Ahhhhh! Okay, so I'm pretty sure this is the point in the pre-departure where the traveler is allowed to freak out and wonder what the hell they're doing. Well, sure enough...haha. Don't worry, I'm still competent enough to realize that I will be having fun soon enough.
So I'm still in the midst of packing but thought I'd make time for a quick post. You know, I'm having a wee bit of trouble with this blog in that I've tried not to tell people in case I can't update much but I also tried to tell people because I won't really be able to once I'm gone. So sorry people I haven't told and sorry people I have told if this blog sucks. Anyway! So my bag is about 1/3 full of things for me (1/2 of which is assorted medicinal things my mother thinks I need but I will probably never use. Including over 400 anti-diahrreal tablets and 150 pairs of gloves...) and 2/3 full of children's toys and presents for my host family. So once I get there and unload I will have pretty much nothing. Excellent - this means more cool african souvenirs for you guys. :]
Wow this post is insane because everything is very frenetic and I'm trying to do about a billion things at once so I should probably stop. Oh, and some of you may be getting calls tomorrow as I have a 10 hour layover in JFK. I'm thinking I'll go into the city but I'll still be incredibly lonely and missing you all. Alright so I arrive in accra (the capital) early wednesday morning (ghana is 7 hours ahead of CA in the summer) and then my adventure begins! I'll try to update this asap but well I don't really know how any of this is gonna go down.
Alissa - I ran out of time to email you back! So a legit reply to yours will probably be a while in coming, so in lieu of it you get a shout-out! Plus I'm writing more like you told me to! Wow, three exclamation marks.
Alright I'm off to Carolyn's birthday dinner and to say goodbye to everyone in Livermore. Everyone who is elsewhere...I miss you already and will miss you doubly whilst in Ghana!
Oh and Mallory (or anyone else who magically wants to write), here is my address in Ghana:
Julia Parkinson
c/o Projects Abroad
Private Mail Bag
Kumasi
Ashanti Region
Ghana
Peace out loves.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
If blogs required an abstract...
Hello friends!
Well, as I'm sure I've managed to tell you all by now (even if you have been summiting Mt.Olympus, playing with kids in New York, or in a different country altogether), on the 27th I will be departing for Ghana and won't return for 5 weeks. I'm unspeakably excited, not to mention inordinately trepidatious. If I make it through alive, this could be the best thing I've ever forced myself to do. However, this is a terribly long time to not have any contact with any of you, so I'm going to try to do my part by trying to keep up some semblance of blog. Plus, I've always wanted to do something this quasi-pretentious. I'm not sure if this will actually work, considering that I will only have access to internet via cafes which may or may not be convenient pit stops...but it sounded like fun so I thought I'd at least give it a try.
Oh, a word for the wise: if you want to hold on to the last vestige of your sanity, never try to plan a trip to Africa in 3 weeks. The past couple weeks have pretty much been a blur of calls/visits to doctors and post offices and very confusing email interactions with people in varying time zones. And I won't pretend it wasn't hard to part with half the money I earned from childcare in order to sentence myself to free labor in a foreign country. Anyway, now that I have my visa, flights, immunizations, a host family, and a place to work, I can focus on the somewhat less stressful prospect of packing. But then again, who really knows what to bring to Ghana for 5 weeks?
ps. Be aware that if you read this you will have to put up with my odd humor and writing style, not to mention my usual prolixity. But if you stick with me you'll proably get a hug or something. Not to mention have the pleasure of reading exclusive cultural knowledge that can only be found in any guide book on Ghana at any bookstore near you! Goodbye for now...oh and this is for chelsea:
Here today, ghana tomorrow,
Julia
Well, as I'm sure I've managed to tell you all by now (even if you have been summiting Mt.Olympus, playing with kids in New York, or in a different country altogether), on the 27th I will be departing for Ghana and won't return for 5 weeks. I'm unspeakably excited, not to mention inordinately trepidatious. If I make it through alive, this could be the best thing I've ever forced myself to do. However, this is a terribly long time to not have any contact with any of you, so I'm going to try to do my part by trying to keep up some semblance of blog. Plus, I've always wanted to do something this quasi-pretentious. I'm not sure if this will actually work, considering that I will only have access to internet via cafes which may or may not be convenient pit stops...but it sounded like fun so I thought I'd at least give it a try.
Oh, a word for the wise: if you want to hold on to the last vestige of your sanity, never try to plan a trip to Africa in 3 weeks. The past couple weeks have pretty much been a blur of calls/visits to doctors and post offices and very confusing email interactions with people in varying time zones. And I won't pretend it wasn't hard to part with half the money I earned from childcare in order to sentence myself to free labor in a foreign country. Anyway, now that I have my visa, flights, immunizations, a host family, and a place to work, I can focus on the somewhat less stressful prospect of packing. But then again, who really knows what to bring to Ghana for 5 weeks?
ps. Be aware that if you read this you will have to put up with my odd humor and writing style, not to mention my usual prolixity. But if you stick with me you'll proably get a hug or something. Not to mention have the pleasure of reading exclusive cultural knowledge that can only be found in any guide book on Ghana at any bookstore near you! Goodbye for now...oh and this is for chelsea:
Here today, ghana tomorrow,
Julia
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