Wow, it feels like we have done and seen so many things already that it is unbelievable that we have only been here for two days! Sheila and I arrived safe and sound in Accra yesterday morning and after a quick nap we decided to go out and explore the city. We walked around Osu which is a busy shopping street and practiced our bargaining skills. They had a lot of nice things to offer and I, of course, couldn’t resist the temptation so I bought a few things that I liked. I also tried my first coconut and coconut juice which was interesting… really sweet and almost salty at the same time which was kinda strange.
We flew to Tamale early this morning and then drove the two and a half hours to Nalerigu. A little bit of a bumpy ride as we navigated between potholes on the dirt road. Nalerigu is a town of about 10,000 and pretty rural. We wanted to explore it a little so we decided to take a walk around the BMC and the town. Pretty quickly some cute little girls ran up to us and wanted us to take pictures of them. They were obviously used to having volunteers around. They called us Zaminga which is the mampruli word for white person.
Tomorrow I start working in the hospital. Sounds like they stay pretty busy as work days have been lasting from about 7:30 am to 11pm. I am very excited yet a little nervous at the same time. I was introduced to many of the MAs and nurses today on our tour today but it’s a lot of new names, faces and customs to absorb so it will probably take me a few days to adjust.
The food has been good so far and I haven’t been bit by mosquitoes yet so I am pretty happy with everything so far. Everyone has been very nice and helpful and people here are pretty friendly in general. I have taken a lot of pictures already and I will try to upload them soon. I will definitely take some more tonight as we are going to a festival that is being held to honor the chief of the region. Well, I think that will be it for now… Big HI to everyone at home!