good and the bad. at least no ugly.

So good news, bad news…

Good news: Guess who is officially (I say officially because I’ve been saying this for about three months, but now I have ticket confirmation!) coming home in September for a good 20 days?! Hell to the YEAH!!! (btw, its me that’s coming home in case anyone was confused.) Ahhhh, I’m like so excited… every time I think about how close September is I almost want to poop my pants!  Then every time I start to think about all the amazing food, liquor, and people I will get to see and eat my head starts to feel like its going to explode.

Bad news:  Lola is back.  /:  After a long day of traveling back to Ntonso, I’m walking past my neighbors house and she stops me to say that my cat is at her house.  (I kinda knew that it was there, but hoped that they would just take the cat in as their own as they have like 15 others… guess that didn’t work out so well.)  So now the cat is back, still annoying and loud as when it first left… maybe there is hope for me as a mother after all.  (in the sense that my children will return to me given that someone else doesn’t want them. Joke.)

 Good news: Right now we are in the rainy season.  I love the rain here in Ghana... the air is cool, everyone is in hiding so its quiet and peaceful, I get my water, when we are lucky there is some crazy lightning that strikes down, but mostly because it gives me a reason to heat up water and take a nice hot bath and I don’t go to sleep sweating.  (double score if I don’t sweat while eating)  Nothing usually gets accomplished when it rains (because apparently Ghanaians melt in the rain) but well, somehow its okay.  At least they don’t have depression right?!

Good news:  I can chop lola now!! 

Bad news:  The rain brings mosquitos paaaaa!! (pa=plenty)

Good news:  The girl that come to visit me during her Vision Quest is still in Ghana, and didn’t die (or get the shits) from my cooking or from chopping in town.  Apparently they’ve already had 3 or so people terminate their service and return to America.  (we actually made really gooood stir fry one night, and I’ve been craving it every night since then. And also banana pancakes… soooo YUM!)  

Bad news: my vision quester said I sometimes talked funny to her.  So here, we talk Ghanaian English… and it sounds retarded as hell, and I don’t like talking to Ghanaians in Ghanaian English, but I guess sometimes I can’t help it.  It is even stupider when Americans talk to other Americans in Ghanaian English.  I think I’ve started talking to my gma and gpa in Ghanaian English… but I’m going to justify that by saying the connection is really bad at times and well, they’re a bit hard of hearing.

Good news:  So Peace Corps gives you this amazing book called where there is no doctor, and basically if you feel like something is wrong with you, you look up your symptoms and try to figure out what you have.  I recently determined that I had giardia /: and I cured it, and now I think that I can definitely go back to America and become a doctor. 

Good news: i lied when i said ALL my pictures got delete... just all my cool fun pictures got deleted, booo. ): 

this is elimina castle, one of the slave castles that were built by the portugese. it was first used as a trade settlement but then it got used to traffic slaves.

here is a room that they had to live in before getting sent away. those three small windows were the only source of light they had.

so here is what it looks like with the light turned on... but of course back then, there was no lights.

the door of no return... no explanation need. ):

 Twi word of the day:  ko bra y (go and come)

Adinkra Symbol of the day:

SESA WORUBAN

"I change or transform my life"

symbol of life transformation

This symbol combines two separate adinkra symbols, the "Morning Star" which can mean a new start to the day, placed inside the wheel, representing rotation or independent movement.

 

Shout Out: dustin for helping me, you da best! And to my favorite two people in the world… my mama and dada!!!