Seriously, Tell the wrong tro-tro again?!

It was a very long day of travel on Thursday and did not help when we got on a tro-tro to Techiman and didn't realize that there was a Techiman village in Kumasi and huge city called Techiman. We had been traveling since 10:30 a.m. (a little later than we had wanted to start because my drumming exam took a bit longer than expected) and probably were not thinking exactly straight. Our tro-tro in Accra took over an hour and half to fill so we didn't get to Kumasi until late and then we took an hour side route on the wrong tro-tro before getting on one to Techiman. We have always been advised not to take tro-tros at night but for some reason Tell thought it might be an adventure. We took off around 8:30 p.m. and I slept bit beforehand but awoke to our tro-tro barreling down the road head-on to another tro-tro. It was around then that I started to feel bad...very bad. My stomach was cramping up and, if I didn't have any pride, I would have stopped the tro-tro to go to the bathroom. I realize this may be too much information but it relevant later, I promise. Thursday night we checked into a hotel around 11:30 p.m. and passed out for an early trip to the organization in the morning.

Friday was a big day, starting with our short trip to Nkoranza. This is the village that houses Operation Hand-in-Hand. PCC (as it is called in the village) is home to 46 disabled children that would otherwise have been abandoned in Ghana. It was founded by a Dutch woman and two Ghanaians 16 years ago and is like a small paradise outside Kumasi. You have to walk through a hospital to arrive there and you find yourself in a little village with cute huts and green grass. Tell and I was immediately greeted by Bob, the husband of the Dutch owner Ineka, a 77 yr. old Jewish man with the wittiest sense of humor I have ever heard. After getting a tour of the grounds, including the stone church, pool, siestas room, picture room, and workshop, we spent several hours with Bob just talking about politics and life and everything. Ineka is an amazing person- she single-handedly brought health care to Ghana, started PCC, and has recently been awarded by the Pope. Bob was her compliment, a retired actor from Chicago with a personality enough for the two of them and more proud of his lover than anyone I have ever met.

I also met with two of the other volunteers who are currently working there, all the children, and had an amazing meal on Bob's bill. I had previously thought I would like to volunteer there in a year or two, but now I KNOW I want to. The atmosphere of the place was amazing and the children were absolutely wonderful. I do not think my typing will do it justice- maybe I can explain better when I return. I think I will also start to fundraise for my return trip as soon as I return. Bob gave Tell and I big hugs and kisses when we left and we worked our way home. We got back to campus around 6 p.m. (a relatively quick and effective trip) but I was feeling terrible again. As soon as I returned to campus I forced a bit of food in and then realized I definitely had a fever. On returning to ISH I found out that Avra and Duncan have been sick with the same symptoms and, after a bit of finagling, we figured out that we definitely have salmonella. We all had egg sandwiches on Thursday morning from the same woman who does not usually cook them and all got sick Thursday night. I am just having some stomach cramps and a bad fever but it is better with them :)

To over-shadow all my pain was a card in the mail from Tracy when I got back asking me to be a bridesmaid!!! I am sooo excited and have been trying to call her all day to thank her. Yay!!!

Sorry if this entry is a little crazy. I do have a fever so please forgive me for any confusion and just let me know if I need to clarify at all.