In The Home Stretch! May 29, 2015

We are 42 minutes away from landing in Accra, Ghana! Last night I got a child's meal, because, come on, I'm still a child in an adults body! So, I got chicken nuggets, Mac and cheese, corn, animal crackers, and a water. 

My meal was definitely better than the adult meal! I got more things and the adult meal looked really gross. It was some kind of beef and chicken with pasta in a red sauce. Even my seat neighbor didn't eat much of it! If I didn't get a child meal, I probably would have gone hungry.

I took my medicine (and made sure to take the maximum dose of my sleeping meds) at around 8:00 eastern time (midnight Ghana time) and they kicked in pretty quickly! I was asleep by 1:30 Ghana time.

I was awoken shortly after due to turbulence, and it scared the crap out of me! I was awoken from a sound sleep and literally thought we were crashing! I didn't sleep well after that, because let's face it, sleeping on a plane in economy class is pretty much impossible. On top of that, my travel pillow is in the overhead bin, so I had to use the pillow Delta provided, which deflated (like Tom Brady's balls... Just kidding! Matt don't kill me for saying that...) whenever I layed on it!

I woke up around 7am Ghana time, and my spine hurts SO BAD!!! It feels like I have huge bruises on it. (update, I think it was actually from my backpack, not sleeping) I played a game on the TV screen, but I was so exhausted that it didn't work very well. Then I tried to go pee, but the line was so long, and breakfast was about to be served. So, I went back to my seat. 

I got the child's meal for breakfast, which was a good thing again! I had fruit loops, milk, and a banana, and I ate EVERYTHING (including the banana which I usually hate, but I needed the nutrients). The adult meal was a breakfast sandwich, which didn't look very appetizing at all! It was burned and the cheese was crusty. My seat neighbor only took 3 bites of it and then put it in the trash. They also had little crouton thigs with a cheese spread and a granola bar. My seat neighbor didn't want hers, so she was kind enough to let me have it. It was delicious!!!

Now there is 26 minutes until landing. Yay! Ghana, here I come!

Goodbye to Miss Kaylee for 11 weeks...

Ummm... I leave three days from today? What is Happening?!

This past weekend I went camping with my fiancé, mother, and her friend for Memorial Day weekend. My sister and my niece, Kaylee, were supposed to come camping too, but unfortunately they weren't able to come. Today I am saying goodbye to my niece for 11 weeks, and I am extremely sad. My niece is my world and it is going to be so hard to be away from her for that long. I'm sure that I will make some new friends at the orphanage that will remind me of Kaylee, and they will be my niece in spirit!

To My Love, Kaylee Lynn:

Nay Nay is leaving to go to Ghana to help some kids that need some love. I am going to miss you so much, but I will be thinking of you everyday while I'm gone. Maybe someday when you're older, you can come back to Ghana with me and meet my new friends! I'm sure they would love you and that you would learn a lot. If you miss me, just give the pillow I gave you a big squeeze and I will feel your love all the way in Africa. I love you so much baby girl, and I will never forget about you. 

Love you so much,

Nay Nay

Ten Days... Pink, Pink, Pink, Pink!!!

Pink is the Color of Love!

My mother, Jenna, and I got our placement for our Ghana trip yesterday! We are placed in the Pink Program (IVHQ has different colors for each program) which is in Dodowa, Ghana, Africa! We are so excited because this is the program we requested and we couldn't be more thrilled about being able to be in this program! 

The orphanage that we will be working in is called Potter's Village. It is about a 5 minute walk from our volunteer house, which is not bad at all! Other programs you have to pay to take a trotro to and from the orphanage every day. It adds up, so we are very lucky! There are about 90 children living at Potter's Village, ranging from the age of 1 all the way to young adults. 

The volunteer house, my home for 9 weeks, is actually not too bad. There are 3 bedrooms with bunk beds in them, a living room area, a bathroom (without running water... bucket flushing and bucket showers for the win!) with two toilets and a shower, a dining area, and a kitchen. We do not have to cook for ourselves, as we have a cook living on site! The difference from living at home to living in Ghana is a drastic one, and will take some getting used to. But, I will make the best of it, and it will be rewarding living like the Ghanians do!

Click here to see a video of what the volunteer house looks like (it has been updated a bit since this video was made).

I am SO EXCITED to be in Ghana, but I am also very nervous. I am nervous about missing my family and my fiancè, Matt. I'm nervous about being in a foreign country all alone. I am nervous about getting malaria or another sickness. I am nervous that I will not like it there, and I will be very homesick. I am nervous about being hit on by multiple Ghanian men (I read in my Ghana guide book that Ghanian men love to hit on white or "obruni" women and will profess their love for them and propose). I am nervous about not getting along with the other volunteers and there being drama there. I am nervous about not liking the food, and being hungry the whole time because of it. I am nervous about not liking the water sachets and having to spend a ton of money on bottled water. I am nervous about getting lost while traveling. I am nervous that the kids wont like me. I am nervous about having to get up so early to bathe and feed the children, that I will be asleep by 8pm.

No matter how nervous I am about all of these things, I am even more excited to have the opportunity to make a difference in these orphan's lives! I am excited to meet the children. I am excited to be loved by so many kids at once. I am excited to make friendships that will last a lifetime with other volunteers. I am excited to learn how to be on my own. I am excited to learn about the culture and history of Ghana. I am excited to try new foods. I am excited to travel to places that I have never been. I am excited to go to Mole National Park and possibly to see elephants! I am excited to see if I have the strength to be on my own for 6 weeks. I am excited to go to the markets. I'm excited to experience church in Ghana, even though I am not very religious. I'm excited to have clothes made just for me, from cloth that I pick out. I am excited to possibly have a drum made for me (thanks Jenna for the awesome idea!). I am excited to be able to experience this with my mom. I am excited to be able to live like the Ghanians do, so that I can be grateful for everything we have in America.

T minus 10 days until my life is changed forever!