Last Blog in Africa!

Hi everyone. As crazy as it is, my one month trip is coming to an end. It literally feels like I just stepped off of the plane in Accra, excited and nervous to start my life here. And that's exactly what I did...I have a life here. I didn't just come to vacation and sight-see...but I lived, worked, and travelled here, and made many great memories in the process.

Today was my last day in the Police Hospital which was very bittersweet. As much as I'm ready to see my family and friends and snuggle in the comfort of my home country, I'm just as sad to leave all of the wonderful friends that I've made here. I spent the day going to all of the different units and said goodbye to all of my favorite people at the hospital. It's nice to know that no matter what happens in life, I have a handful of Ghanaian policmen willing to defend and protect me, and if I would let them, marry me. 

I also took a test for Mr. Vieira to see how much knowledge I gained about HIV/AIDS. The test was actually pretty difficult mainly because he makes it 'tricky' on purpose. But I did fairly well, regardless and am actually surprised at how much I have learned.

This is probably the last blog I will send from Africa, but I will update once more when my journey is completely over and I arrive at home. We're going on weekend trip to Cape Coast tomorrow and then my flight leaves Monday night.

Now I'm off to Global Mamas which is a store where everything is handmade by African women, to look around with Kim! :)

Much love, talk to you when I'm back in the U.S.!

This is the Title.

I'm updating a little earlier than usual today because I'm not feeling well. :( I left work early so I can go home and try and rest it off.  The huge goodbye dinner for everyone who is leaving in the next few days is tonight so I don't want to miss it!

On a different note...it has finally happened. We all knew it was coming. And come it did. The cockroach encounter. First off, the cockroaches here are a bit larger than in the U.S...So squishing them provides optimum disgusting results. Deanna and I had 3 in our bathroom at two different times yesterday. Nicole killed the first one yesterday morning, after failing a few times, getting it stuck in our wardrobe, and chasing it out with mosquito spray. None of us wanted to pick it up, so I promised to buy Nick a beer if he threw it away. Success.

But then later that night, there were another two when we got home. I went into the bathroom and shut the door, and somehow in that one second it took for me to close the bathroom door, I unintentionally managed to trap the cockroach halfway in the crack of the door. It's head was sticking out toward Deanna and its butt was still stuck toward me and it was trying to wiggle out. Sick. We got Harry this time, and timing it perfectly, I opened the door and Harry killed our second victim. The third one was too high on the wall, so I threw some paper at it until it crawled out of the bathroom window. Needless to say,I dreamt about bugs all last night.

Monday was my first day in counseling...and I got lucky and invited myself to a seminar that the counselors were attending at the Ministry for Women and Children's Affairs. I got to attend a lecture about basic HIV/AIDS knowledge and why it is good to attend voluntary testing and counseling. Afterwards, the counselors held a voluntary counseling and testing session that I got to sit in on which was really interesting. I was lucky that I actually got to participate in something since Counseling Unit is the most difficult to work with.

Tuesday I was back in Counseling Unit and I was not so lucky. I made a powerpoint and entered some data, but that was it. Mainly I read Dexter. Last night was my last Projects Abroad quiz night...and although Harry had promised me numerous times that I could be on his team, when the time actually came, he broke his promises and therefore broke our friendship as well. My team tied with his though...and we both tied on the tie breaker...but his team won on the second tie breaker, unfortunately. Maybe someday I'll forgive him. I didn't go out with the others after Quiz because I was feeling quite tired.

Today I'm still feeling really tired and feel a little sick so I hope I haven't caught anything. I'm going to go attempt to sleep it off now, though. Hope everyone else is well!

I'll Try and Keep This Brief....

but I have a lot to say. First off, I'll begin with my week 3 list. I'll have to post tomorrow to tell the many stories of my trip to Ada-foah.

1. How to take blood.
2. How to do a CD4 count on an HIV patient.
3. The huts at Ada-foah are prone to collapsing.
4. Don't step on your Kindle.
5. Always check the taxi for your phone before you get out.
6. Don't leave your rain jacket outside overnight at a public beach camp.
7. I can survive on the bare necessities (although I dislike it, greatly.)
8. If a Ghanaian says you'll be back by 3...he means 4:45.
9.It's always possible to get what you need...for a price.
10.Ghanaians occasionally do favors just to ask for favors in return.
11. The third week in Ghana will go the fastest.
12. Saying, "If it's God's will that we meet again, then we will meet again." is a great way to get out of giving someone your number.
13. You can form fantastic friendships in 3 weeks or less.
14. Not all of the dogs here have rabies.
15. Helping children is one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.
16. Giving away your toy unicorn is worth it for a six-year-old's smile.
17. Ghanaians love for you to draw/color pictures for them.
18. The dress lady will probably not even reference your measurements.
19. Tro crashes are not a myth.
20. A great way to save money on weekend trips is to skip breakfast and lunch.

Another Day in the Lab

So today I was in the lab again. It wasn't a clinic day so it was pretty slow, but I still got to do a couple of HIV tests. I did on on my new roommate, Deanna who is new to the HIV/AIDS project. She's in the lab with me this week I tested her today. She flinched away from the finger prick so I didn't get quite deep enough to draw enough blood, and Laura jokingly stated that I would just have to take blood from Deanna's arm instead. And surprisingly, Deanna was all for it. Mohammed (my lab supervisor) walked me through taking blood one more time, and then I just did it. I got the vein on the first try :D...I was so proud of myself lol. I was so scared that I was going to hurt her that after I was done taking the blood, my hands were shaking haha. At least I know they won't shake during the process :) But now that I have my first one out of the way and know that I can do it, I won't be so nervous for the next one. Mohammed told me that I could take some more tomorrow from the real patients if I want to so I'm pretty excited.

Last night we all went to what everyone was calling, "the music thing" and I'm still not sure if it was a concert or a fundraiser, but it was really fun. It was a group of young Ghanaian men playing the drums and they were really good. On the way there we took a taxi...and as I slid out of the seat I said out loud, "Oh I really hope my cell phone wasn't in there..." as the taxi drove off. Lo and behold... it was. So Kim called it a few times, (of course I left it on vibrate.) and left a text message saying to call her number if it was found. As I stood there kicking myself for not checking before I got out, about 5 minutes later the taxi driver drove back up and handed me my phone. What a nice guy. He could easily have kept that or sold it or whatever...but he came all the way back and gave it to me. I gave him 5 cedis for his trouble and his kindness. The rest of the night was good though :)

Today I'm going to pick up my dress from the dress lady that made it for me and pick up Carmen's present as well so I'm pretty excited to see how they turned out! And tomorrow I'm leaving with the other volunteers to go to Ada-foah early in the afternoon so I probably won't blog again until Monday. I can't believe tomorrow is the weekend; where did this week go? I am excited to get out of Accra though and spend some much needed time in clean air and the beach.

Byeee :)

Outreach Day Two.

Today was another Outreach and Laura and I went to Nungua to an orphanage/school. The kids were lovely and so much fun :) Laura and I were the only ones that went so we stayed busy the entire time which was fun but really exhausting. There was also a dog with puppies there and I know they tell us not to pet any of the animals to avoid getting rabies...but I just couldn't help myself and I pet (petted?) them all. So far, I am not avoiding water. On the way home we got caught in a gust of wind that blew dirt all over us so I'm completely covered in this wonderful film of Ghanaian dust. It's a wonderful life :)

I also bought a dress today because I just fell in love with it. I guess I'll be saving in other places to make up for it lol.

Now Kim and I are going to Trashy Bags...a store that sells items woven from recycled materials around Ghana.

Byeeeee.

Tuesday.

This past Saturday everyone stayed in Accra. Most of the volunteers went to an Amnesty Conference here but I was not feeling well that morning and decided to try and sleep a bit more. I joined them for lunch and then Trivial Pursuit (British version) so I was really bad. Then we all went to a bar called Q Base to watch the Champions League Final...Barcelona v. Manchester which actually did entertain me the entire time. I found I actually got into it.

Sunday, Maria and Kim and I went to the Botanic Gardens and Cocoa Farm. The Botanic Gardens were beautiful and Cocoa Farms was just really interesting. Apparently it's the oldest cocoa farm in Ghana. They taught us how to dry out the seeds so it was really cool.

Monday was my first day in the Lab and it was and unfortunate day for me. They were in the middle of transitioning between supervisors so I didn't get to do anything yesterday. But today I ran some more rapid HIV tests (all negative :)) and learned how to take blood. I haven't gotten to actually take blood yet...I'm waiting on someone to come in with really good veins for my first attempt.

I'm still not eating well or feeling well after what little I do eat. I think I'll just have to get used to it until I leave.

Sorry this one isn't very entertaining...but I'm a bit rushed. So talk to you all later!

End of Week Two List.

1. Do not ask if they have peaches in England. (They do.)
2. Don't trust a taxi driver when he says he knows where he is going.
3. Don't get in a taxi that will cause you to leave with mysterious blood on the back of your calf.
4. Ghanaians don't form lines at ATMs or Tros. They follow "Survival of the Fittest."
5. I will never be the "fittest."
6. If it looks like rain...it won't rain.
7. If it looks clear...it will rain.
8. Host families only clean the bathrooms if there is a new volunteer coming in.
9. How to dry out cocoa beans.
10. The difference in Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the British Isles.
11. Eat as much as you can when you go out to eat so you can last longer without eating the local cuisine.
12. ALWAYS carry baby wipes. 
13. Find the cleanest bathrooms in your regular buildings...then coordinate your water/pee schedule to match when you'll be near those bathrooms.
14. It's impossible to "sleep in" here.
15. Do your laundry more than once a week.
16. Buy parasite medicine before swimming.
17. Random businessmen who have never used an ATM before will get ATM preference.
18. It is possible to get tired of chicken.
19. It is not possible to get tired of pineapple.
20. Always carry your rain jacket.