cape coast and leaving ghana

i have only a few more hours left in ghana and it is down right depressing.

i'm sorry i haven't been posting as much, but i don't get internet access in cape coast. the days have gone by much too quickly. the two weeks of the internship flew by. on friday i said goodbye to my students and it got me thinking. those poor children come from difficult homes with little or no money. they get to come to a school, which is great, but their teachers never stay. the foreign teachers come in, make a big impression on the students, give them someone to look up to, but then they leave. they always leave. that must be so sad for those children. they need teachers that they can count on. teachers that will stay with them to help them through school. it makes me want to come back and make a bigger and more lasting impact on the ghanaian school system.

saturday we spent most of the day at the art center. we've made some good friends at that giant market. its funny now because when they see the usual tourists, the shop keepers rush forward to ask them to come to their shops to buy things. when they see us, they welcome back friends. the market is a great place to go when you know the people more then them just trying to sell you their things. i'm really going to miss those friends that i've made. i think during this last two week period, i've made better and more quality ghanaian friends than i did during the whole of the study abroad. its really sad to leave them, and i don't know if i will ever see them again.

sunday, monday and tuesday were either hectic or incredibly relaxing. we travelled to cape coast on sunday and then just relaxed at the hotel while the two girls who hadn't seen the el mina castle went there. on monday we did the canopy walk again. then we visited an old professor of our professor. that visit was really cool. the man was 82 years old but looked like he was 60. he was so full of life. it was interesting to see someone who had mentored the man that we all look up to so much (dr. owusu-ansah, or as we call him O-A). after the visit, we returned to the hotel yet again while the other girls toured the cape coast castle. on tuesday, we travelled home.

now it is wednesday and tonight i'm leaving. i really can't believe that i'm actually leaving. the reality of it hasn't sunk in yet and i don't think it will until i'm on the plane. i spent all day trying to find everyone in accra that i had become friends with to say goodbye. we spent alot of time at the art center (again), buying and saying our last goodbyes. then i visited the family that i always play with and said goodbye to them. it's so strange saying bye but knowing that i won't visit them tomorrow like i always do. tomorrow i'm going to be in the usa. my good friend, david, and i were standing at the ocean (behind the art market) today and he looked across the water and told me, tomorrow you're going to be on the other side of that ocean.

i have to make it back to ghana sometime. this country is an amazing place. it is the people of ghana that make it so unforgettable. i'm going to really reallly miss all of them.

sad.

mhairi and i have been taking the tro-tro everywhere lately, which is ALOT cheaper than taxis and more fun. we squish into these barely-running vans with all the other africans and travel wherever we want for about 50 pesewas. i'm not sure if i mentioned it before, but tro-tro's are like the ghanaian bus system. we took it to the beach today during our 3 hour break.

we said goodbye to the glona children today. it was the saddest thing i've done here and it makes me realize how soon i'm going to be going home. i'll be happy to go home, but i REALLY don't want to leave here. i'm going to miss everything about ghana so much. i wasn't expecting to cry, but when we were walking out the door some of the students rushed into my arms crying very hard. i couldn't help but cry with them. i'm reallllllly going to miss those kids. i can't imagine how sad the germans must be after teaching at glona for a whole year.

last few days of teaching

we're only teaching until friday, and i'm not sure we'll actually teach much on friday because we'll want to play with the children. on saturday (i think) we travel to cape coast again so the new girls can see what it's like in the central region. teaching has been getting a little easier. i realized i'm expecting too much from them and once i realized that, i became more patient. they are trying to learn a language that isn't native to them, and they are being expected to learn it in two weeks. the students assigned to me have grown alot since i first saw them during the study abroad and i'm happy with that progress. today in the morning session, we ended early so we could go play football. the students have end of the year exams this week, so alot of our learning has changed to focus on their tests. this is a little frustrating because it encourages them to keep memorizing particular words, so that they can do well on the exams. they can all read and spell cat, dog, bed, pot, etc. but they cant pronounced phonetically the sounds po, be, do, etc. it's a very backwards system.

i have only a week left in ghana as of today and that reality is hitting me hard. i'm slightly surprised at how much i don't want to leave. i absolutely love this country. i'm going to miss so much about it. i'll be happy to go home, of course, but i'm going to have to figure out a way for me to come back.

new hair

welp, i finally got my hair braided last night. mhairi had hers done the night before. i spent the whole time laughing at her pain (because i didn't think it would be so bad) and chatting with the ladies. they made me braid some too. but then when i got mine done, holy crap, it hurt so much. mine took 4 and a half hours and mhairi's only took 3. i have like 50 braids more than her though, because my hair is so thick but also i wanted mine smaller than she got. it is supposed to keep for about two weeks, so i'll probably wear it until i get home and then take it out. it still hurts today, especially when the braids are moving around. it's especially annoying to sleep on. we probably look like such idiots with the two of us abroni's and our braided hair. it looks different than caribbean braiding: they use fake hair to make the braids hold and the braids come straight out from my head in the "rasta" style, not cornrows. one of the german women at glona has had hers done seven times! she's crazy.

more questions from dad and teaching today

i'm about to go get my hair braided (which is probably going to take 5 or so hours) so i'm not sure if i will finish this post.

today was full of good and bad. the morning was incredibly frustrating. i'm not sure if i was just over tired or impatient, but i had a really hard time teaching the kids. at first it was only gifty, and i realized that it is too hard for me to teach her to speak, write AND read english all at once. i'm focused on just trying to teach her to speak. but then the other children came, and for whatever reason, they did not feel like learning today. we slowly worked our way up to small sounds but they kept guessing. it drives me crazy that they see the letter p and yell any word that starts with p. they've been taught backwards: they taught themselves to just remember words by sight of the first letter so that they can do well on tests, but now i have to teach them that is bad and THEN teach them how they should have learned in the first place. they were all about guessing today and it was frustrating. i know that me being angry or annoyed doesn't help their learning so i'm trying to be patient but this morning was rough.

this afternoon was much much better. for lunch, mhairi and i went to a chinese restaurant that we'd been to before. then we went to go visit our drummer friend. he was so excited to see us. we hung out on the beach behind the market for the few hours that we had free. it was nice to be able to hang out somewhere i felt comfortable; we hadn't yet found a place like that for us and it's too expensive to take a cab back to our hotel and then back again to teach. we stumbled upon some really cute little kids playing soccer. they were about 3-6 years old. they yelled at me: abroni! (oh-bro-knee, it means white person) snap my picture! so i got some really cute pictures of them playing soccer and falling all over themselves to be the only one in the picture. it's sad that the beaches here are used for trash dumps (the ones that aren't touristy). the beach was a mess and the sewage line emptied into the ocean along this particular beach. for the afternoon session i had to teach the special class again. we spent the whole time reading. i'm really impressed with how well they can read. i didn't really see that when i was volunteering during the study abroad part of the trip. i was most proud of Hannah (a girl who comes for the morning lessons) because she was leading the whole class in reading today. this is a girl who was sent for extra treatment because she can't read, and she was reading better than anyone else. i was so so soo proud of her. it was a really great moment that i could literally see that the frustrations i face in the morning really do pay off in the afternoon.

so, speaking of beaches, my dad had some questions about them. the water is really warm. its very comfortable to go swimming but the waters are dangerous so i've only gone in once. they have markers that show people where they are allowed to swim and i only swim if Brad (a really good swimmer slash lifeguard friend) is with us so he can save me. i haven't seen anyone build any sand castles the way kids in america do. usually boys are playing football (soccer) on the sand and girls are watching. people don't really lay out the way americans do, obviously because they don't need to get any more tan. most people who live on the beach or who hang out at the beach alot are rastafari men. it depends on the beach that you go to whether or not the sand is soft. mostly yes, but i've been to one little rock beach. also, i've never seen anyone boogie board or surf. the waves are usually too big and i hear that the undertoe is really bad. actually, almost all of the africans i have encountered don't know how to swim.

weekend things

our friends who are staying in apam at the hospital came back on friday night to stay for the weekend. they were sooo happy to be in accra where there is running water and where they can choose what they want to eat for meals. we took them out on friday night to a bar that we frequent and then to a club where there was dancing. it was really fun and i think that the new girls really enjoyed being back in the city.

on saturday we all travelled to aburi for a conference. scholars from england, the US and different parts of africa were present. the conference was held high up on the mountain with a beautiful view of the Ghana plains. the scholars had each written papers and then they would present their topic and leave time for discussion. we caught the tail end of the first morning discussion, but stayed for the second morning discussion and the longer discussion held after lunch. the topics were generally about economics, and the afternoon discussion was focus on the gendered idea that women in ghana are more poor than men. we ate lunch with two professors from harvard, no big deal. it was really cool to hear idea from these big names, even if we didn't fully understand everything that was going on.

today we brought the new girls shopping at the market and in osu. i got a lot of good presents (michelle, i got you two presents youre going to loveeee) and i finally got a jersey of Gyan that i'd wanted but didn't see a nice one. they finally had nice ones and i bought mine for 15 cedi less than another kid who had bought one during the study abroad (sucker). i didn't realize how much of the culture i've absorbed until i watched the girls at the market today. i'm very comfortable now telling a pushy vendor that i don't want their product and i'm getting really good at bargaining. i've realized that a story comes with the price, the vendor tells how something about how long it took him to make the product or the quality of the wood, etc. i respond with telling him that i'm a student and a volunteer so i don't have much money. it's like a play that is put on every time you go to buy something. it's really fun once you get the hang of it.

when we went to the art market, we found a friend that mhairi had made the first time we went there. he had given her and her roommate a drum lesson. we were welcomed into his show with open arms. he (and three of his friends) proceded to play us a welcome song. their music was so beautiful, a lot of people passing by stopped to dance. he then gave us all a drum lesson (for free). we weren't pressured to buy anything and he seemed genuinely happy just to teach us african music. he runs his shop very differently than most other vendors at the market. i hope we can go back for another lesson.

friday morning lesson

friday is a funny day for ghanaians. the least amount of students come to school that day but we've been told thats okay because its friday. i assume its because the children like to start their weekends early, but maybe the roots are deeper in tradition, because most adults are okay with it too. so i had only 3 students show up friday (and one came an hour late) and mhairi had one. i'm having a hard time teaching Gifty. i end up just giving her writing exercises that i know she doesn't benefit from but if i can't communicate with her it's pretty impossible for me to teach her, especially if i have other students to teach as well. it really frustrates me that i can't do more for her. i just don't have enough time and my reasoning in my head is that i want to make the greatest impact i can in two weeks so i know the other students (who can speak english) will benefit from me more. it's really unfair but i don't know what else to do with the situation. she needs someone who can speak both english and twi or she needs full attention from one teacher. on the other hand, Moses made big progress on friday. he now knows all the letters and most of the phonetic sounds. we had just started the concept of vowels when it was time for lunch. i'm really getting to see the ups and downs of teaching. i know that i'm gaining a ton of experience and knowledge from this internship, more than i ever imagined i could.

answers to dad's questions/school friday

i haven't tried incorporating dancing into the lessons. in a class setting, it might be harder, especially with no music and their tendency to not pay attention as it is. i'm not sure how i would work it in on an individual level, but i could try. you gave a good suggestion of including things that are in their daily life into their learning. i actually did that on friday, for the first time. before, during the study abroad portion of the program, i was just finding my feet and pretty much mimicking what the teachers were doing. i've realized that everything they are learning comes from western school books and aren't relevant to their lives. dad, it was a really good idea to include things that they sell and daily activites. i'm going to do that tomorrow i think.

so on friday i started the class with simple sounds and letters. we worked our way up to bigger sounds like ba, mo, etc. then to small words. i tried to pick the words that they might not have seen before. this is because they can all read cat, but they don't know that the letter "c" can make the sound of a 'k' and the sound of an 's'. i tried to think of words that they could read easily and would be interesting for them. words like banku, rasta, and football worked well. at the end of the day they read two big sentences: Rasta-men live at the beach, and, Asamoah Gyan is a good footballer. they were so proud of themselves that they read such big words. i was proud of them too. that class session made me feel much more accomplished then i had before. even the kids that couldn't really keep up with what was going on benefitted by seeing the process that is behind reading and that if they keep working hard at learning the phonetic sounds, than they will be able to read anything. even one of the german teachers, who has been at glona for a year, came into the class and told the children how impressed he was with their progress.

i'm not sure what makes ghanaian food so spicy. i think it is some kind of pepper. i can try to buy some, i've seen women selling spices. are you allowed to bring food products from other countries back into the US on commercial flights? i thought the answer was no, but i'm not sure if it applies to spices. i'm definitely cooking us peanut soup and rice balls. its soooo good. and maybe red-red if i can get the ingredients.

most ghanaians start their days around 4 or 5am. i'm not sure if they take breaks. since so much of the economy is informal, like street vendors, they create their own hours. i'm sure they would take a break around noon or so to have lunch. but the more dedicated workers may not stop at all. vendors are busiest during rush hour times, like 6am-about 9am and then from 3pm-6pm. dinner is served at our hotel at 7pm-9pm but i think that most families eat earlier, between 6 and 7pm. it gets dark here by 6:30pm so also, i think that most families go to bed around 9pm.

drinks are generally not served with ice. we are supposed to avoid ice anyway, because we don't know what water it has been made out of. glass bottles are everywhere; all sodas and most juices come like that.

sick

i have been struggling with a cold since about wednesday. then when i showed up to glona on friday, no teacher was there to teach the special class. i was really upset that no one showed up to teach the children but excited because i got to teach them again. they worked so hard and i'll write about it more later. i proceded to lose my voice which is just about the most frustrating experience of my life. NO ONE can understand me and/or hear me. so, i'm still voiceless and sick and probably won't post a long entry until tomorrow. i'm possibly getting my hair braided tomorrow also. excited.

Food

i'm not sure if i've mentioned food already but i'm trying to write more about daily things i forget to write about because i take them for granted. if anyone wants me to write about something specific, just comment or email me.

tonight for dinner i had banku and fish stew. it was SO good. banku is fermented corn and it tastes very salty but also sweet because of the corn. its mashed into a dough and you use the banku to pick up the stew. the fish stew was great because it was only a little bit spicy and the fish was off the bone so i didn't have to worry about my esphogus being speared when i accidentally swallow a hidden bone.

last night i had peanut soup and rice balls. peanut soup is hard to describe, but obviously, tastes a little like peanuts and comes with chicken in it. i get nervous eating the chicken because i can't tell what meat is what, and ghanaian chicken is served white and dark meat all mixed up. i forgot to ask for the peanut soup to be non-spicy so it was reallllly hot. i had to suffer through the fake milk to ease the stinging in my mouth.

food in ghana generally is really really spicy. i eat alot of fried rice, plain white rice, french fries, and plantains. my favorite favorite food here is red-red, a bean mix served over plaintains. for breakfast i always have scrambled eggs and baked beans. the baked beans are a little bit sweeter than the ones in the US and are served in a sauce that is less thick (if that makes sense).

for lunch today mhairi and i went to a chinese restaurant. surprisingly, ghana has the best spring rolls in the entire world. they serve them alot in kumasi and they are amazing. we both got dumpling soup and that was really good too.

beginning of the internship

first of all, HAPPYYYYY (late) 21ST BIRTHDAY MEEESHAAAA :) i'm so excited you can finally come out with us and not have to drive everyone else around. i'm sad that i couldn't celebrate your birthday with you but obviously i'll bring you back something grrrreat from africa.

second of all, some good news i received today, a professor from California State University emailed me today asking for my permission to publish one of my essays in his textbook on how to write college essays! he found it because it was published after it came in second in an essay contest at JMU.

so mhairi (it's pronouced marie, she's irish) and i began our internship on tuesday. we met with the man who will be overseeing our project, which we named Supplimentary English Lessons at Glona Academy. at the meeting, we created a questionnaire to administer to the students' families and we discussed what we want the internship to be like. we're the first students to have an internship with Glona, so we have a lot of wiggle room with our project. essentially, we're each assigned 3 children to teach how to read and write by the time we leave. obviously, that is a pretty lofty goal, so we're going to see how far we can advance them before we go. i'm frustrated and sad that the internship is only two weeks long, and since we didnt even really begin it until wednesday, it's more like a week and a half. that is not nearly long enough to teach them what we're supposed to, but i know we are making a small difference at least.

our days are going to be split into two parts: a morning session and an afternoon session. the morning session is dedicated to children who need extra help with their english in addition to their afternoon classes. a few students from my old class are coming to the morning session. the afternoon one is dedicated to students who don't fit into any afternoon class. for example, two of mhairi and i's students are 23 years old. they are too old to join Glona officially but they need to learn. tuesday afternoon we spent getting to know the children we'll be teaching. two of the girls are supposed to come to the morning session, Gifty and Ellen, but they sell (street vendors) in the mornings so sometimes they come and sometimes they won't.

wednesday morning we visited each of the houses of the children that showed up for the morning session. the first house we went to was a very traditional and formal meeting. we sat down, and the family had a spokesperson who welcomed us and asked us the reason for our visit. we nominated a spokesperson and he told them our reason for visiting. then we were allowed to ask the questions on our questionnaire. the rest of the houses were much less formal, we said hi and then asked the questions. the purpose of the questionnaire was to assess the student's home life (number of people living in the household, household duties, etc) and to find out their reason for coming to Glona, and if they'd been to school before. we were walking all over La (the area the school is in and where most of the students live) and it was the first really sunny day in a while, so it was hotter and drier than usual. (on a side note, my dad asked me what the weather is like. it's almost always cloudy, most of the time it looks like its going to rain but it rarely does. the humidity isn't too bad, and the temperature is usually high 80s).

wednesday afternoon was our first real lesson. we started by giving the kids a test to see how much they know. the questions were simple and the test was oral: write the letter b, write the letter of the phonetic sound, etc. surprisingly the children did really well with the test, but once we started teaching them we realized they had learned how to fake knowledge to get good grades on the tests given to them. they can all spell apple or cat or sun, but only a few of them knew the sound that 'p' is supposed to make. mhairi and i then split the class into two groups of three. i had the ones who knew less (michael, who's probably 15; david, who is 23; and gifty who is probably 13 or 14). Gifty doesn't speak ANY english. she only speaks twi. i don't know how i'm expected to teach her when i can't even communicate with her. i've found that i'm learning just as much from her as she is from me, but that took a few days.

thursday morning was difficult. unlike the children in the afternoon session, the morning kids don't quite understand why they are with us or want to be there. it's alot harder to keep them interested in what i'm teaching. mhairi and i tried to play phonetic bingo with them, but they didn't know the phonetics to even play. i had 3 children again: Gifty, Moses, and Hannah. hannah and moses i'd had in my special class when i was volunteering with before. i think its amazing that they've both been at glona almost a year and still don't know the letters or the sounds that they make. it's a comment on them as students but also the teaching that goes on there. but it also makes me suspicious of their ability to learn. i think moses might have some form of ADD and hannah might have dyslexia. teaching them this morning was really hard and EXHAUSTING. i had no idea it could be so hard, or how completely drained i am after. the four of us struggled for a while, until i finally devised a method where they write the letter and at the same time say the letter outloud. i make them do this over and over again. this finally seemed to make an impression on them and i was so happy when they remembered. for some reason they had alot of fun while doing it too, they got a kick out of yelling the letter while writing it. go figure. they all just guess at what the letters are because they know that eventually they'll get it right. i have to teach them to recognized the letters for what they are, not just the order that the alphabet is in.

thankfully, the afternoon was much easier. the german teachers at glona are leaving this weekend, so they threw a party for all the kids. everyone was so excited about the party. they brought in sodas and food and even a dj. the kids were hilarious, dancing and tackling each other and throwing things and generally wreaking havoc. each class had prepared a song to sing to the germans and then each class sent up a soloist to sing another song. there was a dance contest, too. the children think mhairi and i are so funny when we try to dance. they love our cameras and the fact that they can see the pictures right after we take them.

i'm exhausted now and its only 9pm and i've got a lesson to plan for tomorrow, so good night.

monday trip to apam

the students of the internship are split three ways: four went to apam (about 2-3 hours from accra) to work at a hospital, two (me and mhairi, pronounced like marie) are working with glona, and one (emily) is working at new horizons. mhairi and i were supposed to meet with the director of glona yesterday to set up our internship (we already had one meeting about what we were going to do) but he cancelled and we are to meet with him today. emily went to new horizons yesterday and since mhairi and i had the day free, we tagged along with the hospital students to apam. first we went to the planGhana (the program the hospital students are interning with) headquarters in Accra for a brief orientation. then we got on the tro-tro and travelled two hours to bawjiase (baw-gee-ah-see) for a more indepth orientation and lunch. we had lunch at a chop bar, or a really small restaurant. i had fu-fu and light soup. the problem with light soup is that it is SO SPICY. i don't think i'm ever going to get used to how spicy the food is here, but i'm much better off than the two poor girls who just arrived sunday and only had that spicy, unfamiliar food on monday.

after bawjiase, mhairi and i went to apam (another at least hour drive) with dr. owusu-ansah to drop off supplies for the internship students for when they arrive today (they stayed overnight in bawjiase, at a hotel with no running water...we're very lucky to be staying in accra). the hospital there shocked me. i think i was more overwhelmed by the desolate looking people in the waiting room than i was by the actual facility. it seemed like a very nice hospital, and a pretty advanced one at that, but it was obviously like no hospital i've ever seen. i'm not a big fan of hospitals in general, and seeing apam made me thankful that i'm doing my internship with glona. the pre-med and nursing students who are doing the hospital internship are excited and i hope they can make a difference and provide help where its needed. after touring apam hospital, mhairi and i travelled the three or so hours back to accra. it was a long day in a tro-tro. we got to try grilled corn, Dr. O-A bought us some from a street vendor. it was really good, it kind of tasted just like popcorn. i love being able to buy food (or anything i could imagine, really) from the window of the tro-tro. i'm going to miss that when i'm back in the US.

pre-internship, post study abroad

this weekend was kind of a limbo between programs. we spent saturday sleeping; i hadn't realized how tired i was until that point, once i stopped doing things. during the study abroad i usually got about 5 or 6 hours of sleep a night and now that we've stopped running around, we were exhausted. we went to the african regent (a really nice resort) to watch the germany vs. uruguay consolation game. (i was happy to see uruguay lose AGAIN). sunday the two new girls for the hospital internship came in and we went for a walk with them and tried to give them all of the advice that we've accumulated over the past month. needless to say, they were overwhelmed. later in the afternoon, i was reading in my room and i got a phone call from the front desk saying there were children here to see me. the little kids that lauren (my old roommate) and i used to play with all the time came to the hotel because i hadn't seen them in over a week because we'd been travelling. i showed them all the pictures from my trip. they are always so excited about the pictures because they learn about all these places in school but don't always get to travel to see them. i wish i could have taken them with me. Annie keeps asking me to come with me to the US and it breaks my heart every time. i'm going to have to do something nice for them before i leave. oh, they also wear the bracelets i bought for them in the Volta region all the time. its adorable.

sunday night we went to watch the final at celsbridge again, where we had watched the ghana vs. germany game. it wasn't nearly as crowded this time and i was pretty disappointed in the game itself. plus i wanted the netherlands to win. whatever, ghana should've won the whole thing. ha. after celsbridge we went out to a bar we'd been to before called epo's, and met some people who work for the peace corps and who have been in ghana for between one and two years. it was crazy to hear their ghanaian-english accents: people here respond best if they are spoken to with the same fluctuations in voice as themselves (which is a much different emphasis on different syllables than a native english speaker). it was also really refreshing to meet (white) people who we havent been seeing 24/7 for the past month. i absolutely love ghanaians, but the cultural divide gets tiring. it's so much easier to speak with someone when you can inherently understand their body language and non-verbal clues, without worrying about offending them or not understanding their meaning. but i think that divide will come down with time, if i ever did spend more time here (as i hope to).

end of the study abroad

thursday was a pretty hectic day. we woke up early so that we could be on the road for accra by nine. it was so nice to be back in accra. i didn't realize how much i missed that city. i really enjoyed the other parts of ghana, but accra is still my favorite. i missed the little familiarity that i had gained from being in accra for three weeks. when we returned we unloaded our things in our rooms and took off for osu. everyone who was leaving on saturday wanted to buy last minute presents and things for their families and friends. i didn't buy much, just some earrings and another carving. (for only 20 cedi total, i love shopping here). we went to dinner at a five star resort called the golden tulip. the resort was GORGEOUS. i got a cheeseburger (god, i miss american food) and a pina colada! it was way too expensive, obviously: five star resort, but it was so worth it. on the way back from elmina we tortured ourselves by talking about all the american foods that we take for granted at home. mainly i miss dairy products, like milk and cheese. the potatoes also taste different here, even though we get french fries with almost every meal. and snacks, like potato chips or tortilla chips and salsa. when i do get to eat at home, however, the fruit is not nearly as good as it is here. the pineapple is amaziingggg.

on friday we had a party planned for us on a private beach with everyone from the hotel and us. the beach was about an hour away, but it took us longer because of that wonderful ghanaian traffic. i went swimming in the ocean for the first time. it was such a nice day too, everyone got sunburned since we're so used to it being cloudy. i'm surprised, i didnt get burnt, only my face a little. i played frisbee and soccer with our friends and then some local boys (probably between ten and twelve) wanted to learn frisbee. it was so nice to just relax and have fun. after tiring myself out on the beach, we were served wine and food. the meal was great but as always, there was too much food! i can't believe i acutally thought i was going to loose weight coming here. i'm positive the opposite is happening. it's rude not to try a little of everything, and it's a compliment to have seconds, so we all end up eating way more than we should. also, we're never quite sure when our next meal will be (since our schedule changes alot and sometimes we'll have breakfast at 8am then not eat again until 3pm) we always stuff ourselves. after the food there was a lot of dancing. we danced for hours. i absolutely love this aspect of ghanaian culture. EVERYONE dances. i mean everyone. little kids barely walking, babies on their mother's backs, old people bent with age, everyone. and they are all so good at it. i was sad to leave the party because it signified the end of our study abroad.

most of my friends left this morning at around six. breakfast was depressing, there were five of us still here. soon its only going to be three left in our hotel, because the students doing the hospital internship will be an hour away in Apom, staying on site.

dinner at dr. nkunu akyea's

our group has been very lucky to have been led by the former president and founder of the ghana tourism association, nkunu akyea (nkoo-noo ah-chee-ah) (ky is pronounced as ch in twi). he is responsible for many of the activities that we were able to complete, like the slave river park and the canopy walk. he has accomplished so much in preserving ghana's natural beauty, but also using that natural beauty as a source of economic gain for the country. he has been with us for our excursions to the various parts of the country and spent the entire week with us when we went to kumasi and then cape coast and elmina.

wednesday night he invited us to have dinner at his house on cape coast university's campus. prior to being head of the tour guide association, he taught geography at cape coast u. and his wife currently is a professor of languages there. it was such an honor to be invited to eat with his family in his personal home. when we arrived, we were offered soda and water. then we sat and talked until the food was ready. his granddaughter was there (she's 2 years old) and provided great entertainment for everyone. it was a delicious meal and i was sad to leave. i can't believe how much time and knowledge that dr. akyea has given us and then on top of that, he welcomed us into his home and shared his food with us.

canopy walk

wednesday morning we travelled about a half an hour to kakum (kah-koom) national park, where we were going to walk 100 feet above the forest floor. there are only 5 canopy walks like the one that we did in the entire world. the walk consisted of a 30 minute hike, then 7 rope bridges to walk across, averaging 100 feet above the ground. i was really nervous going into the walk, because i'm terrified of heights. but i swallowed my fear and completed all 7 bridges. we learned that there are forest elephants that live in the national park but that you would need to track them for days before you'd ever get to see one. they exist perfectly in their environment, surprising because they are such big creatures that live in the forest. once we got on the canopy walk, it wasn't so bad. i felt brave on the first bridge because i couldn't see the ground, and the bridges gradually get higher off the ground as you continue. it was difficult to take pictures when i was on the bridges, because i wanted to hold on so badly. but i did the best i could to capture what it was like to be so far off the ground. interestingly enough, i shook more when i was on the wooden platforms inbetween the bridges. i think i did best by pretending that i wasn't afraid, but even when i was back on solid ground on the path to return to the entrance, i tripped on a root and my arms flung out to the sides because i thought i was going to plummet the the ground. it was a really rewarding and beautiful experience, despite being so scared.

bakatue festival

after we toured the castles, we returned to elmina just in time for the beginning of the bakatue (ba-kah-too-ay) festival. this festival takes place once a year on the first tuesday in july and is to reaffirm the young people with their culture and society. the festival first takes the form of a parade and then the parade moves towards a shrine where the people give tribute to their gods. we arrived in elmina at the beginning of the parade. first come the okyeame (oh-chee-em-ay), or the chief's spokesperson. they were wearing traditional garb, beautiful cloth wrapped around them. the spokesmen held staffs that represented their communities and chiefs. the tops of the staffs had symbols, like a bird or crab or people engaged in some activity, that usually is seen to represent their people. after the okyeame, there were dancers and priests and priestesses, as well as the chiefs and queen mothers. the most important of the chiefs and queen mothers were on palanquins. everyone was dancing and singing, especially the chiefs and queen mothers. the mood of the whole festival was so happy and excited, it was contagious. everyone was very welcoming of us joining in the parade. as the parade continues towards the shrine, people join it and walk with their chiefs or priests. we were so lucky to be in elmina for this time, to see a real festival going on, and even to be a part of it!

touring the cape coast and el mina castles

on tuesday, we first visited the elmina castle. elmina, in butchered portugese, means 'the mine' because when the portugese landed there in the 1400s they assumed it was a mine because of the abundance of gold of the fante people they encountered. the castle build changed hands numerous times between the dutch, british and portugese, as well as the local people. the castle was a formidable structure. i don't think i've ever been in an such impressive structure. the tour of the castle was sad, because of its envolvement in the atlantic slave trade. our tour guides made sure to emphasize the fact that the castle (and the cape coast castle) was an incredibly important point for all trade, not just that of human beings. and that elmina as a trade center, was established long before the atlantic slave trade reached its peak. the sad role the castles had in the slave trade are only a part of their histories.

that being said, it was very powerful to enter the dungeons where millions of slaves passed through. the slaves were separated into male and female, and crammed into the dungeons. the worst were the dungeons reserved for those who tried to escape or start rebillions. they were locked in rooms that the refuse from the greater dungeons emptied into before draining out of the castle completely. i saw the line on the wall where the typical height of the filth of the room was. it was above my knee, probably half way up my thigh. those unfortunate slaves were kept chained to the wall, soaking in their own and others filth, given no food and no water until they wasted away into nothing. then their bodies were thrown into the ocean. the renovators of the castle left parts of the floor of the punishment dungeon with the muck still caked on the stones, just so we could see a little piece of what those people encountered.

el mina castle had an interesting courtyard. the women's slave dungeons surrounded the open air courtyard. above the courtyard, the governor of the castle would stand on a balcony that overlooked the area. he would order all the women slaves (about four hundred) to stand in the courtyard, and from his balcony he would choose whichever poor women looked best for him. the woman would be forced up a staircase to his bedroom chamber where she was kept for his disposal. if any women refused, they were chained to the floor of the courtyard and forced to stand through rain and shine, day and night, until their will broke and they allowed themselves to be used by the governor. we toured his bedroom and i was almost physically sick with the thought of all the great number of women abused in that room.

it was interesting to see the castle's beauty superimposed with its, at times, brutal role in history. i'm not giving it enough credit to say that the caste was BEAUTIFUL and set against an incredibly gorgeous backdrop.

the cape coast castle was very similar to the one in elmina, in both purpose and design. it was bigger and more developed because it was a more popular center in a bigger town, but essentially the stories and role it had in global trading was the same. an important part of difference was the door of no return. slaves were brought through this famous door and loaded onto slave ships to never return to their land or their people, but either die on ship or be forced to work on a plantation in a completely new place. we walked out the door to a booming fish market. it was so cool to see an example of those same african people excelling in a market activity, when hundreds of years ago through the same door, they were the market item.

i took over 250 pictures of both castles (extreme?). it was an incredible experience.

travelling to el mina and cape coast

we left kumasi on monday morning for the central region's coast line cities of el mina and cape coast. it was about a four and a half hour bus ride and we stopped on the way. we stopped at a village famous for the areas role in the slave trade. most slaves taken from the ghana area were brought from the north to the coast where they could be loaded onto ships and sent to the new world and england. the slaves captured in the north were forced to walk for three weeks on average to the coast line. the river that runs through the village we stopped at was a place were the slave groups stopped to drink, wash and get ready for being sold. it is now known as slave river. a park has been created around the river, complete with a cemetary and museum. you enter the park and have to walk a quarter mile through the woods to get to the river. it was a very sobering experience to reach the river, touch the water, and try to imagine what it would have been like to drink or wash from those waters with shakles around my neck and feet. slave river was a good introduction for the castles we would visit when we reached the coast.

when we arrived at our hotel in el mina, i was blown away. it was a beach front resort complete with cabanas on the sand and palm trees. the resort had an 18 hole golf course, even though we didn't have time to play. dad, maybe your next golfing trip could be to the courses of ghana. the strangest thing about this beautiful resort was the animals. one morning i got up to go to breakfast and there was a giant horse grazing outside our room. the hotel keeps a number of dogs that the guests can walk and play with and that roam around the hotel. there was a crocodile pond too, but suspiciously no crocodiles to be seen. it was amazing to have been so close to the ocean for those few days we stayed there.

art craft villages of kumasi

i'm sorry i haven't been able to post in a long time, but i wasn't able to access a computer while i was in el mina. but i am back in accra now, and begin the internship on monday.

the first art village that we went to is famous for weaving kente cloth. we were lead into a barn like structure and given a demonstration by one of the master weavers. the kente cloth, depending on the weave, takes days or weeks to create. it comes in single, double and triple weave, triple being the most expensive and longest to make. each design on every cloth has a meaning and when different meanings are put together on one cloth, the meaning deepens and develops into something else. its so cool that beautiful cloth has such important meaning to the culture.

the next village that we went to is known for the stamping of adinkra symbols on kente cloth. there are hundreds of adinkra symbols and each one has a specific meaning. everyone in the culture (the asante people) knows the meaning of each symbol. at this village we saw how the bark of a tree was boiled and beaten into a paste to be used for the ink. then we saw an example of how the cloth is stamped. all is done by hand. at this village, a little boy showed me how to weave the kente cloth and gave me a kente head band. its really funny, the people of ghana are obsessed with obama, and there were stamps of his face next to the adinkra symbols on some of the kente cloth.

finally, we went to a carving village. we didn't spend much time there or get to see any master carvers at work. i did pick up a mask for really cheap; kumasi markets are cheaper and their goods of better quality than those in accra.

2nd half of kumasi

last night we got to experience the rainy season like we hadn't before. it downpoured. i can't describe how heavy the rainfall was. think hurricane. conveniently during the middle of the downpour, we had to go to dinner, which is about 20 feet from the lobby in an open bar area. there is a roof over where we eat, but only two walls, with the other two open to the parking lot and pool. we ate while watching umbrellas go flying, trees almost getting blown over and rain pelting everything. it also thundered and lightening for the first time here, and that was amazing to watch. there was lightening ever 2 seconds.

i forgot to mention how nice our hotel is. it is easily the nicest we've stayed at in ghana, but its also one of the nicest i've stayed in ever. the bed is SO comfortable. i'm sad we're leaving to go to cape coast today, i sleep so well here.

two nights ago, i met up with father anthony after dinner. he introduced me to the owner of the hotel, who is his uncle. we sat and talked for a while, and watched the spain vs paraguay game. it was really nice to finally meet him and i'm trying to plan another trip to kumasi after my internship (because we get 4 free days), depending on what my friends want to do. some also expressed interest in travelling to togo.

yesterday was a long day. we were on the bus by nine and travelled to the only military museum in ghana. i'm so mad at myself because i left my camera at the hotel and couldn't take any pictures. the museum was an old fort of the british, but before that it was built by an asantehene to recreate the cape coast castle. we toured rooms of artillery, which included the maxim gun, machine guns, etc. all from british, germans and italians during the first and second world wars, as well as items from wars within africa. the scariest weapons i saw were from rwanda, when ghanaian troops were deployed by the UN. i think brian would've liked to see this place, it would be like jumping into call of duty.

we also got to go inside the dungeons were the condemned prisoners were kept, and the ones where military men accused of petty crimes were held. the condemned prisoners cells were scary. the guide packed us in one just the way we would've been if we were prisoners. i don't know if i have ever been to a place like that before, where so many people had died. it might have been my imagination, but i swear i could feel their presence. the prisoners were put into the tiny, lightless cells and left to die. they were giving no food, no water and nothing to go to the bathroom. they lived their final days in their own filth with the noise of the british army eating dinner over their heads. the mess hall was directly above these cells.

after the museum, we went to 3 different villages: one where they weave kente cloth, one where they create adinkra designs and one where they make wood carvings. i'll have to write about those later, because i need to get breakfast before we leave for cape coast.

kumasi

the trip to kumasi was beautiful. we passed through a lot of interesting towns. we didn't get to go to the butterfly sanctuary, unfortunately, because it was raining a lot and the road to the sanctuary is poor and our bus would've gotten stuck.

kumasi is very different than accra. first of all, it has about half the people, 500,000 to accra's million. the infrastructure in kumasi is much much better than accra. allll the roads are paved, the buildings are bigger, there are less shanti-like structures. i think the reasons for this are that kumasi has historically always been a very busy place, so the infrastructure is more developed. they also have less people to accomodate for. there are more people in muslim garb as well, which is because of kumasi's more northern location. we're staying at a reallyyy nice hotel called the Miklin.

last night we had dinner at the hotel and watching the VERY disappointing ghana vs. uruguay game. (i can't even comment on it i'm so mad still. i hate uruguay, cheating scum). today we went on a tour of kumasi. we visited the palace museum, we didn't get to visit the actual palace where the Asantehene (asante king) lives. the museum was cool; it was where the first few asantehene's lived and they preserved it the way the lived in it, with added artifacts and life-sized replicas of the past kings and queen mothers. by the way, the queen mother of asante isn't the king's wife. she is the one who decides the king, because the asante are a matrilineal society (where all power passes down from the mother's lineage). then we drove to a site where a sword was stuck into the ground and no one has been able to remove it. even muhammed ali tried and couldn't. next we went to a cultural center, or a small market, and shopped for 45 minutes. i bought 3 carvings, 3 bracelets, a key chain and a painting for 50 cedi! ghana is great.

i have to go to dinner now and i'm supposed to meet up with father anthony later tonight. hopefully i'll be able to post again soon.

tenative plan for the next week

today, friday july 2nd:
leave for 5 hour drive to kumasi. visit bobiri butterfly sanctuary. continue to kumasi. dinner at Miklin hotel.

saturday, july 3rd:
visit manhyia palace, okomfo anokye sword site and prempeh II museum. (by the way, the ky in twi is pronounched ch). dinner at Miklin hotel.

sunday, july 4th:
visit bonwire-kente weaving town. see ntonsu-adinkra print cloth and ahyiaa wood carvings. visit military museum. dinner at Miklin.

monday, july 5th:
leave for 4 hour drive to elmina. visit elmina and cape coast castle.

tuesday, july 6th:
we join the cheifs and people of elmina to celebrate the bakatue festival. (i'm really excited for this after seeing how greatly celebrate a holiday was).

wednesday, july 7th:
visit kakum national park for the tree top canopy walk. lunch at rainforest hotel.

thursday, july 8th:
return to accra.


so maybe, but not likely, everything will go according to plan and hopefully i'll have access to a computer so i can update.

okay, the actual comments on glona

first of all i'm sorry for not posting in a while, i've been really busy for the past few days and nothing really new has gone on. i'll try to be better, but i'm going to kumasi for 4 days then cape coast for 3 starting tomorrow, so i'm not sure what my access to a computer will be. so, as i've said before, violence is generally accepted as a form of settling disputes between youths and as a form of disciplining children. the ghanaian adults are incredibly peaceful people, so clearly they loose this tendancy to hit somewhere in their teens. i've seen some really heated arguments but never once seen anyone come close to throwing a punch. the adults (not all, but i think most) feel that if they turned out alright after been punished in this way, than their children will turn out fine too.

in my classroom at glona there are two teachers: a german Jenni, and a ghanaian Rose. The german volunteers and the ghanaians have been fighting for some time over this issue of "beating" the children. Rose utlizes fear to discipline the children. every afternoon she begins the class by asking where her cane is (a switch from a tree). i've seen her slap arms and twist ears. her favorite form of punishment is to cover the children's head and faces with chalk dust and call them bonde (bond-eh, which means smelly thing in Ga). or she makes the children do them to each other so that she can say, i wasn't the one who did it. the only reason i've seen her do these things is because Jenni has been sick for the past few days. she wouldn't do this in front of Jenni because Jenni wouldn't allow her too. both Rose and Jenni are intimidating women.

i didn't know any of the background on this issue until jenni came and talked to me. i was so happy that she did because i'd been uncomfortable with her form of punishments and unsure of what to do. i'm new to the program and don't know what is accepted and what is not. plus i'm a little scared of Rose. now, after speaking with jenni, i know that i need to say something to rose to let her know that i'm not okay with her treating the chilren like that. i've seen first hand how much more comfortable they are with learning with jenni than rose. they try harder and are more willing to make mistakes.

how can they learn at school when they are in fear of beating? they all come from homes where they probably face this form of punishment all the time, as i've seen from speaking with one of hannah's aunties. or when they've spent all day working hard for their families? it is a difficult thing, teaching these children. i have many critiques of the program but obviously, because of my newness, not many solutions. i'm interested to see how the internship portion will turn out.

quick background on the kids at glona

estha: she wakes up at four am every morning to sell things on her head in the streets by five am. she does this everyday until she comes to glona at 4 pm. she must work for 11 hours, standing up, carrying items, dodging cars before she comes to learn. how she could concentrate after a day like that is beyond me.

most of the children come from homes that are incredibly poor or broken. they see glona as a sanctuary and we try hard to keep it that way. they have a tough time focusing because of issues going on at home. their parents most likely discipline them with violence (estha had a new gash on her neck in class the other day but she wouldn't tell us what it was from). its really important to me to make them excited to learn as well as explain to them the importance of learning to them.

i met hannah's "auntie" yesterday before school. she told me that hannah was a stupid girl because she didn't know any english. she asked me to beat her good so that she would learn. i informed her that hannah was very intelligent, knew a lot of english and i would never hit her. the woman just laughed at me and went back to her cooking. this is an example of how ghanaian parents try to inspire their children to learn. they are big fans of negative persuasion. i was really shocked, and kind of offended, that the woman could say those things about hannah, in front of her. i made sure hannah knew after that i think she's very smart. i hope that not all of the parents have the same approach.

last night/today

last night was awesome. we went to a reggae concert on labadi beach. the taxi dropped us off in front of a ticket window where we had to pay 5 cedi to get in. it was set up sort of like a fair, where after you walk in there is a big parking lot and lots of stands. once you pass through onto the beach, the huge stage was to the left, tables and chairs were set up on the sand and there was a restaurant on the right. the ocean was the backdrop. we got there early before the concert started at ten to eat dinner. i thought we were going to stick out, but surprisingly there were as many white people as black (or about). i've never seen so many rasta-men, or such ridiculous ones. it was hilarious. once the music started, everyone was dancing. there was an old old grey-haired-dred-wearing man on stage who just waved the ghanaian flag the entire concert. when we needed a break from the music, we could walk down along the water. it was gorgeous.

today we had a free afternoon since it was a national holiday, republic day or farmer's day, and the children didn't have school. we decided to go back to the beach. for whatever reason, we all thought that the beach would be mostly deserted as it was last night. were we ever wrong. driving in we realized that every person in ghana was going to the beach today. we paid five cedi like we did last night and joined the crowd. i'm not sure i've ever seen so many people in one place before. they were only allowed to swim in a certain area of the beach because of the rip tide and you literally couldn't see the water through all the bodies. this time we were pretty much the only white people on the beach. it was crazy. there was music and dancing and horses to ride on and kids performing. this one family was performing what we were informed was "black magic". their faces were painted and they contortionists. they put on an insane show. i've never seen anyone twist their bodies the way that man and his two boys did. we didn't stay too long because it was overwhelming and we had to get back to the hotel but it was a great experience. ghanaians really know how to celebrate their holidays.

some comments on glona

uuuughhhhh i just typed for twenty minutes and the computer froze and i lost everything.

first of all i'm sorry for not posting in a while, i've been really busy for the past few days and nothing really new has gone on. i'll try to be better, but i'm going to kumasi for 4 days then cape coast for 3 starting tomorrow, so i'm not sure what my access to a computer will be.

i'm going to have to write my comments on glona later because i have to go to dinner and it took me so long to write everything i wanted to say the first time.

congratulations shea!!

my little sister made the travelling soccer team!! i'm so excited for you shea-shea! soon you'll be the one playing on the jmu club team and winning nationals. i love you!

weekend trip to the volta region

our original plan was to leave accra saturday morning around 8am, visit the Wli waterfall and then travel to the hotel. we were going to then go to the monkey sanctuary on sunday and return to accra. but a boy on the trip got sick friday night and needed to go to the clinic to get meds so our departure was delayed about four hours. our guide, awuku, decided it was best for us just to travel for the hotel so that we could watch the ghana vs. usa game and to see both the waterfall and monkey sanctuary on sunday.

it took us around 3 hours to reach the Chances hotel in the volta region. i love driving through that area because it is so mountainous and beautiful, not to mention the times we drive past the volta rivers. the hotel was a little strange; the hallways were huge and the rooms were baren. it had a very hospital-like feel to it. the doors could only be opened and locked by a key, so for example, saturday night i wanted to go to bed early while my roommate wanted to go out and celebrate, i told her to lock the door. i fell asleep and about an hour later woke up because i thought someone was knocking on the door, it then dawned on me that i couldnt open the door without the key and was literally locked in that room. i was pretty freaked out because we're all pretty sure it was some sort of mental hospital.

to watch the ghana game, we were invited into a big room of the hotel with a projector showing the game on a large screen. there were a lot of really nicely dressed men already in there, and they welcomed us with open arms. they went out of their way to make sure we were perfectly comfortable. i found out later that they were all the ministers of ghana, like the minister of water conservation, the minister of sports, etc. we got to watch the ghana-usa game with key members of the government.

the next day we went to the Wli Waterfall. it was about a 45 minute hike to the waterfall. our guide showed us all of the plant life that grows on the side of the trail, like cocoa, coffee, and papiya. the waterfall was easily the most beautiful place i've ever been to. it's the tallest waterfall in western africa. it fell into a small lake and then meandered into a river. it was so peaceful to sit and stare up at the rushing water. some people went into the water, but there could be parasites in it so i opted not too. i got great photographs and videos of it all.

we then travelled to the tofi atome monkey sanctuary. this village coexists with the local monkey population. we got a man from the village to bring us to the monkeys and to tell us a little of the history behind the village and it's becoming a monkey sanctuary. he made a really loud, almost kissing sound and all the monkeys came bounding out of the trees. most were small and really cute. they made funny squeaking noises. we got to feed them bananas.

this weekend was full of amazing experiences. i saw the most beautiful waterfall and got to feed a monkey. i'm sad it's over but i miss my kids at glona and can't wait to see them tomorrow.


by the way, the Stephanie i referred to in a previous entry is an actually person. my mom thouught i was referring to myself but i wasn't. there is a black girl on the trip who was born and grew up in ghana and then moved to the US and is now on the trip with us. it's really helpful to have her because she speaks the local language and serves as a cultural bridge between us and the ghanaians.

visit to the chief's palace

yesterday we went forty-five minutes east to the volta region to visit a more traditional style village. because of the rain (and our guides being late) we arrived two hours after we should have. luckily, the chief forgave us and allowed us into his village. we were met at the tro-tro by his spokesperson, a man draped in colored cloth and holding a golden staff with a sankofa on top. the sankofa is a bird looking backwards (i'm sure you can google it to see) and it represents a return to your beginning, to your roots. he led us into the palace (essentially just a bigger house, nothing dramatic) to meet with the chief and his elders. the chief spoke to us through his spokesman: he forgave us for our tardiness and told us that if he hadn't understood why we were so late we would have had to make a sacrifice of a ram to appease the ancestors. good thing he understood because i couldn't see us killing a mouse, let alone a ram. he then gave us water, which is customary when any visitors enter any house. he asked us the reason for our coming and we told him then gave him gifts. we brought shnapps for the ancestors and school supplies for the village school. the spokesman then performed a ritual of giving the ancestors the gift we brought for them. it was really cool to see such traditional village life in action.

we were then allowed to go see the school and children, while our lunch was being prepared. none of the students spoke very good english, but we found ways to communicate. i played soccer with a bunch of the boys and i think i surprised them with the fact that i could actually play. it was crazzyyy to play soccer on the top of a mountain, with beautiful views all around, on a grass field, aiming for bamboo stick goals. one of the teachers reffed the game, and he called penalty kicks to end it. i scored mine and my team when crazy. the boys i was playing with asked for my email and address so they could write to me. we only got to play for about half an hour; i wish i could've stayed for weeks. the students then sang a prayer for us and performed a dance. the little kids (four and five year olds) are so funny because they can DANCE. they swing their hips like nothing i've ever seen. it is really cool to see a culture that is so involved with dancing and singing. everyday i see people dancing, wherever we go.

we got back to the palace to eat lunch and there was dancing and music being played. the first few dances were reserved for the elders, which was hilarious. one man was very very old but he could still move! his wife came up to him while he was dancing and wrapped her third cloth (they keep it around their waist) around him. this is a signal that she approves of his dancing and thinks he is doing a good job. we had just learned about traditional dancing in class a few days before, so it was awesome to see it happen in person. we danced after we ate for about an hour, then asked the chief for permission to leave. our professor said that the way ghanaians term leave is that they ask if it is okay to just step out side for a moment, until they return again.

on the way back to accra, we hit traffic. traffic in ghana is like nothing i've ever seen. there are barely any lights, and people don't exactly adhere to lanes or normal driving rules. it took us over two hours to get back to our hotel, and i swear an hour and a half of it our tro-tro was completely still, stuck in the worst traffic we've seen yet. it's worse because the rains have been particularly bad, and the roads are a mess. there are HUGE holes everywere. we're lucky if we get a smooth road. for an hour or so after we returned, i still felt like i was being jostled around in the back of the tro-tro.

today we're heading up to kumasi to see the Wli waterfalls and then a monkey sanctuary. we won't be back until sunday night so i don't think i'll be able to update until then. it's a five hour bus ride (and five hours is obviously relative depending on the traffic that we hit).

glona day 4

it was a more difficult day for me at glona on thursday. the kids had a hard time focusing and i was the only teacher in the room for most of the class. i discovered that most of them don't know their alphabet or the phonetic sounds that match the letters so we had to re-learn something they should have already known. moses, the child i helped so much last classes, didn't show up to school that day, the day we were going over things he didn't know. it was really frustrating to have him not show up. i felt bad too because solomon is way too advanced for learning the alphabet. he's bored, but if the other children don't know the basics, they won't advance either. this experience of teaching has really opened my eyes to the difficulties i might face if i do get accepted to the teach for america program.

Ghana vs. Germany

we knew we wanted to go to osu (a section of accra close to the beach) for the game, because that is where they pull the big screens down in front of the buildings and project the game onto them. we got there around six, about a half an hour before the game was supposed to start, and it took us twenty minutes to walk about twenty feet. we were swarmed by vendors, face painters, and children begging for money. everyone wanted to be our "friends". it was stressful. thank god we found duncan (another one of our local friends who have been with the program since the beginning) and he brought us to a sports bar called Cels Bridge. we had to pay 3 Ghana Cedi to get in, but we got a free drink coupon. the bar was PACKED. and i mean PACKED. like sardines. annd we were the only white people. it was awesome. i was really surprised that everyone was so excited for us to be there, and welcomed us to spots on the floor. they actually squished themselves (the people on the floor already) more so that we could have room to sit. if any ghanaian had done that in america during the superbowl, i don't think they would have been allowed in the bar even. it was so cool to watch the game in that environment, even though my ears just about bled from the horns and noise makers, as well as the sound system blasting the commentary. it was probably a good thing ghana didn't score because the roof may have collapsed from all the cheering and dancing. i was disappointed in their play, but whatever, we qualified. its funny that ghana plays the US next. GO BLACK STARS :)

you'd never see this in america

before glona classes started yesterday, all of the students at the school were called in for 'worship'. once they were all assembled in the classroom, one of the girls from our group, Stephanie (she's ghanaian but lives in the US and goes to JMU) led them in a song for the Black Stars. they sang and cheered and danced for a while until one of their teachers led them in more songs. the children were so excited to sing for their country's soccer team. they were then led in a prayer session for the black stars. they all had to close their eyes and pray. the intense looks of concentration and hope on their faces was incredible. you'd never EVER see that from any american children. the ghanaian soccer team has become a beacon of unity for the country, and a source of pride for them because ghana is leading the african nations, once again.

to finish, we sang the cutest song on the planet. the children here have trouble pronouncing "th", so they usually just say "t". the song is called 'one little thumb' but they all sing it as 'one little tumb'. it goes, one little thumb is moooooving, two little thumbs are mooooving, as we are praising god. then the song continues to include hands, feet, head, stomach and buttocks. they love this song.

glona day 3

i can't remember if anything exciting slash interesting happened before glona. i don't think so, classes were long as usual and we played with the hundreds of kids before we taught. this little boy named joshua has decided that he is my personal body guard before glona and he sticks to me like glue. he holds my water bottle for me when i play clapping games with the girls.

oh, i have noticed that in ghana violence is much more widely accepted than in the US. if a kid doesn't want another one near him or her they just whack the other person. the teachers threaten "beating" but they never really do it. the kids actually think its really funny. one of the teachers i work with, Madame Rose (she's Ghanaian), asked me yesterday if she should keeel the children who weren't paying attention. she said: Madame Stephanie, should i keeeel them? and all of the children started laughing.

glona just keeps getting better and better. i'm excited now that i've started to form bonds with my kids. they are doreen (17), moses (16 i think), solomon (16), samira (11), hannah (12), and benedicta (14). we taught them to spell the numbers eleven through twelve again. i noticed that moses was having a really tough time spelling any of the numbers. i pulled him to the side and asked him to phoenetically sound the word out. i discovered he couldnt match any phonetic sound with any letter. i asked him if he had been in school for that lesson and he said yes, but since i didn't believe i asked solomon and solomon said that he had been absent. this just shows how difficult it is to teach at glona: the students can't have set terms because they stop coming to school for periods of time. then when they come back, they are far behind the others. so moses, who was trying to learn how to spell numbers with everyone else, was really struggling because he couldn't sound out the words to match them to the letters. once he got it correct, though, was soooo amazing. everyone was so excited for him and he was excited too. it took them a long time to learn it all but everyone was SO happy when they did. i loved the feeling i got from know i helped them learn and was able to pinpoint the root of his struggle.

glona day 2

i had a MUCH better day today than i did before. i think it is because i know what to expect now from glona. the day started off as my other one had ended, where i was sitting on a desk watching the german 'madame' teach. (all the students call me madame too). i tried to remember her tactics for when students got something wrong or if they were unruly. then she had to go teach in another class and i took over. i reviewed teaching them the months, which they tend to memorize so i wrote them on the board all mixed up and tried to get them to focus on the letters of the words, not just remembering what the third month is. then i taught them all how to spell eleven through twenty and double checked their notebooks after they'd copied it down. when i get home, i'm going to mail a big package of school supplies to them. they really don't have enough. all of the notebooks are old and torn, there aren't enough erasers for the classrooms so it becomes a competition, the pencils they use are broken and unsharpened. its hard enough to learn when they come from bad homes, but they don't even have the materials they need.

pre-glona

so in order for our group to get to the schools we're volunteering at at the right time, we have to drop the kids off for new horizons then drive to glona. we end up getting at glona about an hour early right as the public school kids (who we borrow classrooms in the building from) are getting out of school. there are literally hundreds of kids. the first day we went, my friend brad and i tried to play soccer with them. it was hard because it would end up being about 20 on 1. they decided brad wasn't good so when i tried to play, they told me white people could play soccer. i made them give me the ball and kept it away from them for about a good minute (which was pretty good when i had 20 converge on me and more coming by the second). this one kid wouldn't stop making fun of me so i nutmegged him and everyone started cheering. they decided i was good and wouldn't let me not play. this one little boy joshua kept making fun of me because i was tired. (it was also about 95 degrees and 100% humidity).

the second day we got there, the children all knew what the white tro-tro meant and surrounded the van before it stopped. i played with girls yesterday (tuesday) and danced and learned different clapping games. they think its soooo funny when i dance (a. because i'm white and b. because i can't). everyone in the Akan ethnic groups names their children based on what day of the week they were born. A boy born on thursday, for example, is Yaw. so they sang a song, if you were born on monday come in and dance. then they'd form a circle around the people dancing. brad made the mistake of throwing a kid in the air and then catching him. he had to do it about fifty times after that. we also played the largest game of duck duck goose on the planet.

a few things i thought of

so living in a hotel is interesting. every so often the electricity shuts off and we're stuck in the dark for a few minutes. this morning the water didn't work, good thing i showered last night. my shower head isn't attached to the wall so i have to hold it the whole shower. everytime we walk on the street taxis honk at us, and there are a LOT of taxis.

first day of glona teaching

i don't know what my problem was today but i could not pay attention in the morning lectures. they were interesting and engaging i just couldn't focus. the first was about mental health issues and how they are dealt with in ghana. this was a good lesson for those who are teaching at new horizons. there is a very strong stigma attached to mental illness in ghana, so strong that a man would not marry a woman who has a brother or sister with a mental illness. ghanaians are very suspicious people and the belief is that most illnesses are the work of the gods because that person had done something to deserve the illness. their karma is immediate. the second lecture was about the politics of ghana and the most interesting thing from that lecture is that they have a policy of decentralization. it's funny because our country seems to be traveling in the opposite direction.

today was the first day of teaching at glona. i don't know what i expected but it definitely wasn't what happened. we got to choose the class we helped out with; i choose the "special" class, which is basically for students of all ages who have never had any schooling before. we teach them literacy and numeracy. kelly and i walked into class and there was no teacher. i guess the teacher was sorting out some monetary problem that she had, because she didn't show up for like fifteen minutes. we were kind of thrown into a classroom with no instruction, without knowing what the students had done before. finally the teacher came and told us they needed to learn the months and then left again. we taught the students the months, which was great. it was kind of a test run to see what worked and what didn't. we didnt have a great control of the class, but they learned! the teacher came back after about half an hour and she took control. she taught them phonetics for a test they have tomorrow while we sat in the corner and watched. it was kind of a 180 and i didn't really like it. i wish that the teacher had given us some sort of information on what our role in the class actually is. i was pretty disappointed but we'll see what tomorrow has in store. we're allowed to switch classes if we want and i'm considering it. i'm still undecided so i'll figure it out tomorrow. i'm ridiculously tired. oh, i bought a cell phone so i'll be able to make more phone calls when i get it tomorrow.

sunday night's activites

my roommate lauren and i were waiting for prosper (our local guide and friend) near our hotel. when he found us, he told us we had to go visit his friend's who live right next to our hotel because their grandmother just died and they were having the wake. we were welcomed with open arms into the home, despite being a different race and complete strangers at a time of loss. we had local dishes with the family (it was soooo good) and they made sure we were completely comfortable. it was so incredible that the family welcomed us in without any questions and made us feel like we were a part of the family.

after that we went to the local billiards bar that is very popular. we were on the deck looking out and the children who we have been playing with (they live right next to the bar, and the bar is called Neighborhood) were playing in the yard. the were doing miss mary mack, just like we taught them. it was great to see them playing the games that we taught them even without us being there! we ran down to them right away and got huge hugs from everyone. i brought my camera because they'd asked me to take pictures of the akosombo dam for them.

i was kneeling on the ground, holding the camera out as far as i could so everyone could see, and i probably had fifteen children and their parents watching as i showed them. they love my hair, so as i was going through and explaining the pictures, i had about twenty hands grooming me at the same time. those kids are so cute. they saw the video of shea playing the flute and i told them that she was my sister and they got very excited. they said: "next time you come to ghana, you bring her. we want to meet her. she is beautiful." i told them i'd see what shea said. then Annie (she's 11) asked me if she could come home with me and my heart just about broke. i wish i could show them all america.

longest day of my life

i'm sorry i haven't been able to update yet, we just got back to the hotel from glona and we only had time for lunch between classes and glona. now we're being carted off to another lecture. i'll update tonight or tomorrow morning.

missed holidays

HAPPPYYY BIRTHDAY NANNYYY!!!! 94 :) i love you!


HAPPYY FATHERS DAY DAD! i love you very much and i know you would absolutely love it here. i hope you had a good day, i'm sorry i couldn't have been there.

dodi princess cruise

the next morning (sunday) we went on the dodi island princess cruise. we travelled for about two hours on the volta lake to reach dodi island, then the two hours back. there was lunch and drinking and dancing and a live band on the cruise. on the way to the island we all danced and made fools of ourselves. the island was a bit of a disappointment. i didn't know what to expect, but i thought we would be let off in a town or something. the island was essentially still natural with a very small town far from where we docked. we followed a path to the other side of that part of the large island, and then walked back. but along the way, the people who live on the island lined the trail and played music and asked for money. i wish i had known that that was going to happen because i would've picked up more pesuwas (ghanaian cents, pes-oo-ways). on the way back to the dam, everyone fell asleep. it was a long weekend.

we had another two hour drive back to accra. on the way we passed villages that had been displaced because of flooding from the rainy season. it was so sad. i suppose this happens alot, there are two rainy seasons every year, but it was still very scary to see all the people lined up along the side of the road, while their houses were half under water and others tried to get their cars out of the flooding. it was a very sobering experience.

i have more to tell about yesterday night, but i've got to go to class now. i'll update again as soon as i can!

akosombo dam

it took about two hours to drive to the akosombo dam. the dam is huuuge! it's completely natural, being that it is made from rocks and sand, not concrete. the dam has created the largest land made lake in the world, volta lake. after touring the dam and taking tons of pictures, of course, we went to the continental hotel for lunch and to watch ghana play australia. after lunch we drove up to our real hotel, volta hotel, which is at the very top of a mountain near the dam. the view from the hotel was amazing! just stepping out onto the balcony of my room i could see all the surroundng hills, the volta lake and the akosombo dam.

at the hotel we found these huge centipedes. they were as long as my foot and about an inch across. they were so disgusting and everywheree. it was the first big bug that i've encountered so far.

we hung out by the pool for a while, it was great to get into water that wouldnt give us parasites, then went to dinner. there was a night club at the hotel so we decided to venture to that. it was hilarious. no one was there but us and there was a dj and strobe lights and dancing. good thing there were no ghanaians because our dancing was horrible.

the most amazing little kids

after the coffins, lauren (my roommate) and i went out with her friend prosper. he's a local that she met and he has been taking care of us when we want to explore. we explored with him for a little and we ended up in this area deep from the main road. alot of the people there had never seen a white person before! ha, it was funny to be on the other end of the camera. i now know how they feel to have us constantly taking pictures. we ended up close to our hotel where a bunch of kids were playing in the street. i gave them lollipops and immediately they wanted to be our best friends. we taught them duck duck goose and they kept saying joose! and running. then we played miss mary mack, and i swear i did that rhyme 30 times. they sang us songs, tried to teach us a dance (which by our standards would be ridiculously inappropriate for girls that age, but damn, they can dance! and its just a part of their culture, and one that i am very jealous of!) they thought it was hilarious when we tried and failed to imitate their moves. one girl, by accident i think at first, touched my hair and she was amazed at how soft it was. alllll of the kids then proceded to touch it. some were rubbing their hands in the dirt at the time and reached right up to grab it. they had never seen hair with so many colors, they said too. it was such an amazing experience. those children were so cute and friendly and adorable. i love them already and can't wait to come back to play with them on monday! we're off to akosombo to see the electric dam for the weekend then go on a cruise on sunday. i will be able to post again sunday at the earliest.

crazy coffins

yesterday after class, we had the opportunity to visit some coffin makes about half an hour from the hotel towards kumasi. these specific guys make coffins in the shapes of things that people like, or that represented their occupation. it took us an hour to get there because we hit this insannnne traffic. crazy in twi is obodam....(oh-boh-DAM). i've been in some obodam traffic in ghana but nothing like this before. it was like five lanes (and i say lanes loosely because there aren't any) trying to squeeze down into one. we were literally touching another tro-tro on either side. oh, and roads here don't undergo much up keep. every ride is a bumpy ride. and this one was especially bumpy. so we finally go to the coffin making shop and we're informed that all the coffins had been removed the day before. there was one in the shape of a fish that they were working on, but we got to see pictures of the finished products. some coffins were shaped like chickens, beer cans, houses, pipes, hammers, or there was even a holy bible and an AK-47. it was hilarious but inappropriate to laugh because these are peoples coffins!

guest speaker part 2

one of the stories the guest speaker told was about a group of hunters in the northern region of ghana. they went out to explore the local forests and stumbled upon 4 monkeys guarding a sacred totem. they returned to their village and informed the king of their findings. they thought the monkeys to be sacred and that they should not be harmed. the king did not believe them, and went hunting for the monkeys. it is said that sometimes, when the king would slay a monkey, its body would turn into a man. the people did not like the king's rampage so they rose up against him and beheaded him. after that, the people formed a community around the monkeys, and even to this day, people in this region live together with the monkeys. they are allowed to roam freely throughout the villages and enter peoples' homes. the people often feed the monkeys and the two species are connected in a culturally important way. their identity is infused with that of the monkeys.

the professor, aside from telling very interesting stories, reminded us that in many parts of africa, the protection and preservation of sacred groves is woven into the very cultural being of the people protecting them. nature and humanity don't stand apart, with humans either protecting or destroying nature. the trees (or in that story's case, monkeys) are more than trees; they have cultural importance to who these people are. it would be amazing to be able to visit some of these places! our professor was very lucky, he'd seen many sacred groves in ghana.


and i can't BELIEVE the celtics rolled over in the fourth quarter. ugh. congrats lakers. i hope the game was at least interesting to watch for those who could watch it. remember, ghana plays australia today! go black starsssss!

guest speaker

before i came on this trip, i was mainly focused on predicting what it was going to be like once i was in africa and what connecting with the ghanaians would be like. i forgot that i'd be making some strong bonds with the kids in my study abroad group. i'm surprised at how fast we've all gotten so close. it's definitely enhanced my experience here, and i can tell that these friends are going to continue to do so but at the same time i am sometimes being forced to choose to focus on one or the other. like do i go to the mall with my friends or focus on learning more about ghana? i think that we'll be able to find a way to even it all out as we get going. i think the seven or so people i've become really close with are all volunteering at glona with me, so we'll be able to have both. i start volunteering on a regular basis on monday.

tonight we had a guest speaker lecture us for an hour. he spoke about sacred groves and global environmentalists. he told some crazy stories about how the local people personify plants. i'll have to explain them tomorrow when i have more time, because i just got really tired.

second day of classes and glona

ughhh class was hard today. our first professor didn't show up until 45 minutes after he was supposed to and even though we were supposed to have another lecture on time after the first, he taught for the full amount of time (an hour and fifteen min) about the culture of ghana. he mostly talked about how everyone is very communal and usually the most successful member of the family takes care of everyone else. then he spoke about female genitalia mutilation and how it occurs in some parts of northern ghana, but not as severe as eastern africa. the second professor spoke clearly, but SLOWly. he spoke for 45 minutes longer than he was supposed to. unfortunately, i've already learned about the akan speaking states of the pre-colonial ghana region from my african history classes at jmu and that is excatly what that professor talked about for over two hours. it was cool seeing how the information i learned directly related to my trip, but it was pretty boring, seeing as how i knew it already.

we went to local place for lunch because their sign advertized pizza AND their menu said they had many different kinds, but when we went to order the man said there was no pizza. ha. so we had sandwiches. last night i had a local dish that is really popular, called fu-fu, which is dough that you use to scoop up soup and meat. it was reallllllllyyy spicy. i struggled through most of it, but the meat (goat) was great. i think i'll try banku (bawn-koo) tonight which is fermented corn in a dough instead of just regular dough.

WE FINALLY WENT TO GLONA! its about fifteen minutes further from our hotel than new horizons, but totally worth the drive. we only toured the classrooms today (all five of them) so that we will be able to make a decision about where we want to volunteer; half the class is going to new horizons and the other half to glona. the kids were so sweet. they all seemed very excited to see us. all of the classes are taught by team teachers, usually a local ghanaian and then a foreign volunteer. three of the classes were taught by german volunteers who stay a year in ghana teaching. i'm going to start volunteering for real on monday and i can't wait!


alsoooo, last but definitely not least, HAPPYYYY BIRTHDAY SHEA SHEA!!!!! i'm so excited that youre ten! i hoped you like the coloring book! don't color it in too fast. i miss you and love you very very much! (and of course got you great presents from ghana that i'm bringing back) i love you!

New Horizons

first of all, happy birthday nana!! i'm bringing you back a great ghanaian (GHA-nay-AN) present :)

after lunch we went to the new horizons special school. they have seven classes all focused on different groups of students who have similar needs. the students were SO excited to see us. it was a really emotional experience. i was really nervous at first, because i've never had much experience with people who have mental illnesses. i'm so happy i got to see what the school is like. it's such a beautiful place. the director said that all of the children (and adults, the ages vary) love to come to school. we visited each class. one student stood out particularly. Leslie is in a more advanced class and his life long asperation is to be president. Devon (a girl from our group) read his manifesto outloud. it was amazing. his policies all revolve around equality and bettering the lives of the poor. he called his party the peace party. if he ever ran for president, he'd have my vote. the school has a computer room, library and workshops. the workshops were really cool; the students can make quilts, jewelry, intricate woven baskets, stools, chairs, and table cloths. their work was really good! they sell the things that they create to make money for the school. i spent my first 10 cedi there. (the cedi is 1.42 to the dollar) i'm definitely going to spend more there later.

we visit Glona tomorrow (finallyyy) after classes. then we have the option of volunteering at either school. i have no idea how i'm going to choose! i think working at either is going to be a very rewarding experience. we're planning on going to a beach bar tonight with some local friends of the professors.

going to school

last night i stayed up late with a bunch of the friends i've made here. i adore my new friends. i'm so excited that such great people came on this trip! i don't think i've laughed so hard for so long in a lonnggg time. literally my abs were sore this morning.

we left the hotel at 8:15am to make it to the University of Ghana by 9am. we travelled in a tro-tro, a small bus. the classes were interesting and the university was much bigger than i expected. we had to be careful to be quiet because the local students were taking their final exams. in the first lecture we learned about the "petty trader" or street vendors, and the advantages and disadvantages they have over places with fixed locations and fixed prices. it was kind of like an early economics lesson. the second lecture was more difficult (because his accent was thicker and voice lower) and i didn't catch every word. he spoke on the agriculture in ghana. the main crops are oil palm, cocoa, rubber, and citrus. 90% of the farmers are small scale farmers, owning 1 or 2 acres. 70% of people in ghana are farmers or perform some farm related occupation. it was interesting to hear about the different exports and how farmers' daily lives are like.

i'm off to the New Horizons school, a local school for the mentally challenged of all ages. and it is absolutely pouring today. gotta love the rainy season.

bus trip to the mountains

the local people here speak so many different langauges! it makes me embarrassed that i know only english. the woman who works at the desk at our hotel speaks SIX. the main language here is twi and i've been trying to learn as many words as i can. medasi (meh-dah-see) means thank you, me di (meh-dee) means for me, and to get someone's attention you must yell ago! and they respond aman! i love learning it. there's acutally a man in the computer room right now from togo that i'm speaking broken french with.

so today we travelled outside of accra to the east to a mountain. it was neat to see the difference between the structures of the buildings within accra and outside of it. the bus drove up this steep, windy road (i was a little nervous but our driver is very good. he likes us to call him "my brother" and he calls me "my sister"). the view was breath-taking. we looked down on the Ghana Plains, a huge area where accra is located. once we got to the top of the mountain, we visited a botanical garden. we saw where cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, bay leaves and this cool plant that you touch and within five seconds it shrivels up to protect itself. my favorite was a parasite tree that grows on a host tree, eventually choking it of water and sunlight. then when the host tree finally dies, the parasite tree is left in the shape of the host tree, essentially a hollow tree. we got to go inside a HUGE parasite tree. it was hollow all the way to the top! then we had lunch in a garden on a patio.

i love talking to everyone about soccer. everyone is beyond excited for the world cup. when ghana plays, they pull down gigantic screens (like three stories hight) on Oxford Street and people watch the game gathered in the street. we're going to do that when they play Germany (obviously their best competition).

i start class tomorrow and get to volunteer at Glona! i'm soooooo excited to see the little kids! i can't wait to play with them and have them destroy my confidence in my soccer ability.

(ps i thought we had planned to go to the US embassy but i guess not...ha)

tour of accra

today we went on a bus tour of accra. it was really cool to see more of the city! there are so many people everyywhere. vendors walk up and down the streets and try to sell their merchandise to cars that are stopped in traffic or at a light. i'm amazed that they don't get hit. all the women carry giant bundles on their heads. we saw them with bananas, nuts, water bottles, even a tv. we went to a museum (for a really long time, in 95 degree heat with no fans) and then to the house that W.E.B. DuBois stayed in when he studied at the University of Ghana. We went to lunch at some restaurant (we thought it was called Maddi but then we saw that same logo and name on a bunch of stalls so its probably a product title?) and i had a plantain (kind of like a big banana, that tastes like a combination of banana and potato), chicken, rice and spinach. most of their food is really spicy, so that stinks for me. everyone says we must try fou-fou, but i haven't had the chance yet. after lunch we went to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park (my favorite stop besides the market). He was the first president of Ghana and helped lead them to independence from Britain. the park was beautiful! it had a huge fountain leading up to where his remains are being kept. they had a bunch of peacocks strolling around and a museum with various objects of Nkrumah's life.

our last destination was the most interesting. we went to a local market, set up almost like a flea market, under a roof with everyone having a stall and what they were selling was everywhere. the vendors were AGGRESSIVE. everyone immediately grabs your hand and says, hey friend whats your name? come see what i have to show you. i'll give you a good good price. then they yank you to their booth and show you what they are selling. and when i say show me, i mean put it on me. you have to say no very forcefully if you don't want to buy what they are selling. i didn't get anything yet but practiced bardering a little. i'm planning on getting a jersey, flag, earrings and paintings. they had the most beautiful paintings! and of course whoever was manning the stall claimed they painted them. when we were leaving, the vendors were even more aggressive. they blocked our way onto the van, trying to get us to buy their wooden carvings. then once we were on the van, they tapped at the windows trying to get us to come back out. it was a very different experience but it was really fun. i can't wait to go back and actually buy things.

on the drive back we saw the ocean for the first time and drove past the biggest muslim population center. that was the first i really saw of any houses (more like tin shacks) that were like the shantis that they show on tv depicting african life. alot of the houses are huge and really pretty. this area of accra was HUGE. it took us like fifteen minutes to turn away from the muslim area and the house-shantis went back from the road at least a mile. the area was HUGE. i'm curious as to what it would be like to live in a place like that. we also saw kids playing pick up soccer games in abandoned lots. i wanted to get out and play. i can't wait until i get to play with the kids on wednesday!