I'm a footballer!

Pardon the lapse in communication; I have to admit that I thought (somewhat optimistically) that internet access here would be easier, but that is not the case. I actually consider myself fortunate to have an internet cafe about 15 minutes by foot from my house, although it is pretty slow. Internet access is internet access.

Allow me to update you on some changes since my last post...

I have moved in with my host family, the Adu-Gyamfi family of Adenta, which is a district in the Accra region. It is a large family with many guests, so I am still figuring out who is actually a member of my immediate host family, who is a relative, and who is simply passing through. My host mother works at a Pentecostal church, and is consequently very active both in church activities and hosting visiting clergy. I have two host brothers who are 12 and 13, and so far they have been my guides to the neighborhood, culture, and Twi! In my house are also a few women (my host sister and cousin) who are close to my age and work in Accra, an older host brother who is an accountant at a hotel, and a house helper who adheres strictly to her self-prescribed duty of "making me big" by feeding me more than I can ever eat at each meal. (On a side note, so far I have eaten goat tongue, smoked fish, snail, fufu, and many other new foods!) Living in such a varied and dynamic household has its challenges, but everyone has been very friendly, accommodating, and welcoming, and I am thankful to have the chance to stay with my host family.

As for my volunteer position, I have been assigned to work at the Office for Students with Special Needs at the University of Ghana in Legon, which is the main campus of the university and has, I have been told, about 40,000 students. I began on Thursday with a half day and spent the day on Friday working in the office. One of my primary responsibilities so far has been to scan, manually edit, and emboss in Braille course materials, handouts, and readings for visually impaired students, which is a tedious job. Because it is early in the semester there is a large volume of text to be translated into Braille, but I hope that soon I can begin to work on a larger project or assist students with special needs as a notetaker in lectures. I learned that many students with physical impairments have difficulty accessing their lectures because not all the buildings are suitable for wheelchair use, and some visually impaired students are unable to take math classes because the University does not have the capability to translate mathematical equations into Braille, and even if it did students would have to take a class (which is not offered there) to learn to read Braille math. These two issues are some I would like to study in hopes of affecting some sort of lasting change beyond the good but less permanent work of translating text into Braille. I know that, given only four months, I may not be able to do much, particularly as I do not have connections or very much cultural awareness, but nonetheless I sincerely hope for the chance to investigate these problems.

Since I don't work on the weekends, tonight I enjoyed playing football/soccer with some of the guys who live on my street, including Cole, another Bridge Year student who lives two houses down from me. Although my team lost (4-5), I scored a goal, which was impressive not only because I am a female but also because I am an obroni (foreigner)! Much of the rest of my free time I play games with my younger host brothers, including Ludo (which they taught me) and Traverse and Scrabble To Go! (which I brought from home).

Overall, Ghana is a good place and a hard place, a welcoming place and a harsh place: a contradiction. One of the most economically prosperous and politically stable countries in Africa, Ghana is often held as a standard to which other African nations should aspire. However, it is not without poverty. Some of the roads are paved, but many are not, and even the ones that are often run through such densely populated areas and markets that there is a constant danger of hitting a pedestrian or being hit by a car. It seems that everything here, from the trees to this keyboard, is always enshrouded by a fine layer of the red dust that is constantly swirling around--and yet almost every Ghanaian I have met puts my modest skirts and blouses to shame with their clean, pressed clothing.

People I meet here always ask me if I love Ghana, and usually all I can say is that I like it here. It is a wonderful country, full of people ready to offer an encouraging or happily surprised laugh when I test out my few phrases of Twi, but it's not home yet. Perhaps the coming weeks and months will change me and make me ache to even think of leaving, but right now I simply am here: not longing to return home, but not enamored of this confusing, beautiful place. It is just good to be here.

As usual, thanks for reading and supporting me! Be blessed. And, since it's evening for me here, let me wish you a good night and sweet dreams, or at least try to do so in spite of my (in)ability to properly spell Twi: Da yie!