Day 40

When I arrived at the clinic today they were just finishing up rounds. I didn’t know where any of my friends were so I decided to spend the day getting to know the people in the dispensary. I had talked to them in passing but hadn’t really had conversations with them before. Edmund and Rita were working the morning shift that day. Rita is from Kumasi but works at the clinic during the week. They both speak English very well and are so sociable. We somehow got talking about relationships and I found out Edmund has 2 girlfriends that he is dating very serious. It’s very common for that to happen here apparently although Rita said she didn’t agree with it. Edmund was very interested when I explained how Americans typically date. He had to leave around 11, which left Rita and I alone for an hour or so to have some girl talk. She had a boyfriend for 10 years but 7 months ago he impregnated his house-maid and was forced to marry her. Now she is in a relationship with a beautiful man named Gideon. He looks just like Lebron James and from what I hear is quite the gentleman. Rita wants to be a relationship counselor for dating couples and single people. I think she would make an excellent counselor because she kept saying things like “Relationships are like institutions; we all come from different places to learn” and “You can’t go into a relationship thinking you can change the person, it never works out.” We then topped off the perfect girls day with some online shopping. I spent a longer time than usual at the clinic but I was learning so much about the drugs from Solomon and Edmund and enjoying my chat with Rita that I didn’t realize how late it had gotten. I came home and wrote in my journal and recorded my notes for a while. Cassie and I made guacamole with avocado and mango for dinner. We dipped plantain chips in them and sat out in the patio area just talking about our days. It’s always nice to spend time away from our projects and coursework and just talk to each other.