I’m not going to take electricity for granted once I’m back
in the US!! The power has gone out everyday the past 5 days in a row. It didn’t
bug me too much until yesterday. It was just going out for about 1-2 hours in
the evening. However, yesterday it was out most of the day. The power returned
5 minutes before the Black Stars game started. There would have been a lot of
pissed off Ghanaians if they missed their game. The game was a draw, 1-1, but
Ghana qualified for the quarterfinals of the African Cup so it didn’t really
matter!
Tonight when the power went out I got really annoyed. I was
sick of being in darkness at night. Yesterday was so so hot at the hospital
without fans that I really was grumpy with another power failure. I know
Africans are use to the heat, but when most of the patients I see are stroke
patients, it makes me very nervous to have them exercise in the heat! First of
all, many of them have to walk 20-30 minutes to even reach the hospital. Then,
the room is so hot that even the simplest exercise of having a patient perform
sit to stand 10 times causes them to sweat profusely. I want to get them
stronger and moving better, but it’s not worth taxing their heart or lungs in
the process!!
I really shouldn’t be complaining. This is life in a 3rd
world country after all. I think the heat has gotten to me this week. The
weather has changed. The mornings are no longer cool. We haven't had running water in 2 weeks. Also, I’m really starting
to miss American food at the 8-week mark. I've started to tap into my food
supplies a lot this week!!! I will not have any gushers, tuna fish, crackers,
or slim jims left by next week if I keep this up! I realize how hard it must
have been for Sam and Kenneth in the US. There is no way to eat Ghanaian food
in North Dakota, unless you visit an African market. I’m sure the closest one
is Minneapolis. At least for me, I can live off peanut butter, jelly, and bread
if I need to. Also, they serve me a lot of rice that is easy to stomach. I just
miss salad and steamed vegetables and cheese!!! I’ve always loved cheese, but
after living in Wisconsin for 8+ years, I really really love cheese!!!!
Enjoy your American Dinners tonight! I really should have
written more about the actual hospital or school children, but I’m allowed to be
annoyed 1 night, right?
Love, Kari
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