Family dynamics are still a topic of confusion. I’m not truly sure how it works, but everyone is everyone’s husband, wife, brother, sister, child, etc. So when asking my new ‘Auntie’ how many kids she has I never get the same answer… So I tried asking her how many came from her stomach, and she said six, but all the kids here were her kids… but none of her ‘kids’ live in Addonkwanta any more… Our conversation went around and around like this for some time.

All I know is that there is ‘Auntie’ who is basically my new mom. Making sure I have enough food (I think there is a competition going on in town with who can fatten up their American… meaning that they are being better taking care of) that I’m taking my medicine (my anti malarial pills), and asking me on a daily basis how my stomach is doing and if I have diarrhea yet? (Exciting topic that I hope I never have to discuss with her) There is Papa, who I’m guessing is Auntie’s husband, but really no idea. Then there is my ‘sister’ (I still don’t know her name) who cooks all my food… (making me feel super guilty because she is pregnant and slaving away over me… but every time I try to help they tell me I’m doing it wrong…) My ‘sister’ has a two year old daughter, Gifty, who I have just fallen in love with. (Every time I come ‘home’, Gifty comes running, laughing and grabs my leg to give me a hug… so precious!) Deborah is the 15 year old who lives in our compound and helps out, but I have no idea where she came from, whose daughter, sister, mother, friend she really is. Last are two random guys that just hang out and sleep out on the cement in out compound… Pretty random. But this isn’t to include the 30 million random children that are always hanging around the complex... coming and going, eating and sleeping, hanging and playing, and calling me by name (and I can’t remember any of their names… )