Nous Avons Arrive Part Deux

Well, firstly I'd like to apologize for not updating the blog Monday evening. We decided on not going to the internet cafe due to the fact that it was already quite late (as we'd been working feverishly the whole day) and the Tamale (sp?) group (myself among them) needed a good night's rest before departure at 5:00 A.M. In the absence of a proper blog post, I was left feeling quite empty, and so I extend my utmost gratitude to PK for keeping active on this blog in my own absence. Luckily for us in the north, we've located an internet cafe in town and, though I'd not want to spark jealousy in PK, I must admit that compared to the facility in Winneba the "Algric Internet K@fe" is truely first class, with up-to-date machines and even a high-speed (100.0 Mbps) wireless connection. So you may doubly look forward to an updated blog, as now it seems that PK and I both will be contributing on a daily basis. :)

On the long (out-loud: loooooooooong) car (yes, a car as opposed to a bus for the mutual benefit of us all, though moreso for Allison) ride, the "Journey to the North": 16. Hours. SIXTEEN. HOURS. Nearly three times as long a journey as what we were anticipating, an extra four hours tacked on to how long we originally assumed it would take us by bus. We took what Joseph thought would be a short-cut compared to our original route; whether or not this is true I cannot say, but by God if it is I can hardly imagine taking the 'long' way up. The main problem that we encountered was road work-- while cruising down a relatively well-maintained, straight and flat expanse of asphalt at 120 Km/h, we on many occasions found ourselves suddenly facing a good long stretch of rusty dust all pock-marked and perilous, winding into oblivion. In these areas even the plants that bordered the path were colored like Indian earth. We had no need to panic, as our driver was well versed in the art of avoiding road workers, bamboo guard rails, and chickens, but you sure don't get far in Africa sputtering along at 30 km/h; thus, we were more irritable than afraid, stuffed into our clown-car. I'm sorry, I shan't complain from here on, as similarly sized vehicles (taxi cabs here in Ghana) may seat as many as 10 passengers, but regardless this portion of the voyage was certainly arduous. But, was it worth the suffering! We arrived in Yipala at around 4:00 this afternoon, later than anticipated due to the fact that an unexpected funeral was held this morning in the village. After all our schedule altercations, we were there (Ghana time, keep that in mind). We arrived just as the brunt of a great thunderstorm had passed... what I perceive as a good omen for the people of Yipala, as rainfall is rare and celebrated here in the North. Well, there they were, 10-score or more little uniformed kids, minty-turquoise green shirts and skirts, all huddled beneath the eave of the school building. We stepped out of our Toyota land cruiser (it had just stopped raining heavily) and they all sort of trickled in towards us adults in tow. I outstretched my right hand (to do so with my left would be disrespectful here in Ghana) to shake the right hand of another half my height, and before I knew it I was adrift in a sea of children... I had to be cautious not to step on their little feet, but I nearly tumbled to the ground! It was wonderful. I love the children here in Ghana-- you don't need to speek the same language to have fun and get along, just kick a ball around and attempt a little Chaplin routine and you're set.

The medical building is amazing. Nearly complete but for plaster work... more details on that to come later, I must be going now, it's late and I want to give our driver a break.

Josh