Togo and some other pics...

Togo (the small French Speaking country on the Eastern border of Ghana)

Motorbikes: Our main mode of transport

At Cocoa Beach

There were puppies running around. So cute!

Our random trip to a voodoo shrine with our newfound friend Anthony. His aunt is a certified voodoo lady, no joke. We had to "prepare" ourselves with water before entering.



Our Final USAC Dinner at Frankies in Accra

My program coordinator, Abigail, and me at our final dinner

Mole National Park, Kumasi, Ada...(a few highlights)

This is the hut I stayed in at Ada. Just a bed and a chair on the sand, no electricity, no water.

But the view was worth it. One of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen.

We were surrounded by large Ghanaian fishing boats. It was like taking a step back in time.

Ghanaian children are so friendly and cute! We met these kids on the rum island.

Cari and I on our boat ride around the peninsula.
We also visited a village where they make rum.

Our canoe ride to our bungalows in Ada

Elephant taking a bath in Mole!

Yay for our USAC adenkra!

Learning to make Adenkra (traditional Ghanaian stamping on cloth) in Kumasi

Our boat safari in Mole National Park
(We only saw a crocodile but the scenery was right out of an Indiana Jones movie)

The oldest Mosque in Larabanga (Northern Region)

Trek to Mole

Hello all!

This weekend was incredible. We traveled to Kumasi (the second largest city in Ghana) in the Ashanti region and to Mole National Park in the Northern region. Aside from the immense amount of time spent in the car, it was an amazing trip. Kumasi is a nice city, much more organized than Accra and home of the largest market in West Africa. The market was very crowded but a good experience because we were rarely hassled (which is amazing) and the prices were much better than Accra. While in Kumasi, we had to the opportunity to vist a Kente weaving village (Kente is the traditional Ghanaian cloth used for special occasions), an Adenkra village, where we learned how Ghanaians make ink to stamp symbols on cloth, and a woodcarving village. It was all very nice, but we were hassled in these villages, which is to be expected. We are all mastering the art of bargaining. It is fun for a short period of time and then I just get really frustrated.

We also visited the Ashanti palace, which was less than thrilling because it is just a big house builty by the British, which has now been turned into a museum. The Ashanti tribe was the most powerful tribe in Ghana because they owned most of the gold until the British fought them and captured the gold. The tour was interesting, but the real thrill came on Sunday. We were fortunate enough to be in Kumasi on a day when the Ashanti King holds a ceremony, which happens every 40 days or so. I'm not sure the exact purpose of the ceremony but I think it is basically a tribute to tradition, especially now that the king has very little political power. He is more a symbol than anything. We saw him and many others dressed in traditional Ghanaian cloth. The king wears colorful Kente cloth, in addition to loads of gold jewelry. He is so weighed down by the jewelry that he must be carried in on a platform by four strong men. During our short visit, we saw men offering gifts, such as expensive liqueur, to the king.

We also traveled to Mole National Park in the Northern region. We stopped along the way at Kintampo Falls, a beautiful spot but not quite as cool as Wli Falls. It was a nice break from the 8 hour trek from Kumasi to Mole. We were instantly bombarded by a group of Ghanaian men who wanted to take pictures with us. This happens a lot. We just smile and go along with it. It's quite amusing. The trek to Mole is long and arduous. The last 88 kilometers are unpaved and full of ditches. ( Don't ask me why they still have yet to pave a road to a major international tourist spot. ) We spent two days in Mole, relaxing and searching for animals. We saw elephants, warthogs, baboons, and antelope. The place was gorgeous and it was nice to spend a couple of days in such a remote area. My friend Margaret and I had quite the adventure on the second day. We chose to take motorbikes to a nearby village to go on a "canoe safari". The motorbikes kept breaking down along the way, so it took us two hours just to get on the canoe. The ride itself was beautiful, but we didn't see any animals and we got stuck a few times because the water level was so low. It might have been more enjoyable if we had remembered to bring bug spray. We were eaten alive. Despite these frustrations, it was a fun day. Everything in stride.

Northern Ghana is primarily Muslim, so there is a marked difference in culture. We visited the oldest mosque in Ghana in the small village of Larabanga. We were not able to enter because we are not Muslim and they told us that women under the age of 60 are not allowed to go in as well. The mosque is very small and simple but the architecture is interesting.

All in all, it was a good trip. We finally spent some quality time with our supervisor, Abigail, and that was very nice. If time allows, we will travel back to Kumasi. I will try to post pictures as soon as I get a chance because there are some really good ones.

I started my second official week at the Catholic primary school today and it went pretty well. I went over multiplication problems with the children and we practiced some reading. Sadly, the children are not up to par with their reading. My teacher was telling me that the children struggle with reading the most and a few of them have had to return to the third grade because they could not handle the fifth grade reading level. There are some very bright students in my class, but there are no resources for an accelerated program. There are barely enough resources for the normal level. I enjoy the children very much. They are so cute and very intrigued by me. I enjoy working at the school, but it does not make me want to be a teacher. It is hard work indeed.

This Sunday I will be attending my roommate's choir performance in downtown Accra. She is in a 300 person Gospel choir and I am very excited to see it. She has invested hours in rehearsal, so I imagine it will be very good.

Hope everyone is well. Ghana is great. I'm not missing the snow one bit. ;)

Some of Ghana in Pictures

The Monkey Sanctuary in the village of Tafi Atome

Visiting Kweku in Takoradi

Climbing Afadjato Mountain in the Volta Region

Our visit to Wli Falls in the Volta Region

Motorbikes and Monkeys

Hello all! Ghana continues to amaze me. I am still absorbing all the cultural differences here, for better or worse. For every bad experience or uncomfortable experience, there is a good one and humor is our saving grace most of the time. I have learned that I cannot take things too seriously here because it is easy to get frustrated. I am truly learning what it means to take one day at a time and live in the moment. With that said, I love it here.

Classes are now in full swing (it only took about 4 weeks...) and they are going well, although it is a mixed bag. My population studies course will be a pain to get though this semester, but I can deal with it. My professor basically recites facts from a book the entire lecture and she is extremely vague about our requirements, which is a common theme in my university courses. My sociology of deviance course will probably be my most enjoyable class as the lecturer is very engaging and organized. She actually gave us a detailed syllabus and put together a reading coursepack! (This is a big deal.) I have two USAC courses, which are going fine. My professor for Twi is an interesting character...a grumpy old man, but he is growing on me. He has his funny moments. Unfortunately I had to drop my dance class because my sociology class times were changed around, which was really frustrating. It's disappointing but I had my chance two summers ago to learn African dance, so I don't feel I'm completely missing out. Needless to say, my academic career here will not be the highlight of my time, but that is not why I came here.

I have been traveling a lot and it is always a very interesting experience. Over the weekend, five of us traveled back to the Volta region in Ghana, where we stayed at a monkey sanctuary in the small village of Tafi Atome. We took a trotro there in record time, but the drivers are pretty crazy and they don't stop for anything. It was a long ride and very bumpy and swervy. We were very glad to get dropped off (in the middle of nowhere) after 3 hours of feeling slightly carsick. Tafi Atome is about 5km from the main road, so we started walking, when a group of local kids offered to carry our bags and show us the way. (a convenient way for them to get some money) Luckily we did not have to walk the entire way in the sweltering heat because we found a truck along the way and rode on the back of it standing up for the remainder of the trip. We were feeling very adventurous at that point.

We had a wonderful time in the village. For a cheap price, we stayed overnight in a bungalow with running water for showers and toilets and two meals. Our tour guide, Emmanuel showed us how to feed the monkeys. He called them with a particular kissing noise and they came right away. It was so cute to watch him with the monkeys because he has developed a relationship with all of them. He kept scolding the king of the clan for stealing the other monkeys' bananas and getting into fights. It was a very cool experience. We simply held out our bananas and waited for the monkeys to run up to us, peel the bananas, and eat them straight from our hands. The less patient monkeys would snatch the entire banana, peel and all, from our hands, and ran back up the trees to eat their feast in peace. Over the course of our stay there, we had the opportunity to feed the monkeys a few times.

In addition to feeding the monkeys, we were befriended my a group of local kids who we ended up playing with for several hours. They were completely amused by us, and couldn't get enough of our cameras. They wanted to climb on us and show us all their games and songs. A few of the girls took the liberty of braiding our hair. They were very cute but so persistent. We took them across town to get some ice cream. It must have been quite a site to the other villagers to see 5 white girls holding hands with 10 little kids, all eating ice cream out of bags. We had a wonderful time, but we were ready to take a break before them, so we had to tell them we were taking a nap and hide ourselves in our rooms for a little bit so they would run back home. When we came back from dinner that evening, they were all over us, and again in the morning before we left. It was fun, but we were ready to leave.

We had the opportunity to ride on the back of motorbikes from the village to the main road. It was certainly a highlight of our trip. A few of the girls were more weary about getting on the back of a motorbike, not knowing the drivers or exactly how safe it would be, but it was a great experience. I think we would have taken motorbikes all the way back to Accra if we had had the chance. The rest of our day in HoeHo was uneventful and frustrating. We were scammed by a trotro driver who overcharged us to drive us to the "Talking River", which turned out to be a serious disappointment. It is common for random Ghanaians and drivers to take advantage of white tourists by offering to be a "guide" and then charging a ridiculous price for it. Then we couldn't find any food because it was Sunday morning and everything was closed. We finally gave up and headed back to Accra. Our trotro had AC this time, but the ride was just as unnerving. At one point, we drove though a herd of cows because apparently it would be too much to stop and wait for them to cross the road. We were glad to be back in Accra by the end of the day. Overall, it was a fun time, but I am learning that when traveling in Ghana, it is better to go with the flow because plans always change and frustrations arise.

Now it's back to a week of class. I will be traveling back to Takoradi this weekend to visit Kweku again. Several of my friends from the hostel will also be visiting a beach near Takoradi so I hope to meet up with them at some point. I think I will be traveling a lot here because my friends are very ambitious and eager to explore Ghana. I am always up for traveling here because it means a new adventure and more cultural experiences.

Greetings from Ghana!

Hey everyone! I've finally decided to start a blog, as this is the best way to keep everyone updated on what's going on here in Ghana. I have now been in Ghana for three weeks and it's been one crazy whirlwind. I'm loving it. I am very fortunate to have an incredible group from USAC (University Studies Abroad Consortium). They are a great group of people, from all over the States. In addition, I'm meeting very interesting people at my hostel. My roommate, Selene, is Ghanaian and such a sweetheart. I feel very lucky to have such a good roommate as some of my American friends have not been so fortunate.

So far, my days have consisted of orientation events, class, spending time at the internet cafe, short day trips to the market and the city of Accra, going to bars or clubs at night, swimming, and lots of time eating and relaxing with my fellow international students at the hostel. We had the opportunity to watch Obama's inauguration at the W.E.B Du Bois Center and it was incredible. Ghanaians are so enthusiastic about Obama...it's a good time to be an American. I will never forget the experience of watching the inauguration of our first African American president in Africa.

Over the last three weeks, I have been adjusting to life at the University of Ghana. It's much slower here and lacking in efficiency. I never thought twice about professors showing up to class, but here it is common to show up to classes in the first two weeks only to wait an hour before realizing the professor is not coming. Registration is not done online. It is necessary to visit every department to add or drop a class. Also, it is almost impossible to sign up for courses in different levels (ie 300 and 400) because the exam times might conflict at the end of the semester. Getting around is taking some getting used to. The campus is very spread out, so getting to class can take up to a half hour (depending on the heat and the time of the day). Despite the frustrations, I do enjoy the fact that being here has forced me to slow down and enjoy life as it comes. Americans are terrible at this. I am slowly learning the art of patience, as it is necessary for everything (public transportation, classes, running water, getting change at the store, waiting for the internet...)

I am taking a dance class, three sociology courses, and two USAC courses (Twi language and Ghana Politics and History). I enjoy my USAC courses because they are small and personalized. It is still too early to tell if my sociology courses will be worthwhile. One of my professors has yet to show up for class. Of all my courses, I think my dance class will be the most enjoyable. Though I probably look completely ridiculous trying to dance like the Ghanaians, I love the energy and the exercise. There is nothing quite like it. I think I enjoy it so much because I really feel a part of the Ghanaian culture when I am dancing to live African drumming and watching those around me move, so entranced in the music and dance.

Since I have arrived in Ghana, I have been on one long day trip and two weekend trips. In the first few days we took a tour of the city of Accra, where we visited the W.E.B. DuBois Centre and Kwame Nkrumah Museum (Nkrumah was Ghana's first president after independence in 1957.) We traveled to Cape Coast the first weekend to visit Cape Coast Castle and Kakum National Park. It was my second time in these places, but it brought back wonderful memories from my first experience in Ghana two summers ago. I will be going back to Cape Coast soon to visit my host family. Last weekend we traveled to the Volta region to visit Wli Falls and Afadjato Mountain. It was absolutely gorgeous and we had an incredible time. Though Afajato Mountain is only about 1/2 mile high, it was a very difficult climb up the hill. I was definitely not in shape for it, but it was worth the hike to see the view from the top. Next weekend I will be traveling to Takoradi, a city about 4 hours from Accra, to visit my former host brother Kweku. I'm very much looking forward to that.

Time is going by fast. I can hardly believe I have been here for three weeks. I remember thinking that three weeks was a long time the last time I was here, but now it seems like hardly anything. Sometimes being here seems like a surreal experience because it is so different from home, however I have been adjusting well. I hope everyone is doing well at home in the States. I will do my best to keep you all updated.