Magic Carpet Ride

That’s the song I had stuck in my head the whole time I was bouncing around in the back of the lorry (their lingo for SVU I believe) today through the heart of Africa. Even though they were the WORST roads I have ever been on in my life, I had to smile has I braced myself between the seat in front of me and the ceiling. This is exactly what I wanted out of this trip- raw adventure. Today I went from one middle of nowhere to another middle of nowhere, and I loved every minute of it.  I figured out a trick- you have to flex your abs to protect your internal organs from the impact against your seat belt and push against the ceiling over bumps. Not only are you protecting yourself, it’s great for your coreJ

What is even more awesome is that there is festival of the century starting tomorrow here in Damongo… PARTY!!!! From what I understand, it’s a glorified get together for the entire Gonja tribe, which occupies this portion of the northwest. All the important chiefs and political figures are here… they are expecting 20,000 people to show up, which I is the equivalent of Powell hosting the Olympics. It’s a really big deal and this is going to be a cultural experience of a lifetime. Perfect timing!

The orphanage…. That will be my feature at a later day. It deserves all of my creative energy and a proper description. There are 46 orphans there and they are just precious. They range from 18 to 11 month old twins. It is ran by Abraham, who will also gets a feature article later as he is probably one of the greatest humans on the planet.

I’m staying at his house with a variety of people, including a really nice Dutch girl who is my age. It’s going to be a good time. I “helped” with dinner tonight by pounding some yams with a 6 ft rolling pin- pounder thing. Of course, white people do not do this correctly and this is very amusing to them. I was freaking out because there was a girl sitting on the ground who kneads it between smack downs. I was so scared I was going to smash her hand as I had no idea how to control this Nikki-sized piece of wood. Quite funny. They were making fofu, a Ghanaian favorite, which is basically a ball of starch and you eat it, with your hands, with soup that had chicken in it. It was good, but my stomach is not quite up to par, and I’m still so exhausted.

I just need to feel better, so if you could keep my health in your prayers, I would really appreciate itJ

We’re going to Mole tomorrow! I want to see an elephant so badly, but it’s not as dry as it usually is so not all the water holes have dried up. Meaning, my chances of seeing one at the usual spot are less likely. But that’s why I’m going on a Safari, so I will go to themJ

It’s 8:30 ,and I am going to bed. I need to bring my A game tomorrow, so I am hoping to find some pep for my step in my sleep.

Hope you all  had a good weekend!