week 3!

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well. It is hard to believe I am on week 3 already! I am loving it here and cant seem to get enough of the people here! It has already been 3 weeks and it still makes my day to hear the little children yelling yevo yevo and waving and people all around yelling welcome. I love it! This weekend we decided to stay around the homebase to relax. On Saturday we went to town and looked for more batik fabric so I can make lots of gifts for everybody! I have spent way too much money already on souvenirs and gifts and I still have 6 weeks to go! We then played volleyball with the staff. They just put up the volleyball net and the staff and not used to playing it and they can't get enough. I am sure I have already told you this but the staff here at CCS are some of the most amazing people I have ever met! They take such good care of us and are so overprotective and caring I can't help but smile. Sunday I attended a Church of Christ here in Hohoe. At first I was a little skeptical because all of the churches supposedly dance and have several different traditions. However, this church was exactly like the one that I attend in Winchester. The only difference is it lasted for many hours and this woman sitting right beside Dan kept non-discreetly breastfeeding haha. They translated it in Ewe and English and sang songs in both languages. I couldn't help but feel home there and I hope to do some service for the church while I am here. I wanted to go on a missionary trip but was unable to find one that was structured enough or I felt comfortable enough with.

Later on Sunday we went on a hike at Mount Paradise. It is definitely a paradise on Earth. It was a three hour hike in the jungle. We were repelling, rock climbing, using ropes to get up and down the mountains and using a barely there trail. It was incredible and I loved the experience. If we slipped on the rocks or mud our tour guide would yell, no danger, no danger! I believe I will make that my motto. One of the girls slid and fell and hurt herself and while he yelled no danger I couldn't help but think come look at her leg and that slippery cliff we are repelling on with no protective gear and the thought of no danger sounds rather ironic. We saw beautiful scenery and waterfalls and it was so amazing!

One thing that is so different here and I can't seem to get past is the sewage system. Everyone uses the bathroom on the side of the road and just goes wherever they feel like it. The sewage flows through open tunnels through the city. It stands to reason why there are so many illnesses here. I wish that I could assist in building latrines but who knows if they would even use it because they are so used to this lifestyle. As a social worker I was taught not to assume that people would want things altered in their culture and lifestyles. So who am I to come here and build many latrines and expect them to use them! But anways I feel like latrines would help this country drastically. In Nicaragua we built many latrines and there are many less illnesses. It appears to be such a better system. The children don't even know what it means to wash their hands. There are no hygiene habits.

Today teaching at the orphanage was frustrating yet again. I thought that the children knew their addition, subtraction and multiplication tables becaues the first day I came here they did their 1 and 2 times tables. Well today I realized that it was all memorization. I tried to get them to add the zero tables and they could not get it! So now I somehow have to break them out of their memorization habits and teach them. I love these children and I am so glad that I have the opportunity to help them grow and learn. I am so glad I am here for 2 months so they will have some continuity which will hopefully result in major improvements. I will definitely accept advice from teachers or creative people for lesson plans! :)


Well I am heading out for the night. I hope all is well in America. I miss you all and hope all is well. I am sure it is getting cold there and the leaves are turning colors and for once in my life I wouldn't mind a little cold :) It is always 80 and 90 degrees with lots and lots of humidity! I love heat but walking several miles during the hottest part of the day can be difficult. I don't typically sweat that much but here I drip sweat (hot huh!?)

By the way... one of my dear friends from Camp Fantastic who was a fellow co-counselor passed away from a 7 year battle from colon cancer. I am greatly grieved by her death and I ask that you please pray for her family and friends. It makes it harder that I am over here and can't attend her funeral. Well all of you take care and have a great night as Ghanians would say bai bai!!!!