Tuesday: The First Day
After arriving late Monday night, I arose early to a cacophony of new sounds (including a rooster). We had a leisurely morning with breakfast at the guest house (never again - at 5 cedis, it was much too expensive!). Around lunch time we headed up to the WUSC office, a 5-minute walk up the red dirt road, around the goats through some puddles left behind by the rainstorm the night before. There we filled out some administrative forms, used the wireless internet and got more familiar with Kafui, the director of the Students Without Borders program in Ghana. Next, we needed to take care of necessities: food and water, and to get that: money. (It is one of the strange things about arriving in a new country: finding food and water seems so difficult at first, when you don't know the ins and outs of the street vendors, what is for sale and how much you should be paying for it. But once you figure that out, suddenly a whole world of interesting foods opens up to you!) To ease us into living in Accra, we went to the one place a group of white people would be comfortable: the mall. Maybe it was cheating a bit, but buying food at a grocery store instead of a market vendor certainly made it easier for the first day. I also managed to grab a cell phone while I was there - and that phone will be my primary mode of contact while I'm in Africa, so if you want to get in touch, call me!
Wednesday: Training and the University of Ghana
Up bright and early again on Tuesday, we were ready for our training. First we learned about the Girls Education Program, an initiative of the National government, and how WUSC fits into that program. We also went over the structure of the Ghana Education Service (government ministry), which was mildly confusing but definitely helpful. After lunch we learned more about Ghana in general (geography, people, food, etc.) from a man named Divine, one of the warmest and most boisterous Ghanaians I have met thus far. In the afternoon we went out to the busy street in our neighbourhood because everyone needed to get passport photos taken to renew their visas. (The area is called Haatso - pronounced "Hatch-o" - and is actually just a suburb of Accra. It takes 45 mins to get all the way downtown!) While we were waiting we explored the surrounding area and talked to the hordes of local people who were coming over to see the spectacle: 11 non-Ghanaians all in one place. The children asked us to take their photos and men asked for our phone numbers. The whole thing actually made me quite uncomfortable - it was amazing how much better I felt when I ventured out alone the next day. One "Obruni" (white person) draws much less attention than 11! Finally, we went to see the campus of the University of Ghana. It was quite beautiful, with wonderful flowering trees and shrubs everywhere. We visited the bookstore, which had an array of interesting things, before heading back to the guesthouse.
Thursday: Training
The training on the second day was more useful. We went through WUSC's year plan, outlining each volunteer's responsibilities to see how they fit into the big picture. It was useful to see how we will be contributing to the overall project. I also heard lots of great things about KK, the Ghanaian volunteer I will be working with in Jirapa. He has been there for about 8 months now and is well-known in the area, and I am very much looking forward to meeting him!
Friday: Downtown Accra
We had an adventurous Friday, finally working up the courage to travel into downtown Accra. We all piled onto a tro-tro and headed to Nkrumah Circle (the main transportation hub of the city, named after Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first President). We got there just as a rainstorm was coming and it was fascinating to watch people running around, covering up their goods they were selling on the street and women selling shower caps to keep your hair dry. However, it was a little much for some people to try to keep the group together, so we split off into smaller groups; I went with Jess, Jess and Beth. We headed on a tro-tro downtown to Makola market, the biggest in the city. It was insanely busy, with goods of all kinds for sale on the streets and alleys in every direction. The smells were the most overwhelming experience, changing so frequently that it caught you off-guard with every step.
That was also a little overwhelming, so after half an hour we escaped the crowds and headed toward the National Cultural Centre, a small arts and crafts market on the shore (Ghana is on the Atlantic Ocean). There we found a small restaurant and sat down for a snack and a drink. I tried my first real Ghanaian food: banku with groundnut soup - it was delicious! (More on food later.) During the meal, we started chatting with a man sitting at the next table. He turned out to be a drum-maker, so after we finished he took us to his shop, sat us down on a long stool, handed each of us a drum and gave us a lesson. It was so much fun! Other men gathered around and we had a little jam session with singing and drumming. They showed us all the symbols that can be carved into the drums and described the process of making them. We took their number and promised to come back to buy drums before we leave Ghana (we'll see if that happens or not).
Then we went to the Nkrumah Botanical Gardens and Mausoleum, which was beautiful. There was a small museum holding ancient photographs showing Nkrumah with people like Queen Elizabeth and Fidel Castro, quite amazing! After a long day, we headed back to Nkrumah Circle to catch a tro-tro home. (Tro-tros are large vans, like the 15-seater vans we have at home, but with the seats ripped out and extra seats put in. These vehicles can hold around 20-25 people at capacity, with a driver and another man who will lean out the door to call out the destinations and collect the passengers money.)
Saturday: La Beach
Another adventure! We went out to the coast again, this time to the beautiful beach. It wasn't too crowded, but we were constantly accosted by people trying to sell us things. It was kind of annoying, but I guess that is part of the experience of going to the beach in Ghana. Anyway, it was gorgeous and we had a very relaxing afternoon. (Don't worry Mom, I wore lots of sunscreen!) I also started talking with a man who had a Mancala board, a popular game here in Ghana, and he taught me how to play. I was pretty good - I was even winning after a while! But then we had to go so who knows who would have won (haha - I'm sure he was letting me win!).
That night we went out with Ato, a friend from the guesthouse - his uncle owned the place so he would come and play cards with us and talk at night. We went to a local bar (with air-conditioning! and pool tables!) for a few drinks and just to hang out as a group before we parted ways on Monday. I had a great chat with Ato about Ghana's development, the differences between north and south, and what he thinks of Western volunteers. It was all very interesting, and will be part of a later blog entry!
Sunday: National Museum
For our last day in Accra we headed to the National Museum, a treasure trove of African artifacts and art. Unfortunately, I slept in too late and everyone went ahead without me, so I had to venture into the city alone. Again, I felt oddly more comfortable about this situation, so I didn't mind at all. But another stroke of misfortune fell, and not far from where I got on my tro-tro it broke down. The driver kicked us all off and we had to stand and wait for another to come. Finally one came and all of the people who were on the tro-tro with me got on, so I got on as well - but without finding out where it was going. So instead of going to Nkrumah Circle, as I planned, I ended up all the way downtown! It wasn't too bad and I walked up to the Museum, but I was drenched in sweat by the time I got there. Gross! (Did I mention it's hot in Ghana?) The museum was small and eclectic but very interesting. I bought all kinds of hand-made gift cards at the small shop to sell in our EWB silent auction this fall - they're beautiful! Afterward we headed for some food, which was scarce. Apparently things close up on Sundays, who knew? We settled on a Lebanese restaurant inside a hotel, where I ate some delicious lamb kebabs and rice. Finally, we headed back to pack and get ready to leave early the next morning!
Monday: Travel to Tamale
Not much to say here, I spent the day on the bus. Overall it took us about 11 hours to get from Accra to Tamale, but it wasn't too bad - there was air conditioning (we took the nice bus) and cheesy Nigerian movies all the way up. We stopped several times for pee breaks and food. The most interesting part was watching the changes in the landscape as we traveled farther north. The south is full of dense jungle, with rolling hills and logging trails. There are villages placed sporadically along the route. As we traveled, these villages slowly changed from houses with cement walls and tin roofs to mud huts with thatch roofs. The landscape flattened out and the trees became more sparse as patches of grass and red earth peeked through. About 1 hour outside of Tamale there was a lightning storm off to the West of our road, and I watched it with fascination as the lightning lit up the sky and forked down to the earth. We arrived around 7:30pm and went to the guesthouse, where we spoiled ourselves with beer and the best pizza in Tamale!
Tuesday: Tamale
I woke at 6am to my roommate, Billie, screaming about cockroaches. I've never woken up so quickly in my life! She made me take all the sheets off her bed and flip her mattress over before we found the cockroach in the corner. I scooped it up and took it outside, but that was it - we were up! We ate a breakfast of eggs, bread and tea at the guesthouse, then headed on foot into downtown Tamale. I immediately ventured into the market, which was a beautiful space, full of narrow pathways and shaded open-front huts. I bought some beautiful fabric that I plan to have made into dresses (two of them) and a shirt when I get to Jirapa. I wasn't going to make a shirt, but then I saw some funny fabric that looks like it has circuit boards drawn on it and the engineer in me couldn't resist! We had a breezy lunch at an open-air restaurant near the market and then headed back to rest. The heat definitely restricts the amount of energy I can use in one day. It will be cooler when the rains set in, but I don't think they're quite here yet!
If you made it this far, CONGRATULATIONS! Apparently I'm feeling quite wordy today. I want my blog posts in the future to be much more specific - I will write about my work, my family and development - but for this first post I just thought I'd let you know what I've been up to! I promise to cut down on the word count in the future :)
Call me!
Once I get up to my placement in Jirapa the closest internet connection will be in Wa, one hour away, and I've heard it isn't too reliable. So in that context, here is how you can get in touch with me: call or send a text message to 011-233-24-706-6041. Incoming calls and texts are free for me, but I'll try not to talk your ear off if you call. I can also call and text out of Ghana at a reasonable rate, so let me know if you want a phone call! It's always great to hear from home, so say hi once in a while.
Finally, I hope this finds all of you well, safe and happy and healthy. To my fellow adventurers: take care and return home with lots of photos and stories to share over a cup of coffee on a crisp fall night!
