- World Traveller -

I'm back in good ole Ghana after 10 days of traveling around West Africa. The trip was amazing, yet very challenging. I'm so fortunate to have been given this opportunity and is definitely a highlight of my study abroad time in Africa. Throughout the trip I traveled to/through Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin.

There are soo many stories and so many details so I will just mention a few, and then I will fill you in on the rest when I'm back in the USA! :) Which will soon be here! Haha. I promise, Mom!

So on Thursday, Feb. 12th, we headed to Togo from Accra.

After 4 hours on a bus, we arrive. It didn't take long to realize that we weren't in Ghana anymore and that we were in for an adventure! We were in a country that doesn't speak English, uses a different currency, and has intimidating border patrol officers! Haha. Out of the four Americans taking the trip, only one had ever studied French, and she, as well as her trusty French/English dictionary became our greatest companions throughout our journey.

The atmosphere of Togo, and all of the French speaking countries we visited is completely different than Ghana and I fell in love right away! I kept saying that if I was fluent in French I had found my new home. LOL.

The conference was coordinated through BK Groupe Universite which has branches in several West African countries. So students from all the branches were meeting in Niamey, Niger for the 4 day conference on leadership in business and entrepreneurship.


"If you want to make God laugh, then make a plan."

...Especially in Africa! The above quote was said by Jen, one of the girls on the trip, and it became our motto very quickly. After after I thought about it for awhile, it's pretty accurate, in my case, anyway. I thought I had everything planned out in regards to school and graduation and such,... but I'm in Africa right now! Haha.

Anyway, the "itenerary" I posted earlier about the plan of events became obsolete, beginning with day 1. Daniel, from the Togolaise branch of the university, was our guide throughout the entire trip, and I am soooo thankful for him. He was absolutly wonderful. But he told us right away, that the agenda we had been given was wrong. LOL. WRONG? We just wanted to follow the schedule, since this is how Americans work best. Haha. But that was not happening. By the end, we all learned to just take it as it comes, ask as few questions as possible, and just enjoy the ride!

Road Trip

After a few days in Togo, trying to get our visas lined up, it was time to meet the group and head to the conference.

It wasn't until we met the 60+ Africans who we would be traveling with that I had a moment, and questioned, "What the heck am I doing here?" I mean, really! I don't speak French! They don't speak English! This whole language barrier thing became quite obvious at that moment. When the four white kids were standing by themselves because the only people who could understand them were each other! LOL.

But thankfully, it didn't take long before the African students and teachers came up to us and tried to speak with us. A lot of them had studied English before and were eager to try out their "small, small" English. We were eager to speak with them too! Because if we had to talk to ourselves the whole time... Oh man!
Some didn't speak English at all, and one became a good friend of ours, because she tried so hard. The dictionary was given great use, and it was like a game to figure out what each other were saying. She even invited us to visit her in Congo after school gets out! LOL! Can you imagine! Us, in Congo, not being able to speak... Probably not a good idea!

Anyway, so we traveled on an un-airconditioned bus up through Togo and to the Burkina Faso border. It was after midnight and the border was closed. We would be back on our way the next morning after the road re-opened. But until then... we all just camped out. Some slept on the bus. Others on the road. Haha! It was really awesome, because there is NO WAY a bus full of Americans would ever even consider this to be a possible solution. I have a feeling they would be demanding the nearest hotel. It was kind of liberating to put things into perspective. That I was in Africa. Sleeping on the side of a road in a country I had never been to before. Where this was the norm.

The students thought nothing of it, and came prepared. Like they expected it, or had done this before! It was awesome! One of the students offered me his sheet to lay on!

The next morning, bright and early we were off. (Still in the same clothes as the night before, mind you, because our luggage was under the bus. There was no shower or teeth brushing, either! Haha. The best part- no one seemed to mind!) We traveled through Burkina Faso until we reached the capital, Ouagadougou, (Waga), where we toured the branch of the University there and then ate dinner as a large group.

Dinner was a lot of fun because we had a local dish, which we ate with our hands. It's always better to do something like this when you're with natives because after they are finished light-heartedly laughing at you for eating it incorrectly, they will show you how to do it! :)

That night, all of the African students and staff stayed in classrooms at the University, sleeping on the floor. But the three American girls were ushered to a hotel room! LOL! I kept insisting that I wanted to do as the other students, but Daniel wouldn't have it. He said that we needed to sleep in a bed that night and that he knows Americans like to "Shower, shower, shower."

In the end, the shower was AMAZING! Changing clothes after a few days on a hot bus is a great feeling! Small things like this is so much more appreciated when I don't have the "luxury" for a few days!

Border Boundaries

Crossing into Togo and then the other Francophone countries from Ghana, was kind of like a different world. This especially hit home when we entered into Niger.

I had been told before I left that the French speaking countries that surround Ghana are much more impoverished and that Ghana is so fortunate in comparison.

The day we entered into Niger was eye opening and humbling.

Our bus stopped at the customs office and at least 20 kids in filthy clothes came up to the bus window begging for food and money. It was honestly like something I'd NEVER seen before! By the looks on our faces, Daniel could tell we were shocked. He asked if we had this in the U.S...
NO! Mind you, this was on a Monday, in the middle of the day. I tried to explain to him that even the poorest students go to school. There may be a few homeless children, in large cities, who beg during the day, but nothing like this would ever take place! Authorities and police would never allow it. Daniel informed me that these students weren't in school because their parents most likely made them beg, as a job. To earn food and money for the family.

As the Americans watched in shock, some of the African students threw bread out the window. The kids started fighting over it! They shredded the plastic bag as they clawed to get a small portion of the bread. One boy caught a loaf and ran away, with several following him, trying to get a share. People were hitting each other. Kids fell to the ground. All fighting to get a small piece of the bread. Whoa!

It kind of surprised me to see the students giving away their bread.
While I've not been around many homeless people, it's not my first instinct to give them anything. I have been conditioned not to look at them. To keep walking. I have seen news reports that follow panhandlers to mansions, where they live. It's not the American mentality, or at least mine, to give a lot of what I have to beggars. I had a little, WOW moment, when I really looked at what was going on here.

We headed into Niger and had to stop at another check point, where there were more kids in minimal and filthy clothing, begging.

One of the students explained to me that in the African culture, and expecially in the Muslim communities, people believe that if you give someone in need 1,000 francs then God will give you 10,000 in return... So even when they don't have much, Africans still try to give what they can to the beggars on the street.
At one of the markets we were walking through with Daniel, he gave 2 children some coin. When he caught us watching him, he just said, "They're struggling, you know?" And then kept walking. Wow. So humbling.

The Conference

After nearly three days of traveling, we are finally in Niger for the conference!
The first night we have a welcome dinner and settle in our rooms. We go to bed early because we have to be ready by 8 am for the opening ceremony the next day.

Well, we get up early and get ready. Just like the punctual American. But... the conference didn't finally begin until 3 hours later. And this is a LEADERSHIP conference! Wow! This was just the beginning!

We "listen" to the first session as a translator sits by us and explains in English what the speaker is saying. LOL. Probably not the most efficient method, but hey, it works. We break for lunch with two conferences scheduled in the afternoon.

After lunch we learn that the conferences have been canceled... but there will be a pool party in an hour! LOL! Oh my goodness! Again, I just kept thinking that this is a LEADERSHIP conference! How could things be getting canceled? Were they not prepared? Maybe it was because we started three hours late to begin with!?

Anyway, this trend was continued throughout the entire conference. While it was VERY frustrating to the Americans who have been conditioned for 20+ years that it's rude to be late, etc. the Africans just summed it up to "African Time." It was like they expected things to be late. They would have been shocked if something started on time, and would not have been ready, because they were anticipating it to be delayed. Haha.

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Ok, well that is all for now! There is sooo much information here and hopefully I can share more, because there are lots more stories to tell! I hope you enjoy reading about my African adventures! Have a good day!

I love you all!

Mel