First Post of a New Adventure

Soooo, I left England on 02/01 and flew from Heathrow to Casablanca. My flight to Accra was "rescheduled" by two hours which is the same as a delay but they don't acknowledge it was delayed, they just say they changed the time. As a result, I arrived in Accra (capital of Ghana) at 5am with another UK TL leader, Tom, and a programme associate for International Service called Corin who has been working here for 6 months. She took us to a hostel where we slept for 2 hours and then returned to the airport for our flight to Tamale at 11.30am. However, after waiting 5 hours we were told that the Harmattan (a heavy dusty wind that blows down from the Sahara in their dry season) was too thick and our flight was cancelled. We were all very tired by this point so decided to go back to the hostel and try and get on the rescheduled flight at 3.40pm on 04/01 instead of heading straight for the bus station to get the 12 hour couch journey.

A 12 hour sleep and a flight later we landed in Tamale and were taken by I.S. (international service) driver to HQ where we met our Ghanaian TL counterparts. On Friday, we had training all day then on Saturday we went to Tamale town centre to visit important landmarks and experience a bit more of their culture.

My street to the left

 

My street to the right

 

5 minutes away is the football stadium built 10 years ago, it is mostly used for recreational sport now but sticks out amongst the surrounding shacks and basic houses. It beams out the ground at night!

 





We picked up a tuc-tuc (yellow-yellow in Ghana) into town and I got my head round the prices and the difference between the ones that serve as buses and the ones that are normal taxis. We visited important landmarks like the Tamale teaching hospital where I will go with any team health issues, the police station, the prison and the cultural centre to name a few.

 

Tamale Teaching Hospital, includes the opticians and dentist. There are only a few ambulances and no helicopters to service the area. Our Ghanaian TLs were kind enough to help a family who couldn't find the ward for their sick child as they were illiterate and couldn't follow the signs.

 

As my placement is based here I will save more photos of Tamale for the future to keep you entertained. After a wander round in 36 degree heat we stopped for some dinner. I had really been enjoying Ghanaian food so far until this crossed my path.

 

This is Fufu and meat, I am not sure which meat but I think it may have been cow intestines as it was spongy on the inside with soft smooth texture on either side. I didn't mind the meat but this gloopy giant gnocci type thing made of pounded cassava and yam did not sit right with me. I didn't mind the taste but my stomach and rising nausea suggested my mind and digestion weren't on the same team.

 

I have tried lots of other dishes which I will post over the following 5 and a half months that I am here. I haven't had a lot of time to take pictures so far with all the training but please watch this space for more tales of my time in Ghana. Thank you for reading!