Ghana! - Morgantown, WV

Ghana checklist:
1. Vaccinations-check!
2. Organizations to work with-check!
3. A place to stay-check!
4. Plane tickets-as of yesterday at 10:45 am, check!

I'm headed to Ghana this summer to work at the Buduburam refugee camp with EatToFeedLiberians and Africa Heartwood Project. The camp remains refuge to around 10,000 Liberians who fled Liberia during the first and second Liberian Civil Wars. Even though the wars have long since ended, many Liberians still remain. Some are there because they believe there is greater opportunity in Ghana for them. Some remain because for one reason or another, they do not have their ticket back to Liberia, and they cannot afford the trip without it. Whatever the reason, many remain there, and the camp has become a more permanent part of Ghanaian society. So the camp waits to welcome this young eager Yankee by the name of Julian into its arms and present him with new challenges, and this young eager Yankee counts down the minutes until his flight leaves on May 18th.

This will be my longest stint outside of the grand ol' U.S. of A. and my first trip to Africa. It was inspired by Ann, a friend of mine who walked this path a few years ago during her freshman summer of college. I am not usually one to follow in the footsteps of others; Ann's steps are carefully thought out and precisely placed, a far cry from my own quickly laid steps that seem so large that I barely remain on my feet at times. But Ann is different from others; she has an independent thinking, dance like no one is looking, unafraid to be wrong type of attitude that makes her one that few people can follow but that many people would like to. Usually I would not follow her to the ends of the earth, but I would certainly meet her there. She is my travel companion and I have learned so much from her, and for once this is my time to learn by following the leader. =)

-For more information about Ann's travels to Ghana and the rest of the world, check out her blog at http://annfinley.blogspot.com/. For more information on Eat to Feed Liberians and Africa Heartwood Project, check out their websites linked above

Breathe, Feel, Position-Skydive DeLand; Deland, FL

"Breathe, feel, position. Those are the 3 words I want you to think about during your skydive. For every dive we are going to have 3 ideas to think about, each symbolized by a word. Breathe is always going to be the first word."

That is what my skydiving coach PJ told me before my second dive of the day. I had been breathing through my nose; I had been concentrating on my objectives instead of my dive, and I had been letting the wind choose my body's position. I spent the entire day repeating PJ's advice in my head; Breathe, Feel, Position.  As each plane ascended into the sky, I drew the mix of ever thinning air and plane exhaust deep into my lungs. I felt the vibrations of the plane. I felt the breath of the jumpers packed in the plane. I felt the human heat radiating around me. I positioned my self in the jump door. PJ and I breathed in the same cool air at 13000 feet and breathed out every ounce of our beings that was not skydiving. We left the plane together and felt every little push of the wind on every square inch of our body. I moved my body into position as we flew through the sky.

What are your three words? Breathe is the first one. Take in a long slow breath. Let your mind think of the sound the air makes as it flows down your throat. Allow the air in your lungs to diffuse into your blood. Breathe the air back out. Feel is almost always the second one. Feel what your body is doing to it's surroundings. feel what your surroundings are doing to your body. Now feel them both at the same time. The last word is up to you. What do you need to focus on to make you the best?

-For video of the day check out http://www.vimeo.com/21511821; for anyone interested in skydiving with PJ, you can contact him at www.supaflyskydiving.com