Yes, I do, in fact, realize that I am a slacker.

I have to admit, that when it comes down to it, I have no good excuse for how long it has been since I have posted an update on this blog. And this is indeed a rather painful admission to make, as I have been wracking my brain in multiple unsuccessful attempts to come up with a reason that would excuse me from conceding that I am, after all, a slacker.

I apologize and I promise I will try to do better in the future.

So, as it has been a little over four months since I last updated the general public as to what has been going on in my life, I will write this update in the form of a timeline in hopes to make it as informative as possible... and hopefully it will also enable me to avoid my usual tendency of writing an entire saga where a pamphlet would suffice.



April

Nothing of note happened... at least that I can remember.

May

Same as above. (Sorry, it's been a while, and a lot has happened since then.)

June

I travelled home to Colorado for two weeks to attend my sister's wedding. It was both strange and exciting to be home, and now it almost feels as if it never happened. Pretty much the week after I returned I began to mark up the experience to a very convincing Larium dream. I very much enjoyed seeing the few friends and family that I was able to meet with during the very lightning-fast and activity filled trip. For those of you that I didn't get to see, I assure you that it was not for lack of desire.

July

My first week back from the States was restful, but the rest of the month has to be the most intense and stressful few weeks that I have encountered since being in Ghana. There is no way that I can fully recount all that happened during this time; both for lack of time and space, as well as not really having the words to describe it. But I will give a VERY brief list of the various occurrences that I faced.

-Received and had to tactfully turn down a serious marriage proposal from a friend and then navigate the aftermath.

-Found myself in the middle of a rather unfortunate ongoing misunderstanding between the family members that I live with.

-Attended a three day funeral event for my Ghana mama's mother who died. All I will say about this event (and trust me, there is a LOT more that I could say,) is that attending funerals in Ghana has now made it very near the top of my "things I dislike" list.

-Helped a friend with a very stressful medical emergency.

-In an attempt to alleviate a potentially dangerous situation involving alcohol and night driving, had to find a way to diplomatically voice my safety concerns in a way that would both assure that I would not become a Ghanaian vehicular accident statistic and would allow an important man to save face.

and

-Involved my village leaders in mediating a situation concerning an unwanted secret admirer.

August

Luckily, this month turned out to be much less eventful. I did have a chance to meet up with most of my friends from my Environment volunteer group as we held a training in Kumasi. That was a fun time to share and de-stress, and I learned some helpful things about erosion control and environmental youth clubs that I hope to implement at site.

September

Another eventful month, but almost all for good reasons. The first major event was another major funeral, which was not nearly as stressful as the one I attended in July, but has pushed me to the decision that no one else remotely connected to me is allowed to die from this point on, because I will not be attending any more funerals (as long as my considerable stubbornness can prevent it.)

I got the opportunity to do a little sightseeing with a friend and his parents. This was a lot of fun and extremely helpful in planning for the last and most exciting item that I will mention.

I went to welcome the new group of volunteers who have arrived in the country... and I celebrated my own one year anniversary of having arrived in Ghana. I can't tell you how strange that is.

I hosted one of the new volunteers at my site for a few days and in the process made a new friend with a very cool girl. She is doing really well for her first week in Ghana, and it was kind of fun to have a reminder of how I was when I first arrived in the country, and how everything was so new and different to me.

And last, but NOT AT ALL LEAST... I am now in Accra eagerly awaiting the arrival of two visitors from America. Tonight my friend Phoebe, whom I have known since baby-hood, will arrive in Accra for a business trip, and I will have the opportunity to spend time with her whenever she is free from her responsibilities. This in itself would be sufficient to keep me happy for a year, but there is more... My mother will be arriving in Ghana in two days!!! And she will be staying with me for three weeks!!

I think you will understand that there is really no way for me to fully put into words how excited I am about this. I can't wait for her to see the place and people that have shaped my life over the past year. It is important for me to tell friends and family stories and describe customs about Ghana, but it is like showing someone a small puzzle piece without being able to relate the larger picture that gives it meaning. So, I am hoping that both Phoebe and my mother will enjoy seeing the world in which I have been living and understanding the context in which everything has happened.

And then you can ask them to tell you stories of an experience that is larger than words can describe.