Adventures in DEET

Apparently, DEET comes in many forms.  If you think "Off!" is all there is, you haven't visited your local Army-Navy surplus store, have you?  Ah, you haven't, have you...

The search for the much-recommended solid roll-on DEET came up empty, so I had to settle for a combination of cream and a pump spray. 

I love Army-Navy surplus stores but the guys behind the counter treat every customer like they're going into combat.  One owner tried to sell me 100% DEET - insisted on it in fact -- then when he realized (?) I was planning to put the DEET on my skin, backed off and showed me the 30% product, citing that "the 100% stuff will kill you!" 

My question, "Why are you selling stuff that will kill me?" went unanswered.

Pickup Lines

So there is some very good news from Ghana today!

Well, first there's bad news.

Apparently the "modern, air-conditioned and highly-reliable" STC Transport service - the major bus line in Ghana - has had a stretch of bad, er, luck.  Massive delays and all kinds of "hitches.".  So, my host, George Guri has decided to "spare me the risk" (read: feels sorry for woman traveling in Ghana first time) and will drive down to Accra to get me.  Then, we'll drive to Wa in a pickup truck.  Isn't that cool?  If you remember the old TV commercials, "See the USA in a C. Miller Chevrolet"...I will see Ghana in a pickup truck.  So like me!

Packing - it's not my bag!

In anticipation of this trip, I bought myself the best piece of luggage I could find that I thought I could heave onto a bus.  Coleman makes a great duffel bag with a removable bottom, wheels, and a telescopic handle. My method of "packing" so far has been this:  As I purchased various things for the trip, I put them in the bag, resulting in something that looks like this:

It's not a glow-in-the-dark bag - that's just a reflection of the light on the cool reflector strips. But as you can see, I, a 20+ year administrative professional specializing in organizing others - am having a little problem here. 

I admit it's still a work in progress.  After all, I have 9 days to figure it out! I promise to update with another photo of how it looks before I leave.

A Primer on Vaccinations

Vaccinations are for little kids, right? And we always tell them to be brave and that it won't hurt much.

As it turns out, when one travels to the developing world, vaccinations are for everybody - lots of vaccinations.

Last Tuesday, I had a plan.

Step 1: Report for vaccinations at 9:30 a .m.

Step 2: Finish vaccinations by 10:00 a.m.

Step 3:  Report for the train at 10:15 a.m. and be off to work.

It didn't quite work this way.

Before the travel clinic would produce those coveted Yellow Fever, Typhoid and Meningitis vaccinations, I had to participate in a little education.  Well, a LOT of education.  I was forced to view multiple maps of the range of multiple diseases, like this one:

Then I listened with despair at the cautions and warnings regarding fruits and vegetables sold along the roadside, and completed and 8-page questionnaire.  And as a bonus, I was the first patient in the clinic's new "Electronic Medical Record" program.  It wasn't the most user-friendly program evidently.

Two hours later, I was released from the clinic with my vaccination certificate and prescriptions for an anti-malaria drug and an antibiotic.

I'm now ready to face any and all communicable diseases.

Three shots. Two hours. One step closer to Ghana.

3-2-1- Contact

Yesterday marked 17 days until my departure for Ghana.  After waiting for responses to a few emails, I took the first plunge toward the road to Wa.  I called George Guri from the Upper West Science Foundation from the plaza outside the Aon Center on my lunch hour.

It went something like this:

1st attempt: busy signal
2nd attempt: busy signal
(At this point I discover I am using the wrong "city code" for Wa...)
3rd attempt:  Success! - a ringing phone - I feel better about myself.

The plaza outside the Aon Center is a crowded place at lunchtime. Our connection was poor and my volume was high so our conversation turned plenty of heads.

Me: It's good to hear your voice, George. How's everything in Wa?
(Man sitting next to my eyes me quizzically)

Lost call. Called back.

Me: I understand storms last Sunday took the roof off a few schools.
(Woman sitting across from me looks alarmed)

Lost call. Called back.

Me: If you can't meet me in Accra, don't worry about it. I can find my way to the bus station.
(Man now looks at me as though I have grown a second head).

Me:  Ok, you can call me Tuesday and let me know what's going on.

The bottom line is that it was good to connect now that it's "crunch time," but nothing was really decided. The "Tuesday" George spoke of refers to the day before I am scheduled to take that bus to Wa.

It may be a small world after all, but not when it comes to advanced planning.  That seems to be an American thing.