Hey everyone!

I just got a new roommate, again. She is from Switzerland, and she just recently spent 5 months in South Africa and 2 weeks in Morocco. I am so jealous of her. She went Great White Shark cage diving in South Africa! She has now replaced Charlie, who left on Sunday :(
This past weekend I went Boti Waterfalls and a cocoa farm. It was a great trip. I could have spent the entire day at the waterfalls. It was so peaceful. I just wanted to read my book and chill there all day. The cocoa farm was really cool, too. It was a free-trade cocoa farm, and they supply for Cadbury.  The only bad thing about the farm was that it made me crave chocolate so badly, and surprisingly, chocolate is really hard to come by here and is really expensive...

Well, I don't feel like really chatting much. I am very tired, but here are some pictures. Oh by the way, only 2 weeks left!!! Boy has time flown by!

 Boti Falls

 Blessin! I am in love with here!

 Ali! I really badly want to bring him home with me!

 Cocoa

 ... I don't know haha

 The gang from this weekend

Hello y'all!
Life here in Ghana is pretty eventful at the moment. I just got a new roommate yesterday. She is from the Netherlands, and she is an old volunteer (she volunteered a month in Kumasi last year). This time she is here for only two and a half weeks, and not with projects abroad but on her own. She is still working at the orphanage though (which is what she did last time), and she stayed with Nana last time too. Yeah apparently, Nana said we can come back and visit anytime and just stay with her and not pay the extra money for projects abroad. She even was like your family can stay here too haha. Also this is Charlie's last weekend here. She leaves on Sunday :( but another volunteer comes a day or two later and will take her spot. I will really miss having her around though.
This past weekend I traveled to Wa, which is in the Northwest, and I went to the Wechiau Hippo Sanctuary. The drive up there was terrible. It took us 16 hours to get there! And the trip was entirely done by tro-tro. Never again is all I have to say. I also think the tro-tro drivers were drug dealers. We made several sketchy stops along the way, and there was a lot of exchanging of money and bags that were supposedly full of bread... But even though the journey was long it was worth it. At the sanctuary, the other volunteers and I did a river safari, and we saw tons of hippos! It was so cool. Unfortunately, the pictures could not really capture how awesome it was in person. The canoe that we were in was so tiny too. The water level basically was just on inch away from the top of the canoe. One wrong move and you would have easily fallen into the water. That night we then camping out at the sanctuary. We slept on the roof of the lodge, which was in the middle of nowhere, a few mud huts were around but there was no running water or electricity. It was what I pictured Africa being like, not a big bustling city like Kumasi. It was so peaceful to sleep under the stars. The stars were absolutely beautiful; it was something you can't experience at home. This was also my first camping experience ever! I never thought I was the camping type (only glamping), but I really enjoying myself. I was so disgusting afterwards though. The close I wore that day I slept in, and I wore them the next day too. I know what your thinking, but there was really no point in changing I was just going to get dirty and smelly all over again, so why change into clean clothes? My only complaint about the experience is that the mattresses we slept on were damp, and I think I might have gotten flees from it...
Work is still going really well. I basically teach all by myself everyday. I feel so proud of myself because most know the colors, how to count to 10 (and actually understand it and are not just reciting) and the shapes circle and square. I have also taught them the nursery rhyme "I'm a little tea pot," and we are doing "Old McDonald" right now. The school year is almost over though. Their last day of school in July 27, so it ends basically right when I leave. I am thinking of throwing a party for them; buying some cookies, candy, soda and then also bringing my laptop and letting them watch a movie. We will see. I need to talk to Madame Beatrice (she is the actual teacher), who is really nice by the way. She has made me feel so welcome at the school/daycare. The other day though the kids were being really disrespectful to me like not paying attention, running around the room, etc, so Madame made them do squats and some sort of chant (I don't know what it meant) in front of the whole class. It was terrible. The other kids were laughing at them, and the kids were crying so hard, and this all like right in front of me just sitting in my chair. The kids just kept staring at me, crying. I almost starting crying for them, but at least she wasn't beating them. It might be a cruel and unusual punishment, but it worked, and they had to be punished some how I guess. In addition, one of the boys in my class got adopted the other day!!!! I was so excited when I found out today! Apparently, it was some sort of international adoption, but Beatrice did not know where they were from.
Well, that is it for now. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

 The crew from this past weekend

 Where we slept

 Hippos! The picture does not do it justice.

 Mud Huts

Hey everyone! It is the first week of July, so I have official been here for one month and have one more month to go! Crazy, right?!? Even though it is only the first week, I can tell July is going to be a lot different from June. First off, there are a lot more volunteers now. July is the busiest month apparently, so currently there is about 20 of us, and there are still more coming! Also it is now truly rainy season, so it rains basically everyday. It when I saw it rains, it rains the entire day non stop. I don't mind the rain normally, but here in Ghana I absolutely hate it - one because I am basically walking everywhere so I get drenched every single time, and two Ghana is not equipped to deal with it. Since the roads are not paved and they don't have proper draining systems, the entire place gets flooded and muddy. Like the other day I was unable to go to work because I literally would not be able to make it there because this one river forms across the main road so no car would be able to cross it... It is very frustrated. If I had the money, I would pave all the roads in Ghana. One night, when a taxi was taking me home, kept on complaining/asking me "Why is the road so bad to your place?." At first, I was like "I don't know," but then after about 30 minutes of him asking me this, I finally was fed up and just said "Because of your government." Let's just say he wasn't very happy about it. Maybe it wasn't the best decision in the world, but I was so annoyed and frustrated with him that I just couldn't keep quite.
This past weekend I went to Cape Coast, which was beautiful. First, I went to Kakum National Park, and I did the 7 canopy walks. I was about about 90 feet above the ground on this tiny bridge/walkway, dangling in the air, and I also forgot to mention it kept swaying. It was one of the scariest things I have ever done, but it was so much fun at the same time. We also saw Cape Coast Castle (a slave fort), which was really interesting, but super depressing. It was horrible, but it was nice to finally see something I have learned so much about in school. However, the majority of the time during the trip, I spent it at the Cape Coast Castle Restaurant, which was right on the beach and had most gorgeous view of the ocean! It made me kind of wish I requested to be in Cape Coast. Cape Coast, though, is a lot more touristy, which I like it that Kumasi isn't even though that means that I am constantly being yelled at on the street "Obruni" and being grabbed at and hissed at and kissed at and asked to be there friend and asked for my phone number... haha. I make it sound like such a great time, don't I? No, despite all this (even though I get annoyed), I do like it. I defiantly good not live here though.
Today, I taught the whole entire all by myself. Boy, was it exhausting. I good never be an elementary school teacher full time. By the end of the day, my throat hurt so bad from yelling. It is so nice to now be in the peace and quite, air conditioned, internet cafe after such all of that. Even though it is the rainy season and not that hot compared to how it normally is, it is still hot, but apparently not as hot as back home, which is crazy. I'm in Africa, and it is cooler than it would be if I was home! That is kind of messed up. I also just at big helping of Jollof Rice, which is really spicy rice, so it is nice to just let my parasympathetic nervous system kick in and just rest and digest. I love Jollof Rice by the way. It was one of my favorite local dishes, and it is so cheap. On the street it is only 2 cedis, and you get a piece of chicken, a hard boiled egg, and some spicy sauce to go with it. It is such a great deal. Another one of my favorite dishes is Red Red, which is fried plantain with a bean stew. OMG! It is so good. I am really going to miss it when I go home. I wish Nana would make it ever night. There is one thing I am not going to miss though, fish always having bones. I don't know if you know this, but one of my biggest fears is choking on a fish bone, so every time Nana makes fish I barely eat because I have no know how to debone a fish. I really do miss fish fillets.
Ok, well that is it for now. Here are some pictures! Miss and love everyone!

 Some of the kids in my class

 I was actually pretty good at balanced the stuff on my head! I was able to walk and everything!

 The Canopy Walk Way

 The beach/view from the restraunt

Cape Coast Castle

Heyyyy Everyone! It has been just about a little over three weeks since I arrived in Ghana! I can't believe it! If I had only stayed for a month, I would be coming home this weekend! It is weird because a lot of the volunteers did just stay for month, so they are all leaving me. I'm glad I did decide to stay for 2 months because I can't imagine leaving now. I feel like I have finally overcome the culture shock and have adjusted to the Ghanian lifestyle.

This weekend was pretty uneventful. I just stayed in Kumasi, but I went to a slumber party at one of the other volunteers' houses and watched Harry Potter :) And their host families house is like a mansion for Ghana. OMG! Boy am I jealous of them. They have a big flat skin TV. Running water. A Really nice shower. Actual tile floors. I mean they are so living the life right now. They really have no idea how lucky they are. Don't get me wrong though I really like my host family, but I just sometimes wish it was more centrally located and it had running water. 

I also went to a lake that is pretty close by on Sunday, but it ended up being a real disappointment. The locals there kept hassling the other volunteers and I. They basically told us that because we are white we have to pay more. It was terrible. We stayed for about 30 minutes and then left.

Teaching at the orphanage is getting better and better everyday now. The kids (for the most part) all call me Rachel and no longer "Obruni" (white person), which is nice. And I also feel like I am starting to get through to some of them. We have been learning the colors, and the majority of the kids all have pretty much mastered it. Every time I ask one of them what color is blahblah, and they get it right, I feel so proud, and you can tell they do to because their face just lights up. 

Well, I think my hour is about to end, so I best be going, but I will try to post again soon. I am going to cape coast this weekend, so it will most likely be next week. Love and miss everyone!

 Milli and Me

 Host Brothers

 The Lake

 Obama Biscuits! Apparently Ghanians love Obama. I tried some, but they aren't very good... The funny thing is most Ghanaians are so into American politics. I was talking to two guys at the beach, and they gave me a big lecture about different American presidents. They knew me than me, but I guess that really isn't saying much. 

 Milli and another little boy (I don't know his name)

Me with some other volunteers at a nice restraunt

Finally made it back to the internet cafe! And this time I found it all by myself! I feel like such a pro now :) I navigated myself and some other new volunteers all around downtown Kumasi, and I did not get us loss. I feel so proud of myself right now! By the end of my two months here, I am totally going to be like a native Ghanian.

This past weekend as been pretty eventful. I went to the Monkey sanctuary on Saturday, and it was well worth 4 hour trotro drive there and back. I got to feed wild monkeys right out of my hand! It was the neatest thing. I really badly just wanted to grab one and cuddle it, but the guide said that if I did they would attack... so I decided to scratch that idea. The story behind why these monkeys are so tame and friendly is that a long time a go when the African village that is now inside the sanctuary was built made some sort of pack with them that as long as they treated the monkeys has human beings, the monkeys in return would treat with respect. Or at least it was something a long those lines. So the village within the sanctuary will feed the monkeys breakfast and dinner, and also when ever one of the monkeys dies, they will give it a proper burial. I took tons of pictures, which I will post real soon.

Also this weekend I finally got a roommate. Her name is Charlie, and she is from London. She recently just got back from India and Thailand with Projects Abroad, so she has been all over the place. I am really happy I finally have a roommate, so now I don't have to go everywhere all by myself anymore! 

Also I now have a new favorite at the orphanage. I really ate saying that, but I can't help it. Her name is Milli, and she is about 2 years old (I think). Today, immediately when I arrived, she ran on over to me with this huge grin, wanting me to just hold here all day. In addition, during break, she will always beg me to just pick her, and then literally in about a minute she will fall asleep in my arms. She is the cutest thing ever. 

I have totally given up trying to look decent here. I have just accepted the fact that I will always be covered in a layer of dirt until a get home. Also I forget to mention in my last post that there are no mirrors at my host families house, so every morning when I live, I have no idea what I look like. I think I am going to try and get my hair braided at some point too just because I think it would be a lot easier to deal with and I wouldn't have to wash it must. The problem is bargaining the price for it... I just feel so bad haggling because I know I'm so well off compared to some of these people and I can totally afford it, but I can't let that allow people to take advantage of me I guess.

Well here are a few pictures!

        My Room

 My Bathroom

 Kokrobite Beach

 The kids!

 My Host Family's House

 The monkey Sanctuary

 The Monkey Cemetery

My host Family (Nana, Nathaniel, Jonathan (Both are the American way of spelling them). The only two were were not in the picture were my host dad and the youngest Aiya

Hey everyone! I am alive! I am sorry it has been two weeks, and I haven't posted anything. I have been having trouble getting to an internet cafe. I really have a hard time find my way around Kumasi. There are no street signs, so you have to purely memorize landmarks, etc in order to find your way around. Also I do not think I got a thorough enough orientation of the area, so most of time I am completely lost and have no idea were I am going. The only places I know how to get to are work and home, and even sometimes I end up screwing that up. The other day I thought I was on the right trotro (bus) home, and I ended up in a town 2 hours away! And I was all by myself, and it was at night! Lets just say I had on emotional breakdown on the bus... everyone kept staring at me and then yelling at each other Twi (I'm pretty sure they were talking about me). Luckily, I called my Project's abroad "mentor," and he worked everything out for me so I got home safely. It was an exhausting experience.
Overall though, I am having a good time. It is defiantly a culture shock. I am still getting use to the people, weather, lifestyle, etc. I must say I have new found appreciation for the US, and I do really miss it.
My host family is really nice though. I love my host mom. She is so sweet and caring. She really is like my mom here, and I love it. You better watch out merm! You might end up losing your "best mermer in the world" status. :) My host dad is really nice too, but he is not around that much. They also have 3 little boys, and boy are they a handful. The littlest one, who is 5, is a crazy mess. He doesn't really understand boundaries, but I guess shouldn't be really be surprised by that because most Ghanians don't. The oldest son, who is 9, is obsessed with all my electronics. He is constantly asking to use my laptop, which normally wouldn't be an issue but Ghanians don't wash there hands (not even after they use the bathroom), so when he uses my laptop, it is literally covered in dirt... I also forgot to mention I do not have running water at my house, so I have to use buckets of water to bath and flush a toilet. I must say this is worst part, especially since (I'm sorry if this is too much info) I now have diarrhea like everyday. A huge bucket full of water never seems to really flush it all the way.
The food here is pretty good though. Everything for the most part is really spicy. It is all mostly carbs, starches, and proteins. I really miss green vegetables. When I come home, I just want a big bowl of broccoli. Also, every time I eat I have to try to forget how the are cooking it because I am afraid there is no such thing of sanitary cooking conditions. For instance, they wash there dishes by putting them in a bucket full of soapy water, and that is it... Also the whole not washing your hands things before your cook makes me cringe too.
Volunteering at the orphanage is going well. It is very challenging because of the language barrier and the kids are so violent. However, now that I have been there for a while, they are starting to respect me more. I'm doing more teaching than care work though. I work with a 3-4 year old class (most are orphans but there are a few outsiders). I have to start coming up with lesson plans etc, which is really difficult because I really don't have a background in early-childhood teaching, and the language barrier really does help either. In addition, I have started to become attached to a few of the kids, which I know can not be good. I already want to take home some of them. Am I do young to adopt a child?
So far my favorite part about being here is the traveling part. We went to Kokrobite Beach last weekend, which was gorgeous, and tomorrow I plan on doing a day trip to Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sancturary. Apparently, at this place, the monkeys will eat food right out of your hand! I'm really pumped for it! 
While I better be going, I am meeting some volunteers at a bar to watch the soccer game. Most of the volunteers are from Europe, so they are all really into soccer. Ghanians are crazy about soccer, too. Hopefully, I will be able to get to the internet cafe again on Sunday or later in the week. I will try to bring my laptop next time, so I can post pictures! Miss everyone! And love you all!!!