One week in

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We’ve now been in Ghana for almost a week, and it’s starting to feel much more like home. It’s been busy getting settled in and getting started at the hospital. We’ve also had a fair bit of time for sightseeing and exploring. Military 37 is incredible. It was built to care for casualties from the Congo, but is now a military and civilian hospital. Most of the nurses are Ghanaian army officers, but there are also some civilian nurses. They have been very accommodating, allowing us to pick and choose our placements. I will be spending 3 weeks on each of the following units: Trauma emergency/surgery, Maternity/Neonatal ICU, and Psychiatry. Our contact at the hospital is a Lt. Col named Sally, who is a good friend of Bev’s and an invaluable resource. She’s even arranged for us to have access to the senior officers’ mess across the street from the hospital.

Aside from work, we’ve now done a bit of touring around the city. On Wednesday evening we went to Alliance Francaise, which has traditional African drumming and dancing. We’ve also done a trip to Labadi Beach, which is beautiful: nice sand, great surf, and plenty of football games to join. Today we did a tour of the Nkrumah monument, which contains the mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana. I’m working on posting pictures, but the internet is temperamental at the best of times.

Transportation is very interesting in Ghana. The basis for their public transportation system is “tro tros”, which are usually rusted-out 15 passenger vans that cram in 25 people. The drivers use hand signals to tell people at the stops where they are headed, and when they stop to let people on, you run or get left behind. Despite using them most days since we’ve arrived, I still fear for my life every time I get in one - the way they drive is amazing. Lanes on roads are really more for show, and at times there are mere centimeters of clearance between other vehicles. Despite this, they are inexpensive (usually about 15-25 cents) and very efficient. I’m sure I’ll miss them once I’m back in Canada and in a hurry.

So far, we all seem to be coping well with the culture shock. We’re lucky to have a group that’s become very close knit, and it’s been great to have so many supports. I will continue to try to post pictures of all of us. Thank you all for your mesages. Take care and Nanti ye (goodbye).

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Comments

[genevieve]

Wow
Great to see both your blogs, Kate. Wow! it looks like you're going to have an amazing time. gen

[Aunty Shelley]

Hi Kate It looks like you are having lots of fun. We are in the middle of Olympic mania here. It is so warm and sunny in Vancouver that Ghana should have some athletes here. Love Aunty Shelley