What a wonderful time we have had so far!! Taylor, Parker, and I (Charity) set off for Ghana on Saturday morning. Our flight was early so we arrived at Huntsville Airport at 5:30 am. This was Parker’s first time to fly. He was pretty nervous and did marvelously. Taylor, on the other hand, has been working on getting his private license to fly small one engine airplanes. Flying is nothing new to him so he was very kind and let Parker ride by the window and as the plane started to take off, he was explaining what was happening. The look on Parker’s face during take-off was priceless! He leaned over to us and said that was probably the top experience of his entire life. Well…about 3 hours on our 10-hour flight over the Atlantic he came back from a walk on the plane and said he had just experienced one of the worse experiences of his life. I had no idea what was going on so I asked for details. He said it was the bathroom. Parker is no small guy so he felt that by the time he had escaped the bathroom he had touched every piece of wall and fixture in there. He was grossed out for sure! But I am happy to announce he had both the best experience and the worst experience of his life all on the same day. That is what I call being efficient😊
Taylor is a very good passenger. He is able to put his head back and nap without his head or body moving. I wish I could say the same for me and Parker. Sitting still is not one of our best attributes. I spent most of my time trying to be comfortable. The gentleman sitting beside me was very sweet. After our introduction we did not speak for about 9 hours. He too is a good traveler and slept most of the time. He was a big dude. Right before we landed, I asked him how tall he was. I could see his head almost touched the ceiling. He was 6ft. 4in. I just don’t know how he could sit there without moving. I guess we all have different super powers and that definitely is not one I have.
Ghana has a new process for their Visas. Before they changed how they do things, you had to create an account and fill out an online application. You then turned around and printed off the application along with copies of all the information they requested. Double duty on the paperwork. One time was not good enough 😊 Then you had to pay for shipping on-line and print the label. After that you had to go to a different website and pay for the return shipping label. You took all the copies along with your physical passport and shipped it to the Ghana Embassy in the USA. It took forever!! They were so specific. Not to mention they required for minors to have a notarized paper signed by both parents showing that the parent that is not traveling gives permission for the other parent to take them out of the country. I mean craziness! The new process is so much faster. It is all done electronically and no sending in copies or passports. The only bad side is they now expire 90 days from the issue date. I still have my old visa that is good for 5 years. But I had to get 2 for the boys. The good thing is they say you can now get one issued in less than 24 hours. For travelers with emergencies that would be very nice.
I say all that to say, the new visas were an issue at the airport and they do not have a good system in place for checking them. I gave the lady at the counter all 3 passports and visas. There were lots of people standing around waiting to be called up. I guess it could have taken longer than it did and I probably should be grateful that it did not.
All the employees at the airport want to check your passport and visa. I mean everyone. The only ones that did not ask were the luggage men. By the time we left Parker was wanting to know why they kept asking for it. It is not as if we changed from the Visa counter to the custom’s table. Sometimes you just smile and say “it is Ghana”
We were so excited to be through Ghana’s airport with all 10 pieces of our luggage. Well…it is 10 pieces of full-size luggage with 3 carry-ons and 3 backpacks. It was all hands-on deck when we pulled them off the carrousel. 2 of the tubs had been pulled off but we found them and loaded up and off to the customs counter we went. He opened 4 or 5 pieces of luggage and then let us through. The exit doors are right by the custom’s counter. I had warned Parker about all the people standing outside. Since it was early in the morning he didn’t think there would be a lot. Boy, was he surprised! But never fear….Goosie’s voice can cut through a crowd. Not to mention, in Ghana, they stand out just a little bit.
Bismark was there to load us up and all the luggage and transport us about half a mile down the street to the next airport. I looked at the car he brought and much to my surprise it was a sedan. I was a little shocked to say the least. In my mind I was trying to see how this was going to work. He pushed and shoved the luggage. He finally decided to take the luggage along with Goosie to the airport and drop it off and come back for us. It all worked out lovely. Gander decided not to ride in the car but he had not had his morning walk so he opted to walk.
We had a few hours before we needed to fly so we went to the little restaurant inside the airport. It was only about 8:30am and they were only selling breakfast. Mom was able to persuade our waitress to order us some French fries. 😊
The 4th flight is only about 1 hour. All 3 of us napped. I didn’t nap as long as the boys. Parker’s head will not stay upright when he falls asleep. So, I spent the last 15 minutes or so rearranging him. He was so sound asleep I don’t think he cared one bit that his neck looked like it was going to snap like a twig.
For the first time Parker got to enjoy the driving chaos that is Ghana. I don’t think you can ever really get use to or explain how bad it is! Taylor and I have seen it before but I still find myself pretending I am hitting the brakes for Gander. Oh, how I could count the ways to die in Ghana and the roads are probably number 1 on the list! Cows, goats, children, people driving in the wrong direction in the wrong lane, motorcyclists being 4 abreast in 1 lane, babies being tied to the mother’s back with a cloth, potholes, semi-trucks rolling over, and it goes on and on and on. Today, while we were driving to Borido to do the first of our VBSs we passed a motorcycle with 4 people on it! I have seen that when the kids are small but these were full grown people. I was not fast enough to snap a picture.
We had such a good turn out for VBS. There were 88 in attendance! The kids were so well behaved. I mean as well behaved as 58 little kids can be. LOL It was overcast and looking like it was going to rain so it was cool. Ghana’s idea of cool 😊
Taylor did the adult/teen class and Parker did the children’s class. I had tried to explain to Parker before he got there to be prepared for the little kids to be half dressed. Sure, enough that is how it is. The little ones had 1 piece of clothes on. That was either a shirt, a pair of pants, or a pair of underwear.
I had just assumed Taylor had already done a VBS. After he finished with his lesson it was time for the adults to color. Let me tell you it is precious!! Taylor walked over to me with the biggest grin on his face. I could tell he was seeing something he had never seen before. So, I asked him if this was his first VBS and he said that it was. The last time he came they were working on the seminar.
There was a very old lady in Taylor’s class that was so proud of her coloring sheet! Parker got a picture of her holding it up. We had to turn the paper around for her because she had the paper with the blank side facing us 😊 I guess if you have never had someone take a picture of you before holding up something you have made you might also make that same mistake. She was also probably a little nervous.
Parker actually had 2 interpreters because one of the interrupters is very good with English but cannot speak the language spoken at the village. Parker would say something and then wait for it to go through 2 interrupters. He did a great job!
Parker does not know how to drive a stick shift. He just got his license at the end of August. He and Goosie wasted no time fixing that little issue. Just as she did for Taylor the first time he came to Ghana. Taylor said he would like a little refresher since it has been 5 years. I am sure that will be on tomorrow’s to-do list.
Skeeter…. sweet……sweet…. Skeeter. We joke that he is a part of the family. But my note is getting too long and I must close for now. I will talk about my little brother the next time I write. She has 3 very sweet kids and then one that is furry and cheeky with a sweet face!
We are going to be taking turns writing the notes while we are here. The boys are not so keen on writing so tonight we rock paper scissored for it. Whoever won was going to write them. Parker won…….you can see how well that worked. Ha! He did not eat supper tonight because was not feeling the best and fell asleep sitting up in a chair. He went to bed. But don’t worry we have many more nights here and you will eventually hear from him. I myself am headed to bed. I cannot wait to see what adventures we will find tomorrow.
In His Service,
Charity Holladay
Parker Holladay
Taylor Holladay
Steve Taylor
Kandie Taylor
Skeeter
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