In Accra

I got off the plane at around 7:30, and the first thing I noticed was that it was extraordinarily hot. Then I noticed that it was humid. Then I noticed that we were de-boarding to an outside lot. Yup. Ghana. Everything so far is hot, humid, and, surprisingly, very, very sandy despite the humidity. We're in the 'dry season' right now, so everything will continue to get hotter and hotter (right now it's hanging out in the nineties) until the rains come in May and, with them, the mosquitoes. There are a lot of strange plants, bright colors, and friendly people in soccer-team ("football") tee-shirts. A sign welcoming visitors to the airport reads "Welcome to Ghana: The Football Nation" (another sign reads (Paedophiles not welcome here; We suggest you go elsewhere.) So a lot of fun so far, I really like all my group-mates. There are six of us all-together, two boys and two girls in the group with the program leader and a guide. Right now I am in an internet cafe, having just experienced the roads of Accra for the first time. There are a lot of tro-tro's around, which are essentially vans serving as public transport, and nobody stops for ANYTHING. As our leader put it, "You fall off of a motorcycle here, you die."
Also, there are a lot of fruit stands. We had papaya for breakfast this morning (yes, I know you're jealous, Dad.) The mosquitoes are actually not that bad so far, and I am enjoying the fact that, for the most part, even "inside" is relatively "outside." There are a lot of open windows, and in the hotel where we stayed last night there was a courtyard with an open top to it. Also, there is cold running water (SO nice to shower in), but beware if you open your mouth! Nobody drinks the tapwater here, as it is full of typhoid and other fun things.
So that's all for now, we're off to the Volta region for the remainder of orientation. We'll be overlooking the Togo border without actually crossing, which will be fun. Our guide's name is Nanaa, and he wears a bright-red soccer jersey. So far, every one here seems really laid-back, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the week! Soon we will meet with a drum-maker (we were introduced this morning, and he was wearing an Obama tee shirt), hike to waterfalls, and visit a monkey sanctuary.

Packing and Address

Okay, so, the panic has finally settled in! I am now in the final stages of getting everything together before my flight tomorrow, having just discovered that there is no way to ship the books I got for my village school. Packing has decidedly been a lesson in creativity. First aid supplies live in a water bottle, impromptu frames have been created from various objects, and my pillow, bugspray, and sleeping pads live on the outside of the pack. To top it all off, I am preparing my room so that my brother can live here while I am gone! It feels exactly like getting ready to go to college, or at least I think it does.
Also, we just got our mailing address for the program. Please note that it can take two weeks at minimum for letters to get to me, and packages probably won't get to me at all. That said, I would love to hear from you! Please send all mail to:

Global Routes
P.O. Box AD 1205
Adisadel, Cape Coast
GHANA (all this center of the envelope as usual)

Sam Sheahan (bottom left corner of the envelope)

Thanks, everyone! I'll write again when I'm in Ghana!

Samira