Nearing the end

1/18

Today at the hospital Dr. Boateng’s lesson was on religion. One woman said she has been fasting and praying hard to get better. Dr. Boateng went on about how God is at your side whenever. You do not need to make a show to get him to listen to your prayers. It was actually a very good soapbox! This afternoon Dr. Gyasi and the anesthesiologist came in for a hysterectomy. The woman was 41 and had 1 daughter. Dr. Gyasi said she was still young and wanted more kids so his goal was to salvage the ovaries as best he could. They used spinal anesthesia so she was only numb from the hips down. Unfortunately the incision and work was done about the area under anesthesia. After the incision she started screaming and moving her hands to the cut. They tied her hands down. Dr. Gyasi continued operating. He found the tumor and stuck a probe into it to hold it in place and be able to pull up on it. At this she began to go into a kind of shock because of the pain. I had to hold her arms down. I tried holding her hands and stroking her arms to calm her down, but you could tell she was feeling every bit of it. They finally put her under general anesthesia before they started removing the tumor. The tunor was about the size of a melon and was situated just between the ovaries. After removing the tumor he also removed her appendix. Her chart said nothing about it being a problem, but maybe he just wanted to save her another operation sometime possibly in the future. 

the operating room

When I left the hospital it was getting dark. A man was pulling out of the hospital and asked if I lived in Atonsu, which I do, and gave me a ride all the way to the house! He has a mother-in-law and a friend in Atasemanso Hospital. He knows a lot of Peace Corps volunteers and works with the road designing and engineering. He was very nice and saved me a tro ride and a walk in the dark. Two weeks from today I will be home!

1/19

Today Dr. Boateng would not let me leave the hospital until I took some medicine for the bites on my legs. I had to get a patient card and be registered in the system. Then I sat in his office and he took my blood pressure. Then wrote a prescription for an antihistamine, cortisone cream, and an antibiotic. He did not ask if I had any allergies or if I was currently on any medication. I took the antihistamine and applied the cream, but did not take the 1000mg Amoksiklav tablets.

1/20

Today outreach was again just me. Enoch and Chief came, along with the medical supervisor for Ghana from Accra. The kids were crazy today! They were all huddling around me. One little girl asked if I was from America. I said that I was. She then asked if that is where Jennifer Aniston lives. When I said yes she got so excited and went running to tell her friends. A lot of these kids had ring worm…more than usual. But most of the kids had tine scars, that I could do nothing for but clean off to make them feel better. Some kids even pick off scabs so they have a reason to come to us. I usually give those kids a lecture about how an open wound just leads to infection and by pulling the scab off they are increasing the chance for a scar. I don’t think they really understand the danger of having an open wound here, but it makes me feel better letting them know. One girl had what looked like a tiny cut on her elbow, but when I went to clean it off puss started coming out. Then I realized her whole elbow was swollen and this was a boil. I pressed the edges to get as much puss out as I could, then put some cream for boils on it. Most kids, like her sit there with terrible wounds and don’t even flinch. Other kids have a scar or tiny scab I barely touch to clean and they pretend like it hurts so bad. Overall I am really impressed with the pain tolerance of these kids. American kids should take note!

the table with equipment at outreach

treating fungus

the kids are crazy about the obruni

1/21

Today Louise and I met in Kejetia. We went to a little street place for some breakfast. We got fried egg on bread with coffee. The people on the street that make these do such a good job and it is super cheap! For 2 eggs mixed with onion and pepper, fried, with bread and butter, coffee with milk and sugar-I usually like black coffee but they make it without asking how you take it-is only GHC2! Which is about $1.30. 

goats on the roof of a trotro

We then went to find a tro going to Essase so we could go to Owabi Wildlife sanctuary just outside of Kumasi. We were sent all around Kejetia to find the tro. Finally we found a tro going to Essase. We paid and got on and waited for it to fill up. The town is only about 13km outside of Kumasi, but after almost 2hours we were getting worried. Finally after traveling through the middle of nowhere on dirt roads the tro stopped and said, “last stop.” We asked the driver if this was Essase. He laughed and said that we passed Essase a while ago. He took us back and told us that a little town with maybe 3 buildings was Essase. We got off and started asking some locals how to get to Owabi.. None of them knew what we were saying much less what we were talking about. Finally one man spoke some English and said that he did not know Owabi. We pulled out the Bradt guide and showed him a map with the names of where we were trying to go. He laughed and said there are about 5 Essases is Kumasi and we were at the wrong one!! Abouit 3 trotros passed going away from town but when they came back by they were full and did not even stop. We waited for about 2 hours.

waiting in one of the Essase towns

 Most of the people we very friendly, but this one man was obviously on some kind of drugs and came up to us. He was trying to speak English, but was mumbling and not coherent. At first it was funny messing with him, but then we tried ignoring him and I was talking to someone else about how to get home if a tro did not come soon. The other guy came over and grabbed the nice man and started saying stuff and all we got were a few 4 letter words. Finally a big truck with a 15 foot trailer came by. We all jumped on the trailer. He would take us to the main road where we would be able to get a tro for sure heading to town. About 20 people jumped on. The crazy man ran towards me as we were about to drive away. He yelled something and grabbed my back. He scratched my back and ripped my shirt. The car pulled away so nobody could do anything, but I was very shaken up. I have never felt that scared or helpless this whole trip. Everyone on the truck felt very bad for me. They paid our way home and one woman gave me a rag to wipe all the dust off of me. –Being on the back of a truck on dirt roads means we were COVERED in dust! When we got back into Kumasi we were too exhausted and freaked out to go to the REAL Essase and to Owabi so we just scratched that trip and went for a cheap dinner and went home.

1/22

This morning Louise and I went to Kumasi Polytechnic to watch Anthony play volleyball. After spening a few hours there we went to Bonwire. We were hoping this day would be better than the day before. Bonwire is one of the five original Kente weaving Stools in Ghana. On the way the trotro broke down. Thankfully after about 10 minutes the driver got it started again. We were dropped off in a little town. A man came over and took us to a building where some weavers are. There were about 10 weaving stations. The thread is stretched out about 15 feet in front of the weaver. The weavers toes go in little hooks that separate the strands of string after each pass by the bolt of colored string. Then a piece of wood packs the string after every pass. For single weave you just thread the string back and forth. For double you can alternate the colors and finally for triple, the most complicated, they thread some colors only partially through the strings to make the patterns. The walls were covered in fabric. Some fabric was single kente with a print or painting on top of it.

weaving kente

me weaving!

me and our guide

1/24

Today I spent my time in the consulting room at the hospital with Dr. Boateng. When he went on ward rounds I stayed and check BP, pulse and respirations for all the patients waiting to be seen. The doctor’s office doubles as the examination room. Dr. Boateng sits at his desk and the patient sits in a chair at the side of his desk. The assistant in the room who puts all the information from the chart onto a computer system rings a bell for the next patient to come in the room. Sometimes there are 2 patients in the room: one being seen and the other waiting. Because Dr. Boateng owns the hospital, he not only sees and oversees treatment of the patients but also signs checks for both the hospital and the restaurant he is opening, checks over receipts, reads all scans and does the work of what it takes a whole administration at a hospital to do. So while a patient is in the room a number of people wanting check signed and other things tended to, walk in and out. I was getting frustrated at all the interruptions, but he has been doing this for several years so I am sure he was not phased.

1/25

Again today I sat in the consulting room with the doctor. Before he arrived I went around to visit all the patients. There was a boy admitted after I left yesterday. There were about 7 nurses standing outside the male ward. They all told me to go check out what was going on inside. There was an 18 year old boy sitting on one of the beds with his knees up. It looked like he had a huge dressing on his knee, but then I realized it was not a dressing and was a HUGE tumor. It was mostly white with some bloody spots and a little bit of skin. It was probably the size of a small watermelon. I walked over to talk with the boy. I asked him how long this has been here and his answer was, “yes.” I then asked if he spoke English and he said, “no.” haha His chart said he had the tumor for 2 years. It was removed once but has since grown back, obviously. The doctor diagnosed it as sarcoma. They have not done tests to see if it is malignant or has metastasized. The tumor smelled so bad! It looked like there was still some gauze wrapped around it. I pointed it out to the nurse doing the dressing. When he pulled it off, I realized it must have been from a very old dressing because a layer of skin had grown over it and a huge part of skin was torn off when he removed the gauze. The boy was in so much pain. He was trying not to grab his leg and was crying. It was very sad, and got even sadder when they said his only option might be amputation. They are going to test for malignancy and then make a decision. Right now his Hb is 3, which means he is very anemic, so the doctor is giving a total dose infusion of iron and erythropoietin and hoping to raise the hb some so they can operate. There is also a man in one of the special wards from Kentucky! He is a missionary and had been here with his wife fro 5 years. He came in complaining of abdominal pains and chest pain. The ECG revealed a minor MI. He and I were talking about how many people come into see a patient with the doctor. Along with Dr. Boateng and myself about 10 nurses go on rounds with the doctor. This would be a rare occasion at home. Recently I realized that my host family gets the E! channel. I have been watching Kendra, the Kardashians, E! True Hollywood Stories, and Behind the Scenes episodes. The other day I walked in the room and the family was watching it too. I love watching those shows, but I also know that is not a depiction of typical American life, but when that is the only view some Ghanaians have of America, it is no wonder they think we are all rich and crazy!

1/26

Today was my last day at Atesemanso Hospital. I cleaned the wounds and did the dressing for the man with the bed sores and the boy with the sarcoma on his knee. They determined the tumor was malignant and decided to amputate. Sometime this week or early next week when his Hb is high enough they will amputate. 

me with one of the patients

the nurses

me and Dorcas

the Hospital entrance

the female ward

a typical patient chart

looking down the hall between the female ward and private wards

For lunch I ate with one of the nurses. I bring a lunch that my host mothers packs, this week was fried egg sandwich and I also brought nuts and dried fruit mom and dad sent from home. She was eating fish with kenkey and spicy chili. She ate the fish eye the backbone and every part of the fish. 

her food....

She asked what the nuts and fruit were and she tried some and said it was not very good. I tried to refrain myself from commenting! Today was also the last Projects Abroad meeting. Most of the volunteers are new so it was not too difficult to say goodbye to everyone. 

Gabby, me and Anthony

1/27

outreach

Hippos and Hospitals

1/10

Dr. Boateng at my hospital is quite a talker, but has a lot of interesting things to tell me about his practice. Everyday during rounds there is some lesson and today’s was about treating appendicitis and avoiding surgery. He administers a combination of about 4 drugs to treat the inflammation and infection. The medication basically kills the appendix and leaves it a lifeless almost tendon. Then there is no need to operate. The patient is the hospital for about a week and usually never returns. Surgury here can be dangerous, when you think about the risk for infection, loss of blood, and cost. The man with AIDS is doing better today. He was moving around and sitting up in bed. I was happy to see him feeling a little better. The man who underwent the hemorrhoidectomy was discharged today. After the hospital I went into town to pick up a package. The tax on my packages is usually under 10GHC, but today they made me pay 47GHC!!! I was furious! They do not have a good system for charging people. They make you open and show them everything in your package. Sometimes they ask for some of it. Umm…NO! If they were typing in a brand and quantity in a computer to get a price and used it for every customer I would feel better.  Instead they look at things and decide what they think I would cost. Some people get shoes and clothes…they have no way of knowing and charging for maybe a real Louis Vuitton bag or even a knock off! But they charged me $15 for a bottle of vitamins! I mean they price I paid to pick up the package was almost the price mom and dad paid for the items inside! CRAZY! Tonight I watched a full Nigerian film with the family. I was determined to sit through it. It was actually not that bad. I mean it was the typical soap opera style film where the wife is kidnapped and the husband falls in love with another woman and turns out both women are pregnant, but in this version one woman is a witch and they use a preacher to shake the Bible and straighten things out. Everyone was happy in the end. …don’t worry I will bring a movie or two back for everyone to see! :)

1/11

Today at the hospital I helped change several dressings. One was a woman who had a tumor removed from her abdomen. The stitches went all the way from below her belly button to her sternum. She was admitted with a distended abdomen, so there had been severe sepsis. A drainage tube was coming out of the abdomen near the scar and another was a nasal tube that was bringing fluid out from inside the stomach. The tube directly out of the abdomen was attached to a bag, but the one from the nose was just draining into a plastic bag on the floor. I cleaned and changed the dressing over the wound and around the drainage tube and ten we removed the nasal tube. I think the nasal tube should have been left in longer or maybe a clean one put in, because there was still thick yellow fluid draining out, The 24-year old man who has been in the hospital for over a year with the bed sores had a surgery this weekend. They attempted to remove the edge of the sores and close them up. The skin just does not seem to want to adhere to itself and close the wound. The stitches are separating and you can see from the fluid coming out of the wound that there is infection.

This afternoon I helped cook dinner! I fried the plantain. We started by cutting and soaking the plantain in salt water. Then using red palm oil on a skillet over a coal burning chimney grill I friend the plantain. The family thought it was funny that “obruni was frying the plantains.” They all were taking pictures of me and were impressed at my frying skills…I don’t think they know how much bacon I eat! :)

frying plantain

1/12

Today they pulled the drainage tube out of the woman with the abdominal mass removed. The whole in her abdomen, where the tube was, drained for several minutes and they kept pressing her stomach to remove all the fluid. The man with the bed sores is not doing very well either. The stitches where they attempted to close the inverted sore had split apart and the skin refuses to bind together. After the hospital for our weekly meeting, Projects Abroad took us to a Soccer game. We saw the Kotoko team from Kumasi take on the Cape Coast Dwarfs. Kumasi won! There were several new volunteers that arrived this week. They were from America, Denmark, and Canada.

1/13

Today for outreach, because I am the only medical volunteer left, it was just Enoch, Chief and myself. We went to a school we had been to before Christmas. At this school the first time the kids cried and were terrified of white people. This time they all wanted to hold my hand and they chanted a song that basically means “welcome white lady.” The older kids asked where I was from and when I told them I was from America, they asked if I knew Obama. I told them we were best friends.

1/15

This morning I left Kumasi by myself to travel to Nkoranza and meet the other volunteers for a weekend trip. They went to several places I had already been so I just met up with them to go the Bui National Park. My trotro arrived fine in Nkoranza and I met up with my new roomates, Casper and Louisa, Jan, Camilla, Catherine, Marguerite, Louise, and Anne. We went to a hotel called the Pony Hotel up the road in Wenchi.

1/16

This morning all the new people were feeling ill, so Anne, Louise and myself made the trip alone to Bui. We first went to the trotro station in Wenchi and ate breakfast at a little stand at the entrance. We had fried egg, bread and coffee. It was delicious! 

Me, Louise, and Anne at breakfast

We then found the tro heading to Wenchi and got on. After about 2 hours of driving down dirt roads and scary wooden bridges we arrived at the Bui village. When we got out of the tro we asked the driver what time he would retun that afternoon so we could get a ride back to Kumasi and go home. He said this was the last trip of the day and the next tro would arrive at 530 the next morning. We all were only prepared to stay the one night before with clothes and money. So we figured everything up and decided we came all the way out here to see Hippos at Bui that we would scrape the money and stay the night. We booked a room at the camp and prepared for the hike to the fishing village. We were also not prepared to walk very far so I only had sandals. 

Anne and Louise walking

our guide...note the flip flops and socks...

We walked for about 2 hours to the village where we rested while the guide prepared the canoes. Several village kids came over and were showing off in front of us. 

me and Louise

me with the kids

the kid in the red was hysterical!

After one kid licked the dirt for our entertainment we stopped showing them as much attention. We then walked a little further to the water. 

our canoes

We took a 30 minute canoe trip on the Black Volta to an area where there are usually hippos. During the canoe trip we noticed these little black bugs that were on us. Once they sat for a while the spot started to sting, but otherwise we did not notice them. When we knocked them off they would leave a little blood spot. Several times I would look at my legs and they would be covered in these bugs. We parked on a sand bar and watched 2 hippos interact in the water in front of us. They would mostly stare at each other, but occasionally they made noises and would yawn and show off their huge mouth and teeth. 

me and Anne

hippo!

yawning

Louise and Anne

We watched them for about an hour then made the trip back to the village we were staying in. 

dirty feet after the walk

Thankfully there was water, but we had a local woman make dinner for us because there was nothing else to eat in the village. We ate rice and tomato sauce. We had to walk about 50 yards to a shed in the back of the village to use the bathroom, but the smell, the fact it was a hole in the ground and that there was no light led us to just go in the grass behind the building. It did not seem as strange as it should though because that’s how everyone in the village, or in most villages for that matter, goes to the bathroom.

            Much of the land around where we were staying is used as a lumber yard. There were sounds of chainsaws throughout the day. Also up the river a company is building a dam for electricity. The dam will flood almost all of Bui. Many animal species including the hippo could be wiped out from this area. The people in all the surrounding villages are being relocated. I think it will be about 19 more months before they are finished and will begin flooding the area.

The sun sets very quickly near the equator so after eating a quick dinner and going to the bathroom it was almost dark.the light in the room was not much to speak of so we quickly got ready for bed and played cards until we felt tired. We tried to go to sleep about 8:00. The sounds of people, bats hitting the roof and windows, roosters, goats, sheep, birds, possibly monkeys, insects crawling around, the complete isolation and darkness, and heat from there not being a fan kept us awake. I decided not to check my watch and just lay there. I kept feeling those flies biting me even though we doused ourselves in bug repellent before we went to sleep. When I did check my watch I thought it had to be 3 in the morning, but it was only 11:56!

1/17

By 230am I was angry, tired, hot and restless. I noticed the other girls awake too so we turned on the lights and talked. We did not sleep the whole night. When the lights came on I realized my legs were COVERED in red bumps. I was itching like crazy! There were also giant larvae looking insects crawling on the floor. Finally 5 o’clock came and we got up and got ready to meet the morning trotro. Getting out of the room was a slight issue because the door can be pushed from the outside but there was not handle on the inside to pull it open and it was a tight door jam. 

opening the door

We finally got it open. In the hallway was a giant spider and many more larvae insects. The guy who runs the lodge walked us down to where the trotro comes. There were about 10 people waiting fort he tro with us. When it arrived it was compeletely full. Only 2 or 3 people got off at our stop and everyone crammed in very quickly. We were determined to get on and get home, however. Several men got out and sat on the roof and then we sat behind the front seat on the engine piece facing the back of the tro. Including the people on the roof there were 26 people in the trotro that should legally hold 13 people! It was very tight and a very uncomfortable 2 hour ride back to Wenchi. When we arrived we ate breakfast at the little place we ate at the day before. After standing up and getting circulation in my legs, I realized how bad and how much my body was itching from the bugs. The guide had told us they were “African Black Flies.” We the n found a tro heading back to Kumasi and made the trip home. Once in Kumasi we went for lunch at a local place and got really good spicy fried rice. After this trip we just wanted to go home, sleep, and shower! We did not bring clothes for an extra day and did not plan on showering since we were only suppsed to be gone the one day! We were pretty filthy! When I got back to the house the gate was locked!! The family was out for the afternoon and I had forgotten to call and say when I would be home. So I went down the road to a little pub and got a drink and read and watched TV until they got home. It all worked out in the end, but this was by far the most eventful trip I have taken! I also have 123 very itchy bites all over me!! 

bites

this is just one of my legs covered in bites!

A new year

12/31

This morning Junior and I went to visit Adelaide, his friend from school. She lives in Ash Town. Her house was one room with a curtain separating the bed from the TV/living room. Her mother, brother and herself live there. Adelaide gave me several strands of beads to wear around my waist. All the girls wear them-from babies to old women. They wear them all the time and it is supposed to be like lingerie or something, but even tiny babies wear them. Her mom tied them around my waist and there were extra strands so she gave me an anklet and then also gave me a pretty clay bead bracelet. We then went into town. On the way I bought palm wine for our New Years party. Palm wine is basically tapped directly from the palm tree and made by someone, so it comes in used water bottles. It smells terrible and as we found out at New Years…tastes just as bad as it smells! This night we all went to the Projects Abroad office and brought in the new year together. Most Ghanaians go to church on New Years Eve. They end and start the year with God. And then once church lets out they go to the club…I did not go to church because the service would have been in Twi and listening to a guy on a microphone yell with LOUD speakers all around does not sound like my idea of a religious experience. We ate Groundnut Soup and rice balls, salad, garlic bread, chicken and pineapple. At about 930 the power went out for our part of the street. We ran to the house behind at had them plug in our music so we could still have a good night. At New Years we toasted champagne then went to the club. Many people were out and we had a great time!

our food!

me and Katja

Pouring champagne at midnight

the group

1/1

Happy New Year!!! It seems so crazy that 2010 has already gone by! So many things have happened this year and 2011 started off great! This morning we went to the office to eat leftovers and clean up. We then went to the host family of Katja, Birgit, and Anne. They live with the infamous Mama Gifty. She is a very tall, large and in charge woman. She has a very deep voice and is maybe the scariest person I have met in Ghana! She will not allow her host people to return to the house after 9pm no matter what. When Jan, one of the volunteers, said hello to her and asked how she was doing, her response was a cold, “what is your name?” ANYWAYS 6 of us came over and watched a movie while Katja packed. She was leaving for Thailand the next morning to teach.

Anne, me, Louise, Jamie, Birgit, and Jan watching a movie

1/4

Today in the hospital I did my usual morning ward rounds alone. When I got back to my ward to break the matron came in and wanted me to come on rounds with her. After that I went on round with Dr. Boateng. I can tell you everything about these patients now! I ate lunch then came back to find they were going to do some surgeries this afternoon! I scrubbed in and waited for Dr. Gyasi, the surgeon to arrive. The first operation was a 20 year old girl with a bone growth on her knee. She was given a spinal, not general anesthesia. Her chart listed the bone growth and the need for surgery and then the last line said,

Things we need:

1.     hammer

2.     chisel

The hammer and other carpentry tools did not do so well in the autoclave. The handles melted. Dr. Gyasi brought his own tools and kept joking about how he was actually a carpenter. Once the tissue was separated, revelaing the bone, he took the chisel and pounded the end to knock off the bony growth. When he started hitting the chisel, me the two scrub nurses, the anesthesiologist and the OR assistant all scrunched our faces up and Dr. Gyasi just laughed and asked if we were all right. He then smoothed it over and sewed her up. The next patient was a middle aged man needing a hemorrhoidectomy. I will refrain from going into so many details about this procedure….You’re welcome!

1/5

Today I got to the hospital and immediately set my things down and went straight to the male ward where I changed the dressing for the man who had the hemorrhoidectomy. We removed the dressing and he took a “sit bath.” Basically they filled a small basin with hot water and he hovered over it for about 10 minutes. I then cleaned and covered him back up. After this I went through the charts of the other men in the ward. One man was admitted for nausea, general body weakness, cough, and many other symptoms. After a rapid spot test came back reactive he was diagnosed with HIV. His family was counseled. He looked very weak, had open sores on his lips and on his chest. His whole family was in the hospital and looked very upset. The wife was then tested for HIV and the test unfortunately came back positive as well. They drew blood for a CD4 test. This is a blood count that basically determines the destruction caused by the disease. His numbers came back below 500, which is the mark for the disease to be considered AIDS. Many patients come in and happen to have HIV along with whatever they are admitted for. This was the first case where the patient was suffering from AIDS and would probably not return home. He slept most of the day, but his breathing was so rapid and you could distinctly see his pulse in his neck beating quickly as well. I found myself afraid to go near his bed afraid he would cough on me or that there would be blood on the rail of his bed and I would brush against it or something terrible. Then after about 15 minutes of thinking this I came to my senses. This man was lucky to have a family that cared for him and was with him in the hospital after his diagnosis. The hospital is supposed to be a place of refuge and no judgment, only care. It is my job to care for him just as the little baby in the children’s ward needs care. Of course I doubled up with gloves when dealing with him and leaned away when he coughed, but other than that tried to treat him as just another patient. After lunch I cleaned and changed the dressing for the 24 year old man that has been in the hospital for a year with the terrible bed sores. The sore on his back has healed, but the one on his side is not getting better and the edges have inverted on themselves, so I do not know how it is going to heal if we keep treating it the way we are. From where the surgeon had attempted plastic reconstruction several months ago, there are stitch marks that refuse to heal. One is becoming infected and I had to squeeze the puss out to get a swab to have it tested. Dorcas, a nurse, and myself walked out of the male ward and passed a patient walking around the hospital. She told me that was a new patient admitted for TB. I was shocked she was not wearing a mask and suggested we give her one. They told me once they start treatment they are not infectious. I find that hard to believe, considering at home people with TB are in an air tight, isolated room, and you have to be fitted for a proper mask to have any contact with the person. Needless to say, I stayed out of the female ward for the rest of the day. Today was filled with disease!

1/6

This afternoon I came home and Ben said we were getting 3 new volunteers!! Two were coming tomorrow and one later in the weekend or Monday. Ben, Junior, and myself watched Home Alone 1 & 2 tonight! The family bought me fried plantains that were spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon, and pepper. They were SOO good!

1/7

Today was Birgit’s last day in Kumasi. We had lunch at the Kentish Kitchen in the culture center and I got my favorite Ghanaian dish, red-red with fried plantain. Today a boy from Denmark and his girlfriend came to our house, Casper and Louisa! They will be here for 1 month. I was getting used to being on my own, but it will be nice to share the price of drop taxis, have someone to eat with and come home to tell stories to!

1/8

This morning Birgit and I took at STC bus to Accra. She will fly out tomorrow from Accra. The bus arrived about 230 or 3 in the afternoon. We spent the time on the bus trying to sleep/ listen to our music and avoid the sounds from the terrible Nigerian film-Nollywood as they call them. When we arrived we got a taxi to take us to the hotel I had booked the day before. The man said the price would be 18GHC. We went in and the guy said ok you can pay now the room is 23GHC. I told him that I had called and confirmed earlier this day for the room that was 18GHC. He said that it was taken. He also would not let us have the room for the 18GHC price. It is not so much that the price is more, although this was supposed to be a very cheap trip, it was the principle. There was no Better Business Bureau to threat about or writing up something in the paper. People get away with things like this. Sometimes I get fed up with things not being fair. ANYWAYS…we took the room and left our things at the hotel while we went out shopping. The guy from the hotel told us how to get to the culture center...he said, “go straight.” So we went straight for a  very long time. We kept asking people when we got to deadends and they would point another direction and say, “go straight.” That became the joke for the afternoon…go straight. We finally got to the Accra Culture Center. A man was at the gate-we decided he must be paid by people at the different booths to bring people around and convince them to buy things. He took us to several places and told us how he could get us the good deals. We got what we needed though and got out! She was looking for some last minute gifts for friends and family and I was looking for some things they don’t have in Kumasi. We then got a taxi to take us to the mall. We walked inside the mall in our sandals and plain outfits. We both looked at each other and laughed because we did NOT fit in. I mean we really don’t fit in most places because we are white, but here they were plenty of white people. We needed our hair done, make up on, and trendier clothes. Haha! I felt like I was back at a mall at home. There was air conditioning, people pushing babies in strollers, Aldo shoes, an Apple store, and a movie theater. There were only a few things that happened that were just a reminder that we were in Africa. We shopped around until we got hungry. We ate dinner in the food court. Well…the food court was actually outside. We ordered Pizza!! I had real cheese-this is a big deal! I also ordered a salad, but got, “Please, we don’t have salad.” Grrr…After dinner we got ice cream. I ordered a banana split, but got, “Please we don’t have banana.” I wanted to yell, “What do you mean you don’t have banana? There are about 80 people selling bananas just outside the mall and another 80 acres of banana trees!” I settled for a mint chocolate ice cream sundae. After dinner we went to see a movie. The theater has the latest Hollywood films! We saw “Little Fockers.” –very funny. After the movie I felt like I should reach in my purse and get my keys and drive home, but then realized instead I would need to hail a taxi and plead for a good price and hope his headlights work as we drive dodging cars on the way back to the hotel. It was a fun night.

1/9

This morning I said goodbye to Birgit! It is so sad when my friends leave! I know that we will keep in touch with facebook and skype, and hopefully we will see each other again someday! I rode in a trotro backt o Kumasi alone.