Thanks for all the birthday emails and wall posts, guys. I was so excited to get to the internet cafe today to read them! For my birthday, me and the other volunteers (the 5 others at my house and then 2 from Kasua) went to Cape Coast and stayed at Oasis again. I didn't go swimming this time because I am so terrified of the ocean here and plus I may or may not have seen a sting ray in one of the waves that was crashing. Its likely. Instead, I spent my birthday laying on the beach and signing with my newest friend Julius who is a deaf fisherman and who was so sweet. He knows american sign language and I know some too so we sort of had a conversation for like 2 hours but to be honest I didn't know everything he was saying.
The next morning we rolled out of bed and walked down the beach til we found this hut where this guy that looks just like Bob Marley makes chocolate pancakes for you and you sit there and watch the waves and eat pancakes. I had two banana milkshakes and chocolate pancakes and it was heaven. He kept running out of bananas because we kept ordering banana milkshakes so he would just get on his little blue bike and ride into town to buy more and then he'd come back and make more.
I HAVE TWO PUPPIES. I'm not sure why this wasn't the first sentence of my post. The lady down the street has a dog who gave birth to 2 puppies and they are only a few weeks old so i cant have them completely but I babysit them all the time. She tried to charge me to babysit them but then she decided not to when she saw I gave them baths and gave them flea medicine which was very hard to find around here. I made Azar and Crystal hold the puppies in different poses around the yard while I took pictures. Facebook album coming. They are named Bear (Bear looks like a bear) and White Heat (he's white) but Crystal calls him Jackson. I also have a cat that also belongs to our guard, Abu, but the cat won't let me near it. I'm working on getting a goat but I have to make arrangements for someone to watch it when I leave Africa and I don't trust anyone because they'll just eat it.
Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
on the tro-tro ride to cape coast
Fishermen bringing in their nets. The one in back goes to the front after a few pulls and they keep working that way and they sing a song as they bring it out.
Scratches from the nails of slaves being dragged from Cape Coast Castle to the slave ships.
Cape Coast and Cape Coast Castle. I'm going here again for my birthday.
This is a video of Prince getting his nose blown by Ma Margaret, the house mother. I love his face afterwards.
Things that have been going on:
One of the boys, Kwame, got kicked out of school because he ditches school and goes begging in the village. Azar got him dressed all nice and ironed his clothes and then we brought him to the headmistress who said that the boy is a "truant" and she will not take him back. Then she turned her chair all the way around and closed her eyes and wouldn't look at us so I took that to mean the meeting was over. Now we have to spend next week trying to find a school somewhere that will let Kwame in. Kwame was found wandering out in the bush by himself for god knows how long. He also was begging in the village because hes always hungry as a result of his worms. We made him lunch the other day and gave him dewormers so hopefully he'll get rid of the parasites.
The Mama Bear came out in me this week. The other day I noticed that William hadn't gone to school and when I asked why he stuttered and said that he'd been expelled. After talking to him for awhile I found out that he had been being bullied at school because he doesn't do well. He finally stood up to the boy who bullies him by writing a letter to the boy. In the letter he said that he just wished he could go home. The little shit that was bullying him gave the letter to their headmaster and the headmaster said to William "You wanna go home? Then go home." And he expelled him. Well I FREAKED out. I'm going to try and go to the school on Monday and use some sugar to try and get William back into school. William wasn't able to explain what happened to the headmaster and why he'd written the letter because he is so painfully shy. He said to me, "Lindsay, it is because I do not perform well that these boys mock me" and I just burst into tears and he was like comforting ME. It breaks my heart because there is no one to protect these kids from so many unfair things. If they don't let him in I don't know what I'm going to do because Word of Faith is a really good school and I don't want him to have to go to the Methodist school.
I discovered a treat here thats sold on the streets and its called Blowfu and its like a donut. I call them blowies and I walk around saying "I'm going out to get a blowie" and then I have myself a good little laugh and go get my blowie.
We have a mango tree in our yard and the other day we sat around and made our own mango juice. Wowie kazowie it was goooooood. (this wowie kazowie reference was for shea coakley and noah)
Chicobaby pissed on me! We threw a party for the orphanage the other day in honor of World Childrens Day (how did I never know this existed?) and Chicobaby fell asleep in my arms and then soaked the front of my dress. Also, I was on the radio!!!!!!!! This guy from the Ghana TV station came and filmed all of us giving speeches and stuff but I don't know if I was on TV or not. BUT, I do know that I was on the radio. I kind of sound like a ditz because I wasn't prepared. I answered some questions about the orphanage and then the guy said, "What are you doing in Ghana" and I said "I love Ghana!!!!" into the microphone and then he just kind of moved away and asked other people questions. Whatevs. I was on the radio at 6 am on Sunday here so I didn't even hear it.
Abu was NOT the one that was trying to get into our house that night. When we checked in the morning, the screen was torn and the chunk of wood we use to barricade the door was punched up on one side so someone did stick their hand through and try and punch the wood off the door. SO I WAS RIGHT. We bought some more locks and put them on the door so I feel much safer now.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I'm eating fufu tonight while you guys feast on turkey. Im missing a lot of things. I miss: stuffing, cold drinks, hot showers, pedicures, cheese (all kinds), the way Mike sings Battlefield, lettuce wraps from PF Changs, and a proper toilet that flushes on the first try.
Also, happy birthday to me.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Braveheart
People are always telling me that I remind them of Mel Gibson in Braveheart. It’s because I’m so brave. If you know me, you also know that I am not prone to exaggeration, I’m never dramatic, imaginative, or afraid of anything. I’m being sarcastic. However, the following events described REALLY happened and if you don’t believe me you can email crystal at crystal.beauchemin@gmail.com.
So there I was. It was 1 am and I was in my party dress holding a saw. I was wearing a party dress because had I just ran out of clean clothes and I’ve only known my roommates for a month and so I’m not ready for them to see me sleeping naked, yet. So I was sleeping in my party dress.
Let me start from the beginning. I was laying in my bunk bed, wide awake because I had just been up to use the bathroom, when I heard a loud clanging at the back door. It was the sound of someone trying very hard to get in. After about 8 to 10 seconds it stopped. I lay there not moving and not breathing. About 20 seconds later I heard what can only be described as the sound of someone being strangled. In my mind, I was picturing the attackers strangling our poor old guard, Abu. Abu is a solid 90 lbs. and could never defend us against what I was estimating to be 4 to 6 attackers. I’m pretty sure if it came to it, I could even defeat Abu in a physical challenge.
Anyway, moments after the gurgling sound, came the sound of footsteps walking around the house. As someone who was raised on countless episodes of Murder She Wrote as a toddler, I was very aware that this was not the time to just roll over and go to sleep. For about 1 minute I thought about whether to wake someone up and tell them what I’d heard. I decided to say something. “Is anyone else awake?” I whispered. “Yes” said Corrie. I told her what I’d heard and she said she’d heard it too. At that point Crystal heard us talking and got scared and wanted to know what we should do. When I realized everyone else was scared, I started thinking, “Wow this is really happening. This is how it’s going to go down.” I reached for my swiss army knife which I keep under one of the slats of the bed above me. I was shaking so hard and fumbling that I could only get the 2 inch saw out. Corrie said we should get the boys but none of us wanted to leave the room. I couldn’t find my cell phone to call them and instead, I ended up accidentally dumping a ton of coins out onto the floor, which made us all jump. Corrie got up and went and woke the boys. They went out to the front door to check on Abu who was sleeping all cozy on his mat.
Now is about the time I started to feel like an asshole and I began to pray that someone would attack us just so that I wouldn’t look like the jerk who had turned on all the lights and woken up 5 people I barely know. I assured everyone that I was the one that probably frightened the attackers away when I dropped all the coins on the floor. Azar and Matt think that it was Abu just trying to get into the house to turn on the porch lights and that the gurgling sound was probably him just spitting or coughing. About now you’re probably wondering where my machete was in all of this. Ironically, earlier in the day, I had lent Abu my machete because he was going to the field. He thought I was giving it to him and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was only lending it so I just let him keep it. I don’t even use it that much anyway because it makes my arm tired to cut grass at a 45 degree angle like that. I also find it ironic that the man that is supposed to be protecting us is the one that actually scared us by trying to get into the house. Abu, or should I say JUDAS, is not going to be getting any more machete gifts from me.
So there I was. It was 1 am and I was in my party dress holding a saw. I was wearing a party dress because had I just ran out of clean clothes and I’ve only known my roommates for a month and so I’m not ready for them to see me sleeping naked, yet. So I was sleeping in my party dress.
Let me start from the beginning. I was laying in my bunk bed, wide awake because I had just been up to use the bathroom, when I heard a loud clanging at the back door. It was the sound of someone trying very hard to get in. After about 8 to 10 seconds it stopped. I lay there not moving and not breathing. About 20 seconds later I heard what can only be described as the sound of someone being strangled. In my mind, I was picturing the attackers strangling our poor old guard, Abu. Abu is a solid 90 lbs. and could never defend us against what I was estimating to be 4 to 6 attackers. I’m pretty sure if it came to it, I could even defeat Abu in a physical challenge.
Anyway, moments after the gurgling sound, came the sound of footsteps walking around the house. As someone who was raised on countless episodes of Murder She Wrote as a toddler, I was very aware that this was not the time to just roll over and go to sleep. For about 1 minute I thought about whether to wake someone up and tell them what I’d heard. I decided to say something. “Is anyone else awake?” I whispered. “Yes” said Corrie. I told her what I’d heard and she said she’d heard it too. At that point Crystal heard us talking and got scared and wanted to know what we should do. When I realized everyone else was scared, I started thinking, “Wow this is really happening. This is how it’s going to go down.” I reached for my swiss army knife which I keep under one of the slats of the bed above me. I was shaking so hard and fumbling that I could only get the 2 inch saw out. Corrie said we should get the boys but none of us wanted to leave the room. I couldn’t find my cell phone to call them and instead, I ended up accidentally dumping a ton of coins out onto the floor, which made us all jump. Corrie got up and went and woke the boys. They went out to the front door to check on Abu who was sleeping all cozy on his mat.
Now is about the time I started to feel like an asshole and I began to pray that someone would attack us just so that I wouldn’t look like the jerk who had turned on all the lights and woken up 5 people I barely know. I assured everyone that I was the one that probably frightened the attackers away when I dropped all the coins on the floor. Azar and Matt think that it was Abu just trying to get into the house to turn on the porch lights and that the gurgling sound was probably him just spitting or coughing. About now you’re probably wondering where my machete was in all of this. Ironically, earlier in the day, I had lent Abu my machete because he was going to the field. He thought I was giving it to him and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I was only lending it so I just let him keep it. I don’t even use it that much anyway because it makes my arm tired to cut grass at a 45 degree angle like that. I also find it ironic that the man that is supposed to be protecting us is the one that actually scared us by trying to get into the house. Abu, or should I say JUDAS, is not going to be getting any more machete gifts from me.
More pictures!
George studying for his Technology exam
Prince is Chicobaby's brother and he is crazy! The other day he knocked Godwyn the baby flat on his face and Godwyn started crying and I went running over and Prince had that "oh shit" look on his face and he went running down the hall. I thought it was pretty funny so I started chasing him and I got to the bedroom where he had run into but he was no where in sight. I said "Priiiiiiince" outloud in a stern voice and I hear (from under the bed and in an equally stern voice) "Ooooobruniiiiiiiii" (which means White person). The kids don't really call me Lindsay, they just call all of us "Obruoni". I've included the picture I took of Prince after I pulled up the mattress and found him under the bed.
Bernice and Koko
Bizmark getting water at the well in the middle of the orphanage
Justice - who was sick.
Me and Abena
The open sewers where Matt, a volunteer fell into
me eating Banku
Prince is Chicobaby's brother and he is crazy! The other day he knocked Godwyn the baby flat on his face and Godwyn started crying and I went running over and Prince had that "oh shit" look on his face and he went running down the hall. I thought it was pretty funny so I started chasing him and I got to the bedroom where he had run into but he was no where in sight. I said "Priiiiiiince" outloud in a stern voice and I hear (from under the bed and in an equally stern voice) "Ooooobruniiiiiiiii" (which means White person). The kids don't really call me Lindsay, they just call all of us "Obruoni". I've included the picture I took of Prince after I pulled up the mattress and found him under the bed.
Bernice and Koko
Bizmark getting water at the well in the middle of the orphanage
Justice - who was sick.
Me and Abena
The open sewers where Matt, a volunteer fell into
me eating Banku
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. We were really busy last week and then there was no power at the internet cafe and then we went away for the weekend. We got a few more volunteers living with us so that's been really helpful. We got Matt from California and Corrie from London. Azar also moved in with us because he wasn't really liking living in Frankidua so now there's 6 of us : me, Crystal, Sara, Matt, Corrie, and Azar. The kids are loving having guys at the orphanage to play with because the guys can swing them around and play soccer with them. When I tried to play soccer I got a little too enthusiastic and kicked the ball at their pipe by the well and knocked it off its stand or whatever and the older boys had to fix it.
The past two weeks have been tougher than usual. Mercy and Justice were both very sick one night with horrible fevers so Crystal and I took them to the hospital. We sat at this rural clinic place for 6 hours and didn't see one doctor. There was just one nurse and she was tough and NOT gentle at all. She gave me a suppository to put in Mercy and I kind of looked at her like "I'm not doing this" so she got all mad and made me hold down Mercy while she inserted it into Mercy's little bottom. I've never had to do something like that and I was really rattled afterwards. I felt so guilty for having to hold Mercy down on the bed for it so I bought her a big loaf of bread afterwards and we sat in the waiting room afterwards tearing off chunks of bread and eating it so I think she forgave me. Then the nurse wanted to give her a shot and I had to leave the room for that and Crystal had to hold her during her shot because I couldn't stand hearing her scream. We left the clinic pretty late at night and had to walk up to the main road to try and catch a tro-tro and when we finally got up there, I freaked out because we almost didn't have enough money to get back and I wasn't sure what we would do but I ended up finding coins in my pocket. It wasn't the time to have no money and have to walk back to Dodowa with two feverish orphans on a deserted road.
This past weekend we went to Kokobrite again to Big Milly's. It feels like Jamaica every time we go. Its all Rastafarians and palm trees and Star beers and Bob Marley playing on the stereo and laying on the beach and crazy sunsets. It doesn't suck. We probably aren't going to go back anymore though because some people got mugged on the beach at 2 am one of the nights we were there (they're idiots for being on the beach then anyway considering everyone warns you about the beach) and also, after we went to bed two Rastafarians got into a fight over some woman and one broke a bottle and stabbed the other guy in the stomach. YES, I MISSED IT! I thought you only get bottled in the movies so that it was pretty thrilling to hear the story from one of the guards the next morning. I asked if the police came and everyone laughed at me and said there are no police in Kokobrite and then I asked if the guy went to the hospital and my new friend Edwin (this Rastafarian who once lived in London and wears a shirt that says Pump It Up) laughed and said nobody goes to the hospital. People are hardcore here! I also got a massage in which I was pressured by the lady to get completely nude in a hut with walls missing and that almost everyone in the hotel can see into. She kept asking me why I was so tense and why couldn't I relax and all I could think was "LADY! YOU'VE GOT ME GREASED UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS HAM ON THIS GURNEY AND YOU'RE MASSAGING ME WHILE I'M FULLY NUDE IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE HOTEL. YOU'RE ASS WOULD BE TENSE TOO!"
Yesterday I got really freaked out. This man came into the orphanage and started bowing to Crystal and we had no idea who he was and it turned out to be Mercy's father. He was coming back to take her home. Apparently, Mercy isn't an orphan, her parents are both "not well in the head" (CRAZY) and she was taken away from them. From time to time, Mercy's father comes to try and take her home but he's not allowed to. Mercy went running up to him and was so happy and was like marching all around because she was so happy. Then she realized he was trying to take her and she would have to leave the orphanage and she freaked out. She climbed up my body and was clinging to my neck. Mama Jane, the house mother, tried kicking him out and this whole scene unfolded where he was screaming and Mercy was crying into my neck because she was scared and I was trying to cover Mercy's ears so she couldn't hear what was happening and then the man left to go get the police but the police never came. Mercy clung to my clothing for about 2 hours before I got her to relax by pretending to be having a conversation with the lizard that was a few feet away from us and she finally started to relax and giggle.
This morning, I was walking to the orphanage by myself. This lady came up behind me and was telling me to come to the river with her right away. I couldn't understand anything she was saying but I understood she wanted me to go to the river with her and I thought maybe one of the children was there and was hurt or something so I went with her. At the river she started showing me that the sewage from the orphanage runs straight into the river and then people downriver drink the water. I said I would try and figure something out with Mama Jane. Maybe I can find a plumber here who can fix this because I have no idea what to do about it. Anyway, all of a sudden, she grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me towards her and she said (in perfect English), "You can give me something now" and she started trying to KISS ME ON THE MOUTH. First of all, her breath REAKED of alcohol. Second of all, I kept trying to turn my head so she could like just kiss me on the cheek (I dont know, I was thinking maybe this is a cultural thing that I have to respect, maybe you're supposed to kiss people when you go to the river with them???) but she kept trying to kiss me on the mouth so I sort of like pulled my wrists away from her and started saying "Let's just go back ok? I've really got to get to the orphanage. Thanks for your help" and I like half ran to the orphanage. When I got there, all the older girls were laughing and saying that they saw the whole thing. They said she's like the town nutcase and that she likes to drink and was probably just really drunk.
OH! Also important! On Matt and Corries first night, we took them to the "bar" in our town. Ok to get a good visual, you have to understand that there are open sewers here. This means that along all the roads there about 2 foot wide ditches that you have to jump over whenever you're crossing the street. Well, Matt didn't quite make it and FELL IN THE SEWER! ITS FILLED WITH POOP AND PEE AND PLASTIC BAGS AND ALL KINDS OF DISGUSTING THINGS. I feel really bad but I was laughing so hard that I was crying. When I think about it I start laughing hysterically again. Just now after I typed that I started laughing again and Crystal thought I was crying about something. Anyway, when we got back to the house he had to like soak his skin because I can't even explain to you how gross the sewers are here. It was even on his neck. There was shit on his chin, even. Human shit!
I'm loving being here and I am pretty positive that I'm spending the rest of my life in and out of Africa, but believe me, I'm missing all of you. I'm also missing cheese and my mom. Liz, you'll like this: One night I woke up but was still half-asleep and I thought I saw a spider on my wrist and I started punching my own wrist and then I realized it was my tattoo and I was like "oh yea, I have this."
Please keep sending me emails with updates on all of your lives. It keeps me sane.
The past two weeks have been tougher than usual. Mercy and Justice were both very sick one night with horrible fevers so Crystal and I took them to the hospital. We sat at this rural clinic place for 6 hours and didn't see one doctor. There was just one nurse and she was tough and NOT gentle at all. She gave me a suppository to put in Mercy and I kind of looked at her like "I'm not doing this" so she got all mad and made me hold down Mercy while she inserted it into Mercy's little bottom. I've never had to do something like that and I was really rattled afterwards. I felt so guilty for having to hold Mercy down on the bed for it so I bought her a big loaf of bread afterwards and we sat in the waiting room afterwards tearing off chunks of bread and eating it so I think she forgave me. Then the nurse wanted to give her a shot and I had to leave the room for that and Crystal had to hold her during her shot because I couldn't stand hearing her scream. We left the clinic pretty late at night and had to walk up to the main road to try and catch a tro-tro and when we finally got up there, I freaked out because we almost didn't have enough money to get back and I wasn't sure what we would do but I ended up finding coins in my pocket. It wasn't the time to have no money and have to walk back to Dodowa with two feverish orphans on a deserted road.
This past weekend we went to Kokobrite again to Big Milly's. It feels like Jamaica every time we go. Its all Rastafarians and palm trees and Star beers and Bob Marley playing on the stereo and laying on the beach and crazy sunsets. It doesn't suck. We probably aren't going to go back anymore though because some people got mugged on the beach at 2 am one of the nights we were there (they're idiots for being on the beach then anyway considering everyone warns you about the beach) and also, after we went to bed two Rastafarians got into a fight over some woman and one broke a bottle and stabbed the other guy in the stomach. YES, I MISSED IT! I thought you only get bottled in the movies so that it was pretty thrilling to hear the story from one of the guards the next morning. I asked if the police came and everyone laughed at me and said there are no police in Kokobrite and then I asked if the guy went to the hospital and my new friend Edwin (this Rastafarian who once lived in London and wears a shirt that says Pump It Up) laughed and said nobody goes to the hospital. People are hardcore here! I also got a massage in which I was pressured by the lady to get completely nude in a hut with walls missing and that almost everyone in the hotel can see into. She kept asking me why I was so tense and why couldn't I relax and all I could think was "LADY! YOU'VE GOT ME GREASED UP LIKE A CHRISTMAS HAM ON THIS GURNEY AND YOU'RE MASSAGING ME WHILE I'M FULLY NUDE IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE HOTEL. YOU'RE ASS WOULD BE TENSE TOO!"
Yesterday I got really freaked out. This man came into the orphanage and started bowing to Crystal and we had no idea who he was and it turned out to be Mercy's father. He was coming back to take her home. Apparently, Mercy isn't an orphan, her parents are both "not well in the head" (CRAZY) and she was taken away from them. From time to time, Mercy's father comes to try and take her home but he's not allowed to. Mercy went running up to him and was so happy and was like marching all around because she was so happy. Then she realized he was trying to take her and she would have to leave the orphanage and she freaked out. She climbed up my body and was clinging to my neck. Mama Jane, the house mother, tried kicking him out and this whole scene unfolded where he was screaming and Mercy was crying into my neck because she was scared and I was trying to cover Mercy's ears so she couldn't hear what was happening and then the man left to go get the police but the police never came. Mercy clung to my clothing for about 2 hours before I got her to relax by pretending to be having a conversation with the lizard that was a few feet away from us and she finally started to relax and giggle.
This morning, I was walking to the orphanage by myself. This lady came up behind me and was telling me to come to the river with her right away. I couldn't understand anything she was saying but I understood she wanted me to go to the river with her and I thought maybe one of the children was there and was hurt or something so I went with her. At the river she started showing me that the sewage from the orphanage runs straight into the river and then people downriver drink the water. I said I would try and figure something out with Mama Jane. Maybe I can find a plumber here who can fix this because I have no idea what to do about it. Anyway, all of a sudden, she grabbed me by the wrists and pulled me towards her and she said (in perfect English), "You can give me something now" and she started trying to KISS ME ON THE MOUTH. First of all, her breath REAKED of alcohol. Second of all, I kept trying to turn my head so she could like just kiss me on the cheek (I dont know, I was thinking maybe this is a cultural thing that I have to respect, maybe you're supposed to kiss people when you go to the river with them???) but she kept trying to kiss me on the mouth so I sort of like pulled my wrists away from her and started saying "Let's just go back ok? I've really got to get to the orphanage. Thanks for your help" and I like half ran to the orphanage. When I got there, all the older girls were laughing and saying that they saw the whole thing. They said she's like the town nutcase and that she likes to drink and was probably just really drunk.
OH! Also important! On Matt and Corries first night, we took them to the "bar" in our town. Ok to get a good visual, you have to understand that there are open sewers here. This means that along all the roads there about 2 foot wide ditches that you have to jump over whenever you're crossing the street. Well, Matt didn't quite make it and FELL IN THE SEWER! ITS FILLED WITH POOP AND PEE AND PLASTIC BAGS AND ALL KINDS OF DISGUSTING THINGS. I feel really bad but I was laughing so hard that I was crying. When I think about it I start laughing hysterically again. Just now after I typed that I started laughing again and Crystal thought I was crying about something. Anyway, when we got back to the house he had to like soak his skin because I can't even explain to you how gross the sewers are here. It was even on his neck. There was shit on his chin, even. Human shit!
I'm loving being here and I am pretty positive that I'm spending the rest of my life in and out of Africa, but believe me, I'm missing all of you. I'm also missing cheese and my mom. Liz, you'll like this: One night I woke up but was still half-asleep and I thought I saw a spider on my wrist and I started punching my own wrist and then I realized it was my tattoo and I was like "oh yea, I have this."
Please keep sending me emails with updates on all of your lives. It keeps me sane.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
MACHETE
-I'm going to attempt to upload pictures later so make sure you check back.
-I bought my machete. It curves at the tip which is cool and very dramatic looking. When I got home from buying it I immediately went to our front yard where the grass is about 3 inches high. I got down on my knees and was hacking at the grass when I heard, "Madam Lindsay?" One of the little boys from the orphanage had been walking by our house and since I had left the front gate open he could see me. I realized that I looked like a maniac. I mostly just walk around the yard slapping plants with it and saying "BURMESE PIRATES! BURMESE PIRATES!" in Rambo's deep voice. The machete works well though and I also bought one for the older boys at the orphanage so they can cut their own firewood instead of buying it. On Sunday I might go with them into the mountain to help since I have a machete.
-I realized that I sounded a bit bossy about donations before. If someone wants to send packages of items to us PLEASE do so! The kids would looooove to get packages of items (maybe packages of hygiene products - mini deoderants, underwear, shampoos and conditioners, lotions, razors etc. for the older kids? They have toothbrushes and stuff but maybe fun girly products? I took Abigail to get pimple cream the other day and she was soo happy. None of them have long hair so don't bother with hairties or barrettes. The older girls are all very self-conscious about their hygiene so that might be a fun project to put together for them. Theres about 10 preteens/teenage girls. Let me know if you're interested.) We also have two babies (Godwyn & Beauty) who could use the basics - baby toys (we have NONE), some rubber bibs (preferably not cloth since its just another thing to wash and I KNOW the house mother, Ma Margaret, won't bother with them) baby wipes, diapers, baby powder or soap, rash cream etc. Also, ANY MEDICAL STUFF. I don't recognize any of the medicines here and honestly, I don't really trust them. They have something here called Blood Tonic and it gives you more blood? This is something they sell in the town pharmacy. WHAT? Cold medicine, fever reducers, tissues, BANDAIDS (we need these desperately because they're hard to come by here).
I'll post the address to send it to in my next post since I don't have the address with me.
-I bought my machete. It curves at the tip which is cool and very dramatic looking. When I got home from buying it I immediately went to our front yard where the grass is about 3 inches high. I got down on my knees and was hacking at the grass when I heard, "Madam Lindsay?" One of the little boys from the orphanage had been walking by our house and since I had left the front gate open he could see me. I realized that I looked like a maniac. I mostly just walk around the yard slapping plants with it and saying "BURMESE PIRATES! BURMESE PIRATES!" in Rambo's deep voice. The machete works well though and I also bought one for the older boys at the orphanage so they can cut their own firewood instead of buying it. On Sunday I might go with them into the mountain to help since I have a machete.
-I realized that I sounded a bit bossy about donations before. If someone wants to send packages of items to us PLEASE do so! The kids would looooove to get packages of items (maybe packages of hygiene products - mini deoderants, underwear, shampoos and conditioners, lotions, razors etc. for the older kids? They have toothbrushes and stuff but maybe fun girly products? I took Abigail to get pimple cream the other day and she was soo happy. None of them have long hair so don't bother with hairties or barrettes. The older girls are all very self-conscious about their hygiene so that might be a fun project to put together for them. Theres about 10 preteens/teenage girls. Let me know if you're interested.) We also have two babies (Godwyn & Beauty) who could use the basics - baby toys (we have NONE), some rubber bibs (preferably not cloth since its just another thing to wash and I KNOW the house mother, Ma Margaret, won't bother with them) baby wipes, diapers, baby powder or soap, rash cream etc. Also, ANY MEDICAL STUFF. I don't recognize any of the medicines here and honestly, I don't really trust them. They have something here called Blood Tonic and it gives you more blood? This is something they sell in the town pharmacy. WHAT? Cold medicine, fever reducers, tissues, BANDAIDS (we need these desperately because they're hard to come by here).
I'll post the address to send it to in my next post since I don't have the address with me.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Human Sacrifices, Parasites, and Swimming
I went away this weekend and really missed the kids. It was so nice to come back and see them this morning! Godwyn just lights up when he sees me which makes me feel like a million bucks. Even Beauty today came running up to me and lifted her arms for me to pick her up. That’s the most animated I’ve seen Beauty behave so far. Later I have to walk to the market to buy rope and a bucket for the well at the orphanage because the rope snapped and they lost their bucket and they’ve been using a stick to haul up buckets of water. I think I’m going to wrap Godwyn on my back and head into the market in a little while.
Having food at the orphanage has been great. I've spent half the donation money on food for the kids. Food here is much more expensive than I ever anticipated because everything has to be imported. A bag of rice that will last about a week costs gh70 which is 70 cedis or about $40. Thats a lot of money here. They usually use about 2 bags a week because there are 60 mouths. Some of you have asked about sending things and that's really great but I also know its very expensive to send mail here and I would have to pay on my end to even receive packages. Money is really the best bet because I can buy food which is really the main priority here. They have pencils. They have crayons. What they need is food in their tummies. The worst part about going back to the orphanage at night to tuck in the kids is when the smaller ones (2 and 3 year olds) moan and cry and say they are hungry still. Luckily, because of the donations I collected before I left, they've been fed very well for the past few weeks and they don't go to sleep crying! Thank you thank you thank you!
Sorry I haven’t written in awhile, we’ve been really busy and plus I was REALLY sick for a week and couldn't even leave my bed. We got a new volunteer named Sara from Sweden and luckily she sort of took my place because I couldn’t even make it to the orphanage for two days. I have never been that sick before. I had fevers and chills and was vomiting and shaking really bad. Just before I got better I was about to go to the hospital because someone said I might have worms or a parasite. Luckily though, Friday morning I woke up and was totally fine, just exhausted from my fevers. I’ve felt fine since Friday so I don’t think I’m going to go to the hospital because I don’t really want to know if I have a parasite or not because if I find out I do I’m just going to tear into my own stomach with my swiss army knife because I can’t bear the thought of something wriggling around in my intestines. Speaking of knives, today I am going to the market to buy a machete. Just to have for fun. I don’t think I can get it through Customs in the US when I come back so I’m just going to keep it while I’m living here and then give it away when I move back. I have a mental list of things I need to do with my machete (cut the grass, bang on trees, etc). Anyway, sometimes I convince myself that I can feel the parasite slithering around but Beatrice said that’s not possible. So maybe I do or maybe I don’t but all I know is that I’m not sick anymore and that’s good because I was able to go to Cape Coast this weekend which was siiiick.
I’m obsessed with Cape Coast and I’m going back like every other weekend from now on. On Friday we took 3 different tro-tros and it took 6 hours but we made it to Cape Coast and stayed at this place called Oasis Beach Resort which is just a bar on the beach with little straw huts that you sleep in. When we arrived we didn’t have a reservation so they put us in a “dorm” with a bunch of girls from Germany. I didn’t care at all. We slept in bunk beds in this hut on the beach and all shared an outdoor shower but it was fun to use because you just shower in the sunshine which felt nice. So Crystal, Sara and I arrived in the afternoon and then later on these guys I met last weekend and who have been teaching in Frankidua came to Cape Coast to meet up with us. It was so weird because we had met Dale last weekend (an American kid) and so he was coming to meet us and was bringing a friend and when they arrived, his friend was Azar who is the British kid I met when I first got here. Small World!
Anyway, Saturday we all went to Cape Coast Castle which is a castle that was used as a slave fort. Most of the slaves from West Africa were kept at this castle while they waited for the slave ships that would bring them to America. It was horrible. It was also eerie because it was this beautiful white castle on this beautiful pristine beach but the most horrible things happened there. They bring you down in this dungeon and you can still see the finger nail marks on the walls from when people were dragged in there. The door that all the people went through to get on their slave ship is called The Door of No Return and we had to walk through it and it was really chilling.
After the fort we met up with some other girls I had met a few weekends ago and had told to meet us at Oasis. It was really fun because it was Crystal, Sara, me, Dale, Azar, Haley, and Kelsey and we just partied at the beach that night. Sunday we all woke up and lay on the beach. I tried to go swimming and almost died. The waves here are terrifying. They crash so hard and then slam you in the face. One ripped my bathing suit almost all the way off- that’s how powerful they are. One knocked Crystal and Haley over and they couldn’t even get back up, they were just getting dragged around by the wave.
IMPORTANT UPDATES ON MY LIFE:
- I accidentally kicked a baby chick while walking at night. This ruined my night.
- My hair is crazy looking, it’s grown a lot from the African heat and its long and like WHITE blonde. I’m also the tannest I’ve ever been in my life.
- There was a dead goat in front of our house for two days until someone finally moved it.
- In Canada they sometimes spell Jelly with a G, like gelly, and so Crystal tried to give me Aloe Vera Gelly but I wouldn’t use it because it’s spelled wrong. I told her to “gelly the hell out of here with that gelly.” I’ve learned that Canadians do a lot of things weird like put mayonnaise or butter on everything.
- I got a pet while I was in Cape Coast. He’s a white dog that I named Trigger and he has to stay there with his other owner, the security guard at our hotel, but I’ll be visiting him all the time. He tried to attack fisherman who were giving me a hard time on the beach one day when I was walking down it. He’s the most loyal African dog in all the land.
- An awkward thing that happened was that this African man asked to take a picture with me so he gave his girlfriend his camera and made her take all these pictures of him and me. Sometimes I don’t know how to act in situations like that.
Also, Dale was telling me this weekend that up where he was living, in the Volta region, the government is having a hard time with the tribes there. Apparently, every time a chief dies, there have to be a couple human sacrifices so that those humans can cross over and help the chief. Not too far away from him, there have been 3 human sacrifices in 3 months. These aren't people that go willingly, they are people in the tribe who are kidnapped from their beds in the middle of the night and beheaded. Apparently its a big problem because the government can't change the traditions of these tribes. When he was telling me this at the bar, a local was nodding his head and I asked him if he knew about it and he said that its a very common problem and that it happened only a couple months ago down the main road from where we were staying. The government is trying to encourage the tribes to sacrifice cows instead. Anyway, Dale, Azar, Crystal and I are all going to try to set something up after Ghana. We were talking about all moving to South America for a bit to work or teach there, possibly in Bolivia.
I'm not at the internet cafe. I'm using my internet stick so if you've sent me any emails, I'll be able to email you back later when I go to the cafe. I promise I'm not ignoring anybody's emails! Miss you guys. Don't forget my birthday is November 26th and that you should all have a Lindsay Remembrance Day. Maybe pour some champagne and do a toast, I dont know, it's really up to you guys I guess. Just some things I thought of that you could put in your toast: Lindsay is Gods gift to earth, you're better for having known her, and you miss her charm, beauty, and grace. Totally up to you how you celebrate my birthday. Be sure to send me birthday emails since you can't call me. If I don't receive an email from you.... than we were never friends and I now own a machete so you better get good with your God.
Having food at the orphanage has been great. I've spent half the donation money on food for the kids. Food here is much more expensive than I ever anticipated because everything has to be imported. A bag of rice that will last about a week costs gh70 which is 70 cedis or about $40. Thats a lot of money here. They usually use about 2 bags a week because there are 60 mouths. Some of you have asked about sending things and that's really great but I also know its very expensive to send mail here and I would have to pay on my end to even receive packages. Money is really the best bet because I can buy food which is really the main priority here. They have pencils. They have crayons. What they need is food in their tummies. The worst part about going back to the orphanage at night to tuck in the kids is when the smaller ones (2 and 3 year olds) moan and cry and say they are hungry still. Luckily, because of the donations I collected before I left, they've been fed very well for the past few weeks and they don't go to sleep crying! Thank you thank you thank you!
Sorry I haven’t written in awhile, we’ve been really busy and plus I was REALLY sick for a week and couldn't even leave my bed. We got a new volunteer named Sara from Sweden and luckily she sort of took my place because I couldn’t even make it to the orphanage for two days. I have never been that sick before. I had fevers and chills and was vomiting and shaking really bad. Just before I got better I was about to go to the hospital because someone said I might have worms or a parasite. Luckily though, Friday morning I woke up and was totally fine, just exhausted from my fevers. I’ve felt fine since Friday so I don’t think I’m going to go to the hospital because I don’t really want to know if I have a parasite or not because if I find out I do I’m just going to tear into my own stomach with my swiss army knife because I can’t bear the thought of something wriggling around in my intestines. Speaking of knives, today I am going to the market to buy a machete. Just to have for fun. I don’t think I can get it through Customs in the US when I come back so I’m just going to keep it while I’m living here and then give it away when I move back. I have a mental list of things I need to do with my machete (cut the grass, bang on trees, etc). Anyway, sometimes I convince myself that I can feel the parasite slithering around but Beatrice said that’s not possible. So maybe I do or maybe I don’t but all I know is that I’m not sick anymore and that’s good because I was able to go to Cape Coast this weekend which was siiiick.
I’m obsessed with Cape Coast and I’m going back like every other weekend from now on. On Friday we took 3 different tro-tros and it took 6 hours but we made it to Cape Coast and stayed at this place called Oasis Beach Resort which is just a bar on the beach with little straw huts that you sleep in. When we arrived we didn’t have a reservation so they put us in a “dorm” with a bunch of girls from Germany. I didn’t care at all. We slept in bunk beds in this hut on the beach and all shared an outdoor shower but it was fun to use because you just shower in the sunshine which felt nice. So Crystal, Sara and I arrived in the afternoon and then later on these guys I met last weekend and who have been teaching in Frankidua came to Cape Coast to meet up with us. It was so weird because we had met Dale last weekend (an American kid) and so he was coming to meet us and was bringing a friend and when they arrived, his friend was Azar who is the British kid I met when I first got here. Small World!
Anyway, Saturday we all went to Cape Coast Castle which is a castle that was used as a slave fort. Most of the slaves from West Africa were kept at this castle while they waited for the slave ships that would bring them to America. It was horrible. It was also eerie because it was this beautiful white castle on this beautiful pristine beach but the most horrible things happened there. They bring you down in this dungeon and you can still see the finger nail marks on the walls from when people were dragged in there. The door that all the people went through to get on their slave ship is called The Door of No Return and we had to walk through it and it was really chilling.
After the fort we met up with some other girls I had met a few weekends ago and had told to meet us at Oasis. It was really fun because it was Crystal, Sara, me, Dale, Azar, Haley, and Kelsey and we just partied at the beach that night. Sunday we all woke up and lay on the beach. I tried to go swimming and almost died. The waves here are terrifying. They crash so hard and then slam you in the face. One ripped my bathing suit almost all the way off- that’s how powerful they are. One knocked Crystal and Haley over and they couldn’t even get back up, they were just getting dragged around by the wave.
IMPORTANT UPDATES ON MY LIFE:
- I accidentally kicked a baby chick while walking at night. This ruined my night.
- My hair is crazy looking, it’s grown a lot from the African heat and its long and like WHITE blonde. I’m also the tannest I’ve ever been in my life.
- There was a dead goat in front of our house for two days until someone finally moved it.
- In Canada they sometimes spell Jelly with a G, like gelly, and so Crystal tried to give me Aloe Vera Gelly but I wouldn’t use it because it’s spelled wrong. I told her to “gelly the hell out of here with that gelly.” I’ve learned that Canadians do a lot of things weird like put mayonnaise or butter on everything.
- I got a pet while I was in Cape Coast. He’s a white dog that I named Trigger and he has to stay there with his other owner, the security guard at our hotel, but I’ll be visiting him all the time. He tried to attack fisherman who were giving me a hard time on the beach one day when I was walking down it. He’s the most loyal African dog in all the land.
- An awkward thing that happened was that this African man asked to take a picture with me so he gave his girlfriend his camera and made her take all these pictures of him and me. Sometimes I don’t know how to act in situations like that.
Also, Dale was telling me this weekend that up where he was living, in the Volta region, the government is having a hard time with the tribes there. Apparently, every time a chief dies, there have to be a couple human sacrifices so that those humans can cross over and help the chief. Not too far away from him, there have been 3 human sacrifices in 3 months. These aren't people that go willingly, they are people in the tribe who are kidnapped from their beds in the middle of the night and beheaded. Apparently its a big problem because the government can't change the traditions of these tribes. When he was telling me this at the bar, a local was nodding his head and I asked him if he knew about it and he said that its a very common problem and that it happened only a couple months ago down the main road from where we were staying. The government is trying to encourage the tribes to sacrifice cows instead. Anyway, Dale, Azar, Crystal and I are all going to try to set something up after Ghana. We were talking about all moving to South America for a bit to work or teach there, possibly in Bolivia.
I'm not at the internet cafe. I'm using my internet stick so if you've sent me any emails, I'll be able to email you back later when I go to the cafe. I promise I'm not ignoring anybody's emails! Miss you guys. Don't forget my birthday is November 26th and that you should all have a Lindsay Remembrance Day. Maybe pour some champagne and do a toast, I dont know, it's really up to you guys I guess. Just some things I thought of that you could put in your toast: Lindsay is Gods gift to earth, you're better for having known her, and you miss her charm, beauty, and grace. Totally up to you how you celebrate my birthday. Be sure to send me birthday emails since you can't call me. If I don't receive an email from you.... than we were never friends and I now own a machete so you better get good with your God.
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