Finally!! My first post from Kpando, Ghana!!!!

Finally! The internet is so so slow here!!! I bought a wireless card to use with my macbook, but it is so slow. I thought I'd have better luck at the internet cafe but that was even worse! So, I am back on my macbook letting stuff load about as fast as if I was using dial up.

Okay enough of that!! I made it to Ghana!!! It took 2 days for me to get to my final destination of Kpando. If you look on a map, Kpando is east of Lake Volta in the Volta region. My journey here consisted of 3 planes to get to Accra, the capital city. When I arrived in Accra, my host, Isaac was waiting for me at the airport. We spent the night in Accra at a beach resort. I'm sure its nice by Ghana standards but it seemed very rustic for me, little did I know. It was so nice on wednesday night when I had jet lag to just lay in bed listening to the waves crashing. Of course we had a power outage so I did not get to shower until the next morning. The beach was very pretty. It was a rocky beach though with huge waves so I think anyone would be crazy to try and swim there.

Once we had some water and coffee on thursday we ran around Accra trying to find me a cell phone and wireless card. Traffic here is awful 24/7!! It is so overpopulated. I thought I knew what a developing country looked like by my travels through Cancun, Cabo San Lucas, and Russia, but I definitely had no clue!!! Its like what you see on TV documentaries, but in person it hits you a thousand times more!! Everywhere you look there are little shacks where people are trying to sell anything they possibly can to make money. As you drive along people run up to your car selling anything. Its sort of nice, you don't have to get out to buy snacks on road trips. Haha! After 2 stops we finally got my cell phone and wireless card and so we got in the tro tro, which is basically a run down 15 passenger van to head to Kpando. By the time we left it was 4 pm. I was already exhausted and still sore from being on a plane so it was probably one of the most uncomfortable drives of my life!! They packed the car full of people and then everyone's stuff. I shouldn't complain too much since my 2 suitcases took up a lot of space. Also, the drivers in Ghana are crazy. My host, Isaac does not drive and so he totally agreed with me and found it so funny when I told him all the drivers are crazy!

We finally arrived to Isaac's house around 8pm that night. I was exhausted both mentally and physically but of course because of the Jet Lag I still didn't sleep well that night. They fed me (in another post, I will go more into the food) and then I tried to fall asleep. I had my first almost breakdown laying bed. Basically, holy sh*t what did I get myself into was going through my head. I am here during the dry season and so bathing and toileting requires filling a bucket with water from 2 huge water drums they have in the house. Its crazy to think that a bucket full of water allows me to shower or flush a toilet. Its really making me think about do I really need to go to the bathroom. Haha! At night, I think I'm just gonna go outside. So you can see how after my first day, I was overwhelmed to say the least. After a few hours of sleep though and a prayer, I realized I can do this and I'm actually enjoying myself right now!

Yesterday was a pretty lazy day. I hung out with Millie, who is Issac's daughter and slept due to my horrible jet lag. Then in the late afternoon, Isaac took me to the hospital so I could see where I'd be working on Monday. Its just a short 5 minute walk from the house. It is definitely rustic, I will post more on that once I've started working there.

Today, I woke up really late, 11 am! I needed my sleep and I'm so happy that I finally got a full nights worth. Millie and I then went to the market and hungout. One of Millie's friends stop by, I got my first marriage proposal of the trip. Haha! I have a feeling many more are to come. Its flattering but don't worry anyone! I may be volunteering but I'm still an expensive girl!!!! I then tried going to the internet cafe which was a waste, and now I'm typing this blog post.

So this is a brief synapse of my trip thus far! Now that I know I just have to work on my patience, I will try and post everyday from my computer. Unfortunately, I don't think I will be able to upload any photos until I get back in March, unless the internet speed miraculously increases!

I love and miss everyone! Please don't be offended if I do not respond to your personal emails in a super timely manner! Things move a lot slower here and I'm going to embrace that!

Love, Kari