ghana versus USA

today Ghana plays the United States in football (or soccer to you Americans ;) )....everyone all day has been asking me who i am going to cheer for! it's crazy that i'm from America and the country i'll be spending the next 2 years in is playing my homeland tonight! i always want the US to do well, but Ghana is the last African country left in the World Cup. So either way, it's a win-win for me :)

so i've been updating here and there --- so i'll talk more about the people, culture and food. oh, and transportation. how could i forget.

like i've said before, the people are extremely nice and welcoming. my homestay family is awesome, and they always treat me well. people are always trying to teach me Twi (the language down here where i am now) but i'm trying to learn Dagaree at the same time. it's so fun though, to see how excited they get when i can greet them "maache" in the morning and respond!
the culture is completely different than home. people are so hard working here and never stop working....when do they sleep! i get up when the sun rises (yes, like 5 am) and go to sleep a couple hours after it gets dark (around 8/8:30 pm). the kids work more than any children i've even seen before. kids take care of their siblings when they are only 9 years old sometimes....the fathers go to farm, the mothers cook and clean all day, and if the kids go to school they go then come home and help around the house. it's fine though, everyone is happy and always smiling.
the food is basically ALL starch. lots of fufu (which i don't really care for), banku, riceballs (best things ever!) and pasta. carbs, carbs, carbs. but the spices are great and my mother and sisters are great cooks and make great soups. groundnut (which is peanut) soup and palm nut soups are great...and i'm getting used to eating with my RIGHT hand.
transportation, i could write a whole blog about that itself. the roads aren't the best, and taxis and trotros (big vans) come and go when they are full. there aren't set times for them to go...it's just when they are full, you go. or you wait. sometimes for hours at a time! i'll definitely be tested on my patience while i'm in Ghana for these 2+ years. it's good though, people just go with the flow and get where they need to be sooner or later.

so just another short update -- we're going to some waterfalls tomorrow as a PCT group -- then another week of training/language.....then off to counterpart workshop and then up to the north (to Upper West) to see my site in KULKPONG! :)

GO USA!
and blackstars ;)

i miss you all. call/text me sometime people! :)
peace, love and hugs.