T-minus 5

I haven't been feeling too well these past 2 days. Yesterday in the afternoon I started to get really dizzy, lightheaded and weak-feeling. I took a long nap and when I woke up it was like my whole body was tired. Everything was sore and I barely had enough energy to pick my head up. Somehow I manage to change my clothes and we then went out to dinner at this really good place. In the car ride I passed out and at dinner all I could do was sit. Even the little energy it took to pick up my sandwich was too much. Plus, then I realized I had fever and was getting chills.

Starting to panic (as these are signs of Malaria) I thought about getting myself to the hospital immediately. But, after eating half my sandwich and drinking 3 cups of tea I started to feel a little bit better. After dinner I went straight home and slept from about 10:30 to 8am.

Right now I am still very weak and tired, but I can function. Breakfast gave me some energy and I think I just need to eat and drink more water. Most likely I got bit by a bug and my body reacted to it. I went to the pharmacy this morning to have my temperature checked and my fever was gone. I described my symptoms and the pharmacist did not think I have malaria. He told me to take some Tylenol and get some rest. Unfortunately, this means I do not get to go to my school today. It was my last day working on my project, but luckily I said goodbye to most of the kids last Tuesday.

Recently, I just haven't been feeling very healthy. I think I would recommend that anyone coming here should bring a daily multivitamin and also calcium pills. There is zero dairy here, but I do drink soy milk to get some protein.

5 more days til I leave! The first week was slow, but I knew the pace would speed up. Once I got used to the slower pace I really started to accept Ghanaian life. My favorite is the midday break - anything between noon and 3 because it's just too damn hot. 

Might go to this place called Frankie's in Osu tonight for burgers. Highly dependent on how I feel so we will see...

Winding down...

Returned home yesterday from Kokrobite... you can check out the hotel where we stay here: http://www.bigmilly.com/

I know that I've already written about this beach, but again it is just amazing. Live reggae band on Saturday nights. Friendly people, beautiful beaches, fresh food and the most relaxing 2 days you could ever dream of....

And then snap back to reality when we sat in hour long traffic trying to get back into Accra. Which was just named the second worst city in the world by the Lonely Planet. However, Detroit was named number 1. Starting to wonder if I have an effect on these cities....

Haven't done all that much since the last post. With my remaining week here I am looking for some unique places to visit or new foods to try that I haven't yet. They have these fruit things that are about the size of a golf ball and are deep orange. They call them cherries, but I don't think that is correct. It's next on my list of foods to try. I also want to learn the names of everything so I can tell accurate stories once I return home. The rice we eat here VERY often is called Jollof, and is made with peppers and tomatoes. If made correctly, it is actually really good.

Other than some foods, I have pretty much seen everything there is to see. I've gone East, West, North... and I live in the South. I've met new people, learned a little bit of the language and lived my Ghanain experience. Whether I return to Ghana I'm not sure, but next on my list for Africa is Kenya. 

Living with AIESECers is very interesting since we have all traveled the world so much. Each intern here is interested in culture and experiencing something different. Yes, we all complain occasionally, but at the core is a sense of interest in everything around us. It inspires me to keep traveling. And more importantly, now that I have friends in Taiwan, China, Germany and the Netherlands ... when I visit these places I can meet up with old friends. In the back of my mind I'm already figuring out how to get to Taiwan by the end of the year!

***

At school last Friday my school won the second round! They are heading to the semi-finals and I think they have a very good chance to win! The kids are very smart and so determined. When I start to think everyone here can be a bit lazy, I see these kids and all of their hopes and dreams written on their faces. 

I teach tomorrow and this will be my last day of teaching. I decided that I do not want to teach next Tuesday since it will be the day before I leave for home. Not sure what to teach tomorrow, but I would like to do a game of some sort. Friday will be round 3 of the school competition and I will be a proctor somewhere.

In the mean time I would like to see some more beaches and enjoy what little time I have left...

Goodbye Taiwan

Yesterday my closest friends here in Ghana left to return to Taiwan. I took them to the airport and though I'm mostly ready to go, I'm not quite there.  I still have some unfinished to-do's in this amazing, frustrating and incredible place.  I am enjoying my time here, but I know that in 2 weeks I will be ready to return home to some sense of normal. While at the airport I weighed myself, pretending to be a piece of luggage, and found out I've lost 8 lbs. in the past 8 weeks. That's most likely bad.

I'm starting to wonder if I have changed and if people at home will think I'm different. Or will everyone at home be different and I will feel like a stranger? While I'm here it's like life at home is frozen and I assume nothing changes. But 3 months later I'll walk back into my own life and it's scary to not know what to expect. Reverse cultural shock is very real and I am not looking forward to facing that...

Something is malfunctioning with my camera today so it's the perfect excuse to go on campus and check it out. I'm sure they sell USB drives so I can back-up my photos and then I want to walk around the school and see what it's like. One thing I don't understand is that my program is run from students who go to CUC (Central University College). What is a "university college?" Aren't they the same thing?

Tomorrow will be round 2 of the school competition. I will be cheering for my school to win! Which reminds me about my teaching experience last Tuesday....

Each child is supposed to pay 5 Ghana Cedis each month for the computer class. Some kids have paid in full and most paid, 1, 2, 3 or 4. Well, I guess the teacher didn't want to track them down any more so he went and got the headmistress. She shows up with her bamboo cane and a scoul. She called upon the people who had paid in full. They were sent aside. Next were those who paid 4. If they didn't have the 1 cedi on them, then they got 3 lashes and were yelled at to bring the money the next day. Next were the kids who paid just 3 Cedis. More yelling, and stronger lashes. As I watched each kids' face tighten as each lash came across their back I felt something inside me just fall. Completely helpless to save them from what I view as torture. The kids are 13 years old -- they should not know pain like that.

According to one kid: "the butt is OK, but my back... it's doing some work right now." The one's who had not paid at all got the worst beating. I could feel the sting that they must have felt. It just seems wrong. And I know it happened in the US not too long ago, but we got rid of that. How does it help a child learn if you beat him? I think it just teaches them to lie and avoid getting lashed.

What's worse is I talked to one girl later and she explained that (just like at home) the kids ask their parents at money. In her words, "it's not our money, it's our parents money. If they don't have the money, why should I get beaten?? It's not right."

The teacher explained to me that he will not cane the children because a parent could take him to court and win should the child get hurt. Yet, for some reason, headmasters have immunity. It doesn't make any sense, but then again I'm trying to use logic.

Just 2 weeks left...

Pretty lazy day today... slept in til about 10am. It was one of the first mornings in a long time that no one barged into my room shouting in some language from Nigeria. That's the typical morning wake up in my room. Although, having been here so long now, I can sleep through bright lights, intense heat and even loud noises. I once fell asleep in my room when there were 5 others talking with the lights on and one person was sitting at the head of my bed!

***

I just spent the last few hours prepping for my lesson tomorrow. I am still teaching science on Tuesdays and tomorrow is the respiratory system. Last week we talked about each part of the system and this week we are going a bit deeper. Diagramming the lungs, talking about repiratory diseases and then I will shift into general hygiene.

I'm bringing up a special topic too: sinus infections. It will be easy to discuss since I have one right now. At home when I get sick it often turns into a sinus infection... and I get it atleast twice per year. Anyway, I felt the symptoms approaching the past few days. Constant sinus headache, intense pain in my eyes and cheeks. I went to the pharmacy today (or the ''chemist'' as they call it) and expected to just get some ibuprofen and relieve some inflammation but I did much better than that! Walked out with amoxicilin! Nothing like self-medicating, eh? Awesome that you don't need a prescription here. The guy just goes ''here take this for 1 week. GHc 12.'' ($10) I'm already feeling better and the pain in my face has reduced.

Not much else to say for today. My closest friends Roy and Kate from Taiwan leave on Wednesday. Really bummed about them leaving since we literally spend 18 hours a day together.

Part 3: The Finale

Before I begin part 3 I thought I should update you on life here... We had no running water again. Only four days this time before it came back. I made it a point to ask people why they put up with it, and their responses were basically ''what can we do?''

Demanding something from a government that is 1) corrupt and 2) unable to help its people is not something any of us have experienced. If there was a water shortage in the States, there would be riots and angry people heading for the water company. I get the feeling that people here are completely struggle to have their voices heard. One place we sometimes eat dinner has a nice lady that I have befriended. She told me that she had to go past Kaneshie Market to get water. That's almost 2 km or over 1.5 miles!

Second piece of news, our interschools competition finally began! After studying HIV/AIDS for 4 months, we decided to test the children's knowledge. With 17-schools in the program, we designed a 4 round bracket competition. Round 1 was this past Friday so we are now down to just 8 schools. The school I teach won the first round and I am excited to see if they continue to advance to the final.

Back to the story.....

Chapter 6: Elephants and the Journey Home

We had just left Wechiau and were now arriving into Wa. Wa is a fairly big city with a decently sized bus station. The station had signs indicating where the buses were going, which is rare here in Ghana. Before we boarded a bus we decided to take out some money from the bank and eat a real meal. Full and back on track we headed to the station.

We quickly found a sign that read Wa to Tamale. On that route to Tamale is Larabanga and 1km outside of Larabanga is Mole Park. It is very common to drop at Larabanga on the way to Tamale, especially since there are a very limited number of direct buses to Mole. We entered the bus and triple checked that it was the right bus. Kate even clarified by saying ''first this bus goes to Sawla and the next stop is Tamale. We can exit at Mole, which is on the way to Tamale, correct??'' We got the affirmative from 2 people and felt relaxed. This was the first time we would arrive to our destination in the daytime and have a chance to relax at the lodging before sleep.

The bus waited until it was full and we took off. We arrived to Sawla in about one hour and a half, and that meant about another hour to Mole. The bus continued driving to the next city, stopped and the driver called out ''last stop'' meaning end of the line. Well, we looked around at the extremely small city and then I noticed a sign that read ''Bole.''

Bole. A tiny city 30 minutes south of Sawla. Not even remotely in the right direction of Mole or Tamale. Not even close. Not a side track or short cut. Complete the wrong direction. According to the driver, he thought we wanted to go to Bole first and spend the night and then leave for Tamale in the morning. This is the sort of assumptions many people made during the trip. Either they didn't listen to you or they just assumed. They never ask to clarify further and as a result we received constant false information.

Now stuck in Bole we had to figure out how to leave. Luckily we were only 30 minutes from the bigger city of Sawla and there was a TroTro heading there. It was waiting to be full and that took about an hour before we could leave. It was now about 4pm. Around 4:30 we arrived to Sawla and had to find the next available bus to Tamale.

In the north, anything past 4pm is late. Because the roads are so bad and it gets dark early, most TroTros end around 4, meaning the only available transport is maybe a truck or hitchhiking with someone. The locals all know, if you are later than 4pm, just wait til morning.

Well, we didn't know that and more importantly we were going to Mole on the last day of our trip - the same day we had to head back to Accra. Our time was running out and we needed to get to Mole asap. In Sawla we happened to run into 2 Spanish people from Barcelona. They were interns teaching kids just like us and were in Ghana for about a month. More accustomed to life in the north, they helped us procure means of getting to Mole. One option was getting in the back of a truck and heading to Larabanga. As we got out of the TroTro when we first arrived I heard a man in a truck yell Larabanga. Not knowing that was our only chance, I ignored him. Mistake number 234843542309 of this trip.

The next option was hiring a taxi to take us. The first guy wanted 150 Cedis. The second wanted 100. After a lot of negotiating, which would not have been possible without the Spanish and their connections, we agreed on 80 Cedis. That's about 60 USD. A ridiculous price, but the only option. It had since become dark and we needed to leave. We were told the ride would take about an hour -- which I guess really means 4 hours because that is what is actually took! 4 hours downs a busted, dusty road. At least we had a private TroTro to ourselves and not a truck bed.

We didn't arrive to the gates of Mole until 11pm. We paid the entrance fee of 5 cedis (Kate meanwhile had an issue getting the student price since her ID is in Chinese... even though it says Shingua University right at the top. Mole Motel was actually pretty nice. Our room had 3 beds and a decent bathroom. Exhausted from the day, we all showered and then passed out.

The safari the next day began at 7am and we hired a Safari Jeep to drive us around the park. I stood about 50 feet away from this elephant and then watched a few others play in a lake. It was really pretty cool... definitely a highlight of the trip. Our safari lasted about 2 hours and other than the elephants we saw some monkeys and birds. It's not the type of safari you are probably picturing, but this is West Africa. Northern Ghana is wide open, dry, barren. It is not a vast open land space with lions and hyenas and zebra. Nonetheless, it is still beautiful in its own right.

After the safari we planned to swim in the pool and relax for a while. Noticing it was already 9am and considering it would take 4 hours to get back to Tamale just counting the driving time and nothing else, we decided that we'd better leave. We needed to leave for Accra on that day and we could not afford to miss a bus.... again.

Without shower or pool, we shared a taxi with a German Ghanaian woman and her German husband to Damongo where we could catch the bus to Tamale. Interesting conversation with the lady about her experience returning to Ghana. In one word she said ''difficult.''

With all the transfers and waiting time, we didn't get to Tamale until 3:30pm. We purchased our tickets for the 5:30pm bus and went for dinner in the meantime. At dinner I think we were all reflecting on the past 6 days. I had started to get sick so my head was spinning and my body was aching. Roy just looked sort of lost. Kate looked tired and ready to be home. The only thing stopping us was the 11 hour bus ride.

The ride home was uneventful. Mostly just driving through the dark all night. The road was very bumpy making it nearly impossible to sleep. On the bright side, I don't think I will ever complain about a long car ride again. Also, in Ghana I have learned to sleep through bright lights, loud noise, constant fan overhead and maybe now bumpy roads. Summer's in Cleveland will be easy...

We arrived back to Accra at 5:30am and as I entered my room, all of the lights were on and someone was sleeping in my bed on my sheets. Too tired to be angry, I showered, kicked the person out of my bed, threw a clean sheet down and then passed out.

So, ''how was your trip?'' I'm still not sure how I should respond.

The End.

Part 2: Hippos, TroTros and Safari

Chapter 4: Burkina Faso and the trip to Wa

5:30am, time to wake up. We were told the bus from Paga to Wa left around 7:30 am, so we woke up early in order to get to the border and then to the bus in time. We packed up our duffel bags and headed for the exit as fast as possible. Nothing like traveling all day, then sleeping on a rooftop with no shower and getting up early the next day to do it all over again!

The walk to the border was about .5 kilometers in the nice "brisk"-ish morning air. Since the weather is so dry in the north the morning is actually quite cool and nice. We arrived and saw that is was just a fence. We walked through the "security immigration checkpoint" and all we had do was say we wanted to take a picture in from of the Burkina Faso sign and the captain or whatever he was just waved us on. No stamp in the passport, no ID card or anything. We sauntered over to the sign, took our pictures and that was it - time to get the hell out of there. (See my boat? Now let's get the hell out of here.)

As we crossed back into Ghana we waved at the patrolman and he waved back and wished us a safe journey. We had asked several people what the taxi fare would be to get to the city of Navrongo from the border so that we could catch the bus to Wa.

We rolled up the bus station and found the bus to Wa left at 5am, not 7:30am as told. You'd think we would be mentally prepared for always having wrong information... We were talking to one local who mentioned a bus to Tumu, half way to Wa. It didn't leave until the afternoon which meant a morning of waiting and waiting. However, about 30 minutes later that same guy rolls up in a cargo truck shouting "going to Tumu?." Our savior! Kate, Roy and I climbed into the back of the OPEN AIR cargo truck as we prepared our hitchhiking adventure. Other locals joined us, so we figured it must be legit. In the north, transportation is limited, so if a sketchy open air truck comes along, you take it.

The ride should have taken about 2 hours as the distance is just over 100 kilometers. However, the "road" was like driving on boulders and the truck had zero shocks to absorb the bumps. There is a video of the three of us sitting in the back of this truck. Only the video accurately shows what we endured. The ride there was beautiful - the golden Ghanaian savannah -- mixed  with me thinking about that movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles." Four hours later we arrived in Tumu.

Once in Tumu, we had the realization that we were still 150 kilometers from Wa. It's like getting sucker punched when you are already down. Luckily, in Tumu you purchase a ticket for the TroTro to Wa. It was somewhat comforting to know we had a guaranteed spot on a bus. While we waited we grabbed some Yam chips with Peppe sauce, talked to some local kids, and enjoyed the smells from the communal open air bathroom.

The bus was finally ready to leave and we stepped into the bus. This has got to be the worst TroTro I have ever been on. First, it is meant to hold maybe 12 people. We had 16 people and even 2 people were sitting on the roof.  The roof of the bus was caving in on top of my head and the engine was hissing like it was about to blow up. While driving, we had to stop every 30 minutes to pour water on the engine to make sure that it would not overheat and leave us stranded somewhere in north Ghana.

The most interesting aspect of this leg of the journey was the local people that we met. This TroTro was obviously one of very few, or even the only TroTro for the day. As we got to each village people were there waiting -- clearly waiting all day for the one TroTro so that they could get to Wa. If they missed the bus, they would have to wait until the next day. We take our cars and buses for granted and the luxury that they provide.


Chapter 5: Getting to Wechiau and some Hippos
We finally made it to Wa around 5:30pm. Remember, we woke up at 5am and still accomplished nothing in our day so far except travel 200 kilometers. Realizing we were losing daylight and were still several hours from the Hippo Sanctuary, the three of us became a little jumpy. We frantically searched for the correct TroTro to get to Wechiau. Of course the locals were completely unhelpful at first. The Hippo sanctuary is basically the only attraction in the entire region yet no one knows it. We eventually found someone that knew and took us over to the Wechiau TroTro -- which was really just another open air truck. But, at least this one had bench seats and a roof.

The road to Wechiau was even worse than from Navrongo to Tumu. Even more terrifying by the fact it became complete darkness. All we could see were the bodies around us squished in like sardines and we could feel the dust and dirt collecting on our faces. Also, one man asked us why we made no effort to learn their language, Wala. A language only spoken in the small city of Wa. Anywhere outside this city, even in the North of Ghana, no one speaks it. So, why this man felt the need for me to learn the language, I'm not sure... This was when the three of us realized one of the major problems of Ghana. There are over 10 languages in this country. People in the north speak languages not spoken in the south and vice versa. Basically, what that means is that even people in Ghana cannot understand each other. English is weak in the north, so for us travelers the journey was made that much more difficult. The little bit of Twi I have learned was worthless -- so I guess maybe learning Wala for the 12 hours I would be in Wa was not such a bad idea.

Another 3 dusty hours later, and one completely compressed spine, we arrived to Wechiau, the city of the Hippo Sanctuary. As we were driving we kept asking one man if he knew the Hippos. "No, no, no." We figured he just didn't know. We finally arrive to Wechiau and he leans to us and goes "Here's hippos!"

I think we arrived to the Hippo place around 9pm. Pitch dark, but this is when our luck started to change for the better. The driver of the truck took pity on us and found the office manager, who then led us to the office. Very slowly, he described what the sanctuary had to offer, where we could sleep, how much it cost and all the other details needed to ease weary travelers. It was too late to sleep in the "Hippo Hideout" which is a tree house right on the river. The next option was a lodge. We were able to sleep on the rooftop, but unlike the last place, they set up our beds with sheets and nice mosquito nets and the camp grounds were really beautiful. Plus they had plenty of water and so we could shower off 3 days worth of dust. This lodge was tucked away 17 kilometers from Wechiau in its own little hideaway area. It was serene and relaxing and I slept solidly for the first time in days.

The next morning we woke up at 6:30am to go on a river raft trip. We followed the guide to the river and took a canoe down the Black Volta. On one side is Ghana and the other is Burkina Faso. So, technically I've been in Burkina Faso twice! A bit down the river we saw 4 hippos playing in the water. They were an awesome reddish brown color and they looked peaceful, farting along in the water. We drifted around for about 30 minutes and in our effort to save some money, we turned around to head back to camp. For me, this was the best part of the trip. I could have stayed there for days. The locals were so friendly to us and we really felt welcomed. They treated us like we were one of them and we even met a shop owner that was completely deaf, but through sign language the locals communicated with him.

After the river trip we headed back to Wechiau in order to go back to Wa. In Wechiau, the village chief and elders were heading to Wa as well and so we had the opportunity to ride with them in a TroTro. That was a really cool and unique experience.

Our next plan was to get to Mole National Park in order to see elephants. This should be a relatively simple journey, only a few hundred kilometers, but after such a nice evening/morning it was in the cards to face more trouble...

Part 1: Kumasi and Beyond

The story I am about to tell is the story of 3 people and the most challenging experience of their lives. Happiness, anger, confusion, sadness, rage, joy and more confusion. No matter how many details I use to describe this recent adventure, the only way to truly understand is to have been there. In my modest attempt, I will try to bring you into my world and help you to understand our 6-day journey. Enjoy.

Chapter 1: Kumasi
Roy, Kate and I left for Kumasi, the second biggest city in Ghana. Distance: 270km or 168 miles. The journey began when we left the house at 6am in the morning. From the CUC house we went to Circle (a bus station) to find our bus. Armed with just 1 German-written travel guide borrowed from a friend, little did we know that we were about to start the longest trip of our lives.

We arrived to Circle and were immediately harassed by the locals. "Where are you going?!" You have to use your judgment and select the person you feel will give you the best information. We chose and were told that the next large bus would come soon. However, the bus holds maybe 30 people and well over 60 were waiting in a mass. When said bus did arrive, the performance that occurred was something from a movie. Women getting pushed aside, babies crying and 3 light skinned people struggling to not get trampled. Needless to say, we missed that bus. Before we could catch our breath we were hustled away from the crowd by our information-keeping local. From no where, in the back of the station he directed us to a white bus with A/C. We tentatively got on, but with reassurance from other passengers we agreed. Cost: 12 GHC.

Between 4 and 5 hours later we arrived to Kumasi. The road to get there was insane - like climbing through a wall of rocks. It's astonishing to find that there is not a decent road connect the two largest cities in the country. How cargo trucks manage is quite incredible. Also, had we known that this bumpy ride and lightly A/C van would be our best mode of transportation for the rest of the trip we made have tried to soak it in a little more...

Once to Kumasi we found our hostel and checked-in. The total cost was 12 cedis for 2 connected double beds and was split three ways. The room was not fancy at all, but more than decent and even had a balcony. The first day in Kumasi was spent traveling to tourist spots. We saw the central market, the main TroTro station, the National Culture Museum, the Sword Site and then the Zoo.

Market: one market = another market. Everyone selling, no one buying.
Station: actually really cool, and I have pictures to prove it
Museum: grounds were beautiful, but there was literally nothing to do. Museum was no-nexistant and so we just got Cokes and got out of the sun
Sword: story goes that Ghana has its own excalibur. We finally find the site and it's this like 15x15 building behind some random hospital. And as you stand at the entrance and can see everything in the room in one glance, they then ask for 2 cedis to enter. Kate and I stayed outside while Roy went in. Then we listened to the tour guide from outside and took pictures of Roy wasting his money. Gotta love it. Also, I'm not sold on the story about the sword...
Zoo: Ah, so depressing. The animals were so thin and sad looking :(. No one there taking care of them. Also, I saw a chimpanzee, that in my opinion, solidifies that evolution is real - but that's just my opinion. Other present animals were some bats, turtles, snakes, more turtles, birds, monkeys, 2 hyenas, 3 lions (1 tried to get busy with a female but she wasn't having it) and a peacock.

Day 2 was spent visiting the Ashanti King's palace. After finally arriving to the palace we realized that again there was nothing at the site to see, so we skipped it. Got some good pictures of the outside though -- that counts, right?? We attempted to then go to some lake to swim, but found out it would be about 25 cedis in taxi cost and it just didn't seem worth it. So, we changed plans and met up with the people from the AIESEC LC in Kumasi.

Together, we all got lunch and then headed to the pool at K.N.U.S.T (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology). The school is hugeeee with 25,000+ people. The campus reminded me of Kent, sort of. Green, hilly and very spread out. One of the dormitories looked very similar to any standard US college. The AIESEC house is a little ways off campus. It is so much more rural where they live but very peaceful and a nice change from the big city.

We jetted from the KNUST AIESEC house just after dark as we attempted to catch a bus to the north that evening. The ride is approximately 10 hours from Kumasi to the very north of the country so we thought driving all night would be the best option. Of course we get to the bus station (after taking a little detour in the city) and there is absolutely no bus that night. They don't start running until the morning, but we did learn how to get an early 4am bus from a different STC (government public transportation system) bus to Bolgatanga, a city in the north.

Trying to get to the next bus station was a complete joke. Literally no one knew what is was. We had to ask maybe 10 different people, but finally a security guard at a hospital was able to point us in the correct direction. While walking, we found this little restaurant on the street with the typical rice and chicken and sat and ate our food. Feeling refreshed, we continued our journey down the random street to apparently nowhere. Along the way we stopped at a gas station for directions and found out we had been going down the correct road after all. Too tired to continue, we followed a business man who was heading to a hotel.

It turned out that this hotel was REALLY nice. A nice big room, with a private entrance way/balcony thing and a decent bathroom. No running water, of course, but at least nice beds. We only slept for about 4 hours before we woke up at 3:30am to catch a 4am bus. This was pretty standard for our trip. Travel all day to find something, spend half the day finding some random bus on some random street, then more traveling and finally land at a hotel in the late evening.

Chapter 2: Getting to Bolgatanga (Bolga)

We arrived at the STC station at 4:05 am. There were maybe 40 people milling around waiting for the ticket counter to open so they could buy their tickets. The options were Tamale, Bolga and a few other cities. We stepped into the Bolga line and we not even 20 people back. Around 4:30 ish the ticket counter opened and we figured by 5am we would have our tickets and be on our way - I mean a big orange bus with the word "Bolga" was already waiting to leave.

WRONG. We waited. And waited. 5am .... 5:30 am... 6 am.... literally we're not moving. Dozens and dozens of people start arriving and lining up behind us, but yet nothing is moving. No one is buying tickets, no one is moving. NOTHING IS HAPPENING!!! Twice we asked the counter lady and apparently the bus we watched, which then left was not our bus. Some other side-line randomly forms and those people start buying tickets. Finally, the bus left at 8:30am. 4.5 hours later. Just a short 5 hours since we woke up and we had not even left Kumasi yet...

Chapter 3: Bolgatanga and some Crocodiles

A short 10 hours later we arrived to Bolga. From there we took a TroTro through the countryside to Paga (40 kilometers away). The air in the north is so dry you cannot breath - it's crazy. And the countryside is sadly beautiful. Very dry, and brown with simple trees. And between the trees are little hut-style houses where people live. Most likely, they have never been farther than Bolga, let alone Accra or anywhere outside of their country. It's a strange feeling to drive past someone that will mostly likely never live somewhere with electricity or running water. A built of guilt or sadness, or happiness for my own life -- whatever it was, I was feeling it.

We get to the "city" of Paga which was just a dirty, nothing town. After fighting with a taxi driver for about 30 minutes, we reluctantly had to pay a ridiculous price for him to take us to the crocodile place. We arrive to this Crocodile "sanctuary" which is really just a little swamp with kids running around playing tour guide. We follow one over and one kid showed us how to stand behind the Croc and pick up his tail, then pat him on his back. 

By this time it was getting dark and too late to walk to the Burkina Faso border (which was about 1 kilometer) so we asked around for the "hotel." We happened to ask the right guy - the owner - who took us right to our "room," AKA the top of a hut with 2 mattresses and a mosquito net. Oh, and 1 bucket of water for 3 of us to use. Tired, dirty from the day of traveling, and hungry we plopped down on the mattress and went to town on the bread and peanut butter we had brought with us. Soon after we passed out, pretty much unable to move or speak. Had we not been so tired, it may have been neat to sleep under the stars and listen to the local goats and other animals. However, we were annoyed from the day and also the mattress/net combo cost 7 ghana cedis per person. Cheap from western standards, but extremely expensive for Ghana standards.

New Roomates

Roommates here seem to come and go as often as the sun sets. For those that are not familiar with the sun, it usually sets every day. Usually.

My friend Kate moved in here when she could no longer stand her homestay. All the homestays they have been providing are just with an AIESECer, so it's like living with a college kid. As in any culture or part of the world, sharing a tiny room with someone is a hard thing to do. Then Eva, the German girl arrived and took that same homestay that Kate had. She only lasted 5 days and then pleaded to move into my room. Which holds 3 people max. Long story short, this is supposed to be a "guys" room and so when the 2 Nigerian interns arrived this week, both Eva and Kate got the boot.

However, I'm in the room alone because the Nigerians are yet to move in....

This morning I left for my schools for the Friday HIV club sessions. Arrived at my first school only to be informed that the kids were not there today and that we had to reschedule. I am starting to see a pattern here... From there I went to my second school and they actually WERE there so I could teach!

I brought Eva along with me today since her schools are close to mine. I had an idea about splitting my class up between guys and girls. Eva took the girls, I took the guys and we each had candid conversations about important topics. Women rights/equality, rape, fidelity, treating women with respect, allowing women the right to say no... and Eva took some sensitive feminine topics. I think it was a big success and the kids seemed to enjoy asking questions they cannot usually ask.

***

I'm not sure if I have mentioned the dust that makes up Ghana. Everywhere is this clay-dust stuff that gets on your clothing and in your nose. Mixed with 30 year old cars and their exhaust makes the air pretty nasty. If you come here, don't bring white clothing!

Leaving for the North Region tomorrow at 6am. Our route is Accra to Kumasi (second biggest city). We will stay there for a few days and the head to Tamale (4th largest city). From Tamale we take separate trotros to get to a hippo sanctuary and Mole National Park. The hippo place is on the border of Burkina Faso and we actually get to walk into that country!Still working on getting to Togo before I leave though.

Time to pack, eat a mango and figure out how to stop sweating my own body weight each day. Enjoy your weekend!

Goodbye China

Today, my Chinese intern friends left :(. After spending a month with them, seeing them everyday it's amazing how close you become. It's like years of friendship that gets pushed into a very short time, mixed with the Ghana bond from this trip. I will truly miss them.

While we were watching all 10 of them climb into a van today (it was quite a show) my friend Terry (a local) was walking across the street back to our flat. We were just watching from the balcony when all the sudden he gets hit by a motorcycle and goes flying into the air! It was like something from the movies, except Africa style. He just got up, yelled at the driver and continued walking back to the house. End of story. Meanwhile the rest of us are just staring with our jaws dropped in disbelief...

__________________
I've spent the last few days working more than I have in the past 5 weeks combined. On Sunday we wrote a proposal for obtaining sponsorship, Monday was spent fixing the proposal and creating some supplementary informational packets for companies to read and also getting a paint estimate for this one school that we want to paint, and on Tuesday I taught as usual.

Teaching yesterday was pretty fun. I performed a science experiment for them - the one where you drop Mentos in a 2 liter bottle of coca-cola. If you don't know what I'm talking about, definitely get on youtube and search Mentos eruption. The kids really enjoyed it, and hopefully learned about the science behind the experiment. Around 11 they have the equivalent of P.E. and so I went to the field with them where they play soccer and run around. The only difference is the field is more dirt than grass and P.E. lasts for several hours while the teachers just do nothing.

While outside, I talked with one student named Ishmael. He has so much potential and drive to succeed, but I'm not sure what will happen to him. The schools where I teach are dirt poor. They basically have no money and even high school education is not certain in their future-- even though its covered by the government. As I talked to Ishmael, he told me his dreams of becoming a doctor, though his mom wants him to be an engineer. The only thing I could tell him was that he needs to stay in school and study.

Went to pizza night at the mall yesterday, as usual for Tuesday. We picked up some cereal and peanut butter for our trip north. I leave Friday to the northern region of Ghana to Mole National Park (wildlife), the hippo sanctuary, and possibly a waterfall en route. The bus ride is like 9 hours...due to bad roads, bad buses, etc. Should be exciting though and I plan to take a ton of photos. Really wish I could share some with you all, but uploading is impossible. AHHH ! SRCATCH THAT! ONE PHOTO WORKED! LET ME TRY ANOTHER! One is the the back of our apartment flat, then a pic of some kids and us interns, and last is a view of our street from the rooftop.

Kokrobite

Hello loyal readers! Sorry I have been MIA this past week. I think I stopped posting because life became "normal." I have found my routine of teaching, eating, sleeping and playing. Today marks 1 month since I arrived in Ghana. I have been thinking about how much I have learned in just 4 weeks...

I've learned to eat soup with my hands, shower by bucket, endure insane humidity, experience cultural differences, teach HIV prevention in a rural African school, figure out a ridiculous bus system in a foreign country, learn some local language as well as Mandarin...

I look forward to the next 2 months and all of the new experiences that I will have. I truly do like it here and am not ready to go home just yet. Not sure if I would will want to extend my trip, but I'll let you know in April. For now I'm enjoying my Ghanaian routine.

Last weekend I went to a beach resort called Kokrobite. We stayed at a camping place called Big Millie's. Four of us stayed in a little yert (yurt?) or circular hut type thing. Just 2 beds inside and a mirror. But the grounds were amazing. Trees and flowers and lizards and then it's right on the beach so the view of the ocean is amazing. The water is so warm that you can walk straight in... but still feel refreshed. The place has many unique qualities like water from the quarry or the fact you order lunch at 9am, dinner at 4pm and then everyone staying at the resort eats together by torch light.

In the evening, we showered in the open air shower room and got ready for dinner. When you walk into the little table area, everyone just looks like they are in a pure state of bliss. It's relaxation to the extreme and every worry, concern or bad feeling just sort of melts away. Dinner was a bit more expensive (about 11 cedis) but it was delicious! I had pepper steak, potatoes and salad and it was seriously delicious. First potato I have had in probably 2 months and I really enjoyed something different. After dinner, we grabbed a few beers and just sat around the table talking and laughing and enjoying the moment. 

Later there was a reggae party at the site with live music, cold drinks and crashing waves. Like a movie or a dream, I let everything just sort of be and enjoyed the moment for everything it was worth.

The next day, we scavenged for some cheaper food down the road and then unsuccessfully attempted to find another beach spot. We returned in the late afternoon, exhausted, but happy.

On Tuesday I went to my school to teach science again. This time I prepared a short science experiment. I brought baking soda, detergent and vinegar. When you combine the three, a mini volcano is created! The kids seemed to really enjoy it. Also, we talked about the science behind it which hopefully made sense to them. Plus, since I used household ingredients I encouraged them to try it on their own. I thought I would teach from 8am-9am... and then again at 1pm for the second J.H.S. class. Instead I taught all day, mostly answering questions about the USA and about Ohio and whatnot. It was really fun, but exhausting.

I left the school exhausted, but was revived with 2-for-1 pizza at the mall. It actually tastes pretty good!

A new German intern arrived this week. Today, I think she reached her melting point and had a mini breakdown. The heat, her living situation, and the lack of work on this project finally got to her after 1 week. I think now she will readjust her thought process and everything should be fine. It is an adjustment going anywhere abroad, and I think even moreso here. Everything we do is a process, and a process that none of us are used to. However, we will be so much more prepared for future travels, at least in my opinion.

Intern day trip tomorrow to the eastern region. Another post to come when I return!

P.S. did I mention they fixed the pipes in our flat so now we have actual running water?? showers even!

Teaching

We finally have water again! It came back on Monday or Tuesday, hard to remember which day since everyday is the same here... I definitely have a new appreciation for water though.

On Tuesday I went to my school alone to teach for the first time. As part of my program, we teach HIV/AIDS prevention and we are allowed to go the school during the week to help out with whatever the teachers need. I will be going to my school on Tuesdays to teach science and maybe some IT, or maybe just cultural differences from America.

I woke up at 6am, walked out the door by 6:45am so that I could arrive to the school by 9am. I take one TroTro to Market and switch to the Madina TroTro. Once at Madina I can take a shared taxi or another TroTro to Pantang Hospital J.H.S. which is right next to the hospital. The whole trip takes about 2 hours, which I think I mentioned in an earlier post.

Anyway, I got to the school and Mr. Peter Nyame was waiting outside for me. He is a young teacher, about 25, and very welcoming and nice. He showed me to his classroom where there were about 45 junior high school students. The first thing I noticed was the fact that some students are very young looking and some look too old to be in the class. Other interns have heard stories from their students about taking time away from school. One child's father died, so he was not in school for three years. The stories are amazing, but yet even the kids move on with their lives. Life continues whether they like it or not and they just don't complain.

Mr. Nyame asked that I teach some simple science to begin. I talked to the kids about vegetables! Minerals, vitamins, roughage, how it makes a garden look nice, and the income from exporting from Ghana. The kids seemed relatively interested, but it was difficult for me to hold their constant attention. With so many kids in the class I really had to shout to be heard in the back room. My voice does not carry through a crowd, and I think that made it more difficult for me.

After about 30 minutes of discussion, the students went on a 20 minute break. I couldn't believe they were going on break in the middle of the morning. Very different from my Junior High experience... although the head mistress did tell me that the students arrive around 7am to clean the campus and straighten everything in the class room. People here are very disciplined it seems, and I have more to discuss about that later.

After break, the students returned to finish the lesson. I gave a short 5 question quiz (ex. Why are vitamins important? What is roughage? What is the difference between an import and an export....etc.) Most students got every question correct. Those that didn't either did not know the answer or were just being lazy. From looking around the room while they were answering I am leaning toward laziness. Can't say I blame them though, vegetables aren't really that exciting.

Once I finished grading the assignment we moved on to HIV prevention. There was supposed to be a district-wide quiz where one school competes against another. Unfortunately, the person in charge of the district is new and was not aware. Long story short, the quizzes have been postponed... However, I still needed to gauge what they already knew about HIV. The students are all in the HIV Club and they take a health class every year. For the most part they knew the basics about AIDS, how it spreads and how to prevent it.

Then we got to questions.

"If I have sex with a dead person who had AIDS, will I then get AIDS?"
"If a snake bites someone with AIDS and then bites me, does that mean I have AIDS?"
"Can I get AIDS if I share a glass of water with someone with AIDS?"

Their questions were so ridiculous I couldn't help but laugh. Although, at least I could provide answers and they learned some things. It was strange though since they would call out "Excuse me, Sir" to ask a question. Then I would answer and they would say "Thank You" and look very satisfied that they knew the answer to their question.

I taught HIV prevention for about an hour and then it was time to leave. I know now that I am not meant to be a teacher. I really liked the kids and had a great time, but I'm not cut out to be a teacher or maybe more accurately it isn't something I see myself doing. I do need to prepare a lesson for tomorrow, Friday. I will be going to both of my schools, hopefully teaching the same lesson twice.

* * *
We had a mini house meeting to talk about cleanliness and order. Here in Ghana, the locals wake up around 7am and the first thing they do is make their bed and clean their room. The discipline is admirable. Us interns all sleep til 9, 10 and to them it is just unbelievable. They don't understand why we would sleep so late.

In other news, I am completely sick of rice, chicken, beans and plantains. My friend Roy and I bought our own bowls, forks and spoons - and liquid soap. Now properly equipped, we might go to the market to get fresh vegetables. The only annoying part is that everything MUST be rinsed in clean water, especially the vegetables. Considering we are bound to get sick anyway (even the locals get sick), it almost seems silly to care anymore.

Day 3 without water

Today marks day three with ZERO water. Usually we have to fill buckets from downstairs, but 2 nights ago it shut off. We have since found out that their entire neighborhood does not have water. When you look outside, people are walking with buckets on their heads - carrying water from other local neighborhoods. Everyone carries on as if normal, but us interns are mildy freaking out. This thing is, we never know what to expect. We have electricity, but it shuts off randomly; we have water, but it stops randomly; we have wi-fi, but its dial-up speed (for 10 people)...the list goes on.

If anything was constant, for example no electricity ever, we could get used to that. The uncertainty of what tomorrow will bring is what causes delays and confusion. We never know what to expect, so it is very hard to plan the next day's activities.

***
On Friday, another AIESEC program had its kickoff party at one of the local schools. The program is called swITch and will teach kids about computers. There were several speakers, one from the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and an American professor who teaches at a local college. Some of the facts he presented were outstanding...

- for the internet speed we receive in America we pay about $25, $30... here that speed would cost $400-1000 !
- the internet speed he has at the ENTIRE university is equivalent to that of the average american household
- all internet connectivity comes under the ocean on cables and arrives in Accra. From there it is shared to the entire country (this is controlled by 1 company called Vodafone)
- a few times a ship's anchor has been dragged across the cables and severed them, thus the entire country of Ghana was without internet for several days

Before Ghana will be able to advance in the 21st century, they have got to fix their infrastructure. Being without reliable internet will cripple the economy here.

***
On Saturday I went to the Art Center. They had some really great masks, painting, fabrics and drums. I'm planning on having a small "Africa Shelf" in my new apartment and this place will be great for collecting some items.

Also, we met David the drum maker. He taught us about how to make African drums and then gave us a free drum lesson! First, we watched about 6 dudes in a drum session and then David taught us 4 simple beats and we played for about 30 minutes. By far, my favorite memory of this trip so far. Who would have figured that I would actually do some African drumming! The drums cost about 50 Ghana Cedis, or $35. It's a really cheap price, I just don't know how I would get it home... There are smaller ones, but they are just show pieces. The drums we used were performance drums and had a great sound to them.

Today we are heading to the pool. There we can shower and refresh a little bit. No idea when the water will come back on... and no one here seems to know/care. Life pushes forward here... an aspect of how to face each day that I wouldn't mind taking home with me at the end of this adventure.

It was supposed to be a 3 hour tour...

Today we were assigned our schools. I have two - both of which are about an hour and a half away. With no traffic and car it would take 25 minutes, tops. But because I have to take two buses and one shared taxi it just takes for ever. Annoying since I teach at 11am on Friday meaning I have to be gone by 9am. Add in wake up time and getting some breakfast... its an early day and guaranteed long day.

Baffour, our project leader made us go to our schools alone today. This made me extremely uneasy since they constantly tell us to go everywhere with a local. They always want to protect us and make sure we don't get the Obruni Price (Obruni = white person). Nevertheless there I was, alone. I walked to Kaneshie Station to catch the first bus. I have been here many times to it wasn't too difficult. Except for the fact that there are probably 75 buses in a cramped parking lot with no signs. Everyone just keeps asking where their bus is. Plus there are tons of street vendors and people selling stuff and trash and filth. It's just this crowded mass of people and smells. I found my bus and prepared for the 1.5 hour journey in a cramped 1970's bus.

We arrived to Madina Market and I was told to look for the taxi station. Of course I had no idea so I started asking random people and they pointed me toward the right. Every block I kept asking and everyone kept pointing right. I finally find it and of course it's the wrong one. The taxi driver points me back in the direction that I came from, a nice little 10 minute walk back in the 85 degree weather and 85% humidity.

I make it back to where I started and right around the corner is where I was supposed to go. I jumped in the shared taxi (which is much cheaper than a private taxi) and with the help of fellow passengers I made it to the school. I had called the Patron, Mr. Tumawu, and I guess he thought I was close by when I called at 12:30. Needless to say when I arrived at 2:45pm he was not pleased. This was the first time I have met the person in charge and I was "late." No only did I look bad, but now the program looks bad. I was pissed for getting bad directions and being forced to go on my own. Looking back now I know what to do which is good. But at the time I was drenched in sweat, nervous, and upset for making the students wait.

I apologized a bunch of times and I think everything is OK. Mr. T took me back to the main street and directed me home. While on the TroTro home the driver decided that the traffic was too much for him. He then went off-roading down this dirt path and we re-entered traffic later. OF course there was a policeman waiting. He pulls our bus over and starts yelling at the driver. Turns out that the driver did not have a license to drive. So, all the passengers were told to leave the bus and find an alternate ride. We did get our money back, which was the first question I asked....

There I was, standing in the middle of seemingly nowhere, waiting for some "mate" in a bus to yell "Circle circle circle" indicating that that bus was heading to Kaneshie Circle. One finally came, I jumped in, now even hotter, sweatier and angrier than before. Also, remembering that once at Kaneshie Circle I would have to transfer to the Russia Road bus to get home.

I made it back and all I could think to do was shower. The cleaning lady came to clean someone else's room, and while I was gone I asked that she clean my room. Cost was $2.50 and it included washing the sheets, sweep/mop the floor, and cleaning the bathroom. A bargain I might say.

Tomorrow I head to my second school. I now know that I need to leave earlier and at least this time I understand how to get there. Oh, and one more thing. We had the standard rolling blackout last night. When the power randomly goes out for no reason no one knows why it happened or when it will come back on. So we sat in the dark.

Welcome to Africa.

Cape Coast

After 4 longgggg days, I am finally back in Accra. We left Thursday for the AIESEC Ghana National Conference. There are 5 local chapters in Ghana (CUC -which is mine, UCC, KNUST, Legon and one other that I don't remember.) Also, some people from AIESEC Togo, Burkina Faso and Nigeria came to the conference.

This was the first and last AIESEC conference that I will ever go to. Part of the problem is that I am not a member, I'm just an exchange participant. So a lot of the AIESEC-lovin' and bonding was not for me. Also, the workshops were insanely boring and were attempting to teach us to be better leaders, but I was so bored I couldn't focus. After Thursday sessions all us interns decided to skip everything else...

Friday we woke up and ate breakfast. It was a type of porridge but as with most food here, a bit sour and not something I would chose to eat again. It's not bad by any means, but its just not tasty. Anyway, we walked down to the beach which had the most perfect sand I have ever seen. Also, most of the shells were perfectly in tact and are the color of ivory. There are these spiral type that look really cool too. I brought some home to share.

After the beach we went to Elmina which is one of 3 castles in Ghana. It was owned by the Dutch and other various Europeans and was used a point of slave trade. Standing in a cell with no ventilation and thinking about the fact that thousands of people died where you are standing is something that will stay with me forever. Or the room that still had a foul odor... because the people locked in the room stayed there for months. They ate, slept and went to the bathroom in the spot that they stood. Imagining the filth and disease in that room makes me sick. I cannot even being to imagine what these people went through.

We came back from lunch and ate some plantains and beans -- they actually tasted good although I don't really like plantains. We sort of got in trouble for skipping everything, so we felt a little obligated to attend some sessions. After a few I couldn't take it anymore, so I bailed and went to my room.

It was on Friday that the issues began. We had payed a certain price with the knowledge that we were staying for 2 nights. The third night us interns were going to stay somewhere else since we wanted to tour and see the city. Well someone got the info wrong since we only paid for 1 night. Some chinese interns were really pissed and left to find another hotel. I stayed for simplicity, but was not happy to have to pay more money. Also, they then expected us to attend more of the conference and we refused. This all led to some ill feelings. They didn't understand why we would come to the conference and skip everything; we felt cheated and misunderstood. Long story short, some left and some stayed.

Saturday morning the group that left went to the National Park and my group went to the second castle called Cape Coast castle. Like the first one, looking around at the signs that say "Door of no return" and realizing how many thousands of people walked through the door to board some ship bound for Europe or the Americas, branded with the ship code and the country to which they would be going. It made me think a lot about how succesful America has been, but how many people suffered for us to get to where we are today...

After the castle, we returned back to the hotel. Tensions were still high and our huge group was split up, cranky and the level of English was low - I still often have to play translator. Regardless, we found a place to sleep Saturday night, but a few people had enough and went back to Accra.

I woke up Sunday and did not plan on going to the National Park. The rest of the group left and then of course I decided that I wanted to go too. By myself I made my way to town and caught Tro-tro to the park. While others paid a lot for taxis, I got there for 1.6 Ghana Cedis. If I keeping tanning maybe they will think I'm a local!

We left Sunday afternoon and made our way back to Accra. It took about 3 hours and by the end we were all glad to be home. However, I made so many new friends from so many countries... Tina from Nigeria, Sharon from Ghana, John from Burkina Faso. It is really awesome what AIESEC can do to bring different cultures together. And it's amazing how similar everyone is around the world.

This morning (Monday) we traveled by foot to 6 more schools. I am very excited to learn which school I will be assigned to. Hopefully it will be one of the closer ones so that I can volunteer more often during the week.

I've been here for 2 weeks already... 8 more to go. Unbeilevable.

The Kids

This morning we left at 8am and traveled to 7 of the schools that are in the ASK program. ("A"nswers "S"olutions and "K"nowledge) We will teach to junior and senior high school kids who have elected to be in the program. We only stayed about 10 minutes at each school just so that we could meet some kids, the headmaster of each school and get more comfortable. We didn't get back home until around 4 since the schools were about 2 hours from here. By car and no traffic it would have been maybe 25 minutes, but we had to switch Tro-Tro three times plus we hired a bus to take us to each school.

It was a long ordeal, but also incredible. The primary school children (aged 5 through 8 or 9 maybe) went CRAZY when they saw us. The were jumping and screaming and begging to take photos with us. Then when you show them the picture on the camera screen they would go nuts again. Screaming and running with these amazing big brown eyes and big white teeth. The girls have short hair and everyone wears a school uniform.

One little boy was shy and didn't say a word but followed us everywhere on the school tour. One of the Chinese interns (Fei-Fei) has Garfield on her bag and the boy was studying it and was completely mesmerized by it. I wanted to take him home with me as my little buddy.

Each intern will be assigned to 1 school and we will teach on Fridays. Every other day we can go and teach whatever we want. However, the schools are so far that I don't think I will be able to go everyday. There are more schools in the program within walking distance in the city of Kaneshie and we are going to them next week.

Tomorrow I am leaving for the National AIESEC conference in Cape Coast. None of us interns really want to go the conference, but Cape Coast is a big tourist place -- tons of castles, historical slave trade sites, and a big national park. They got a deal for us so it's only 25 Ghana Cedis ($20) for hotel with beds, showers and A/C; 3 meals per day; and the conference. The conference is Thursday-Sunday but we are only going Thursday-Friday. On Saturday morning we will leave to do tourist things. Saturday night we are camping near the national park and Sunday morning we will go on the Canopy walk where you walk in the trees and look down at the animals.

I won't be posting until Sunday or Monday but I'm sure my next post will be nice and long. Oh, 4 more Chinese interns came today. Super crowded in here, but I am learning some Mandarin!

She-She = Thank you; Shan= mountain; Xia = down; Shang = up; yen = human

Accra Mall

This morning we woke up at 8am, the planned time to leave for the UN AIDS building. Somewhere around 10:30 we actually left. This is why I chose to wake up at 8am and not a minute sooner... I'm learning quickly.

Anyway, we went to UN AIDS via taxi. About 10 miles; cost was about 5 cedis. It's nice to pay a flat rate, no matter how bad traffic is, which is usually awful. (Taxis = A bunch of old old old old old cars that smell old, putzing around town.) We arrived at this beautiful white building, guarded, with a small park. It is the Ghanaian office of the UN AIDS effort. It is not huge by any means, but very nice. We spent some time in the library learning about AIDS and then proceeded to create easy quiz questions for the students. Very basic stuff, but important to teach. Baffour, our project director and someone I consider a true friend, explained that public schools here are not that great and that these kids need any information that we can give to them.

After UN AIDS we traveled to the Accra Mall and I felt like I was in America again. The mall was like any average small mall in New Jersey, Ohio, California, whatever. Air conditioning, food court with pizza, fast food, etc; movie theater and fashion clothing. We went to see Avatar even! Something else I added to my list of things I never thought I would do in Ghana...

It such a strange feeling to walk around the mall and then walk outside and realize where you are. People selling anything they have, poverty, Africa. I felt incredibly uncomfortable spending so much money on the movie and dinner (and at the super market at the mall which also looks like any average American grocery store... just a lot more expensive!! So much so, that I didnt even take a picture.) Some people here have nothing, but there I was seeing a brand new movie, sitting in A/C, munching on popcorn. I don't know how to explain it, but I already feel a distance from western culture and the extreme waste we seem to have.

For dinner we had pizza and it was surprisingly tasty. It is such a juxtaposition (correct word?) of life here. Tin shacks and people selling things from trays on their head, to movie theaters and a mall. Its like someone dropped electricity on an ancient society. Stone roads and open air gutters, but cell phones. It all doesn't quite make sense to me.

Tonight we chatted about religion. Most Ghanaians are Roman Catholic. They are very religious, believe in creationism and don't really know much about Buddhism or Judaism. It was interesting to hear different points of view. Separately, we also discussed relations between China and Taiwan. I'm learning almost as much about Asian culture as Ghanaian culture. There are 8 Chinese, 2 Taiwanese, me, 1 Brazilian and 1 Dutch guy from Holland. I am also becoming very close with the local AIESEC members. About 12 non-interns live here (with another 8 or so that show up once and while) and in just one week I know so much about them. They are extremely kind to us, and I have learned so much from them.

Tomorrow we leave for some of the schools in the program. We are going to meet some kids and teachers. Baffour said I can check out the schools and possibly work here on the off days teaching anything that is in need. That could be fun if the project doesn't fill most of the week.

Just tie the door closed with a hankerchief

It's been a few days so this might be long...

Friday: Pool Party.

The 11:00am pool party finally got started around 2pm... typical as I am learning. Take anytime and add at least 1 hour and that is when you will leave or the event MIGHT begin. For a type-A person like me, I am struggling with that. However, I am often late so it could work to my advantage.

Anyway, we traveled via Tro-Tro to the pool, which was at a very nice hotel. You can pay 5 cedis ($4 to swim all day). Let me first describe the drive there. The only way to truly give you a good picture is to imagine the Indian Jones Ride at Universal Studios. Swerving around pot holes, people, children, cars, taxis, random trash, and even a few boulders. It's like you are on a wooden roller coaster and you know it must be safe, but at any moment this is the particular ride where the track decides to say F you and everything goes wrong... lucky for us we made it! BUT... the pool was closed for cleaning.

So, we then traveled by foot for about 30 minutes. I wasn't bothered because our new Nigerian friends were also with us. I talked with Tina about Nigerian culture, the recent terrorist attempt in Detroit and American culture. She told me how embarrassed the whole country is and that they are desperately trying to change their image. And they also taught me the difference between bananas and plantains. Plantains are not for eating right from the peel -- you have to cook it.

The next hotel was very nice, right out of any tropical setting. Just us at the pool and it was the first time in a week that I felt cool and not hot. Interesting point: most Ghanaians cannot swim well or at all. I tried to teach a few of them.

Saturday: The Beach

We traveled via Taxi to Kaneshie Circle to catch the bus. Jumped on the bus and as we go to leave they try to shut the front passenger door and it would not. So, they just keep slamming it, because if you slam it hard enough it's bound to close... right? No. So then someone whips out a handkerchief and ties the door closed -- and off we went.

I took a movie of some of the drive. The poverty is just unreal. Yet we were traveling on a nice 4 lane highway, well paved. Passing these metal shacks and in each one someone is selling something. And at a traffic light women and children run to the bus to sell whatever they are carrying on their head -- banana chips, water, snacks, etc. It's just incredible.

The beach was beautiful. We had to pay to enter, but the sand was white and clean and the water was warm and great. It's hard to tell how much sun exposure I am getting since it is ALWAYS hazy. I have yet to see the full sun since I have been here.

We traveled back via Taxi and tried to go to this place that served a local dish called FuFu. We waited at the table for about 15 minutes only to find out they were no longer serving food. We found other food later and then last night we went to a bar called Champs. Basically a white people bar-- or bar for tourists. Met a handful of Australians and 3 Americans. Somewhat comforting to see them, but at the same time I am here to experience Ghanaian culture and would rather go to local bars.

__
My project should start tomorrow... I hope.

Kojo Jeff

Today I learned that if you are born on a Monday your name would be "Kojo". So I would be Kojo Jeff.

Today was much better than previous days. Two more Chinese interns arrived...I think they now outnumber the locals, and me of course. We had a quick meeting about my project today, what was done and where we need to go. We are starting with fundraising and learning (teaching the students) before we move into "expansion" where we will try to go to other schools. Currently, we are in 2 schools and they are going to battle for which ever school learns the most about HIV and how to prevent it. The project probably will not start until Monday.

Tomorrow there is a pool party. The whole LC (local committee, committee=chapter) plus all the interns are going. I think it costs 5 cedis (1 USD = 1.43 cedi). It's amazing how fast I am getting comfortable with the culture and food. Tonight we had banku, which is a sort of stew. You eat it with this bread made from corn and you dip it in the soup to eat the liquid. No utensils for that dish. 

Things are fairly cheap here. Dinner was 1.5 cedis, a coke is 80 pesewas (just like American cents). So dinner was 2.30. However, I usually dont get a coke and just bring a 500 ml bag of water. Yes, a bag but they call it a sachel. You can buy a pack of 30 little bags for 1 cedi. About 80 cents for the equivalent of 30 bottles of 16oz bottles. Very cheap and safe to drink. Strange because the bag looks like a bean bag but clear. You bite one corner of it to drink. It's funny because everyone walks around with the pouch of water hanging from their mouths.

Also, today I got a phone. The process to do this was insane -- so many people and buses and food and used crap that no one wants to buy. For my phone, it's about 15 cents per minute to call internationally and 5 cents per text message. It will be handy to keep in contact with people, especially for meeting up. My number is 054 534 8708. Not sure of the country code. Anyone can text me, and its about 20 cents from USA.

We still need to always walk around with a local to make sure we don't receive the "obruni price" (obruni = white person). It's not an offensive word, just something people on the street call you.

I will try to post some pictures soon.

Day 2

Today started off with me feeling extremely sick. Head, stomach, everything. Without using too much detail, I decided 3 days was long enough to hold everything in. And yes, I now feel much better. I also drank a lot more water which helps.

4 more interns (2 from China, 2 from Taiwan) arrived today. Now I know what I looked like when I got here -- dazed and confused. I realized how much I already new about how to live and it made me feel a lot better. It's basically like being a baby. I have to completely relearn how to eat, shower, go to the bathroom, everything. Once I get my routine down and rid myself of western ego I think I will be fine.

I spent the day basically sitting and sleeping. Jet lag usually doesn't bother me this much, but in combination with the heat and food it been interesting to say the least. I did not exchange money or get a phone yet, but that will all be tomorrow. With a phone and calling card, it will actually be very easy to call the USA. All the people here my age have laptops and phones, just like home eh? The only difference is that I am showering with a bucket.

The other interns and I went to dinner at this place called Homer's. Ate chicken and rice again... starting to get old but I'm trying to ease my way into local food. After dinner we went onto the roof to enjoy a "cool" 80 degree breeze and later played cards. I'm starting to learn my neighborhood a bit. I live on Russia Road at Flamingo Intersection. Absolutely zero street signs, so for all I know its not true.

I requested to be moved to a host family. I think the experience will be so much different. Here it is like living in a college dorm with college kids. While really fun and tons of people to talk to... in terms of feeding myself and experiencing local culture I think a host family will be better.

I still have no idea what time it is, but I know that I'm tired and I smell. Off for a "shower" and some sleep.

My arrival

Welcome to my first blog post!

I'm already technically into day 3 of my journey... I left Monday, January 18th at 11:30am and finally arrived Tuesday the 19th around 4pm. The program is through AIESEC, a cultural exchange experience. I will be working with junior and senior high school kids, helping them learn about AIDS and HIV and how to prevent it. I will know more about the work once we start...

So, some AIESEC members picked me up from the airport. The one runway landing zone is what it really is. Customs and Visa check points were pretty organized and they moved quicky. For customs I'm not really sure what they told me to do, so I just walked away and out the door. I'm not arrested yet so I think that I'm safe.

We then traveled via Tro-Tro (combination of a bus/taxi system) to Kaneshie Station - which is like a main hub for all the buses. They told me that you can get anywhere in Accra from this point. Now, its not what you might expect from a bus station. Dirt roads, old vans that hold about 15. No signs, and people just everywhere. Apparently it just works. Also, I felt bad since I had my giant bag which took up the space of a whole person.

From Kaneshie Station we got onto another Tro-Tro to reach our destination - the AIESEC house/apartment. This whole trip took over an hour and I'd say we went about 10 miles...maybe. The place I am staying is fairly big. About a dozen bedrooms, a big common space and a kitchen, which is pretty jank (Jank = not old or broken but just not right). Overall it looks like a crack house, but a nice one. I wish I had brought a computer since they have Wi-Fi! No running water right now because the pipes are ... malfunctioning? but hopefully next week. I showered with a bucket yesterday. That was fun.

At this point I'm trying to break through culture shock and cope with the heat. It's a bit warmer than the midwest.... Dinner last night was chicken and rice. It was actually not bad, but my stomach is still freaking out from all the travels.

There are 2 other interns with me, both from China. Apparently 6 more are arriving today and 2 more are somewhere for something. Basically, I have no idea what is going on. But we have internet and a lot of UPN shows. Hangin' with Mr. Cooper is a favorite.

The plan for today is to convert some money and get a cell phone. Wish me luck!