Yesterday marked the end of the 40 day fast for Ramadan and here in Ghana it was a government holiday for the observation of the Eid-Al-Fitr celebration (day of feasting). For those of you who aren’t familiar with Ramadan, it is one of the five pillars of Islam, which includes fasting for 30 days (sunrise [...]
I can’t believe it’s already my second week volunteering here in Ghana. Each day I am doing something different at the FOCOS Clinic. Last week I started working on a surgical equipment inventory, counting spinal rods, spinal hooks, screw and bolts, vertebra plates, etc. It was quite tedious work but also kind of interesting [...]
FOCOS (The Foundation of Orthopaedics and Complex Spine) is a non-profit organization that was established in Accra, Ghana in 1998 by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, a native Ghanaian. Dr. Boachie-Adjei earned his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed his orthopedic residency at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and [...]
Thursday night I couldn’t get to sleep (must be the malaria tablets!) so I went online and saw Phil, a guy from the US that used to live in Ghana, on gmail. I mentioned that I wanted to do something over the weekend and he suggested I go to Kokrobite Beach and stay at Big [...]
I’ve been in Ghana for two full days now and I think my body is finally starting to get on a normal schedule. Monday night I arrived to the FOCOS Guest House in East Legon (just north of Accra) a little after 9pm and was greeted by the housekeeper Eric. The chef Seth had prepared [...]
I was up at 4am this morning so I could shower and be ready for my 5am shuttle from Antigua to the Guatemala City Airport. I wanted to shower last night but as a common occurrence we didn’t have running water. Luckily it was back on this morning at 4am when I needed to shower! [...]
in no particular order or preference…
1. Electric shower heads. Be sure not to touch it trying to adjust the angle. You’re sure to get shocked!
From Antigua, Guatemala
2. The rainy season. I suggest you choose to visit Guatemala at another time. The rain gets rather old!
3. Cobblestone streets. Ladies, be sure to pack your flats! Forget [...]
My final farewell to Guatemala consisted of going to McDonald’s for McFlurries with my flatmates Vaughn, Gisi and Juan. I also invited Katherine and Mimi because I figured they could also use a treat after the volcano expedition!
<table style=”width:auto;”><tr><td><a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/n0H5LFOukik65iHWaspdAQ”><img src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/karenbrown77/SPZoqbGBszI/AAAAAAAABUk/4cwcVEvxyGc/s400/CIMG4267.JPG” /></a></td></tr><tr><td style=”font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right”>From <a href=”http://picasaweb.google.com/karenbrown77/VolcanoPacaya”>Volcano Pacaya</a></td></tr></table>
I ate dinner at home with my host [...]
Vaughn and I were up by 5:30am this morning to catch a shuttle at 6am to Volcano Pacaya with Katherine and Mimi. It was freezing in the morning so I wore leggings under my jeans and a tank top over my long sleeve shirt, my hoodie and then another jacket over that. Our house mom [...]
Today marks my last day at Safe Passage. I can’t believe a month has already passed by! Before I left NYC I stocked up on postcards and I “heart” NY t-shirts to give out to people along the way, so this morning I went prepared with four shirts to give out. One for the bus [...]
