ok I know ive had many futile attempts at getting this thing going but for lots of stupid reasons it never seemed to work out...BUT this time will be different- i'm determined!
What better excuse to start with than the fact that tonight I'm flying off to Africa.... Should get in tomorrow at around 7pm their time...not sure what the time difference is there yet but should be about 7 hours ahead im thinking...
how did i end up doing this? well i took an anthropology class last fall and cleo (my yellow lab) came with me and slept under my seat...only a class of about 300 so i figured no one would notice...turns out this girl Julia was in the same class and noticed cleo on the subway one day...we got talking, she ended up being pretty cool and living right around the block from me....turns out she'd been to Ghana the year before and was headed back...long story short she invited me to come visit her and help out with whatever I could and I took her up on it! i've lived In west africa for a year when i was a baby (on the ivory coast) but unfortunately don't remember it at all.
Its weird to think that I've been studying international development in school these past few years and you can work out economic stats, you can follow a bit of a developing country's history and "know" a place... but I dont think anyone will ever really know a place until they visit it for themselves...and even after that you only know a little bit about the part you visited and the time you were there.
I hate feeling so naive and unsure about what to expect but at the same time I find it exhilarating and really exciting!
So what exactly AM I DOING? Visiting. All i know so far is that Julia is volunteering with an organization called "Atidekate"- an organization created by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to assist community development in Ghana, West Africa. I'm going to start out my trip living in Abor, Volta Region, and she just sent me a note that a family located in town has offered to let me stay in their home! (she and her friend alex are going to be living in the local hospital) But im excited as my family apparently has 2 little boys, one of which is 2 years old and is really cute
Ok well I should go finish packing!! Funny to think that half my bag is practically medicine... stuff that before the 18th century wasn't invented and truly held back europeans from exploring this continent more...
If you want to check out more the organization's website is http://www.atidekate.com/ and julia has a blog off one of their links.
Hope you're all doing well!! Remember to take time to smile :) I think I'll be able to check my email from time to time over there so feel free to email me, I'd love to hear what everyone's been up to!!
xox
What better excuse to start with than the fact that tonight I'm flying off to Africa.... Should get in tomorrow at around 7pm their time...not sure what the time difference is there yet but should be about 7 hours ahead im thinking...
how did i end up doing this? well i took an anthropology class last fall and cleo (my yellow lab) came with me and slept under my seat...only a class of about 300 so i figured no one would notice...turns out this girl Julia was in the same class and noticed cleo on the subway one day...we got talking, she ended up being pretty cool and living right around the block from me....turns out she'd been to Ghana the year before and was headed back...long story short she invited me to come visit her and help out with whatever I could and I took her up on it! i've lived In west africa for a year when i was a baby (on the ivory coast) but unfortunately don't remember it at all.
Its weird to think that I've been studying international development in school these past few years and you can work out economic stats, you can follow a bit of a developing country's history and "know" a place... but I dont think anyone will ever really know a place until they visit it for themselves...and even after that you only know a little bit about the part you visited and the time you were there.
I hate feeling so naive and unsure about what to expect but at the same time I find it exhilarating and really exciting!
So what exactly AM I DOING? Visiting. All i know so far is that Julia is volunteering with an organization called "Atidekate"- an organization created by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers to assist community development in Ghana, West Africa. I'm going to start out my trip living in Abor, Volta Region, and she just sent me a note that a family located in town has offered to let me stay in their home! (she and her friend alex are going to be living in the local hospital) But im excited as my family apparently has 2 little boys, one of which is 2 years old and is really cute
Ok well I should go finish packing!! Funny to think that half my bag is practically medicine... stuff that before the 18th century wasn't invented and truly held back europeans from exploring this continent more...
If you want to check out more the organization's website is http://www.atidekate.com/ and julia has a blog off one of their links.
Hope you're all doing well!! Remember to take time to smile :) I think I'll be able to check my email from time to time over there so feel free to email me, I'd love to hear what everyone's been up to!!
xox
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