Ok, ok, ok... so you all know that of all the countries in the world that I want to go to... Ghana is not top of the list. I'm sorry Ghana... you don't even make it into the top 10 :( But alas, I am heading your way in less than 37 days!!! It's going to be one heck of an adventure! My dear friend Jennifer (who was the leader for my Habitat trip to Thailand) spoke to me recently about the trip she is leading to Ghana. The words "no electricity, no running water and bring your own mosquito netting" were not quite enough to entice me(surprising isn't it!) :) And then low and behold... a scholarship came my way... yipee!!! I'll admit it... I'm cheap and not about to pay $3600 to sleep on a mat on the floor under my OWN DARN MOSQUITO NETTING! But tell me all I have to pay is airfare and I am ziplining it straight to bing.com/travel to book a plane ticket!!!! (Well, let's be honest here... I hemmed and hawed for quite awhile and then took a vote from friends and loved ones... the verdict? 11 to 1 (sorry mom! :) ). So here I am... getting ready for a second (and unexpected) trip with Habitat for Humanity. I had already planned (and put a deposit) on a Habitat trip to India in December. Heaven forbid I back out of helping Humanity... so I am going to try to do both :) Stubborn and bullheaded?! Who?! Me?! Eh, it's a good cause :)
For the .1% of the population who didn't come for the ride on my Thailand blog... this is where I will write my thoughts, fears, concerns and triumphs. Since we will not have electricity for 8 nights of the trip, I will be beaming up my thoughts through osmosis to all of you. I promise to write when I can and will have LOTS to share when I return. In fact, I have a fun story to tell about getting my immunizations for Ghana last week... I'll save it for the next entry... can't give up all the good stuff in the first entry now can I?!?!
So a bit of the details here... I leave for Ghana on the morning of August 6th and arrive in Ghana the afternoon of the 7th (what a minute?!?!?! Did you just read that right? Yep... takes longer than a day to get there!). I will spend the night in Accra (the capital) with a few of the other teammates. In addition to Jennifer, one of my other teammates from Thailand (Ashley) will be there as well. On Sunday, myself and 11 other team members from all over the world will hop into a vehicle and drive 10 LONG HOURS into the bush of Ghana. The build will be somewhere in the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana (big fat middle of nowhere!). We will work to build the house from Monday to the following Tuesday with one or two days for a break. On Wednesday we take the LONG 10 HOUR (can you tell I am NOT looking forward to this part of the trip!)drive back to Accra where we will spend the night. I fly home late Thursday night and arrive back in LA on Friday morning (I love the time difference coming home!). We will be living in the village where we will be building the house and will walk to work every morning. We will stay 4 people to a home throughout the village. DID I MENTION NO RUNNING WATER AND NO ELECTRICITY?!?!?! Ok, so I am more than a bit uncomfortable at spending 8 days building in hot/humid weather while being slathered up in layers of sunblock and Deet bug spray!!!!!! Well, I guess I could look at it like this... with all that gunk and sweat on my skin... those mosquitos aren't going to want to come anywhere near me! 8 layers of Deet is probably better than one... right?! Did I mention no showers?! And no toilet?! Awesome! I probably wouln't mind though after all the fun halucinations and delusions I am going to have while taking anti-malarial drugs. AWESOME! Aside from missing all the comforts of home, I really and truly am excited and grateful for this opportunity. This is Africa... honest to goodness, real Africa. Chiefs and playing soccer in the field with barefoot children Africa. Kente cloth and warrior tribes Africa. Lions and tigers and bears Africa(ok, maybe I took it a bit too far with that one! :) ). I am looking forward to getting WAY out of my element, and giving my heart to the people that I will work with. Thailand was such a life altering experience, and I have a feeling that this will be one also. There is such power in the heart of a community that gives. Pride in the hearts of those that give. And humility for the things we consider necessities. I'm going to be bringing it back to the basics and my assumption is that once the conveniences of modern life fall away, my relationships, experiences and feelings with the people of the trip will amplify tenfold. There is truth in silence and pleasure in the simplest things in life.
It's going to be one heck of a ride!!! I will try to post later this week and share with you the joys of being vaccinated :)
