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!