This past weekend was amazing! On Saturday I went back to Aburi Gardens with my friend Ben. This time we went hiking and biking on a 16k path through the area. We started out pretty much literally mountain biking uphill, and 5 minutes in I was wondering how on earth I was going to survive the next 3 hours. We were biking over rocks, tree branches, etc. on a somewhat nonexistent path! Eventually we made it to easier pathways and roads, though, and the challenge became just doing a lot of uphill pedaling. I felt a bit odd because our guide, William, was taking us through villages, and I thought we may have been biking through people's back yards, but I also got to see lots of people. There were tons of children running around yelling "oburuni! oburuni!" I was a bit slower than Ben and William, so Ben stopped a few times to let kids ride his bike.
Eventually we made it to a sort of open clearing at the top of a mountain and the view was breathtaking! We left our bikes and hiked about 10 minutes to Obosomase Falls (named for the village we were near). It was SO hot so we got in the water for a few minutes to cool off, but eventually we made our way back to the bike rental shop. I was exhausted afterwards, and I'm not sure I have it in me to do that too often, but it was definitely a fun day and I may go back if I find myself without anything to do on some Saturday.
On Sunday I went to church with Sarah and our friends Kofi and Michael. They go to a megachurch, which I would never go to back home. But here, all things considered, it was manageable and I could see myself going back. (By manageable I mean the sermon was just over an hour and the whole service was ONLY 3 hours.) I don't have a clue what the sermon was about because had trouble understanding the pastor, but oh well! I've been asking friends about Ash Wednesday services, but so far it seems only Catholics observe it here, so I may just go to a Catholic mass tonight with some friends but not take communion.
Yesterday was another somewhat awkward day at my internship. My coworkers were practicing presentations on various topics that they are going to be teaching in schools this afternoon. One girl, Esther, was giving her presentation about rape, and there were some very evident cultural differences how rape is taught and discussed in Ghana versus the United States. The first thing that bothered me was when Esther said one of the "causes" of rape is a woman dressing promiscuously. She could tell I was uncomfortable so she asked what I was thinking. I tried to explain that I feel like that reasoning puts some fault on the woman, and I don't believe rape is ever the survivor's fault. She and others in the office tried to then explain to me how in America it's more accepted for women to dress a certain way, so it's not a big deal for a man to see a woman dressed that way. In Ghana, however, apparently it's not normal and therefore men are unable to control their emotions if they see provocatively dressed women. So since men can't control their urges, women should dress conservatively to avoid rape. Esther kept trying to explain this to me, and I kept saying I disagreed. She said she would have my boss (who had left for the day) explain it to me so I could understand. I said I understood, but that I just had a different opinion about it since we are taught differently in the U.S. I wasn't trying to change anybody's mind about it, so I said it was OK if we had different opinions but I wouldn't be comfortable teaching that topic myself. We also talked about males being raped. Officially, most of my coworkers seemed to agree that it would theretically be possible for a male to be raped, but it wasn't discussed with much seriousness as though it were a very real possibility. So that bothered me a little bit too, but I felt like I had pushed the other point enough, and we kind of changed topics anyway.
The other thing that got awkward was discussing race relations with Esther during lunch (man, she and I certainly had a lot of different opinions on Monday!) The conversation started because she was asking how Americans perceive Africans, which is something I get asked a lot here actually. Before I could really answer, she told me white people always think Africans are like monkeys living in trees, and that the only Western media about Africa shows wars/conflict and people dying of starvation. I said that some people definitely don't have a positive view of Africa, and that much of the media is bad, but that not everybody has that view. As Esther kept talking, though, her words grew increasingly critical of whites as a whole and she referred to white people as "cheats" who come into Ghana, steal natural resources cheaply, and then sell them back to Ghanaians as expensive finished products. This is very true-in my development studies class we have talked in particular about developed nations taking rubber, then reselling finished tires at ridiculous prices back to Ghana. But I don't think ALL white people are bad or that ONLY white people do these things. Esther also said "You're OK. You're fine. I know you and you're nice, but other whites are all just cheats."
This is a fairly sensitive subject, and I've only really been mulling over it for the last 48 hours, but I'll try my best to communicate my thoughts. First of all, Esther's words reminded me exactly of what people in America say today. I don't really hear it said about African Americans anymore, but I definitely hear it about the gay community and Muslims or people of Middle Eastern descent. People say that all the time when they learn that one of their close friends is gay, for example. Why is it OK for your friend to be gay, but not anybody else? And how is it possible that I'm the ONLY halfway decent white person on the planet? I'm trying very hard to put Esther's opinion into context. Yes, white people have historically done lots of very very awful things to pretty much every group. And yes, we are still doing horrible things. And yes, white people probably need to be brought down a few notches and told that we're not all wonderful all the time. But I also thought it was fairly inappropriate for one of my coworkers to be saying these things to me. I would find it entirely inappropriate for a white person in America to say something to anybody else about their race, and I think it's equally inappropriate for her to say to me that I'm OK but my people are bad.
This is why I came to Ghana. I want to hear different perspectives, I want to see how the rest of the world views America, I want to be uncomfortable and challenged. I think what I'm struggling with here is the same thing I talked about in my thoughts on visiting Cape Coast Castle. How much do I have to own up to what my ancestors have done, how much do I do myself without even realizing it, and how much is it OK to maybe say "yes, bad things have happened, but I'm trying to make them better today, so stop making me feel guilty about things that I wasn't personally involved with?" I'm really glad that I had that conversation with Esther. I'm not sure I dealt with it very well, though, because I just kept repeating that not ALL white people are bad. Over and over and over again. I hope that we can continue to have these conversations, and that by the end of another couples months here Esther will maybe realize there are other white people who aren't "cheats." But I'm not sure I've figured out yet how to communicate that.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Vals Day, Plays, Rugby, and PICTURES!!!!
Last Saturday was "Vals Day!" I was FINALLY able to open the secret package wrapped in red tissue paper in my suitcase that said "Do not open till Valentine's Day." (And let me tell you, it took every ounce of self control I had not to open it early!) It turned out to be a bag of Valentine-colored m&ms, which also made me the most popular person of the week. I always thought it was funny at school how excited people get when I share the goodies in my care packages . . . well magnify that times a hundred when you've been in a country for 6 weeks where m&ms would cost $15 a bag. :)
On Saturday, I went on an adventure to Osu with my friends Greta and Clara. I buy a lot of clothes from Revive, a fair trade store close to my house in Ohio. I have a dress and a skirt made by Global Mamas, a women's fair trade business based here in Ghana. I brought them along with me. Several weeks ago while in Osu (neighborhood outside of Accra), I saw signs for Global Mamas. So we tro-tro'd out to Osu with the mission of finding the actual store. We treated ourselves to a Valentine's Day lunch at an Italian place, then started looking around for Global Mamas. It only took about an hour and a half of wandering up and down the same street, asking multiple people who gave us incorrect directions, and being nearly ready to give up before we finally found it.
On Saturday, I went on an adventure to Osu with my friends Greta and Clara. I buy a lot of clothes from Revive, a fair trade store close to my house in Ohio. I have a dress and a skirt made by Global Mamas, a women's fair trade business based here in Ghana. I brought them along with me. Several weeks ago while in Osu (neighborhood outside of Accra), I saw signs for Global Mamas. So we tro-tro'd out to Osu with the mission of finding the actual store. We treated ourselves to a Valentine's Day lunch at an Italian place, then started looking around for Global Mamas. It only took about an hour and a half of wandering up and down the same street, asking multiple people who gave us incorrect directions, and being nearly ready to give up before we finally found it.
[Cultural side note . . . I have noticed that people in Ghana like to give directions or answer questions, even when they have absolutely no idea what the real answer is. It took some time for me to figure this out. I finally asked one of my friends about it, and his explanation was that Ghanaians just want to help, so they'd rather give an incorrect answer than be unable to provide any answer at all. It's very nice and hospitable, but sometimes I'd just rather have them tell me "I don't know" than let me wander around confused for 20 minutes from bad directions! Now that I am aware of this, however, it's been a little easier to detect whether or not somebody actually seems to know what they're talking about.]
Anyway, we eventually found Global Mamas. I walked in, introduced myself to two women working, and told them I had bought my dress in the U.S. I was definitely more excited about the encounter than they were, but they were still happy. I bought a skirt! Just as in the US, fair trade clothes are more expensive than other clothes. But it was still reasonably priced, and it felt great to be able to actually see that the place I've been buying ethically made apparel for several years REALLY DOES pay fair wages to workers in developing nations.
On a totally unrelated note . . . things were CRAZY around my building complex last week. Apparently every dorm on campus has a "week," but this was the first year Pent ever did Pent Week. For four days there were tents set up everywhere selling food, clothes, jewelery . . . and there was an awful DJ blasting the same music on loop (about a 2 hour mix). But it was also exciting to see everybody's Pent pride for a few days.
On Sunday evening I went to see the production Run for Your Wife, a comedy about a taxi driver who has two wives (neither one knows about the other). Theater is a BIG deal on campus here. It seems like almost every weekend there's a different show. This weekend is Diary of a Mad Black Woman, next weekend is The Vagina Monologues, in 3 weeks is Beauty and the Beast, sometime in April is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I'm sure there are more I haven't even seen advertised yet. I was really impressed with the performance last weekend so I'm looking forward to seeing lots more while I'm here.
Wednesday morning Sarah and I finally made it to rugby practice. On the other side of campus. At 5:00 in the morning. [Now, Dad . . . before you start that oh-too-familiar spiel of "See, you can get up early if there's something you really want to do" . . . let me just point out that it was in fact the FOURTH day I had set an alarm the night before with the intent of going to practice.] Practice was INTENSE. There is not a women's team here, so we practice with the men. Our coach plays for the Ghanaian National Team. Practice is four days a week, for FOUR HOURS each. Oh, and did I mention that the phrase "water break" is apparently nonexistent in this country. I was really excited about playing here because it's an easy way to meet other students on campus . . . but I'm not so sure how long I'm going to last with this! Since there's not a women's league, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to play in matches . . . and I don't think I'm intrinsically motivated enough to continue this waking-up-at-4:30am-to-jog-to-the-other-side-of-campus business. We'll see!
On a final note . . . PICTURES ARE UP!!!! And titled and captioned!!!! I'm still trying to figure out how to put a couple pictures directly into these entries, but that will be a project for another day. For now I'll just give you the link here: http://community.webshots.com/album/570040922Wrugrn
On Sunday evening I went to see the production Run for Your Wife, a comedy about a taxi driver who has two wives (neither one knows about the other). Theater is a BIG deal on campus here. It seems like almost every weekend there's a different show. This weekend is Diary of a Mad Black Woman, next weekend is The Vagina Monologues, in 3 weeks is Beauty and the Beast, sometime in April is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I'm sure there are more I haven't even seen advertised yet. I was really impressed with the performance last weekend so I'm looking forward to seeing lots more while I'm here.
Wednesday morning Sarah and I finally made it to rugby practice. On the other side of campus. At 5:00 in the morning. [Now, Dad . . . before you start that oh-too-familiar spiel of "See, you can get up early if there's something you really want to do" . . . let me just point out that it was in fact the FOURTH day I had set an alarm the night before with the intent of going to practice.] Practice was INTENSE. There is not a women's team here, so we practice with the men. Our coach plays for the Ghanaian National Team. Practice is four days a week, for FOUR HOURS each. Oh, and did I mention that the phrase "water break" is apparently nonexistent in this country. I was really excited about playing here because it's an easy way to meet other students on campus . . . but I'm not so sure how long I'm going to last with this! Since there's not a women's league, I'm pretty sure I won't be able to play in matches . . . and I don't think I'm intrinsically motivated enough to continue this waking-up-at-4:30am-to-jog-to-the-other-side-of-campus business. We'll see!
On a final note . . . PICTURES ARE UP!!!! And titled and captioned!!!! I'm still trying to figure out how to put a couple pictures directly into these entries, but that will be a project for another day. For now I'll just give you the link here: http://community.webshots.com/album/570040922Wrugrn
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Cape Coast Castle
This past weekend I went to Cape Coast Castle, one of the main castles that was used to keep slaves before sending them on to the Americas. My tour guide wasn't great. He cracked a few jokes (inappropriate, much?) and he didn't give many details beyond what each room was, but it was still an interesting experience and I was affected by several things I saw.
The dungeons would hold between 600 and 1,000 people, for anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months. They were very very tiny rooms, and slaves were forced to sleep on the rock floor, maybe with a mat. There was a think track through the middle of the room that would carry urine out to the sea, and there were boxes in the corner for other waste. If the boxes filled up, one had no choice but to go along the edges of the room. When the castle was first excavated years ago, the excrement was piled up about 2 feet around the dungeons. There was either no sunlight, or maybe a VERY tiny window to let in minimal light. Men and women were separated in different dungeons, and were reunited at the end of a tunnel running from the dungeons to "the door of no return." The door opens about 15 feet from the water, and it was where the slaves were brought aboard the ships.
The first thing that struck me was the church that was in the castle, literally right above the male dungeons. I just couldn't believe people could worship and praise God in that place, knowing full well everything that was happening just beneath them. The next thing that really hit me was how out of place the castle seemed to be with the rest of its surroundings. Not that a slave castle should really belong anywhere . . . but the ocean is so bright blue and beautiful, and there are palm trees everywhere. I can't help but think of how the slaves probably never even got to think about that, and even if they did they certainly could not have enjoyed the view.
The last thing that has stuck with me is that the only thing separating me from the slave trade is time. It could easily have been me, my friends, and my family that were trading slaves, making chains, using cotton, eating sugar, voting down legislation to abolish the trade . . . anything. I'd like to tell myself that I would still have been the voice of dissention calling for peace and justice, but the reality is I can't. Chances are, I wouldn't have. The only reason I'm able to speak out against injustice today is because I've been able to learn from history and the mistakes of others. I also wonder what things are occurring in the world that I am a part of--either actively or passively.
At the beginning of the tour, we saw a plaque inscribed into the building that reads: In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace; may those who return find their roots; may humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this. Indeed, I hope that I am doing my part to uphold this promise that no human should suffer like that again.
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The rest of the weekend was not nearly so solemn. On Sunday morning we went to Kakum National Park, one of the only places in Ghana that still has natural rainforest which has not been destroyed. We did a canopy walk 40m in the air on thin wooden suspension bridges. (Dad, the walk was definitely not your thing!) I didn't get to see any animals, but the view was absolutely breathtaking. It also rained a bit! Barely . . . really, it was about 3 sprinkled drops . . . but it was something! And afterall we were in the rainforest, so it was fitting. For lunch we went to Hans Cottage, a cool restaurant on top of a lake with crocodiles. They mostly stayed underwater but I got to see a few.
Also good news! PICTURES WILL BE AVAILABLE VERY SHORTLY!!!!!! I succeeded in uploading a few this morning to an external site. I'll try to get the link in here soon once I finish uploading them and adding captions. Apparently there's some way to put pictures directly on here but I haven't figured it out yet. We shall see. Very very soon, though, I promise you will have photographic evidence that I am alive and well and loving every minute here!
The dungeons would hold between 600 and 1,000 people, for anywhere between 2 weeks and 6 months. They were very very tiny rooms, and slaves were forced to sleep on the rock floor, maybe with a mat. There was a think track through the middle of the room that would carry urine out to the sea, and there were boxes in the corner for other waste. If the boxes filled up, one had no choice but to go along the edges of the room. When the castle was first excavated years ago, the excrement was piled up about 2 feet around the dungeons. There was either no sunlight, or maybe a VERY tiny window to let in minimal light. Men and women were separated in different dungeons, and were reunited at the end of a tunnel running from the dungeons to "the door of no return." The door opens about 15 feet from the water, and it was where the slaves were brought aboard the ships.
The first thing that struck me was the church that was in the castle, literally right above the male dungeons. I just couldn't believe people could worship and praise God in that place, knowing full well everything that was happening just beneath them. The next thing that really hit me was how out of place the castle seemed to be with the rest of its surroundings. Not that a slave castle should really belong anywhere . . . but the ocean is so bright blue and beautiful, and there are palm trees everywhere. I can't help but think of how the slaves probably never even got to think about that, and even if they did they certainly could not have enjoyed the view.
The last thing that has stuck with me is that the only thing separating me from the slave trade is time. It could easily have been me, my friends, and my family that were trading slaves, making chains, using cotton, eating sugar, voting down legislation to abolish the trade . . . anything. I'd like to tell myself that I would still have been the voice of dissention calling for peace and justice, but the reality is I can't. Chances are, I wouldn't have. The only reason I'm able to speak out against injustice today is because I've been able to learn from history and the mistakes of others. I also wonder what things are occurring in the world that I am a part of--either actively or passively.
At the beginning of the tour, we saw a plaque inscribed into the building that reads: In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace; may those who return find their roots; may humanity never again perpetrate such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this. Indeed, I hope that I am doing my part to uphold this promise that no human should suffer like that again.
---------------------------------------
The rest of the weekend was not nearly so solemn. On Sunday morning we went to Kakum National Park, one of the only places in Ghana that still has natural rainforest which has not been destroyed. We did a canopy walk 40m in the air on thin wooden suspension bridges. (Dad, the walk was definitely not your thing!) I didn't get to see any animals, but the view was absolutely breathtaking. It also rained a bit! Barely . . . really, it was about 3 sprinkled drops . . . but it was something! And afterall we were in the rainforest, so it was fitting. For lunch we went to Hans Cottage, a cool restaurant on top of a lake with crocodiles. They mostly stayed underwater but I got to see a few.
Also good news! PICTURES WILL BE AVAILABLE VERY SHORTLY!!!!!! I succeeded in uploading a few this morning to an external site. I'll try to get the link in here soon once I finish uploading them and adding captions. Apparently there's some way to put pictures directly on here but I haven't figured it out yet. We shall see. Very very soon, though, I promise you will have photographic evidence that I am alive and well and loving every minute here!
Friday, February 6, 2009
My Internship, and other things
Today marks FOUR WEEKS since my arrival in Ghana. It does NOT at all seem like I have been here that long. The time is just flying by. I still have a little over 3 months, but I can already tell I won't be ready to leave by then.
I started my internship this week! I met my boss last week but Monday was my first official day. I'm working at an NGO in Adenta (about 15-25 minutes from campus depending on traffic, so very manageable). The NGO is called Intervention Forum and does work on a variety of projects mostly in Adenta, but also the greater Accra area. They focus primarily on community health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS education and environmental and sanitation issues. It seems to me they try to work on pretty much any problem they witness in the community though, and have dealt with things in the past such as TB and other infectious diseases, rape, women's skills training and empowerment, child trafficking, and child labor. It's a VERY cool organization for me to be working with.
The office is small; my boss Nora is the director, and there are two other women who work there daily but are volunteers. Another woman comes in only on Fridays to volunteer. Additionally, there are 5 other University of Ghana students who are doing some sort of experiential learning/service as part of their degree, but they just started this week as well.
On Monday Nora went over HIV/AIDS education training with us and had us take a test just to make sure everybody was on the same page and we understand the issues. We'll be going to various schools and community groups to teach the information, so she needed to know we are well versed in the material. Ghana has about a 3% HIV prevalence rate, which for Africa is relatively low but is still considered a high rate overall. I was both impressed and surprised by what was (and was not) covered in the material. Ghana is an extremely extremely extremely Christian country (I will talk about this in another post because I have quite a lot to say about it). I was surprised that in some ways the material seemed to be very comprehensive. It is based on the ABC program: Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use. I didn't really know what to expect, but I guess I just assumed that since much of the US is still teaching abstinence only, that might be the emphasis of the programs here. Everything was covered in terms of spreading HIV through blood transfusions, sharing needles, sharing razors; high risk behaviors; other STI's; proper male and female condom use. As I said, however, I was also a little bothered by some things that weren't included. Not once in the session, nor in any of the materials I was given, was there any mention of different kinds of sex (oral, anal), or different kinds of relationships (heterosexual, homosexual). I'm not entirely comfortable going into school classes or community groups and teaching HIV and other STI prevention without covering some of this information that can still be at-risk behavior. As I said, I realize much of this is not covered in programs even in the US, but Shaker always had very comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, so I guess that's just what I'm used to and think is important. I figure people should be given all of the information and then be able to make decisions for themselves. I've talked to a few of my Ghanaian friends and my program director about these concerns, and they all recommended talking to my boss about it. I may be worrying needlessly, and she may be very receptive to including these things in the training we do. I guess I'll just have to summon the courage to bring it up next week!
I began another project this week at work. We went into Adenta Village and interviewed families of school dropouts to determine why some students weren't in school. There are child labor laws in Ghana, and international standards, but since so much of the economy in Ghana is informal, it's very difficult to keep many children from selling fruit or water in streetside stands during the day instead of going to classes. For many families, it's just a reality that they cannot afford for the students to be at school instead of working. So, we interviewed a few different children and their parents (if they were around) to figure out what some of the underlying problems are. I had to leave to get back for a lecture so I only did that for about an hour, but it was really fun just to interact with people in the community a little bit. It was obvious from everyone I talked to, and from stories my coworkers shared from other days this week, that the kids would rather be in school and their parents would rather have them there, but it's just not feasible. So, Intervention Forum's next big step is to figure out how to do some fundraising. (Story of all NGO's, right?) I can't even begin to imagine how that's going to work here. Before long I will begin investigating into grants and such. I've never written a grant proposal before though . . . so either I'll have to rely on somebody else to do it in the office, or I'll have to start figuring it out! It's definitely a skill I should probably start developing anyway so I may give it a shot. I'm not sure what kinds of projects we'll be doing next week . . . it seems like we kind of do things as they pop up. So, we'll see where this goes.
Tomorrow morning my program is taking us to the Cape Coast for the weekend. There, we'll visit a former slave castle (Ghana is one of the main places slaves were taken from Africa to the Americas). We're also going to see some sort of animal sanctuary, do a canopy walk, and eat lunch on Sunday above some lake filled with crocodiles! It should be an interesting weekend.
I just realized I don't think I ever wrote about my first program excursion. It was more of a fun trip than an educational one, but it was still cool. We went to Aburi Gardens and got to see all kinds of tropical plants and trees and such, and also went to a famous bead factory and wood carving village. The beads here are made out of recycled glass. We got to see the workers smashing old bottles into a fine powder that could be mixed to either make the beads themselves or paint for the beads. This region is also famous for wood carving, so we visited several shops to buy traditional wood things. I bought a kind of tripod-shaped thing that is three people intertwined with each other and means "unity." I also bought a jewelery box that sits on top of it (I had to put somewhere to put all the beads!)
OK I think that was an excessively long post, so I'll cut it off here. Next week I'll write about the slave castles, and about classes since I finally have my schedule locked down too.
I'm still working on figuring out how to get pictures up. I'll get them eventually!
Miss and love you all :) xoxoxo
I started my internship this week! I met my boss last week but Monday was my first official day. I'm working at an NGO in Adenta (about 15-25 minutes from campus depending on traffic, so very manageable). The NGO is called Intervention Forum and does work on a variety of projects mostly in Adenta, but also the greater Accra area. They focus primarily on community health issues, particularly HIV/AIDS education and environmental and sanitation issues. It seems to me they try to work on pretty much any problem they witness in the community though, and have dealt with things in the past such as TB and other infectious diseases, rape, women's skills training and empowerment, child trafficking, and child labor. It's a VERY cool organization for me to be working with.
The office is small; my boss Nora is the director, and there are two other women who work there daily but are volunteers. Another woman comes in only on Fridays to volunteer. Additionally, there are 5 other University of Ghana students who are doing some sort of experiential learning/service as part of their degree, but they just started this week as well.
On Monday Nora went over HIV/AIDS education training with us and had us take a test just to make sure everybody was on the same page and we understand the issues. We'll be going to various schools and community groups to teach the information, so she needed to know we are well versed in the material. Ghana has about a 3% HIV prevalence rate, which for Africa is relatively low but is still considered a high rate overall. I was both impressed and surprised by what was (and was not) covered in the material. Ghana is an extremely extremely extremely Christian country (I will talk about this in another post because I have quite a lot to say about it). I was surprised that in some ways the material seemed to be very comprehensive. It is based on the ABC program: Abstinence, Be faithful, Condom use. I didn't really know what to expect, but I guess I just assumed that since much of the US is still teaching abstinence only, that might be the emphasis of the programs here. Everything was covered in terms of spreading HIV through blood transfusions, sharing needles, sharing razors; high risk behaviors; other STI's; proper male and female condom use. As I said, however, I was also a little bothered by some things that weren't included. Not once in the session, nor in any of the materials I was given, was there any mention of different kinds of sex (oral, anal), or different kinds of relationships (heterosexual, homosexual). I'm not entirely comfortable going into school classes or community groups and teaching HIV and other STI prevention without covering some of this information that can still be at-risk behavior. As I said, I realize much of this is not covered in programs even in the US, but Shaker always had very comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education, so I guess that's just what I'm used to and think is important. I figure people should be given all of the information and then be able to make decisions for themselves. I've talked to a few of my Ghanaian friends and my program director about these concerns, and they all recommended talking to my boss about it. I may be worrying needlessly, and she may be very receptive to including these things in the training we do. I guess I'll just have to summon the courage to bring it up next week!
I began another project this week at work. We went into Adenta Village and interviewed families of school dropouts to determine why some students weren't in school. There are child labor laws in Ghana, and international standards, but since so much of the economy in Ghana is informal, it's very difficult to keep many children from selling fruit or water in streetside stands during the day instead of going to classes. For many families, it's just a reality that they cannot afford for the students to be at school instead of working. So, we interviewed a few different children and their parents (if they were around) to figure out what some of the underlying problems are. I had to leave to get back for a lecture so I only did that for about an hour, but it was really fun just to interact with people in the community a little bit. It was obvious from everyone I talked to, and from stories my coworkers shared from other days this week, that the kids would rather be in school and their parents would rather have them there, but it's just not feasible. So, Intervention Forum's next big step is to figure out how to do some fundraising. (Story of all NGO's, right?) I can't even begin to imagine how that's going to work here. Before long I will begin investigating into grants and such. I've never written a grant proposal before though . . . so either I'll have to rely on somebody else to do it in the office, or I'll have to start figuring it out! It's definitely a skill I should probably start developing anyway so I may give it a shot. I'm not sure what kinds of projects we'll be doing next week . . . it seems like we kind of do things as they pop up. So, we'll see where this goes.
Tomorrow morning my program is taking us to the Cape Coast for the weekend. There, we'll visit a former slave castle (Ghana is one of the main places slaves were taken from Africa to the Americas). We're also going to see some sort of animal sanctuary, do a canopy walk, and eat lunch on Sunday above some lake filled with crocodiles! It should be an interesting weekend.
I just realized I don't think I ever wrote about my first program excursion. It was more of a fun trip than an educational one, but it was still cool. We went to Aburi Gardens and got to see all kinds of tropical plants and trees and such, and also went to a famous bead factory and wood carving village. The beads here are made out of recycled glass. We got to see the workers smashing old bottles into a fine powder that could be mixed to either make the beads themselves or paint for the beads. This region is also famous for wood carving, so we visited several shops to buy traditional wood things. I bought a kind of tripod-shaped thing that is three people intertwined with each other and means "unity." I also bought a jewelery box that sits on top of it (I had to put somewhere to put all the beads!)
OK I think that was an excessively long post, so I'll cut it off here. Next week I'll write about the slave castles, and about classes since I finally have my schedule locked down too.
I'm still working on figuring out how to get pictures up. I'll get them eventually!
Miss and love you all :) xoxoxo
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Food in Ghana
Yesterday was by far my favorite day here up to this point.
Yesterday morning I went with my roommate Sarah and our friend Camille to meet up with some of Sarah's Ghanaian friends. We had to take a combination of several tro-tros and a taxi to get there, but we ended up very far southwest of campus at her friend Barbara's tailor shop. Barbara's friend Anastasia lives right next to the shop and makes fufu every Saturday. Fufu is a kind of mashed corn and plantain dough that is served with soup to dip it in. I can't remember the name of the soup we had but it was chicken based and delicious. We just spent the whole day with Anastasia's family helping prepare the fufu. Her two brothers, Reginald and Francis asked us about American and Ghanaian politics and told us about some of the local football (soccer) teams. Anastasia and her mom were really curious as to our opinion about the quick changes that have already begun under the Obama administration, particularly the women's and children's health issues.
Making fufu is a verrrry long process so it gave us lots of time to visit. Us oburuni girls got to try pounding the fufu. It's CRAZY how exact the timing has to be though. One person takes a huge wooden stick (maybe 6 feet long) and literally just pounds and pounds and pounds the dough with it, while another person moves their hands in and out of the dough folding it over itself and helping get lumps out.
I was so amazed at the hospitality I received yesterday. I didn't know these people, and Sarah didn't really either. We were just friends of a friend that had been invited over to spend an entire day together and eat food. Then when they found out how much we love kelewele (see below in "other food"), they decided to make that for us too. All day they kept asking if we could come back every Saturday or at least most Saturdays to just spend time together and enjoy fufu.
Around 5:00 we just meandered back to Legon, watched a movie with some friends and celebrated a friend's birthday. It was a great day just trying to navigate the city without a huge group, and making some awesome Ghanaian friends!
Other kinds of Ghanaian food:
kenkey - MY FAVORITE!!!!!! A fermented corn dough served with a very hot red pepper sauce for dipping. The kenkey comes served in the corn husk and you break off little pieces (using your right hand only), ball it up, and dip it in the sauce. Like most Ghanaian dishes, it's communal and designed to be eaten with others. It's also typically served with fish, but I haven't been adventurous enough to try it with fish yet. (For two reasons. 1, as much as I love seafood, I'm not a huge tilapia fan, and that's pretty much the only fish I've seen anywhere. 2, Ghanaians eat the WHOLE fish. Bones, scales, tail, sometimes the head - everything. Eventually, I'll go for it, but I figure I have time to let myself adjust.) Just the kenkey with the pepper is amazing though.
banku - very similar to kenkey, but served with soup instead of pepper sauce. I've usually seen it with okra and crab soup. It's kind of hit or miss with the banku; about half the time I've had it it's been great and about half the time it hasn't. The consistency is also more doughy than kenkey, which is closer to corn bread. I'll probably just stick to kenkey, but I had wanted to try everything a few times. Most people like one or the other more anyway.
kelewele - fried plantains, with a twist. You can find plantains anywhere in Ghana - plantain chips, roasted whole plantains, or fried plantain pieces. Towards the end of the day, they take the plantains that are brown because they're too soft to fry on their own. Instead, they cut them into smaller pieces and mix them with hot pepper, ginger, cloves, and some other spices. I've noticed this is definitely the "guilty pleasure" food here - everyone makes fun of each other for eating too much, saying they'll get fat.
mutsuo (?) and groundnut soup - pounded rice balls served with soup that tastes just like peanut butter. This is very delicious, but also verrry sweet and I can't eat too much at once. It's intended to be a meal, but I think it would make a better dessert because it's just so sweet!
Yesterday morning I went with my roommate Sarah and our friend Camille to meet up with some of Sarah's Ghanaian friends. We had to take a combination of several tro-tros and a taxi to get there, but we ended up very far southwest of campus at her friend Barbara's tailor shop. Barbara's friend Anastasia lives right next to the shop and makes fufu every Saturday. Fufu is a kind of mashed corn and plantain dough that is served with soup to dip it in. I can't remember the name of the soup we had but it was chicken based and delicious. We just spent the whole day with Anastasia's family helping prepare the fufu. Her two brothers, Reginald and Francis asked us about American and Ghanaian politics and told us about some of the local football (soccer) teams. Anastasia and her mom were really curious as to our opinion about the quick changes that have already begun under the Obama administration, particularly the women's and children's health issues.
Making fufu is a verrrry long process so it gave us lots of time to visit. Us oburuni girls got to try pounding the fufu. It's CRAZY how exact the timing has to be though. One person takes a huge wooden stick (maybe 6 feet long) and literally just pounds and pounds and pounds the dough with it, while another person moves their hands in and out of the dough folding it over itself and helping get lumps out.
I was so amazed at the hospitality I received yesterday. I didn't know these people, and Sarah didn't really either. We were just friends of a friend that had been invited over to spend an entire day together and eat food. Then when they found out how much we love kelewele (see below in "other food"), they decided to make that for us too. All day they kept asking if we could come back every Saturday or at least most Saturdays to just spend time together and enjoy fufu.
Around 5:00 we just meandered back to Legon, watched a movie with some friends and celebrated a friend's birthday. It was a great day just trying to navigate the city without a huge group, and making some awesome Ghanaian friends!
Other kinds of Ghanaian food:
kenkey - MY FAVORITE!!!!!! A fermented corn dough served with a very hot red pepper sauce for dipping. The kenkey comes served in the corn husk and you break off little pieces (using your right hand only), ball it up, and dip it in the sauce. Like most Ghanaian dishes, it's communal and designed to be eaten with others. It's also typically served with fish, but I haven't been adventurous enough to try it with fish yet. (For two reasons. 1, as much as I love seafood, I'm not a huge tilapia fan, and that's pretty much the only fish I've seen anywhere. 2, Ghanaians eat the WHOLE fish. Bones, scales, tail, sometimes the head - everything. Eventually, I'll go for it, but I figure I have time to let myself adjust.) Just the kenkey with the pepper is amazing though.
banku - very similar to kenkey, but served with soup instead of pepper sauce. I've usually seen it with okra and crab soup. It's kind of hit or miss with the banku; about half the time I've had it it's been great and about half the time it hasn't. The consistency is also more doughy than kenkey, which is closer to corn bread. I'll probably just stick to kenkey, but I had wanted to try everything a few times. Most people like one or the other more anyway.
kelewele - fried plantains, with a twist. You can find plantains anywhere in Ghana - plantain chips, roasted whole plantains, or fried plantain pieces. Towards the end of the day, they take the plantains that are brown because they're too soft to fry on their own. Instead, they cut them into smaller pieces and mix them with hot pepper, ginger, cloves, and some other spices. I've noticed this is definitely the "guilty pleasure" food here - everyone makes fun of each other for eating too much, saying they'll get fat.
mutsuo (?) and groundnut soup - pounded rice balls served with soup that tastes just like peanut butter. This is very delicious, but also verrry sweet and I can't eat too much at once. It's intended to be a meal, but I think it would make a better dessert because it's just so sweet!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Luxuries
Everyone has been asking for pictures. I'm trying, I really am . . . but it may be a while yet before I have any way to post them. Most of the internet cafes don't let you upload external material from flash drives, CDs, etc. and my own computer is currently a useless pile of electronic junk. So be patient . . . a lot of that has to happen here in Ghana, so you can be involved in that part of the experience with me :)
I still can't get over how inexpensive everything is here. The other day somebody in my program commented about how the international community is always appalled to learn that much of the world lives on less than $1 a day, but that being here has made them realize it's possible. I couldn't believe she said that, because it's really not true. Maybe one can eat for less than a dollar a day, but that doesn't take into consideration ANYTHING else: shelter, water, clothing, basic amenities, health care, transportation.
It's funny . . . the other day I wrote that race really isn't an issue in Ghana. I'd still say it's not, yet every day I am a thousand times more aware of my whiteness than I ever am in the U.S. On Sunday night, CIEE (my program) had an Akwaaba ("Welcome") Dinner for everybody in the two CIEE programs here. We had a huge catered meal, and we ate outside an office building but were inside a closed white fence. A local drumming and dance group performed during and after the meal. As they performed, tons of kids from the neighborhood gathered around and were peeking over the fence to watch. Even though my program directors and assistants, who are Ghanaian, were there, an overwhelming majority of the people in my program are white Americans. I couldn't stop thinking about how we must have looked to the neighborhood: this group of obroni eating a huge meal and enjoying entertainment. I was really glad that the children were allowed to stay and watch, and that all of the leftovers were given away, but I still felt very awkward about the whole experience. I've been mulling this over for several days now and I'm still not sure I can fully articulate my thoughts, so forgive my rambling.
I have been here two weeks now, but I'm already realizing all of the things I take for granted. While I can eat for a dollar a day, things like toilet paper and mouthwash are ridiculously expensive. I never think twice about picking up items like that at the store in the states, but it's almost painful here when I buy a pack of toilet paper that costs more than what I'd spend on food in a week. It certainly puts everything into perspective.
Last night I watched John Q with some friends. That's the one where Denzel Washington takes the emergency room hostage because his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant. It's one of my favorite movies, and though I've seen it probably 20 times, it's always difficult for me to watch. But I think it was even harder to watch last night than ever before. It's infuriating to me how our country has the ability to do so much, but we don't because we don't make things a priority or we don't think people deserve it. I'm feeling simultaneously grateful for the fact that I am an American and have so much available to me, and resentful of that same fact. I know I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am and where I come from, but I just haven't figured out how to reconcile it all in my mind yet. I also know I'm extremely liberal, and I know lots of people will disagree with me . . . but I feel like there are some things that are basic human rights that every human deserves access to simply for being a human. I have been uncomfortable and unsure many times since I've been here: confused by local languages, confused about how to get around, confused about how to find something I need. But if there's anything I have become more sure of since my arrival, it is that we have things going really great in the U.S., and we need to start figuring out how to share that.
I still can't get over how inexpensive everything is here. The other day somebody in my program commented about how the international community is always appalled to learn that much of the world lives on less than $1 a day, but that being here has made them realize it's possible. I couldn't believe she said that, because it's really not true. Maybe one can eat for less than a dollar a day, but that doesn't take into consideration ANYTHING else: shelter, water, clothing, basic amenities, health care, transportation.
It's funny . . . the other day I wrote that race really isn't an issue in Ghana. I'd still say it's not, yet every day I am a thousand times more aware of my whiteness than I ever am in the U.S. On Sunday night, CIEE (my program) had an Akwaaba ("Welcome") Dinner for everybody in the two CIEE programs here. We had a huge catered meal, and we ate outside an office building but were inside a closed white fence. A local drumming and dance group performed during and after the meal. As they performed, tons of kids from the neighborhood gathered around and were peeking over the fence to watch. Even though my program directors and assistants, who are Ghanaian, were there, an overwhelming majority of the people in my program are white Americans. I couldn't stop thinking about how we must have looked to the neighborhood: this group of obroni eating a huge meal and enjoying entertainment. I was really glad that the children were allowed to stay and watch, and that all of the leftovers were given away, but I still felt very awkward about the whole experience. I've been mulling this over for several days now and I'm still not sure I can fully articulate my thoughts, so forgive my rambling.
I have been here two weeks now, but I'm already realizing all of the things I take for granted. While I can eat for a dollar a day, things like toilet paper and mouthwash are ridiculously expensive. I never think twice about picking up items like that at the store in the states, but it's almost painful here when I buy a pack of toilet paper that costs more than what I'd spend on food in a week. It certainly puts everything into perspective.
Last night I watched John Q with some friends. That's the one where Denzel Washington takes the emergency room hostage because his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant. It's one of my favorite movies, and though I've seen it probably 20 times, it's always difficult for me to watch. But I think it was even harder to watch last night than ever before. It's infuriating to me how our country has the ability to do so much, but we don't because we don't make things a priority or we don't think people deserve it. I'm feeling simultaneously grateful for the fact that I am an American and have so much available to me, and resentful of that same fact. I know I shouldn't be ashamed of who I am and where I come from, but I just haven't figured out how to reconcile it all in my mind yet. I also know I'm extremely liberal, and I know lots of people will disagree with me . . . but I feel like there are some things that are basic human rights that every human deserves access to simply for being a human. I have been uncomfortable and unsure many times since I've been here: confused by local languages, confused about how to get around, confused about how to find something I need. But if there's anything I have become more sure of since my arrival, it is that we have things going really great in the U.S., and we need to start figuring out how to share that.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
My name is Adwoa
Registration at the University of Ghana is a HOT MESS!!!!!! I have all of next week to get it figured out . . . even though classes start this week . . . but I am pretty sure I know which classes I'll be taking, so I can go to them even if my registration hasn't been fully processed yet. I'll be taking Twi three days a week for two hours each, my development studies class, and my internship (I get my placement for that on Wednesday). Then I'm also taking U.S. Foreign Policy Towards Africa, and Human Rights in Africa if I can get AU to approve that since it wasn't on my pre-approved list. Finally, I want to take a drumming class . . . I think they have a class that is specifically for foreigners (AKA oburuni drumming 101 . . . hah!)
Everything is still great. The only disappointment really is my living situation. I am in the Ghanaian dorms, but my roommate is Sarah, the same girl I lived with for 3 semesters at AU. In some ways it's a relief because I know my room will be some place that I can relax . . . but I had requested a home stay as my first choice and then the Ghanaian dorms specifically so that no matter what happened I would be living with Ghanaians. I have 4 other suitemates . . . but one of them, Kirsten, is also American, and 2 apparently keep to themselves and have no interest in talking to Americans. The last one, Faith, is Ghanaian and she is VERY nice. Really, all things considered, the situation isn't bad . . . I was just hoping for an easy way to make some local friends. I'll just have to try that much harder to meet people I guess!
Apparently there IS in fact a women's rugby team, but I haven't figured out who to get in touch with for information about that yet. There's some athletic office that I'll try to go to on Monday if I can figure out where it is. Campus is HUGE!! It's probably really not all that big but I'm used to a very small, compact campus where everything is in the same place even though it has a relatively large student body. It's also a really beautiful campus, minus all the construction (but I could say the same thing about AU too). I think the coolest thing I've seen so far is GOATS!!! Yes, there are GOATS that run around on campus! They're not in the middle of things . . . most of the campus is relatively similar to one in the U.S. with streets and sidewalks . . . but as you get further out towards the edges of campus there are lots of fields and grassy areas where you can play soccer, or places the university is clearly planning to add buildings, and that's where the goats run around. But it's still cool!!
Another cultural note . . . every Ghanaian has a name based on the day of the week on which they were born. They're commonly used as middle names, but can also be a person's first name. Since I was born on Monday, my name is Adwoa. That's how I've been told to introduce myself to people that I don't necessarily want to be able to find me later . . . because there are hundreds of Adwoas so who's to say I'm the one somebody is actually looking for? It's already come in handy, and it's cool having a local name :)
If not by tonight, I should definitely have more regular internet access by Monday. So I'll start calling everyone on Skype by next week. Until then, I miss you all . . . but I can't lie, Africa is pretty amazing!
Everything is still great. The only disappointment really is my living situation. I am in the Ghanaian dorms, but my roommate is Sarah, the same girl I lived with for 3 semesters at AU. In some ways it's a relief because I know my room will be some place that I can relax . . . but I had requested a home stay as my first choice and then the Ghanaian dorms specifically so that no matter what happened I would be living with Ghanaians. I have 4 other suitemates . . . but one of them, Kirsten, is also American, and 2 apparently keep to themselves and have no interest in talking to Americans. The last one, Faith, is Ghanaian and she is VERY nice. Really, all things considered, the situation isn't bad . . . I was just hoping for an easy way to make some local friends. I'll just have to try that much harder to meet people I guess!
Apparently there IS in fact a women's rugby team, but I haven't figured out who to get in touch with for information about that yet. There's some athletic office that I'll try to go to on Monday if I can figure out where it is. Campus is HUGE!! It's probably really not all that big but I'm used to a very small, compact campus where everything is in the same place even though it has a relatively large student body. It's also a really beautiful campus, minus all the construction (but I could say the same thing about AU too). I think the coolest thing I've seen so far is GOATS!!! Yes, there are GOATS that run around on campus! They're not in the middle of things . . . most of the campus is relatively similar to one in the U.S. with streets and sidewalks . . . but as you get further out towards the edges of campus there are lots of fields and grassy areas where you can play soccer, or places the university is clearly planning to add buildings, and that's where the goats run around. But it's still cool!!
Another cultural note . . . every Ghanaian has a name based on the day of the week on which they were born. They're commonly used as middle names, but can also be a person's first name. Since I was born on Monday, my name is Adwoa. That's how I've been told to introduce myself to people that I don't necessarily want to be able to find me later . . . because there are hundreds of Adwoas so who's to say I'm the one somebody is actually looking for? It's already come in handy, and it's cool having a local name :)
If not by tonight, I should definitely have more regular internet access by Monday. So I'll start calling everyone on Skype by next week. Until then, I miss you all . . . but I can't lie, Africa is pretty amazing!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
I am "Oburuni"
Hi everyone!!
I'm running out of time so I'll have to keep this short . . . but I'm starting to get settled in at the university and everything is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday night I flew into Accra. There were a TON of people from my program on the plane with me, so we all figured out where to go together. A Ghanaian man stopped us and asked "Are you missionaries?" and we said, "No, we're students." So he said, "Ah, then you are welcome!" That was pretty funny :)
We then went to the Coconut Grove hotel where we stayed for the weekend for orientation. Orientation was mostly just getting to know the other Americans, and learning what we needed to know about Ghanaian customs and figuring out life at the university. On Sunday we did a scavenger hunt to find different parts of the city.
The primary mode of transportation here is called a "tro-tro," which is like a 12 or 15 passenger van. They drive by very quickly and don't stop for much time at all, so you have to know exactly where the stops are. There is a "mate" who helps the driver. Every time to tro-tro stops, the mate pops out the door and yells "Accra Accra Accra" or "Osu Osu Osu" or wherever the tro-tro is going. You hop in and tell the mate where you're going and negotiate a fare right then. If you wait till later, they may not give you your change, and if they try to overcharge you the other passengers will protest. You also have to constantly remind the mate which stop you want, or they'll just drive by. But tro-tro is definitely the easiest and cheapest way to get around once you figure out the system. It costs about 20 to 40 pesewas to get almost anywhere . . . which is about 16 or 32 cents.
Anytime I walk around, people will point and say "Oburuni!" which means "white person." Usually we say back "Obibani" which means "black person" . . . but here in Ghana those terms don't carry nearly the same weight as in the U.S. It's just a joke, a fact of life, and the Ghanaians always laugh if we reply with obibani. Racial tension isn't even an issue here, despite the history of colonialism and the slave trade . . . they're just not used to seeing a bunch of oburuni walking around. I think somebody said there are only 80 Americans in the entire university (about 25,000 or 30,000 people).
Apparently I have to go figure out registration . . . so I'll fill in more stuff later.
I'm running out of time so I'll have to keep this short . . . but I'm starting to get settled in at the university and everything is AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday night I flew into Accra. There were a TON of people from my program on the plane with me, so we all figured out where to go together. A Ghanaian man stopped us and asked "Are you missionaries?" and we said, "No, we're students." So he said, "Ah, then you are welcome!" That was pretty funny :)
We then went to the Coconut Grove hotel where we stayed for the weekend for orientation. Orientation was mostly just getting to know the other Americans, and learning what we needed to know about Ghanaian customs and figuring out life at the university. On Sunday we did a scavenger hunt to find different parts of the city.
The primary mode of transportation here is called a "tro-tro," which is like a 12 or 15 passenger van. They drive by very quickly and don't stop for much time at all, so you have to know exactly where the stops are. There is a "mate" who helps the driver. Every time to tro-tro stops, the mate pops out the door and yells "Accra Accra Accra" or "Osu Osu Osu" or wherever the tro-tro is going. You hop in and tell the mate where you're going and negotiate a fare right then. If you wait till later, they may not give you your change, and if they try to overcharge you the other passengers will protest. You also have to constantly remind the mate which stop you want, or they'll just drive by. But tro-tro is definitely the easiest and cheapest way to get around once you figure out the system. It costs about 20 to 40 pesewas to get almost anywhere . . . which is about 16 or 32 cents.
Anytime I walk around, people will point and say "Oburuni!" which means "white person." Usually we say back "Obibani" which means "black person" . . . but here in Ghana those terms don't carry nearly the same weight as in the U.S. It's just a joke, a fact of life, and the Ghanaians always laugh if we reply with obibani. Racial tension isn't even an issue here, despite the history of colonialism and the slave trade . . . they're just not used to seeing a bunch of oburuni walking around. I think somebody said there are only 80 Americans in the entire university (about 25,000 or 30,000 people).
Apparently I have to go figure out registration . . . so I'll fill in more stuff later.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
T minus just a few hours!!
I'll be leaving for the airport in 2-3 hours!!! I have three flights between here and Ghana: Cleveland -> Detroit -> Amsterdam -> Accra. The first plane leaves at 7:06 TONIGHT!! Woohoo!! I should be arriving in Accra around 7:30 PM tomorrow (Ghana time, which is 5 hours ahead of the Eastern time zone).
Before too long I'll be taking classes at the University of Ghana at Legon!!!!!!!!
I still have no idea where I'll be living or where my internship will be - I'll find out during orientation (this weekend/next week). I requested to live in a homestay, but if I'm not placed in one I'll live in the dorms. For my internship I requested a position at the Liberian refugee camp outside of Accra, but my placement really could be just about anywhere.
I will definitely update this blog as much as possible once I get moved in and settled down with a schedule. Here is some interesting Ghana trivia:
- capital city: Accra, population 2 million
- currency: Cedi ("see-dee")
- had been under several colonial rules (first Portuguese) and gained independence from the British in 1957; historically the country was known as Ghana, but the name was changed to The Gold Coast under colonial powers; returned to historic name of Ghana upon reclaiming independence
- famous Ghanaians: Kofi Annan (former Secretary-General to the U.N.) and Fredi Adu (former DC United soccer player)!!
- current average temperatures: 70s and 80s (which is about a zillion degrees warmer than Cleveland right now, heh heh heh)
- neighboring countries: Cote d'Ivoire (west), Burkina Faso (north), Togo (east)
Yayyy!!!!!
Now I should go finish packing . . . .
Before too long I'll be taking classes at the University of Ghana at Legon!!!!!!!!
I still have no idea where I'll be living or where my internship will be - I'll find out during orientation (this weekend/next week). I requested to live in a homestay, but if I'm not placed in one I'll live in the dorms. For my internship I requested a position at the Liberian refugee camp outside of Accra, but my placement really could be just about anywhere.
I will definitely update this blog as much as possible once I get moved in and settled down with a schedule. Here is some interesting Ghana trivia:
- capital city: Accra, population 2 million
- currency: Cedi ("see-dee")
- had been under several colonial rules (first Portuguese) and gained independence from the British in 1957; historically the country was known as Ghana, but the name was changed to The Gold Coast under colonial powers; returned to historic name of Ghana upon reclaiming independence
- famous Ghanaians: Kofi Annan (former Secretary-General to the U.N.) and Fredi Adu (former DC United soccer player)!!
- current average temperatures: 70s and 80s (which is about a zillion degrees warmer than Cleveland right now, heh heh heh)
- neighboring countries: Cote d'Ivoire (west), Burkina Faso (north), Togo (east)
Yayyy!!!!!
Now I should go finish packing . . . .
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