The new obroni* on the block

Hello my lovelies

(*disclaimer: I still havent figured out how one spells obroni (aka white one), but since it's a word that seems to appear more often than not in my daily encounters, I will take the liberty of using it in a possibly mispelled form!)

So yes, here I am again, writing from Accra and still finding it hard to believe that I am actually here. A lot has happened in the past few days, so much so that I find it hard to know where to begin.

First and foremost, I guess, is the fact that I have now relocated to a new neighborhood, by the name of Labone. It is very central, close to the Osu area where all the other obronis hang out, where one can find anything from a pizza parlour to a bank machine to a big grocery store called Koala where they sell chocolate, cheese and even gossip magazines from Europe and the States (not US Weekly though...thus hindering the maintenance of my addiction...what, don't judge, it's for research!!!!). It certainly doesnt have the same feel as my previous hood (I do really feel like a tourist now) and it was certainly with much regret that I left the lovely Tettey family, but it does end up making me only twenty minutes away from work as opposed to 120mins. The new room is great, in what I can only describe as a small-sized palace, with a view on a beautiful garden and a bed so big it could accomodate a small family (and I must thank Alana here for the contact!). I share the kitchen with a man by the name of Ranjeet, a doctor working at the UN who is originally from Sri Lanka. He is lovely and seems very eager to help me adapt to my new environment. I do miss the constant hustle and bustle of my previous area, which felt much more "traditional" or at least much less bourgeois than this one, but I guess in the long run the proximity will make it worthwhile.

Today was also my first day at work, which went quite well, as far as I can tell anyways! Of course, there was the minor "incident" in the morning, whereby I cockily embarked upon my trajectory to work, only to realize that once in the area, I couldn't find the office. I had to call Betty, the coordinator, to tell her I was lost, and she sent over the driver to come retrieve to stupid little obroni at a store somewhere pretty far away. So much for first impressions! Well, everyone had a good laugh about this, myself included...if I've learned anything in my short time here, its that one cannot take 0neself to seriously when one is obroni. So yes, finally safe and sound within the SWAA offices, I sat down with the coordinator and we mapped out my schedule for the next few months. It looks like I will be alternating between time at the office, and time in the associated organizations, such that I get the chance to partake in less bureaucratic and more "grassroots" type of activities. I am more than happy with this arrangement. And amidst all of this, I should have plenty of time to go off on my own for meetings and other research-related endeavours.

The rest of the day was spent perusing various documents produced by the government body responsible for the AIDS response in Ghana, to familiarize myself with the situation and what is being done, at least at the national level. I even managed to make my way back home without getting lost!

So I guess that sums up the major points, really. I seem to have come down with a bit of a cold, which renders things a bit unpleasant, but still tolerable though. My head hurts, my nose is runny and I feel rather tired, but I tell myself that things could be much much worse (after hearing all those stories of worms under the skin and the other tales that somehow people feel they need to share when they hear you're heading to Africa!). Seeing my sorry physical state, tonight will be a calm evening. A bit of cooking at home, followed by an early meeting with my beyond-king-sized bed. Tomorrow is another big day at the office, and I do hope I can kick this cold sooner than later.

I continue to enjoy my time in Ghana, though of course the move means readapting to a new environment. Life will be very different in this new context, much closer to what I am used to in Canada in terms of food and amenities, probably (or certainly) more expensive too. But as long as I try to keep off the beaten track on the weekends and to limit my consumption of coca-cola to one bottle a week (mind you, you can find that stuff even in the furthest and most remote village), I should be okay.

I see that I only have 8 minutes left, and I have yet to check my five email accounts (not sure how or when that happened...they just seem to multiply on their own), so I should probably end it here for now. So until next time, take very good care one and all, and know that I am thinking of you and missing you all very much too.

Bisous
Sophie