Hello!

Hi everyone! (I say that in the hope that more than one person reads this...)

I have pondered the possibility of getting a blog for a while now, but thought that I had nothing interesting to say. Whether I now have anything of interest to say is still up for debate but I thought a trip to Ghana for a month was as good an excuse as any to get blogging.

I shall keep this first post relatively brief as still have an awful lot of packing to do, but here we go...

Tomorrow, at 2.25pm to be precise, I shall be off to Cape Coast, Ghana for a month to do a journalism work experience placement. I don't really know exactly what I am going to be doing to be honest! I was going to be based at a newspaper in the capital, Accra, but flash flooding has put paid to that. I am now going to Cape Coast and will be based at a TV and radio station, which should be fun but not what I was expecting so we shall see how it goes. I am staying in a house with people doing various other placements; teaching, medicine and HIV/AIDs placements, and will be linking up with them at some point as part of a project to raise awareness of HIV/AIDs in Ghana. I am excited and nervous, but even though I leave tomorrow it still doesn't quite feel real! I feel a bit bitter leaving behind a heatwave in England to experience Ghana's rainy season but am thinking a month in Africa will be more interesting than sitting around the house in Dorset doing nothing...

Preparation has been slightly panicked. I spent the last two weeks doing a work experience placement at a magazine in London, got back to Cardiff then was going back to Dorset on the Sunday so had minimal time to pack up all my stuff. I had a three hour panic when I couldn't find my yellow fever certificate- it's compulsory to enter the country- but eventually managed to find it in a random file in my bedroom. Managed to fill my suitcase so much that I couldn't actually lift it, so think today's packing needs to be a bit more brutal... Maybe 18 books, 27 outfit options and 10 pairs of shoes aren't strictly necessary? Anyway I better actually get on with packing my stuff instead of writing about it. I will try and get online as regularly as possibly, at least once a week, to keep you updated with all my adventures. I shall also be checking facebook and stuff but have been repeatedly told that the internet speed in Ghana isn't brilliant so apologies in advance if I only communicate via this blog! Hope you are all enjoying the heatwave!

Speak soon,

Daniella x