Homestay

The first day of homestay was the definitionn of culture shock. For those of you who do not know what homestay is, allow me to explain. Basically each volunteer requests minor preferences they look for in a hoomestay family (i.e. non-smoking, no kids etc). Then the family does the same thing.  Each family is interviewed by PC staff to make sure they understand how iportant cultural exposure is for the trainees, and that the housing situation is safe. Once all of that happens, the voluteer is matched wth a particular family.

So, we left Valley View and had lunch in the town of Kukuruntumi where the PC hub office is located. 

After that we traveled to a small village/town of Anyinasin where we would be living for the next three months. We unloaded the truck and placed our luggage at the front of the church where we would b metting our "parents." All the Ghanaian families sat on the left side and all the PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) sat on the right. We spent the next few minutes staring at each other trying to figure out who was going who with whom.

As names were called, I got more and more nervous, hoping I wasn't the last. FINALLY, my name was called and I to the front of the church and gave my hose mother a big hug. Next we went to a little section of the church where we chatted and got to know each other.

Her name is Christy and she is 38 years old. Her husband is a headmaster is South Africa and she has three kids:

 Opoku-12, Hettie-4, and NaNa-1. 

So now I have three younger siblings! For those of you who know my awkwardness around children, I hope this experience helps eliminate some of that!

After a brief introduction, we uickly left the church, dropped my uggage off at her house and walked to the store where she worked. We probably stopped to talk to twenty people on the way. After we got to her store and I was introduced to her sister, (who works at the store beside her) I had run out of things to say. I didn't know anyone. I couldn't speak Twi (local language) and the people around knew very little English. So I sat there. And sat there some more. It was one of the most awkward moments of my life. I probably sat there for two hours not talking to anyone. I had also forgotten my water bottle at the house. So I was really thirsty any melting in the heat.

By the time we got home, I was in a terrible mood. While I was putting the water filter together in the kitchen, my sister was literally screaming and clinging on to my leg and knocking everything over. For a moment I thought I was going to die of thirst. No joke. That thought crossed my mind. By dinner time I had finnaly fixed my filter and calmed down. But as I sat down to eat, I realized I was exhausted from te day and no longer hungry. I don't know why, but I almost broke down at the table. It was alot to take in. New culture, new food, new people. First night on my own. You might think it sounds easy, but when all those things add up, it's sooo overwhelming. And when you find yourself alone for the first time, it's hard. Really hard. But you have to accept the change or let it eat away at you.

I accepted it and went to sleep. The only thing that kept me sane the first night was knowing that ever other PCT was going through the same thing, and I wasn't really alone.

*Things have gotten better since then, so don't worry : )

 my room

 bathtub no running water

 toilet no running water

 kitchen

 dining room

living room