May Day!

 Today is the first day of May and Ghanaians celebrate it someway, it looked like a pretty normal busy day. We woke up around 5 to take a bus to Kumasi at 6. There were so many people out walking because they get up around 3 or 4 to avoid doing heavy labor in the middle of the day when it’s the hottest. The bus that was going to leave at 6 was too full so they told us to wait for the next bus. We sat and waited, and waited, and waited. We made friends with a man that helped us speak Twi more properly. We bought our huge Voltic water bottles and left around 8:15. Our friend sat right next to us so we still got to ask him all of our questions. So far I feel like Ghana has an amazing Live and Let Live kind of policy. No one gets into your business they’ll do anything for you. The selfless attitude I see is humbling. I feel as though I will have countless humbling experiences while I’m here. On our bus we had a Christian preacher that gave us a mini sacrament. We started out with a beautiful prayer and hymn then he began preaching. I was soaking it up. He was a very passionate preacher, screaming at some points. He said “Your destiny is in your hands because you make choices that decide your fate so be mindful of your mind and thoughtful of your thoughts.” Justin Bieber’s song Boyfriend came on which reminded me of home and made me sad for a little bit that I won’t be able to see anyone for a long time but I am already so in love with the people here I am not as homesick as I thought. We had to fill up on gas 20 minutes later where I had my first public bathroom experience in Ghana. I’m going to say it now, I am thankful for indoor plumbing and toilets. This was a room with a raised ledge that you stand on, squat, and go! Our bus apparently broke down so we waited an extra hour just sitting. The bus was very comfortable but the roads were pretty bad. I fell asleep most of the time woke up around 4 and we were in Kumasi. We took a taxi that takes around 1 hour and 40 minutes to get to Wiamoase from Kumasi. It took a little longer because we got caught behind a bad accident. We pulled up in front of the Wiamoase police station because Esther lives right next to it. Emmanuel helped carry our luggage to the door greeted us. We then met Mama Esther. I am already in love with her. Cassie and I are both in the same room. She had dinner ready for us in our room. It was a spiced rice with hard boiled egg because she wasn’t sure if we ate meat. Afterwards we went into her house and sat and talked. She told us she has four kids her oldest daughter (I don’t remember her name) just got married, then Emmanuel, David, and Grace. She asked us if we wanted to call our mamas because I’m sure they are very worried about us. It was such a bummer because it was 2:30 in Houston which meant everyone was probably out but I was able to leave a message so at least everyone knew I was safe with my new family. I can’t wait till Thursday to get a phone and call them for a little bit. It’s about a 5 hour difference and I’ll be able to call them on Sundays once their out of church. We went to bed around 10.