I made it.

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Yesterday (Sunday) at about 7:30 local time (3:30 Indiana) my plane landed at the International Airport in Accra. A 10 hour flight where I only slept for two hours made the morning a bit hard to bare. Immigration went well and both of my bags made it.

I had met up with two other Unite for Sight volunteers so we teamed together to figure out where to go next. As you can imagine, many people come to Ghana for conferences, missions, etc. so drivers lined up outside the airport with signs for their organizations. We found out 'Unite for Sight' signs and were on the way to the bed and breakfast

The drive to the guest house was something I prepared myself for. You cannot avoid the poverty in Ghana. Food stands line every street selling things like rice and other hot foods as well as fresh fruit to peel. Children were selling bagged water and candy at every stoplight intersection. There are signs that Ghana is in fact progressing toward a developed nation. Coca-Cola advertisements are everywhere, and a presidential election is coming up which could be seen on many billboards campaigning for candidates.

The Telecentre B&B is where Unite for Sight volunteers stay. The drivers we have and the people who run the Telecentre are extremely nice and outgoing. I was lucky enough to be put in the room with the best air conditioning, and shower water pressure in the building! My roommate for the first night was a 25 year old premed student from Victoria, British Columbia named Ryan. He's been here for 3 weeks so I spend most of yesterday asking about local mannerisms and learning a couple of the local language (Twi) phrases. There were also about 6 other volunteers that have been here for a week that showed us around the area.

After eating at a local restaurant, we went to a bartering market with many types of nic-nacs. Wooden carvings, paintings, and jewelery were being sold by many different vendors, and after making eye contact with a vendor, you were almost obligated to look at his stock. A fun time, but I think I'm done bargaining for a while.

Today we are going through orientation with one of the opthalmic nurses. I'm not sure where we're going or what we're doing but I'm sure it won't be bad. Unfortunately, the internet connection isn't as efficient as I'd hoped but comes and goes. I'll try to post every time the internet is accessible, but that's hardly predictable.

I hope everyone is doing alright back in the States. Look for more posts to come!

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