The beginning!

So I have been in Ghana for about 4 days now. I don't really know where to begin, so I guess I will start at the beginning of my journey from when I left Halifax. I started off to Toronto, spending a week in Pre-departure training, which was a brain workout and a half! I lived with 24 other JF's going to Ghana and Malawi and interns (I think!). By sweet I mean crowded and by crowded I mean awesome for bonding and getting used to different levels of personal space. We set out on our travels to Ghana on Wednesday, April 30th, from plane to plane to bus. From T.O. to Amsterdam, to Accra to Tamale, 3 days the Ghanaian JF's went through 3 different time zones. When we finally got to Tamale, the 10 a.m. sleep in we had the next morning was very welcomed and much MUCH needed. So enough about that.

Ghana! Wow, it finally feels real. The minute I stepped off the plane into the blazing heat and humidity, the sweet and smoky smell, I finally felt like my journey had truly begun. My first night with my mosquito net did not work out so great. Turns out I am allergic to the treatment on it, so after two nights and painful days of my skin feeling as if it was burning off, I traded in for an older net. I am still getting used to the idea of my little cocoon, keeping the little guys away. We had two days of in-country training in Tamale. One of our first big tasks was to go into the market on a scavenger hunt. At first, I was very intimidated with the masses of people everywhere, but as we forged into the market and onward with the afternoon, it was a really fun time. There were people selling things everywhere. From clothes, fabric, apices, produce, to meat right from the goat. It was a patchwork of color and people and smells and language.

I am excited, nervous, anxious and yet feeling incredibly free, of time restraints, of constant cell phone communication, of email, and of the rush of Canadian life. I am curious how long it will take me to adjust to the slower pace of life. I think it will be a challenge, but also a very big opportunity to grow and learn about myself. I am heading to Wa on Monday to meet my coach, Josephine who is working with MoFa (Ministry of Food and Agriculture). I will head to Tuna the next day, which I am sure will be a big adventure. This is where our group of JFs depart from one another and begin our individual journeries, which together will set the footwork for EWB's long term plans. It is very exciting and at the same time intimidating to think of how we fit into the bigger picture. I hope people from the chapter are reading this, and I would love if you would post some questions. I will not be able to answer them right away but it would be very cool.

Until next time....