Look at this! Look at this! I have Africa all over my hand!...

...And Kudos to anyone who actually caught the reference in the title. This is Katie, rebel without a clue, posting from Ghana. We just came in the boarders a couple of days ago and it's all ready been an incredible experience. The people here are so warm and friendly and welcoming, it's just been wonderful. Some of the incidents have been interesting in a slightly *ahem* different way (I've only been here a few days and people have all ready tried to kidnap me twice).

So far, the whole experience has been indescribable, but I'll do my best. It's amazing to be so surrounded by another culture, especially one as exciting and fascinating as the African culture. There's never a shortage of picturesque sights, whether it's the sight of goats being herded on the side of a busy road or women in beautiful, colorful and traditional dresses walking around balancing baskets on their head with impressive ease. The music, the food, the language... It's all so great and it's enough to make your head spin in the best of all possible ways. There isn't enough time for me to go into everything. Even saying that I could write a book about it isn't strong enough. When you travel to another country, you usually find that you have so much to say about the experience that you could fill volumes and volumes and still have more to add.

However, jumping into another culture can sometimes be a bit difficult. It's an experience that I wouldn't trade for anything, though, and it's a valuable one. It's highly important to know of other cultures and customs, to be aware of them and to understand them. However, there will always be little things that are harder to take than others. One of the only things I'm having trouble adjusting to is how friendly people are physically. Don't get me wrong, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I've only had a few disconcerting physical incidents. One of the aforementioned attempted kidnappers just grabbed my wrist as I was walking by him and wouldn't let go until I managed to pull away from him. Another one came up and talked to me and put his arm around me and tried to lead me away from the rest of the group. (So, heads up for this kind of thing.) What I'm mainly talking about is that people are very open to hugs and touching, which is never something I've been very big on with people I don't know. Unless I know people really well, I don't like to be touched or to have them in my personal space (which is, barring any extenuating circumstances at least arms reach). I'm not used to vendors coming up to me and grabbing my sleeves or people that I've just met hugging me. Again, this isn't a bad thing, it's just hard for me to adjust to, but it's something that I'm going to have to work on. It's just the culture of Ghana and, from what I've seen, the culture of Africa in general. They're very warm and welcoming to everyone, which is great. It's nice to hear someone shout, "You are welcome! You are family! To you when you enter their house or church.

Over all, this has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and we're only a few days in. I've met such wonderful people that I hope to keep in my life through some form of contact and that have truly broadened my view. It's impossible not to feel at home here sometimes, even though I'm an ocean away. Maybe that's the true essence of what it is to travel. It breaks down the walls and barriers that we think we have around us to separate us from others and shows us that those barriers were never real, anyway. Traveling shows us just how much we really are a family and how we can enrich each other's lives exponentially. We can gain and impart so much from and to each other, and we can find so much common ground. Hopefully, this trip will continue to be as amazing as it has been. The truth is, I'm just jazzed to be here.

Well, that's about all from me for now. I'll stop rambling. Serious points to anyone who actually stuck with this post for this long.


Catch you on the flipside.


Katie Out.