My Office

I thought I would acquaint you with my work environment so you have a better idea of what things are like around here.

This is the front door to the WiLDAF office.

This is the desk that I share with another volunteer... sigh. I definitely expected to have to share an office, but sharing a desk is especially trying. It wouldn't be so bad except that the poor person who has to share with my used to have this desk all to herself and now finds me there every morning... I can't imagine she appreciates it. But oh well. :|

I finally found a suitable adapter for my laptop... it sparks sometimes and heats up like the dickens, but it seems to work. Another volunteer in Ghana recently died using one of these (there was a power surge and she wasn't wearing shoes at the time) so I'm trying to remember to turn off the power before plugging/unplugging it!! When I am plugged in, the other volunteer can't be plugged in. Its a real nuisance.

This is our foyer/conference room/lunch room/hangout room/hallway.

And our kitchen complete with a sink that has no running water and several buckets (under the counter) of water for various washing purposes

Here is the old-school key I have to retrieve if I want to use the washroom.

which is located outside, around the corner...

I usually can't get the door open so someone eventually comes to my rescue...

This is our one and only washroom. It also has no running water. It took me a long time to figure out how people were managing to flush the toilet and also why they bothered having soap at the sink if there's no water. Turns out, once again, that there are handy huge containers of water around for this purpose. Using them is easier said than done. I can understand now why here one does all things nasty with the left hand and all things gentil (such as eating, shaking hands, and giving/receiving things from people) with the right -- being able to wash/sanitize your hands is a bit of a luxury in Ghana!