4 days and counting

12.30.08
it truly seems like not that long ago that i started thinking about quitting my job and shifting the direction i was headed...of course as we all know, time flies. i have finally succumb to the realization that i am going to africa and that i need to start packing. the good news is when it's 90+ degrees every day and you're in ghana, fashionable clothing isn't high on the priority list. the problem is i am so paranoid about getting eaten alive by mosquitos or being burned to a crisp that my pile of deet and SPF 50 is growing rapidly! in my vast spare time i have been reading up on my temporary new homeland and just in case you are wondering, i have been assured that buying sunscreen in western africa is next to impossible! here are some other exciting facts for you to ponder
- ghana has over 1000 species of butterflies
- there is a green monkey in ghana who is grey and white (not green) but the male does have blue gentials (really, this is in my guidebook, i couldn't make it up if i tried)
- it's home to the world's largest artifical lake (lake volta)
- there is a city in ghana called tamale (chips and salsa, anyone?)
- 1 USD = 9267 ghanaian cedi

ahhhhhh!

12.28.08
ok, well my post-christmas blues have set in (somehow the older i get the more it seems like there is all this hype leading up to the holidays and then boom! it's over) and my stress level is slowly building. i cannot believe that (weather and airline permitting) i will be in ghana a week from today. that's crazy! i have done a lot but still have a ton to do and i feel like i am really running out of time. i am also starting to wonder how i am going to manage being away from everyone for 10 weeks and having no running water or electricity. for sure, it will be an amazing adventure but i just have to get there first. fortunately, i've been in contact with some former volunteers as well as 2 volunteers who will be in the same general area around the time i will be there. that makes me feel a little better i think. in case i forget to send this out here's my mailing address for while i'm gone (letters from home are always appreciated!).
c/o Holy Hills School Complex
PO Box 38
Mamfe
Eastern Region
Ghana
alright, well off to finish packing and start the trek home from charlotte - hopefully only a 6 1/2 hour drive and not 10 1/2 like one year after thanksgiving...

time is running out

12.15.08
wow, hard to believe i will be in ghana in less than 3 weeks! i took my GREs last week and was really excited with how well i did. then on thursday night i headed to charlotte with carrie and kory to visit meg and run a half marathon. it was a course with lots of rolling hills and despite some unfortunate chest pain, i managed to PR by 16+ minutes, finishing in 2:03:11! now i am finishing up christmas cards, christmas shopping, and grad school apps and then back to charlotte with mom for christmas on the 23rd. at some point SOON i guess i should get packing for ghana :), maybe later this week :). i hope everyone is well and i promise to continue the updates...if anyone has any last minute advice on things i should take, not take, etc please let me know :)

bucket showers and toilets, oh my!

12.4.08
ok, so i actually meant to write this last night, but i confess that after a 9 1/2 hour flight back from london (longer due to turbulence) i was exhausted but managed to stay up until almost 8pm (which is 1am in london). in any case, yesterday was my official one month mark till i leave for ghana - in which i have to take the GREs (wednesday!), finish my grad school applications, run a half marathon, christmas shop, and oh yeah, get ready for my trip! which brings me to my post title - i found out earlier this week where i will be going and whom i will be staying with in ghana. i will be in a region called the akuapem hills. it's about an hour north of accra, and i will be staying in a small farming community (kwamoso) of about 2000 that has no electricity or running water. my host (her name is gifty) has been hosting volunteers for a few years and from what the program director explained, she seems really nice. she is the cook for the local school children as well as the volunteers. i will be in a room that i will probably share with another volunteer and we also share a bucket shower and toilet with the family which are located on the side of the house. i have no idea what to expect and have wierd images of showering naked outside trying to pour a bucket of water over me...oh well, it should be interesting and very entertaining at the very least. the good news is all of our meals as volunteers are shared at gifty's uncle's house, so i won't be totally alone in these adventures. as for my placement, i will be working on the kawmoso housing project, helping to make mud bricks, construct buildings, paint, landscape, etc. i will also have the opportunity to help at the local village school and play sports with the children. it's a lot to digest but i am very excited (albeit a bit nervous). hope everyone has a good rest of the week!

guiness and stew on turkey day

11.27.08
ok, well maybe not the stew - it's good but more of a very rare thing to eat, but i will definitely be celebrating with a guiness or 2...maybe some irish coffee as well! the weather has been what i expected, cold and some rain, though today (our last day in dublin) it's been warmer and somewhat sunny! i've done my fair share of drinking to be sure, and managed to visit the guiness and jameson factories - go me! i can even tell the difference now between scotch and irish whiskey (everyone is impressed right)? i was also surprised to learn how closely everyone here followed the election and how they follow our politics on an ongoing basis - everyone also wants to know what we think of our new president...it's been a definite learning experience. well, tomorrow mom and i are off to london and meg goes home. we'll be there for a few days and leave on 12.3.08. mostly i am super excited to see jen, my roomie from my switzerland days whom i haven't see since summer 2000. hopefully this time there will be less cows/troughs, crazy americans, more showers and more overall sophistication (if you have to ask, it's best you don't know :)). ok, well off to do some more shopping then meet up with the rest of the fam. happy thanksgiving wishes to everyone!

12.6.08
check out the slideshow - all 400+ pictures from the trip!

let the traveling begin

11.19.08
ok, so now i am officially in travel mode. actually, i've already done a bit of "mini-traveling" as i spent thurs-sun in charlotte hanging with meg. but later today i leave for ireland and england for 2 weeks, which i am VERY excited about! when i get back i should know where in ghana i will be going and more about the family i will be staying with. i am slowly getting more and more prepared for this trip - i visited the health department yesterday for my vaccines (yellow fever, typhoid, polio booster, malaria pills, and hepatitis A). sadly there is a rabies vaccine shortage for i only got 4 shots...and yes, my arms are both very sore today :)
i will try and update this while i'm gone...happy thanksgiving in advance to everyone!

endless saturdays

11.7.08
ok, so i think i might have written in my last post that i leave on 1.4, nope i leave on 1.3...this is one of many things i have discovered during what i am now (yes, after only 2 days) referring to as my endless saturdays. it's kind of fun right now, not having to get up, shower, rush to get ready etc and head to work but i can see quickly how it will lose its novelty/appeal. thankfully i have lots of travel stuff to organize/plan and am heading to my mom's house in the shenendoah valley this weekend and to charlotte next week, then it's off to ireland and england. it's still wierd to think i'm not working and even stranger to realize that i really am going to africa, but exciting all the same...