WHERE TO START? With Dad's pull out time set at 4:45pm EST, a mere six hours away, I feel two things: panic and serenity. Despite the fact that the living room currently resembles something like Normandy Beach in Saving Private Ryan - tambourines, books, sunscreen strewn everywhere - I know that when 4:45 hits, whether or not I made that extra copy of my flight itinerary, or synced my iPod for the third time today, I'll get in the car, and then the plane, and I'll be okay.

So, where is this Ghana place and why am I going on about it? Ghana is a West African country with its southern coast on the Atlantic Ocean. This summer, the lovely Erin McIlvain and I have had the opportunity travel and live there for two months. Erin will be working in Cape Coast for the non-profit volunteer organization Global Mamas. We will both be staying in Global Mamas volunteer housing in Elmina and taking the 10 minute taxi ride into Cape Coast every day. I will be spending my time at the Aboom School for Special Needs. There, I will work with the teachers, helping them to incorporate adapted music into the classroom. I have been fortunate enough to have received a few grants from Ohio University, enabling me to purchase a number of instruments that will be left at the school when I leave. For eight weeks, I will work with the kids, collaborate with the teachers, and the goal is, that when I come back to Ohio in August, the Aboom school will continue to have biweekly music lessons, led by the teachers. More on that later...

Plenty to do to continue to get ready. I hope to be all settled in with internet, phone, etc. in Cape Coast in just a few days. In the meantime... Yɛbɛhyia wɔ Ghana! That's Twi for, "See you in Ghana!!"