Ghana in Review

In only 10 days I will be stepping on U.S. soil for the first time in 4 months.

After reminiscing last night about all the great times I have had (this while I should have been studying for the exam I have today), I have tried to categorize my trip abroad a little bit.

Each category, I have narrowed down to 3 items. Enjoy.

Likes:
1. Rural villages
2. Markets
3. Tro Tros

Dislikes:
1. Poor customer service/or lack there of
2. People constantly trying to overcharge/cheat obrunis
3. Pick pockets

Favorite Ghanaian foods:
1. Akple and Ochre Stew
2. Plantain chips
3. FanYogo

Foods I have missed most:
1. Gum
2. Pretzels
3. Ranch Dressing

Foods I want when I get home:
1. ANY of Mom's cooking
2. Mexican food
3. Cold food

Things I wish I would have brought:
1. My computer
2. Pictures of family and friends
3. More books and magazines

Things I never used:
1. Curling iron
2. Video camera
3. Sweater

Favorite Adventures:
1. Village Stay
2. Mole Trip
3. Leadership Conference in Niger

Favorite Moments:
1. Singing endless church and children's songs with the village kids
2. The many times I have been overcome with gratefulness for having this opportunity
3. Attempting to carry food on my head and sell it in the village with three 13 year old girls

Things I wasn't expecting:
1. This experience was more challenging than I expected.
2. There WAS a language barrier! Even when we were all speaking "English".
3. I never realized how much/to what extent Ghanaians speak their tribal languages.

Things I'm excited to do when I get home:
1. Drive my car! And get in and go any time I want.
2. Call my friends and catch up!
3. Upload pictures.

Ghanaian words/phrases I have adopted into my vocabulary:
1. Saying "uh huh" like a Ghanaian in every situation possible, even when it is completely out of context.
2. Adding "o" to the end of words: "Sorry-O." "I'm fine-o."
3. Questioning: "Oh Chale, Why?" (Oh Friend, Why?)

Things I took for granted and never realized:
1. Fast Internet access/computer knowledge
2. Interstates, stop lights, roads without potholes everywhere
3. Public restrooms

When I get back I really want to:
1. Make the effort to talk to/help/be friends with the international students on campus
2. Learn a foreign language
3. Learn how to play the piano

Things I will miss:
1. Living the life of a retired person :)
2. Being called "Obruni"
3. Grabbing fruit off a woman's head for lunch, out of the tro tro window

Things I realized weren't as bad as they seemed:

1. Hand washing clothes
2. Cold showers
3. Life without Dt. Mt. Dew

Favorite Name Pronunciations:

1. Militia
2. Malaysia
3. Morlessa

Things I have traded/bartered to get a good deal:
1. Shampoo
2. My red polka dot shirt (The lady loved it! She put it on right then, gave me a high five, and couldn't stop smiling! So precious!)
3. My "phone number"

Minor meltdowns:
1. When I left my journal on a bus
2. When my camera card and flash drive got a virus
3. The day I yelled at 4 people in a span of 4 hours
-- A Ghanaian Immigration Officer
-- A tro tro mate who tried to cheat me money
-- The Internet guy who let a Ghanaian go ahead of me
-- The security guard at the bookstore who was obviously having a power trip.

These are all great stories! I will have to fill you in later!

Studying abroad has:
1. Made me question/analyze non-profit and aid organizations
2. Made me analyze/review my own priorities and motivations in life
3. Has helped me realize that just because something is different doesn't mean it's wrong or needs to be changed.
Just because I/we/Americans think something needs to be or could be improved doesn't mean that's what is best for the society and community.
Just because something seems more "primitive" from my perspective doesnt' mean it needs to be modernized; that may not be best for the people.

I am grateful for this experience because:
1. It really has been a saving grace; an essential break
2. It has taught me a lot about myself
3. It has allowed me to reflect on the past and helped me not to worry so much about the future.


Ok, well I will see you all soon! I love you!

Mel

Monkeys. Mountains. Memories.

Monkey See. Monkey Do.

Following a dirt path deeper into the forest, our guide made the infamous kissing noise that Ghanaians do so well. In a matter of time at least 10 monkeys were swinging through the trees, coming to us.

This past weekend a friend and I made a trip, once again, to the Volta Region. The Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary was the first stop.

Armed with a bag full of bananas, we were ready. The mona monkeys were eating out of our hands! Their tiny human-like hands would peel the banana and then tear off a piece before stuffing it in their mouth. If you didn't hold on tight, they would snatch the banana from your hand and swing higher into the tree to eat it at their own leisure. They would then throw the peels to the ground once they were finished, with surprisingly good aim. It seemed like they were trying to hit us!

I really wanted to take one and stuff him in my bag and take him home. I wasn't sure how I would get him through customs though, so I refrained.

We Fell on We Falls

Next we went to Wli Falls (pronounced Vlee), which is the highest waterfall in West Africa.

Early Sunday morning Delia and I hiked an easy path through the forest to the lower falls.

There however was another waterfall, the upper falls, which the guidebook mentioned as being a slightly more strenuous hike up a mountain.

We were up for the challenge. Little did we know, the guidebook was being modest! It was a much more strenuous hike!

More difficult than climbing Mt. Afadjato a few weeks earlier, which is the highest mountain in Ghana. It may not have helped that it poured the night before so the steep inclines were slippery... at least this was our consolation!

After finally making our way to the waterfall after a three hour hike, we enjoyed the sight for a little while, and prepared for our return trip.

On the way down, I can pretty accurately say that we fell down this mountain, literally. LOL.
At the beginning we were taking it in stride. Laughing it off. Even capturing the moment on film. But after at least the fifth time, it really wasn't necessary to take any more pictures of our graceful falls to the ground, as it started to look exactly like the previous fall.

It wasn't long before we started singing songs as we descended the mountain, my favorite being, "She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes." And don't you worry, we appropriately changed the lyrics to "She'll be fallin down that mountain when she comes." In our slap-happy state, we though it was absolutely hilarious to make a pun out of the mountain name, saying: "We fell on We Falls." and "We Falls.. Literally".

Along the way down we met a group of Ghanaians coming up the mountain and they thought it was hard too! So that made me feel better. Haha. I'm sure their pace was a lot faster, and the women were wearing dresses, but still! One of the guys even had a baby on his back and amazingly, the baby was asleep! One of the Ghanaians apologized for our travels. Haha. He was sorry that we had to go through such a difficult hike.

Unexpected Passenger

After a great weekend, we took a tro tro back to Accra on Sunday evening. On this tro tro I had both a "first" and an "Only in Africa" moment.

Delia and I were sitting in the back seat. At one point, I felt something wet on the back of my leg. I didn't think much of it. It must be a wet rag or something.

A little later I hear a whimper that sounded like a baby. I didn't realize there was a young baby on board, but I guess it was in the front somewhere.

Then. I hear a full out "Maaaaah" sound. There was a GOAT riding in our tro tro. Underneath our seat! Alive. But not for too much longer because it was going to be someone's dinner!

Needless to say, Delia and I both screamed when we heard this! Haha. And everyone in the tro tro turned around to look at us. The guy beside us started laughing and asked if we were scared. Haha.

All I want to know is, Did the goat have to pay the full price? I hope he got a discount since he was stuffed underneath a seat for the 4 hour trip! Oh wow! Only in Africa!

Living the High Life. Literally.

Accessible only by boat... a dug out wooden canoe, to be specific, that you must row - by hand - Nzulezo, is a community of more than 500 people who live in "The Village on Water", located in South Western Ghana.

Let me just say: Rowing a canoe for an hour is hard work! I even have blisters on my thumbs as evidence of my hard physical labor! Haha.


The stilt village was an amazing sight! It's something that is hard to imagine still exists is 2009... but then again, this is Africa.

After crossing Lake Amansuri, my guide, Samuel instructs me that if I want to take pictures of any person I must ask them first.

The reaction of the village people shocked me a little bit. They weren't very inviting. While I understand that it is their home, it is also a tourist attraction that thousands of people come to each year, so I was expecting them to be friendly.

In the end, I cut my losses and didn't take any pictures of the people. I saved myself the rejection!

The history of the village dates back 400+ years ago when people from Mali and Senegal were feuding. The Malian's fled and built the village on water to protect themselves from the enemies. While the feuds have subsided, the people still choose to live out on the water. For mere convenience of having a home already established, maybe? Life is simpler out on the water?

There was a primary school on site which was staffed by a member of the village. I wonder if they have had any formal education? Unlikely. Absolutely no computers or games for the students. But then again- it's obviously not necessary for them, and not a priority.

A Catholic church sat at the end of the row of houses held above water on tall stilts. My guide told me that while most of the people have accepted Christianity, some still believe in their own gods.

When a baby is born in the community, the child is dipped into the lake three times. Once the baby can crawl along the wooden planks that connect the houses and pass over the lake, the baby will see it's shadow and crawl back to safety. My guide said that for as long as the village has been in existence, a baby has never fallen in!

As for electricity, the community operates on car batteries and generators.

I was very curious about what kind of jobs the people had, where they got their food, and who could live in the village. Could anyone just move in?

From the minimal explanations I received, I was able to obtain the following answers:
Most of the people are farmers. They grow a lot of their own food, or will row to the village an hour away to buy additional supplies.
You must ask the chief if you are interested in living in the village and must "meet certain criteria".

Experiencing such an unusual way living was really neat. I'm glad I made the 7 hour trek to see another aspect of Ghana! A great weekend!

Easter Extravaganza

While there was no Easter Bunny, egg hunts, or a get together with the fam at Granny and Grampy's house, my Easter in Africa was great! Definitely a weekend to remember.

My friend, Delia, and I traveled to Lioti Wote in the Volta Region and did a "village stay" with a family for 5 days. Our host, Kuma, is a graduate student at the University of Ghana and studied in the US for a school year and also lived in Germany for four years. Kuma, and many people in the Volta Region are part of the Ewe Tribe and spoke Ewe, instead of Twi... so my limited tribal language skills weren't getting me very far here!

Once we arrived in the village we met Kuma's family and then proceeded to greet the entire village. According to Kuma, this greeting is absolutely necessary and expected. If you don't participate then you are being rude and disrespectful. Kuma kept commenting on the "communal society" and said that while he appreciates many aspects of the tradition, he says some things are becoming outdated, such as this method of greeting.

Highest Peak in Ghana... Conquered!

-The mountain and a glimpse of the village-

Mt. Afadjato is the highest mountain in Ghana and is located in Lioti Wote. Early Friday morning before it got too hot outside, Delia and I met our guide and started up. Our guide, Joshua was wearing long pants and flip flops to climb this mountain! What!? And at times... would run up! He made it look so easy! But don't let the Ghanaian fool you! It was tough!

The view from the top was awesome. We could see the entire village down below and the next mountain over was Togo.

After hiking the mountain, we relaxed at nearby Tagbo Falls, a beautiful waterfall. Being the first waterfall to that extent I've ever seen, it was amazing.

Wine from Trees

Later that afternoon, Kuma took us to a palm wine "farmer", so we could see the "tapping" process - how wine is made from trees.

Palm trees are cut and laid on their side for about a week. Then a hole is cut and a jug is placed underneath to catch the wine. Everyday the farmer comes back and puts fire in the hole and cuts away more of the bark so more wine will flow.

The farmer goes around to all his trees every day and repeats the same process. To me, it seems very tedious and doesn't reap a large return. It amazes me how people ever perfected the extraction and realized that the fluid which comes from a tree is alcoholic. At the end of our tour, we all tried some... drinking out of "calabash" which are little wooden bowls. It was warm, but very sweet. Definitely a favorite among the locals.

You may now kiss the Brother...?!

Saturday love was in the air.
A traditional wedding ceremony took place in the village.

The entire service was spoken in Ewe, but thankfully Kuma was there to translate for us.

To begin with, the groom's family carried in the dowry, or gifts for the bride and her family, on their heads. Yes! On their heads. It wouldn't have been done any other way!

The bride wasn't yet at the ceremony, so the family had to take their "car" and go get her - but they didn't have "gas". A collection was taken up. Then the "car" broke down and again another collection. The groom's family had to raise at least 50 cedi before the bride would come.

The bride was right inside the house the whole time.

The cute thing- when it was time for the bride to come out, there was a lady with a "steering wheel" leading the bride and members of her party into the ceremony. Haha.

The most interesting part about the whole thing though is that the groom wasn't ever there! He was in the U.S. and couldn't make it back for his own wedding! It was the groom's brother who stood in for him... I don't know why they couldn't have just waited until he was actually there... They will have a church ceremony later, and I can only hope he's present and accounted for for that one!

He has Risen!

At four am on Easter morning Delia and I are woken up by the sound of drumming and singing out in the street. People were dressed in all white and represented angels. Apparently they were shouting "He has risen!" in Ewe; a tradition they perform every Easter morning, to get everyone excited about the day.

Later that morning we attended Kuma's church for an Easter service. Surprisingly there was nothing spectacular or different about the church service. A lot of dancing and singing, but that is nearly every church service in Africa!

I was actually surprised at how much it seemed like just another day all together. No one greeted each other with "Happy Easter" like we do in the United States. We didn't even eat as an entire family for dinner or anything.

Evidently the "celebration" happens on Easter Monday.

On the agenda was musical chairs, tug of war, drumming, dancing, and singing, and other games. Delia and I were excited and ready to participate!

Activities were suppose to begin at 9 in the morning, but of course, they didn't.
At 10:30 I asked one of the guys why we hadn't started yet and he informed me that they were waiting for everyone to take their breakfast and get ready.

I tried to explain that the people should have planned ahead and taken their breakfast earlier, and that the activities should have just started without the people who weren't on time. Haha. Oh man. Why do I even try to reason with the Ghanaians?

Eventually is started to rain... pour. It soon became obvious that the "scheduled" events weren't actually going to take place! Haha. Oh Africa! Never a back up plan. Nope. That would be too efficient!

A Ghanaian Love Affair

Ask any Ghanaian what they love and their list will likely contain the following:

1. God
2. Football (aka soccer)
3. ... um. Nope, just those two things!

So when the Black Stars, Ghana's national football team, had a game in Kumasi, I couldn't miss it, along with the other 50,000+ fans who had the same idea.

Be Aggressive, Be Be Aggressive

On Saturday night, Andrea, Mallory, and I needed to take a tro tro from the village to Kumasi, to stay with Andrea's Ghanaian friend, Joe.

Apparently everyone had the same idea, at the same time.

A few tro tros came by heading to Kumasi, and Ghanaians would literally push people out of the way so they could get into the tro tro. Before the tro tro had stopped, people swarmed the doors, fighting to get in. They weren't messing around, and there was no way they were going to let 3 obrunis get in before they did. There is absolutely no concept of a line or first come first serve. It's a prime example of survival of the fittest. Haha. I never realized how much I appreciate the orderliness of the American transportation systems.

So after a few tro tros had gone by and we hadn't even attempted to compete with the Ghanaians, we needed a new game plan.

New Game Plan: Be aggressive. And try not to get trampled.

We saw a tro tro come to a stop a little ways down from where we were standing. When we saw people running towards it, we followed suit. Mallory made her way through the crowd of people, and I held on to her backpack, not letting anyone separate us. We finally got in a tro tro! One girl literally jumped over the seat to get in! Whoa! It was only after the three of us all had a seat that we asked if that tro tro was even actually going to Kumasi! LOL Thankfully it was! So we were on our way.

Kumasi at Night
Joe met us at the drop off and took us back to his place. It was one room in a compound house. The other rooms were rented to other people.

Joe's rent per month: 7 cedi!
His electric and water bill: 5 cedi

He had a "kitchen" in the front section with a small set of burners for a stove. No sink or dishwasher though, because there wasn't any running water inside his room.

The next section he had blocked off was his living room, which did have a couch and a television, and two chairs.

A sheet hanging blocked off his "bedroom", which consisted of a bed and a place he put his clothes. Basically his "house" consisted of one room, separated into three sections.

When we got to his house we started watching a movie. This is the first movie I have watched in over two months. I was really enjoying it! It felt good to have the familiarity of watching a movie with friends on a Saturday night.

We were about half way through, and getting to the climax of the whole film... when... the... electricity... went... OUT!

Haha.

So we all went outside, because it was much cooler out there and talked with his neighbors. We used all the Twi we knew, and they loved us! It was about 11 o clock at this point, and Mallory and I decided we wanted some bread. So we took the "torch light" aka flashlight and headed off on an adventure. We didn't get very far until we had a companion on our journey.

One of Joe's neighbors insisted on coming with us, and I'm so glad she did! She held my hand the whole way and made sure we found it ok! Haha. So cute! It's the small, nice things like that that make me love Ghana! I really can't imagine a lady I'd never met before, holding my hand to walk down the road in the United States!

We enjoy our bread and about it isn't long before the power comes back on. Time to finish the movie.

About a half hour later. The power..., take a guess... Yep! Goes out again! LOL

Thankfully it's not very long until it comes back on, and we call it a night.

The next morning Joe wakes up early and cooks us breakfast! (The night before he hand washed Andrea's dress!) Aw! How sweet! I'm not sure an American guy would have jumped on the chance to do these things, but Joe didn't mind at all!

Black Stars VS Benin

On Sunday it was finally time for the soccer match. The stadium was packed with excited Ghanaian fans. The atmosphere was so much fun! There was a band playing and people were dancing in their chairs.

It was a World Cup qualifying match. Our tickets only cost 7 cedi. In the U.S. I'm pretty sure parking alone would have cost more than 7 dollars!

Before the game started a Ghanaian threw water on some Benin fans, and a small fight broke out. Haha. The guy next to me, summoned to police officer to "Go arrest that man!" LOL The guy then told me how the guy who threw the water wasn't representing Ghana in a good light. Aw! I think I met the best people in all of Ghana this weekend! The guy next to me cared about his country, and didn't want anyone to view Ghana in a negative way.

Within the first minute and nine seconds, the Black Stars scored a goal. The crowd went crazy! Wow! I thought it was going to be a great game, with lots of points scored. But in the end, that was the ONLY point scored! Haha.

Throughout the match there were people setting off fireworks in their seats. Seemed a little dangerous... Haha. But no one said anything. Maybe it's soccer protocol or something! LOL

It was great to be 1/50,000 to cheer on the Black Stars and be a little part of all the excitement!

Village Ventures - Mompong

As we entered Mompong, (more of a small town than a village, since there were paved roads, and is the second biggest town in the Ashanti region) our first stop was to visit the Chief.

The company of royalty

"Nana" as all chiefs are called was a character! He definitely didn't take his status too seriously, as he joked around with us, and didn't let anyone leave before he gave them a good teasing. Nana also works as a managing editor for the Daily Graphic, Kumasi branch, and after he learned I was studying journalism, he went into a ten minute speech about how journalism is an "art". Haha. Ooh Nana.

We sat outside with our chairs in a horizontal live, with Nana sitting in the middle in his small throne like chair.

We also didn't leave without eating fufu. There were some kind of intestines in the soup, along with fish and goat meat. Haha. Andrea was quick to say that she doesn't eat meat, and Mallory and I were quick to follow her lead. LOL. So thankfully I was spared the intestines. In the end, I didn't "justify my plate" as Nana kept saying, meaning I didn't eat it all. I think that may be considered rude in their culture, but I just couldn't finish it. Luckily he just teased me, and told Andrea that she needed to "galvanize" or make me stronger so I could finish it all. Haha.

Nana's children and relatives who were around served us, and I wondered if they have to do that all the time for him...

After nearly two hours at the chief's house we left. No business was conducted or plans discussed. I think it was just a formality. Before entering the community you should greet the chief. With my American mentality, the visit didn't seem very productive. Haha. But I guess that's just how things are done here!

Epitome of Education

Accosi took us to the junior high school where the ICT Center will be put and also to the primary school of the area. The primary school was a little shocking. Two of the classrooms were mud hut classrooms, back to back. You would be able to hear everything the class was doing in the other area. There was a small black board hanging in the front. The floor was made of dirt and cracking. About ten small desks filled the room. Children sit two per desk.

There weren't any colorful posters on the wall or goldfish in a tank. No games or gadgets. Outside there wasn't any playground equipment. Obviously no air conditioning. Wow. This school really put things into perspective and I had a little revelation (again) about how much Americans really do have and how much we take for granted!

Meeting the Fam

After touring the schools, Accosi took us to his home to meet the rest of his family. We didn't call. We just showed up, unannounced.

In the United States people might not be so welcoming. But in Ghana, the people don't mind if they are still in their pajamas, if they don't have make up on, or if they have ground nuts all over the floor, like in this case. They weren't embarrassed, even though they had never met us before. They weren't worried about making a good impression, and Accosi wasn't worried that we would judge him based on his family. Wow. It was really neat to see. His family was so sweet and so excited to meet the obrunis.

At the end of the day, Accosi (who is probably in his 40's) took us to the tro tro station so we could catch a taxi back. When we were leaving he literally had tears in his eyes. He said, "This is when I get sad. By the grace of God, we will meet again." Aw! How precious!

Village Ventures - Afamanaso

A dirt road runs through the village of Afamanaso.
Compound houses are dotted throughout.
There is no running water and only limited electricity.

Afamanaso is the community where Planting Technology International (the NGO I am volunteering with) implemented its first ICT Center, or computer lab. This weekend I was able to visit the village and see the fruits of our labor and meet the children who benefit from the hands on computer education they now receive. Currently, only 4% of all Ghanaians use the Internet.

BEFORE

AFTER

As three obrunis entered the community, we were greeted with the excited shouts of from the children. The adults were just as happy to have us.

To spend the weekend in rural villages of Ghana, made my heart happy. The people we met were genuinely nice! I have story after story to tell about the kind actions of others. It was great to get away from the hustle and bustle of Accra with the many brash encounters and be whole heartedly welcomed into a village and be treated with care.

We stayed in a compound house with Andrea's "father" from the village, Mensah. Now a compound house has separate rooms but are all connected. There was a "kitchen" which didn't resemble any kind of kitchen I was use to. There wasn't a sink since there wasn't running water or even a refrigerator.

The bedroom where we stayed was very bare and simple. A bed with a couple of chairs. Small and quait. No decorations or closets filled with clothes, as you might see in the U.S. There was electricity in this house, but I was informed that most of the houses do not have power. A small light lit the room to a dark glow. A melted candle sat on the table for the moment the electricity went out.

There was no living room or gathering area for the house. No stairs to climb to get to the next level. No television to entertain us.

On the first night we arrived, three girls from the village came by to visit. Andrea said they would come by every night when she was staying in the village on a regular basis. One was in high school, one in junior high, and the other in elementary school. When we would ask them a simple question, it would take them a while to respond, if they even did respond. It was like they didn't understand our simple English. Our clear cut questions. Over the weekend I met many people who couldn't speak English at all, which is Ghana's national language! Wow.

The next morning we went to greet some of the elders in the village, including Father Mensah's mother. She didn't speak English. Two high school aged boys were nearby and would translate for us. It didn't take long until she was asking us for bread and money. "Look at my arms." She said. "They are so little. I need more to eat." She then asked us for money to build her a new house and asked us to leave our clothes for her when we left. Thankfully Andrea warned Mallory and I that she would do this, because Andrea said she asks for money everytime she sees her.

Later that day, Saturday, we traveled with Andrea's friend, Accosi, to Mampong where another PTI project is in the works.