1. introduction of what you first experience in ghana and who pick you from airport. your journey to tamale etc.
My first experience in Ghana was not that good. I was waiting for my luggage but it didn’t come. It was lost. So I went to the desk to report it. Tinne went looking for Fidelis to help us. She met a guy who asked her money for the taxi. She asked if he was Fidelis and he said yes. But when we came out of the airport, their was another Fidelis waiting for us, the real Fidelis. Luckily he brought an other Belgian volunteer to the airport so we knew he was the Fidelis we were looking for. He had reserved a room in a guesthouse for us and he brought us there. That night we sat at the roof of the guesthouse enjoying our first Ghanaian hours. He explained us a lot of things of the African culture and the differences between the western culture. The next day Tinne and Fidelis took off to Tamale with the car. I had to wait another day for my luggage. The other Belgian volunteer stayed with me. She had been in Ghana for a few months so she knew a lot about the culture and the country. We visited Accra and in the evening we went to the airport to pick up my luggage but no one let us enter the airport. Finally we got in and I got my luggage back. The next day we took the bus to Tamale. It left 1,5hours too late, but it is not that much of retard. In Ghana people have enough time so all you have to do is sit and wait. There are many things to look at on the street so you won’t get bored. It was a long trip to Tamale and we arrived in the middle of the night. Luckily Fidelis was there to pick us up from the busstation and he brought me to my hostfamily.
2. the background of tamale environment the behaviour of the people in tamale city
It was dark when I arrived so I had to wait till the next day to see Tamale. Fidelis came to pick us up and he took us to the town centre. We went to buy bikes. In Tamale many people have bikes. It is a whole experience to cycle between the crowded streets of the centre. The city is always full of people. It is nice to see all the people with their colourful dresses. You can buy anything you need just on the streets. Some people sit at the side of the street to sell things, other people take their stuff on their head and walk around to find someone to buy something. Tamale is a nice city. It is not a small city so their are many things to see and to do, but it is also not a very big city so you won’t feel lost. The people in Tamale are used to white people, there are many volunteers. But still they are very interested in white faces. They will come to talk to you to ask you where you come from, how long you will stay in Tamale or in Ghana, if you are a volunteer and where you work, where you stay, … . People are always ready to help you if you don’t find your way or you have an other question. they will try to sell things to you, but when you say no, they don(t botter you anymore.
3. The nature of your working place(hospital) and revsodep cooperation with you etc
I worked in the physiotherapy department of the Tamale Teaching Hospital. The physiotherapist was very kind. The first day he took us trough the whole hospital and introduced us to every doctor, nurse, … . We shaked hands and smiled at everyone, but it was impossible to remember all the names or faces. We have only worked in the physiotherapy department, so we did not went into the hospital again. In the physio department we were free to do what we wanted. The staff did not expect a lott from us and they were already happy with the fact that we came. So with every littl thing that we did they were very happy. The patients also were glad and thankfull when we gave them some exercises. It felt really good that we could help these patients and that they were thankfull. Then there is REVSODEP office. Most of the times there is someone in the office and you can go there. You are always welcome. We had to work a lot for school and we could use the computers in the office. I was really happy with that because the computers in the internet café are really slow. It is cheap to go to an internet cafe, but you have to be patient. In the REVSODEP office there is no internet but the computers are really good. The members of REVSODEP organisation are always ready to help you if you have problems with something. You can discuss anything with them. They are really concerned about their volunteers.
4.your hostfamily hospitality and how your experience in general about Ghana.
My hostfamily were very friendly people. Everytime we came they said ‘you’re welcome’. They also informed about how our day was. And if we needed anything we could ask them for their help. Although they were very friendly we had to be alert, because there were things disappearring out of our room. We told it to Fidelis and he said we could bring important things to him and he would store it in his room. But we just did not feel good about the situation, so we got a lock on our door. The food that the family gave us was always enough. The meat was not that much, but in Ghana people don’t eat lot of meat. They eat chicken or fish. We got our food in sepperate pots. It was very clean. We sat at the table to eat, while the family sat in the sofa or on the ground. What I found strange is that they don’t eat together with the whole family. Everyone just eats when they are hungry.
5. RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUTION
Coming to Ghana and live their for three months is a whole experience. You can do a lot to be prepared, but you can’t prepare for everything. For example, we planned a trip through Ghana, but for some reasons we had to change our schedule. And there are a lot of things that you cannot plan ahead. You just have to try to live the Ghanian way as good as possible. And that means that you have plenty of time. Don’t plan on doing too much things, because you will get dissappointed. But when you take your time to get to know the country and culture, it will be a great experience.
Stiene Traets
stienatraets@pandora.be