Ghana Galore!

Akwaaba! You are welcome! I'll be doing a 7 week internship in churches in Ghana and if you want to know what I'll be doing, you can follow me here :)

[hannahupinghana]

The first part of my internship is now over and I will leave Cape Coast to go to Agona Nsaba. These past four weeks have been incredible. I discovered that the world is a very large and a very small place at the same time. I found new friends and a second family. I learned that in Christ we truly are one but no matter what or how you believe, we are all brothers/sisters/siblings in this world. I got to experience that Akwaaba is not just a word, but a mindset and that loving your neighbour is the best thing we can do. I will now leave this place with my head and my heart full of new experiences to find a new adventure. But I pray that time will soon lead me back to my new home away from home. Medaase ♡ (thank you ♡)

[hannahupinghana]

Selfie time! I'm doing a lot of different things here but one of the most interesting and fruitful activities I'm doing is my work at the Counselling Centre of the University of Cape Coast. Those who know me know that Counselling is my passion and big goal I'm working towards. So being able to join them is a truly a blessing and an amazing experience. Every Thursday I come to the Centre and offer a listening ear and maybe a little bit of advice to whoever needs it. I've already had very inspiring encounters and am beyond grateful to the awesome staff of the CC for letting me learn and gather such valuable experience. And thanks for the cool t shirt! 😅

[hannahupinghana]

Next topic is one of my favesss...FOOD! ♡ So African food isn't something you come across often in Germany so a lot of this is new. The most important and popular dish here is called Fufu. It's the one in the pink/white bowl and below you can see Grace preparing it :) It's basically pounded (gestampft) cassava/plantain/yams whatever is available. It's pounded until it becomes a soft, gooey glob and served with some form of stew or soup, usually with fish. The other one is Palava sauce (tomato, spinach, and cassava) with yams. And porridge, I think everyone knows that ;) Most of the Ghanaian dishes are quite slimey/gooey. That took some getting used to but once I got over thought of slimey=gross, my stomach and I are now friends with Ghanaian cuisine. And of course you eat with your hands! 👐 p.s. yes, water comes in little baggies here ("sachets")

[hannahupinghana]

Nature Pt II. When you grew up going to Hagenbecks Tierpark (Hamburg's zoo) and all of a sudden the animals and plants you saw there are around you and they're real and free and indigenous!! My animal loving soul is very very happy ♡.♡ There are also TONS of bats here that make a lot of noise and just hang around at daylight (Are they confused? Overworked? Are bats not actually vampires?!) Anyways, this place is beautiful

[hannahupinghana]

Nature Pt I. Yesterday we went to Hans Cottage and HELLO I SAW A CROCODILE!!!

[hannahupinghana]

I am currently trying to upload some pictures for you but the internet connection apparently doesn't want me to :(

[hannahupinghana]

Update :)

Ich bin jetzt schon fast eine Woche in Ghana (waaaaaas?!) und so langsam gewöhne ich mich ein. Überall, wo ich ankomme, werde ich herzlich aufgenommen. Mit so viel Gastfreundschaft ist meine kleine hanseatische Seele manchmal fast überfordert. Während des ersten Gottesdienstes wurde ich natürlich vorgestellt (awkward) und hinterher hab ich gefühlt 1024882 Hände geschüttelt (nicht mehr awkward 😊). Wenn man in der Stadt unterwegs ist, wird man von den Kindern mit großen Augen angeguckt und freudig angelächelt (immer schön zurückwinken, die Freude in den Gesichtern ist unbezahlbar 😍). Ich werde in den nächsten Tagen mal versuchen das ganze hier ein bisschen thematisch zu strukturieren (haha, viel Glück) und ein paar Bilder zu posten. Sonnige Grüße!

[hannahupinghana]

[hannahupinghana]

Thanks. I loved getting up at 3:30 for deserted check in counters!

[hannahupinghana]

Blessed Sunday, ladies and gents and all other friends! In today’s worship service received the blessing for a safe journey. Thomas is from Ghana and he talked about the country a bit and prayed for me. (Next to him is his wife Janet and the daughters Joy (big one!) and Naftali (little one!)) It was a beautiful service and I’m very grateful for my loving community. So many people took the time to wish me a good trip and now I’m feeling all fluffy and loved inside. I wish you all a beautiful Sunday ♡

[hannahupinghana]

I can't wait 😍🌞🌴

[hannahupinghana]

This is my current soundtrack btw. Ain't nothin' better when you need to study 💕🎶📚

[hannahupinghana]

On Thursday, I finally got my visa 😍 After a long journey that included non-existent appointments, the consulate of Cape Verde and a doorbell that seemed to truly enjoy bullying me, the lovely consul helped me out in getting my visa entirely worry-free! She even was up for a little chat which is always a good thing. So now I can stop being afraid of ending up like Tom Hanks in "The Terminal".

[hannahupinghana]

[hannahupinghana]

Hello!

Hi and hello, you found my blog weheey! 👏 For the next weeks I'll be posting everything I'm doing, seeing, eating, hearing, experiencing and feeling. I'm happy you're here and want to experience this with me :) I hope you'll enjoy my blog and thanks for stopping by!