Packing for Africa

Packing for 3 months requires a good deal of stuff! Its not really the clothing but all of the shampoo and toiletries, vitamins, and pills that one needs, that are not available abroad. And they need to be in 3 month quantities. I've packed Aveeno, shampoo and conditioner, and everything else that I can think of that will not be available there.

Clothing on the other hand was not to bad. I have 6 pairs of pants, 2 shorts, 2 pajamas, 10 Tee-Shirts, 6 tank-tops, 3 camisoles, 3 long sleeve shirts, and 1 dress.

My methods for packing is to roll everything:

Step 1: fold the item in half and smooth out any creases

Step 2: fold the sleeves under

Step 3: roll! making sure to stretch and the item as it is rolled up

Step 4: either rubber band or tuck into a pack

It works great and you can fit 3x the stuff into one bag. Its takes more time, but it works well to fit more, more neatly!

And I absolutely love my backpack!!! It has been everywhere and it is ready for Africa!

Leaving for Africa

This is not my first adventure abroad and it is safe to say it will also not be my last. I love to travel and have managed to find many ways to allow myself to do so. This will however be my first adventure in a country and continent such as Africa. There is a lot of stigma attached to Africa, and I am waiting to see first hand what it takes to dissuade it. I have seen a lot for where I have been: Germany, France, England, China, United Arab Emirates, & Japan. In many of these places I was in major cities and with people I knew. In Germany I spoke the language. In Africa I will be on my own and in a different setting. I will be asked to apply my knowledge, scientifically and medically, and interact with different groups of people. It may be a challenge at first, but I am sure that I will take as much back as I give to this, and it only makes me more excited.

Pic from University of Hawaii

However, the process of preparing to leave has been more of a hassle than expected. I would like to point out that insurance companies suck. They will pay for an anti-malarial only if you already have malaria... There is no point in refusing to cover a prophylactic. I am simply going to avoid all Anopheles mosquitoes...

However, the upside of the preparation was reading as much as I can about the history of Ghana and diseases, like malaria. And that has been fun. Its a shame that Ghana was the major slave exporter but it creates a well documented history which is interesting to investigate. If the science and medicine thing does not work maybe I will become a historian.

But on the topic at hand, Ghana, here are some statistics as an FYI:

Ghana was known as the Gold Coast and was apart of the British empire until 1957.

The currency is the Cedi which exchanges as 1.4 cedis to 1 US dollar.

The official language is English- although many indigenous languages are spoken. I will be learning Fante. 
Guess these words: mpuwa, edwow, krokrokoko, bɔdɔm 
     (banana, yam, turkey, dog). I am hoping it will not be too hard...

The capital is Accra. I will be living in Cape Coast, population 200,204. 

I assume I will learn about the culture while there- from my host family and all the people I meet which should make it even better.

I will be working for HEPENS- Health  Prevention and Environmental Sanitation.
Their mission is:
1. To empower the youth to realize the importance of health and sanitation to economic development.
2. To establish a health center to supplement the efforts of Government in terms of provisions of health facilities and delivery of quality health care. 
3. To reach out to the poor with medical facilities.
4. To organize workshops on sensitization & education of environmental & health issues such as STDs, HIV/AIDS, hygiene, degradation, and pollution. 
5. To promote health & environmental awareness in local schools and communities.

I cannot wait to get started! It should be a great experience and will teach me a lot! 

I am catching a flight out of Philly to Dulles, and then direct to Accra. I leave on Thursday, September 2nd, on a 6:45pm flight. I arrive Friday, September 3rd, at noon. It should be great. I apologize in advance for the irregularity of updates and any technical difficulties that I experience.