PST

AKWAABA!

That means welcome in Twi. I know it has been awhile since I have updated, but internet is hard to come by here and it is very slow. A lot has happened between when I landed in Accra and now. I am currently in Techiman doing my pre-service training. It has been quite the adventure the past two weeks and it feels like I have been here for months. Ok, exciting news first. . .I FOUND OUT WHERE I AM GOING TO BE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS!!! I will be placed in a village called Wechau in the Upper West Region of Ghana. My village is close to the border of Ghana and Cote d' Voire. It is actually the district capital of the Wa West district. I will be working on helping establish a data management system regarding health and diseases. It somehow ties in with surveillance which is perfect, since that is what I am interested in. I will also be working with Malaria and Trachoma, which is the whipworm I believe. All you trop medders, correct me if I am wrong. I will also get to work with a clinic there, which is pretty exciting. My language will not be Twi, but Dagaare.

I will get my own house and. . .get this, A FLUSHING TOILET!! Yes, laugh if you must, but once you've been using filthy latrines for the past 2 weeks, you would appreciate anything that flushes. I have learned how to take a bucket bath and I must say it is very nice. It also shows how little water you really need to clean yourself. Ghanaians are very clean people. They bathe at least twice a day.

So that is my site! I was so nervous to find out, but extremely excited the moment they told me. I can't wait to go visit, but that will have to be almost a month from now. I am living with a Ghanaian family who are very nice and cooks me way too much food. Lesson number one in telling Ghanains what you like to eat: don't get over excited about it. I told them how much I love rice and they gave me enough rice to feed 3 people and then they seemed confused when I couldn't finish it. It makes me feel horrible since they will always ask, "Why didn't you finish?" And it almost sounds like they are accusing me of being wasteful, but I know it is really because they want to make sure that they are giving me food that I like.

What I have seen of Ghana is beautiful. I got to visit the Upper Volta Region last week on what they call a Vision Quest. I stayed with a current volunteer for 3 days and it was a great inside look on what volunteers do here. The Upper Volta Region is gorgeous! It is so lush and green. Reminded me a bit of New Zealand for those who have been there. I'm going to make a side comment here about the transportation in Ghana in one word: HORRIBLE. Basically, you take this beat up looking van called a Tro-tro to get where you want to go. They will fill it up to over the max meaning if there are only 6 seats available they will do whatever they can to fit 12 people. Yes, Peruvians, does this sound familiar? Also, they will not leave until the tro is filled to it's max capacity, which makes for very frustrating travels since you may have to wait for hours to leave. I have definitely been forced into positions I never thought possible in a car. And you will be in this position for hours. The best Tro riding story I have is when we all had to get out of this Tro to cross a flooded road knee deep in flowing dirty water because it could not cross with all of us in it. Schistosomiasis here I come! It was a classic African experience. One that I am sure I will have again.

Ghana is only the size of Oregon, but because transportation, not to mention the roads, are so bad, that it may take days to get from one town to another, so it feels like a large country. I am loving it here, though. Oh, and Ghanaian women are awesome in terms of how hard they work. Try carrying an 80 pound water bucket on your head with a baby on your back. It is quite a sight to see.

Ok, folks, I must sign off as I only have a few more minutes on this computer. I really miss everyone and wish you all were here to experience this with me. I hope to update again soon.

Mah-co,
Karen