Days 32-36

“Oh! The places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!

         There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.

                And magical things you can do with that ball

     Will make you the winning-est winner of all.

Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be,

               With the whole wide world watching you win on TV.”

“Spring” is here! And while it sounds like everyone at home is doing everything not to freeze, I’m just trying not to melt! The days have been getting hotter & hotter since I showed up here so I am VERY excited for the rainy season to hit.

Friday morning was spent at the orphanage. It was really awesome having all the kids there! We split into 2 groups; I took half & watched a movie on animals building their habits. All the kids were so curious about all these animals they had never seen. They even featured some critters in the Rocky Mountains so I told them that’s where I live :) They constantly asked for help on spelling every word, as they decided to take notes on the video even though it wasn’t a school day. They’re enthusiasm towards school & learning inspires me so much each day. I think they’ve already taught me so much more than I’ll be able to teach them the whole time I’m here.

This adorable little James! He's 4 years old and so much fun!

This is Joshua, Jennifer, & Sandra.

Another volunteer took the other half & worked on some breathing exercises to help the kiddos with their anxiety. A lot of them have it pretty terrible though they have learned to cope it with it very well after their time at the orphanage. They all come from pretty dark places, Heather told me that out of 300 kids that have come through the orphanage there has only been 2 or 3 that weren’t sexually abused. It breaks my heart a little each time I hear these stories but at the same time, it’s pretty amazing to see how far they’ve come & to know that they are all being cared for now. After both groups had watched the video, we got out the parachute & played a few games. 

I stopped at a grocery store on my way home & found some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream! I was so excited about it that I had to make it my lunch.

I arrived to class that afternoon to find that it has been moved to Thursday mornings now. It’s very odd that they can change it whenever they please, but at least I have Friday’s off now!

Saturday I took my trip to Cape Coast. I met Brianne in the pouring rain in the town of Kosoa & then we continued the trip to Cape Coast by tro tro. When we arrived, we walked around looking for food. We found a cute little place that served delicious food! A European woman owned it so I finally had some familiar foods, my first salad in 5 weeks! We took a walk on the beach & spent some time at the University of Cape Coast campus with a few people she has met through volunteering.

Saturday morning we woke up & some food at a little vegetarian place, another great find! I had some pretty tasty breakfast consisting of eggs & pancakes with cinnamon sugar. I almost wish I were in Cape Coast considering how much better the food is! Then we spent a few hours sitting on the beach, talking to all the children as they came by. One little girl was selling waters on her head. She looked like she was about 6 years old; though she told us she was 9. She was all skin & bones so I don’t know how she carried that bowl of waters on her head. We asked them how much it weighed & they told us 45 kilometers…. Since that is a totally inaccurate measurement, I decided to test out the bowl on my head & that thing is heavy! How they walk around with it all day & keep it balanced is a mystery to me. I once saw a man carrying a medium sized fridge on his head. Every thing I ever thought about humans was proven inaccurate at that moment. Then he went up the stairs like that and I was completely mind blown.

I made it safely back to Accra that afternoon & relaxed until I went to bed.

Monday I had class that started 15 minutes late & ended an hour early, but what college student would really complain about that? I went to the mall that afternoon but just to do some grocery shopping. I finally got some pots & pans so I can make some meals myself. When I returned to the hostel, I made some no bake cookies so share with my American friends here. I gave a few to some Ghanaians but they don’t have a sweet tooth like we do!

This morning I slept in, which means about 7:30 for me these days, then made my first breakfast by myself since I’ve been here & had a cup of instant coffee. I spent the afternoon at the orphanage, playing games & helping with homework. On my cab ride back to campus the driver told me to get his number & I can call him whenever I need a ride. I told him only if he gave me a fair price since all the other try to charge me extra since I’m an Obrani. He must have thought that was pretty funny cause he started laughing really hard & then told me it was true.

I went to my night class & the power went out right as the sun set so we sat in the dark listening to lecture for about 45 minutes, which makes it extremely hard to concentrate when you’re used to looking at a power point the whole time. He let us go early since the power wasn’t coming back on. He told us to write a paper answering the question: what is the normal curve? I have a very hard time understand the accents still so I had to ask around. I heard “what is the normal cave?” so I was very confused. Even when I ask the Ghanaian students it still sounds like cave so I have to ask about 10 different words that sounds something close to cave until I get it right.

A girl in our group got braids put in her hair & decided to take them out tonight so we all sat around unbraiding fake hair while the musical people in our group sang “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” which was a pretty pleasant way to end my day.

I have a lot of made up husbands, boyfriends, & fiancés back at home. The men here are so forward that it’s about the only way to get no across. They ask you to marry them often & some even jump right into calling you their wife. It is very odd. I also have a lot of broken phones & computers because if you make the mistake of giving them your number, you’re phone is blowing up constantly. Its not really creepy, just a little overwhelming when you’re not used to that kind of aggressiveness.

I see these strands everywhere I go. The first time I saw one I thought it was a dead snake. After a few days I realized it was just a piece of rope, but most recently I have discovered that it is neither of these things. It’s hair that fell off of the women’s heads! They all either have braids or wigs for the most part so I guess the braids occasionally just fall out! 

The little guy is Silas & the older one is Sandra. When I first met her a couple weeks ago she could hardly speak English. Now she talks in full sentences & runs around asking everyone how to spell their name & records it on paper!

Jennifer is in the pink, Freda is behind me & Silas is on my lap again.

Another picture with Jennifer & Silas. Jennifer is such a sweetheart. She is always holding my hand & cuddling up to me. Today they didn't want to let me leave even though I had class. It already makes me sad thinking about saying goodbye to these little angels when I head home.

Missing all of you back home! Love to you all,

Kasey