Free Fall

With my heart pounding, adrenaline coursing through my veins, a countenance of sheer terror plastered on my face, I tip-toed/was pushed to the edge of the platform. My toes slid of the edge – inched closer to freedom, closer to overcoming fear, closer to an experience of a lifetime, but at that moment, all I could think was that it brought me one inch closer to falling.

Honestly, I was absolutely petrified. Waiting for my number to be called I had danced, cried, screamed, gone silent, and everything in between. And then… “Ninety-four! You’re up!” Oh shit. That was the extent of this to-be-Cardinal’s thoughts (pretty insightful – huh?).

And then, I was there on the edge and it was time to sink or swim. I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I was prepared to do this. I could do this. I was totally ready. Excited actually. I tried to flood my brain with positive thoughts with no such luck. I freaked out. Completely lost it and fell back into the two guys who were holding me up. After a solid panic attack, I finally managed to squeak out the words “Okay, just push me!” And push me they did. Terror evaporated into exhilaration. In those few precious moments I found complete stillness, complete silence. Over the river, above the trees, on top of the world – I soared. I know it’s cliché, but it was as if time stood still and I was complete content.

Finally the rope caught and I was returned to reality. All fear had vanished and I had never felt so alive. Even though I was upside down, the view was absolutely phenomenal!

Eventually, I was lifted back up to the bridge where I proceeded to jump for literally the next hour. Before I jumped the phrase “If all your friends walked off a cliff would you do it?” ran through my head. Jumping off a bridge is a ridiculous notion. Silly actually. But it was the most incredible, outrageous, indescribable thing I have ever done. In fact, I might just do it again.

A Glimpse of Ghana

This is Gowin!

  Me and Erica at New Life Orphanage! She was such a sweetheart!

 The gang and some of the kids at New Life Orphanage! (Right to left Mary, Me, Macrina, Alixe, and Kayla in front).

We did a traditional dancing/drumming class on Saturday night. These kids put on quite a show for us and even tried to teach us a dance.

This is Cape Coast Castle. It was very eerie being there and knowing that over twenty million people were held in its dungeons in complete darkness awaiting either death or to be shipped off to a foreign land. 

After being held in the dark dungeons for up to three months, the slaves would pass through this door, deemed "The Door of No Return", as once they went through it they were packed into the ships and gone forever. 

This is right out of the "Door of No Return". It is where all the locals go to fish and is called "White Man's Beach" because for centuries the locals were not allowed on this beach as the "white men" had fenced it off and did not let anyone access it. There were SO many people down there fishing!

This is the Canopy Walk we did on Sunday. At the highest we were around 300 feet off the ground. It was absolutely beautiful! It was so incredibly green and a wonderful day!

The Gang (Mary, Kayla, Billy, Eddy, Alixe, Macrina, and Me) and our guide for the Cape Coast, Eric.

A shack community on the way home from Cape Coast - these communities dominated the entire coastline near Cape Coast and are what most of the communities looked like in Accra as well. 

Saying goodbye to Ghana!

     So far Capetown has been beyond anything I could have imagined! We arrived on Tuesday and on Wednesday we went on the most breath-taking hike/climb! We hiked up Lion's Head in the evening time and got to the time just in time to watch one of the most brilliant sunsets I have ever seen! I'm not posting pictures of it because pictures just cannot capture how beautiful it was! After the sun set you turned around and looked the other way and could see all of Capetown. It was a full moon and the entire city was bright with lights! It made for an unforgettable night!
    We started our building project on Thursday and are working on building a community center for a local township, Vrygrond. A township is an "informal settlement" if you are being politically correct but essentially it is a squatter camp. The townships lack proper sewer systems, water, infrastructure, schools, police force - you name it, they need it. It is an interesting experience working in a township. I get picked up from my house and dropped off right at the work site everyday and then get picked up from the work site and dropped off right back at my house. Instead of kids being in school they are running around the township playing around with the animals and trying to entertain themselves. I'm very excited to be working on this project though because an estimated 1.1 million people live in these townships in Capetown alone and to not see what life is like for them would be a huge disservice to myself. Also, this community center is inspired by a woman who lives in the township, right next to where we work, who wanted something greater for her community! She currently has five kids and is pregnant with her sixth, but all of her kids walk half an hour a day to get to school and her work has already brought a mini library to the area. I will keep you updated on how the manual labor is going!
     Tomorrow we are going to a braai, a barbecue, which should be lots of fun. I will post pictures of Capetown when I get some good ones!

Greetings from Ghana!

     Wow! I don't even know where to start! The last few days have been filled with meeting incredible people, eating delicious Ghanaian food, and kicking off an amazing adventure! After way too many hours of being on a plane I finally arrived in beautiful Ghana! It sounds silly, but Ghana smells like Tanzania. I know Ghana and Tanzania are about as far apart as you can get from one another and still be in Africa, but they do have the same smell. And as soon as I got a whiff of that cross between gasoline, sea air, and sewer - I knew that this is exactly where I am supposed to be.
    Things that would seem absolutely crazy at home have so quickly become the norm. From people walking in the middle of the street selling goods to cars (not pedestrians) having the right of way to drinking water out of a bag (yes-we do drink water of out plastic bags here), it already feels like this is how it has always been.
     We have the most amazing host mother, Ms. Afrifa. She is loud and welcoming and everything you picture in an African host mom. Her husband was a member of the Ghanaian Parliament when Ghana first gained independence and was killed in the coup that overthrew Kwayme Nakruma. She has unbelievable stories! Where we are living, Teshi Nungua, is now swarming with people and has tons of homes. Ms. Afrifa was the first person to move there and said there was nothing in sight from her house to the ocean and for at least a mile around. Every night, we sit on the balcony of her house (getting attacked by mosquitoes) and just enjoy. There is something so simple yet so fulfilling about having good company and good conversation. Ghana has been such a welcomed break from the rat race that is back home.
    While we have our nights free to relax, our days have been jammed pack! Yesterday, we spent all day at New Life Orphanage. While I was only there a day, I already fell in love with one of the little boys. His name is Gowin. He is fourteen years old, the same age as my brother, Michael, and is only about 4'8", roughly ten inches shorter than Michael. Looking at him, you would think he is maybe eight. He acts as if he is about eight as well, but he is so inquisitive! He pulled me around their school showing me all sorts of classrooms and corners and as soon as I pulled out my camera he took off and returned it to me with around one-hundred pictures that hadn't been there previously. Gowin is just so sweet and friendly and I had a great day being able to spend some time chasing him around and tickling him!
       Today, we went to Osu Children's Home and painted the playground. While normally I think about painting as a tedious task volunteers do that usually doesn't serve much purpose, I was surprised by how much painting could actually turn the place around. We arrived at a playground where a few of the "rides" were broken down, everything was rusted, and it looked more dismal than a children's playground should. By the end of the day, all the rides were put back together and the playground was bright shades of red, blue, green and yellow. Generally, a coat of paint doesn't do much. However, these kids go to school, live, eat, sleep, etc., all in this same place and adding some color brings life to the place where they spend all their time and will hopefully brigthen them up as well.
     This weekend, we are heading out to Cape Coast where we will visit the Cape Coast Castle where thousands of slaves were held before they were trafficked overseas when Africa had been colonized. We will also be doing a canopy walk where we will be high above the tree tops looking down at the greenery and wildlife below us and I am super excited for that! On Monday we leave for Capetown which is where the real work begins!

It's official...

Today is the day! (But actually - my plane takes off in twelve short hours!) I will be writing here periodically (hopefully once a week!) to keep friends and family updated on the miracles and mishaps I encounter over the next nine months. My journey begins in Ghana where I will become acquainted with my fellow gap year-ers and will learn what exactly I have gotten myself into. From ther,e I move on to Capetown, South Africa for two months of building (yes, I will be doing manual labor) and working in a Human Rights office. After a quick trip home for Christmas I'm off to the Sacred Valley in Peru where I will be collaborating with Peruvian teachers to create an English curriculum for their students. In Madurai, India I will be splitting my time between working at an orphanage and interning at the Madurai Messenger. My last stop sends me one thousand leagues under the sea in Krabi, Thailand where I will be spending more time under water than on land on a marine conservation project. I cannot thank you all enough for your support and encouragement! It truly means the world to me and I am so blessed to have you all behind me!

Let the adventure begin!