Several people have expressed interest in knowing the quotidian details of my Ghana planning. (I had to look up “quotidian” to make sure I was using it right. The 2nd definition, according to the American Heritage Dictionary of Google, is “Recurring daily. Used especially of attacks of malaria.” Which seems appropriate.) I have a “Ghana” category now, so you can skip these if they’re boring.
How did you find the place to volunteer?
Basically, I looked at Idealist.org’s list for volunteering abroad and clicked on every link that looked like it might apply to me - a young-but-not-too-young atheist American looking to go to Africa for a relatively short period of time. As I said already, I eventually decided on this one after a few emails with the guy in charge revealed that they were a) reasonably well-organized, and b) a hell of a lot cheaper than anyone else.
How did you buy the tickets?
At the airport. It was wicked annoying.
What’s the next step?
After spending $35 on 4 passport photos, my visa application is in the mail. Sending one’s passport through the mail is terrifying, I tell you! (Just checked tracking - apparently the post office attempted to deliver it at 5:29 p.m. yesterday, a Saturday, and was terribly surprised to discover that no one was there to accept the package. Hopefully they’ll try again during actual working hours tomorrow.) Making all of this even more terrifying is the fact that I had to buy a plane ticket to a country I don’t yet have permission to enter, because in order to request permission, I had to show them proof of a return ticket. Nobody does catch-22’s like the parts of government that deal with foreigners.
0 responses so far ↓
1 Fairdice // Apr 24, 2006 at 7:18 am
This sounds way cool, Sam.
I can imagine a sequence of events that involved purchasing a fully-refundable ticket first, then getting the visa, and then returning the refundable ticket and buying a cheaper nonrefundable one on the same flight. But this would only magnify “wicked annoying”…
2 Stephanie // May 10, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Very belated comment… my sister was in the Peace Corps in Ghana and I visited her for 3 weeks. It sounds like a cliche, but the people are the friendliest you’ll ever meet! Have a great time.
My one tip: bring lots of gatorade powder (for hydration) and if you’ll be traveling around at all, bring plenty of power bars. Roadside stands generally only sell raw rice & onions or sickeningly sweet bread. There were a couple of days where I didn’t eat and was VERY unhappy. By the end of the trip, I was hoarding my last granola bar like the lord of the rings guy with the ring.
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