So long, farewell, but I'm not Ghana be gone for long!

Oh how time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was yelling at my family to hurry up and find the right terminal because I didn't want to miss my flight. Just yesterday that I wasn't sure I wanted to come to Ghana anymore..I kept thinking-it's too expensive, I don't really need the experience to get a job do I?, what if I don't like it-I don't want to come home early, etc. My first travelling alone experience wasn't exactly flawless and was actually one of the most stressful experiences of my life. However, it has been by far the absolute best decision I have made.

If you have read any of my previous posts you have seen both the ups and downs I've experienced. Hopefully, you can tell that for every down there were a million ups to combat it. Sure there were times that were hard and I just wanted to go home where I wouldn't be sweating every minute of the day, where the food wouldn't make my lips swell up from the spiciness, where I know most people and they call me by my name not the color of my skin. But, I would never trade those few moments as they have helped me grow as a person. I believe that I will be returning to the U.S. in a short 3 days as a better person. Thank you for joining me in this journey.

These last two weeks I've been trying to enjoy every bit of Ghana that I can because I know that by the end of next week I'm really going to miss it. I have been trying to find an appropriate gift for my Ghanaian family to thank them for all that they've done from me and just nothing seems to demonstrate my gratitude adequately. Pookie suggested we get Chinese food before I leave and I laughed at her, no way am I wasting Auntie Grace's food for Chinese food I can get so much cheaper in the U.S. I just finished my last exam on December 13th and am spending as much time in the house as possible.

Today, I had quite the eventful day. My big sister Rachel, took me to the slaughterhouse where we literally picked the goat from the pen that we wanted slaughtered and casually waited in their waiting room for it to be done...an interesting experience to say the least though definitely not for the vegetarian type.. Then we went to the market to get fish and vegetables and Auntie Grace took us to get even more fish in the afternoon because tomorrow we will be cooking for the one-year anniversary of a father-in-law's death. (I think that's who it is). Our house just gets filled with more and more people by the day here with family coming from the U.S. to celebrate Christmas.

One of the families that is here already is one of my brothers and his wife and two children. I have a soft spot for the little girl because I helped take care of her a lot last week and if you know me, you know how I feel about babies haha. Here's a picture of the day that their dad, my sister Rachel, and I took them and my niece Nuna to the beach:

Auntie Grace's mother is also staying with us because she has been ill and they wanted to bring her all the way to the capital to go to the doctor. She is quite a hoot and reminds me everyday that she is coming with me to America and she's already packed and ready to go when I am haha

A huge thank you to everyone that donated to the Queensland Primary School fundraiser that Jessalyn and I put together. We delivered the donation on Tuesday and the Headmistress was more than grateful for the surprise (we never told her about the fundraiser!) Since the last time we were there she has already made quite a bit of improvements to the school and added one teacher so we are positive that she will do great things with the 800 cedi ($400) we were able to donate! The children at the school decided to sing for us and we recorded a few cute videos to share with you all!

This morning my Auntie Grace told me that she's going to the American Embassy to ask them to change my citizenship to Ghanaian so that I can stay longer haha we'll see how that works out..

On a more solemn note, my prayers go out to the families of the victims of the tragic shooting in Connecticut. It's always different hearing U.S. news in a foreign country but it difficult to try and respond when my family asks me why someone would do that, why someone would target small children, why, why, why? Unfortunately, I have to tell them the truth, I just don't know. We watched the news report this morning with my 4-year-old niece in the room, I just kept thinking what if this happened to her, or one of my cousins at home, or anyone, why does this happen to anyone and I struggle to keep from crying because it is sooo horrible.

I think the only things I have left are to talk about are thank yous. Thank you to my friends and family at home for your support and assistance in helping me accomplish my goal of coming to Ghana. Thank you to everyone who donated to the Queensland fundraiser once again. Thank you to my friends and family I have gained in Ghana, and thank you God for keeping me safe and healthy on this amazing journey.

As I'm sad to say goodbye (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkAD1fDz8lg) I'm so blessed to have somewhere to come home to both in the U.S. and in Ghana and I wouldn't trade that for the world.

See you soon America! And don't worry Adovor family, I'm not Ghana be gone for long!

10 days till departure and many lessons learned

As it says in the title of the post, I only have 10 short days left in the beautiful place I have called home for almost 4.5 months. My mom would probably tell you, that is exactly 138 days too long. On my first day travelling to Ghana and the third day here when I went to the hospital, I would have agreed with her. However, at this point-129 days in, I think it is the perfect amount if not too short. I have learned many valuable lessons while in Ghana, about culture, life, people, and in the end myself. I'm a much stronger person than I was when I boarded that plane in Chicago and I will be forever grateful for this opportunity.

A friend recently asked me if I could describe either Ghana or my experience in Ghana in three words what they would be. It would be impossible for me to describe Ghana in general in three words so I opted for the second option. My experience in Ghana in three words: religion, compassion, Adovor (the name of my host-family). I've talked before about religion in Ghana, how it is a part of almost everyone's life every minute of the day.
The compassion and generosity of almost everyone is incredible. Sure there are frustrating times when people yell to you just because you're different, or because they want something from you-either money or marriage. However, those times are overshadowed by the people who grab your hand to help you cross the ridiculously busy highway, the women who stop you in the morning just to thank you and welcome you to their beloved country, the hotel owners who run through town to find exactly what you desire for dinner (especially if it is Ghanaian food), and the list goes on.
Adovor-needs no explanation. Without my Ghanaian family and this homestay I would have been on the first plane back to Chicago when I got really sick the first time. I thank God every day that my friends and family convinced me to stick it out. Heck my favorite food is the soup that made me sick and tonight was the first night I finally ate fufu with no problem!

Through this experience I have been given the opportunity to be the minority in a country, something I think we should all experience. No matter how much a government preaches equality for all-we know that many are still treated unfairly. In Ghana I have often had people try to cheat me just because I am white therefore I must be rich right? I have children walk up to me and say "oburoni, I want 20 pesewas (money)" mind you they would never go up to a Ghanaian woman and ask her for the same thing.

I have seen a lot of people demonstrate the behavior of people who believe they are saving Africa by playing with Ghanaian babies. As one of my fellow CIEE students so eloquently put it "You will never save Africa as much as Africa will save you". I think he hit the nail on the head. I never came here to save Africa and yet I feel that it has saved me, it has given me a new addition to my American family, a new focus for my studies and future, and a second home that I know I won't be able to stay away from for long. 

I have learned to be a more patient person (having to wait for hours before getting transportation in the sun, trying to communicate with multiple language barriers, waiting for an hour for a meal just to find out that they don't even have the food, etc. will definitely improve your patience). I have learned to be more bold and speak up (if you don't yell at the tro tro driver you might not get dropped off where you want, if you don't yell at the mate he might not give you your change back, if you don't ask someone where to go you will never figure it out since street names and maps don't exist). Living in Africa reminds you that we are all interconnected and depend on each other because everyday here you rely on others and you realize it some days more that others.

These are just a few of the musings I find myself entertaining in the last few works here, I'm sure more are to come. In the meantime, here are a few stories since my last post.

Andrew left about one week ago after a two week stay. We spent the second week he was here travelling the Volta Region again. As always it was breathtaking and beautiful. I find that once you get outside of the Greater Accra Region and other urban areas, the people who live there become just a bit kinder and want to welcome you and take care of you as much as possible. We left Monday and returned Thursday after climbing both Mt. Afadjato (highest mountain in Ghana) and the Wli Falls (second highest waterfalls in West Africa) and spending some time in Hohoe where we were staying. Here is a pic from our trip:

Andrew and I sporting Wisconsin garb on top of Mt. Afadjato

Yesterday, was election day in Ghana. Their presidential election schedule is the same as ours since 1992 every four years. It has been a very exciting fall with so many campaign flags, advertisements, speeches, rallies, etc. just like in the U.S. There is always a chance of violence with elections especially close ones like in 2008 when there were four run-offs before a winner was actually chosen (in January!). Therefore, everyone has been calling for a peaceful election. So far it has been pretty peaceful, thank God. Yesterday, I was able to go to the polls with my sisters who have never voted before. I decided not to take my camera since I knew that I would already stick out enough and possibly be asked to leave for causing a ruckus or perhaps someone thinking I was there to intimidate people. Thankfully, I only received a ton of stares. This year they have instated a biometric voter identification system where people have to scan their fingerprint before they can vote. To vote they also use their fingerprint on a ballot with photos of the candidates on it. The problem is that without the machine they couldn't scan fingerprints and therefore people couldn't vote. So while my sister Sitso was able to vote right away, Rachel had to wait for two hours before they brought a new machine. There is obviously feelings of frustration when people are waiting in line for hours in order to cast a vote that they aren't even sure will make a difference. The polls are also usually not even inside in a building, the place where my family voted was outside on a random street in our neighborhood. The booths were cardboard tri-folds and kept blowing over in the wind. Because of the incidence of machines being broken and the slow deliverance of basic election materials the elections continued into today and the results aren't expected to be official until Tuesday.

Overall, experiencing another country's elections is an invaluable experience. Check out some pics from the election thus far on the BBC website : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20645818

Here's a pic of me and my friends at our farewell dinner for CIEE.