when will we ever learn???

hey all! so, it has been a good couple of days :) i am feeling really pretty settled and comfortable here (finally)...i explored quite a bit this weekend despite lots and lots of rain.

saturday, i made friends with some ladies cooking food on the side of the road -- they spoke no english, but their boiled plantains accompanied by a spinach sauce (prounounced matumbre) and a delightful red sauce with egg and fish bone (trust me, it really was tasty) made them two of my favorite ladies in accra quite quickly.

we stayed in at the compound saturday night playing cards and resting up for our big day of sightseeing sunday. somehow, i managed to rope in the entire group of housemates (two brits, matt, liz, and lindsay) to head down to the "historic" part of accra to hit up a few markets and check out the lighthouse and old dutch fort (fort ussher). we were out the door by nearly half past nine and on a tro-tro the whole, huge gringo clan of us by 10am...i was quite impressed with us and you should be as well.

we took the tro-tro to the end of the line, which just so happened to be tema station, which is about a 10 minute walk from ussher town where we were headed. we weren't too sure of where we were going, but it isn't hard to get around as everyone is really quite lovely about helping out the obvious foreigners. we found the fort pretty quickly and paid some man who planted himself in the doorway 5 ghana cedi to take a look around. it really was quite remarkable -- the fort was originally built by the dutch and later turned into a prison where Nkrumah (considered the father of independence) was allegedly incarcerated at some point in time. the decaying building was made all the more eery by the cloudy sky, which shortly after we entered turned into a full out thunderstorm.

we waited it out for a bit, but eventually decided to look for a place to eat despite the fact we were all going to be drenched. we only made it across the street to a series of tents being used by the locals to keep themselves dry before making ourselves enough friends that we each had an escort with an umbrella :) they walked us through a local market with a wide assortment of sea foods. at some point the rain had created a large current, which was rushing through the market at least at mid calf level. it was quite a funny sight i am sure.

eventually we made it to Back Pass only to find out no food is served sundays :( so we drank a beer with our new friends and watched brasil take on italy in soccer (brasil seems to be quite popular here). afterwards, our friends brought us to a resort on the waterfront, because it apparently was the only place serving food on a sunday. we all ordered something different and our plates arrived between an hour and an hour and 45 minutes after they were ordered, but none at the same time of course. about the time we were all finally finishing up eating, a bride and groom arrived with a crew of family members to photo document the outing. they spent a great deal of time filming us before asking to take pictures with us as well. we proceeded to have a full-on photo shoot (some of the pics are on facebook).

after several hours of being wet and a fantastic lunch, we decided to head home. i stopped at the internet cafe on the way home and was happily going about my business when the power went out...so i waited just a bit to see if it was going to come back on or not.

i ended up talking to smit who works at the cafe, but on sunday was just hanging about. turns out the two of us share a birthday (albeit i am older, which is no surprise because i seem to be significantly older than most people i meet these days -- jeezus don't 27 year olds travel anymore?!). smit also happens to be nigerian, which is rather interesting, because nearly everyone i talk to in ghana seems to dislike nigerians and warn me to stay away from them. smit seems like a nice enough guy, but apparently the problem is that due to lax border controls and friendly immigration policies, many nigerian criminals end up in ghana (at least this is the popular understanding), and for this reason a high percentage of crime is associated with the nigerian community. i don't know if this is true or not, but smit like i said before seems kind enough. in fact, he asked if he could walk me home...but i told him just part of the way.

while we were walking, smit told me how he was going to be a soccer star in england one day and that he was going to be very famous. i kidded him about being too old (i remind you he is younger than me), but he retorted that god had given him a good body so it didn't matter, jaja. i told him i was going to email obama's chief of staff and see if i could arrange a meeting with him when he comes to town next week. smit said one day people would be trying to arrange meetings with him too. as we were walking, i got my normal amount of obruni attention -- i think it made smit quite uncomfortable (i mean it almost always makes me uncomfortable), because he said he wonders sometimes why god had to make us this way; me being white and he being black.

by the time i reached home, i was exhausted...i tried my very hardest to eat some of grandma's fried plantains, because i LOVE them, but i was just too full from lunch and could only get half a plate down.

this morning i woke up early and decided i was going to be productive. i washed some clothes, read a bit, ate breakfast and was on my way to accra by 9:30am...traffic was atrocious and i am absolutely convinced i could walk into the city faster than the two hour standstill traffic commute. i went to zain and after 2 hours of waiting, i finally have my very own internet connection!!! i celebrated by stopping by the food ladies' stand for boiled plantains again, yum, yum.

afterwards i headed off to the CPP (convention people's party -- the ghanaian communist party) office to see if i could find anyone to interview for my research. i met a young (28 year old) candidate for parliament (he lost) from the north. we talked for over an hour about the election and he made some phone calls to various friends i should interview and i was sent on my way. afterwards, i stopped by a research group that conducted polls around the elections. the office was air conditioned, which was fantastic and Willy, whom my professor urged me to see was incredibly helpful. i think he will be great at connecting me with folks to interview as well as showing me around accra.

tonight, i met up with a canadian kid to check out a potential next home (i leave this home on friday)...it was not too far from my current home, but i would have my own room, a double bed, 3 meals a day and running water for about 10 GHC (or about $7.15)....i am sold!!! he was quite funny though (just 18 years old), but very concerned about me walking alone or traveling alone...he told me i should watch the movie TAKEN before i set off on my own. the ghanaian man next to us in the cab told him to be quiet, because he was going to scare me -- i didn't bother to tell him that it was already too late. i was incredibly glad it was dark because i couldn't keep myself from smiling.

later on, on the way home in the taxi a little 5-year old boy named isaac could not stop staring at me. his mother was embarrassed and tried to turn his head, but was unable to deflect his stare. we ended up holding hands and he took the change from my fare. i told him to buy his mother something sweet. he tried to take my watch as well, but i am just not willing to part with it, not yet at least.

when i got home, i saw i had several missed calls on my cell phone. they were all from suige whom i met on the tro tro this morning. he told me he liked my ring and asked if it was a wedding ring. i told him it sometimes was depending on who asked me. he asked me if i believed in dreams and i said of course i do -- i mean how couldn't i? i am a girl from minnesota that is somehow here in ghana. he told me he had dreamed last week that he had met a white woman. i had to go so i didn't ask more, but he seemed really kind and exchanging numbers is really quite common so i went ahead and gave mine when he asked. i have now answered the phone 4 times and it was him, i have missed 3 of his calls, and just got a text message telling me he missed me and hoped to find me tomorrow. it seems i have a lot to learn when it comes to choosing and making friends here in ghana, but the people are so friendly all the time, i just don't know what to do, but reciprocate.

patience is a virtue (or so i have been told)...

hey everyone! i would have written sooner, but internet is not the EASIEST of things to come by (as you may imagine). so, since the last post, i went to the university of ghana at legon to meet the cousin of a childhood soccer teammate and spent an ENTIRE day trying to get connected to the internet....

thursday i went to the university, which is about 14km outside the city and i managed quite well on the informal system of tro-tros (or run-down mini vans which substitute for the pretty much non-existent public transport). when i got there amma's cousin (who i was supposed to meet) was in a meeting so i hung about at security until a few guards took pity on me. they were kind enough to give me the grand tour in their 4x4...robert seemed rather taken aback that they had done this, but they got me where i needed to be...i also learned that there are 45,000 people who use the campus (i am assuming a combo of teachers, students, families) and the reason for my "special" tour was that campus is ridden with "tricksters" hanging around and i would apparently be an easy target. i never really got an explanation as to what "tricksters" are, but it was nice to be shown around especially because the campus was pretty vacant as students are on break.

dr. robert specializes in economics of development and works for an institute of social and economic statistics. his building is right next to the University of the United Nations and i look forward to finding out more about what exactly he and they all do...he introduced me to a couple PhD students from NYU and Cornell, one who has been here since January and the other who is just visiting...they seemed like really friendly, interesting chaps and i hope to befriend them pronto...jaja.

other than a nice afternoon at the university, the past few days have been really rainy, which has made the commute in and out of the city EXTREMELY interesting and a bit scary...it is technically winter (rainy season), which is great because it is not AS HOT as usual, but makes getting around a lot more difficult.

there has been a lot of drama at the house where i am staying. first, between the company that sets up the housing for volunteers and the volunteers themselves (seems like a clash of cultures to be totally honest) and then of course a little bit of love drama as well, but i don't have television or the the hills so it has been a nice replacement.

today, i am at the local paper looking through archived newspaper articles for my research and getting my own personal internet connection, which is a great rainy day activity (although definitely not the preferred one for a saturday)...i have been dying to get out and do the full day comprehensive walking tour of accra, but between the heat, rain and other random tasks, i have not gotten to it just yet...as much as i am trying to love accra -- there really seems to be very little to do here (besides the research i came to do) so i am anxious to take care of what i need to and travel about the country a bit...

i have been kind of a crank the past few days...maybe it is tiredness from being poked, prodded and grabbed by every man on the street and in every internet cafe. i finally broke down yesterday and flat out told a man not to touch me and another that "no, he could not just have my watch, because i actually need it to tell the time." i am tired of random strangers telling me they love me and me trying to explain that for me, love is something that takes much more than 5 minutes to feel...i find myself frequently treading a fine line between being an ambassador of good will from the west and also letting folks know when they have crossed too far into my personal boundaries...most of you know, patience is not my best attribute, but i am thinking ghana is going to test it in ways that buenos aires never quite did...

(written monday, june 22, 2009)

I tried to get pictures up today, but it didn’t work…this internet thing in a “third world country” (at least one where per capita income is only $450/year) is absolutely killing me…pathetic, I know.

So we went to dinner last night at Russell’s house. I was thrilled to be having dinner at a Ghanaian friend’s house on my third night already (even though we eat at our house EVERY night, which is technically Ghanaian as well). I kind of thought it was too good to be true. I mean Russell has been great and all, but I’ve always been a bit of a skeptical traveler and usually expect some sort of not so upfront incentive behind REALLY kind gestures.

The dinner was lovely really: spicy fried chicken, fried plantains (my favorite), pineapple, and red, tomatey rice. I couldn’t help but feel somewhat guilty that here sit 5 Americans and 1 British guy -- each with enough money to buy a plane ticket to Ghana -- in a massive, but empty concrete house in Ghana with nothing but a couch, a small tv, a table, and some chairs, ready to eat a huge meal prepared for them, while the aunt, uncle and cousin who actually live there looked on.

I think we all felt a bit uncomfortable but we eventually convinced Uncle James to join us, and I got the pleasure of sitting next to him and sharing a Star. He told me all about the four main women of his life (his girlfriend, his mother, his sister, and his wife – I guess his daughter didn’t quite make the cut). As soon as we finished eating, James made a signal to Russell to bring out something. Russell disappeared into another room and re-emerged with “Awake” pamphlets from the Jehovah’s Witness church (the brochures were printed in London, gee thanks a lot England -- don’t you think you’ve done enough for Ghana already?!). Each of us received one, but neither Uncle James nor Russell really pushed us into talking about it. I was extremely relieved when shortly thereafter, Russell brought out the Mancala set and we spent the rest of the evening taking turns playing instead.

Today (Monday) I went to The Guide, a local newspaper, where my roommate is an intern. As the reporters filtered in, the office got much more loud and hectic. The loudest though seemed to be Halafax who shortly after arriving questioned his boss, the editor, really loudly (I mean REALLY loudly) about how his weekend was and if he had tried any of that “old man sex?” This, of course, is one of the men I have to interview eventually…I think I will need some time to prepare.

I ate lunch in the Canteen at the paper…some of the young lady reporters helped me to make my choice of okrah soup with meat. I used a gooey corn dough (called banku I think). I provided a good deal of messy entertainment to the rest of the eating staff, but I loved it. A good food adventure can never get old.

After lunch, I decided I had had enough of the non-functioning internet and that I would be brave and go off exploring by myself. I had chosen three places from my guide to find: Ghana Films where they show African movies (duh), Afrikiko Restaurant to ask about Salsa class and the Tourist info center. After about two hours, too much sweat to mention, and the making of several new friends, I had found only the Afrikiko restaurant and unfortunately there are no longer classes anyhow. They directed me to the Coconut Grove (a really nice hotel) where there is “Salsa club” on Wednesdays from 7 to 10pm, but the nice man at the front desk assured me that if we came a half hour early they would quickly teach us the steps so we could then dance at the club…he certainly is an optimist.

On our commute home I met a man from one of the big TV stations here. He invited me to come visit him at work and meet the reporters…I may eventually take him up on the offer. The commute was terribly long (over 2 hours) so we had a long time to get to know each other. As I seem to be learning over and over again, Ghanaians are genuinely hospitable people and making a friend on the bus or the street is really not so out of the ordinary and considering I have so few here, I am quite grateful for this.

(from today)

Yesterday, I went to La General Hospital where my friend, Matt, is volunteering in pediatrics. The pediatrics unit is very small with maybe 12 beds or so and probably 30+ patients (the kids are alarmingly tiny so as many as 3 of them were in a single bed). Most of the kids are from Osu orphanage and so I am thinking I might volunteer at the hospital holding the babies once a week, but I have to see if that is possible. Healthcare is free, which is good, but the hospital was crowded and the surgery unit for pediatrics is a table in the hallway.

After the hospital we headed to the arts market b/c Maddie leaves Thursday and wanted souveniors. I am always up for shopping so decided to tag along. I am grateful I did, because a). I got a mancala set and b). Matt taught me how to bargain. He told me to cut every offer the seller makes down by a factor of 10 and then work your way up. I really can't do it, because I feel bad and I ended up paying more than Maddy for a few things knowingly.

I made friends with Charles and he took me to the back of the market where all the crafts are made and then I played mancala with Kwevi, while I waited for Maddie to finish her shopping. I am already feeling MUCH MUCH more comfortable getting around the city and using the tro-tros or makeshift vans that take us in and out of the city.

Now, I just need to work on my suntan as I appear pasty in all the pictures and even though I don't feel so white, people calling out "Obruni" and "White man" everywhere I go serves as a constant reminder.

Tonight is a couple of my new friends' last night (already) and they want to go to the hookah bar AGAIN :(. Tomorrow I am off to the University of Ghana to meet the cousin of a childhood teammate and talk to professors there. It will be my first totally alone transportation adventure and I feel totally ready for it!

just a quickie...

i am here in ghana (not sure exactly where outside of accra) but arrived. friday was kind of a disaster...i felt very out of my comfort zone. i was anxious to explore, but not sure how to do it on my own and my roommate is not really the exploration type. i showered (by that i mean bathed out of a bucket) apparently running water is extremely hard to come by no matter how much money you have...shouldn't i have known this??? i don't know why i was shocked but i was and i guess it is ok to admit it. i went to bed at 8pm on friday...figured if i could sleep maybe i would wake up feeling a little more comfortable.

my roommate got up at 6am, 6AM on a Saturday!!!!!!!!!! this is definitely the earliest i have woken up in over 2 years if you don't count days i have traveled. i had breakfast with her before she took off to tutor at a local private school and my other roommates invited me to tag along on their end-of-trip day at the finest hotel in all of ghana and the beach...i couldn't turn down an offer to the beach and since i am dependent to move about i figured i might as well. we went to the arts market (i bought 2 paintings ya), the La Palm hotel where obama will stay in July, and then to a hookah bar...

it was the most un-ghanaian day i could have imagined for my first full day and it was apparently very expensive, which i wouldn't know as the father of one of the volunteers came along and treated the whole group throughout the day. i feel incredibly OLD (they are all between 17 and 23, besides "dad"), but i was grateful to be carted around and get a better idea of the city.

i am already getting anxious about getting going on my research, and if you know how my turbo self can be i want to get something accomplished right away, but i am going to give myself the next few weeks to get adjusted to the culture shock i am definitely going through.

this morning, i had planned to go to church with a roommate to check it out since that is the typical SUNDAY activity here and pretty much everything is closed down...when he came to wake me up, I was in deep REM sleep and couldn't quite figure who he was or where i was so i decided to try to keep sleeping, which was a failure.

i had breakfast with my roommate, read a bit about ghana politics since i know NOTHING, and then ventured out on my own for the first time...naturally, i ran into 2 of the only 5 people i know here and sat and had some lunch with them before venturing here...tonight we are having dinner at a ghanaian friend, russell's house. tomorrow i am heading to office with my roommate working at the local paper...i should have more internet and more updates.

i am doing wonderfully be assured. i am shocked and uncomfortable, but looking forward to the two months i have to take it all in. i am already kind of liking my bucket baths (and know i will never be a water waster again ;p). Life already feels simpler and the questions have started buzzing around in my head about my own lifestyle...i am sure this is only going to intensify....

ok, 30 seconds left on internet...chau, mwa!!!

It feels like the night before Christmas...

I leave in less than 24 hours!!! It was a hectic day of running around NYC, but I crossed almost every item off of my ever-growing to-do list. The most important item of course was my Ghana visa, which is safely in my sweaty little paws as I write. Tomorrow I have to pick up my malaria pills (thanks to the little team that made the Buenos Aires to NYC transfer possible), change my entire trip budget worth of cash into the newest version of $100 and $50 bills at the bank, and make a trip to the post office to make sure my lovelies in Argentina and Minneapolis get some mailbox affection.

My 10-hour flight leaves NYC at 5pm and arrives in Accra at 8:30am. Ghana is 4 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time so it will technically be 4:30am, but Lindsay (another Georgetown student) is meeting me and has arranged a ride back to the "compound" which will be my home for the next 2 weeks.

Although I can barely keep my eyes open, I am pretty sure I won't be able to sleep a wink tonight...I feel excited as if I were 8-years old and tomorrow were to be Christmas -- I haven't felt this excited in a long time (maybe since I was actually just 8 years old).

I probably won't have access to email until Monday, but be sure to check back for the update!

Hi Everybody! I have started this blog despite my phobia of sharing my writing with others, but it is with the hope that I can keep everyone at ease regarding my safety and will also be able to share my struggles and triumphs during my African adventures with you as well. Yes, I am going to Ghana, Africa. I can hardly believe it myself and it is definitely something this midwestern girl had never even dreamed of!

I enter into this challenge with an open-mind -- I am prepared to fall in love with Ghana or maybe it will finally tire out my traveling soul. I may even fall for blogging and I will officially crossover from a flogger to a blogger :p Well, whatever comes, I will do my best to keep you informed via this page so do check back for updates!!!

As of right now, I have just started my malaria meds and despite the warnings of vivid dreams, hallucinations, and pyschosis, I have nothing much to report. Whew! You probably shouldn't expect too much news over the coming weeks as I get ready to travel, but please do check back post- June 19th when I arrive in Accra, Ghana!