Hope your day was better than this little guys! x

Happy birthday Ghana!

I was awoken early Tuesday with the sound of beating drums resonating from the village and the pitter patter of running feet and excited voices. Today was a big day, March 6th marks Ghana's 55th independence day anniversary and on March 6th you march! All the village children dressed up in their best school uniforms and their whitest of white socks (which in rural, dusty Humjibre where all laundry is done by hand without bleach, keeping whites white is quite a feat) ready to show off the marching skills they'd been diligently practicing for the past two weeks. In the hot morning sun, the children lined up with their classmates as young boys began pounding out the beat on their drums. They marched through Humjibre's dusty main street and up the hill to the football field where they marched their little hearts out in a marching competition in front of the entire village. After a rousing game of football accompanied by some drinking and dancing in the streets, the evening ended in a clap of thunder and a cleansing Spring downpour.

Ghana is a relatively young country, but their heart beats strong!

Introducing the lovely children of Humjibre, Western Ghana, and my new home for the next year!

After lugging all that I own in the world (aside from a few boxes of books holed up at my parents house) onto 3 different taxis and 2 different buses, we finally rounded the last curved, cleared the last pot hole, and parked in front of the GHEI sign by the side of the road. Curious children ran to us to help haul my bags and to inspect the new "obruni" and welcoming drinks were arranged over fried chicken.

My village is small, remote, with 13 Christian churches and a handful of local watering holes. In the mornings I am woken by the passionate ramblings of local preachers on the loud speakers and the clanking of pots and pans as the children walk by to collect water. The first thing you are asked is "What day were you born?" and from that you are assigned a name that is the day of the week you were born on. I was apparently born on Tuesday (had to google that one) and my Ghanaian name is "Abina."

After only three days in Humjibre, I have already been give 2 avocados, attended an engagement ceremony where the bride and groom were in the States, eaten lbs of fried rice and omelet sandwiches and spotted loads of fresh fruits and vegetables!

This makes me a happy happy girl! ;)
In a very short time I'm learning loads of important things such as how to hand wash my laundry, kill massive spiders, amuse young Ghanaian kids with my camera, and shoot ginger alcohol!

Until text time! x