Fastest Six Weeks EVER

I know, I know, it's been a long time since I've written. I've been busy. Well, relatively (no pun intended haha I didn't even realize that was a pun at first which makes it even better).

First and foremost, my lovely family came to Ghana! If you want to see lots and lots of pictures than go to Picasa website and search it up. It was wonderful and ridiculous, just like most things in the Trottman family. They all did very well and I am very proud! And besides, if I can live the Ghanaian lifestyle, the rest of the Trottmans DEFINITELY can. Some highlights:

1. Mama got The Heat Stroke! She decided it was a good idea to take not only one, but TWO bike rides down the dirt road under the blazing mid-day sun. Each one was about an hour long. After the second one she came back and didn't look so hot (literally, actually - she wasn't sweating at all) and she acted all woozy. The LB set in shortly after. If you don't know what LB stands for, ask someone.

2. Dad learned all about why my village doesn't have electricity! Or rather, why it actually does have electricity, but no one has it. Through traditional Doug Trottman interrogation methods he learned that electricity runs through all the wires in Lungbunga, transformers are in place, and many houses are already wired and equipped with meters. The government, however, has yet to install some small thing (yes, I forgot the name) and so no one can have electricity. Pretty lame. But it provided me the perfect opportunity to chastise my counterpart for spending 60 cedis on getting his house wired (when there aren't even lights), while claiming he can't afford a latrine (20 cedis).

3. Paul played doctor! After finding out he's going to become an actual doctor one day, he decided to do some warm-ups. An NGO called United for Sight came to Lungbunga primarily to conduct eye exams and give out low-cost glasses. They also thought it might be helpful to get some blood pressure readings, since obviously everyone in Lungbunga has access to blood pressure medication. So Paul got the job. I played documentarian for the whole event. I think it was the first time in my life I had operated a video camera. Good luck to whoever's editing it for fundraising propaganda. Sage really is a cute dog though...

4. Angela survived two weeks of Trottmans! Enough said.

We also learned a lot about sheep. Americans new to Ghana have a different, I would venture to say cleaner, smell, which seemed to attract the sheep. Also, sheep really really don't like my dog. One actually chased her. An unprovoked adult sheep chased my dog. And another sheep accidentally head-butted my shin because I was standing between it and Sage.

The Trottmans also experienced a traditional Dagomba drumming and dancing festival, hosted by a family friend living in Tamale. Even dad danced.

Paul and Angela stayed in the motherland for an extra two weeks, so they got to witness some more joys of Ghana. For example, a "meeting." Which means travelling an hour and a half on terrible roads to see someone for maybe ten minutes. And then coming right back. Also, "medical attention." My friend has been terribly sick and was diagnosed with both malaria and typhoid. Which is interesting, because most other Peace Corps volunteers who went to this particular hospital were diagnosed with both malaria and typhoid.

Then came the hardest part - tearing myself away from Ghana long enough to vacation in Europe. I spent about two weeks travelling through Europe with a good friend from high school and college. We went to Germany, France, Switzerland, and Austria. Needless to say, it was amazing. Except for the part at the end when a bag containing most of my possessions was stolen. But I think the non-boxed wine, real cheese, and creamy chocolate were worth it. I also got to see an Army base. A Peace Corps volunteer visits an Army base. Hmmm...

So now I'm back. Home sweet home! It actually is though, which is nice. Although I just arrived about 12 hours ago, it's surprisingly comforting to be back in Ghana. I'm looking forward to going back to my village and seeing Musah, eating TZ (hopefully not with the phlegm soup), and watching sheep follow Sage girl. I missed that.