For the final hour on the plane before arriving in Ghana, I could not sleep– I was too anxious and excited for what the next two weeks had in store for us. I had no idea what I was about to walk into but I knew I could expect an experience of a lifetime. When we finally landed and were getting off the plane, the humidity hit me and felt like a sauna—I knew I wasn’t home anymore! Driving from the airport, I was surprised by how much I was reminded of Richmond—to me it didn’t look much different then a typical city, but it was also at night. The roads were paved with some potholes (like I said, not any different then Richmond). Even from the hotel window, buildings were lit up, and we had what looked like a city view. But when we woke up the next morning, it was a whole new world. We saw the unfinished and worn down buildings and the random animals roaming around (including goats, some roosters, and stray dogs). We could hear the constant honking (which is apparently the way drivers communicate their presence endlessly while driving). But it was loud with a lot of people, and restaurants and convenience stores were within walking distance from the hotel, just like a typical city in the US. But half of us were leaving today to travel to the Volta region of Ghana, which is very rural and what I would soon realize seems like a different country then in the city of Accra.
The drive to Volta was a sweaty six hours, but was a chance to soak in the new culture we would be a part of these next couple weeks. We rode in our own personal “trotro” which is a big van and the way most people get around in Ghana– a much less organized, less safe, and less comfortable city bus system. At most stop lights, locals were selling various foods and other items on the side of the road including snails, plantain chips (which were delicious), cell phone minutes, and toilet paper. Many women would be carrying these items on their head and carrying a baby on their back! At first, we were impressed with the roads– we we warned about how terrible they were so we thought they were better then expected– until we reached the dirt roads as we were leaving the city. It was a constant battle with the huge craters in the road and with drivers on the opposite side– to us it looked like a very scary game of “chicken” when we were about to hit head on with another car. We passed many villages, took a ferry over lake Volta, drove through markets, and witnessed many school children in their uniforms walking home on the side of the highway. I learned a lot about the Ghanaian culture and loved the beautiful scenery on the drive from Accra to Volta and I am grateful for that experience– however, I was relieved to get to our hotel to clean up in a hot shower!
VCU OT Goes to Ghana 