All Good Things Must Come to an End

Sixty-one days ago I arrived in Accra, Ghana unaware of the incredible people, places, and moments I would experience by the end of my time here. This has truly been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. While it would be impossible to select one single moment or aspect of this experience, I would have to say that the people I have met on this journey – from my fellow volunteers and the staff at the clinics to patients at the outreaches and random villagers in town – have touched my heart and my mind in ways that are hard to explain. I have grown immensely during these two months; I have learned so much about myself and what I want to do (or don’t want to do!) with my life. Part of me still can’t believe that I actually did this! I don’t think it’s really going to hit until I get back home (in less than 12 hours!!!). The time has gone so fast, and while I am very sad to leave, I cannot wait to get back to the places and people and food that I love! I have so many memories from my time in Ghana, but here are a few favorites:

• Feeding the Mona Monkeys at the monkey sanctuary in Kumasi
• Almost crashing in many car rides with Seth, Peter, John, and Lucas as the drivers
• Sitting under the waterfall in Kumasi
• Becoming a Ghanaian student for the day at the canopy walk in Cape Coast
• Almost getting into a fight at the art market with a guy who tried to sell me a vuvuzela for 45 cedis! (Can you believe that??)
• Meeting the Irish guys at a random bar on a random corner of a random street in Kumasi one night
• Salsa dancing with Frank at Coconut Groove
• Receiving my first marriage proposal at an outreach with Crystal (I said no)
• Breaking Zahid’s mosquito net after a game of kings during our last week at the Telecentre
• Staying out all night on my last night in Ghana
• Singing “Where My Baby Dey?” in the van on the way back from the Adansi overnight outreach
• Watching Peter get “drunk”
• Playing volleyball at Bojo Beach with that BAD (Big African Dude)
• Eating fufu with Sarah and her family in Kumasi
• Sing “Waving Flag” for days during the first couple of weeks in Accra
• Getting my dress and skirt made
• Watching the Ghana vs. US game at Citizen Kofi

These are only a few of the memories that I will never forget from Ghana. I hope that I will lucky enough to come back again one day, but until then my Ghanaian Journeys will be kept safely in my heart and my mind. I am so thankful for the opportunity to see this beautiful country and the beautiful people in it. I have become a better person because of them.

I love Ghana, and I’m coming home.

Welcome Back!

I’m back in Accra for my last week in Ghana. We left Kumasi on a good note after saying goodbye to Sarah and Pastor Morrison and all of our other friends in Accra. Pastor Morrison is very much looking forward to us contacting him once we get back to the U.S., and he also wants us to look into getting Sarah to the States soon. This conversation never seems to end around here. One day, Linda and I were eating lunch at a nice restaurant in Kumasi and this random Nigerian man that saw us when we walked in just casually strolls to our table and asks us if he could have our contacts so that we could get him to the United States! I suppose that sometimes they get lucky and find an American or another Westerner who will give them what they want, but I can’t imagine it happens often. It’s the most disturbing part about being here – knowing that so many people want to come to the States but also knowing that you don’t have the money or the power to help them. And even more importantly, you just don’t know people’s intentions and motives for wanting to come to the U.S. Many of them expect their new American friends to set them up with a house, an education, a job, and a good life as if all of us are living the American dream. Sometimes I feel bad as if I’m not willing to help the people I’ve met here as much as I can, but I don’t think inviting them to come to America or promising that I’ll come back one day and rescue them is the right option either.

On a happier note, we are getting ready for our last Sunday in Accra and our last week at work. I’m going to the market again today to hopefully get my last batch of souvenirs and to try to exchange some of the items I don’t want anymore. I don’t know how well it’s going to work, but I’m going to try. I’m at Northwestern Eye Centre for my last week, so hopefully it’s not too stressful. It’s going to be sad to say goodbye to everyone, but I can’t wait to get home! It’s going to be a great week!

What the Heck is up with Fahrenheit?

Our time in Kumasi is really flying by fast. We went to the same villages for outreach on Monday and Tuesday and saw about 80 patients in total for both days. The staff in Kumasi travels to the same village for two consecutive days for most of the villages it visits. I can’t say that I think this is an efficient policy when there are such a low number of patients present for both days. If there were 80 or more patients each day for two consecutive days, then I would say that coming for both days would be efficient and a good use of time and money spent by Unite for Sight. However, if only 80 people are seen in two days, I think that a lot more work could be done if the staff traveled elsewhere and came back when better publicity was done and more people knew about the outreach coming. Either way, I guess it’s best not to complain since some people are being seen at least. It’s a difficult to cater to all of the factors of why some people come to the outreaches and others don’t. Some of the villagers have other priorities, like going out to work in their farms or attending a funeral, and they can’t fit going to the outreach into their schedules that day. However, the ophthalmic staff can’t just wait around all day for the villagers to come out. Ernest from Crystal feels very strongly that the people must reorganize their priorities so that they can take advantage of the outreach services and get the help that some of them desperately need. Today, I performed a visual acuity screening for the chief of the local village. He had horrible vision and needed a cataract remove! Fortunately, he came to the outreach, but it is cases like these that convince me that locals should reevaluate their long-term priorities and take advantage of our eye clinics whenever possible.

So my roommate in Kumasi is Linda. She is a rising sophomore from Canada. Linda and I have gotten along very well since we met each other at the beginning of the month. However, one area that Linda and I tend to fuss about is the differences in words and pronunciations that people use in the U.S. versus Canada. For example, instead of saying flag with the same sound as the word cat, Linda says flag with the same sound as the word cage. It drives me crazy! Linda says pop instead of soda, and we pronounce lots of other words differently too. Despite my dislike for certain words and pronunciation of words that Linda uses, I have to agree with her on a few things. First, the U.S. should switch to the metric system. It doesn't make any sense for us to have to keep converting to different units so that we can be on the same page as the rest of the world. Secondly, the U.S. should use the Celsius temperature scale like the rest of the world instead of using Fahrenheit. I get so confused when Linda says that it's 30 degrees and that she's hot in the same sentence! And lastly, Americans should call soccer "football" like the rest of the world. Why do we call American Football "football" instead of calling soccer "football"? You don't really use your feet in American Football except for running and a few kicks during the game. Doesn't make much sense does it? Anyways, this is what Linda and I talk about when we're bored or when we want to get on each other's nerves. Despite our differences, however, we've become pretty good friends! :)

Our Weekend in Kumasi

So far, our time in Kumasi has been pretty nice. We’ve visited a few bars, and even met a group of Irish medical students on Friday night. There were really a nice group of guys who were having a lot of fun and drinking a lot! I think we’ll meet up with them again before we leave.



On Saturday, we went to the Monkey Sanctuary in Kumasi. This is a village that lives next to a forest with two different species of monkeys. One species, the Mona Monkey, is very friendly and we got to feed it a few times. All we had were peanuts, and I don’t think they really liked them but they ate a few of them. The other species, the White Box Tail Monkey (or something like that), is very shy and doesn’t come close to humans. They are really pretty, and we got a pretty good look at a few of them. After that, we went to see two waterfalls nearby. At one, we pretty much just looked at it and hung around for about 20 minutes. But at the next one, we were able to swim and kind of slide down the big rocks. It was sooooooooooo much fun. There was so much water, and once you get under the big falls you can barely hear or see anything! One of my contacts got knocked out, but I didn’t really care. We eventually made our way to the top of the little cove where you could sit without getting pounded by water and that was really nice. It was one of the most relaxing environments I could imagine. That experience definitely made the whole trip worth it. We just kind of chilled for the rest of the night and waited for our shower to come on so we could get clean!



Today, I went to church with the 14-year-old (I don’t want to use here name, so I’ll call her Sarah) whose family lives next door to the hotel. The church service started around 8:15, and I had a translator since the whole thing was in Twi. The service was pretty nice and definitely more laid back and quieter than some of the other services I’ve heard since being here. The pastor there is also really nice. The service lasted for three hours and then I went out with and her sisters to meet some other people in the town. I think there was a misunderstanding with Sarah and one of the volunteers, and now I think Sarah thinks that she can come back to Accra with us and then maybe to America with us. She wants to go very badly, but of course it’s impossible for us to take her. I really feel like this is dangerous territory to be in because I don’t want to hurt her feelings or kill her dreams, but I don’t want to lead her on thinking that she can come back with us. Somehow we are going to have to break the news to her and make sure she understands that it’s just not appropriate for us to take her back with us. So many people think that they can just hop on the plane with us and we can set up their lives in America with a snap of our fingers. I wish it could work that way because I would love for Sarah to come to America and flourish. Unfortunately, now is not the time and I am not the right person for the job at this moment. Hopefully so doesn’t take it too hard…

Tomorrow starts my last week in Kumasi and my second to last week in Ghana! Where has all the time gone? I feel bittersweet about coming home so soon. I’m really going to miss Ghana and all of the wonderful people I’ve met here, but I can’t wait to get home and see everyone that I’ve missed so much! I’m gonna make this a great two weeks, and then I’ll come home happy!

Don't Make a Promise You Can't Keep

Outreach on Monday and Tuesday were both pretty successful. We saw a combined total of about 125 patients and had maybe 16 surgery referrals. The staff at Charity Eye Clinic that accompanies us on the outreaches are so willing to help, especially when I need translators for my interviews, and all of us are having a good time getting to know them. I’ve recently found that the bananas in Kumasi are not only safe to eat, but they are delicious! They have quickly become my new favorite snack. I’m officially in save-as-much-money-as-possible mode until the end of my trip, so I’m trying to be as frugal with my meals and snacks as I can. I get 4 bananas for about 50 pesawas, which is really good! The hotel offers a lot of choices for dinner, but the prices at up over time, so I’m trying to avoid these dinners and eat more cheaply when possible.

If you’re wondering why I haven’t posted up many pictures in a while, it’s because my camera is acting very funny and not allowing me to snap a picture. I’m trying to get it to work, but unfortunately I’ve been unable to document my last couple of weeks with pictures. Hopefully, it will start working again soon!

There is a large family that lives right behind our hotel. Lots of the other volunteers have met this family during their times in Kumasi, so we were eager to meet them as well. There are lots and lots of girls in the family who are very smart and articulate and eager to meet us and become friends. One girl in particular is 14 and wise beyond her years. She speaks very good English, and wants very much to come with us back to Accra and then back to the United States. I don’t think she understands that we aren’t allowed to take her with us, and trying to explain this without crushing her dreams or hurting her feelings is a difficult task. She is much more articulate than any 14-year-old student I’ve met in Ghana and she seems to be very aware of her capabilities and the opportunities she would have as a student in America. I would love for her to able to come to the United States one day, maybe for college, so that her world can expand even more. I feel very confident that she would be very successful given the right opportunities. Maybe one day she’ll make it there.

This girl also introduced us to her pastor who lives in the very small community of Trede located right next to our hotel. He was very welcoming and friendly when we arrived at his home to meet him and his family. He immediately started reminiscing about the past UFS volunteers he has met and how some of them have stayed true to their promises of staying in contact with him, and how others have not. It is easy to think that when the people you meet in Ghana ask you to keep in contact with them after you leave, they aren’t really that serious and they will probably forget about you after you leave and they meet the new volunteers. However, I have found the exact opposite to be true. This pastor remembered the names of all the most recent volunteers he met and who kept their promises and who didn’t. Other staff members from Northwest Eye Clinic and Crystal also reminisce on past volunteers and remember with fondness those who chose to keep their promises. When we return home from Ghana to our busy lives as students in America, it may be very easy for us all to forget about the people we met in Ghana, the people whose lives we touched – if only for a short time – and to get caught up in our old routines and habits. But after hearing how sad this pastor was and seeing the disappointment in his face when he spoke of how sad it made him feel that the volunteers that promised they would keep in touch did not, I don’t want to be a volunteer that breaks her promises. You never know what kind of impact you may make on a 14-year-old school girl or the local pastor or anyone even after just a brief encounter. I hope to keep in contact with my friends from Ghana for a long time.

A Fun Day!!!

Sarah and I had a wonderful day off on Wednesday! We started the morning early and headed to one of the markets. I had been to this market a couple times before, but I hadn’t realized how big it was until Wednesday! There were tons and tons of shops, and we got some good deals on some jewelry, scarves, shoes, and other souvenirs. I also finally found the fabric I wanted for the clothes I wanted to get made here! I want a skirt and a dress made, so I’ll see where I can get that done soon! We spent the rest of the day walking around and taking tro-tros (Ghana public transportation) to different places. We found the national theatre, a cool restaurant/bakery, and the post office! It was a great way to spend the morning and early afternoon.

All of us were planning to go out to Coconut Groove and Labadi Beach for reggae night, so Sarah and I went back to the Telecentre to get some rest and freshen up. We also watched Spain beat Germany and qualify for the final! It was such a good game, and I’m really glad that Spain won. We all went out after the game and headed to Coconut Groove. This is like the pre-party to reggae night at the beach, and they were having lots of salsa dancing by the pool at this hotel. This was so much fun! One of the locals offered to give me a couple of lessons and we danced for most of the night! Even though these weren’t exactly professional lessons, it was really fun to get some more salsa dancing exposure. After Coconut Groove, some of us headed to the beach for reggae night. This is essentially a mass gathering of Rastafarians and wannabe Rastafarians who come together to smoke weed, smoke some other stuff, drink, and enjoy the effects together. Needless to say, I was a little uncomfortable in this environment at first but we actually ended up having a good time. Also, two of the Northwest staff members were there with us, so that made me feel better. Anyways, it was a great day, and everyone had a lot of fun! Definitely one of my favorites so far! 

Goodbye Accra, Hello Kumasi!

Four other volunteers and I arrived in Kumasi on Sunday afternoon. We will be here for the next two weeks and then I will spend my final week in Ghana back in Accra. The time has flown by so fast, and I’m really trying to savor this last few weeks. Kumasi is not nearly as busy and hectic as Accra is. The UFS partner here is Charity Eye Clinic, and the staff here is very friendly and well-organized. One of the volunteers, Rachel, has already been here once, so she is our official guide to Kumasi until we get the hang of it ourselves. We went on outreach today, but only saw about 30 patients. A lot of the people in this town go out early in the mornings to the farms, so that’s why only a few people showed up. However, no one goes to the fields on Tuesdays, so tomorrow we are going back to the same community and are expected A LOT of patients! We’ll see what happens, but it should be interesting. After work, we headed to the Kumasi market, the biggest in Ghana! We weren’t really looking for anything except fruit. When we finally ran across a fruit stand, we got pineapple, mango, and bananas! It was sooooooooooo good and pretty inexpensive. We waited in a long line to take a tro-tro back to our hotel and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

I think it’s so strange that I’ve been confused for a Cuban and an Indian since I’ve been here. One of the volunteers even thought that one of my parents were white! I don’t see any evidence of any of these when I look in the mirror. I don’t know if it’s my hair that throws people off or what, but I just don’t get it.

Also, in case you didn’t know, Spain won the 2010 World Cup last night!!! It was a long game, and we were all scared the end was going to come down to penalty kicks, but Spain pulled it out in the final minutes and took the championship with them! We watched the game in a small bar (with a small TV!) in Kumasi after we arrived on Sunday. It was exciting to see the culmination of such an anticipated event, but it was a little sad to watch it all end. What will we watch on TV now??? It’s a question that will be answered sooner or later, but for now we will just keep celebrating Spain’s victory!

The Past Few Days...

***So the Internet at the Telecentre has been less than ideal the past few days. I'm actually at an Internet Cafe right now! I'll try to keep my blog updated as much as possible despite the bad connections at the hotel. This post is a recap from Friday, July 2 to Tuesday, July 6. ***

Ghana suffered a heartbreaking loss in their final World Cup match. It was really sad to see everyone in streets so sad after being so hopeful that Ghana could make it to the next round of the tournament. A few of us watched the game at a little bar around the corner from one of the nearby restaurants after outreach on Friday, and we were all very sad after the long game ended in a loss for Ghana. So Ghana is out of the World Cup, and the games are not nearly as fun to watch as they were at the beginning. But Ghana represented for Africa the longest and we are so proud!!!!!!!!!!

On Saturday, three of us had to observe surgeries at Northwest. I’m not going to go into had much I am annoyed with this clinic or how inefficient they can be sometimes, but it can be quite frustrating sometimes. They didn’t start doing surgeries 5 in the evening and we didn’t finish until around 10 that night. Everyone at the clinic is very nice, but I think they could use a class in time management. Lots of us went to the beach on Sunday. This time we went to Labadi Beach; it’s a lot closer to the Telecentre, but it’s a lot busier and it has lots of locals selling stuff all the time. It’s was kind of annoying to have people always trying to get you to but something when you’re just trying to relax, but it was still a pretty good afternoon. Afterwards, we came back to our hotel to get freshened up and then headed out for what we thought was lunch but actually turned out to be dinner. We arrived at this Chinese restaurant at about 4:45 and ended up leaving at 7:30. I guess I can understand since we had about 20 people at our table, but we definitely were experiencing GMT (Ghana Man Time!). Overall, it was a pretty good weekend with a good mix of work and play.

I’m at Northwest again this week, and so far it’s been a pretty interesting week. On Monday, we had 150 people at our outreach clinic. Of course we got a late start, and we didn’t leave this place until almost 9:00!!! That’s by far the latest outreach I’ve ever been on. Everyone, especially the optometrist on duty, was exhausted by the end of the night. Once again the inefficiencies are apparent. Today (Tuesday), our outreach was canceled because not many people had showed up to the site. There was a communication issue with the local volunteer and the clinic (something that happens regularly at Northwest), and the doctor decided not to go. We ended up having a short day at the clinic, and got home early!

Tomorrow is my day off, and another volunteer, Sarah, and I are going out ALL DAY to have fun and cover as much of the town as we can. I’m soooooooooo excited! Can’t wait to tell you all about it!

So Happy, So Blessed

I was walking to a little supermarket around the corner from the Telecentre one morning when I had a small revelation. It was a Sunday morning, and not many people were out in the streets yet. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining brightly and it wasn’t too warm or too cold – the perfect weather. I left the Telecentre alone and for some reason, I immediately felt a complete sense of happiness, satisfaction, peace, love, and freedom that I don’t think I had ever felt before. I think this was the moment when I finally realized that I was in Ghana; I was in another country on another continent in a world about which I knew very little. Everything I knew and loved was an entire ocean away, and I was alone. But I was not afraid. I was not lonely or homesick or sad. I felt empowered, alive, and so grateful that I was blessed with this opportunity to see the world so early in my life. I began to think about the next six months and my semester abroad in London. So many new things are coming my way, but I know that I’m ready to take these new experiences and challenges head on. My college experience has opened my eyes to endless opportunities and experiences that I want so much to take part of. It is very easy to let fear and doubt rule your thoughts, especially when thinking about things unknown to you. But on that Sunday morning, I decided that I would not let fear or doubt or intimidation rule my thoughts or the decisions that I make. God has blessed me with this incredible opportunity to see part of the world during the crucial years of my life when I am really discovering who I am. Not many people have this opportunity to begin with, and even fewer take full advantage of it. It’s funny to think that less than a year ago, I was not even giving Study Abroad a second (or maybe even a first) thought! The advantages of “getting away” were not apparent to me, yet. But after hearing Study Abroad reviews from so many other students and discovering that it was in fact a possibility for me despite my tight schedule of classes, I began to think about it more. I really don’t know what made me decide to apply. I think God just placed something in my heart and my mind, and I knew that I was supposed to go. While I can’t know exactly what is in store for me over the next six months, I know that I will grow and learn and become a better person in the process. I know this because that it what has happened to me in Ghana this summer. There is something transformative about removing yourself from your normal life and engaging in the lifestyle of a people unknown to you. I have learned what is really essential for living and that no matter how different people across the globe may seem to be, we are all essentially the same. We all need love and companionship, we are all seeking balance in our daily lives, and we are all trying to find our place in the world and to connect with the Higher Being who created it all. Maybe this little revelation was a little bigger than I thought… :)

I am so happy with my life right now. I have the most incredible family I could ever ask for, beautiful friends that I can depend on, and a life ahead of me that is full of adventure, excitement, challenges, and victories. I know that there will be many times when I am scared, confused, doubtful, and sad; but when these challenges arise, I know that good things are soon coming.

God is good, life is great, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

A Day Off!

So today is a national holiday for Ghana, Republic Day. July 1 is the day that Ghana severed all ties with Great Britain and became its own republic nation. Because of the holiday, everyone had the day off from work, so we were able to spend another day exploring Accra. Some new volunteers also arrived today, so we were also able to take them out and show them around on their first day. After having breakfast and hanging out at the hotel for a while, we all left for the Accra Mall. Our first stop was the food court, of course, where I enjoyed another delicious, but expensive pizza. We all just walked around and explored the mall after that. Everything is so expensive there!!! The DVD version of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was selling for 45 Ghana Cedis (more than $30!). I thought about looking at some dresses, but I just figured there was no point since I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford them. Next, we went to see a movie! Ten college students all over the age of 19 went to go see Toy Story 3. I think we all looked pretty silly, but it was actually a pretty good movie. I was definitely entertained! One of the volunteers had mentioned another market that he found near the mall, so we all decided to go there next. This was a great market kind of tucked away off of the highway. They don’t get many visitors, so this is the place to go for good prices! We all had fun looking around in the shops and buying a few things. I got a pretty big painting for 5 Ghana Cedis!!! Overall, it was a great day and a good way to introduce our new friends to Accra. We’ve got another day at work tomorrow, but then it’s the weekend! Ghana also plays again tomorrow evening, so of course we will be watching that!

Halfway Home

As you all may know, Ghana defeated the US in the soccer match last Saturday. About 14 of us headed to Citizen Kofi (a very classy sports bar/club/restaurant) in Osu to watch the game. We got some interesting reactions to our presence at such a heated match. Some of the locals joked with us about who was going to win the game. They laughed when we stood up to sing our National Anthem, but they also invited us to stand when they sang their own. Overall, it was a good time where I was sitting. However, some of my friends had some other less than pleasant experiences at the bar. Some of them said that they received some hostile looks from the men and women nearby and overall just didn’t feel welcome at the bar. I’m beginning to think that it’s a good thing that Ghana won because I can’t imagine what would have happened if the few Americans in the bar were cheering in the face of the over 100 Ghanaians in the bar who just lost to the U.S. and was now eliminated from the World Cup. It would not have been good. After the game, we walked on the streets of Osu and watched hundreds of locals celebrating, hanging out of cars, blowing whistles and vuvuzelas constantly, and just having a good time. We stopped to grab some food and then headed to another bar to see if we could join in on the party. Some people got some drinks, but almost immediately after we were served, two of the guys in our group had their wallets stolen! Some locals apparently just grabbed their wallets out of their pockets without them even noticing. We were all pretty disturbed at that point, so we decided to head back to the Telecentre. I think this was the only time I’ve ever felt somewhat unsafe since I’ve been here. Even though it is certainly safer to travel in groups than alone, I think the large size of our group made us an easy target for locals without the best intentions for us. We were easily distracted by the music, the vuvuzelas, and other locals randomly talking to us, so they were able to take advantage of this. Nothing else happened to me or to anyone else, and we all got home safely. Now we will all just be a little more careful anytime we go out in big groups like that.

In other news, I started work this week at Northwest Eye Centre. This is another UFS-sponsored clinic in Accra that volunteers go to. The staff there is a group of young professionals who are great at what they do but also like to have a good time while they’re at work. We traveled about two hours today to a community near the beach. We saw about 60 or 70 patients, and I really got to talk to Charlotte, one of the nurses, since there were only a few of us at this outreach. Overall, it was a pretty good day.

Many of the volunteers who arrived with me on June 1 are leaving within the next day or so. It is an interesting time for me because as so many are ending their journeys in Ghana, mine is only halfway done. I’m careful to listen to all of the things they wish that they had time to do so that I can be sure to have as few regrets as possible when I am preparing to leave. I’m very glad that I decided to stay for two months instead of only one because I am just not getting the feeling that I actually know this place fairly well. While I don’t feel completely at home yet (I doubt I ever will no matter how long I stay!), I’m glad that I have another month to live here and explore more things, see new places, and meet new people that have yet to come my way. It’s been a great ride so far, but I believe that there’s much more to look forward to. :)