Blogs from Teshie, Greater Accra, Ghana, Africa - page 5

The Beach After lunch, all of us went down to the beach for Sarah's birthday. Other than the Spaniards, and the Austrian girls, who stayed at home to chill out and go on the internet. We got a taxi to the beach (Labadi Beach) and it was 3 cedis to get in. We took in some drinks, and got a table. They have tables and chairs set up, cafe style. It was crazy for the first 15 minutes, with Ghanaians coming up to us left, right and centre trying to sell us stuff. One was selling cigarettes, 3 cedis a pack! (which is like £1). So I bought 2 packs and was a happy bunny. They were doing horse rides on the beach for 5 cedis, so I had a go! Yes, even though horses slightly ... read more

Today was orientation day. Steph, Sonja, Georgia, Meg, Sarah and I were taken into Accra byJamal. We started at Independence Square, where every year since 1957, all the Ghanaian tribes meet and parade there, due to them gaining independence from The British. We took a few photos, and Jamal pointed out the parliament house in the distance.gs Next stop was the market, and I've never seen anything like it. It was miles long and miles wide. We walked and walked and walked. So many Ghanaians, selling their wares. Fresh fruits, linens, handmade jewellery. It was chock-a-block. It's very bizarre walking through, as they grab your arm and try and get you to buy things from them. One old man walked up, tapped me on the arm and grinned at me saying "My wife!" erm....nope. Some sections ... read more

So after a pretty straightforward flight, I arrived in Ghana. It was pretty cool to fly over the Sahara desert - just masses and masses of sand in little dunes. Was welcomed to Ghana by a sign saying "We do not welcome paedophiles or ther sexual deviants" which made me giggle :) Searched the rows upon rows of people holding up signs, and finally spotted by name - introduced myself to Jamal, who lives here in the volunteer house with us. It was such a culture shock driving up to Teshie from the airport in Accra - so many people out and about at 10.30pm, just hanging out on the streets in front of their houses. The houses are just tiny shacks for the most part, and they look like derelict buildings. Apparently they host families ... read more

Well, after a month of weighing babies and vaccinating pregnant women, finally being on the other end of the needle, and getting to know the whole staff of the Department of Disease Control, I am ready to move on to the ward for some new experiences and skills. I was supposed to get my orientation on Monday but as it turned out, I met the medical ward a few days early, as a patient... again. A sudden bout of food poisoning hit me hard Saturday morning (for the first time since 2005!) just before I was getting ready to go to the beach for a swim. My highly religious colleague/new Ghanaian mother, Felicia, (who doesn’t really understand I already have a Ghanaian family) said it was God’s way of preventing me from drowning in the sea-- ... read more

Hey everyone! Wow this has been a pretty long week looking back on it but it seems to have flown by! Last Saturday was a really good day. we went into Osu, which is a part of Accra that is quite touristy and I got a pizza from the food court...let me tell you now...after not having any dairy for 3 weeks that cheese was heaven!!! In the afternoon we all went to Accra stadium to watch the world cup qualifier between Togo and Cameroon! Apparently Togo can't play their home matches in Togo because there is too much fighting so they have to play them in a neutral ground which suits me down to the ground!!!! The atmosphere was brilliant and each team has a band with drummers and singers and trumpet players and clappers ... read more