Lovin' it.

June 25, 2008

La Badi Beach
We all had a late start in the morning, so we decided to kick it at the beach for lunch (just the gals-Erik and Marcio missed out!). When we finally arrived, Jamie got mad at one of the workers there (she's been to La Badi Beach before and got in for free). But this time the guy decided he wanted to charge us 1 cedi($1) each! It wasn't a big deal but whatever. My only concern was getting close to the water for some wind- it was SOOO HOT THERE!!! The sand was burning my feet at first but I got used to it. All I know is that I wanted to find some shade and wet my feet. But as soon as we got settled, I spotted a local with a horse!!! "A HORSE! GUYS LOOK! LET'S RIDE HIM!" I was so juiced, I dropped my bag, grabbed my camera, and ran towards the guy. He laughed because I had this big urge to get on NOOOOW!

He got the saddle ready and I asked him, "Do I have to pay?" He said, "Yes sistah, I give ride to you fo five cedis($5)."

"REALLY??? I CAN RIDE ALONG THE WATER ALL THE WAY DOWN AND BACK?"

"Of course sista, I will guide him and you can go whereva you like."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW YEAAAH!!!" [I'm such a kid.]

The ride went fairly smooth, but the bouncing and wobbling- uhuh I was NOT HAVING IT. My horse's name(yes he's mine) is Victory. He's a racer and it took a lot of hard work to train him. The guy owned him and told me that he's been in love with horses since he was 7(and I'm guessing he's at least in his late 30's now). WOW HE MUST REALLY LOVE HORSES. I was so mad when the ride was over but I was not about to pay extra for another ride. I don't love horses that much.
The girls and I just kicked back and soaked up some sun, and had lunch of course(I had grilled chicken cabobs with onions and fries---BOMB!) I was getting annoyed by all the flies though---I wish someone could invent a machine that would just burn them in mid air haha that would be the day. I loved the beach though because it gave us some time to relax and set our minds on positive things. I got to meet a group of kids from the orphanage in Accra. They were so much fun and they were happy that I wanted to take pictures of them. Oh yeah this one guy was wind surfing and he went out sooo far and them after a while I couldn't see him anymore. Hmmm wonder what happened…a shark got him I know it. Hahahahahahahahaha hope not. After we left the beach, we went to the bank and then made our way to meet our students in Nima.

Happiness
When I'm with the children, they give me joy. People that have been a part of my life have touched me too, but the children just give off a different feeling all their own. I never knew I could feel like this. They give me hope because if they can be happy with what little they have and STILL look towards a brighter future, I should be able to do the same. I don't have time to complain about using the bathroom at an outhouse or about the food not looking so good, or how bad the air smells. This is how they live everyday, and yet, they manage to survive.
When we met the children today, Jontonette taught the class the alphabet in sign language. The children participated in the activity and caught on FAST. They are so eager to learn and never turn that chance down. I was just talking with my group and I can't believe we've already made it through a whole week here. That means only 14 more days left with the children!!! I don't even want to think about leaving the them. I wouldn't care if I had to bring them all home with me. I will miss them all sooooo much. It's going to feel like losing a brother or sister 1,000 times and more. Because out here that's who we are- we are FAMILY.