Friends!!
Things are going great! The last time I talked to you I was in Kumasi. We have now made our way to Tamale which is a six hour bus ride north. We are staying in a Catholic Guest House which has two single beds and one bathroom. Since we have been in Tamale we have visted four villages. Up until now we have only seen what city life is like. Life in the village is quite differen't! There are groups of huts that are made out of clay, mud and straw. This is where the village people sleep and rest. For the most part they are outside in common areas where they socialize and do their work. We watched women make pottery and spin cotton string. We were also able to watch and participate in the making of shea butter. I have some that I can share with everyone! Walusi, our tour guide, said it can be used for cooking as well. I think I will be using it for my dry cracked heals! The children here are precious. The little ones want to be picked up and the older just want to be your friend. I have tons of pictures with them. I met a boy on the street walking and he wants us to come watch him play soccer today which we plan to do! Muriel, our professor, has a Ghanian son who asked me to be a part of his dance preformance in one of the villages yesturday. We rehersed it at dinner, the night before, and I did it in front of the village:|It was pretty funny and I have it on tape for you guys to watch! We went out dancing last night which was amazing, everyone here can dance so well!! We have a tour of the Tamale Hospital on Monday. I am excited to have my first nursing experience here! That is about it for now!
Thinking of you!
Erin:)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
I just need to post alittle note from my good friend jill... her and kim decided they wanted to change professions and become pharmacist
alittle note from my good friend jill who is also on this trip with me :
Hey everyone!
Last time I left you I was heading to the canopy walk on the cape coast so I will start from there. It was amazing, We went on a tour/hike that took us through the african rainforest. At this park they had build suspended rope bridges that went over top of the rainforest canopys. So so so amazing, I took a zillion photos so you guys can all see it when I get back. After the canopy tour we went back to our hotel and packed up our stuff and headed to the bus.
After a 3 hour delay of stading in the blazing hot african sun from 1230pm till 330pm we finally got on the bus and headed to Kumasi. When we got to Kumasi it was around 9pm and dark. Absolute choas to find everyones bags and head out of the bus station. Once we got out there we started talking to cab drivers they told us that the hotel that we were planning on staying at and had reservations for was 35km from where we were. That would have been about an hour taxi drive due to all the pot holes in the dirt road so we had to find a new place. Our instructor went driving around with one of the cab drivers to try and find any place for us to stay the night. Once she came back she had nothing but bad news. There was a hotel that was cheap and close BUT it had no license and had "warning stay at your own risk" signs all over it. This brings a whole new classification to the term 'dive'. After hearing this Kim, Jaimee, Erin, Lauren, Shawna, and I told our cab driver to stay at the nicest hotel he could find. We were not staying at that other place. Our new hotel was awesome. We had a/c, a fan, a king sized bed, and flushing toilets!
After we had all settled in to our hotels we all met up for dinner. For my next story I need to give you a bit of background as to how the country is set up. All the roads have trenches dug out on both sides for the sewage to run through. Yes thats right, raw sewage runs open to the air everywhere. The smell is devine, especially for when youre eating on a bar patio. Anyways, on our walk to dinner it was quite dark and everyone was tired and apparently not watching where they were walking. We lost two of our UBC-O nurse to the African sewage system trenches. It was a nice welcome to Kumasi.
We ended up staying an extra night in Kumasi due to a bus schedual/ticket mix up so we spent the day wandering around the village. We went to the largest market I had ever seen. It was jam packed, you couldnt move anywhere. We lasted about 15 miuntes down there before we headed back to the air conditioned hotel. Later that same day we went on a tour to see the kings house. It was pretty interesting, very traditional. That night we were all so tired and went to bed right away.
The next day we got up bright and early(6am) to catch our bus to Tamale.
The bus ride was 7 long, HOT hours. We got to the guest house and were very relieved. It is not so bad (for Africa), each room has two single beds and its own shower and toilet. Kim and I are staying in a room and we have pushed our beds together so its like we have a king size. So nice to be in one place for a while.
This morning I woke up with a raging eye infection, I can blame that one on being an idiot and wearing my contact lenses in an unchlorinated african pool. To combat this problem, my roommate Kim and I decided that we would make our own antibiotic eye drops. Very carefully we crushed up one of my oral ciprofloxacin pills(antibiotic)in the most sterile zip-loc bag I could find. I opened up a brand new bottle of contact solution and a new contact case and dumped the crushed pill into the case. Then we added the contact solution and mixed it up. It really looked like it would work but we were very wrong. Kim was stading above me ready to pour the potion into my eye, I was laying on my bed, holding my eye lids open to expose my infected eye ball, and of course, Jaimee was standing above all of us with the video camera. As soon as Kim started dumping liquid into my eye I knew we had made a large nursing error. It hurt like you would not believe. I had chunks of cipro everywhere in my eyeball. The next hour was spent flushing my eye out with water and trying to figure out what the hell we were thinking.
After the home made African eye infection antibiotic incident we got picked up by a tourguide who took us to three VERY rural African villages. The houses they lived in were made of mud and sticks, not even kidding, it is like what you see on TV. The first village showed us how to make shae butter and they did a tribal dance for us. I have never felt so celebrated in my life. The kids were all over us too, and these ones were not like the ones on cape coast. They were the sweetest things ever. All they wanted to do was hold your hand and sit on your lap and touch our white skin. It was incredible, I have a tonne of photos because it is way too hard to describe what it was like. In the next village we learned how to make thread out of cotton and I saw my first massive african spider, not going to sleep well tonight. In the final village we met their chief and learned how to make pottery. On our way back we went to our tour guides hut for a traditional african dinner of yams and fish all mashed up, it was awesome, especially after 8 hours without food and water. I also got to ride on the back of a dirt bike, that was pretty sweet too.
I wish everyone could have seen what we did today. This place is amazing, so different than I thought it would be. I'm really missing everyone at home, one week down, five more to go. The internet cafe is really close to our guest house so hopefully I'll update you guys with more stories as often as I can. Miss you, love you.
Hey everyone!
Last time I left you I was heading to the canopy walk on the cape coast so I will start from there. It was amazing, We went on a tour/hike that took us through the african rainforest. At this park they had build suspended rope bridges that went over top of the rainforest canopys. So so so amazing, I took a zillion photos so you guys can all see it when I get back. After the canopy tour we went back to our hotel and packed up our stuff and headed to the bus.
After a 3 hour delay of stading in the blazing hot african sun from 1230pm till 330pm we finally got on the bus and headed to Kumasi. When we got to Kumasi it was around 9pm and dark. Absolute choas to find everyones bags and head out of the bus station. Once we got out there we started talking to cab drivers they told us that the hotel that we were planning on staying at and had reservations for was 35km from where we were. That would have been about an hour taxi drive due to all the pot holes in the dirt road so we had to find a new place. Our instructor went driving around with one of the cab drivers to try and find any place for us to stay the night. Once she came back she had nothing but bad news. There was a hotel that was cheap and close BUT it had no license and had "warning stay at your own risk" signs all over it. This brings a whole new classification to the term 'dive'. After hearing this Kim, Jaimee, Erin, Lauren, Shawna, and I told our cab driver to stay at the nicest hotel he could find. We were not staying at that other place. Our new hotel was awesome. We had a/c, a fan, a king sized bed, and flushing toilets!
After we had all settled in to our hotels we all met up for dinner. For my next story I need to give you a bit of background as to how the country is set up. All the roads have trenches dug out on both sides for the sewage to run through. Yes thats right, raw sewage runs open to the air everywhere. The smell is devine, especially for when youre eating on a bar patio. Anyways, on our walk to dinner it was quite dark and everyone was tired and apparently not watching where they were walking. We lost two of our UBC-O nurse to the African sewage system trenches. It was a nice welcome to Kumasi.
We ended up staying an extra night in Kumasi due to a bus schedual/ticket mix up so we spent the day wandering around the village. We went to the largest market I had ever seen. It was jam packed, you couldnt move anywhere. We lasted about 15 miuntes down there before we headed back to the air conditioned hotel. Later that same day we went on a tour to see the kings house. It was pretty interesting, very traditional. That night we were all so tired and went to bed right away.
The next day we got up bright and early(6am) to catch our bus to Tamale.
The bus ride was 7 long, HOT hours. We got to the guest house and were very relieved. It is not so bad (for Africa), each room has two single beds and its own shower and toilet. Kim and I are staying in a room and we have pushed our beds together so its like we have a king size. So nice to be in one place for a while.
This morning I woke up with a raging eye infection, I can blame that one on being an idiot and wearing my contact lenses in an unchlorinated african pool. To combat this problem, my roommate Kim and I decided that we would make our own antibiotic eye drops. Very carefully we crushed up one of my oral ciprofloxacin pills(antibiotic)in the most sterile zip-loc bag I could find. I opened up a brand new bottle of contact solution and a new contact case and dumped the crushed pill into the case. Then we added the contact solution and mixed it up. It really looked like it would work but we were very wrong. Kim was stading above me ready to pour the potion into my eye, I was laying on my bed, holding my eye lids open to expose my infected eye ball, and of course, Jaimee was standing above all of us with the video camera. As soon as Kim started dumping liquid into my eye I knew we had made a large nursing error. It hurt like you would not believe. I had chunks of cipro everywhere in my eyeball. The next hour was spent flushing my eye out with water and trying to figure out what the hell we were thinking.
After the home made African eye infection antibiotic incident we got picked up by a tourguide who took us to three VERY rural African villages. The houses they lived in were made of mud and sticks, not even kidding, it is like what you see on TV. The first village showed us how to make shae butter and they did a tribal dance for us. I have never felt so celebrated in my life. The kids were all over us too, and these ones were not like the ones on cape coast. They were the sweetest things ever. All they wanted to do was hold your hand and sit on your lap and touch our white skin. It was incredible, I have a tonne of photos because it is way too hard to describe what it was like. In the next village we learned how to make thread out of cotton and I saw my first massive african spider, not going to sleep well tonight. In the final village we met their chief and learned how to make pottery. On our way back we went to our tour guides hut for a traditional african dinner of yams and fish all mashed up, it was awesome, especially after 8 hours without food and water. I also got to ride on the back of a dirt bike, that was pretty sweet too.
I wish everyone could have seen what we did today. This place is amazing, so different than I thought it would be. I'm really missing everyone at home, one week down, five more to go. The internet cafe is really close to our guest house so hopefully I'll update you guys with more stories as often as I can. Miss you, love you.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Erin's Update!!
Hey Everyone!!
I am not going to lie the internet in Kusami is sub-par so I will make this quick:) I am safe and sound in Africa!!( the crowed goes wild??) I am having an awesome time, it feels like this is exactly what I should be doing right now. By the time we got to Accra on Friday night it was dark out. We took a tro-tro( a big white bus that safely seats 8 but can handle 12 nursing students and all their luggage). The ride there was eye openeing to say the least. Along the streets were shacks with animals and people lying everywhere. My description doesn't do it justice. We stayed at Chystal Hostel for the first two nights and saw Accra. We spent the day looking for cash and a cell-phone, either of which we mangaged to do. The bank wouldn't accept my bank card and it was Saturday so I couldn't exchange my American money. Regardless, I had a number of sugar momma's for the weekend! Next we took a bus to the Cape Coast where we stayed a night at Hans Botel!! Crockadiles with breakfast?? I think so!!! We did the Canopy walk at Kakum National Park and did a tour of the Cape Coast Castle. Both were amazing!! (I took tons of photos). Next we moved on to Kumasi, where I am sitting right now. Our group opted for the African five-star hotel for two nights lol. I thought that if I was going to be roughing it for five weeks I should take advantage of the opportunity! I finally got my money and celebrated by going to the central market. It was unbelievable, people everywhere!! We spent the afternoon on a tour of the Chief's Palace, where I was able to get some neat little souveniers. It is really interesting to see people's way of life here. It is like everyone is in slow motion and in no hurry to get anywhere. The poverty here is more than apparent and difficult to watch, yet they have an amazing amount of comrodery and enthusiasm for life.
We head to Tamale, on a six hour bus ride, tomorrow at 10. When I say 10 that could mean anywhere from 10-3? Anyways, it is late and I am heading to bed. I miss you all and thank you for all of the support, it is much needed and appreciated!
I am not going to lie the internet in Kusami is sub-par so I will make this quick:) I am safe and sound in Africa!!( the crowed goes wild??) I am having an awesome time, it feels like this is exactly what I should be doing right now. By the time we got to Accra on Friday night it was dark out. We took a tro-tro( a big white bus that safely seats 8 but can handle 12 nursing students and all their luggage). The ride there was eye openeing to say the least. Along the streets were shacks with animals and people lying everywhere. My description doesn't do it justice. We stayed at Chystal Hostel for the first two nights and saw Accra. We spent the day looking for cash and a cell-phone, either of which we mangaged to do. The bank wouldn't accept my bank card and it was Saturday so I couldn't exchange my American money. Regardless, I had a number of sugar momma's for the weekend! Next we took a bus to the Cape Coast where we stayed a night at Hans Botel!! Crockadiles with breakfast?? I think so!!! We did the Canopy walk at Kakum National Park and did a tour of the Cape Coast Castle. Both were amazing!! (I took tons of photos). Next we moved on to Kumasi, where I am sitting right now. Our group opted for the African five-star hotel for two nights lol. I thought that if I was going to be roughing it for five weeks I should take advantage of the opportunity! I finally got my money and celebrated by going to the central market. It was unbelievable, people everywhere!! We spent the afternoon on a tour of the Chief's Palace, where I was able to get some neat little souveniers. It is really interesting to see people's way of life here. It is like everyone is in slow motion and in no hurry to get anywhere. The poverty here is more than apparent and difficult to watch, yet they have an amazing amount of comrodery and enthusiasm for life.
We head to Tamale, on a six hour bus ride, tomorrow at 10. When I say 10 that could mean anywhere from 10-3? Anyways, it is late and I am heading to bed. I miss you all and thank you for all of the support, it is much needed and appreciated!
Kumasi and The Boat Keeps Rockin...
We are in Kumasi. It's our final stop before Tamale where we will be settled for a while. Kumasi is considered to be the biggest shopping marketplaces around this area. It literally seems chaotic while you walk the streets. The streets are full, everyone walking in different directions and trying to sell you something. It only took Jill, Kim, Erin, Shawna, Lauren and I five minutes before we felt overwhelmed by the chaos. The streets are hard to cross as here there are no rules to the road. The only thing used to merge, turn right or left is the good old car horn. We needed to cross the street once we arrived at the market and let's just say it's sketchy to do so. Pedastriens are not the priority and they will not stop for you. Kim tried crossing only to have us yelling at her to run faster across the road because one big van was going to hit her. She did just that. We have it all on tape so you all can experience this chaos. We all tried to take pictures in the market today but people were not to happy with us. When a camera comes out it usually comes along with people yelling at you to put it away even in extreme cases they hit you which is every understandable because we wouldn't want our picture taken. After this extravaganza we went to the king's palace.
The Kings palace is a place where the leader of the Ashanti tribe lives. The leader is the King. We learned the history of how the King and the Ashanti tribe came about. It was a very interesting learning experience although the king was indeed at the palace we did not meet him, sadly. Apparently, he is a nice and handsome man says the locals.
So, Mr.Malorone(malaria propholaxis) hasn't been my friend on this trip. He causes me to feel like I am on a boat. I sway side to side with him, we move up and down together. He pretty much doesn't like to come off sea and dock the boat. So for me we just keep moving. One day on this trip he will dock the boat and I will be able to get off, till that day comes he has become my best friend.
We are off to Tamale tomorrow which is another 6 hour bus ride(if we are lucky) from Kumasi. Here(some of us)will be able to settle for a couple of weeks before we have to head to more rural places. Some of us will leave to rural places after a couple days in Tamale. I can't wait to be able to be settled. Anyways, this is all for now.
-Jaimee Musial <3
The Kings palace is a place where the leader of the Ashanti tribe lives. The leader is the King. We learned the history of how the King and the Ashanti tribe came about. It was a very interesting learning experience although the king was indeed at the palace we did not meet him, sadly. Apparently, he is a nice and handsome man says the locals.
So, Mr.Malorone(malaria propholaxis) hasn't been my friend on this trip. He causes me to feel like I am on a boat. I sway side to side with him, we move up and down together. He pretty much doesn't like to come off sea and dock the boat. So for me we just keep moving. One day on this trip he will dock the boat and I will be able to get off, till that day comes he has become my best friend.
We are off to Tamale tomorrow which is another 6 hour bus ride(if we are lucky) from Kumasi. Here(some of us)will be able to settle for a couple of weeks before we have to head to more rural places. Some of us will leave to rural places after a couple days in Tamale. I can't wait to be able to be settled. Anyways, this is all for now.
-Jaimee Musial <3
Sunday, January 31, 2010
We MADE it!
We made it to africa all in one piece. After 30 hours of flying and waiting we arrived in Accra. Let's just say it has been a very interesting experience. We got off the plane to someone picking us up from the hostel we were at, which was nice until we found out we had to pack all of our luggage into at 12 seaters van(and yes we have SOOOO much luggage between as all) plus fit 12 people into the van. It made for a very tight ride. I have it all on video. The hostel was nice that we stayed at. The next day we ventured into Accra. We got our bus tickets and roamed around what everyone would call the poorest part of Accra. It was quite the experience. So many people and everyone trying to sell you something. We walked and walked just to find an ATM that would take our canadian debit cards so we could take out money. It was an adventure. We also experienced our vist ghanaian taxi ride and let me just say they have NO RULES for the road, the only device they use to merge, turn left or right or pretty much do anything in the car is the HORN and well they do just that. It's always an adventure getting into a taxi because you never know if you are going to get into a car accident or not HA HA. After Accra we headed to Cape Coast which where we are today. It is wonderful here, right by the ocean and beautiful. We enjoyed seeing the slave castle where Obama visited in the summer. It was so interesting to see what they had done to the slaves and listen to the background. We are not at what is called a botel "a hotel on water above alligators" wooo HOO but it's so nice we enjoyed swimming in the pool after taking a break from the heat. We are so burnt but it's so worth it. The days keep getting better and better and we begin to enjoy it that much more. We just can't tell you what it is truly like as it's something unexplainable. It's amazing to say the least. Although we have had challenges like our cellphone broke, we've had no money for the last two days and well the time changes have got to us we are slowly getting use to it all. I brought my video camera and have video recorded alot of our group's journey. I cannot wait to show you all it. We are off to Kumasi tomorrow. Hope to talk to you all soon again. I am probably missing alot of things but I just can't remember it all. Thank you for reading.
xo
xo
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tomorrow is the BIG day!
We are off to Africa tomorrow. All this anticpation, stress and feeling overwhelmed to finally departing on our adventure. We are so very excited. Our Visa's and Passports were handed back to our hot little hands today which meant we knew it was real, WE ARE UP UP AND AWAY tomorrow morning. We depart from Kelowna to arrive in Calgary from Calgary to London and then off to our final destination of Ghana.
HOORAY HOORAY..and we are off. <3
HOORAY HOORAY..and we are off. <3
Sunday, January 24, 2010
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