Dabodabo

Dabodabo is my new favorite word in Twi (the most common dialect in Ghana). It means "duck" and so is not at all relevant to this posting, but its fun to say.
Sooo...a little more about my arrival, now that I have a few minutes! When I got in, I learned that there was no electricity. Apparently Ghana runs on mostly hydroelectric power and, because of the recent drought, electricity has been rationed. From what my host family says, they alternate 12 hours of electricity on in one half of the country but not the other, and then switch. It seems to happen much less predictably, though, from what I've seen.
The first night was nice. Kofi, a neighbor kid, drove us home from the airport. Driving in Ghana makes Italy look like nothing (Mike, you should try it). We got to the apartment around 8 or 8:30 and because it was dark, spent the evening sitting on the porch, chatting in the dark. I really enjoyed it.
The next morning, the power came on. There is also no running water (also rationed) but I took my first "shower" (i.e. stood in a shower with a bucket of water) and it was the most amazing shower of my life -- the weather is so hot and I hadn't showered in days and had been flyng for so long.
I kept trying fish, which was exciting, until yeterday when I couldnt handle it. We had this curry-like dish with whole minna in it, staring up at me. I can't do it...maybe I'll try again in Thailand. I did try, though! A for effort, right?
On Monday night a big group of volunteers decided to go to the beach and got in trouble for it...but it was a pretty fun adventure. The water is really warm, its nice.
On Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday? Or Monday...I'm on Africa-time) it rained...it was amazing. The water just came pouring down. Everyone went to the porch to just stare and watch it. The hot, humid air became so pleasant. We helped the host family put out and carry in buckets of water. I loooove rain. Especially here, now. It makes the dirt roads pretty rutty, which is difficult. I rode in my first tro-tro (not sure how that's spelled, actually) yesterday. Tro-tro's are like a hybrid of taxi's and buses. They seem to be privately owned, but have fixed rates. They're minibuses crammed full of hot sweaty people. Its quite an experience. I have never sweat so much in my life.
I'm learning to speak Twi from Adam, a local guy who is finishing up his accounting degree and is just lovely. Its a really fun language. If you are lucky, I will say other fun words upon my return!
This weekend, several of the volunteers and I are planning travel to the nearby national reserve to see the rainforest. I'm really excited, I've read about it and it sounds beautiful.
Well, I should wrap this up. Tonight we're planning to go watch the game somewhere, which sounds fun. PS I have INSANE respect (more than before) for anyone who plays soccer in Ghana in this heat. I can barely handle sitting still in it. No heat stroke yet! Yes, Mom, I'm staying very hydrated. You can find purified water everywhere in these funny little plastic satchels...they look like implants.
Bye everyone!! I will try to write again soon. My friend Jennifer also has a blog, so I have a buddy to run off to internet cafes with. I leave you with this parting Twi word: Nkatee. It means peanut..but sounds a lot like "Cathy". Go figure.