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!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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 im
possible. 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.
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 im
possible. 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.
Friday, February 19, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
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.
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.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
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.
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.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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.
Monday, February 1, 2010
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.
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.
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