Ghana!!

Holy Moly! So much to say and so little time! One Cedi for one hour on the computer. He might have ripped us off but I was so desperate I took what I could get. First of all, I love my life!
But getting on the internet is way more challenging than expected because the cyber cafe in Mampong, where I live, is shut down, so we have to take a taxi to Akrapong. But! the first two times we took that taxi ride, the cyber cafe decided not to be open. (They don't really stick to times and schedules much here). So, needless to say I was pumped to finally get an opportunity to write.

First-
Plane ride was fine. It was only 9.5 hours in the air but we sat on the runway for two hours in JFK before takeoff. Upon arrival, the door to the plane opened and OH MY OH MY the heat and humidity was crazy. I think Im used to it now. Im just always hot and wet. haha. But at least Im always happy too!

Second-
Our house is pretty nice. I was happy to know that I have a read toilet to sit my little bum bum on, however, without running water I have to make sure I have some water from the well to dump in and some baby wipes for the lack of faucet. Also, the whole "bucket" shower business I got goin on is kind of awesome. :) Really, I use much less water than my mother would expect. Only about half a bucket. I just dunk my head in and then use a cup to rinse after soapin up. Theres no better feel the pourin a cup of water on your head after sweatin you brains out all day. OH boy! I love it I love it!!! Also, more often than not, we have no electricity. Its not so bad, except for the fact that we all use a visual language and it is kinda hard to sign in the dark. It takes a lot of focus. Oh. PS, one of the volunteers named Charity is deaf, she and Lyndsey are my roommates so were all always using sign language. Even if we voice at the same time, we still sign.
Its also hard because some of the High school students visit us at night and its hard to communicate in the dark but we all whip out our flashlights and make do. (Thanks for thinking of that Jimmy!!)

Oh! Also, it gets dark here SO EARLY. Seriously, it starts to get dimmer by like 4 and at 6 its completely dark!
-Good in the sense of temperature reduction
-Bad in the sense of darkness w.o electricity.

Third
The food is great! I think I can keep my title as the "least picky eater in the world" because I am so pumped to try anything new and so far even the crazy wierd Ghanaian food has been super!

Fourth
My guns are gonna be BIG when I come back because we always have to get water from the well outside. And it is a legit well, not a pump. You have a bucket on a string and thats it. I wish I could upload pictures but the computers here are wicked old school. sorry.

Fifth
On Sunday we went to the Deaf Church that the students run, because we didn't know were in Accra to go and find the LDS church. But I think we will try and go there this Sunday. But going to the church at the school is incredible to say the least. They ALL where ALL white! Its like their "Sunday dress" They don't have much, but they keep their whites nice and clean to wear on Sunday. The church is in the mess hall of the school and its completely run by the students. They are awesome. Even though I didn't necessarily agree with everrrryything, I could still feel how love these people are by their Father in Heaven. They have such a strong desire to do whats right, and they have such an innocence in their eyes it is truly beautiful to see.

Sixth
Monday was our first day at the schools. I am working at the JSS, which is the Junior high, but the primary school is right there with it. It is SO AWESOME!! The kids all run to you and hug you and you are just getting pulled in a million different directions because they all want to see you and know your name and tell you their name. Oh wow, its hard to describe. They always look at our nails and hair and skin and birthmarks; they want to see in your mouth and under your nails. Its funny because we are just SO different to them. But at the same time I think they really want to find things about us that are the same as them. I think that they look under our nails because both we and they have white under there and its like they finally found a similarity. haha. The JSS kids are wonderful. On our very first day we said we would just observe but there were teachers missing and so Shea and I just kinda hopped in!
We played name games first to get ot know each other and then we taught them an English lesson. I was a little nervous at first, but I just kinda got an idea and ran with it. We talked about verbs first. Then we talked about endings like: I will play, versus I am playing, versus I played. So I had them stand up and dance. I say "you will dance" then have them start: "You are now dancing" then stop: "you danced" Its kinda hard to explain plus you have to picture this all happening with a class of deaf students and everyone is signing but its phenomenal either way. I love it I love it I love it. I still can't say it enough.

Also, Seventh
Everyone who sees us walking around says "OBRUNI" "OBRUNI!" (it means white person in Twi) They are always happy to see us and we learned a little Twi and they get excited when we use it, but many people know English as well. Its so wierd, its like we are celebrities or something because people want pictures, or they just wave and smile, children all run and jump and they say "momma, look OBRUNI!!!" haha. Its awesome.

Oh! AND the sign language is not ASL like I thought. Although it is very similar and we do well understanding each other, there is a legit other language known as GSL, Ghanaian Sign Language and I am trying my best to learn the differences because it makes teaching easier.
Ok, AH, my Cedi is running out and I gotta go!


All in all, I can sum it up by saying:
My hands have never been dirtier,
My hair has never been messier,
My face has never been sweatier,
But I have never been happier!!!!

Africa is AH-MAZ-ING!!!
MUCH LOVE FROM GHANA!!