My trip

Hey everyone,
So, since I am never going to remember to email everyone while I'm in Africa, I'm starting this blog and anyone who wants to can follow what I'm doing, how I'm doing, etc.  I am also trying to figure out how to upload pictures here and I will upload them as I get them.  I'm told I'll have internet access when we have electricity, so hopefully I'll be able to actually update this on a regular basis. Alright, I guess I should tell you all what I'm doing, huh?  :)

I'm going to a town called Busua in Ghana, Africa with a program called Teach on the Beach.  (You can find more info on them at teachonthebeach.org). I'm leaving the 14th of May and coming back on the 19th of June, so I'll get to Africa on the 15th and leave on the 18th.  I will be teaching English and perhaps math to kids anywhere from 5 to 18.  The program sponsors some kids, most who have been there for a while and are older.  These kids are the ones I will be living with during the time that I'm there in a three-story house built right next to the school on the beach.  I haven't gotten my assignment yet, so I'm not 100% positive exactly what I'll be doing, but I know I'll be participating in News Hour, where all the kids in the house and the volunteers watch the international news for an hour, then talk about what we saw/hear.  It's a way to practice English, as well as learn about what's going on outside Busua.

The part I'm most nervous about is the flight there and back.  I start in Madison, stop in Chicago, then Heathrow, and down to Accra in Ghana, where I'll have a 5 hour bus ride to Busua.  Most people who know me know I'm really not great with crowds of people or closed in spaces.  Unfortunately, planes and buses tend to be tightly packed and closed in. Not sure how I feel about that. :/

Ghana is 6 hours ahead of Wisconsin, 5 hours ahead of Michigan, so I'm guessing my already abnormal sleep schedule will be even more abnormal when I first get there.  Yuck. But that's okay; it's just something else to get used to.  Another thing I have to get used to...dressing like a girl!  I have to wear floor-length skirts and t-shirts, plus nice-looking sandals every day.  I can wear shorts at night/for bed, but that's basically it.  Definitely something I'm not used to. But, something I can get used to, I think.  :)

Long story short, I'm excited, nervous, a little scared, and definitely looking forward to this adventure!  Feel free to follow me along!