waterfalls & monkeys

So, this past weekend my group travelled--alone--to a large town called Hohoe, in the Volta region of Ghana (eastern Ghana). It was quite the adventure, six American students travelling around Ghana without any Ghanaians to guide us...but hey, that’s why we brought guidebooks, right? There were two attractions that we wanted to see: first, the biggest waterfall in Ghana (Wli waterfall), and second, a Mola monkey sanctuary (village and forest which are dedicated to sustaining a threatened monkey species). Now, let me just say up front that no matter how good your guidebook is, travelling in Ghana is nothing like taking a trip within the U.S. Nothing is straightforward, everything takes longer than you expect, and even though you speak English, half of the time you’re misunderstood. Oh, yeah, and the area that we travelled to speaks Ewe, instead of the language we've been studying, Twi.

So, as far as the waterfall, our group decided to get a guide to take us there...and although most people in my group felt that we were being overcharged, I ended up being glad that we had the guided walk on the way to the waterfall. We got to see wild cocoa, wild coffee, and palm wine trees along the way. And the waterfall was both dramatic and beautiful. It was definitely the tallest waterfall I've ever seen. A couple of my friends decided to go swimming in the pool under the waterfall (our guidebook claimed it was safe), but I am petrified of getting schistosomiasis, so I just looked at the waterfall rather than immersing myself in it :).

The monkey sanctuary was also worth the trip...the monkeys were nothing like monkeys I've seen in the St. Louis Zoo. Also, we were lucky to get to see the head of the group of the monkeys...kind of a big daddy figure. I took lots of pictures...unfortunately, since my laptop has broken down, all my pictures currently have to stay on my digital camera...hopefully I'll be able to start posting some soon.

All right, I'm off to eat some fufu this evening. Wish me luck.

I’m in the middle of the second week of classes…the culture is already seeming familiar to me. Language here is actually more of a barrier than one might think…I feel really fortunate that I had two Ghanaian teachers at IU before coming here, because I am a bit more used to the African English accent. I am finding that the 3 months of Twi that I took this past spring have been really helpful just for pronunciation and simple phrases. Several Ghanaians have told me that my accent sounds as if I was born here. I think that is being helped along by the fact that my host family speaks Twi 90% of the time, so I am constantly hearing the language each morning and evening…but, there is still a LOT I have left to learn before I will be able to consider myself conversationally fluent.

Yeah, so there has been a lot of technology in my life lately…first, I bought a cell phone, and then my laptop died. The cell phone is because I’ll be here for nine months, and the staff for my program recommended it for me….and the laptop….what a bummer. That’s all I can say right now, because I don’t know if all is lost or if it is recoverable. It will be interesting, though, to see how technological problems are dealt with here. I’m trying to view it as a cultural experience, rather than a huge pain J.

Oh yes, and I did get to go the market in Kumasi last weekend…in fact, my host mother knew a couple of the market women, so I got to sit in their shops and listen to them talk for several hours J. In many ways the Kumasi market reminded me of Makola Market in Accra….especially since we went there on a Saturday (one of the busiest market days). It was interesting because we saw these women on Saturday in the market, and they seemed to have very small shops, but then we saw them the next day at the wedding…and the clothes that they wore were more beautiful than anything I’ve seen in the United States. They were all dressed like royalty. I spent so much time admiring the African clothing that I might have missed whole parts of the wedding J. So, the wedding itself-the most marked difference was the huge proportion of singing and dancing that took place during the ceremony. They really had no need for a reception, because the entire ceremony seemed like one big joyous party. Almost everyone in attendance, as I’ve said, was wearing traditional African clothing, with the conspicuous exception of the bride and groom, who were in totally western bride/groom outfits.

Speaking of clothes, did you know that Kente cloth (the woven cloth associated with Africa) actually originated in Ghana? Very few people wear entire Kente outfits anymore, because it’s such heavy material, but it is common for people to drape a strip of Kente cloth over their shoulder, on top of the African outfits made of cotton.

I have continued to receive marriage proposals…it happens so often here that it is kind of a joke. The trick is finding a way to say "no" while still keeping the situation humorous…

This week has been wonderful…and challenging. I have found that I’m fitting into my new family really easily…I like them so much that I look forward to going home, almost as if going home were my entertainment each night J. The kids are still really shy, but I am sure they will warm up in no time. My host mom, Florence, is extremely perceptive. Even if I don’t say something out loud, she has this way of reading my mind. Oh, and she is an AMAZING cook. I thought I was eating Ghanaian dishes when I was going to all of those restaurants during my first week…..no. Now I am eating some real Ghanaian food. Her fufu, for example…it tasted about 20 times better than the fufu I tried last week. Plus, each morning she makes me an amazing omelette with fresh tomato and green peppers.

Speaking of mornings…I stopped using my alarm clock after my first morning in my family’s apartment. I wake up at 6 am each morning to all sorts of noises: first the birds-an enormous number of birds sit on my windowsills and sing (I have five windows in my room); the roosters, who are incessant; and women selling things and yelling out what they’re selling, whether it’s bread, vegetables, eggs, rice, etc. They walk through the apartment complexes yelling out what they’re selling, and people call from their windows if they want to buy anything.

This weekend I am travelling with my host mom and dad to Kumasi, a big city in central Ghana. We are going to a wedding ceremony, so I’m pretty excited to see how an African wedding is performed. Also, I’m interested to see Kumasi…my senior thesis advisor at IU has done her research on Kumasi market women, so I am hoping to get the opportunity to see the market while I’m there.

So, the whole of this first week we have been in the Pink Hostel, doing orientation programs. We visited Makola Market, the biggest market in Accra, a couple days ago. It was so crowded that it was difficult to find places to step. People don’t even necessarily have stands where they set up their goods-they just lay them out on the sidewalk, so that you have to just about trip over them to get by. Also, people will just grab to get your attention as you’re walking by. I found that a little disconcerting-men grabbing my arm and holding me while my group walked ahead, unseeing…

Also, the day that we went to the market was HOT. I mean, we were walking around Accra for several hours, and let me tell you I probably lost a couple of pounds just from sweating. Also, I wore some shoes that gave me huge blisters on both of my feet. Well, more like raw spots than blisters.

Oh! And I have been eating Ghanaian dishes as much as possible. I have tried fufu-which is pounded plaintain and cassava, eaten in a soup with goat meat. You use your hands to eat it, so that takes some getting used to. I’ve tried at least one Ghanaian dish each day, and I have to say that the food is better than I expected.

The other piece of news is that today is the day that I move in with my host family! - Pastor Yamoah, Mrs. Florence Yamoah, Jemima (12), Emmanual (10), and Joseph (7). I’ve met them once already, but I’m a bit nervous of actually moving into their home. They live in an apartment in a town called Adenta-I guess you could call it a suburb of Accra. But don’t let the word "suburb" confuse you-it looks nothing like a suburb in the United States. Mostly dirt roads (African red dirt), very few trees, many gated homes (gates are very common here), some rubber trees and palm trees. Oh yes, and trash everywhere. There really are no trash cans anywhere-people just throw trash in the gutters or right onto the ground. But, my family’s apartment is really nice, and I’ll even have my own room…

We arrived in Ghana late Monday night (the 5th)--"we" being the six people, total, who are participating in the Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID) program. There are five girls, and one guy, which should be an interesting dynamic. After spending so much time around guys in high school, I am finding that the last couple of years I have socialized almost primarily with girls…anyway, we are staying in a hostel in downtown Accra (the capital of Ghana). Accra, as a city, feels more like New York to me than St. Louis. I say that because of how ridiculously crowded everything is, because of the crazy driving, and because of the huge number of people you see on the streets, night and day.

So far I don’t miss the U.S. I’m sure it will come with time, but everything is too new and exciting right now for me to think about my familiar, mundane surroundings back home :).

At Peace

I am happy, and ready.
I said goodbye to my Dad and Toni tonight...it was a perfect summer night, and we drove with the top down on Toni's convertible. I hope I'll remember the smell of the air and the sounds of the insects here when I'm in Africa.