Togo/Ghana: Back on the road

I came back to Accra from Lome on July 1st (Happy Canada Day!), going back through the hustle and bustle of the Ghana-Togo border and the very bumpy roads stretching 30 miles or so from the border. Being back in Accra, it almost feels like I just came home, being in familiar territory. It has also reminded me of how different it is from Lome, being anglophone of course, but also with more urban development, traffic stop vendors, public transportation and cars (and much less of those crazy motorbikes). I am back to visit Sofia as her time here in Africa ends, but I am quickly heading out this afternoon to get on a plane for Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire!
Visas here in West Africa are a real pain sometimes, considering that I've hardly ever needed a visa to travel anywhere else except here, and consulates can be tough to find in Togo, but alas after a little hassle I secured a visa for Cote d'Ivoire. I am going to meet three other Foundation volunteers that have just finished their work here in different parts of West Africa and are celebrating their victorious end proposals (now that my work is actually starting to get very busy, and I'll actually have to try to open up the laptop this weekend) by making a trip to the Ivory Coast. None of us have been there before, so we might need to read up a little bit on our flight over there...
Cote d'Ivoire has also had a rather tumultuous history, but I hear Abidjan is really lovely, so more to come on that after I get back to Lome on Tuesday!

The last couple weeks in Lome have been getting progressively busier as I've started getting more work on my plate. My feelings range from some days feeling like I am getting the hang of things and putting together what I've learned so far, to feeling totally lost and not knowing what anybody is talking about. I guess that's to be expected!
One of our visiting colleagues is a clinical advisor, and I followed her to two hospitals in Lome as we are starting to build a national clinical mentorship program. Though I wasn't exposed to many patients, it was interesting to see the difference between the two hospitals, hear about the challenges they are experiencing, and listen to our advisor suggest ways to better organize HIV/AIDS treatment. One head pediatrician had some especially passionate thoughts about the need for more children to be born from able women - that women didn't have the right to choose to have just one or two children, that they should have as many as they can... after I picked my jaw up, I couldn't help but laugh...

I've been eating very well in Togo :) at nice French and Lebanese restaurants - possibly too well as my cash seems to run out rather quickly...

Side note on Lome:
- there are noticeably less taxis in Lome than in Ghana, which can make it a little more time-consuming to make your way home in the evening - though we are pretty spoiled to make frequent use of our unofficial Clinton Foundation driver, William (who has invited us over to his home three times for huge avocado salad lunches and wildlife DVDs). Instead, there are zemidjans, or taxi-motos, everywhere that are very cheap but do not strike you as being all that safe... Cars and motorbikes seem to share the road reasonably well, but there is at least one point in each car ride that I take that I feel like we've escaped a collision. And both in Ghana and Togo, my vehicle standards have definitely lowered, when you feel like the strength of your car is equivalent to a cardboard box, and the taxi driver laughs at you when you try to make your seatbelt work...