Hoping this works!

September 15, 2012

Today I got a phone and internet… But then the internet only lasted like 40 minutes before we ran out of credit. I feel really awful that Holly basically didn’t get to use it… But it was definitely supposed to last for longer than that, so it was really frustrating. After going to bed exhausted yesterday, I woke up at 5:30 for no good reason… Which was so frustrating. But I tossed and turned until 7:15ish when Holly got up, and eventually I headed over to the volunteer house to shower since our water is turned off for the time being due to construction. After breakfast, Holly, Autumn, Rosemary (the 15-year old girl in the Omorefe family), and myself piled in the Sequoia to head off to Accra! It was such a weird feeling being in a mall in Africa… Except for the fact that none of the stores are the same, I might as well have been in the States. Anna had warned me that it would be super weird, and she was definitely right. I don’t know how I’ll ever get used to driving with people coming up to your window and trying to sell you things (aka ‘hawking’). Holly bought both gum and apples today without ever leaving the passenger seat… Which is both so cool and so crazy.

Tonight was movie night for the kids and I sat next to sweet Moses. He is one of the City of Refuge kids who is also in my class, and he is just the sweetest… He made sure I sat next to him and then held my hand for a while watching The Princess Bride. He was a new rescue this summer and I want to learn more about his story and his background. It seems as though he understands most of what I say, even though his expressive vocabulary in English isn’t very high. Looking into his eyes you see life and love, two things that I doubt were there before this summer… It’s incredible what such a short period of time can do for a person.

By about 7:30 each night, it is pitch black outside. Though sometimes it’s a little frustrating, it means there are stars galore out! There are hardly any clouds and if I’m outside at night, you can probably catch me with my head tilted back and my eyes fixed on the stars. It is such an incredible sight, reminding me of how truly miniscule I am in this world.

I can’t believe I have been gone for less than 2 weeks. Time is such a funny thing… I think it will go faster as time goes on, but right now it feels so slow…

Blog 5.5, Sunday Morning

Today I have sat here thinking about missing Tricia’s wedding and fundraising for after Christmas and wanting to sleep but not being able to and needing to do work for school and wondering if I should go to grad school next year or apply for jobs and how selfish I feel when I desire to be so many places other than here, but this place is all the children here know… Today, being in Africa for a year doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun. I am praying so hard that a teacher is found this week for the second grade job so that I can start doing SpEd here… I hope that improves my mood and my motivation. For now, I will hug Moses during church and smile as baby Joel and baby Justice dance around during worship… I will hang student work on the walls of the classroom and rearrange my desks, hoping my co-teacher isn’t mad about it… I will eat rice and rice and more rice, with a little chocolate on the side, and enjoy the plums I was able to buy at the mall. I will read “Searching for God Knows What” and think of Amber Todd (make that Amber Darling!) and her passion for this book at Book Club last summer. I will look at Instagram pictures from the week I left and want a little more. At some point, I pray, I will want what is right in front of me… But I think that will take more time.