BACK TO THE STATES!

Merry Christmas!
I'm back on American soil... it's such a trip!
I know I have lots of updating to do, heaps and heaps from India, but don't worry...
I'll be on it as soon as the festivities are over! :) ha.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to EVERYONE!
Lots of love,
-Em

overdue

My apologies for the 2 week gap between posts!

My life in Ghana has been wonderful, and it's hard to believe that my 2 months here is coming to an end (I leave for India late on the 20th!). I'm not sure yet if I've accomplished what I came here to do. In fact, I'm not exactly sure of what I came here to accomplish.
In an earlier blog I mentioned how it was nice to be able to focus on one project... but encapsulated into this ONE project were 10 different opportunities to paint or build, 30+ different developing personalities, and a countless number of growth and improvements to be made. But it's all for one cause- and that's to help. To leave a lasting impression with just one or two students, to make a difference in their lives, and to leave knowing I taught and that I learned. I suppose that was my goal here- and I didn't realize it until my 3rd week. Unlike the naive bright-eyed American girl who might have stepped off the plane back in September hoping to "Save the World, or save Africa," I now know that I didn't come here to do EVERYTHING... I just had to make sure when I leave here I have done something. I'm going to miss walking in my neighborhood and waving to 10 different calls of my name. "Auntie Ama, Emily!" I'm going to miss the greetings of 30 children each morning and afternoon. The glowing faces of my students each time I pull out a storybook or a few crayons and some index cards (our paper resources are limited). I've fallen in love with the people of Ghana and those in my community. Please continue to pray for those that were so kind to me during my stay, and the students of Idea & Ideology Nursery School. I know I promised pictures of Halloween and my last weeks in Ghana, but the connection speed has been painfully slow lately. Looks like I may not be able to upload a proper batch of pics until I'm back home around Christmas time.

I'm now off to India for a month where I will be volunteering in an Orphanage in Jaipur. Everyone keeps telling me that the security situation in Northern India is quite hot at the moment, and political tensions are almost always running high. It's okay, though! I'm not worried. In the state of Rajasthan everything seems to be pretty chill right now, but I still have to be a super SMART traveller- so please pray for my safety. I fly into Delhi on a late-night flight and will then travel by Rail or Bus to Jaipur. Because of Internet connection speeds, I will probably do text-only blogs. Once home, I'll upload loads of pictures, though!

I hope all is well wherever you are reading this from. To those in the States, enjoy Thanksgiving and eat a piece of pumpkin pie piled high with whip cream for me! I'll be eating something like paneer masala with rice and roti! Can't wait, but Dadda- I might actually miss your cranberry-sauce-stuff :/ HA!

Thank you to everyone for your

thoughts, prayers, and support

before and during my journey in Ghana.

I am forever grateful and truly blessed to have such an

INCREDIBLE family (immediate and extended!)

and AMAZING friends.

Goodbye, Ghana! :(

Goodbye ancient and rich African soil.

Hellooooooo enchanting India!

:)

short.

This blog will be short, mostly photos, I think! Later this week I will post a good update.

I'm burnt out.
I've come down with a cold. Luckily it's not the stomach flu or some odd travel sickness.
I'm grateful for that, just unfortunately stuck with an incessantly runny nose and an irritating, super loud cough. It's weird that I can get a cold in this kind of weather! The heat hasn't been unbearable, but the temperature definitely seems to be increasing (apparently the dry season is approaching). I thought about getting a thermometer somewhere, but figured it'd just be in Celsius anyway and who wants to do that conversion each time I'm curious about the weather temp?! So like other Ghanaians, I've started to become accustomed to not knowing the exact time or temperature, due to not having the resources at my finger tips (like at home: the mac, my ipod or cell). WELL I'm sick and I'm afraid I've made two little ones sick, too!
:/ I know their tolerance to germs is much different than that of kids in the States,
but it still makes me sad to know that Lydia's cough might be my fault. Hopefully not, but today I mostly was out of the classroom. Tomorrow or Friday I'll be back, -- of course, since it's Halloween and I have a suuuuuper fun lesson plan. I'll be taking lots of pics! Happy Halloween!
Hope all is well with everyone back home!
Lots of love to you all and thanks for the prayers and
good thoughts sent my way! :)
-Emmy

Please enjoy these photos for now...

some of my students

Professor - "Prof"


Forgive


Stephen


Junior


Mommi


Calvin


Belial


Laura


Wendy

Nazra! Nazra! Nazra!
She loves her name...
and pictures of herself.

Forgive, posing with some of the new chairs!

hmmm...

there she is!
~

Janet, Rahil, and Raphael (new students!)

Elijah, Isaac, and David

Manuella! my baby girl across the street :)
Shouldn't she be mine?!


Prof and Emmanuela

The "Sour Patch Kids"
first they're sour, then they're sweet.
Oko and Ate, the troublemaking twins.

More painting.


Learning to wash-- the Ghanaian way!

Darrell loves the camera

D-A-


Naptime! Not used to this "school" thing
Ishmaelou, Amanda, and Bilad


I'm trying...


My alphabet!


Stephen, enjoying his juice during break time.


It's getting there!

~

xo

e-mail: "The Next Chapter"

It's almost been a month! WOW!
Sorry my updates haven't been consistent... I've been busy with the school and
lots of various projects-- trying to finish painting and furnishing the inside of the new school building
that a past volunteer originally donated as a play place, but Kofi and Grace have decided to turn it into a classroom (so materials don't have to be carried to-and-from the Church building on a daily basis). I'm almost done and will
be off to buy chalkboards later this week! I can't thank you all enough for your financial donations that are being used for incredibly valuable things, like CHALKBOARDS and PAINT and new CHAIRS and TABLES! Your undying love and emotional support just radiates through me and into the lives of the Children. I'm having such a blast each day. It's exhausting work, but it is INCREDIBLY rewarding. I love it. According to the locals, I have a 'gift' for working with children, which was unknown to me and my nephews might beg to differ. haha.

I spent most of a Friday a few weeks ago trudging around the neighborhood on a sweltering hot day under the African sun with Grace. I was told that each year she makes rounds, recruiting children for the school and this would be a perfect time because I could accompany her and 'woo' the parents. Ha. we lost 2 boys, Lawrence and Nicholas to Class 1-- which is exciting, but our numbers dropped to 11 students total. I followed Grace and spoke to parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents... but mostly my interest was in the little ones running around. Each chance I got, I'd play a hand-game with them, or bounce the small ones in my lap. One local woman actually offered me an adorable, but dirty little boy named Bilad. Can you believe it?!
She said, 'his mother is not taking care of the boy. soon she will leave all together.' at first I giggled but then Grace said 'The woman was serious. 'When you leave back to your country, please take him along' is what she said. but pay no mind and don't feel obligated.' :( At the end of the day I was sure about just a few things: that I had tan lines, a dirty lap, and runny mascara. I wasn't sure about how much of an impact Grace and I had made and whether or not we had achieved our goal of recruiting a handful of new students.

The following Monday morning, I stumbled into the classroom, wiping sleep from my eyes. I was hoping for 3 or 4 new enrollments that day. To my surprise, we didn't have 3 or 4 new students.
We had 24!!!!! By the Wednesday of the week following our recruiting, the school's enrollment numbers had gone
from 11 (lower numbers than usual) to THIRTY FIVE (an all-time high, according to Kofi: my 'magic' worked. haha). I was so excited! Learning all the new names is a headache and many of them only speak Ga or Ewe. So our conversations are made up mostly of hand motions or body language. But they're picking up quickly!!!

Okay, so the main purpose of this e-mail is to inform you that I've started blogging! I had frowned upon the idea of making a blog when my mama first mentioned the idea...
but since I've been here I've met some friends who recommend it and I have discovered that blogging seems to be much easier to handle than I had originally thought. Anyway,I believe this will be much easier than worrying whether or not everyone got my last e-mail... and you can check out my posts whenever you want and leave comments directly on each blog! So mom, as always... you were right and I should have taken your advice in the first place, but better late than never I guess! ;) I'm going to post my first e-mail and then I'll continue with shorter blog updates after that.

the link is: http://volunteering08.blogspot.com/

PLEASE be patient as I will fix up posts and add pictures over time. The connection is slow, uploading photos is painful. I have TONS of the kiddos, just please be patient. :)

I love receiving e-mails from home, feeling tapped in for a little bit- so please continue to keep me updated, too! It's just that my inbox is flooded with e-mails that I need and WANT to respond to, but just haven't been able to yet. Now that my blog is up and running, I'll respond to each individual e-mail sometime this week!

love to you all!! happy almost- halloween!!

-em/emmy/bubba/emma/emily!

P.S.- Idea and Ideology is in desperate need of art supplies, like construction paper, glue/glue sticks, a few pairs of kid-friendly scissors, and glitter/feathers/stickers/artsy things. Also, plain printer paper and wide-ruled looseleaf and pencils/sharpeners. If you are interested in sending any donation, THANK YOU and now is the perfect time because the numbers have increased so quickly! You can ship boxes to:

Idea & Ideology (E.P.)
P.O. Box MP1378
Mamprobi
ACCRA
GHANA
West Africa

Please remember that anything you ship needs to be in the name of IDEA AND IDEOLOGY, the school. Any name other than that (like Emily Pando) and the post office will require me to pay high duty fees. The (E.P.) - my intitials, is how I'll know to open it.

If you want, you can send letters to my name at the same P.O. Box # :)

XOXO!

West Africa--

ahhhhhhhhh.

I finally got out of Accra to do some traveling this past weekend.
Well I have two new friends, Kristina and Larissa. Larissa is from Australia and
Kristina is a native to the BAY AREA!!! She grew up in San Jo and most recently has lived in Santa Cruz and Berkeley, so we have the city to always talk about! They are also with Kids Worldwide, volunteering in an Ananda Marga orphanage a 10-15 minute walk from my house/school! I'm really fortunate to have met them, they are the warmest souls and we have amazing, intriguing convos! We went (20 minutes away) to watch the final presidential debate last week (a day later, they replayed it on CNN West Africa @ 4pm gmt) at Gunadesh's house. He's a guy involved in Ananda Marga Organization -- which runs the orphanage I'll be volunteering at in India! Small WORLD. It was great to be tuned in for a short while and especially to have another American to discuss all the topics with!

trying to be in-the-know... even if it is a day late!

Friday through Monday, we took a trip to Kumasi. The journey was much more bumpy than I expected, and wayyyy LONGER. The bus station and travel books all quote 4-5 hours, but it was more like 6.5 hours. Hard to fathom when the distance between Accra and Kumasi is only 270 kilometers (about 180 miles!), but it was well worth it and the drive had incredible scenery. Kumasi is known as the "garden city" because of all the lush greenery, it's surprisingly beautiful and they even have sidewalks in some areas! We visited the Kajetia market (said to be the largest open-air market in all of West Africa) and explored the rest of the 2nd largest city in Ghana and capital of the Ashanti Region. The Ashanti Region is the home of Kente Cloth, and we made a day-trip on Sunday, out of Kumasi and into the village of Adanwomase. After Adanwomase, we went to an smaller village called Besease. In Besease, we went to a shrine for the late Yaa Asantewaa. She was the "Queen Mother," or priestess, of the Ashanti's (Asante) and ordered the first attack on a British Fort which eventually led to Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957. Wooohooo! :) It was interesting, but I really loved Adanwomase. We took a tour, following the step-by-step process of Kente Cloth making. From buying and even dying the yarn to taking the finished cloth off the loom and selling it in a store. The tour was wonderful and hands-on too!

Recent Photos

Adanwomanse...

Kente Loom

(simple weave)

Besease Village, East of Kumasi

Giggling at the Obruni's in her village.


"It's Africa is missing Madagascar"
Turtle at Yaa Asantewa's Shrine.


Besease, shrine filled with the Asante history


Trying on the Priestess' Skirt :/

The first building in the village of Adamwomase

ummm not so sure about all these colors...



okay, maybe I'll bring this look back to SF.

:)

just some thoughts. escaping the strictly Ghana-theme for this post.

~

"One is not born into the world to do everything, but to do SOMETHING."

This quote is from Thoreau (Oh dadda, aren't you proud?) and I came across it mid-senior year.
It just spoke to me, and this quote has stuck with me ever since. I don't think I'm special and the words jumped off the page and began dancing, but I really think I was meant to read these words and meditate on them, especially at that time in my life.

~
Those of you that know me well enough know that I'm always the person who wants to do everything. My parents will be the first to tell you that I was the kid that always wanted to TRY everything; and I was blessed enough to have awesome parents that supported me in each endeavor.
Why am I saying was? They still do! They continue to be awesome :)
From basketball or ballet to horseback riding and sewing, pole vaulting to drama interp... I've always prided myself on having a finger in different pots, learning different things, and standing out in someway. Leading a meeting, cultivating new traditions, or being one of few to participate in a certain activity has always enlightened me. I'm not doing it just to be different-- to assert my own identity (middle-child syndrome?)-- I just like being mixed up, just like my ancestral roots, I guess. Why shouldn't a bi- even multi-racial human be interested in heaps of different things?

So I'm ranting again, back to my point: at the time I first read the quote, I wanted to ignore it, just like I wanted to ignore my parents and Mrs. Keller, Mrs. Meyers, and Mrs. Armijo all through high school when they'd pull me aside and remind me not to stretch myself to far. To just focus on a few things and be the BEST at those few, not striving and hardly ever reaching the top in 40 different activities.
"Emmy, you need to slow down."
"Be selfish for once, it's okay. Focus on yourself."
...
"Learn to just say NO."
Looking back, it could have been "No, I can't host a meeting that day after-school, I have practice and then a test the following morning." -- doing something that would benefit only me.
Eventually I did have enough of picking up after other people and tying up loose ends, spearheading my own efforts for others and making sure each assembly or event was better than the last so EVERYONE would enjoy it. That time came in March when I couldn't handle saying yes all the time and no to myself, so I decided to say No to myself one last time.
Moving back to San Francisco, it was weird... pretty much all about me and just family. SF friends had no ties to any of my loved friends in Colorado... everything was disconnected by different relationships and thousands of miles. But I was happier being able to flop on the couch at night, comforted by the fact that mom's lap would be there, and ideal spot to lay my head, legs covered in soft pajamas and the security of having dad comfortably posted on the area rug, just a few feet from us.

When I decided to go for the whole "gap-semester" abroad experience... I decided not to travel throughout Europe spending my summer-job and graduation money on souvenirs and clothes for the spring semester (I'll save that for maybe a post-undergrad experience ;)
but I chose to volunteer, to see more of what it would be like to help others. Not by raising funds and sending money through an organization (as we've done before), or cooking for a local shelter then going home and sleeping in my comfy, squishy bed waiting ...
but to really volunteer in a foreign environment with complete strangers, looking into the bright eyes and smiling faces of hopeful students. Everyday being greeted with a enthusiastic "GOOD MORNING Madame!" of more than 20 kids. Praising five different 2 year olds on their scribbling ability more than 5x each within 1/2 an hour. Teaching a 6 year old boy how to spell and write his name for the first time. Holding the dry, wrinkled hand of an older woman while she sits in her wheelchair watching generations of her offspring walk and play around her.
I've come to Africa to be a part of the culture. To live here, to learn. No matter how short the amount of time, I'm doing my best to immerse myself in the daily lives of the locals. Fetching water by bucket from the tank to bathe, wondering why I always try and flush the toilet, just to see if mayyyyyybe it'll work today. Sweeping the floor of my room with straw tied with a string. Running in an attempt to escape the rain and jumping into the closest trotro that has stopped- only to discover that the roof inside the tro is leaking... more like pouring.
I'm living in the capital city of Ghana in west Africa for 2 months. I'm along the prime meridian, between the tropic of cancer and the equator. I spend my days covered in dirt from the feet of 1-2-3- and 4 year olds. laughing every minute of it. I sit outside at night with Prince listening to music from a drinking bar across the dirt lane, feeling the breeze from the Atlantic ocean sweep over Accra and sway the banana and palm trees, rustling my short curly hair and reminding me of the cool SF winds along ocean beach. In Africa I'm Sister Emily or Teacher Amalee. Here I never have to worry about not being able to impress teachers, or complete assignments and read boring books in a few nights. I have just enough freedom and more than enough will to complete every assignment I can think of. I'm back to reading books that actually interest me in my downtime. HERE I don't ever have attempt to say NO. i just want to give and give and give and give and give until I'm physically drained and have no money and then I want to keep giving and keep saying yes until everything is accomplished. I want to always say "Of course you can color, Bilal, as soon as you finish this addition. Yes, Kofi... I think four more chairs would make the classroom much more comfortable. It's SO nice to focus on one project... but encapsulated into this ONE project are 10 different opportunities to paint or build, 30 different developing personalities, and a countless number of growth and improvements to be made. But it's all for one cause- and that's to help. To leave a lasting impression with just one or two students, to make a difference in their lives, and to leave knowing I taught and that I learned. That's my goal here- and only in my 3rd week, it's already attainable each day, but I've realized I didn't come here to do EVERYTHING... I just have to make sure when I leave here I have done something.
~
Mostly I love being able to say YES, help others and know that they're helping me.
These beautiful, loving, accepting, praising people are helping me find the Emily that somehow went missing last year.
I'm finding her again, and I couldn't be happier.

~
Tonight I'll go to bed under the security of my mosquito net and find calm after a few prayers.
...
Tomorrow I'll wake up and open the doors of the classroom to screaming, maybe some crying, and definitely the laughing of a bunch of 1-7 year olds. The thought of all this put a smile on my face, because it means I'll get to scream with them. I'll get to be comforting and wipe a few tears, and I'll get to share their laughter.

Tomorrow can't come soon enough....

p.s.-
I miss my mom's cooking, hanging around her in the kitchen or while she's on the computer just to talk:) and the sound of dad's annoying motorcycle and shouting "Little BUBBA!" I miss arguing with Lil then spending the day together. I miss texting Lex until one of us gets annoyed and finally calls the other. I miss hearing Christian's stories and the pitter-patter of alex's feet, then his giggle as he crashes his head into one of our laps. I miss my auntie jody, uncle tim and the boys of that family who are always there for me. I miss Gramma and being able to bother her with any problem and know I'm guaranteed a solution the next day. I miss sharing everything with Devon Charlie and chatting with Ash or Brandy until we fall asleep. I miss my surrogate family the Alf's and my pseudo-sisters :)
But if I wasn't missing each of these that make me who I am, then I would be worried, and you definitely don't have any reason to be!
~
Know I'm safe and coming home to you much more worldly,
excited about life,
and happier than before.

my first account of GHANA (copy/paste from an e-mail blast)

sorry for the lengthy book, but I had a lot of catching up to do!
Hello all,
I'm here! I'm in Sub-Saharan West Africa... can you believe it?! I still can't.
I arrived into Accra, the capital city of Ghana, at about 8:15 Thursday night after a total of 16 hours flying.
Passing through immigration-- though intimidating, was simple-- the length of the line wasn't. They checked my passport and my visa (I finally got a stamp in that little blue book!) I proceeded to the baggage 'reclaim' the collect my bags and I quickly discovered that Africans are just like us Americans... we don't like to pack lightly! There was only one luggage belt for the whole airport (which is small, maybe the size of COS) so bags were piled on top of one another, in no particular order with many flights mixed all together. After I got my bag, I went through the checkpoint where they checked my passport again and down into the lobby of the airport. It was really dead - just like any small airport on a week night-
UNTIL I walked out of the doors into the hot and sticky night air. A plethora of people swarmed around portable fences, holding signs with names on them. It was intense, just like fans waiting for celebrities outside of some venue. SOOOO many people were waiting for loved ones. My eyes darted around-- looking at foreign billboards and new faces, until finally I saw my name, EMILY PANDO scribbled on a piece of printer paper. Ohhhhh that paper was the closest to home I'd been. haha... someone in Africa knew my name!! It was Kofi Haligah, the director of the nursery school. I met with him and we got a taxi to his family compound where the school is located. Driving through central Accra, I was surprised at the level of development. Billboards for things like Guinness, New Homes, Football (the national team, the Black Stars, are HUGE here. just like the Raiders in Oakland... only it's SOCCER)... It was all very westernized. Kofi explained to me that central Accra has neighborhoods that are wealthy and you can find many Westerners volunteering there (Europeans, Canadians, Americans). We kept driving, and soon the landscape began to change.
Not far out of Central Accra lies many towns that we would consider shantytowns (they began surrounding the city in the 70s, 20 years after Ghana gained independence from Britain). These shantytowns and Central Accra make up Greater Accra. The name of the shantytown I'm living in is called Mamprobi, and the area- or 'neighborhood'
is called Abolo Junction. I was greeted at the door by many family members that live in the same house. We unloaded my things and they showed me to my room. It is very simple, but better than I expected. An open wall (no door) divides the room. It has a toilet, a small sink, and a shower head... but the water doesn't run. Not all the time anyway. The first night, the tap was running for a short while, but it hasn't since. There is a back up water supply (a big tank) that they use when the water is not flowing. I guess this happens often and can last up to two weeks at times. We hung my mosquito net first. --They save lives here! you should check out http://www.nothingbutnets.net/ -- you can purchase bed nets for needy children all over the world and save them from malaria--

I sat outside with some of the kids, meeting everyone and mingling for the rest of the night. I went to bed and slept well... I only woke up once or twice because the lifesaver in my room-- a ceiling fan!!!! -- is really loud.
The next day (Friday) we were to go into a nearby area of Mamprobi called Dansoman to change my money to Ghana Cedis (see-dees... one USD is equivalent to about 1.15 GH Cedi ). Walking the streets was so amazing. although it was bright outside, my eyes were open wide! Between streets (some paved) are dirt lanes where goats, chickens and dogs run about. The road sides are lined with open front shacks and stands (they call them kiosks) where many are selling everything from cooked food, haircuts, used electrical equipment, or cell phone sim cards. Most have colorful headboards that advertise the name, and most are religious like 'Praise our Saviour' and 'Jah Bless' .. these names have nothing to do with their product, but it shows the very religious base of Accra. Women walk with their babies strapped to their backs and goods like oranges (most are green!), yams, and plantains for sale in bowls on top of their heads. I've been told that this is how most people who live in the shanty towns make a living... trading goods, selling, selling, selling. 'Everyone trades here.' the locals say. Once we changed my money we returned to Abolo Junction in a TroTro. A trotro is like a big van, with 4 or more rows of seats. They are used just like a bus, only waaaaayyyy cheaper, much smaller, and just as cramped as the buses in ChinaTown (SF). When we got home, they insisted I rest and that I start school on Monday refreshed, but I wanted to meet the Children and Grace (Kofi's sister and the teacher of the School). At first the children were shy, but they won my heart immediately. Grace is sweet, I gave her fancy chocolates from San Francisco and she was very gracious. She has a helper, Martha, who is 21 and now does most of the teaching. I met all of the children and then went to my room to rest for a bit. When I came back, I was attacked by the babies screaming 'teacher Emily! Teacher (Amalee)' they were so happy to see me, it was adorable! I read to them and learned that friday is mostly a play day. Their ages range from 1 1/2 to 7 years old. They come to school as early as 7 and some leave as late as 6:30, or whenever a family member comes for them. My love, Forgive, is 4 years old. she is the most beautiful little girl, the future Tyra Banks of Ghana. So smiley and just happy and smart. She taught me a song and I just love her she's my soulmate ah adorable. I took pictures and videos of the children and they got a KICK out of me playing it back to them. The last two around school were Nikolas and Bismark, two boys. They were playing outside and got into a fight somehow. Bismark began crying and came to me. I picked him up and set him in my lap. He was crying and it was obvious he was tired, so I began to sing to him. haha... it just felt like the natural thing to do! I was rocking him in my arms and singing hymns to him and before I knew it he was sleeping! Ah it made me feel like I had accomplished something! After all of the children had gone home, I finally bathed. There is no choice of water temperature (only cold) - or pressure- since it's out of a bucket! But it was fun I guess and very refreshing considering the humid heat during the day (I'm really close to the equator!). That night Patrick, one of the family members, and his friend Prince offered to go for a 'stroll' and show me some of the area. They both speak perfect English although they were raised speaking Ewe(eh-way), Ga, and Twi (the native tribal languages) and answered any questions I had and gave me a nice walking tour.
Saturday I woke up and got ready for the beach. Before Tara (Kofi's daughter) and I left for the beach, Patrick and Prince had agreed to teach me their currency so i'm not 'cheated' by the shopkeepers. They are so sweet and 19 and 20 so it's nice to have people around my age. My walk with Tara to the beach was incredible. I really noticed the way that the Ghanaians in the Shanty towns are lacking modern-day sewage systems. Most waste water runs out of the house through an above-ground pipe and into open gutters. On the paved streets, there is a gutter on each side but they are not covered in most places so the smell is 50x worse than walking downtown SF in the middle of a hot day after the sidewalks have heated the stench of urine from the night before. On the muddy dirt lanes, there either isn't a gutter, or it's only on one side of the street. Dad- maybe you can get your construction company to send us here and we can help them develop a modern system! :) Well the beach was beautiful and the gulf of Guinea is warm and salty!
Sunday was a day to rest, and mama you will be happy to know I got up and went to mass. The Martyrs of Uganda Catholic parish was lively and bright. I enjoyed it but it was long. I arrived @ 8:41 (yessssss, I was early!) for the 9 o'clock service and the 7 o'clock mass was still going! My service didn't start until 9:50 and ended at about 12:45!!!! There was no wine at communion either, but maybe the service was in English and Ewe. The rest of the day was leisurely (is that a word?) and very i don't know... the Ghanaians like to relax and take things slow, zzzZZZzz so they are true to their way of life- and I fit in perfectly! I also went into Accra City with Kofi to see where most Westerners go to eat and where they shop. At a grocery store called Koala, I bought a few things for the family and a loaf of bread for the Grandma (Peace). I know it seems simple, but Kofi insisted that she would like it and when I presented it to her, she absolutely adored the gift! She doesn't speak English, so she thanked me with hugs and kisses. Grace translated while laughing, 'the old woman says you should marry Kofi for her.' I told her to tell her mom 'that is sweet, but I am too young!' We all laughed and that day was fun.
Today was absolutely fantastic, I had been anticipating monday all weekend! The children bring me new joy each day and I'm getting to know each of their personalities better already!
Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a national holiday so there is no school or work. There are some Muslims in Ghana, and they will celebrate Ramadan... so that means a day at the beach for all of us Christians and the heathens! hahaha. Also, I bought some house paint today and I'm going to gather more supplies tomorrow to fix up the school area next weekend. So far Kofi has said I am the most generous volunteer yet. But that is only thanks to all of you! his mom said she has never received a gift from one of the volunteers, so she likes me already!

OH! and today I met one of the brothers of the family, John. After talking with him I discovered that he is the director of a refugee camp in the north central region (about a 45 minute drive). He works to find jobs for and develop and teach skills to the refugees. I told him I would love to visit and he said 'of course! we can definately schedule' When I asked where the refugees were from, he said 'Liberia and Sierra Leone.' I am so nervous for this future trip, but I'd rather spend my weekends doing something meaningful rather than sleeping the day away under a ceiling fan in my room. It's night here and I'm going to get to sleep soon. I've been sleeping okay, the 2nd night was the worst- I woke up 4 or 5 times, but I think it was just anxiety or excitement and I'm adjusting. Food is also good. Kind of bland, and different, but nothing compares to that Mexican food and my mom's spanikopita! mmmmmm. I don't know the time right now, but I know Accra is 1 hour behind London time. Most world clocks say it's the same timezone, but we're not. Something to do with daylight savings and Ghana is along the prime meridian! (Lil- geography class!)
Okay... so everyone keep that in mind if I accidentally call you in the middle of the night! haha

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!
p.s.-
Please keep the Africans I have met and been working with in your prayers. They are all the most
kind souls and beautiful humans I have ever known.

p.p.s- MAMA DADDA LEXIE LILLI alex, christian.... I miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo -bubba

Starting off...

Well I had frowned upon the idea of making a blog when my mama first mentioned the idea...
but since I've been here I've met some friends who recommend it and I have discovered that blogging seems to be much easier to handle than I had originally thought. Anyway, I believe this will be much easier than worrying whether or not everyone got my last e-mail... and you can check out my posts whenever you want and leave comments directly on each blog!
So mom, as always... you were right and I should have taken your advice in the first place,
but better late than never I guess! ;)
I'm going to post my first e-mail and then I'll continue with shorter blog updates after that.
xo

-em