I'm Here!

After all this time and talk about going to Ghana, I have finally made it. I am constantly amazed that I get to live in this beautiful country with all of these lovely people. Everyone here is so welcoming and so nice.

Since I have been here, we have done so many things. Yesterday, we spent much of the day in orientation. We also had a Ewe (a-way) lesson which proved to be interesting, but VERY difficult. I also learned how to play Texas Hold'Em. We were betting with toothpicks. I got second place! Not bad for a first timer. Dad, are you proud?

Today was our first day at our placements. I am placed at an orphanage called "House of Hope". There are about 30 children there, ranging from age 5-15. They are truly wonderful children, and I cannot wait to work with them. The children learn English throughout schol, so the younger ones create a pretty significant language barrier, but we can still have alot of fun and communicate. Right now is there Christmas break, so they will not go back to school until the 14th. When they go to school, we will go with them and help out in the public school system. The facility is very nice and the children are well taken care of. The mother of the house, Elizabeth is so sweet and so caring. The children are so lucky to have her caring for them. The bathrooms at the orphanage are very basic, as in a hole in the ground. Today, when I peeked in, there were lizards crawling all over the bathroom area. I think it will take a while to build up the guts to use this restroom!

After volunteering today, we went to the market, where there were thousands of people and hundreds of booths selling music, food, cloth, and much more. I bought some cloth so that I could get some skirts made. I think that I am going to come home with MANY traditional clothes from Ghana.

Once we got home from the market, we had a welcome ceremony from the local community in the form of drumming and dancing. After they finished demostrating, we were able to participate in both activitites. Dancing always looks easier than it really is, but it was certainly a lot of fun!

The food here is really good, although overloaded with carbs. This is only a bad thing because I had a few pounds to loose, but it is SO delicious!

I am overjoyed with Ghana. It is so beautiful to see how people with so little can love their life so much. The children at the orphanage use all the toys that American children would have thrown out years ago, but they are so proud of what they have, and they make so much use of these things. They are happy with everything that they have, and they dont have the constant desire for more. The people here are just full of joy and love. It is a great thing to witness.

I have been writing every night on word document, and when the wireless internet works, I will upload them to my blog. I will then be able to put pictures up as well. For now, I will post these overviews as often as I can make it to the internet cafe.

I love you all!
Keep in touch and email me at mfarris29@gmail.com if you would like. I cant wait to hear from you.

And to all of my friends who put together the beautiful <3 akron book, I cant even tell you how much it meant to me. I will cherish that book FOREVER! I am sure that it will help me get through any difficult days that may come.

P.S. I am going to spend Christmas SWEATING...A LOT! Will it be snowing in Ohio?

Love you/life.