Last Wednesday was another great day at my internship. I went to a school near the office and taught adolescent reproductive health to a large group of students, mostly around 5th/6th grade age, and a few junior high kids. I remembered my high school health teacher passed around little slips of paper for us to write down questions anonymously if we were too embarassed to ask them aloud, so I tried that too. Only two questions were asked out loud, and I was AMAZED at the questions I got. There were probably 50 questions handed in! I was expecting all of the kids to laugh the whole time and be very immature, but instead they were engaged and curious. Sex and reproductive health is not discussed much here. Some of my American friends taking classes here about gender and reproduction and have been shocked at what people think and know (or don't know). So, it was very cool that I was able to answer so many questions. I had to do some research myself before giving my presentation, just to make sure I covered everything . . . but I didn't even realize some of the things I had left out until the questions came in, like explaining what happens during a miscarriage. And my favorite question -- "Please, Madam, what does a vagina DO?" -- which I had already covered, but evidently not well enough. :) Anyway, I didn't get to finish answering all of the questions, and some answers I was not 100% sure about, so I am going back at some point this week to wrap things up.
Then last weekend my program took us all to Kumasi. Kumasi is the heart of the Ashanti empire (which ruled Ghana prior to the slave trade and colonialism). It is famous for adinkra symbols (each has a different meaning and is found on fabric, wood carvings, and other things in Ghana) and kente cloth (woven, and made in unique patterns for important individuals such as chiefs and the President). AND . . . on Sunday there was a 2010 football (soccer) world cup qualifying match between Ghana and Benin in Kumasi, so we got to go! The game was INSANE!!!!!!! Absolutely insane!!!!! We showed up several hours early to get good seats, because even though everyone technically has a seat number, it's not really honored; your ticket only guarantees you a spot in your section. There were tons of large groups there that had brought drums, horns, other instruments, and everybody was dancing! For HOURS before, during, and after the game! Also, Ghanaians take body painting to the extreme - they don't just paint their chests. They wear speedos and paint their entire bodies! It was extremely exciting. For the second half of the game, I jumped right in the middle of one of the large masses of Ghanaians. There were about 5 guys in the front row coordinating everybody, so after a while my friends Ben, Liz, and I went up and helped teach some American line dances. (And let me tell you, watching about 200 excited Ghanaian soccer fans doing the Chicken Dance and the Macarena is probably one of the happiest moments of my life!) And, of course Ghana won (1-0, and that goal was scored in the first 30 seconds of the game)!
The hotel we stayed at was amazing . . . which actually kind of bothered me. The Black Stars (Ghana's national soccer team) stayed at the same hotel, if that is any kind of indication of just how nice a place it was. CIEE always puts us up in nice places that have air conditioning and swimming pools, but this place definitely topped any hotel I have ever been in - EVER, anywhere. Apparently Mr. Gyasi, my program director, had some connections and got us a deal so we weren't paying full price for the rooms (which, by the way, START at US $109 per night). But that's not the point. Back home, I would have been absolutely ecstatic that I was staying in the same hotel as really famous people . . . but here I was just uncomfortable with it for most of the weekend. I'm sure my room was even more than $109 because we were all in doubles, not singles (though we were sharing rooms). $109 (or more) is enough to cover me for several WEEKS here in Ghana - food, transportation, necessities, and even spending money. WEEKS. So two nights at that hotel is more than enough money for an entire month in Ghana. I really appreciate everything CIEE does for us, and it's definitely nice to have these trips spread out over the semester where I know 100% for certain that the shower won't stop running right after I shampoo my hair. But I also felt overwhelming guilt every time we pulled up to the hotel. I'd like to be able to tell myself that at least acknowledging what I have is the first step . . . but I know it's not enough. I know I had fun this weekend, and I also know I, an American college student, have memories from this weekend that most Ghanaians, and many Americans, will never have their entire lives.
Also, more excitement at the game . . . I was pickpocketed, but I got my wallet back!! I was standing with three of my friends, separated from the crowd, and waiting for others to catch up. I had been digging through my purse shifting things around since I had just bought some water and snacks. All of a sudden two guys walked right through the middle of our group and pushed against me (REALLY dumb on their part, because I knew immediately what was going on. Had I been walking through the middle of a crowd, I probably would have been caught unawares. But as I said, I was separated from crowded areas). Anyway, I thought I was being smart because I knew what was happening, so I watched the guy who was pushed up against me. I think his friend must have grabbed my wallet though, so I fell right into their diversion trap. But the second they stepped away, I looked in my purse, saw my wallet was gone, and turned around chasing after him yelling that the man's friend had just stolen my wallet (I hadn't seen his friend's face). Now, before everyone freaks out that I was running after a thief, let me say two things: 1) I would not have done this were I not at a crowded soccer match and 2) that is what you are supposed to do in Ghana. Stealing is HIGHLY frowned upon in Ghana - not just because it is morally wrong, but also because of the sense of community in which everybody is responsible for each other. It is acceptable - and expected - for people to reprimand and disciple other people's children. In the same way, when one person steals from another, Ghanaians feel personally responsible and embarassed by the thief's actions. So, as I anticipated (and as Mr. Gyasi had told us early on in the semester that this would happen), when I drew attention to the scene, immediately 10 Ghanaians swarmed over to ask what was going on. I'm not sure they ever figured out who the man's friend was, but somebody saw my wallet had been thrown on the ground, picked it up, and returned it to me. Yay for Ghanaian sense of community!
Other than that, the semester is beginning to wind down. I only have 3 weeks of lectures left, then 1 week of I'm-not-exactly-sure-what-happens (I have heard there are no classes, and I have heard there are classes and the professor preps you for the exam, so I don't know), and then 3 weeks of exams & travel time.
Also, I know everybody wants to see more pictures. Believe me, I'm TRYING! But not having my own computer really complicates things. Most of the free and cheap internet cafes here don't let you upload external content. I have gone a few times to ones where I pay, only to find my camera is not compatible with the computer. I am at one that will let me upload, so I'm going to try in just a few minutes to see if my camera will work.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Togo!
TOGO WAS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was just what I needed - a perfect vacation. You know, they tell you culture shock and study abroad will take you through a range of emotions - honeymoon, hate, humor, home. What they don't tell you is that all four of those can occur in the same day. They make it sound like you'll transition from one to the next over time! That has definitely not been my experience, and I think I had finally hit the point where everything was just frustratingly overwhelming. But I went to Lome (capital of Togo) for a few days and loved it! I'm sure if I were in Lome for the semester, I would find things equally frustrating there, but for the short time I was there I loved it much more than Accra.
Instead of regular taxis and tro-tros, everybody takes "taxi-motos," i.e. motorcycle taxis. You just hop on the back of one and zip around the city! Lome is much smaller than Accra anyway, but because there are hardly any cars, there's much less traffic/congestion, so you can get from one end of the city to the other in just a few minutes. I stayed at a hotel right on the Ghana/Togo border, and right on the beach. Literally. Cross the street and you're on the beach. My room was about $10 a night. A HOTEL ON THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE FOR $10 A NIGHT!!
I visited a couple of different markets and artist villages, got some cool souvenirs - decorations for my wall back home, etc. And except for accidentally buying 12 YARDS of the same fabric, I think I was pretty savvy with using my French to bargain! I did have a little bit of trouble using my French at times, because I'm used to France French, and African dialects are slightly different (pronunciation is often VERY different), but all in all I sort of surprised myself with how much I remember and was able to use. People could tell I had a different accent and would often ask "What language do you speak? English?" and every time I replied, "Oui, may je suis a Lome et je veux parler seulement en francais." (Yes, but I'm in Lome and I want to speak only in French.) So, unless there was an absolute language barrier and we couldn't communicate, I stuck to my French!
I also visited a voodoo fetish market, which wasn't nearly as excited as I had anticipated. I do have some interesting pictures of dried out chameleons, pig heads, mice, etc. And I took a day excursion to Togoville, on Lake Togo. This is sort of the Togo equivalent of the Cape Coast slave castles - voodoo practitioners were taken from here and sold as slaves in the Americas (hence why voodoo is present some in Jamaica and parts of the Caribbean). I refused to pay for a guide around Togoville, so I didn't learn as much as I could have, but I had already been spending a fair amount of money. Traveling solo isn't bad at all - it was nice having a few days with my thoughts to myself - but it is definitely more expensive than traveling with friends.
Also, yesterday was a great day at my internship! We went to a nearby village and went door to door doing HIV/AIDS education. I was a bit nervous about how we would be welcomed into the community, but everybody was very friendly, welcoming, and curious about the topic! Just my accident my group only met with women, and it was a great experience. Though a couple of the women had some knowledge about AIDS, none of them had ever seen a female condom before, and they all had lots of very insightful questions. I did a couple demonstrations of how to use the female condom, and I really felt like I was helping the women I was talking to. None of them spoke great English so my coworkers were translating my demo, but it was still a great feeling. Who knows what will happen after we're gone, but the women were very engaged and curious, and seemed thankful that we were willing to talk and answer all of their questions.
I think I am discovering an interest in community health. Prior to arriving in Ghana, I knew HIV/AIDS definitely is one of the biggest factors affecting African development. I hadn't thought as much about diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and other treatable diseases that are huge killers simply because people don't have access to hospitals and medicine. But being here has made me realize how many of the issues I care about - the environment, clean drinking water, poverty, child labor, international development, and others - are all interrelated around public health. I'm not really sure where I want to go with this, but I definitely plan to explore this interest more through classes and possibly internships when I am back home.
Instead of regular taxis and tro-tros, everybody takes "taxi-motos," i.e. motorcycle taxis. You just hop on the back of one and zip around the city! Lome is much smaller than Accra anyway, but because there are hardly any cars, there's much less traffic/congestion, so you can get from one end of the city to the other in just a few minutes. I stayed at a hotel right on the Ghana/Togo border, and right on the beach. Literally. Cross the street and you're on the beach. My room was about $10 a night. A HOTEL ON THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACH I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE FOR $10 A NIGHT!!
I visited a couple of different markets and artist villages, got some cool souvenirs - decorations for my wall back home, etc. And except for accidentally buying 12 YARDS of the same fabric, I think I was pretty savvy with using my French to bargain! I did have a little bit of trouble using my French at times, because I'm used to France French, and African dialects are slightly different (pronunciation is often VERY different), but all in all I sort of surprised myself with how much I remember and was able to use. People could tell I had a different accent and would often ask "What language do you speak? English?" and every time I replied, "Oui, may je suis a Lome et je veux parler seulement en francais." (Yes, but I'm in Lome and I want to speak only in French.) So, unless there was an absolute language barrier and we couldn't communicate, I stuck to my French!
I also visited a voodoo fetish market, which wasn't nearly as excited as I had anticipated. I do have some interesting pictures of dried out chameleons, pig heads, mice, etc. And I took a day excursion to Togoville, on Lake Togo. This is sort of the Togo equivalent of the Cape Coast slave castles - voodoo practitioners were taken from here and sold as slaves in the Americas (hence why voodoo is present some in Jamaica and parts of the Caribbean). I refused to pay for a guide around Togoville, so I didn't learn as much as I could have, but I had already been spending a fair amount of money. Traveling solo isn't bad at all - it was nice having a few days with my thoughts to myself - but it is definitely more expensive than traveling with friends.
Also, yesterday was a great day at my internship! We went to a nearby village and went door to door doing HIV/AIDS education. I was a bit nervous about how we would be welcomed into the community, but everybody was very friendly, welcoming, and curious about the topic! Just my accident my group only met with women, and it was a great experience. Though a couple of the women had some knowledge about AIDS, none of them had ever seen a female condom before, and they all had lots of very insightful questions. I did a couple demonstrations of how to use the female condom, and I really felt like I was helping the women I was talking to. None of them spoke great English so my coworkers were translating my demo, but it was still a great feeling. Who knows what will happen after we're gone, but the women were very engaged and curious, and seemed thankful that we were willing to talk and answer all of their questions.
I think I am discovering an interest in community health. Prior to arriving in Ghana, I knew HIV/AIDS definitely is one of the biggest factors affecting African development. I hadn't thought as much about diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and other treatable diseases that are huge killers simply because people don't have access to hospitals and medicine. But being here has made me realize how many of the issues I care about - the environment, clean drinking water, poverty, child labor, international development, and others - are all interrelated around public health. I'm not really sure where I want to go with this, but I definitely plan to explore this interest more through classes and possibly internships when I am back home.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Bawjiase
I spent the first half of this week at a village called Bawjiase near Cape Coast with my coworkers from my internship. It was definitely one of the coolest, and weirdest, things I've done since I've been here. We spent a couple days meeting with different representatives from the community to talk about various human rights issues they are facing, and we were helping them construct a set of bylaws to try to tackle their problems. We spent Monday discussing education and child labor, specifically in relation to female children. Tuesday we debriefed and began drafting some suggestions of laws to review with the community members. Wednesday we went over the laws again and started talking about domestic violence. The entire meeting was in Twi (about 6 hours a day), so I didn't have a clue what was going on until our debriefing sessions when everything was explained to me. I found out that after 10 minutes of discussing domestic violence, somebody pointed out that Ghana has a national law on the subject, so we should just look that up and use that. So, the other 5 hours and 50 minutes was apparently an opportunity for the people present to voice all of their concerns in general about the community. Which was really funny, because I realized that some things are the same everywhere, and being in a new culture or on a new continent doesn't necessarily change much.
Here's what I mean. Here's what some of the complaints/points raised were:
1. One man thought anybody on a bicycle after 6 pm should be arrested because there aren't street lights and it's dangerous/likely to cause accidents. Somebody else was upset about the "indiscriminate parking of vehicles" on the road and speeding, so speed bumps and rumble strips need to be installed.
2. Many people thought children shouldn't be allowed to attend funerals and wake-keepings (in Ghana they are overnight events several nights in a row). When kids go, they are too tired to go to school. So then somebody asked "Well what about 20-year-olds who are still in high school? They are adults so shouldn't have the same rules as kids, but then they would also be too tired for school." So one of the police officers pointed out that a law is a law, and if a ban were created then any school child regardless of age should have to adhere to the ban. Then another police officer said laws are designed to protect peoples' rights, not take them away or cause confusion, and we should all keep that in mind.
3. Other people complained aobut disturbing public peace/playing radios too loudly at night.
Anyway . . . I could imagine the exact same kinds of conversations happening at a community meeting in the States too, which is why I found it kind of funny. It was interesting to see how the same kinds of issues bother people everywhere.
Also, it was really great getting away for a few days with my coworkers. There were very challenging moments - and I actually burst into tears on the phone with my parents my first night there because of how I felt I was being treated. My coworkers kept serving food to me first, even when there wasn't enough for everybody, and they brought me bottled water while everybody else was drinking the purified tap water in plastic sachets (which I drink all the time). I kept trying to say I wanted to eat with everyone, and I drink the sachet water, but I still felt like I was getting special treatment. I really hate that. Whenever I ask for directions to find food/water here, people automatically point me to the nicest restaurant or hotel in the area, rather than the local food stand. It's very frustrating when people assume I need these things, when I'm actually happier doing as the Ghanaians do. There never was a great opportunity to really discuss all of this in detail with my coworkers, but I intend to at some point. I think by the end of the trip, though, I had made one friend. I was sharing a room with Salomey, and we got to talk several times and have plans to hang out in the next couple of weeks. She's always been very curious as to what life is like in the U.S., how school is different, what my family is like. We talked about all of those things and I learned a lot about her too. So, anyway, even though there were tough moments, I would say overall the trip ended on a great note.
Also, on an entirely unrelated note, I realized I don't think I ever said what classes I'm taking here. For the first 2 months I was enrolled in a Twi language class, but that has finished. I'm also taking a course in conjunction with my internship about development studies in West Africa, and Ghana in particular. Then I have two classes on campus: Human Rights in Africa and U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Africa. Classes are VERY different from back home. The on-campus classes have about 800 people in them. Professors read lecture notes the entire time, and everybody copies them down word for word in paragraph form. I did this for about 2 days until I realized the notes usually come directly out of my assigned readings. Except for development studies, I don't have any homework assignments (other than to read), and my entire grade will be based on the final exam I take at the end of the semester. I'm not too worried about them except for the fact that things are always confusing on campus, and it seems like us international students always get information about 6 weeks later than we're supposed to. (For instance, I'm apparently supposed to register for my exams online. I found this out last week. The deadline was February 6.) So while the exam itself shouldn't be difficult, figuring out when and where and how to take it may present a challenge. Oh well, I'm an expert at chaotic adventures by now!
A final note before signing off . . . I think I'm going to Togo next week! I have a sort of unofficial Spring Break. This past week I had "midterms" (sort of, in the classes that chose to have them) . . . and next week I have a "midsemester break" in some of my classes (even the ones that didn't have a midterm) . . . so I have 5 or 6 days with nothing to do, and thought I might just hop on over the border to Togo. Some of my friends have already gone and said it was frustrating not knowing French because you really need it to get around . . . so I'm excited I'll get to practice my French! I haven't had to use it much in the last 2 years so it'll be a good brush-up :)
Here's what I mean. Here's what some of the complaints/points raised were:
1. One man thought anybody on a bicycle after 6 pm should be arrested because there aren't street lights and it's dangerous/likely to cause accidents. Somebody else was upset about the "indiscriminate parking of vehicles" on the road and speeding, so speed bumps and rumble strips need to be installed.
2. Many people thought children shouldn't be allowed to attend funerals and wake-keepings (in Ghana they are overnight events several nights in a row). When kids go, they are too tired to go to school. So then somebody asked "Well what about 20-year-olds who are still in high school? They are adults so shouldn't have the same rules as kids, but then they would also be too tired for school." So one of the police officers pointed out that a law is a law, and if a ban were created then any school child regardless of age should have to adhere to the ban. Then another police officer said laws are designed to protect peoples' rights, not take them away or cause confusion, and we should all keep that in mind.
3. Other people complained aobut disturbing public peace/playing radios too loudly at night.
Anyway . . . I could imagine the exact same kinds of conversations happening at a community meeting in the States too, which is why I found it kind of funny. It was interesting to see how the same kinds of issues bother people everywhere.
Also, it was really great getting away for a few days with my coworkers. There were very challenging moments - and I actually burst into tears on the phone with my parents my first night there because of how I felt I was being treated. My coworkers kept serving food to me first, even when there wasn't enough for everybody, and they brought me bottled water while everybody else was drinking the purified tap water in plastic sachets (which I drink all the time). I kept trying to say I wanted to eat with everyone, and I drink the sachet water, but I still felt like I was getting special treatment. I really hate that. Whenever I ask for directions to find food/water here, people automatically point me to the nicest restaurant or hotel in the area, rather than the local food stand. It's very frustrating when people assume I need these things, when I'm actually happier doing as the Ghanaians do. There never was a great opportunity to really discuss all of this in detail with my coworkers, but I intend to at some point. I think by the end of the trip, though, I had made one friend. I was sharing a room with Salomey, and we got to talk several times and have plans to hang out in the next couple of weeks. She's always been very curious as to what life is like in the U.S., how school is different, what my family is like. We talked about all of those things and I learned a lot about her too. So, anyway, even though there were tough moments, I would say overall the trip ended on a great note.
Also, on an entirely unrelated note, I realized I don't think I ever said what classes I'm taking here. For the first 2 months I was enrolled in a Twi language class, but that has finished. I'm also taking a course in conjunction with my internship about development studies in West Africa, and Ghana in particular. Then I have two classes on campus: Human Rights in Africa and U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Africa. Classes are VERY different from back home. The on-campus classes have about 800 people in them. Professors read lecture notes the entire time, and everybody copies them down word for word in paragraph form. I did this for about 2 days until I realized the notes usually come directly out of my assigned readings. Except for development studies, I don't have any homework assignments (other than to read), and my entire grade will be based on the final exam I take at the end of the semester. I'm not too worried about them except for the fact that things are always confusing on campus, and it seems like us international students always get information about 6 weeks later than we're supposed to. (For instance, I'm apparently supposed to register for my exams online. I found this out last week. The deadline was February 6.) So while the exam itself shouldn't be difficult, figuring out when and where and how to take it may present a challenge. Oh well, I'm an expert at chaotic adventures by now!
A final note before signing off . . . I think I'm going to Togo next week! I have a sort of unofficial Spring Break. This past week I had "midterms" (sort of, in the classes that chose to have them) . . . and next week I have a "midsemester break" in some of my classes (even the ones that didn't have a midterm) . . . so I have 5 or 6 days with nothing to do, and thought I might just hop on over the border to Togo. Some of my friends have already gone and said it was frustrating not knowing French because you really need it to get around . . . so I'm excited I'll get to practice my French! I haven't had to use it much in the last 2 years so it'll be a good brush-up :)
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Mole National Park (slash probably the most ridiculous weekend of my life, ever)
This past weekend was probably one of the most fun/ridiculous/hilarious/confusing/exciting times I've ever had in my life. On Thursday I went up to Mole National Park in the northern part of the country. Greta, Kate, Clara, and I all signed up to go with the computer science department who had planned the trip. (Friday was Ghanaian Independence Day, so classes were cancelled. It would have been cool to stick around and see what happens on Independence Day here, but Mole is a 12-hour bus ride away, and I really wanted to go with a student group so I could meet more people and not have to worry about transportation there and back.) Anyway, we were supposed to meet at 3:30 Thursday afternoon so the bus could leave at 4:30. It actually left at almost 8:30 that night. The bus ride was INSANE. Probably 80% of the roads between Accra and Mole are unpaved, so it was a very bumpy ride. Also, apparently Ghanaians don't sleep on overnight bus trips. Instead they have very loud dance parties and watch soap operas all night (also very loud). And let me tell you . . . African soap operas are even worse than American soap operas. Basically people just yell at each other and smack each other a lot. I'm not sure there was an actual plot in any of them. But it was certainly an experience! And we finally arrived around 8:00 am on Friday at the park.
We took a walking safari into the park with a guide. (You're actually not allowed to enter the park unless you have an armed ranger with you, if that gives you any idea how close you actually can get to some of the animals!) I saw a few baboons, warthogs, and antelope. THEN I SAW ELEPHANTS!!!!!! MAYBE 40 FEET AWAY!!!!! Lots of them!!!! And baby ones!!!! It was very cool, and I got some AWESOME pictures. I'll try to get to a place that I can easily upload them by the end of this week.
Right after the tour, the bus was going to head back to Accra. My friend Molly and her roommate had also come on the trip and were planning to stay. I had thought about it but didn't want to go back by myself, so I had decided against it. But when I found out they too were staying, I opted to stick around as well. Molly and I both wanted to camp out rather than stay in the motel at the park, so we rented tents and headed for the campsite. THAT was an adventure. We've both been camping before, but neither one of us had a clue what we were doing as we've only been in groups. (The extent of my tent-pitching knowledge comes from having helped the Crowleys or Phelpses in the past . . . and really I was usually more of a firewood-gatherer than tent-pitcher.) So we struggled for a bit trying to get stakes into the ground, but then two other guys who were camping out came over to help. Alex from France and Ian from England. We never quite figured out Alex's story . . . it seems like he just kind of wandered around Burkina Faso for a while and then decided to come to Ghana. Ian has a Land Rover that he converted into a camper of sorts and he DROVE DOWN TO GHANA FROM ENGLAND!!!!!! Literally, he attached a tent to the roof of his car and installed a water purifier, refrigerator, and stove into the trunk and just took off for Africa. He's driven through all of west Africa and is going to the Ghanaian coast. When he gets there, he's taking a boat to South Africa and then going to drive around the southern part of the continent till he runs out of money. Later Friday night we also met four New Zealanders (Carrie, Richard, Greg, and Sandra) who have been traveling the world since September. SEPTEMBER!! OF LAST YEAR!!! Where people find the money to do these things, I don't know. I have now decided what I will do with the money if I ever win the lottery.
Friday afternoon Molly, her roommate (Jen), and her roommate's friends (Lu, Liu, and Wang) hung out by the pool at the park for a while. Baboons kept running around and trying to steal people's things, which was definitely entertaining to watch. Everybody did a pretty good job of fending off the baboons (one little Dutch boy did a great job chasing after one with a lawn chair) . . . but I have to be honest: despite my extraordinary rugby skills, if there were a showdown between me and a baboon, my money would be on the baboon. They're sneaky little things!
After the pool, we went to a nearby village called Larabanga where the oldest mud and stick mosque in Ghana is found. It wasn't all that exciting of an excursion, other than the fact that now I can say I've been there. I was actually probably more impressed with the huge baobab tree right next to the mosque. (Baobab trees are important in one of my favorite French books, Le Petit Prince, so it was cool to see one in real life.) Also there's a legend our tourguide was telling us about, but I couldn't quite understand it . . . I think the first imam of the mosque had been telling people before he died that he should be buried right next to the mosque and a tree would grow there. Well, sure enough, a baobab tree grew right where he was buried. Also, there were lots of cute little children running around and holding my hand. They were fascinated by my camera so I kept taking pictures of them and then showing them. So as I said, the mosque itself wasn't all the impressive but it was definitely a fun afternoon. That night Molly and I just chatted with people at the campsite (her roommate + friends stayed in the motel), and then we woke up at 6:00 the next morning to do another walking safari. We saw hardly anything on that safari - just a couple of antelope, so it made everything we had seen the day before that much more special. Even though it's a national park, it's apparently still very rare to see things!
THEN the most epic adventure of a journey home began. There's only ONE bus that leaves the park for the nearest major city/transport hub (Tamale) . . . and it leaves at 4:00 am. We were actually awake then because people were moving around, but we had wanted to do another safari so we stayed for the morning and were going to figure something else out. Well that "something else" ended up being a LOT of somethings else that took about 20 hours (instead of 12). First, we had to take a car to Damangoe (21 km from the park), which the driver at the park had told us would be the perfect spot to catch a tro-tro to Tamale, or headed south so we could later pick up transport to Accra. Well that was not the case. Apparently we actually needed to go to Damangoe JUNCTION (another 56 km away). So, we had to get a taxi that charged us a ridiculous amount of money, but it was obvious after almost an hour that it really was our only option. The road between Damangoe and Damangoe Junction is unpaved. 56 km of unpaved road, with the 6 of us + the driver crammed into the cab, plus all of our bags. Also we had the windows open because of the heat, so we were getting FILTHY from all the dust flying around. About 30 minutes in, we got a flat tire (naturally)! BUT, thank goodness, the driver had the amazing foresight to get a new tire and put it in the trunk just before we left. He said he'd never had a flat on that road before and was surprised . . . and we started to think perhaps he had finally bought the tire because he knew he was charging us an arm and a leg to drive us. But, anyway, it was definitely funny as we all piled out of the car in the middle of nowhere. The entire rest of the way (another hour or so) we were all just praying we didn't get a second flat, because there was NO traffick on that road, and our phones didn't work so we couldn't have even called a friend of the driver to help us out. Luckily we made it to the junction finally. But THEN we realized that's not really a great place to catch a tro-tro either, because there were 6 of us, and almost any car/van/tro-tro/bus/anything that goes through only has 1 or 2 available seats, if any. So instead we took a tro-tro to Tamale (another hour and a half, AND this was out of the way as we had to go back on that exact same road later towards Accra). But finally, we got to Tamale, found a bus headed straight for Accra, bought tickets, grabbed food, and boarded. Around 4:00 this morning we got into Accra, then got a taxi back to campus by 4:30. It was certainly an adventure! It was definitely tiring, but Molly and I were laughing almost the whole time at just how ridiculous the situation was. And it was great fun meeting people all along the way from all over the world.
This was definitely a more tourist-y weekend for me, so I don't have as many thoughts on it as usual, but there were a few things I realized. While we were always smiling, it was still very frustrating at times knowing full well that we were being ripped off and paying way too much money for taxis. This happens a lot, as drivers (and anybody really) assume that white people have lots of money. While in relative terms this is generally true, it's certainly not always true, and it also doesn't mean that just because I HAVE money I should have to pay more than the going rate for a cab. So when several people kept promising they were helping us get to where we needed to be, and when we realized after paying that that wasn't the case, it was frustrating. And then I remembered . . . at least I'm fortunate enough that I can be ripped off from time to time. It sounds weird to say that, and I'm not sure how to explain it. I guess I'm just grateful of the things that I have, the opportunities I'm given, that I'm privileged enough to be able to travel to a national park for the weekend, and that I can afford to figure out complicated transportation home. The other thing I realized is that I need to be VERY careful who I travel with at the end of the semester. The chaos of that last 24 hours showed me how important it is to be with people who are able to laugh at the situation and stay relaxed. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun as it was if I was with people who got stressed out by the confusion. (I've actually surprised myself at how relaxed I've been here, as I'm usually fairly high strung and like to have everything planned out in advance.)
Now I should sign off after that insanely long post. But one more thing: I'm SO excited about this week. The place where I'm interning has been working with a community near Cape Coast. We're going back tomorrow through Wednesday to meet with them about child labor and domestic violence in the community. I have no idea what to expect, and I don't exactly know what I'll be doing, but I think it will be a great experience to interact with people in the village and learn from their stories.
We took a walking safari into the park with a guide. (You're actually not allowed to enter the park unless you have an armed ranger with you, if that gives you any idea how close you actually can get to some of the animals!) I saw a few baboons, warthogs, and antelope. THEN I SAW ELEPHANTS!!!!!! MAYBE 40 FEET AWAY!!!!! Lots of them!!!! And baby ones!!!! It was very cool, and I got some AWESOME pictures. I'll try to get to a place that I can easily upload them by the end of this week.
Right after the tour, the bus was going to head back to Accra. My friend Molly and her roommate had also come on the trip and were planning to stay. I had thought about it but didn't want to go back by myself, so I had decided against it. But when I found out they too were staying, I opted to stick around as well. Molly and I both wanted to camp out rather than stay in the motel at the park, so we rented tents and headed for the campsite. THAT was an adventure. We've both been camping before, but neither one of us had a clue what we were doing as we've only been in groups. (The extent of my tent-pitching knowledge comes from having helped the Crowleys or Phelpses in the past . . . and really I was usually more of a firewood-gatherer than tent-pitcher.) So we struggled for a bit trying to get stakes into the ground, but then two other guys who were camping out came over to help. Alex from France and Ian from England. We never quite figured out Alex's story . . . it seems like he just kind of wandered around Burkina Faso for a while and then decided to come to Ghana. Ian has a Land Rover that he converted into a camper of sorts and he DROVE DOWN TO GHANA FROM ENGLAND!!!!!! Literally, he attached a tent to the roof of his car and installed a water purifier, refrigerator, and stove into the trunk and just took off for Africa. He's driven through all of west Africa and is going to the Ghanaian coast. When he gets there, he's taking a boat to South Africa and then going to drive around the southern part of the continent till he runs out of money. Later Friday night we also met four New Zealanders (Carrie, Richard, Greg, and Sandra) who have been traveling the world since September. SEPTEMBER!! OF LAST YEAR!!! Where people find the money to do these things, I don't know. I have now decided what I will do with the money if I ever win the lottery.
Friday afternoon Molly, her roommate (Jen), and her roommate's friends (Lu, Liu, and Wang) hung out by the pool at the park for a while. Baboons kept running around and trying to steal people's things, which was definitely entertaining to watch. Everybody did a pretty good job of fending off the baboons (one little Dutch boy did a great job chasing after one with a lawn chair) . . . but I have to be honest: despite my extraordinary rugby skills, if there were a showdown between me and a baboon, my money would be on the baboon. They're sneaky little things!
After the pool, we went to a nearby village called Larabanga where the oldest mud and stick mosque in Ghana is found. It wasn't all that exciting of an excursion, other than the fact that now I can say I've been there. I was actually probably more impressed with the huge baobab tree right next to the mosque. (Baobab trees are important in one of my favorite French books, Le Petit Prince, so it was cool to see one in real life.) Also there's a legend our tourguide was telling us about, but I couldn't quite understand it . . . I think the first imam of the mosque had been telling people before he died that he should be buried right next to the mosque and a tree would grow there. Well, sure enough, a baobab tree grew right where he was buried. Also, there were lots of cute little children running around and holding my hand. They were fascinated by my camera so I kept taking pictures of them and then showing them. So as I said, the mosque itself wasn't all the impressive but it was definitely a fun afternoon. That night Molly and I just chatted with people at the campsite (her roommate + friends stayed in the motel), and then we woke up at 6:00 the next morning to do another walking safari. We saw hardly anything on that safari - just a couple of antelope, so it made everything we had seen the day before that much more special. Even though it's a national park, it's apparently still very rare to see things!
THEN the most epic adventure of a journey home began. There's only ONE bus that leaves the park for the nearest major city/transport hub (Tamale) . . . and it leaves at 4:00 am. We were actually awake then because people were moving around, but we had wanted to do another safari so we stayed for the morning and were going to figure something else out. Well that "something else" ended up being a LOT of somethings else that took about 20 hours (instead of 12). First, we had to take a car to Damangoe (21 km from the park), which the driver at the park had told us would be the perfect spot to catch a tro-tro to Tamale, or headed south so we could later pick up transport to Accra. Well that was not the case. Apparently we actually needed to go to Damangoe JUNCTION (another 56 km away). So, we had to get a taxi that charged us a ridiculous amount of money, but it was obvious after almost an hour that it really was our only option. The road between Damangoe and Damangoe Junction is unpaved. 56 km of unpaved road, with the 6 of us + the driver crammed into the cab, plus all of our bags. Also we had the windows open because of the heat, so we were getting FILTHY from all the dust flying around. About 30 minutes in, we got a flat tire (naturally)! BUT, thank goodness, the driver had the amazing foresight to get a new tire and put it in the trunk just before we left. He said he'd never had a flat on that road before and was surprised . . . and we started to think perhaps he had finally bought the tire because he knew he was charging us an arm and a leg to drive us. But, anyway, it was definitely funny as we all piled out of the car in the middle of nowhere. The entire rest of the way (another hour or so) we were all just praying we didn't get a second flat, because there was NO traffick on that road, and our phones didn't work so we couldn't have even called a friend of the driver to help us out. Luckily we made it to the junction finally. But THEN we realized that's not really a great place to catch a tro-tro either, because there were 6 of us, and almost any car/van/tro-tro/bus/anything that goes through only has 1 or 2 available seats, if any. So instead we took a tro-tro to Tamale (another hour and a half, AND this was out of the way as we had to go back on that exact same road later towards Accra). But finally, we got to Tamale, found a bus headed straight for Accra, bought tickets, grabbed food, and boarded. Around 4:00 this morning we got into Accra, then got a taxi back to campus by 4:30. It was certainly an adventure! It was definitely tiring, but Molly and I were laughing almost the whole time at just how ridiculous the situation was. And it was great fun meeting people all along the way from all over the world.
This was definitely a more tourist-y weekend for me, so I don't have as many thoughts on it as usual, but there were a few things I realized. While we were always smiling, it was still very frustrating at times knowing full well that we were being ripped off and paying way too much money for taxis. This happens a lot, as drivers (and anybody really) assume that white people have lots of money. While in relative terms this is generally true, it's certainly not always true, and it also doesn't mean that just because I HAVE money I should have to pay more than the going rate for a cab. So when several people kept promising they were helping us get to where we needed to be, and when we realized after paying that that wasn't the case, it was frustrating. And then I remembered . . . at least I'm fortunate enough that I can be ripped off from time to time. It sounds weird to say that, and I'm not sure how to explain it. I guess I'm just grateful of the things that I have, the opportunities I'm given, that I'm privileged enough to be able to travel to a national park for the weekend, and that I can afford to figure out complicated transportation home. The other thing I realized is that I need to be VERY careful who I travel with at the end of the semester. The chaos of that last 24 hours showed me how important it is to be with people who are able to laugh at the situation and stay relaxed. It wouldn't have been nearly as fun as it was if I was with people who got stressed out by the confusion. (I've actually surprised myself at how relaxed I've been here, as I'm usually fairly high strung and like to have everything planned out in advance.)
Now I should sign off after that insanely long post. But one more thing: I'm SO excited about this week. The place where I'm interning has been working with a community near Cape Coast. We're going back tomorrow through Wednesday to meet with them about child labor and domestic violence in the community. I have no idea what to expect, and I don't exactly know what I'll be doing, but I think it will be a great experience to interact with people in the village and learn from their stories.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Ash Wednesday and other thoughts
I've been thinking a little more about that conversation I had with Esther, so a few more quick thoughts on that. I think what really bothered me was seeing how other people perceive Americans, and not knowing how to address it. I want to figure out how to use my time here to represent my country in a positive way.
The Ash Wednesday service last week pretty much epitomized my experience in this country thus far: the electricity went out, and I was confused about 95% of the time (since I went to a Catholic service). But, it was probably the first time I was grateful for the power outage - it meant the service was in candlelight! I thought it was the perfect way to reflect at the beginning of Lent. I've never been a huge fan of giving anything up, but I do like to use the season as a time to think extra hard about what's really important in my life and what I want to improve upon. Thinking back on Jesus' life, and being in a country where I am often without the comforts I am accustomed to at home, makes it impossible not to think about sacrifice, and what I'm willing to do or give up so that someone else may benefit. So, all in all it was nice for once to not have electricity!
I've realized how many things I take for granted at home (milk & milk products, the concept of being able to order pizza/wings at midnight and have them delivered to my door, and others) . . . but I'm also beginning to wonder what things I am taking for granted here that I will miss back home. The other day on the way to my internship, the tro I was on got a flat tire. Amazingly enough, it happened right across the street from a tire stand. Literally, there was a man just sitting there selling a pile of tires. In less than 15 minutes, the mate & driver had jacked up the van (with us all sitting in it!), changed the tire, and got back in the tro to continue on. Most people in the states have a spare tire in their car so that scenario wouldn't be unheard of, but I remembered the time my dad was driving me halfway to my grandparents' house in Florida when we got TWO flat tires. We had to sit and wait in a truck weigh station for several hours until AAA came. It's just kind of funny . . . I figured I'd miss food and friends here when I go back home, but it's just now occurring to me that there might be things I will miss here because of convenience.
Yesterday I went back to the bead factory and wood carving village I had gone to several weeks ago with CIEE. But this time, my friends and I got ourselves there and back on tros. On the way home I realized how much I'm finally settling in to life here. A few weeks ago, every time I went somewhere I would get anxious or frustrated trying to figure things out. I wasn't ever sure how long it would take, and sometimes even if I knew where I was supposed to be going I had a hard time communicating that to a tro mate or taxi driver. But yesterday my friends and I got to and from two different places, made no mistakes, and none of us were even worried about doing it. It hadn't even occurred to me that I might not be able to figure it out or get there eventually, even if it was confusing. I definitely had to take one day at a time to get through the frustrations and challenges of every day. But now I make plans ahead of time, and certain things have become so routine I don't even think about them anymore. So, it was kind of a nice feeling when I realized how quickly I've been able to get to a point of truly feeling comfortable here.
In other happy news, I have my RA job back for next year!!!! I don't have my specific floor placement yet, but I know I'm going to be in Anderson Hall again, which was my first choice. I'll have Erin as my boss again, and apparently most of the staff is going to be returners that I knew from last semester, and some who I hear are great from this semester. I don't have the official list yet, but I'm definitely excited to be working with the people I know of so far. Yay!!
The Ash Wednesday service last week pretty much epitomized my experience in this country thus far: the electricity went out, and I was confused about 95% of the time (since I went to a Catholic service). But, it was probably the first time I was grateful for the power outage - it meant the service was in candlelight! I thought it was the perfect way to reflect at the beginning of Lent. I've never been a huge fan of giving anything up, but I do like to use the season as a time to think extra hard about what's really important in my life and what I want to improve upon. Thinking back on Jesus' life, and being in a country where I am often without the comforts I am accustomed to at home, makes it impossible not to think about sacrifice, and what I'm willing to do or give up so that someone else may benefit. So, all in all it was nice for once to not have electricity!
I've realized how many things I take for granted at home (milk & milk products, the concept of being able to order pizza/wings at midnight and have them delivered to my door, and others) . . . but I'm also beginning to wonder what things I am taking for granted here that I will miss back home. The other day on the way to my internship, the tro I was on got a flat tire. Amazingly enough, it happened right across the street from a tire stand. Literally, there was a man just sitting there selling a pile of tires. In less than 15 minutes, the mate & driver had jacked up the van (with us all sitting in it!), changed the tire, and got back in the tro to continue on. Most people in the states have a spare tire in their car so that scenario wouldn't be unheard of, but I remembered the time my dad was driving me halfway to my grandparents' house in Florida when we got TWO flat tires. We had to sit and wait in a truck weigh station for several hours until AAA came. It's just kind of funny . . . I figured I'd miss food and friends here when I go back home, but it's just now occurring to me that there might be things I will miss here because of convenience.
Yesterday I went back to the bead factory and wood carving village I had gone to several weeks ago with CIEE. But this time, my friends and I got ourselves there and back on tros. On the way home I realized how much I'm finally settling in to life here. A few weeks ago, every time I went somewhere I would get anxious or frustrated trying to figure things out. I wasn't ever sure how long it would take, and sometimes even if I knew where I was supposed to be going I had a hard time communicating that to a tro mate or taxi driver. But yesterday my friends and I got to and from two different places, made no mistakes, and none of us were even worried about doing it. It hadn't even occurred to me that I might not be able to figure it out or get there eventually, even if it was confusing. I definitely had to take one day at a time to get through the frustrations and challenges of every day. But now I make plans ahead of time, and certain things have become so routine I don't even think about them anymore. So, it was kind of a nice feeling when I realized how quickly I've been able to get to a point of truly feeling comfortable here.
In other happy news, I have my RA job back for next year!!!! I don't have my specific floor placement yet, but I know I'm going to be in Anderson Hall again, which was my first choice. I'll have Erin as my boss again, and apparently most of the staff is going to be returners that I knew from last semester, and some who I hear are great from this semester. I don't have the official list yet, but I'm definitely excited to be working with the people I know of so far. Yay!!
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