Dearest Gentle Readers,

Akwaaba!

As I was sitting in the plane the realisation that I was going to be in a new country and culture completely hit me. I was so excited that I didn’t realise that I wouldn’t see my family for a whole year. Everything I knew up until now would change. But I don’t regret it one bit.

I couldn’t really imagine how life in Ghana would look like, but I quickly realised that it is very different from Germany. The food, lifestyle, streets, culture; everything is just so exciting and new. I love the women who walk through the busy streets selling food and stuff from their heads. The biggest adjustment for me was the access to clean water. Having a water tap at home with flowing, clean water is a luxury. I learned to shower with a bucket, it is not as hard as I thought it would be….

The first three weeks in Ghana were full of immigration offices and exploring the city. In the first two weeks I met some volunteers from another organisation, and we did all the exploring together. After two weeks I went to meet my host family. They are the best host family I could have asked for. I am very lucky. They have three young boys, who are named: Asempa, Nhyiraba and Nsenkyrene. My host mom is even teaching me how to cook local dishes. I dug into the local food right away and it tastes REALLY GOOD!

The first thing everyone here wants to know is your Ghanaian name. Your name depends on your gender and the day you were born. I am a girl that was born on a Friday, so my name is ‘Afia’.

My work here at the NGO is fun as well. I already took part in a project in a local school where the kids had to make something creative out of trash. We taught them the importance of recycling and preserving the environment. The kids loved it and had so much fun. We even turned the project into a competition with prizes and certificates. We then had a chance to display some of their artwork at a conference the other week.

I love life here and hope to go on many more adventures soon……

Yɛbɛhyia bio (We shall meet again)