Akwabba!!

That means "Hello/Welcome" in Ghana. It has almost been a week since I arrived, and life is good.

I am in an internet cafe in Kasoa, Ghana which is about 30 minutes from the village that I am currently staying in called Nyanyano.

We are staying with the chief of the Nyanyano and sleeping on the floor in one of the rooms. We take showers out of a bucket that we draw water with from a huge holding tank they use to collect rain water. Rain water is the primary source of water for the village. Nyanyano is a fishing village on the coast. This means there is a nice breeze most of the day from the ocean . Everyone is extremely friendly.

This morning we watch a soccer match on the local dirt field. The people say that this is the same field that Michael Essien (The famous Chelsea player from Ghana) learned to play soccer. All the boys are really good at soccer and usually play barefoot. We sometimes have a scrimmage at night with some of the locals that we met.

The food is tastes good but is too spicy for my liking. It is also really heavy because it is oil based and usually red because of the spicy red palm nut that is always used in cooking. So far we eat two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. Breakfast consists of bread and fruit and dinner is usually a local dish. We often get snacks from sellers on the road side. The fruit is amazing and it is mango season. Everything is pretty cheap too.

Nyanyano is a poor community but does have a small clinic with a few nurses that staff it twenty four hours. They do everything and more. They put U.S. doctors to shame. They work whenever somebody is sick and take shifts in the middle of the night. They do everything yet do it with a smile. The clinic is clean but not sanitary. They are in desperate need of supplies. Most of the cases are malaria or pregnancies. We saw a women give birth the other day and a small boy get circumcised. Most of the people are anemic especially the women. It amazes me what people just deal with on a daily basis because they have too.

We also spend time at the local schools. The children are really intelligent for their age and extremely well behaved. I especially enjoy P.E. and just hanging out with them.

I am spending another week in the village getting to know the chief and the people. This is the primary village Global Endeavors is focusing on for the time being. It is an amazing experience!

By the way, for those wondering, the beer is called Star Beer and tastes like watered down bud light.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer! Peace.