6 More Days

Okay, so I've already started to pack my carry-on luggage, which is already filled with crayons, coloring books, PSU t-shirts and recycled cloth tote bags. I hope my host family and the children in the community like their gifts! I almost forgot...I bought a solar powered panel pack to take with me so I can charge all of my electronics and my rechargeable batteries for my night-light lantern :P Apparently, they have a lot of power outages, as well as a lot of rain. Note to self: pack an umbrella!

The Final Details

So I just found out that I will be staying with a family that has 3 girls and 1 boy (and they haven't hit their teen years yet!). Ahh, I don't even know what I should bring them as a gift, maybe Penn State t-shirts or some kind of family friendly game? Any suggestions?! In addition, I will be interning with the HEPENS organization and boy does it sound like I have my work cut out for me. Apparently they are in desperate need of funding, and so I plan to pull all the resources I possibly can to make Cape Coast, Ghana a better community! But, at the same time I have absolutely no idea how to check someone's blood pressure or write a grant proposal....oh god what did I get myself into haha. Oh well, I'm sure they will teach me and my skills will be so stellar they won't know what to do. I can only hope :) So, yes I am in a great mood right now because I have everything finalized (and just came back from a bike ride!). Now the only thing left to do is pack. Anybody want to volunteer to help?!

I finally talked to ProWorld Ghana staff

So I had my Skype interview with the ProWorld Ghana staff...finally! I coudn't be more excited! We talked about potential home-stay families, life in Ghana, and my internship placement. This is really happening to me. I'm finally going to West Africa to do exactly what I love to do, make the world a better place. Wow that sounds cheesy, but after researching the possible internship placements I believe I'll make one hell of a difference. The organization that I hope to be placed with is called HEPENS, Health Protection and Environmental Sanitation (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Health-Protection-and-Environmental-Sanitation-HEPENS/111234072270614). I can visualize my internship experience now... teaching communities how to enrich their lives by taking care of themselves and the environment. I was told by the ProWorld Ghana staff that I could be placed with a family that has little children, which made me even more excited! I had two young host brothers when I lived in Venezuela and it was the best experience coming home from school and playing games with them. The only thing that is making me a little nervous is the Ghanaian diet. I am told that they primarily eat rice, beans and plantains, which I can do but they also eat fish. I'm not a huge fan of fish, but I guess I will have to be less picky with my food. :)