Hi everyone!

Sorry for not writing any new posts, but the internet connection was horrible in Kpando.

I am currently back in Accra driving to the airport. A lot has happened since my last post and I'll give a summary of every day. My last post ended on Tuesday, the second of May.

Wednesday:

At 2am I woke up to the sound of one of the other volunteers talking in het sleep. At first I thought she was having fever dreams as she already felt bad the day before (which is why we went to the hospital, see my last post). After listening for a couple of minutes I said her name, hoping to wake her up. I thought that if she woke up her odd dreams would be over and she would be quiet. When I called her name she responded and happily asking me if I was awake. I had a slight heart attack. I saw her head hanging over the side of the top bunk bed and she was smiling at me. I quickly woke up the other volunteer and together with the owner of the children's home and her husband we rushed to the hospital. Upon arrival she had lost all strength in her muscles and she kept on hallucinating. We brought her into the emergency room where the nurse first asked for her medical file. During the forty minutes it took to retrieve her file at the administration desk the nurse refused to even look at her. When we finally got the file he checked her blood sugar, blood pressure, saturation and her heartbeat. He decided to just give her an infusion and went back to sleep with the message that the doctor would come in somewhere after 8 in the morning.

This shocked me. In the Netherlands if you rush into a hospital in the middle of the night with someone who is in a critical state you will have a whole team of doctors standing beside you within minutes. The doctor decided to finally visit her somewhat after 10 o'clock. She couldn't really figure out what had caused it, but decided it was probably a side-effect of the extra anti-malaria tablets. Looking back on this the doctor never even checked anything besides asking two or three questions, welcome in Ghanaian hospitals.

After we returned to the house I spent the day playing with the kids. I went to bed early, it had been a crazy day.

Thursday:

On Wednesday we'd booked an airplane ticket home for the other volunteer. The organisation was going to pick her up at 11am, but again she started feeling really bad. When we found out the organisation was going to be 3 hours late, we got a taxi. Halfway the organisation picked the other two volunteers up and brought her to a good hospital in Ghana. I returned to the home as my help was no longer needed. The doctors in the hospital in Accra took better care of her and on Friday she flew home. She is feeling a lot better now.

Once more I spent the rest of the day playing with the kids.

Friday:

I picked up my African shirt on Friday and spent the rest of the day playing with the kids.

Saturday:

Saturday wasn't very special either, I played with the kids and did some shopping for our game day on Sunday.

Sunday:

On Sunday morning the kids always go to church, meaning that we were supposed to have some time to set things up. This didn't go as planned, as this was the first morning since my arrival during which it rained. Luckily the weather dried up and after lunch we were able to start. We divided the group in four teams and we played six (mostly Dutch) games spread out over three rounds. The first round consisted of 'spijkerpoepen' and 'touwtrekken'. During the second round we played 'teambal' and we held a relay race. Last but not least we played 'pionnenroof' and a relay race during which they had to carry cups with water on their heads. Obviously the last one wasn't very difficult for them as they are used to carrying things on their head. The winning group received a new football and the rest of the day was spent playing with the new football.

Monday:
This was my day off. The other volunteer and I took the trotro (terrible public transport) to New Senchie. We visited an amazing beach club with a swimming pool. From there we took a boat tour on Lake Volta. We swam and had lunch (a hamburger and fries, this was absolutely amazing). After that we wanted to visit the African arts and culture market. Sadly enough it was closed, so we visited another nice market. Our way back took about 4 hours although even in Ghana you could drive back in 2 hours. Once more: welcome in Ghana.

Tuesday:
I was supposed to go to the school, but I was given another day off. The school was supposed to start again, but there were no teachers and the older kids were going to clean the school. I spent the day doing my laundry, which actually takes incredibly long if you do it by hand. In the afternoon I visited a pottery and bought some nice souvenirs.

Wednesday:
This time I did actually go to the school. The headmaster introduced me to the kids and I was placed at the nursery with the 3 to 4 year olds. They were very cute, but the teachers walked off or fell asleep at every possible moment. This was a bit disappointing to me.

Thursday:
At the school I once more noticed how there is absolutely no structure in the kids' days. I played with the kids and walked around the school. Right before I left I found out that one of the teachers didn't show up that day, how typical. I left a little early to pack my bag. In the evening I played with the kids for one last time.

Friday:
On Friday not a lot happened. I said goodbye to the kids and I took the trotro back to Accra. The organisation picked me up at the station. The ride took 8 hours although it's about 250km, I love Ghanaian public transport.

Saturday:
Today I didn't do much, I packed my last things and read a book. I'll fly home at 10 o'clock tonight (local time). Tomorrow I'll arrive back home. I absolutely loved Ghana and in the next couple of days I hope to post some extra information about my trip.

Sorry for the long update and see you guys soon!