We Gonna Party Like It's Yo Birthday

To add to the month's festivities, Supe decided to have a birthday. Well, it was decided about 25 years ago, but it was conveniently timed and allowed us to keep partying. Chelsey and I hit up the market on Tuesday and bought a bootleg DVD for a present, then went over to the senior missionary couple's house to bake a cake on Wednesday. It was fun to be baking again, and all of us talked the whole time it was baking. Their names are Elder and Sister Dalton, from Provo. They are awesome.



We all had responsibilities in the evening, so we did a little lunch party. We covered the chocolate (pudding) cake with some knock-off Nutella, and it turned out fantastic. Nick even bought FanIce so we could have cake and ice cream. It was every American's dream. Then Chelsey and I gave Supe the present (wrapped in old class handouts and stapled shut) and the peasants rejoiced. (just a quote... I didn't mean for that to sound unPC or anything)

And later that evening a new sport was born. After a random discussion on real estate, the idea was presented that the hall in our house would make an excellent bowling lane. Aaron and I have the tendency to build on eachother's ideas... So 10 mins later we had about an inch of water in the bottom of 10 1 liter waterbottles and Aaron was digging out a soccer ball. Oh yeah. African foot-bowl was born.



Basically we just took turns throwing the soccer ball down the hall at the neatly set up "pins" while trying not to make too much noise. (It was like 10 pm at this point.) It was random, yet quite satisfying and entertaining. We played at least six frames before calling it a night, but I ended with a strike. It was pretty epic.

You wear those shoes and I will wear that dress

So Chelsey and I got dresses! Well actually we bought the fabric at a market in Accra, then had them made here in Abomosu, but yes, we are almost true Ghanaians now. After quite a few alterations (and an awkward change in a little shack with no door) we got to take the dresses home and wear them to church on Sunday. We received quite the reaction. Everyone was quite pleased with our purchases. And then we proceeded to our photoshoot.

My Favorite pic of the day:


Just my dress:

Baby, You're a Firework!

Well, happy birthday America. I was definitely sorry that I missed it this year. It's funny how you don't even realize how much you love something till you miss it. I discovered just how much I love the 4th of July! It's an extremely fun holiday.

Anyway, I was slightly bummed due to the fact that I was missing out on all the fun when I decided to make some fun myself. I could tell that the other interns were feeling a bit of a drag as well, so I hatched a plan.

Every Independence Day celebration needs certain things:

fireworks, parades, barbeques, and patriotism.

We had miraculously had excellent corn on the cob at dinner, so I considered that the barbeque portion of the evening (unbeknownst to the rest of the group... We did think it was conveniently timed though). I also knew that I had a snowball's chance in Ghana of finding fireworks at the Abomosu market, so I got working on the next best thing: solitare. Not that the game itself is a requisite substitute for patriotic festivities, but the result of a win is...

So I called the rest of the group into the living room and got working on Solitaire. I have been honing my Solitaire skills lately, so I didn't think it would take me long. Ironically, it took me forever. But luckily the other interns are patient-ish and I soon had Miley Cyrus full blast while I conquered a Solitaire game and prepared for my parade.

And then I remembered that Solitaire just drops and shatters the cards instead of congratulatory fireworks. All that hard work down the drain. But I carried on with my parade anyway, and marched back and forth across the living room tossing Obama biscuits to the masses (or four other interns... I had to work with what I had). Obama biscuits are these small packages of cracker things with Obama's picture on it and the most patriotic thing I could access at the time.

Luckily I did remember that Mahjong celebrates with fireworks after a successful finish, so I slayed the game (first try, I'm getting really good at that one) and we entertained ourselves with a quick fireworks finale.

It wasn't the most traditional holiday observance, but we made do here in our little town in Africa...

I was up so high, lookin' down at the sky, don't let me fall

I'm ironically afraid of heights for a tall person. Therefore, this next post may surprise you... It surprised me.

During our stay in Cape Coast, we heard about a national forest that was nearby. After doing a little more research, we discovered it's called Kakum National Park and that they offered a canopy walk experience. Therefore, we adventurous people hailed a taxi and rode about 30 km out to "virgin rainforest" to discover what we could. And what we discovered was virgin awesomeness.

We paid our entry fees and joined a group. The group was mostly packed with students; apparently we had come during a field trip. Best. Field trip. Ever. We all took a little hike and listened to a short explanation of the park and how the canopy walk was built. Don't ask me to remember much - it wasn't my field trip. Then we got in a big line and ascended some stairs to start our adventure in the air.



The entire walk was thrilling and terrifying. The surroundings were awesome and the view phenomenal. Yet, when you're 100 ft above the forest floor, your walk isn't that stable. I think I would have been fine, except for the shakiness of the walkway. So basically I was the constraint in our little group, since my legs seemed to lock up slightly when each time I raised one foot, the other shook... Yikes.



Regardless of my terror, I made it across all the walkways (there were about six), and it was awesome. Definitely an excellent addition to my summer adventures!

If you would know your history, then you would know where you're coming from

So I went on a little trip. "But Melody, aren't you already on a trip?" some of you may ask. To those questioners I would respond, "I am doing lots of hard work, just because it happens to be in a beautiful place does not make it a vacation." Also I really like the thought of a vacation from your vacation. Sweet.
Anyway, we spend a few days in Accra, going to the temple and doing massive amounts of shopping (see last post), then we headed off to Cape Coast. About three hours west of Accra, Cape Coast is the heart of Ghana's tourism. Or so the website tells me. I did see significantly more white people while I was there though, so it must have been right.


I had a cool experience while I was there. One of the first days there, we wanted to hit the beach, a feat we thought would be fairly simple in a tourist area with the word "coast" in the name. In a case of dramatic irony, we spent over 4 hours wandering the greater part of both Cape Coast and Elmina looking for a decent beach that had sand and no death rocks 16 feet out. Picky American tourists, I know. After our wanderings, I was trying to keep a good attitude, but I lost it somewhere between the pig eating garbage and two men defecating on my beach. Lovely.
When I finally had reached my limit, I decided I was going to take solace in a castle. I think I was a princess in another life. This wasn't any castle though; it had been used as a slave outpost for a few hundred years. God definitely knew that I needed some perspective and also exactly how to give it to me. As we stood in the old holding cells where they kept hundreds of men and women for months at a time, my annoyances paled in comparison. I was so worried about some trash on my beach during a vacation, when these people didn't even know if they'd survive the journey to a place where they would be worked like animals.


I love historical visits on my trips, and this one was particularly timely. I'm so glad for the reality check. It was definitely one of those things that made me stop to re-evaluate my life.

I Love to See the Temple

I am just going to preface this post with saying that the church never ceases to amaze me. I have been so impressed with not only the effect that it has on these faithful saints in all areas in Ghana/the world, but also with its orderliness and the automatic relationships it makes. It has opened so many doors to us not only in Abomosu, Asunafo, and Sankubenase, but also in Accra. We make a contact with one person in the church, and bam, suddenly we have the numbers to the Branch President, the District President, and the senior missionary couple, who then hooks us up with things like buildings to meet in and a projector. I don’t know what we would do without the help of the church.
But the main purpose of this post is to write about how awesome the temple is. We got to Accra on Saturday, so we were able to go to church on Sunday. The building where Peggy, Stephen’s daughter, attends is actually right on the temple grounds. Church is awesome, but it adds a whole other dimension to your church-going experience when you can see the temple each time you step out of a room.


Then on Tuesday, we were able to attend the temple. The guys in our group left in the morning to do a session, and we girls caught up with them later to do baptisms. It was awesome how things were just the same as in the Logan temple. Although their baptistry was prettier… I just have a small love affair with stained glass windows, and there was a large stained glass window on one side of the room, with the afternoon sun shining through it… It was amazing.


We definitely received blessings from doing temple work. The spiritual boost was much needed. It has been a while since I did baptisms, and I had forgotten how much I love it. And for the first time in six weeks, I used a water-heated, stand-up shower! If there was any doubt before as to how much I loved the church before that moment, it was blasted away by that sweet, warm water. I could have stayed in there for hours, but sadly Chelsey was done with baptisms much too quickly. But that heavenly shower will stay in my memory for probably at least another six weeks till I can have hot-water, stand-up showers regularly again. It’s amazing what you come to appreciate when it’s gone from your life.

Between the shower of water and of the Spirit, I am definitely ready to conquer the second half of my stay here in Ghana.

Money, Money, Money

Well, we finally gave our first loans! It’s been quite the process, but we were finally able to approve loans for five men in Asunafo. They all came to the majority of our classes last month and were great students. After working through their business plans and pricing with them, we allowed them to form a “pod,” and then Supe and I went to the bank.


As it turned out, going to the bank was the hardest step in that process… The bank we have our account at is actually in Kwabeng, a town about 30 minutes away from Abomosu. Since Joey and Spencer opened the account last year, Supe and I couldn’t just waltz in and withdraw, even if we are the only other obronis trying to bank with them. Luckily Stephen is on the account, so if he was there, he could approve the withdrawal. Stephen was super busy this week with some World Joy guests (another NGO that helps build schools and health clinics in the area). So we worked out a system where Supe, Nkansa, and I would meet Stephen and a bank employee in Ekorso (a town about halfway in between), Stephen would sign a paper, then the rest of us would continue on to the bank and get the money!
Easier said than done…
Supe, Nkansa, and I were in place at our appointed time… Stephen was supposed to come just after 11, and we weren’t sure what the status of the bank employee was. As the time rounded noon, with no sign of either of them and no phone service to call anyone, we were about to give up hope and call a cab. Luckily Stephen pulled up just as we had decided to go. But when we met him, he wanted to know where the paper was. We were supposed to go get it from Kwabeng… Hooray for misunderstandings. So we rode off on our bumpy way to go get the paper, and got to the bank just in time for the skies to let loose their fury. Hooray for the rainy season. As we were waiting in the bank, someone got a call from Stephen that he was just going to come meet us there, since his plans with World Joy were rained out. Hooray for the rainy season (no sarcasm this time)!
After getting everything worked out with the bank (Stephen taught the GM, so it pays to know Stephen), we crammed the four of us (and 2,400 GHC in a Ziploc baggie) into the back of a taxi and headed home.
The next morning we met with the loan recipients. They were really excited to finally be able to get started on their projects. Twelve hundred of the cedis went to the men in back (Douglas, Moses, and Benjamin). They each got 400 to work together on a fish farm, where they will have about 2,000 tilapia and mad fish in about six months’ time. The two in front (George and Sampson) are cocoa farmers and they will use 550 GHC each to buy fertilizers and insecticides that will enable them to double their yield. I told them it was just an investment into my favorite addiction. These are great guys will benefit so much from these loans.


I’m so excited that we finally have started to do what we came here to do. As awesome and as necessary as teaching classes is, it is really rewarding to finally be doing something that will really make such a big difference in their lives. I’m excited to hear about their progress and see how this will affect their lives.



P.S. While we were waiting in Ekorso, we stumbled upon this school. Apparently I'm not as far from home as I thought I was... I guess Sky View actually raised the funds to build this school the year after I left. Pretty cool!

Don't Go Chasin Waterfalls

Since we've been working hard and sticking in Abomosu (and Asunafo), the fellow interns and I decided we deserved an adventure. We had heard there are some waterfalls in the area, so we decided that should be perfect.
The day started with rain. Lots of rain. And power outages. Lots of power outages. (Usually it just goes out for long amounts of time, but it just wouldn't die, much to our benefit.) We waited out the rain and luckily it had stopped by the time we left (about 10:30). It was quite the trek.
(All times are approximate)
10:30 - 10:45: Walk into town
10:45 - 10:50: Listen to the cab drivers argue about who gets to drive us and pile five of us into the small cab
10:50 - 12:00: Drive over countless potholes to Anyiam
12:00 - 12:05: Get out of the cab, pay the taxi driver, then pile back in when he realizes that we are going to the waterfalls and he can take us
12:05 - 12:35: Drive on dirt roads till we reach the base of the hike, then get number of driver so he can come pick us up
12:35 - 12:36: Take a moment to let yourself revel in the fact that you are in the middle of a freaking African rainforest
12:36 - 1:15: Hike up a little, wet, somewhat steep trail while not using any of the numerous trees for balance because chances are, they are covered in bugs or moss
1:15 - 1:16: Stand and gape at the awesome waterfall
1:16 - 1:37: Take pictures of said waterfall
1:38 - 2:45: Play in said waterfall and surrounding areas
2:45 - 3:05: Hike back down the slippery slope in wet clothes
3:05 - 3:07: Eat a granola bar while a fellow intern calls the taxi driver
3:07 - 3:15: Wait for said taxi driver
3:15 - 3:25: Wait for said taxi driver while eating plantain chips
3:25 - 3:49: Give up waiting for taxi driver and start walking
3:50 - 5:12: Get picked up by the late taxi driver and drive back to Abomosu
Later that evening: Write a blog post about your adventure and post lots of awesome pictures so all your friends and family will be jealous

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa

Well, the rainy season is definitely here in full swing. You can't tell from the above picture, but I'm actually soaking wet and only halfway to Asanafo. It really wouldn't be so bad, because it makes it about 15 degrees cooler, but it also makes the already iffy electricity really unreliable. Out of the past four days, we have had the power out for a few hours each of the four days. Hooray for African infrastructure.

But luckily the daily power outage didn't interfere with class today. It was our third session in Asanafo (where Supe and I teach) and the third-ish class in Abomosu (Aaron and Chelsey teach a repeat class every Wednesday and Friday, so we are on the same lesson). Anyway, I love the people we are teaching. They are very engaged and really want to learn. Plus so many of them are really excited about their business ideas. All they need is a chance.

We have also been catching up with previous loan recipients. On Saturday we went to Asoum to visit Esther. She started a restaurant kiosk and catering service here in Abomosu, and she did so well that she paid back the loan in two months and moved to Asoum, a bigger city. We went to visit her to follow up on how the business was doing and see her financial records. Unfortunately, she hasn't kept good records, but it allowed us to teach her a simple method.


Sorry for the short post, I'll try to blog more later when I have more electricity.

I Whip My Hurr

Or actually, now I don't. I went native. Well, as native as purple cornrows makes me. Which actually turns out to be quite a bit. That's right, I gots my hurr did. And it's awesome. Now, before you freak out Mom, since I know you and Aubrey are the only ones reading this, they aren't that bright of purple. More of a dark purple, which only seems bright at the ends or in the light.
Let me tell the whole story. My hair has been driving me crazy. It has grown to be lusciously long and smooth, which is great in many other places besides Ghana. Instead I have simply been fed up with the fact that hair down = nasty sweaty neck and hair up means some variation on the same hairstyle everyday. So I guess I just opted for the exact same hairstyle every day for a month. I won't explain the reasoning behind it, because honestly, there wasn't much.
So after a few days of considering, I decided to have Margaret take me into town and show me the greatest "beauty saloon" in town. She happily complied, and Vida came with.
It wasn't the first time I've done something somewhat drastic with my hair on a whim. Probably won't be the last.
I sat in the patio chair outside the shop and waited as Margaret explained that the obroni wanted obibini hair. After some consideration, I was informed that my hair was too "slippery" for just natural braids, something I'd actually been quite proud of in the past, and that I would need some artificial hair braided in as well. I was then presented with an assortment of hair in a large array of colors. My eye fell naturally on the pink, but after some discouragement from Vida and Margaret, I remembered that I was on school business, and instead chose the purple. Purple is much more professional.


With no direction from me or Vida, the hairdresser got to work. She had her pick, her hands, and a girl to hand her clumps of fake hair, and she was set. The crowd around the shop was in interesting mix. There were about 5 girls in yellow and green uniforms doing odd jobs, until it got busy enough for them to have work to do as well. Then there was me and Vida. Other customers came and went, along with passers-by who all needed to come and give their opinion on everyone's styles. Luckily I kept getting unsolicited reinforcement, which is what every girl needs when they do something spontaneous with their hair.


The process was slow going, but tedious. It only hurt when she would get to the little hairs and insist on pulling them all into the braid. I may have cried, but I'm pretty sure it was just watery eyes. The strangest part of the process was when one of the girls brought over a boiling pot of water. I didn't realize it was for my head until I felt it being poured over the newly fake ends of my hair. And by felt I mean I sensed the steam and intense heat on my back, through the bowl and my shirt. But I'm pretty sure it was to seal off the ends of my hair, so the braids stayed braided. Then she put in some gold accents to finish it off, and I was finished.

As we walked home, Vida cheerfully translated the shouting as we walked home. The benefit of this was that I learned that not all of the yelling is bad. In fact, most of them were quite complimentary. So I took that as a sign that my purple cornrows are, in fact, bringing me a hair closer to being African.

Gotta Get Down on Friday

So last Friday was an awesome day. It started off fairly early - right after breakfast we headed into town to volunteer at the local health clinic. We definitely have some spare time, and so we want to do some good around the community. Although we don't have any technical skills in the health profession, I'm pretty sure we still helped. After a small amount of time wandering, each of us obronis were snatched up by a nurse and given a job. I'm not sure what the boys were doing, but Chelsey and I were in charge of checking people in. They had to go through one checkpoint first, to get their insurance information, then they went to Chelsey. She was in charge of writing their names in a register and finding their patient number, then retrieving their records. Then they came to me and Loretta, our nurse in charge of our station.
They would hand me their records (a little book with lots of space to write), then Loretta would take their blood pressure, pulse, temperature, weight, and symptoms. She would translate, and I would record them and send the books off to the doctor. It seemed that many people had similar symptoms, and I picked up a few of the words. Mostly the word for headache. (Which sounds a lot like Nietzsche, which is also equivalent to headache for me...) In the few hours we were there, we checked in about 70 people, ranging in age from 3 months to 86 years. They came for a whole host of things, from yearly checkups, or "reviews," to one lady who had had a miscarriage.
While we were there, an emergency case came in as well. About 4 guys rolled up in a red sedan, and they brought one of them up to the clinic over their shoulder. As I found out from Loretta later, he'd had a stroke, and would probably be paralyzed on his left side. He wasn't even old, only in his 20s or 30s. (It's really hard to guess how old people are here.)
Speaking of guessing ages, Loretta seemed to be astonished that I am only 21. She laughed out loud before telling me that she thought I was 45. Yes folks, 45. In an attempt to soothe my poor bruised ego, I asked her how old she thought Chelsey was. She guessed 19 without a second thought. She was exactly right. I am going to blame her guess on my height, since she also assumed I was in the military "because of my stature." Great, so now I'm white, freakishly tall, and I look old. Thank you Ghana, for the sucker punch to the gut of my self-confidence.
Luckily that evening was a much more uplifting time. We got to attend a baptism! The family is really cute. There are the parents and a son and a daughter. All of them were dressed in their Sunday best and waiting with the missionaries. Unfortunately not a lot of people came, but there were about 10 people in total there to support. The services were short but pleasant. There was a sweet Spirit in that church house in Abomosu. Afterward we all pitched in and cleaned up the church. It basically consisted of all of us setting up the chairs and sweeping the dirt out. It was great to be able to have helped in some way though.
Life is good in Ghana. More to come soon.

Welcome to the Jungle!

Welcome to the jungle, we take it day by day!

We've got everything you want:

Exotic Wildlife



Lush Tropical Plants





Miles of Open Road



Fresh Air Facilities

Welcome, Welcome, Sabbath Morning

First Sabbath in Africa! A list of things I wish I would have had today:
1. A personal hymn book
2. An English – Twi dictionary
3. Flat church shoes
4. A notification on Facebook
Well, I woke up fairly early and “showered” to get ready for church. Honestly, Chelsey and I are super lucky with our accommodations. We only have to share the bathroom between the two of us. The fact that we have a bathroom and running water is awesome. But the shower has proven tricky, as it is just a bathtub with a handheld showerhead. It takes a lot of squatting and awkward rinsing, but it’s effective. After the average breakfast of hot cereal, eggs, and bread, George walked with us to church. The building here is actually really nice. It has a chapel and about six little meeting rooms. It also has some offices, a baptismal font, and a supply closet. When we got there, one of the counselors in the branch presidency welcomed us. I was third in line, Aaron was fourth. When we sat down, Aaron informed me I was going to say the closing prayer. It took a little convincing to assure me that he wasn’t kidding.
Throughout the meeting, more and more people came. By the end of sacrament meeting, there were probably around 80 people there. They announced a baptism on Friday, gave a certificate to another new member, and announced a missionary’s call to Nigeria. It’s a great little branch, full of excitement and growth. The counselor who welcomed us also conducted. He spoke mostly in English, but would repeat the important things in Twi for emphasis.
After the sacrament, there were two “youth speakers.” The first one had to only be 7 or 8, and he was adorable. He stood up, recited a scripture in Luke, and sat down. The next was one of the boys that passed the sacrament. His didn’t last much longer than the first one. It was mostly just a bearing of testimonies. Then a lady spoke that was apparently new to the ward. She spoke mostly in Twi, I’m pretty sure, but something happened that made everyone laugh. I think she didn’t speak very good Twi, so she may have confused some words.
We sang a rest hymn. All of the songs we sang a cappella. They didn’t even have any kind of piano, but had a chorister who would sing the first line of the song to get us all in the same key, then we sang. They surprisingly had quite a few hymn books in the chapel, but we didn’t have our own in Relief Society, and they didn’t sing a song we recognized. So I kind of just hummed along. It was great. The last speaker also spoke mostly in Twi, but the Spirit was definitely there in the meeting. I love the Gospel, and am so glad that it is strong in the hearts of these amazing people in Abomosu.
The Sunday School teacher was a really sweet guy. I was able to follow most of the lesson, since he would write on the board and read out of the book in English, then they would discuss in Twi. It’s such a mesh of both languages, but it’s beautiful. I’m trying to pick up what I can, but it’s so different from everything I’m used to. Luckily in Relief Society, where the ladies almost exclusively spoke Twi, we had Mary, a girl who is actually also living with the Abus for a week or so. She translated occasionally, probably when Chelsey’s and my face started looking ridiculous.
We met a few more people after church and then walked home with George, Mary, Vivienne, and Augustina. Mary, 22, is from Accra and is a niece (I think) of the Abus. She is just staying for a while to visit. Vivienne is 20 and is here on break from studying nursing in Kumasi. I didn’t get to talk to Augustina much, but she’s 16 and seems very sweet.
The rest of the day was passed incredibly lazily. I mostly read and slept. Hooray for Sunday naps! Especially here, where it is so hot. So maybe I should call them Sunday siestas. Dinner was fantastic. When Joey warned me that everything here is one flavor, I thought it would be bland. Actually, it’s pretty spicy and reminds me of curry. In other words, I love it! I was so worried I wouldn’t taste spicy for months. We had black-eyed peas in the sauce over fried plantains. So yummy! I’m excited for Margaret to get back so she can teach us how to cook. I want to be able to make this food later.
We wrapped up a lazy day with watching Casablanca. An excellent choice anytime, especially while one is in Africa, I think. Tomorrow we start meeting with past loan recipients and we’re also going to go check on the bank in Kwabeng. It should be great!

This One's for Africa!

I finally made it to Abomosu! It took months of planning and days of traveling, but so far, it’s definitely been worth it. The journey was pretty long though. The first flight from Salt Lake to Minneapolis went by smoothly. I read the Royal Wedding edition of Time Magazine (Thanks, Logan!) and talked to the couple sitting next to me. They were on their way home from a vacation in California. That was my first real brush with a true Wiscansan accent. If I could type in an accent here, I would.
We had practically no layover there, and got on our plane to Amsterdam. Flanked by two Mac-wielding Dutchmen, I choose sleep this time. I only woke up for the occasional meal and glance of Reese Witherspoon or Vince Vaughn, which is too bad, since my middle seat in the second row back from the TV put me in prime movie-watching position. My second trip to the land of tulips and Van Gogh was unfortunately short. There was only enough time to look out the windows and wish I was instead strolling along a canal, go through another round of security measures, and then have reality hit me that I was soon to be a minority. The plane was huge, and I could count on my fingers the white people that were in my group. My reality check had not bounced.
Although six hours, I almost thought my plane ride wasn’t long enough. It was my first flight with personal screens, and I easily busied myself with movies and TV galore. I glutted on True Grit, Wall Street 2, The Office, Glee, and Modern Family. I justified with the fact that I probably wouldn’t see this much technology in months. I probably wouldn’t make a good missionary.
Just walking onto the tarmac was signal enough that I was not in Utah anymore. The night air was hotter than the last few days of Utah weather added together. And it’s okay that I can’t drink the water here, because I sure can breathe it. But I morbidly like the humidity. There’s something comforting about the fact that all the lotion and moisturizer I packed was a waste of time. Stephen Abu, Jr and his wife and kids (a three year old girl named Rhea and a two year old boy named Kobe) picked us up. He and his wife are USU alumni and great people. Since our flight got in after 9 pm, they took us back to their house to stay the night. Little did we know this meant about an hour of driving in a giant van on the worst roads I’ve ever seen in my life. Never in my life have I wanted a jeep with giant mud tires more. I could have had a grand time in those puddles.
We woke up early and got ready for another few hours in a car. We got back to Accra and picked up supplies: a large stock of Oreo’s and Ramen Noodles (amid other groceries), a SIM card for our phones, and an internet modem. Then we had to wait, since Stephen found two nails in the car tire. Luckily the mall there was pretty cool. (Actually better than the CV mall, we all agreed.) Then we were on our bumpy way.
One of my favorite sights so far has been the names of the shops. Everyone here is vibrantly religious, so the shops so nicely reflect that, with names like Thy Will Haircut, Our Redeemer Lives Barbershop, I Trust God Spare Parts, and By His Grace It Shall Be Well Mechanic Shop. Gospel reminders and scriptures are also written in the back of almost all the cars. It’s fun and definitely brings a smile to my face.



About halfway through our drive, another tire blew. Stephen was pretty ticked, but after about an hour of work, six people helping, and an additional 20 watching, they got the spare on. It was quite the pit stop. The foliage here is gorgeous. Everything is super lush, with orange trees and palm trees abounding. We were practically driving through jungle, and then a town would pop up and be gone as quickly as it came.



After a long day of driving, we finally made it to Abomosu about 5 pm. The town is bustling with people and goats. I picture it about the size of Smithfield, but in a third-world country and Main Street is the only paved road. …Paved being a loose definition... After dumping our bags at Stephen Abu Sr.’s house, eating a quick dinner, and saying goodbye to them (they had to go to Accra for a funeral), we took a tour around the town. Since it was evening, the streets were lined with people trying to catch a cool breeze. As we walked, the kids would smile, point, and yell “Abrone!” (Pronounced like “a brownie!” without the ow sound, but it means quite the opposite. Basically they were pointing out the fact that we were white.) Which we would then wave to, and so it quickly felt like a parade. Don’t worry; I’m totally prepared for parade waves. And I thought I was going to miss Black and White Days.
The sun set as we walked back home, and I noticed the bugs were quite noisy. And then I saw a firefly. YES A FIREFLY! Make that one seen in my entire life. Well, after that walk, you can make it about a hundred. But anyway, it was magical. It’s as close as the real world will ever come to looking like Pandora.
Well, the summer is off to an excellent start! I don’t know how consistent I’ll be with this blog (as you can tell by my sad try at that 30 day challenge… Oops), but I’ll attempt to keep it updated. It’s not like I have an African jungle to explore or anything.

Day Seven: Guide Me To Thee

The Gospel has definitely had the greatest influence in my life. It affects so many of my choices and actions. I'm so grateful for its guidance and blessings in my life. I don't know where I would be without it.

Day Six: Save the World

Ahh, Superman, aka Clark Kent, aka Tom Welling



This man will always have a special place in my heart. I'm not sure why he caught my particular attention, but who wouldn't love a man who can lift millions of pounds, stop a bullet, and look amazing in the process. I'll be his kryptonite anytime.

Day Five: Memory Lane

In the Swiss Alps. It was such a beautiful place and such an amazing trip!

Day Four... Or So...

Well as you can tell from the promptness of my blog posts, I'm a bit of a procrastinator... Ok a huge procrastinator. Don't get me wrong, when I have a due date, I usually meet it. Unfortunately for things like this blog, when there's not a due date forcing me to get it done, I push it back until I have time. I also planned a daily challenge for possibly the worst time of my year. The end of Spring semester always results in a complete lack of motivation and increase of distractions. One more week... I can do it.

Day Three: Proof I Have Friends

From left:
Brent
Me
Logan
Murph
Andi

Oh the crew. I seriously love these people so much. Here we are on the cruise we went on for Spring Break.

Day Two: Picture of You

One of the most recent pictures of me. Hooray HP7.1!

I'm already a day behind... This may be foreshadowing... But diving in...

15 Things About Me:
1. I am a champion sleeper. I can and will sleep anywhere, anytime.
2. I've also been known to sleepwalk and sleeptalk during the above times...
3. I have a highly diverse music library. I love everything from Elvis to Rise Against and many things in between. I agree with Victor Hugo when he said: "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent."
4. I prefer not wearing shoes. I like buying them, just not wearing them.
5. Most of the time, I eat like a five year old. I eat PopTarts for breakfast pretty much every morning and consume Oreos only with milk. Today I made a quesadilla with a cheese smiley face and proceeded to cut stars out of it with a cookie cutter. I'm 21, but it still made me super happy.
6. I love to listen to people speak in foreign languages. I don't even care if I understand them, I just love hearing them. Especially when spoken by attractive men.
7. As shown in the above picture, I'm quite a Harry Potter nut. He has been a part of my life since 3rd grade, and I've been to each movie on opening night. So much love in my heart for those books.
8. I love to travel and have to use all of my fingers to count the countries I've been to. I adore learning about the cultures and seeing things for myself.
9. I quote movies. A lot. My repertoire has recently been expanded to YouTube videos as well. (For reference go to either "Boys Will Be Girls" or "My pushup bra will help me get my man". Both high quality entertainment.)
10. I Facebook photo stalk. No picture is safe. You were warned.
11. I have a strange fixation with mustaches. I currently own three shirts, one ring, one necklace, a giant fridge magnet, and waterbottle mustaches to attest to this.
12. I have quite the princess predicament. I look like Snow White, but always identified with Belle. What's a girl to do?
13. I can never tell if dairy products are bad. I drink my milk for a while after the expiration date, because I can't taste or smell if it's "sour".
14. I am super ticklish, but not in normal places... Don't go near my ears or neck.
15. I wear whatever I want. Sometimes this results in strange fashion choices and an "eclectic" label on my wardrobe.

And on the first day...There was music

Day one of the blog challenge: put your iPod (I chose iTunes) on shuffle and list the first 10 songs.

I apologize in advance for the randomness.

1. All Shook Up - Elvis Presley
2. Baby, It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin & Doris Day (not so true today)
3. Radio - He Is We
4. Remember the Name - Fort Minor
5. Prisoners - Regina Spektor
6. Princess - Matt Nathanson
7. Somebody Loved - The Weepies
8. Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk - Plain White Ts
9. Water And Bridges - Dashboard Confessional
10. Lean On Me - Glee Cast

Well there they are. Haha that is actually a pretty decent summary of my music collection. Hooray for music!

30 Day Blog Challenge

I've seen some people doing these "challenges" on Facebook and blogs and I thought it was a good way to prompt me to blog. Basically I've begun to cave to the peer pressure, since I've newly discovered that apparently all my friends have blogs. So off we go:

1. put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs
2. a recent picture of yourself and 15 facts about you
3. a picture of you and your friends
4. a habit that you wish you didn’t have
5. a picture of somewhere you’ve been to
6. favorite super hero and why
7. a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you
8. short term goals for this month and why
9. something you’re proud of in the past few days
10. songs you listen to when you’re happy, sad, bored, excited, mad
11. something you could never get tired of doing
12. nicknames you have and why
13. a picture of you last year and now; how you’ve changed since then
14. a pic of you and your family
15. a song that makes you cry
16. an art piece
17. a talent of yours
18. your idea of a perfect first date
19. a youtube video
20. whatever tickles your fancy
21. your day in great detail
22. a picture of something that makes you happy
23. a photo of the last thing you purchased
24. your best friend
25. a photo of the town you live in
26. what's in your purse
27. a tv show your addicted to
28. something you regret
29. something you miss
30. a photograph of yourself today + three good things that have happened in the last month