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!
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