Life in Slow Motion

Like the lyrics from a David Gray song, this is indeed what it feels like to live in Ghana. I feel like I spent my last couple of weeks in Canada rushing to get everything packed and settled and when I arrived here, things went from a hare's pace to a snail's pace. I was briefed that in Ghana and most African cultures things work on a different time. What people from the Caribbean call "island time". Where in Canada we would say, "don't leave for tomorrow, what could be done today", Ghanaians would say, "there is nothing that can be done today that can't wait until tomorrow". In light of this, I ended my first week of work without any real evidence that I spent a week at work. I'll be working with another Canadian intern, my housemate, Jody and a Ghanaian who is employed under the national youth employment program, Francisca. We spent half the week learning and reading up on Help Age Ghana and the other half sitting and waiting. On a more productive note, we did visit the day centre in Osu, close to the office and two other day centres in Accra, where we were able to interact with the elderly and hear about some of the challenges they are facing at home and in society, because of a lack of policies to support older persons.

Life at home has not been any different. My roomies, Caitlin and Jody, and I spend many hours talking on our terrace, drinking tea and reading. We joked last night how much we appear as a group of old women. I am slowly get used to the fact that I have to boil water to wash my dishes, instead of loading up the dishwasher; and that have to wash my clothes by hand, scrubbing and rinsing each garment and hanging them out to dry (an event that took the better half of a morning). We are also mastering the power rotation and one night this week when we had no power, we managed to still cook up an excellent stir fry and eat it by candlelight. There is something soothing about this pace, something that makes you sit back and let things happen. I think in this state of mind I'll be able to see things that my mind might have blocked out before because of the hectic pace it was used to processing things at. And on that note, I think it is time for me to saunter on home for a nap.

New Friends & When it Rains it Pours!

So I've survived my first couple of days here in Ghana. The new environment and culture has taken a little getting used to but I'm adjusting well. I attibrute this to the new friends I've made in the short time I've been here. The first is a group of interns from West Africa, one from Togo, Benin and Cote D'Ivoire. They are staying at the same guest house. They are French speaking and say they don't speak English very well but they are being modest. Sometimes I'll reply to their questions in French and they laugh. One of them Marc, asked us (Caitlin and I) to watch Prison Break the first night we met. It was also the same night as a black out (the city is on a power rotation so we have nights and days with no power). Anyway it was a very strange but enjoyable bonding experience.

The second friend I made is the driver for Help Age Ghana. His name is Nat and I've learned quickly that he is more than just a driver. He picked me up yesterday and brought me into the office, giving me a full detailed tour of our route to work. I attempted to have a conversation about football with him but my knowledge was limited to the U-20 World Cup and we had a good laugh about Canada not scoring any goals. As consolation he said, "I think your female team is very good". He is taking Caitlin and I to a festival today more details to follow for sure.

Last night, Caitlin and I were rudely awakened by a downpour of rain. It was wild rainfall. As soon as you thought it would let up it got heavier. It was just teeming to the point where we thought the compound was going to get flooded. However, we awoke this morning to see that everything was dripping with water but nothing flooded. It was very difficult to sleep in but exciting to experience my first Ghanaian thunderstorm.

Pre-departure Pre-amble

Hello all,
In just over 24 hours I'll be boarding a plane for Ghana. I am very excited and anxious to arrive in my home for the next 7 months, Accra. I thought I would use this opportunity to explain a little bit of what I'll be doing there, which I have no doubt will change or become more defined over the next couple of weeks. I will be working with Help Age Ghana, a sister organizaion of Help the Aged Canada. My position is as a fund development officer which I'm sure will encompass much more than fundraising as I've already been told. Help Age Ghana serves the elderly poor through various initiatives. Their focus is on human rights and advocacy but they support a number of health and economic programs, as well. You can read more about their programs, such as the Adopt-a-Gran through Help the Aged Canada's site.

http://www.helptheaged.ca/

My next entry will be from Accra. Thank you to all of you who have supported me in preparation for this journey. I am ever so blessed to have you all in my life.