The Last Days

Yesterday I went to the Culture Market in Accra. It's a huge outdoor market that sells everything from fabric to carvings to drums, and so many more things. It was pretty stressful because all the shop owners were yelling at us to come look at their shop, saying "looking is free" and "no pressure to buy," but of course they put a ton of pressure on us. If I even started looking at something they would name me a price. And of course the first price was always ridiculously high. One man told a girl that one yard of fabric was 48 cedis, and eventually she got it for 8. You have to learn to be firm and assertive in order to not get ripped off.

I only have the rest of today and then I leave tomorrow afternoon. I have an overnight flight but the airport is about an hour and a half away so I have to leave in the afternoon. It's really hitting me now that I'm leaving. When I first signed up for this trip, I thought 4 weeks would take forever. But it seems like it's gone quicker than it possibly could. I've really bonded with some of the kids, especially a few of the younger girls, and it's going to be hard to say goodbye. Last night I was lying on the picnic table in the courtyard looking at the stars with a few girls cuddled around me and lying on me, and we all started crying at the thought of me leaving on Friday. How often in life will I be in a situation like this? To be constantly surrounded by loving, caring kids who are so happy, despite the seemingly hard lives they lead? The girls kept asking me to come back. I really hope I do get to come back and visit someday.

There are 3 girls who were here for the night who were some of the first volunteers of the Worcsa program. They're traveling around West Africa and are spending some time here. A lot of the kids remember them and are so glad to see them again, although not all of the kids were at the orphanage yet a year and a half ago when the volunteers were here. It's strange to think about how everything might change or if there will be new kids if I come back to visit.

This will be my last update from Ghana. When I get back I'll be able to post some more about my trip, and some pictures as well! See you back in the US!