Copy and paste the links to see my pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053550&l=38917&id=9804442
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http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053556&l=b0fd7&id=9804442
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Enjoy :-)
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Wrap it up like kenkey in plantain leaves
WLI
Ariel and I took a day trip to Wli waterfalls, West Africa's highest falls. It was really beautiful and fun because it was sunday so we were the only ones there (everyone goes to church). It's about an hour hike to the falls and our tour guide showed us cocoa trees and I got to each from a cocoa pod! It does not taste like nutella as I had originally hoped...more like a tropical fruit. The waterfall itself comes out of a cliff that is COVERED in bats. At first they look like part of the rock, and then you realize that the rock is made of thousands and thousands of bats. Getting to Wli falls involved a 4 hour trotro ride each way. I don't think I have adequately explained trotro rides, so I will do so:
TROTROS
Trotros are similar to a subway station in their function, but do you abide by any similar rules of personal space. A trotro is a 16 person van that has a few extra seats shoved into it and is forced to fit about 25 passengers. To get a trotro, you go to a huuuge station filled with them where the mates (driver's assistants) yell their destination at you as you walk through the main rows of vans. When you finally find your trotro, you climb into the hot interior and sit down next to a hot, smelly Ghanaian. The trotros don't leave the station until they are COMpleTely full (4 babies, half a zoo, and maybe some duct tape for good measure). Due to the romantic atmosphere, at least two Ghanaians usually ask to marry you. After waiting for 1/2 hour in the 90 degree weather, squished between 24 other passengers, you finally begin the trip. Since some of the seats were added to the vans and aren't actually meant to be there, each turn that the van takes tips over the seats and you fall onto your neighbor, whose baby is already screaming because you are white. Then, instead of heading towards your destination, the trotro decides to go get gas.
END OF THE PROGRAM
I finished my final project and my presentation went pretty well. Some students did really cool things such as learning African drum communication (you can speak to people using different beats) and learning how to live on $1 a week. We went to Accra a day before our flight and I met an artist who taught me how to repaint some traditional masks that I bought. I watched people constructing drums and wood carvings for a few hours. Also, I spent an afternoon in a batik studio and learned how to make the fabric!
The last night, our group had a final dinner together at a restuarant near the airport before our flight. We all ended up getting the chicken, because of course Ghanaian menus are just formalities and they usually don't have what the menu says they do. Then, as a last gift from Ghana, the food poisoning set in. Thankfully, I didn't get mine until I landed at Heathrow.
Buuut, now I feel MUCH better! And I am currently in PARIS with Ariel visiting Chantel!!!! It is beautiful here and I am busting out my french and eating many croissants. I will officially be home May 22nd :)
While Ghana was an extremely difficult experience, I am very glad that I did it. I don't think there is any way to adequately convey everything from my past 3 1/2 months, but hopefully you have a taste of it. When I get home I will put up manyyyy pictures and will post the link on this page and on facebook. Thanks for reading!
Ariel and I took a day trip to Wli waterfalls, West Africa's highest falls. It was really beautiful and fun because it was sunday so we were the only ones there (everyone goes to church). It's about an hour hike to the falls and our tour guide showed us cocoa trees and I got to each from a cocoa pod! It does not taste like nutella as I had originally hoped...more like a tropical fruit. The waterfall itself comes out of a cliff that is COVERED in bats. At first they look like part of the rock, and then you realize that the rock is made of thousands and thousands of bats. Getting to Wli falls involved a 4 hour trotro ride each way. I don't think I have adequately explained trotro rides, so I will do so:
TROTROS
Trotros are similar to a subway station in their function, but do you abide by any similar rules of personal space. A trotro is a 16 person van that has a few extra seats shoved into it and is forced to fit about 25 passengers. To get a trotro, you go to a huuuge station filled with them where the mates (driver's assistants) yell their destination at you as you walk through the main rows of vans. When you finally find your trotro, you climb into the hot interior and sit down next to a hot, smelly Ghanaian. The trotros don't leave the station until they are COMpleTely full (4 babies, half a zoo, and maybe some duct tape for good measure). Due to the romantic atmosphere, at least two Ghanaians usually ask to marry you. After waiting for 1/2 hour in the 90 degree weather, squished between 24 other passengers, you finally begin the trip. Since some of the seats were added to the vans and aren't actually meant to be there, each turn that the van takes tips over the seats and you fall onto your neighbor, whose baby is already screaming because you are white. Then, instead of heading towards your destination, the trotro decides to go get gas.
END OF THE PROGRAM
I finished my final project and my presentation went pretty well. Some students did really cool things such as learning African drum communication (you can speak to people using different beats) and learning how to live on $1 a week. We went to Accra a day before our flight and I met an artist who taught me how to repaint some traditional masks that I bought. I watched people constructing drums and wood carvings for a few hours. Also, I spent an afternoon in a batik studio and learned how to make the fabric!
The last night, our group had a final dinner together at a restuarant near the airport before our flight. We all ended up getting the chicken, because of course Ghanaian menus are just formalities and they usually don't have what the menu says they do. Then, as a last gift from Ghana, the food poisoning set in. Thankfully, I didn't get mine until I landed at Heathrow.
Buuut, now I feel MUCH better! And I am currently in PARIS with Ariel visiting Chantel!!!! It is beautiful here and I am busting out my french and eating many croissants. I will officially be home May 22nd :)
While Ghana was an extremely difficult experience, I am very glad that I did it. I don't think there is any way to adequately convey everything from my past 3 1/2 months, but hopefully you have a taste of it. When I get home I will put up manyyyy pictures and will post the link on this page and on facebook. Thanks for reading!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Certain People Rely Too Much On Blogs For Entertainment
MEZMERIZE ACCRA
If you were a rapper on the down slope of your career, what would you do to reinvent yourself? Make a cameo at the Ghana Music Awards? Ja Rule was thinking EXacTly the same thing! TODAY, the "Livin it Up" master will in fact be making an appearance in Accra at the lesser known (but still popular among sub-saharan traditional-hiphop/rap fusion music lovers) Ghana Music Awards! I'm not sure what he's trying to accomplish by doing this, but I know I'm trying to get tickets and bring a sign that says "put it on me" in big letters.
In honor of JaRule, I will name all of my subject headings in this entry after his songs. You can bypass this by avoiding reading the subject headings.
NOT QUITE LIVIN IT UP
So my two friends and I have been residing in the lovely YMCA Accra. The accomadations are pretty nice and we have a kitchen we can use (cockraoches included, of course). Now, there is an airconditioner in the room but we use it minimally at the YMCA's request. However, our 'landlord' still likes to come to our room roughly three times a day to tell us to turn it off. We then proceed to show him that is it not on at which point he claims that we turned it off when we heard him coming. We have encountered a variety of other ridiculous situations with this man and now he wants to overcharge us even more. So I think we will leave, but I'm not sure where we will stay. Possibly in a cheap hotel or in a hostel farther out of town which will be very inconvenient.
IT'S MURDA -PAIN IS LOVE
I had visitors yesterday!! A family friend, Lisa, came with her mother to tour Ghana. Lisa was on a similar SIT program four years ago and so we got to compare notes. We went out to dinner and then to an African drumming/dance performance. Lisa confirmed my suspicions that people in Cape Coast are extremely aggressive in comparison to other parts of Ghana. I haven't talked much about my honest impressions of the country, but I was quite upset with the people in Cape Coast and my subsequent perceptions. In Cape Coast, it's like they can get away with murda. However, I am starting to separate Cape Coast culture from Ghanaian culture which is extremely helpful for my state of mind.
ALWAYS ON TIME
Guess who is always on time? Chabad! By searching the Chabad website I found that there is a Chabad in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they organized for a Rabbi to come host a Passover Seder in Accra. So my two friends and I got to go to a kosher seder that was led by a hilarious New York Rabbi. They brought us famous Shmura matzah and even hired a chef! We were a small group, but it was really nice to have a Seder here. There are a few African Rabbis in Ghana (Lost Tribe stuff) but we weren't able to travel to get to them which I'm sure would have been very interesting.
RACE AGAINST TIME
The end is near! I am almost done with my research and about to start writing my paper. Speaking of my research, I recently interviewed a man who explained to me, "you know why we have a water shortage in Accra? It's because we don't have enough trees here. The trees are like people who call for water when they are thirsty. The government must plant more trees if they want it to rain."
And I will close with that.
If you were a rapper on the down slope of your career, what would you do to reinvent yourself? Make a cameo at the Ghana Music Awards? Ja Rule was thinking EXacTly the same thing! TODAY, the "Livin it Up" master will in fact be making an appearance in Accra at the lesser known (but still popular among sub-saharan traditional-hiphop/rap fusion music lovers) Ghana Music Awards! I'm not sure what he's trying to accomplish by doing this, but I know I'm trying to get tickets and bring a sign that says "put it on me" in big letters.
In honor of JaRule, I will name all of my subject headings in this entry after his songs. You can bypass this by avoiding reading the subject headings.
NOT QUITE LIVIN IT UP
So my two friends and I have been residing in the lovely YMCA Accra. The accomadations are pretty nice and we have a kitchen we can use (cockraoches included, of course). Now, there is an airconditioner in the room but we use it minimally at the YMCA's request. However, our 'landlord' still likes to come to our room roughly three times a day to tell us to turn it off. We then proceed to show him that is it not on at which point he claims that we turned it off when we heard him coming. We have encountered a variety of other ridiculous situations with this man and now he wants to overcharge us even more. So I think we will leave, but I'm not sure where we will stay. Possibly in a cheap hotel or in a hostel farther out of town which will be very inconvenient.
IT'S MURDA -PAIN IS LOVE
I had visitors yesterday!! A family friend, Lisa, came with her mother to tour Ghana. Lisa was on a similar SIT program four years ago and so we got to compare notes. We went out to dinner and then to an African drumming/dance performance. Lisa confirmed my suspicions that people in Cape Coast are extremely aggressive in comparison to other parts of Ghana. I haven't talked much about my honest impressions of the country, but I was quite upset with the people in Cape Coast and my subsequent perceptions. In Cape Coast, it's like they can get away with murda. However, I am starting to separate Cape Coast culture from Ghanaian culture which is extremely helpful for my state of mind.
ALWAYS ON TIME
Guess who is always on time? Chabad! By searching the Chabad website I found that there is a Chabad in the Democratic Republic of Congo and they organized for a Rabbi to come host a Passover Seder in Accra. So my two friends and I got to go to a kosher seder that was led by a hilarious New York Rabbi. They brought us famous Shmura matzah and even hired a chef! We were a small group, but it was really nice to have a Seder here. There are a few African Rabbis in Ghana (Lost Tribe stuff) but we weren't able to travel to get to them which I'm sure would have been very interesting.
RACE AGAINST TIME
The end is near! I am almost done with my research and about to start writing my paper. Speaking of my research, I recently interviewed a man who explained to me, "you know why we have a water shortage in Accra? It's because we don't have enough trees here. The trees are like people who call for water when they are thirsty. The government must plant more trees if they want it to rain."
And I will close with that.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Where are you going??
BACK TO THE 90's
Once upon a time, I realized I was on the Oregon Trail. My friend Will came down with Typhoid fever. No, seriously. It's really rare for travelers to get it, but he did. We should never have tried to ford the river.
ACCRA
We are finally in Accra! Getting here only took 4 hours longer than it should have. My friends and I are staying in a hostel and bumming around/avoiding doing research. There are about ten goats living outside our room which means that we own livestock/we're rich! The food here is soo much better-I actually had pancakes the other day. The people are still crazy though. The head of the hostel comes to our room at least three times a day and asks us a variety of pointless questions: where are you going today? are you here? why didn't you leave?. I am at the University of Ghana right now doing some internet research/writing my blog. This month I am researching alternative sustainable sanitation efforts. I don't know what it means either.
FANTE
In my fante lessons, I have learned that there is no word for "feel". They literally cannot express feelings. That is why people don't hug here.
I'm going to go stop for supplies.
Once upon a time, I realized I was on the Oregon Trail. My friend Will came down with Typhoid fever. No, seriously. It's really rare for travelers to get it, but he did. We should never have tried to ford the river.
ACCRA
We are finally in Accra! Getting here only took 4 hours longer than it should have. My friends and I are staying in a hostel and bumming around/avoiding doing research. There are about ten goats living outside our room which means that we own livestock/we're rich! The food here is soo much better-I actually had pancakes the other day. The people are still crazy though. The head of the hostel comes to our room at least three times a day and asks us a variety of pointless questions: where are you going today? are you here? why didn't you leave?. I am at the University of Ghana right now doing some internet research/writing my blog. This month I am researching alternative sustainable sanitation efforts. I don't know what it means either.
FANTE
In my fante lessons, I have learned that there is no word for "feel". They literally cannot express feelings. That is why people don't hug here.
I'm going to go stop for supplies.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
"We're the muffins in the muffin joke"
I spent the past week and a half in Accra and Cotonou, Benin. Much ridiculousness ensued:
DEPARTURE
I left early on a Monday morning with my big red hiking backpack. As I walked pass the makeshift taxi station at the end of my street, I was stopped by a man sitting with his boy. The man asked if I was leaving town and for how long. Upon my response, the man glared at me and angrily asked me why I did not introduce myself to him and ask him how he was doing before I left Cape Coast for two weeks. I quickly apologized profusely for not sharing my life story with him before departing and asked about him and his son. What an embarrassing social faux-pas!
ACCCRA:
Accra was a whirlwind. We honestly all went through culture shock being in a city where there were vehicles from after 1983 and roads that weren't made of dirt. Let me tell you now that you take pizza for granted. My friends and I went to a pizza place (called 'pizza inn' next to 'creamy inn' and 'chicken inn') and it was no joke an emotional experience. People shed their first tears.
I had incredible ('real') food after that which of course made me feel really sick because I have been living off of fish and rice for 2 months.
We went to two museums in Accra and learned about Kwame Nkrumah who was Ghana's first President. Nkrumah was famous for his pan-african ideas. Unfortunately, he was corrupt and was overthrown by militia. However, the citizens of Ghana tend to breeze over this fact as demonstrated by our tour guide who declared that Nkrumah was one of the world's greatest leaders and can be compared to the likings of Mao Ze Dong, Castro, and J.F.K.
There's a strange Asian influence here. Most of the world leaders have pictures of them on display with Mao Ze Dong next to them. Also, all of my pirated dvds have Asian subtitles.
ANOTHER TAXI STORY
Since there is no night life in Cape Coast, my friends and I decided to venture out to explore Accra on our last night. I am too angry to write about the debacle of an afternoon that led up to the taxi ride, so just assume that we were already in a bit of a bad mood. We had heard of a club and upon entering a taxi, the driver told us "yes, i've seen it, it is not far from here." We drove around and arrived at a club that was not the correct one but he assured us that he had "seen the club many times and would get us there." He asked for directions and took us across town to the shopping district. Upon realizing that we were not in the right place, he asked again for directions and said "i promise, I have seen it, I know it." During our tour of Accra, our driver told us that he had traveled to Spain last year and preceded to pop open his glove compartment and show us his photo album. Each picture showed him on a boat with an expanse of ocean behind him. Apparently, each new picture was a different country that he had visited.
We finally arrived at the apparent club at which point the driver demanded that we pay TRIPLE the fee because he didn't know how to get there and he used extra gas in the process. We paid double the price because we were feeling nice and he had showed us his life travels.
So we walked up to the club entrance where we were told that flip flops were not allowed and the cover fee was the equivalent of about $80. We all laughed. And then they suddenly let us in for free, flip flops in-tote (I don't ask questions). Inside the club, we found ourselves to be the only ones there, except for seven grown men napping in arm chairs. My friend Ariel and I got into a fight with the DJ. And then we went home.
Oh Ghana.
Three of my friends got malaria the next day. Here, malaria is treated like the common cold. It's a very "walk if off" attitude. Meanwhile, my friends had fevers and were hallucinating. Naturally, we had a 9 hour bus ride that day to Benin in at least 90 degree heat, and when I asked my director to put on air conditioning for the girls with Malaria, he said "this is not necessary."
BENIN
The fan in our room didn't work so we didn't sleep for most of the trip. However, Benin was amazing. Mostly because of the fact that they were colonized by the French and NOT the British. For some reason, this made the culture much less harsh and much more vibrant. I got to exercise my french which was fun and I also got to ride on a Moped! (Mopeds are taxis there). Also, Benin adopted french food so I ate AMAZingly there. There were some issues that occurred however I will talk more about them when I am home and my mother can't worry (I'm FINE, I wasn't anywhere near the open fire). Benin really was beautiful though. The colors there are extremely vibrant and the people (at least seem) much nicer and calmer. Then we came home on a 12 hour bus ride and spent 3 hours going through Togo borders (for a country that is falling off the map, they have a huge narcissis complex and getting in is like trying to order from the 'under 12' menu at Friendly's (near impossible in case you didn't get that).
BACK IN CAPE COAST
When I returned to my host home, my host mother happily exclaimed, "you have gotten fat! Benin must have been very good"
I have three close friends from my program here: Ariel, Alanna, and Shira. Unfortunately, Shira is going home because of complications with her malaria :(
Anyways, I'm sure I am forgetting things that I will add later, but that's all for now. This is my last week in Cape Coast and I am hoping to move with my friends Ariel and Alanna to Accra!!
DEPARTURE
I left early on a Monday morning with my big red hiking backpack. As I walked pass the makeshift taxi station at the end of my street, I was stopped by a man sitting with his boy. The man asked if I was leaving town and for how long. Upon my response, the man glared at me and angrily asked me why I did not introduce myself to him and ask him how he was doing before I left Cape Coast for two weeks. I quickly apologized profusely for not sharing my life story with him before departing and asked about him and his son. What an embarrassing social faux-pas!
ACCCRA:
Accra was a whirlwind. We honestly all went through culture shock being in a city where there were vehicles from after 1983 and roads that weren't made of dirt. Let me tell you now that you take pizza for granted. My friends and I went to a pizza place (called 'pizza inn' next to 'creamy inn' and 'chicken inn') and it was no joke an emotional experience. People shed their first tears.
I had incredible ('real') food after that which of course made me feel really sick because I have been living off of fish and rice for 2 months.
We went to two museums in Accra and learned about Kwame Nkrumah who was Ghana's first President. Nkrumah was famous for his pan-african ideas. Unfortunately, he was corrupt and was overthrown by militia. However, the citizens of Ghana tend to breeze over this fact as demonstrated by our tour guide who declared that Nkrumah was one of the world's greatest leaders and can be compared to the likings of Mao Ze Dong, Castro, and J.F.K.
There's a strange Asian influence here. Most of the world leaders have pictures of them on display with Mao Ze Dong next to them. Also, all of my pirated dvds have Asian subtitles.
ANOTHER TAXI STORY
Since there is no night life in Cape Coast, my friends and I decided to venture out to explore Accra on our last night. I am too angry to write about the debacle of an afternoon that led up to the taxi ride, so just assume that we were already in a bit of a bad mood. We had heard of a club and upon entering a taxi, the driver told us "yes, i've seen it, it is not far from here." We drove around and arrived at a club that was not the correct one but he assured us that he had "seen the club many times and would get us there." He asked for directions and took us across town to the shopping district. Upon realizing that we were not in the right place, he asked again for directions and said "i promise, I have seen it, I know it." During our tour of Accra, our driver told us that he had traveled to Spain last year and preceded to pop open his glove compartment and show us his photo album. Each picture showed him on a boat with an expanse of ocean behind him. Apparently, each new picture was a different country that he had visited.
We finally arrived at the apparent club at which point the driver demanded that we pay TRIPLE the fee because he didn't know how to get there and he used extra gas in the process. We paid double the price because we were feeling nice and he had showed us his life travels.
So we walked up to the club entrance where we were told that flip flops were not allowed and the cover fee was the equivalent of about $80. We all laughed. And then they suddenly let us in for free, flip flops in-tote (I don't ask questions). Inside the club, we found ourselves to be the only ones there, except for seven grown men napping in arm chairs. My friend Ariel and I got into a fight with the DJ. And then we went home.
Oh Ghana.
Three of my friends got malaria the next day. Here, malaria is treated like the common cold. It's a very "walk if off" attitude. Meanwhile, my friends had fevers and were hallucinating. Naturally, we had a 9 hour bus ride that day to Benin in at least 90 degree heat, and when I asked my director to put on air conditioning for the girls with Malaria, he said "this is not necessary."
BENIN
The fan in our room didn't work so we didn't sleep for most of the trip. However, Benin was amazing. Mostly because of the fact that they were colonized by the French and NOT the British. For some reason, this made the culture much less harsh and much more vibrant. I got to exercise my french which was fun and I also got to ride on a Moped! (Mopeds are taxis there). Also, Benin adopted french food so I ate AMAZingly there. There were some issues that occurred however I will talk more about them when I am home and my mother can't worry (I'm FINE, I wasn't anywhere near the open fire). Benin really was beautiful though. The colors there are extremely vibrant and the people (at least seem) much nicer and calmer. Then we came home on a 12 hour bus ride and spent 3 hours going through Togo borders (for a country that is falling off the map, they have a huge narcissis complex and getting in is like trying to order from the 'under 12' menu at Friendly's (near impossible in case you didn't get that).
BACK IN CAPE COAST
When I returned to my host home, my host mother happily exclaimed, "you have gotten fat! Benin must have been very good"
I have three close friends from my program here: Ariel, Alanna, and Shira. Unfortunately, Shira is going home because of complications with her malaria :(
Anyways, I'm sure I am forgetting things that I will add later, but that's all for now. This is my last week in Cape Coast and I am hoping to move with my friends Ariel and Alanna to Accra!!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Don't Look Down
VACA!
My friends and I went on a mini-vacation this past weekend to Green Turtle Lodge. To get there you have to take two trotros (15 person vans that could fall apart at any minute in which 20+ people are squished into). In our first trotro, two Ghanaian men got to asking us if we were married (as usual) and if I had children. (Most of us wear fake wedding rings around). He believed that I was married but he didn't believe that I didn't have children, i'm not sure why. Then I was asked what color baby I want to have at which point I pretended to fall asleep.
THE INFAMOUS TROTRO
About an hour into the ride we began to pass through a funeral celebration. In Ghana, death is celebrated in consideration of a person's life and accomplishments. Aka hundreds of people gather in the street to get drunk and dance in their black and red traditional clothing. However, this funeral had a particularly large amount of people in attendance and so the road was essentially blocked for our trotro to pass. All of a sudden people from the crowd started climbing on our trotro and yelling at us. People grabbed at our arms and legs through the windows. If you have ever seen Dawn of The Dead, it was exactly like the scene where all the zombies climb on top of the van. It got a bit scary, but in true Ghanaian fashion, the driver pretended as if nothing was out of the ordinary and very slowly drove through the crowd. We were later told the a trotro driver had died and the funeral goers were mad at our trotro driver for not attending the funeral.
Then we had to pay.
GREEN TURTLE LODGE
The lodge was founded by an English couple who wanted to create a hotel based on eco-tourism. The toilets were completely self-composting which was cool... I know you'd be curious, but don't look down the hole. Ever. It moves.
Sea turtles are endangered in the area so the owners of the lodge pay fisherman to release any that they catch. Also, the lodge employs many people from the local town and pays children to take tourists on canoe rides through the swamps. We woke up at 530 one morning and went on the canoe ride which was really nice. The hotel even provided mosquito nets for our matresses on the beach! (let it be noted that while the intention was there, the mosquito nets were widely ineffective). Another plus was the amazing food. They actually made chocolate covered bananas. I was in heaven. Since it is a tourist spot, there were lots of foreigners and it was reallly weird to be surrounded by white people. Regardless, it was a nice break from Cape Coast which doesn't have many activities to do.
My friends and I went on a mini-vacation this past weekend to Green Turtle Lodge. To get there you have to take two trotros (15 person vans that could fall apart at any minute in which 20+ people are squished into). In our first trotro, two Ghanaian men got to asking us if we were married (as usual) and if I had children. (Most of us wear fake wedding rings around). He believed that I was married but he didn't believe that I didn't have children, i'm not sure why. Then I was asked what color baby I want to have at which point I pretended to fall asleep.
THE INFAMOUS TROTRO
About an hour into the ride we began to pass through a funeral celebration. In Ghana, death is celebrated in consideration of a person's life and accomplishments. Aka hundreds of people gather in the street to get drunk and dance in their black and red traditional clothing. However, this funeral had a particularly large amount of people in attendance and so the road was essentially blocked for our trotro to pass. All of a sudden people from the crowd started climbing on our trotro and yelling at us. People grabbed at our arms and legs through the windows. If you have ever seen Dawn of The Dead, it was exactly like the scene where all the zombies climb on top of the van. It got a bit scary, but in true Ghanaian fashion, the driver pretended as if nothing was out of the ordinary and very slowly drove through the crowd. We were later told the a trotro driver had died and the funeral goers were mad at our trotro driver for not attending the funeral.
Then we had to pay.
GREEN TURTLE LODGE
The lodge was founded by an English couple who wanted to create a hotel based on eco-tourism. The toilets were completely self-composting which was cool... I know you'd be curious, but don't look down the hole. Ever. It moves.
Sea turtles are endangered in the area so the owners of the lodge pay fisherman to release any that they catch. Also, the lodge employs many people from the local town and pays children to take tourists on canoe rides through the swamps. We woke up at 530 one morning and went on the canoe ride which was really nice. The hotel even provided mosquito nets for our matresses on the beach! (let it be noted that while the intention was there, the mosquito nets were widely ineffective). Another plus was the amazing food. They actually made chocolate covered bananas. I was in heaven. Since it is a tourist spot, there were lots of foreigners and it was reallly weird to be surrounded by white people. Regardless, it was a nice break from Cape Coast which doesn't have many activities to do.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Ghana is Larger Than it Appears in Most Maps and Rearview Mirrors
My group and I spent the past week traveling in Northern Ghana. The following adventures ensued:
SILLINESS:
Wa: Wa is about a 10 hour bus ride from Cape Coast which is brutal in 90degree weather on dirt roads that allow the bus to only travel at 20 miles an hour. I'm not exactly sure why we went to Wa. I think it was as kind of an overnight rest stop to go farther up north. My friends and I therefore spent our evening in hot pursuit of FanChoco (amazingly delicious frozen chocolate milk in a bag that is the only thing keeping me from going crazy). We found a taxi at the edge of the road. He wanted to overcharge us, so my friend Ariel told him that he could continue on his route without making any money, or he could make 80 pesuars by taking us. They got into a heated argument which involved her chanting "80 PESUARS 80 PESUARS!" and the driver decided that he could not morally take a small fee and would HAVE to take us for free. In the spirit of messing with him, Ariel told him she was from Australia and we each chose a different country. We bonded with him over the fact that we were a mini Model U.N. and sang our national anthems. I don't think he spoke english.
Needless to say (because it's Ghana), once we got to Wa we were told that FanChoco cannot be found in town after 8pm. It was 8:30.
Later, at the hostel, we came across a sign that said laundry was not allowed to be done in the rooms and it should be submitted to reception for washing. Now, while in America, this might imply that the laundry service was complimentary, this is Ghana, and they of course charged us. Even that would have been fine, but our clothes came back a lovely shade of pink. We spoke to 4 different personnel in hopes of merely a discount. Unfortunately, each blatantly laughed at the ridiculous idea that laundry should be returned in its original color and the further inconceivable notion that we should have a discount. oh ghana.
HISTORY AND IMPOVERISHED TOWNS
Gwollu: We traveled another 8 hours roundtrip to Gwollu, a town on the Burkina Faso border. This town is famous for a wall it built to protect the village from slave raids during the 1800s. The town was extremely depressing because we were clearly some of the only visitors all year. Futhermore, most of the children appeared starkly malnourished. I saw one boy curled up in middle of the ground looking very tired and sweating profusely. It must have been 110 degrees in the sun. However, I later learned that he was sick with epilepsy and his family believed that the best thing for him was to lay out in the open.
Sankana: Sanakana is a village famous for the caves that locals hid in to escape the slave raids. We met with the elders and drank Pitu (a maize based slightly fermented beverage) out of Calabash bowls (hallowed squash halves).
THE BEST AND THE WORST OF GHANA:
Mole National Park:
Good-
Mole (pronounced MOLAY!) is a HUGE preserved park in north eastern Ghana. Out of the 420,000 square km, there is one 'resort/tour site'. The first day I encountered numerous baboons sitting right on my front stoop! They had blue rears and all. While walking out of my room one day, i literally tripped over a warthog. He gave me an angry look, but then walked away. We went on two tours of the park in search of animals with our guide "DK." DK was awesome. He was dressed in a full safari outfit with a gun and looked very "1930's I want bushmeat"...until his cellphone rang so he could share where the elephants where located. A group member asked him what was in his gun and he replied "......ehhhhhhh....bullets." We saw a variety of birds, crocodiles, and deer-like animals whose names i dont remember. The coolest part was seeing a real live elephant! Did you know that the African Elephant is the second fastest land animal on earth?? It is, and I stood 30 feet away from it! Also, I later saw about 5 elephants bathing in the pond. Apparently, they sometimes climb up to the resort to drink from the swimming pool. It was overall a really cool experience.
Not so good:
The power went out a variety of times during our trips in the north. However, the most noted was in Mole. My friends staying in the room next door to me had a cockroach problem. And by problem I mean guerilla style invasion. We asked the front desk for assistance and we were handed a single can of Raid. That's when the power went out. And the water. The next hour was spent tip-toeing around the room in the dark and hitting everything that moved with a shoe and then spraying it 4 times over. There were at least 30 casualties, but the army certainly was not defeated and we spent the evening in fear.
KUMASI
Kumasi is the 2nd largest city in Ghana. Despite this, it has barely any American influence and is filled with the usual raw food vendors and markets. We spent two days there and it is veryyy polluted. Interestingly, they decided to put a zoo directly in the middle of the city. That is why at any time you can see thousands of bats flying above a patch of trees. Even better, you can see them up close on the sidewalk being roasted on kabobs! Delicious.
We also went to a carving village nearby which was really interesting and had beautiful sculptures. However, the sellers are like vultures and will literally grab you and push you into their shop. I enjoy explaining that concept of 'personal space' to them.
HAIR SAGA:
It's really really hot up north. So my friend cut my hair again. The first person to guess what it looks like gets a prize.
SILLINESS:
Wa: Wa is about a 10 hour bus ride from Cape Coast which is brutal in 90degree weather on dirt roads that allow the bus to only travel at 20 miles an hour. I'm not exactly sure why we went to Wa. I think it was as kind of an overnight rest stop to go farther up north. My friends and I therefore spent our evening in hot pursuit of FanChoco (amazingly delicious frozen chocolate milk in a bag that is the only thing keeping me from going crazy). We found a taxi at the edge of the road. He wanted to overcharge us, so my friend Ariel told him that he could continue on his route without making any money, or he could make 80 pesuars by taking us. They got into a heated argument which involved her chanting "80 PESUARS 80 PESUARS!" and the driver decided that he could not morally take a small fee and would HAVE to take us for free. In the spirit of messing with him, Ariel told him she was from Australia and we each chose a different country. We bonded with him over the fact that we were a mini Model U.N. and sang our national anthems. I don't think he spoke english.
Needless to say (because it's Ghana), once we got to Wa we were told that FanChoco cannot be found in town after 8pm. It was 8:30.
Later, at the hostel, we came across a sign that said laundry was not allowed to be done in the rooms and it should be submitted to reception for washing. Now, while in America, this might imply that the laundry service was complimentary, this is Ghana, and they of course charged us. Even that would have been fine, but our clothes came back a lovely shade of pink. We spoke to 4 different personnel in hopes of merely a discount. Unfortunately, each blatantly laughed at the ridiculous idea that laundry should be returned in its original color and the further inconceivable notion that we should have a discount. oh ghana.
HISTORY AND IMPOVERISHED TOWNS
Gwollu: We traveled another 8 hours roundtrip to Gwollu, a town on the Burkina Faso border. This town is famous for a wall it built to protect the village from slave raids during the 1800s. The town was extremely depressing because we were clearly some of the only visitors all year. Futhermore, most of the children appeared starkly malnourished. I saw one boy curled up in middle of the ground looking very tired and sweating profusely. It must have been 110 degrees in the sun. However, I later learned that he was sick with epilepsy and his family believed that the best thing for him was to lay out in the open.
Sankana: Sanakana is a village famous for the caves that locals hid in to escape the slave raids. We met with the elders and drank Pitu (a maize based slightly fermented beverage) out of Calabash bowls (hallowed squash halves).
THE BEST AND THE WORST OF GHANA:
Mole National Park:
Good-
Mole (pronounced MOLAY!) is a HUGE preserved park in north eastern Ghana. Out of the 420,000 square km, there is one 'resort/tour site'. The first day I encountered numerous baboons sitting right on my front stoop! They had blue rears and all. While walking out of my room one day, i literally tripped over a warthog. He gave me an angry look, but then walked away. We went on two tours of the park in search of animals with our guide "DK." DK was awesome. He was dressed in a full safari outfit with a gun and looked very "1930's I want bushmeat"...until his cellphone rang so he could share where the elephants where located. A group member asked him what was in his gun and he replied "......ehhhhhhh....bullets." We saw a variety of birds, crocodiles, and deer-like animals whose names i dont remember. The coolest part was seeing a real live elephant! Did you know that the African Elephant is the second fastest land animal on earth?? It is, and I stood 30 feet away from it! Also, I later saw about 5 elephants bathing in the pond. Apparently, they sometimes climb up to the resort to drink from the swimming pool. It was overall a really cool experience.
Not so good:
The power went out a variety of times during our trips in the north. However, the most noted was in Mole. My friends staying in the room next door to me had a cockroach problem. And by problem I mean guerilla style invasion. We asked the front desk for assistance and we were handed a single can of Raid. That's when the power went out. And the water. The next hour was spent tip-toeing around the room in the dark and hitting everything that moved with a shoe and then spraying it 4 times over. There were at least 30 casualties, but the army certainly was not defeated and we spent the evening in fear.
KUMASI
Kumasi is the 2nd largest city in Ghana. Despite this, it has barely any American influence and is filled with the usual raw food vendors and markets. We spent two days there and it is veryyy polluted. Interestingly, they decided to put a zoo directly in the middle of the city. That is why at any time you can see thousands of bats flying above a patch of trees. Even better, you can see them up close on the sidewalk being roasted on kabobs! Delicious.
We also went to a carving village nearby which was really interesting and had beautiful sculptures. However, the sellers are like vultures and will literally grab you and push you into their shop. I enjoy explaining that concept of 'personal space' to them.
HAIR SAGA:
It's really really hot up north. So my friend cut my hair again. The first person to guess what it looks like gets a prize.
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