Just the Beginning...

Going abroad isn't just another year in your life, it's a life in a year. 

The journey begins....

 Here is the Truelove Gang at Redding Airport after repacking all my luggage to meet the weight requirements and $200 in excess fees later...


Departed Redding, California 07 Aug 2013@ 10:06am
Arrived Accra, Ghana 08 Aug 2013@ 6:55pm
Time difference +8hours

I landed in Accra safe and sound... and very tired. The wonderful Rotarians and one Rotaracter were waiting for me to get off the plane! I was so thankful to see several smiling faces there to greet me.  I stayed my first few days in Dinah's home. Dinah has volunteered to be my hostess and I will spend most weekends at her house; she is my Ghanaian mother. Dinah showed me around Accra, introduced me to her family, and fed me some Ghanaian foods. We had an eventful weekend.

We went to a wedding on the beach...
     We went to church...
           & then visited the home of my sponsor, Gilbert, for lunch.

 He offered us my first glass of wine.
      When it was brought out, to my surprise, it was not only Chilean but from Concha y Toro!
      That is the winery we visited in Chile together as a group. It was a great day! So for the next 15      
      minutes I couldn't stop talking about Chile. I was very excited! I know my Chilemigos will
      be too ;)

First glass of wine in Ghana was Chilean! :) 

& then they introduced me to Fu Fu.

Peanut butter soup with fish fish and Fu Fu. 

Some Ghanaians love Fu Fu, others hate it. 

It's a very starchy paste made of yams and plantains. 

You're not supposed to chew it. 

I look forward to trying it again. Not exactly sure how I feel about Fu Fu yet. 

Pounding Fu Fu into it's dough-like consistency 

This is Adam. 

He's my new soccer buddy, he likes to show off his skills. 

He's a future soccer stud for sure. He can't keep away from his ball. 

His dad says he'll wake up in the middle of the night and say "Ball." 

He's not even two. 

Adam and "Ball"

Mad Skills

All that goodness concludes my first weekend. It was eventful, relaxing, and very entertaining. I wish I took more pictures. Once the week started though, we were very busy. Monday we went around town then campus for hours and hours scrambling to pay fees, find out how to register, and get my housing accommodation situated. It was challenging, inefficient, and exhausting but we managed to get everything taken care of and excellent results. 

My Room 

View from my balcony of the market

I moved into my own room in the "International Hostel."I am living on the top floor and the breeze that comes through the hall on my floor is incredible. I have to enjoy it while it lasts! 

Enjoying the breeze in my doorway where I kind of get wifi