"forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair" -Kahlil Gibran

So I have survived my first month in Ghana. Who would have thought? I have been a little surprised at myself actually; I thought I would have been having a much harder time than I have been. Granted there are a few different stages that people experience when moving to a different country and I think I’m still in the honeymoon stage. As long as I stay there for as long as I can, that’s all right with me! However, while not everything is wonderful, I have experienced many more good things than bad. I figure when you do have a bad experience, the only way to make it through is to find the humour in the situation or smile about it. No matter what, you just have to keep on smiling!

This past weekend was wonderful. I had a really amazing time. After handing in my first assignment and doing my Twi Exam I couldn’t wait to head off to Cape Coast for the weekend. Cape Coast is about 4 hours away from Accra (depending on the traffic) heading towards the Ivory Coast. It has a population of about 120,000. The Trent in Ghana Family (I think I can call them that, seeing as I consider us just a large family), left on Saturday morning and got home on Sunday night. It is safe to say that all of us couldn’t wait to get away from the chaos in Accra and see a new part of Ghana which we had yet to see.

We left early on Saturday morning and after four hours on the bus arrived at our hotel, the Mighty Victory Hotel in Cape Coast. Along the way we were stuck in traffic and there are people that run up to cars and busses selling merchandise. Everyone had been raving about the plantain chips and FanYogo, frozen strawberry yogurt. I don’t like strawberry (weird, I know) but I decided to try FanChoco which tasted like a frozen chocolate popsicle. It was delicious. I tried someone’s plantain chips  and they were also good, something I will have to keep my eye out for. It is just weird to see people on the side of the street run up to the cars. If someone gives someone in a car or trotro their merchandise, let’s say a sachet of water and then the light turns green before they have received their money, they have to run alongside the car while it moves so that they can get their money. It is strange and sometimes women who have strapped/wrapped their babies around them so that they are on their back run along the cars. It’s really dangerous but I’m amazed how every time the babies still manage to stay asleep! Talk about being able to sleep in any condition. Not even I could do that!

After getting to the hotel, we ate lunch and then went to our second NGO fair. It is essentially a collection of NGO’s in a room that have been told about our program, each one targeting a different group or a different cause who are there to give us information about their organization in case we wish to work with them. Our program requires us to intern with an organization of our choice anywhere in the country for 3 months and these fairs are a way of becoming aware of the types of organizations that are around. There was one that caught my attention, the Alliance for Youth Development which focuses on Sports Development in order to help kids not only stay active but at the same time educates them on issues such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Human Rights, the Environment ect. It also has a HIV/AIDS orphanage and requires volunteers to do homestay visits to help the children with their homework and make sure that everything is okay at home. It sounds great; the only problem with the NGO fairs is that all of the organizations sound great. All of them are doing really wonderful things and each could use as much help as possible making it much harder to narrow it down. The other issue for me is that I’m not entirely sure what sort of organization I want to work with. One concerning HIV/AIDS, Sports Development, Education, Mining, Human Rights? There are so many and it is making it hard to choose, especially as I am not entirely sure what I want to do.

After the NGO fair, a few of us decided to walk down to the beach and check out the town. The beach was gorgeous. The sun was setting, there was no trash anywhere to be seen (as there had been in Kokrobite) and it was quiet. It was one of those moments that just make you realize how wonderful life is, how much there is to appreciate. I can’t describe the feeling I had. All I know is that my heart swelled up and I didn’t want to leave. I couldn’t get over the pure beauty that I saw. The pictures here don’t do it justice. All I know is that I want to be a beach bum for the rest of my life. The fishermen were out in their rickety wooden boats, I could have stayed there for hours. Reminds me of a song:

"Wishing I was knee deep in the water somewhere
Got the blue sky breeze and it don't seem fair
Only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair
Sunrise there's a fire in the sky
Never been so happy
Never felt so high
And I think I might have found me my own kind of paradise" (Knee Deep-Zac Brown Band)

Once the sun had set, we walked our way towards the Oasis Bar and Resort to have dinner and meet the rest of the group. It was so nice to hang out with everyone in the group, especially the Ghanaians who I hadn’t hung out with outside of school or an organized trip. I understand that this was an organized trip but it was nice to have just the students go to the bar and have a few drinks together. We ended up having a great night. We danced, sang and laughed our hearts out. It was wonderful to get to talk to and know some people that I hadn’t really had the chance to before and I had a great night. (For those of you who went and are reading this….all I’m going to say is these two things: 6 in the morning, to the window, to the wall!)



Elise and I



Nikki, Andi, Siobhan, Me

 

Nana, Sheila, Me, Becca

 Some of the girls woke up in the morning to watch the sunrise and swim in the water….lets just say I was too tired to get up that early. I woke up a little later than everyone else but just in time to eat some food, pack my bag and be ready downstairs to catch the bus. We had the choice of going to Elmina Castle or Cape Coast Castle. Both of these Castle’s were former British forts that were turned into slavery forts. The slaves that were sold into the slave trade were brought to these castles along the coast before they were put onto ships and sent to Latin America, the Caribbean or the Southern States. We decided to go to Cape Coast Castle as it was closest. The castle itself was quite big and the tour lasted about 45 minutes. For me personally, it was hard. It is different to read books and watch movies about the slave trade and the harsh conditions they had to endure and then to actually be physically standing in the room in which they were held before they were put on the ships. The experiences that they went threw were awful. They were shackled to the wall and held in a room with 3 small windows for 3 months with no drainage system and hardly any food. It was one of the most terrible things I think that I have ever seen. The room was dark, small and they placed 200 people in each room. The 30 of us that were on the tour were sweating after being in there for 5 minutes and our eyes hurt when we came up. I couldn’t imagine being down there for 3 months in those conditions. Our tour guide noted that right above one of the chambers was a church. He called it “Heaven and Hell on Earth”. I mean, how could you put the church anywhere near something like that? While people were starving, suffering and dying underneath you while you prayed and went to Church on Sundays? It makes me angry but at the same time, this tour made me feel very guilty. I know I didn’t have anything to do with the slave trade, I wasn’t alive then but it does make you feel both guilty and ashamed. The Castle is definitely one of the most sobering experiences I have ever felt. I think everyone got on to the bus with their minds filled with thoughts of what we had just witnessed and we were all a little quite on the way to lunch.

Sheila and I

Crocadilly!

For lunch, we went to a place that had crocodiles that we could touch. I was actually a lot less scared than I thought I would be-I was definitely much more scared of the snake that I saw at Kokrobite and it was a few meters away from me. I was a little nervous however, when the lady who took us to see them was poking them with a stick. It didn’t seem like the greatest idea to me, especially as one day I could see those crocodiles just having enough and taking it upon themselves to fight back. This didn’t stop me though. A few of us went through the gate and into the place where they were. They were not in cages but out in the open, right next to the river.  They were obviously used to people though and they were enclosed into the little park area itself. The lady also fed them chicken before we went in, in the hopes that they would be too full to even contemplate taking a chunk out of any of us. It was really cool though, to be that close to them. Their skin is much harder than I expected and not slimy at all. We all touched it and got our picture with them. One of the Ghanaian students, Sheila was a little nervous so I said that I would stand there with her. That was funny. When we got close, she was so terrified that she couldn’t stop laughing. Her laugh is infectious as well so there the two of us were, standing behind the crocodile laughing. We eventually managed to calm down and she touched him. The crocodile moved a little though and she screamed, which of course made me scream because there were a few crocodiles around, not just the one. I thought that maybe she had seen one of them move or that one had touched her which had not happened, she only managed to scare the crap out of me though!

Elise, Brigitte, Amy, Muda, Me

The next stop of the day was Kakum National Park, about 20 minutes away from the crocodiles. Kakum National Park is a park in Ghana that has a canopy walk that goes as high as 40meters above the rainforest. That was why we were there, to do the canopy walk. It was a little bit of a hike to get up to the first bridge but it was nice because we were able to walk through the rainforest –even if we didn’t see any animals. The bridge was built by some Ghanaians and two Canadians and can hold the weight of 2 elephants. We split up into groups of about 5 just so that it wouldn’t cause the bridge to shake that much. The bridge was suspended above the rainforest and made of rope. It was amazing. Like the beach before, it was another one of those moments where you realize how beautiful Earth can be. Being suspended above the forest and looking forward for miles at the rest of the forest was breathtaking. Truly. There was a total of 6 bridges and I only wish that they had been a little longer.  Once we had finished the walk, we headed on home.

Once again, another great weekend. I love Cape Coast. It is gorgeous. It is nowhere near as busy, loud or chaotic as Accra. The first thing I noticed when we got off the bus when we first arrived there was how quiet it was. There wasn’t anyone honking their horns, people yelling, it was just quiet. If I don’t work there for my placement I will definitely make sure that I go back to visit it at least once before I leave.

Sorry this blog was a little long, it was a busy weekend! There were lots of things to think about, some great people to share it with and some beautiful sights to see.

Until next time,

Joc

P.S. Although I did take some of these photos, I can't take all the credit. Thanks to Elise and Rebecca who took the ones at the castle and some of the ones on the canopy walk. Appreciated.









love the life you live, live the life you love...

So after three weeks in Ghana and numerous emails I have decided to start a blog. This is not only for those of you who want to see what crazy adventures and trouble that I will get into in the next eight months but I’m hoping it will also be something that I can look back on later in life and see what a wonderful experience this is. However, I am not sure how often I will be able to keep on top of this but I promise to do my very best. Also, this is my firs blog, so please be patient! I’m not quite sure how it works but I am going to do my very best! Please feel free to leave comments or send me emails, I would love to hear what people think! So, with that in mind….let’s go!

Map of Ghana

I guess an explanation of why I am in Ghana is always a good first start. I am in Ghana as part of a program called Trent in Ghana where there are 16 Canadian students from various universities across Canada as well as 4 Ghanaian students. We are from various programs but the majority of us are International Development Majors. We are in Accra (the capital) for 2 months, and then we move up north to a place called Tamale to do a field placement for a month. After Christmas Vacation we resume but not at the University of Ghana. We all choose an organization to work for anywhere in the country and for four months we intern there. The aim is to see development first hand while also experiencing Ghanaian culture as much as we possibly can.

 Well, the last three weeks in Ghana have been a whirlwind. My weeks have been filled with orientations, tours of the city, classes and most importantly immersing myself into the culture as much as possible. A lot has happened so I won’t fill you in with the boring stuff but here are some of the highlights:

-Bead Factory in the Eastern Region where I made my own beads  

-Volta Lake and Dam- gorgeous view

-Football Game: Ghana vs. Swaziland

-Getting to know my classmates and making some new Ghanaian friends

-African Dancing and Drumming Class

With those out of the way I guess the next thing is to explain about where I am living. I am living in a part of Accra called Medina with Mama Hette, her daughter, Caroline and her four year old grandson, Emmanuel. There are a few other people who live in the compound as well but they aren’t part of the main family. I am living with Nadine, a Peace and Conflict Studies Student from the University of Waterloo. The neighbourhood is great; the people are all very friendly! I am very lucky to be a 30-45min walk from school as well so we have been able to get some cardio in as well. The group of people that I am with are wonderful! I couldn’t have asked to be a part of a greater group.

This weekend, Amy, Brigitte (the Nova Scotian’s) and I decided to get out of Accra for a day. Accra is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Organized chaos at its best and sometimes, just plain chaos. There are markets on every corner, people everywhere you look and traffic from hell. It puts the 401 to Toronto at rush hour to shame.  There are driving rules of course but rarely anyone follows them.  You would be much worse off if you did. The trotros (big vans will rows of seats that carry about 20-25 people driving throughout the city with the aim of packing as many people into them as possible) replace the bus system we have in Canada and along with the taxi drivers here have made their own rules for the road. We decided to go back to Kokrobite on Saturday and spend the night. We had been there two weeks before with our class but only for the day. Kokrobite is a small fishing village on the coast that is popular with the rasta’s and ‘obrunis’(white people). Getting to Kokrobite was much easier than I thought. We rode two trotro’s to the main station where we eventually caught the trotro to Kokrobite. Everyone in the market was really friendly and helpful, continuously pointing us in the right direction.  As I mentioned before though, the traffic in Accra is brutal. The trotro avoided the main road but by doing that  we had to drive down the back dirt roads that are filled with bumps and holes. The three of us bounced in the back of the trotro the whole way there. I was also sitting next to a man who upon hearing me say ‘meda ase’ (thank you) attempted to have a conversation to me in Twi. Having only been here for three weeks and only taken about twelve hours of Twi class, I was of course unable to communicate very well. Luckily though, everyone here speaks English. I try to speak Twi as much as possible because I would love to learn the language and get to the point where I can hold a conversation with someone. I know the basics, such as how are you, what is your name, I want to go to medina, how much and the second most important one after thank you, reduce the price. I have found that when I attempt to speak Twi to someone at the market while trying to buy something they often assume that I have been here for a while and as a result know the actual price of something, not the ‘obruni’ price.

Big Milly's






Reggae Night=Dancing/Fun



The three of us





When we got to Kokrobite about two hours later we decided to hit the beach. We lay there all day. Unfortunately, the one bad thing about Kokrobite is the amount of garbage that is around. Trash lines the beach and is in the ocean. There aren’t proper disposal methods in place and as a result people throw their trash on the beach or into the ocean because they have no where else to put it. Sometimes they burn the trash here but it is equally bad for the environment. This however, isn’t a problem that is faced just by Kokrobite but I have seen it in every place I have been to in Ghana. Accra and Kokrobite though are by far the worst. It is hard to see such a beautiful place littered with garbage.  It is something though that you just have to get used to and not let it put a damper on your day.  I was in and out of the ocean and I had brought my football that I had managed to purchase in Twi. I played football all afternoon with some little kids and then some more people my age. (I was also the only girl!). It really was a wonderful afternoon. It was the first time I had played since my ankle surgery and I realized how much I actually missed playing.  I am going to take a look into seeing if I can find a team while I am here that will let me play with them. Fingers crossed because after all the starch I have been eating, I will have to watch the waistline. Plus, it would just be a great way to meet some more people. After playing on the beach all day, we ate dinner and then crashed in our room for about an hour, in preparation for reggae night. We also managed to make some friends who gave us each a free bracelet! Every Saturday night at the place we stayed at, Big Milly’s, there is reggae night where they leave the gate open. This makes for a great party filled with local Ghanaians and people from all over the world. We met a Greek Professor who was teaching Politics at Legon (my university), a Nigerian couple on their honeymoon, some British volunteers and numerous Ghanaians. Before the music though, there was a group who did some crazy acrobatic acts. Stood on top of each other, swallowed fire and did some juggling. The most disturbing act involved a snake. A man had a snake and put it into his mouth. The snake was still alive and it was the snake’s head that went into his mouth! They also managed to recruit a volunteer from the audience to do the same. It was disgusting. I couldn’t watch. Brigitte, on the other hand likes snakes so she held it. Too much for me to handle. After the act though, the party began! The music was by a live band and after no time at all everyone was up dancing. It really was a great night-had a few drinks and listened to Bob while surrounded by some incredible people. We left this morning so that we could miss the traffic (everyone was in church).  



Star Beer and Amy's hand

Brigitte and the snake

All in all, a great weekend. It was just amazing to get out of Accra, even if it was only for a night. Ghana is a beautiful place and I want to see as much of it as possible. Well, that’s the end of the first blog. I’m hoping there will be plenty more and that I will be able to keep on top of it. That will be the hardest part.

Until next time,

Joc     xxx

PS. There is a guy who lives in our compound who blasts music late at night and as soon as he gets up. So far I have heard a collection of rap (Eminem, TI, Kanye, Jay Z), some Ghanaian artists but a few surprising ones as well; Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, Brad Paisley, Abba, Celine Dion. Nadine and I have decided to call him DJ. Overall, his taste in music is quite good. Once in a while I might post the “song of the day/week” along with the quote of the day or week.

Song of the weekend: I'm A Barbie Girl-Barbie