I'm in Accra at the IVHQ central volunteer house. There are lots of other volunteers here - most in college - I feel very mature. :)
On the long flight over I did end up with an empty seat next to me, which was great! I was met at the airport then driven through Accra. Lots of people selling things by the side of the road, women walking with all manner of objects piled on their heads, goats, dogs, lots of references to God, lots of good-natured car honking. So far, it's great!
Had dinner here - yams with stewed greens of some sort. Pretty good. The sun goes down about 6:30, and we have to be up at 6:30 am for orientation. Just had a cold shower and I'm headed to my bunk bed. Looks like people head out to individual projects tomorrow. Akwaaba! (Welcome!)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Ready...Set...
Well, I'm at the point now where if it's not packed, I must not need it. Today was crazy - my cell phone decided to go on the fritz and stop working. (Apparently the iPhone 4GS has a multi-task bar feature that you need to go in and CLOSE the apps that you use or else your phone might freak out and turn off and not turn back on and then get really hot.) To fix this required a trip to AT&T and then the Apple Store at the mall, all the while knowing that my best friend had a doctor's appointment to find out if she's have a boy or a girl (!) and I was cell-phone-less.
I may have shed some tears in front of the AT&T guy, but he took it okay. I apologized afterwards.
It's possible today was the perfect pre-departure day. It was so frenetic and frustrating that maybe I'm ready to focus on the simple things like "You want me to use the bathroom there?"
Not sure when or where my next post will be from, but I will post something as soon as I'm able.
I may have shed some tears in front of the AT&T guy, but he took it okay. I apologized afterwards.
It's possible today was the perfect pre-departure day. It was so frenetic and frustrating that maybe I'm ready to focus on the simple things like "You want me to use the bathroom there?"
Not sure when or where my next post will be from, but I will post something as soon as I'm able.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
A Little Twist
A few days ago I received my tentative placement details from the organization I'm working with in Ghana. There's a somewhat interesting twist - and I'll back up to explain.
When I first signed up for this, I had to select a type of work/project, like "agriculture", "teaching", or "medical". I was very torn between orphanage work and teaching. As many of you know, I was a teacher, I work in education, and have a master's degree in education policy. On paper, it would just make sense for me to teach. So that's what I signed up for.
BUT, this is supposed to be a different road. That's part of what led me here: discomfort with the results of the very practical choices I've made in the past 8-ish years. And so I kept feeling this pull to the nurturer in me, to do work that helps me see more of who I am, not work that falls in line with the degrees and experience I have. I was tempted to email IVHQ and ask them to give me a teaching placement near or at an orphanage, or working with orphaned kids, or something. But I never emailed - I guess I just went with the "let go" philosophy. Anything I would do in Ghana would be different than anything I've ever done. So I let it go.
Two days ago I got my placement details. The title of the attached PDF was "The Yellow Program - Orphanage". Well well well, isn't life funny?
I won't lay down all the nitty gritty just yet, in case things change after I get there, but as of now it looks like I'll be living/working at an orphanage. The kids go to an affiliated school nearby during the day, so I may be working at the school as well. We'll see, but it feels good to know something, even if it may change.
I'm not quite sure what all that proves - nothing I guess - but it's another tally in the "Life Is Funny That Way" column. Six days until departure!
When I first signed up for this, I had to select a type of work/project, like "agriculture", "teaching", or "medical". I was very torn between orphanage work and teaching. As many of you know, I was a teacher, I work in education, and have a master's degree in education policy. On paper, it would just make sense for me to teach. So that's what I signed up for.
BUT, this is supposed to be a different road. That's part of what led me here: discomfort with the results of the very practical choices I've made in the past 8-ish years. And so I kept feeling this pull to the nurturer in me, to do work that helps me see more of who I am, not work that falls in line with the degrees and experience I have. I was tempted to email IVHQ and ask them to give me a teaching placement near or at an orphanage, or working with orphaned kids, or something. But I never emailed - I guess I just went with the "let go" philosophy. Anything I would do in Ghana would be different than anything I've ever done. So I let it go.
Two days ago I got my placement details. The title of the attached PDF was "The Yellow Program - Orphanage". Well well well, isn't life funny?
I won't lay down all the nitty gritty just yet, in case things change after I get there, but as of now it looks like I'll be living/working at an orphanage. The kids go to an affiliated school nearby during the day, so I may be working at the school as well. We'll see, but it feels good to know something, even if it may change.
I'm not quite sure what all that proves - nothing I guess - but it's another tally in the "Life Is Funny That Way" column. Six days until departure!
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