March 8, 2010
Tomorrow morning we leave Tamale. This evening we had a thank you dinner for all the people who have helped us while we have been in Ghana. Philomena had driven up to Bolga a few days ago to celebrate in her home village when we officially gave them the grain mill and the goats, donkeys and carts that we had purchased, so she came the 3 hours from Bolga as opposed to the 13hrs from enchi. It was nice to see her again and officially say thank you, and goodbye. There are so many formalities in this country, and its very important if you are going to be doing any type of work here to make sure and follow the traditions and customs as best as you can, you don’t want to offend anyone, and the thank you party was a lovely way to recognize all of the people who have been “key” to our learning and assistance in Ghana.
We had a wonderful time at the dinner, but I couldn’t help but feel sad. I am so very happy to be going home, but I don’t want that to mean leaving. It’s a bit of a paradox really. I can’t have both, I know that, but I am already looking at ways I can come back. There are so many things that I am going to miss here. While we were walking home I thought about home much I am going to miss the busy streets. The streets are always teaming with people, even at night. All the little shops are outside and facing the street, and even though it is very dark there are always people out. There aren’t many TVs and people stay out visiting much longer than in Canada. There is just such a sense of community. People are always together and they are always sharing, their personal space is even much smaller. On the buses we are always just packed right in, so close to one another, and they don’t even think twice about it. Friends hold hands when they walk down the street. It’s a beautiful thing seeing two men holding hands in friendship. It is also not unusual to see men dancing together, in groups with no women at all. Just tonight at the thank you party, the men were dancing to the music around the pool, while the women swam.
March 9, 2010
Sometimes I Just like to observe the people interacting with each other. They are always so animated. I remember when we first arrived in the country we would sometimes be distracted by conversations that, of course, we couldn’t understand but, based on the tones, decided that the people were arguing with each other. I understand, now, the tones of conversations are so much different than tones in Canada. The people aren’t actually mad they are just expressive. They do it when they are happy too. It was quite overwhelming at first the combination of the way they speak paired with the their reduced personal space, and their genuine interest in you. I would literally have women, men and children coming right up to my face-directly in my face with boisterous voices asking “ Saminga, which land you come from?” and “ Saminga, where are you going”? Saminga is one of the words that means white woman. I was also called Abruinie a lot which means the same thing, Again, originally I was offended by these names, but after many conversations with the locals, I begun to realize, they mean no offense and that none should be taken. I often had to think “what do they think about us?” They must think we are stuffy and serious. It’s a funny thought, because in comparison, I think we are, but I can’t actually imagine any of the Ghanians that I have met, ever thinking anything remotely close to that though. We are so much more reserved than they are. They are always so quick to share their thoughts and curiosities with you, to approach you and become engaged in deep conversation. I am going to miss being surrounded by people, my life in Canada is so much more solitary. There are so many more things I am going to miss but I’ll have to get to that tomorrow. We are catching a bus to Takoradi tonight at 3am. We are going to stay on the coast for 4 days before we fly home. I can’t wait to see my people….
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
March 1, 2010
Today I prayed for the first time in years. I was on the labor and delivery ward and woman appeared in the second stage delivery room. They have the labor rooms set up into first stage and then second stage. First stage is for women who are less than 8cm dilated and the second stage room is for women dilated more than that. I am used to determining first and second stage a little differently and was surprised at the lack of immediacy on this ward, very surprised. Although, I am not sure why because it seems that nothing is of immediate importance in this country.
The woman that showed up in the second stage room (delivery room), I had not seen in the first stage room. I was trying to question one of the nurses as to where, she had come from and how many centimeters she was at, how far apart her contractions were, as well as the presentation of the baby. I wasn’t getting anywhere with my questioning. I think often, when the nurses don’t understand what you are talking about they simply ignore you. You can only rephrase so many times before you start investigating on your own. I began palpating the abdomen to check the “lie” of the baby. If I can find the baby’s back I can auscaltate the fetal heart rate. While kneading the abdomen for position, I locate the head above the belly button. I immediately started panicking. The nurses were busy dusting the room. Apparently that’s what they do first thing in the morning, and it is of utmost importance. I was frantically looking for assistance, as I couldn’t auscaltate a fetal heart either. When we removed the cloth from her groin, there were two little feet present. Nobody seemed to think this was important. The mother looked at me and asked me in broken English, if everything was going to be all right. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t seen this before. heard them talking about a possible C-section. I was able to talk to one of the nurses about it and she said that they often just deliver the breach babies. I didn’t ask anything about success rates.
When I looked toward the woman’s groin, I saw the feet moving. This is when I prayed. This just didn’t look good. Within a few minutes the baby literally just slid out, with his arms in the air, he was a little flaccid at first but he came around with a little stimulation and some oxygen. An interesting thing happened when I was helping to deliver the placenta. I placed my hand over her abdomen, to help stabilize the uterus while the cord was pulled on by the nurse, and I felt another head in the abdomen. There were two babies in this tiny little woman. The second little boy was delivered approximately 20minutes later facing the way he should have been, but with one arm above his head. Both boys survived the delivery.
I literally caught the next baby. It seemed like there was so much going on in that delivery room. There are so many staff but, like I said before, nothing is immediate. They insist on waiting 2-4hrs to do vaginal exams regardless of the circumstances, so there are women in the first stage room that I know perfectly well should have been in the second stage room. They were just held there because according to the charting, they were still in first stage. So again when I came into the labor room I was surprised to see one of the pregnant moms being switched from the 1st room to the 2nd room. She was naked and walking to her bed. In this room there are four labor beds all in a row. There is no privacy and today, they were full. As it happens this woman was without assistance. The nurses told her to move to the labor room, and they left her to do it on her own. I was just pulling gloves from my pocket when I saw the head between her legs. I managed to get my gloves on before reaching her, just in time to catch the baby falling between her legs. Thankfully, help was not too far behind. They brought the clamps and the scissors while I stood holding the bloody baby in shock.
The next baby we delivered was dead, and it looked like it may have been like that for a few days…The saddest thing about this for me was the fact that the mother had no privacy. She delivered in the same room as the 3 other women with live babies. The nurse just flopped the baby in a box and threw it on the floor. There is absolutely no empathy. That same box was later dropped at the father’s feet and opened, without so much as a kind word.
Today I prayed for the first time in years. I was on the labor and delivery ward and woman appeared in the second stage delivery room. They have the labor rooms set up into first stage and then second stage. First stage is for women who are less than 8cm dilated and the second stage room is for women dilated more than that. I am used to determining first and second stage a little differently and was surprised at the lack of immediacy on this ward, very surprised. Although, I am not sure why because it seems that nothing is of immediate importance in this country.
The woman that showed up in the second stage room (delivery room), I had not seen in the first stage room. I was trying to question one of the nurses as to where, she had come from and how many centimeters she was at, how far apart her contractions were, as well as the presentation of the baby. I wasn’t getting anywhere with my questioning. I think often, when the nurses don’t understand what you are talking about they simply ignore you. You can only rephrase so many times before you start investigating on your own. I began palpating the abdomen to check the “lie” of the baby. If I can find the baby’s back I can auscaltate the fetal heart rate. While kneading the abdomen for position, I locate the head above the belly button. I immediately started panicking. The nurses were busy dusting the room. Apparently that’s what they do first thing in the morning, and it is of utmost importance. I was frantically looking for assistance, as I couldn’t auscaltate a fetal heart either. When we removed the cloth from her groin, there were two little feet present. Nobody seemed to think this was important. The mother looked at me and asked me in broken English, if everything was going to be all right. I didn’t know what to say. I hadn’t seen this before. heard them talking about a possible C-section. I was able to talk to one of the nurses about it and she said that they often just deliver the breach babies. I didn’t ask anything about success rates.
When I looked toward the woman’s groin, I saw the feet moving. This is when I prayed. This just didn’t look good. Within a few minutes the baby literally just slid out, with his arms in the air, he was a little flaccid at first but he came around with a little stimulation and some oxygen. An interesting thing happened when I was helping to deliver the placenta. I placed my hand over her abdomen, to help stabilize the uterus while the cord was pulled on by the nurse, and I felt another head in the abdomen. There were two babies in this tiny little woman. The second little boy was delivered approximately 20minutes later facing the way he should have been, but with one arm above his head. Both boys survived the delivery.
I literally caught the next baby. It seemed like there was so much going on in that delivery room. There are so many staff but, like I said before, nothing is immediate. They insist on waiting 2-4hrs to do vaginal exams regardless of the circumstances, so there are women in the first stage room that I know perfectly well should have been in the second stage room. They were just held there because according to the charting, they were still in first stage. So again when I came into the labor room I was surprised to see one of the pregnant moms being switched from the 1st room to the 2nd room. She was naked and walking to her bed. In this room there are four labor beds all in a row. There is no privacy and today, they were full. As it happens this woman was without assistance. The nurses told her to move to the labor room, and they left her to do it on her own. I was just pulling gloves from my pocket when I saw the head between her legs. I managed to get my gloves on before reaching her, just in time to catch the baby falling between her legs. Thankfully, help was not too far behind. They brought the clamps and the scissors while I stood holding the bloody baby in shock.
The next baby we delivered was dead, and it looked like it may have been like that for a few days…The saddest thing about this for me was the fact that the mother had no privacy. She delivered in the same room as the 3 other women with live babies. The nurse just flopped the baby in a box and threw it on the floor. There is absolutely no empathy. That same box was later dropped at the father’s feet and opened, without so much as a kind word.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
February 28, 2010
Today is Sunday. On Friday I was supposed to work at the STI clinic, but there was some confusion and they weren’t expecting me to come. It was actually quite a comical morning because I wasn’t sure where the clinic was located at the hospital. I had to ask around. There’s nothing like a white girl asking the locals where the STI clinic is, in English, louder and slower. lol. I ended up just heading to the Neonatal intensive care unit instead. Baby Victoria left the ward to go to the orphanage.
Friday after clinical we headed off to Mole national park. Sinbad, Muriel’s adopted son organized a van and a driver for us. The van was the nicest vehicle I have driven in yet. It was a 14 seat van, with air conditioning and a high ceiling. I was almost sad the drive was only 2hrs long! The road to Mole was terrible, it was dirt and so badly washed out, we drove in the shoulder for most of the trip. When we had called a head they told us there wasn’t any rooms available, so we had decided we would camp. When we got there the gentleman at the reception office told us there were only a few tents left and that there was now some rooms available, and of course the price was different than what we had be quoted for on the phone. By the time we got everything sorted out, it was dark. None of the staff knew how to set up our tents. So Cherie and I opted to sleep outside. We laid our tent out on the tent platform and took our bags with us to find some dinner.
The platform we slept on over looked the Serengeti-type plain. It was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of the prairies, the way it went on forever until it finally met the sky. During the night there was a lightening storm several miles away that we watched. It was beautiful, nothing but sky. At about 3am the clouds disappeared and we lie under the bright stars. I barely slept at all, I was glad not to have slept at all. I didn’t want to miss a thing.
Cherie and I slept with our bags between us, because we heard the baboons could be quite pesky. We didn’t actually find out exactly how pesky till the morning. I would not have actually kept my stuff out had I have known how bad they could be. Thankfully they didn’t give us any grief during the night, but during the day while we were eating a couple of them would jump right up onto the table and steal food directly from our plates. They were not easily scared off either.
We woke at first light and watched the sunrise over the plain while we brushed our teeth. It was absolutely surreal. Sometimes, I think I am so full of emotion I might burst or float away. We did a morning guided tour, and saw different breeds of monkeys as well as wild boar, antelope, and at the watering hole, elephants and crocodiles. I thought there wouldn’t be any crocodiles because it is fairly dry there and it looked to me like the water comes and goes with the heat. I got fairly close to the water taking pictures of the elephants bathing, and I scared one into the water. I didn’t do that again…
We stuck around all day waiting to go on a driving tour. While organizing it, Cherie and I overheard a group of American students talking about going on a canoe tour. We tried to look into the tour but it is very difficult to get information. We learned that it was basically the same length of time that the driving tour would be and so decided to do that instead, not even knowing where or what type of water it would be. Was it a lake, or a river? We loaded onto a cart carrying 8 passengers pulled by a motorcycle and drove for about ½ and hour. We arrived at a very narrow river overgrown with trees. There was two canoes seating four passengers in each. We got in and were paddled into what seemed like the jungle. We were eating alive by bugs but it was worth it.
Today is Sunday. On Friday I was supposed to work at the STI clinic, but there was some confusion and they weren’t expecting me to come. It was actually quite a comical morning because I wasn’t sure where the clinic was located at the hospital. I had to ask around. There’s nothing like a white girl asking the locals where the STI clinic is, in English, louder and slower. lol. I ended up just heading to the Neonatal intensive care unit instead. Baby Victoria left the ward to go to the orphanage.
Friday after clinical we headed off to Mole national park. Sinbad, Muriel’s adopted son organized a van and a driver for us. The van was the nicest vehicle I have driven in yet. It was a 14 seat van, with air conditioning and a high ceiling. I was almost sad the drive was only 2hrs long! The road to Mole was terrible, it was dirt and so badly washed out, we drove in the shoulder for most of the trip. When we had called a head they told us there wasn’t any rooms available, so we had decided we would camp. When we got there the gentleman at the reception office told us there were only a few tents left and that there was now some rooms available, and of course the price was different than what we had be quoted for on the phone. By the time we got everything sorted out, it was dark. None of the staff knew how to set up our tents. So Cherie and I opted to sleep outside. We laid our tent out on the tent platform and took our bags with us to find some dinner.
The platform we slept on over looked the Serengeti-type plain. It was absolutely beautiful. It reminded me of the prairies, the way it went on forever until it finally met the sky. During the night there was a lightening storm several miles away that we watched. It was beautiful, nothing but sky. At about 3am the clouds disappeared and we lie under the bright stars. I barely slept at all, I was glad not to have slept at all. I didn’t want to miss a thing.
Cherie and I slept with our bags between us, because we heard the baboons could be quite pesky. We didn’t actually find out exactly how pesky till the morning. I would not have actually kept my stuff out had I have known how bad they could be. Thankfully they didn’t give us any grief during the night, but during the day while we were eating a couple of them would jump right up onto the table and steal food directly from our plates. They were not easily scared off either.
We woke at first light and watched the sunrise over the plain while we brushed our teeth. It was absolutely surreal. Sometimes, I think I am so full of emotion I might burst or float away. We did a morning guided tour, and saw different breeds of monkeys as well as wild boar, antelope, and at the watering hole, elephants and crocodiles. I thought there wouldn’t be any crocodiles because it is fairly dry there and it looked to me like the water comes and goes with the heat. I got fairly close to the water taking pictures of the elephants bathing, and I scared one into the water. I didn’t do that again…
We stuck around all day waiting to go on a driving tour. While organizing it, Cherie and I overheard a group of American students talking about going on a canoe tour. We tried to look into the tour but it is very difficult to get information. We learned that it was basically the same length of time that the driving tour would be and so decided to do that instead, not even knowing where or what type of water it would be. Was it a lake, or a river? We loaded onto a cart carrying 8 passengers pulled by a motorcycle and drove for about ½ and hour. We arrived at a very narrow river overgrown with trees. There was two canoes seating four passengers in each. We got in and were paddled into what seemed like the jungle. We were eating alive by bugs but it was worth it.
Monday, February 22, 2010
February 13, 2010
Today is Saturday and we asked to take the day off. Philomena was more than happy to give us this day to rest. She did, however, arrange for a game of soccer in the evening and a meeting with the reverend, the head of the district. It was an absolute honor. I cannot believe how welcome everyone is making us feel. He told us we are welcome and that they had to thank God, because they have been waiting for us for some time. He told us that God gave him the job of making us feel welcome, and gave us the job of doing good, and it was his job to make that easier for us. If what he says is true, he was very successful at doing his job. We felt very welcomed. He basically told us that whatever they have is ours. So kind and so generous, everyone has made us feel so very welcome. The other day we met the head of the health department for the district, by request and they mayor. Each wanted to let us know that they had been awaiting our arrival and that we were most welcome. We played a game of soccer with the clinic staff this evening, we had a great time, thankfully it was a short game. Tomorrow we are to attend the reverend’s service, for a short time in the morning and then off to see a cocoa bean plantation.
February 17, 2010
It’s difficult to even begin to describe the last few days…It has taken me several days to want to write about this. I think the reason for the difficulty has to do with not only the sadness of it, but, the previous expectation of this sadness. I knew coming here, sadness would exist, but somehow in my mind I pictured it differently. I did this in a way that people picture people, or places they have not yet seen, or met. Creating realities in my mind based on images I had previously seen, or assumptions I had foolishly made. This sadness has exceeded my expectations in every way. The way of life is difficult for those that live here. In two days we have lost two babies…the first death was preventable even by Ghanian standards, in fact it was horrific. Death here, for me, was expected, and yes, even the death of children and babies. It is the lack of accountability, empathy, effort and humanity that are missing for me.
I can only speak of what I have seen, and what I have been close to while being here. Each event has become part of my own personal narrative, and I speak about it from this point of view. I do not pretend to know a true narrative- if there is such a thing.
In my opinion, aside from death, each event had it’s own tragedies, it’s own failures of humanity. I will not begin to describe the events because, the first I was not part of and the other I feel recounting it, would cheapen it, to change it somehow in my mind, and to tarnish the memory, and disrespect those who were involved. At least I don’t think I am ready to do it, not just yet anyway…
I am able to write about this now because it has been a few days, and because we had very positive day at the clinic. We began our day this morning by giving a lecture to senior secondary students in Enchi. Philomena asked us if we would talk to the kids about “safe sex habits”. We put together a 40minute lecture last night, we visited the family planning clinic at the hospital and bought two hundred condoms, so we could give one to each student. We had thought we would leave the extras at Philomena’s clinic for people to take. We thought that there would be more than 100 to spare. We were surprised to find 450 students carrying their chairs into an outdoor, covered classroom, with nothing but a chalkboard and a table at the front of the room. I found it exhilarating. Just like at the clinic, the students start their day with a beautifully harmonized prayer. The students were absolutely refreshing. After spending time at the clinic and the hospital and seeing nothing but illness and suffering, the classroom was a nice reprieve. The school masters introduced us formally and then had each of us announce our names before I began the lecture. The students cheered and clapped continuously repeating our names after each of us had stated them. The topic, not surprisingly was genuinely interesting to them and they had many questions to ask. Unlike here, none of the students played shy. After putting their hands in the air and being called on, the student would come to the front of the class and speak their question to the entire class. We had come prepared with small pieces of paper for anonymous questions, but they weren’t interested in this method. I felt satisfied, and actually felt like we made some kind of a difference today. It was a nice break from a hospital setting and I’ll be glad to be able to do it again before we leave and possibly in Tamale.
This afternoon we walked into Enchi and did some shopping at the market. We had hoped to buy some fresh vegetables. In the end we did, come home with some, but after a long search. It was like heaven…If I am sick tomorrow, it will all have been worth it. We bought fresh avocados, baby tomatoes, red onion, fresh whole wheat bread (first time I have seen it here), and happy cow cheese (cheese is also very hard to come by). We had open faced vegetable sandwiches in our room, I could have died and been happy. The food here is generally good, in Tamale we had a lot of variety. I could have eaten pretty much anything I chose, there was a lot of flavor, and a lot of eastern influence, lots of curries. But in Enchi we eat pretty much the same thing every day. We eat a lot of plain rice, packaged cookies, crackers and Mr. noodles. I have pretty much been a vegetarian since I arrived here. I eat the occasional piece of meat, but something about watching the chickens, goats, and pigs wallow in raw sewage that has turned me off of meat. Go figure.
February 18, 2010
Today I spent the day on the antenatal/maternity ward. It was pretty uneventful on the patient end of things. I do feel; however, that I spent time with some pretty interesting and important people, people that have helped me to understand the language and the culture of the Akram people, and the Twi language. I am just starting to feel accepted, I am excited about moving on to Tamale on Saturday, but I am also sad. Two weeks is not enough time to gain the trust and respect of the people you work with. We are finally being accepted not just as the “token” white people that hardly any of the locals have seen before, but as professionals, and as colleges.
February 21, 2010
Our last day in Enchi was a memorable one. When we had first arrived we were excited to hear that we were only about 20km from the border of Cote D’ivoire, we had expressed interest in visiting the country but abandoned the idea when we were reminded that we only have a single entry visa for Ghana. When we arrived at the clinic on Friday we were happy to find that Philomena had been to the immigration office, had written us a formal letter, and had received one back from the office stating that we were able to cross into the nearest village and we would be granted safe return. She hired an immigration officer to accompany us as well as one of the male nurses from the clinic and our driver. This act was so completely in character to the way she treated us the whole time we were there.
We began our drive into the rainforest, it was supposed to be 20kms away but I’m sure it was much further. The road was very poor, very narrow. We crossed makeshift bridges that I was certain we would fall through. We came upon a tree that had fallen across the road. Luckily we had picked up some men on the side of the road headed to the boarder to do some construction. They had some tools with them, and, thankfully again, we were saved by African muscle. Within minutes they had the obstruction cleared and we were on the road again. It took two hours to arrive in the village. After passing the boarder into Cote D’ivoire we came upon an overturned vehicle. The van had more than fifteen passengers among them were women and children. Luckily there was only one seriously injured, and luckily for her five of them were nurses. All five of us jumped from the vehicle and ran to her under a tree. Unfortunately none of those present spoke the language she spoke so we were unable to question her. Without ambulances coming there was no option to keep her spine completely stable. We had no choice but to move her. So the group of us lifted her, keeping her as straight as we could into the back of the truck, and started toward Dubi, the village in Cote D’ivoire. I sat in the back of the truck with her trying to keep her head as stable as possible, while Justin and Cherie held her back and hips in place. When we got to the village it was an absolute schmoz. We took her to the clinic and we all assessed her with the doctor-who spoke French, which made it a little bit easier. It looked as though she may have a pelvic fracture, the doctor didn’t think it was her spleen. He gave her an injection and asked us to take her somewhere else. Our letter from immigration only allowed us to visit Dubi so the immigration officer we were with suggested we find her people in town and a car to take her to a hospital further into the country. So in this small village surrounded by a crowd of people, we moved her again, into a taxi, to be accompanied by her husband to another local hospital.
When we arrived back in Enchi Philomena had a farewell soccer game planned for us, Canada vs Ghana. We all had a very nice time and ended with dinner at Bacchus lodge where we were staying. There was eight of us; Philomena, Patrick (the medical assistant), Solomon (the pharmacy assistant), Aguuri (general nurse). I am going to miss them all.
That night we didn’t go to bed. We packed up all our things, and took a van out of town at 2am. There aren’t any buses that go to Enchi so we had to hire a van and we wanted to make it to the bus station in Kumasi before the buses left. The van was packed full of people so I didn’t sleep, I was thankful for the sleepless night, after seeing the most beautiful African sunrise from my seat in the van. We arrived in Kumasi a little after 9am. We took a different kind of bus this time, it’s called the metro bus. We weren’t allowed to purchase tickets till 1130. We took shifts in doubles watching the bags, while the other two went in search of food and toilets. It was crazy trying to buy tickets at 1130. It was literally a fight. People just push their way to the front of the line. The office was at the top of about three stairs and people were pushing people of the stairs. I’m lucky am tall. I ordered four tickets above a mess of pushy people. In amongst all the different African languages I could hear the odd “white lady”, or “white woman”. The people always know exactly what we are doing. We stick out like a sore thumb. Before we even knew the bus had arrived we had several people come over and tell us our bus was there. Pretty funny, they are all so helpful, you are definitely not a faceless person in a crowd here.
We arrived in Enchi at 8pm last night. It was a long day, again, without sleeping. The metro bus had no air conditioning and seats in rows of three. The under carriage never has enough room for everyone’s luggage, so the rows are also lined with luggage. It was impossible to sleep. It was 46 degrees in Tamale today, the locals would say it is dry, and it definitely isn’t even as close to as humid as it was in Enchi, but it is still humid.
I didn’t even notice the heat last night, I slept better than I have slept here. It was beautiful…
February 21, 2010
Today, another beautiful thing happened. We found a hotel in town, not far from where we are staying, and it has a POOL!!! We had the day off because it was Sunday, so I spent the day working on a complete body burn. Ah, the African sun…
Today is Saturday and we asked to take the day off. Philomena was more than happy to give us this day to rest. She did, however, arrange for a game of soccer in the evening and a meeting with the reverend, the head of the district. It was an absolute honor. I cannot believe how welcome everyone is making us feel. He told us we are welcome and that they had to thank God, because they have been waiting for us for some time. He told us that God gave him the job of making us feel welcome, and gave us the job of doing good, and it was his job to make that easier for us. If what he says is true, he was very successful at doing his job. We felt very welcomed. He basically told us that whatever they have is ours. So kind and so generous, everyone has made us feel so very welcome. The other day we met the head of the health department for the district, by request and they mayor. Each wanted to let us know that they had been awaiting our arrival and that we were most welcome. We played a game of soccer with the clinic staff this evening, we had a great time, thankfully it was a short game. Tomorrow we are to attend the reverend’s service, for a short time in the morning and then off to see a cocoa bean plantation.
February 17, 2010
It’s difficult to even begin to describe the last few days…It has taken me several days to want to write about this. I think the reason for the difficulty has to do with not only the sadness of it, but, the previous expectation of this sadness. I knew coming here, sadness would exist, but somehow in my mind I pictured it differently. I did this in a way that people picture people, or places they have not yet seen, or met. Creating realities in my mind based on images I had previously seen, or assumptions I had foolishly made. This sadness has exceeded my expectations in every way. The way of life is difficult for those that live here. In two days we have lost two babies…the first death was preventable even by Ghanian standards, in fact it was horrific. Death here, for me, was expected, and yes, even the death of children and babies. It is the lack of accountability, empathy, effort and humanity that are missing for me.
I can only speak of what I have seen, and what I have been close to while being here. Each event has become part of my own personal narrative, and I speak about it from this point of view. I do not pretend to know a true narrative- if there is such a thing.
In my opinion, aside from death, each event had it’s own tragedies, it’s own failures of humanity. I will not begin to describe the events because, the first I was not part of and the other I feel recounting it, would cheapen it, to change it somehow in my mind, and to tarnish the memory, and disrespect those who were involved. At least I don’t think I am ready to do it, not just yet anyway…
I am able to write about this now because it has been a few days, and because we had very positive day at the clinic. We began our day this morning by giving a lecture to senior secondary students in Enchi. Philomena asked us if we would talk to the kids about “safe sex habits”. We put together a 40minute lecture last night, we visited the family planning clinic at the hospital and bought two hundred condoms, so we could give one to each student. We had thought we would leave the extras at Philomena’s clinic for people to take. We thought that there would be more than 100 to spare. We were surprised to find 450 students carrying their chairs into an outdoor, covered classroom, with nothing but a chalkboard and a table at the front of the room. I found it exhilarating. Just like at the clinic, the students start their day with a beautifully harmonized prayer. The students were absolutely refreshing. After spending time at the clinic and the hospital and seeing nothing but illness and suffering, the classroom was a nice reprieve. The school masters introduced us formally and then had each of us announce our names before I began the lecture. The students cheered and clapped continuously repeating our names after each of us had stated them. The topic, not surprisingly was genuinely interesting to them and they had many questions to ask. Unlike here, none of the students played shy. After putting their hands in the air and being called on, the student would come to the front of the class and speak their question to the entire class. We had come prepared with small pieces of paper for anonymous questions, but they weren’t interested in this method. I felt satisfied, and actually felt like we made some kind of a difference today. It was a nice break from a hospital setting and I’ll be glad to be able to do it again before we leave and possibly in Tamale.
This afternoon we walked into Enchi and did some shopping at the market. We had hoped to buy some fresh vegetables. In the end we did, come home with some, but after a long search. It was like heaven…If I am sick tomorrow, it will all have been worth it. We bought fresh avocados, baby tomatoes, red onion, fresh whole wheat bread (first time I have seen it here), and happy cow cheese (cheese is also very hard to come by). We had open faced vegetable sandwiches in our room, I could have died and been happy. The food here is generally good, in Tamale we had a lot of variety. I could have eaten pretty much anything I chose, there was a lot of flavor, and a lot of eastern influence, lots of curries. But in Enchi we eat pretty much the same thing every day. We eat a lot of plain rice, packaged cookies, crackers and Mr. noodles. I have pretty much been a vegetarian since I arrived here. I eat the occasional piece of meat, but something about watching the chickens, goats, and pigs wallow in raw sewage that has turned me off of meat. Go figure.
February 18, 2010
Today I spent the day on the antenatal/maternity ward. It was pretty uneventful on the patient end of things. I do feel; however, that I spent time with some pretty interesting and important people, people that have helped me to understand the language and the culture of the Akram people, and the Twi language. I am just starting to feel accepted, I am excited about moving on to Tamale on Saturday, but I am also sad. Two weeks is not enough time to gain the trust and respect of the people you work with. We are finally being accepted not just as the “token” white people that hardly any of the locals have seen before, but as professionals, and as colleges.
February 21, 2010
Our last day in Enchi was a memorable one. When we had first arrived we were excited to hear that we were only about 20km from the border of Cote D’ivoire, we had expressed interest in visiting the country but abandoned the idea when we were reminded that we only have a single entry visa for Ghana. When we arrived at the clinic on Friday we were happy to find that Philomena had been to the immigration office, had written us a formal letter, and had received one back from the office stating that we were able to cross into the nearest village and we would be granted safe return. She hired an immigration officer to accompany us as well as one of the male nurses from the clinic and our driver. This act was so completely in character to the way she treated us the whole time we were there.
We began our drive into the rainforest, it was supposed to be 20kms away but I’m sure it was much further. The road was very poor, very narrow. We crossed makeshift bridges that I was certain we would fall through. We came upon a tree that had fallen across the road. Luckily we had picked up some men on the side of the road headed to the boarder to do some construction. They had some tools with them, and, thankfully again, we were saved by African muscle. Within minutes they had the obstruction cleared and we were on the road again. It took two hours to arrive in the village. After passing the boarder into Cote D’ivoire we came upon an overturned vehicle. The van had more than fifteen passengers among them were women and children. Luckily there was only one seriously injured, and luckily for her five of them were nurses. All five of us jumped from the vehicle and ran to her under a tree. Unfortunately none of those present spoke the language she spoke so we were unable to question her. Without ambulances coming there was no option to keep her spine completely stable. We had no choice but to move her. So the group of us lifted her, keeping her as straight as we could into the back of the truck, and started toward Dubi, the village in Cote D’ivoire. I sat in the back of the truck with her trying to keep her head as stable as possible, while Justin and Cherie held her back and hips in place. When we got to the village it was an absolute schmoz. We took her to the clinic and we all assessed her with the doctor-who spoke French, which made it a little bit easier. It looked as though she may have a pelvic fracture, the doctor didn’t think it was her spleen. He gave her an injection and asked us to take her somewhere else. Our letter from immigration only allowed us to visit Dubi so the immigration officer we were with suggested we find her people in town and a car to take her to a hospital further into the country. So in this small village surrounded by a crowd of people, we moved her again, into a taxi, to be accompanied by her husband to another local hospital.
When we arrived back in Enchi Philomena had a farewell soccer game planned for us, Canada vs Ghana. We all had a very nice time and ended with dinner at Bacchus lodge where we were staying. There was eight of us; Philomena, Patrick (the medical assistant), Solomon (the pharmacy assistant), Aguuri (general nurse). I am going to miss them all.
That night we didn’t go to bed. We packed up all our things, and took a van out of town at 2am. There aren’t any buses that go to Enchi so we had to hire a van and we wanted to make it to the bus station in Kumasi before the buses left. The van was packed full of people so I didn’t sleep, I was thankful for the sleepless night, after seeing the most beautiful African sunrise from my seat in the van. We arrived in Kumasi a little after 9am. We took a different kind of bus this time, it’s called the metro bus. We weren’t allowed to purchase tickets till 1130. We took shifts in doubles watching the bags, while the other two went in search of food and toilets. It was crazy trying to buy tickets at 1130. It was literally a fight. People just push their way to the front of the line. The office was at the top of about three stairs and people were pushing people of the stairs. I’m lucky am tall. I ordered four tickets above a mess of pushy people. In amongst all the different African languages I could hear the odd “white lady”, or “white woman”. The people always know exactly what we are doing. We stick out like a sore thumb. Before we even knew the bus had arrived we had several people come over and tell us our bus was there. Pretty funny, they are all so helpful, you are definitely not a faceless person in a crowd here.
We arrived in Enchi at 8pm last night. It was a long day, again, without sleeping. The metro bus had no air conditioning and seats in rows of three. The under carriage never has enough room for everyone’s luggage, so the rows are also lined with luggage. It was impossible to sleep. It was 46 degrees in Tamale today, the locals would say it is dry, and it definitely isn’t even as close to as humid as it was in Enchi, but it is still humid.
I didn’t even notice the heat last night, I slept better than I have slept here. It was beautiful…
February 21, 2010
Today, another beautiful thing happened. We found a hotel in town, not far from where we are staying, and it has a POOL!!! We had the day off because it was Sunday, so I spent the day working on a complete body burn. Ah, the African sun…
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tamale to Enchi
February 7, 2010
We just arrived in Enchi today, after 13hours of travel. We left on Sunday morning from Tamale. The bus ride from Tamale to Kumasi is 7hrs. The bus broke down half way, but luckily after 45minutes, and all the male passengers puching the bus to gt it started, it finaly began to move on its own. Thank god for African muscle!! We all had a good laugh when we arrived in Kumasi, because all f us weak white people were sweating buckets on the air conditioned bus while they pushed. In the 40 degree heat, they hardly broke a sweat, and not one complained. We stayed the night in \kumasi at a guest house close to the bus station, the room had a king bed, two twins pushed together, and one single. \i never slept a wink.There was three of us in the bed and \i am not used to the humidity. We had been in Tamale where the weather is hot and dry.
Philomena,Vida's sister met us this morning at the guest house for breakfast. She had arranged for a van to drive us to Enchi. The Vans are 140 cedis if you rent the whole thing, but if you are open to picking people up along the way it is 10dedis a person. We traveled with three men going to enchi and Philomenas brother and his daughter. It was the craziest drive of my life! The roads here are terrible. They, for the most part are paved but there might be 100kms per trip that are dirt, not to mention the giant pot holes. There was about 5 cars on the way that were changing their tires.They don't seem to stop people from driving 100 to 120kms though. The cars all swerve from left to right on the road trying their best to dodge the holes. Sometimes we were driving three tight on the road. It was so scary and I thanked god for gravel and seat belts. About 45minutes from Enchi the little girl sitting nto me vomited all over me and both of my bags. \i couldn't complain though because Kat was sitting infront of the little girl and got it on her face and in her hair.
It took us 5hrs to drive to enchi. Enchi is about 20kms from the IvoryCoast. It is luch and green, a semi tropical climate. The humidity here is very high. Philomena told us about the two motels that she had looked at for us. Oned is a two minute walk to the clinic, but would cost 50cedis a night. We had all thought we would be paying about 7 so we decided to stay in town at the motel that was 30 instead. The one we chose in town didn't have a shower and is right next to a bar and the music is carzy loud. Philomena picked us up to take us for dinner at the Hotel that was closer to the clinic. The manager came and talked to us while we were eating our dinner and told us he would give us the same price if we moved our stuff over.
Philomena told us the clinic consists of mostly prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care as well as family planning. am so excited, it is completely the experience that i wanted. Tomorrow we are going to get started with a tour around the town and then a look at the clinic. She wants to show us the drug dispensary and go over the different experiences that we each want. i am not sure if i am understanding her but it sounds like the clinic practices in general medicine as well.i think maternity care is her specialty though.
Our first night in Enshi we left the motel in search of a place to find a beer. The streets are like the other streets we have seen in Ghana. They are narrow and lined with sewer trenches. The air is always slightly tainted by the smell of raw sewage. its difficult here to tell whether something is a bar or a convinience store or a hair salon. All the buildings look like little shantys. We dicided that one of them was a bar because we saw the beer posters plastered on the walls outside and their was loud music coming from within. The room was no bigger that 8ft by 8ft. We ordered four beer and started drinking them. The roofs are made of tin and the inside of the room was so hot, the owners went outside while we sat inside, to give us a little more space. We asked if we could sit outside too. They moved our table out to the front, inside a small enclosed space. Within minutes there was about 30 kids that had encircled the enclosure. The love our cs posing the minute your cameras and are always posing the minute you pull one out. They do everything you do. If you give a thumbs up, all thirty give a thumbs up, if you raise your hands, they raise their hands. They are all pro dancers right from the age of three. We showed them how to do the sprinkler and some cool underwater moves. They thought it was so funny, and picked it up super fast.
February 8, 2010
Today we began at Philomenas clinic, it is more like a small hospital really. We were supposed to have orientation of the village as well as the clinic, but there was a woman laboring when we arrived. Two of us assisted with the labor and the other tow helped in the clinic.Because of our interest Kat and I were sent with the laboring woman.I was surprised at the things I remembered from my labor and delivery rotation. i am glad to have had that experience now. i did my first check of a cervix as well as cut the cord. it was a straightforward delivery. i think that thow weeks here will hardly be enough time. wit hthe language barriers \i experienced today i think it would take twice as long to learn a system. the nurses i worked with were unable to answer any of my questions. philomena was the only one i could get answers from and it is even difficult to understand her sometimes. after the delivery, we bathed the baby and the mother and then i helped assess pregnant mothers and helped with post natal visitis and family planning. it was difficult because i can't understand what the nurses want me to do, or what the mothers are saying. lucckily everyone is so even tempered.
The clinic is so busy. i have asked philomena is i can take a short video clip one of the days we are there, just to show everyone at home just how busy the clinic is. the people generally come to the clinic and first see the triage nurse, who decides in what order they will see the doctor. The doctor then assesses and writes orders on a small chart that the patient carries with them through the clinic. After seeing the doctor, depending on what kind of orders he ahs written, the patient might go to the lab or to the dispensary or both, then to the casualty room to be bnadaged or receive some type of treatment. if they need to receive a drug by injection they have to visit the dispensary first to pick it up, then come to the casualty room to and have the nurse dispense it. often after receiving treatment the nurse will decide whether or not the person is sick enought ot be assigned a bed in the male or female ward, or in one of the observation rooms.
In the after noon weh we had finished up with all the moms and babes, I went to the casualty room to help out there. The main diagnosis that I saw there was small children with malaria. They had all been to see the doctor, been to the lab, and to the dispensary already and were visiting us in the casualty room to receive their injections or quinine, and antimalarial drug.
in the middle of one of our treatments the doctor came rushing in with a convusling five year old boy. The nurse immediately gave him diazepam rectally. he had a fever of 39.2. i found it challening trying to help, again, because of the language barrier, but also because they do things so much differently here. They are short on supplies so i never know what i should use or what i should save.i immediately went to grab a towel to moisten and sponge the child, but apparently they don't use the towels for those things. The nurse grabbed me a small amount of guaze. We were able to get his temperature down wit the bath as well as giving him tylenol rectally. he was kept for observation, lab work and the treatment of malaria.
February 10, 2010
i have had a cold for the last 4 to 5 days. i always feel slightly on the verge of heat stroke. it is just so damn hot here. The clinics are not airconditioned and it feels 10 degrees higher when you go inside. i feel like i am going to faint half of the time, so i am finding it difficult to learn. i am beginning to feel a bit low. it is just like i thought it would be, a slow downward spiral. it starts slowly with a few small things and then everything just seems so much bigger than it is. i am really beginning to feel what it feels like to be part of a minority. today i wored in the dispensary. the staff were nice but stoic and preffered to speak in their native tongue than in english. i really began to feel like an outsider. i never know what is going on around me and it is beginning to take its toll. the short walk back to the hotel for luch over heats me and i can't cool down when i get back to work. the four of us are constantly sweatiing. it is no wonder they think we are weak. They are constantly telling me to sit and rest and that i look pale. Which, believe it or not, i do. it is way too hot to spend any time in the sun, and their isn't a body of water in sight.
i find the clinis staff funny, every morning when we arrive to do rounds they shake our hads and tell us " you are welcome". it is actually not uncommon to be greeted like that here. this morning though the doctor patrick, shook my hand and said that it was hotter than the rest. he asked me if i had any bug bites. I had to laugh, the care starts at a very basic level here and the staff are in tune with much more than i could have expected. i reassured patrick that i was fine, even though i took the afternoon off. i just needed a break from the heat, and some time alone in my head. i realize now though, how closely the staff keep an eye on us. Several student last year contracted malaria.
February 11, 2010
Today a beautiful thing happened, the skies broke, and it rained...
February 13, 2010
I feel much better, after two days of rain, I know my illness was heat related, what a relief!
We just arrived in Enchi today, after 13hours of travel. We left on Sunday morning from Tamale. The bus ride from Tamale to Kumasi is 7hrs. The bus broke down half way, but luckily after 45minutes, and all the male passengers puching the bus to gt it started, it finaly began to move on its own. Thank god for African muscle!! We all had a good laugh when we arrived in Kumasi, because all f us weak white people were sweating buckets on the air conditioned bus while they pushed. In the 40 degree heat, they hardly broke a sweat, and not one complained. We stayed the night in \kumasi at a guest house close to the bus station, the room had a king bed, two twins pushed together, and one single. \i never slept a wink.There was three of us in the bed and \i am not used to the humidity. We had been in Tamale where the weather is hot and dry.
Philomena,Vida's sister met us this morning at the guest house for breakfast. She had arranged for a van to drive us to Enchi. The Vans are 140 cedis if you rent the whole thing, but if you are open to picking people up along the way it is 10dedis a person. We traveled with three men going to enchi and Philomenas brother and his daughter. It was the craziest drive of my life! The roads here are terrible. They, for the most part are paved but there might be 100kms per trip that are dirt, not to mention the giant pot holes. There was about 5 cars on the way that were changing their tires.They don't seem to stop people from driving 100 to 120kms though. The cars all swerve from left to right on the road trying their best to dodge the holes. Sometimes we were driving three tight on the road. It was so scary and I thanked god for gravel and seat belts. About 45minutes from Enchi the little girl sitting nto me vomited all over me and both of my bags. \i couldn't complain though because Kat was sitting infront of the little girl and got it on her face and in her hair.
It took us 5hrs to drive to enchi. Enchi is about 20kms from the IvoryCoast. It is luch and green, a semi tropical climate. The humidity here is very high. Philomena told us about the two motels that she had looked at for us. Oned is a two minute walk to the clinic, but would cost 50cedis a night. We had all thought we would be paying about 7 so we decided to stay in town at the motel that was 30 instead. The one we chose in town didn't have a shower and is right next to a bar and the music is carzy loud. Philomena picked us up to take us for dinner at the Hotel that was closer to the clinic. The manager came and talked to us while we were eating our dinner and told us he would give us the same price if we moved our stuff over.
Philomena told us the clinic consists of mostly prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care as well as family planning. am so excited, it is completely the experience that i wanted. Tomorrow we are going to get started with a tour around the town and then a look at the clinic. She wants to show us the drug dispensary and go over the different experiences that we each want. i am not sure if i am understanding her but it sounds like the clinic practices in general medicine as well.i think maternity care is her specialty though.
Our first night in Enshi we left the motel in search of a place to find a beer. The streets are like the other streets we have seen in Ghana. They are narrow and lined with sewer trenches. The air is always slightly tainted by the smell of raw sewage. its difficult here to tell whether something is a bar or a convinience store or a hair salon. All the buildings look like little shantys. We dicided that one of them was a bar because we saw the beer posters plastered on the walls outside and their was loud music coming from within. The room was no bigger that 8ft by 8ft. We ordered four beer and started drinking them. The roofs are made of tin and the inside of the room was so hot, the owners went outside while we sat inside, to give us a little more space. We asked if we could sit outside too. They moved our table out to the front, inside a small enclosed space. Within minutes there was about 30 kids that had encircled the enclosure. The love our cs posing the minute your cameras and are always posing the minute you pull one out. They do everything you do. If you give a thumbs up, all thirty give a thumbs up, if you raise your hands, they raise their hands. They are all pro dancers right from the age of three. We showed them how to do the sprinkler and some cool underwater moves. They thought it was so funny, and picked it up super fast.
February 8, 2010
Today we began at Philomenas clinic, it is more like a small hospital really. We were supposed to have orientation of the village as well as the clinic, but there was a woman laboring when we arrived. Two of us assisted with the labor and the other tow helped in the clinic.Because of our interest Kat and I were sent with the laboring woman.I was surprised at the things I remembered from my labor and delivery rotation. i am glad to have had that experience now. i did my first check of a cervix as well as cut the cord. it was a straightforward delivery. i think that thow weeks here will hardly be enough time. wit hthe language barriers \i experienced today i think it would take twice as long to learn a system. the nurses i worked with were unable to answer any of my questions. philomena was the only one i could get answers from and it is even difficult to understand her sometimes. after the delivery, we bathed the baby and the mother and then i helped assess pregnant mothers and helped with post natal visitis and family planning. it was difficult because i can't understand what the nurses want me to do, or what the mothers are saying. lucckily everyone is so even tempered.
The clinic is so busy. i have asked philomena is i can take a short video clip one of the days we are there, just to show everyone at home just how busy the clinic is. the people generally come to the clinic and first see the triage nurse, who decides in what order they will see the doctor. The doctor then assesses and writes orders on a small chart that the patient carries with them through the clinic. After seeing the doctor, depending on what kind of orders he ahs written, the patient might go to the lab or to the dispensary or both, then to the casualty room to be bnadaged or receive some type of treatment. if they need to receive a drug by injection they have to visit the dispensary first to pick it up, then come to the casualty room to and have the nurse dispense it. often after receiving treatment the nurse will decide whether or not the person is sick enought ot be assigned a bed in the male or female ward, or in one of the observation rooms.
In the after noon weh we had finished up with all the moms and babes, I went to the casualty room to help out there. The main diagnosis that I saw there was small children with malaria. They had all been to see the doctor, been to the lab, and to the dispensary already and were visiting us in the casualty room to receive their injections or quinine, and antimalarial drug.
in the middle of one of our treatments the doctor came rushing in with a convusling five year old boy. The nurse immediately gave him diazepam rectally. he had a fever of 39.2. i found it challening trying to help, again, because of the language barrier, but also because they do things so much differently here. They are short on supplies so i never know what i should use or what i should save.i immediately went to grab a towel to moisten and sponge the child, but apparently they don't use the towels for those things. The nurse grabbed me a small amount of guaze. We were able to get his temperature down wit the bath as well as giving him tylenol rectally. he was kept for observation, lab work and the treatment of malaria.
February 10, 2010
i have had a cold for the last 4 to 5 days. i always feel slightly on the verge of heat stroke. it is just so damn hot here. The clinics are not airconditioned and it feels 10 degrees higher when you go inside. i feel like i am going to faint half of the time, so i am finding it difficult to learn. i am beginning to feel a bit low. it is just like i thought it would be, a slow downward spiral. it starts slowly with a few small things and then everything just seems so much bigger than it is. i am really beginning to feel what it feels like to be part of a minority. today i wored in the dispensary. the staff were nice but stoic and preffered to speak in their native tongue than in english. i really began to feel like an outsider. i never know what is going on around me and it is beginning to take its toll. the short walk back to the hotel for luch over heats me and i can't cool down when i get back to work. the four of us are constantly sweatiing. it is no wonder they think we are weak. They are constantly telling me to sit and rest and that i look pale. Which, believe it or not, i do. it is way too hot to spend any time in the sun, and their isn't a body of water in sight.
i find the clinis staff funny, every morning when we arrive to do rounds they shake our hads and tell us " you are welcome". it is actually not uncommon to be greeted like that here. this morning though the doctor patrick, shook my hand and said that it was hotter than the rest. he asked me if i had any bug bites. I had to laugh, the care starts at a very basic level here and the staff are in tune with much more than i could have expected. i reassured patrick that i was fine, even though i took the afternoon off. i just needed a break from the heat, and some time alone in my head. i realize now though, how closely the staff keep an eye on us. Several student last year contracted malaria.
February 11, 2010
Today a beautiful thing happened, the skies broke, and it rained...
February 13, 2010
I feel much better, after two days of rain, I know my illness was heat related, what a relief!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Like those who have been before us have said, “the highs are high and the lows are low”. I am on a “high” right now. My heart is full. The locals greet everyone with such wide smiles and “how are yous”. There is really no such thing as surface conversation here. The people we have met wear their depth on their sleeves. The cab driver (Baba) I flagged down this morning to drive us to the bus stop told me that he, as well as other Ghanian people believe in God, and believe that whatever is given to you in life, whether it be good or bad, it is given to you by God. He went on to tell me about his dreams of being a musician and eventually moving to Canada, where his friend lives in British Columbia (small world). I told him I would help him find a “Canadian God fearing wife”, which he expressed he would like very much. I had another interesting conversation with a Nigerian man on the Cape Coast, about art as a form of expression, and how he came to realize that this was the best way for him not only present the beauty within himself, but to also support himself. When we arrived in Tamale, it was in the evening. Sinbad, Muriel’s adopted African son, introduced us to one of his closest friends, Rafik. Immediately after learning our names he began to ask us “how do you see Ghana so far”, “what is different than you had expected?”. He was very inquisitive and also wanted to let us know that we might be approached differently in Tamale than we are used to. He wanted to warn us, that this is customary, so that we are not offended. I am not sure what this looks like but I’m sure I will soon find out.
The women we have met are very trusting. I have had two babies handed to me on the bus, just for saying they were cute! They literally sat with us for what seemed like a long time. The mothers are just so pleased that we have shown an interest. Even though most can understand us, and most speak English. I have noticed that those who cannot just continue to talk to you anyway. The four of us had gone down the road to this little shack that had been converted to a bar. We just went to get drink of fanta and coke. The man from the bar came out and started talking to us while we were sitting there. He couldn’t speak a word of English. We kept trying to understand him but it was not happening. He just continued to talk to us the entire time we sat there. When we got up to leave he shook our hands and gave us one of those famous Ghanian smiles. God I love it here.!
Four of us went took a taxi into the Kumasi market yesterday. Apparently it is the biggest market in the world. It was absolutely amazing. It was so busy. Narrow little streets lined with little shanties. Everyone was selling something colorful and different. The markets were not at all what I had expected. I guess I had expected something like the fall fair where they sell handmade jewelry and artsy stuff. It wasn’t at all what I expected. Their were rolls of colorful fabrics, steel basins of dried fish, pig legs, rows and rows of sandals, shantys full of pots, shantys full of light sockets and fixtures, there were rows and rows that were literally only meters apart, lining very narrow streets and filled on both sides with basins of fresh vegetables on the ground and set on crates. There were large basins filled with dried beans, rice, corn and flour, there were stands with bags of fresh spices, and tea. There were men pulling full trolleys trying to pass through the thick crowd, which I would have thought impossible, but they just kept pushing through and yelling as they went. We were in a group of four and were seriously risking loosing each other staying there. If you lost sight of the person for a second they were lost in the crowd. Everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere. We were trying to get of the way. Its difficult in large crowds like that here because the women carry so much of their loads on their heads. I was hit in the head with several bags of rice and a wash basin full of vegetables. I absolutely love it though, really what an experience.
I wish I had been able to take pictures at the market though. It was such a rich cultural experience I just wish that I would have been able to capture it. But I have found that the Ghanian people do not like to be photographed without having permission first. I have yet to find out why, it might be a religious belief. I didn’t take my camera cause I didn’t want to risk making any of them angy in such a large group.
We arrived in Tamale today. I washed my first load of clothes in a bucket outside the room we are staying in. I thought of the movie far and away “plunge and scrub, plunge and scrub”. For the most part we have been lucky with accommodation, I have only been bitten by bed bugs twice and we have only went without water once. Which believe me is a lot worse that it sounds. It is just about midnight here and it is 29.5 degrees outside and humid, humid, humid. I sweat buckets! Us whites stick out for miles. I was looking out a cab window yesterday and a boy was yelling at me “white lady, white lady, white lady”. One of the only things that I wasn’t expecting to find when we got here is the poor air quality. There is hardly ever a blue sky. We crossed almost the entire country since we have been here and have seen very little blue sky. The people are constantly burning their garbage. The also burn little bits of land at a time as a way of hunting small rabbits, so throughout the country you see a lot of scorched earth. The air stinks of exhaust and there is always a thick haze in the sky. It is always a light to dark shade of gray. When we arrived in Tamale, we literally could only see about a kilometer a head it was that thick.
The women we have met are very trusting. I have had two babies handed to me on the bus, just for saying they were cute! They literally sat with us for what seemed like a long time. The mothers are just so pleased that we have shown an interest. Even though most can understand us, and most speak English. I have noticed that those who cannot just continue to talk to you anyway. The four of us had gone down the road to this little shack that had been converted to a bar. We just went to get drink of fanta and coke. The man from the bar came out and started talking to us while we were sitting there. He couldn’t speak a word of English. We kept trying to understand him but it was not happening. He just continued to talk to us the entire time we sat there. When we got up to leave he shook our hands and gave us one of those famous Ghanian smiles. God I love it here.!
Four of us went took a taxi into the Kumasi market yesterday. Apparently it is the biggest market in the world. It was absolutely amazing. It was so busy. Narrow little streets lined with little shanties. Everyone was selling something colorful and different. The markets were not at all what I had expected. I guess I had expected something like the fall fair where they sell handmade jewelry and artsy stuff. It wasn’t at all what I expected. Their were rolls of colorful fabrics, steel basins of dried fish, pig legs, rows and rows of sandals, shantys full of pots, shantys full of light sockets and fixtures, there were rows and rows that were literally only meters apart, lining very narrow streets and filled on both sides with basins of fresh vegetables on the ground and set on crates. There were large basins filled with dried beans, rice, corn and flour, there were stands with bags of fresh spices, and tea. There were men pulling full trolleys trying to pass through the thick crowd, which I would have thought impossible, but they just kept pushing through and yelling as they went. We were in a group of four and were seriously risking loosing each other staying there. If you lost sight of the person for a second they were lost in the crowd. Everyone was in a hurry to get somewhere. We were trying to get of the way. Its difficult in large crowds like that here because the women carry so much of their loads on their heads. I was hit in the head with several bags of rice and a wash basin full of vegetables. I absolutely love it though, really what an experience.
I wish I had been able to take pictures at the market though. It was such a rich cultural experience I just wish that I would have been able to capture it. But I have found that the Ghanian people do not like to be photographed without having permission first. I have yet to find out why, it might be a religious belief. I didn’t take my camera cause I didn’t want to risk making any of them angy in such a large group.
We arrived in Tamale today. I washed my first load of clothes in a bucket outside the room we are staying in. I thought of the movie far and away “plunge and scrub, plunge and scrub”. For the most part we have been lucky with accommodation, I have only been bitten by bed bugs twice and we have only went without water once. Which believe me is a lot worse that it sounds. It is just about midnight here and it is 29.5 degrees outside and humid, humid, humid. I sweat buckets! Us whites stick out for miles. I was looking out a cab window yesterday and a boy was yelling at me “white lady, white lady, white lady”. One of the only things that I wasn’t expecting to find when we got here is the poor air quality. There is hardly ever a blue sky. We crossed almost the entire country since we have been here and have seen very little blue sky. The people are constantly burning their garbage. The also burn little bits of land at a time as a way of hunting small rabbits, so throughout the country you see a lot of scorched earth. The air stinks of exhaust and there is always a thick haze in the sky. It is always a light to dark shade of gray. When we arrived in Tamale, we literally could only see about a kilometer a head it was that thick.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Flights:
Hello all,
We have arrived in Accra on Friday night at about 1230 Am. Our flight was delayed in London for a few more hours, we were supposed to be arriving at 930pm
Originally I had thought I would handle the switch in cultures without too much stress. When we stepped off the plane we were immediately so wet, that you could see it on our hands. The humidity is very high, and its very very hot. I was very surpised when we left the airport doors. We were completely inundated with people. The culture is so unlike what we are used to. People are always trying to do things for you and are always asking for money or whatever you might have, they are very assertive and if you are not careful you are likely to be surrounded by many many more. We took two cabs from the airport and gave the directions to our drivers. It took about half an hour for them to decide where the address was. None of the building have numbers...We never did find our motel. We drove around in the cab for almost two hours. Eventually finding a hostel in the middle of town. In those two hours we saw some pretty rough areas of the city. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. The streets are littered with garbage and sleeping people without six inches to separate them. They are lined with shipping containers, I am not sure if people live in them or if they are for selling things, as often the street is turned into a market. I have to admit, I teared up more than once, it looked like the Vancouver Eastside X 10.
Clement and his son Quincey, who ran the hostel we ended up staying at, were very nice to us. We got two rooms with double beds and our own bathrooms (no bedbugs here, lol) Originally we paid 60 USdollars for our first cab ride to the hostel. The next day however, Clement drove us into a large gas station and showed us how to barter for our fares. We should have paid no more than ten dollars for the orignal fare. We also learned that you must decide on a price before getting into the car. This has saved us!
On Saturday we took a cab into town and bought cell phones, and bus tickets to Cape Coast, and we all met on the busy "Ring Road, or Circle Road as some of the locals call it. We had dinner at a local motel. So far Cherie and I have eaten mostly curry dishes, with lots of flavor, and lots of spice.
This morning we were up at 6am and traveled to the cape coast. The bus was hot and there was no air conditioning, but it was nice to have a little breeze!-Really, it was very welcomed! When we arrive on the Cape Coast we tried to buy bus tickets to Kumasi for tomorrow but were told we had to buy them in Accra. We have left money with the bus depot, and have been assured that they will have them stop at the bus depot at about 1300. Fingers crossed that they are true to their word!-I have faith! They haven't let us down yet!
Aften checking into our motel we took taxi's to the cape coast castle. One of the castles used for housing the slaves before transport to Europe or the America's. The castle was absolutely beautiful. The original fort was built in 1482 and switched hands about six times throughout the years. The actual structure took almost 300years to complete. It was a very "heavy" tour. I took lots of pictures, that I will post later. It's hard to believe that so many terrible things happened in such a beautiful place...
Tomorrow we go for a canopy tour in the morning and then we are on the bus to Kumasi.
I have absolutely fallen in love with this country! It is not all all what I am used to but I love the people and I love the landscape. It's a broken country, but it's healing...
We have arrived in Accra on Friday night at about 1230 Am. Our flight was delayed in London for a few more hours, we were supposed to be arriving at 930pm
Originally I had thought I would handle the switch in cultures without too much stress. When we stepped off the plane we were immediately so wet, that you could see it on our hands. The humidity is very high, and its very very hot. I was very surpised when we left the airport doors. We were completely inundated with people. The culture is so unlike what we are used to. People are always trying to do things for you and are always asking for money or whatever you might have, they are very assertive and if you are not careful you are likely to be surrounded by many many more. We took two cabs from the airport and gave the directions to our drivers. It took about half an hour for them to decide where the address was. None of the building have numbers...We never did find our motel. We drove around in the cab for almost two hours. Eventually finding a hostel in the middle of town. In those two hours we saw some pretty rough areas of the city. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. The streets are littered with garbage and sleeping people without six inches to separate them. They are lined with shipping containers, I am not sure if people live in them or if they are for selling things, as often the street is turned into a market. I have to admit, I teared up more than once, it looked like the Vancouver Eastside X 10.
Clement and his son Quincey, who ran the hostel we ended up staying at, were very nice to us. We got two rooms with double beds and our own bathrooms (no bedbugs here, lol) Originally we paid 60 USdollars for our first cab ride to the hostel. The next day however, Clement drove us into a large gas station and showed us how to barter for our fares. We should have paid no more than ten dollars for the orignal fare. We also learned that you must decide on a price before getting into the car. This has saved us!
On Saturday we took a cab into town and bought cell phones, and bus tickets to Cape Coast, and we all met on the busy "Ring Road, or Circle Road as some of the locals call it. We had dinner at a local motel. So far Cherie and I have eaten mostly curry dishes, with lots of flavor, and lots of spice.
This morning we were up at 6am and traveled to the cape coast. The bus was hot and there was no air conditioning, but it was nice to have a little breeze!-Really, it was very welcomed! When we arrive on the Cape Coast we tried to buy bus tickets to Kumasi for tomorrow but were told we had to buy them in Accra. We have left money with the bus depot, and have been assured that they will have them stop at the bus depot at about 1300. Fingers crossed that they are true to their word!-I have faith! They haven't let us down yet!
Aften checking into our motel we took taxi's to the cape coast castle. One of the castles used for housing the slaves before transport to Europe or the America's. The castle was absolutely beautiful. The original fort was built in 1482 and switched hands about six times throughout the years. The actual structure took almost 300years to complete. It was a very "heavy" tour. I took lots of pictures, that I will post later. It's hard to believe that so many terrible things happened in such a beautiful place...
Tomorrow we go for a canopy tour in the morning and then we are on the bus to Kumasi.
I have absolutely fallen in love with this country! It is not all all what I am used to but I love the people and I love the landscape. It's a broken country, but it's healing...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Map of Ghana:
