Kumasi

Sunday, February 7, 2010
The rest of the team has arrived. What an amazing consortium of people. Newly retired cardiac surgeon, Nurses with 30 years of OR experience and a history of two years spent in Ghana in the Peace Corps some 28 years ago, others with “a lot” of experience of six years in the field, all gathered to be part of this team. I have a defined roll. Granted, I will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that, but in the end I will be a respiratory Therapist. Cheri has the tougher job. There are but two of them, destined to define the African Outreach program. Trying to identify the specific needs that we can fill this trip and in the future. Wow… I am so proud of the work that she will be doing. I hope I can support her.
Today was a crazy day. Check out was the craziest prolonged ordeal we have been put through. I hope that the charges are correct on the bill when I get it.
1100 AM. On to the bus. 25 people loaded into a 20 passenger minibus. 5.5 hours later we pulled into the Kumasi Golden Tulip Hotel. Cheri and I are lucky to be sharing a room. We check in and are partially unpacked before others are even assigned a room. The road was still under construction. Now, “under construction takes on a new meaning in Ghana. Apparently the road improvements began 3 or 4 years ago. In places there is no road, just a red dirt path. In those areas the pot holes threaten to consume whole trucks. We are spared. Sometimes barely. Once we get to the pavement, the speed picks up. But it is slow going none the less. Trucks weaving in and out. Villages filled with Sunday church and shop going people and speed bumps, traffic grates and whatever else makes the bus sway and bob every which way for the entire journey. Fortunately the bus is air conditioned and the route was amazingly bad. The country side is filled with palms…at least three different varieties. But it is far from beautiful.
I have not traveled extensively… I don’t even pretend to be a world traveler, but there is little beauty here. The “inner beauty” is hard to find. There is a ‘mountain’, or a cliff, or some rocky crag that seemed high and long. It was covered in trees. It is green here. Not too unlike south eastern Mexico. Of course we are near the equator, and it is winter…technically…one would think it would be thick with lushness. The palms are ripe with fruit. The oil is used for cooking and the milk if drunk fresh and fermented. I think I will stay away from that.
The mission has officially begun. We were welcomed to Ghana and Cardiostart with open arms. Missing in Action are the two perfusionist. This could put a damper on the events of the week. I never heard if they were expected into Accra tonight or tomorrow.
I haven’t written about the food much. As one person put it, there is a reason there are not Ghanian restaurant in the States….the food is pretty boring. That being said, the fresh fruit is awesome….as one would expect from an equatorial country. Eggs, cheese, no difference. Bread tends to be yeasty. I tried a “tradition side” yesterday. A doughy concoction known as “ “. Nothing to marvel at. No real taste and very dense tasteless. The fish seems to be interesting. Well sauced. They like pasta here. And interestingly curries and fried rice dishes seem to be popular. There is a lot of chicken and rice