Day 62.
The festival didn’t happen. The five of us (from now on called the Superhero Five: Carmen, Travis, Matt, Sauce, and I) arrived in Busua on Friday night, and while eating dinner we were told why there would be no festival this year. The Chief of Busua, who was killed about 170 years ago, had his head taken away from the community by the Dutch when they were in power of the Gold Coast. The head was moved from place to place but was most recently kept in a museum in Accra. This year, the head was finally returned to the village where it is to be buried. In Ghanaian culture, there is never a festival the year of a chief’s burial as the community is mourning…even if more than fifteen decades have passed…and all you have is his head.
No festival meant relaxation. Relaxation on beautiful beaches in the friendliest place we have been yet. As we had been to Busua before, I felt comfortable finding my way around and venturing a bit on my own. Our days were spent in the sunshine and waves enjoying the quiet, reading, and playing games. My attempts at body boarding ended unsuccessfully and I got too sunburned on Saturday to try again on Sunday. Along the beaches there were many children yelling, “Picture, picture!” After every shot, they want to see what they look like just so they can laugh the same every time.
After staying at Sabina’s Guest House (where we stayed last time) for two nights, we decided to move to the Black Mambo Corner on our third and final night. To get to the place, we had to wade through the river that flows into the ocean. The owners of the place, a Rasta named Alex and his brother Joseph were great hosts and interesting to talk with. The accommodations were outrageous for the price – ocean-side octagonal guesthouse surrounded by native plants. A gazebo only ten yards away with a terrific view of Abokwa Island and the fishing boats coming back to shore. We fell asleep to the sound of the waves crashing with great power against the rocks and this is what we woke up to in the morning. Amazing. After we checked out on Sunday, we heard from someone in the village that there is a rumor that Alex, who was married to a German woman that he told us “left him” two years ago, murdered his wife, and that is why he cut off all of his dreads…he was also missing his pinky finger on his left hand, a sign?
We returned from the weekend to school, sunshine (it's hot!), and celebration (Travis' birthday was on Tuesday so we splurged on 2 for 1 pizza and ice cream at Bonjour). This is the sixth week of instruction and as the semesters are only 13 weeks long, we are almost halfway done...then finals...then traveling...then home.
The water in Volta Hall has been out for over a week. The Polytanks (big black water reserve tanks that are located in every block) are all out too. This means all we have is sachet water. It is not so bad to not shower (though I can see dirt in the crease of my elbow), but not flushing the toilet when 10 girls use the same one is a problem. The halls located closer to the main gate have water more consistently because it doesn't have to be pumped as far. Maybe we will go there with our buckets to collect water and bring it back? I guess this is Africa...
Friday, September 25, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Shai Hills, favorite things, and things I miss
Day 55.
Tuesday. 7:30am: BOTN 427 Field Trip to Shai Hills Resource Reserve – a 52km2 protected area, home to monitor lizards, many species of birds, bats, kob – an African antelope species, and baboons. In the botany department vehicle, my professor, myself, and two other students (the third was left behind for being five minutes late… contradictory to Ghanaian time?) rode an hour and a half into the Accra Plains. Upon arrival, we were met by a truck-bed full of teenaged Ghanaians wanting to talk to us (“Obruni, bra bra bra bra”. “Bra” means, “come”) and the Reserve’s manager. After a meeting with the five head officers of the reserve, we were taken on a private tour by the chief of law enforcement. His job is to keep poachers out by any means necessary. While we were driving, I noticed from the backseat that there was a bullet shaped scar on the back of his right hand…..crossfire? Our tour consisted of driving through a grassland savannah spotted with hilly rock outcrops – reminiscent of The Lion King. We parked the old SUV at the base of one of the hills to visit a baobab shrine and climb the rocky hill to a bat cave. Damp and cold, the cave echoed with the sounds of bats and smelled of guano. Squeezing between two slanted rocks to the back of the cave where fragments of sunlight broke through, we reached their home. Through a crevice, we saw hundreds of bats flying agitatedly in circles, making the most unique screeching sound. After a few minutes of watching in awe and silence, we turned back, leaving the bats in peace. Only a few minutes after we returned to the reserve road, Professor Adomako spotted two kob about 300 meters away stopped dead in their tracks, staring directly at us. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat is a rare occurrence, even at the reserve…we were in luck. Not even a mile away, as we were passing the security guards’ housing, we were met by three adult baboons and two babies idly minding their own business…double luck.
A few weeks prior to this field trip, I had been feeling like I was in a little swamp. I wasn’t having a terrific time here because I got lost in my ideas of what I thought Ghana would be like. I hadn’t traveled in a while (not including Cape Coast) and I was feeling murky on campus. After talking to one of my favorite people from home, I felt much better. This trip was like a new beginning. It reminded me of why I came to Ghana in the first place – not to go on touristy adventures but to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I will never forget.
To keep on the positive side here are my favorite things so far: wli falls. nzulezo. kele wele. receiving letters. listening to the drums. traveling light. fresh pineapple. mount afadjato. rainforest trees.
For the sake of balance, here are the things I miss most: lying in the grass. tap water (hot water?). mexican food. fixed prices. fixed gears. mary’s napoletana pizza (with no cheese). pickles. Mlzs!(use the code, detective).
Traveling this weekend to Busua for their annual festival...crossing my fingers that it's more enjoyable than Cape Coast...
Tuesday. 7:30am: BOTN 427 Field Trip to Shai Hills Resource Reserve – a 52km2 protected area, home to monitor lizards, many species of birds, bats, kob – an African antelope species, and baboons. In the botany department vehicle, my professor, myself, and two other students (the third was left behind for being five minutes late… contradictory to Ghanaian time?) rode an hour and a half into the Accra Plains. Upon arrival, we were met by a truck-bed full of teenaged Ghanaians wanting to talk to us (“Obruni, bra bra bra bra”. “Bra” means, “come”) and the Reserve’s manager. After a meeting with the five head officers of the reserve, we were taken on a private tour by the chief of law enforcement. His job is to keep poachers out by any means necessary. While we were driving, I noticed from the backseat that there was a bullet shaped scar on the back of his right hand…..crossfire? Our tour consisted of driving through a grassland savannah spotted with hilly rock outcrops – reminiscent of The Lion King. We parked the old SUV at the base of one of the hills to visit a baobab shrine and climb the rocky hill to a bat cave. Damp and cold, the cave echoed with the sounds of bats and smelled of guano. Squeezing between two slanted rocks to the back of the cave where fragments of sunlight broke through, we reached their home. Through a crevice, we saw hundreds of bats flying agitatedly in circles, making the most unique screeching sound. After a few minutes of watching in awe and silence, we turned back, leaving the bats in peace. Only a few minutes after we returned to the reserve road, Professor Adomako spotted two kob about 300 meters away stopped dead in their tracks, staring directly at us. Seeing these animals in their natural habitat is a rare occurrence, even at the reserve…we were in luck. Not even a mile away, as we were passing the security guards’ housing, we were met by three adult baboons and two babies idly minding their own business…double luck.
A few weeks prior to this field trip, I had been feeling like I was in a little swamp. I wasn’t having a terrific time here because I got lost in my ideas of what I thought Ghana would be like. I hadn’t traveled in a while (not including Cape Coast) and I was feeling murky on campus. After talking to one of my favorite people from home, I felt much better. This trip was like a new beginning. It reminded me of why I came to Ghana in the first place – not to go on touristy adventures but to have once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I will never forget.
To keep on the positive side here are my favorite things so far: wli falls. nzulezo. kele wele. receiving letters. listening to the drums. traveling light. fresh pineapple. mount afadjato. rainforest trees.
For the sake of balance, here are the things I miss most: lying in the grass. tap water (hot water?). mexican food. fixed prices. fixed gears. mary’s napoletana pizza (with no cheese). pickles. Mlzs!(use the code, detective).
Traveling this weekend to Busua for their annual festival...crossing my fingers that it's more enjoyable than Cape Coast...
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Cape Coast Fest, Football, and Sewage
Day 45.
On Thursday of last week, we all (EAP students) travelled to Cape Coast for their annual festival. We arrived at night in just enough time to search for dinner. A group of us followed Kofi, one of the EAP facilitators, to find food. We were surrounded by street food but Kofi said that we shouldn’t eat it – he would but we shouldn’t. It was dark out and very noisy. It is typically noisy here, but in preparation for the festival, there were huge industrial speakers stacked every few hundred meters….playing the same six songs…over and over and over. After a long walk weaving through crowds of unfamiliar people wanting to talk to us, we ended up at Castle Beach restaurant – one look at the menu (4.5 GH cedi for a plate of chicken and rice) we left…to go eat street food.
Friday. We woke up to bad news. The hotel had been broken into and Travis’ very expensive professional camera, 150 GH cedis, and 2 backpacks were missing. The backpacks were found but the money and the camera were long gone. The rest of the day we spent enjoying Cape Coast: we had pancakes made by a Rastafarian named Stone, climbed to the top of a fort overlooking the whole city, ate at a vegetarian (!!) place for lunch (Avocado sandwich – bomb), and Carmen and I accidentally slept through the sacrifice of a bull (they hacked his head off with a machete and dragged him through the streets with it barely attached…part of me is glad I missed it). The day was great, but come nighttime I found that I really do not have a taste for Cape Coast, at least not during festival time. There were far too many people looking at us to see what they could steal and grabbing us as we walked by. As compared with other places we have been in Ghana, Cape Coast is currently low on the list.
Saturday. The day of the festival. Thousands of people were in the streets dancing and celebrating underneath their Chiefs or Queen Mothers who were carried on people’s heads like in Roman times. As each chief passed, he danced to the beating of drums following him, smiling at the crowd and his people below. Everybody was full of energy and excitement. There were people dressed up in all kinds of costumes (nurses, monkeys, stilt walkers, only underwear, clowns, regalia, drag, matching outfits) and it was very colorful. The procession lasted a few hours and it was hot. Working our way through the crowd was not easy as people would stop us and say “Obruni, dance!” and then laugh as if they’ve never seen a white person dance before.
That evening, Marlon, Alex, Nikos, Sauce, and I went looking for dinner. Sauce spotted a sign for a street stand that said “Special Soup”. Being an adventurous eater, he walked over to check it out; we followed. He lifted the lid of the soup to see pieces of unfamiliar looking meat floating in it. He asked the women selling the soup, “What kind of meat is that?” One woman replied what sounded like “kaat”. Not understanding, he asked again, “What kind of meat is that?” Again she replied, “It’s kaat”. We still didn’t understand so she asked a man near by to help explain. He said, “It’s kaat. You know, we have dogs and we have kaats.” The three women behind the stand proceeded to meow. Sauce said, “I’ll take it!” I left.
Sunday. We woke up still tired from the previous day to take the three-hour bus ride back to Accra. Despite our exhaustion, we had our friends from Tufts buy us tickets to the Fourth Round FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Ghana Black Stars vs. Sudan – my first real soccer game. It was amazing. The stadium was packed with Black Stars fans wearing Appiah and Essien jerseys, waving Ghanaian flags, blowing noisemakers, and covered head to toe in body paint. We had VIP seats: third row, center field. Though there was a pane of glass between us and the action, we got to sit right behind the players. The Black Stars scored once each half making the scores Ghana 2, Sudan 0. The final whistle was blown by the Vice President of Ghana, who then officially stated that Ghana has qualified for the World Cup…and the crowd goes crazy.
Today: this deserves a blog post of it's own but I am going to add it here and make it brief. Just a few hours ago, I went on a field trip for my Conservation and Environmental Studies class. We were going into Accra to see how they manage liquid waste (sewage). The "high tech" facility that cost 22 million pounds that began running in 2002 broke down in 2004 and all of Accra's sewage has been diverted to the Atlantic Ocean ever since. We literally saw sewage trucks pull up to the beach and release all of their sewage then drive away. Devastating for so many reasons. Maybe I will write more later, after I have had time to process what I saw.
On Thursday of last week, we all (EAP students) travelled to Cape Coast for their annual festival. We arrived at night in just enough time to search for dinner. A group of us followed Kofi, one of the EAP facilitators, to find food. We were surrounded by street food but Kofi said that we shouldn’t eat it – he would but we shouldn’t. It was dark out and very noisy. It is typically noisy here, but in preparation for the festival, there were huge industrial speakers stacked every few hundred meters….playing the same six songs…over and over and over. After a long walk weaving through crowds of unfamiliar people wanting to talk to us, we ended up at Castle Beach restaurant – one look at the menu (4.5 GH cedi for a plate of chicken and rice) we left…to go eat street food.
Friday. We woke up to bad news. The hotel had been broken into and Travis’ very expensive professional camera, 150 GH cedis, and 2 backpacks were missing. The backpacks were found but the money and the camera were long gone. The rest of the day we spent enjoying Cape Coast: we had pancakes made by a Rastafarian named Stone, climbed to the top of a fort overlooking the whole city, ate at a vegetarian (!!) place for lunch (Avocado sandwich – bomb), and Carmen and I accidentally slept through the sacrifice of a bull (they hacked his head off with a machete and dragged him through the streets with it barely attached…part of me is glad I missed it). The day was great, but come nighttime I found that I really do not have a taste for Cape Coast, at least not during festival time. There were far too many people looking at us to see what they could steal and grabbing us as we walked by. As compared with other places we have been in Ghana, Cape Coast is currently low on the list.
Saturday. The day of the festival. Thousands of people were in the streets dancing and celebrating underneath their Chiefs or Queen Mothers who were carried on people’s heads like in Roman times. As each chief passed, he danced to the beating of drums following him, smiling at the crowd and his people below. Everybody was full of energy and excitement. There were people dressed up in all kinds of costumes (nurses, monkeys, stilt walkers, only underwear, clowns, regalia, drag, matching outfits) and it was very colorful. The procession lasted a few hours and it was hot. Working our way through the crowd was not easy as people would stop us and say “Obruni, dance!” and then laugh as if they’ve never seen a white person dance before.
That evening, Marlon, Alex, Nikos, Sauce, and I went looking for dinner. Sauce spotted a sign for a street stand that said “Special Soup”. Being an adventurous eater, he walked over to check it out; we followed. He lifted the lid of the soup to see pieces of unfamiliar looking meat floating in it. He asked the women selling the soup, “What kind of meat is that?” One woman replied what sounded like “kaat”. Not understanding, he asked again, “What kind of meat is that?” Again she replied, “It’s kaat”. We still didn’t understand so she asked a man near by to help explain. He said, “It’s kaat. You know, we have dogs and we have kaats.” The three women behind the stand proceeded to meow. Sauce said, “I’ll take it!” I left.
Sunday. We woke up still tired from the previous day to take the three-hour bus ride back to Accra. Despite our exhaustion, we had our friends from Tufts buy us tickets to the Fourth Round FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Ghana Black Stars vs. Sudan – my first real soccer game. It was amazing. The stadium was packed with Black Stars fans wearing Appiah and Essien jerseys, waving Ghanaian flags, blowing noisemakers, and covered head to toe in body paint. We had VIP seats: third row, center field. Though there was a pane of glass between us and the action, we got to sit right behind the players. The Black Stars scored once each half making the scores Ghana 2, Sudan 0. The final whistle was blown by the Vice President of Ghana, who then officially stated that Ghana has qualified for the World Cup…and the crowd goes crazy.
Today: this deserves a blog post of it's own but I am going to add it here and make it brief. Just a few hours ago, I went on a field trip for my Conservation and Environmental Studies class. We were going into Accra to see how they manage liquid waste (sewage). The "high tech" facility that cost 22 million pounds that began running in 2002 broke down in 2004 and all of Accra's sewage has been diverted to the Atlantic Ocean ever since. We literally saw sewage trucks pull up to the beach and release all of their sewage then drive away. Devastating for so many reasons. Maybe I will write more later, after I have had time to process what I saw.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
my monday through friday
day 32.
My class schedule is finalized (let's hope). So here is the breakdown:
Mondays:
11:30-1:30 Traditional Dance. The teacher's name is Babaqueue (he told us to call him Barbecue). There are about 50 people in the class, half of them are obrunis and we all have to wear white shirts and black bottoms. There is live drumming and we are learning Ghanaian dances from the various ethnic groups. The dancing involves jumping, bouncing, bending, clapping, stepping (right-right-left-left), and something that resembles closely what doing "the chicken" would look like back home. The room gets hot and we sweat, it's great!
1:30-3:30 Environmental Ecology. The first lecture was extremely basic, about the level of fourth graders not fourth years (what is the environment? what is ecology? what is: a cell, an organism, an organelle, a population, a community, the biosphere?). Despite the elementary material thus far I am going to stay in the class. I feel like even if it is all review, it can't hurt and I am really curious as to how the academics of the class will progress. The professor seems to be a nice guy and we are going to do group projects. (p.s. all energy comes from the sun, in case you didn't know).
3:30-5:30 Introduction to Twi (the primary language of the Accra Region). The first lesson basically consisted of teaching us how to pronounce the word "Twi." To say it correctly you have to whistle a little. Don't make a "T" sound or else everyone will laugh at you. After class I went back to Volta Hall. My neighbor asked, "Where from you?" I told her that I just came from Twi lessons, trying my hardest to pronounce it right. She laughed and said "How are you going to take that class when you can't even say it right?" Darn.
Tuesday:
8:30-9:30 Traditional Dance again. clap-clap-clap (to the right). clap-clap-clap-clap-clap (twice as fast to the left).
9:30-12:30 Conservation and Environmental Science Lab, in the botany department. Throughout the semester, we will look at environmental issues specifically as they apply to Ghana and West Africa. The teacher is only going to lecture for the first three weeks then the students choose topics and make presentations (this could be great or really terrible). There are four field trips (rad!). On the first day I arrived (a bit late and sweating from dance class) to find only two other students in the room. The professor arrived and said, "Good morning, it looks like we're only missing three people. Maybe they have dropped because that would make it much better for us". This is going to be the smallest class I've ever taken. I'm super excited.
Wednesday:
7:30-9:30 Conservation and Environmental Science, Lecture. One more person showed up today, that makes four. Oh yeah, the reading list has 13 books, that is one for each week. They are not sold at the book store but rather have to be checked out from the professor and returned. There is only one copy of each. None of the books were published after 2000.
11:30-1:30 African Indigenous Religion. I just decided to switch to this today so I haven't had class yet. I was going to take Rural Development Theory at this time but in class today the teacher had us write down everything he said word for word. No thanks.
3:30-5:30 Introduction to Twi. Today we learned greetings. Maakye means good morning ("ky" is pronounced "ch"). Maaha means good afternoon. Maadwo means good night. I think I've got these down.
Thursday:
7:30-9:30 Advanced Taxonomy Lecture (botany department: plants, not animals). This is the class I am most looking forward to. Botanizing in Ghana. Yes please.
Friday:
11:30-1:30 Music of West and Central Africa. I have not yet had this class either but my roommate,Carmen, went last week and said it was really good. She is an ethnomusicology major at UCLA. I am excited to listen to and learn about the different types of traditional and popular music. I will post music recommendations often.
1:30-4:30 Advanced Taxonomy Lab. There is an amazing botanical garden on campus. I want to live there.
That leaves Saturdays and Sundays to travel, study, sleep, explore, and read. Let the adventures continue....
My class schedule is finalized (let's hope). So here is the breakdown:
Mondays:
11:30-1:30 Traditional Dance. The teacher's name is Babaqueue (he told us to call him Barbecue). There are about 50 people in the class, half of them are obrunis and we all have to wear white shirts and black bottoms. There is live drumming and we are learning Ghanaian dances from the various ethnic groups. The dancing involves jumping, bouncing, bending, clapping, stepping (right-right-left-left), and something that resembles closely what doing "the chicken" would look like back home. The room gets hot and we sweat, it's great!
1:30-3:30 Environmental Ecology. The first lecture was extremely basic, about the level of fourth graders not fourth years (what is the environment? what is ecology? what is: a cell, an organism, an organelle, a population, a community, the biosphere?). Despite the elementary material thus far I am going to stay in the class. I feel like even if it is all review, it can't hurt and I am really curious as to how the academics of the class will progress. The professor seems to be a nice guy and we are going to do group projects. (p.s. all energy comes from the sun, in case you didn't know).
3:30-5:30 Introduction to Twi (the primary language of the Accra Region). The first lesson basically consisted of teaching us how to pronounce the word "Twi." To say it correctly you have to whistle a little. Don't make a "T" sound or else everyone will laugh at you. After class I went back to Volta Hall. My neighbor asked, "Where from you?" I told her that I just came from Twi lessons, trying my hardest to pronounce it right. She laughed and said "How are you going to take that class when you can't even say it right?" Darn.
Tuesday:
8:30-9:30 Traditional Dance again. clap-clap-clap (to the right). clap-clap-clap-clap-clap (twice as fast to the left).
9:30-12:30 Conservation and Environmental Science Lab, in the botany department. Throughout the semester, we will look at environmental issues specifically as they apply to Ghana and West Africa. The teacher is only going to lecture for the first three weeks then the students choose topics and make presentations (this could be great or really terrible). There are four field trips (rad!). On the first day I arrived (a bit late and sweating from dance class) to find only two other students in the room. The professor arrived and said, "Good morning, it looks like we're only missing three people. Maybe they have dropped because that would make it much better for us". This is going to be the smallest class I've ever taken. I'm super excited.
Wednesday:
7:30-9:30 Conservation and Environmental Science, Lecture. One more person showed up today, that makes four. Oh yeah, the reading list has 13 books, that is one for each week. They are not sold at the book store but rather have to be checked out from the professor and returned. There is only one copy of each. None of the books were published after 2000.
11:30-1:30 African Indigenous Religion. I just decided to switch to this today so I haven't had class yet. I was going to take Rural Development Theory at this time but in class today the teacher had us write down everything he said word for word. No thanks.
3:30-5:30 Introduction to Twi. Today we learned greetings. Maakye means good morning ("ky" is pronounced "ch"). Maaha means good afternoon. Maadwo means good night. I think I've got these down.
Thursday:
7:30-9:30 Advanced Taxonomy Lecture (botany department: plants, not animals). This is the class I am most looking forward to. Botanizing in Ghana. Yes please.
Friday:
11:30-1:30 Music of West and Central Africa. I have not yet had this class either but my roommate,Carmen, went last week and said it was really good. She is an ethnomusicology major at UCLA. I am excited to listen to and learn about the different types of traditional and popular music. I will post music recommendations often.
1:30-4:30 Advanced Taxonomy Lab. There is an amazing botanical garden on campus. I want to live there.
That leaves Saturdays and Sundays to travel, study, sleep, explore, and read. Let the adventures continue....
Sunday, August 23, 2009
a baby goat ate my banana peel
day 29.
School was supposed to start last week. It didn't. I went to two classes, one in which nobody showed up except me and one where hundreds of people showed up and they had us wait for hours to finally tell us to go home and come back the next day. Not wanting to stick around for more of this, we decided to use last week as an excuse to travel. Carmen had rehearsals and Sauce had malaria so it was just me, Travis, and Matt. We left on Wednesday.
Wednesday. Destination: Ada Foah, the small village where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived around dinner time, options were sparse. The boys ate fufu, I ate rice. We met some funny people and had long conversations about "The Revolution". Stimulating. When Travis asked Nii Ana, "What is the one thing that you think Ghana needs to change to progress as a country?" he replied, "We need to stop criticizing! We are all one." (He also was telling us how 9/11 was an inside job, as if we didn't already know...Mom you would have liked him).
Thursday. Slept in until 8:30. Ate bread with ground nut paste. Took a two-hour walk along the dirtiest beach I've ever seen (covered in plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, nets, empty water sachets, dead fish, and shit, human shit). Despite the filth, the waves were incredible as we walked in the hot sun and watched the fishing boats. When we reached the point where the Volta meets the ocean we sat and watched. The two bodies of water are in constant contact but retain very individual natures. Magnificent. We watched the colorful fishing boats come in with fisherman arguing loudly and birds in their wake.
Our next destination was Hohoe. At the tro-tro station after much commotion, we boarded a tro-tro that we thought was on its way to Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. A few hours into the journey we realized that we were headed to Aflao instead. Aflao is essentially on the Ghana/Togo border and really far out of our way. At Aflao station we bought fresh bananas and boarded yet another tro-tro to Ho. After many hours and a third tro-tro ride, we made it to Hohoe. Long day.
Friday. Destination: Mount Afadjato and Wli Falls (the highest mountain and waterfalls in West Africa). Alarm went off at 5:15, we snoozed it until 6:15, though in Ghana everyone is up by then and it is often hard to sleep through the noise from outside. We waited at the tro-tro station for a while waiting for a taxi accompanied by a one-legged chicken. Around 9:30 (after taking a taxi meant for five people but filled with eight) we were at the base of the mountain At 885 meters, it is a small mountain by California standards but the hike was tough, 30-45 degree incline the whole time. At the top, we could see all of the Volta Region. Spectacular (worth the sweat).
We walked for an hour with some village children carrying corn flour on their heads to the next village to catch a taxi. Our driver emerged from the forest wearing a uniform and carrying a big gun. While we were waiting for him to change, a baby goat ate the banana peel off of my banana. To get to Wli Falls we walked for a half hour with a guide. Within 100 meters of the Falls we could feel the mist. We put on our bathing suits and went for it. The falls were amazing. We swam under them and fought our way towards them against the 30-40 mile per hour winds they were generating. It was definitely one of the most awesome natural experiences I have ever had. Again we spent the night in Hohoe. Tired.
Saturday: Destination: Legon. After only three days of traveling we were beat. It takes a lot of energy to get places here and often communication and interactions are not easy. At the tro-tro station we were caught in the most intense battle over us by two tro-tro drivers and the people who they pay to help get passengers (yelling on both sides, and grabbing us to come with them to their tro-tro). After about ten minutes, we decided on one of them. I think we mad the wrong choice because our driver was an idiot. After bribing three police officers, passing one accident and five funerals, and getting stopped by immigration police (who wanted our passports and visas which we didn't have on us) we made it back to campus.
I'm realizing that as amazing as my experience has been so far, it is not easy to be here. Everyday I am challenged in some way. I can feel that I am learning more that I am able to process. A few months before I left, I met a homeless man on my stoop in Berkeley. He approached my singing an African song. I stopped him to ask where he was from. Rwanda. I told him that I was going to Ghana for school. He sat down on the step next to me and told me slowly, "You will pass a life test". I can still hear his voice and see his face. Now I know what he meant.
School was supposed to start last week. It didn't. I went to two classes, one in which nobody showed up except me and one where hundreds of people showed up and they had us wait for hours to finally tell us to go home and come back the next day. Not wanting to stick around for more of this, we decided to use last week as an excuse to travel. Carmen had rehearsals and Sauce had malaria so it was just me, Travis, and Matt. We left on Wednesday.
Wednesday. Destination: Ada Foah, the small village where the Volta River meets the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived around dinner time, options were sparse. The boys ate fufu, I ate rice. We met some funny people and had long conversations about "The Revolution". Stimulating. When Travis asked Nii Ana, "What is the one thing that you think Ghana needs to change to progress as a country?" he replied, "We need to stop criticizing! We are all one." (He also was telling us how 9/11 was an inside job, as if we didn't already know...Mom you would have liked him).
Thursday. Slept in until 8:30. Ate bread with ground nut paste. Took a two-hour walk along the dirtiest beach I've ever seen (covered in plastic bags, bottles, wrappers, nets, empty water sachets, dead fish, and shit, human shit). Despite the filth, the waves were incredible as we walked in the hot sun and watched the fishing boats. When we reached the point where the Volta meets the ocean we sat and watched. The two bodies of water are in constant contact but retain very individual natures. Magnificent. We watched the colorful fishing boats come in with fisherman arguing loudly and birds in their wake.
Our next destination was Hohoe. At the tro-tro station after much commotion, we boarded a tro-tro that we thought was on its way to Ho, the capital of the Volta Region. A few hours into the journey we realized that we were headed to Aflao instead. Aflao is essentially on the Ghana/Togo border and really far out of our way. At Aflao station we bought fresh bananas and boarded yet another tro-tro to Ho. After many hours and a third tro-tro ride, we made it to Hohoe. Long day.
Friday. Destination: Mount Afadjato and Wli Falls (the highest mountain and waterfalls in West Africa). Alarm went off at 5:15, we snoozed it until 6:15, though in Ghana everyone is up by then and it is often hard to sleep through the noise from outside. We waited at the tro-tro station for a while waiting for a taxi accompanied by a one-legged chicken. Around 9:30 (after taking a taxi meant for five people but filled with eight) we were at the base of the mountain At 885 meters, it is a small mountain by California standards but the hike was tough, 30-45 degree incline the whole time. At the top, we could see all of the Volta Region. Spectacular (worth the sweat).
We walked for an hour with some village children carrying corn flour on their heads to the next village to catch a taxi. Our driver emerged from the forest wearing a uniform and carrying a big gun. While we were waiting for him to change, a baby goat ate the banana peel off of my banana. To get to Wli Falls we walked for a half hour with a guide. Within 100 meters of the Falls we could feel the mist. We put on our bathing suits and went for it. The falls were amazing. We swam under them and fought our way towards them against the 30-40 mile per hour winds they were generating. It was definitely one of the most awesome natural experiences I have ever had. Again we spent the night in Hohoe. Tired.
Saturday: Destination: Legon. After only three days of traveling we were beat. It takes a lot of energy to get places here and often communication and interactions are not easy. At the tro-tro station we were caught in the most intense battle over us by two tro-tro drivers and the people who they pay to help get passengers (yelling on both sides, and grabbing us to come with them to their tro-tro). After about ten minutes, we decided on one of them. I think we mad the wrong choice because our driver was an idiot. After bribing three police officers, passing one accident and five funerals, and getting stopped by immigration police (who wanted our passports and visas which we didn't have on us) we made it back to campus.
I'm realizing that as amazing as my experience has been so far, it is not easy to be here. Everyday I am challenged in some way. I can feel that I am learning more that I am able to process. A few months before I left, I met a homeless man on my stoop in Berkeley. He approached my singing an African song. I stopped him to ask where he was from. Rwanda. I told him that I was going to Ghana for school. He sat down on the step next to me and told me slowly, "You will pass a life test". I can still hear his voice and see his face. Now I know what he meant.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
first solo venture and confusion
day 22 (three weeks!)
First Solo Venture: On Friday, I had to go in to Accra to return the phone that I purchased on Wenesday. Carmen had rehearsal (she is playing flute with a Ghanaian pop band). I didn't have a phone to get in touch with anyone else, so I went solo.
I walked to the tro-tro station that is right outside the main gate of campus, as I have done many times before with others. I listened for a mate calling out "Cra, Cra, Cra, Cra, Cra" meaning that tro-tro is headed towards Accra. I got on, paid my fare (20 pesewas for the 10 minute ride) and got off at the right place. I got off at the mall stop and despite being followed by chilren wanting money, it went smoothly. Once I was in the mall, or the wrinkle in time (because it is like a completely different universe in there), I bought a few things at the main store called Game (a bread knife, some colored pencils, cleaning spray, toilet paper, and birthday candles) I proceeded to find the bank. Twenty minutes and five sets of directions later I found it and bought a working phone.
I then left the mall and waited for a tro-tro to take me back to school. During more trafficky times, the tro-tro change their route. Not knowing this, I begin to realize on the tro-tro that it was not taking hte normal route to school. We were suddenly driving on a pot-holed dirt road in the middle of corn fields. Thinking I had made yet another mistake in Ghana I planned on getting off at the next stop and starting over. To my surprise, the next stop was just across the street from campus. Success.
Confusion: Each day, registration becomes more and more complicated. Looks like a have to refigure my schedule yet again. Classes that I am not going to sacrifice: Botany 419 Advanced Taxonomy, Botany 411 Fungi and Lichen, Geography 429 Environmental Ecology, Study of Religion 423 Ecological Ethics, Music 317: Intro to West and Central African Music.
Classes are supposed to start tomorrow. I'll bet on next week...Ghana time.
First Solo Venture: On Friday, I had to go in to Accra to return the phone that I purchased on Wenesday. Carmen had rehearsal (she is playing flute with a Ghanaian pop band). I didn't have a phone to get in touch with anyone else, so I went solo.
I walked to the tro-tro station that is right outside the main gate of campus, as I have done many times before with others. I listened for a mate calling out "Cra, Cra, Cra, Cra, Cra" meaning that tro-tro is headed towards Accra. I got on, paid my fare (20 pesewas for the 10 minute ride) and got off at the right place. I got off at the mall stop and despite being followed by chilren wanting money, it went smoothly. Once I was in the mall, or the wrinkle in time (because it is like a completely different universe in there), I bought a few things at the main store called Game (a bread knife, some colored pencils, cleaning spray, toilet paper, and birthday candles) I proceeded to find the bank. Twenty minutes and five sets of directions later I found it and bought a working phone.
I then left the mall and waited for a tro-tro to take me back to school. During more trafficky times, the tro-tro change their route. Not knowing this, I begin to realize on the tro-tro that it was not taking hte normal route to school. We were suddenly driving on a pot-holed dirt road in the middle of corn fields. Thinking I had made yet another mistake in Ghana I planned on getting off at the next stop and starting over. To my surprise, the next stop was just across the street from campus. Success.
Confusion: Each day, registration becomes more and more complicated. Looks like a have to refigure my schedule yet again. Classes that I am not going to sacrifice: Botany 419 Advanced Taxonomy, Botany 411 Fungi and Lichen, Geography 429 Environmental Ecology, Study of Religion 423 Ecological Ethics, Music 317: Intro to West and Central African Music.
Classes are supposed to start tomorrow. I'll bet on next week...Ghana time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
