TIA & WAWA

There are several abbreviations we turn to daily when things just don't go according to plan. The most commonly used is TIA: This is Africa; however, Kelly recently came up with WAWA: West Africa wins again.

Today, WAWA. 

Kelly, Katie, Avery and I had grand plans for the weekend, we were set to visit Togo and Benin, two countries to the east of Ghana.

Several uncontrollable events caused the downfall of our much anticipated trip.

1) Yesterday morning, Katie woke up with a fever, rash all over her body, headche, and the chills.

2) Katie had been waiting on her visa extension from immigration for quite some time. Luckily, she finally got her passport back around 6 PM last night. 

3) I woke up to loud knocks on my door around 1:30 AM this morning. It was Kelly, she had a fever and needed to go to the hospital. Earlier this week, Kelly was diagnosed with her third bacterial infection while in Ghana. Last night, in the wee hours of the morning, she was told she has tonsillitis as well. By 5 AM, we were rolling back into bed, neither of us ready to make a trip later today.

4) Katie went to bed around 8 PM last night, hoping a good night of sleep would be just what the doctor ordered. When I woke up for the second time today, around 8 AM, her rash, fever, and headache were all still present. So, we headed to a small medical clinic to get her checked out. The doctor did not seem too concerned, she prescribed some itch cream and told Katie to come back in if her symptoms did not subside by the weekend.

Aigh yigh yigh. These ladies are troopers.

All I can say is that I really, really, really, really, really, REALLY hope my immune system continues to hold up. 

I have to say that I am a little proud of myself. At home, I love a good plan...let's just say I'm not always great at "going with the flow." Here, you have to be flexible. You have to be okay throwing everything out the window and starting from scratch. 

I also have to say that many of the people in my program have hit a wall, they are in a bit of a rut and aren't so fond of Ghana at the moment. I feel like my trip to Italy/Hungary allowed me to skip right over that stage. While it wasn't easy to leave Thomas and many of the comforts of a more western world, my trip left me in a really happy place. Having taken a short break, I came back feeling really ready to make the absolute most of the next two months. My positive attitude has withstood two hospital visits in less than 12 hours, a nearly sleepless night, and the current prospect of a weekend full of nothing.

Life happens. It's all part of the experience. Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

Good ole' Abe Lincoln said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

Well, Abe, I've made up my mind to be happy.