Update from the obrunis!!!!

Oh my lord has it really been almost two weeks since i last wrote?!?! Time flies when youre having fun! We made it to Ghana without a bump in the road. Emmanuel was at the airport waiting for us when we got off the plane. We got stuck in traffic in Accra for about an hour an a half until we finally hit the open road. Emmanuel was telling us how the truck had just broken down earlier in the week and on some of those hills I wasnt sure we were going to see the other side but sure enough we made it to Lucky Store (The compound where we stay) Everyone was so excited to see Melissa! It was great how welcoming all the volunteers were. When we arrived there were 2 Canadian 1 other American 4 Germans and 1 from The UK. We got settled in and hit the hay because it was by that time 11pm. The next morning we woke up early had a quick breakfast and headed to the orphanage. Melissa could hardly stand the walk there because she was so excited to see Lucky! Sure enough Mommy Nurse had him waiting for her. He has grown but is still little. We walked up and Mommy Nurse handed me a baby and off we went to tour the school and orphanage. I was so suprised to see how many kids remembered Melissa. They kept asking where Rebekah was too! It was great.

Last Saturday we took a group of kids to the beach. We rented a tro tro which is like a minivan that stops anywhere on the road and takes you places. Its their way of public transportation I guess. Imagine this; A ford windstar van aboout 30 years old, the sliding doors dont close all the way and 23 of us piled in it. Thats right I looked at everyone like they were insane when the tro tro pulled up and the driver expected ALL of us to get in! We had 8 people on the back bench that was meant for 3 people! Safety is totally out of the question when youre in a tro tro. Anyway we made it and had a great time playing with the kids in the water and on the beach and headed back after a long day.

My everyday life is so simple. I wake up eat breakfast at 8:00 head to the orphanage and play with the babies while the older kids are in school then I head back to Lucky Store for lunch, go back for more playing and then dinner at 6. The only thing that is scheduled is the times we eat. Volunteering is not what most people expect. The volunteers pretty much run their own show, we can do pretty much whatever we want when we want to beacuse we are the ones that bring the money. Its kinda sad but thats the way it is.

Dora Dora Dora. Thats all I can say. She is the 4 month old baby girl that has stolen my heart. She is healthy and happy and has the sweetest smile in the entire world. I have her with me all day. She just goes where I go and is for the most part a pretty easy going baby. She has had an ear infection the last few days so they have been kinda rough. At fouir months old she fits perfectly into the newborn clothes we bought at the market for some twins that were premature and are one month old. I have never seen babies as tiny as them. Even the premie clothes we bought swallow up their little tiny bodies.

It has been so much fun getting to know the kids. Its now hard for me to imagine my life without them. They all know my name and I know most of theirs. Its amazing how different they all really are. A part of me aches for them because I want so bad for them to have what I have had growing up but another part of me is so thankful for them being happy with what they have. I honestly dont know how im going to leave this place. Someone will have to drag me kicking and screaming im sure. Everynight after dinner we go over and the second we walk to the orphanage there are 20 kids hanging on every part of our bodies.

Bawjiase is the village that we live in. Every Tuesday and Friday are market days so we went to the Bawjiase one last Friday and the Kasoa one which is about a half hour tro tro ride away last tuesday. The markets are very overwhelming! People screaming and yelling at you beacuse you are the only obruni there and they think you have millions of dollars or just want to touch you! Its crazy, people stare at us where ever we go. Everyone is so friendly and just wants to talk to you. Walking down the street we usually have kids following us yelling at us or wanting to touch our hands yelling "Obruni! Obruni!" I feel like a celebrity but it gets really old really fast.

Today Melissa and I traveled to Accra to eat something other than yams which I now have a passionate hate for. We have been feeling very well and havent gotten sick at all but it seems within the past few days the other volunteers have been deathly sick. Were crossing our fingers and holding our breath that we dont get it next! Im excited about coming to town today because Melissa says that there is a flush toliet where we will eat lunch!!!!!!! What a luxury!!! Our bathroom really isnt that bad, the hot hot days are worse than just the hot days because of the smell but I have gotten quite used to it. The pipes in the shower work sometimes but even then it is a slow trickle of water coming straight from the well and we have to be very careful not to get any of it in our mouths. When the pipe is not working we fetch water from the well and bathe out of a bucket. All laundry is done by hand which really isnt that bad. My worst experience was when I had Captain a 18 month old stay the night with me and I woke up in a puddle of poop that was not sloid in the slightest manner! Ive gotten used to having poop and pee and spit up on me from Dora but waking up in poop and then having to bathe Captian and hand wash my stuff was not a fun task!

Yesterday I took three 11 year old boys with me to the market because I didnt want to go alone and its helpful to have a translator when your buying things. I took Morris, Atta, and Fi Fi. Everything was going great until we walked by a man that said that Morris had hit his bag or something as we walked by. I had no idea what he was saying but he started following us and yelling at the boys. I had no idea what he was saying and the boys said he was saying he was going to slap them! It was the only time I have been afraid since being in Ghana. I had three boys and a poor young obruni was in charge of them and I had this older guys chashing us. I was shouting at the guy to go away and leave us alone and by my reaction I had a sawrm of people helping me and getting the man away from us. I think I ran into the one sour apple in the whole village. Oh well.

Our time is almost up but I do promise to wrtie more! It seems almost impossible to put everything here into words but we are safe, happy and healthy! I hope all is well back home! Until next time!