I have arrived

Two minutes after arriving in Accra, I have already drawn a conclusion about Ghana: it is hot. Very hot. Of course, “hot” is a relative term, but to my Canadian blood Ghana definitely falls under that category.

But beyond that, I have forced myself not to draw any other conclusions. That is a theme of this trip, something I have been concentrating on for the last month. I will “reserve judgement” (a piece of advice attributed to Sarah Lewis, a past EWB overseas volunteer in Ghana) for the duration of my trip, keeping good notes so that I may draw some conclusions later. I know that as these three months progress I will see things in very different ways, and it is important to just record my observations without inserting my personal judgements into my notes. So that is what I will try to do.

After a much-delayed and painfully long flight, I arrived in Accra (the capital of Ghana) on Monday night to the afore-mentioned heat. Several other WUSC volunteers arrived at the same time, so we traveled together to our guest house. After sorting out the logistics of who would stay in which room, I quickly unpacked and fell into a deep sleep.

The past three days have been centred around the WUSC office, where we have been doing some training and preparations for our placements. This included logistics (travel and accommodations), information about our individual jobs and how we will contribute to WUSC’s overall work plan for the year. I have also heard many wonderful things about KK, the Ghanaian WUSC volunteer that I will be working with in Jirapa.

The WUSC office is not located in the city of Accra, but rather on the outskirts. We are staying in a guesthouse that is within a 5-minute walk from the office. So while we have not really been to downtown Accra yet, we have traveled around a bit including a visit to the Accra Mall (a once-in-Ghana experience I am sure) and the University of Accra (beautiful campus!). That said, even just walking down the street is an adventure here, with people yelling out to me, children running up and people asking for my phone number.

Speaking of which… I now have a phone! If you would like to call me, please do. I can also receive text messages and it is cheap for me to either call or text back, so I will be sure to respond. Here is what you will have to dial: 011-233-24-706-6041. If you want to know what all of that means, it is: (international call)-(Ghana country code)-(area code)-(phone number).

I have the next three days free in Accra while some of the girls get settled into their placements here. I will be exploring the city and I will also be trying to talk to lots of people about their perceptions of Tamale and the northern regions of Ghana. I am curious to gather those perceptions from people of the South about the North, and gather perceptions of the South from people of the North. I have heard that the South is very different from the North of Ghana, and I would like to explore these differences in more depth. If you have any ideas or thoughts on this, let me know! Then on Monday we will be traveling to Tamale, arriving on Tuesday. I will be spending Tuesday to Friday in Tamale while the others get settled. During this time I hope to visit with Sam, Sarah G., Kristy, and some of the other EWB volunteers in the Tamale area. Then I will finally travel to Jirapa on Friday and get started on my placement. I can’t wait for this! I am feeling impatient right now, spending so much time in Accra. I am anxious to get started on my work. But I know I should be patient and enjoy my time in the South with all its amenities while I still can. Before long, I will no longer have the luxuries of a shower, flush toilet and reliable internet access, so I’m off to use those things while I can!

(Pictures soon!)