Blog 4 Life in Kitase, Ghana

If you did not know any better, looking at the terrain in Kitase you would think that you were in Costa Rica! Which is great because I love Costa! High on our mountain, there are palm trees and beautiful greens everywhere. Kitase can have a 20-40 minute rain in the afternoon whereas it is dry in Accra. Kitase is located about 40 miles directly north of Accra in what is called the Eastern Region of Ghana but because of many traffic backups it can take you an hour or more to get there. I have looked at many paper maps of Ghana and you will not find Kitase listed. However, the town of Aburi is written on some maps and Kitase is 2-3 miles south of Aburi. Kitase is north of Madina but south of Koforidua. There are many hills which has been good for long walks and the views are spectacular. I am living in a very nice 4 bedroom house with a "courtyard" and is surrounded by an 8 foot cinderblock wall. As I said before I live with 2 guys but later I found out there is also a woman and her 3 year old daughter living there too. She is very kind to me and her daughter greets me with a running hug everyday which I love because Kali, my niece, does the same! Kitase is beginning to develop more, everywhere I look there are mini mansions being constructed on the hill. There is a military base close by and when you drive on the road to Kitase every car must stop and is checked by the police. If I need water to drink I walk up the road and purchase a plastic bag of "pure water." I use this to drink and brush my teeth. I brush my teeth outside and spit into a gutter type that runs along the wall. I have grown very accustomed to this and love looking up at the beautiful hills. I take taxi's (30 cents US) to Aburi to use the internet(80 cents an hour), get dresses and tops made(yes, I bought some fabric and am having some things made so I can look more local, haha), and to stroll through the beautiful Aburi Botanical Gardens, a National Park(About $1.70 US to enter). Played a soccer game with all the local children, god they are good!!!