I got my hair done...

for less than three dollars!



So we were in the middle of Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Ama had gotten her hair wet and was too embarrassed to go out so Megan and I took her to get her hair done. While we were there, I decided to get my hair braided too. I was too scared to braid everything, because i didn’t think it would look good, and I wouldn’t be able to put it down when I slept. Thus, I went for the half-braided, half-normal hair look and I must say, I really like it! :)

My scalp feels airy, and my hair feels cleaner! I would definitely recommend hair braiding for anyone who goes on trips where showers and hair-washing might be compromised. It kept my clean-freak side sane.

A truly magical moment at the hospital..

Today, the head nurse at the surgical theatre decided I was ready. Ready to do what you say? Ready to deliver a baby of course!



WHATT?!?

I know, that’s what I thought. With no prior experience except a dozen observation opportunities, I scrubbed in reassured to know that the head nurse was standing next to me, and that the doctor was aware of my lack of credentials but was willing to guide me through the process.



All sterile and ready to go..




I hand the doctor the scalpel and watch him cut into the belly fat of the mother lying before me. If birth was not induced now through cesarean section, either the lives of the breeched twins or the life of the preeclamptic mother was on the line. As I stood there, handing over scalpels, forceps, and retractors, my nervousness and tension evaporated. Rather, my energy was focused on the doctor’s skillful hands as they cut into layers of tissue. As he told me to “hold here” and “pull-back there,” the mother transformed from a living, breathing human into a real-life anatomical map of all the systems and body parts I had been studying for so long in my physiology classes.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Before I knew it, a horizontal cut to the uterus revealed a fetal foot visible through a transparent placenta. Moments later, Dr. Michael McCarthy and I had successfully delivered a baby girl and her younger brother into their awaiting world, beginning at the hospital in the bustling, developing capital of Ghana.




Wow.

Mishap...

Sorry for the long hiatus!!!

Usually when I am about to write an entry, I sit in my room, turn on my fan, and update on my laptop. :) Then, I save it on my trusty pen drive, walk over to the Volta Hall computer lab, and upload the entry onto blogger!

Howeverrrr, in the great month of April, my laptop slipped out of my closet and onto the hard concrete floor of my dorm room. OH noooooo!!

Unfortunately, nothing was saved. There's no place in Accra that fixes Macs. Well, there is one, but it's not certified by Apple and I am too scare of voiding any warranty so I will just wait until I get home to solve this problem. :(

Now I've been using the computer in the EAP office to finish assignments (no internet though) or sometimes, I'll pay for internet at the cafe (like I am now). There's not too much time left! Maybe I'll just give my final thoughts and pizzaz when I get home!

We made pancakes today!

We made pancakes this morning in celebration of Molly’s last day in Ghana! It tasted more like.. dough with chocolate, but with an improvised recipe and limited resources, it turned out pretty well! :)