3 weeks in Ghana

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3 weeks in Ghana......

So where to begin I do not know 😊

Bit of a crazy start arriving at 3.30am in the morning and then waiting an hour to be picked up, this is what to expect for the future, Ghanaian time 😊
The sites at 4.30 in the morning were crazy with people out running and setting up their stools for the day and generally being busy.... people should still be in bed at this time! I finally arrived at my host families home at 6.30am and was so tired that I couldn't actually sleep 😞 An induction happened at 10am and to be honest I just walked around in a daze not knowing what on earth was going on (some of you may be thinking.... what's new there)

The first thing that really hit me was being an Oboruni (White person) here in Koforidua they have only recently started taking more volunteers and so white people are not seen about very often. People come up to you all the time shouting at you, begging and trying to get you to part with your money, it is really shocking but you do get used to it pretty quick!

The other thing that really surprised me was the slow pace of life. People go and sleep whenever they fancy which is amazing and I cannot begin to imagine doing that at home (although after a big lunch at work I certainly would love to) and this I do wonder is why things have not progressed as much here because people are so relaxed they are practically lying down!

Physiotherapy is very new here and so quite under-promoted. People are not aware of what physiotherapists do and in this I am determined to leave my mark somehow to make people more aware! I have a week left and so myself, Sofia and Marlies (2 other physio's) are going to do a presentation on what we think can be done to improve people's knowledge and therefore getting more people in through the door! This is a very exciting prospect for me and I have been working quite hard to come up with what I am hoping are some good ideas 😊

There are some fantastic people here; staff, locals and other volunteers. I am hoping to have made some life-long friends here and maybe pick up a few different languages as well because there are people from all around Europe here.

We have been on some great adventures while I have been here, ranging from local walks from the town centre to get home (and getting lost) to travelling to Cape Coast and Accra the main capital. It has been a welcome break sometimes to get away from your local town much as it is at home and for me going to the beach has been fantastic as I do miss the sea air.

The food here is great and as always I am learning new culinary delights all the time. I tried goat the other day to me it tasted a mixture between beef and liver.... not sure about it but went for it anyway. The Jollof rice here is great and I learnt how to cook it when all the volunteers met up one afternoon so it will be one of the dishes I try when I get home. It has a mixture of vegetable and meat in a spicy sauce and is full of wonderful flavours to get your taste buds excited.

I will be adding picture within the next day or so and will now hopefully as the blog is working be able to update you all more on my adventures.

3 weeks in and I am finally getting used to being away from home, I have learnt a few things already and look forward to broadening my knowledge before I get back to my wonderful family and friends.

Ellie 😊

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