Cape Coast, Kakum National Park

For our first CIEE-sponsored trip within Ghana, we went to Cape Coast on Feb 19. It is a small fishing city about 3 hours west of Accra. Right when we got there we checked into the hotel and had lunch, then head off to the slave castles. Half of us went to Elmina Castle, and the other half went to Cape Coast castle. I went to Elmina, which is the oldest European building in existence in all of Sub-Saharan Africa. The architecture was very beautiful and it is located right on the water with amazing views of the ocean and the lagoon where the fishermen keep their boats. We went on a tour through the castle, and felt the intense realness of the Atlantic Slave Trade as we walked dungeon to dungeon and learned about how the slaves were treated. After touring the castles, we went back to the hotel and had a reflection discussion and "difficult dialogue" about our reaction to the castles and what we learned. We talked about how sad it is that this happened in our history, but that we have to accept that it happened and all that we can do now is make sure nothing like this happens again. Yet some one brought up that there are still terrible human rights violations going on all over the world that people don't even know about. Visiting these castles and our discussions afterward was definitely a sobering experience.

After dinner I hung out in the hotel with my friends Kelsey and Virginia and had some good girl talk and began planning when we're going to take our own independent trips around Ghana!

On Sunday we put on our hiking gear and boarded the buses again to go to Kakum National Park. There we did the canopy walk, which is a series of wooden bridges held up with rope over 40 meters (130 ft) off the ground in some parts. We were walking above the rain forest! I couldn't look down or else vertigo would get me and I would freeze, I'm not really afraid of heights and this was very very stable, but it was definitely a little scary! The views were amazing and I took tons of pictures. I also felt very accomplished making it over these bridges without freaking out too much. After hiking a bit to get out of the rain forest, we went for a delicious lunch at the Hans Cottage Botel which is a restaurant built on stilts over water of a crocodile sanctuary. Some people got to touch the crocs, I wasn't too interested.

A group of 8 of us decided we wanted to stay at Kakum to take in more of its beauty and stray away from the group. We paid 30 cedis each to stay in a tree house in the middle of the rainforest. We were told we wouldn't be given food or water so we scraped together some snacks of cookies and crackers, peanuts and rice to sustain us. Our park guide was supposed to meet us at 4 oclock, but he didn't show up until 6:30. We were getting pretty fed up and were going to ask for our money back if he didn't show up before dark. Finally Sampson and Robert, our guides, arrived. We got out our flashlights and hiked abut 45 minutes into the forest in the dark, through vines and steep hills until we got to the tree fort. It was about 100 feet up this giant tree and it already had bedding with mattresses, sheets, and mosquito nets. It was completely open and we really were sleeping outside in the rain forest. We loaded on the deet and chatted, drinking a bit of palm wine and playing an African drum. We went down and Robert showed us some of the awesome species that were around. We saw a millipede which was disgusting, a giant moth, a giant snail, and a few other weird bugs. Luckily there was an out house with a toilet, and we had remembered to bring toilet paper.
When it was time to go to bed, we were amazed at all of the sounds. Even though we didnt SEE that many cool animals while we were there, we heard some amazing things. The crickets and other millions of insects chirped and were a constant while we could hear monkeys and tree hyraxes (giant rodents that live in the trees and scream like theyre being tortured) in the distance. I felt like I was hearing a symphony, I laid awake listening to it for hours just smiling and was completely blown away by what I was hearing and experiencing. Finally I fell asleep and we woke up at 5am to do a morning nature hike. We didn't see much, but it was cool to walk through the forest while the sun came up.
It was Monday morning and we wanted to make it back for our afternoon classes so we head on our way, with Robert's help we caught a bus going to Cape Coast from a nearby village. Figuring out transportation back to Accra went much smoother than we were anticipating, and we made it back at 1:30 in time for classes. In the final leg of our trip, we caught a tro-tro from the main station in Accra back to campus. We were stuck in traffic and one man at the front of the car must have seen this as a good opportunity to spread the word of God to the 8 "oburuni's" sitting in the back. (I don't think I've explained the term Oburuni yet. It is just a labeling term for any foreigner. It isn't derogatory or anything, and it's mostly just the little children that yell OBURUNI OBURUNI and smile and wait for us to wave. I've actually come to enjoy being called it). Anyways, so this man preached to us for at least 25 minutes while we were exhausted, hungry, and dirty after sleeping outside and stuck in traffic sweating in this trotro. It made for an interesting final leg of the trek back home.

Taking this trip really made me want to travel so much more. This coming weekend I think a few of us are going to go to the Volta region to do some hiking and see the waterfalls. I'm really excited because I've started to get a little antsy being on campus all the time.
I wish you all could have experienced this weekend with me, it was absolutely breathtaking and indescribably wonderful. Be sure to check out the photo links above to see pictures in the "central region" album.

This past Saturday we did community service as a group with all 60 of us. It was fun, we were at a rehab center/village for special needs people, and kids from an orphanage were there too. It made me sure that I want to adopt a child, along with having my own. We helped repaint their facilities and cleaned up a lot, then played games and danced! My roommate went home for the weekend so last night I'm actually cooked for myself! I made ramen noodles, and i bought cabbage, onion, a pepper, and carrot to stir fry and mix in with the noodles. It wasn't much, but it feels pretty exciting for me to be able to cook for myself since that's something I really miss about home. It was also nice because it was something I knew was 100% Vegetarian and I was in control of how my ingredients were prepared. Hopefully I'll be motivated enough to cook for myself some more, at least once or twice a week or more.

Slowing down to enjoy the simple things in life

I have lots to write about my weekend in the Central Region at Cape Coast and Kakum National Park. It was an amazing experience, of which I wish I could describe every little detail! More on that to come, but for now I'm just posting because we are having a CRAZY monsoon-like storm and I'm alone in my room. I assume my roommate is taking shelter somewhere else and waiting it out. I was a little scared, but I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to bundle up a bit (it gets "cold" here when it rains), drink some hot tea, and write in my journal.
I'm also putting together a lesson plan about the days of the week and months of the year because tomorrow is my first day of student-teaching! Pascal and I will go over my lesson plan in the morning. I'm going to plan extra activities in case one teaching method doesn't work so well, or in case I have more time left. I've never had to do this before, but it will be fun and I'm excited. Here goes nothin'!

Update: 30 minutes after posting this, the power has gone out. It was also out for most of today (pretty typical even if there isn't a rain storm). The thunder has also been loud enough to set off a nearby car alarm a few times. Thanks Mom and Dad for the battery-operated reading light and great flashlight!

One month here and my internship!

I arrived in Ghana exactly four weeks ago! I can’t believe how fast this has been going. When I think back to how unsure and new this all felt in the beginning, I feel like I’ve grown so much! And I’m still looking forward to learning so so much more about Africa in the next three months.

I woke up at 5:50am this morning from a very strange Mefloquine dream. I almost forgot to take it last night, which would put me at risk for Malaria! But don’t worry, no signs of the sickness yet. For those of you who don’t know, Mefloquine is the generic form of Larium, an anti-malaria prophylaxis that has mostly psychological side effects. I take it once a week. I haven’t had any trouble with it at all except for very vivid and weird dreams. They are just extra intense, usually relating to something that was on my mind already. The majority of my dreams from it have been about food, and the people in the dreams usually people close to me in my life. So that’s nice. None of them have really been scary, and when they are- I am usually aware in the dream and think “oh this is just a cool dream, go with it”. They are the most intense the first night that I take the pill, then slowly decrease in vividness as the days go on. I’ll try to write about one or two really interesting ones sometime.

It worked out well that I was woken up by that dream, because I had to leave at 6:30 today to get to the first day of my internship by 7:30am. I’m working at Tot-to-Teen, a private pre-school through junior high in Adenta. Between walking from my dorm to the tro-tro, and then the actual ride it takes me about 45 minutes to get there, and costs me $0.65 round trip. Yesterday I went there by tro-tro with another girl in my group to find the place. When we got there they told us that they only wanted to take one more intern/volunteer, and that it would have to be in math. Since I am doing a for-credit internship, I got priority. The headmaster of the school gave me a curriculum syllabus to take home for the night and told me to come back at 7:30 this morning before school starts at 8. Since math isn’t my favorite or strongest subject, I wanted to make sure I was teaching it to primary school students.

Today I was placed with third graders. There are two third grade classes and both teachers handle half of the subjects so they both teach both classes. I am working under Pascal, who teaches creative art, math, and writing. When I walked into the classroom 32 students right away stood up and said in unison, “Good morning, Madame you are welcome!” It was very sweet. They couldn’t keep their eyes off me and I couldn’t stop smiling. Pascal introduced me as “Auntie” or “Madame Katherine//Kate” and said that I would be the assistant teacher on Wednesdays and Thursdays for Math. He also reminded them that I should be treated with the same respect that they give him and that we would be teaching together. Today I just wanted to observe to better understand how the class is taught. They are learning measurement of time and weight. I remembered back to third grade when my math teacher, Mrs. Willis, told me that I was a time-telling wizard. The kids were pretty attentive but very very energetic and excitable. They raise their hands to answer, but all yell out “Sir! Sir!” to be called on. They are also expected to stand up any time they speak individually. I am going to need to work on using my biggest voice possible because even the headmaster asked how the students were going to be able to hear me over their chattering. I have a feeling respect is something I will need to learn early on by being stern with them. Right now it looks like I’ll be there in the mornings on Wednesday and Thursdays. Today I was only there for three hours, so I hope to get more hours as time goes on. Even though this is a private school where I don’t feel like they really even need my help, I’m thankful for the opportunity and I think that working with kids is going to make my days so joyful.

Anyways, now I’m just sitting on my porch listening to the Beatles (good for the soul) and munching on ground nuts (the same as regular peanuts). I don’t have dance class until 6. So I’m going to get an iced coffee with some friends. Tomorrow my only class is Psychology of Religion. I was kind of put off by my professor in that class last week by his sexist undertones and distracted lecture, so I hope tomorrow is better.

This weekend I’m off to Cape Coast on a CIEE trip. We’ll be touring the castles and staying in a hotel. On Sunday we’re going to the Kakum National Park to do the canopy walk through the rain forest! Can’t wait to update on that.

 "I've got to admit, it's getting better; a little better all the time."

Rain, market, new friends, classes, food and water.

It rained today! It was very unexpected because rainy season doesn’t start until after March. Think of one of the most severe thunderstorms in the States, and that’s what we experienced here today. That’s pretty typical later in the spring though here. The sky got so dark and ominous, and the thunder and lightning were crazy. It poured buckets for an hour, then stopped, and it’s now continuing. I live on the first floor and a bit of water came in through the bottom of my door. I think the wind blew it in, but it wasn’t too much.

This morning Genna and I went back to Madina Market. This time we were on a mission to find pretty material to have clothes made. It was a little overwhelming. Everyone at the market targets us as customers most aggressively because we’re white. We finally came across these two women selling very nice, pretty cheap fabric so we didn’t even have to bargain with them. I got a total of 7 yards of different patterns to make a skirt, a dress, and a top. It cost me about 18 GHC (cedis, pronounced like CDs). Genna’s host sister is a seamstress so I’ll probably go over tomorrow to get measured. She said it will cost around 15 GHC for dresses and skirts.

Kelsey (another Clarkie) and I have become close with Ester and Agnes at the night market. Ester must be just a few years older than us, and her daughter Agnes is 9 years old and goes to the primary school on my university campus. My first night on campus I got an egg sandwich from Ester and she invited me to sit down and join them. Now it’s wonderful to stop by their stall every day for a sandwich or just to stop and say hi and see how Agnes’ school day went. Their village is in the Eastern region, a few hours north of us, and they live and work at the little market here. It is these connections that have made my stay in Ghana so meaningful so far. Kelsey has had malaria and has been recovering for the past week so last night I went to Ester to get dinner for us. Ester asked for Kelsey’s number and called to say hi and that she hopes she feels better. Agnes also got to visit Kelsey in her room. Anyways, last night Ester saw the ring I wear on my left hand and asked if I’m married. I told her I’m not and that I’m not ready to be and a little too young. She said I’m plenty old enough since at 18 I became an adult. She said that she’s getting married on April 2^nd and that Kelsey and I are invited! I can’t wait to go to a Ghanaian wedding.

At least a few times a week, men who talk to me trying to be friends or something more will then notice my rings and ask if I’m married. It has definitely helped thwart any unwanted advances from the opposite sex, who are very forward towards American girls. In other cases, I’ve had very good, genuinely friendly conversations with the men here; more so than with the women. I am still learning about the gender roles in Ghana and Africa in general, but the women seem much more guarded and less outwardly friendly. I usually feel like they’re just staring at me or judging my outfit. This has not been the case with every woman of course, it’s just been my experience so far.

I have another new great friend named Daro. He is from Togo and is studying in Ghana for graduate school. We have the type of relationship that I guess you could call a “cultural partnership”. He is trying to be a diplomat so he wants to practice his American-English with me, rather than the more Ghanaian English that he speaks here. He also hopes to come to America one day so he is learning about the culture and what to expect from me. Meanwhile, he has explained lots of things about the world economy and African culture to me.

The second week of classes is almost over. I am in Deviant Behavior, Medical Sociology, Twi (the most spoken language in Ghana), Psychology of Religion, and traditional dance. I’m auditing Culture and Reproductive Health which is also really interesting. So far I really like everything, especially Medical Sociology, the professor is great. As for Twi, it’s difficult so that just means putting in the extra effort both in and out of class. Hopefully my roommate will help and we’ll speak to each other so that I can get practice. 

I'm sure some people are wondering what I do about water. You definitely can't drink the water here unless you boil or purify it. So you have the choice between bottled water, which is expensive (1GHC) or buying water sachets. They are little pouches with 500mL of water in them. They cost 5 pesewes, which is less than five cents. I buy a pack of 25 sachets for 1 cedi. So instead of buying one bottle of water to last me an hour, I buy 25 sachets to last me a week!

Side note about food: tonight my roommates' friend had brought over Banku. It is starchy dough made out of corn that you break off, dip in a peppery salsa-type sauce and swallow whole. I liked this a lot more than fufu, which is usually in an okra soup. They also had delicious tilapia. It was a whole fish right on the bone that i just pulled off pieces and ate with my hand. this meal was the best tasting authentic Ghanaian food that i've had so far!

Overall, things are going great. I feel more settled in every day!

Back to basics

So I guess I haven't really described my living situation that in-depth, and I feel like that's pretty important to all of you understanding my new life in Ghana. I'm now in the CIEE office using their fast wireless internet and sitting in the air conditioning. It's quite lovely.

I live on campus in ISH (as described in the Jan 24 entry). For food, I eat mostly on campus as well. We have the night market. There I usually get egg sandwhiches for less than 2 cedis or $1.30. It's an omelet with onions, tomatoes and peppers, with Laughing Cow cheese spread on bread. The bread for the egg sandwich is literally a loaf of bread cut horizontal, not sliced vertically. I'm trying to limit my egg sandwich intake because eating eggs this much is great for protein, but not so great for my cholesterol. 

At the night market I also get beef or chicken kabobs, or the usual is some kind of rice with a piece of meat, plantains and noodles. I ate that twice yesterday, so I ended up spending about $4 on three meals yesterday including fruit in the morning. I've gotten used to the lack of variety, and lack of vegetables or nutrition. Cheese is something I really miss. At least I've gotten into the habit of taking my vitamins every day! If I eat elsewhere on campus it's usually more expensive. I've also tried Fufu which is just a ball of uncooked doughy-ness in a spicy soup. You pinch off a ball of the dough, dip it in the soup and swallow it whole. You aren't supposed to chew the dough because they just want you to taste the soup part. And you eat it with your hands! But only your right hand of course. Just another way to fill up on starches. There are a few other dishes like this with different flavor soups and doughs.

My roommate came on Friday night! Her name is Naa and she lives in Accra. She's a little quiet sometimes but mostly really friendly! I have to ask her to speak a little slower so that I can understand her English through her accent. I also need to keep up with my cleaning and tidiness. Naa swept the floor before we went to bed last night, and again at 7am when she woke up this morning. I hope to have some good conversations with her about Ghanaian life and culture, and meet some of her other African friends.

I've gotten used to only being able to take cold showers, but who would really want to take a warm shower here anyways? It's helped me take much quicker showers too. And I do my laundry by hand in buckets. When I waited to wash a weeks worth of clothes, it took me almost two hours. So now I'm trying to do it more frequently. I'll probably donate about half of my clothes before I leave here to come home anyways to make room for new things to bring home, and to dump the clothes that have gotten just too sweaty and dirty to wear again. I've also accepted that my whites will never be white again. There is too much dust and dirt. This also applies to the keyboard on my white MacBook, unfortunately. 

Sometimes I think my feet have gotten really tan, and then I scrub them extra hard and realize they're just dirt-stained. Speaking of tan, I really need to get to the pool and try to even out my t-shirt tan.

I wish I had packed more of my summer clothes that I wear at home, because on campus I really don't need to dress as modest as the clothes that I brought. And Ghanaians actually dress quite nicely, so I get a lot of looks in my super-casual tees and Birkenstocks. Luckily, there are many seamstresses here. So I can get a beautiful African-print dress or skirt in any style that I want for about $7.50 US. I'm going to be coming home with lots of pretty new clothes.

I have visited the SGI center (my Buddhist organization) twice now. The meeting I went to yesterday was a little different than the meetings I'm used to back home. It was almost three hours long! At the end of the meeting they had a contribution/donation period where everyone who attended put an envelope in a tray one at a time. Some aspects of it reminded me of a church service, very formal. This was surprising to me because it was a Buddhist meeting, but realized that it makes sense. Christianity is at the base of all of Ghanaian life it seems, so some Ghanaian culture has been incorporated even into Buddhist meetings. One part I did like was getting up twice to sing and clap during the meeting. Despite some of these structural differences (each time someone got up to speak, there was a call-and-response of "SGI: United! SGI: United! SGI: United, Strong, and Free forever!"), the philosophies of Nichiren Buddhism were the same of course. Remembering this has helped keep me centered and positive throughout the emotional ups and downs of this experience!

This was one of my less exciting blog entries, but it's important to share just the basics as well as the adventures.

Gaining perspective

Hello! It’s about time that I fill you in some more on my exciting new life in Ghana.

Student life

The past 10 days that I have lived on campus have mainly been spent figuring out what classes to take and, even more so, how to take them! It’s funny because for the last month that I was home before coming here, I had almost forgotten completely that I was coming here as a student to study and go to school. But now I feel relieved. Because in a place where I am so out of place and at times very confused, being a student is a role I know. It is so familiar to me because that is my primary role at home and it is no different here. Having so much down time in the first few weeks, I had becoming very scattered and lost. Getting into a routine and realizing my purpose and that I AM in fact building a life here is so grounding.

I’ve learned that I most definitely take for granted the easy online registration that I am so accustomed to at Clark. Here, I flipped through the course handbook to find what I wanted to take. Then I walked around campus for days on end to all the departments to see if the classes I wanted are actually offered. If that information was even posted, then I would have to find the time tables for when the classes are offered and plan my schedule accordingly. But apparently no one really gets the ball rolling early here. Many students don’t attend classes or even register for sometimes two weeks after the semester begins. (Example: Through much confusion, my Ghanaian roommate still has not arrived. Who can she be!? I can't wait to not be alone in this room anymore!) It is very bizarre to me, but this results in the departments being very delayed in putting out time tables. So once I see what I want is offered, I register for the classes at their respective departments. I registered for about 16 classes on the first day. While I’m only planning to take 4 academic electives, plus Twi language, and dance or drumming, I needed to make sure that I’ll have enough credits so that if any of the 16 overlap, I can decide what to drop. I can also audit any classes that are of interest to me. This basically means I just sit in on lecture and do the readings if I want to, but don’t take the exam or receive any credit. This is a new, and awesome, concept to me. After this add/drop period that lasts until February 25, I submit my final concrete schedule to the registrar. Talk about a process!!! So this week I’m attending any and all classes that I registered for or want to take, and next week I’ll drop what I don’t like, and solidify my schedule. This needs to be solid and figured out so that my internship can be set up.

I am participating in a for-credit internship at a local school. I requested to work with kids ages 5-12, elementary school aged. So they are placing me with the Tot-to-Teen program. Two other girls on CIEE are also interning there. Those are really the only details I have about my internship, but I can’t wait to work with kids!

This past weekend was fun-filled and exciting. On Friday after registration, I walked with three of my friends to my friend Genna’s homestay in East Legon. This was about a 30 minute walk from campus. The neighborhood where she lives is fairly well off. Much bigger houses than the one I live in at home, and they have their own security gate keepers. It was awesome to walk there. Getting out of the campus bubble is so exhilarating! One of the reasons why I initially wanted a small program NOT at a university was to get more cultural immersion. Doing the homestay option of this program would have probably been the best of both the student and non-student lifestyles. So Friday we had our welcome dinner for CIEE kids at Chez Afrique, the bar/restaurant we went to for my birthday. Before going to the dinner, we met up with the other home stay kids at their favorite hang out, Jerry’s and had a few drinks. It was nice to catch up with them and trade stories about living on or off campus. We then went to Chez Afrique for a spicy yet delicious dinner of rice (duh), plantains, chicken, beans, etc. We finished it off with cake and ice cream and fruit! After digesting, many of us went to the dance floor and boogied to the live music. It was a blast and none of us could stop smiling.

Adventures!

Saturday I went to Medina Market, about a 20-minute TroTro ride away. The tro tro is a shared taxi. It’s like a van or small bus that picks you up at a stop. They yell out the direction and destination of where they’re heading, you tell them where you’re going, and rush to get a seat on this crowded van. It is VERY chaotic the first few times you take it. But trotros are great because they’re so cheap! A 4GHC (Ghana Cedi) charter cab ride to the mall would cost .25GHC (Pesewes) on the tro tro. Our tro tro ride round trip to Medina cost 60 pesewes, or about $.40. The first thing we did at Medina was get a fresh coconut off the side of the road. Our UPals assured us that this was safe to eat. The funniest part about this experience was figuring out how to eat this coconut. They chop the top off with a machete, and you are supposed to drink the juice. Then they cut it in half and you eat the inside meat of it. We did not realize this so when they cut off the top we said thanks and walked away. Medina is not a touristy market at all. It’s where all the smaller shopkeepers go to stop up for the week for their shops. Being white, anywhere you go in Ghana you will get looks. This I’ve gotten used to, but especially in a non-touristy area when you’re consuming a coconut in a completely wrong way, people were laughing at us and staring like we were aliens. We got a kick out of this and I’m glad I now know how to eat a coconut. Little experiences like this are what make it so worth it to go out and endure the craziness of a marketplace or township. You really must be adventurous when you travel to a new place. That is how you learn the customs and can begin to be a part of the culture.

Sunday we had the city tour of Accra and woodcarving/drum-making workshop. This was a particularly nice day because we got to sit in an air-conditioned bus and have our UPals show us the city. It helped so much with understanding our surrounding Greater Accra region. I took a lot of pictures on this day. The link to my Facebook photo album is:http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2073617&id=1082700030&l=802ab0fef3 I have made it public so hopefully you non-facebook users can see… While it was great to see the football (soccer) stadium and American embassy, the most powerful and humbling part of the tour for me was when we drove past (not even near) the largest slum in Ghana, Fadama. It is on government land and consists of mainly refugees and expatriates. When you look at the area, all you see is trash and waste everywhere. The shacks stretch as far as you can see. Our UPal told us that the government has been trying to move them for many many years, but until there is a better solution where them to settle, they are unmoveable. There was an extremely somber mood as we drove past and we listened to the problem of rape and disease in Fadama. Read more about Fadoma from Amnesty International here: http://www.slumstories.org/episode/ghana-–-uncertainty-fadama. Sometimes I can’t even describe how unbelievably privileged and secure I feel. Some things that I’ve seen in just two weeks here have reminded me of how different life is for so much of the world.

Thanks for reading! I promise to start writing more often so that I don’t have to write so much at once, and so that you don’t have to read so much at once. My next shorter entry will hopefully be describing the simple way of life that I have adopted, and to tell you about the awesome interactions with the locals that I’ve experienced!!

I love and miss you alllll. And again, please please check out my first Ghana photo album!!!