June 25, 2012
This morning we woke up early to get to the metro bus station in time to catch a bus back to Kumasi that would give us enough time to reach the Visa office so we could file for an extension. We arrived at the bus station just about 15 minutes too late to make it onto the first bus because there were not enough seats left for all of us. We waited about half an hour for the second and I thought we would be lucky to have the front of the bus so it would be a much more pleasant ride than it had been on the way here but I got the short end of the stick when my seat was next to an overweight woman. These seats are not big at all. They are smaller width wise than an airplane seat so you can imagine how I felt pinned up against the window with no room for my arms or legs to even move. It was terrible. Luckily I was tired because I was able to just fall asleep in the most awkward position ever for awhile but it was not a pleasant 5 hours. My back hurt again but in a different way this time because I was so cramped. My travel experiences have certainly not been the best since coming here but I will never complain again about traveling home from Provo for Thanksgiving with 5 people in the car. Even with no leg room, that ride is still far more comfortable than those I have had here. Luckily I brought a book with me as well because I was able to loose myself in the story and forget about the fact that I was so incredibly uncomfortable. We arrived in Kumasi and walked to the bank so we could get out the money we would need for the remainder of the trip and then headed to the Immigration office. We filled out our forms and waited for our turns to go in. Jackie and Cassie went in first and were sent back out because they wanted us to get a print out of our flight itineraries to prove that we were actually leaving the country when we said we were. We were all hungry, cranky, and tired but I reminded the girls and myself that the best way to deal with this was to be positive because if we were brats to the immigration people they could easily not renew our Visas like we wished them to. We walked through a market and across the street to the internet café and it was very full and we realized that there were like 10 missionaries there. P-day in Kumasi . The guy at the counter said there was too much congestion so he wasn’t going to give us a code to get on the computer so we just talked with the missionaries for awhile but then King talked to him and told him that we just had to print out our itineraries and he let us get online for free and we just had to pay for what we printed out. I was in the funniest mood and was just dying laughing at everything. That had been a major theme of the trip, there was a lot of laughter. But it was fun to talk to the missionaries about their experiences in Ghana and a few of them were talking about how they had been there for a year and a half but still did not completely have a grasp over the language because every area spoke a little bit different dialect of Twi and there is a good number of people who speak English so it is pretty impossible to immerse yourself into a language that is not uniform. There was one Elder from New Zealand who I thoroughly enjoyed talking to because his accent was so cool! I am pretty sure American accents are not cool at all. Oh well. We got all our tickets printed out and went back to the office. The man who was doing my Visa was my best friend and we were talking and laughing but everyone else had a bit of a struggle because the lady they had was being super rude to them and told Jackie that she owed twice as much because she had overstayed her Visa which was not true but it all got worked out. It only cost us 40 cedi which I was expecting and they were going to start our visas the day they expired which was perfect because if they had said they needed to do exactly 60 days from when we entered the country Cassie, Natalie and I would have had to pay for a 60 day extension. It all got worked out and we have to go back next Tuesday to pick up our passports and the visas. We left the office and went straight to Vic Baboos which is a restaurant in Kumasi where we had our first cheeseburgers in Ghana . We had not eaten anything real all day because even at the rest stop there was not anything we had wanted, not even fan milk or donuts. Jackie bought some bananas so we each ate one and I had crackers so we all ate some at the immigration office while waiting but other than that we were starving. I got a chocolate milkshake and this bomb chicken skewer thing. It tasted just like BBQ at home and man it was good. We were happy after eating and walked down to the tro tro station dreading the fight for getting on but by a tender mercy we were able to walk right onto a tro tro with no fighting no pushing and it left right away. There was traffic on the road and such but I was reading my book for most of the time so it was not a bad ride. Realizing we had pulled up into Agona was so beautiful. It felt so relieving; like pulling into your town after a long trip away from home. Even just stepping out of the tro tro I was filled with a sense of relief and it felt so nice to be back there. I had a new sense of readiness and determination for my research as well. I got pumped up to be back and to get down to business to get everything done that I need to and I felt such joy in getting back to my village. It was the first time I realized how much I am actually going to miss this place. Home is not a place, it is a state of mind. It is the atmosphere and the people around you. Jackie and I are lucky to have Mama and King at home who love us and do their best to make sure that we have all that we need. King was so incredible on this trip and he is such a blessing to have in our lives. When we walked through the gate and up to our door King turned to Jackie and I and said thank you and gave us each a huge bear hug and picked me up with the biggest hug ever and it was the cutest thing. I am going to miss him a lot. He is such a good brother. We needed detergent so the woman could wash our clothes in the morning so we went out for a little stroll to get that and oats for breakfast. We ran into Michael, one of King’s friends at the store and he walked us home. He had a bike with him so I rode it home and it was so fun to ride a bike again. It reminded me of endless summers riding beach cruisers around all night long with all your friends. Too bad that my last two bikes have been stolen…it was so fun anyway. It feels good to be home.
June 26, 2012
I spent a few hours journaling this morning because I was too tired to finish last night and I did not want to fall too far behind. Afterward I went to the hospital to observe with the Doctors for a few hours before Agona. It felt good to be back at the hospital working again with my renewed motivation and excitement about conducting my research so I know that the retreat did its job. The Doctor I had wanted to observe was in the theater today performing surgery so I observed with another Doctor and was able to get some good information anyway. We left for Agona and arrived before Cassie and Natalie so we decided to get all that we needed in market while we waited for them. It was so fun and not stressful in the least bit today and Jackie and I were both super excited to go around to our gals to get what we needed. We got 1 cedi of fresh tomatoes, one can of tomato paste, one cedi of onions, some of the spices we like, and a bag of rice that should have been 15 cedi but she handed it to me with only 4 cedi of change. I assumed that they did not have the kind I asked for and that she had just given me the next most similar bag but when we got home Mama said that was the local rice that was unpolished and dry and she didn’t like it. She was mad that people are still trying to cheat us sometimes; I guess I am a bit naïve here sometimes because I had just assumed that the lady was giving us the same thing. She is going to have King take it back and get the right bag tomorrow. We then got fried rice from our favorite little fast food booth called Omo rice and the girl had just made fresh fried rice so we were super excited. It is the best fried rice that we have had so we are always thrilled when she is open. The girls taxi had broken down so we just went to the Gentle Spot to wait for them and ate our lunch and ordered alvaro pear drinks. I love those things and I never like carbonated sodas of any sort but in this case I do. I think the carbonation also helps to get rid of any bad stuff in my stomach. I think I am allergic to the detergent we have been using or the sheet on my bed or something because I have the rash again but its even worse this time and is starting to spread down my leg. I felt slight relief from the supposed heat rash this weekend with all the cool breeze and fresh air but it is back and worse than ever. The bumps are getting larger and spreading from just my side all the way down my leg. I am beginning to think I am allergic to something or I don’t know but it just doesn’t seem like it can be a never ending heat rash so I am going to show the Doctor tomorrow and hopefully he will give me an antibiotic or a strong anti-itch cream cause this is driving me absolutely nuts. Cassie and Natalie arrived as we were talking with Unis and Ivan and Joyce, and by talking I mean that we were speaking to them in English yet they don’t really speak English so it is always funny. Sometimes you can use context to understand what is going on with Joyce and even though we don’t speak each others language I feel like I can communicate with her sometimes so that is kinda cool. We just hung out and chatted for awhile until we were ready to go to the café. We did all our stuff, bought a fan milk and headed home. I took down my laundry when we got home and I swear it grows a size bigger with each and every wash. Its out of control. I then caught up on some scripture reading because I hadn’t been hitting my page requirements for our schedule during the retreat so I had a lot of catching up to do and then it was journal and expanded notes time. We had bean stew, avocados and rice for dinner and ate while we watched an episode of friends. It is now 3 minutes to 10 and I am exhausted. I don’t think I even have the energy to work out tonight. Bummer.
July 27, 2012
It is my Asha’s birthday today, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SISTER!!! Cheetah Girls, Cheetah Sisters forever. If I am not mistaken it is your Golden Birthday today is it not? If that is true, I just gave away your age. Sorry, I know women hate doing that. Some of the nurses thought I was 16 at first when I came here, even though I was bigger than them. Ha age really doesn’t mean anything, don’t worry sister you are just one year older and one year wiser as they say. I definitely know that you are one year wiser. You are the wisest gal I know. And I still want to be you. Every day. You live the perfect life. Seriously. Nothing has changed ever since I was 10 and was hanging out with you and your pals. I love you Ash, and I hope you had the worlds best day today!!! It is really only 2:40 pm for you right now so you probably haven’t even done any of the birthday festivities quite yet but I wish you well on this day of your birth!! Today was LONG I tell ya. Oh wow it was long. I was really excited when I woke up this morning because I was going to go straight to the Doctor so he could look at my dang rash and get rid of this thing but none of the three were in their offices when I looked. The nurses down in the MCH were going to a workshop in Agona this morning and Phyllis said it was about malaria prevention so I asked if I could come along. She called Auntie Vesta, the Public Health Director for the District and she said of course, we made pals with her after the wedding a few weeks ago. Of course she had a beer or two in her but it worked to our advantage nonetheless and Jackie and I were in the van with the nurses not too long thereafter headed to Agona Government Hospital Cape Coast Africa . The one good thing I know is that it is not chicken pox because I have already had it twice and it doesn’t cover my whole body…though I have head of people getting it more than twice even. It is not impossible. Hopefully we just get this taken care of stat!
June 28, 2012
Exactly one month from today I will be boarding a plane to Frankfurt Germany that goes right on through to the United States of America . I never thought the countdown would come so soon. It was a very bittersweet feeling in my heart today as my mind was struggling with the realization that I do not have much time left. I am thrilled with the progress I have made thus far and I do not regret a single day that has passed here but at the same time I terrify myself thinking that I will leave feeling unfulfilled. The morning we left for Cape Coast Germany vs. Italy game is playing on the tele. Italy is up 2-0 and the star of the game is a Ghanaian named Mario Balotelli, he has scored both goals. The announcers gave a shout out to all viewers in Ghana …that’s me. I am rooting for Germany because I watched the Bayern Germany club team lose against Chelsea and I want to see them win. Portugal , who was my fav to watch, lost to Spain last night so they will not be in the finals. I sure do love this European futbol though lemme tell ya. Jackie and I went to see the Doctor this morning and though we waited til he was walking from the morning Devotional up to his office so we could get it over with right away, we were still sitting outside of his office waiting 2 ½ hours later. Such is the life of a Doctors office. Doesn’t matter where you are, you always have to wait. Luckily my patience has grown much stronger here with African time but it was still a bit annoying. We finally went in to see a different Doctor and he got us in and out in less than a minute. He wrote out a prescription for some hydro cortisone cream to help the itching but the Pharmacy was out. We walked to the chemical store down the street and it was closed so no relief for the rash today. Something that we could get so easily at any drug store in America is certainly a luxury here I guess. Maybe this dang rash will just go away by itself. I learned today that my favorite Doctor is taking his 2 month leave starting Monday. I got so sad cause I just think we are best friends and I love doing my research with him because we just laugh and talk and I learn so much from him. But I really need to put all my focus on interviews now so I guess that is a good deterrent from me spending most of my time on observations. Even though that is the bulk of my research I have a ton of data gathered from those observations so I think it is time to really focus on interviews. I get super shy sometimes with the interviews though and I get scared to ask people if I can interview them. It is never scary like I think it might be and they are always more than willing to help me but I still get scared that I am imposing on their free time or I get scared that they wont speak English as well as I think they will which makes the interview very hard. I chose to just stay away from using an interpreter because so much gets lost in translation that with such a short project, I wanted to get all the information directly. I still have a month though so I can do it. After Mari Mar today Mama asked if she could have our ears for a moment and began to tell us how thankful she is for us and for what we did for King. He came along with us to Cape Coast Italy just won the game, Germany didn’t even stand a chance, Italy owned it the whole time.
June 29, 2012
Today was a glorious day! And not just because it was my
Daddy’s birthday, which btw…HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! It was raining when we left
this morning so I got to put my pants on and something about wearing a skirt
every day with the occasional shorts makes a girl miss her pants. Its nothing
like putting on your favorites pair of blue jeans which I miss so much but it
feels great nonetheless. Because of the rain it was also super cool today which
made my skin feel great. This morning at the hospital I was putting my stuff
away in the MCH and I looked at the bottom of this poster randomly and saw the
church’s name. I looked at it closer and saw that it was a poster that was
advertising for vaccinating your children with this 2 in 1 vaccine that
protects against something I cant say nonetheless spell. It was so cool to see
how the church is involved with a campaign such as that because the emblem was
right next to that of the WHO and Unicef and USAID, all huge world health
contributors. We really are growing a lot and getting our name out supporting
so many different causes all over the world. I am proud to be a member of such
an incredible organization such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints. I walked up to the main hospital to look for my bff Dr. Boateng because
today was his last day and I just wanted to follow him around like a little
chick follows a momma hen cause I love learning from him so much…I couldn’t
find him at first so I started heading back down toward the MCH and intercepted
him. He was getting ready to go into Agona to get his ATM card at the bank and
he asked me if I was able to get the cream for my rash and I said that I
hadn’t. He invited me along so we could go to the pharmacy in Agona so I hopped
right into the front seat of the van with him and the driver. The jungle looked
so cool on the drive because it was raining and misty and I just love the drive
every time, especially when I am not in a scary taxi. We did our stuff in Agona
and as I was getting out of the van to go to the pharmacy with him he told me
to just wait in the car and then came back with a thing of cream for me and one
for Jackie as well. He wouldn’t let me pay him for it when I asked. It was so
kind of him, I know it wasn’t expensive and he is a Doctor, even in Ghana they do
well, but it was just the best feeling to receive such kindness. We headed back
to the hospital and thankfully I am a huge fan of European futbol now because
he and the driver were talking and laughing about last nights game with the
comments being said on the radio and even when they spoke in Twi I could
understand what they were talking about so I could contribute to the
conversation and it was sweet. When we got back we went straight to
consultations and it was so much fun today. I love love love learning and I am
so happy that my project has turned out to be something that I have enjoyed so
much. It is boring and hard at times but that is life. During the breaks where
the nurse was bringing a new set of folders from OPD we would just talk about
politics and music and he told me about his wife and daughter and it is so fun
to be able to have intellectual conversations with people other than Jackie,
Cass, and Natalie. I set up an interview with him before leaving today as tomorrow
morning he does his last set of rounds and then heads to go be with his wife
and daughter so I will be closing that chapter with him. During my scripture
study today I was reading about Samuel the Lamanite’s cries of repentance and
then later about Christ’s birth. It is so cool to read about things that I can
vision so vividly. Being able to play the scriptures like a continuous movie in
my brain has really made them come alive. On a different note, booze man came
home today and was so so drunk which is nothing unusual but he has started to
brew his own stuff in the bush because he can’t afford to buy alcohol and the
stuff he makes in the bush is is strong I tell ya. I could practically smell
him from my room. I went outside to talk to Mama and he was actually about to
pound the fufu which terrified me but it was exciting to see him being helpful
for once. I took my hair out of my bun to re-do it and he stopped pounding
saying that my hair looked beautiful and that he wanted to take a picture…so we
did. Classic booze man. Turns out my eyes always look swollen here, cant just be the lack of mascara, if so i am very grateful for makeup. Im going to attribute it to the lack of a proper mattress and a full nights rest...
Jackie and I both had our parents send us packages
about a month ago but they both got stuck in customs so Mama’s son Eric had to
go collect them and Jackie’s came today. It was the best thing ever. Even I was
so excited watching her open it and we took pictures. Mine will come the
beginning of next week so im excited to have my Christmas in July and get
something from home!
June 30, 2012
Last day of June,
WHAT!??? this is nuts. I have never noticed the days go by so particularly before,
im sure for obvious reasons but man I cannot believe it. This morning I woke up
chipper and excited because I had an interview set up with my bff Doctor and
was happy to have a Saturday to clean and organize and figure out what it is
that I still need to do, what information I am lacking and all that. I headed
to the hospital at 9 and didn’t actually interview him until around one because
during his rounds in the maternity ward he had to do some c-sections. I waited
around for him until 11:30 when I finally asked one of the nurses to call him
afraid to leave the hospital and not get my interview. We called and it was
then that I found out he was in the theater doing surgery and he said that he
would be about an hour so I decided to go for a walk. My pal Prince decided to
accompany me so we went for a walk outside. I was on the lookout for a
pineapple but we didn’t find any, the mangoes and pineapples are pretty scarce
now because they are out of season. That is one thing I definitely did not take
advantage of enough…the pineapple especially. Prince asked if I had seen where
many of the nurses stay while we were out which I hadn’t. he then asked if I
liked yams and I said yes so of course he bought some yams and kuntumrie stew
and we walked down to his house. I still have not learned that when someone
asks you if you like something it doesn’t really mean just do you like it…it
means would you like it right now because I am going to buy it for you. We went
down into a part of town I have never been before just past the hospital and
the house was a big compound type place and there were tons of rooms and big
sitting rooms for the nurses to hang out.I was kind of nervous when I was
walking around with him because I was unsure about the perceptions that people
may have had…even when nurses walk us home it is both Jackie and I, it has
never just been me and another boy my age so that made me nervous but it was
fine I guess. I hung out there for awhile and ate the kuntumrie which had fish
in it for sure and I hated it but I ate it anyway since he had bought it for
us.
After hanging out for awhile I decided I should go back but on the way we
walked through a group of women who were preparing a ton of food and they were
hysterical. They were running around introducing themselves to me and throwing
around the sunglasses and they were just cracking me up. They were preparing
for a funeral tomorrow but they were all in a very chipper mood. I came home
and just hung out with Jackie for awhile and chatted with Mama and did my
scripture study. Today it was about Christ’s crucifixion and the destruction
that came with it. Reading it I had visions of the Testaments in my head and
once again it was so cool to play it all out like a movie in my head as I have
never read with such clarity before. I had to transcribe my interview today and
it took about 4 hours for a 40 minute interview. I can sit in the library for 4
hours or in a comfortable place typing for 4 hours no problem, but here it
kills me because my whole body hurts and there is no comfortable place to
focus. But I got her done and then we watched Enemy at the Gates, the edited
version, with Mama and King. I was so grateful the whole time that even though
I was uncomfortable I was not in the middle of World War II. It was awful and
it makes me really upset that human beings can be so cruel and have so much
hatred one towards another. But at the same time I am so grateful for the love
and compassion we can feel as well. Thankfully there is no room in my heart for
hatred and anger and malice because those feelings cripple and change peoples
hearts. The Beatles said it right when they sang “All you need is love”. Love
makes the world go round and I find myself loving every one of my family
members and friends so much more than I already do with every passing day. I am
very thankful for that.
July 1, 2012
I try so hard not to get discouraged at church but it really
is so hard to try to focus on the spirit when you cannot understand what is
going on nor can you focus entirely on your own scripture reading because the
language you don’t understand is in the background. I led the music today which
is thankfully in English but turns out I don’t really know how to lead music. I
know it is the easiest thing in the world and its not like I don’t have rhythm
but it was so hard, I kept messing up. It could also be because we sing strange
hymns sometimes. The sacrament hymn was so funny and I tried to be reverent but
as hard as I tried to keep the correct tune and timing, the people were singing
the words too late sometimes and get the melody wrong because they don’t have
accompaniment and it was too funny not to have the biggest smile on my face as
we sang. They are trying so hard and it is the sweetest thing. It is such a
stark contrast even from the ward in Cape
Coast Spain dominated
and I am sad that it is over because I love love love watching the games.
Walking the girls to the taxi today though we walked past the school as we
always do and I have never looked over at it because it is always so dark but
someone pointed out fireflies in the weeds/grass and I looked and they were all
over. Fireflies are such a magical sight and I just stopped and stared out at
them for a moment because it really does feel so cool to look out into
something like a meadow seeing all these tiny glowing lights. One night before
we leave Jackie and I are going to go out and try to catch them, that has
always been one of my dreams so I am super excited!! We hop on a bus at
midnight tonight to go on an excursion with a bunch of the nurses at the
hospital to the Western Region tonight and it is certainly going to be a crazy
adventure, cant wait to see what is in store with that!
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