This is Nancy again.
Yesterday we traveled to Accra, the capital city of Ghana, and the only city with an airport. We saw some of the famous sites like the W.E.B. Dubois museum and various other monuments to past presidents and rulers. We also stopped at an open air market, but didn't stay too long. The sellers were really pesty and we got tired of being shown various wares and expected to buy. We then went to the Golden Tulip resort for supper and paid the most for our various meals that we paid during the whole trip.
We had an early night and are now waiting in the Accra airport for our flight to Amsterdam and then to Detroit.
And that's about all we have to report. It's been an interesting trip and one that I hope some of you can take in your future.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
On Tuesday
On Tuesday, I got to teach my specialty unit of Women and Autoimmune Diseases. I enjoyed that although it was very hard to hear and understand questions from the junior level students.
That afternoon we picked up the traditional Ghanain dresses we had had made and paid our bill to the International Center.
That evening we went to a professor's house for dinner. Along with our contingent of five Americans, there were 3 Cuban doctors and 2 nurses. We had met one of the nurses earlier in the ICU of a large hospital. Our host wanted us to see a movie of Paul Simon from 1987 called Graceland. It featured several well known African musicians. It would have been interesting to talk to the Cubans and learn more about their health care, but unfortunately, we didn't get a chance.
That afternoon we picked up the traditional Ghanain dresses we had had made and paid our bill to the International Center.
That evening we went to a professor's house for dinner. Along with our contingent of five Americans, there were 3 Cuban doctors and 2 nurses. We had met one of the nurses earlier in the ICU of a large hospital. Our host wanted us to see a movie of Paul Simon from 1987 called Graceland. It featured several well known African musicians. It would have been interesting to talk to the Cubans and learn more about their health care, but unfortunately, we didn't get a chance.
Sunday's Information
Hi, this is Nancy speaking.
On Sunday we decided to attend a huge interdenominational church service set up on a field on the University of Cape Coast campus. There were hundreds of chairs set up under tents, but of course, it was still very hot. There was about an hour and half of singing by the choir and other groups and then we were an hour into the sermon when we left. Everything is very loud which was different for me, but interesting.
That afternoon we went to the beach. Despite not having a bathing suit, I decided I would go into the ocean. The waves were very high and would knock us over and then suck us back out. The water was very mild and very salty and it was a fun experience. Then a sudden rainstorm came up with heavy winds and rain and I got cold for the first time. My clothes were full of sand and then that was the only night we didn't have any running water. Good thing I had filled a bucket with water earlier in the week!
On Sunday we decided to attend a huge interdenominational church service set up on a field on the University of Cape Coast campus. There were hundreds of chairs set up under tents, but of course, it was still very hot. There was about an hour and half of singing by the choir and other groups and then we were an hour into the sermon when we left. Everything is very loud which was different for me, but interesting.
That afternoon we went to the beach. Despite not having a bathing suit, I decided I would go into the ocean. The waves were very high and would knock us over and then suck us back out. The water was very mild and very salty and it was a fun experience. Then a sudden rainstorm came up with heavy winds and rain and I got cold for the first time. My clothes were full of sand and then that was the only night we didn't have any running water. Good thing I had filled a bucket with water earlier in the week!
Monday's Happenings
Today we started early and visited examples of the Ghana Health Care System (they call it the Ghana Health Care "scheme" interestingly enough. We went to Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital and Ankaful Leprosy Hospital as well as the Central District Hospital (very large and much nicer...has an ICU and everything...of course the pumps don't work, etc.). There still is some leprosy in Africa and we saw a few males in the male ward missing various parts of their feet...it apparently strikes there first. Leprosy has some neuropathy so those afflicted don't feel when they get wounds on their feet and the disease progresses from there. It's sad.
The Psychiatric Hospital was also interesting. It has a very large grounds area and then the male ward or female wards. Lots of the grounds are for housing for the workers. The male ward was a very large open area in the center with "housing" around the open area. There were 97 male residents. The most common diagnosis was cannibus related psychosis. The males were grabbing and touching as we walked through...it was HOT and there were all 97 very close to us. They have 2 workers and no real security that we could see. The female ward was much quieter and more in control, but you could see a couple of schizophrenics walking about, talking to the voices, etc. The treatment was mostly medication...and the male nurse in the male ward said some residents had been there for years, while others are in and out in a few weeks.
Finally, the very large District Hospital was pretty well staffed from what we could see. This had an ICU, a peds, OB, surgery center, medical and surgical wards, etc. It had some but certainly not all of the equipment, meds etc that we are used to...overall though it wasn't too bad.
After all this, we ate at a lovely beach resort, Oasis Beach Resort where we watched drummer and dancers do their thing...very entertaining!
The Psychiatric Hospital was also interesting. It has a very large grounds area and then the male ward or female wards. Lots of the grounds are for housing for the workers. The male ward was a very large open area in the center with "housing" around the open area. There were 97 male residents. The most common diagnosis was cannibus related psychosis. The males were grabbing and touching as we walked through...it was HOT and there were all 97 very close to us. They have 2 workers and no real security that we could see. The female ward was much quieter and more in control, but you could see a couple of schizophrenics walking about, talking to the voices, etc. The treatment was mostly medication...and the male nurse in the male ward said some residents had been there for years, while others are in and out in a few weeks.
Finally, the very large District Hospital was pretty well staffed from what we could see. This had an ICU, a peds, OB, surgery center, medical and surgical wards, etc. It had some but certainly not all of the equipment, meds etc that we are used to...overall though it wasn't too bad.
After all this, we ate at a lovely beach resort, Oasis Beach Resort where we watched drummer and dancers do their thing...very entertaining!
Saturday's Happenings
Boy, sorry this is so very far behind...we have been on the road quite a bit and there hasn't been as much time to update this blog. So here is a bit of an abbreviated version of what we did on Saturday. We went to Kakum National Forest where we walked on one of the 6 walkways of this kind in the world. These walkways (and there were 6 of them that we carefully traversed this day) were about 60 meters above ground and were only a single plank, with roping on each side. Our guide said if anyone was afraid of heights, then don't look down (which of course no one listened to!). I have lots of pics of this adventure plus some other pics of this rain forest which I will load hopefully later Friday when I get home. And we had to climb for about 20 minutes to get to these walkways. It was very hot (of course) and it was hard work. After the rain forest, we went to a monkey sanctuary where a guy from Holland had made it his life's work to gathered injured monkeys. Nancy will blog more on that. After this we went to Hans Botel for a late lunch/early dinner. Had some fried rice and shrimp which didn't set too well. The view was interesting however...lots of crocodiles surrounding the Botel which sat on a river (near as I could tell). The rest of the evening was just resting and a bit of blogging. Will post pics on all this soon!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
What a graduate nurse does
Hi, this is Nancy Schoofs speaking. I had a chance to talk to a graduate nurse who is doing her one year of service in a hospital in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. She went to the University of Ghana. She'll be taking her Nursing and Midwifery Council of Ghana skills exam and written essay exam next month. She showed me the booklet with all of the skills written out step by step and the scoring scale used for each skills testout. There was a long list of skills and the graduate nurses have to be ready to perform two of them for their exam. Everything from inserting a foley catheter to readying a dead patient for burial to preparing a child for an examination were included. Nurses are not allowed to draw blood or start IVs--only the doctors can. Day shift nurses work 6-2 or 8-4 and night nurses work 8p-8a for three nights a week. They get a fixed monthly fee no matter which shift they work. She said she wants to be a patient advocate, but does see a lot of nurses who don't care and wear artificial nails (her words, not mine!)
I asked her about the essay exam and she said the graduate nurses might get a question such as: You are in the market place and a woman is in labor. You must provide for her privacy and then examine her. How do you do that? Then, after you examine her, you find that the baby's head is in the birth canal. How do you care for her?
I asked her about any patients with cardiovascular disease. She said they see congenital heart disease, some CAD, but not much heart failure. Considering that the life expectancy is 60, this is not surprising. There are no heart procedures, so heart disease patients are just treated with medication.
They're seeing more diabetic patients due to the starchy diet (no desserts and not too many sweets except pop), but lots of bread and a starchy powder made from the manioc root that they cook. She said renal failure patients can have dialysis if they can afford it, butmost can't and just die.
I asked her about the essay exam and she said the graduate nurses might get a question such as: You are in the market place and a woman is in labor. You must provide for her privacy and then examine her. How do you do that? Then, after you examine her, you find that the baby's head is in the birth canal. How do you care for her?
I asked her about any patients with cardiovascular disease. She said they see congenital heart disease, some CAD, but not much heart failure. Considering that the life expectancy is 60, this is not surprising. There are no heart procedures, so heart disease patients are just treated with medication.
They're seeing more diabetic patients due to the starchy diet (no desserts and not too many sweets except pop), but lots of bread and a starchy powder made from the manioc root that they cook. She said renal failure patients can have dialysis if they can afford it, butmost can't and just die.
Friday's Info
We had a very full day on Friday...we met Doris Ahelegbe the District Director of the Ajumaku District Health Directorate. She accompanied us to her district (about 1 and 1/2 hours away) for a tour of the Ghana Health Care System. This trip, partially because of very poor roads, took all day. Ghana provides health care for all of its citizens, but first they have to buy this health care...otherwise they private pay. Many Ghanaians do not buy health care (it is very cheap BUT most of the citizens are very poor). The HC system however is set up as the WHO recommends: Level A is where people can go to get minor issues resolved (first aid, minor infections, etc.)...this is called CHP Community Health Planning Services. The CHP we visited was manned by a (nursing?) student...but this is someone with SOME advanced medical training but does not have to be a nurse. She says she sees about 6 patients a day and if someone is supposed to come in but doesn't then they will go do a home visit.
The next level is Level B, which has a health center. This center is manned by an equivalent of our nurse practitioner or PA. We talked with "Suzie" who was posted there (all health care jobs are government jobs)...she says she doesn't see her husband often as he is posted elsewhere...and she is on call 24/7...she gets no days off. She will be granted a leave of usually about 1 week/year. This health care clinic sees abut 30-40 people/day...and does about the same number of home visits. Suzie has a staff of ancillary personnel to assist her.
The third level is Level C where the district hospital is (the main hospital was being built when we were there). They also handle some of the more serious cases of illness and disease.
The last level is Level D - this is the very large hospitals, like the one in Accra which has much more technology (MRIs but not PET scans,etc.) then the other levels and have 1000 or more beds. We will drive by the one in Accra but not visit this. Each level has protocols of what is appropriate for them to handle and when to refer.
All in all, the entire day was very enlightening...we did not get the impression that anyone would be turned away even if there was no insurance. There is not much technology and very basic medications, but they take health care and health promotion VERY seriously. There are lots of campaigns for malaria nets, HIV/AIDs, STIs, TB prevention and the list goes on and on.
When we got back to UCC, we changed and then went to another beach resort for dinner. The electricity was out, but they were able to grill our food (I had lobster and fries...very good!).
The next level is Level B, which has a health center. This center is manned by an equivalent of our nurse practitioner or PA. We talked with "Suzie" who was posted there (all health care jobs are government jobs)...she says she doesn't see her husband often as he is posted elsewhere...and she is on call 24/7...she gets no days off. She will be granted a leave of usually about 1 week/year. This health care clinic sees abut 30-40 people/day...and does about the same number of home visits. Suzie has a staff of ancillary personnel to assist her.
The third level is Level C where the district hospital is (the main hospital was being built when we were there). They also handle some of the more serious cases of illness and disease.
The last level is Level D - this is the very large hospitals, like the one in Accra which has much more technology (MRIs but not PET scans,etc.) then the other levels and have 1000 or more beds. We will drive by the one in Accra but not visit this. Each level has protocols of what is appropriate for them to handle and when to refer.
All in all, the entire day was very enlightening...we did not get the impression that anyone would be turned away even if there was no insurance. There is not much technology and very basic medications, but they take health care and health promotion VERY seriously. There are lots of campaigns for malaria nets, HIV/AIDs, STIs, TB prevention and the list goes on and on.
When we got back to UCC, we changed and then went to another beach resort for dinner. The electricity was out, but they were able to grill our food (I had lobster and fries...very good!).
Thursday's Happenings
On Thursday, March 11 we went to the Edumfa Spiritual Revival and Healing Camp. The camp is about an hour away from our chalets. We were lead to an open air old fashioned revival where we were sang and prayed over for quite some time (there were about 250-300 people present). Then we listened to the "healing" protocol. Our guide stated that usually most of the patients were seen by one of the country's 5 psychiatrists at a near-by hospital. If the meds/hospital protocols didn't work then often times families would bring their family members here. The families didn't leave their ill members but stayed close to help. The 21 day protocol of the camp was 3 days of NO food or water, followed by 18 days of limited food and water (keep in mind that the average temperature here at least in the month of March is 95 degrees with very high humidity. At first the clients wear leg chains which are anchored to the floor. While the protocol is being enacted, multiple people pray over and for the ill individuals. Because they have no confidentiality or privacy laws, we were allowed to take some pics...I am not sure I will be sharing those however.
Later after we returned, we did some more shopping in the downtown markets, paid our money for our accommodations at the UCC International Center and then went to the Abandze Beach Resort where we had a very nice dinner with our host Janet. All in all it was a very interesting as well as a bit troubling day!
Later after we returned, we did some more shopping in the downtown markets, paid our money for our accommodations at the UCC International Center and then went to the Abandze Beach Resort where we had a very nice dinner with our host Janet. All in all it was a very interesting as well as a bit troubling day!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Wednesday' Info
Hello again...thiswill be a reletively short blog on yesterday's activities...we started with a pretty good breakfast of boiled eggs and french toast(and coffee). We went to the UCC Hospital where protocols states that you must be given permission to enter the premises by the nurse manager. He met with us(he knew we were coming)and said that he really needed a letter from Janet's boss before he could let us in to see the hospital (everything is very political). SO we left that facility and went to the UCC International Center where we met some very nice people and had a very long conversation about payment(changing US dollars for Cedis,and what the payment should be. We decided that we would do the conversion later and let them know the amount we came up with. We then went back to the Cape Coast open markets where it felt like 100F with a 99% humidity and shopped. We also exchanged more of our American $$ for cedis. Then we went back to campus and met with the 400 level students and answered questions for an hour and a half about our perceptions of nursing,the Ghanaian American health care system,what the students can do if they wanted to get into the States to get a masters or doctoral degree,etc. Finally, we met Dr. Mate Siawka and friends at his home for a catered dinner. Dinner was at 6:30 and he arrived at 7:15...but all of his guests were there. He also had some pretty good juices that he had made and wanted to share. I hope to blog more later today on today's activities...we went to the Edumfa Spiritual Revival and Healing Camp today. It was interesting and somewhat disconcerting. There are no real privacy and confidentiality statutes or laws here so there is no real protection of health information. More later...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Teaching in Ghana
Hi, this is Nancy speaking here. Today I taught an endocrine unit to around 120 sophomore and junior nursing students. They were very engaged and attentive despite the heat. In fact I gave them a chance to talk among themselves to answer some questions on some case studies on acromegaly and hypothyroidism and I had trouble getting their attention back. They asked some great questions and guess what? they even argued with me about some of the answers to the practice multiple choice questions that I gave them.
I'm learning about nursing education here. There is a council that decides on the nursing curriculum. As prerequisites, they take anatomy and physiology, chemistry, biology, math, English, microbiology, physics, and African Studies. Then they start their 200 level nursing courses in the sophomore year. This consists of two semesters of fundamentals of nursing while they are taking pathophysiology. The 300 level consists of three med surg courses, one is called Crisis Intervention. They also take statistics and nursing research. The 400 level has psych nursing, OB, and pediatrics in it. Community nursing is all throughout the curriculum.
I learned some about patient care in the hospital. Some conditions they see here in the hospital are malaria, inguinal hernia, and TB. People don't seek health care or dental care unless they have a severe problem. There is health care if you sign up for it with the government and pay regularly. Obviously not everyone can afford it. Length of stay in the hospital is longer in rural areas because people can't get to the hospital easily and are sicker when they do get there. As far as community nursing, there are some community nurses who live in the community they serve which sounds like a good idea to me.
In 2006, the Ministry of Health changed their focus from curative to preventative. So this is a step in the right direction. But if you can't pay for your hospital stay, they keep you in the hospital until you do. How does that work?
After the nursing students graduate, they wait around 10 months to take an exam to be registered. They take a practical exam in the hospital on any random skill that is chosen for them to test out on. Can you imagine? Then they have a written essay exam. Some committee hires nurses who are practicing to grade these exams. Sometimes the nurses who were the students' preceptors are the ones who serve as examiners. That would mean I could be grading your exam for registration even though I was one of your teachers! Anyway, every university student has to do one year of national service. The nursing graduates work in a modified student nurse role for that one year after graduation. I guess that means they don't have to look for a job right away after graduation, but it also means that they don't have any choice where they work at first, too. We are going on hospital visits tomorrow and there will be many graduate nurses doing their clinical skills testout while we are there.
I'm learning that nurses are not highly valued or trusted here like they are in the United States. Apparently, nurses don't treat their patients very well and patients don't always realize how unsafe their treatment is. It sounds like we can all work on our nurse/patient relationships!
We were talking about mental health nursing which some of you are in right now. There are three psychiatric hospitals in the whole country (geographical size of Ghana is about the size of the state of Illinois). There are about 15 psychiatrists in the whole country and a limited number of mental health nurses. I hope these statistics change since this is pretty bad.
I learned that the average yearly income is $1400 and a policeman makes about $125 per month. There is free tuition for college students but lots of fees to pay. These can amount to around $1000 for a student at the University of Cape Coast where I'm at. Most people are not educated past 6th grade. Nine years is the average amount of years spent in school. College is just for the very exceptional students. People do value education and try to get their children to get as much as possible although getting a loan is difficult and students may spend on the average of 9 years to finish college.
Moving away from nursing education, I went to church on Sunday morning. The women were dressed in very colorful dresses and their music was very upbeat and people were moving around a lot. It was all I could do to clap at the right time. The people were very friendly and welcoming and I would definitely go again. It's very interesting the role Christianity plays in the culture. You will see names of stores and businesses such as God is Great Trucking Company or Grace of God Beauty Shop or He is Coming Again Water Company. In fact there is a prayer meeting with singing going on above the Internet cafe I'm in right now!
Well, I hope you are enjoying or did enjoy your springbreak. I'm thinking of GVSU and feel fortunate I can work there. There's a lot I've taken for granted that I will come back to and really appreciate.
I'm learning about nursing education here. There is a council that decides on the nursing curriculum. As prerequisites, they take anatomy and physiology, chemistry, biology, math, English, microbiology, physics, and African Studies. Then they start their 200 level nursing courses in the sophomore year. This consists of two semesters of fundamentals of nursing while they are taking pathophysiology. The 300 level consists of three med surg courses, one is called Crisis Intervention. They also take statistics and nursing research. The 400 level has psych nursing, OB, and pediatrics in it. Community nursing is all throughout the curriculum.
I learned some about patient care in the hospital. Some conditions they see here in the hospital are malaria, inguinal hernia, and TB. People don't seek health care or dental care unless they have a severe problem. There is health care if you sign up for it with the government and pay regularly. Obviously not everyone can afford it. Length of stay in the hospital is longer in rural areas because people can't get to the hospital easily and are sicker when they do get there. As far as community nursing, there are some community nurses who live in the community they serve which sounds like a good idea to me.
In 2006, the Ministry of Health changed their focus from curative to preventative. So this is a step in the right direction. But if you can't pay for your hospital stay, they keep you in the hospital until you do. How does that work?
After the nursing students graduate, they wait around 10 months to take an exam to be registered. They take a practical exam in the hospital on any random skill that is chosen for them to test out on. Can you imagine? Then they have a written essay exam. Some committee hires nurses who are practicing to grade these exams. Sometimes the nurses who were the students' preceptors are the ones who serve as examiners. That would mean I could be grading your exam for registration even though I was one of your teachers! Anyway, every university student has to do one year of national service. The nursing graduates work in a modified student nurse role for that one year after graduation. I guess that means they don't have to look for a job right away after graduation, but it also means that they don't have any choice where they work at first, too. We are going on hospital visits tomorrow and there will be many graduate nurses doing their clinical skills testout while we are there.
I'm learning that nurses are not highly valued or trusted here like they are in the United States. Apparently, nurses don't treat their patients very well and patients don't always realize how unsafe their treatment is. It sounds like we can all work on our nurse/patient relationships!
We were talking about mental health nursing which some of you are in right now. There are three psychiatric hospitals in the whole country (geographical size of Ghana is about the size of the state of Illinois). There are about 15 psychiatrists in the whole country and a limited number of mental health nurses. I hope these statistics change since this is pretty bad.
I learned that the average yearly income is $1400 and a policeman makes about $125 per month. There is free tuition for college students but lots of fees to pay. These can amount to around $1000 for a student at the University of Cape Coast where I'm at. Most people are not educated past 6th grade. Nine years is the average amount of years spent in school. College is just for the very exceptional students. People do value education and try to get their children to get as much as possible although getting a loan is difficult and students may spend on the average of 9 years to finish college.
Moving away from nursing education, I went to church on Sunday morning. The women were dressed in very colorful dresses and their music was very upbeat and people were moving around a lot. It was all I could do to clap at the right time. The people were very friendly and welcoming and I would definitely go again. It's very interesting the role Christianity plays in the culture. You will see names of stores and businesses such as God is Great Trucking Company or Grace of God Beauty Shop or He is Coming Again Water Company. In fact there is a prayer meeting with singing going on above the Internet cafe I'm in right now!
Well, I hope you are enjoying or did enjoy your springbreak. I'm thinking of GVSU and feel fortunate I can work there. There's a lot I've taken for granted that I will come back to and really appreciate.
Tuesday's Info
Hi all you avid readers of this blog! On this day, both Dr. Schoofs and I lectured for the UCC students...I am going to let Nancy tell her experiences in the following blog, but my students were GREAT. They asked really good (and very complex questions) and were extremely attentive. The classrooms are not air conditioned so their instructor was REALLY HOT (and not necessarily in a good sense) while lecturing. The students (about 60 of them) sat mostly in the front of the classroom and anytime one of them had a question, they did not hesitate to ask...their nursing program has been updated by Janet Gross (our host) who is a retired faculty from Morehead State University in Kentucky. She is one tough bird...retired and has lived in Ghana, working with Ghana students and developing their nursing program for the past 2 1/2 years...quite remarkable as there are really no "creature comforts" to be had here. She does it for the love of teaching...again, very remarkable. To think...how many lives will she have changed for the better...anyway, I lecture the 200 level students on HIV/AIDs from the western perspective...and tried to make my lecture as interactive as possible, giving the students an opportunity to tell their stories and give their perspective on something that kills a lot of Ghahaians. Interestingly, one common belief is that America introduced AIDs into the continent of Africa because of virus research. Some also believe that it is a form of population control...somewhat depressing. Overall, the students were just like American students though...they listened, they asked good questions and they really wanted to learn.
After the lecture, we went to a seamstress...we all have bought African material and she fitted us for what we wanted...I also bought a really cool African shirt. We will pick up our new African outfits next Tuesday.
Next we visited the International Center where we met Dr. Kwadwo (English professor who spent a year at GVSU as a Fullbright scholar) where we discussed future programs with GVSU and UCC. He gave us some really good Ghanaian chocolate...Ghana used to be the number 1 producer of chocolate in the world.
Finally, we went to a very cool beach-side restaurant. This time I split an extra large Tilapia meal...with fried rice and Star beer...it was very good. And the company was even better. Dr. Silvia Mupepi has arrived...so Janet, Silvia, Nancy, Ranelle and myself all had a lovely meal. Now we are finishing our day by blogging. Tomorrow, we will visit some nearly hospitals.
After the lecture, we went to a seamstress...we all have bought African material and she fitted us for what we wanted...I also bought a really cool African shirt. We will pick up our new African outfits next Tuesday.
Next we visited the International Center where we met Dr. Kwadwo (English professor who spent a year at GVSU as a Fullbright scholar) where we discussed future programs with GVSU and UCC. He gave us some really good Ghanaian chocolate...Ghana used to be the number 1 producer of chocolate in the world.
Finally, we went to a very cool beach-side restaurant. This time I split an extra large Tilapia meal...with fried rice and Star beer...it was very good. And the company was even better. Dr. Silvia Mupepi has arrived...so Janet, Silvia, Nancy, Ranelle and myself all had a lovely meal. Now we are finishing our day by blogging. Tomorrow, we will visit some nearly hospitals.
Monday - Trip to the Village on Stilts
OK, this is now Tuesday here in Ghana...we got back late yesterday from our trip so I am going to report on this now and then (hopefully) blog later today on our time in the classroom.
Monday - I got up at 3:15 AM to get ready...and met Janet and my traveling buddies at 3:45 AM...we went to where we were supposed to get on the brand new bus that student monies had purchased. The Ghanaians are not ruled by the same time constraints as we are...SO by 5:15, all were aboard (40 senior level students and us) and we took off for the Village. The students were very lively...they played (loud) music...mostly local music but some rap and some were dancing in the bus aisles, some were singing (most but not all of the dancing was done by the female students). They seem to be a very happy group! We drove many hours in an air-conditioned bus before we reached a place on the ocean to stop and eat. The food was native Ghana food - spicy rice, a chicken leg. I didn't eat much as it was a bit too spicy for me. We had the experience of using a female urinal (you bring your own TP) and took off again...eventually we got on a tro-tro (a beat up van that seats as many people as can fit)...ours had 18 squished in. We took this over some pretty rough terrain to the canoes but to get to the canoes we had to walk about a quarter of a mile over even rougher terrain, over planks and eventually we waded in the river water to the canoes. I was seated by Janet and there were 5 other students in our canoe plus the rower. We traveled the river for a bit and then traveled quite a ways in a fresh water lake. We were told there were many crocodiles and alligators in the lake but we didn't see any (which is good because you can feel pretty vulnerable in a canoe). We landed in the Stilt Village (I don't have the name right now but will get that for my next blog), climbed up some very interesting ladder and walked through the Village. There were many children and adults all over. Approximately 450 people live there and there is very little health care. We sat in an open area and heard a talk about how the Village came to be and then boarded our canoes for the trip back. We decided to walk as the Tro-tros were not there, but we had fresh coconuts (not as sweet as you might think) to drink (and then eat the coconut if you wanted to) before we started walking. My feet hurt so I took off my flip flops and was walking bare feet across the African terrain...kinda cool! Eventually a tro-tro came and I boarded to get back to our bus. With one of the students I went on a hunt to find some cold bottled water...only found hot bottled water but it would have to do. Next we went to a rain forest (an additional 2 hours AWAY from UCC) and when we got there, the students decided that they didn't want to spent a CD for a tour (a CD is about .80) so we went to an open air market about 30 miles from there...and they spent an hour shopping. We got back to UCC at about 9 PM, very tired...and that was about it for Monday's travels. I will try to post a pic or 2 a bit later...not sure if that will work as internet connections are very slow here but we shall see.
Monday - I got up at 3:15 AM to get ready...and met Janet and my traveling buddies at 3:45 AM...we went to where we were supposed to get on the brand new bus that student monies had purchased. The Ghanaians are not ruled by the same time constraints as we are...SO by 5:15, all were aboard (40 senior level students and us) and we took off for the Village. The students were very lively...they played (loud) music...mostly local music but some rap and some were dancing in the bus aisles, some were singing (most but not all of the dancing was done by the female students). They seem to be a very happy group! We drove many hours in an air-conditioned bus before we reached a place on the ocean to stop and eat. The food was native Ghana food - spicy rice, a chicken leg. I didn't eat much as it was a bit too spicy for me. We had the experience of using a female urinal (you bring your own TP) and took off again...eventually we got on a tro-tro (a beat up van that seats as many people as can fit)...ours had 18 squished in. We took this over some pretty rough terrain to the canoes but to get to the canoes we had to walk about a quarter of a mile over even rougher terrain, over planks and eventually we waded in the river water to the canoes. I was seated by Janet and there were 5 other students in our canoe plus the rower. We traveled the river for a bit and then traveled quite a ways in a fresh water lake. We were told there were many crocodiles and alligators in the lake but we didn't see any (which is good because you can feel pretty vulnerable in a canoe). We landed in the Stilt Village (I don't have the name right now but will get that for my next blog), climbed up some very interesting ladder and walked through the Village. There were many children and adults all over. Approximately 450 people live there and there is very little health care. We sat in an open area and heard a talk about how the Village came to be and then boarded our canoes for the trip back. We decided to walk as the Tro-tros were not there, but we had fresh coconuts (not as sweet as you might think) to drink (and then eat the coconut if you wanted to) before we started walking. My feet hurt so I took off my flip flops and was walking bare feet across the African terrain...kinda cool! Eventually a tro-tro came and I boarded to get back to our bus. With one of the students I went on a hunt to find some cold bottled water...only found hot bottled water but it would have to do. Next we went to a rain forest (an additional 2 hours AWAY from UCC) and when we got there, the students decided that they didn't want to spent a CD for a tour (a CD is about .80) so we went to an open air market about 30 miles from there...and they spent an hour shopping. We got back to UCC at about 9 PM, very tired...and that was about it for Monday's travels. I will try to post a pic or 2 a bit later...not sure if that will work as internet connections are very slow here but we shall see.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Sunday so far
Hi everyone...just a short note on my Sunday. We had a pretty good breakfasr of eggs and toast...and I had COFFEE...they dont do coffee here but I brought my coffee bags and had hot water (safe water), so that was good. We then went to an internet cafe after a short rest (the scorching heat really takes energy out of you!). I am (obviously) here now...it literally takes 5-10 minutes to open a page...so you really need patience! We are going shopping in the city of UCC next...it's about 100 degrees and there are supposed to be literally 100s of shops to buy...can't wait as I am not a shopper. Anyway, after that Janet (our host) said she would find a nice place to eat on the coast again...more fish which is pretty good. Tomorrow will be the real adventure which I will talk more about tonight.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Hi from the University of Cape Coast!!
Hi everyone....I am here with Ranelle (also faculty at GVSU) in the internet cafe on the campus of UCC...we had a 16 hour flight (about 8 to Amsterdam) and then another 8 to Accra...we spent the night in Accra and had a very interesting 3 and a half hour drive to UCC (interesting in the fact that it took over an hour to leave Accra...too many vehicles and not enough roads...AND they pass on 2 lane roads all the time...when never in this lifetime would I try to pass with so little clearance). And then there's the signs all over "Overspeeding kills"...at least 70 have died here. These signs are all over! Anyway we have checked in to our chalets...nice in Ghana terms. We have air and a few TV channels...most of which play soccer. I found "flash forward" TV show but there was no sound so kinda hard to watch and understand. We toured a castle near UCC that took care of the slave trade back in the day...pretty sobering. And then we had a great dinner on the coast of the Bay of Guinea...tilepia, head, eyes and all. Some pretty good beer...called "Star".
And did i mention that it is HOT here? About 95 all the time. We were told to "just get used to sweating", but the reality of high temps and high humidity doesn't really hit home until you are actually here.
The classroom that i will be teaching in on Tuesday does not have any air (interestingly,the medical students' lecture building does...hmmm...). The is a campus spread out many, many miles and has about 17,000 students...some of whom have never left home except for this experience...and will go back to their home after they complete their education.
Anyway, we have a very full agenda. Janet, our host from the states is wonderful and has much in store for us. I will try to update this blog on pretty much of a daily basis, so stay tuned!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Travel Day
All packed and ready to go...even though I made multiple VERY long lists, it's amazing how complicated planning and packing for Africa can be! Started my anit-malarials yesterday...Malarone for those of you who want to look that up. Plane leaves from Metro at 9:55 tonight, flies to Amsterdam and then on to Accra...SO it's 30 degrees here and in a few hours, it will be 90! Talk to you all soon.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Ghana Trip
Just 5 more days to go before we board the plane at Metro to begin our journey to Ghana West Africa. Talk to you all soon!
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