First few hours in Accra

I arrived in Ghana this morning a little before schedule, but the delays/waiting in line at Immigration made up for whatever time I had gained. Customs was no problem - I only had to explain to the official that I was carrying Global Mamas materials, and I got through without them checking my bags.

Renae and Dave picked me up at the airport and took me to their home (the first floor serves as the main office for Global Mamas) where there are several other interns. On the way, we drove by the U.S. embassy, the largest embassy in West Africa. It was intense! I was bummed to hear that I missed quite the show for Obama when he came. It is like going to the inauguration - his face is everywhere.

http://ghana.usembassy.gov/

I went out with Renae to grab lunch, exchange money, and stop by the Global Mamas store. I had to hold back from shopping too much, as I leave for Cape Coast on the 23rd and I don't want my luggage to get too heavy!

It is hot and humid here; it reminds me of India! It's much more tropical here than in the northern part of Ghana. But it's not too bad, and I'm enjoying the air-conditioned office. For the next two nights I'll be staying in the volunteer house behind Renae and Dave's place with two other girls. Also, Renae and Dave have two dogs, Lucfer and Togbe. While they are good guard dogs, they also love to lie around and sleep. Here's a picture of me working on the couch in the Global Mamas office. As you can see, these two dogs (both HUGE, bigger than Great Danes) barely left me any room.

Cora (another intern) and I just took a quick walk down the street to the "chop shop," a local food vendor. If I had not already eaten with Renae, I definitely would have picked some up. It smelled delicious!