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.