There is nothing quite like an African sky...

There truly is nothing quite like an African sky in the evening. It is one of the most beautiful, vast and colorful things to have ever met my eyes. It sounds silly to say that a skyline can look any different from another, but for some reason this sky seems to stretch so far that it can swallow you whole. There are many beautiful natural places here in Ghana. Honestly I have been able to experience more than most of the Ghanians I met have. It's sort of strange really, but the majority of natives that I have talked to here haven't left their home town or their country. I'm not sure if it's the lack of money because even the most wealthy Ghanians haven't ventured far from home, so it almost seems like an overall lack for the yearning of adventure or maybe both. This weekend I went to a village near HoHoe prenounced: (HaHoi) near the border of Togo. I went to visit the orphanage where my friend Miles and his family are staying. To get there, I ventured off to the nearest bus station and hopped on a crowded "Cho Cho" ( a refurbished suv turned into a small van/bus) that holds about 14 people and paid my 9 cedis(about 7 dollars) to travel to a place about 4 hours away. For me, the price was right! Although it was pretty crowded after the first two hours on the bumpy, dirt road, every now and then when we would pass through a small village people carrying large loads of goods on their heads to sell, swarmed the van and offered just about whatever was needed to satisfy your hunger, thirst, communication, or comfort needs. It's so great, cheap and convenient that the van never really has to come to a complete stop. Fingers are pointed out of the Cho Cho window to motion what it is that is wanted, money exchanges hands, the good is passed over and all of this is done while the car is still in motion! It's like a wayy better version of a convenience store/Walmart on wheels. Finally arriving in HoHoe, I began to notice that there really isn't much going on outside of Accra, the big city here. The landscape is predominantly just jungle, mountains, and small villages along the dirt road. HoHoe is a small, market town near the border of Togo that is filled with street peddlers and small, dirty buildings. That is really all I have to say about the town other than it is on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere basically. We also ventured to the orphanage/school where Miles is volunteering. I got to meet the 40+ energetic and excited little munchkins on Monday and man are these kids cuties! Immediately they grab onto your hands and clothes and ask for your name and hug and love on you without hardly knowing you for 10 seconds! After playing a local hand clapping game called "umpay" and other various games with the children, I helped organize their "new" or new to them anyway, books in their library(a room full of miscellaneous books) into categories and age appropriate groups and subject matter. I got into a little more than I bargained for when I reached into a nasty, old box full of rat droppings/dead insects and when I pulled out a stack of books I thought I saw something move out of the corner of my eye..while still holding the books I flipped them over and immediately threw them into the air in a fit of terror when 3 GIGANTIC, horrifying stripped spiders came spastically scattering all over the books. I made quite a scene screaming and jumping up and down while running out of the room in horror. Everyone got a good laugh at my silly overreaction to the spiders. At least someone got a good laugh because I was so upset and surprised that sure enough I began to cry a little..I was that terrified. On a better note,  Mile's family and I got to sort of vacation this weekend away at Lake Volta. I don't have internet to back this up as I am writing, but I have heard that it is one of the largest man made lakes around or at least in Ghana anyway. The lake was truly an oasis of relaxation and a good escape from the busy city and the claustrophobic feeling of the small land locked villages. To give you a mental image of the lake, it is surrounded by gorgeous green and lush mountains and the hotel we stayed in rested at the base of the lake and was garnished with natural shells on the pathways, hand carved wooden doors and covered with tasty fruit and plentiful flora. The rooms did not have air conditioning or hot water, but honestly after being here for so long,  my standards for "nice" have gone down and my body has really began to acclimate to the sticky, hot, humid weather of Ghana so it wasn't as bad as it might sound to you. The best relief from the blaze of the heat was the refreshing plunge into the great Volta lake water. There was a rope swing and a dock at our hotel and I wasted no time taking advantage of such a fun activity that reminded me so much of home. Along with several Englishmen, local Ghanians and Miles, I swam in the dark, yet somewhat clean water and just got lost in floating around in the calming abyss surrounded by such beautiful scenery. The perfect cure it seems for any sort of home sickness in my experience is simple: listening to my familiar music always makes me feel at ease, having things like candles or perfumes that smell familiar, and swimming. For whatever reason, if I ever start to feel at all overwhelmed, and I do any of my homesickness remedies suddenly I feel right at home. :) Although Ghana seemed so incredibly overwhelming and just plain weird in so many ways when I first arrived, it is slowly becoming a place that I am getting used to and I place I am learning to appreciate. This might sound crazy, but I could actually picture myself living here at least for a while... Thanks for following, -English