Burkina Faso

This last week was an amazing adventure into a completely different African country and gaining a new perspective on life. Burkina Faso has the dubious honor of being in the Top 5 poorest countries in the world. The people however are the friendliest and most accommodating I have ever met. You might even say they are loyal and friendly to a fault. It actually got frustrating after a while with how there were several guys who would just walk around with us showing us things when we wanted to just explore things on our own. This process could have been made easier if I knew any French. Ghana is surrounded by francophone countries so any country I would have visited there would have been the same issues. Although the people were friendly to a fault it is by far preferred than to feeling unwanted and just a target. To get to Ouagadougou I took a bus from Accra which took a total of about 27 hours including the ridiculous 6 hours we had to spend outside the border because it wasn’t open yet. Once we got to Ouaga we took a bus directly to a village called Dori. This took another 4 hours. Needless to say, I was not anxious to get back on a bus any time soon. When we arrived in Dori, there were several people at the bus stop including donkey. In rural Burkina, taxis are either in the form of donkey and cart, or the back of motorcycles. Trying to find a hotel was interesting as all of the numbers in the guidebook did not work, but we found someone who showed us one. I made friends with a man named Ibrahim who I asked if he knew where to find someone who could take us on a camel trek. He told me that he could! I set up for the next morning that we would go for two days into the Sahel. We left the next morning after I bought my very own Sahelian turban to wear in the sun. I looked pretty awesome if I say so myself. Riding the camels the first day was a rather uncomfortable but debatably fun experience. We stopped in a tiny village that I couldn’t pronounce for what we thought was a short break but turned into nap time, lunch, tea time, dinner, fire, and bed time. There were a few highlights of this village and Burkina. The tea that we were served about 3 times a day was amazingly delicious and at night the stars were easily the most numerous and brilliant than I have ever seen them. The two planets, Venus and Mars (??) were both right next to the moon and we saw countless shooting stars and one huge meteor which we saw hit the atmosphere, bounce and break up in a visible fire. That night I slept on a “bed” which left me with bruises in the morning as it was essentially sticks. The next day the camels seemed much more comfortable and it was a great ride to two different villages where we got to play with some kids and drink more tea. There was a development garden run by the Peace Corp that we stopped at and it was an interesting co-op of foreign workers and local women who were learning how to gain better yields in the very arid climate. Back in Dori that night we wandered around to look at the market and to just see how the town was set up. We met a few guys who wanted to show us around which led to some interesting places as their English was “small small” and our French was “petit.” One of my favorite sights in the town was this little old man who was a silversmith. He was sitting on the ground pounding on silver wearing a pair of ridiculous glasses that were the size of his face and about an inch thick.
One of the facets of Burkina which was amusing was the use of concrete bags for wrapping almost everything. The men would roll desert tobacco using concrete paper while market women would wrap vegetables or millet cakes in concrete paper. I just had to ignore the health implications and just go with it. The tobacco that they had was simply in piles everywhere and you could buy a lot for about $1. Virtually all of the men in Burkina smoke and I had to try one of their rolled concrete cigarettes. Definitely an interesting experience and I figured that I was in the middle of the desert, why not just leave everything behind and just do as the locals do for a few days??
The next morning we let Dori for Ouaga and spent the rest of the day in Ouaga just being lazy and eating. While the entire trip was extremely fun and a great learning experience it was very physically and emotionally draining. While it hurts to see anyone suffer from hunger and need, the kids are the ones that tear your heart out the most. When every ten minutes you are confronted with kids begging for food you have to make some very hard choices. Realistically I simply could not give all my money away as I still had to get home but the times I wanted so badly to give them money there were so many kids that it is impossible to give them all a little. I had to make the decision countless times to give nothing rather than leave most of the kids with nothing. By the end of the trip I was just exhausted because its crazy how having kids break your heart constantly is so physically draining. There was one beautiful instance at the Ghana- Burkina Faso border than was so amazing it was completely pathetic. There were two small boys that asked us for food and we had some bread, we gave them a loaf of it and instead of the two boys fighting over the bread they calmly and in a mature manner split up the bread, not only into two pieces but into about 8 and gave pieces to the other small boys in the area. The way these kids looked eating these small pieces of bread made me feel so happy but on the verge of tears because of the extreme reality of the situation.
All of this poverty made me wonder why the Burkinabe stay in Burkina when there is so much drought and poverty and inability to find clean water. I think it all comes down to the ancient and personal ties to home. Regardless of how hard life is if you have nothing, you have to have pride in where you are and defend it even though it is a losing battle with no rewards. Their land and identity is seemingly all they have left so why not hold on tight. The trip home was much faster as we were able to cross the border early without waiting. Getting back into Ghana was in itself a shocking experience as it seemed incredibly lush and green when we got into the south and Accra seemed like an extremely western city even though it really isn’t.
Apologies for such a long and disjointed entry. I’m sure I am still leaving out so much but it was such a perception altering experience. Please leave comments and especially questions if you have any. See all of you soon!! (I leave Ghana this Saturday for the states)

Your burning questions answered.

Today is the day that I finally answer all of those burning questions you all have sent me in your comments. I shall first list the questions and then answer them. Most of these are from my brother or from Wes. Thanks guys!
So what are you going to do for the rest of your time there? after all, doesn't farewell usually mean goodbyes?
So other than a little bit of the entomology of acid bugs what are you learning?
is there anyone outside of the raymond clan and the senior citizens who might have gotten your song reference?
After you moved from your homestay, how much interaction do you have with "locals?" Basically, do you get into the community, or is your involvement mainly with the university and other exchange students?

For the rest of my time I will be "studying" taking two exams, picking up my suit I'm having tailored and wandering around Accra visiting people and looking at things. In the middle of the next couple weeks I will be going to Burkina Faso to ride some camels in the Sahara and hanging out in a Benedictine Monastery. (The bus ride from Accra to Ouagadougou is about 30 hours) AHHHH!!!! The Farewell dinner means Goodbyes for many people but it's true not all. There are most people leaving this Saturday for trips in and around Ghana, including myself and we won't see each other again or at least until we meet up in the States or something.

I am supposedly learning Modern European Drama and Play Analysis. I already supposedly learned some voice, drumming and dance, but I feel like I really learned the dance the best. I'm also learning how to be a better procrastinator than before. Not an easy task.

In terms of the song reference, I honestly could not tell you if anyone else understood the song reference. Technically anyone who watched Bend It Like Beckham should know the song as it is in the credits with the actors singing along, but you never know.

My interaction with the "locals" really just depends on the day. I feel like I interact with everyday Ghanaians everyday, but in terms of being at someone's house or meeting their families or having conversations I would say about once a week. Most of the students in my dorm are Ghanaian, Nigerian, or other internationals.

I apologize for the lack of insightful ruminations today!! It is just really hot and it kills the brain waves. I will be leaving this Saturday for Burkina Faso and will probably return to Accra around the 7th or 8th of December so feel free to leave plenty of comments or questions about things. Hope you all have a great week and a half!!!!

Kpetoe and Babies/Puppies

Yesterday I went on a one day trek to a little village outside of Ho just to get some kente cloth. Total travel time= 8ish
Total time in village= 45 min

Sort of seems ridiculous but honestly...what else was I gonna do? Might as well. I ended up buying more than I wanted of course, but I came away with a ridiculously beautiful blue and green kente blanket. On the way to the village there was a man with basket on his lap in the tro tro. I assumed that this was a basket with a few chickens..but it turned out that it was a basket of about five really cute puppies. This gave me something to look at. On the return trip I was treated to several treats. At the tro station, we were waiting to leave sitting next to a tro which had a large sheep tied to the roof. It was still alive and standing. On the way to Ho from Kpetoe we found out that there was a goat in the boot of our tro. It sounded like a baby at first but then it started to get more goatlike. Every time we hit a bumbp. Meeeeehhh!! It was hilarious. On the ride back to Accra i sat next to a little baby girl who has a good time licking her palms and rubbing them all over me. We play some games like "make ugly faces" "play wth the white man's hands" and "fall asleep and drool on his shirt" it was a great time and made the trip pass by very quickly. Tonight is the Farewill dinner and I am going to be "dressed to kill." I have a great outfit all picked out and I just can't wait. hahaha. I'm pretty much a baller, what can I say? Have a great day!!

Baby Turtles, Bangers and Mash, and leaky canoes.

This last weekend I traveled to the Western region and did some "exploring." We took an STC bus from Accra to Takoradi which is the biggest city closest to Cote d'Ivoire. We then took a 2 hour tro tro ride to Beyin which is a small village. We stayed the night there at a small little resort on the coast that is actually run by a young British woman. Part of the resort is the sea turtle conservation that they do and we got woken up early in the morning to see clutch of sea turtles hatch and wriggle their way to the ocean. It was a very cute and funny but kinda scary cause the little turtles get bashed around by the waves, stop, and then keep going until they finally make it into the ocean. The night before we ate some over-priced under served but still delicious bangers and mash. This is basically mashed potatoes and sausage. It was quite good just small. We then took a ride to a stilt village called Nzulezo. It was an interesting combination of a good trip to see something new and the feeling that we were getting ripped off for a tourist trap. The canoe ride which was supposed to be included in the fee was an extra charge and we were expected to row it ourselves and bail it out as it started to fill up with water. Once we got to the village it did look interesting but it was incredibly small and the only thing that happened was that we were met by the chief's son who mumbled his way quietly through the history of the village and then we were asked to pay more money to help pay the teacher's salaries. Once we bailed our way back to Beyin we took a tro back to Takoradi which promptly blew out a tire. We made it back to Takoradi too late to go to Kakum or to Cape Coast so we found a cheap hotel overlooking the big circular market in the center of Takoradi. At night we went out to eat for Elliot's 21st birthday at what ended up being a really fancy looking restaurant. All of us guys ordered cheeseburgers which were amazingly good and for some reason tasted like gyros. We asked the waiter if Elliot got a free piece of cake for his birthday but he said no. After a few minutes however he came out with a bowl of ice cream and cake and made us sing happy birthday and he sang along. He then brought out a bottle of sparkling apple juice. We were a little nervous that these would show up on the bill but they did not. At this nice restaurant with main courses and drinks the total was only 42 cedi for five people. Because this guy was so great we tipped him well despite the fact that people here never tip at all. I started to get more sick as we stayed there so I definitely was just in the mood to get back to Accra. While on the way home we had to give way for a political rally which was fun. The political rally was great because all of the parties have various songs and dances that are pretty funny. While in Beyin we tried to get some CPP Convention People's Party t-shirts but they were all out. Hopefully I can get some t-shirts soon. This week I have very few plans but hopefully will get some more Kente cloth from the Volta region and will explore Accra a little. Our farewell dinner is this Friday so things are definitely winding down even though there is basically a month left. My plan over the next few weeks besides a big trip to Burkina Faso and Mole are to "study" very hard by sleeping, eating, watching movies. Hope everyone enjoys the increasing cold while I "enjoy" the increasing heat. Have a great day!!

HOT HOT HOT!!

How you feelin'?
For my response see above blog title.
The last week has been an interesting combination of extremely lazy, hot, frustrating, and relaxing days. Yesterday I FINALLY took my dance final and eventually took my drumming final. Both went fairly well but it was a stressful day getting them actually done. TIA. At some point this week I have to do my voice final which should be interesting considering because of being sick and the instructor being sick, I've had about 5 lessons and don't have one of the songs memorized at all. Working on it Mom!! This last weekend Jack, Elliot and I decided to go on our adventure for bushmeat and it didn't quite work out. The bushmeat was "finished." Finished means that something is out of stock. We ended up eating at the chop bar anyway and having goat meat and banku. It was quite delicious. We then went to Elliot's homestay and sat in the shade outside eating Fanchoco and just doing nothing except some sporadic conversation. We then did some hard work and applied our extensive fruit experience and examined the mango tree in his yard to guess when some of them would be ripe.
On Sunday some friends and I went to Bojo Beach to relax and have a fun day playing in the sun. Sort of ironic since I spend the rest of my days trying to avoid being in the sun, but whatever.
Bojo Beach is a small resort where the beach is on a little island about 30 yards off the main shore. It was more expensive for a day trip but it was extremely relaxing and the beach was the cleanest I have encountered so far.
The TIA moment of the week so far has been the burn marks that several people, including yours truly have been getting. It turns out that some bugs are coming into season that leave a trail of acid where they walk. When they walk on your skin they burn you and if you smash them on your skin, you get a huge mess of acid on your body and hand. Exciting huh?!?!?!
I just have a few on my arms but they aren't exactly fun. Tomorrow is my last day of official class and depending on when my voice final takes place, I will be done with everything except for two written exams later. This weekend I will be going to Nzulezo and back to Kakum National Park to sleep on a tree canopy hut. I will let you know how that trip went and more exciting stories later. Have a great week!!

I'll trade you!!!

Hello Everyone!!
Today I went to a woodcarving village/market near Aburi outside of Accra. This trip led me to see three things. A bunch of really cool carvings, the advantages of the barter system, and a cow on top of a pile of dirt munching on leaves and three blades of grass. The carvings and products at this market were amazingly beautiful and there were just soo many things that it was hard to find things that stood out because there was sooooo much. The hardest thing was finding things that were small enough to fit in a suitcase. Many of the really intricate masks and carvings were the size of a small child. The beauty of the barter system is that I was able to trade my watch that I bought from target for a mahogony rhinoceros the size of my head. It was a pretty fun day overall. Yesterday I was able to go to Cocoa Beach and have a semi-relaxing day at the beach just taking it easy. I ended up getting into a pretty physical soccer match that was really fun. I tweaked my foot a little and had to spot but it was great to have a ball at my feet. The beauty of beach soccer is that it really tests your ball skills and endurance.
TWO WEEKS OF CLASS LEFT!!!!!!!!!
I guess that about sums up my feelings on that.

My dance final is monday, my drumming final two thursdays from now, my voice final......whenever i schedule and memorize my songs, other finals are on the 27th nov and 13th december. I suppose this might be the moment to start doing my reading and studying. Well, i suppose I won't be too hasty with that.

That's about all the fresh news for now from Ghana. I hope everyone had a great Halloween/alternative Halloween festivities. Talk to you later.

Bushmeat and a Snail named Steve

Akwaaba! So many events like elections and Halloween and finals are fast approaching. I have decided to be Michael Essien on Friday for Halloween. i will wear my Ghana jersey and put on a knee brace (he just tore his acl) and carry around a FanYogo. (he is the face on the ads)
This last weekend I had a great trip back to the Volta Region and climbed Mt. Adaklu. This mountain is the second highest "peak" in Ghana and is located by the small village of Helekpe near a bigger town of Ho. The trip to Ho was fairly uneventful once we got under way. We first had to go to a main tro station in Accra where the mates engaged in their usual fighting and shoving matches over getting the white people into their tro tro. It is rather overwhelming but if you just stay calm and wait things settle down and you just look for the tro who actually has other people in it. The ride to Ho was about 3 hours and on the way I saw one of the funniest things in my life. There were little boys running up and down the side of the road holding up squirrels for purchase. This bushmeat was tempting I must say but I was unable to stop and buy a dead squirrel.
When we got to Ho we had to ask around about how to get to Helekpe. We were taken to the Adaklu station by a crazy taxi driver who told us all about how the Volta Region would be it's own country in the next year because it's really owned by Germany and that the Queen was going to sign the papers that would make the Volta it's own country. We just smiled and nodded.
The "tro tro" to Helekpe traveled for about an hour on a dirt "road." The reason for my sarcasm is that the tro was a small truck with a cage on the back with benches and essentially 16 people got crammed in the back and then the truck went down the path of rivers and holes the size of hippos. After surviving this we arrived in the small village and introduced ourselves and found the guest house to sleep in. There were six of us on the trip and the guest house consisted of one room and two and a half beds. Two were on one bed three on the other and I was on the small mat on the dusty floor. The next morning we went with our guide, Bright who led us up the mountain. Bright was a delightful man who lived in a nearby village who climbed the mountain in a pair of broke flip flops. This hike was a beautiful but difficult climb with several places where there were ropes to climb with. The view from the top of this mountain was one of the best I have ever seen for just being a vast expanse of African bush and the feeling that the world is so immensely vast and isolated. We saw at one point some monkeys jumping through the trees about 30 feet below us. On the way down the mountain Bright decided to climb a tree to give us oranges. These were quite delicious and a great snack on an increasingly hot day. Also on the way down, we saw signs of several large snails. Bright got very excited and hunted three of them down to give to us and his friend. We wanted to get the one cooked to try it but somehow it never happened. We named him Steve and he climbed up the walls of the guest house. One of the joys of Helekpe were the abundance of goats. While the baby goats are cute, the goat population in general is very loud and at all hours of day and night. The first night we had a goat directly outside the window scratching himself and bleating at about three in the morning. The place we stayed was sponsored by an NGO who was trying to build up the tourism industry in the village. We only had to pay 2 cedi a night for the room and meals were on 2 cedi each. We decided as a group though that we would add a donation of about 5 cedi each towards the village in use for development. The entire village was great with many kids and nice people wanting to play and talk to us. One man even chased us down and gave us a gift of two bunches of delicious bananas. While in Helekpe we were encouraged to try the local gin called akpeteshi. (ahpetehshay) This is an interesting and incredibly strong drink but surprisingly good.
The next day we started the journey back to campus and it went by really fast. The only delay was when we got stopped at a police customs checkpoint. None of us had our passports with us but we had our student ids which worked fine. I thought that I would have my dance final yesterday, but surprise surprise it got delayed until next week. I did find out however that our class will be performing in a dance recital this weekend so that should be really fun. It will be great to perform as well as see the advanced classes because the students in them are amazingly talented. The internet keeps failing today so I should try to post this soon since it will take a while. Hope everyone has a great week and is sweating less than I am.

My new haircut!!!

I finally got my hair cur for the first time since being here. It's rather shorter than I am used to but it's great since it's so hot. The pricing for a hair cut in ghana is 1 cedi for a haircut and 2 cedi for "white man hair." So for a two cedi haircut I was quite happy. Other than that it's been hot and I have had a good time saying "Charlie why?" Basically if you don't know someone's name or are being informal you can just call them charlie. except you have to say it charlay. By the way, the instrument that I have to carry on is a djembe. A drum. I think most of campus now thinks my name is mr. mayhew. After the play I have had really random people call this out at me or stop me and talk to me about things and assume I should know who they are since they were in the audience. It's been kind of fun though being known for something in particular rather than just being stared at cause i'm an obruni. It's crazy that my dance final is already next week. My regular lecture class finals aren't until the end of nov/beginning of dec. but I still only have about 5 classes left, Thank god!! The classes are interesting just most of the time interesting does not have anything to do with the content. It's more fun being in a class where the students are more "vocal and interactive" hard to explain but it makes for lively classes. I'm looking forward to this weekend climbing some mountains and exploring the town of Ho more than I was able to a few weeks ago. Have a good day!!

FREEDOM!!!!

Apologies for taking so long to update all of you eager followers of my adventure. It has been a long couple weeks but the time has flown by quite fast. The last two weekends were the performances of the play I was in. The first weekend went great and the audience really loved it. The second weekend started out really rough but it got much better by last night. On saturday there was a brownout all day which meant I had no fan to keep me from dripping sweat. That night however, it meant that there were no lights on campus which obviously meant it was very dark. Once a generator was procured, the show went on (40 min late) and ended up being a good show. It was quite interesting trying to get changed and find props in the pitch black. All of the Ghanaians thought it was hilarious that I couldn't find anything backstage. The study abroad crew went to Kumase this weekend so I was lonely without them but it sounds like they had a fantastic time. Can't wait till I get to go. The most exciting thing I get to look forward to is that with all my free time I can finally go out and play football everyday and be more active. On Saturday I went with my friend Bernard to a restaurant in the Airport Residential area where he grew up for what he claims is the best waakye in accra. It was a good relaxing day just walking around the city and the meal was quite good. I remembered yesterday that I am actually in school so I should study at some point soon. Crazy Idea I know!!! I'm excited for the Coe Luther soccer game in a few days because a friend here goes to Luther so we'll probably have a bet going on the game. (ssshhh don't tell NCAA it won't involve money or steroids)
I woke up today and realized that it was an extremely beautiful day and there are really no big cares in the world. And this thought just sparked a memory from the other day which is completely unrelated. On Saturday I was in a taxi going back to the hostel when I saw a really random super skinny horse in a field and there was a large white bird just sitting in it's back asleep. I really wish I had my camera because it's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long while. Hopefully after this weekend of climbing some mountains i will have more stories to tell. If anyone reading this has any information about the regulations of musical instruments as carryons for airplanes, they should let me know. Have a good day!

Volta Region

This last weekend the Study Abroad crew heading out to the Volta Region and more specifically Ho, Hohoe, Wli Falls, and the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary. Ho is located to the northwest of the Greater Accra region. Leaving in the morning on Saturday, we loaded up three coaches and traveled through a beautiful region which consists of a more mountainous landscape than the coast and there are palm tree forests along with cocoa and banana trees. It is great leaving Accra to really get the picture of how the actual majority of Ghanaians live out their lives. The city is quite modernized and Western in a sense but it is only in the outlying towns that one really gets the sense of the culture and the history that the peoples of this region have. After arriving at the hotel, most of us put on shoes for the first time in several weeks in order to hike to the Wli Falls. In pictures I have seen of the Falls and other large waterfalls it is always a serene picture of gently cascading water into a blue calm pool. The Wli Falls absolutely smashed these images in a fantastic manner of spray being hurled about 100 yards away from the waterfall and a wave pool style water at the base. The entire scene was incredibly beautiful with jungle surrounding the huge cliffs with hundreds of large brown bats. Many of us decided to get into the pool to try to reach the water fall. Not only was the bottom of the river quite rocky, once you enter the water it seems as if the water is being hurled at you like hail. You can't even face the waterfall to see how close you are and you must crouch in the water to avoid the spray. It was an amazing primeval experience of trying to battle nature in attempting to reach the actual falls and stand under them. After leaving the Falls somewhat battered, a completely random jungle party started with a few army guys, locals, and our group starting to mix traditional dance and "popular" dancing styles to some intense local and Nigerian hip-hop. One very popular artist here is called PSquared. That night we went back to the hotel and sat around outside eating dinner and enjoying the relaxing air. The next day was the trip to the Monkey Sanctuary and then home. The monkey sanctuary was an incredibly fun experience feeding Mona monkeys. The majority of the Mona's are about the size of a cat and have very funny faces. The tour guide gave us each a banana to feed the monkeys. These things are incredibly intelligent coming out of the trees and taking the banana in their hands and peeling the banana themselves and pulling of a chunk to sit there and eat. The monkey sanctuary was my first place I 've actually gotten a touristy t-shirt. It's fantastic with a monkey sitting with a banana saying Ghana and Tafi Atome Monkey sanctuary. One observation I made on the way back is that it's an interesting experience being white in this country. Besides some obvious reasons, when one passes police barriers and checkpoints many times vehicles get stopped for overloading or bribes or other things. But whenever our group bus goes through or if I am on a tro-tro, whenever the police see a white face it's like an automatic pass. I feel like I am a commodity sometimes. It's great! This upcoming weekend the play opens but also means that I am missing out on the Black Stars World/Africa Cup qualifier against Lesotho in Sekondi. Not exactly happy about the situation but these things happen. Also, with the show performing next weekend I will miss the trip to Kumasi, but I should be able to get there in a few weeks. I am quite nervous/ excited for the play since the entire experience has been so much different than I am used to. This semester has been flying by and will continue to do so. My dance class only meets for two more weeks and then we start our final exam. Crazy stuff!!! I was reading a book the other day on reverse culture shock and it's funny to realize how long I've been here and the things I have gotten used to and grown to love. Things at home are definitely missed in the forms of people and some foods. But such a vibrant culture and friendly people will certainly be missed and craved. I have an informal football match tonight with my hall and other so I gotta run. hope everyone has a good wednesday and a good rest of the week.

Rhode Island and sweating

I have officially decided that my new Ghanaian name is Rhode Island. not sure if it will stick but we will work on it. Many of the Ghanaian guys that live on my floor go by nicknames completely different than their given names. Examples include Franchize and Montana. This is why I went with another state name. Sometimes we just get bored.
Whether we are bored or not, the absolute constant sweating is starting to increase. The sun is starting to get quite intense and my clothes are starting to cry out for an actual washer and dryer when I get home. Yesterday was the celebration of the end of Ramadan. This was celebrated by all classes being canceled and the Islamic community gathering in all areas of the country. Huge celebrations took place all over Accra and many places were closed down. I took advantage of the holiday in order to go to Busy Internet which is the sweetest place ever. It seems to be the one magical place where the internet is fast enough to upload a few photos. Hooray!!! They are as present on facebook but I am working to put some on this site. Tonight I am craving fan yogo and banku with either okro stew or groundnut soup. Big decisions tonight. In other news, I have about one week until my play opens and the disappointment is that the National theatre part fell through. At max, there will only be one or two performances there with 6 or 7 at the drama studio at the University.
That's all from Rhode Island for now! Have a good beginning of October and enjoy your fall.

Ada Foah

This last week has held many exciting adventures like a journey to Rum Island and battles with jellyfish!! Now that I have built up some intrigue I will get the boring stuff out of the way quickly. I have been sick for about two weeks and finally was made to go to the hospital in case I had malaria, but I just have bronchitis which is great!! I'm pretty much all better now thanks to the free and easily obtained pharmaceuticals found in Ghana. I also decided not to participate in "Our husband has gone mad again." The rehearsal schedule just interfered too much with wanting to travel. Now to the good stuff!!
This weekend I went to paradise. A little town called Ada Foah which consists of a little village and then many islands around where the Volta River meet the Atlantic Ocean. To get to this village a friend and I took a tro from Accra to Tema. This trip took around an hour and cost 50 pesewas. (50 cents) We then walked around Tema for about 40 minutes trying to find anyone who knew what we were talking about when we asked for a tro to Ada. After finally wandering through a sleepy market we stumbled across the tro station where we paid 2.20 for a 3 hour trip to Big Ada and then Ada Foah. Then came in the beauty of the bargaining system. We tried to find where to catch a canoe to take us to an island. A taxi driver tried to get us to go with him for 4 cedi up the road maybe 10 minutes and then we could catch a boat. After refusing this outrageous price we stared around in a daze trying to figure out what to do. After a minute a glorious sound of marching band filled the air and my friend exclaimed, Hooray a Parade! which we then quickly realized was a funeral. After viewing the procession a young man named Kwame approached us an offered to take us to the island for 4 cedi in his canoe. We thought he was a little sketchy but figured he was our best option. After a little journey involving a few goats and huge ducks we arrived at his little canoe and he proceeded to paddle us upriver for about 45 minutes for only 4 bucks. We were very grateful and pleased with the trip so we paid him 5. The island paradise we arrived at was amazing!! This place is a skinny island with half of the island being a river bank and the other side being an ocean beach. The accommodations were only 10 cedi a night and consisted of a "bed" (a little short) with a mosquito net and a sand floor surrounded by a thatched hut that sort of keeps the rain out. My friend Mike and I shared this fun little sleeping hut. Our activities on the island consisted of eating, drinking water, sitting on the beach, sleeping on the beach, walking on the beach, and body surfing!! The waves were incredibly fun and big which made for some intense times. On Saturday morning the fishermen were out pulling in the nets which were full of fish, shrimp, jellyfish, and one giant "thing." Literally have never seen this thing before in my life. When it was curled up it looked like a brain on the half shell. Then it unfurled and was a weird wiggling grey slug monster with a tiny shell for a face. The irony of the trip is that this was the first time that I had liberally applied sunscreen, and the first time I have been burned in Africa. That night we ate shrimp which we bought from the fishermen that morning. We probably got about five pounds of shrimp for 10 cedi. Needless to say ten of us could not finish them and we had to just give them to a couple other people on the island to enjoy. The next morning after taking my bath in the river, we started the journey home by first going to Rum Island. Rum Island is a hidden little family island that was been owned by this particular family for about 100 years and has been producing white moonshine rum for about as long. We got a tour of the "facility" and we showed how the rum is made and the sugar cane fields that they use to make the rum with. This rum probably could clean engines but is actually very smooth. The family sells this rum in 1.5 liter water bottles for 6 cedi each. Apparently they have quite a business with affluent Accra hotels making trips to the island in order to stock up and then sell this authentic Ghanaian rum which is very very cheap at very expensive prices. We then took a boat from Rum Island back to the main town and caught a tro to Accra.
Overall, this trip was one of the best times since I've been here in terms of relaxing and just being able to play in the ocean without crowds and see the sunset over palm trees and sand. Other fun things from the trip involve burying Mike under about four feet of sand and playing the hermit crabs and the little sand crabs which run around the beach.
It was actually a weird feeling after the weekend arriving back on campus and feeling like "home sweet home." Even though campus life is so different than the states, it has grown familiar and has developed a routine.
Tonight I have my rehearsal for Witness for the Prosecution and I have to be off book. AHH!! Other than than, my Twi class is almost over!! just this week left!! In a few days we will actually be half way done with the semester which is incredibly fast.
Hope everyone has an excellent day and a good week.

Cape Coast, Elmina, and Kakum National Park

This weekend the study abroad program participants went on a two day trip to Cape Coast and it's surrounding "attractions." The first part of the trip was the uplifting visit to the former slave castle called Elmina. Although I had studied the castle in African History. It was an entirely different experience to be in the location and see the incredible juxtaposition of the beauty of the land and the beach with the legacy of the trafficking of human beings. What struck me the most about the castle was how small it was in comparison to how many humans were being held inside at any given time. With our group of around 40, there were places where we felt cramped and then were told that easily five to 7 times our number were placed in these rooms. The history of the castle being originated as a Portuguese mission and being taken over by the Dutch and English for the slave trade made for an interesting history and the fact that there was a church inside the castle be an interesting hypocrisy of those who lived there. The town of Cape Coast is a fascinating place with very close built European style architecture mixed with Ghanaian markets and the tradition of painting fishing boats in incredibly bright and varied colors.
The next day we took an extreme departure from the emotionally draining Elmina Castle and traveled to Kakum National Park which is home to things such as monkeys, cobras, antelope thingys with big horns, and really tall trees. One of the most fascinating trees in the rain forest is one that can be used as a mosquito repellent, aphrodisiac, and hair growth stimulant. Quite the tree!! Another intersting flora fact were two trees we came upon fused together, where one of the trees is the wood to make the fufu pounding stick and the other is the wood used to make the bowl used to hold the materials used in fufu. The park has a pretty fun canopy walk which at some points is about 300 ft. above the ground. The one person wide rope bridges stretch from tree to tree through the forest. This adventure was a great escape from the city and huge crowds of people and to be able to appreciate the intense nature that Ghana has to offer. In this forest I also had my first cocoa in his natural form. It is actually a huge pod that contains seeds which you suck on and taste kind of sour and nothing like cocoa. I also came upon a spitting cobra who was actually quite small but was not too interested at the time in eating my face.
After the forest we ate lunch at a "Crocodile Ranch." This meaning, there was a restaurant situated over a lake which contained a good two dozen large crocodiles. These were fed using chicken on long sticks and they were pretty fun to watch attack the chicken. I actually went and touched a few of them and they are surprisingly soft and squishy.
This weekend I actually had my first warm water "bath" at the hotel we stayed at. It was really weird to feel warm water.
My major quest at this point in my life is to find some way to ever put pictures online so that you can see what I 've been writing about. Unless I find faster internet somewhere it may take about 2 or 3 weeks to mail a cd with pictures home to be put up. As usual, have a good day and lets continue the malaria free streak!!!

Answers to Some questions and other such things...

Thanks for the questions friends. I think I will address the pretty girls questions first. In all seriousness it's not unlike anywhere else in the world, there are pretty girls and there are ordinary and there are somewhat unfortunate, just seems to be the way the world works.
My absolute most favorite experiences so far have actually been just sitting someplace that is high up and being able to look over the city and just see the variety of life. It makes me never want to live in a development where all of the houses are pre-designed. Every house here is custom with a variety of colors. Some things that I am looking forward to the most involve traveling. This weekend I am going to Cape Coast, but excited for going to Kakum national park. There is a rope skywaylk over the forest that is supposed to be incredible and monkeys everywhere that play with you and steal your bananas. I am also looking forward to going to Ho, Mole National Park, and to a place called Adafoe?? Nobody we can find has a similar pronunciation for it. It is the closest place on land to the center of the world. (where the equator and prime meridian meet) It is also supposed to be ridiculously beautiful with a skinny peninsula sticking out towards the center.
Regarding Obama and the reaction here if he does not win. The attitude here is mostly that they cannot view any other result than Obama winning. When myself or others mention that it will be very close people either don't believe us or still have incredible faith. One girl I was talking with told me that she doesn't even know what McCain looks like and that his speeches are never televised here. All of Obama's speeches are televised live and then again during prime time. IF Obama loses, I really have no idea how people will react, I'm not sure if people will then dislike Americans or just think we are ridiculously dumb or what.
I have been really excited for Coe's team and how well they are doing. It really makes me miss being there for it. But I have gotten the chance to play quite a bit. Once the play rehearsals are over in mid Oct. I will probably play every day, but for now I usually play once or twice a week. My Twi class is scheduled for 4-6 mon-thur so that also kills a lot of chances. But that will be finished in a week and a half. I have to head off to drumming class now, so everyone have another great day of fall. That's actually one of the things I miss the most. actually skipping Fall will be very weird and makes me a little sad.

God and Obama

Ghana has fascinations with several key topics. These are: the Black Stars(Ghanaian national team), fufu, God and Obama. With the last two, I'm not always sure which comes first. The national trait of naming things after some manner of religious context is quite fascinating. Things with religious names stretch from stores, taxis, tro tros, bars, refrigerator stores, and wheelbarrows full of pineapples. The change in this trend is the introduction of Barack Obama. There are now several taxis and tro tros in particular who have adopted names such as "Obama Express" or the ubiquitous "Barack." There is even an incredibly popular reggae song about Obama. Most of the newspapers are quite taken with both their own elections and with Obama. The coverage is often about equal. There seems to be a sense from a select few that he will be very nice to Africa and help develop and then when he is finished as President it will be ready for him to come "home." Others feel that because of his heritage that some of his innate qualities are African so he will be a good leader.
God is another overriding but sometimes frustrating subject. The fact that every single store or enterprise is named in a religious phrase somewhat deadens the effect. It is also quite neat and often hilarious the combinations of names with what the store is selling. I have had talks about religion with Ghanaians and there is an interesting dichotomy for me with the things that I agree with and others that I completely disagree with. The concept of Jesus coming into your life and "fixing" things like homosexuality and mental disorders rather than taking people as they are and accepting that they too can have strong faith in God despite their "differences."
The separation of church and state is very much not in existence. Before and after many of my play rehearsals the cast will circle up and pray. Before some lectures as well, there will be students who come to the front and begin preaching for a good five minutes or until the lecturer shows up. Many of the lecturers have few qualms about inquiring into ones religious views or saying "Praise the Lord" or "Hallelujah" quite often. I find that while sometimes it may be awkward, overall however, it is nice having people simply be open about their spirituality rather than trying to balance their beliefs with what everyone says is acceptable.
In other news, I will hopefully be going to watch the final Black Stars World cup qualifying match in about two weeks. It should be a good game with a ridiculous atmosphere.
For anybody following along with my postings, feel free to ask questions or correct my grammar, or just say Hi. Hope everyone has a good day and stays warm, cause I know I will!!

Being Away

I'm at the point of my trip where so much time has gone by in a foreign country, but a sizeable amount of time still remains both for adventures and for missing some things at home. My internal debate has been on overdrive for a few days now about the pros and cons of life abroad and life at "home" be it Iowa or Colorado. Pros for Ghana- The atmosphere of musical and lively people surrounded by an air of relaxation and peace despite many hardships and the struggles of being poor. The Star beer is quite excellent which apparently is because it is brewed in Kumase (according to my Twi professor) It is very nice just to sit at Jerry's Spot in Accra with a few guys at 11 at night and talk about whatever days events or politics or future adventures we want to have. Finally, the spirit of adventure and the sense of a personal challenge to overcome fears and reservations about trying new things and just going head first willing to fail. The Pros of home(s)- Faster Internet. ok well maybe that's a luxury but sometimes it's just nice to have internet just work rather than hope it works at some point this weekend. Hamburgers and fries. When you've been to Ghana and eaten rice and bread and yams everyday in some form three times a day, a burger is like heaven on a plate delivered by Adam Sandler and Jon Stewart. Being around people who understand why you do things and love you for the crazy things you do. Cons of Ghana- The fact that there is this big thing known as the Atlantic Ocean between you and things familiar is at times daunting, but usually just so unimaginable because the brain (or at least mine) has difficulty comprehending how vast the distance is. Sidenote: this is definitely a great observation however, on how very little humans are different no matter where you live and what language you speak. while I may feel not at home here, I don't feel like i'm in another world. Everyone is just another person trying to live a successful life and be happy. The infrastructure of a city has nothing to do with the people and how they interact with their families and each other. Back to Cons. When one is abroad, the general situation is that they have to do it alone. This is great for inspiring one to be independent and be able to made decisions based almost solely on self, but the biggest flaw is when the times come that you do not want to be independent on an adventure. you want someone who knows you extremely well to experience the same thing you have and then discuss and break down the situation to gain a more full sense of the event.  Cons of home(s)- It's expensive. I can eat quite well and drink plenty of water for about 3.50 a day. My friend Mike and I went this evening to Chicken Inn across the road from the University and "splurged" on 9 cedi antibiotics for throat infections and then "splashed the cash" for amazing 5 cedi 50 pesewas double cheeseburgers. We then commented how much money we spent and how this has to be kept to a minimum in order to save money. Then we realized that at home we'd be getting an amazing deal with what we just considered to be a "very luxurious" evening meal. Many people at home are very distant and uninviting to random people on the street. The average Ghanaian is a very touchy and friendly lot with very few personal boundaries and a need to include everyone rather than automatically look out for number one. Being somewhere that prides itself on hospitality and openness is great.

I guess somewhere in this jumble of thoughts is the realization that all adventures come with risks of failure and disappointment, but this adventure for me has been nothing short of an incredible view into my own heart but also into those who grew up in a completely different system than I. Every day has been fun and interesting, but always tinged with an ok realization that I will be glad to be home soon. Missing certain people and places are huge reasons but just feeling that little bit of loneliness is hard, especially for someone who has never felt the slightest bit of homesick before. Hoping to get pictures up of some really amazing places up soon. Just want to wish everyone a good day and hope their upcoming week goes well.

You are Invited

I'm here to learn you some culture. Metc(imagine the c backwards) aborcbe daa. (meh toh abrobay daa) Congratulations, you can now say "I buy pineapple everyday" in Twi. More lessons can come later.
In other news, I just got a part in one of the plays changed to Mr. Mayhew (Witness for the Prosecution) so I will be playing a pretty significant role!! Hooray!
The phrase "You are invited" in Ghana is the traditional thing to say when one has food and enters a space with people or people enter the space where the food is. Even if the situation is obvious that the person only has enough food for one is is considered rude not to offer the food to everyone. Most people will not accept, but will feel offended if you do not invite them.
Today, my roomate Abraham and I went to the Accra mall in order to purchase authentic Ghana National team jerseys at the Puma store because they were 50% off. The crazy thing is that this purchase was easily the most expensive one I have made since I got here.
Tragedy has struck!!! I learned recently that the mango season is over and there will be no more mangoes until the next rainy season!!! I have left the land of genetically engineered super fruit!! Mango and pineapple in Ghana are two of the most delicious items one can ever eat. If you like pineapple in the US, you are missing out on the beauty and flavor that is Ghanaian white pineapple. Fun Fact: Kofi Annan (former UN head honcho-man) is not only Ghanaian, but he is a twin and his actual occupation is that of a pineapple farmer near Kumase.

Initial Observations

Welcome to my life in Ghana. I initially was skeptical about writing a blog, but I have discovered that I personally have a need to share my experiences as well as keep a record for myself of specific events.
My adventure in Ghana began a little over a month ago with a flight into Accra, the capital city. We arrived at around 10pm which for Ghana is quite late. The sun sets like clockwork at 6:30PM. Arriving in Ghana and not knowing who you are looking for, and what people want to take your bags for money or who is legit is quite the experience. After an initial shock we arrived at the Coconut Grove Hotel. This hotel is considered very high class and was a great experience. The hotel is actually owned by one of the presidential candidates in the upcoming election. He is a member of the CPP party. Staying at the hotel for a few days , the program members (myself included), got to know each other and start experiencing Ghanaian food. The food is quite amazing by the way. Some of my favorites at this time are banku with orkro stew or waakye (waa che) with noodles and an egg and plantains. One of the most amazing revelations about Ghana is the quality of the pineapple and pure pineapple juice. Heavenly!!
After leaving the hotel, we embarked for our various residences whether it be on campus or homestays. I was placed in a homestay in an area of town known as East Legon. This area is considered to be much more upscale than other areas. There was an odd collection of ridiculously nice houses along with unfinished houses and people living in run down homes. My family consists of the mother, Rejoice and her children Sammy, Bebe, Teria, Wahab, and Mubarak. Mubarak is six years old and we became quite good friends quickly. Rejoice's husband is in the army and was working in Chad and will soon be going to another African country for several months. After the first week, I had an unfortunate experience of having my computer stolen out of my house, someone cut ther screen and pulled in through the bars when I was sleeping and I woke up just in time to see him pull it out the windows, it was an unnerving experience but overall it hasn't dampened my fun and adventure and provided interesting insight into the cultural and judicial side of Ghana. All of the neighbors were very upset and kept insisting that if the person was caught they would go to jail or else get beat up pretty bad.
While on campus we engaged in the "registration" exercise, which consists of going all over campus to the various departments and using passport photos and a varying array of registration method whether ir be signing your name in a big book or entered into a computer. Every department on campus runs indeprendently so every registration was different and was quite confusing. Once I got it sorted out I was registered for several course which had to change over the next week!! My final schedule is now that I will be taking Modern European Drama, Play Analysis and Interpretation of Contemporary African Drama, Traditional Drumming, Traditional Dance, and Voice Lessons. This is all topped off with about 4 more weeks of Twi class. Learning the predominent local Akan language.
Other theatre news relates to the fact that I was cast in two theatre productions. The first is a private company putting on "Our Husband Has Gone Mad Again" which will be performing at the National Theatre of Ghana in Accra. The second is a U of Ghana production called "Witness for the Prosecution" by Agatha Christie. This will show for 4 nights at the outdoor Drama Studio and then for 4 nights again at the National Theatre. Both of my parts are small but I am very excited to be participating and learning.
One of the most interesting experiences one will have are using the taxis and Tro-Tros. The taxis are on a barter system where the driver gives you a price for your destination and then you smile and shake your head and offer half. Then you end up meeting somewhere in the middle. The ideas of seatbelts, traffic laws, pedestrian rights, and general santity on the roads are lost causes. Most of the roads are dirt with a few being paved in areas and potholes the size of which you could put a small child or goat. The tro tro experience is one which you will never forget and neither will my knees. For very cheap you get to cram yourself in a van which is very hot and crowded and has been modified to double it's "normal" capacity. While you intitally fear for your life it is something that is widely used and is really what "the people" use to travel around the city.
Suppose I should cover currency. The currency was recently redenominated from being in the 1,000s and is reduced to similar numbers as the US. The "cedi"(seedy) is relatively equal in value to the dollar and the cents are called "pesewas." Another thing taken for granted in the US is the idea of vendors having change for whatever bills you have at least up to 20 bucks. Another above the one cedi note is essentially useless. Whenever the atm gives you a ten cedi note is very hard to break it down to a smaller denomination unless you go to the mall or buy a lot of stuff.
The great thing about Ghana is the food and water(sorta). It is all quite cheap and delicious. I generally can eat lunch for about 95 pesewas depending on how much meat I get. The best invention in the world for a place where you can't drink the tap water is sachet water, or comonly referrred to as "Pure Water" Girls sell them on their heads for only 5 pesewas each and the contents abotu equal a 20 once bottle of water. The biggest downside of these is the waste and the amount of empty sachets all over the ground and clogging the "sewers".

I apologize for the essay but so much has happened to me. I really hope to get up a few pictures soon but it is difficult with the speed of internet. Speed is somewhat relative to if it's moving at all! While there are many differences and things to get used to there are just so many amazing things to see and do that are difficult to put into words. My friend Elliot and I went to a football match at the stadium in Accra and watched Liberty Professionals beat Heart of Lions 1-0. It was a fun experience and enjoyed Fanice and ghana's hotdog, the kabob.
Almost forgot!!! Fanice and Fanchoco are joining the sachet water among the worlds best inventions. Fanice products are sold my men riding bikes with large icechests and pastry boxes on the front. The fanice is vanilla icecream and the fan choco is chocolate. They sell for 30 and 40 pesewas respectively. They come in plastic sachets and add to the waste but when it's really hot and they are everywhere there is nothing better to eat and feel good about yourself.
At the end of last week I moved on campus because of a conflict of soccer and play rehearsals and the 45 minute commute from home to campus. I am now living at ISH, the International students hostel with Abraham who was one of the Ghanaians helping our program and us students to get acclimated to Ghana. He is an extremely nice guy and I was very lucky to be randomly put in his room. I might write another post in like five minutes or it may take me a week to get the page to load. Whatever the case, TIA!! Hope everyone is doing well and good luck and congrats to the Coe soccer teams for winning a bunch. hooray!!