is not knowing you sooner. I think we could've been great friends. - Jaoude

You're the best Sam! - no signature

Samantha Bobbe

She is the greatest girly

Hiku is the tits!

-Sean Joseph 

Say hi to simba for me. Stay away from AIDS, I hear it's a bitch. Sorry I broke into your house once with Calabrese that one summer, it had to be done. - Christian

BOOBS - no signature

There is no better feeling that the feeling of doing exactly what you meant to do! This is the most courageous thing I have ever known someone to do! - Michele 

Sam you are an amazing person and good luck with everything! - Brittany

Get a great tan and stock up on sun screen. P.S. Grab your hot perfect doctor husband! - Arryian

OMG It's Sam! You were always and will always be my favorite in OEM (shh don't tell anybody!) - Kevin

I wish we could have shared more memories but I guess we can do that when you come back.Don't ever forget that you're an amazing person! - Alex

I don't want you to go because you are my drunk buddy. - Meredith 

I'll always remember our Cheerio trail and breaking into (....)'s room or at least trying to. You are going to have such an amazing experience. I'll be counting down the days til you come back! - Maureen 

The last year and a half with you has changed my life. You have been a role model for me with your ambition and your drive. Don't forget all your moments of laughter and love. You're like the big sister I never had and you have changed my outlook on life. See you later chica cuz it will never be goodbye for us. - Tarah 

What do I say? I love your ass! But seriously you are funny, smart and beautiful. You are always happy and make me feel welcome. I am proud to call you a Los friend. - Los

Guys, to be honest I can't tell you how much these messages mean to me. You're all amazing friends and I think about you all the time. Distance doesn't matter when it comes to friendships, the love is still there! Miss all you guys and I can't wait to see you soon!

Kindness Can Kill

Everyone has heard the saying “Kindness can kill”. This past week that little phrase we all grew up with has taken on a whole new meaning for me.

When I came to visit my new home for the first time, I had to check out all the new “spots”. I was given a little run down about the trustworthy people in town and those who I should avoid. I was introduced to Kindness. An older man (about 60 something) who owns a little bar in town where he sells the local gin and sometimes other stuff if there is a big occasion in town. His bar is name “Kindness Can Kill”. The first memory I have of my village is the first night I came and all my new teachers met at Kindness’ bar and we sat outside on a cool night and just talked and got to know each other. We all got a little tipsy and just laughed and laughed. I was so happy and I felt so lucky to have such amazing new friends. I remember Kindness’ smiling face and how happy he was to meet me. When I was permanently posted he was one of the first people I went to go and greet. He was always so welcoming and friendly. I used to go there sometimes after school or on the weekends and we would chat about all sorts of things. Politics, the weather, his children, his life. He was such an interesting man. Other times I’d go there and it was like he knew I was just trying to get away, to find some peace and quiet. We would just sit there and not talk, but still be content with each other’s company. He trusted me to serve myself at his bar and even sell to other people. He was the first one to call me after seeing me on TV for winning the National Best Teacher Award. He was so happy and I could tell he was so proud of me. It brought tears to my eyes to realize how much he cared about me as if I was his own daughter. It’s not just me he cared about though. People here in my little village like to gossip, but I’ve never heard one bad word spoken about him. People rather have nothing but good things to say. I never asked if Kindness was the name his parents gave him or if it was a nickname given because of his loving personality.

Unfortunately, 2013 was not a good year for Kindness… He’s been crippled for a while which requires him to use a crutch to get around, but he was still doing well mentally until he had a stroke back in January. When we heard the news all the teachers organized ourselves to visit him in the hospital. It was heartbreaking. His speech was so slurred you could barely understand what he was saying but seeing us all there for him brought tears to his eyes. A few days later he was back home, but things were different. He could barely get around anymore, his motor skills were seriously damaged, and speaking was a strenuous task. Over time his speech and motor skills improved but his mobility was seriously limited. In April his wife gave birth to twin boys. One passed away during delivery and the other passed away a few weeks later. He had changed since I first met him. His eyes showed a sadness that broke my heart. As tragic as that was life went on because it has to, but he was different from when I first met him. The worst was yet to come though…

On November 19^th, 2013, Kindness was taken from this world. I was in school and his daughter (who is a student of mine) came with another friend to call me. The boy said she had something to tell me, but she wasn’t able to talk. Finally he spoke up and he said Fo (term used in front of an adult male’s name) Kind died. My jaw dropped. I couldn’t speak. I felt my legs go weak. They explained that his wife had gone to market that day and someone went to their house to buy something before they found him on the floor. I called another teacher who is also very close with him and started to explain everything as I felt the tears rising up in my eyes. My legs were shaking and I felt like something was squeezing my lungs. He left behind many biological children and those he took care of even though they weren’t his. Four of them are still in primary school. That was the most troubling thought for me.

It’s strange how someone can come into your life and then in a flash they are gone from this world forever. No warning. No chance to say goodbye. No photographs to remember their smiling face. Only your memories which seem to grow fuzzy when you really want them. Can’t help thinking that I should have visited more. I should have told him I cared about him, but I know deep down that he already knew that. Kindness was suffering towards the end of his life and I know in my heart he’s in a better place now because he was an amazing father to his children and a wonderful friend. He lived a good life and always did the best that he could for his family. It seems Kindness can kill though. I can still hear his jovial voice brimming with excitement when he sees us entering the bar.

When you lose someone who was special to you it really makes you appreciate life and those around you. Don’t pass up the next opportunity you have to tell those you care about that you love them. Visit them as often as possible. Most importantly, don’t forget to take a mental picture of their smiling face so that when they do leave this world, you’ll always keep a part of them in your heart.

Rest in perfect peace, Kindness. You have made my experience here in Ghana precious and I will never forget you.

Help!

Hey guys! One of my closest friends here, Jessica Keeton, is doing an amazing project at her school. She is in the Upper West Region of Ghana. Her classrooms are built to hold about 30 students at a max comfort level. Unfortunately hers hold about 70. She has decided to embark on an amazing journey to build a second school block for her school so that the kids can sit a little more comfortably, the teachers are less overwhelmed, and it is a better teaching/learning environment overall. She is doing a fundraiser to get the money to fund this project and that’s where you guys come in! I know what you’re thinking. Why would I send my hard earned money to Africa so it can just be embezzled by some warlord? Or maybe you’re thinking aww that sounds really nice (hmm, I wonder what I’ll have for dinner tonight?). This is serious though and we would all really appreciate it if you could help out, even something small. The fundraising system that she is using is a grant application called PCPP and it is through the Peace Corps. The community has come up with over 50% of the total costs (which is an much higher than average contribution), and all money donated goes straight to the Peace Corps Volunteer. There is no portion that is cut for any government program or anything like that so you can rest assured that your money is really going to a good cause. The link below will take you directly to the website to donate and the one below that is a link to her blog so that you can see the amazing work she is doing at site and about her life as a Peace Corps Volunteer in general. The third link is a video she has created which I highly suggest you watch. It's got some short interviews from her students and teachers and it gives you a good idea about her situations with the school classrooms. P.S. my birthday and Christmas are right around the corner so if you were thinking about sending me something, but it’s too expensive just donate instead! Every cent helps!  Education is so important to these children and they are being deprived a fair and equal opportunity.You can also email me any questions you may have and I'll send them to her. It's the holiday season so share some love!

https://donate.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=donate.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=13-641-033

www.Jessicakeeton.blogspot.com

https://www.dropbox.com/s/oyhd9b7rxko65sn/School%20Construction%20Project.wmv

Best Teacher of the Year Award

This year I was honored to have been nominated and selected to receive the Best Teacher of the Year Award in Ghana as a Foreign Volunteer. This award has been around for 19 years now and it is to recognize those teachers who have done an exceptional job in the teaching field. They have different sectors like Primary, Junior High, Senior High, ICT, Art, etc. The teachers go through several interviews and have to meet a lot of criteria in order to be selected for this award. For the Peace Corps, we don't have any interviews but we are selected by our staff based on the work we are doing at site.

It all happened very fast. My supervisor went on vacation so she was not around when the letter came in informing her that I had to be somewhere on October 2nd which was a Wednesday. The problem was that she told me that Monday, but I was already in Accra (the capital) which meant I had to go back to my site (about 4 hours away) pack my things and come back the next day. I arrived in Wa, Upper West Region, Ghana on September 2nd. It is 13 hours by an overnight bus. Something about these busses is that they keep the AC at a frigid temperature the whole way and the movie volume at a deafening volume so I didn't sleep much. The Upper West Region is known for being very hot and very dry so I was lucky that my first visit was during the rainy season. Most people of this region are Muslim, and are known to be very friendly and helpful. I noticed this as soon as I arrived and it was beautiful. The first day we didn't do anything so I used that opportunity to sleep. Thursday we started our adventures. We went and met the chief of Wa, who is a Muslim. The big white building is the outside of his palace and everyone had to remove their shoes before entering. There is also a picture of some drums which are used in war time, festivals, funerals and basically every situation you can think of. We went to a giant rock that you climb. We had to stop and visit the elders of the town before we were allowed to proceed though so that they could give us their blessing and pray for our safe journey. You are not allowed to take gold, water, or goat products (leather). Women who are menstruating are not allowed to climb, and you are not allowed to urinate on the mountain. Next we went to a place that had "mushroom" rocks. They are kind of shaped like mushrooms which was really cool. We were able to climb the rocks and it was a beautiful scene. They also had a performance for us by the local children where they danced and played xylophone. The next day we had a few ceremonies but we were mostly resting for the big day on Saturday. Saturday was the big ceremony where we were recognized for our successes. It was a fun program and I even got to see the Vice President of Ghana. The first place winner got 65,000 Ghana Cedis to build a house and cars. 2nd and 3rd place got cars, and laptops. Other prizes were cash prizes, gas stoves and double door fridges. I got a lot of African artifacts like beads, leather bags, carvings, and an awesome backpack. That evening we had a nice buffet dinner with a ton of food and there was a live band which played mostly 80s/90s love/rock songs. Everyone was dancing and it was a really good time.
I wasn't able to spend as much time as I had wanted too but I'm hoping to make it back there around Thanksgiving time.
Well that's all for now. Much love! P.S. Couldn't get the pictures to cooperate so they're out of order. It's like a fun guessing game to figure out which is which. Good luck!

I'll sleep when I die

HOLY CRAZINESS! The past few months have flown by so fast I can’t even believe it.

My form 3 students wrote their B.E.C.E. exams in June. There was a whole lot of cramming going on and last minute study sessions. We got our results back and we have a 65% pass rate which sounds low but it's a huge improvement from last year's 18%. We're very happy about it but we know we still have a long way to go. 

I had my Mid-Service medical exams. It’s basically just a physical to make sure we haven’t contracted some weird disease or something. They send you to the dentist for a cleaning and make you provide stool samples… not at the same time. Cleaning wasn’t bad, but it turns out I had some parasite living in me. No big deal, I was told they’re not harmful and I have no side effects. We took advantage of being in the capital by splurging on bacon cheese burgers and more jelato than a person should ever consume in one sitting. It was worth it.

It’s getting to the point where it’s a weird thing to be around such large groups of Americans. I’ve grown so accustomed to being surrounded by Ghanaians all day every day that large groups of Americans can be kind of overwhelming which is a very strange feeling.

We started vacation in July but I didn’t really get much of a vacation. I’ve become very active in a group called Peace Corps Diversity and Support (PCDS) which is essentially a volunteer support network. We also do training with the Ghanaian staff members/community counterparts to teach them about the different diversity issues between Americans and Ghanaians. I really enjoy doing these sessions because it gives them a chance to ask the questions that they’ve been burning to ask other Americans, but they just didn’t feel comfortable. It also allows us to educate them about some of the do’s and don’ts with Americans which revolve mostly around personal space. Ghanaians don’t have the concept of personal space. I’ve gotten pretty used to this now and my “bubble” has drastically decreased. Sorry in advance about that when I come home. Anyways, I had a bunch of PCDS trainings/meetings over this said “vacation” which kept me quite busy.

I went to a workshop ran by Grassroots Soccer. This is a program that was developed in South Africa to teach kids about HIV/AIDS through fun, interactive games and demonstrations. They’ve partnered with the Peace Corps and are now working in countries all over the world, including (drum roll please!) GHANA! So they’ve developed a whole curriculum for Peace Corps Volunteers to take back to their communities to teach their kids. It includes tons of energizers, ice breakers, games, lessons, discussion questions, activities, and assignments for the kids to do. I’ll have my first practice this coming Thursday and I’m really excited about it. We are planning to do a Grassroots Soccer Camp this coming January if we can figure out funding. We’ll have about 25 kids from around my region come together at the beach for this camp. Their days will be full of things like team building activities, life skills lessons (budgeting, education, etc.), health education (malaria, nutrition, menstrual cycles, etc.) and the main focus will be on HIV/AIDS. I’ll keep you posted on our progress.

I’m working on something called the Village Bicycle Project (VBP) which is an organization that people can donate new or lightly used bicycles to and then they turn around and sell them for very low prices in African villages. They have a few different styles ranging from 35-45 Ghana Cedis (18-23 USD). Awesome right! Many people would greatly benefit from a bicycle to get to school, farm, the next town etc. It is also a good form of cardio exercise because many Ghanaians suffer from high BP, high cholesterol, and other diseases that are related to not enough exercise. The people running the program here come to the village to deliver the bicycles and spend the day teaching people how to ride the bikes and also how to fix their own bicycles. This makes the program sustainable.

In Ghana they have National Health Insurance. To register a child for the first time it is 4 cedis (2 USD), but many parents don’t have that money. Even if they do, they might not have the means of transportation to the nearest registering site or they might not be able to leave home for the day to go and register their children. Another issue is that parents feel that their children are healthy so they don’t need the insurance. The problem with this is that then their children come down with a serious illness and the treatment is way too expensive for them to afford so the child ends up seriously suffering, or even worse, dying. When you first register, it takes about 3 months for the card to be activated so if you wait until your child is sick, it is often too late. The insurance cards need to be renewed every year (2 cedis) but if a person has the card it reduces health care/medications to an extremely low cost. Anyways, I’m trying to help a friend who works with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to do a project that he has been thinking about for some time now. Since the registering office is located in the regional capital, many people don’t come because it is too far and they can’t rationalize spending the money when their child seems to be healthy. He wants to find funding to pay for not only the transportation of the NHIS workers to get and from the villages, but also to cover the 4 cedis registration fee for children under 18 years old. Once people have the card they are way more likely to seek medical help when their child falls sick because they know the medical costs will be reduced to almost nothing. If we show up in their village offering this service for free, they will have no reason not to register. This will also give people to renew their cards if they have expired and it will allow for adults to register for the first time. A few weeks a boy a boy in my village who has epilepsy died while having a grand mal seizure. People are saying it was a spiritual attack. If he had had a health insurance card, maybe his parents would have taken him to the hospital where he would have been placed on the correct medications.

I went to the Yam Festival last weekend which can only be described as the Ghanaian version of Mardi Gras. Lots of alcohol, lots of skin, lots of dancing, etc. It was a really good time. I’ll post picture/videos as soon as possible.

Other than that, school started last week. This year I will be teaching Math in Form 1, ICT (computers) in Form 1, 2, and 3, and English in Form 2. All is the same as last year except for the English which I am actually really excited about.

I had dinner with the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States Embassy in Ghana. Her name is Patricia Alsup and she is such an amazing woman. She was so genuinely interested in all of the projects we are doing and she was really supportive.

Things I’ve checked off my bucket list recently:

Vomiting out the window of a moving vehicle. Now, before you jump to conclusions, there was no alcohol involved. I think it was the combination of having a crazy driver and the large bowl of cereal and milk I had for breakfast after not eating much dairy for over a year. Once I was able to get out of the car and continue my business, I’d say about 30 Ghanaians came to the side of the road to see the commotion with the white lady. I got a couple of “Oh sorry, you’re sick” comments but my favorite was “Oh sister, you’re vomiting.” I managed to reply “Yes, yes I am.”

I ate bush antelope which I thought would taste a lot like venison, but it tasted a lot like goat. It was pretty good though.

Using a washing machine for the first time in a lonnnngggg time. It was nice.

Well I think that’s it for now. I’m sure I've forgotten a whole lot. Sorry about that, but this is the best I can do!

Much love!