January 11, 2011 Entry

So today we had class for a little bit but around 2:15, we got ready and loaded up the hotcatt for our orientation for our volunteer week at the school and orphanage! So, we arrived at the town in which we will be doing our volunteer work, and they brought us to a beautifully decorated church. They were playing instruments for us and singing to welcome us to their town and thank us for what we will be doing. We started dancing and singing with them too! Prince, the coordinator, welcomed us into the church and he began teaching us about some general facts to do with Ghana. We knew most of them already, but we sat and listened anyway. It was kind of a bizarre thing. Like there was a band that would play while Prince was teaching and then he would ask if we had questions but we weren’t sure what there would be questions to ask about. It was weird But anyway, there were children who kept coming into the church because they knew we were there. So after Prince stopped talking, we got to dance with the children. They were going crazy over the cameras and were posing for pictures. They even wanted to take my camera and take pictures themselves, but it scared me because I do not want to lose another camera haha They would all gather behind the camera so they could see how they looked in the pictures. It was so cute. But during all of this, a mother had a baby on her back in the traditional way they do it here, and she just took it off and gave the baby to Julie and wrapped the baby on her back. It was awesome! I definitely want to try that before we leave. Another thing I noticed was that very young children around ages 10 or 11 are taking care of babies that are only a few months old. It’s so interesting to see that their mother(most likely the child they are holding is there sibling) trusts them with the child! The boy who was carrying his sister was so good with her and would keep everyone away when they would get too loud or too pushy. He was so responsible and in touch with the baby’s needs. Also, a girl was in the church and she look much older. She was talking to us and she was very pretty. She even asked matt if she could have his kids- how funny is that hahaha But she came on the bus with us to see the school we will be teaching at and we dropped them off before we went back to GIMPA, but she sat next to me. Her name is Sandra and she is 18 years old, will be 19 on March 29. She has two siblings, a sister who is 25 and not married yet and a brother who is 23. She said she has a lot of friends and she loves Rihanna and Nelly! She wanted my phone number and the background on her phone was Nelly too. She had on beautiful bracelets, so I told her I loved them and she gave some to me! She said we were friends! It was the sweetest thing! I wished I had something to give to her, but I didn’t. Hopefully I will see her again so I can bring her a gift. She also said she doesn’t have a boyfriend and doesn’t want one because she loves the single life. She kept telling me she was coming to live with us at GIMPA and would come home to America with us and I just laughed...I wasn’t sure if she was kidding or serious haha. But when we were getting on the bus home to GIMPA, the kids ran with the bus saying goodbye. It was so cute! I didn’t want to leave them yet! On the way home I was looking out the window and I can’t help but notice all of the abandoned and unfinished buildings. I want to ask Ernest why its like that. But, that’s all for today!