These are pictures of me and some other volunteers at the an orphanage about an hours ride from my town. The second picture is the chair that broke after all the kids jumped on me to get into the photo. The kids are basically well cared for though they do not receive much love and attention. I doubt that this is much different in most of the world though. The bad thing is when people make donations of anything that can be sold, it usually is. Many donatrions from the west end up on the market streets here. There are vast numbers of donations fro sale such as shoes, clothes, school supplies, toys, etc. You may wonder how I know they are donations? Many are still in there original boxes from the donating organization!!!! Love everyone reading this and there are some great people here!

These are pictures of some of us volunteers at Akaa falls, about 30 minutes ride from Koforidua. Very clean and isolated. A rather beautiful place!

Just trying to add pictures again.... The first one is me with a monkey (?) at a cultural center. The other is a bunch of us volunteers at the beach in Accra. The last is me and the kids at the house I stay at.

I am in tons of photos on other volunteers' cameras. They are almost unpleasant to travel with because they take pictures of everything constantly. It is good though because soon were are going to get together and create a big album somewhere online.

Surgery

I did surgery today! There was a woman with a lipoma (an abnormal cluster of fat) on her left shoulder. I made the incision, removed the lipoma, stopped the bleeding and closed her up. I do not think it has all set in yet. Ghana was definitely the right choice as far as work is concerned. I went at 7 today and left at 5. I arrive before every doctor but the head surgeon, I think that goes a long way. I observed another amputation, goitre removal, c-section, skin cancer removal, etc. I wanted to stay in the surgery ward the whole time but I do believe I will have to work in the maternity ward for a while. Every birth I see is so profoundly amazing. Work is awesome.
I have never been so proud to be an American and loved my country so much. There are so many liberal anti-American European volunteers here. The news from Europe on the tv here actually talks of America being charged for war crimes in Iraq. How easily they forget, like a bunch of whiney children. Europe would be speaking either German or Russian from either WW. Asia would be controlled by the Japanese (they had beaten China, Korea, Vietnam...all but India). If not them, communism would engulf the whole of Asia. We lost more men in WW II then their countries did. They forget that America absolutely has run to the defense of many countries in defense of their freedoms. They say but America is so big..... Were not even close to the biggest. America has so many people....China OR India has almost 7 times as many people. Maybe America is just a wonderful country founded by the down trodden, intelligent, hard working, ingenious peasants of Europe. Maybe America works hard and protects the whole world. I was always the one arguing against America's superiority until I met these Europeans insulting it. We have a wonderful and noble history that each should be proud of!!

My house

My house is interesting.
There is an adopted girl who stays with us. At first I thought they were so kind and caring. Wrong. She is the slave girl. She sweeps the entire house and yard every morning. Does every bit of laundry and all the dishes. I am allowed to take the son to town and the falls but she is always "too busy" according to the family. She eats in the kitchen on a stool while the rest of the family eats on the couch in front of the television. All kids are hit with rods across the head here for the slightest thing. My host family's son of 4 gave me a juice drink that was meant for his lunches. He was pretty savagely beaten and put in his room. They yelled at him things which of course I do not understand. The men do nothing and are cared for hand and foot while the women toil away here (at my house the women means the young girl). She is only 8 and it breaks my heart. The only solace is I have visited the orphanages with volunteers who work there and she is certainly better off. How unfortunate that statement is. Men are domineering sexist. At work during surgery the doctors flirt with the nurses and female doctors. I have talked with the boys with the best of them. Yet these guys make it even filthier than I can stomach. Most women are mere objects. More on the society here later and especially work!
P.S. I am to the point where I will not take the little boy without Akus (the servant girl) anywhere. It is my main goal while at home to give her as much happiness and attention as possible. Simply the state of affairs make me slightly indifferent to the son, even though I know it is of no fault of his.

Hello

Well, I'll try and write everything.
The countryside is very beautiful. The land is extremely abundant and anything grows well. There are vast amounts of waterfalls all over the country due to the large amounts of rainfall and hilly terrain. The fruit taste as good and fresh as I have ever had. The feel is of a rainforest one might imagine from images seen back home. The cities are festering cesspools however. Everyone throws their trash were ever they are. The locals tell me to just throw my trash on the ground and even the shopkeeps will not take back the plastic bottle you just bought from them. No one has any sense of keeping the area they live in clean. I could understand if it was only the streets but they do it in front of their own yards and neighborhoods. Raw sewage flows through the gutters and into the streams and oceans. At any major city on the beach waste flows every 20 yards or so into the water. The ocean here is black for fifty yards out due to all the waste. Everyone goes to the bathroom on the beach and people who live above the cliffs on the beach heave their trash into the water.
My job is still wonderful. I get to do an immense amount of hands on surgery. I only assist but I scrub up for amputations, appendectomies, etc.. I have learned and seen more at this job then I could have in years. The doctors are questionable however. The other day a young man was being sewed up and the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity) busted open in a 4 inch gash. To my shock the doctor, and I qoute, said "fuck it". He then proceeded to sew the muscles and skin shut.
I will post this and write more as it is thundering and the internet goes out all the time!!!
I have been waiting for 30 minutes to download pictures, maybe next time.....