More info on how OK I really am.

Hello all... Greetings from Accra, Ghana.  About 60 of us volunteers arrived here by bus earlier today.  We left Abidjan on Friday morning; spent about 13 hours in transit.  Eventually, all 130 of us will be here.  There are 25 en route today, about 25 beat us here (they were airlifted out of Bouake where the fighting has been).  The rest will be here soon. 

The Peace Corps is still calling this a consolidation, not an evacuation.  It is our understanding that we will be here up to two weeks or so.  Most of us hope to be able to go back to our towns and villages and continue our work.  However, the rebels continue to advance in Cote d'Ivoire.  My personal gut feeling is that we will be flown home at the end of a couple weeks here.  Of course, no one knows, and the situation changes every day.  I just don't see it resolving quickly. 

We are staying in a very nice hotel (thank you, taxpayers) and are quite comfortable.  No one is sick or hurt.  Most of us are pretty tired from being on transport for several days in a row.  We have daily meetings to discuss the situation in Cote d'Ivoire and get updates on our options.  They are even planning some field trips to help keep us occupied. 

It is REALLY WEIRD to be someplace where they speak English.  Even the computer menus are written in English.  I am in culture shock!  :)

Emotionally, I feel like I am mourning...planning for a sudden end to my Peace Corps service...not getting to say goodbye to friends (when I left Taabo on Thursday I thought I would be spending a little time in Abidjan, then going back to Taabo).  I feel like I had some good projects that were just starting, and now I will not get to do them.  And, I left behind many Ivorian friends and neighbors who are now living in a country where they don't know what the future holds.  They are worried about their families, their futures, and their country. 

So, while I know none of you want to hear this, I am in a holding pattern for the next two weeks (or less if Cote d'Ivoire miraculously calms down).  I will keep you posted if the situation changes.  Will write a posting on how this has unfolded from my point of view...hope to have that done on Monday or Tuesday.  Until then, take care.  ...Kate