As the title suggests, I got the spelling of my name in Ghana completely wrong before. Today someone wrote it for me. So there is the correct version!
Today was my last day of volunteer work at the hospital. We had a little party in the morning and took some pictures. I'm uploading them to my flickr account as we speak, providing that this old computer holds out on me. I'm also uploading some pictures from the past few days. A lot of them were taken by neighborhood kids who loove playing with digital cameras. You'll probably be able to tell which ones were taken by the kids!
Over the past weekend and on Monday, a LOT of new volunteers showed up. We all went somewhere on a tro-tro yesterday, and there were 14 of us. Amazingly, we were able to find a tro-tro with room for all of us. Everyone is very nice. Its been fun to have more people around, although I really enjoyed the house when I was able to hang out with the girls a lot, too. Its nice either way. Since I've been here a couple of weeks, everyone is asking me lots of questions. I feel very knowledgeable, even though I'm really not!
Everyone at work was really sweet today! They usually are, but since its my last day it was even better. I'll definitely miss them. All week my boss, Sister Leticia, has been calling me "Boss Lady" or "Senior Woman" since she told me to train the new volunteers that started. Its pretty cute. All the people I worked with told me to send greetings from Ghana to my family and friends at home. So...hi from Ghana!
Tonight the huge group of volunteers, Tina & Melody (my host-sisters), Edem (language teacher), Kofi (drove us some places) and not sure who else are all going out for a bit to celebrate my last night here. Tomorrow morning I'm going to go to the beach! There's a really nice one nearby. Then tomorrow night I am off to Egypt! I heard the power is supposed to be off tomorrow, so I may not get a chance to write until I'm in Cairo. Love to you all!
Friday, June 8, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Sad Day
Today I counseled a girl around my age and she tested positive for HIV. This isn't the first client I've had here that tested positive, but I think its affecting me more than usual today because I relate to her more, if only because of age and gender. She seemed already to be pretty weak and sick, so it may have progressed to AIDS by now. Its so incredibly sad. I don't really know what else to write about it.
On a brighter note, things at work have been going well. My boss here told me that all her colleagues (like the director, etc.) that I've met have been "very impressed" with me. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that I won't get to do much with the domestic violence project because its still caught up in administrative red tape getting started, and my last day is Friday. Hopefully incoming volunteers can take it up...I'm disappointed that I won't be able to do it, but despite that I'm still pretty satisfied with my volunteering experience here in Ghana.
I feel like I'm writing differently now, and its probably because I have to speak very slowly here and use concise, simple language in order for people to understand my accent. Obviously, I don't know enough Twi to have more than a very, very basic conversation with people. I can talk about how I am, about ducks or cassava, and my name.
Okay, I think that's all I have for today. Hope everyone is well. I'm here in Ghana until Saturday evening when I fly to Egypt. Oh! I forgot to write this: I extended my layover in Cairo since Dominic won't be in Dubai until the 14th. So I have 4 nights in Cairo. I've heard there pyramid things or something, right? Maybe I'll see those. I'm pretty excited! But I will write more before I leave. xoxo
On a brighter note, things at work have been going well. My boss here told me that all her colleagues (like the director, etc.) that I've met have been "very impressed" with me. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that I won't get to do much with the domestic violence project because its still caught up in administrative red tape getting started, and my last day is Friday. Hopefully incoming volunteers can take it up...I'm disappointed that I won't be able to do it, but despite that I'm still pretty satisfied with my volunteering experience here in Ghana.
I feel like I'm writing differently now, and its probably because I have to speak very slowly here and use concise, simple language in order for people to understand my accent. Obviously, I don't know enough Twi to have more than a very, very basic conversation with people. I can talk about how I am, about ducks or cassava, and my name.
Okay, I think that's all I have for today. Hope everyone is well. I'm here in Ghana until Saturday evening when I fly to Egypt. Oh! I forgot to write this: I extended my layover in Cairo since Dominic won't be in Dubai until the 14th. So I have 4 nights in Cairo. I've heard there pyramid things or something, right? Maybe I'll see those. I'm pretty excited! But I will write more before I leave. xoxo
Monday, June 4, 2007
Uploading pictures!
Sorry its taken me so long! I'm just putting them all up on Flickr: the good, the bad and the sweaty. Thaaanks everyone for being patient! I also apologize that they are out of order...I'll work on that next time. xoxoxo
Wli waterfall
On Sunday, Jen and I went to see West Africa's tallest waterfall, called Wli. There's a short hike to get there, but it isn't very steep, so you can actually look around and enjoy the sights instead of being distracted by exhaustion and excessive sweat. There were so many butterflies, all feasting on fallen mangoes. We had to cross the same river 9 times to get up to the falls. It was so lovely. Once we saw the waterfall, we immediately felt more relaxed and happy. Its not as big and/or powerful as, say, Yosemite, but it was very peaceful and soothing. There were thousands of fruit bats nesting (do bats nest? whatever) right next to the water. I really didn't want to leave! But I wanted to get back to Accra before dark, so we reluctantly headed back down. So lovely! And yes, I made it back to Accra before dark.
New project at Accra's Police Hospital
I was finally able to meet with the director today! He's going to have me start a project with some of his staff members to analyze the hospital's current methods of identifying and addressing domestic violence cases. He wants us to provide recommendations and a new model for the hospital to use. I'm really excited! Obviously, this will take longer than the limited amount of time I have left here, but I can at least help get the project started. I'm actually disappointed that I can't stay longer to work on the project.
The director chatted with me for a looong time about Ghanaian politics, etc. He's a really interesting guy. He complained that agencies here don't communicate with each other effectively, or sometimes even at all. Funny, that's my exact complaint with my volunteer program: no one tells me anything until its already happening! But today felt really good because I'm finally forging my own path! =)
After our discussion, I went back to the HIV/AIDS counseling office and was (again) able to counsel a number of clients all by myself (yaay). Its pretty much the perfect day here.
A huge group of new volunteers arrived last night. Some came after I went to sleep, so I haven't even met all of them. I woke up early and did my laundry (with a bucket of water, soap and a clothesline, of course) and headed to work. I'm actually starting to feel pretty comfortable here. I know my way around fairly well. I'm happy to see that I can adjust pretty easily to a place so vastly different than what I'm used to.
Tomorrow I'm supposed to take Tina (my 23-year old host sister) to the internet cafe to show her how to use a computer and open her first email account. And on Friday, I'm supposed to go out with my host sisters and some of the other locals I've befriended here. My host sisters never get any free time, so I'm very excited to hang out with them away from the house.
The director chatted with me for a looong time about Ghanaian politics, etc. He's a really interesting guy. He complained that agencies here don't communicate with each other effectively, or sometimes even at all. Funny, that's my exact complaint with my volunteer program: no one tells me anything until its already happening! But today felt really good because I'm finally forging my own path! =)
After our discussion, I went back to the HIV/AIDS counseling office and was (again) able to counsel a number of clients all by myself (yaay). Its pretty much the perfect day here.
A huge group of new volunteers arrived last night. Some came after I went to sleep, so I haven't even met all of them. I woke up early and did my laundry (with a bucket of water, soap and a clothesline, of course) and headed to work. I'm actually starting to feel pretty comfortable here. I know my way around fairly well. I'm happy to see that I can adjust pretty easily to a place so vastly different than what I'm used to.
Tomorrow I'm supposed to take Tina (my 23-year old host sister) to the internet cafe to show her how to use a computer and open her first email account. And on Friday, I'm supposed to go out with my host sisters and some of the other locals I've befriended here. My host sisters never get any free time, so I'm very excited to hang out with them away from the house.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Lazy day in Hohoe
I'm having what might be my first lazy day of my entire trip, and its so nice! We (Jen and I) wanted to go see the Wli waterfall today, but it started raining this morning and now the roads are too muddy to get through. It rains a lot more in this region of Ghana. We're planning to go to the waterfall early tomorrow morning, though. I would like to see it before I go. Here's a link: http://www.bridgingdevelopment.org/expeditnpages/sites/wli.htm
Right before the rain started, the electricity went off. We stayed in our room until about 1pm (yes, I napped and it was glorious) and then ventured outside. We decided to try a different place to stay for tonight, so we headed over to the 'Taste Lodge'. I was instantly so much happier! The people are much friendlier, there's lots of fun, loud music playing and the room, oh, the room!! We have our own shower, toilet and sink with running water! And an air conditioner and a fan! And a small TV! All for $15 total for the 2 of us. I'm in heaven.
Hohoe is very near the border with Togo, so all the keyboards here are French. I find if I don't look at the keyboard, I'm less confused by it. Walking through town, we can also hear a lot of French on radios, etc. The kids at Jen's orphanage learn Ewe, Twi, English and French. I have a feeling children in school here work a lot harder than in the U.S. They also carry crocodile machetes. Scary.
So our plans for the day include...a lot of nothing. And that sounds just perfect! Hopefully I'll be able to post again tomorrow when I get back to Accra. If the power is off tomorrow, then I'll post on Monday instead. xoxo
Right before the rain started, the electricity went off. We stayed in our room until about 1pm (yes, I napped and it was glorious) and then ventured outside. We decided to try a different place to stay for tonight, so we headed over to the 'Taste Lodge'. I was instantly so much happier! The people are much friendlier, there's lots of fun, loud music playing and the room, oh, the room!! We have our own shower, toilet and sink with running water! And an air conditioner and a fan! And a small TV! All for $15 total for the 2 of us. I'm in heaven.
Hohoe is very near the border with Togo, so all the keyboards here are French. I find if I don't look at the keyboard, I'm less confused by it. Walking through town, we can also hear a lot of French on radios, etc. The kids at Jen's orphanage learn Ewe, Twi, English and French. I have a feeling children in school here work a lot harder than in the U.S. They also carry crocodile machetes. Scary.
So our plans for the day include...a lot of nothing. And that sounds just perfect! Hopefully I'll be able to post again tomorrow when I get back to Accra. If the power is off tomorrow, then I'll post on Monday instead. xoxo
Friday, June 1, 2007
Hohoe
Hi everyone! By now, you probably realize that I use this blog not only to write my adventures, but also to check in and let everyone know I'm okay. Sooo...I'm okay! I worked this morning and they actually let me counsel some people by myself! It felt really good. I think I did an okay job, too. Each client was really interesting.
Side note: one of the social workers bought a huge bunch of bananas and had me eat one with roasted peanuts (which they call groundnuts here). Its the Ghanaian version of my beloved peanut butter-banana sandwiches!! This quickly replaced Red Red (plantains and black-eyed peas with some kind of red sauce stuff) as my favorite Ghanaian meal. See, they understand how brilliant the combination of banana and peanut is. Thank you, Ghana.
I didn't get to meet with the hospital director today because Gloria, the director of my placement program, insisted that she go with me in the morning, and then proceeded to take 2 hours to get ready, then run an errand....and made me really late. So I might meet with him on Monday. I am not a big fan of Gloria. I wasn't before, and today cemented that. She lives in my host family's home, too. Everyone else is great, so I guess I'm still lucky.
I left work a little early to get a head start on a 5-hour tro-tro ride up to the Volta region of Ghana to hang out with Jen. I met her at the orphanage she's working at, in a small village called Ve Deme. I met her host family and some of the kids. They're really wonderful! Then we caught another tro-tro (we're pros at this by now, I'm pretty proud) to Hohoe, the district capital. We got a room at the Grand Hotel (which is not that grand, but that's okay) and came here to feed our internet addictions. Tomorrow we're going to see a nearby waterfall that's supposed to be really great (can you tell this was a last-minute trip?) and go from there. I'm already happy because the temperatures up here are cooler than in Accra. Hrm, I guess "Hohoe" isn't the best title for this blog, since I haven't really seen much of it yet. Sorry. Too lazy to change it now.
I hope to write again tomorrow! Jen is just as internet-addicted as I am, so that shouldn't be a problem. Love to you all!
Side note: one of the social workers bought a huge bunch of bananas and had me eat one with roasted peanuts (which they call groundnuts here). Its the Ghanaian version of my beloved peanut butter-banana sandwiches!! This quickly replaced Red Red (plantains and black-eyed peas with some kind of red sauce stuff) as my favorite Ghanaian meal. See, they understand how brilliant the combination of banana and peanut is. Thank you, Ghana.
I didn't get to meet with the hospital director today because Gloria, the director of my placement program, insisted that she go with me in the morning, and then proceeded to take 2 hours to get ready, then run an errand....and made me really late. So I might meet with him on Monday. I am not a big fan of Gloria. I wasn't before, and today cemented that. She lives in my host family's home, too. Everyone else is great, so I guess I'm still lucky.
I left work a little early to get a head start on a 5-hour tro-tro ride up to the Volta region of Ghana to hang out with Jen. I met her at the orphanage she's working at, in a small village called Ve Deme. I met her host family and some of the kids. They're really wonderful! Then we caught another tro-tro (we're pros at this by now, I'm pretty proud) to Hohoe, the district capital. We got a room at the Grand Hotel (which is not that grand, but that's okay) and came here to feed our internet addictions. Tomorrow we're going to see a nearby waterfall that's supposed to be really great (can you tell this was a last-minute trip?) and go from there. I'm already happy because the temperatures up here are cooler than in Accra. Hrm, I guess "Hohoe" isn't the best title for this blog, since I haven't really seen much of it yet. Sorry. Too lazy to change it now.
I hope to write again tomorrow! Jen is just as internet-addicted as I am, so that shouldn't be a problem. Love to you all!
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