Februrary 23rd

I'm just writing this on the fly right now, but it's not that big of a deal because I haven't had any huge adventures this past week.

Last Thursday I went and picked up a package from my parents. I had to take a journey on a tro to get it but a Ghanaian friend of mine, Martin, went with me because he wanted to look for something while we were out. It's nice to get packages even though it's such an excursion. Thursday night I went to Ryan's Irish Pub with some of my friends. You can almost forget that you're in Ghana in that place...

On Saturday I went to Osu (a district in Accra) with Emily to hang out and shop. That night we were going to go see The Vagina Monologues at the National Theatre but on the way Emily lost her wallet so we didn't go. We were going to take Martin which would have been interesting. It'd be fun to take an American guy let alone a Ghanaian guy. Everyone was pretty surprised to begin with that The Vagina Monologues was playing because of how conservative Ghana is. From what I heard from some people that went, they cut out some of the more sensitive parts. I didn't end up really doing anything Saturday night.

So... that's about all that has been happening in the past week. Yesterday I got a smaller package of books from my parents. Luckily, the smaller ones get delivered straight to the program office. Today, I went and picked up a package of books from Ginny too. :) I really appreciate it, Mom and Ginny! The books all sound really interesting and a bunch of people I've talked to are jealous of my new books and will probably borrow some. Everyone has been scouring for new books but they're definitely sparse. I went in the University book store today and the most appealing novels I saw were either Star Trek or L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology. I just finished On the Road this afternoon so I think I'll start Confessions of a Shopaholic tonight.

Classes have been picking up a little. I've gotten most of the readings for my classes so I'll have to start doing that. My poor friends at home are having midterms right now... I've also been occupying my time watching Lost with Emily but I find the show just "eh."

I still need to make reservations, but I think Emily, Jon (a guy in our program), and I are going to go to Green Turtle this weekend. It's a little resort that also supports turtle conservation in the area. That's about all I got... I'm trying to upload the rest of my pictures from Mole National Park and the Hippo Sanctuary so look out for those!

Trip to Northern Ghana

The past five days I’ve been traveling in Ghana. We (Emily, Amy, Jenna, Janna, and I) decided to leave last Thursday afternoon. We got bus tickets for 3pm on Thursday to go from Accra to Tamale, but the bus didn’t really leave until 5pm. It took us about 12 hours to get to Tamale. It’s pretty crazy to think about how fast road travel in the US. My experience with traveling in Ghana has really made me appreciate the US’s highway system. It’s a marvel that it’s so efficient and well planned out. When we got to Tamale in the early morning we had to wait several hours for the next bus to take us to Larabanga. That bus didn’t leave until around 11am. We eventually made it to Larabanga around 4:30pm. Larabanga is small village right outside of Mole National Park. There isn’t much there but in recent years they’ve been trying to boost tourism in the village since pretty much anyone who is going to Mole first has to go to Larabanga first.

In Larabanga, we stayed at a place called Salia Brother’s guest house. It’s called that because the people that own it are identical twin brothers. It was cool to stay there because Amy and Allie (Allie had been there a couple weeks ago) are also identical twins. The guest house was pretty simple. There were about five rooms, electricity, and a pit toilet. When we got there we took a bucket shower and took a tour of the village. One of the Salia brothers took us to the watering hole and to get something to eat. That night we tried to sleep on the roof where it was cooler and we could see the stars, but pretty soon after we lay down, it started pouring.

The next morning we woke up early so we could get to Mole for a Safari by 7am. We hired some guys with motorbikes to drive us about 7km to the park. That was the first time I had been on a motorbike and it was a lot of fun, not to mention it was nice to feel the cool morning air and see the savannah. When we got to the park, I stepped off the motorbike and burned my leg along the exhaust (or whatever it was along the side of the bike). I should have known better because a couple weeks ago Amy had done the same thing while on a bike in Benin, but it was my first time getting off a motorbike. So now I have a third degree burn roughly the size of a tennis ball on the side of my leg. I don’t mind so much. It will give me a scar to remember Ghana by.

We went on a walking Safari that lasted about two hours. Our guide carried a rifle and is really good at what he does. He pointed out some Gazelle to us which would have been impossible for me to spot alone. We also saw some monkeys, guinea fowl, and of course, our motivation for going to Mole, some elephants. Our guide tracked the elephants for us and I don’t know exactly how he was able to follow them in some parts but he did. After lunch we went on a river safari. We were told that it would be free except for transportation because they were filming for a promotional video for the park. The free river safari only lasted about 20 minutes which was disappointing and the time of day wasn’t even right to see animals like baboons even if we did go on the real thing. It was still nice to go on a little boat ride though. After that they took us to a village nearby and showed us around a little. The village was very traditional and isolated. The people live in mud huts and do subsistence farming but they also get income from tourist visits and the shea butter soap that they make there. They showed us hour they make the shea butter.

That evening we just got dinner and had a few beers. We were planning to stay at the Mole hotel but they didn’t have any room for us. It was probably better that we didn’t stay their anyways because the rooms are so expensive, we would have been sharing three beds for five people, and they didn’t have any running water at the time either. It worked out better just to get motorbikes back to the Salia Bros. guest house and stay there for cheap. The Salia brother was very nice and accommodating too. Even though the guest house didn’t have much, he was very helpful in fetching us water, setting up our beds, and even having our laundry done if we wanted. That night we slept on the roof. With practically no light pollution we could see a lot of stars and the Milky Way. Bats flew above us and we could hear their chirps. In the middle of the night it got pretty cold but I bundled up the best I could in my sweatshirt and stole heat from Amy and Emily who were sleeping next to me.

The next morning (Sunday), we went to catch a bus to Wa. The bus was full when it came so we ended up jumping in the bed of a truck to take us. There were about 25 people in the bed of the truck at some point. It wasn’t the most comfortable ride with all the bumpy dirt roads along the way. It took us about 2 hours to get from Larabanga to Sawla where we switched to a tro that was only mildly more comfortable. I’ll spare you the rest of the details of traveling that day but basically we were told that it would only take 2 ½ hours to get there and it took about 6 hours.

We eventually got to the small town of Wechiau where there is a hippo sanctuary. We got there in the late afternoon so by then there wasn’t much we could do. We got some dinner and then headed to the compound where we’d be spending the night. There wasn’t electricity at the compound so we went to bed pretty soon after getting there. We slept on the roof at this place too. Again it was cold and there were bats, but this time there weren’t as many goats and roosters to wake us up in the morning.

The next day we went on a river safari on the Black Volta River. On the other side of the river was Burkina Faso; it was close enough to touch. The river safari was about an hour and we went down stream until we found some hippos. There were probably about five hippos hanging around in the middle of the river. We couldn’t see them that well since it was mostly just their noses, eyes, and ears that stuck out of the water. I’d say the river was about as wide as the Ohio River when it’s running low. It’s still the dry season here so the river was low too. We hung out near the shore in the boat to watch the hippos. Apparently hippos in west Africa aren’t as dangerous as the ones in east Africa so we were safe to sit there and watch.

After we got back from that we took bucket showers and left to go back to the center of Wechiau. In my haste to shower, I accidently ripped open the huge blister over my burn. That was painful but when we got to the welcome center they had a first aid kit. It was probably a good thing that I ripped it open there because I got medical attention. I probably would have been fine because I don’t think Amy had hers looked at but I feel safer now. They put some “Gentlian Voilet Paint” on my burn. I had no idea what it was but I guess it’s mostly iodine and it disinfects, drys the wound, and acts like liquid bandaid.

Later that morning we left Wechiau to start our trek back to Accra. At the start of our trip we had also wanted to go to Paga to see crocodiles but that would have added another 2 or 3 days onto our trip. Instead of coming back to Accra late, we decided to come back a little early. We got a bus from Wa to Kumasi. We had the treat of watching low budget Ghanaian films on the way back that always involved things like murder, rape, theft, prostitution, etc. Miraculously, it only took about 6 hours. We thought it was going to be a lot longer since Wa is so close to Burkina Faso and the trip from Kumasi to Tamale had taken 8 hours. From Kumasi to Accra we had to wait a few hours for the bus to fill up with people so it could leave. We ended up getting back to campus around 4am. We were exhausted from all the travel but it was nice to be back in our own beds.

It was a really intense experience with all the traveling but also a lot of fun with the girls I traveled with and the things we got to see. I have pictures of just about everything so you’ll have an idea of what I was talking about… even my nasty blistering burn. Unfortunately, facebook/the computer I'm on right now are being difficult so I'm not sure when I'll have all the pics up. I think I’ll be doing some more traveling in a couple weeks.

February 9th

This past week has been pretty nice. I’d been reading so much, but I started to feel bored with myself. Sometime last week I started hanging out at the vendor’s stand in the night market of a girl I met named Nana. We had only talked a little before, but she always has people just chilling around her stand so I thought I’d hang out too and try to make some more friends. We talked for a while, and she was really sweet. She’s probably my first legitimate Ghanaian friend. Maybe that sounds pathetic but it’s been kind of hard to branch out, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just me. There just so many white people in our hostel and the students in classes are very serious. So this week I’ve been hanging out with Nana some and meeting other people around there.

On Saturday, Emily, Allie, Amy, Jenna, Michelle, and I went to a beach called Kokrobite. It was about an hour and a half to two hours away and four tro-tro rides. On the way, it was nice to become familiar with other tro-tro stops like Circle and Keneshi Circle. We left midmorning so we would have plenty of time there. The beach was pretty low-key. There were only a few other white people there and the beach was lined with fishing boats. The water was very warm and the waves were pretty big by my standards. While I was there I sat in the shade and met a guy named KJ who is a musician. We just talked for a while about Ghana and he told me how delicious grass-cutter meat is. I’m skeptical but I’ll have to try it. Google ‘grass-cutter’ and see what you think about the animal. ☺ We left around 4:30 and by the time we got back, we were all exhausted. It was a fun tro-tro trip back when I was sitting five in a row of a van. That’s a pretty authentic Ghana experience.

Nana had invited me to go to church with her and visit her house on Sunday. I got up early and met her at her stand. We took a tro-tro to West Legon where she lives. By the time we got there though, she had to go to a meeting so I went with one of her friends, Raphael. Nana had to go to a meeting for a lending group she is a part of. She is their secretary. Each individual contributes to the group so that one at a time they can borrow the money. In microfinance I think it’s called a merry-go-round. I thought it was really interesting because it was something I had talked about in a global development class but now a friend of mine is involved with it. Anyways… so I went to church with Raphael at Providence Baptist church. There were probably about 150 people in the church. The service was pretty familiar. I was expecting it to be more different. The pastor preached in English and had a translator translate it into Twi. They don’t get too many Obruni coming to the church so I was singled-out a few times in the middle of service. That was pretty awkward, but they still made me feel welcomed.

After church, Raphael walked me to Nana’s place. Since Sunday, Raphael has been calling me a lot, so I know I have another friend. Calling incessantly is kind of a cultural quirk that all us Americans aren’t used to. I think I got called like five times in a row. It might have to do with the fact that there isn’t voicemail here. I’m not exactly sure but I happens a lot in Ghana, and I think it’s interesting.

Nana showed me her apartment and then we went and grabbed some food. I had waakye for the first time which probably isn’t my favorite. We went to her parent’s house and I got to meet her younger sister, one of her older brothers, and her parents. They were all very nice. Nana left to bring a baby present to a friend who was a new mother so while she was gone she told me to take a nap. I told her to wake me up when she got back but of course she didn’t… I ended up accidentally sleeping for about two hours. That made me feel bad. Who knows how many social faux pas I made on Sunday. I think Nana was very understanding though. After I woke up, we went back to campus so she could go back to work. Yesterday, Nana’s mom gave Nana some butter bread to give to me. It’s so nice to be making some deeper connections in Ghana.

Yesterday, Monday, was my busiest day with classes. Mondays are always exhausting. Today, I went to the library for the first time. I have to go there in order to get most of my reading assignment for class. It’s more complicated than the Wells Library, but I found my way around. A lot of the sources my profs want us to read aren’t found in any of the university libraries. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about that but we’ll see. Lately, I’ve been most homesick for how easy and organized classes are in the states. I miss having all my readings online, having lecture notes available before class, and using powerpoint presentations. I’m getting over it though. The trade off may be that it’s almost midterm season for my friends in the US and I have yet to do one legitimate assignment.

On Thursday, a group of my friends and I will be traveling to northern Ghana to Mole National Park, Larabanga, and Paga. It will take a couple days to get up there and a couple days coming back. Taking a week off of school is probably another thing my friends in the US can’t do… I’m not exactly sure of everything that we’ll be doing there but I know it will involve seeing wild elephants, monkeys, and perhaps feeding and sitting on a crocodile. I’m pretty pumped considering my typical aversion to skipping classes. I won’t have that many other good times to travel while I’m here, and I want to make the most out of being in Ghana!

That’s about all my news. I don’t have any pictures this week. I didn’t take my camera to the beach because theft is common there. My blogs seem to getting longer. Sorry..? If you’re curious about more details of our adventures (probably only my diehard fans such as Mom), you could probably check out my friend Emily’s blog. I haven’t read it before, but we have a bunch of the same experiences. Her blog is: Ereinik.blogspot.com I’m leaving Thursday for Mole and probably won’t be back until next Wednesday don’t expect a blog until later next week. Later!

First Blog of February

I can’t believe it’s February already. It’s kind of hard for me to comprehend how cold it is back home when it feel likes eternal summer here.

I’m in my third week of classes, and they are going fine. I’m learning that things move a lot slower here. Practically nothing is automated or done by computer. Good luck finding a pdf of course readings! Thus why I haven’t had any homework or class reading yet. Some of my professors have submitted readings to printers to have copies made for students to buy, but they haven’t been finished yet. I think for other readings, I’ll have to go to the library and look in the reserves. I’m not really looking forward to trying to figure out the library. Fat chance that there’s an online catalog. When I get back to IU, I will scoff at people who can’t figure out Wells Library. Hopefully things will get smoothed out. I still have one class that hasn’t met yet. The last two weeks, my professor for Economic History of West Africa hasn’t shown up. That’s not that uncommon though. Long story short, the university is one of the biggest culture shocks. I think if my advisors at home had any idea, they’d cut me some slack.

Besides the confusion that classes are causing me, I’ve been having a good time. Without homework, I’ve been reading a lot to fill some of my free time. I haven’t had so much time to read… ever. I read a textbook they gave us for orientation called Culture and Development in Africa. Since then, I’ve been borrowing books that people have donated to the EAP office. Books have accumulated there over the years but the pickings are slim. I picked up Twilight which was about as awful as a book as I expected. After that, I read the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Victor Hugo is one of my favorite authors, and it made me feel better after reading Twilight. But I’m embarrassed to admit that I’m going to try to finish the Twilight series. The library doesn’t have the second one, but I’m in the middle of the third right now. If anyone feels compelled to send me anything, I would suggest they send me a good book. There are only a few more in the library that I’d want to read, and at this pace, I’ll be done with them soon.

Enough about books… Last weekend our whole EAP program took our last trip to the Volta Region. It took about four hours to drive there, but when we got there we went to a monkey sanctuary. We got to feed monkeys bananas which was a lot of fun. They came right up to us and ate. The monkeys we saw there were Lowe’s mona monkeys. I didn’t catch all the details of the story, but the monkeys had been seen as sacred by a tribe in northern Ghana. The tribe had a fetish shine and the monkeys would always play around it. When the tribe was forced to move they set up another fetish shrine and the monkeys appeared again. The monkeys were thought to have followed them. When Christianity became a dominant force in Ghana, the monkeys were hunted in an effort to get rid of the pagan beliefs around the monkeys. But in the 1980s the sanctuary was created in order to protect them.

After the visit to the monkey sanctuary, we went to Wli falls. We stopped in a town just outside and got a guide that led us on a 45 min. hike to the falls. The hike was beautiful. Through the forest we could see lots of mountains. The air was also dryer and cooler in the area which felt amazing. The waterfall was beautiful, probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. The water fall was about 150 ft. high and on one side, you could see thousands of bats hanging from the cliffs. We all went swimming under the waterfall. At the deepest part, the pond below the falls was probably only 3 ft. The water was freezing but the feeling of being cold was a nice change. I never thought I’d feel that cold while I was in Ghana. Feeding monkeys and swimming under a waterfall wasn’t bad for one day. I was so psyched about the waterfall.

That’s about all my news. My weeks are pretty boring, but I’m enjoying getting to know more people in the night market and I’m starting to feel at home walking around. On Thursday, Emily and I are going to take a trip to a bead market. The bead market is about an hour and a half away but it’s supposed to be a great place to find jewelry and crafts.

Keep checking out my pictures. I upload new ones every week. I’m sorry I can’t post a link to flickr but it takes long enough to upload them to facebook that I don’t really have time. I’ve also uploaded some videos. Later!