These past few days have been slightly more eventful than
the last, more in an emotional sense than any adventures I set out on, beginning
with Monday shortly after I made my last post. My friend Erin asked me to
accompany her to the post office since that seems to be one of my areas of
expertise here. On our way back to the hostel we were on a road with multiple
lanes driving in the left lane. Our cab driver decided to take a left turn
& we were then T-boned by a tro tro (a bus). Luckily it hit the back end of the car so no one was
injured. I was honestly surprised that this was my first wreck considering the
way people drive around here but I am thankful that it wasn’t a very bad one.
Both drivers got out & yelled at each other for a couple minutes, hit their
vehicles a few times in attempt to get the dents out, & continued on their journeys.
Tuesday morning I woke up in a little pain, I think I just
got some whiplash from the wreck. I took some Aleve & tried stretching the
pain out as much as I could but still had a pretty bad headache so I spent the
majority of my day relaxing, which tends to mean reading for me here. In fact I
have completed 7 books now, and some I’ve read more than once. This may not
seem like much to people who read a lot normally, but I think this more than I
have actually completed since starting college almost 3 years ago. I hope that
this is a habit I keep up when I get back home. There was a section in this
book about giving up all of your comforts in order to do what you feel God has
called you to do. This kind of struck me considering the fact that I’m in
Africa at the moment. I may not be on a mission trip or with any religious
program over here but I know that there was something calling me here when I
first decided to come last year. I am not exactly sure what my reason for being
here is yet. I may not know until my last day here or years after I leave, but
I know that I do feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. There have
definitely been things about home that I have missed (food being a huge one)
but until reading this section of the book, I hadn’t actually given it that
much thought. There are countless things that I enjoy at home that I don’t have
here, but most I haven’t even taken the time to miss. I wonder how I will
adjust when I am back home.
I walked my 30 minute walk to class that night but the power
had been out for a lot of the day so I didn’t have high hopes for class since
it was already getting dark when I left. Sure enough class was cancelled so I
turned around for another 30 minutes back. I don’t mind the walking though. I
usually just put my headphones in & listen to country music to pass the
time. It feels a little odd listening country while I’m in Africa, but to my
surprise they like country here! I remember being on the bus to the Volta
region a few weeks ago & one the guys started playing Boys Round Here by Blake Shelton. And he couldn’t get enough of
that song the entire trip.
Wednesday morning I met the orphanage kids for chapel. I was
feeling a little better that morning so I decided to go on with life as usual. After
chapel we went back for school. I worked with the younger kids that day,
learning numbers & letters. While the kids worked on writing their letters
I had a side conversation with one of my friends who also volunteers there. We
were discussing how some of the kids there are HIV/AIDS positive when she
started telling me about her brother who died from AIDS a few years ago. I was in
shock about how little I really knew about it. I wish there were many more
hours in the day so I could do some work for the AIDS foundation here & educate
others as well as myself, but unfortunately I just don’t have a lot of free
time during their open hours.
That day I was sitting in the volunteer office responding to
one of my grandma’s emails when it hit me that I only have 10 weeks left here,
and I think it hit me pretty hard. I think that was the moment that I fell
completely in love with this place. I have never been in love before, but I
imagine that’s kind of how it goes, very slowly at first & then out of nowhere
it just happens. I couldn’t imagine my life without Africa & I don’t really
want to. I can’t even recall who I was before I came here or what my everyday
life was like & my heart breaks a little for the people who haven’t
experienced it. 10 weeks is not a very long time & I’m afraid it’s going to
fly by faster than I want it to, but for now I’m going to enjoy every second I
have here & soak in everything it has to offer.
I was supposed to go fill out a few forms to extend my visa
that afternoon. For some reason when we arrived they only granted us 60 days
until we basically had to go pay the government for something we already had
paid for before we left, but I guess that’s how it goes in the developing
world. My director wasn’t back from an errand when I arrived back at campus so
I got some coffee & did a little more reading while I awaited her arrival.
Just as I was getting ready to leave, one of the workers came up & handed me
a pineapple juice & told me my friend bought it for me. I looked around
& didn’t see anyone I knew, I think the confused look on my face gave that
away to her as well. Then she told me that he had already left but handed me a
piece of paper the read “Andy” followed by a Ghanaian phone number. I kind of
laughed at this, feeling slightly embarrassed. While I was a little flattered
by his silent approach, it still didn’t break me. As part of my nature I wanted
to thank him for the pineapple juice, although I didn’t drink it, but I know
better by now than to let these men have your phone number so I continued on
with my day after it had been made just a little bit brighter. I filled out my
paperwork & dropped off all the materials needed to have my visa extended through
my stay & then went back to the hostel to begin on the second homework
assignment I’ve been given since my arrival here. I actually sat at my desk for
the first time that day & it made me feel quite accomplished.
That night I had a long talk with my roommate for the first
time. This probably seems extremely weird that it took 2 months for this to
happen, and honestly it’s really weird to me too. She told me that I was her
favorite roommate that she’s ever had & that this was a big deal because
she was really nervous about living with a white person. She told me I wasn’t
anything like she expected me to be & that she liked how my parents raised
me, so mom & dad – good job :) I think it’s really cool that we have both
broken each other’s misperceptions & stereotypes. We discussed our families
with each other. She asked what my parents did & I reciprocated the
question. She told me that her mom worked in a school & her dad had been a
preacher but that he died a couple years ago. She started to cry when she told
me this & it brought tears to my eyes listening to her talk about it. I am
so incredibly humbled by my experiences here each & every day. It blows me
away how blessed I truly am. I have an amazing family. Not only do I have my
mom, dad, & a sister who is my very best friend, but also I have incredible
grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins on top of that. They have all been
so great supporting me throughout my entire life & now I know more than
ever that a lot of people never get to experience that. I have so much more
than I could ever ask for. I don’t know how else to put how it feels into words
other than that my heart feels so full, like it could burst out of my chest. I
talked to my sister on the phone for a while that night before I lost
connection & then went to bed feeling like a different person than I did
when I woke up that day.
I had class this morning followed by another cup of coffee
with a book on the side. Now I’m back at the hostel waiting until it’s time for
me to head to the orphanage for the afternoon. I am going on another trip this
weekend so will report back when I return. Love to you all,
Kasey
Sorry for the lame photo booth picture, I had a lot of requests from family members for a picture of me on the blog so here I am, living life under my mosquito net.
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