. . . so does the adaptation to the heat and humidity. But I’m loving it! It’s actually kinda fun to be sweaty as if you’ve worked hard and all you did was sit around! 😉
On Monday we started our first week of classes for the theory portion of our semester with individual presentations. My assigned topic for global health nursing was Culture and Health. Though slightly daunting to prepare a 1/2 hour presentation on my own, it was very fascinating to learn about the health beliefs and practices of people here in Ghana and how to use the knowledge we have of culturally competent nursing in a context like this. It just makes it so much more real. I think it went well, besides things like forgetting your activity poster in your room which is a good 20 minute walk from the printing shop and having to rush the 20 minutes back to the room and then 25 minutes to class. Fun times! Oh yes, and the next night I see in my dreams a beautifully circled “D” on my assigned grade for the presentation. Even better times! 🙂 But regardless, I wouldn’t trade those unfortunate circumstances for the freedom that came when I completed everything!
A few other things from these last 4 days . . .
On Tuesday, I finally decided that my 8-day laundry accumulation could wait no longer. Besides, I kinda was out of clean clothes (it happens pretty fast in this heat!) Lo and behold, upon arrival to the laundry room, the laundry tubs had no drain plugs! And so, room keys to the rescue! It worked—ish. And two hours, two sore wrists, and two wrinkled hands later, a line was strung and the clothes hung. (And no, I am not naturally a poet). Be it said that I resolved from Tuesday onward to do my laundry every day or two!
On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to be bussed to the Accra Mall again and this time, I scouted the aisles of ShopRite for some gluten-free options. (Some of the food I’ve eaten has not been sitting the best with my Canadian stomach). I was SUPER excited to find some pancake mix, crackers good enough to beat anything I’ve tried in Canada, and corn cakes! Thank you so much, South African manufacturers! I am much obliged!
And today . . . well, should I tell the story, or should I leave to your imagination what my first experience booking an Uber was like?
Let’s maybe start with the fact that a few of us just wanted to get out and do some exploring, being that we did not have any academic obligations. The Legon Botanical Gardens are apparently a must-see, so we set out for the 40 minute walk, excited to see new sights! It was fun! And we found some beautiful places on the way, places that made me realize that I needed to get away from the constant activity and noise of the campus and city life. I mean, goodness, we found some paths in trees, maybe even forests? Kinda?
Anyhow, when we were denied access across the Vice Chancellor’s yard to follow the proposed Google Maps route, we suddenly found ourselves quite lost and, ironically, back at the Nursing and Midwifery faculty. Hmph. Honestly though, I shouldn’t have been surprised. I’m kinda notorious for getting lost. And usually it’s just another great adventure. When we couldn’t figure out another route and the directions given to us were inaccurate, we decided to just Uber our way there. Meanwhile, Google Maps was also indicating that we were now 30 minutes away from the Gardens when before it had only been 15. Botheration. Remember that it is also still thirty-some degrees above 0.
So I booked an Uber. Yango, actually. First time. No pressure. It was a casual time and place to do it. Sure enough, a car popped up—4 minutes away. All good. Watched the car come closer. All good. Licence plate and name. Check. Destination? Botanical Gardens. But alas, the driver’s maps took us on random exploratory routes: “turn right in 100 meters,” “turn left in 200 metres,” “turn left in 100 metres,” until we found ourselves in quite a circle. Somehow, the driver managed to get to a gate where we apparently needed a University ID to get through. Well, don’t have that, we’re just new here. Found another route. Same story. We were jailed into campus! So it was all kinda becoming more and more of a gong show, so we decided, much to my disappointment, to just go home. Well, where is ISH (International Student Hostel) when your phone has lost its connection (just a little tidbit of tech life here) and the driver has no clue what you’re talking about? Finally, after a series of random turns, we saw the Library and decided to walk home from there. We at least now knew where we were—the lost had become found! So that was that. Thankfully, the driver was never upset, at least not visibly.
Meanwhile, I felt a strong notion to rent my own car for the next 11 weeks. (For those of you who do not know, I am very close friends with my car, to be away from it has been a little sad and it doesn’t help when this whole Uber thing is not all it’s chalked up to be. Needless to say, here’s to many more Uber (or Yango) experiences for this small-town country girl who is rarely satisfied to be a passenger.
And that’s about it! Stay tuned for more adventures!
Lena's Footprints in Ghana 