The things we take for granted. . .

I've been thinking lately about the things we take for granted living in the United States. Here, life is so different. Even the staff girls have talked to me about how there is a machine to do EVERYTHING in the US. And I can't deny them that fact. Life certainly is easier in the US. In some ways, not necessarily better, but certainly easier. Here are some of the things that I've been thinking about lately. . .

--running water (we have it, but there's not enough pressure to actually shower, just enough to fill the tank outside)

--washing machines (Here, clothes are washed by hand. I have been lucky to have help washing my clothes since my days are filled with teaching, but imagine--especially you new moms who are trying out cloth diapers--washing everything by hand--wow!)

--ovens that mark the temperature (we're experimenting with our ovens this Thanksgiving. The ovens here are just fires lit inside a metal box pretty much)

--paved roads (you should see the road we take from our house to the main road after a rain--it's pretty nuts)

--reliable electricity (the lights go out, well, whenever they want to here--whether it's convienient or not!)

--internet (yeah, I can get on, but it takes me about 10 tries to finally get anything posted. The internet won't load things very often because of the slow connection speed)

I love Ghana, don't get me wrong. I love that life is, well, simpler here. I love the walks home from school with the kids and the dancing in the living room and the hugs and kisses and the way that I never leave a day wondering if I'm loved by the kids--it's just obvious. I love that I've been loved into this family. This life is beautiful--even though I miss some of the easy things in life that I took for granted when I lived in America. Yep, it certainly is a beautiful life.