Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Back in the US of A
I've been back in the US for almost 2 days. Besides my adventure in Amsterdam the trip was rather uneventful except for not having anyone sitting next to me on either plane allowed me to stretch out a bit and get some sleep. It's a little different being home. I'm not sure how to explain it...maybe in a future blog. Now I'm trying to find things to do...I went to Cafe de Paris - the restaurant I work at - to see if I could start working and I will start next week with a few shifts so in the mean time I need to keep busy. This gives me time to start my business - a group travel business for tours of Ghana, similar to the Concordia group. I really enjoyed putting the trip together and everyone had such a good time and several people have recommended I start a business doing just that so I'm doing it. I'm posting some slideshow videos to the blog of my trip. Enjoy! Now that I'm back I look forward to hearing from you all!
James
Monday, July 21, 2008
An Amsterdam Adventure!
I am in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam right now waiting for my connecting flight to Washington Dulles. I'd like to share my rather humorous adventure here in the land of wooden shoes, tulips, bicycles, and a language full of deep throat gargling. I landed in this land at approximately 5:45AM and immediately noticed on the TV screen in front of me that the temperature outside was 57 degrees...Farenheit! Today is July 21st...right?? I asked myself. I looked out my window to see gray clouds and light rain falling then I proceeded to look at my jean shorts, sandals, and t-shirt and ask myself...why didn't I check out Amsterdam's weather before I left Ghana! (not that I had much warmer clothing...but pants, shoes and a long sleeve shirt would have been handy). Not wanting to be a wimp I decided to venture into the city to see what I could see. My first stop was the money exchange...for $100 I received 55.63 Euros! Next I bought a day-long train ticket to Amsterdam Centraal for 6.40 Euros and proceeded to the train. Amsterdam's airport is very nice and it includes a very nice train station. By now it is roughly 6:30AM and there is only 1 other person, that I can see, on the train...aren't people going to work today...it is Monday?? I get to Central Amsterdam and decide to find some breakfast and maybe a sweatshirt...cause I'm freezing and have been freezing since I entered Accra's airconditioned airport! I'm walking around, and by the way it is a gorgeous city full of canals with centuries old three and four story rowhouses along the canals, and there is virtually no one around...nothing is open. Finally I found a Coffee Shop that is open so I walk in...I'm met with a blue cloud of Marijuana smoke...in Amsterdam a Coffee Shop is a place to smoke weed...a Cafe is where you drink coffee...go figure? Well I walk around some more...see some shady characters...then I end up in the Red Light District! Just about everything is still closed but there were two places with 30-something heavy set women in skimpy nightgowns knocking on the glass, blowing kisses, and motioning for me to come in! There were a few places advertising live sex shows and very nasty things like animal sex!
After about an hour walking around I decide to head back to the airport cause i'm finding nothing and i'm freezing! I end up at Starbucks in the airport where I got a small Chai Latte with Soy Milk and a Croissant with chocolate...7.25 Euros - $11.60! I'm still hungry...After a while I end up at Burger King where I get the Hot Texas Whopper meal...5.70 Euros - $9.12! I've been walking around looking at things I will never be able to afford and now I'm on the internet where I just paid 6 Euros - $9.60 for 30 minutes! Well I have three minutes left so I will have to end this and finish it when I get back to US unless I want to spend another $10!!! Haaa...how I love Accra's prices...! See you all soon!
After about an hour walking around I decide to head back to the airport cause i'm finding nothing and i'm freezing! I end up at Starbucks in the airport where I got a small Chai Latte with Soy Milk and a Croissant with chocolate...7.25 Euros - $11.60! I'm still hungry...After a while I end up at Burger King where I get the Hot Texas Whopper meal...5.70 Euros - $9.12! I've been walking around looking at things I will never be able to afford and now I'm on the internet where I just paid 6 Euros - $9.60 for 30 minutes! Well I have three minutes left so I will have to end this and finish it when I get back to US unless I want to spend another $10!!! Haaa...how I love Accra's prices...! See you all soon!
Friday, July 18, 2008
Final couple days
Well, 2 more days till I come home...I've got mixed emotions. I really can't wait to see Audrey, get to work and school, etc but I've made some good friends here I'll miss and I've really had a good time.
This weekend I went to Kumasi with 4 volunteers. Two from the US and two from Holland. I drove them around Friday to Lake Bosomtwe and Saturday to Adanwomase - the kente weaving village - and Kejetia Market - the largest market in West Africa. They left for Accra on Sunday while I went to visit Holy Trinity Lutheran Church again - the choir performed there in May.
Tuesday I took the bus to Tamale in the Northern Region. The first half of the ride was quite bumpy and slow - about 5 hours. Then we stopped in Kintampo at the rest stop before continuing on a great road for another 3 hours. In all - 8 hours! When I got there I checked into Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies (TICCS) Guesthouse. It is run by a Catholic group and they have a cross cultural library and I think classes were being held while I was there. It is a very nice, quiet place for only $14/night! I had a cheeseburger with a middle-aged British man who is volunteering in Tamale at the Jungle Bar at TICCS - not bad. Then I met up with our crew from WAAF who had just arrived to do CD4s and surveys across the north.
Wednesday the three guys from NYU med school called me to see if I wanted to go to Mole (pronounced Molay) National Park - of course I did! We hired a taxi for the day - $130 including gas. Its about a two hour drive to the park. On the way we drove past many villages where people live in very traditional style homes - round mud huts with thatch roofing. The mud huts are arranged in tight circles with a wall connecting the huts. Each hut is like a room in the house and the courtyard is used to do most chores and sometimes to keep animals. Most of these villages did not have electricity.
Mole was great! As we were driving to the park a Red Patas Monkey ran across the road in front of us. When we got to the park we paid the entrance fee - $4! Then went to the Mole Motel which is on top an escarpment or ridge with 2 water holes directly below the hotel where the animals come to drink. It is an amazing view. We had lunch by the swimming pool while watching elephants play in the water hole! After lunch we had to wait for the Safari Walk to begin so we just hung out at the hotel. Suddenly a gang of Baboons invaded the motel! They stole food off of peoples' plates, stole a ketchup bottle, tried to enter a motel room, one even jumped on a young lady to steal her package of biscuits (cookie/crackers). It was all quite humorous! A few Warthogs also came to graze on the motel's grass.
We took a 2 hour Safari Walk through the "Guinea Forest." There we saw at least three species of antelope - Kob, Waterback, and Bushback - including a large buck and a doe nursing her baby. We also saw a herd of male Savanah Elephants - I learned that there are two types of elephants - Forest Elephants and Savanah Elephants. Forest Elephants are smaller, have smaller ears and their tusks are straight while Savanah Elephants are larger, have larger ears and curved tusks. They travel in groups according to sex, males with males while females and babies travel together with the dominant male who protects them. They have an average life span of 70 years while some live up to 120 years. Their gestation period is 22 months and they are the second fastest land animals in the world traveling 90 kilometers per hour - the first is the cheetah at 120 kilometers per hour! These elephants were huge and we were able to get about 50 meters away from them. Their scent is powerful - you can smell 'em before you can see 'em! We followed the herd around for a while getting some good pictures. We also got up close to some Warthogs. That was it for animals species we saw on the walk - most of the animals are nocturnal. After the walk we drove back to Tamale.
Thursday I checked out of the hotel, had the worst pizza ever at Swad's Fast Food, met up with the WAAF group at a clinic - ironically, construction of the clinic was funded by the US Department of Defense?? - and had another lunch (the pizza was that bad!) at the STC bus station before I headed off back to Accra at 4PM. I was given the task of delivering the HIV-positive blood samples. After stops in Kintampo and Kumasi I arrived in Accra at 3:30AM this morning!! The ride was not as bad as I thought it would be. We watched several Nigerian movies - including one with Nigerians playing Americans which was just plain funny (the stereotyping was very humorous). At one point we directed off the road and waited for 15 minutes then a truck full of police escorted us for a stretch of road - apparently there has been a problem of armed robbery on that stretch. I was able to sleep some on the bus and now my neck is hurting! I delivered the blood to the clinic and walked home. I got to bed just in time to hear my usual 4:30AM walk up call of "Allaaaaaaahu Akbar, Allaaaaaaahu Akbar" blasting from the mosques in the next neighborhood over.
This morning I woke up around 8, did some laundry, and went to Ghana Immigration Service to pick up my passport - I can now stay in Ghana until August 13 if I want. By the time I got to WAAF all the volunteers had left. They went to Cape Coast for the weekend so I am here with the few staff who didn't go up north. I think I'm gonna go out with the Lab Technician - Rolland - and Emmanuel for some drinks tonight. Well, I probably won't be able to leave another post before I'm back in the US so...........see you soon!
James
This weekend I went to Kumasi with 4 volunteers. Two from the US and two from Holland. I drove them around Friday to Lake Bosomtwe and Saturday to Adanwomase - the kente weaving village - and Kejetia Market - the largest market in West Africa. They left for Accra on Sunday while I went to visit Holy Trinity Lutheran Church again - the choir performed there in May.
Tuesday I took the bus to Tamale in the Northern Region. The first half of the ride was quite bumpy and slow - about 5 hours. Then we stopped in Kintampo at the rest stop before continuing on a great road for another 3 hours. In all - 8 hours! When I got there I checked into Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies (TICCS) Guesthouse. It is run by a Catholic group and they have a cross cultural library and I think classes were being held while I was there. It is a very nice, quiet place for only $14/night! I had a cheeseburger with a middle-aged British man who is volunteering in Tamale at the Jungle Bar at TICCS - not bad. Then I met up with our crew from WAAF who had just arrived to do CD4s and surveys across the north.
Wednesday the three guys from NYU med school called me to see if I wanted to go to Mole (pronounced Molay) National Park - of course I did! We hired a taxi for the day - $130 including gas. Its about a two hour drive to the park. On the way we drove past many villages where people live in very traditional style homes - round mud huts with thatch roofing. The mud huts are arranged in tight circles with a wall connecting the huts. Each hut is like a room in the house and the courtyard is used to do most chores and sometimes to keep animals. Most of these villages did not have electricity.
Mole was great! As we were driving to the park a Red Patas Monkey ran across the road in front of us. When we got to the park we paid the entrance fee - $4! Then went to the Mole Motel which is on top an escarpment or ridge with 2 water holes directly below the hotel where the animals come to drink. It is an amazing view. We had lunch by the swimming pool while watching elephants play in the water hole! After lunch we had to wait for the Safari Walk to begin so we just hung out at the hotel. Suddenly a gang of Baboons invaded the motel! They stole food off of peoples' plates, stole a ketchup bottle, tried to enter a motel room, one even jumped on a young lady to steal her package of biscuits (cookie/crackers). It was all quite humorous! A few Warthogs also came to graze on the motel's grass.
We took a 2 hour Safari Walk through the "Guinea Forest." There we saw at least three species of antelope - Kob, Waterback, and Bushback - including a large buck and a doe nursing her baby. We also saw a herd of male Savanah Elephants - I learned that there are two types of elephants - Forest Elephants and Savanah Elephants. Forest Elephants are smaller, have smaller ears and their tusks are straight while Savanah Elephants are larger, have larger ears and curved tusks. They travel in groups according to sex, males with males while females and babies travel together with the dominant male who protects them. They have an average life span of 70 years while some live up to 120 years. Their gestation period is 22 months and they are the second fastest land animals in the world traveling 90 kilometers per hour - the first is the cheetah at 120 kilometers per hour! These elephants were huge and we were able to get about 50 meters away from them. Their scent is powerful - you can smell 'em before you can see 'em! We followed the herd around for a while getting some good pictures. We also got up close to some Warthogs. That was it for animals species we saw on the walk - most of the animals are nocturnal. After the walk we drove back to Tamale.
Thursday I checked out of the hotel, had the worst pizza ever at Swad's Fast Food, met up with the WAAF group at a clinic - ironically, construction of the clinic was funded by the US Department of Defense?? - and had another lunch (the pizza was that bad!) at the STC bus station before I headed off back to Accra at 4PM. I was given the task of delivering the HIV-positive blood samples. After stops in Kintampo and Kumasi I arrived in Accra at 3:30AM this morning!! The ride was not as bad as I thought it would be. We watched several Nigerian movies - including one with Nigerians playing Americans which was just plain funny (the stereotyping was very humorous). At one point we directed off the road and waited for 15 minutes then a truck full of police escorted us for a stretch of road - apparently there has been a problem of armed robbery on that stretch. I was able to sleep some on the bus and now my neck is hurting! I delivered the blood to the clinic and walked home. I got to bed just in time to hear my usual 4:30AM walk up call of "Allaaaaaaahu Akbar, Allaaaaaaahu Akbar" blasting from the mosques in the next neighborhood over.
This morning I woke up around 8, did some laundry, and went to Ghana Immigration Service to pick up my passport - I can now stay in Ghana until August 13 if I want. By the time I got to WAAF all the volunteers had left. They went to Cape Coast for the weekend so I am here with the few staff who didn't go up north. I think I'm gonna go out with the Lab Technician - Rolland - and Emmanuel for some drinks tonight. Well, I probably won't be able to leave another post before I'm back in the US so...........see you soon!
James
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
A week since the last post...
Wow...I can't believe its been a week since my last post. Let me reflect on what happend over the last week...
Thursday...I can't remember :(
Friday...I went to Krobo Odumase in the Eastern Region to do CD4 tests and surveys for the NYU group. When we got there they said we couldn't do the tests because the person who arranged it didn't know they had to send a formal letter to the hospital administration blah blah blah! So we turned around and came back to Accra. Friday night Prince and I went to the NYU hostel to hang out with the NYU crew. For the record...It's not a hostel...its 4 mansions on 1 property with security, fully furnished houses, washer and driers, etc etc! After hanging out at the house everyone went to Ryan's Irish Pub which is just like an Irish Pub anywhere complete with "Spotted Dick with Custard" which I am told is a dessert! Prince was seriously hit on by one of the NYU guys we didn't know...in short it was hillarious! He handled it very well...he didn't make the guy feel bad in any way.
Saturday...I went to a pool party at Tesano Sports Club with Patrick and a couple of his friends. It was kinda boring at first...not many people were swimming (including us). Then the "show" started. A lot of people showed up and some famous Ghanaian singers/rappers performed. After a while we decided to go to Accra Mall because it was the "Launching" weekend and there was a big-time DJ performing in the food court. It was extremely loud and there weren't too many people...but it was fun. In the food court was a table of US Navy men in fatigues...I was curious what they were doing in Ghana but it was too loud to talk to them. We also saw Andrea and her two Dutch roommates walk into Rhapsody (a very nice restaurant) with a few guys. When I talked to her later she said that ...well first the entrees at Rhapsody range from $18-30!!...but she told me that they had gone to Champ's Sports Bar on Friday night and this guy was buying shots for everyone. He took a liking to one of her roommates and invited them to his house for dinner on Saturday. It turns out he is an Indian man who grew up in England. He moved to Ghana and started a company making .5 liter bags of purified water for 5 cents (everyone drinks them everywhere) and black plastic shopping bags and became a multi-millionaire. His house is amazing - jacuzzis in each bathroom, etc. He took the girls and his friends to Rhapsody and bought them all Filet Mignons and wine etc. It turns out the roommate is not interested in the guy...but they had a good time anyways.
Sunday I went to church at St. Paul's Lutheran Church again. Then had some Chinese food. That's about it.
Monday...I did some work at work. That evening I went to the NYU house again with Prince and saw Happy ( a young lady we work with) at the house. She came to cook them dinner and hang out with one of the future NYU doctors! We watched a movie - Eastern Promises - thats about it.
Tuesday...I delivered a few proposals with the two volunteers I work with. Hopefully we'll get some funding! After work I went to the tennis court with the guys and watched Patrick play tennis. I met 2 obrunis who came to talk to me. The guys were from Scotland and Switzerland. Fifi and Patrick and I went to Pizza Inn for our weekly ritual of 2 for 1 Terrific Tuesday and ate the pizza at the spot (drinking place) in our neighborhood. While we were sitting there the two obrunis I met came by with like 50 obrunis!!! The place is quite small and ran out of beer pretty quick!
Wednesday...today I am at work not doing much...I'm going for Indian food this evening and Salsa dancing.
This weekend I'm going to Kumasi and then Tamale. See you all in 12 days!
James
Thursday...I can't remember :(
Friday...I went to Krobo Odumase in the Eastern Region to do CD4 tests and surveys for the NYU group. When we got there they said we couldn't do the tests because the person who arranged it didn't know they had to send a formal letter to the hospital administration blah blah blah! So we turned around and came back to Accra. Friday night Prince and I went to the NYU hostel to hang out with the NYU crew. For the record...It's not a hostel...its 4 mansions on 1 property with security, fully furnished houses, washer and driers, etc etc! After hanging out at the house everyone went to Ryan's Irish Pub which is just like an Irish Pub anywhere complete with "Spotted Dick with Custard" which I am told is a dessert! Prince was seriously hit on by one of the NYU guys we didn't know...in short it was hillarious! He handled it very well...he didn't make the guy feel bad in any way.
Saturday...I went to a pool party at Tesano Sports Club with Patrick and a couple of his friends. It was kinda boring at first...not many people were swimming (including us). Then the "show" started. A lot of people showed up and some famous Ghanaian singers/rappers performed. After a while we decided to go to Accra Mall because it was the "Launching" weekend and there was a big-time DJ performing in the food court. It was extremely loud and there weren't too many people...but it was fun. In the food court was a table of US Navy men in fatigues...I was curious what they were doing in Ghana but it was too loud to talk to them. We also saw Andrea and her two Dutch roommates walk into Rhapsody (a very nice restaurant) with a few guys. When I talked to her later she said that ...well first the entrees at Rhapsody range from $18-30!!...but she told me that they had gone to Champ's Sports Bar on Friday night and this guy was buying shots for everyone. He took a liking to one of her roommates and invited them to his house for dinner on Saturday. It turns out he is an Indian man who grew up in England. He moved to Ghana and started a company making .5 liter bags of purified water for 5 cents (everyone drinks them everywhere) and black plastic shopping bags and became a multi-millionaire. His house is amazing - jacuzzis in each bathroom, etc. He took the girls and his friends to Rhapsody and bought them all Filet Mignons and wine etc. It turns out the roommate is not interested in the guy...but they had a good time anyways.
Sunday I went to church at St. Paul's Lutheran Church again. Then had some Chinese food. That's about it.
Monday...I did some work at work. That evening I went to the NYU house again with Prince and saw Happy ( a young lady we work with) at the house. She came to cook them dinner and hang out with one of the future NYU doctors! We watched a movie - Eastern Promises - thats about it.
Tuesday...I delivered a few proposals with the two volunteers I work with. Hopefully we'll get some funding! After work I went to the tennis court with the guys and watched Patrick play tennis. I met 2 obrunis who came to talk to me. The guys were from Scotland and Switzerland. Fifi and Patrick and I went to Pizza Inn for our weekly ritual of 2 for 1 Terrific Tuesday and ate the pizza at the spot (drinking place) in our neighborhood. While we were sitting there the two obrunis I met came by with like 50 obrunis!!! The place is quite small and ran out of beer pretty quick!
Wednesday...today I am at work not doing much...I'm going for Indian food this evening and Salsa dancing.
This weekend I'm going to Kumasi and then Tamale. See you all in 12 days!
James
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Arrested!
It finally happened...I've been caught! Monday...I was arrested! Fifi gave me his truck to drive the other two volunteers I'm working with around to the locations we are working with to do some work. We had been driving since 11am visiting the locations and we're headed to the last location, Madina. It's a long drive and we were within eyeshot of the location when we had to go through a police checkpoint. I thought they were waving us through when a police officer stopped us to point out that our vehicle registration (called the road worthiness license) had expired on Sunday. She jumped in the back seat and directed me to drive to the police station. There she said she was arresting me for driving with an expired road worthiness license. We pleaded with her that it had expired just the day before and since it was a Sunday we couldn't get it renewed. She said that since it was 2:20pm we had had plenty of time to get it done in the morning. She gave me a court date of Wednesday at 9am and bail of $1000 but released me on my own recognicence (spelling??). I had to give over my drivers license and the keys to the vehicle. We waited for Fifi to come. When Fifi got there he pleaded with the police officer. Then I and the other person left the office. Five minutes later Fifi came out to ask me for $20. I gave it to him and he came back out with my drivers license and the truck keys and said "lets go!" For $30 it all disappeared! Phew!
Yesterday, July 1, was a holiday - Republic Day. Its a day that everyone goes to the beach or pool. The guys and I went to the pool at Shangri La Hotel. For $7 we swam all day. Today we are back to work. Tomorrow we are holding peer educator workshop for youth in a couple communities. 4 new volunteers just arrived from the US. Now there are 9 Americans here! 1 of the group of 4 from NYU has already returned to the US.
Well, I'll be back in less than 3 weeks. Any gift requests?? See you soon!
Monday, June 30, 2008
3 weeks
I will be back in the US 3 weeks from today...and...I can't wait! I love Ghana and everyone here...but...I miss Audrey and I want to get to work that makes money! I now know that I can live here with ease...in fact it can b a lot of fun!
My host family, Fifi's family, left Friday for a week in Takoradi so Fifi and I have the house to ourselves. Friday we cooked for ourselves with Emmanuel and Prince. It was fun, but not that good! Saturday I went to Cape Coast with some medical students from NYU who are doing research and our laboratory team to do CD4 counts (white blood cell count for people with HIV) and conduct a survey for the medical students. We had about 75 people! I did the survey and it had 71 questions!!! Most of the people didn't speak English so it was very long and tedious to have every question translated and then the answer translated back. I interviewed 16 people in 4 hours!
Yesterday I went to Champs Sports Bar again to enjoy the EuroCup 2008 final match. Spain beat Germany 1-0!!! We were cheering for Spain! The place was packed! There wasn't a single inch of floor space available! After the match we played pool.
Life in Ghana is not easy for most people. For instance one of my friends is 28 and has a Bachelors Degree from the University of Ghana in Computer Science. He lives with his parents and makes only $200 per month working full time at WAAF!!! By comparison, recently we had a volunteer from Britain who was here for about 9 months. She is also 28 and has been a medical doctor for 5 years (medical school is much shorter in the UK) and obviously has a lot of money to be able to volunteer for 9 months. $200 is less than 1/4th the rent I pay in Baltimore for my apartment! People spend $200 on dinner for 3 or 4 at Cafe de Paris (the restaurant I work at in Maryland). And $200 doesn't buy much in Ghana...we saw some 2 bedroom apartments, new but not all that nice, for $150/month. A loaf of bread is between $1 -$1.50. Plantains are 4 for $1...petrol is around $5/gallon...etc etc.
I've seen and experienced a lot on this trip that I hadn't experienced in past trips...it helps to not stay at the in-law's mansion! What I've seen and experienced makes me know that my goals are right for me and are definitely needed in Ghana. That is one reason I can't wait to get home so I can get started on fulfilling my goals and dreams. It's not going to be easy but it will be worthwhile!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Photos
Service project - painting a school in the village
The Choir with the Chief of Krobo
Farewell Lunch at Audrey's Parent's house
Audrey's Parent's house
Saying goodbye at Accra Mall
Coconuts anyone??
Elmina
Enjoying the beach
Boat ride on Lake Bosomtwe
Walking alongside the bus because the road was too bad for the bus to get through with a heavy load.
Performing at National Theatre
Cape Coast Beach
Learning how to drum!
Dinner at Hans Cottage Botel
Kakum Rainforest
Christus Chorus performing for St. Paul's Lutheran School in Accra in St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Boti Falls
National Theatre Performance Night
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Skypin'
I have spoken to Audrey face to face twice in the past 24 hours!!!! It's an amazing thing called Skype. All you have to do is download it and you need a webcam and microphone on your computer, which if you have a mac is already installed. Then you can talk to anyone else with Skype for free for as long as you like. Yesterday we talked for almost an hour! With Skype you can also call people on their phone but it charges you something like 15 cents/minute. I'm using Andrea (another volunteer from Missouri)'s MacBook which is so much faster than the regular computer I use here! The other one is probably from 1990something.
The weekend was interesting. Saturday Fifi, Emmanuel and I drove the boss's wife and kids around to buy the boys bicycles and groceries. The boss went to the Western region with the car and driver to play golf and whatever else. Sunday we went to Harvest International Ministries (HIM) for church. It is a charismatic church so there was a lot of "Amen...Hallelujah...Praise Jesus...Clap for Jesus...etc" The music was really well done and the sound system neither squeeked or blasted (if you've been to Ghana you know what I'm talkin bout!). The sermon was long but not too bad and the whole service was in English which was nice. After church we picked up the boss's wife and kids again!! Took them to the mall to buy some more groceries from Shoprite. Then I went to the Black Stars Football Match against Gabon at the Ohene Djan Stadium in central Accra with Zahida (friend from Howard U) and her friend from work. We had great seats in VIP! Only $6 and we were sitting right behind the players in row J near mid field. The Black Stars won 2-0 and continue to be on the top of their bracket in the run for the World Cup which will be held in South Africa in 2010 (first time on African soil!). I've heard from a couple people that they saw me on TV...but I haven't seen the footage!
Yesterday (Monday) I actually did some work!!!!!!!!!!!!! Fifi and I have two new volunteers from the University of Ghana. They are social work majors who have to volunteer for the summer for their program. I am now the team leader. Irene, Adwoa and I went to Nima to try to set up an educational workshop on HIV, recruit peer educators, and do a little survey of people's knowledge on HIV. We were looking for the central Mosque (its a largely Muslim neighborhood) and found the Imam's house where we are going back to today to discuss with him. We talked to some young men about HIV. One knew a lot, one knew little, and the other two were somewhere in between. We talked to the headmaster of the large Islamic school in the neighborhood who seemed interested in our project. Everyone we talked to said that no one had ever come to their neighborhood to educate people on HIV. We also talked to the leader of the Neighborhood Watch who supported us and we are going back today to recruit peer educators from the young men who hang out at his office. We also talked to some older men (60s?) about HIV. They wanted to know about how it can be transmitted and how it can be treated. We were happy that they knew that stigmatizing HIV-positive people is not acceptable.
Today we are going to talk to the chief in the neighborhood. The neighborhood, accurately described as a slum, is largely from the northern regions of Ghana. The people from the north are culturally different from the people of southern Ghana. Historically they are Muslim (and largely still are), poor (most still are), and excluded from the benefits of investment. During the slavery period, the people of Northern Ghana were kidnapped and sold into slavery in large numbers. During colonialization, the British had a policy of "forced labour out-migration" which means they forced notherners to go to southern "Gold Coast" to work in the plantations, mines, ports, police and military. They also had a policy of non-investment, so at independence there was no infrastructure in place in the north. The Ghanaian government has not been much better. The Nkrumah and Rawlings administration made some investment in the north but today it still is far far behind the south. The electricity grid was just expanded to the northern regions in the 1990s! So, because of these reasons, and the continued lack of investment in the north, many northerners live in the southern cities. They were subjegated into communities with Muslim sounding names like Madina and Nima. The communities have become slums and these are the communities we are working in to educate people about HIV/AIDS.
Well, I didn't think I would have much to say today but I guess I did! I better get to work!
James
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Celebrating 26 years in Ghana
Yesterday was my 26th birthday. Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday greetings on Facebook and to my parents for the cards and everyone else who sent me a message, etc. I had fun yesterday...but I would have had a better time if at least Audrey had been here with me!
Birthdays in Ghana have rituals like US birthdays...but they are quite different! When I got up yesterday I had a breakfast of Eto and Eggs - the traditional birthday breakfast - Eto is mashed yam with palm oil, onions, and spices - really good! Then I got "Pounded!" This is kinda similar to getting 26 spankings on your 26th birthday...except it involves getting nailed with anything gross...In my case it was dirty laundry water and water with dirt and food in it - 4 buckets of it! It was pretty gross and the laundry soap wasn't nice on the face but I survived! The idea is to make you suffer for making your mother go through so much pain when you were born. When I told my mom this she said, "I didn't feel a thing! I was knocked out!" But my friends didn't let me get away with that excuse!
While I was getting pounded I got a call that I was supposed to go to a UNAIDS meeting so I quickly took a shower and went to the meeting to report back to WAAF about what happened. It was a meeting about high at-risk groups - commercial sex workers (CSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Basically the rate of HIV among CSW is really high and it is really difficult to reach MSM because of stigmatization.
To celebrate my birthday 8 of us went to Champp's Sports Bar to eat Tex Mex!!!! The plan was to go at 6pm and then go to Salsa Dancing at 8pm which ends around 10:30pm. We got to the restaurant at 7:30pm in two cars. I was trying to park on the street and some small boy was directing me and directing me right into the open gutter! So my front right tire was in the gutter. He got some friends to help pull me out and when we gave them 50 cents they wanted $5 - even though the kid who directed me did a horrible job so it was his fault. We went into the restaurant and a couple minutes later the manager came to tell me the kids had let the air out of the tire. So I went with him and he grabbed one of the kids and was yelling at him and even slapped him a couple times. Fifi arrived now with his carload and there was more yelling and threatening of the kids (middle school aged). Fifi took the car to the gas station around the corner to fill the tire and now it needs to be replaced because of driving on it while it was flat - his spare was spoiled as well.
After all this drama we had a nice dinner...I had tortilla chips and salsa and beef and been burritos!! My friend Zahida from Howard Univ joined us and it was nice to see her again. We all watched the football game (soccer) on the big screen and had a good time. By the time we left it was 9:30pm and it was starting to rain so we decided to skip the Salsa dancing since it was outside and ended around 10:30.
It was a fun day! It would have been even better if all of you had been here to celebrate with me! Well, Fifi is spending his 4th day this week running the stupid dogs to the vet for Eddie (boss). I went the first day - 5 really stinky dogs in a mini van!! To top it off one of the dogs pooped in the van on the way back! The second day I didn't go and Fifi told me more of the dogs pooped in the van and some were vomitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so disgusting and has nothing what so ever to do with HIV/AIDS! Well, maybe we can get back to work soon!
I miss you all and I hope everything is going well wherever you are reading this!
James
Birthdays in Ghana have rituals like US birthdays...but they are quite different! When I got up yesterday I had a breakfast of Eto and Eggs - the traditional birthday breakfast - Eto is mashed yam with palm oil, onions, and spices - really good! Then I got "Pounded!" This is kinda similar to getting 26 spankings on your 26th birthday...except it involves getting nailed with anything gross...In my case it was dirty laundry water and water with dirt and food in it - 4 buckets of it! It was pretty gross and the laundry soap wasn't nice on the face but I survived! The idea is to make you suffer for making your mother go through so much pain when you were born. When I told my mom this she said, "I didn't feel a thing! I was knocked out!" But my friends didn't let me get away with that excuse!
While I was getting pounded I got a call that I was supposed to go to a UNAIDS meeting so I quickly took a shower and went to the meeting to report back to WAAF about what happened. It was a meeting about high at-risk groups - commercial sex workers (CSW) and men who have sex with men (MSM). Basically the rate of HIV among CSW is really high and it is really difficult to reach MSM because of stigmatization.
To celebrate my birthday 8 of us went to Champp's Sports Bar to eat Tex Mex!!!! The plan was to go at 6pm and then go to Salsa Dancing at 8pm which ends around 10:30pm. We got to the restaurant at 7:30pm in two cars. I was trying to park on the street and some small boy was directing me and directing me right into the open gutter! So my front right tire was in the gutter. He got some friends to help pull me out and when we gave them 50 cents they wanted $5 - even though the kid who directed me did a horrible job so it was his fault. We went into the restaurant and a couple minutes later the manager came to tell me the kids had let the air out of the tire. So I went with him and he grabbed one of the kids and was yelling at him and even slapped him a couple times. Fifi arrived now with his carload and there was more yelling and threatening of the kids (middle school aged). Fifi took the car to the gas station around the corner to fill the tire and now it needs to be replaced because of driving on it while it was flat - his spare was spoiled as well.
After all this drama we had a nice dinner...I had tortilla chips and salsa and beef and been burritos!! My friend Zahida from Howard Univ joined us and it was nice to see her again. We all watched the football game (soccer) on the big screen and had a good time. By the time we left it was 9:30pm and it was starting to rain so we decided to skip the Salsa dancing since it was outside and ended around 10:30.
It was a fun day! It would have been even better if all of you had been here to celebrate with me! Well, Fifi is spending his 4th day this week running the stupid dogs to the vet for Eddie (boss). I went the first day - 5 really stinky dogs in a mini van!! To top it off one of the dogs pooped in the van on the way back! The second day I didn't go and Fifi told me more of the dogs pooped in the van and some were vomitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so disgusting and has nothing what so ever to do with HIV/AIDS! Well, maybe we can get back to work soon!
I miss you all and I hope everything is going well wherever you are reading this!
James
Monday, June 16, 2008
so much to say
Wow! The flooding in Wisconsin is crazy! I've been looking at all the news articles and pictures my mom has sent me and my facebook friends have been posting and I can't believe what I'm seeing! I hope everyone is alright and I'll keep you all in my prayers!
In my last post I promised something about Blakk Rasta. He is a radio DJ on Hitz FM, a Ghanaian station that plays mostly hip hop, rnb, reggae, and Ghanaian high life and hip life. He has a radio show called "Taxi Driver" during the day. He is Ghanaian but puts on a Jamaican accent and talks about politics, news, and of course Ganja (marijuana) and he's kinda controversial but Ghanaians love him! Everywhere I go between 11am and 2 pm I hear him blasting out of speakers. He has a song and music video out right now that is very popular entitled "Barack Obama!" Since most of the song is in Patuwa (Jamaican language similar to Pidgon English) I don't understand everything but basically he's supporting Obama and hopes that he will do good for Africa when he's president and that he's careful because he's concerned (as are a lot of people here) that he will be assanated if he becomes president. So, that is Blakk Rasta and "Barack Obama!"
Wednesday I went Salsa dancing in Accra! It was really fun! There were a lot of people there...Salsa is becoming very popular in Ghana and there are some great dancers!
Friday I went to Ho, the capital of the Volta Region in Eastern Ghana. It was my first time to that region. We went as a team doing CD4 counts for people living with HIV (basically it tells them how far along they are in the disease by reading their white blood cell count). It was dissappointing that only 48 people showed up when we had been promised by the arranger that there would be 500. Some of us also went to two hospitals in Ho to discuss ways to support their HIV/AIDS work with education and support for their patients.
Thursday night I moved to Fifi's house. I stay in the boy's quarters where I have a bedroom and a shower and toilet.
Saturday I played football (soccer) with the neighborhood guys. I'm not very good but it was still fun. That night Fifi and I went to Boomerang (a club) and had a good time. There was more Salsa until midnight and then "regular music".
Sunday I went to a small charismatic church in Accra where we did VCTs (Voluntary Counceleing and TEsting) for HIV. We tested about 20 people. I got tested and I'm negative (of course!).
Well, I've got to get to work...we gotta run and get the bosses dogs and take them to the vet for him...this doesn't sound like it has anythign to do with HIV/AIDS!!!! I'll try to give more details on what I'm doing later.
James
In my last post I promised something about Blakk Rasta. He is a radio DJ on Hitz FM, a Ghanaian station that plays mostly hip hop, rnb, reggae, and Ghanaian high life and hip life. He has a radio show called "Taxi Driver" during the day. He is Ghanaian but puts on a Jamaican accent and talks about politics, news, and of course Ganja (marijuana) and he's kinda controversial but Ghanaians love him! Everywhere I go between 11am and 2 pm I hear him blasting out of speakers. He has a song and music video out right now that is very popular entitled "Barack Obama!" Since most of the song is in Patuwa (Jamaican language similar to Pidgon English) I don't understand everything but basically he's supporting Obama and hopes that he will do good for Africa when he's president and that he's careful because he's concerned (as are a lot of people here) that he will be assanated if he becomes president. So, that is Blakk Rasta and "Barack Obama!"
Wednesday I went Salsa dancing in Accra! It was really fun! There were a lot of people there...Salsa is becoming very popular in Ghana and there are some great dancers!
Friday I went to Ho, the capital of the Volta Region in Eastern Ghana. It was my first time to that region. We went as a team doing CD4 counts for people living with HIV (basically it tells them how far along they are in the disease by reading their white blood cell count). It was dissappointing that only 48 people showed up when we had been promised by the arranger that there would be 500. Some of us also went to two hospitals in Ho to discuss ways to support their HIV/AIDS work with education and support for their patients.
Thursday night I moved to Fifi's house. I stay in the boy's quarters where I have a bedroom and a shower and toilet.
Saturday I played football (soccer) with the neighborhood guys. I'm not very good but it was still fun. That night Fifi and I went to Boomerang (a club) and had a good time. There was more Salsa until midnight and then "regular music".
Sunday I went to a small charismatic church in Accra where we did VCTs (Voluntary Counceleing and TEsting) for HIV. We tested about 20 people. I got tested and I'm negative (of course!).
Well, I've got to get to work...we gotta run and get the bosses dogs and take them to the vet for him...this doesn't sound like it has anythign to do with HIV/AIDS!!!! I'll try to give more details on what I'm doing later.
James
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The Best Tex-Mex in Ghana...No Lie!
Accra is developing very quickly. There is construction everywhere! New roads are being built in virtually every corner of the city expanding dimly lit 2 lane roads to become bright four lane dual-carriageways! New buildings are going up all over the place. Many of them are several stories tall. Yesterday when we were soliciting for funds to support our community education project I got to go up one of Accra's tallest buildings. It may be only 15 stories tall, but it definitely stands out in the horizon! All this new development includes a 9-story Holiday Inn and a several story tall luxury condominium unit called "The Villagio" which boasts 84 luxury apartments and 16 penthouse suites ranging in price from $200,000 - $1 million. Believe it or not...there is a lot of money in Ghana! And soon there will be much more...Ghana has discovered lots of oil off its shoreline. I read in the paper today that production is set to begin in 2010 starting at 120,000 barrels per day and will rise to 250,000 barrels per day by 2012.
Prices in Accra are really inflated compared to the rest of the country. Many things cost about what they cost in the US. One exception was my haircut yesterday - $1.50!
You're probably wondering about the Tex-Mex?? The first time I saw Champ's Sports Bar advertisement saying "The Best Tex-Mex in Ghana!" I laughed! Tex-Mex in Ghana???? Well, last night I went there with some friends and had some great chicken and beef enchiladas!!! The atmosphere was just like a sports bar in the US. The place was packed with white people...which was a bit of an odd scene in Ghana...there were large flat screen TVs all over...pool tables...pitchers of draught beer...flags, jerseys, and other memorabilia all over the walls and ceiling...etc. Most of the people were there to support the Netherlands against Italy in the EuroCup 2008 match...the Netherlands won 3-0. It was fun and was like taking a little break back to the US for an evening.
Today I will get a better look at the Income Generating Activities as many of the people involved with them should be arriving very soon for a meeting and to pay something on their micro-finance loans. Later I will go again with Fifi to solicit for funds for our project. Thats it for now....next time...Black Rasta and Barack Obama - the song!
Prices in Accra are really inflated compared to the rest of the country. Many things cost about what they cost in the US. One exception was my haircut yesterday - $1.50!
You're probably wondering about the Tex-Mex?? The first time I saw Champ's Sports Bar advertisement saying "The Best Tex-Mex in Ghana!" I laughed! Tex-Mex in Ghana???? Well, last night I went there with some friends and had some great chicken and beef enchiladas!!! The atmosphere was just like a sports bar in the US. The place was packed with white people...which was a bit of an odd scene in Ghana...there were large flat screen TVs all over...pool tables...pitchers of draught beer...flags, jerseys, and other memorabilia all over the walls and ceiling...etc. Most of the people were there to support the Netherlands against Italy in the EuroCup 2008 match...the Netherlands won 3-0. It was fun and was like taking a little break back to the US for an evening.
Today I will get a better look at the Income Generating Activities as many of the people involved with them should be arriving very soon for a meeting and to pay something on their micro-finance loans. Later I will go again with Fifi to solicit for funds for our project. Thats it for now....next time...Black Rasta and Barack Obama - the song!
Monday, June 9, 2008
Randomness
Friday after I finished my last post I discovered my left foot and ankle were swollen. I caught the doctor as she was about to leave our HIV/AIDS clinic and she told me to put some antihistamine cream on it. I did and it didn't work. Audrey gave me some things to do to it and it continued to stay swollen. I realized it was a result of some mosquito bites I received a couple weeks ago that really itched! I kept scratching them and then last week I was sitting outside in the evening and a lot of flies and mosquitos were hanging out on my left foot/ankle. Well, the next day my foot swelled up! I went to see the doctor again today and she gave me some Flucloxacillin (anti-biotic) to take for five days and it should be cleared up.
Next topic, Saturday I traveled to Koforidua, capital of the Eastern Region, to take part in a case study. We were studying the deaf/dumb community to see what they know about HIV/AIDS. We gave them a survey and we had sign language translators. It was interesting to watch and Koforidua, and the ride there, is amazingly beautiful. The city is surrounded by rainforest mountains!
Next topic, burgers and pizza! In Ghana, if you want American food more than likely your choices will be burgers and pizza. Both come in a variety of forms and flavors! But I think I have found the best burger and best pizza in Ghana. So for all of you who live in or will be traveling to Ghana sometime in your life and you are looking for a great burger head to Frankies in the Osu neighborhood of Accra. I went there yesterday. The flavor was excellent, the beef patty was perfectly crafted and thick, the seasame seed bun was perfect, and the fries were great! The only down side is it took a long time to get it and it costs a little over $12 with the two cokes it took to wash it down. But it was well worth it! If you're looking for pizza go to Pizza Inn. Its a South African chain with amazing pizza!
Well, Fifi and I are about to go raise some funds for our community projects...I'll post more later.
James
Next topic, Saturday I traveled to Koforidua, capital of the Eastern Region, to take part in a case study. We were studying the deaf/dumb community to see what they know about HIV/AIDS. We gave them a survey and we had sign language translators. It was interesting to watch and Koforidua, and the ride there, is amazingly beautiful. The city is surrounded by rainforest mountains!
Next topic, burgers and pizza! In Ghana, if you want American food more than likely your choices will be burgers and pizza. Both come in a variety of forms and flavors! But I think I have found the best burger and best pizza in Ghana. So for all of you who live in or will be traveling to Ghana sometime in your life and you are looking for a great burger head to Frankies in the Osu neighborhood of Accra. I went there yesterday. The flavor was excellent, the beef patty was perfectly crafted and thick, the seasame seed bun was perfect, and the fries were great! The only down side is it took a long time to get it and it costs a little over $12 with the two cokes it took to wash it down. But it was well worth it! If you're looking for pizza go to Pizza Inn. Its a South African chain with amazing pizza!
Well, Fifi and I are about to go raise some funds for our community projects...I'll post more later.
James
Friday, June 6, 2008
More bloggin'
I'm writing this as a nice downpour with a few thunder rumblings is coming to an end. It's 11AM and I'm at WAAF waiting for Fifi so we can go to another area of Accra to do some scouting for educational workshops. Tomorrow we are going to Koforidua in the Eastern Region to do some VCTs - Volunteer (something) Testing. This is a chance for people to get tested for HIV/AIDS. We'll be back the same day - its only about 2 hours drive away. Later in the month we will be traveling all over Ghana performing these tests and I think we'll be distributing ARVs (Anti-Retroviral drugs) to clinics. I'll be returning to Wa and Lawra as well as going to Bolgatanga (capital of Upper East Region) and Tamale (capital of Northern Region).
I thought you might be interested in how I've been getting to WAAF everyday since I live in East Legon, a far northeast suburb of Accra, and work in Roman Ridge, more centrally located. I start by walking down the dirt road I live on, about 1/4 mile, to the tarred road. There I wait for a tro tro - a large van with 3 - 5 rows of 3 or 4 people across plus two people sitting next to the driver. The tro tro mate sits next to the sliding door on the passenger side. He hangs out the window calling out where they are going. I wait for one going to Kwame Nkrumah Circle - the mate yells very quickly "circle, circle, circle, circle" while moving his hand in a circle motion. When the tro tro stops I get on and tell the mate I want to be dropped at "37" which is the name of the military hospital and a tro tro station is located near there. This leg of the journey costs me 35 cents. When I get to "37" I walk over to the tro tro station. There are probably over one hundred tro tros parked in rows with the mate calling out where they are going. I walk past people selling breakfast, candy, water, etc. I find a tro tro going to Achimota and get on. When the tro tro is full we set off. I tell the mate to drop me at Roman Ridge 2nd stop and pay 40 cents. When I get dropped I walk down a residential road about 3 or 4 blocks to WAAF. The entire trip takes about 50-60 minutes depending on traffic and how full the tro tro is when I get to the 37 station and the trip costs me 75 cents! I took a taxi the first time and it costs me $8 so the tro tro is much more economical!
Well thats it for today.
I thought you might be interested in how I've been getting to WAAF everyday since I live in East Legon, a far northeast suburb of Accra, and work in Roman Ridge, more centrally located. I start by walking down the dirt road I live on, about 1/4 mile, to the tarred road. There I wait for a tro tro - a large van with 3 - 5 rows of 3 or 4 people across plus two people sitting next to the driver. The tro tro mate sits next to the sliding door on the passenger side. He hangs out the window calling out where they are going. I wait for one going to Kwame Nkrumah Circle - the mate yells very quickly "circle, circle, circle, circle" while moving his hand in a circle motion. When the tro tro stops I get on and tell the mate I want to be dropped at "37" which is the name of the military hospital and a tro tro station is located near there. This leg of the journey costs me 35 cents. When I get to "37" I walk over to the tro tro station. There are probably over one hundred tro tros parked in rows with the mate calling out where they are going. I walk past people selling breakfast, candy, water, etc. I find a tro tro going to Achimota and get on. When the tro tro is full we set off. I tell the mate to drop me at Roman Ridge 2nd stop and pay 40 cents. When I get dropped I walk down a residential road about 3 or 4 blocks to WAAF. The entire trip takes about 50-60 minutes depending on traffic and how full the tro tro is when I get to the 37 station and the trip costs me 75 cents! I took a taxi the first time and it costs me $8 so the tro tro is much more economical!
Well thats it for today.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Life in Accra
Today is my third day at WAAF and I haven't done much yet. Tuesday's meeting was with two women living with HIV who sew clothes to sell in Ghana and Canada and Mama Lu who is one of the employees and leaders of WAAF. She is Ghanaian but a US citizen who came back to work here and run a daycare and orphanage. The meeting was short. Yesterday I spent the day with Fifi. He works for WAAF and he took me to an area of Accra known as Madina. It's an area specially created decades ago for Muslims to live hence the name Madina - the birth place of Muhammed. Now the area is more religiously mixed but still dominated by the Muslim community - most of which come from Northern Ghana. We were trying to find some place to lead educational workshops on HIV/AIDS. The Methodist church we stopped at said they already so something like that so weren't interested. We then went to the large mosque in the neighborhood where we met the headmaster for the elementary school and the headmaster of the College of the Holy Quran. They were both willing and excited to host such workshops. The headmaster of the college is from the Middle East, probably Kuwait as I saw that name on something in the compound. We also stopped at a Taxi stand to meet with the director about inviting the taxi drivers to the workshop.
After spending an hour or so in Madina we went to get something to eat at a Mobil gas station which has the three popular South African fast food restaurants - Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, and Creamy Inn (ice cream)! While we ate a Ghanaian tv show or movie was being shot a few tables away from us. It was fun to watch them. Apparently one of the women is a very popular Ghanaian rapper and movie star.
For dinner Fifi took me to a Chop Bar (small restaurant serving Ghanaian cuisine) where we had banku and tilapia! It was soooooo good! After dinner we went to the University of Ghana to visit one of his friends. The campus is very nice! Last night was my first night staying at the Lutheran Media Ministry building. It wasn't bad. Well, I should find something to do around here at WAAF. Apparently, you have to push to get something to do!
After spending an hour or so in Madina we went to get something to eat at a Mobil gas station which has the three popular South African fast food restaurants - Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn, and Creamy Inn (ice cream)! While we ate a Ghanaian tv show or movie was being shot a few tables away from us. It was fun to watch them. Apparently one of the women is a very popular Ghanaian rapper and movie star.
For dinner Fifi took me to a Chop Bar (small restaurant serving Ghanaian cuisine) where we had banku and tilapia! It was soooooo good! After dinner we went to the University of Ghana to visit one of his friends. The campus is very nice! Last night was my first night staying at the Lutheran Media Ministry building. It wasn't bad. Well, I should find something to do around here at WAAF. Apparently, you have to push to get something to do!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
So much to say...so little time
Since my last post I've done some traveling! Last Thursday I and Audrey's friend Maame Ama took a bus to Wa, way up in the Upper West Region of Ghana. It is quite a bit different up there. The bus ride was about 7 hours long, a mix of paved roads and extremely bumpy dirt roads which are being paved. The terrain become very flat and drier as we traveled north. It reminded me of Texas around San Antonio. Wa is a small city and the regional capital of Upper West. The area is sparcely populated and Wa is definitely poorer than the cities I had traveled to in the south. For instance, no one has walls around their homes like they do in the south, but Wa has most of the conviences needed - hotel, a few restaurants, internet cafe (which was closed), shops (with some western food), etc. We stayed with Maame Ama's friend Paul's house. He works for Ghana Telecom and has been stationed in Wa for 2 years. His home is fairly nice. He has a bedroom, living room, small kitchen, bathroom, and porch.
On Friday we took another 2 hour bus ride to Lawra (pronounced Laura) on the Burkina Faso border. The ride was paved half way. The terrain continued to get drier and sandier. On either side of the road you see maize fields. They have to create small heaps of dirt and plant the maize in the heap to maximize yield and prevent the crops from washing away. Lawra is the poorest place I have ever been in any of my travels. Pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, dogs, cats all run wild (which isn't unusual for Ghana except most places don't have pigs). There are a lot of pigs and the place smells a mix of pig and human poop. The ground is littered with animal poop. Almost all the homes are made of mud. I saw a few children with swollen stomachs, skinny arms, and large heads - signs of malnutrition. Some of the children were running around in nothing but a pair of underwear, playing in the muddy, poopy, areas between houses. Everytime I would pass the children would say in rhythm "Nasado (White man) how are you? I am fine. Thank you and you?" and would continue repeating that until I had passed. They were very cute. Life is much slower in Lawra as their isn't much to do. Unemployment seemed to be very high. We stayed with Maame Ama's boyfriend Chief while we were in Lawra. He works for Ghana Commercial Bank and has been stationed in Lawra for the past three years. He should be moving soon. The three friends complained that the people spend much of their time drinking a local brewed drink made from Millet called Pito. There didn't seem to be much else to do. There were only a few small shops. Only one shop sold Coke and biscuits (semi-sweet cookies). Chiefs house is actually a compound with several apartments. His apartment is a bedroom, small kitchen and a porch. He shares a toilet and shower with the other apartments and there is one water tap for the whole house. The house is built in a square with a courtyard in the middle where the water tap is and a basketball hoop. Life is Lawra is very tough. There are virtually no cars. Most people commute on bicycles and motorbikes throughout the Upper West Region. Most of the cars I saw belonged to NGOs in the area.
In between Lawra and Wa we drove through Jirapa which is where Maame Ama has been teaching at a girls high school. Two of her volunteer friends from Japan and Germany came to wave to us on the road as we drove by.
Saturday we returned to Wa with Chief. Paul took us to a funeral for a young man who had died at 34 leaving a wife and two small children. People suspected he died as a result of a curse as he was healthy and all of a sudden started complaining of being cold and died. The funeral was held of the grounds of a school and there were hundreds of people there...maybe a thousand. When we arrived people were processing to view the body and throw coins at it. We got in the line and were surrounded by people wailing and crying. We were too late to get near the body as the Catholic Mass was about to begin. We left shortly after. Saturday the sun was very hot!
Sunday Maame Ama and I returned to Kumasi. Where I went to the stadium to see the Black Stars (Ghana's national football/soccer team) defeat the Libyan Greens 3-0. It was fun and quite cheap - only $6 for mid-field seats. The place was packed. Apparently they don't stop selling tickets so the stairs and any empty space had someone sitting in it. Thank God there were no emergencies, I don't know how we would have got out!
Monday I took a bus to Accra and found out the people I was supposed to stay with opted out at the last minute. So I ended up spending the night with a family in Aburi (quite a ways from where I'm volunteering) in their uncompleted house with no electricity! They had a generator running from 6-10pm. Well, I'm now at the West Africa Aids Foundation (WAAF), where I'll be volunteering. They have a computer for volunteers to use. I've met two other volunteers from Missouri and Norway. WAAF is going to help me find a place to stay and in the mean time I am going to stay at the Lutheran Media Ministry's compound - again quite a ways from WAAF. But everything is fine. I'm feeling great...but I'm ready to unpack my suitcase! I'll have more soon. Now I'm off to my first meeting here at WAAF to learn about Income Generating Activities. I miss you all! Please write me!
James
On Friday we took another 2 hour bus ride to Lawra (pronounced Laura) on the Burkina Faso border. The ride was paved half way. The terrain continued to get drier and sandier. On either side of the road you see maize fields. They have to create small heaps of dirt and plant the maize in the heap to maximize yield and prevent the crops from washing away. Lawra is the poorest place I have ever been in any of my travels. Pigs, goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, dogs, cats all run wild (which isn't unusual for Ghana except most places don't have pigs). There are a lot of pigs and the place smells a mix of pig and human poop. The ground is littered with animal poop. Almost all the homes are made of mud. I saw a few children with swollen stomachs, skinny arms, and large heads - signs of malnutrition. Some of the children were running around in nothing but a pair of underwear, playing in the muddy, poopy, areas between houses. Everytime I would pass the children would say in rhythm "Nasado (White man) how are you? I am fine. Thank you and you?" and would continue repeating that until I had passed. They were very cute. Life is much slower in Lawra as their isn't much to do. Unemployment seemed to be very high. We stayed with Maame Ama's boyfriend Chief while we were in Lawra. He works for Ghana Commercial Bank and has been stationed in Lawra for the past three years. He should be moving soon. The three friends complained that the people spend much of their time drinking a local brewed drink made from Millet called Pito. There didn't seem to be much else to do. There were only a few small shops. Only one shop sold Coke and biscuits (semi-sweet cookies). Chiefs house is actually a compound with several apartments. His apartment is a bedroom, small kitchen and a porch. He shares a toilet and shower with the other apartments and there is one water tap for the whole house. The house is built in a square with a courtyard in the middle where the water tap is and a basketball hoop. Life is Lawra is very tough. There are virtually no cars. Most people commute on bicycles and motorbikes throughout the Upper West Region. Most of the cars I saw belonged to NGOs in the area.
In between Lawra and Wa we drove through Jirapa which is where Maame Ama has been teaching at a girls high school. Two of her volunteer friends from Japan and Germany came to wave to us on the road as we drove by.
Saturday we returned to Wa with Chief. Paul took us to a funeral for a young man who had died at 34 leaving a wife and two small children. People suspected he died as a result of a curse as he was healthy and all of a sudden started complaining of being cold and died. The funeral was held of the grounds of a school and there were hundreds of people there...maybe a thousand. When we arrived people were processing to view the body and throw coins at it. We got in the line and were surrounded by people wailing and crying. We were too late to get near the body as the Catholic Mass was about to begin. We left shortly after. Saturday the sun was very hot!
Sunday Maame Ama and I returned to Kumasi. Where I went to the stadium to see the Black Stars (Ghana's national football/soccer team) defeat the Libyan Greens 3-0. It was fun and quite cheap - only $6 for mid-field seats. The place was packed. Apparently they don't stop selling tickets so the stairs and any empty space had someone sitting in it. Thank God there were no emergencies, I don't know how we would have got out!
Monday I took a bus to Accra and found out the people I was supposed to stay with opted out at the last minute. So I ended up spending the night with a family in Aburi (quite a ways from where I'm volunteering) in their uncompleted house with no electricity! They had a generator running from 6-10pm. Well, I'm now at the West Africa Aids Foundation (WAAF), where I'll be volunteering. They have a computer for volunteers to use. I've met two other volunteers from Missouri and Norway. WAAF is going to help me find a place to stay and in the mean time I am going to stay at the Lutheran Media Ministry's compound - again quite a ways from WAAF. But everything is fine. I'm feeling great...but I'm ready to unpack my suitcase! I'll have more soon. Now I'm off to my first meeting here at WAAF to learn about Income Generating Activities. I miss you all! Please write me!
James
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Transition
The choir tour has ended. Everyone is back in the US, except me. It was difficult saying goodbye, especially to Audrey. But I am excited to volunteer here in Ghana. The choir tour was extremely successful! With the exception of the concert at the National Theatre, all the concerts had high attendence. Everyone had a great time and many mentioned that the tour was life-changing. I'm excited to see how the trip will affect their futures. Many have expressed a desire to come back to Ghana and/or to do something to benefit Africa.
Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Kumasi. I went to Accra with the choir to see them (and my wife :( off to the airport. I had no idea what I was going to do that night when I left them at the airport. So I walked to the Accra Mall (about 1 mile). I had a really good pizza and called Uncle Yofi (Audrey's great-uncle) to see if I could stay at his house for the night. He was amazingly hospitable and even drove me to Ashaiman (about 15 miles) the next morning down the really nice Accra-Tema Motorway (its just like a US expressway - speedlimit 60mph)! I went to Ashaiman to deliver some gifts to my friend Rocklin's family. He just moved to the US to marry a friend of mine so he had a wedding DVD and other stuff for them. It was quite a contrast to go from Uncle Yofi's house, which is still being completed but has 6 huge bedrooms, 2 kitchens, basically its amazing! to then go to Rocklin's family's home which is quite simple and in a very poor neighborhood. Rocklin's mom made sure she fed me more than I could eat (and it was really good - fufu with palm nut soup and turkey)!
From Rocklin's home I took a TroTro (cheap transportation - like a large van with 20some people in it) back to Accra where I got a bus to Kumasi. The TroTro cost me $1 and the bus $9 for a trip that took 8 hours! Our bus broke down before we ever left Accra so we had to wait about 1/2 hour to get a new bus.
I'm gonna try to put some pictures on here after I write this blog. Audrey and her friend Maame Ama had the camera for most of the trip so there are a lot of pictures!
Well, I miss everyone already! Especially Audrey! But, I am doing fine and feel great...the 1 week of diarrhea is over! I should be on here leaving posts more often now that the choir tour is over. If you have questions about anything please leave them in the comments. Since this is my first blog I'm not sure what people would like to read about! Thanks.
Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Kumasi. I went to Accra with the choir to see them (and my wife :( off to the airport. I had no idea what I was going to do that night when I left them at the airport. So I walked to the Accra Mall (about 1 mile). I had a really good pizza and called Uncle Yofi (Audrey's great-uncle) to see if I could stay at his house for the night. He was amazingly hospitable and even drove me to Ashaiman (about 15 miles) the next morning down the really nice Accra-Tema Motorway (its just like a US expressway - speedlimit 60mph)! I went to Ashaiman to deliver some gifts to my friend Rocklin's family. He just moved to the US to marry a friend of mine so he had a wedding DVD and other stuff for them. It was quite a contrast to go from Uncle Yofi's house, which is still being completed but has 6 huge bedrooms, 2 kitchens, basically its amazing! to then go to Rocklin's family's home which is quite simple and in a very poor neighborhood. Rocklin's mom made sure she fed me more than I could eat (and it was really good - fufu with palm nut soup and turkey)!
From Rocklin's home I took a TroTro (cheap transportation - like a large van with 20some people in it) back to Accra where I got a bus to Kumasi. The TroTro cost me $1 and the bus $9 for a trip that took 8 hours! Our bus broke down before we ever left Accra so we had to wait about 1/2 hour to get a new bus.
I'm gonna try to put some pictures on here after I write this blog. Audrey and her friend Maame Ama had the camera for most of the trip so there are a lot of pictures!
Well, I miss everyone already! Especially Audrey! But, I am doing fine and feel great...the 1 week of diarrhea is over! I should be on here leaving posts more often now that the choir tour is over. If you have questions about anything please leave them in the comments. Since this is my first blog I'm not sure what people would like to read about! Thanks.
Monday, May 19, 2008
First post from Ghana
Well! It's been an interesting week! Audrey and I arrived at Dulles Airport nice and early on Sunday, May 11th to avoid the lines. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 5:35PM. We waited until 6:30PM to board our KLM flight. At 7:30 KLM told us to get off the plane so they could service it (broken wing defroster) and we would be leaving in 2 hours. 2 hours past and they told us our flight was delayed until 6PM Monday Night!!!! A whole day behind schedule. They put us up in a Embassy Suites for the night (we waited in the pouring rain 50 degrees for over an hour with all our luggage for the shuttle!). The next day we left, at 7:30PM. By then the choir was in Ghana! Audrey and I made it to Amsterdam and made another connection to Accra.
Everyone is doing fine! We have had a lot of sick students from the heat and some of the food. But, no need to worry, everyone is fine! I even got sick Saturday. We ate at Cape Coast Castle Restaurant and I think I ate some bad chicken. I was vomiting all evening. Sunday I was feeling better, but not good. Today I woke up with diarrhea but now I'm fine and will hopefully be able to eat something substantial this evening for dinner.
All the churches have received us with open arms and pretty much filled concerts. We have sung with a lot of choirs! The only real downside on this is that almost no one showed up for the National Theatre performance. This was really depressing because we had spent $1800 on advertisements and $2000 to rent the hall.
Now we are at Hans Cottage Botel near Cape Coast. Just about everyone is feeling great (except me!). Well, I better get back to relaxing, maybe in our really nice pool! I'll have much more posted soon!
James
Everyone is doing fine! We have had a lot of sick students from the heat and some of the food. But, no need to worry, everyone is fine! I even got sick Saturday. We ate at Cape Coast Castle Restaurant and I think I ate some bad chicken. I was vomiting all evening. Sunday I was feeling better, but not good. Today I woke up with diarrhea but now I'm fine and will hopefully be able to eat something substantial this evening for dinner.
All the churches have received us with open arms and pretty much filled concerts. We have sung with a lot of choirs! The only real downside on this is that almost no one showed up for the National Theatre performance. This was really depressing because we had spent $1800 on advertisements and $2000 to rent the hall.
Now we are at Hans Cottage Botel near Cape Coast. Just about everyone is feeling great (except me!). Well, I better get back to relaxing, maybe in our really nice pool! I'll have much more posted soon!
James
Friday, May 9, 2008
Two days till take off...
Wow...in two days we will be leaving the US. I have been out of the country 5 times before - twice to Europe and 3 times to Ghana - but this is by far the longest I've been away! I am going to Ghana for 10 weeks. The next longest I've been away was 3.5 weeks to Ghana in Dec/January 2004.
At my graduation party from Concordia University - St. Paul, Minnesota I told the choir director, Dr. David Mennicke, that he should consider taking Christus Chorus to Ghana in 2008. The choir travels abroad every 4 years. We went to Germany, Poland and Czech Republic in 2004 and had a great time. I told Dr. Mennicke if he decided to take the choir to Ghana I would set up the entire tour for them and lead them around the country. Over the next two years I regularly sent him emails with powerpoint presentations on Ghana, pictures of Ghana, music from Ghana, possible itineraries, etc. And in June 2007 I received an email that the choir and Dr. Mennicke had decided to go to Ghana! I began planning the tour right away. In January of 2008 Dr. Mennicke and I went to Ghana for 1 week to meet with many of the performance venues we would be performing at and visit many of the tourist sites we would take the choir to.
Now, everything is set and we are leaving in two days! After the choir tour (May 27) Audrey, my wife, and the choir will return to the US and leave me in Ghana! I will stay until July 21st doing an internship with West Africa AIDS Foundation. I'm not sure what I'll be doing or where I'll be living....so this will truly be an adventure!
I'll be sharing my experiences and lots of pictures on this blog so check it out regularly! I'll see all of you (that I know!) in late July! I'll miss you! Keep us in your prayers!
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