Some pictures from my life lately. A picture of Godwyn, a picture of the treehouse we slept in at Kokobrite Beach, a picture of the courtyard at the orphanage. Those cauldrons aren't Halloween decorations, we actually use those to cook all the meals.

I'm in Ashaley Botwe now. Yesterday we went to Madina and bought a TON of food for the orphanage. I bought about a months worth of food for 60 kids so I'm pretty pleased about that. Then we hitch hiked back into Madina later and unbelievably, I was able to get us all the way to Ashaley Botwe just by walking with our giant backpacks. A guy named Charles helped us and a guy named Pastor Frank. Everyone is so helpful here. Tonight we're going out to a bar in Accra and tomorrow we're going back to Labadi Beach for the day. Then this guy Eric is going to drive us back to Dodowa on Monday. We're supposed to be getting some more volunteers on Monday so that's exciting since Crystal and I have pretty much talked about everything two people can possibly talk about. Miss you guys. Hope everyone has a good Halloween and I'm sorry that I can't be there this year with my little blue dinosaur costume again. I know how good I looked dancing in it last year.

Beauty and the Beast

We got a new little girl named Beauty yesterday. Shes about 2 years old. Her mother left when she was about a month old and her aunt was taking care of her but just decided she didn't want her so she left her out in the bush to die. Apparently this happens a lot and this is what the story is for most of the kids at the orphanage. People in her village found her and gave her to the police who gave her to us. She doesn't cry or smile, she just stares wide-eyed at everything. I bathed her, put a diaper on her, and got her to laugh yesterday which was good. Already she seems happier because shes being fed and getting attention. She curls right up to me so its hard for me to leave her.

I on the other hand feel like a beast lately. At first I was feeling pretty hot here because my skin is like amazing from all the sweating and sun I get. I wanted to bottle some Africa to bring home with me because I've been glowing and feeling really strong. Also I've been eating so well here that I was feeling pretty healthy. Now, I'm pretty sick and haven't had an appetite for the past two days. I've had to force myself to eat rice and drink water. I have head to toe heat rash and I'm covered in all types of insect bites. I only came into town to get Beauty some dresses since she came to the orphanage in only a shirt. Then I'm going home to lay down for a few hours.

In the last two days I've encountered a lizard in our hallway. A mouse in the hallway. A frog in my shower. Then this morning I went to the bathroom and a scorpion was on the back of the door. I screamed and got Crystal who smashed it with a plank of wood which we use to barricade our front door. When we came back from the orphanage an army of small black ants were eating it. One of the ants bit me which was annoying too. Pretty soon I'm going to lose my mind and go Rambo on these insects and start killing everything in sight.

I think I'll be in a better mood when I feel better, have had a shower, and have spent some time with Beauty.

I don't have time to write a novel but here are some updates on my life this past week:

- Went to Kokobrite Beach to a beachfront hotel called Big Milly's Backyard. Google it, its so cool. It was a lot of fun until I realized I left half my money back in Dodowa. I could only afford to pay for the hotel (only about $15 a night) and for the taxi that got me there, then I ran out of money. I didn't really cry, I just had a brief panic attack. Luckily Crystal and I pooled the money together that we did have and that allowed us to buy 1 big water bottle each to last us the weekend and 1 piece of jewelery. We decided that we would save money by not eating while we were there and also by having other people buy us drinks. I ended up getting kind of sick at the hotel and had a really bad fever one night so I probably could have used some food but I was okay. We went to this really cool beachside bar and we were the only two white people and the only two girls. The upside is that we didn't pay for a single drink. The downside is that at one point there was a fight between two Nigerians and thats when Crystal and I decided to go back to our room. Apparently one of those Nigerians found me on Facebook and today I got a Facebook message from him that said "Hello. I met you at Kokobrite. You have blond hair and you were drinking a Star beer. Your friend is from Canada. I will see you again. SAM" Oh, Africa.

-Got lost going back to Dodowa and taxi drivers were trying to rip us off left and right and then yelling at us. Found an American couple who explained to us how to get home which made me feel so much better. Exchanged numbers with them, they're both 25, and might go back to Kokobrite with them another weekend.

-Got back to Dodowa really late sunday night and was exhausted but decided to go over and tuck in the kids. When we got there George told us that Kwame was in the hospital - he'd fainted from Malaria at school on Friday. Even though it was dark, George, Crystal and I walked into town and found 1 of the 2 taxis that exist there and the taxi driver drove us to the hospital to see Kwame. Kwame is the one who helps me serve breakfast each morning, wipes dirt off me whenever I'm dirty which is most of the time, and always, always, always, when he gets his daily porridge, looks at me and says "You are invited" which means I can have some of his porridge. Of course I never eat any, what kind of person do you think I am? So today after I got the kids to school I went and bought an orange soda and a bag of Obama biscuits (cookies with Obamas face on them. Only in Africa) and brought them to Kwame. When he got them he looked like he'd just gotten 20 Christmas presents. He covered his face because he was so happy and then he said "God Bless you, thank you so much!" He kept saying "God Bless you" H

- My typical day goes like this:
5:45 AM Wake up, brush my teeth
6:00-8:00 AM Get to orphanage. Begin bathing the smaller ones, brushing their teeth, getting them dressed, and serving them their porridge. Then walking them to school. Mercy loves school and marches/runs all the way there. Abena and Irin want to be carried but I dont have enough arms for all of them so they scream and cry and throw themselves down in the dirt and refuse to get up.
8:00-9:30 Go back to the orphanage and clean up breakfast, sweep the dirt floor (I haven't figured out why we do that because we are just sweeping the dirt around in circles but I do it anyway) and play for a little while with the kids who don't go to school (they say they are the "slow ones") like Daniel and Koko and then the baby Godwyn.
9:30-2:30 Free time to go to read/sleep/walk around/HAND-wash my clothes/take a shower/etc. Crystal and I have a daily tradition now of going over to the internet cafe and using the internet if its working and then going next door to the bar to have a Coke with Jacoby who likes to dance for us and propose to us. Beatrice our cook makes us breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For breakfast we usually have bread with some egg and this stuff called Milo but I call it African Crack because it tastes like hot chocolate and I drink a ton of it. I'm pretty sure its used to fatten up African children and its probably not best that I drink it like that but its soo good. Then I usually have a ton of energy and I walk all around the village saying hello to everyone.
2:30-6 Play with the kids at the orphanage (usually they are playing with the dirt, some old nails, sticks, rocks, spoons, a deflated tire, or metal cans. I thought this was a stereotype of poor orphanages but no, they actually play with these things), clean up their wounds and try to bandage them even though they're aren't any bandaids here. Sometimes we go with the older boys to the soccer field and watch them play soccer. Lastnight we did that and as I was sitting there I looked up and we were sitting under this mango tree, watching these kids who were AWESOME at soccer, and there was a beautiful orange sunset.
6-7:30 Eat our dinner at our house
7:30-9:00 Back to the orphanage to say goodnight, rock babies to sleep, hang out with the older kids.

The orphanage is about a 3 minute walk down this dirt path through a grove of plantain or banana trees (I'm not sure which). Today Abena and Juliet poked their head through my fence so I let them in, gave them some of my left over lunch, gave them CLEAN water bags (we drink water out of plastic bags here, not out of plastic water bottles. You tear the corner of the bag with your teeth and suck out the water.) then I painted their nails. Now I know that for the next several months I'm going to have kids popping their heads through my fence so they can get water and manicures.

Every single night I am EXHAUSTED but I go to sleep smiling. I'm getting your emails and they make me ecstatic. Keep filling me in on home life. I'll try to post pictures soon but I dont think its a possiblity at the hut here since the computer is from like 1995 but I have an internet stick for my laptop and it takes forever but I might be able to upload some soon. I think you can google-earth my village - Dodowa. Love you all.

We finally got running water back at the house but still dont
have electricity so could someone please tell my sister jenny that i will love her forever because i dont know what i would do without my lantern!? I dont
even recognize myself sometimes. Yesterday Crystal and I put on our
bathingsuits (it was raining) and went to the well, got water, and
stood in our front yard (its gated so no one can see us) and took
showers with the rain and buckets of water. I was surprisingly clean
afterwards. Yesterday we walked over to this shack where a woman in the village does peoples hair. I asked her to do two french braids but she started to do cornrows which was weird and thankfully crystal showed her how to do french braids. Now
I dont have to wash my hair so soon, although she poured olive oil on
my head which was annoying since i had just rain-showered. also,
while we were sitting there getting our hair braided two chickens came
into the shack and started fighting. Bizarre. This weekend Crystal
and I are getting on a tro-tro (they are unmarked vans that drive
around picking people up, kind of like hitch hiking) and going to
Kokobrite Beach to a place called Big Millys House. It's like a
rastafarian hang-out I guess on this beautiful little beach. Its
pronounced Koko-breetay. Apparently they have a bar on the beach and
they party all night on the beach and theres lots of backpackers and
people like that so it'll be nice to get a shower and some soda since I mostly drink water.
Yesterday a man came up onto our porch bleeding and our guard tried to kick him out but i was like "wait hes hurt" so i ran to my room and got my first aid kit with
antibiotics and bandaids and got him water and ibprofen and let him
sleep for awhile on our porch. he didnt speak english so i dont know
how he got hurt but blood was pouring from his face. I actually didnt
touch his face but gave him the stuff to put it on himself. Every
night i save some of my food and give it to our guard because he
sleeps there all night outside on our porch. He doesnt speak english and I think I freaked him out when i started spraying him with bugspray. I want to like let him
sleep in one of the empty rooms at least inside the house.
I just realized I havent said much about the orphanage. It is so depressing.
Godwyn the baby poops on the floor and sits in it and nobody cleans it
up. Today it was on his hands. This one little girl keeps getting
sick because she wont use the outhouses and so she holds it all in so
i'm going start taking her to use the bathroom at the school.
Lastnight I went after dinner to tuck them in and they all just sit
outside in their courtyard and the older kids fight, sing, talk while
the little ones fall asleep in the dirt. When they are asleep I bring them to their rooms where they sleep on straw mats on the floor. Lastnight i rocked 3 little
babies to sleep which felt nice since they never get held. They just
fall asleep after a minute of you holding them. Mercy is the cutest,
shes three and she is a sass! She yells at the younger ones and when
they cry she stomps her foot and says "shaaaame, shaaame, shaaame!"
its so cute. Today I also saw some boys getting caned at the school.
They hit them on the back of the legs with a stick. It looked hard but
not too hard since the kids were laughing afterward. Still, it was
hard to see. Well, I wont be able to write til next week since I'm
leaving for the beach tomorrow afternoon but ill probably get a chance
on monday. Today we are going to the high school to visit George, the
18 year old, on his lunchbreak to hang out with him. Last night he
told me how he really wants to go to the university someday and wants
to be a doctor and was showing me all his outdated textbooks. It
broke my heart. Hes being sponsored right now but maybe not forever.
I'd really like to have some 5th grade or 6th grade level books sent
here for him. The older ones love to read and all they have is 1 book of bible stories and a book about photosynthesis which is totally wrong and outdated. They have both books memorized. The children keep all their belongings in unlabeled
plastic bags and so all they own in this entire world is whats in
their plastic bag. I want to go get plastic bins or drawers for them
to keep their things in since they all steal from eachother and lose
their stuff.
The other day, Crystal and I walked over to the village "cafe" where they serve cold cokes. We sat down and the village drunk asked if he could dance for us so he
started doing splits and poking himself in the face and doing all
these crazy dance moves like popping his eyes out of their sockets. His name is Jacoby and we left when he started asking me to marry him and saying he was going to kill himself when I said No, then he reached out and started stroking my shin while I was sitting there so i chugged my coke and we left. Every single day here some really unusual things happen. Like, since we have no electricity I cant see very well at night so it was a few minutes before I realized I was offering a plate of food to a bag of rice lastnight. I thought it was our guard huddled in a corner and i was like "Ete sen, didi, didi?" and then I realized it was a bag of rice. Crystal and I were like dying laughing.

Please excuse my horrible grammar and typing in this post but I dont have a lot of time and half the keys on this keyboard are messed up. I'll post pictures with my own computer soon since there doesnt seem to be the possiblity on these old computers here.

Things I plan to buy soon: lots of food, cupboards for their belongings, some more toys, books, possibly a television since they have a Dvd player but no Dvds or TV, some clean sheets and towels since all 70 kids share one towel, etc. I also have to get Godwyn some cloth diapers. It's too hard to have disposable ones here. Ma, the house mother just puts him in new clothes everytime he goes potty. I've seen him in 50 different outfits.

Love you all!

Pictures take forever to upload and I don't have much time so I downloaded one from my day on the beach and one from my hike up to Wli Falls, the tallest waterfall in West Africa. I've only been here 4 days so far and I feel like I've been here a month because your days are so long. Now that I've traveled a little bit around I'm really excited to start working at the orphanage. It's just me and Crystal for the first two weeks but Eddie said some people are coming in early November and he'll probably drop them off at Dodowa. My mom says you can Youtube "Dodowa" and see some videos of the orphanage. I'm going to try to look this week at them but if you're curious, look them up! Last night I went to the movies to see The Other Guys. In Africa. It was so weird to go to the movies here. Anyway, Eddie said that I should have access to the internet while at the village although it may be spotty so I may actually be able to post pretty often. I miss everyone but I am really having an amazing time. Immigration only approved me to live here for 2 months so I have to go talk to them about extending my visa for longer. Someone said I can just live here illegally for awhile and then pay a fine of like $30. I'm wishing I could stay here forever though.

Orphanage

The road to my orphanage in Nkwanta is flooded so they've reassigned me to an orphanage in Dodowa, not too far outside Accra. I go there today with a girl Crystal. I'm really excited. It's a small village but it has a market and it will be easy to travel around on the weekends. I've had a great weekend. An English lady named Diane, a girl Nora from Finland, Simon from New Zealand, and Melora from Germany and I all went to the Wli Falls. We drove 5 hours to Wli Falls, spent 2 hours there, and then drove 6 hours back. Longest car ride! Hopefully I can get some internet soon and update more about the orphanage. This place is beautiful. The people are so friendly, there are amazing sunsets, beautiful dresses, and amazing skies at night.

surreal

Who speaks limited Twi, has eaten fish mixed with scrambled egg, and hasn't cried once today? THIS GUY.

Tonight I sat around drinking whiskey with 5 Ghanian guys and a guy Azal from Iran and a guy Simon from New Zealand. Simon is leaving soon but he was here for awhile and was backpacking before. He's been like a big brother even though hes the same age. He keeps people off of me because the men really like to grab my hair. I don't know how much I can write and for how long but I have so much to write about! I have only been here two days so far but I cannot even begin to explain how much I have seen. Today I was in a car accident and it was so exciting! Azal and I were coming from the beach (where I sat all day on the beach under a palm tree drinking Coke and playing Mancala - a game played with seeds with 3 Rastafarian guys. One was named Ratty. At one point I looked around and said "lindsay, you are by yourself in Africa and you have already made 3 Rastafarian friends. SUCCESS!) and anyway, our car slammed into another car and our taxi driver was screaming in Twi. Oh, also, a guy with a paddle with nails driven through it was walks up and down the street banging peoples tires and you have to swerve to miss him. I've seen him twice. I guess hes crazy. There are guys on all the street corners with berets and AK47's and they stop you at night. I haven't been stopped but Azal was.
When I arrived, it was kind of hard. Nobody showed up at the airport to pick me up. I got hustled by some guy who convinced me that I owed him money and for some reason, I think because at that point I was surrounded by guys, I gave in and gave him money. I know. I'm already much better though at this. Eddie, the coordinator, finally came after I called him with someone elses cellphone. He's really nice. After he dropped me off at the house I'm staying at (for now) he left. I went inside and there were 5 big guys sitting around watching TV, some action movie with Robert DeNiro as Henry Tuttle? I dont know, I only saw the credits, I was mostly staring at the men. Nobody said anything to me so I put down my bags and sat on the floor with them and watched the movie. Then someone gave me some water. Later, a guy named Evonce came and took me into the market to get stuff. Everyone thinks I'm German and they all want to touch my hair. People just come up and yank it. Today Evonce chased a guy all the way down the beach about it.
Random things - goats everywhere. chickens in my front yard. tomorrow we are going to the Wli Falls with Simon and Azal, both my age, and some girls from Finland and Germany. I'm the only American. I have pictures but I dont know how much time I have I'll try to post them later after the Falls. Also a guy is sewing me a dress because he likes me which is really nice and he said he'd bring it over tomorrow night. Last night we had no power so we sat around with candles and stuff.
I've been here two days and have already had an amazing experience. Everyone here is nice but it is very different. I bought a Ghanian cell phone but the minutes thing confuses me so I'm not really calling anyone. Post comments here so I can see what you guys say since I won't be talking to you guys for awhile. Mom and Dad, if you're reading this I love you and I will try to call you soon. I'm safe and happy. I'll try to write soon and post pics.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I can't express enough how grateful I am for the influx of donations I've received over the last few months. I've raised over $1700 donations for the orphanage! I received over $1000 in donations after I sent out that request letter and then raised another $700 at my tag sale. Thanks for buying all my junk!
You can really stretch a dollar in Ghana so I will be able to do AMAZING things for the children. I do not plan on merely handing over the cash to the overseer of the orphanage; I instead intend to purchase necessities along the way (medical supplies, food, new mattresses, etc.) as I see fit, while I'm living there.
People I haven't seen in years came out of the woodwork to donate. This was so special to me - parents of my friends, neighbors I've never met, strangers at the tag sale, even my dad's dentist donated 80 children's toothbrushes! It really goes to show that there is so much good in the world and that everyone should really believe in the goodness of people's hearts. I am so lucky to know each of you and want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your support.

I leave tomorrow afternoon, fly 10 hours, and arrive in Accra in the morning. The village is 3 hours from the nearest ATM so I have to bring all the cash with me to the village. I am hiding the cash (it's over $1000, i'll take more out when I can get to an ATM) in a zippered pocket I sewed into the inside of my pants. Yes, I know this will be awkward when I go to buy something but I've been warned so many times about pickpockets and bandits on jungle roads that I'm not taking any chances. I believe in the goodness of people but I also know that the reality is people get robbed so I'm guarding that money with my thighs.
Along with the cash, I'm also bringing donations such as the toothbrushes, crayons, colored pencils, markers, big jugs of Purell, medicines, soaps, balloons, beads, books, glow sticks, sillyband bracelets, chalkboard paint, chalk, candy, and more.

Please email me while I'm there! linds.richards@gmail.com. I'm buying a phone there but email is probably a better bet.

Packing

God's Eye Orphanage - thanks to a previous volunteer!

Nkwanta, Ghana

Before I begin, I'd like for you to just close your eyes while I paint you a picture...It's a cold and rainy October day and I am sitting in my parents basement. I am wearing frayed jean shorts, a blue tank top, and a casually unbuttoned denim button-down collared shirt that I took from my mom because I was cold this morning. I am underneath a giant down-comforter and have been rubbing a nail file on my face - an exfoliating tip I invented myself and you may feel free to copy. I am staring at a poster across the room and thinking about buying a scented candle for the basement when DING! An email has popped up in my inbox.

Yes, I am painting a picture of someone who really does not have their act together. A twenty-something loser. You are probably reeling with questions: Why is she wearing shorts? Why is she wearing denim on denim? Why isn't she at work? Why is she in her parents basement? What's the email about? Why is she telling me to close my eyes - how can I read this if my eyes are closed?

The answer to most of those questions is that I am staying with my parents for the next 9 days until I leave for Ghana. My last day of work was on Friday and then I came home to CT to have some down-time and to start packing.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE EMAIL WAS ABOUT MY ORPHANAGE PLACEMENT!

I'll be at the God's Eye Orphanage in the village of Nkwanta. It's about a 6 hour drive from the capital, Accra, and a 3 hour drive from the nearest ATM. Nkwanta is a small and pretty remote village but there is a market and supposedly a few different places to eat and drink. It's in the Volta region, which borders the country of Togo (don't ask me, I had never even heard of it until now) and is close to a monkey sanctuary (BINGO!), a game reserve (warthogs, water buffalo, but no elephants - I already checked) and some famous waterfalls. I plan on trying to make a few trips on the weekends such as Mole National Park (an armed guide walks you around the park so you can see elephants, baboons, etc.) and the Wli waterfalls. I'm actually pretty pleased about the remoteness of Nkwanta - It means I can wear these Teva-looking shoes that Susan bought me and nobody will judge me. Anyway, I arrive in Accra at 7:30 AM on the 14th, spend the night in Accra, and then someone will drive me up to Nkwanta the next day and drop me off.

Living in my parents basement means I'm surrounded by boxes of memorabilia. Yesterday I found an old diary of mine from when I was 10. Judging from the randomness of each statement in my diary, how my parents did not know I had ADD just goes to show how much they neglected me as a child. I literally wrote,

"Dear Diary, How are you? Oh, I guess that's a stupid question. Anyway, today I'm going ice-skating at Wonderland of Ice with the Allens. Did you know that the universal language is kindness? Gotta go put on my sk8zzz! love, Lindsay"

Today I learned that the people in Nkwanta speak Twi so obviously I'll just be really kind but I'm going to have to get a dictionary and try and learn some basic phrases I'd like to know, such as "Where is the bus station?" "Can I have food?" and "May I pet your animals?"


Basic facts I know so far about what my life will be like living there:

- I'll be living in a volunteer house with a few other volunteers and the local women bring us our meals

- there is no running water at the house

- I will have to haul water up from the river so I can take "bucket baths" (I am unsure as to whether I get inside a big bucket or just dump a bucket over my head but so far this is what I've been fixated on most since I got my placement)

- Where I'll be living, I will have electricity but due to power cuts, it may often be off.

-I will have access to the internet but it is VERY unreliable and slow. I think I'll be buying a cellphone there but I don't know if I'll ever have service. I think I can use a phone in a neighboring village. (Which reminds me, I won't have my 203-906-4195 number until I move back here so I'm letting my dad use my phone while I'm living there. Don't drunk-dial Mose, he's really sweet)


Basic facts about the orphanage:

-there are 80 children at the orphanage and the average age of the children is 6

-the children get their water for bathing from a local river (10 min walk) but do have one tap from which they can drink semi-clean running water

-there are no tables at all at the orphanage and the children sleep on straw mats on the floor with little protection from wind and rain

-my chores will mainly consist of cooking, bathing and dressing the children, serving food, washing clothes, and whenever possible, teaching at the school


I'm really excited and just want to say thank you to all of you who donated - from what I've learned so far, I'll be able to do some really great things with your donations and I will try and post as often as possible. The above pictures are just pictures I found on the internet in regards to Nkwanta. The picture of the children is on a road in Nkwanta. The picture of the elephant is an actual picture of an elephant at Mole National Park who wandered into the hotel that I plan to stay at. If this happened when I was there I would die of happiness. The other picture is of the Wli Falls which I plan to hike to and swim in.