Swearing in

Me and my host family

The Environment Sector

My language group

My house and some cool rock

Almost there

So I feel like it has been a while since my last update and a lot of stuff has happened. Well first of all I am fine, safe and healthy. So I just back from site visit where I was able to see my site and visit with my community. My site is nice it is a compound that I share with a pastor and his family. There is still some painting and other things that need to be finished but it is a nice pace to call home for the next two years. The pastor is nice he was really glad to meet me and wants me to come to church with him which is good. My community is very warming and glad to have me their. I am excited about the projects that I will be able to do with them and working with the school to possibly teach some social studies. So training is coming to a close and this week I will take my test proving that I had learned something during these three months. Then next week I will swear in and become a real peace corps volunteer. I can't wait it is so exciting to finally get working instead of just talking about doing stuff. I got some newspaper articles from home about Sanford wow how crazy is that I mean it sucks to him but I am sure you all know the details so no need to talk about that. I wish all well and just know that I am making a difference in Ghana in more ways than one by constantly talking to Ghanaians about America and helping them to understand that the US is not what Hollywood makes it out to be now only if all Americans could understand this fact. So I hope that all is well and everybody has a job. I will try to get more pictures up but sometimes it just doesn't work so well but I should be able to get them up soon.

more pics

Obama

So much to my surprise we were all bused down to see Obama as he left Ghana. I am glad to have had the opportunity to have two United States Presidents speak before me. The first George W. Bush when I graduated from Furman and now Barak Obama while I am serving in Ghana. John Atta Mills spoke first and then Obama followed acknowledging Peace Corps three times the first time we made so much noise that he had to pause for us and apparently I was on TV so I have heard. I did not get close enough to shake his hand but I was pretty close only five people from the front. I just love the fact that I had this fortune and shall remember it for the rest of my life. It was also a great way to mark the halfway of training giving a nice break from classes. The ride was long but well worth it I got some good pictures and meet some of my neighboring volunteers that I will have at site. I only can assure myself that this event marks the first of many great things that will happen during the next two years. I hope that some of you watched on c-span and said hey there is Austin. Until the next time Peace Love and all of that Good Stuff

Austin

pics

havin fun

So the past week I was on field trip, we spent many hours riding into the north to see some other volunteer's sites. It as totally worth it because not only did we get to see sites and gain a better understanding of what we will e doing s environmental volunteers but we also saw some of the Eco-tourism sites along the way. First was the Crocodile sanctuary where legend tales of how a croc saved a hunters life thus returning the favor for the croc's. It is said that for every person i that community that a crocodile exist. Their lives are so revered that when one dies it is given a burial just like a person and people morn for the loss of life. The second site was the monkey sanctuary in Boaben Fiaman. Just like the crocs the lives of the monkeys are sacred each one getting a proper burial, there is the notion that if you harm a monkey then you will bring harm to yourself. We were sited cases of people who killed a monkey and their whole family died. The town even moved from it's original location in order to preserve the tree's for the monkeys. This trip was also a great bonding experience for all ten of us environment volunteers as we shared stories and a cramped van throughout the days of travel. On the last day we found out that we are going to be able to see President Obama off as he leaves Ghana on Saturday. So that is pretty sweet maybe I will be able to tell him to give us a raise since our re-adjustment allowance is really not enough. Please feel free to write or call your representatives and tell them the same I surely will be doing so while I am here. Well I hope to get all the pictures up and will take as many as I can with Obama. In the first picture is my host bro and our matching shirts the others are speak for themselves.