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.