Dude, that was whack!

I just saw the sickest thing yesterday and I have to tell you about it. A bunch of us obrunis were out watching some of our friends play a basketball game. It was really fun because we knew people on both teams and the score was pretty close. All of a sudden, this guy on the Akuafo team goes for a layup and he collides with a guy on the Commonwealth team. The Akuafo guy does a somersault as he lands on the ground, hitting his head, but he ends up sitting upright. Everyone thinks he's ok for a second until we notice the weird angle of his right leg. This dude broke his femur. It was sick. They tried to lift him up and one part of his leg moved while the other stayed still. Again, it was sick. We found out today that he is having surgery this week to have metal rods put in and then he has over a 3 month recovery period after that. What I got to say is: Dude, that was whack! I feel so sorry for that guy. I cannot even imagine the pain of breaking your femur. That just sucks. He is a local Ghanaian, so at least he's not out of his element in a foreign country confronting surgery and a 1/4 year recovery, but still- it's pretty bad...



In other news...

Ghanaians eat oranges in a totally different way than we do in America. Instead of cutting it up into slices, Ghanaians cut off the top and then suck out the juice while squeezing the orange. It makes a little bit of sense that they do this as it decreases mess and it's the only way to get legitimate orange juice in the whole country. However, I do miss slices every once in a while.

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First 5 Places I Will Go When I Get Back to Memphis/Hernando:
1. Target- Oh man, I miss Target. A one stop shopping place where you can get ANYTHING. and EVERYTHING.
2. The Dip- No further explanation than Snickers ice cream needed.
3. Studio on the Square/Paradiso- I will be so behind on movies, I won't know what to do.
4. Fuji Cafe- $3 sushi that tastes like heaven? I should think so!
5. Outdoors- I need new Tevas.


First 5 Places I Will Go When I Get Back to Houston:
1. Baby Barnaby's. Fresh Orange Juice. The Green Eggs. Oh baby, oh baby.
2. Rice Coffeehouse- I have missed you people (and coffee)!!
3. Target- I figure you can't have too much of a good thing.
4. Anthropologie- I will need a cute new wardrobe. I might hit up Urban too...
5. HCP (Houston Center for Photography)- I am in need of some good art.



I love you all and am having a great time even though I miss you! I'm trying to write a ton of postcards, so email you address if you want one (haleyeray@gmail.com) or comment with it.

Tanti baci,
Haley

Roommates and Taxi Cabs

So I assume that you are all as curious about my roommate as those who emailed me have been. Well, I shall tell you. She is absolutely adorable! I mean, seriously, I have had the greatest luck with roommates out of anyone on the planet. Carolina, then Rachel, and now Diana?! I love it. She cooks us dinner and is trying to teach me how to cook. We do dishes and watch movies together. Really, we are like the odd couple. It's frickin adorable. She gets up at 5am every day. I get up at 8-10am depending on the day. She is quiet and kind. I am obnoxiously loud and sarcastic. She sings gospel hymns. I blast out "Thriller" on my iPod. We couldn't be more different. But she likes to laugh and is quite considerate. We get along great. We are still getting to know each other, but all in all, it's a pretty good pairing I think. I do believe that I will miss her when I leave. Anyways, I think that's it about the roommate. She's really cute and has a funny boyfriend. We watched Nigerian stand-up comedy last night. Now that was funny. They kept having to pause it and explain those cultural inside jokes that just slipped right over my head. Man, that was some funny stuff.


Now, the experience of a taxi in Ghana is unlike anything you have ever experienced. Even in Europe. There is nothing like it. Anywhere. So the first thing that you notice when trying to get a cab is that there are no meters. No little running, ticking time/mile marker telling what the tab is going to be. No, before you get into a taxi in Ghana, you bargain for the price. That's right, you haggle even for a cab. These people don't joke about their prices either. If you are an "obruni" aka. "white person," and the cab fare should be around 4 cedi, they will start out at 8. No joke, the drivers will try to double the price on you in hopes that you are new and stupid and don't know the Ghanaian way of life that is never take the price offered to you. Guaranteed, whatever you are buying is not worth what they are asking you to pay. That is just rule #7. Everyone should know #s 1-10. They start with 1-No dying and go through 3-No pregnancy, 7-Don't take the first price ever, and end with 10-The answer is no. I'll fill in the other rules sometime, but I'm on a deadline so they'll have to wait.

The next key thing about taxis is that they are your own personal shopping cart in addition to being a mode of transportation. If you are taking a cab back home and realize that you need some, I don't know, bread, water, apples, phonics books, candy, or even pen lights, you can find it just outside your window. That's right, folks. Welcome to the world of moving street vendors. There are people who, for a living, sell goods to people in cars. You can buy anything from fruit to toys to my personal favorite, toilet paper by yelling "T PAPER" and holding money out the window. It certainly does make munchies on a road trip much easier. You just stick your head out the window and buy that yogurt, ice cream, plantain chips, whatever, at a red light. God, I love Ghana.

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So I think this was a fairly long post. I hope it satisfies you, Lissa!

Thanks to all you who read my blog faithfully. I really appreciate it that you want to keep up with my life. Thanks especially to those who sent me mail. I got a ton today. I got 3 books, Peach Tea & lemonade, and a letter from Trace and notes from the fam, a letter from Megan H. and a postcard from Lissa! It felt like Christmas!! Thank you all SO much!! I will try to respond as quickly as possible. I've got to buy stationary and postcards first though... If anyone else would like a postcard, just comment or email with your name and address and I will try to get one to you as soon as I can. Remember that this is Ghana-time mail though. I believe I have posted about Ghana-time before. It is indeed a special thing.

Anyways, thanks again and I love you all!!

-H

Just a Few Short Bits...

1. I love Ghana.
2. You should comment people! I don't write this blog to read my own words. I write it to engage with all of my readers about this experience. I really do appreciate your thoughts/reactions.
3. I miss you all.
4. Ankle-biters are the most evil bugs that exist. I still have horribly itchy welps all over my body that I think are going to leave scars.
5. The sunsets and sunrises are the most incredible sights I could imagine here.
6. I paid a deposit on a custom-made drum today. Oh yeah, I am pumped.
7. This is so short and streamlined because I still feel bad about the looooong post from Mole.
8. I love my iPod.
9. I am actually going to miss all the spicy food that I consume here.
10. Water satchels are a great invention.

That's all for today folks!!
Love,
H

Sad Day :(

Yesterday was a sad day indeed. I finally broke down and took my cartilage piercing out. Yes, Mom, the one you always hated. I had it done with a gun instead of a hollow needle which was mistake number one. Mistake number two was bringing any extra hole in my body with me to Africa. Africa and infection-prone piercings do not mix. AT ALL. But as I have learned that valuable but oh-so-painful lesson, I'm going to get it re-pierced when I go back for Christmas. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to take out a piercing, but I really loved that lil' sucker, so it seems like a part of me is gone. I know I did the right thing though as my left ear has changed from a purplish hell color back to normal flesh and almost matches my undefiled right ear. It also doesn't make me gasp with pain whenever anyone touches it or wake me up when I roll over in my sleep. Yes, I did the right thing but boy, am I pissed about it.

Now I've got my panties all in a wad. I think I need a nap.

Love,
Haley

Room/Mold Updates

So I complained to the hostel manager, Auntie Pearl, about all of the mold in my room and she took care of it like wham, bam, thank you ma'am. Bowie would indeed have been proud. She sent someone to scrub and mop my floors with bleach and then said if I wasn't satisfied that she would move me into a different room. I rather like my room though, so I hope I can stay in it.

In other news, I got a roommate finally. After having been here for a month and a half. It seems that the start of school is a rather flexible idea for Ghanaians. It sort of starts whenever they feel like showing up for classes. So I found some of Diana's stuff in my room when I got back from the night market and watching Hook in Molly's room. She, however, was nowhere to be seen. So I just went to bed. You can't wait for anything Ghanaian. They will come when they come. You can't predict it. At 5.30 this morning, I hear a soft knock on my door. Hoping that if I just ignore it, it will go away, I pretend to sleep. Alas, to no avail! Diana proceeded to finish moving in - AT 5.30 IN THE MORNING. Not that I'm bitter about my lost sleep or anything. Honestly though, she's very nice and was as quiet as she could be. I sat up at one point and introduced myself before passing out again. I sleep so much here it's crazy. But so, she's a 400 level nursing student. American translation: senior majoring in Nursing. I haven't really talked to her beyond that because, as everyone who has ever lived with me knows, I don't particularly function well before say, 7am, contacts, and/or breakfast. I can handle it if I have one of these criteria. Today, however, I had none at all.

So this one is pretty short to make up for yesterday's beast. Hope you are all doing well.

Mucho amor,
-H

OMG I JUST HAD THE MOST FUN TIME OF MY WHOLE LIFE

Now that I put that out there, I guess I should justify it by describing the insanely cool things that this weekend contained. I made a list so I wouldn't forget anything. This post is going to be long. Just warning you.

Different Species of Wild Animals I got to see:
Elephants
Baboons
Bush Bok
Water Bok
Kob
Green Monkeys
Wild Boar
Mosquitoes

I was going to do a Top 10 List next, but I really can't rank this weekend because it was all so awesome. So I'm just going to talk about it in chronological order. We started off driving finally around 10am Thursday morning because we planned on leaving at 7am Ghana time. Ghana time means that everyone will forget something and have to go back for it (like my very own camera) and then decide that our bus is too small for a total of 40 hours driving packed into 5 days. So then we waited for a new bus. Finally we went and began the 4-5 hour trip to Kumasi. We stopped on the way a Kente weaving village. These people hand-weave the most beautiful cloth in the world. It is brightly colored with cool patterns. In fact, I'm going to link to it. RIGHT HERE. And I definitely think I took a picture of that very guy weaving. After we went there and I bought 2 cloths, one kente and one not but also hand woven, we went to some craft shops where I bought some gifts for people. I'll leave it at that so I don't spoil anything. I think I'm going to go back though and do some more shopping. I really want another piece of Kente cloth. I think I want to get a huge one that I can use as a bedspread or wall tapestry. But that's for the next Kumasi adventure. Back to this one. We didn't do much in Kumasi that night besides take hot showers, eat dinner, and pass out. Note: This trip brings my hot shower count up to 3. Oh yeah baby!

The next day circa 8am, we started the 11ish hour trip up to Mole + a stop at Kintampo Falls. Kintampo Falls was so pretty!! I got a bunch of pictures and really enjoyed hiking up around it and appreciating the views. Then we got back on the bus and continued to Mole National Park. We finally got there around 8pm, ate dinner and passed out. Days- and then there were 3.

Saturday was by far the most awesome day. 1. Because we didn't drive. 2. Because I saw more wild animals than God meant to create. So we started our hike at around 6am, but Heather M. and I got up extra early around 5.20 to catch some previews of some monkeys. Which we did. SCORE. Then we went on our hike through the bush/savannah were we proceeded to happen upon 3 elephants within the first 6 minutes. Our guide even made us back-track because we were too. close. to. wild. elephants. That is right. I have been told that I am standing too close to roaming, free, wild, could potentially trample me, but wouldn't because I love them and they love me that much back, ELEPHANTS. We also got to trek through muddy swamps up to our shins, cross over rivers on fallen logs, and find bush bok hiding in... well, bushes. After our hike and the realization that I WAS ON A SAFARI IN AFRICA, I needed a nap. Or at least some rest. So I sat in a tree off the edge of a cliff overlooking a watering hole where there were elephants. (If you can't tell, I'm kinda into the elephants...) And I took about a million pictures of them. All the while swatting away at mosquitoes and these evil little creatures called ankle biters. They are from the devil. It hurts when they bite you and they literally draw blood out. So you are left with itchy, bloody welps all over your legs. I swear I have at least 20 on each leg. And that's really not an exaggeration. Those things were biting everybody all over. They didn't really get my arms though. Just a few on each one. And one on my stomach. (I kept thinking to write "evil little buggers" but no that's a pun, then "evil little suckers" but nope, that's one too, so I think I'll just leave it.) At one point Molly tried to take a picture of a mother baboon and child, and the whole pack started chasing her. It was terrifying at the time, but so friggin' funny now. Heather M. was even about to throw a chair at them before they finally stopped running after Molly. Word to the wise: don't mess with baboons. They don't joke around.
After that we visited the Magic Stone (no, I am not kidding. There really is a local stone that is thought to be magic and you make wishes to it.) So we listened to the stories and made our wishes before continuing to the Larabanga Mosque which is the oldest mosque in Western Ghana, built in 1421. We went on a "tour" which means that we paid to stand outside the mosque and then walk around the mosque while listening to a man tell us who could go in which doors. We, however, couldn't go inside because a. we weren't Muslim and b. we are Obrunis (white foreigners). I had a villager attached to me at the hip telling local folklore. At the end of the tour I gave him a Cedi for his nonexistent deflated soccerball for his nonexistent soccer team. I hope Fuzi (the kid) buys some food with it.
After we got back to Mole from our little excursion into town, we went straight onto our SAFARI NUMERO DOS!! This time we rented a Land Rover + driver and guide and toured around the bush in hopes of some lion sighting (hopes were in vain, unfortunately). We got to see elephants and some bok and kob though, so that was cool. The coolest thing though was the fact that we were riding on the ROOF. Oh yeah, welcome to nature. Dodging branches and hanging on for dear life. We even drove through rivers. Those safari things are hardcore. But it was AWESOME. I would do it again in a heartbeat. No doubt. Even if death was a fleeting thought at times, it was the coolest thing I have ever done in my whole entire life. By FAR. That pretty much wraps up Saturday. Days- and then there were two.

Sunday we drove back to Kumasi in MAJOR traffic and even though we left at 5.30am, we didn't get to Kumasi until after 7pm. It sucked. But I started my iPod project which is to listen to the whole thing on shuffle all the way through. I have a feeling it's going to take a while. I got through like 200 that day though. So then again, hot shower, really good food for dinner, and pass out. Days- and then there was one.

On Monday we toured the Manhiya Palace of the Asante King and went to the Cultural Center in Kumasi. The tour was pretty cool- kinda freaky what with the wax dummies of all the past kings and queen mothers everywhere. At the cultural center, I bought my little gift-giving heart out. I'm still not finished, but I definitely made a dent in my Christmas gift requirements. The coolest thing that I bought on the trip: A kick-ass carved African chair. It is made of two solid pieces of wood that interlock to make a super comfortable really killa chair. There are two designs carved into the wood. The top one is people's faces and the bottom one is of a bird I think. I can't remember. I'm going to go sit in it as soon as I post this. After I bought all the stuff, we pretty much just drove home and went to sleep. Molly and I started Hook off of our Julia Roberts bootleg DVD from God, but we fell asleep halfway through, so we'll finish it tonight. I'm pretty excited. Robin Williams had just gotten his Pan back. Boo-yah!

So that was my super-awesome, amazing, I can't believe that I got to see wild elephants trip. I hope you enjoyed the recount. I'm pretty tired now from writing it, so I'll leave you to envy my elephant experience. I love you all and can't wait to see you!!!

-H

I Thought I Felt Like Posting...

I got all set to post, but now that I'm here I really just want to take a nap. So I'm going to. I love you all and will take many pretty pictures (and Lissa, you may choose the one you would like as your gift). I will write all about Kumasi and Mole National Park when I get back on Monday night. I hope that I get to see monkeys for you Abs!! Anyways, naptime, then dinner, then going out to celebrate Cobi's birthday that was Monday!! Write me pretty letters/postcards/poems/emails/facebook messages for me to read since I get bored here in Africa sometimes. Remember: any news is good news!


Mucho amor,
Haley


PS. I got my first sunburn today while wandering downtown Accra with Cobi. It sucks. Just thought you should know.

Bootleg DVDs = Love of My Life

I started out this trip by saying that I was going to "discover myself," "get back to my roots," and "appreciate the simple things in life." Now I understand that that was all crap. Life is only worth living if you can have bootleg DVDs like the ones they have here in Ghana. These DVDs don't joke around either. We're talking 16 movies on one disc. 16!!! Today a bunch of us bought the Julia Roberts compilation complete with Ocean's 11 and 12, The Pelican Brief, My Best Friend's Wedding, Pretty Woman, The Mexican, etc. The only things missing are Steel Magnolias and Run-Away Bride. I mean they are talkin' business here in Ghana. We paid 6 Cedi for that disc of golden happiness. I think my life is complete. The next one I'm going to buy will be the disc with all the Harry Potters and all of the Lord of the Rings. I don't even have to feel bad about it because you can't find the legitimate movies even if you wanted to. These really are the only ones out there. Oh yeah, weeks of mindless entertainment, here I come!

Other than that there's not that much. Oh wait. I ripped all the flooring out of my room to discover a veritable mold colony living underneath it. Not just living. I sincerely believe they had a government set up and were starting to dish out welfare for the less fortunate. So I bleached my whole floor today. And rearranged my whole room. Needless to say I won't be sleeping in there until we get back from Kumasi. All that mold has given me a really sore throat and some nasty sinus issues. I hope the 5 day trip will help clear that up.

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Lastly, I will leave you with a gem from health class:

The ABC's of HIV/AIDS Prevention

Abstinence
Be Faithful
Condom Use

I am not kidding. This is on every billboard. In every dorm. Everywhere on campus. We had it told to us in our health lecture and were even given pamphlets at orientation. AIDS is not funny, but that slogan sure as hell is.

Until tomorrow, I think. I'm buying shoes in Accra, but I should be able to post something after that. So it's your last chance for present requests!!! I'm not kidding!

Love,
H

My New Friend, SIKE!

Oh yeah, I definitely just pulled out the SIKE card. You know you were all waiting for it. I know it. Don't even try to lie to me. So back to my new frienemy. You might know it's cousin in the US, known by the same name. It is called mold. But the mold in the US is nice, polite, could even be a cute little pet. It's like, "Aww. That mold- got into the cheese again. Guess we'll just cut off a chunk and put it back in the fridge." See- cute. Not like its vicious cousin here in Ghana. Mold here grows like Kudzu in the States; there's just no stopping it. So far, I have noticed things molding and thought it was just a one time thing. You know, no biggie. I remembered the adorable mold from the States. Oh ho, not so, dear readers. Let me describe to you the things that have molded thus far: a peanut, one dress, my pewter heels, a leather bag, a rubber band, the spine of Molly's book that I borrowed, MY METAL CELL PHONE. Please tell me: HOW DOES METAL MOLD???? It is a new mystery to me. I really am thinking of going to the hospital to make sure that my lungs aren't infested with mold. Because it seems like the rest of my life is.

So yesterday, I bought bleach and a scrubby sponge and attacked all the untreated wooden furniture in my room. Note that all of the furniture in my room is untreated wood. So now my room smells not just of mold, but of bleach too. I practically get a headache just from walking in there. I even had to sleep in Heather M.'s room last night as I couldn't bear it anymore. Luckily, when I just checked WikiHow, I did the right thing by annihilating the room with a bleach/water mixture. Thank God for common sense and domestic know-how. (I never thought I would say that, haha)

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Anyways, this weekend I go to Kumasi, the cultural center of Ghana and the seat of the Asante kingdom. Perhaps I will get to meet the chief? Who knows? Also we will be visiting the fabulous Mole National Park [and it's pronounced Moh-lay for all you Southern hicks, I know you :)] where we will get to see elephants, and monkeys, and lions, and antelope, and I WANT TO SEE A ZEBRA. Ok, freak out over, but I really do hope to see all kinds of cool wildlife. This is my first semi-safari experience and I plan to make it count with some tiger chasing, giraffe climbing, hippo feeding action. Or something like that. Don't worry too much Mom and Rachel, I will still keep Rule #1: "No dying" always at the front of my mind or at least right behind, "Ooooh, cheetah!! Can I touch it?" Hahaha. I leave on Thursday and don't get back until Monday night, so be patient with me about posting. I will try to post again before I leave. But just in case I get trampled by wild bison chasing a heron, I love you all dearly and please be kind when you divide up my things. Will (Ray) gets the laptop since he is probably the only other member of the family who can use Linux. On that note, bye and don't forget the book suggestions!!!

Another Night, Another Dream

Don't ask my why I have the Real McCoy of all bands stuck in my head, but I do and now I have to deal with it. I hope I get it stuck in all of your heads too. "Another night, another dream, but always you/ Another vision of love that seems to be true." At least I think those are the words. It's weird that I could be thinking of anything at all and here, in Ghana, in Africa, I start singing Real McCoy songs over and over. I must be bored.

So today I have a few errands to run... I am planning on adding my Drumming class before the deadline today at 5, confirming my Archaeology class, buying an assortment of things (spoon, fork, cup, dish towel, maybe a pot) at the Bush Canteen (small market) on campus. Then I've got to go to the bank so I can get 1 Cedi bills instead of carrying around 10s. See, no one has change in the whole country. There is a shortage of change. I don't know how that can be true, but it is, so you have to go to the bank and get really small bills otherwise you wont be able to buy anything. Then I've got to go pay my Program Director back for my visit to le hospital, since she ponied up for me at the time. Then maybe to the food market on campus for some stuff for dinner. Who knows. The day has endless possibilities. Heather M., Monica, Cobi, and I are all going to the orphanage around 2pm-ish. So that will take a bit of time. It should be pretty good. I'm excited.

Other than that I'm kinda out of stuff to say for today. I've posted the last few days in a row, so I feel I'm pretty up to date. So I guess it's time for my random bits of advice.

1. Never buy shoes from Ghana. Just trust me. There is a story to come about this.
2. If someone asks if you are married, always say yes. Then pick a random ex and start describing them so you don't make mistakes in your story. It's always easier to tell about something you already know than make up someone you will have to remember.
3. Don't offer to let a pre-med student help you decorate your curtains. You might just end up with the female reproductive system hanging over your bed. (Note: This mistake was made by Heather M., not me. But still HILARIOUS all the same.)
4. Take toilet paper with you everywhere. You probably won't find it wherever you're going.
5. If someone comes up to you and asks for money, ask them for something of theirs in return. The reaction is priceless. I know this sounds heartless, but people will ask you for money when they are dressed better than you are and clearly are not in need of anything. Molly asked some guy for his really nice watch in return for his request for money once. He just looked at her quite shocked and confused, then left us alone.

Hope you've all had a great week and I'll post again next week!! Bye all!
-H

Horror Stories from Hell and Other News of a Technologically Deprived Soul

I don't want to freak you all out, but if you are a worrisome person, this might not be the post for you.

Disclaimer given, let me continue. Heather S. on our trip has been diagnosed with malaria. She has been in and out of the hospital for 3 days now. She feels like crap and has a blood infection on top of the malaria. No one knows quite how she got the blood infection but it still totally sucks to be that kind of sick so far away from home. So please everyone, keep her in your thoughts, well-wishes, prayers, good auras, etc. for your myriad beliefs.

Also today, we had a lecture about how the healthcare system here is so behind and the infant mortality rate, malnutrition rates, etc. are so incredibly high. Not exactly reassuring when you have a friend in the hospital with a potentially fatal disease that apparently 1 in 3 travelers will get.


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Other News...

I. Classes are going well. They are sooo easy thus far. No wonder most people take at least 18 hours each semester. I am taking 16. Kinda slacker-ish, but hey, this is my semester of fun. Afterwards I will be a prisoner to photo lab, so I feel that I deserve my little break. Drumming and African Dance are my favorite classes (probably because they are the most slackerly and possibly because there are enough foreign kids that I don't get stared at all class period). Other than that I am taking Intro to Twi (the native language here); Social Anthropology; Society, Politics, and Government of Africa and Ghana; and Paleo-Historical Demography of Africa. Pretty sweet classes if you ask me. All I gotta say though is that I better get some transfer credit for Anthropology.

II. I don't have a roommate. That's right. I've got a single. Niiiiiiiiiice. It sucks a little that I don't have that instant contact to Ghanaian culture, but I've gotten to know other people's roommates so I think it will be fine. And besides, the double bed more than makes up for some cooking lessons.

III. If you are audacious enough to know/expect that you are getting a gift and want to make a request, please do so soon. I will be going to Kumasi next weekend and will do most of my gift shopping there as it is more affordable. If you would like clothes, please let me know your general measurements so I can tell the seamstresses. If it's jewelry you want, I can take color suggestions. A little sculpture you've had your eye on? Let me know and it can possibly be arranged. PS. I really do want to get gifts for all of you whom I like, but I know I will forget someone unless you tell me, so please let me know if you want something. I can promise that I won't break my bank for you so don't feel bad about that.

IV. I have read more books in the past month than I usually do in about 5. My techie self has shriveled leaving a slightly bored, but much more intellectually stimulated person. Thus far I have read: The Dubliners- James Joyce, The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time- Mark Haddon, Eat, Pray, Love- Elizabeth Gilbert, Eldest- Christopher Paolini, and I am halfway through Jude the Obscure- Thomas Hardy. I have already placed dibs on other people's books for whenever they finish them. If you have a suggestion, please comment with it, as I will be trying my hardest to find some good stuff while I'm here and have the time and dedication. Andy, I expect you to comment on this one. I'm sure you know of something I would like. In fact that goes for everyone else. Please think of one book you think I would enjoy. Whether I can get it here remains to be seen, but I will at least try.

Thank you again for a lovely audienceship. I appreciate your reading my blog and I especially love you if you comment!!!

Bye
-H

Festivals, Infections, and Crocodiles

This weekend I went to Cape Coast in the Central region. There we went to observe the cleansing festival of the Fante people. The Fante's celebrate this festival as their New Year approaches, welcoming new beginnings and putting the sins and shames of the past year behind them. Needless to say it was a beautiful festival with many photo opportunities which I will try my very hardest to show you. People danced and sang, laughed and drank, and generally enjoyed the merriment and joy of the occasion. My connection is bad and I don't have much time so I won't elaborate here, but continue on to the other two topics to be discussed.

On Friday, I got my first experience with a Ghanaian hospital. Yes, it's true. But I am alive and perfectly fine now so don't twist any panties into a wad. They think I might have had pink-eye, but it was definitely some kind of nasty eye infection and my program coordinator made me go. Luckily they gave me magic eye drops that made it clear up within hours. I think I am going to bring some home with me. It cost 70 pesewas ~ 75 cents. Amazing.

Crocodiles. I took so many pictures of the crocodiles this weekend at our Botel [sic] that I could cover a wall. There were tons of them and I really liked them. Unfortunately one of them started chasing Molly, Karli, Angela, and Heather M. when they were trying to get on a paddle-boat. It was scary at the time but now hilariously funny.

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Sorry this is short and disjointed. But here come the random updates:

1. I got a hot shower at our Botel [sic]. It was friggin' amazing. There are no words.

2. Marriage Proposal Count: I think I am up to 4 now. Not quite sure though.

Top 5 Things I Don't Really Miss, But Would Have Expected To:

5. Nail Polish- I used to always paint my toe nails, but they have been au naturale since I've been here and I'm pretty used to it by now.
4. Ice- I was an ice nazi back in the States, but here I can't have it for health precautions and it really doesn't bother me.
3. TV- I got to watch the National Geographic Channel over the weekend, and while it was pretty interesting, I don't think I'm missing too much.
2. Dryers- see below
1. Washing Machines I actually don't mind the by-hand laundry. It's monotonous, but gives you plenty of time to think about stuff.


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Lissa- My address is:
PMB 26
Legon, Accra, Ghana

Send my love to all of old 3rd South!! I expect a free bed on campus whenever needed haha!

Trace- The pop-tarts aren't that important. I have gotten over the urge for the most part. Don't worry about it if it's too expensive. Thanks for the thought though! It really is what counts!!!

Bye all! Write me if you please.

-H