3 weeks after that post, I boarded a plane that was going to change my life. I didn't know it at the time. All I knew was that I was leaving my beloved USA and would be back in 25 days.
I never expected what would actually happen.
When we got to Accra, we went through Customs, got our luggage, rechecked our luggage, then waited to board a domestic flight to Kumasi. The flight from Accra to Kumasi was one of the scariest flights I have ever been on. There was a storm that we flew through where the turbulence got so bad that the pilot told the flight attendants that they needed to be in their seats, with their seat belts fastened.
Also the plane looked like it had come straight out of the 1950's...
Once in Kumasi, we were picked up by a KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) bus. This bus, I would later realize, would be one of the things that I would look forward to seeing the most. It was one of the nicest vehicles on the road, and it had Air Conditioning!
Our first night, we stayed at the SMS (School of Medical Sciences) Guest House on the KNUST Campus. This would later be something I majorly took for granted. The bathrooms had a water heater, the rooms had air conditioning, breakfast was included, and there was free WiFi!
The rest of my time in Ghana (except the last 2 days), was spent at Westend Hostel, where we had no water heater, no AC, and no free Wifi. BUT, we did have fridges, a microwave, and 2 hot water kettles!
The first few days at Westend, our porch, which then led to our bathroom (yes, we had to go outside to get to the bathroom), didn't have a mosquito net, but that was fixed within a few days.
Around the corner and up the street from Westend was a pretty busy street, with a lot of shops and street vendors. This is where we did most of our shopping. Also we went to the Melcom a couple of times, which was like the Walmart of the trip.
These 2 boys were at the very first fruit stand that we shopped at. The kids in Ghana would always come up to us and say, "Abroni! How are you? What is your name?" (Abroni means "Light Person") and these kids were no different. They were a bit shy at first, but then they were talking and joking with us while we bought our fruit.
Part 2, about what I did every day, coming soon!
