I couldn't resist...

The first picture is from our first weekend here; you know, that walk in the rainforest i needed the machete for?

The second picture is of Constance, another one of the oh so cute orphans. I have a couple of pictures of her playing with the "skipping rope".

The third picture: Some of the UK volunteers brought in a parachute that the kids had a BLAST playing with.

Fourthe Picture: This is the waterfall we visited on our way to Northern Ghana. I think my favorite thing about this pictures (besides it showing how white I am) is if you look in the lower right hand corner you'll see my friend Aaron sliding down!

A few more....

...Cause who wants to work on a paper when you can upload pictures! (For those educators reading this, don't worry, I've got time before the paper is due...)

The top picture is from Mole National Park. Yes, friends, that IS an elephant in the background! And next to me is my roommate Chelsie. See a family resemblance? A lot of Ghanaians think we're twins!

The second picture is me with Alina, one of the orphans i wish I could bring back home with me. She was so excited when she saw this picture she began to call people over to look at it, even the girl who took the picture! She's basically got the cutest smile I've ever seen. She's 5, but doesn't know here alphabet or numbers very well, so I've been trying to sit down with her and go over them when I can.

More pictures to come! I'll be home next week!

Good day :-)

Today has been a good day so far. Began before 7, though I didn't mind the alarm so much. Breakfast was the usual egg sandwhich from downstairs, plus a new found love: Nestlecafe latte in a can...that may sound funny, but it's a nice alternative to instant coffee everyday.

Things at Peace and Love went well too, which is a good thing, given that Monday was one of the most discouraging days there.

We arrived and things seemed in good order; had to be, really, since the lady who funds the whole orphanage was visiting today. Kwame, the 7 year old orphan who usually picks fights, was all smiles from the beginning, which I took as a good omen.

The teacher actually had somewhat of a plan for class today. And by plan I mean, she told me I could teach the kids a song, since I hadn't yet. So "Itsty, Bitsy Spider" it was. We went over the lines, the motions, and the melody quite a few times, and I'd say the activity as a whole was moderately successful. After that we did the hokey pokey (after all, that's what it's all about), and other songs the kids knew. We got cut off at one point, though, since the head lady was accepting a donation or something from a group of people, and the video camera was picking up all the noise.

So, plan B. We took our chalkboard slates and began drawing. It was suppose to only be for the 20 minutes the lady needed, but probably was more. At this point I just decided to have fun with the kids. At first I sat down next to this one little boy who kept showing me his drawings. Mind you, everytime he started over he erased the board with his hand. And everytime he wanted to show me his finished product he would tap me on the arm, so by the end I was almost as covered in chalk as the kids!

I did some going around and looking at the other kids drawings until I started getting asked to draw things. Before long the kids were clammering around asking for me to draw them "Zeblas", goats, lions, elephants, bicycles, horses, houses and the like. I did so with pleasure, though after a while started asking the kids back "No, you draw ME a rabbit", which they would giggle at and eventually relent to.

During the break in between playing with different sets of kids, I learned from one of my classmates that the statement we heard before about the orphanage not accepting HIV positive kids was not true; in fact, some HIV posititve parents send their kids to Peace and Love so that when they pass and the kids have to live there, they will already be used to it; a chillingly smart idea.

After break we left. The teacher didn't really have anything planned for the kids, since they were suppose to take a final exam today, but the exam wasn't ready. By that time, though, many volunteers had arrived, so I trust the kids were in good hands.

We took a trotro back, and I headed to the Agricultural Economics building in order to meet Dr. Asuming-Brempong (a professor who went to Grad school with some of my UF professors) and my roommate for lunch. Neither was there at first, but I ran into the department head, who I had met the week before. He took me to the computer lab to check my email, then eventually sat down with me and my roommate when she arrived.

He was proofing some papers on the Cocoa industry, and began telling us about it. Fascinating stuff! Seriously, I have a new appreciation for chocolate. We later got a little bit into the IMF, and infrastructure, and government, and NGOs. Basically, had the kind of conversation I've been wanting to have since I got to Ghana (I've had a few before in bits and pieces, but not extensive like this).

When Dr Asuming-Brempong arrived, we went to lunch. I finally tried fufu! It was...interesting. It's this doughy thing you don't really chew, but eat with soup. The soup I had was goat soup- pretty good, kinda spicy, with new tastes and smells. I also ate redred, which is probably my favorite of the Ghanaian dishes. It consists of plantains, accompanied by black-eyed peas in a palm oil kind of sauce. Mixed together (which i would never dream to do before) it is really tasty!

Next I went to the school computer lab, which provides us with limited free internet, and was unfortunately, only discovered at the end of the trip. The only downside is that it won't let me access my blog, so I had to write it email style, and am now posting it in our hostel internet cafe. The rest of the day was spent reading, cold-showering, napping (or trying to- our hostel gets really noisy when everyone is about), and eating dinner. My roommate and I successfully turned tomato paste into an acceptable tomato sauce for pasta! Woot!

I'll be in America in 10 days...I can hardly believe it!

Winners Church

Today we went to our friend Gina's church: The Winners Church of Ghana. Yes, that's right, the Winners Church. I remember seeing billboards for it around town and thinking how goofy that sounded, but we went, and it was actually pretty good. I found myself taking note of things both as a Christian and as an observer of Ghanaian culture.

We arrived late (no surprise there) to the church after waking up at the butt crack of dawn, catching a trotro, then waiting for Gina to pick us up to go by taxi the rest of the way. The church building is HUGE, and open on most walls. We were not allowed all the way in at first, because worship through music was going on- a contrast to the American churches I've been to where such reverence is usually reserved solely for prayer.

The music was good: modern band, choir, worship leader. Some was in Twi, some in English. It amazed me how the churches here can take (forgive me if this is wrong to say) dull sounding church music, and turn it around into joyful songs of praise, which cool rhythms and big sounds. I've become very grateful for clapping, which I can do even when the song is in Twi. And clapping here isn't just on the offbeats, they do different rhythms. We were tired from lack of sleep, but man, there's no sleeping at church here!

At one point in the service, they called up a newly wed couple and their family to pray blessings in their life -very cool. Now, mind you, when they asked the families to come up, it was a WHOLE LOTTA people. The extended family is still a BIG part of Ghanaian culture- also very cool.

At one point they had a female pastor come up to give a short word. It was an interesting little short word on marriage, complete with yelling at people, claiming promises, and praying blessings onto the married people and the single people.

The message given by the head pastor was also interesting. It would have been easy to write it off as a message in line with the prosperity doctrine, but i tried to keep an open mind (once again, trying to learn what I could as a Christian, a student of culture, and to a certain extent a student of economics). He made some really interesting points, such as, the prosperity of a church and the prosperity of a nation relies on the prosperity of its individuals. He was speaking specifically in monetary terms at first, but by the end branched out into other areas. He said a church or a nation that consistent of mostly poor people, and only a few rich people could not be considered rich. He pointed out that this historically has lead to revolution and revolt. Now, I'm not sure if he was charging those who were rich to give to those who had need, or if he was telling those who were poor that they could be rich. There was a little bit of practical advice -i.e. don't spend your money on frivolous things, but not much.

One of the points he made at the beginning of the sermon was really cool. He was talking about the Israelites reaching the Red Sea after leaving Egypt; he considers it a GOOD thing that the Egyptians came after them! If they hadn't, the Israelites would have turned back, but God wanted them to pass through. In the same way, problems can push us to trust God and let him open a way for us to move forward.

There's probably a lot more I could write, but I'll leave off here for now. I have some school work to do (yes, I'm actually studying here), and a few more errands to run. I can't believe we've been here for over a month and that I go home so soon! Time is starting to fly!

Many more to come

The picture above is one of many pictures to come! Mostly likely i'll get to post them when I get back to the states, which is in less than two weeks! This picture is from the Kumasi children's home we went to last weekend.

I hope you are all doing well, can't wait to share my stories with you!

SO MUCH TO WRITE- Kumasi and Northern Ghana

I think I will probably run out of time and words by the time I get through all the events from this past weekend, but here goes trying to squeeze as much of it in as possible!

Thursday morning we left for Kumasi, a region north of here. We spent many hours on the bus -too many really. Arrived and stayed at a pretty decent hotel.

Friday we left for Northern Ghana. On the way we stopped by a beautiful, beautiful waterfall and got to swim (sorta)! There was a group of Ghanaian students there, too, and when we went in, they helped push us up under the waterfall so that we could slide down! So much fun! The goofy thing, too, was that they wanted pictures with US as if we were the novelty: "And this picture is me with a white girl" Go figure!

As we rode north, the road got bumpier and bumpier, and the scenery also began to change. We were surrounded by more and more beautiful green hills, and areas where the only thing scraping the sky were the trees reaching stories high. The towns began to change into villages, and we saw less and less tin roofs, and more straight up mud huts with stick fences. At one point, we turned onto a dirt road for a few hours, and the bus was shaking so much, my California friend told me it was what it felt like to be in an earthquake.

We arrived at Mole National Park, and after dinner crammed four to a room and went to sleep.

Saturday we woke up early and went on a walking safari (a hike, essentially). We saw baboons, a couple of other kinds of monkeys, water bucks, kops, warthogs, a rabbit, birds, and ELEPHANTS! The day was overcast, which is was good-not as hot. As we approached the waterhole our guide turned to me and said: "Ah, I am happy today!" "Elephants?" I responded.
"Yes"

There was a group of about ten of them right in the middle of the waterhole, most up to their heads, just chillin. Every once in a while they would use their trunks to bring water up to wet their heads. A couple of other elephants were just walking around, too. I think they're my new favorite animal.

After lunch we went to see the oldest Mosque in Africa. For the sake of time, more on that later.

Sunday we set out early back south to Kumasi. We all cheered after we got onto paved roads! We ate lunch at an art center, which had stores where we could by paintings, and carvings, and the like. We did some shopping there, in an environment akin to a shopping mall.

That night we stayed in the nicest place we've stayed so far: AC, TV, hot showers, big beds!

Monday we once again woke up early and visited the Kumasi Children's Home (an orphanage). I'll try to write more on this later, as it was very touching, especially when making comparisons to peace and love.

After that we went to: a wood carving place, a cloth stamping place, and a kente cloth place. I really wish I had time to write all about them. They were very intersting, but also very intense. As soon as we got of the bus the haggling would begin: "Sister, sister, come to my shop, it's over here" and once inside "I like you, you are my sister, I want to sell this to you, I will give you a good price."

After spending literally all the money left in my wallet, we set back for Accra. As nice as the last place we stayed at was, it was nice to be back in Hostel sweet Hostel.

I could go on and on about each individual experience, and will try to later, but for now friends, I must go. See you in a few weeks!

SO MUCH TO WRITE- Kumasi and Northern Ghana

I think I will probably run out of time and words by the time I get through all the events from this past weekend, but here goes trying to squeeze as much of it in as possible!

Thursday morning we left for Kumasi, a region north of here. We spent many hours on the bus -too many really. Arrived and stayed at a pretty decent hotel.

Friday we left for Northern Ghana. On the way we stopped by a beautiful, beautiful waterfall and got to swim (sorta)! There was a group of Ghanaian students there, too, and when we went in, they helped push us up under the waterfall so that we could slide down! So much fun! The goofy thing, too, was that they wanted pictures with US as if we were the novelty: "And this picture is me with a white girl" Go figure!

As we rode north, the road got bumpier and bumpier, and the scenery also began to change. We were surrounded by more and more beautiful green hills, and areas where the only thing scraping the sky were the trees reaching stories high. The towns began to change into villages, and we saw less and less tin roofs, and more straight up mud huts with stick fences. At one point, we turned onto a dirt road for a few hours, and the bus was shaking so much, my California friend told me it was what it felt like to be in an earthquake.

We arrived at Mole National Park, and after dinner crammed four to a room and went to sleep.

Saturday we woke up early and went on a walking safari (a hike, essentially). We saw baboons, a couple of other kinds of monkeys, water bucks, kops, warthogs, a rabbit, birds, and ELEPHANTS! The day was overcast, which is was good-not as hot. As we approached the waterhole our guide turned to me and said: "Ah, I am happy today!" "Elephants?" I responded.
"Yes"

There was a group of about ten of them right in the middle of the waterhole, most up to their heads, just chillin. Every once in a while they would use their trunks to bring water up to wet their heads. A couple of other elephants were just walking around, too. I think they're my new favorite animal.

After lunch we went to see the oldest Mosque in Africa. For the sake of time, more on that later.

Sunday we set out early back south to Kumasi. We all cheered after we got onto paved roads! We ate lunch at an art center, which had stores where we could by paintings, and carvings, and the like. We did some shopping there, in an environment akin to a shopping mall.

That night we stayed in the nicest place we've stayed so far: AC, TV, hot showers, big beds!

Monday we once again woke up early and visited the Kumasi Children's Home (an orphanage). I'll try to write more on this later, as it was very touching, especially when making comparisons to peace and love.

After that we went to: a wood carving place, a cloth stamping place, and a kente cloth place. I really wish I had time to write all about them. They were very intersting, but also very intense. As soon as we got of the bus the haggling would begin: "Sister, sister, come to my shop, it's over here" and once inside "I like you, you are my sister, I want to sell this to you, I will give you a good price."

After spending literally all the money left in my wallet, we set back for Accra. As nice as the last place we stayed at was, it was nice to be back in Hostel sweet Hostel.

I could go on and on about each individual experience, and will try to later, but for now friends, I must go. See you in a few weeks!

Riding in Trotros and Traffic

One of the cool experiences here in Ghana has been riding the Trotros, which, again, are large vans glorified to bus status. They are often brightly colored, kind of dirty, and usually have some kind of title which is stated on the back window in stickers. Like many of the businesses here, many boast Christian one liners, such as "Man of God", "No Jesus, No Life", or "Blessed Assurance". Other personal favorites include "Take it Easy", or the one that takes the ironic cake "Be Still."

As far as I can tell the trotros are a two man operation: the driver, and the man working the door, who yells out the destination to the people waiting at the stops, and collects the money from them once inside. A trotro can "comfortably" seat about 20, but you'll see more situated, including some hanging from the back when traffic is really busy.

Once inside, you'll find yourself squished between people, but paying significantly less then for a taxi (we pay $0.20 to go to the orphanage). If you're lucky enough to get a window seat, you'll get a better chance at a breeze, and get to observe the going-ons in the street. Our route takes us from Legon, through Medina (which has a sizable market), to Adenta, where the orphanage is located.

Each stop is musical. You hear the trotro coming to a stop, the doorman yelling out the destination, usually too fast for recognition "Adenta, Adenta, Adenta, Adenta", and various sellers who come up to the trotro trying to sell anything from water, to ice cream, to plantain chips "Ey, Co-coo...ey, co-coo", "waata....waata..." The things they sell, by the way, are usually impressively carried on the tops of their heads, and even though we've seen ladies running with them, we've yet to see something fall.

As for the streets, the main streets are paved, but wander even a bit off, and chances are you'll hit dirt roads. Pot holes are more a norm than an exception, forcing you to dance as you sway back in forth as you go on your way.

Have I mentioned traffic before? It's pretty much awful. And as for Ghanaian drivers, I am still unsure whether to label them the best drivers I've seen or the worst. There is hardly any respect for traffic laws, or lanes, and yet I haven't seen a wreck and we've been here almost for three full weeks!

A Ghanaian Wake

Anyone in the know will tell you that if you get the chance to go to a Ghanaian funeral, take it! So I was excited when we were invited to go to the funeral rites of a lady who was friends with some of the dance instructors.

I'm not an expert by any means on the subject, but from what I've gathered, it is a three day ordeal. Yesterday morning it began with drumming, mourning, and drinking. Some of my friends participated, but I missed that part.

Instead, I went with four other friends to the wake last night. We were instructed to dress in black, and were given red strips of cloth to put on. The guys in our group put them around their heads, one girl put it around her arm, one around her ankle, and I wore it as a necklace (when I asked how to wear it one of the Ghanaians tied it for me). We left with a few of the people we know, thinking the wake began at 6, but finding out later it began at 8. Factor in Ghanaian time, and it only really began at 8:30 if not later.

We arrived at the house of the deceased to find chairs set up in a circle (then set up a few rows back) around drums (some 20 of all sizes and kinds) and an empty dance floor (and by floor I mean the same uneven dirt floor found everywhere else).

The drumming and some singing began, and from time to time groups of 1 to 5 would go to the middle and dance. The place wasn't extremely well lit, but you could still see the dancers pretty well.

After a while the main dancing began:
What we heard: Drumming, clapping, some signing, and the occasional shout or flute melody.
Smelled: Sometimes the sweat of the dancers, who amazingly didn't seem to get tired, and the alcohol on some of the people's breath.
Felt: Dirt between our toes, a rush of air when a dancer came by quickly, and the occasional breeze.
SAW: Dancing that would put some of our Prima Ballerinas to shame! The first group that danced was wearing all black with red strips, too. Their dancing at times reminded me of capoeira moves, and at other times were very acrobatic. When they really got going, we were in awe, as it seemed as if they were moving in fast foward. The second group had on costumes that were a mix of clothes, ropes, and the like.

At one point, to my complete surprise, initial embarrassment, but absolute thrill, one of the dancers pulled me up from my seat into the middle. I'm still not sure why, as up to that point they weren't even pulling out Ghanaians, but in hindsight, I think it might have been one of the people we were with before. When we reached the middle he let go of my arm, and began to dance. I asked him "Do I just follow you?" He didn't really respond, just kept smiling and dancing, so I just followed him as best I could. Luckily, he didn't do anything too complicated, and we only danced for a short bit, before he moved us back to where I was seated. I think it takes the cake for my favorite memory so far!

Another cool thing about the evening was observing the other Obrunis (for those of you just joining us, "white people"). When we first arrived, there was a group sitting down that looked very awkward and out of place. I found out they had just arrived a few days before. With some dismay I thought, "man, that must be what we look like."

But later on in the evening, after the first group left, some of the Canadians staying at our Hostel showed up. They've been here way longer and didn't really look out of place, but rather looked at home. My roommate pointed it out, commenting also that we were somewhere in between.

More on Peace and Love - week 2

We have officially been here two weeks! Someone pointed that out recently and I was shocked- it seems we've been here so much longer! The second week is notorious for homesickness, as the newness of it all begins to wear off. I can relate, but have found the following help: naps, hamburgers, fries, snickers, and country music (which we hear occasionally at food places or in taxis).

This week we went back to Peace and Love on Monday and today. Monday was cool, as it was the school's midterm break, and we got to just stick around and play with the orphans. We played clapping games, soccer and the like. One of the games we played outside, as far as I could gather, was that I was an apple tree the girls would climb, then, once perched in my arms, they would taunt another girl who would come and tickle and shoo them off.

It's amazing how these kids take care of each other, and are so independent at the same time. While we were there, there was minimal adult supervision (ourselves included). If any of the kids started fighting or anything, all of them got involved to protect the victim, and scold the offender, even if it meant they would be the next targets. On the whole, though, the kids were really well behaved. There isn't much to do at the orphanage, but they would play with each other, do laundry, walk in and out. We at times weren't even treated as a big deal, just volunteers there to stay for a while.

Today school was in session again, and I once more helped out with Nursery 2. This time the teacher put me to work. When I got in, the kids were just sitting at their tables, not really doing anything. The teacher gave me their homework notebooks, and I made up assignments for the different subjects. Presumably each kid has three notebooks, one for writing, one for "maths", and one for creativity (drawing, essentially), but I didn't see 60 notebooks there...

After that the kids were giving a writing assignment. Write the alphabet, I think, though many were writing their numbers up to 20. I once again got pencil sharpening duty, and figured out that is what was giving me a bit of a blister on my right hand. I though about how our teacher said that in Ghana they have "time poverty". Essentially there is time lost on activities because of a lack of technology or other resources. Granted, sharpening pencils by hand instead of with a machine is the least of worries in this topic, but you also see it elsewhere, as with all the time and manpower it takes to cut the grass with machetes on campus instead of using a lawnmower.

One thing we've noticed in the younger grades is that the kids have way too much time to do their assignments. We don't know if this is because of poor planning or lack of resources. It just stinks, though, because the kids finish up quickly then get bored, but if they act out, they'll get hit with a stick, slapped on the head, or pulled by the ears.

During the break, I got to hold Koby, one of the orphan babies. He is skin and bones, in stark contrast with the "gorditas" and "gorditos" you see in Miami and the rest of the States. He is most of the time quiet and emotionless, which is eerie and sad. He did like my necklace, though, and smiled a few times.

After the break the teacher had me working on their end of term exam, which was odd. Especially since I essentially acted as a transcriptionist, since she was supervising my writing. The teacher also had me look over her lesson plans and tell her what I thought. I'm not sure if she thinks I'm a qualified teacher or something, but I did it gladly. She's a neat lady, who really wants to further her education.

The kids drew on chalkboard until taking a break before lunch, at which point it was time to head back to campus.

Beach!!

So, I've been excited about going to the beach ever since I found out that we'd be able to go in Accra (a sentiment that perhaps did me a disservice, as the beach was greatly built up in my mind). Nevertheless, we had a pretty good time!

We left around 1 with a group that fit in 3 taxis. We had a local Ghanaian with us, which insured a good taxi price (which is bargained upon, like most everything else here). We went to a private beach, which is pretty much as must here. Even being private, it still had places that were pretty dirty, and it was common to see plastic bags floating around here and there.

The weather was pretty good, slightly cloudy. The beach was pretty empty, which was a bit strange, especially when the beachgoers at one point were mostly white. We put our stuff down, under the watchful eyes of our sunbathing friends, and ran for the water, interrupted only shortly by a lifeguard warning us about where we could and could not swim due to strong currents.

The water was warm, and a little cloudy. The waves were pretty great for our purposes. Strong enough to knock you down if you weren't careful, but not overwhelming. The strangest thing was when sometimes waves would even seem to come backwards, and crash into the incoming waves.

We swam for a while, then went looking for shells, which, unfortunately, wasn't very fruitful. I'm not sure if this was due to high tide, or if it just isn't a good shell beach.

After that we swam a bit more, then decided to eat at of the restaurants.

The funny thing about restaurants here is that they take SOOO LOOONG. Even if you order an hour in advance, there isn't a guarantee that you'll get it in a timely fashion.

The food was a bit sketchy, long in coming, and the company was a bit frustrating at times, since some in our party had a little too much to drink.

But all's well that ends well. We took taxis back, and our taxidriver had the foresight to take the back roads, as we left during rush hour traffic. Discussions in our cab were interesting, including why the heck is the U.S. Embassy here sooo huge?

After getting home I showered quickly (I've come to rather enjoy these cold showers), as the light was to go off.

We had an early night of reading by flashlight under our mosquito nets, a nice way to finish a day at the beach if I do say so.

Peace and Love

Yesterday my classmate Kari and I went to the Peace and Love Orphanage. It's actually a school during the day, which helps raise revenue to run the orphanage.

The set up reminds me of some of the schools in Brazil. The whole school is walled in, with a courtyard in the middle where the kids play soccer, and the classrooms on the outskirts.

I was helping out with Nursery 2, kids ages 4-6. The room is a decent size, with walls that at one time were brightly colored, but now are dull and dirty. There is no electric light, but sunlight does the job. I asked the teacher what they do when it rains and she said they go into the other room (since their tin roof leaks) and let the kids take a rest, since there isn't electricity in that room, either. I was reminded of all the times at UF when my classmates and I wished class would be canceled because of the rain...if we only knew...

The first part of the day I helped the kids fill in the missing numbers from the assignment on the board (1-3-5-7-9-11-13-15-17-19). This at time proved difficult when the numbers were way out of order. The kids are all very cute, and alternate calling me Obruni (white), Auntie, and Ana.

Next was a break where the kids went outside. They liked coming up to Kari and me to ask questions or just hold our hands.

After the break was coloring, where each kid got a coloring book and I distributed crayons from the one small cardboard box that held them.

Then came music, my favorite part. The teacher lead them from one song to the other, ranging from a pirate song, to church songs, to their version of "a hunting we will go." It was hard to understand what they were saying at times, due to the kids singing as loud as they could and their accents.

Then came lunch. The kids went to their cafeteria, which unfortunately, has a small, but still present population of flies. They don't have waterfountains here, either. The kids draw water from large containers of water that most of the times have lids.

I ate in the classroom with the teacher: rice, fish, and this really good spicy tomato sauce.

After lunch it was back outside to play. The kids started warming up to us, and one of the little girls even began to teach me some of their clapping games.

I was then summoned by one of the K2 teachers, Charles. I sat down and we began to talk about church and school and such. Then his friend came over, and after asking me if I was married, had the honor of being the first to propose to me, saying he would marry me. I started laughing, and he asked me why, for he was serious. I told him I wasn’t ready to get married, I have to finish school first. In hindsight, I might have offended him, but hey, maybe that way he won’t want to marry me anymore.

Around 1, Kari and I left, and took the trotro back. It was an interesting time of reflecting on what we had experienced, and how different it was from the states. We’re totally gonna kick butt on our class paper, if I do say so myself.

When we got back I took a nice looooong nap. And in the evening went with my roommate to Legon Baptist Church for their midweek prayer service. More on that later, as the battery on my friend’s laptop is about to give out.

Miss you all….

Patience and Trotros

From June 19 (the internet gave out while writing this, so I've had to reconstruct half)

Wow, I haven't written in a day and it feels like I'm playing catch-up.

It seems one of the lessons we have to learn here that wasn't listen on any syllabus is patience. Patience with time, communication, systems...

The 3 credit Independent Study I was going to take turns out to be a 1 credit internship, which works out in the end, but was frustrating in the meantime.

Today was quite a day. I woke up around 6:20; last night the power went off, so i went to bed early, after reading and writing by flashlight from the comfort of my bed, now complete with mosquito net.

At 8:30 Kari (one of my classmates) and I went in to see our director so that she could take us to the orphanage we will be working at. We left around 9:15...

We spent all of 15 minutes at the orphanage; met the director, saw some of the kids. The real work begins tomorrow, so more on that then.

Came back, took a nap, went to class, then the adventure of the day:

My roommate and I both forgot to bring pillows, and since using clothes as a pillow gets uncomfortable and old fast, we've been trying to find some since we got here. We went down to one of the markets across campus, but no luck. Then we began asking people where we could find them. A woman heading to Medina anyways offered to take us there by tro-tro.

Now, we've seen and heard about trotros since we got here. They are basically many passanger vans glorified to bus status.

So we went to Medina where she helped up buy pillows, bowls, and silverware, all the while making sure the vendors didn't cheat us and charge more, simply because we are Obruni (white).

We came back by trotro by ourselves, feeling that more a part of Ghana, and glad to have found another friend.

Early Morning and the Cape Coast Castle

Well, I don't have much more to report since last night, but the internet is working well this morning in our hostel, and it would seem an injustice not to take advantage of that.

I woke up with the bright sunlight streaming through our windows around 7, and enjoyed a leisurely morning reading, journaling, showering (i was almost used to the cold water by the time I conditioned), and now blogging.

Next it's off to run some erands: make sure i'm signed up for classes with our director, go to the bank, send some postcards, etc.

Today is our first day of classes, which seems a bit out of place. We've been having so much fun sightseeing and soaking everything in, I forgot I was here to study! But i'm really excited about the classes I'm taking, and so thankful that I chose this program.

Well, since I still have time, here is some more on the Cape Coast Castle we went to on Saturday:

It stood a few stories tall, with white walls that reminded me of Jesus' warning to the Pharises of their white washed tombs, and blue windows. We went first into the male slave dungeon, where they would cram hundreds of slaves in as if they were cattle into small rooms with one to three small windows for ventalation. Here they would eat, sleep, and defecate, and there was a line on the wall showing how far their feces and dirt and piled up over the years.

We were then led to the small passage they would go to after 6 months to the passage of no return. It has been symbolically sealed.

The first time I lost the battle to the tears in my eyes was when we went outside, and the guide pointed out that above the dungeon the British has built an anglican church...

The second time was when we went to the Cell of the condemed. If slaves were too weak to go on to the ships, they were placed in a room with no ventalation, no light, no food, and no water, to die. Up to 60 were put in there at a time, and no one was taken out till all were dead, which could take up to 3 days. On the floor were markings and scatches made from their shackles and nails. While in there the guide turned off the lights, giving us a better feel for their oppresion, and giving freedom to my tears.

At the end of the tour, the guide made us vow to never let this happen again. I mouthed "I swear", even as I thought of the slavery that still goes on today. I don't understand how one human being can think of another as less then human...

I don't have a pretty way to bring this post to a close, except to say we must remember so that history doesn't keep repeating itself. And if you get the chance, please visit http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx

Kakum National Park

Well, looks like I was mistaken, and that the Lake Volta cruise is in a couple of weekends. We actually went to the National Park today and got to go through the rainforest. Pretty sweet! What we did was they gave up machetes, and we had to cut through the bush...

Just kidding

We went on a canopy tour and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Being that high up over beautiful creation was breathtaking!

The rest of the day consisted of driving back to Accra, getting dinner, and now hanging out at the internet cafe. Tomorrow classes start, which should be good. My only fear is getting lost around campus, but everyone here is really friendly, and the buddy system hasn't failed me yet.

I hope all is well with you, and if you are a father, Happy Father's Day!

Cape Coast

Today I write from Cape Coast. We drove there this morning and got to visit one of the castles slaves were kept in. The experience was overwhelming and so sad. It’s hard to put down into words the cruelty that took place there; harder still to imagine that slavery still goes on today.

We were supposed to take a canopy tour today, but they forgot to tell us to bring our tennis shoes, so that’s out. Instead we are going to relax here at the hotel we are staying at, which is really nice. Most of us are still getting over jet lag, so a night of just relaxing by the pool here sounds wonderful.

I’m not sure I will be able to put up pictures, as connection to the internet is slow at best, unreliable at worst.

Tomorrow we go on a tour of Lake Volta, the largest manmade lake in Africa, and the source of energy for Ghana.

First Full Day

I sent this email out the other day. If you did not receive it, it's probably because my address book is not up to par, and I apologize. Here is the body of the message, though:

Good evening, everyone!
I write you from an internet cafe in Ghana! Today was our first full day and I don't even know where to begin on how cool it's been, though certainly not without challenges (among other things, lost luggage).

We got in last night after two days of travel and were exhausted to say the least. We are staying at the International Students Hostel and our accommodations aren't so shabby! I'm sharing a room with Chelsey, a girl from California. So far everyone in the group is really cool. We're from all over the U.S., and it's so cool to see what everyone brings to the group.

We had orientation this morning, where we learned about social norms, and health precautions. It seems here in Ghana they are a lot more polite and in tune with the power of words then we are in the states.

After lunch we went exploring and touring the campus. It is beautiful. Lush green trees and grass, red dirt, and white buildings with red tile ceilings.

We had dinner after that. So far they are providing us our meals and the food is pretty good! Spicy, which is just how I like it.

After dinner we had a group dance class that is tempting me to take on the 1 credit Dance class for fun in addition to the other credits I'm taking.

And now I'm here, enjoying writing to you all. It'll probably be an early evening after this, since the power is out in our hostel. It seems Ghana is having an energy problem, so the switch of power in different regions of their grid every 36 hours for 12 hours. Our turn :-)

I hope this post finds you well! I will try to set up a blog soon, though I can't say how often I will be able to write. Please send this link on to anyone you know is interested...my address book is kind of scarce unfortunately.
Medaase (thank you),
Ana

One week and counting!

Testing, testing, one, two, three. It's looking like this is going to be my website home for my stay in Ghana.

I leave in a week exactly, and couldn't be more excited! Then again, I keep having this thought, and then finding out, no, wait, I CAN get more excited! It seems one of the effects of the trip is the expanding of my capacity to feel emotions.

In one week I get on a plane and fly Miami-Chicago, Chicago-Amsterdam, Amsterdam-ACCRA!!

I find myself with so much to write, but so few words, so I'll end this first entry around here, with just a bit of trivia:

Number of butterfly species in all of North America= 650
Amount of butterfly species in Ghana (roughly the size of Oregon)= 1,000!