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In a few short weeks my teenage son and I will visit Ghana. We know a number of very nice people from this country and it, too, is considered to be one of the democratic and economic success stories post colonial period.

With that said, they have all warned me about “this and that” which I think I would do for a first time visitor to the US (i.e. if the police pull you over, put your hand in sight and wait for the officer to ask you for your papers).

However, my wife being German made us go to the tropical medicine clinic and make sure our shots were up to date. Well, two injections for me, and three for my boy and a handful of antimalarial pills later (and my wallet short about $485.00) we were pronounced “good to go”.

I can only imagine what we need to go to a real “shit-hole” place. LOL

I can only imagine what we need to go to a real “shit-hole” place. LOL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Watch the water, make sure to drink only boiled or purified bottled water. Amoebic dysentery is very hard to avoid if you are staying longer than a few weeks.If you can talk a doctor into prescribing you 500 really strong antibiotic capsules for you and your family, take them with you .Also make sure to take a few bars of Dettol disinfectant soap , some iodine for scrapes etc ( apply immediately).

Soap: http://www.dettol.co.in/en/products/search/bar-soaps/

Train yourselves to keep your hands away from your mouth. Take hundreds of alcohol wipes with you.Socks will save your life.

Shake out your shoes every morning.

Good luck.

I can only imagine what we need to go to a real “shit-hole” place. LOL

Well, I was a Peace Corps trainee scheduled (but did not go) to do my stint in lovely 1969 Afghanistan. Our training site was near Estes Park Colorado to acclimate our selves to high elevation. We had two months of stateside training—six days a week. We got Friday’s off. That meant that Thursdays were when we got our shots—if the shots made us sick, and quite a few did, we’d be sick on our days off. Cholera shots were the worst. Not only did they hurt, your arm felt like it had been punched several times, they made you sick the next day, and you had to have them often. Yellow fever wasn’t bad, one shot good for 10 years. Rabies shots were spectacular going in. Hmm, what else? Small pox vaccinations weren’t too bad, you had to be checked for TB, of course, and then there was the Gamma Globulin. Dose depended on your weight. Most guys got two, one shot in each hip. It was thick like honey and took a while to inject.

The shots did not protect you from amoebic dysentery. Eating any fresh produce meant you got it. Virtually everyone who went there got it and it’s a nasty bit of business to get rid of. Afghans referred to America as the “land of the hard stool”. So I guess you could call it a “shit-hole”.