Wanted: A Hot Shower

Well guys, tomorrow I am halfway done! So much has happened since I last updated. I am now in Kumasi, which has more reliable internet access and less reliable phone access. The rainy season arrived 2 days ago with a vengeance, making the roads worse, if such a thing is possible. The place where we have been doing outreach this week is 3 hours away, and in the last 3 days we've seen about 500 patients.

I've been on so many terrifying cab rides at this point that I'm desensitized to the weaving, hissing, and honking (yes, they hiss here to get each other's attention). Apparently it's considered rude to say "Hey!" or something similar, but not to hiss at someone incessantly. I have tried fufu, which has a pretty good flavor, but very weird texture. I have learned to say "chicken" in twi- "akokoa", so I don't accidently get the one with the fish heads in it!

I was able to get some replacement glasses on my clinic day last week. Dr. Clarke hooked me up while I was there observing surgeries. It is an amazing thing to behold. They wheel the patients in to the OR two at a time, and Dr. Clarke just slides his chair back and forth all day. He finishes one surgery, then scoots over to the next gurney, and while he's doing that surgery the nurse is putting someone else on the gurney where he just finished operating. He does 5 surgeries an hour! The patients are under local anesthesia, so while he's cutting their cataracts out, they are talking and moving, which is kind of disturbing. I watched 1 cataract surgery and 2 pterygium surgeries and I took lots of yucky pictures.

I did a treetop canopy last weekend that was a rope bridge 140 feet high! I was scared to death. Seriously, there are not enough tranquilizers in the world to make this fun. Someone took a picture of me white-knuckling it all the way across one of the SEVEN bridges! It's kind of funny now; I look like I'm going to barf in the picture. We also went to the slave castle at Elmina. That was a very sobering experience, but interesting. It is a wonderful piece of history with a breathtaking view of the ocean. Absolutely amazing.

Friday night, one of the new incoming volunteers got hit by a car. It was going about 25 mph and the side mirror clipped her shoulder. It made the most disgusting sound ever, and I don't know how she managed to shake it off, but she did.

I arrived in Kumasi on Sunday after a 7 hour drive from Accra. The hotel is quite nice, but a little removed from everything. Nothing is in walking distance (at least, not what I consider walking distance :) ). Becca (my roommate) and I are pretty tight now that we've spooning in a full size bed all week. Seriously, though, she's really cool, and even though she's a lot younger than me, she's very mature and non-annoying. My first impressions of Kumasi were not favorable, but after last night's meal, my feelings can only be described as euphoric. We went to an Indian restaurant called Moti Mahal, and the food was to die for! We all got dressed up in our best skirts/dresses that we brought and put on the jewelry we bought at the art market in Accra (very important for women who have not worn makeup or had a hot shower in 3 weeks). The restaurant was gorgeous, had a full wine menu, and they even brought us a hot towel to clean our hands! I drank a liter of beer(!), and ate chicken tikka masala, basmati rice, and Peshwari naan (with sultanas and coconut inside). I paid a whopping 30 cedis for my meal, which is six times the cost of any other meal I've had here, but still less than $20 and worth every penny. I was full for the first time since I touched down on the African continent and positively giddy. The icing on the cake is that today is my clinic day, so I got to sleep in until 7:30, and I'd had enough beer that my concrete slab with a sheet on it was not intolerable last night.

I am missing you all. Jennifer, I'm glad you guys set a date :) The novelty of outreach has worn off, and now it's just business as usual every day. I'm seeing some amazing things, but I'm about ready to go home. Alas, I still have 3 weeks! I'll be here in Kumasi until next Friday, then I'll be in Accra for the weekend, and on to Tema for the week. I'll try to update more often while I have steady internet access, but I've put in so many 14 hour days that by the time I get back from outreach, I just want to limp into bed. Hope everyone is well; love you lots!