We Are Here!!

We arrived safely! I will try and blog today about what has all happened since we left, and then after that I will be more up to date and can fill you in as I go...I apologize in advance, this is going to be a long one; a lot has happened in the past 3 days!

Okay, so January 27^th: We got to the airport in Toronto early, and thank goodness we got there early! Originally we were told we were allowed to take 3 bags that were 50lbs each...I don’t exactly pack light when I travel and all 3 of my bags were, well, more than 10lbs overweight...so after trying to decide which items weren’t necessary, and with the accommodation of a very friendly airport official, I got all of my bags checked. Oh boy.

Petra and I left Toronto at 10pm and the flight went fine. It was long and tiring, but we were both excited, so that definitely helped! It was an 8 hour flight, during the night. I envy anyone who can sleep sitting up, because it is definitely not easy!

It is so strange how quickly the plane went through different time zones, because we boarded the plane at 10pm, and about an hour and a half into the flight, the flight attendants were telling us to shut our blinds on the windows because the sun was going to come up soon! WEIRD!

January 28^th: We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany at 11:30am (German time, so 5:30am back home). Petra and I were both exhausted after travelling all night, and that was definitely making me feel more anxious about arriving in Africa; something about being tired, it makes you miss home...

The airport in Frankfurt isn’t too too big, but the gate number wasn’t on our tickets, so we had to try and find it ourselves. We couldn’t find ‘Accra’ as a destination on any of the boards in the airport, so being stubborn; we decided to walk to find it. BIG mistake. We walked all the way to one end of the airport (following Lufthansa signs) only to realize after calling information for help, that our gate was at the other end. I don’t think I have ever been more tired than I was after walking across that airport knowing that we were boarding our flight in less than 40 minutes! (The added sleepless night on a plane probably didn’t help).

Other than that, this flight was hassle free. We got on our packed little plane; and by packed, I MEAN PACKED. The plane was small, the seats were MUST smaller, and every single seat was filled.

This is definitely when I started feeling more nervous; we were finally an obvious minority and the comfort of home was completely gone, but I was still excited!!

We flew over the Sahara Desert and there was the most beautiful sunset! The colours were green and orange and it was gorgeous! (Yes Mom, I got a picture for you).

We landed in Accra (the capital city of Ghana for those of you who don’t know) on time, at 7:55pm Ghana time. There is a 5 hour difference, so it was 2:55 in the afternoon, back home. As soon as I walked off the plane, I instantly felt the humidity! Everything was damp, and my hair was instantly frizzy.

...if anyone knows me well back home, you know that if it is wet, or it is humid out, my hair is big, poofy, extremely curly and a frizzy mess. Take that and multiply it by 100, and that is what my hair looks like today! Haha...

Anyways, it was 25 degrees Celsius, and Ghanaian people were getting off the plane in puffy winter jackets!! I was dying in a tshirt!!

We lost 3 of our bags in transit, which is too bad. Supposedly we will go back to the airport on Monday evening and see if they have come in? Hope so...Petra and I each got one of ours though, so it will tide us over for a bit. Although, all I have are my running shoes, all my sandals are in my other bag, so I look a little ridiculous at the moment.

Akua picked us up from the airport and brought us to our host family in Accra. By the time we got to the house it was about 10pm, so it is safe to say that we were done for the day. Mummy Biney, the mother of the family we are staying with was so loving and welcoming, and Serwa, her daughter will be showing us around for the week along with Akua, to help us get adjusted. Two little boys that live with us, Michael (Mummy’s grandson) and Kwadwo (Mummy’s son) are the sweetest, but Michael has already stolen my heart. They are 8 and 9, and the most adorable boys you will meet!

Petra and I have a bunk bed in our room which we are sharing with Mummy Biney’s mother, Grammy. She is a tiny, sweet woman who doesn’t know any English, but she is so loving and tries to talk to us; I wish I could speak with her!

It may have been because I was over tired, but the homesickness set in that night. We both went to bed around 11pm, dripping of sweat and VERY hot.

                January 29^th (today): So today we woke up at 1pm in the afternoon. We slept 13 ½ needed hours! The family let us sleep through church and said that we definitely needed our rest. It was so good to sleep lying down after being on those planes!

Our host family said it was cold last night...I definitely do not concur. As gross as this is, I woke up dripping in sweat and we definitely didn’t need blankets last night!

Serwa (who we call Afua sometimes? I am still confused about that one...Mel, if you are reading this, maybe you can explain?), anyways, we came in and showed us how to use the shower, which was a tiny trickle of water, when the water is flowing. Apparently it stops flowing quite often. I have never been so thankful for a cold shower in my life! It was definitely worth the struggle of keeping my mouth shut so that the water didn’t get in.

We had rice, chicken with a spicy chicken sauce on top of it for lunch. I am DEFINITELY going to need to get used to spicy food...and be more adventurous with eating different foods, but it was really good! Just REALLY spicy! OH. And water bottles have become my new best friend. I drink them ALL day long. I am just not used to the heat haha.

We spent the afternoon getting to know Mummy Biney. She has incredible stories, and a very strong faith!! She kept talking about how God was always there for her, even though she doesn’t have a lot, and it’s pretty amazing! We have so much that we take for granted, and all she talked about was that God was so good. Definitely gives you something to think about.

The song “Jesus, take the wheel” by Carrie Underwood came on the radio today. In English. Gave a nice taste of home. Was very funny hearing little Michael belt out the words; it was comforting because it is exactly what my little brother does when it comes on the radio J

Michael and Kwadwo took us to the beach today. Tawala Beach Resort. Their house is literally a 5 minute walk from the ocean. It was pretty, but definitely interesting to see the beach and then see piles of garbage behind us. There was a giant pig and her piglets walking around! Definitely not the same as beaches back home, but the ocean is BEAUTIFUL!! This beach wasn’t one for swimming (although it took all of me not to jump right in), it was rocky and the sand slopped downward into the water. The breeze felt fantastic!

When we got home, the boys did mine and Petra’s hair. Imagine that frizzy hair of mine, and add a 9 year old boy putting 7 ponytails and brushing it out...YIKES. It was a lot of fun though!

(Melissa, they miss you a lot, and Michael loves me already; he keeps touching my hair and my arms, and I think it’s because I look a lot like you Mel, but I’ll take it. I have a new friend already). We played basketball with the boys and some neighbour kids too this evening.

Other tidbits I’ve learned:

-people whip through the streets so quickly in their cars here. They honk when they turn corners to let people know so that they have a fair warning

-appearance is a huge thing here; the women wear cool dresses at home to help with the heat, but when they leave they are wearing long, heavy dresses, or jeans (WAY too hot in this weather), and really nice clothes.

-its considered cold here right now, especially since there were thunderstorms yesterday...its 30 degrees haha

-it gets dark by 6:30 pm, at least around this time of year

-I’ve learned some new words in twi (the language that they speak here); Michael is teaching me:

                -Akwaaba means Welcome

                -w hot esee means “how are you?” and in response, you say, “EyE, which sounds like aya”

                -I’ve learned other ones that I cannot write out yet. I will let you know when I learn...

-they don’t drink milk or eat cheese here, just evaporated milk. Sometimes they get processed cheese, and they call it Kraft Cheese too!

Tomorrow we are supposed to do banking and get phones and internet stuff figured out. And hopefully get our bags back from the airport!

Thanks for continued prayers and thoughts. I will try blog more often so that they aren’t so painfully long. Maybe read this one in more than one sitting? I will put pictures on Facebook soon!