Kristi Goes to Ghana

Saboba Bound…

I have made it through all of the flights safely!  I did have a tiny snag in London going through security.  They saw something suspicious in my carry on and had to go through everything.  Turns out, a reflex hammer looks dangerous through X-ray!  They asked me for proof that I was a medical student, which I didn’t have.  I told them they could keep it/throw it away as they aren’t very expensive, but they ended up letting me take it.  I may just leave that here when I come home so as to avoid the hassle!

I arrived in Accra last night around 11:30pm (local time), which was over an hour later than scheduled due to a late departure.  Tom, who owns the Agape Guesthouse where I spent the night, and a friend of his.  They took me to the guesthouse, where I was able to take a “shower” and sleep for a few hours.  I definitely had some troule falling asleep as my time was all off and I had slept on/off through my flights.  I think I probably got around 3 hours of sleep there, but had to be up to leave for my in-country flight at 4:15!  I made that flight fine and it was a short ride- only 1.25hrs.  The plane was small and hot/humid without air, but I managed to snooze a bit.  I am sure glad I can fall asleep so easily!

When I arrived in Tamale, Dr. Jean had sent a friend of hers, JK, to pick me up and he brought me into town to meet Dr. Jean and her husband Bob.  We got some breakfast and then met the Regional Director of Medicine and the Head of Nursing.  We are currently at an internet cafe in Tamale.  Dr. Jean is trying to set up the net book I brought her for one of the local medical students.  After this, I think we are going to stop to get some medical supplies and exchange some money, then will head to Saboba.  I think the drive to Saboba is about 2 hours, and the roads are pretty rough.  I am excited to get there and see what the town is like!

Tamale is very interesting.  The look and feel of the town is very poor, but then, we are inside an Internet cafe with lots of computers, air conditioning and hardwood floors- something that looks like it could be found in the United States.  There are people on bikes everywhere, women carrying heavy bowls and items on their heads, goats wandering around and little huts and women cooking in huge pots on the side of the road.  So far, all of the roads I have been on have been paved, but I think that is unusal for most of the country.

I am hoping to keep everyone as up to date as possible.  I am definitely missing family and Peter quite a bit, but know that once I am in Saboba, I will have plenty to do to keep myself busy.