Travels!

Alright, wow, I have a lot to say. First I would like to say that all is well and I'm having a really, really good time traveling.

The first place I went was Busua. Its a tiny town right outside of Takoradi. A whole lot of the AFSers were there. It was so good to just hang out with them again. Pretty much we just read, played cards, and swam.  Oh and also we tried to learn to surf. It was so much fun but extremely hard. After much practice I could actually stand up on my board! Wahoo! I got this massive bruise from it though :( We stayed in an adorable hotel and the owner made us free pancakes in the morning! They were so good!

The Surf Shop

This was a really perfect start to my holiday because I just relaxed and got to catch up with everyone.

At night the Ghanaians drummed, sang, and danced around a campfire on the beach.

Next Camille, Acadia(another American AFSer), and I went to Green Turtle Lodge in Akwidaa. We slept in a tent on the beach. It was a really touristy place, so we ate good food that night. It was really nice to just have a girls night. We talked about Ghana and how homesickness is treating us. I just cannot tell you how good it is to be around my dear AFSers again.

After green turtle lodge we went to Takoradi, spent the night, and left for Elmina in the morning. Here it was just me and Camille. We went to the Elmina Castle. This was a castle used for trade and also held many slaves during the slave trade. It was a really, really interesting place. It really made me think. Anyway we spent two nights in Elmina.

Next on our list was Cape Coast but instead we went to Accra. Camille has had these awful bites on her legs and they really were giving her pain. We were worried they were infected so we went from Elmina to the hospital in Accra. Since we were in Accra, we went to a beach just outside of it called Kokrobite. Here we met up with other AFSers again and just spent time on the beach and way way too much time shopping for souvenirs.

Dorm in Kokrobite

 Ok so I know its just a quick update but just know in doing good. I hope all of you had a great Easter!

Study Tour

Alright so I went on a study tour with my AFS group and it was AMAZING! The study tour was in the Volta region so we stayed in Ho. The hotel was like a 10 minute walk from my home! Anyway I cannot tell you how amazing it was to see the other AFSers! It was so exciting!

Ok so the first place we went was Wli falls. It was really fun to come with my AFS group. It had rained just before we arrived so there was a lot of water and all these bats were flying overhead while we swam. We didn't stay long but I am super glad I got to come again!

The next day we went to Mt. Paradise and hiked down to a river valley. No one knew quite what to expect but when we got there it was really beautiful. There was a fall and a pool of water at the bottom. We didn't bring our swim suits but a few of us swam anyways.

After that we went to Monkey Sanctuary. This was also amazing. All we did was walk the the tree line and then they were like everywhere! We would just hold up a banana and they would open it and eat it. They were so cute. Some of them even had babies clinging on their bellies!

Then on Sunday my school went on an outing to Grotto. Its like a catholic place of worship. There was this huge Mary statue. Then we walked around to smaller statues. Each one was a stage of the cross and had a prayer that went with it. Then we sat for a long mass. and I mean long. It was just over 5 hours.  

Ok so back to normal life. At church on Sunday was pastors appreciation day. See the offering!

Alright I also wanted to mention that I've past the half way point of my adventure. I think that the second half will be pretty different from the first because I am now done with school! I was only signed up for one term of school, which is now over. Whoots!

At the end of next week I leave for the cental region. I'm going to be traveling around the south of Ghana for two weeks with one of the AFSers from Belgium. I am so excited! Sorry for all the sideways pictures! Thanks for reading!