Hop, skip and a big scary jump

I saw my grandmother yesterday. She was excited to hear of my trip to Ghana because my grandfather was stationed there for 3 years (length of time somewhat questionable, bearing in mind it may be hard to keep all the facts straight at her age of 96) leading the 29th General Hospital in Kumasi. She assured me that this trip is "going to make a real woman" out of me. Let's hope so.

Despite the cold I picked up in SF (thanks Chez and Melis!), being at home has been rejuvenating - see picture of house etc. above.  I have thoroughly enjoyed stuffing my face with all the English necessities: sausage and chips, fish and chips, salt and vinegar chips, custard creams, lucozade, home cooking and lager. As soon as my passport arrives with my visa today (we all know I'm a last minute kind of person), I'm off to London. I'll be staying at one of the airport hotels and getting up at 4:30am tomorrow for my flight. Going through Frankfurt and Lagos, I'll arrive in Accra around 5:30 in the evening. From there a bus will take me 3 or 4 hours into the Volta region where I will meet my fellow volunteers and crash at the homebase, to begin a two day orientation on Sunday.
Earlier this week I received my volunteer placement: working at the Women's Institute of Development Studies. Apparently, I will be teaching french (haven't spoken it for years), business (don't have a job), dressmaking (my grandmother almost spit out her tea) and basic hygiene (I may have that one covered) among other things.
I'm a little speechless at this point. Everytime I think about what I've gotten myself into, I want to pee my pants. Perhaps I won't be the best hygiene teacher after all. Next time I write, I'll be writing from the internet cafe in Hohoe! This blog is about to get 100% more interesting.