Shit Happens

So I thought I had lost this blog and just realized that luckily, the website saved it automatically for me. I had meant to post it right after I got robbed but of course, I got robbed so I lost all of my pictures and what I thought was my blog. I managed to find it though and rounded up some pictures. This was the week before my birthday, so the last week of November. Here it is...the long lost blog. 






So Tamale has been filled with surprises. Not entirely sure what I think about Tamale but one thing is for sure, it definitely likes to keep our lives interesting. We didn’t exactly have the greatest start to Tamale so my roommates and I decided that this past week would be the week where Tamale would redeem itself. So the week of Tamale began, and let’s just say, it kept us on our toes as usual.

A brief recap of the week:

Monday-Grumpy Roommate Day

Tuesday- This was the day that we got locked out of our house for 3 hours and pulled our professor away from important meetings to let us back in. Not only was he mad but unknown to us, he also pulled his wife out of her Masters exam to get the keys. It was a great bonding day with my roomies but not so much with the professor :

Wednesday-We were split into groups and went into a community to assess the Ghana School Feeding Programme at a Primary School. This was my first time doing fieldwork and I was really excited but really nervous. It was a great experience but we had some difficulties. We had some ethical issues because we took the teachers, pupils and community members away from their schools, learning and farms when the information that we would gather wouldn’t be used for anything.

Thursday-We had the day off school so we decided to go to the pool. However, someone had decided to pull the latch across our gate so we had to lift Elise up to let us out of our house.

Needless to say, the week didn’t really improve our view on our time in Tamale so we decided to give the week one more shot with a weekend trip to Mole National Park.

So after class on Friday, we made our way towards the Metro Mass Station to catch the bus. We of course, made the mistake of getting there at 12:30, a whole hour earlier in an effort to get the tickets and get a seat on the bus. They always sell more tickets than there are seats and so most often, people have to stand the entire way. We didn’t want to do that and hadn’t taken a Metro Mass yet so we were unsure of the protocol. We were all happy to have the tickets and be there early and ready for the bus to pull in at 1:30. Of course, as you learn quickly here, not very many things happen on time. For some reason we thought this time would be different….it wasn’t. Instead of the bus arriving at 1:30, it arrived at 4 and pulled out of the station at 4:30. We were in the heat for 3 hours and it was probably one of the hottest days since we have been in Ghana. Let’s just say, I wouldn’t have made it through without the two FanDango’s and FanIce. FanIce is vanilla ice cream that they sell everywhere and I have been recently introduced to Fan Dango which tastes like frozen Sunny D. It’s heaven. Eventually though, we all managed to get seats and were on our way to Mole. Once again, we were optimistic that the rest of the weekend, now that it was officially underway and we would be out of Tamale would be incident free. How wrong we were.

On the way to Mole, we made various stops so that the bus could fill up and people were lined up the aisle. There were definitely a few heads hit by elbows and lots of yelling, making it hard to sleep. The road to Mole wasn’t very good, although the bus driver approached it like a regular tar road. It was a dirt road filled with bumps and he was still driving at least 100km/hour. There was so much dust that when I looked out of the front of the bus, I couldn’t see the road. At that point, I decided to keep my eyes on the back of the seat in front of me or on my friends. The Metro Mass buses’ don’t have air conditioning so the windows were all open, bringing in so much dust that I could feel it in my mouth. Also, the buses don’t have any bathrooms so we made a scheduled bathroom stop.

Warning: For people easily grossed out, please skip this part. Also, what happened is so much worse than how I am about to describe it.

Like I mentioned above, there are no bathrooms on the buses so we made a scheduled bathroom stop for the passengers and for the bus driver to eat dinner. I decided to go to the bathroom and it was a really bad decision on my part. Three girls, Lynsey, Amy and Brigitte had gotten off the bus a few minutes before Val and I decided to go so when we got off the bus, we had no idea where the bathroom was. It was pitch black which, later turned out to be a blessing. I approached someone and asked where the bathroom was. He got up and took us down a dark street and then pointed to the field on the right and then to a concrete structure. Most of the bathrooms in Ghana, especially in rural areas consist of 3 concrete walls, a door or piece of cloth and a concrete floor. Val and I decided to use the concrete floor as opposed to the field and made our way towards it. The smell was not pleasant and on the way to the bathroom, I stepped in mud. No big deal. Then we saw Amy, Brigitte and Lynsey who didn’t know that the concrete bathroom was there and were squatting. Only thing was, they were squatting in a field of shit. Literally. Then I realized, what I thought I had stepped in was mud was definitely not mud. No, that would be too easy. I had not only stepped in shit but when I did, my shoe had slipped and I managed to get it under my toes. I looked up at the girls when they told saw that Lynsey was about to cry. She had also managed to get some on her feet. I couldn’t help it, I just burst out laughing. I have learnt that sometimes if you don’t laugh, you will cry. We then paid 10 pesewas to pee on a concrete floor and for the rest of the bus ride, the back of the bus smelt like a public restroom. It was disgusting. Whenever Lynsey and I looked at each other for the remaining hour (thank god it was only an hour), we laughed. When we got to the hotel, the first thing the pair of us did was wash our feet and then wash our shoes. It was at this point that I almost cried. It was soo gross. I am glad that I was able to share in this moment with Lynsey though, otherwise I really would have lost it. As Lynsey said, “Not only were my ankles covered in my own pee from the splash but my toes were covered in someone else’s shit.” A high point in both of our lives. That night though, Becca, Elise, Lynsey and I all managed to laugh about it and we still do today. 

 We did manage to get to Mole, eventually and that night when we were washing our shoes outside, antelope were right outside our door. I couldn’t wait to see what kinds of animals we would see in the morning and try and forget about what happened to Lynsey and I.

Sad faces-cleaning our feet

Not Happy

So that was all that autosaved. What comes next is from memory....




After replaying the incident of the day and laughing until we were crying we decided that that was the last thing that Tamale Week was going to throw at us. So the next morning we got up early for a walk in the park. We were really lucky as we were able to see not only monkeys, antelopes and other animals but an elephant! It was amazing. Afterwords we spent the morning and afternoon in the pool and had a great time. I really thought that that was the end of Tamale Week....oh no. Ghana had other plans for us.

Elephant 

After chilling in the pool all morning and early afternoon we decided to take a jeep safari drive in the park. I was really excited because we were able to sit on the roof of the car!

Jeep Safari! 

Dorothy, Elise and I 

Elise and I 

Love this

Val and I 

Tamale Week strikes again

So the picture above brings me to how Tamale Week strikes again. While on our jeep safari, the jeep broke down. And in true Ghanaian style, we waited for the driver to fix the car to find out that it couldn't be fixed and we would have to walk back to the lodge. So we made our way back to the lodge.At least we managed to see the sunset during our walk!

So after making it back to the lodge, Tamale Week once again decided to throw us a curve ball. Upon our return, we were told that we were expected to pay the full price for the jeep safari because we had taken up the allotted two hours regardless of the fact that the jeep broke down within the first 20 mins of the drive and the rest of the time was spent waiting on the driver to fix the car or the walk back to the lodge. Elise and I were so frustrated at this point that we were not having any of it. So, we argued for a good 20-25 minutes and still had to pay half the price we originally were supposed to pay. It was incredibly frustrating because if we had been at home we would not have been expected to pay. That night I did have a good dinner date with Lynsey and Becca and then went to bed to get up and leave early the next morning.

The bus that goes to Tamale from Mole leaves at 4am so we were up early and on the bus by 4am. Uncharacteristically, it left on time. Did I mention that this also happened to be my 20th Birthday?! I was super excited but also a little sad because I this was my first birthday celebrated away from home. On the way back to Tamale I feel asleep and woke up to Lynsey who told me that the bus had broken down and they were trying to fix it. Another curve ball. Luckily, they managed to fix it in about 30 mins and we were on our way back to Tamale.

When we got back, everyone in the program came over to my house to celebrate my birthday with me. It made the fact that I wasn't at home a lot easier, to know that I was surrounded by such great people who I shared some great experiences. We had really been through some shitty times together (literally!). It was a great way to end Tamale Week. I even had a cake baked for me!

Ghana colours too!

The cake baker

Love everyone of these girls....we've been through a lot together

So Tamale week was challenging but we managed to end it on a high note. Sometimes you have to enjoy life and laugh through the good times and the bad.

"The traveler sees what he sees but the tourist sees what he has come to see" Gilbert K. Chesterton

The last two weekends of March were filled with trips to both Nzulezo and Kumasi with two of my fellow TIG’ers Elise and Lynsey. Last weekend we decided that it was about time we made a trip to Nzuelzo, or as it is better known, the stilt village before we left Ghana without seeing it at all. Elise and Lynsey live about an hour and a half away from Busua and twenty minutes away from the stilt village.

This brings me to the trotro. As I have mentioned before, trotros are the primary method of transportation within Ghana. They are vans that have rows of seats filled with people. There is the driver and the mate. When the tro has stopped or when it is passing people the mate yells the destination out of the window. People get in and out of the tro along the route to the final destination. It is a cheap way to travel around Ghana but not for those who like to have their own personal bubble. You are usually squished in between people. Music is always playing here in Ghana and the trotro is no exception. You can have a broken door, broken speedometer and gauages, a broken seat but you can almost guarantee that the radio works and they have a serious sound system. Most of the time you stand at a stop and wait for a tro and jump on, while other times you have to go to the tro station and get one there. To get to the stilt village I had to go to the station. If you get one at the station you have to wait for it to fill up before the driver will leave. Unfortunately, it took two hours for the tro to fill up. Thankfully I had a book to read while I waited!

After getting to Elise and Lynsey’s house we made our way towards the stilt village after several arguments with taxi drivers. Seeing as we have been here for so long we know the difference between the ‘obruni’ price and the actual price of things. We were getting charged more than the obruni price to get to the stilt village but eventually managed to find a way through share taxis. Share taxi’s are sort of like trotros. They have designated areas where they wait and instead of paying the full drop price, you wait for the taxi to fill up with people and you usually pay a little less than you would if you were being dropped. Even then we were being overcharged 30 pesewas. It is funny how so caught up you become in paying the actual price of things that you will argue for hours and until you are blue in the face over thirty pesewas. Thirty pesewas is seventeen cents. Seventeen cents! We argued for a good fifteen minutes over seventeen cents! Like I said though, you become so angry that someone would overcharge you that you argue anyway, regardless of how much it is. 

Once we had made our way to the nearest village we paid our entrance fee and began a 25 min walk. Luckily for us a pickup truck came by and gave us a lift so we got to the beginning of the river quite quickly. The Nzulezo is built on stilts at the edge of a lake and so the only way to get there is by canoe. So we took off our shoes, went for a small walk to the canoes and jumped in. The canoe ride was about 40 mins or so. It began down a small river and to be honest, I felt as though I was canoeing down the Amazon River. It was so beautiful. The trees were so green and overgrown, there were lily’s in the water and it was so peaceful. It really was stunning.

Walking to the canoe

Pre-Canoe Ride 

The bridge on the way to the canoes

Happy Paddler 

Transported to the Amazon momentarily

Water Lily

Eventually the river opens up and you join the lake where the stilt village is. The fact that the village itself is built on stilts is really cool but I was fairly disappointed with the tour itself. The tour guide did not really give us any information on the village other than the lake it was on. When we were directed to the Chief’s daughter to ask questions, she answered us in one word questions. I also found the people to be fairly unfriendly. Despite this, the village itself is incredible. While some of the villagers are fishermen, the majority of them are farmers. They have to paddle to the edges of the lake and farm every day. (This was the only other piece of information we managed to squeeze out of the tour guide). We headed back after our tour and walked back to the nearest village to get a cab ride home, just managing to beat a huge thunderstorm. I stayed the night at Elise and Lynsey’s house and managed to wait les s than 30 seconds to catch a trotro back home to Busua. I was so happy I did not have to wait too long for a trotro. Despite my disappointment regarding some aspects of the stilt village, I am glad I made the trip to see it. 

Three of us 

Everyone needs a bar , even a village on stilts

Transportation

Canoe

River 

Canoe

If you have a bar, you need a satellite to watch the football 

Shutters 

Washing 

The village from the water 

Twirling my new found friend 

High Five 

Drying out the wellies

Colourful

The following weekend I went on another road trip with Elise and Lynsey to Kumasi. Kumasi is about 6 hours away from Takoradi and on the way to the Northern Region in Ghana. The three of us wanted to get away one last time before we had to get down working on a major report that we have to hand in describing our last three months as interns in Ghana. We also wanted to buy some last minute gifts and souvenirs and we thought that going to the city with the biggest market in West Africa would be a good place to go. The trip to Kumasi was another long one involving a share taxi to Busua, a trotro to Takoradi and then a bus to Kumasi. It took us about 6 hours which in Ghana time, is good time! We decided to treat ourselves as well to a nice hotel and so the three of us split a room with air conditioning! It was so nice to be cold! I had almost forgotten what that felt like. We got to Kumasi on the Thursday night and also treated ourselves to a really great meal, pizza! It even had real cheese! It was incredible. Before we went to bed, Elise even managed to find some real ice cream so we had a scoop of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. We went to bed the happiest people in Ghana!

The next morning we decided to get up early and start shopping so we headed over to the cultural center to see what they had. I did not find anything and once we had looked around we made our way towards the real reason we had come, the market. I have been in a lot of markets in Ghana but this market is on a whole other level. I had been to the market before on our way up to Tamale so I knew what to expect but it is still breathtaking. The sheer size of the market is incredible.

The markets are filled with narrow alleyways, stalls and people everywhere. You have to keep your eyes everywhere; on the ground for holes, uneven ground or to avoid stepping in things you don’t want to step in as well, straight ahead to make sure you do not run into anyone or anything that someone may be carrying on their head and finally to your left and right to take a look into each stall and see if there is anything that you like. It can be very overwhelming at first but it can be a lot of fun. Well, I think it is anyway. We headed into the market and just wondered around and found some really cool things. We spent a lot of time in the fabric aisle. It’s a dangerous place. The fabrics are just so beautiful.

After we finished our fabric shopping we made our way through the rest of the market to find some other goodies. On the way we found some zippers that we decided to look at. While we were looking, all of a sudden we got pushed out of the way into a smaller alley off the main strip. A truck was backing up down the main strip with less than 10 centimeters of space on either side of him. Not thinking twice about it once the truck had moved on we continued looking at zippers and then asked for directions to where the beads where. We were told to ask for the earring section (not quite sure how this makes sense but we did find them in the earring section…). On our way there we had to walk around the truck that had just passed us. Now, with no zippers in our way to distract us we noticed that the back of the truck was filled with cow heads and another very big, hairy and squishy body part that we have yet to decide what it is. A man put this big squishy thing on his head and let the rest of it hand down his back. It was really quite gross. We decided to make a run for it and when we came out on the other side Elise had some blood on her forehead and I had some on my t-shirt and pants. I have seen a lot of things in Ghana but this was a whole other level. I do not like the meat section to begin with but this was really, really disgusting. Oh well, it would not really be a trip to the market if you left without a story! We managed to find a few other things. I left the market a little earlier than the girls because I was really hungry and for some reason there was not any food around us. It was also really hot, 40 degrees without humidity and it was humid! Even still, I spent about five hours in the market. It was really fun, I saw some interesting things and I have some stories to tell. You can almost guarantee that you will come out of the market with something to say about something or a story to tell. You never know what can happen in there….

Traditional Kente 

Printed Kente 

So pretty

View down one of many fabric aisles in the market

I spent my last night in air conditioning for a little while and then we headed to another fabric store in the morning, Woodin. It is a store filled with really high quality fabric. It is a little more expensive but some of the stuff you find in there is really beautiful. Afterwards we headed to another market to catch our bus to Takoradi. Unfortunately, a bus had just pulled out so we had to wait for a new bus to fill up. While this meant that we got first choice of seats (which is important if you are tall like me otherwise my knees get squished) it also meant that we had to wait for the bus to fill up. We were unlucky as it took over2 hours for the bus to fill up. We were on a bus at 10am in the morning and we did not get home until about 7pm. It was a really long day.

The bus ride home was not without its adventures though. 2 incidents happened on this particular ride that I think are worth mentioning.

Firstly, there is a TV at the front of the buses and the movies they choose are uncomfortably loud the entire journey. This usually involves a few hours of travelling on a bus without being able to sleep because of the noise coming from a particularly awful Ghanaian film that is playing that day. While the Ghanaians like the movies on the buses I do not. I do not really have as much of a problem with the movies as I do the volume of them. Elise and Lynsey devised a plan in which they bought a Harry Potter DVD for under a dollar and convinced the bus driver to play it. So the three of us were ecstatic after waiting two hours for the bus to fill up to find out that we would be watching Harry Potter. So we put the DVD in and of course, it would not play. The enter button the DVD player was not working so we could not get passed the menu. The other Ghanaian movies that were in the DVD player, however, did not have menus and started playing automatically. Consequently, we had the pleasure of watching an awful movie part 1, 2 and 3. Thank god for iPods!

The second incident was quite funny and is probably one of those instances that is funnier when you are there. I am still going to try and give it justice. So here goes….There are lots of police checks and toll booths that you have to stop at when you are driving in Ghana. We happened to stop at a police check that was at a standstill and a few people got off the bus to get some snacks while we waited, including Lynsey and Elise. Elise went to buy some phone credit across the road and Lynsey went to a nearby gas station to get some food. While they were off the bus, the line of cars suddenly started to move. Quickly. I yelled to Elise who jumped on but Lynsey was still in the gas station. Suddenly we were past the gas station and coming up to the police check and the bus driver was not stopping despite our pleas. Lynsey was still in the gas station. Elise and I were laughing while trying to figure out if we should get off the bus or try get him to wait and then grab Lysney. We eventually managed to convince the bus driver to stop with the help from a fellow passenger when he realized that ``our sister`` was not on the bus. He finally stopped and Lynsey had managed to catch up. She had seen the line of cars suddenly start moving and ran after us, running alongside a bus that looked identical to ours but was not ours. She did manage to find us though and we made our way back to Busua.

That night there was also a party at the Black Star Surf Shop that we attended. It was great to be back in Busua and to have a good time with all the people who I have become friends with. There are a lot of expats but also a lot of local Ghanaians who I have become good friends with. It was a great party, filled with lots of dancing, singing and partying. There has not been a party like that in Busua for a few months and it was great to de-stress for a little bit before getting down to work this week. Only one more week in Ghana! Time has really flown above. I will try and get at least one more blog in before I leave.

Chelsea

(People were having a hard time saying Jocelyn so I changed it to Josie which was fine in Accra. In Busua, however, people seem to have a hard time saying Josie. Instead, they say Chelsea. So in Busua, I am known as Chelsea….I hate Chelsea. I am a Liverpool Fan. At least they did not start calling me Manchester)

"Goin' back to my roots" Odyssey

So this post is about 3 months too late but better late than never, right? During our time abroad we were given a month off at Christmas time to do as we pleased. I decided to go to South Africa to see my Granddad and I was lucky enough to go with three other girls in my program, Brigitte, Elise and Amy. Our month was filled with adventure after adventure including, riding an ostrich, doing a horseback safari, Table Mountain, a visit to Boulder’s Beach to see the penguins, an Elephant Sanctuary and some beach time. We drove from Cape Town along the Garden Route to Johannesburg where we spent Christmas with my Granddad and Aunty Bev and Uncle Thomas. I would not have wanted to spend my Christmas anywhere else.  So let the journey begin….

The first few days in Cape Town were filled with numerous adventures but mostly it was just nice to chill for a while and take a break from school. It rained on the first day and seeing as we had just hopped off a plane from Ghana we were freezing! So instead of wasting our day in the hostel, our first mission was to find an umbrella for Brigitte. After a long search and a bit of culture shock (department stores are very overwhelming when you haven’t been in one for a few months) we managed to get our hands on one. Thank you Edgars. While it was still raining, we decided to go to the aquarium! It had been years since I’d been to an aquarium but I have to admit, it was a great way to spend a rainy day.  (903, 906).

Standing in the rain, freezing!

We were looking for Nemo

According to Amy, I am a marine biologist..

Pitstop: Kirstenbosh Botannical Gardens

We decided to check out the Botannical Gardens so one afternoon we stopped at Pick N’ Pay and grabbed some lunch to take with us.  Pita bread and dip. Pringles. A ham roll. Simple things but I will never take them for granted again. I’m not much of a ‘lets look at plants’ sort of person but it was a beautiful garden. The view was amazing too-right beneath the mountains. After lunch we walked around which consisted mostly of Elise and I sitting on bench’s while Amy and Brigitte went ahead. It was a great day though.

Amy and I at the botannical gardens 

Playing in the trees

Pitstop: Table Mountain

So lesson learnt here. We decided that we would hike up Table Mountain on our last day in Cape Town which also coincided with our last night in Cape Town.  Seeing as we would be leaving early in the morning the day after the hike we decided to go out the day before the hike. As great of a time as it was….let’s just say there was no hike up the mountain. Instead we took the cable car up (which happened to be quite scary actually) and walked out onto one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. It was incredible. Breathtaking. We spent about an hour up there before I met some very old friends of mine. I was lucky enough to be in the same town as my cousin, Kirsten and Aunt Sonja for the first time in at least ten years. I met them on top of the mountain and we had a really nice catch up. It was great to see them after all that time.

View of Camps Bay from Table Mountain 

For you, dad. 

Having  a tea at the top

Mountain ladies. Amy, Briggs, myself and Elise

Beautiful 

We rented a car and decided to drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg for Christmas so that we could spend Christmas with my granddad and Aunt and Uncle.

Pitstop: Chapman's Peak

We decided to leave Cape Town by driving along Chapman’s Peak. What an incredible view…

Chapman's Peak

Pitstop: Boulder’s Beach, Simons Town.

We decided to stop in Simons Town and make a visit to out furry little friends. The water was freezing, there were a few scary moments climbing over the rocks but it was worth it to see some seriously cute penguins. 

King of the Rock

They were camera shy...

We made our way along the coast and decided to stop in Outshoorn to see what the big fuss with all the ostrich’s was about.

Pitstop: Ostrich Farm

So we decided to do an ostrich tour on an ostrich farm in ostrich country. What kind of a tour would it be though if we didn’t ride the ostrich?! Before you get on the ostrich they put a bag over its head to calm it down and surprisingly, the ostrich went from being very agitated to completely calm. You then have to climb onto the back of the ostrich and wrap your legs around the front of it so that its legs won’t hit yours. The wings are then wrapped around you, covering your thighs. You lean back and grab onto those wings for your life, the bag is taken off the ostrich’s head and off you go! It is quite a bumpy ride but it was really fun. Those birds are fast! Feeling quite happy after my turn, I got off the ostrich smiling. Elise burst out into laughter and then continued to take a picture of my face. I was unaware that as I had climbed off a feather had gotten stuck to my teeth and instead of Elise telling me and pulling it off right away, she proceeded to laugh and take a picture. 

They put the bag on its head to calm it down.

This nail is so sharp that apparently it can slice your body in open from head to toe.

It was one hell of a ride! 

Completely terrifying but so much fun! 

The feather

Pitstop: Plettenburg Bay 

Our next stop was Plettenburg Bay, which was a great place to spend a few days. There is a really nice beach there and it was nice to chill for a little bit after we had been on the move for so long.We also went to an elephant sanctuary where we were able to get really close to some elephants! It was time, however, to make our way inland if we wanted to make it to Johannesburg for Christmas. It was also time for Briggs leave us and go to Burkina Faso to meet up with some friends.

Going for a walk

Pitstop: Bloemfontein

We decided to break up the trip and stopped in Bloemfontein for a night before heading to Jo’burg the next day. I was lucky enough to be there at the same time as Kirsten and Aunt Sonja was so I managed to spend the night with them and catch up. It was really great and before we left we had a lovely breakfast. They were wonderful to us and it was really nice to see them after such a long time.

Reunion 

Pitstop: Springs

Now it was time to head over to Jo’burg for the main reason I was in South Africa in the first place, to see my Granddad and spend some time with the Theodoulou’s. We arrived on Christmas Eve, just in time for the celebrations and our first (Western Style) home-cooked meal in four months. Let’s just say there wasn’t very much left then or for the rest of the week!  On Christmas, Kerry and Marco were kind enough to invite us over to theirs for Christmas Dinner and it was amazing. Eating Christmas Dinner in the heat was a little strange-to be honest, it didn’t really feel like Christmas despite the lights and trees everywhere. Elise also had to leave us on Christmas to head back to Ghana to spend the last 2 weeks with her dad and boyfriend. So from that point on, it was only Amy and I left. The rest of the time was spent just chilling, doing a few small daytrips (to a township, to the mall among others), eating great food and catching up. It was really nice to relax for a while as the whole trip previous to this point had felt quite rushed.  It was really nice to see my Granddad and the Theodoulou’s.  I had a great Christmas and New Years with everyone in Springs. It was as close to feeling at home as I could get that time of year without being at home.  Sometimes the best family aren’t family. Thanks to the Theodoulou’s for looking after us and fattening us up! 

Christmas Eve with granddad 

All dressed up for Christmas Day

Pitstop: Jeffrey’s Bay

It was time to leave my family in Springs and make our way back to Cape Town before heading back to Ghana. We still had a week so we decided to stop in Jeffrey’s Bay-the surfing capital in South Africa. Amy is a big surfer and I had gotten into it a little bit in California but was really excited because I knew that I was going to be able to surf while I was in Ghana. We decided to stop and check it out for a few days, plus it was on the way back to Cape Town…well sort of. We stayed in a really nice hostel and chilled around town for a bit, checking out all the surfing shops for some post Christmas sales. Amy and I rented some boards one morning and decided to check out the waves. I should have known that they were going to be too big for me but I decided to try it anyway. When I finally managed to paddle out there I sat on my board and waited for a small wave. Then, about 100 yards away from us were a group of dolphins swimming! It was actually incredible. This sounds really cheesy but I felt part of the ocean; to be there while the dolphins were so close. It was an amazing moment. Plus, if dolphins were that close it meant that the sharks would be far away! I tried to catch a wave after the dolphins left and lost control of the board and almost hit my head on some rocks. That was enough for me. Although I didn’t catch a wave that day, I still had an incredible time in the water thanks to the dolphins.

So we didn't have our camera with us when we were in the water but this was as close as I could get on google. Just imagine them being a little further away and a lot more of them! Pretty incredible! 

 Pitstop: Plettenburg Bay

It was time to head on and so Amy and I decided we wanted to do one last big thing; a safari. Not any kind of safari though, a safari by horseback instead. We drove back to Plettenburg Bay and did a 3 hour safari by horseback (avoiding the lions of course) but still managed to see a lot of wildlife. It was my first time on a horse and I was a little nervous. Luckily the horses were all pack horses so they didn’t need much direction, they just followed each other. It was a lot of fun and it was a great way to see the wildlife.

Giraffe 

My first time on a horse! 

Zebra 

Last Stop:  Cape Town

We only had a few more days left in Cape Town and after too much time spent in the car, we decided to spend our last days relaxing. We needed to buy some boards though to take back to Ghana with us as we were going to be living on the beach and we knew that we would be able to surf. Luckily for us we met a guy who was staying in our hostel in Jeffrey’s Bay who knew where to buy some boards. He took us around Cape Town and eventually I found a board in Muizenburg. On the way back we stopped at Kalk Bay and had lunch at The Brass Bell due to my dad’s recommendation. You were right-the fish and chips were amazing. The next day we took our boards to Blouberg Beach and had our first surf on our new boards. It was a lot of fun and with Table Mountain in the background-the view couldn’t have been better. The water was freezing though and some wetsuits were required. Thankfully, the water in Ghana is warm so no wetsuits are needed! Our last few days in Cape Town were filled with some final shopping trips to get some things to take back to Ghana with us and just chilling. To be honest, I was trying not to think about going back. Our month in South Africa had been amazing, filled with numerous adventures and lots of laughs. I was nervous about going back to Ghana, starting a new placement in a new town, feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the idea of starting a new program from scratch. I didn’t really want our time to end in South Africa but all journeys come to an end at some point. It was time to head back to Ghana and I wouldn’t have changed anything about our time in South Africa. It really was a once in a lifetime sort of adventure. 

Some Roadtrip Lessons from South Africa:

-You do not need to know how to drive standard when you can have someone shift the gears for you. And it is a lot harder than it looks.

-If you do keep practicing though you will eventually manage to go from standstill to gear 5 all by yourself. Go you!

-Stalling four times at a Stop sign will result in you being pulled over by a police officer who thinks that there is something wrong with the car. Embarrasing.

-Travelling from Cape Town to Jo’burg and back along the Garden Route can be done with only a road map. A GPS is not required.

-When you go to the supermarket for the first time in 4 months, you will probably be overwhelmed with choice and the rand to dollar conversion only adds to those feelings, resulting in a minor freakout.

-Go to Pick N’ Pay but be prepared to eat and drink more than you probably should.

-Riding a horse for the first time is amazing. Everyone should do it.  

-SA is one of the most beautiful places on earth and filled with some of the most beautiful people (drool).

-If, while backpacking in Ghana you decide to go on vacation to South Africa, you will forever feel underdressed especially when you show up at a bar in birkenstocks and a Mr Price outfit while everyone is wearing heels and dresses you would definitely not buy at Mr. Price. 

-Dorm rooms are not a good experience. For anyone. They will only result in a lack of sleep due to the snoring man and stench of stale beer and pizza.

-I should have been paid to translate. Apparently there is a difference between South African English and Canadian English. 

-Biltong, boerewors and chakalaka are worth flying to South Africa.

-That almost crashing into rocks on my surfboard was worth it to only to be on a board when a pod of dolphins swam past.

-Cape Town is the most beautiful city I have ever been too.

-Going out and drinking the night before you are supposed to hike up a mountain will most likely result in not hiking up the mountain . hello cable car.

-Never go to cameraland, especially if you have a film camera.  They will ruin your entire film of your friends 21^st birthday.

-It was confirmed-subway is still amazing.

-Sometimes the best family aren’t family. Thanks Aunty A and Uncle T.

-Mr Price can be very dangerous. Be prepared to walk out with at least a bag or spend 2 hours in there while your friend is in the car waiting.

-Air Namibia is the airline to fly with, especially if you are carrying surfboards as you won’t have to pay to transport them. Plus they give you cheese!

-An ipod is essential for the car…no radio necessary.

-When you return your rental car because it is making noises, the car company will give you the exact same brand of car and there might be a chance that there was nothing wrong with the car in the first place…

-I was lucky enough to travel with 3 amazing girls. 

Some other pictures from my time in South Africa. 

Photo credit to Elise: Hermanus Beach 

Best Friends 

Elise and I (ignore the mess in the room please!) 

Night out 

Lying in the grass at Company Gardens, Cape Town

Lying in the sun at Company Gardens, Table Mountain in the background. 

It was confirmed...there are squirrels in South Africa.