you will go out in joy and be led forth in peace.

Last weekend was spent in the Volta Region...eventually.  About an hour into the trip, the car broke down and we waited on the side of the road for about three hours before a new one came for us.  (It was okay though because there was a conveniently located pineapple stand just a couple hundred meters away.)  All the driving post-Accra was very bouncy, but the destinations made it well worth the sore rump.  

We hiked to the top of Mount Afadjato which is the highest mountain in Ghana, standing at about 885 meters.  I have to be honest--it kicked my butt.  It's been a long time since my WFSI days.  (Learn about WFSI by clicking HERE.  One of the best months of my life.)  It was so worth making it to the top, though.  The views were great, and we were led all the way back down by the most beautiful butterflies.  

halloween in ghana.

Okay, so there really isn't Halloween in Ghana.  But I was feeling a little homesick.  So last week I hung the banner my mama mailed me, passed out candy to art club as they made their masks, and split eight Reese's Cups with Shannon.  By the way, I had no idea that I was coming to a sugar detox when I bought my ticket here, but I discovered that I now have almost no tolerance for sweets.  Aside from pineapple and coconut water.  Those I could take all day, every day and I doubt I would regret it.

on the coming election, and every day after.

"That is only your opponent, not your enemy."

These are the words that I quickly wrote down as soon as I heard them to be sure they wouldn't be forgotten.  The words which struck a chord within me.  And the words I felt compelled to share with you here.  In a conversation about the political situation here in Cape Coast, these words were spoken by one of my fellow teachers in regard to the tension between parties.  I am afraid that politics are politics, regardless of location.  With those words, I'd like to urge anyone who may open their ears (or eyes?) to approach the end of this season and the opening of others with the realization that your neighbor is not a Republican or a Democrat, a member of the NPP or NDC parties, but a person.  A human being.  Just as flawed and beautiful as you.  Just as complex-minded as you.  With just as much right to believe and be heard as you.  More love is never a bad thing.

i could sit for awhile longer.

This was my spot one afternoon last week.  Shannon and I decided to head into Kotokraba, into town, to do some wandering.  We quenched our thirst and calmed the rumble in our stomachs at Baobab House, a shop, vegetarian restaurant, and guest house which supports Baobab Children Foundation.  With a bottle of pineapple moringa juice in my hand and an ocean breeze on my back, I was content. 

it just keeps coming.

I think I could stand and look into the ocean forever and never notice the passing of time. Something about the persistence in the push and pull of the waves is so captivating.

I feel spoiled sometimes, that I have the ocean in view almost all day.  It seems foolish of me not to spend as much time on the beach as possible, but here the ocean is not treated as a place of leisure, but a place of work as it provides the livelihood for much of the community.  But when we do go, we appreciate every second of it.

a small fire in my heart.

"Be just as foolish as you are.  Either he likes it or he doesn't.  Say: this is me--take it or leave it."

These are the words said by the headmistress, Sally, yesterday in the staff room while some of the teachers were engaging in an empowering conversation about marriage and courtship, and what constitutes a good relationship.  It's experiences like this which I love the most--when we get past the fact that we come from different backgrounds, different lands, and just take part in discussions on life.  It is a topic that could have come up anywhere, but it happened here with these people who have taken residence in a warm corner of my heart.

My time here is more than half gone.  I cannot believe we are two weeks from November, or that I am seven weeks from entering Ohio in December.  Maybe it's because rather than leaves falling, it's my sweat.  And rather than digging out warm socks, I look forward to the cold water for evening bathing.  But I think a lot of it has to do with how quickly the time is passing.  I'll be back home before I know it.  In the meantime, though, excuse me while I make the most of it.

on a warm sunday afternoon.

We sat on the porch of Auntie Gifty's house, Shannon and I.  Enjoying the occasional breeze while we laughed at each others' attempt to eat the pineapple we bought on campus.  As the plentiful and delicious juice ran down my chin and all over my hands, I thought out loud, this is the way life is supposed to be.  "If only we had a kiddie pool," Shannon said.  If only.