In Ghana, Finally

These past 48 hours have been ridiculously long and absolutely nonstop, but I'm finally here!

Last night at about 8 PM I landed in Accra. Immediately upon exiting the plane, the rain started. Welcome to Africa? Ha! Because the rain was so unexpected, the people at the airport didn't know exactly what to do and it took upwards of 2 hours for all the luggage to come out. Not to mention, there was major leakage from the ceiling until the rain stopped. It was a mess.

Thankfully, I got both of my bags and found the person waiting for me with my name on a sign (don't you love that?). We headed back to a house in Accra that I was to stay for the night. I was exhausted and nervous and they fact that I was staying in a room without a lock in a house with three strange men didn't help either. But at this point, nothing was keeping me from sleep.

We left Accra early in the morning. He had emphasized that we were leaving at 4:30, so I was up and ready to go (to the sound of roosters, mind you). But naturally, I was the first one up. When he came into my room around quarter of 5 and saw I was up, he said "You're ready, God bless you." That's me, always early! ;)

So we  boarded a bus from Accra to Kumasi, a ride that took another 5 hours. The bus was sweet, sort of like a coach bus, but pimped out in the most 70's way possible. There were colored lights lining the aisle and pink seat covers and fancy trim on the windows. The best part though, is that it was air conditioned and I easily slept almost the whole ride. 

In Kumasi, I met Dora, who is hosting me, and her children Romeo and Mammia. Romeo is 12 and Mammia is almost 3. I already have a little shadow and I love it. 

I took my first shower in what felt like forever--with water from a bucket. It was actually really nice and 

there is no way you can lack water pressure when you're pouring a bucket over your head... Efficiency!

First real meal in what also feels like forever was beans and plantains (YES PEOPLE I ATE THE PLANTAINS!). But anything besides the plain bread I've been eating would have sufficed. 

Sorry for the lack of interesting pictures, I would have taken more, but I spent most of today sleeping and I think I'm about to go do it again.

Tonight is New Year's Eve and Dora is taking me to church. I'm actually pretty psyched. We don't have WiFi in the house so I'm not sure when I will post this or others, but I'll try my best to keep you updated!

Happy New Year!

-Allie

P.s. just because I thought it was funny: 

 P.p.s. The frizz in my hair is outrageous.

When in Amsterdam...

Hello all!

I am currently sitting in a Dutch cafe in the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam! And while many of you are probably yet to wake up this Monday morning, I never really went to sleep. I left Boston at 7:00 PM, flew for 6 hours, and landed in Amsterdam at (local time) 7:00 AM. Being a small person, I pride myself with my ability to get comfortable in airplane seats, but today, there were just too many distractions to sleep.

So here I am, running on approximately 1 hour of sleep in the past 24 hours and I'm feeling great, if not just a little confused by all this Dutch. 

When I landed in Amsterdam this morning and the sun had yet to rise. I found this odd, seeing as it was after 7, but there's something beautiful about flying into a city at night and it's something a camera can't capture. This airport is insane. From where I'm sitting, I can see a casino, a spa, a museum, a library, an oxygen bar, and a meditation center (what?). I had no idea where I was going when I left the airport, but followed the crowd and somehow found my way to the trains. 

This is the first time I've traveled somewhere where I know absolutely nothing of the language. While most of the people speak English, the signs don't. It's terrifying. However, the people are also super friendly and are quick to help me because I probably look like a lost child. Eh, I'll take it. 

So anyway, not understanding the machine, I bought too many tickets and got on the wrong train, but sorted it out and made it into the city pretty quickly thanks to a nice conductor. 

Where am I?

Amsterdam is one of the most unique cities I've ever been in. Everything about it is distinct and a lot of it has a futuristic feeling, while at the same time looking historic. I was told that walking in one direction would bring me to stores, while walking in the other direction would bring me to the notorious Red Light District.

When in Amsterdam...

Just kidding! I wandered in the direction of the RL District, but didn't venture all the way for fear of 1) seeing more than I wanted to, 2) venturing too far from the train station, 3) freezing because I refused to pack a jacket. I did see my far share of sex shops and weird stores, but I have a feeling that 8:00 on a Monday morning isn't prime sexy-time...

My initial thought was to find a cafe and get some breakfast (midnight snack? what time is it?) but I was discouraged by not understanding anything that was written and the fact that most of the "breakfast" places were also bars... So instead, I briskly made a large perimeter of the center of the city and after an hour or so, had a much smoother train ride back to the airport. 

The trains were so cool and so much better than the system in Boston. They were ridiculously punctual and comfortable and smooth! I also think it's so neat that while I was on an "intercity train", there were trains on adjacent tracks that would be "international trains", going to Paris or Germany. Europe is so cool. 

So that brings me here. After walking around this massive airport, and convincing myself that with 4 hours until my flight I wasn't going to miss my plane, I stopped at the "Dutch Kitchen". I settled with a salad and pancakes because I have no idea what time it is and the pancakes were the cutest thing in the world.

As it turns out, they are the most delicious too! Poffertjes may just be my new favorite food. Certainly not vegan, but certainly delicious. And when in Amsterdam...

And so here I am, with 3 hours left until my flight to Accra, and ready for a nap. I would sleep but the paranoid part of me doesn't want to miss my flight. Good thing there's another 6 hour flight ahead of me, keep your fingers crossed that the movies aren't as good and I can get some sleep!



Next time you hear from me, I will have reached my final destination. I cannot wait for some heat.

Talk to you soon!

-Allie

p.s. just looked at the receipt and realized the baby salad and baby pancakes cost me $13... Well, when in Amsterdam...

Ghana: Pre-Departure Thoughts

Hey guys! 

In lieu of writing a post that was all words and no pictures, I made a vlog with a little overview of what I'll be doing for the next 3 weeks and my thoughts on the whole experience prior to departing the US. I'll be back with written posts (and maybe vlogs!) once I've settled in Ghana!  

Enjoy!

-Allie