Shots and pills

Welcome to my very first blog!

While some of you know that I like to write, I've never been very good with journaling, so please don't set your expectations for this little blog too high. Plus, I've been told to not rely on the internet in Ghana, so we'll just have to see if this will get beyond the states. My hope is that through this, I'll be able to let my friends and family in on the crazy adventures I'm sure to have over the next several months.

People have been asking me a lot of questions about my trip, and honestly I don't know all that much. I leave the country August 9th, have a layover in England, before landing in Accra, Ghana on the evening of the 10th. I believe Ghana is 6 hours ahead of Illinois time, which hopefully won't cause too much trouble trying to contact Mom and Dad... I'll be staying on campus in the International Student Hostel with 180-something other international students (ahhh, I'm an international student!!). We'll have about a week to settle in and get acquainted with the University and Legon, before classes start the following Monday. All classes are taught in English, since Ghana was colonized by Britain during Europe's scramble for Africa in the 1800s. (Interestingly, Ghana was the first African country to gain its independence from a colonizer and since 1957 has had many successful democratic elections.)

I've learned that Ghana is considered the country closest to the "center" of the world, considering it is located only a few degrees north of the equator and the Prime Meridan cuts through its borders. In any case, this means it's hot there. I found a statistic that said the lowest recorded temperature throughout the entire year was 64 degrees (Fahrenheit!) and generally highs are in the 80s and 90s with a great deal of humidity. I'm bringing a lot of cotton and linen, although I'm sure I'll still complain about the heat a lot... But hey, that means midwestern heat will never feel bad again!

Today was my first visit with the travel clinic to start my shots. I got a shot in each arm, one for Polio, the other for Hep A, and several prescriptions for drugs to take with me. Next week I'll go back to get the Yellow Fever vaccine and the meningitis vaccine (who knew that only lasts three years?). All these shots makes it feel like it's really getting close.

I'm really going to Africa.