A Change of Scenery

1. We NOT gon' party like it's my birthday

On Saturday night after the graduation dinner we went out one last time in Nairobi. My colleagues had dancing on the mind and were determined to find it. We visited a bar called “Afreak” (clever) and then a club called “Black Diamond.” I had fun people watching but I am not much of a dancer (unless I am heavily intoxicated) and was not a fan of the male attention that I received–flattering but quite uncomfortable. My birthday is tomorrow and although I would typically have “big plans” I told my colleagues that I was not really interested in clubbing in Accra after my Nairobi experience. This was validated when we asked a local what to do in Accra and he told me that there were a lot of clubs in town where he “holds women close and dances vigorously.” No thank you.

2. My happiness is relative to the speed of my internet connection

We flew into Accra, Ghana yesterday afternoon. I am happy report that there were no unaccompanied minors nearby, just a screaming baby – I really cannot win. Despite the noise, exhausted from a long night out in Nairobi, I managed to sleep for most of the 5-hour flight. First impressions of Ghana are good – there is a lot more vegetation here and everything is very green as it is the rainy season. Although we will miss the Olive Gardens (it grew on us), we were all happy to arrive at the Executive Hostel at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where we found clean, spacious and modern rooms, complete with an internet connection that moves at light speed (at least compared to olivenet in Kenya). Finally, I was able to call home without a delay and clearly seeing my girlfriend’s face on video chat really made my day.

3. HIV/AIDS is not the only crisis that we are combating in Africa

From the giant mounds of rice, potatoes, meat and vegetables that we receive on our plates each meal, you would never know that there are millions of people starving in Africa. Now, before you accuse me of being ignorant, I do realize that we are in a controlled environment and are not really witnessing what and how much most people eat in Africa but it is still quite surprising. Last night we had a buffet dinner at the Ghana opening ceremony, we sat with a couple of the locals that work in the Public Relations at GIMPA. One of them was extremely thin and I was shocked when he came back from the buffet with a towering plate of food. We all agreed that there was no way that he would finish it. He laughed at me and told me that HIV/AIDS was not the biggest problem in Africa, it is malnutrition, and he was conquering it, singlehandedly.