Greetings!
So despite m absence from the internet, I have arrived in beautiful Ghana. The flights were long and the goodbyes were hard but we landed safely in Accra on Wednesday night. Getting off the plane onto the tarmac was an experience in itself - the heat was a kind I have never felt before! It felt as though you were standing in between two cars that were back to back, and you were feeling the burn of their exhaust fumes on your skin. Getting used to the heat though! Sweating all the time is just a new way of life, but despite the humid air there are often breezes which are such a relief.
The house we are renting in McCarthy Hills is beautiful, and we have not lost power or water yet (fingers crossed)! There is the most amazing view of the city, beach in sight, from our front door; however, this view comes at a cost! We have to hike a crazy hill in order to get home. Difficult, but worth it for the spectacular view!
The first two days have been filled with exciting and over-whelming experiences, but we are settling in nicely. We explored the city with our guides, Philip and Nana, for the last few days. They have showed us the busy city centres, how to get from place to place, and where to get to work. We all start work on Monday and are nervous about getting to work on the tro tros (rickety vans for public transit, but fun!) by ourselves, but we will all get used to it!
Today we spent the morning with our orientation leader, Akua (former Acadia student). She is so great and is extremely helpful, making sure we get access to everything we could ever need. Then we took the tro by ourselves to Nkrumah Circle, where lots of vendors are, to meet Philip and Nana. We were supposed to go to Champs today, the restaurant owned by Canadians, but the second we got off the tro there was a crazy wind storm, blowing dirt everywhere, and then a torrential downpour began! Rain like I have never seen before! But we stopped in to a restaurant called The Bus Stop just now, and that is where I sit writing this (as the internet we have at home barely works if at all unfortunately).
Since I missed out on the first few days, this post is just a very basic rundown of recent events - I hope to add more later to attempt to describe the things I am actually seeing and experiencing, especially the genuine friendliness of all the Ghanaians I have met. I have felt truly welcomed by everyone I have met, and while it is very difficult to be away from home, I am enjoying every minute of my trip so far!
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