Introduction

First night & trip to Cape Coast: I was picked up at the airport by a very cheerful Ghanaian man, Kwame Nyamero (Nyame). Projects Abroad have chosen well for their representative to meet volunteers at the airport; Nyame is outgoing, loves his country, and could not be any friendlier. He makes a very good first impression for Ghanaian people. He took me to the Projects Abroad office in Accra where I spent my first night. Thankfully, the power was on that night so the fan was working and I was able to get some sleep. Early the next morning (5 am; so, 10 pm Victoria time…I’ve never had so much trouble adjusting to a new time zone), Nyame picked me up and we went to the bus station to get a ride to Cape Coast. And, oh luxury (!!!), the bus was air-conditioned. It was lovely. As we drove through Accra, I was quite glad I wasn’t staying. The city is huge and crowded, and I really have no idea where I would begin in trying to find my way around. The busy markets eventually gave way to green countryside and a remarkably nice highway (in far better condition than most at home). The sight and smell of the sea were welcome and relatively familiar senses.

Cape Coast Induction: Grant (the regional director) picked me up from the bus station and took me on a whirlwind tour of Cape Coast. He showed me the bank, a café, the internet place (which was closed), and how to get around with their taxis. We ended with lunch in a Ghanaian café; I had chicken (really good!!) and jollof rice (orange/yellow coloured rice – cooked in tomato sauce or something, I think). The tour was pretty overwhelming and I don’t think I’ll be doing it by myself for quite some time.

Host Family and House: The Sampson family has been really friendly and really welcoming. Philo is the mom. Her brother, Paakow (20+ ish), also lives with them. Jaja (17) is Philo’s daughter and she does all of our cooking. Jojo (9 ish) is Philo’s son and Kookwa (2) is Philo’s adorable little daughter. The family lives in the back apartment of a house with four apartments. Our room is actually quite large with two good size beds, a chest of drawers, and a closet. The bathroom has been the only “shocking” thing to get used to. It is not terribly clean and it is hard to control the bugs in this heat. Also, the frequent absence of running water means that we take bucket showers and the toilet rarely gets flushed. We do get a bit of running water every day so we take the chance to fill a large bucket that we have beside the tub. Bucket showers are actually not bad at all but I have to admit that the lack of toilet flushing grosses me out a bit. The power goes out frequently (one of the reasons the internet may not be working) so eating in the dark has been another thing to get used to.

There was a party at my host family’s house last night – an early going-away party for Stefanie and Maira (two other volunteers here) who will both be leaving within the next two weeks. There were a lot of Ghanaian people there and I was introduced to a lot of people and names that I won’t remember or recognize (meeting people was made more difficult because the lights were out for a lot of the party). I met the volunteers staying next door as well: Will and Hannah. They seem really nice but will also both be gone within the next two weeks. It’s scary to think that in two weeks I’ll be the oldest volunteer in this little area.