20 Days Until Departure - Learning the Language

So I have this totally weird feeling this week.  Maybe you've experienced it before too?  I am REALLY excited for my trip to Ghana, but just in this week have been kind of dreading the day that I leave.  It sounds really stupid, but I have wanted to travel to Africa for so long, and now that it is happening I am almost dreading it because I don't want it to be over too soon.  That sounds kind of silly, but I think it might just be a natural part of the excitement and emotion of doing something new for the first time.

To ease my mind I am starting to really get into practicing some of the more common phrases of the local dialect Ewe.  It's been really fun so far.  It is definitely something I've had to work on as my pronunciation was a bit off on my first try with some of the words.  It is such a beautiful language.  I've always found languages to be fascinating and wondered how one gets started...how does a community come to a collective agreement on the sound and meaning of a word.  I guess this is why there are people who devote their entire lives to studying languages.  Learning languages has always been something that I have struggled with.  There are a number of things that come naturally to me, but that is not one of them.  Driving my commitment to learn is the feeling that this is important both to show my commitment to respecting their local culture, but also to prove to myself that I can meet a challenge.  I know I will be self-conscious about how I pronounce things so I have been really giving myself a pep talk that any attempt is better than no attempt!  Let's hope I can get a few of them right!

26 Days Until Departure - YIKES!

I almost cannot believe that there are only 26 days until I depart for Ghana!  It sounds like a lot until I realize there are only 3 weekends between now and then, and they are filling up quickly!  I'm beginning to get truly nervous.  I think that I have been avoiding doing much about my trip since my original push because I wanted it to seem like it was farther away.  Now, it is time to wrap up the last minute essentials including, researching for my program placement, learning a bit of the every day dialect, packing, purchasing the last few important must have items, and completing things like my photo biography and recipe cards to give out as thank yous. 

The program that I am a part of does not allow you to give gifts to your program placement staff or consumers.  It is really a safeguard for them because gifts like that to a funded program could look much different than the spirit in which they are given.  It's a bit hard to swallow because gift giving feels so natural when you feel that someone has truly inspired or changed your life.  In the end though it is a good and reasonable rule for the safety and vitality of our host organizations.  Instead I will make something for people that I meet.  I decided to make recipe cards, hand written that they could take home.  I'll do all kinds of recipes including substitutions where needed for the resources that they have at hand. 

I'm also planning to bring cards with my address on them (business card style) as I hear that many people will ask for it to become pen pals.  You have to use your own judgement about what you feel is safe to give out.  In my case I will hand them out to those I've become close with in Ghana and have a level of trust with.  In any case I think it would be a nice notion to have a pen pal again.  There is something to getting a piece of mail (other than a bill) addressed directly to you, hand written.  It just makes you feel good - and there's nothing wrong with that!

36 Days Until Departure - My Visa is Approved!

Have you ever applied for a visa to travel abroad?  I had never done that before.  The farthest that I had ever traveled was Canada.  Being the lucky traveler that I was at the time, I had never had to apply for a Visa because New Yorkers were able to enter Canada with only their Driver's Licence or Birth Certificate.  This was the first time that I had to complete an application for a Visa.  It wasn't a hard application, but there were many requirements of things that needed to be attached.  None of those were hard to fulfill, but none-the-less I worried nearly non-stop that I would forget to attach an important document that might hold up the process. 

With visa applications it is all  about timing.  Many of the visas are time limited so you have to apply far enough in advance to be sure you have some wiggle room should you not complete the application correctly, but not sure far in advance that your visa will run out while you are still in country.  Somehow, by the grace of the Ghanaian Consulate I managed to time it just right.  I received my Visa today complete and approved only one week after having submitted it.  Not only was that FAST, but such a relief to have one of the most vital parts of the trip preparation complete and in hand! 

Don't forget everyone!  Tomorrow is our Bowl-a-Rama to go to Ghana event being held at Spare Time in Latham, New York.  $20 for adults and $15 for children under 16.  Please come and bowl and enjoy 2 games of bowling, shoe rental, a slice of pizza, and a drink!  The start time for bowling is 12 to 1pm.  It will be a blast!  There will also be a 50/50, Chinese Auction, Silent Auction and bowling prizes!!!  Come one, Come all!!