I have returned from ghana. but its not over. the journey has just begun

It's not great that I won't see kpoeta again in a jiffy

What a wonderful weekend it has been! Katie and I left around 5:30 am on Friday and made it to Sokode by 9! There we met with Togbe (chief) and Alice (the pastor and head of the kindergarten) we discussed the plans for the kindergarten school as well as interviewed Togbe on the grasscutters. It was great to hear what positive effects the Heifer project is having in the village. How lucky are we to be working with such friendly people. We had lunch at Goldfinger again (on Togbe’s tab) and then sat around a bit until we caught tro tro’s to Kpezde. Dr. Amadhe’s brother planned to meet us there by 4 and amazingly (considering this is Ghana) he did! We barely made it to Kpoeta as our cab died on the way and rolled down the hill. Luckily we did arrive though and quickly got settled in Dr. Amadhe’s beautiful home. Soon we were greeted with a delicious meal set before us by the chief’s wife , Christian’s wife, and mother. After eating more than our fill we settled in for an early evening.

Saturday we woke up to a delicious breakfast and then went to the chief’s palace. I can not possibly capture what it is like to interact with the chief and elders. There is a lot of time where no one talks, but simply sit in each other’s company. We of course were given tons of bananas and coke and talked about our visit and the clinic. We watched some news about the election which was to take place the next day and then when Barney came on, we watched. Classic moment in life right there.

In the afternoon we went to a beautiful waterfall in Kpoeta that the people desparetly want to be visited by travelers. We took dinner and went to bed early as Katie and I were both feeling exhausted. Christian was the dearest companion. He is one of the cutest most upbeat people you will ever meet. He constantly is on. “That is great” and “I’ll be back in a jiffy”.

Sunday we listened to the radio about the election and also went around town. Katie did interviews for her project and I played with kids. What fun! We were of course given more coke, bananas, and the dreaded malta. We got to take another tour through the clinic, spend time with the chief and learn more about Kpoeta. I got pretty far in The lord of the rings (all 3 books) and we listened to news about the election. We were sad to go to sleep since we knew it was our last night. We woke up to another ginormous breakfast followed by of course waiting for the car. I showed Christian how far I was in the book and I have never seen such excitement over such a thing. “Congratulations show much” That’s great” and he literally jumped with excitement. It was so sad to leave him. And kpoeta. I can’t believe that is the last trip. I sincerely hope that I will be able to return again,. Christain says he will call us when we are back in the US. I can’t wait. J What wonderful relationships I have made here!

forever...

As my time in Ghana comes to a close I am more than ever reflecting back on what this semester has meant to my life. This semester has forced me to change so many things about myself. I have had to admit to areas where I need help and judgments I didn’t know I was making. And I believe now, more than ever, that life is about people.

It has been small moments, barely noticeable to anyone else that have worked their way into my heart and mind. I have had to learn how to be patient. Well really more than patient, I have had to learn how to be okay with not being in control. There is no step by step process to study abroad. You cannot get an A in living in a 3^rd world country. You will never have a day go “as planned.”

Queuing hours in line to register for classes. Sitting for seemingly endless hours in tro tros not moving. Waiting for friends to meet for lunch. Standing in a market while your vegetables are picked out one by one. Laying in bed because its too hot to move and the electricity isn’t working. I still like a schedule, I won’t lie. But I am much more able to be flexible, to accept that I have no control over the direction my day will take. I wish I could take credit for getting there myself but I can’t. It was the Ghanaians laughing and talking pleasantly no matter how slow registration went. It was the children who were excited that they were able to sell water to us while we traffic stopped. It was knowing that the friend you are waiting for is probably making someone else’s day by stopping to talk. It was the women in the market who barely make enough money to survive yet took the time to ask about my day. It was my roommate apologizing for the electricity outages as if she had personal responsibility. I can’t recall an instance where people got irritated about aspects of life that were out of their control. I needed help letting go of that control.

Before I came here I would have never said that I thought my way of life was better than anyone else’s, but somewhere deep inside I admit now I thought so. There is no right way to live. Living in a brick house isn’t more right than living in a mud hut. Just because something is necessary in my world does not mean it is necessary for everyone else. Despite the knowledge that I was gaining so much from our partnership in Kpoeta building a health care center, I think I was discrediting Kpoeta, Ghana, the world. How often do I admit I have a problem, ask for help, and receive it with thanks. How did I not see that asking someone to work with you is one of the greatest acts of humility. I think the US could use a little of that. We might find we have a lot of areas that need improvement. Yes Ghana needs better sanitation systems, higher functioning technology, better health care and nutrition, and well-funded education. But Ghanaians know how to live simply, they are masters at making the best of a situation, they know how to work hard and then let go. I always believed that different cultures had things to teach other, but that goes deeper than I ever knew. I feel lucky that I might get to act as a bridge between 2 cultures for someone else.

When I felt lost here it was people, not books, maps, or any object that made me understand. When I felt alone I had people in all different areas of my life remind me of their presence. When I wondered about where I fit in this big world, it was people who showed me. I still have a lot of questions about my life. What am I going to do when I grow up? When will I settle down? Where am I going to live? Why is there so much pain in the world? How will I decide where I should be? It seems the only question I don’t have is WHO I am going to be. I am going to be a person who has compassion for the world and myself. I am someone who is going to ask questions. I am someone who loves to learn. I am someone who finds joy in people. And I am someone who needs people.

“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” (Frederick Buechner)

I have carried my loved ones with me here, and I will carry the new loves in my heart back. And no matter where this life takes me, I know that part of who I am is the family and friends I carry inside my heart.

It will be sad to say goodbye to Ghana, to Sophie. But I know that I am taking them with me wherever I go. You cannot forget what has become a part of who you are. And I know they are part of WHO I am. Forever.

oh and here are some links to photos from the past month or so

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2001559&l=2dc6e&id=1462410022

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2001586&l=2e95f&id=1462410022

THANKSGIVING

I could not be more thankful for my thanksgiving in Ghana! While I missed being at home with friends and family, I had the opportunity to share the joy of a holiday about being with the people you love and being thankful, with people who I love and am thankful for. And really, what better place to cook your first thanksgiving than in a third world country?

The day before thanksgiving Shane, Katie, and I went to Lydia’s house (the assistant registrar) and checked out her kitchen. She had an oven and a stove (both gas) with the only setting being 1, 2, and 3. We were super excited though because we have not seen an oven in 4 months. Ghanaians don’t really use them. After discovering the oven, we went to Shoprite to pick up all the ingredients for thanksgiving. We made an emergency call to Katie’s mom to figure out how to cook homemade stuffing and also the most important. How exactly do we cook a turkey, oh and it’s not a whole turkey just random leg pieces?

Armed with a list we set to conquer the store. We found 4 packages of turkey legs (probably the world fattest and most skin colored and bony). We found bread, we got juice, potatoes, cream, whole peppercorns, and spices. Then we went to the market and got some green beans, onions, garlic, and apples. Thursday morning we set out at 9 am carrying all of our good’s over to Lydia’s house. For some reason she trusted us by ourselves to produce a thanksgiving dinner for 11 people. We started with the turkey. Katie and I used our hands to rip the skin and then stuck garlic, spices, pepper, and lemon zest under the skin. We poured apple juice around the turkey leg, covered it in tin foil and crossed our fingers. Directions, repeat 4 times because you only have a pot for one thing and the oven is really small. While we were pounding the pepper by hand and spicing up the turkey, Shane was busy peeling potatoes and boiling them. Using a spatula, cream, and lots of butter Shane smashed away at the potatoes and filled two huge containers. We were really excited. The first turkey came out great, but b/c of the skin situation and our lack of utensils we had to use our hands to pull off the meat. Oh and did I mention we at didn’t have running water or electricity?

I made the stuffing by ripping up French bread, using chicken bouillon cubes to make chicken broth, and then sautéing onions, apples, raisins, and walnuts. Mixed it all together and baked for a delicious stuffing!

Katie made a chocolate cake from a mix and we made jello!! We made green beans and gravy and set out the cranberry sauce transported from London!

At the time of dinner we had quite the spread. We had Sophie, Shane’s roommate pasquel, Lydia, Allison and her roommate, and Lydia’s 2 cousins and 2 nieces. We shared the history of thanksgiving and explained it was a day not a place (haha there seemed to be some confusion). We also all stood in a circle and shared what we were thankful for this year. Sophie said she was thankful for her new best friend and I pretty much wanted to cry and leap across the circle to give her a big hug. I am so thankful for her.

The food was delicious and we were stuffed as any person should be on thanksgiving. Sophie and the other Ghanaians really enjoyed the food and stuffed themselves as well. I am a little sad that I didn’t get to have any pie or sweet potato casserole but the day was an overwhelming success. Cleanup was a little tricky but we had running water for a bit so we were able to fill some buckets up with water and team work washing by pouring water out of the buckets! Go Ghana!

I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful that I know what it is like to love someone who had a completely different background and world experience. I am thankful that I know what it is like to jump and dance because the electricity is working. I am thankful for laughter when the water isn’t running or when life feels difficult. I am thankful for the perspective that allows me to know that there isn’t a right or wrong way to live. I am thankful that I can see beauty in the world. I am thankful that I am not blind to the pain. I am thankful for those I love and for those I don’t know who have still impacted my life. I am thankful for life and all the wonder of the world. And, I’m thankful my first exam is over

your home is all the places your heart is

So I have finished my last big trip in Ghana. Its insane to think that I have less than a month left here. Here’s some statistics from our trip.

1 trip

2 countries

3 people

6 days starting at 5 am or earlier

9 days

40 km on a bike

55+ hours in buses

Day 1

We started out last Friday a little after 5. We got to circle but unfortunately our bus did not leave til 8. Eventually we got on the road to Tamale. Katie and I were in the back row which was most unfortunate because the backs are straight up. I was lucky though b/c there was an empty seat beside me and the guy next to that kept making sure no one sat there. I took Tylenol pm so I was able to sleep for about 6 hours of the trip and my seatmate kept tucking me in. so cute. After 13 hours in a bus we arrived in Tamale. A random Ghanaian helped us to find our hotel which turned out to be disgusting. The bed was of course covered in a single sheet that probably has not been changed in years. There were no working outlets, no running water, and the world’s hardest smallest double bed (not great for 3 people who have not had running back at school for over a day).

Day 2

We made do though and got up at 3:30 to walk to the bus station to find a bus to Mole national park. That turned out to be quite a process but eventually we got a private tro tro and made it to Mole by 9 0r 10. We had a delicious lunch and I swam in a pool! Mole hotel was by far the nicest place we have ever stayed in Ghana. Our room had 3 single beds, with sheets and pillows! We had a western toilet and a shower and a sink. Unbelievable. We all took naps and then went on a nature walk. We saw tons of baboons, monkeys, antelopes, and water bucks. Unfortunately NO ELEPHANTS! What the bejeezer! It was still really cool though but I really wanted to see an elephant. After a dinner of rice, of course, we went to bed because guess what time we needed to wake up? 3:30!

Day 3

We took that 3:30 am bus back to Tamale. It was quite a bumpy ride and unfortunately I could not sleep. A women got on the bus beside Shane shortly after 4 and was in labor. She had 3 other young girls with her and looked to be about our age. She didn’t make a sound during contractions just grasped her leg and someone else’s. She must have been waiting for the bus to take her to the midwife or something. I can’t imagine. That bus is the only form of transportation going that way and some days it is hours late! I am glad we were on time for her!

Day 4

Immediately upon getting to Tamale we got a tro tro to Bolgatanga. Even though being in transit so much is sort of unfortunate, we got to see so much of the landscape of Ghana. The north is so much drier and the type of housing changed to almost solely mudbrick houses with thatch roofs. There also appeared to be much more poverty in the north—very tattered clothing and a much larger presence of clearly donated clothes bearing names of American schools and locations. We found a really yummy restaurant in Bolga and because lunch was so good (but took forever to arrive) we ordered dinner. We went to our hotel and it was so adorable and nice. The communal showers and bathrooms were super clean and the bed had sheets!

Day 5

Woke up after an excellent nights sleep at 6ish and got a bush taxi to Paga. There we met this cute little man who was our guide. He gave us a mini tour of the village and let us try on some traditional hats and bow and arrow stuff. Then we got to see the crocs! In this village killing a crocodile is the same leads to the same punishment that killing a human does. The crocodiles roam freely and they say they do not harm humans. We bought 2 chickens and with them coaxed a few crocs out of the water. I held one of the tails and even gave it a kiss! Paga was a ton of fun and super interesting.

We walked to the border where we met a Canadian volunteer who spoke French and shared a cab with us to Po, Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso looked so different from Ghana driving in. For the entire hour we did not pass through a single legitmate village only sporadic clusters of about 10 mud huts all enclosed within one circle. There was clearly no running water or power. Po was a village but very modest. We got delicious Fanta’s though and got to use a hole to go to the bathroom. Burkina Faso does Fanta really well. We continued on to Ougodougou (pronounced Wagadogoo). This was a big city and appeared more modern than what we have seen in Ghana. Interesting that there are such extremes in a country. Riding motorcycles/bikes is the thing to do here. Very interesting.

Finding a hotel was quite a task. Shane knows a wee bit of French and I am sometimes to understand because some words are similar to Spanish. Together we do not even come close to communicating well. We wanted to find a cheap hotel so we started asking around. Eventually we came across a guy who seemed to know someone who spoke English. His sister worked in a high class perfume shop and knew a small amount of English. At first she thought we were trying to find a bank to change money (clearly our communication skills were lacking) but after some charades we understood one another. She said that she and her brother would take us on their motorcycles to a place they knew, but then their taxi driver friend arrived. So the brother and the taxi driver took us to this hotel which was cheap as we like. The hole bathroom was a little gross and had no light, but our room had a shower (even though it lacked a door) so we took it. David (taxi driver) somehow communicated that he would be back to take us to dinner, which was amazing considering our limited French and his almost nonexistent English. He came back and there was a kid in his front seat, which we thought was his and that he was dropping him off at home before he took us to dinner. False, it was his sister-in-laws son and he took us to her house to meet her. Titi went to the U of Ghana so she spoke English and we had a blast sitting in her house and talking. Then David took us, and ate dinner with us at a random restaurant. Katie and I split a very mysterious pizza which had vegetables, eggs, and some undetermined meat, possibly grasscutter. After dinner I had to go to the bathroom but when I went to leave the door wouldn’t open. The door had no knob or anything but somehow it had locked itself. I was banging on the door and shouting at the top of my lungs but no one heard me. Eventually when Katie and shane were ready to leave Katie came to check on me and found me. I was so relieved! She somehow explained to the cook what happened and he used a knife to set me free. Apparently david had heard me but didn’t know how to tell Katie and shane! Haha, I would get stuck in a bathroom.

Day 6

We took yet another bus to Bobo. This is the second largest city in Burkina Faso towards the west. We decided to take a tour of the old village which is a mix of Islam and voodoo. Our tour was quite interesting considering our guide’s translation of French to English was sometimes humerous. There were times of beautiful kids and I spent most of the tour playing with them. Outside of the mosque I met these two little girls and I played and took pictures with them. Later when I saw them the little girl came running over to me and jumped into my arms. I WANT A BURKINABE BABY!!! Its amazing how much you can communicate without words especially with kids.

Day 7

This was an adventure of a day. All week shane and Katie had been discussing the plan to ride bikes 17 km to this waterfall in Banafora (about an hour and half outside of bobo). I was too embarrested to mention that I have not been able to ride a bike since knee surgery and was growing more anxious by the day. Eventually though, the time arrived and we had our bikes. A Burkinabe guy on a motorbike had agreed to lead us to the start of the trail to the waterfall. The road had been described as a pleasant dirt road. False. As we left the town Katie, Shane, and our guide stopped at the top of the hill since that is where he was going to leave us. As I crossed the street I realized that I could not stop.

As I careened straight for them I said “I don’t know how to stop!” and promptly fell right over after crashing into a bush. Our Burkinabe man was quite distressed and picked the bike off me and was concerned about my bleeding knee, arm, and shoulder. Shane and him went back to get a new bike and we continued our trip. The seat of this new bike was unfortunately much too tall and not very comfortable. We could not for the life of us find the waterfall and eventually had to get a farmer to lead us there. Once we finally arrived, exhausted and hot, we were pleased with the gorgeous waterfalls. We had lunch underneath mango trees and then played and explored the waterfalls and rocks. All too soon we had to head back. I switched bikes with Katie since her’s was shorter, but unfortunately was less stable. We were booking it back and acquired the company of another Burkinabe biker who persistently attempted to communicate with us despite our inablility to answer him. About 45 minutes into the ride we got to this roped off area and had to go along this hilly rocky edge. False, I am not that skilled. It was a major man down situation. I massacared my hands, re-opened up my knee, and got a baseball size bruise on the inside of the other knee. But I had know choice but to laugh at myself and keep going. Suffice to say I was quite excited when we got back and I could hold a cold Fanta between my bleeding and sore hands. It was still really fun though and feel excited that I have re-learned how to ride bike!

Day 8

Another travel day. We moseyed around Bobo until our bus left for the border. I re-read for the 3^rd time A thousand splendid suns which was amazing as ever. We arrived at the border in the dark and of course met a friend who was eager to help us. The immigration office in Burkina Faso was lit solely by the flashlight held under the chin of the lone officer. Classic Africa. Then we went to the Ghana office which had real lights—classy! Once back in Ghana we found a hotel with the classic name of “by the power of God hotel.” We met another friend who helped us to get bus tickets for the bus the next morning. He kept talking to people who had seen the driver and we went from place to place in search of him. However, the town was quite wild because the former president Jerry Rawlings was due to arrive anytime and people were ecstatic. Eventually we found the driver asleep in a random building and he told us the bus would leave anytime between 2:30 and 5—“Africa time 3:30”. So we set our alarms for 2 am which would have been more upsetting if our bed hadn’t been filthy and hard and the bathroom or “pitch” hadn’t smelled awful and been a hole filled with visable cockroaches and god knows what.

Day 9

Having become complacent to bus rides, this 8 hour trip was fine except for the worse bathroom I have used my entire trip here. Words can not describe that experience, but suffice to say I will not miss that aspect of my time here. We arrived in Techiman and shnae split off to go see some caves and Katie and I went to Nkoramaza. This was by far my favorite part of the trip. We stayed at a place called Hand in hand which is a home for physically and mentally handicapped Ghanaian children. It was started by a dutch man and they take individuals who were abandoned or not functioning in hospitals as is common in Ghana because children are needed to work in family’s so children with special needs often are abandoned. The center was beautiful and boasts a workshop where many of the children make beads, necklaces, bags, and even kente. What pride they showed when pointing out their work. Katie and I played with beautiful children who were full of life and celebrating the exisistence that had almost been taken from them. I loved carrying the children, holding their hands, smiling into their eyes, and singing with their sounds. There were kids with autism, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and everywhere in between. One little girl, age 4, had been born without arms or legs. Her mother tried to throw her in the bush but the nurse rescued her and took her to hand in hand. Her beautiful smile and sweet “hello, goodbye” capture your heart. She does not need limbs to change hearts and brighten lives. I made some purchases from the store, had a wonderful shower, a delicious dinner, and decided that I want to come back. I would love to stay as a long-term volunteer there. What a meaningful and excellent place. Ahh, I want to go back now! Its hard for me not to smile when I think about it. (you should look it up—they have a website—look up Hand in Hand Ghana)!

Day 9

Today we woke up at 6:15 (late for this trip) and then got on a tro tro to Kumasi where we picked up another tro tro to Accra, and then another one back to campus. I loved coming back to Sophie and getting a giant hug. What a wonderful home I have here. It’s good to be back and crazy to realize I do not have too much longer.

If Home is where the heart is, I must have 2 homes because pieces of my heart are going to stay here forever!

You know you are in africa

you know you are in africa when...
1. rice is breakfast lunch and dinner
2. you can buy anything from shoes to pineapples to pots and pans off of women,s heads...without leaving your vehicle
3. you comfort yourself by saying its only your pee splashing on your legs in the gutter bathrooms
4. no one finds it odd that young children are wandering by themselces carrying an infant and selling items
5. you drink and eat out of bags
6. peeing in public is perfectly acceptable
7. entire villages are aware of your presence and shout exitedly in there language about your whiteness
8. people you do not know and can barely communicate with want your name address and telephone number
9. it is more common than not for a restaurant to not having any of the items on their menu besides rice and it is normal for it to take an hour to serve you
10. your taxi driver tqkes you to his house to meet his family and then proceeds to eat dinner with you

somedays all you can say is...this is africa...i love it

Wonderfully Uncomfortable. Normally those seem like a contradiction in terms but I have found that it is the best way to describe Ghana. It is uncomfortable to sit in a tro tro for hours while someone is preaching in twi. At the same time though it’s wonderful, to see the excitement and joy with which Ghanaians approach a trip that anyone else would see as long and frustrating. It is uncomfortable to be pointed out for being white constantly and to be overcharged, but at the same time it is wonderfully to experience the openness about race. I find it uncomfortable to have every taxi and tro tro driver asking me “where are you going” but it is wonderful to watch as they consistently stop what they are doing and get you where you need to be even if it is not with them. It is uncomfortable to sleep in intense heat under a mosquito net, but it is wonderful to be grateful for that—knowing that so many are out in the open without a fan. It is uncomfortable to be sick and miserable to have malaria, but it is wonderful to have firsthand experience of a health care system that is not like my home experience. It is uncomfortable to sit in hard wooden chairs during a 2 hour straight lecture, but it is wonderful to be in a class of Ghanaian’s and understand the education system. It is uncomfortable to go without showering because of a lack of running water and to know that even if there is water, it will be cold. However, it is wonderful to be thankful for every cold drop of water that helps was away the dirt, dust, and sweat inevitably covering you every day. It is uncomfortable to eat and drink food that I do not like because it is being offered to me and it would be rude to turn it down. But it is beyond wonderful to experience the hospitality and invitation of chiefs and others who by most standards are “poor”, but are wealthy in giving, love, and generosity.

I would not trade this semester’s experiences for the world. I have never been more uncomfortable in my life. But I finally understand that uncomfortable is not inherently a bad thing, in fact here it is WONDERFUL!

a small small weekend with big big fun

This weekend was one of the best weekends of my life. These are the experiences that make the heat, the inconsistent power, cold showers, uncomfortable tro tros and even the malaria all worth it. Dr. Amadahe picked Katie, Shane, Jamila and I up from the front of campus Saturday morning, and to our surprise he was in a Cape Coast University van and several members of his family were along. After a very pleasant ride we crossed the bridge over the Volta river and we stopped for breakfast. They had bottles of water for us, OJ, and these little sandwiches. It was so cute!! After we passed through Ho we spent at least an hour down a very bumpy dirt road towards Kpoeta. We started at Dr. Amadahe’s house which was super nice. The women stayed there to cook and the rest of us left in the car, but shortly switched to walking by food because of a flat tire. We arrived at the chiefs house and were welcomed by the linguist and introduced to several elders and the stool father. The chief stood and thanked us for Periclean’s partnership with Kpoeta in order to build the clinic. That moment helped make all the stress and difficulties of fundraising beyond worthwhile. He even said, “maybe someday we will have a township named after one of you.” As is tradition, they brought out a new bottle of Schnopps and we were offered a drink. Shane and I agreed and I was poured the equivalent of 3 shots of the strongest liquer I’ve ever had. Everyone took a drink and then they brought out cokes and tons of bananas. After finishing our drinks we all walked to the clinic, of course at a Ghanain pace. Seeing the physical representation of the hardwork Periclean Scholars and the people of Kpoeta have contributed made me feel all encompassing satisfaction and joy. We toured around the inside and talked about the steps needed—supplies being the major thing. We went back to the chief’s house and met the nurse and said goodbye after discussing our trip back at the end of the semester. Back at Dr. Amadhe’s house we were served the most amazing meal I’ve had since I’ve been here. Joloff, plantains, fish (no scales, tail, or head!), yam balls, beans, and salad. And as if that weren’t enough we had fan ice and sweet bread for dessert! We were stuffed to say the least and wrapped up some leftovers in paper towels for later. We left Kpoeta with at least 50 bananas, full stomachs, and the joy and satisfaction that can only be experienced, not explained. Dr. Amadhe and his brother (who shares is spectacular grin) dropped us off at the YMCA where we got rooms. After shopping for a bit of fabric, Katie, Shane and I played cards and talked in the room for several hours.

Today we woke up and caught a cab to Sokode, the site of Periclean’s partnership to work on Heifer project as well as build a Kindergarten building (KG consists of children age 3-6 in Ghana). When we arrived in Sokode we called the chief (who we referred to as Togbe) and he came and picked us up. We met the pastor of the Evangelical Presbytarian Church, Alice, and introduced ourselves. Togbe took us to the church, and Alice left because she had a service in Ho to attend to. As the service began we were seated behind the pulpit which was semi-awkward because as Obruni we don’t really need a stage to be a spectacle. After we stood and introduced ourselves though Togbe took us into the congregation and spread us out amongst the members. He sat me right in the middle of the choir. What an experience! 2 and half hours later the church service, which was in Ewe (the language of the region) ended and we went to Togbe’s family house. With hospitality uncomparable to anything I’ve experienced in the US we were given Malta, which despite my dislike for the drink, I accepted with thanks. Togbe also gave us a coconut which we drank and then ate as well as some crackers. He showed us the grasscutters which 18 families in Sokode now have thanks to Heifer. Grasscutters look sort of like very large gerbils or rats, but they were much cuter than I expected. After feeding the grasscutters which Togbe clearly was excited about, he led us to the parliament representative’s house. There we were also given a drink of coke, and we talked about the area and our thoughts of Ghana. Togbe called his “driver” and went with us to “Vag hall: Goldfinger restaurant” We had fried rice and chicken, but what made the experience wonderful was talking with Togbe and also recognizing the status he has as chief. He was driven around, we got ridiculously prompt service at the restaurant, and he didn’t pay. We have decided that our plan in life is not to run a tro tro, but to have Katie be the chief of a village, I’ll be the stool father, and shane will be the driver!

When we returned to the Village Alice had returned and we talked with her about the Kindergarten. She was so well spoken and wonderfully sweet. She is both the pastor of the community and in charge of the Kindergarten. We went to the see the building which had 3 small classrooms. Alice told us that they had around 40 children in each room (can you imagine 40 3 year olds?) and had to turn children away because of lack of space. I look forward to working with her to finish the building and create more classrooms. We were sad to leave, but I am so excited to return at the end of the semester!

The world is so big and I am so little or small small as the Ghanains say. But this weekend the world felt a lot smaller and I felt a lot bigger.

It’s good to be back in Ghana. London was beyond amazing. I have missed hugging, talking with, and simply being with all of the wonderful people I got to see. We saw the infamous changing of the guards, big ben, went on the eye, indulged ourselves at pubs, and froze in London. Okay, well maybe it was just me that froze. Ghana is as hot as ever, so going back to the cold shower was really no problem. It has been great to see Sophie and Katie again. I missed them a lot. It’s so weird to think about not living with Sophie. Classes are coming to the end soon. I have 5 more days!! Woo hoo, of course that’s over the course of the next 2.5 weeks but still. This semester has flown by, but at the same time I can’t believe I’ve done all the things I’ve had and gotten this close to Sophie.

EGYPT and back to GHANA

Wow-how to capture Egypt! So since I last updated here’s what’s happened. We went to Dahab on a night bus which was on the Sinai Peninsula. Technically that’s Asia, so I have checked another continent off my list. We went snorkeling which cost about 2 dollars and was incredible. I felt like I was in Finding Nemo. Awesome coral and really bright fish. We spent the day eating and reading and then at 11 left for Mt. Sinai on a mini-bus. We arrived around 1:30 or 2 in the morning and began our dark climb to the top. It was incredible—there were thousands of people all walking up the mountain. There were tons of people offering camel rides and the silent night was broken up by the camel groans, the prayers of travelers, and the songs of worshipers. The stars were absolutely gorgeous and I saw tons of shooting stars. The closer we got to the top, the colder it got and in true Sarah fashion I began shivering uncontrollably. Ghana just doesn’t do cold and apparently neither do I. We reached the top at 4 am and I couldn’t wait for the sun to rise and bring some warmth with it. It was really beautiful though despite my shivering and the sunrise was gorgeous. It was incredible to be at the site where Moses supposedly received the Ten Commandments and in the presence of so many who view the mountain as a religious holy ground. The hike down the mountain was quicker and we got a glimpse of the monastery. After the bus back to Dahab we ate, read, and napped a little. That night we took the night bus back to Cairo. It was the 5^th night without sleeping in a hotel. Craaazy. When we got back to Cairo Katie and I were both hardcore grouchy and didn’t feel like doing anything. Luckily after a delicious croissant and cappuccino we convinced ourselves not to waste the day and went to Islamic Cairo. Early in our trip there we ran into this guy Ahmed, who goes to AUC and he offered to show us around. He took us into this awesome little shop where a man was making wooden boxes by hand that were decorated with camel bone and abalone. They were absolutely beautiful and I was dumbfounded by the amount of precision it would take to create the pattern on the boxes. Then he took us to a spice, perfume, and medicine shop. As Katie said, it seemed like a potion’s shop. This adorable little man proudly showed us articles where he was mentioned in the newspaper and letters from individuals who had used his herbs to cure illness while Ahmed translated. We sniffed and tried on various spices and perfumes. Then Ahmed took us to his father’s Papyrus shop. The paintings were beyond gorgeous and we got to see Ahmed’s work too. He made us tea and he talked to us about all the stories behind the paintings. After leaving Ahmed we entered the Al-Ahazar mosque where we were required to take off our shoes and cover our heads. We got to see all of the architecture pointing towards Mecca and learn about the history of the church. We also got some really interesting Islamic tracts telling us why Islam was correct. Then we did some shopping in the market. It turned out to be a wonderful day.

Monday we slept in and then met up with Linda, women I knew from church who has been living in Egypt for 5 years. She showed us around Coptic Cairo and gave us great information on the situation for Christians in Egypt who are at times discriminated against. She explained that Christians in Egypt have their own Pope and Saints which was something I had never heard of. She also explained some of the roles of Mennonite Central Committee in Egypt. Then she took us to an area where the people collect the trash from the city and sort through it for recyclables. It reminded me so much of Guatemala. The women in this community also use the trash to make cards and other paper products as well as cloth to make incredible bags, rugs, and even stuffed animals. It was such a different side of Cairo then we had seen before. Linda explained that Egyptians are very concerned about how Egypt appears to outsiders and make attempts to hide anything that would not be seen as developed. Egypt is clearly far ahead of Ghana, but this helped point out some of the areas that it still has to work on. Poverty is still prevalent. For me I think that is one of the reasons being in Egypt felt relaxing, the desperation was not so ever-present. In Ghana, when you go to the market your choice to buy from one person rather than the other literally can be life or death. In Egypt there is a little more breathing room. I don’t know at all how you get Ghana there though. I wish I did. Tuesday we ate our way through Cairo. Croissants, Foul with Tahina, Falefel, hummus, bread, ice cream, Koshiri, chocolate cake. Yeah, we are fatty’s. I definitely gained weight in Egypt but the food was just so delicious and cheap!

Some fun things about Egypt:

Here are my favorite people we met

1. Mustafah-he was a hotel worker at our hostel and not only was he super cute, but he had the best attempts at English. When he found out it was Katie’s birthday he looked down for some time concentrating, and then pulled his head up in excitement and said “Happy Birthday”. We loved him

2. Fake Italian Guy- our 2 encounters with this Egyptian were hilarious. Ask me for the details, but suffice to say it was classic.

3. Mohammed from the dessert-Our guide the night in the sand dunes was fantastic. He made us laugh more than I have laughed in years. He taught us hilarious games, Bedouin dancing, and created one of the best nights ever.

4. Ahmed-The fun Egyptian who led us through Islamic Cairo

5. “Ramses” (as Katie and I refer to him but actually named Mohammad.) He worked at the hotel and was always making every attempt to help us and now we are face book friends!

6. Ramses II- Also worked at the hotel and always said things were “more better”. Katie’s hair without braids, no boys in the room

7. Another Mohammed, who told me I was an angle. Ha-ha, I finally realized he meant angel.

8. There were so many more!

The luxuries of Egypt

1. Hot showers

2. Sheets on the bed

3. Air conditioning

4. Soap/Hand sanitizer

5. Food variety

6. Tissues

7. Street lights

8. Real stores

9. Refrigeration

10. UNDERGROUND SEWAGE AND DRAINAGE!!

As fun as Egypt was though, I am glad to be back home in Ghana. I had a blast telling Sophie about our trip and this morning we had a pillow fight. I am going to miss her so much. I wish I could take her with me back to the US. Today she asked me if I would come to her wedding if she got married. I hope that I will be able to. She is so special to me and always will be J She is a huge part of my life in Ghana and I am so grateful for all that she has taught me.

Yesterday definetly goes on the list of best days of my life. First off it was katie's 21st birthday!! we woke up in the white dessert and watched a gorgeous sunrise. Then we had breakfast with 4 other people on tour and our 2 guides Osam and Mohammad. By the end of breakfast Osam had professed his love for me. It was hilarous. He had it all planned out how our marriage would work and introduced me as his girlfriend when we stopped at the black mountain in the black dessert. We also got to see crystal mountain which was gorgeous. The dessert is incredible. So vast. It was crazy to see nothing but dessert for hours. I am amazed that life can be sustained there. We got back to the oasis and showered, ate, and then headed back out with a new guide Mohammad to the sand dunes. We went along with 3 austrailans (mom and 2 daughters) who were so much fun. We toured around the oasis a bit and then set up camp in the sand dunes. We had a delicious dinner of a pasta/tomatoe/potatoe mix and tea. we sang happy birthday to katie in english and arabic. THen we sat around a candle and talked and laughed. Then mohammad got out is drum and sang some traditional songs in arabic. Then he told us he would dance if we promised not to smile. but we couldn't do it. WE were all almost crying from laughter. then we sang some kids songs like old mcdonalad and old susanna in both arabic and english. so cool. we played a bunch of clapping games and then mohammad taught us some dessert games which I can only describe as indescribly hilarious. the pictures will make you laugh. then we fell asleep under the most beautiful stars your mind can imagine. i woke up later in the night and the moon had gone down and i could see even more. ahhh sooo cool.
Unfortunately, sand flies apparently are not my friend. they were not in the white dessert, but they were in the sand dunes. i look like a 13-year old with the worst case of acne ever, or else just diseased. my hands are also covered. its so upsetting. i'm so itchy and i look horrendous. at least i don't have to worry about any more marriage proposals haha! its really all good though, it was worht it. hopefully they will go down soon. tonight we are getting on a night bus for dahab! yay for more travel! i just hope ic an sleep on the bus!
i miss you all!
2 weeks til london!

saw the pyramids today and it was indescribable. i am in awe of the history here. there are 8000 thoughts running through my head. about ancient egypt. about the muslim culture. about the difference between a second world and 3rd world country. its crazy. i can't imagine what london will feel like. i am so overwhelmed but life here. streetlights are so amazing! restaurants have menus and have those items. there are no people selling food off of their heads. its so strange! the area is beautiful though and i feel so lucky to have seen an ancient wonder of the world. i mean, i've been inside the great pyramid, ridden a camel and seen the sphinx and climbed on the pyramids. ahhh

Egypt is amazing! So different than Ghana. It is quite clear that the Sahara dessert really acts as a dividing. line. We went to the Egyptian Musuem today and It was probalby one fo the coolest experiences of my entire life. I was like 4 inches away from Rasmes. The jewels and extravagant art that was placed in the tombs was incredible to see. wow
life here is already different. They have real restaurants, and whats more than that, they have the food taht is on the menu! There is hot water!!! We have sheets on our bed!! The museum had labels on the objects not handscrawled explanations on torn sheets of paper! Strange though. Katie and I both feel really overwhelmed with how quicly everyone is moving and the pace of life. I didn't even realize how much I had adjusted to Ghana pace. Crazy!!!

ROCK THE VOTE

So I voted in my first presidential election!! I sent in my absentee ballot and I am praying that Obama wins. Even from Africa Palin and McCain scare the bejeezers out of me. Weird not to be able to watch the VP debate. I hope Biden does amazing!

So I leave for Egypt tomorrow and I am beyond excited! What a cool place in the world to see! There is so much history in that country. We are going to see the Pyramids, climb Mt. Sinai, see the Nile and so much more! How amazing is that! I am really glad that we went to Togo last weekend because it feels like good practice for being in a country where we do not speak the language. Shane gave us some advice on life in Egypt and also a handbook of Arabic.

Today Katie, Shane and I had lunch with Araba. I cut up a yam with Katie and we boiled the yams and plantains. The yams in Ghana are sort of like regular potatoes although they are more like 16 inches long. Araba had made a stew ahead of time. Vegetable stew with fish and of course bones. IT was actually pretty good, and I really enjoyed the yams. So weird to eat with your hands though. Another thing to add to my diet!! My new favorite dish here is Jollof Rice with Fried Plantains and a little bit of this tomatoe-ish sauce. So delicious! We had so much fun with Araba—she is a crack up! The discussion of how Ghanaians don’t pee was brought up. She says she pees once a day. That’s insane! She thinks its ridiculous how often Americans go. I wonder why that is? We had a lot of ideas, but someone needs to do some research! Random Ghana fact. Wheneverr Ghanaians have any food of any type and they see you, they say “your invited.” At first, we were so confused. Apparently it would be socially unacceptable to be eating in front of someone and not welcome them to have some. Pretty cool.

So many of Ghanaian foods are eaten with the hands. Banku, yams and stew, kenke, fufu… It’s a really interesting cultural difference. Silverware is just not used a lot. It’s a pretty obvious place that the more basic and simple lifestyle here comes through.

Tuesday was a Muslim holiday, and it was cool to be in a country with a large Muslim population. Many shops were closed and in the market barely any stalls had food. I love that being Muslim here does not bring to mind thoughts of terrorism ect. As intensely Christian as so many people are here, I am amazed that the Vice Presidential candidates are almost always Muslim to win the Islamic vote. Can you imagine that in the US? I tried to explain to Sophie how people are in the US about Muslims, and she was baffled by the ignorance. I told her that I am too. People think that Americans have a lot to teach 3^rd world countries, but I think maybe we have a whole lot more to learn from them. Like acceptance. Tolerance. Forgiveness. Openness. Maybe if we learned some of those qualities are country wouldn’t be in the mess it is.

So my hair is driving me insane! It is so itchy and the braids feel heavy and I can’t take it anymore! Ah! I think sophie is going to help me take it out because quite frankly, I might rip them out if we don’t!

Egypt is in 1 day.

London is in 22 days.

Classes end in 35 days.

I feel like I’ve been here forever and at the same time like I just arrived. Sort of how I feel like I have so much of the semester left, but then other times feel like its ending so fast! I guess I need to focus on living in the moment. Now. That’s the important time.

TIA THIS IS AFRICA

TIA THIS IS AFRICA

On Friday Katie and I watched Blood Diamond and it was striking how different it was to watch that movie here as opposed to in a cozy family room in the US. The streets in the movie look like the streets here. You see people on the brink of devastation all day, and you begin to understand how tragedies like the diamond crisis or even genocide can happen here. In the movie Danny Archer says, “You come here with your laptop computers, your malaria medicine and your little bottles of hand sanitizer and thank you can change the outcome, huh?” This really got me thinking, because frankly that describes me. But I guess maybe I think I can change the outcome, in small ways. I can become aware and better understand the culture and lifestyle here which is essential to creating a plan to effectively fight poverty. I can find joy and love in the people here and try and build bridges between people to remind us that we are all one humanity. Yes, this is Africa, but we are one people. In the movie they also say “My heart always told me that people are inherently good. My experience suggests otherwise.” Sometimes I feel like that, but often I feel like my experience tells me they are good. People sometimes do awful things but usually it’s an act of desperation or they are lost in life, that doesn’t make them not good. I feel like we are often too quick to jump at calling someone “bad” because it makes it easier to understand why they have done something. I think maybe if we remembered that we are one people, one world, one love we might try to help those people instead of casting them off as evil and no longer a part of the society we want.

By far the most applicable statement in the movie to my everyday life was this:

TIA THIS IS AFRICA

Such a simple statement, yet I can’t even tell you the amount of times it goes through my head throughout a normal day here. When the only option for dinner is again, rice in a bag. This is Africa. When I take my cold shower every day. When you are 1 of 24 people shoved into a tro tro (about the size of a van). When people begin to fight over whose taxi you are going to get in. When you see people going to the bathroom all over the street. When children are taking bucket showers outside. When someone tries to sell you pants, toys, food, phone credit, or artwork through the window. When the power goes out. THIS IS AFRICA. When children run up to you shouting obruni. When adults excitedly tell you about how they want to go to America. When someone proudly shows you their one room shop, which would appear to be a shack if you didn’t know. When you see women carrying 50 loaves of bread perfectly balanced on their heads while balancing a child on their back. THIS IS AFRICA.

THIS IS AFRICA and I realized I am calling it home. We went to Togo for the weekend and as we were returning I had the overwhelming feeling of “I just want to be home, in my room, in my bed” And I didn’t mean Elon or Ephrata Pa, I meant room 133 International Students Hostel Legon, Accra, Ghana. So cool. So this weekend we went to Togo. Here’s the details:

Left at 4 am Saturday from the hostel to get an STC bus to Aflao, a border city. We got there around 10 and began the process of getting a visa and crossing the border. It was quite the system. Basically we all clumped around a desk outside of a building, filled out a form, paid money, and they gave us a stamp. I don’t think it hit me until we were actually in Togo that, oh yeah, these people don’t speak English. Haha, fun times. Using a series of charades and attempts at French we managed to get a cab to a restaurant. This was by far one of the sketchiest restaurants I have been at yet. I stuck with the plain rice, always good. On our walk back into town (Lome) we found a delicious ice-cream store and I got caramel ice-cream on a cone. Again through pointing and acting out we got a cab to a town about an hour north. From there we got a canoe across a lake to Togoville. The canoe ride was a big scary but at the same time very pretty and cool. I like that this is the only way to get there. We arrived in Togoville and the town “guide” greeted us. We said we wanted to find a hotel, but the 2 options were over priced and not very nice so we decided we would just do the tour and go back to Lome. Togoville is supposedly the home of voodoo which is pretty cool. The town has 8000 people and 6000 practice voodoo and the rest are catholic or a mix of both. The people are extremely proud that the Pope visited in 1985 because the Virgin Mary was spotted there. It was interesting to see a bit how Voodoo played a role in everyday life, although since our guide only had broken English and we had zero French it was a little tricky. We got back on the canoe and it was amazing. Sunset, on a fisherman canoe on a lake, looking at mountains, in Togo. Yeah, it was amazing.

We made it back to Lome and found a decent hotel (we had to ask them to turn the water on every time we wanted it and the bed was by far the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on in my life). We were about to look for a restaurant when we met this guy wearing a UNC t-shirt. He introduced himself and we told him that we go to school near there. He has studied in London, is from Accra, and was doing some sort of research in Togo. His name was perfect. Rich Gold. He told us he would call us, and he has, twice. We are totally going to hang out with Rich Gold. He got us a cab and paid for it and we ate at a pretty nice Chinese restaurant. I didn’t really sleep at the hotel, so I was exhausted in the morning when we were heading to Kplime. Since my knee was hurting and I was tired I just slept in our hotel there and Katie and Shane went to explore the mountain. I napped and when they got back we went to dinner at a really nice place that turned out to be cheap. I had really yummy French fries and fruit salad and they gave us free French bread. French bread is pretty much the best part of Togo. Ordering food is hilarious, the menu is in French, and the waiters don’t speak English. Luckily Spanish is similar enough to french that on a menu I can usually figure out close to what something is and just point. I have never felt so much like an ignorant American though. These people in little villages in the middle of Togo often knew a little bit of English. They speak their indigenous language, French, and then some English and they’ve probably never left their village. I however, have all the opportunities in the world and I can’t manage to learn more than English and Spanish. We had a nice night’s sleep at our hotel which had a double bed and a single bed! First time in forever we haven’t had 3 in the bed. We woke up early and went to the waterfalls. We had to pay 2000 cfa’s to get there which was kind of upsetting, but they were beautiful and then we started exploring. We found a path to take us into the falls and we got in and played and it was so fun!

To get home we had to take taxi-motos—basically motorcycles which are the common form of transportation in Togo. You just hop on the back and go. We road for probably 30 or 40 minute and it was beautiful. It’s a bit of a balancing act to have your backpack, your side bag, and a bag full of French bread while holding on to your driver. But it works. We got to the border, they checked our visas gave us another 60 days in Ghana and we were good to go! It was funny at first we forgot they could speak English and were trying to mime things. I can’t imagine how Egypt is going to be. Oh boy.

Caught multiple tro tros to make it back to Accra. It felt so good to shower and unpack. Katie and I made a giant fruit salad and had our bread. We also made hot chocolate, our new favorite treat. I can’t believe we leave for EGYPT on Friday!!!!!! So exciting!

LONG POST with random babbling by me sorry!

This weekend was Spent in the volta region. It was such a beautiful area and it was fun to get to see the area where the health care center is. We took an STC bus to Hohoe but for some reason I was just miserable. Then I lost/got my ipod stolen which was unfortunate, but I am sure that whoever has it needs it more than me. I know that I am very lucky just to have been able to have had an ipod. Its hard to get to upset about material object here when so many people are lacking basic needs, let alone luxuries. So after that slightly upsetting event we went to a bar called Virgin lips. Which would be a hilarious name anywhere, but every other store name in Ghana has God or Jesus in the name. haha. But anyway, we sat and talked which was fun. Again we had a queen/king sized bed and fiit the 3 of us in. We woke up early and got the most delicious egg sandwhiches ever. Then we got a tro tro “cab”, which was basically 6 ppl shoved into a falling apart taxi to Wli falls. We got a guide and we started our hike to see the falls. We decided to take the hard hike and see the upper and lower falls. Little did we know how hard it was going to be. I have never sweat so much in my life. And I was covered in dirt since I fell several times. It was worth it though. As we got close to the upper falls the sound was crazy. Then we started to feel mist and wind. When we could see the falls it if there were a helicopter overtop of the water. It was spraying out so hard and all the plants surrounding the area were blown over. Since we were soaked anyway, shane Katie and I got in. So fun. But then we had to hike down. Shannigans. It was way hard and my shoes kept coming apart and my knee hurt, but it was beautiful. The second falls were taller but not as forceful. Right as we finished our 4 our hike it started to rain. We went to a nearby hotel that had food and sat down. We were talking about our plans for the next day when a group at the next table came over. They were also planning to go to Mt. Afadajo (the highest point in Ghana) and were wondering if we went to share a tro tro since those are at times hard to find to that place. Another girl, Sarah, who was from Oxford and doing an internship in Accra came over and decided to join. So the next morning we all met up around 7 am. We found a tro tro, however it was the sketchiest tro tro I have ever seen in my life. Seriously, the roof was so low I kept almost hitting my head on the bumps. I think the best part though was that the gas tank was inside the car behind the drivers seat and the engine was between the drivers seat and the passenger seat. Also we periodically stopped and got water from ditches or puddles along the road and poured it on the engine since it was overheating. Luckily we made it there alive haha. We hiked the mountain which was a much easier hike, but very beautiful. One of the girls in the group we met really struggled with the climb so we went very slow. When we got to the top it was beautiful. We could see a ton of the Volta region, the volta lake, and we could see Togo! So cool!

Sunday night we arrived by tro tro to Tafi atome, a monkey sanctuary. We each paid 14 cedis for our own room, dinner, a guided monkey tour, and breakfast. A pretty sweet deal. When we got there they told us they were out of water and needed to order some but that the showers should be working shortly. Not to much later we saw women walking buy with giant bowls of water on their head. They were filling them across the using a water pump and then walking them over. Than a man was taking the water bucket by bucket up a ladder to pour it into a tank. I felt grateful for every drop of water we used! Before dinner we decided to go on a walk and not only did we meet up with adorable children who loved touching our skin and say hi, but we saw monkeys!! Then we had dinner in the Chiefs house. They had made rice and there was a tomatoe ish sause with hardboiled eggs. IT was really good and not too spicy! I finished my book at night and went to bed very early. We met at 6 am to go on our monkey tour. We had bananas and we got to feed the cute little monkeys. It was so cool to see them play and to have them eat the banana out of your hand. Sometimes they fought over it and there little hands would grab yours to use as a support. I can’t even count how many monkeys we saw. After the end of the tour we decided we didn’t want to pay for a taxi back to the junction, so we walked. It was 5 kilometers, but it was so hot! When we arrived we got a tro tro to Ho, where we were planning to just chill and then take the STC bus back Tuesday morning. But when we got there, I was just like, hey why don’t we just take a tro tro back today? So we hung out for a little, got lunch, and then found a really nice air conditioned tro tro. We went to shoprite and got some food, and I got an ipod shuffle to keep me going. I really need music in my life. Especially with all these long bus rides! We got home and made rice crispy treats!!! So exiting and our tuna-curry-vegetable salad. So good especially with shoprite bread. Katie and I watched some one tree hill and then went to bed.

So yesterday I got my hair braided. I look so African. Especially because I am way tan. But don’t worry, I know I’m married so I won’t accept any of these . A woman who works at the front desk of our hostel did it for Katie and I. We tro tro’d to a place near her house. But our tro tro broke down part way there! When we finally got another tro tro and got to the station. We tried to call her, but of course seeing that its Ghana, the cell phone network was down. So we just chilled for a while until we could finally contact her. We went to her family’s house and we started the process. She started to weave in the extra hair, but I could tell it was going to take a really long time. After about 3 hours we weren’t even halfway done, but we stopped for a lunch break. None other than kenke (a weird corn dough thing) and fish (bones, scales, eyes and all). It was all I could do to swallow and not gag. I barely made it through till I could escape to the bathroom and throw up. Haha, don’t worry I ate a ton later. It took another 3 and half hours to finish my hair. It hurt like hell, but it looked really cool. I was so exhausted and antsy, but we still had Katie’s hair to do. I got to play with a bunch of kids during her hair and that was really fun. It didn’t finish until 10:30. Came home and ate dinner. So good.

Life here brings so many questions to mind. About poverty. About what a good life is. About development work. I have so many questions about what the right thing to do is and who is to blame for all the problems in the world. If any one is. I have had a chance to read a lot of intellectual books like The End of Poverty and Shame of the Nation. The latter talks about the severe racial inequality in American Schools. It was sickening, I am ashamed of the part I play in keeping minorities segregated. This book made me even more angry at President Bush than I already was. And I especially hate how much his policies have contributed to discrimination—No Child Left Behind was a perfect way to make sure that poor minority children would indeed be left behind and more than that, it ensured that rich white people wouldn’t have to deal with them. What is wrong with our country? People here in Ghana think America is the best country in the world and would love to come. It makes me sad to realize that statistics for African Americans and other minorities show that the education they receive in the US is much less than failing. The drop out rates are through the rough. The buildings are decrepit. And the numbers don’t lie. As a country we spend thousands upon thousands of dollars less per child on minority students. And the sad thing is I think that maybe people want it that way. If we provide horrible education opportunities for minorities many will stay trapped in the poverty trap they are in and won’t move into the “white world.” Things have to change.

Classes are easy here but interesting to see what is talked about and the norms are for students here. It still baffles my mind that there is such a lack of books. It is impossible for students to compete outside of Ghana when they can’t get books. Elon just seems crazy right now. Everyone has lap tops. We buy hundreds of dollars worth of books ever semester! Humanity is very much the same everywhere but at the same time so different. Everyone loves, laughs, has pain, has curiosities and questions, gets sick, has relationships…but there is so much not the same in the lifestyles we live. It makes me sad to think about how quickly I will likely assimilate back into American culture and lifestyle. I wish I could say that I would constantly be grateful for my hot showers, books, paved roads…but those things are just expected in the US. And probably after a few weeks of excitement and confusion about being back, it will be almost as if I didn’t leave. But I really want to fight that. I have to. I have to make sure that I remember what I have seen and experienced, and more than remember change. Be the Change you want to see in the world, right?

Life has greatly improved since I have been feeling better. Who knew malaria could take it out of you so badly. Monday we decided to go to Kokrobite beach and go back to big milly’s. Clearly, an excellent decision. I read on the beach, had a delicious dinner, and celebrated my wife’s birthday from afar. Missing Katie’s 21^st birthday was so sad, but I tried hard to make it special for her even from Africa. We came back to campus Tuesday afternoon and just chilled out. Katie and I continued our marathon of One Tree Hill.

In class on Wednesday I received my first assignment!! I was actually excited. It just felt like I wasn’t in school because I haven’t had any work. I had to write a 2.5 to 3.5 page paper about Things Fall Apart. I was less excited once I actually started writing but it is finished and printed out! I had my social work class on human growth and development Wednesday night and the information is very easy. We were talking about conception, though, and my teacher explained that women release an egg for every orgasm they have during sex?? It was strange. Katie discovered that we can pick up internet in our room from the net café so if we have prepaid time we can use it!! Way exciting!! I have to sit in this ridiculous section of my room but it’s so worth it! Thursday I had my Psychology of Personality class which I really enjoy. It’s great to understand my teacher so well since he has a British accent, and he is very entertaining. My evening community entry social work class was hilarious. Our class rep informed us that if we want our teacher to give our class good grades we need to as a class provide him with orange juice every class. Haha, what in the world. I was sure I wasn’t understanding, but when I asked a friend she told me I had heard correctly. During the class I was struck by the sharp contrast and differences between what I was being taught here in Ghana and what I would be taught in the US. We were talking about questions to ask when entering a community and things like—where is the chief palace, what days are market days, what all livestock roam the streets, where do people go to the bathroom… would not be typical questions I would be taught to ask. I mean, they are important questions here in Ghana, but it made me start thinking a lot about the education system and lifestyle here in Ghana. How do you even begin to improve the education system. What do we want developing countries to develop into? Is modernization possible to separate from westernization? In general I would advocate that modern commodities such as running water, electricity, sanitation systems, computers ect. Could greately enhance the quality of life. But now that I am here I am not sure how those items can be implemented into society without losing so much of an amazing culture. What determines quality of life anyway? Is there anything innately wrong with the way many people live here? If improving public health and education comes with the cost of lowering people’s happiness and sense of culture is it worth it?? I think so, I just hope that I can see ways were partnering with people to improve their lives does not equate to changing their lifestyle into what “we” have decided is the right way to live.

Malaria

So I guess I need to catch up on the past week. Last Friday was full of adventures. I woke up and ran and then headed to circle to get tickets for our trip to Kumasi. Then my adventures started when I was walking back to get a tro tro to the autism center. I heard someone talking to me but I just pretended not hear. Then I was getting ready to cross the street and he grabbed my arm. I was like what the heck. He kept holding on as I walked across the street even though I was not into it. He got on the tro tro with me and then tried to tell the driver we were together and that I was paying for him. When I stood up for myself and said no, the tro tro driver stopped the vehicle and kicked him out. AWKWARD! Kuame, was like how will I get to see you again? People are so crazy persistent!!

The autism center though was well worth it though. We sang songs and tried to get the kids to participate and be active. I love how they dance and smile to the music. Then I worked for a couple hours with a boy named Sedam. He was so sweet. We practiced and practiced trying to get him to answer “Sedam” to What is your name. A couple of times he did it and I was so proud. We also worked on trying to understanding the basic 1, 2, 3. I left around 1 because I was so exhausted. I decided to walk to circle rather than taking a tro tro because the traffic was bad. Poor life decision. I met Vincent. Vincent wanting to talk to me but I faked a phone call and kept walking. He continued with me and when I could no longer fake talk anymore I said hi. I told him my name was Cindy and he asked for my number. I said how about you give me yours. He gave it to me but then was still insisting on mine. I just rattled off a fake number and walked quikly off. Not a few minutes later I hear someone shouting Cindy! Unfortunately he caught up to me and was like cindy, that number doesn’t work. So I gave him the number of this other guy and faked another phone call. Then I made it to circle crossed over the bridge and overpass and was about to find a tro tro when I heard CINDY CINDY. Apparently he tried the number and someone picked up and it wasn’t me. Gah! Ridiculous! He grabbed my phone and called himself and now I have received several calls from Vincent. Of course I don’t answer haha.

So this weekend was our trip to Kumasi. It was so much fun. We left at 3 from the hostel to get a 4 am STC bus. We were hoping to sleep but false. They played loud Ghanaian movies. Haha, so no sleep for us. We got to Kumasi and left our stuff at the hostel and went to the cultural museum which was actually just one room with hand written labels. It was still pretty interesting though. Then we went to see this sword that supposably has been stuck in the ground for 300 years. They say a bulldozer has tried to pull it out and so did Mohhammad Ali. The Ashanti people believe if it is removed the Ashanti state will fall. At this point we were exhausted and we walked and walked and could not find a restaurant. Finally we went to the filling station which is basically a gas station with a whole bunch of little restaurant like things in it. It was delicious and I ate way too much. We decided to walk back through the market and we managed to find a few things. Then we were not functioning we said we were just going to nap for a few hours. But that didn’t really work out. We slept from like 6-11. Then we tried to stay awake for an hour and then just slept till the morning. In the morning went golfing which was hilarious. Our caddies Prince and Ellison were very nice and helped us a lot. It looks like I don’t have a future in pro golf. After golfing we went to the most amazing Indian restaurant ever. It was exspensive but it was air conditioned and we got to watch cnn news and eat delicious food. After that we decided to go to Owabi wild life preserve. We got to see monkeys in the wild!! We had to be super quiet not to scare them off. Then we headed back to Kumasi, got our bags, ate, and went to Ejisu. We arrived in Ejisu and were trying to get a taxi to our hostel but we couldn’t seem to get one.

So the big news is that Thursday I started feeling really awful. I couldn’t even get out of bed enough to go to my second class. I just slept from like 5 pm until 7 the next morning. Except I woke up a bunch during the night with chills and generally not feeling goodness. Sophie took me to the health clinic and we had to wait 8,000 years, but they finally said that they thought I probably had malaria. I was so tired and exhausted and achy, but they gave me medicine and said I should go to the hospital to get bloodwork done just to check to make sure it was malaria. So we walked there and had a sketchyish experience. They used a fresh syringe though, but no band aid or anything. After we got back to the hostel I just laid around all day and could barely move. I’m finally starting to feel better although I had the tripiest dreams ever last night. So ridiculous!

TRIP TO CAPE COAST!!

Had an amazing weekend starting with my trip to the autism center Friday. The children are all non-verbal but so full of life and I am so excited to work with them. I plan to go every Friday since I do not have classes. After a failed attempt to get a bus to cape coast on Friday night, Shane, Katie and I left for Cape Coast from our hostel at 6 am. We got there mid morning and found our way to Sammo’s a place to stay. We had 2 double beds and a bathroom and shower in our room for 20 cedis a night. IT was really nice and the fans were crazy powerful. We started off our day heading to the castle, the main attraction at cape coast. This is the location where the British exported, sold, and killed 4 million Africans in the slave trade. Nothing in history books can compare to walking through the door of no return yourself and recognizing the fact that with the beginning of the slave trade came a society full of racism and hate that is yet to be resolved. It was horrible to see the conditions in which these humans were held. It was reminiscent of the holocaust museum and understanding concentration camps. Except when you go there, it’s the Nazi’s who inflicted this terrible hate. In this case, its our ancestors and the effects are still visible all around me. It was such an interesting persepective to be a white person in this setting. I now know what it is like to be treated differently because of my race since I have been in Ghana, but I am not treated badly. I can not imagine if instead of children shouting “obruni” with smiling faces and outstretched hands there were adults shouting N**** and displaying hate. I am affected each time I hear that shout of Obruni. I am just beginning to understand the results of centuries of racial discrimination in a negative way. It is strange to look around at the community and see church after church. The same people who enslaved and slaughtered a nation came promoting Christianity. In fact the first Church in Ghana was located on top of the Caste, the point of slave exportation. It seems counterintuitive to me that Christianity thrives here when it was brought in with such hate. Despite the horrors that the castle told, it was wonderful to look off into the ocean and have hope for the future. What a difference electing Obama could make in the hope of the African community.
On Sunday we went to a church in Cape Coast. I don’t think I understood a single word. The language switched constantly and the music followed a pattern I could not seem to catch. The enthusiasm was fun to see, but I was tired after the 2 and half hour service haha! We left church and headed to Elmina, the site of another castle. We were warned by our travel book that our arrival would be met with a bombardment of beggars wanting money, our names ect. We made it into the castle and completed the tour. The history was interesting, and the conditions seemed to be slightly better here than at Cape Coast. After a long walk, we caught a cab to the STC station to meet up with Dr. Amadhe and his wife. The took us to Hans Cottage, which was a place I was hoping to get to see anyway. This is a restaurant located at a lake full of crocodiles. So cool. We could see several large ones setting out that almost didn’t look real when we first arrived. We had a fun lunch discussing Kpoeta and our trip to the health care center amongst other pleasantries. After lunch Dr. Amadhe asked us if we wanted to go for a paddle boat ride and we decided it would be fun. So we got in, with Katie and I peddling. Things were going great until all of a sudden we were stuck. Apparently some underwater plant things had gotten us stuck. So there we were in the middle of the crocodile lake completely unable to move. Soon everyone in the restaurant was out of there seats enjoying the entertainment of 3 obrunis stuck in the water. The best part was when the waitress got in a paddle boat and came to save us. It was absolutely amazing. After many tries to bump us over the plants, we decided to get into her boat so the boat wouldn’t be weighed down. Then we pulled it off the plants and she got in our boat. All in all it was an awesome experience. Then we got some ice cream which was a perfect end to the event. Then Dr. Amadhe took us to his house which was really cool and then back to our hotel. After a nap and some reading we got dinner upstairs which turned out to be really delicious and really cheap. It was really loud at night but we managed to get some sleep. We woke up to pouring rain, but deside to head to Kankum park anyway. We went on a canopy walk above the rainforest which was pretty cool and then a nature walk with our guide Fred, who was hilarious. We eventually made it back to our hotel and we were exhausted. I wasn’t feeling so good. I ended up sleeping on and off from 2 until 6 am the next day. It was ridiculous. Today we just woke up and read on the beach and then got lunch upstairs. I had delicious pasta salad. Then we got the bus back to accra, and then suffered through an hour tro tro ride back to legon. Its good to be home. Strange that we will only be here 3 days!!

So yesterday was quite the day. I woke up way to early and feeling kind off. But decided to go on our run anyway, but we were all feeling tired so we only went 15 minutes. Anyway, this English class we had been considering taking had been posted as being at 9:30 on Monday and also 10:30 on Wednesday, so we decided we would go on Monday to check it out and see if it indeed could be on Wednesday. So anyway we got to the English department around 9 and there was no room number listed. So we asked about it and she said now it was at 10:30 on Monday in room 4. So we walked back to ISH to get some stuff and then came back and walked into room 4 where a class was already taking place. Awkward. So then that same lady was like go look at the time table. It had been changed again! Now it said only Wednesday at 10:30. She told us where the professor was so we went up to see him. Mr. Amuzu was not too helpful. We tried to ask him about the time for the class and also pointed out that the 10:30 start time put it in conflict with all other university classes which start on odd hours. He basically said we would figure it out whenever we all met in class, but that he probably wouldn’t be there this week, which means it would be really tricky to add another class if it didn’t change. We were all sort of frustrated with the crazy system so we decided to not do our accra trip but get some things done in Osu. We tro troed there and got a cab to the US embassy. This was pretty fun and not as difficult as we thought and we all applied for absentee ballots and found out what we can do if they don’t arrive so that was really successful. Then we went to the Egypt air office to try and figure out the ticket situation but they were not helpful at all. L I really want to go and for that to work out. Then we went to have lunch and Katie and I waited forever and 3 years for our pizza and finally I went up and they had it but just couldn’t find us! Then we went on a search for this bookstore. The signs took us in this ginormous square but we finally got there and it was fun. We all got books and we plan to pass them around. Right when we were about to leave it just started to down pour hard core! We waited awhile but it just kept coming so we decided to walk in it. Apparently Ghanaians do not go out in the rain because everything had just stopped. Everyone just kept yelling “obruni come get out of the rain.” Finally we decided to get a cab and we bargained it down to 4 cedis. We went to shoprite and got stuff for dinner but it was freezing because we were soaking wet. We made it back to campus, showered and cooked our delicious dinner. We found out that we may or may not have water for the next 10 days so that should be interesting. We filled a bunch of buckets with water just in case. We watched a cool movie dedication and then I spent some time talking with Sophie. It was kind of a crazy day haha!

Icecream makes life better

Life in Ghana continues to feel more natural. Finding some more solid food choices is very helpful. There was a day or two this week where I was struggling to find food to eat that I knew I liked and wouldn’t make me sick. Luckily Shane went to the store and bought past and canned tomatoes and we made a delicious meal of it with bread and wine. Mind you, it took us at least an hour to boil the water and we drank the wine with straws. Shane surprised me with a tub of icecream! I swear it is extra delicious here! I made up for any lack of eating with that for sure! It was sooo good. Yesterday Sophie and I watched finding Nemo which was so fun. She was a big fan. The other day Katie and I did our laundry by hand… My arms were so exhausted. I could barely move them. Luckily sophie helped me to hang them up and wring them out. She also ironed them for me which was really sweet.

Classes have started which is kind of nice. It feels good to have a little bit of a schedule even if its lame to have to go listen to lectures. My schedule is pretty sweet considering I only have class Wednesday and Thursday. You can’t ask for much better than that. I have a large chunk of time between my classes but it is kind of nice to be able to come to the International programs office and just use the computer and hang out. I’m a fan. I am excited to go to sleep tonight knowing that I don’t have class again till Wednesday!

YAY for roommates!

So yesterday I got to meet my roommate and that was amazing. I was so nervous so it was so great to finally get to have my worries end. Her name is sophie and she is from accra. She is so sweet. So tiny!! I think we will get along very well. The most amazing thing is she brought me a beautiful dress! I am so excited. Its so pretty. One of the first things she asked me was if its true that American’s don’t eat bones! She thinks its so strange that we don’t eat the bones from fish and chicken. I think I’ll stick with the American way on that one. Some of the time tables are up for classes. I’m hoping to have Monday and Tuesday off that way we can do a lot of traveling!! Katie and shane are trying to do that too! Its so nice to have the slower pace here. Its crazy to feel like you can just chill and there is nothing you have to worry about. I am sure adjusting back to American life will be difficult. Hopefully I can take some of this chillness with me!

so ghana is awesome. end of story.
1st experience there not so much. no pick up from the airport so a sketchy 1030 at night cab ride by myself to the university. it all got better from there.
i love the people the sounds the view. although sometimes the smells are not so good haha! but sometimes they are great!
i am full of questions and wonderment at the area around me. i am so grateful to have some people i know who can help me to adjust and figure out some of the things i am not so good at.
tomorrow we go to the beach. ps i'm probalby going to be crazy tan by the end of this at least i hope so!

I leave for Ghana Saturday!

just trying to figure out how this shannigan works!