Ghana Unplugged

Internet access here is slow and quite sporadic and I get to check it once every 2-3 days so I'll keep these short.

Ok so I got here the morning of the 12th. Met a bunch of fellow volunteers on the flight and at the airport at Accra. We drove down in 2 vans to a town called Hohoe (pronounced Hoe-hway) about 4 hrs north-east of the capital. People here drive like crazy and there aren't too many road rules! (but I'm used to it from how it is in India so not a big problem for me :) We're staying at Cross-Cultural Solutions' Home base (kinda like a dorm for volunteers) where they have bunk beds, toilets and a common dining room. Cool. The food here mostly revolves around starch. Cassava, yam, potatoes, rice. So I'd advise all Atkins diet lovers to skip Ghana during an African visit ;) They do have nice spices though so the food isn't all that bland. Of course, I haven't ventures out to try the street kebabs and grilled corn yet but I likely will after the first few days here! The landscape around here is pretty hot and arid although Hohoe being closer to the hills and Lake Volta gets a nice cool breeze in the evening which is refreshing.

A word on the volunteers - they're a fabulous bunch! A lot of them are kids who are still in college and are here on summer break but have a great interest in either the education or medical field. There are a few elementary and middle school teachers, a pharmacist from Australia, a couple of doctors-to-be from Canada and a group from UC San Diego. All in all, very interesting, intelligent, passionate and fun ppl. Even though it's been just 3 days since I got here I think a few of them will be friends way beyond this trip.

Went to Mass on Sunday morning. Quite an experience. Went from 9 a.m. to 11:30. Almost 3 times as long as regular Catholic Masses. Fun nevertheless. Lots of people all decked up in extremely colorful clothes. Loud singing, drumming and dancing (seriously). The women (esp the elderly) habe this habit of waving white handkerchiefs in the air whenever the priest made a joke during his hour-long sermon in Ewe (the local dialect). For the offertory procession, in addition to gifts of bread and some fruit there was a girl eho presented the priest with a live chicken! Unbelievable. Was a great experience though. I think I was the only non-Ghanaian there :)

Most of the evenings we spend around the house chatting, reading, playing board games, etc. We played soccer with the local kids, awesome fun. We met up with a group of young children whop taught us drumming and local dances. I think I may have picked up a few moves :) The local market is amazing with all its varieties of food and colorful dresses. Some of the kids kept hugging me and it was a joy carrying them around! The kids here always have a smile on their face and are amazingly happy and contented despite their extremely poor condition. It just goes to show how simple yet strong the human spirit can be. I have been very touched by what I've seen so far.

Today was my first day at the orphanage. 110 kids. 3 teachers and 4 of us volunteers. Pretty hard work. This is definitely going to be a challenge but I' m all up for it. I will write a lot more about my time at the orphanage and the learning experiences from there over the next few days.