Accra, August 15

Day Forty-nine

It's been a while since I've said hello. My experiences here have simply become too "normal," I suppose, so it makes it a little difficult to figure out what folks might actually enjoy hearing about back home. There are definitely still everyday amusements...don't get me wrong.

For example, this great name of mine that has caused me NO trouble for 27 years (I'm referencing 'Virginia,' not 'Ginny') has finally caught up to me and sucker-punched me in the gut here in Ghana. I don't normally introduce myself as Virginia, but in my research this past week I've been handing out my Johns Hopkins business cards at my interviews, and they're all printed with 'Virginia.' When this somewhat foreign name is combined with the type of research I do--asking people a million questions about women's health--it shouldn't come as a complete surprise that Ghanaians have a tendency to turn 'Virginia' into 'Vagina.' Well...as much as one should expect that little mix-up, being called "vagina" at the end of a formal interview is never something you can truly brace for.

It struck me as a complete slip-up the first time it happened and I corrected the person quickly, but it has now happened three times in the past week! And the other three people to whom I gave my card just assumed it was the location of Johns Hopkins and not my name at all. I've taken to actually writing 'GINNY' underneath the phrase "Virginia Barton Bowen" to bring some clarification to the situation. Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the effort to correct them at all, but I feel like I'm disappointing the generations of Virginias that have come before me if I walk away from an interview resigned to be Vagina Bowen.

Aside from the little name-mishap, things are actually going pretty well here. The research has taken off this week and I've finally learned my way around the more rural parts of Greater Accra. I've conducted interviews at six government clinics, one private clinic, and two pharmacies in the span of four days. I've learned a lot about family planning here, all of which I'll share at some point when I'm home and I've had a chance to really reflect.

Speaking of home, I can't wait :) I think it's time I mention the fact that I'm not only 49 days INTO my trip, but I'm 13 days from touching back down at Dulles!

Things I want when I get home (in no particular order):

• a gallon of skim milk
• a donut
• a run on a treadmill
• a chance to get behind the wheel of my car
• a hot shower (that doesn't involve shower shoes)
• a salad
• a beer at Brewers
• a walk on carpet
  

This is all, of course, second to the fact that I can't wait to see my family and friends. Must run for now before I get kicked off the mall's internet. I'll post again (and finally put up some of those photos) in a few days!