our first week

On a canoe tour of Xavi (a local bird sanctuary)
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from accra to akatsi

After our one night in Accra and a brief orientation to Ghana the next morning (where our instructor stressed the importance of PATIENCE in Ghana) we were whisked away to do some errands in Accra and then we got dropped off at the Tro-tro station. The tro-tro is the Ghanaian version of a bus/taxi, that is basically an old van that should seat 9 but fits 15 sometimes and carries people from town to town. Our trip was made with Deanna, a volunteer from San Diego who is going to be in Akatsi with us, and a Global Crossroads helper named Mavis. Our first tro-tro journey was quite an experience! Traffic was horrible, which we now know is normal for Accra, but before we even got out of the city our driver cut off a private car while turning at a stop and crunched the car's front bumper and headlight! There wasn't much damage to our tro-tro (or us) because we were hardly moving,but the other driver was very upset and wanted 500,000 cedi (about $70) to cover the damage, but our driver didnt have the cash. This led to a 2 hour group debate, involving not only the drivers, but all the passengers who had their own version of events. Just when we thought we wouldn't make it to Akatsi the group came to some sort of agreement, involving someone lending money, and we were free to go again. The way the group solved the problem, with raised voices sometimes, but no real threats and lots of laughter, was very interesting to see. We don't think a fender-bender in rush hour in Toronto would be handled so smoothly (and without police!). After re-entering the traffic rush, waiting another 45 minutes behind a stalled oil tanker, and then a crazy ride through the dark we made it to Akatsi around 10pm. The moral of the story - patience really is the key to enjoying your time in Ghana. Everything runs on "African time" - and now we know why.

it is all about adapting and learning

Us with De Ana and some children in Akatsi
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our living arrangements in Akatsi

Once we arrived in Akatsi we realized that the living arrangements we had experienced the night before in Accra were quite luxurious. Our compound in Akatsi consists of a main room where the host family lives and then two seperate rooms with two sets of bunk beds that houses the volunteers. The bathroom facitities are outside and consist of a hole in the ground that we have to squat over. The real fun is that this outhouse-type structure is infested with cockroaches that scurry around your feet while going to the bathroom! To bathe, we go outside and stand in a enclosed area and use buckets of water. We have grown to love this since pouring a bucket of cold water on our heads is the only escape from the heat we get. It has taken us awhile to adapt to this type of living but we are starting to get the hang of it. If anything, it has really made us appreciate the flush toilets in North America that we have before now taken completely for granted.

"Woe zo" - Welcome!
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The family we are staying with are so warm and welcoming! There is a mother named Elum and five children named Matilda, Angel, Safako, Gosui, and the youngest, Charles. There are also 5 other volunteers staying with this family. They are all American so Ryan and I get singled out often as the Canadians... which was a very good thing during the USA - Ghana World Cup soccor match!

Our first week

Our days are spent doing Ewe language classes with a man named Kofi. These are intended to help us be able to communicate while doing our placements in the hospital and orphanage. Ewe (Ay-way)is the language spoken in the Volta region of Ghana.

Kofi's neighbours
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Sorry everybody - after uploading this entry it seems the last half was lost somehow! We will have to tell you about our daily routine another time, and about our visit to a rural village near Akatsi. Really sorry - we'd stay and write it again but our time is running out.