I’m Back!

Hey everyone! After an amazing 3 weeks in Ghana I am finally back to the blogging world! I had the experience of a lifetime and wish everyone could read my mind so you could experience it all over with me!The trip was an ASB trip through my school U of I and the organization we went through was United Planet. They are Ahhhh-mazing! I was not expecting to have the most amazing 3 weeks of my life!
We started out in Accra, the capital of Ghana, then traveled to Cape Coast for New Years. Along the way we got to go to the Elmina Slave Castle, Cape Coast Slave Castle, a Canopy Walk, museum for Ghana’s first president, touch a live and wild crocodile—something you only do once! Freaked me out for sure. Finally, we made it to our village, Sokode, where we were greeted by the chief and his elders. They gave us a traditional ceremony welcoming us to the village. And OK that was cool…straight off a movie or something…I felt so lucky to get that experience.
We started our work on the kindergarten once we settled into our house in the village, which was a mansion compared to their standards. About 100 villagers showed up on the first day of work and most the days after that. What would have taken a dump truck and a back hoe about 2 hours to do took us about 4 days. We lifted dirt on our heads and carried it to fill up the floors of the kindergarten. Men shoveled and made bricks and the women would carry things on our heads. We got really good at it. I can balance things now .

The group at University of Ghana in Accra where we stayed for 2 nights

Above is our house we stayed in in Sokode                                 Above is my first picture with an elder

Our first picture at the work site

(All other pictures are at the bottom of the text)

Each evening after work we would hang out with the children and adults in the village or go on little excursions. A few were: feeding monkeys (they ate bananas right out of our hands), hike to Mt. Gemi-tallest point in Ghana, hike to the Wli waterfalls, visit to the schools, home visits with the families, learn how to dance to Boboboa, got to the Kenti weaving village, see the bead factory, and make Batik. Some of the best parts of the trip were the people we met. They were incredibly happy all the time and acted as if every day was a celebration.

I also have to mention how amazing my group was that went to Ghana with me. We had so much fun getting to know each other, window shopping/buying things out our bus window, seeing tarantula-like spiders in our house, heading to the culture market extravaganza/Ho market, getting stuck in Denver, MVP yeah you know me, dancing around the fires and dancing boboboa with Global Link….many memories I will always remember!
If you ever get a chance…Go to Ghana!!!  Nothing will change you more than seeing the world.
-Katie