Venturing outside My BuBBle

Can you belive it?! This time last year i was in Ghana.

All i can say is "wow". Seriously, i can't believe a year has already gone by. i still miss it - as if i just left. the people, the feeling, the kids ... the simplicity. but alas, reality calls. the J-O-B, the life, the gluttony of all things american ... the bling.

a few months after i came back to the US, hannah (from the UK) and I got together to build additional facilities for Royal Seed orphanage. I took some money friends and family members donated, and added my own. I didn't post it ... because, well, it was just something I wanted to do. Showing everyone, in a sense, took away from the true reason I did it. However, a few of you have asked to see the pics ... so here it is.

i'm more then happy to share it with you. for those who know me, i'm guessing you'll find some humor in it, as did i ... i think there is some sort of poetic irony in that out of ALL the things that would have my name on it in GHANA ... it's, of course, a TOILET!

The new toilets have 4 stalls in the front ... Kids, Boys, Girls, Adults ...

More importantly, there is actually something for them to sit on now. And shaping it out of concrete will ensure it lasts much longer.

The back of the structure has 2 more stalls for Girl Volunteers and Boy Volunteers.

the bath areas on the left were donated by another volunteer from the UK - Anna.

for those who are curious ... this is what they had for "toilets" before.

basically ... a hole in the ground. Where, yes, kids fell into ...

maybe life is a little easier for them now ... we can hope.

medasi, again ... to all of you that donated. they are very grateful.

One of my best friends gave me a card with the following on it before I left. I had it up in my room while I was in Ghana. I leave you with it as a final thought. My trip was not just about experiencing a different culture … or giving some of my time to others. It was also about actually GOING. It was a trip I had wanted to take for over a decade. I encourage all of you to do something you’ve always wanted to … NOW. Take it from me – it feels great --- you won’t regret it.

DO IT NOW

I expect to pass through this world but once.
Any good thing, therefore, that I can do
Or any kindness I can show
to any fellow human being
Let me do it now.
Let me not defer
nor neglect it;
For I shall not pass this way again.

- Stephen Grellet

Thank you all for tuning in, keeping in touch, letting me share and ramble. I wish you all good health, happiness, lots of love and laughter … and some really great life adventures!

credit to sonny for that acronym!

So what about my experience overall? Change my life? Most likely. Experience of a lifetime? You bet. Everything I hoped for? And more. If I could have, I’d definitely have stayed longer - i didn't want to leave. i was more comfortable and more relaxed there then i thought i ever would be. But these are all responses you’d have guessed right? We all know living in a developing country and learning about a new culture, will open your eyes … make you see things differently. It will teach you about others – how they live, what they believe. And it will show you that while many of those things are different, on the inside we’re very similar. We all want good health and prosperity … we all want the finer things in life. We all want to be spiritually happy in some way or another. The difference is in our definitions of happiness and what it requires.

I could tell you that living without running water and electricity made me appreciate those things I take for granted … along with clean air, clean streets, an enclosed sewage system. But you already know that. I could tell you that riding in a hot stinky beat-up minivan for public transportation made me appreciate my car. But I really didn’t miss it. If anything, it was just one of those observations that further emphasized the excess in America. Many people asked me why we drive such big cars – why we all need bigger, faster, tricked-out toys … in Ghana, they just want a toy. I could tell you how far your dollar could go there … that a $20 bag of rice could feed 70 orphans for 3 days … and that we spend that in the blink of an eye here in the states. I could tell you that giving some of my time and a part of myself to kids who have so much less was incredibly rewarding …that it made me happy to talk to them, read to them, play with them, hug them ... and make them laugh, smile, or giggle. but you already know that. And I could tell you that it made me sad to see them always asking for water or food … to see them picking up grains of rice off the dirt ground because they were still so hungry … literally, one grain at a time. And I could tell you that it broke my heart to have to leave them … that a piece of me is still in Ghana with all of them. But you can ALL guess that!

We live in a society with so much … things that we take for granted … spending money on frivolous expensive things that make us “happy”. I can be straight up honest with you that I have been at starbucks EVERY day that I’ve been back in the states. But at the same time, if we open our eyes beyond our borders of America … you’d see that with all the money we have in our own little world … there’s something incredibly wrong with the fact that there are still thirsty, hungry kids out there. Yes, there are hungry poor people in the U.S. … but let’s stop and think about why that is. If we’re such a wealthy super power, why can’t we help ourselves AND the world? Poor people in a poor country you expect … poor people in a rich country seems a bit @*&#^@#& no? I could tell you ALL those things about my experience … but i don't need to, do i? we’re all grown, sensible, intelligent adults. We all know all of those things already right? So then really the question is … if you know all that, then what you Ghana do about it?!

madra. dede.

football on the beach

kukuwah. jemima. akos. flores. faustina.

bishop. happy.

favorite store

mequiah.

selling music cassettes

amalydia.

kakra. penne.

brenya asleep on my lap

stephen's wheel barrel

kwesi. kwame.

margriet. mameesi.

patrick.

drum makers at the art center.

mum shel. rachael. hannah.

nap time at royal seed

fetching water with baby on her back.

our street in accra.

juice time.

drummin with allhasson.

josephine.

mate takin a break on the tro.

akos.

me n my drum.

You can not even imagine the logistics and stress that went into planning and taking this trip – so I have to take one entry here for some really big THANK YOUs. I was able to truly enjoy my trip because of all of you.

To my soul-sistah friends … kel, gaylene, anet. Kel and g-unit … u’ve always been supah in giving me the love, encouragement, and “you go girl”. This was absolutely no exception above and beyond. Anet – a super mahalos for helping me move, taking care of all my bills, finances, and mail … and baby-sitting my car for 3 months! My love for the 3 of you is sweeter than molasses and smells bettah too!

To Raphael … not just for approving my leave, but for being supportive and understanding of how important the trip was to me. To Vickie … for figuring out all my time, pay and paperwork before I left … and keeping track of it while I was gone. To drH, drClemments, kristiM and the “best PT of all time” georgine – for getting me strong and healthy before my trip. to pam adams at A.G. Edwards for making sure I still had money when I got back.

To my family and friends who kept in touch while I was so far away … especially supportive when I was sad over grandpa … to those who left me comments on my blog … and to those who kept writing me emails, regardless of whether I wrote back. you understood i didn’t always have time … but knew how much it meant to hear from you.

And to my family - especially mom, dad, bj, and my aunties … throughout my life and all my crazy ideas – from the color of my hair to 3 months in Ghana - u never stopped supportin' and lovin'. I know you all worried about me, but thank you for hiding it really well. I’m very lucky to have all of you. I really do love you more then shoyu mango!