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INTEGRATION!

From April - July we are on site integration - which many volunteers call site restriction. You aren’t allowed to go to other volunteers’ sites, you are expected to sleep every night at your site, and your main focus is to integrate to the community and begin thinking of ideas for future projects. Let’s just start off with I have A LOT of free time, so those of you in America who would like to learn more about Ghana or what I am currently up to, please feel free to get in contact with me through Whatsapp or Facebook Messenger - we are only 4-8 hours time difference (depending where in the states you are) and trust me, I’m completely relaxing right now. 

Since arriving to site, I haven’t been in the Journal writing mood. So I guess I will just accept that I have a journal entry for every day during training, but not throughout my entire service. On the plus side, I am completely in love with my community and feel like I am extremely lucky. Here are some things I’ve been up to/experiencing:

~~ I’ve read 7 books, finished the entire 6 seasons to Game of Thrones, season 2 of Animal Planet as well as North America version, some cool random movies, and still somehow have been completely visible by my community. Seriously…. That’s just how much free time I’ve had. Here are the books I’ve read, let me know if you’ve enjoyed or read any of them:

1. Water for Elephants by Sata Gruen

2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

3. The Cure for Death by Lightning by Gail Anderson-Dargatz

4. Hyperbole and a Half by Alie Brosh

5. The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti

6. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

7. The Door to December by Dean Koontz

~~ I walk around my village close to 3-7 hours a day. With a population close to 6,000 I am always encountering new paths, new houses, new faces and new environments. I’ve been struggling with correcting my name, not sure I will ever be called correctly but currently these are the names I go by; Sister Marie, Sister/Madame Aku, Sister/Madame Lisa, and Sister Lisamarie. Many of you know that II do not like going by Marie. I’ve tried to explain to them my name is ONE word… for some reason it isn’t working. Aku on the other hand is because I was born on a Wednesday. Based on the day of the week you were born, you get different names. Unfortunately they are based on sex, female vs male. Here’s what you would be called based on the day you were born in Ewe:

Monday aka Dzoda

     -Female: Adzo

     -Male: Kodzo

Tuesday aka Blada

     -Female: Abla

     -Male: Kobla

Wednesday aka Kuda

     -Female: Aku

     -Male: KoKu

Thursday aka Yawoda

     -Female: Yawa

     -Male: Yao

Friday aka Fida

     -Female: Afi

     -Male: Kofi

Saturday aka Memleda

     -Female: Ama

     -Male: Kwami

Sunday aka Kosida

     -Female: Esi

     -Male: Kusi

~~ I’ve made friends with the Chief of my village, assemblyman, and opinion leaders. They all are always happy to see me and I attempt to speak to them in our language as I do with everyone in my village and they love it.

~~ I have joined women in peeling casava and also have had small boys help me with weeding my yard. Both hard labor, both causing blisters to these soft New Yorker hands I have.

~~ I made a permagarden at my house! Again with a lot of help from the children and my friends. All out hands were badly blistered. I couldn’t have done it without them. I have many seeds for tomatoes, thyme, cilantro and more! I cannot wait to start planting and share with my community.

~~ People know me not only in my village, but the neighboring villages as well because I like to go on long walks and just introduce myself to everyone. I seem to know more people than even some of the nurses at my clinic know. They’re always impressed when we walk around town or go to the market and people call my name to say hi.

~~ I’ve been getting a better hold on cooking for myself. You have no clue how much harder it is - cooking everything from scratch, being aware of the nutrients you may be lacking, and the market having very limited foods are just a few of the struggles you face. It’s not that easy.

~~ I’ve attended multiple funerals. In Ghana funerals are Friday-Satuday. Here’s their breakdown:

     -Friday: The music and gathering begins around 4PM. The body arrives around 6 and someone has to clean and dress the body. Everyone at the gathering is expected to stay there dancing, interacting, eating and etc. until day break!

     -Saturday: At day break you are expected to go home, bathe and return to the location. You will have a church service followed by more music, traditional dancing, eating and all around celebration. Then they bury the body.

     -I haven’t done the entire staying up all night (latest I’ve made it to is 1AM) and etc. but I’ve attended most of the gatherings and have their traditional dancing and some songs down. They always get excited when I come, and everyone loves that I dance and try singing with them.

~~ I’ve eaten and cooked with multiple different people, and have become close with some neighbors, women, and children in my village. Which has helped tremendously with learning the language as well as feeling more safe in my community. I’m a little sad because many of the friends I’ve made that are my age will be returning to college in August so I won’t see them again until December. I’ve realized that I’ve really grown to care for the people in my community. A Little girls mother sent her away for school and when we were saying bye I had to hold back my sadness and tears. This is after only 2 months of being at site, I can’t imagine how leaving back to the states will feel!

~~ LASTLY, but certainly not least, I have had my Welcome Ceremony! The community has officially accepted me into their village and have told me that I am now from our town, not America. Haha

 Dancing, talking, and amazing conversations about family dynamics, cultures in America, differences between our funerals/celebrations and just overall acceptance by my community has made me feel like the luckiest volunteer so far who was perfectly matched. Of course I still have my moments of missing home, wanting to be alone, being frustrated with being called a Yevu (White Person in Ewe), and small awkward/uncomfortable interactions but hey what’s an experience without it’s ups and downs. I make everything I do at site an accomplishment in my head, because let’s just face it, I’ve completed two month of service and have 22 lefts to go. Some people don’t even make it this far.

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TRAINING = COMPLETE

For two and a half weeks we spent time away from our homestay families and lived in the Northern Region of Ghana. Here we did more technical applications and learned more about different activities and ways to promote behavior change in our communities. Off site technical had to be the most draining part of training. There was a lot of sitting through hours of lectures, and then some labored work as well. We did soak-away pits, latrine constructing, and mural paintings. Our days continued to be long, people (including myself) were getting tired of being around each other, and most importantly we were even closer to ending our training and finally becoming Volunteers. We were all too ready. Here’s a link to pictures of the entire Pre-Service Training Experiences.

 APRIL 13 - SWEARING IN

We officially became Peace Corps Volunteers on the 13th of April. Here’s a link to pictures! It was a very short and fast ceremony but it felt great to know that in a few days we would all be returning to our sites and finally settling into a place that will be called home for the next two years. The oath we took at our swearing in ceremony was the same oath that all governmental people take (president, army, etc.). It was very sad saying goodbye to my family, but I know that it will not be the last time I ever see them. It may take some time but I will visit them in the future, during service and who knows even after!

 Now the real journey begins!

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Medekuku, Akpe! (Please, Thank you)

Let me tell you that when you learn a language as intense as you do during PST, you become SUPER prideful in that language. I learned Ewe, which is not only spoken in the Volta Region and random communities of Ghana but also To Go, Benin and parts of Nigeria. It’s an international language! Other languages in Ghana can only be found in Ghana, so you’re sort of lost once you leave the country. I hope to visit the countries that also speak Ewe someday.

We had a language test 5 weeks into studying. It was the most stressful, high anxiety feeling I have ever felt! I have no clue why I was so worried/scared of the test. I knew for sure that I would pass but my teacher made it seem like he expected a very high score from me. I’m glad I did pass, with intermediate high, but the stress definitely made an impact on my performance. I look forward to learning more of the language once I’m at sight and surrounded by only Ewe speakers.

Site announcements weren’t as nerve wrecking as I’d thought compared to homestay and language announcements. It was more like YAY!!!!! When I visited my site the people were so appreciative and happy that I spoke Ewe. I visited this one clinic and they started yelling at one of the nurses because she didn’t speak Ewe and had been at the clinic for 2 years now. Everyone was so nice and I am happy to be able to communicate even if it is small small. I’m sure by the end of the two years I will be able to hold some great conversations!

[romanl294-blog]

Roosters Crow BEFORE The Sun Rises

This time of my PST was a crazy emotional roller coaster for me! I had no clue how to feel yet about everything. The nerves that take over your body when waiting to meet your new family away from the states and which language you will be learning almost makes you question it all.

Every blog post I read was correct. Homestay announcements were done in Alphabetical Order and with my last name starting with an R, my heart wanted to beat right out of my chest. I almost felt like I was going to cry! What if she didn’t like me? What if we didn’t get along? What if she had no kids, or family? What if we couldn’t communicate? How would she love me, how would I grow to love her? Why did she sign up to host an American? What if they wanted a male? With every second that passed, the more questions and anxiety I could build before my name was called. Finally…. My new mother would be…. Mama Margie!!! (Margret)  

FAMILY

My homestay family is amazing. I was their first volunteer but you would have thought that they were pros at hosting already. We were warned of personal space, too much food being served, a lot of misunderstandings and maybe frustrations. My family dealt with these amazingly. My family consists of my mom, dad, 3 sisters and a granddaughter. I would later find out that 4 more siblings exist, but I don’t get the opportunity to interact with them much since they do not live at home.

My mom is the most loving person I have ever met. She gives me these big hugs when she hasn’t seen me in a while. She’s an amazing cook and although we don’t speak the same language, we somehow can communicate pretty well (with help from my younger sisters of course!). She’s welcomed me to her home, family and heart. I will forever be grateful for her hospitality and know that I will miss her soooo much when I leave.

My dad is an amazing father! It made me so happy to see his involvement and love for his family. He wasn’t around on the week days because he worked as a teacher in a different town, but every weekend he would return and spend time with us. He helped me so much with my language learning and getting to know Ghana.

My sisters are so beautiful, smart and funny. They have all been so nice to me and made me feel lucky to have them. They are 13, 16 and 24. My favorite favorite is the 16 year old. From the first day she was always nice and trying to talk to me. One night all three of us danced together in town, it was so much fun! They’ve helped me with projects, understanding my parents, washing clothes, cooking, and even occasionally getting out of awkward conversations people try to initiate. I couldn’t have asked for better host sisters.

The baby!!!! <3 I had to work hard to get her to take a liking to me and now I absolutely love her. She’s less than 2 years old and the funniest little spoiled girl I know. I taught her to make funny faces and now as soon as she sees me its a welcome with a funny face and laughs. She cries when I have to leave to class or back to the house from our store. I’m so glad she finally opened up to me. It’s funny now to see her afraid of my American friends and hide in my arms.

I’m so lucky to have received such a great host family. I will miss them like crazy when I go to my site and I hope that I can visit a few times during my service and they visit me. As a gift to them I have had letters I wrote to them translated to their language and am writing on the back of New York Post Cards with a picture of us on the back. I also got each of them a bracelet/necklace from the bead market. I hope they like my personalized gift and I hope to be able to keep in contact with them for many years from now.

HOMESTAY EXPERIENCE

The homestay experience is very different than anything you can imagine. You live with strangers who do not speak your language and a larger barrier is that you may not even be learning the same language as your homestay family (like me). On top of that you have a full schedule planned for you to the point that you barely control when you eat or sleep. Your body quickly adjusts to the scheduled meal times that are provided for you, and although you may be able to go to bed whenever you’d like, you need to be home before dark and the roosters DO NOT crow when the sun rises but rather whenever they feel like it. Be it 2AM, 3AM, 4AM or every ten minutes in between! Everyone wants you to greet them correctly and the kids love getting your attention! It’s definitely a cultural shock, BUT you grow to love it and get used to it fast. You begin to appreciate the politeness and background to the reasons that they care so much for one another. Ghanaian’s love helping you and making friends - probably the largest cultural difference from at home. Not using your left hand is a real thing here and isn’t as hard as you’d think (I make sure to always hold something in my left hand). But the number one reason your homestay experience is most important is because it’s where you are allowed to make the most mistakes and learn the most about the culture. Everyone is around to help you adjust the quickest and easiest way possible so that when you go to your site it isn’t as much of a shock. Trying your best to integrate and learn is what puts the largest smiles on everyone face. PST is amazing because you do get this experience to see the culture before completely living in it alone.

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Week 0 with my “Government Issued Friends”

The first day in Ghana was ROUGH!!! Entering the country was an amazing experience. We checked into the office through Diplomats at immigration and had a police escort to our new home for the next 5 days. It was 8AM but our bodies felt like it was really 3AM. They made us go straight to class and kept us busy with shots, videos, readings, writings, and anything else they could think of to keep us awake until 8PM. We were exhausted. I remember barely being able to stand straight in the back of the room without my body slowly falling to sleep. It definitely helped with getting over jetlag.

The next 4 days were jam packed! Here’s a mini review to each day:

[2-2-17] We had a 12+ hour scheduled day, and that would be the start of my acknowledgment that the next ten weeks of training would be physically and mentally draining. We visited the main office, and the Ambassador's house! That means more medical shots and amazing food so couldn’t really complain. The ambassador's wife also told us a little about ourselve by roasting every name on our list before she had even met us. It was very funny, but cool to see the statistical dynamics of our group. We come from 12 different states, have three women over 50, only three guys in the entire group, and are officially government issued friends.

[3-2-17] Interviews for our potential sites!! Although we wouldn’t hear back about where we will be living for the next 2 years for another 5 weeks, this interview played a crucial part in helping the staff solidify where they thought they would be placing you. We also learned about money and transportation. This would be useful when we are finally placed in the real world and must travel and buy things on our own.

[4-2-17] We traveled in small groups together alone. My group visited the University of Ghana which is a beautiful and large campus. Everyone had a great story to come back with because they had more interactions with people. My most notable memories were:

Randomly sitting in a trotro and seeing blood all over my hand because of a deep cut I randomly had on my hand. A tro is what you see below!

A college students looking me serious in the face and saying that I looked familiar. Their follow up was because I was pretty.

Running into a hijab awareness march and the girls asking if I was Indian and letting me know that I was pretty but would be prettier if I wore a hijab.

We also learned about Ghanaian Chiefs which can hold more power to his people than the President of Ghana does. When greetings a Chief you’re not even supposed to speak to them directly or look at them in the face. Everything must go through their linguist. Found that to be cool. Finally we received our new cell phone sim cards. I was able to contact people back home!

[5-2-17] Bucket bathing, washing clothes and talent show! It was our last day before being sent off to our homestays. I thought I knew how to bucket bathe but when the Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL) showed us I couldn’t believe how little water he used. I also had thought that hand washing clothes wouldn’t be that hard, but it took me over 2 hours to do 4 days worth of clothes. The staff said I would get used to it or my community would laugh and take my clothes away from me. Hopefully it gets easier with time. Since it was our last night together we had a talent show which was pretty funny. Something small that was getting to me was how often I was told that I was pretty or beautiful. It made me worry whether that’s all people would see.

Overall it was an amazing first week. Our schedule had it labeled Week 0 so there was still ten more to go. No one could ever compare the experience you receive in your Pre-Service Training (PST) for Peace Corps. You’re busy 6 days of the week for 8+ hours a day and when it’s your time off you better be interacting with Ghanaians and trying to integrate and learn from your host family and friends. It’s a great introduction to acknowledging that your next two years of service will be work every day no matter how small. The difference of work in the states and work during your service is huge. Washing your clothes, fetching water, getting out of your house, etc. - can all be considered work here and it can be just as physically and mentally draining as we consider work in the states. Self-care is a huge must so I hope to pick up some new hobbies and continue drawing/coloring. I’ll update you all on my new hobbies when they come!

[romanl294-blog]

Officially a Traineeee!

So after the emotional roller coaster that was these past two months you cannot begin to imagine the excitement, anticipation and anxiety of finally being less than 24 hours away from being on that plane to Ghana! 

I left my family on Saturday (1/28) and thought that I would be crying a new river to add to Manhattan’s geography, but instead it was more like, “Okay! See you soon!.” I honestly tried to not look back so that even if they did begin to cry I wouldn’t get caught up into their emotions as well. Before leaving our home my mom started to tear up and explained that she wasn’t expecting it to hurt or feel the way she was feeling and that she was confused by her emotions. I laughed as tears started to build up in my eyes and told her that she was going to make me cry. Glad that stopped us from going out into the world all puffy eyed! Haha 

ANYWAY!!! Coming to Philadelphia on Saturday was my arrival to Staging! <3 

Staging is where I will meet, discuss, learn, laugh, talk, interact and officially become a Peace Corps Trainee. With a 9-6pm and 9-5pm schedule already planned out for us, I can say that I have never felt as mentally exhausted and excited in my life. Staging was basically our introduction to Peace Corps and gave us all the background to understanding what we should expect of the PC and what PC expects of us. Plus some helpful tips and topics that will be useful in preventing judgment and ways to approach things we may not be familiar with. I can of course go into detail about this, but honestly it was more of you had to be there to appreciate it! I don’t want to be a teacher and lecture you all right now. BUT if you insist, I can give you a little sneak peak for those not too familiar with Peace Corps!  

Peace Corps started in 1961, by President JFK. Since 1961, PC has been in 140 countries total and in Ghana specifically for all 56 years. Over 220,000 people have served and in Ghana right now there are 135 people serving. On average Peace Corps Volunteers are 28.7 years old, but as you will see in my group we range! “The three goals of the Peace Corps are helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women, helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part o the peoples served, and helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.”

Peace Corps has many programs like the Let Girls Learn Program, created by Michelle Obama, which empowers and encourages girls to gain a better education. They also do a lot of Gender Youth Development. Along with learning about these programs we also learned to understand and utilize different models and tools to make sure we are not arriving to Ghana with a pre-conceived notion of what life in Ghana is or judge anything that may be different in their culture from ours. Diversity is very important and our Trainee group is very diverse. 

Lastly, we learned about the importance of our safety and security as well as the 10 core expectations of the Peace Corps which we shortened into our own works below: (let’s see if you can come up with the definitions)

Get ready to Rumble

Do good, be good, learn, share, and grow

Endure hardship flexibly

Integrate to succeed

Always be accountable

Be present

Follow the rules

Don’t be dumb

Be Embassadorable

Tell your story

All this information is located in our own special staging workbooks which we will all cherish and possess for the rest of our lives! 

After all those jam packed details, I can tell you that food, the bed, and some relaxation was life! We would grab food together and probably be back in our rooms and ready for bed by 9PM! Personally as an identifying introvert, I have went above and beyond and made sure to interact and be more outgoing than normal. I’m sure I sort of skipped the SUPER SHY LISAMARIE that everyone at home knows that I usually am at first. I’ve never gotten as comfortable with a group of people so quickly in my life as I did at staging and with my fellow Peace Corps Trainees. 

I used most of my last night here packing, video chatting friends, and getting ready to leave. Nothing too special. I’ve definitely got a lot of Chocolate with me that I must finish tomorrow, so that’s something everyone knows that I am SUPER excited about. Besides that staging has been a very fun, icebreaker packed weekend and finally we are all one step closer to becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer. We haven’t left to Ghana yet but I already know that this is going to be the greatest experience of my life! 

PS - I have decided to keep a Journal and write more frequently in the journal than I blog. Therefore each week or so I will summarize my experiences, highlight some things for you all, pictures, etc. and will gladly share my stories from my journals when I am back in country. I’m not usually a blogger so this might be a little hard for me, but I do want to share my experiences and teach you about the rich culture of Ghana! 

[romanl294-blog]

Packing/Gift List

OH MY GOOOOODNESSSSS!

Time is going by fast and with less than three weeks being in Rochester, less than two weeks being in the United States, and the holidays approaching, many people have reached out to me to ask what am I missing; how they can help.

So to help reach out to everyone, I have created a list of everything the Peace Corps suggests, what I have already gotten, and things that I am missing. This way people don't waste money getting things I have or don't necessarily need. Of course if you cannot get me a gift, money is HUGELY appreciated, but your support is what I like the most!

                          BELOW IS EVERYTHING I ALREADY HAVE!

**Peace Corps Essentials**

1. Lightweight Towel

2. High Density Memory Stick

3. Lightweight Waterproof Jacket (my grandpa claimed this gift)

4. Sweatshirt, sweater, fleece

5. Bathing Suite

5. Headlamp

6. Swiss Army or Leatherman (my grandpa claimed this gift)

**Peace Corps Women's List**

1. Skirts

2. Sturdy casual dress shoes/ nice durable sandals

3. T-shirts

**Peace Corps Miscellaneous**

1.  Nail Clippers

2. Wash Cloth

3. Pair of Scissors

4. Wipes

5. Bed Sheets

6. Epoxy Glue

7. Duct Tape

8. Pictures of home, family, friends

9. Second pair of glasses

10. Eyeglass repair kit

11. Money Belt

12. Bicycle Repair Kit

13. Toothbrushes

14. Soap

15. Toothpaste

16. Power Converter (My Friend has claimed this gift)

17. Portable Charger (My Friend has claimed this gift)

18. Laptop

19. Razors

         BELOW ARE THE THINGS THAT I STILL NEED/NEED MORE OF

**Peace Corps Essentials**

1. Hat for the sun

**Peace Corps Women's List**

1. Cotton Pants

2. One Slip (essential to keep perspiration from body)

3. Sports Bras or Bras with no underwire (must be cotton! I am size Small, or 32C/34B)

4. Cotton Panties (I got two packs from Walmart Size - M)

**Peace Corps Miscellaneous**

1. Alarm Clock (battery or wind-up)

2. OB tampons (enough for two years)

3. Frisbee, Hacky-sack, travel size games (whatever you think of that is not heavy and fun to pass time!)

4. Vegetable Seeds

5. Batteries (Triple A & Double A... my camera takes double A)

6.  Shampoo and Conditioner Bars (I’ve been getting my hair used to these Bars of Shampoo and Conditioner to lessen the amount of water use and it’s healthy from http://www.lushusa.com/hair/shampoo-bars/)

               BELOW ARE THINGS THAT THE PEACE CORPS GIVES YOU

1.  Mosquito Net 

2. Water Filter

3. First-Aid Kit 

4. A bunch of books

5. Travel Guides/Map if Ghana

Thank you all so much for your constant support! To help prevent multiple people buying the same gift I would suggest leaving an anonymous message with what you would like to claim so that others are aware not to get that. If you feel strongly about something missing please speak to me first about it because I do know more of the do’s and don’ts plus what would be possible for me to carry or bring. Remember that water may be scarce and electricity isn’t a guarantee. THANK YOU!!!

[romanl294-blog]

My mom always complained that I put too many eggs in one basket!

It was my senior year and already December! The fear of graduation coming just a few months away and now knowing where my life would take me was something that not only I, my friends, and classmates knew too well but something that historically all seniors have to fear and think about. I knew I didn't want to go to grad school yet - I had no definite subject or interest that I could see myself spending that much money on or maintaining my interest for that many years. So that was the only for sure certain thing I had in my life!

Haha, great progress after 4 years of college! 128 credits later and still no clue where you wanted your life to go. We complained in high school that no one taught us to cook, do taxes, or survive the real world - but realistically, that was the easy part. Surviving through college. How about no one taught us how to decide at 20 years young what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives? I always questioned how after 20 years of living we are supposed to have the knowledge to decide what we would do for the next 40+ years.

ANYWAY! Back to December of Senior Year. I was on winter break and started looking into the Peace Corps after some suggestions of things to do with my life from people who knew me well. I quickly found an Office Hour opening in NYC and decided to attend and ask as many questions as I possibly could. The meeting was amazing and the next deadline was January 1st (just 3 days later). My mind argued with itself for a few hours that day convincing myself that there was no way I could become a great applicant in time. So instead I worked my butt off with multiple meetings with my advisers editing my 3 page resume, motivational statement, and application to be the very best me I can sell. The next deadline would be April 1st and I wanted to submit by mid-February to show that I was serious.

The Peace Corps Process can be VERY LONG! I waited 5 months! 5 months!!!

This actually didn't hurt at must as people expected it to. I read the email, half expecting the defeat after such a long wait. People kept apologizing to me as if they had a say in the decision. I know everyone just wanted to comfort me, but I was honestly glad to just hear back. It was a huge relief and weight off my shoulder. Could you imagine waiting for an update after 5 months of applying to something? Of course, I was contacted for an interview, answered questionnaires and etc., but not knowing whether it was a yes or no was eating me alive. I would wake up every morning and the first thing I did was look straight to my email for a response. I would tell people closest to me that I was losing my mind. My mom always complained that I always put too many eggs in one basket - meaning I put all my efforts and hopes in one thing, like the Peace Corps. I tried so hard to create plan b, c, d, to z, but my heart was so set on Peace Corps that I knew I couldn't stop. We all know the idiom:

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

So that's exactly what I did. I contacted a recruiter, told her what my passions were and why I wanted to do the peace corps and sure enough with all her help I was able to apply within 30 days of being rejected and meet the next deadline. This time I waited only 2 weeks for an acceptance letter. The week of my mother contacted me saying that I was for sure going this time - mothers intuition. Funny how that worked out. Upon my acceptance, I had a huge mix of emotions - happiness, sadness, everything. Happy to be given this opportunity. Sadness to know that soon I will be saying goodbye to everyone I knew. But overall, it would be the greatest experience I ever had.

Already the Peace Corps has taught me a lot about myself, patience, and never giving up. I cannot imagine what the next 27 months will teach me. I look forward to sharing all my stories and experiences from Ghana. I can already tell they will be amazing!