ok. so. monday afternoon and i'm finally sitting in my office at IMANI. last week was nuts.. but the monkey made it completely worthwhile.
anyways. i should be able to blog more frequently now that i have a stable internet source with which to blog and email.
so.
the weekend was great :) saturday the whole family watched "Second Chance" allllllll day long. haha. sunday no one got up for church (surprise.) so we had church in the living room.. which was really nice :)
time here is such a funny thing.. the general attitude is "i'll get to it when i get to it".. which is so different from the attitude at home. at home you start work at a certain time, end at a certain time, have schedules, deadlines, projects, and measureable outcomes.. not in ghana. here you get there when you get there.. and you do things when you do them.. and then you leave when you leave.. haha. it's so flexible.. but it almost has be on edge because i'm never sure if there's something i should be doing that i'm not.
but tomorrow we're headed to the beach!! i can't wait to see the ocean and go swimming and stuff.
.... lots of people just got here.. have to go meet them.. back in a second...
ok. back. not sure what just happened.. there were lots of people.. and then they went to the office next door. anyways.
ummm... i completely lost my train of thought... oh. OH! yes... so my projects for the summer have been determined. i'm to plan another conference (to run in august.. haha.. because that's not difficult or anything.. just throw it together in a month) and create a presentation on Ghana/China relations!!!! oh man. ok that one i'm pumped about. i finished my book on sustainable development and i'm moving on to one about globalized economics and then i'll read the one about china/ghana stuff. i'm so pumped. today i feel kind of useless because i don't know exactly what these projects entail yet- but i'm sure that this is the last time i'll feel that way.
as soon as i think of the things i'm sure i forgot i'll blog again.. for now i should probably at least pretend like i'm being productive.. slacking off on the first day. haha. oh boy.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
most exciting moment EVER
ok. ok ok ok ok. so. today, on our way to ashesi for the seminar we stopped at the market to buy some bananas because sandra and evelyn insist that i do not eat enough and try to make me explode. but as we all know- bananas are in the frothy category.. so.. i wasn't sure how it was going to work out.
anyways.
a couple hours after breakfast francis comes up to me and is like- hey kayte can i have one of your bananas?
me: yea sure, why?
francis: no reason- here come with me.
so we go.
and we walk around the wall towards the main building. the wall seperates the university from the house next door, and the trees spill over the way and it's really pretty and stuff.
anyways.
we go- and there hanging over the wall not a foot from me is a MONKEY!! SHUT UP! hahaha. I FED IT!!! oh my gosh. words could not express my excitement. and sandra and evelyn and francis laughed and laughed because i was so thrilled by the monkey. but i mean it's a MONKEY! and it was right there!!! it ate out of my hand! sweet jeepers.
yesterday we were at the alisa hotel for a couple roundtables. it's so incredible, the things i'm learning. today there was a lecture on africa/china relations. so amazing. i started reading a book about sustainable development- next i'll move on to the economics books :) but we're so busy- the IMANI team is ready to collapse- franklin said we'll probly take monday and maybe tuesday off to recover.. which i would mind. it would be nice to go back to sleep after the roosters wake me up.
other than the seminar that's about it- i watch "second chance" with sandra at 9pm- love telenovelas. haha, then i go to bed and it's up with the roosters again! we never leave at the same time in the morning and the seminar never has the same schedule 2 days in a row.. haha. getting ghanains to stick to a schedule is as difficult as teaching me calculus- near impossible.
i guess that's about it! i'll write more soon :)
anyways.
a couple hours after breakfast francis comes up to me and is like- hey kayte can i have one of your bananas?
me: yea sure, why?
francis: no reason- here come with me.
so we go.
and we walk around the wall towards the main building. the wall seperates the university from the house next door, and the trees spill over the way and it's really pretty and stuff.
anyways.
we go- and there hanging over the wall not a foot from me is a MONKEY!! SHUT UP! hahaha. I FED IT!!! oh my gosh. words could not express my excitement. and sandra and evelyn and francis laughed and laughed because i was so thrilled by the monkey. but i mean it's a MONKEY! and it was right there!!! it ate out of my hand! sweet jeepers.
yesterday we were at the alisa hotel for a couple roundtables. it's so incredible, the things i'm learning. today there was a lecture on africa/china relations. so amazing. i started reading a book about sustainable development- next i'll move on to the economics books :) but we're so busy- the IMANI team is ready to collapse- franklin said we'll probly take monday and maybe tuesday off to recover.. which i would mind. it would be nice to go back to sleep after the roosters wake me up.
other than the seminar that's about it- i watch "second chance" with sandra at 9pm- love telenovelas. haha, then i go to bed and it's up with the roosters again! we never leave at the same time in the morning and the seminar never has the same schedule 2 days in a row.. haha. getting ghanains to stick to a schedule is as difficult as teaching me calculus- near impossible.
i guess that's about it! i'll write more soon :)
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
heyyyy Africa!!!
good afternoon from sunny and sweltering Accra!! i'm sitting at the Ashesi university waiting for Sandra to come back so i can hlep her serve lunch.
the seminar is incredible so far- lectures on African politics and developing democracy and good governance.. all the way down to banking systems and security and information privacy. i'm learning an incredible amount.
i wake up to the roosters around 5:45am in the morning, take a shower, Sandra's mom feeds me enough breakfast for 3 people let alone just me, and then we head out to the university for the seminar. the drive is my favorite part. people walk out into traffic all the time, and sell things at red lights and when traffic is heavy. i love seeing the buildings and people and hearing the music- they have more gospel stations than nashville. today 'shine jesus shine' came on and i was like- I KNOW THIS ONE!! haha. Sandra, Francisco, and Evelyn make fun of me because i hum all the time... i really need to get a handle on that.
Ghana is the most beautiful place i've ever seen- palm trees everywhere, and flowers lke i've never seen! the frogs are really loud and there's livestock running amock in the street. on the way here this morning i told sandra, francisco and evelyn that daisy (my dog) sleeps in my bed and we feed her people food and she's like one of the family. and francisco looked at me and goes- in Africa we eat dogs. and cats.. and guinea pigs.. and rats... sweet jeepers. haha.
Franklin and Sandra's house is lovely and cute- and my room is the coolest in the house- which doesn't mean i'm not going to sweat away into oblivion. but everyone is so sweet- Sandra trips over me all the time- do you need anything? how are you? are you hungry? thirsty? what do you need? are you ok? haha. but she's soooo funny. she does these impersonations of bad people on american idol- so great. so great.
operation africa with braces is going fine so far- i just cut everything up and most things are soft anyways- i was introduced to african yams and mango- love the first... not sure about the second. i think i'm going to put mango in the frothy category.. and therefore uneatable. but the bread. sweet mother the bread. it's all homemade and it's amazing. i didn't realize that i had been eating bad bread all my life until 2 days ago.
sometimes it rains in the afternoon- straight down and it feels wonderful- i just stand in and get wet.. doesn't matter because it'll stop in about 4 minutes and then you'll dry in 2. Ghana is beautiful- the landscape and the people- the whole spirit of the country is beautiful. and everyone here- is an obama supporter. haha- who knew?!?! they know more about the american election than half the people in the states i bet. and they're all pulling for obama. it's fascinating to talk american politics with them- just the differences in perspective- someone looking from the outside and someone who'd never left until 2 days ago.
but i gotta run- Sandra's back and we're getting ready to serve lunch. this week is crazy- hopefully next week i'll be able to settle into a routine.
the seminar is incredible so far- lectures on African politics and developing democracy and good governance.. all the way down to banking systems and security and information privacy. i'm learning an incredible amount.
i wake up to the roosters around 5:45am in the morning, take a shower, Sandra's mom feeds me enough breakfast for 3 people let alone just me, and then we head out to the university for the seminar. the drive is my favorite part. people walk out into traffic all the time, and sell things at red lights and when traffic is heavy. i love seeing the buildings and people and hearing the music- they have more gospel stations than nashville. today 'shine jesus shine' came on and i was like- I KNOW THIS ONE!! haha. Sandra, Francisco, and Evelyn make fun of me because i hum all the time... i really need to get a handle on that.
Ghana is the most beautiful place i've ever seen- palm trees everywhere, and flowers lke i've never seen! the frogs are really loud and there's livestock running amock in the street. on the way here this morning i told sandra, francisco and evelyn that daisy (my dog) sleeps in my bed and we feed her people food and she's like one of the family. and francisco looked at me and goes- in Africa we eat dogs. and cats.. and guinea pigs.. and rats... sweet jeepers. haha.
Franklin and Sandra's house is lovely and cute- and my room is the coolest in the house- which doesn't mean i'm not going to sweat away into oblivion. but everyone is so sweet- Sandra trips over me all the time- do you need anything? how are you? are you hungry? thirsty? what do you need? are you ok? haha. but she's soooo funny. she does these impersonations of bad people on american idol- so great. so great.
operation africa with braces is going fine so far- i just cut everything up and most things are soft anyways- i was introduced to african yams and mango- love the first... not sure about the second. i think i'm going to put mango in the frothy category.. and therefore uneatable. but the bread. sweet mother the bread. it's all homemade and it's amazing. i didn't realize that i had been eating bad bread all my life until 2 days ago.
sometimes it rains in the afternoon- straight down and it feels wonderful- i just stand in and get wet.. doesn't matter because it'll stop in about 4 minutes and then you'll dry in 2. Ghana is beautiful- the landscape and the people- the whole spirit of the country is beautiful. and everyone here- is an obama supporter. haha- who knew?!?! they know more about the american election than half the people in the states i bet. and they're all pulling for obama. it's fascinating to talk american politics with them- just the differences in perspective- someone looking from the outside and someone who'd never left until 2 days ago.
but i gotta run- Sandra's back and we're getting ready to serve lunch. this week is crazy- hopefully next week i'll be able to settle into a routine.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
woooooooooo!
howdy from JFK!!!
ok. so. sitting in a little food court-ish place- found a sweet spot in the corner.. feeling all awesome with my laptop and head phones.. maybe i actally pass for someone who travels a lot. haha.
but the alarm went off this morning at 4am. gross. i said goodbye to my pap and fatty before going through security.. and off i went!
we got to walk outside to get to the plane.. if you know what i mean.. it was a little one- only 3 seats across. 2, then the isle, and then another seat. i was in 6a by the window. but it was really up and down.. the flight wasn't even an hour. i'm excited to ride one of the big huge planes on my flight to accra. i've got about 4.5 hours until i have to be at my gate. still have to go and get my seat assignment. i think i'll grab some coffee or tcby and go do that.
they have ipods in vending machines here. woah. haha. but for now i'm just watching planes take off and counting the hours.. going to africa. sweet jeepers.
ok. so. sitting in a little food court-ish place- found a sweet spot in the corner.. feeling all awesome with my laptop and head phones.. maybe i actally pass for someone who travels a lot. haha.
but the alarm went off this morning at 4am. gross. i said goodbye to my pap and fatty before going through security.. and off i went!
we got to walk outside to get to the plane.. if you know what i mean.. it was a little one- only 3 seats across. 2, then the isle, and then another seat. i was in 6a by the window. but it was really up and down.. the flight wasn't even an hour. i'm excited to ride one of the big huge planes on my flight to accra. i've got about 4.5 hours until i have to be at my gate. still have to go and get my seat assignment. i think i'll grab some coffee or tcby and go do that.
they have ipods in vending machines here. woah. haha. but for now i'm just watching planes take off and counting the hours.. going to africa. sweet jeepers.
Friday, June 20, 2008
holy woah.
so this is it. 9 and a half hours from now i'll be on my way to the airport. tomorrow i go to africa.
.holy.woah.
.holy.woah.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
sweet jeepers.
ok. so.
God has a funny way of working things out. and kicking us in the face when we need it.. and getting us to do things. i was just starting to get lazy about my trip when WHAM. suddenly i might not go. well as i'm sure you can imagine, whoever you are, that the threat of spending the summer in indiana was all it took to motivate me through the final stages of planning and things. and now things have worked out.. just the way they should have all along. it's funny how that happens- we set our sights on something we think we want.. and God takes us on the path he wants us on regardless.. and we usually end up finding that God's way is way better.
so the mamma and the papa are leaving tuesday for Disney World (anniversary celebration.. jealous.). and my mom all along wanted me to stay in the states until they got back. i, obviously, refused. and continued to plan my trip around leaving well.. today. and, obviously once again, i did not in fact leave today. i'm leaving saturday. the day before they get home- so i WILL be here to watch the house and be with sarah and fatty. just like my mom wanted- and i'm sure just like God knew it would be better.
anyways.
leaving saturday. this is the final countdown. still mostly terrified of the airport experience. that's the only part that worries me. i've never flown alone before. and i've never flown commrcial with luggage- alone or not. so. i'll wave goodbye in pittsburgh and pray that God will get me to ghana.
here goes nothing.
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