day six!

well, last night was a thanksgiving ill never forget...thats for sure! my mom and i watched legally blonde but during it, my stomach started to feel sick...i ignored it for a while but after the movie i felt terrible. i guess i ate something bad yesterday (i hope thats the issue) but i got sick all night long. its wasnt very fun...but apparently this is kinda normal for first time visitors..i want it to go away!

that fact i got sick pretty much messed up our plans for today. i was doing fine this morning, so we went to neema. wow, i dont even know where to begin. neema is right in the middle of the ghetto of accra.  just driving there, you could feel a change in the air. there was a putrid smell in the ghetto...probably because there isnt any plumbing. there was sewage everywhere. we were greeted by the school director, kofi, who was a little strange but nice. he led my mom, mike, and i down the winding dirt roads. we had to walk through a neighborhood, but everything was so close together. the paths were a couple feet in width and all i kept thinking was "i would NEVER be able to find my way around this place." i saw women emptying sewage on the walkway, children just laying in the road, goats that definitely had not been fed in a long time (how can they feed their animals when they can barely feed themselves?), girls working in musky, small huts...many of them were sewing, and houses that just had big holes in them. they hardly seemed big enough for one person, but i know that probably 5 or 6 live in them. 

we got to the school which consisted of about 5 little, run down buildings. all the kids had on little purple uniforms that did not look like they fit them. we entered a bigger room where kofi sat us down in front of about 100 kids. then the kids started to sing and dance for us, saying welcome and thank you. it was absolutely incredible! there were about 8 kids who did all the dancing and they were so good! they memorized many different dances and songs, which i could barely do. the 8 kids recited us a poem as well. i honestly can say i didnt understand them, but i thought it was great they had memorized that too. the kids at Neema are taught french and english and they sang to us in both. their french was quite good, also better than mine. i was impressed with this school, because despite the terrible facility and lack of supplies, these kids were learning and enjoying it. in the middle of a welcome song, i all of a sudden felt really sick again. i had to leave for a while and while i was getting sick, about 10 guys came up to me asking me questions! i was like "umm i cant answer you right now!! im in the middle of something!!" of course i didnt say that, i just made noises to show them i wanted to be alone. when i got back into the room, they were still dancing. then the teachers introduced themselves and we got the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the kids. then we gave them the school supplies! i walked over the kids and took out my camera and they went wild! everyone wanted their picture taken and wanted to see themselves on the screen afterwards. we took a group photo and then my mom said it was time to go so i could get back into bed... 

were in the hotel now and we didnt get to go to the orphanage. being around tons of kids with a sick stomach is probably not a good plan! but i miss koby desperately...ive just been laying in bed until now. were at the restaurant and i got onion soup broth because only soup sounds good right now! but im sure ill be better tomorrow and will get to go see my kids! i really do miss them. 

ill put picture up later :)

i hope everyones thanksgiving was great....and thank you courtney and scott for commenting! you guys are awesome and i miss you so much.

also, thank you again kathleen for raising all that money for us. and if anyone is reading that has donated money... i am so appreciative! these kids are so grateful for anything! it means a lot to me, and more importantly, them. 

-helene