Akwaaba!

Welcome! I hear it almost every day. I've been in Ghana now for five days, and I'd be lying if I said it was all fun and games. In percentages, I would say it's 90% awesome, 10% difficult. The difficulty all came 24 hours ago when the homestay began.

When I arrived in Ghana I had to continually remind myself that I was in Africa. It was hard to believe that I was on another continent, in a place I'd looked at for months in anticipation. Now that I'm a few days into it, I believe it. I'm out of the hotel and into a home, surrounded by street sellers and bags of water, taking bucket baths and sleeping under a mosquito net.

The hardest part in the family stay has been the lack of the "nuclear family." They don't spend time together - in fact, don't even take meals together. You are told when food is prepared, you find it and eat alone. You don't spend time together, rather you're expected to "do your own thing." As a social butterfly, this hasn't worked very well for me. I feel out of place - but at the same time, I suppose it's an excuse to be on my own.

The program is wonderful. Today we had class at 8 am, where we had a lesson on Twi, a cultural seminar given by a Traditional Chief, followed by a drumming lesson. I couldn't ask for better classes. We went to Medina Market as well, and I finally got some money! The first two ATM's a tried rejected my card - a bit nerve racking at first, but I'm happy to have it settled.

A few tidbits (before my time runs out at this internet cafe): 1) Being white has never felt more awkward. To stand out so drastically is uncomfortable. 2) At the same time, race doesn't matter. They call me "Obruni!" (white person) and in turn I can call them "Bibini!" (black person). There's no stigma about the color of your skin, you are just a different color. 3) Running water is a privilege. 4) Accra roads are insanity. More people die of traffic accidents than diseases daily (that might be a bit exaggerated).

There is so much more, and yet only 2 minutes. I'm outta here!