First Few Days

Sunday November 8, 2009
After 19 hours of travel I arrived in Accra at 7:30am this morning. I was greeted by the intense heat! It is very hot here. I was picked up at the airport and taken to my host family. Once arriving I was welcomed by my host mother and her husband. She showed me to my room and around the house - where everything is and such. I’m sharing a room with another girl who is from Australia, and there are also two other volunteers in the room beside us - All very nice. I was then left to unpack. I hung my mosquito net up and went to get some sleep. This wasn’t so easy to do! The daughter of my host family was getting married today, so after settling me in the mother got ready and they all headed to the church. I slept a bit but could hear outside the load music, singing – just a full out celebration! Like a parade in the street. Prior, the Bride was getting ready right outside my room – she wore a two piece outfit. It was a long fitted skit and a short sleeve fitted top, white with blue glittery patterns on it - very pretty. Accompanying this song of celebration was a periodic “cock-a-doddle-do” from the several roosters’ right outside my window and I could also hear the children playing in the street. I did although manage to get some sleep. My pillow is a bag of cotton balls and I don’t really fit the bed (it’s too short) – but it all does just fine! The other three girls and I meet for dinner (the host family cooks for us each night) and then lights out soon for me! I have orientation in the morning.

Monday November 9th, 2009
Mornings comes early here! At about 5am you can start to hear people outside and the “cock-a-doodle-do!” of the roosters. The windows in my room are simply mosquito netting with a thin piece of material on top – not sure what it’s for because it’s too thick and too short to keep out any light or give any privacy. So this is why we can hear all that is going on outside. The town where my house is located is called La, its a little ways from down town Accra (the capital). I was picked up at 9am from one of the staff members (she was very nice!) and was taken all over! We picked up another new volunteer also and she came with us. To get around here you take the tro-tro. Tro-tros are like vans – actually they look like those “hippy vans” from the 70s! Each tro-tro has a driver and a man that opens the door for people to enter and take the money (less the 1CAD to ride it). This guy calls out the window the destination and also gives the hand gesture for the destination as well. They drive along the road doing this until someone waves them down or a stop comes. I was introduced to this transportation very quickly today. We took 6 different tro-tros throughout the day and a few taxis! Sitting beside me in one of the tro-tros was a boy, looked about 15 or 16 not older than that. I couldn’t help but peek over to what was on the paper she was reading. It was a study sheet for Business/Law. He studied it intensely as we were all crammed into the tro-tro and as we bounced around, driving over and avoiding pot holes one after the other. I think he was heading to school for a test. There was a lot to observe in transit today. Many of the women are carrying jugs of water, and bowls of cut watermelon on their heads. Kids in small groups of 2 or 3 are skipping along the road side, dressed impeccably in their school uniform. We passed a store that made coffins - It had to be pointed out to me this is what they were because they looked much different. The coffins were shaped and painted - for example I saw a beer coffin, a shark coffin and a thomas the train coffin. So different! Lots to take in. After a long morning/afternoon of traveling around, making several stops and getting to know our way around, we went for a bite to eat. Food so far is very good, except vegetables are scarce! There is a lot of rice, plantains, dumpling like foods – a lot of carbohydrates. Vary tasty – but lacking veggies! They cook with a lot of hot spices too so you have to be careful if you don’t like the heat.
After a long day out and about it was nice to get home. Before getting back to the house we made a short visit to the Human Rights Office where I’ll be working (I start tomorrow). Here I was able to get on the computer shortly which I was very thankful for, as I had not contacted home since my departure two days ago. The heat here is so intense! Luckily though, good clean water is always available (about 5 CAN cents) for a ½L bag – I haven’t paid for a bag yet as water is provided to us. Also, with this heat you need to shower often as you can imagine. So this evening I attempted this (and I say attempted for a reason). We have no running water in the house - so no shower, no running toilet, no sink. To wash you fill buckets of water up from the bins of water right outside the washing room door. And then you pour the water over you as you stand in this “bath like” structure. I went into the other room to confirm with the host family I was talking the right water and he responded “yes you use the bin water” and then in a friendly/cheeky voice he says to me “you’re in Africa now!” and then we both chuckled. I think it will take a little getting used to (this type of cleansing that is) – although it was easier then it looked! Well...a little.