A Change of Plans...

Three weeks ago I was packing and planning for my long two week journey to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. The five us going had it all figured out and were ready to go. Early Friday morning we caught a tro-tro to Kumasi (about a 6 hour ride). On this ride the man sitting next to me kept sneaking touches of my hair and Alli had a 10 year old girl sitting in he lap (it was packed full). Once we got to Kumasi we found a bus that was leaving in the evening, so we got some street food, fried rice with noodles, lettuce and sauces. When we saw the bus we thought it was a junk bus just used for old parts but it turned out it was ours. I thought it would never be able to make it all the way. It drove through the night and we made it to the border around 5am. At the boarder there were people there to change Cedis (Ghana’s currency) to CFA’s (all francophone country’s currency). The exchange rate is a little confusing because the CFA is so weak and we had been cheated at the Togo boarder before. Out of no where a man from our bus who spoke both English and French came to help us. After we got our money exchanged we went to wait for customs (which in total took around 4 hours!!!) While waiting the man who helped with our money found some bottle crates for us to sit on. After talking with him for awhile we found out his name was Jahkar (although I thought he was saying Checkers for the longest time so I called him Checkers) and he was going to Gambia so he would also be going through Mali with us. He ended up being one of the biggest blessings and greatest helps on our trip. However, on our bus to Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina) spontaneity took hold of us and we decided to go to Senegal. I think it all started because we met a Ghanaian nurse on our bus going to Dakar (Senegal’s capital). So our new plan was Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. Driving through Burkina Faso was a much different landscape than Ghana. It is very dry, the ground is all sand and the villages seemed much smaller. It was clear Burkina is a lot poorer than Ghana. Once we got to Ouagadougou Jahkar helped us get to the bus station to get our new tickets and sat with Emily as she watched our bags while we got food. The capital was much smaller and less developed looking than Accra but we found some great food. We got rice and spaghetti… but we found no silverware to use. So we ate at the bus stop with our hands and avocado peels. While Emily was waiting for us with Jahkar she found out he is from Liberia, which is a country filled with violent conflict. Before the rebel wars broke out he was a college student studying sociology but when it became too dangerous he had to leave. He has not been home for about 5 years now and hopes to go home next year. He now studies French (Liberia is an English speaking country) as he moves across West Africa and hopes to be a translator someday. We loaded on the bus that evening and when Emily took a picture 3 of us Jahkar said, “okay, my turn!” Meaning, take a picture of him. It was adorable. We thought we were driving through the night but after about 4 hours our bus stopped at a bus station and said we will leave on a different bus in the morning. At first I think we were all a little shocked and Emily went to argue with the bus driver. Eventually we laid out our blankets on the concrete and used our backpacks as pillows and went to sleep. At the bus station there were huge sacks of beans (or something) and Jahkar slept on one right by us I think to make sure we were safe. In the morning we scrambled onto the bus when we woke up. (A small side note: the blankets that we slept on that night were from Weichau in Northern Ghana. We all got them when we went on the Mole (elephants) trip together. They ended up being the best purchases every. We used them as blankets, sleeping mats, pillows, a foot sling (Alli hurt her foot when the ten year old sat on her), head scarves, seat cushions, skirts, changing curtains, etc). We only drove for a few minutes that morning before we stopped at a different station to get more passengers. That took quite awhile so we had some breakfast there. I had some orangeish noodles and orangey potatoes. It was fairly good. It was also Easter that day so some of us sang hymns and camp songs that we all knew. It was very different from any other Easter Sunday but I kind of really liked it. Seeing the world, a different way of living and singing praise with good friends. We could not go to church because Burkina (and Mali and Senegal) are predominately Muslim countries so there are usually no churches to be found. It was really cool being surrounded by the Muslim religion and culture. Seeing them stop to pray in the middle of the day/night was very inspiring. There is so much commitment and perseverance of daily prayer against today’s fast paced world. Once we had loaded enough passengers we continued to Bamako, Mali. This was the greatest bus ever because we made so many friends despite the fact that barely anyone spoke English. First we were still with Jahkar, and then we made and English/French speaker friend named Ben who also helped with a little translating at the Mali boarder. The best part though was the whole back half of the Bus. I am not really sure where these people were from and they did not speak English but we still made a friendly connection with them. Everything I know about them is purely guesses from their clothing but they looked like they were some mix of mystic and Muslim. The men wore turbans, some with only their eyes showing and some with their faces showing. Their traditional full length robes were black but their turbans were a solid bright color, each man with a different color. The woman wore long dresses and scarves with were bright colors with eccentric patterns. A lot has sparkles or sequins. They wore lots of earrings and big jewelry. Their hair was very interesting, it was almost like a high-top with w mullet, and their little babies had the same hair. It was clear that the other Africans were prejudice against them and did not want us sitting by them. But still we embraced them and they embraced us, some of us got to hold their babies and they always smiled at us. When we got to the bus station in Bamako it was a little chaotic. Jahkar found us a man going to Dakar on our bus. He did not speak English, but Alli speaks French so she could translate for us. His name was Sekou and he was late twenties. At the bus station when Jahkar was about to leave he spoke to Sekou (in French). I could not understand it but from the tone and gestures it seemed to be a, “If you hurt these girls or loose them I will hunt you down.” I felt like our father was threatening a new boyfriend. Sekou looked quite overwhelmed by all of this, and who can blame him. A stranger was entrusting to him 5 English speaking Americans to take to Dakar. When Sekou was looking for a taxi to take us to the next bus station he looked so intense and stressed. He took on his role as our guardian very seriously. We had to go in two separate cabs and he was so worried about the cab he was not in. When we got to the bus station the bus was going to leave in the morning so we slept at the station again (this time on straw mats which are also used for Muslim prayer). We got egg sandwiches then went to bed. Soon after I fell asleep I woke up to yelling. All of us girls clumped together and watched one worker pick a man up and kick him out. Apparently he tried to go into the room with the luggage and steal, which is silly because the awake workers were inside. I do not know how he thought he would get away with it. After the worker told us not to worry it happens all the time, “it is apart of the business!” he told us. So we went back to sleep and everything was fine. The people at the bus stations treated us so well and looked out for us. I think they were excited to privileged Americans live like they did and they were so happy to accommodate us. In the middle of the night one of us woke up and Sekou was sitting on a crate awake watching over us. It was really precious. In the morning we washed out faces and brushed our teeth. By this point the sleeping at bus stations and washing became routine. The bathrooms throughout the whole trip consisted of a little concrete box. Four concrete walls, no roof, and a concrete floor with a hole to use for the bathroom. At first this grossed me out and I had a hard time with it, but I am proud to say I have mastered the art of squatting. To wash out faces, arms and legs and to brush our teeth we would buy a little rubber tea pot (25 CFA) filled with water and basically sit in a trough. This bus ride to Dakar took 2 days with one night at a bus station. On this bus ride Sekou became much more comfortable with us. He would buy us water and we bought him tea or offered him peanuts. He always sat with Alli because she was the only one who spoke French. At one point she taught him English and he taught her Wolof, the language they speak in Dakar and most of Senegal. He knew the English alphabet so he would read Allis book out loud and then he would translate. It was very late when we got into Dakar and the close we got the colder it got. I have not been cold in Africa but on this bus ride I was freezing, I put pants on over my short, a zip up and I put my blanket around my whole body like a cocoon and I was still cold. By the time we got to Dakar we all felt very attached to Sekou (he is from Dakar) and it was so sad saying good-bye to him, but he gave us his address. Our hotel was decently cheap because it had a shared bathroom but still really nice. At this point we had not showered for 5 days so even though it was 3am we all took showers. The bottom of the shower was really gross at the end but it was so nice to be clean and comb out my hair. I swear it had begun to dread from not brushing it. The next day we just explored Dakar. Right away we met a guy about our age from Senegal. He knew English because he had been in Alabama for a few months so he had a southern accent. It was hilarious to hear him talk, he almost sounded like he was from America. He helped us find a lot of cool craft markets and food markets. Senegal had the best street food. I got a baguette with a chopped up hard boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, onion, green pepper, and best of all mustard! Ghana does not have mustard, or any familiar sauces for that matter other than ketchup. Dakar is really developed and a lot of the buildings reminded me of Europe. We also went to a patisserie and got Gelato. The next day we got up early to go see the ocean and a beautiful mosque right on the beach. After we went to a wildlife reserve. It was amazing; we saw many different kinds of antelope, African buffalo, crocodile, ostrich, zebras, rhinos, and giraffes! I took a lot of great pictures that hopefully I will be able to post if the internet is fast enough. That night we slept on a bus in the bus station in Dakar. It was really fun hanging out in the bus station, we got bean sandwiches and watched Beyonce music videos on the bus. In the morning we began going back to Bamako. This bus was clean and the seats were nice but there was absolutely NO leg room. The row was three seats and I was all the way in. It was incredibly claustrophobic. We rode on that bus for two days with a night at a bus station. After the two days I was so glad to never sit in that seat again. On that bus we met Philip. A Malian who absolutely loves America. He does everything he can to embody American culture and is working at getting a visa. His siblings are already there so hopefully he will be granted one. He had a fake iphone which he listened to Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, and Bruce Springsteen on. Every hour or so he would ask about American culture or history and gave Emily all of his information asking her to write him a referral to get a visa. We spent the next day exploring Bamako. First we spent forever trying to find a patisserie and got ripped off by countless mean taxi drivers. Eventually we found the patisserie but it was closed so our last and nice cab driver took us to a cheap restaurant. After we went to a “beauty salon” in a large market. The salon consisted of a large tarp filled with women getting their hair braided or henna painted on their feet, hands, or eyebrows. We all got henna on a hand/forearm. After we tried to find an internet café because there was some stuff Emily needed to get done. Of course that was closed too, so we went to a different patisserie next door. We intended to be cheap and just get one small one. 3 hours later I had spaghetti, two pastries, and washed my face in the bathroom (sadly still no real toilet though). Overall Bamako was a slightly frustrating experience. No one would listen to us and acted like we were incompetent. I think it was because we were women, which is something I have never experience in Ghana. After we went to the bus stop to sleep and caught the bus on our way back. The rest of the trip back was really sketch with countless people trying to rip us off, which is all a little to hard to explain, but it ended up being okay although I think we lost some money along the way. At the Ghana boarder the guards were so nice and helped us with a guy who was also scamming us. It was really nice to be back in Ghana. On the Bus from Bolgatonga to Kumasi my seat was soaked with pee… so that was gross. I used my blanket to sit on but the pee still soaked through. We took a tro-tro from Kumasi back to Accra and best of all it was air-conditioned and fast, plus we got three Cedis off the price. They must of seen how gross and dirty we were and took pity… it had been 7 days without a shower. We got back late at night. I took the best shower of my life, at food at the vegan stand and went to sleep. Although the road back was a little difficult and we spent a lot of time in buses it was such an amazing trip. We saw so much of West Africa, met the coolest people, and lived as a lot of Africans do. Now I have three weeks left in Ghana, I will be so sad to leave but I cant wait to be home too!

... sorry this is so long

Kumasi & Lake Bosumtwi

I have now been in Ghana for over 2 ½ months. I feel like time has flown by but also that 2.5 months sounds really short for the amount of things I have seen and done. I have become very comfortable here and all of the parts of Ghana that seemed so different have become second nature to me now which makes it more difficult to write because it is not new to me anymore. Since I last wrote I traveled to Kumasi (again) and Lake Bosumtwi which is 45 minutes south of Kumasi. It was nice to go back to Kumasi, we went into the market (which is the largest one in West Africa) on Saturday morning. It was so crowded I though for sure I was going to get trampled. On each side of the small streets were vendors selling anything from bars or soap, packaged foods, or dead dried up fly covered fish or raw meat chunks. The whole market was filled with the stench of fish, raw meat, and sewage. I have never worked so hard to now throw up or suffocate. On top of all that there were women everywhere pushing through with huge bowls on their head yelling out for people to move out of their way. And about every two minutes men would pass through with a huge cart yelling “Agoh!” (move or attention). It was intense. Unfortunately during our walk through the market my phone was pick-pocketed. Even though the market left me with a nasty scent in my nose and without my cell I am glad we went. It was one of those moments of “oh yea, I am in Africa.” It is good to see those parts of African life. I feel like the poor in large cities have it the worst. If you are rich in the city you can avoid the smelly markets, and have peace in your home. If you a poor in a rural area you have the community of the village, and the peace of being far out. But those who are poor in large cities must have no escape and no community because the large cities are very aggressive at times. Although there is more of the possibility of moving up in the city I guess. Anyways after the market we took the drive to the Lake. We stayed in a glorified hut, it was pretty nice and made of all environment friendly materials. The lake itself was really cool. It is said to have been created by a meteor, although Kendall’s roommate Irene (a Ghanaian) says that it is not true. But it looks like it could have been. It has mountainous hills surrounding the lake, which are really fun to hike on. The lake was the warmest lake I have ever been in. The local villages believe that their souls go into the lake and that carved out boats (like a canoe) disturb the souls to they use boats called padus to fish. Basically they are flat planks of wood that they paddle with their hands. It was really neat to see this. When we went back to our hut to sleep we found the two largest and grossest spiders I have ever seen. We spent 30 plus minutes trying to kill them (actually Max and Becca killed them while Kendall and I watched). Unfortunately one got away (gulp) but the other one did get smashed and sent down the toilet. I did not sleep well at all because of it but I did get some humorous video of the process of killing the spider.
Anyways life here has been amazing and although I miss home a lot at times I am feeling a bit sad and very pressed for time in Ghana. I have learned so much about Africa, Ghana, my faith, and myself. But I know there is still so much to learn. This weekend I will be going to the Ivory Coast so I will try to update soon after I get back! I hope all is well back home and that weather is treating you well!

Togo and Mole pictures!

This Last weekend Iwent to Togo to cross the border and renew my Visa. Togo has amazing food... and it makes us all wonder why right when you cross the boarder it cannot be the same in Ghana. English drops off at the border as well... so we had some fun trying to get around! Here are a few pictures!

MOLE PICTURES (northern Ghana)

dirty from all the dust!

Kids in Larabanga

ELEPHANTS :)

more elephants on our safari

tro-tro ride with europeans

Okay... I realize I am the worst blogger ever. Since I last wrote I have done a lot of traveling. The pictures in the last blog were from Cape Coast which is the regional capital of the Central Region. It has beautiful beaches and the Kakum National Park where we did a canopy walk in the rain forest. It was a little scary but amazing to be up to high and the skyline was gorgeous. The following weekend we went to Kumasi. Kumasi is the capital of the Ashanti Region. We spent most of our time in craft villages, where we could get wood carvings, kente cloth, or jewelry. Just this last week 5 of us went to north western Ghana. We first took a bus up to Tamale which is the capital of the Northern Region and it is where you begin to see a strong musilm presence. We only stayed in Tamale for the night but I really enjoyed it. Everyone was riding bicycles, something you rarely see in Acca. We had to get to the bus station at 4am to catch a Bus to Mole... however we were unable to get tickets even though we were so early. While waiting to get the bus we missed we met 2 girls from spain, 4 germans and 1 boy from Belgium all going to Mole, so we grouped together and got a tro-tro for a 3.5 hour drive.

By the time we arrived we were beyond exhausted and just swam in the pool (a luxury in Ghana) all day. Mole is a national park where wildlife is protected. Our hotel is the only one in Mole and it over looks a watering hole where you can often see elephants. When we were swimming 3 warthogs came to find some food. The next morning we went on a safari through the park. We saw bush-buck, antelope, warthogs, green monkeys, alligators, and ELEPHANTS! It was so much fun and I could not believe I was so close to wild elephants. After the safari we got a ride into a nearby town Larabanga to find a ride to Wa. Larabanga is a very poor village that is a bit notorious for professional friends (people who try to help you to scam you). After being only offered arranged rides at the price of 200 cedi we decided to sit at the bus station (a wooden bench) and wait for something to pass. It did not take long for all the children to join us. The adults even started placing crying babies with us. Women near by tried to help us get rides when the vehicles passed. So it was like we babysat for their help finding a ride. I think we spent around 3 hours there until we found a tro-tro that would take us halfway to Sole (sp?) for 2 cedi. Although the price was great we all feared for our lives during that 3 hour ride. First our friend Becca was in the front seat which was separated from the back so we could only see her through a small window. Second there was no space. Tro-tros are usually cramped... but this one was ridiculous. I had to side in a little ball the whole time. The engine was right by my feet and blew out spoke and intense heat whenever we eccelrated. It is a miracle the door did not fall off, or that the tro-tro did not roll over from all of the bumps we hit. Oh and not to mention there was a dead chicken under our friend Emily's seat. It was a huge relief to make it to Sole. In Sole we got peanuts and oranges and easily got a ride in a nice tro-tro to Wa! Our plan was to go from there to Weuchia where we would go to a hippo sanctuary. Long story short... it did not work out. We got into Wa really late the last night so we had to stay there, rather than go to Weuchia. And in the morning we could not get a ride into the sanctuary. Although it was disapointing we got to spend time in the Village of Weuchia and in Wa. I really liked the people in the north, everyone was really kind and helpful. On Sunday night we took a bus from Wa to Accra and arrived back this morning! Overall it was a really great weekend and exciting to do so well and feel so safe as 5 women traveling.

Other news is that I finally have a volunteering position at the Osu Childrens Home. It is government owned but relies HEAVILY on outside donations. The children are mostly orphans but a few are there due to court disputes within their family. The children range from age 0-22. I have been placed with the boys home which is age 6-22. I was a little nervous at first but I already have 4 boys that I wish I could take home with me. It is hard being there, knowing when I get to leave they are still there without a home.

I am still so happy to be hear and would not trade my time here for anything... although I do miss mint mochas ;) I have pictures from the trip I want to post but my connection is not strong enough so I will try again soon enough!

Update and Pictures

Some pictures

Here are a few pictures so far... for some reason they loaded in reverse order of when I took them... but enjoy!

In the gardens in Bree


Ghanaians in Bree... that lady was very funny



Taking a break for lunch during our hike




Cows following us on our hike





More Hiking












A crazy rastafartian growing pot in the jungle played us "music"














Hiking an hour north of Accra... I felt like I was in Lost









After the inaguration

Ghanaians at the inaguration party

Obamas inaguration

Men watching football (soccer) in the mall--they went crazy when the team scored


The Kwame Nkrumah Museum & Garden



Campus ( I LOVE the trees here!!)




Part of Campus ( I think a Profs house)






Lay over in Amsterdam

Hello family and friends! So this blog is really long because I have been typing it on word, and now I am posting it… so it is filled with many of the experiences I have had since getting here! So far I am loving it. The first night was a little rough. First I was like… 1.5 days sleep deprived. 5 other people arrived when Jess and I did and then 4 were already at the hostel and meeting people can be exhausting when you are already exhausted and in a new place. Of course outside the airport there was an outdoor Chinese restaurant playing football (soccer) and tons of Ghanaians were watching. Anyways just getting our stuff into the bus to get to campus was a hassle. Immediately our Ghanaian student guides told us to not let anyone but them touch our luggage. As we worked our way over to the bus taxis were yelling out “hey lady hey lady” hoping to give us rides. Soon young men came asking us to help but the bus driver kept saying to them “no, please go away” (Ghanaians are always polite) but he followed us anyways and other joined. They would put their hand on our luggage even though we said no to the help. Of course once we had all of our luggage inside the bus they asked for a “tip.” Rose, one of our guides told them no and to go away. But they stood outside the bus for another 15 minutes. It took us so long to leave the parking lot because things seem to take a long time in Ghana… they never really rush and when dinner is at 6:30 you can bet that you wont be late at 7. Anyways we finally drove to campus and I quickly realized that Ghanaians are very aggressive drivers. One Ghanaian told me that we are taught protective driving and they are taught aggressive. However, if a Ghanaian was not aggressive they would never get anywhere because there is so much traffic. When we got to the hostel we signed in and were given a 1.5 liter water bottle, dinner, and toilet paper. For some reason they buy there own toilet paper here and we have to bring it into the bathroom… it is strange and took sometime to remember to bring it with me into the bathroom. As usual when I first travel somewhere I lost my appetite, so I did not eat much for dinner. After dinner and chatting with everyone (maybe about 40 of us?) I went to my room with Jess and unpacked hoping that would make us feel better. Unpacking did help but most of all the sleep did. When I woke up I felt a million times better and excited for the day which didn’t start until noon so we could sleep in… which means it started at 1. That day and the next consisted of lectures from professors about Ghana, and getting to know everyone. On Friday the 16th we went to two different markets in Accra. The first one we went to was Madina Market. I have mixed feelings about this experience. It was wonderful to leave campus and be able to wander around in smaller groups. It was fun seeing Ghanaians, especially the kids who would either chase us with excitement or run away in fear of our weird white skin. Two little girls actually cried. But the smell of the market was awful. One factor of the smell was all of the fish and meat in the market. But overall the smell was caused by the gutters. They have these deep gutters… maybe two feet deep and one foot wide that run along the streets, and they are filled with garbage and questionable liquids. To be honest it is rank. The market is filled with little booths packed closely together with little isles. Food, clothing, shoes, belts, cds, dvds, jewelry, cell phones, cameras, tvs, and much more littered the market. Of course the people shouted out sometimes “Obruni,” meaning foreigner or white person, and “Obama’s people!” The later of which I was happy to hear. Some vendors were aggressive yelling out to us and others would politely ask, “Obruni, do you want to buy my stuff?” I was nervous about the physical grabbing I had heard of and pick pockets, however neither seemed to be an issue, at least today. I did not buy anything though because I know I will go back and I wanted to just become used the place. Of course it was also hard to see the poverty. Although they are making a living selling in the market, it is easy to see it is not a good one. I even suspect some live in their booths. For lunch we took tro-tros (we rode on these to Madina market too) to a place called Bonjour. Tro-tros are basically 15-20 passenger vans. They have a driver and then one man in the back seat who yells out what stops they will be taking. The vans are really junkie and unreliable but it is a very cheap way to travel and overall safe with other people. For example I only spent a total of about 95 US cents on 5 rides. Anyways the restaurant was VERY American, and slightly expensive. They had a Pizza Inn, Chicken Inn, and some ice cream and convenience store foods. Kind of like the Travel Stop in Albert Lea. I split a pizza with a girl for 6.5 Cedi, which is more expensive than usual but splitting it brought the price down to a little above normal. The Chicken Inn has hamburgers and chicken sandwiches which I plan to try if I get homesick or just want some familiar food. Anyways then we went to 37th street, which was another market area but also had a small mall. It was very American too, it had a little coffee shop, electronics, perfumes, clothing, children’s toys and a grocery store. Then we finally made our way back to campus and we are now waiting to go get dinner. Before I forget I wanted to mention the lizards. They are everywhere! I think they are kind of like our squirrels. Anyways I have enjoyed them so far! Another random thing is that none of us really have become sun burnt or tan. My theory is that there is so much dust and dirt in the air that it is acting as a sun screen. Anyways, after dinner a group of us went a bar called Champs (no not the chain) in Accra. It was a sports bar and has a lot of international people, both from Africa and the rest of the world. It was Karaoke night which made it lots of fun and very entertaining to say the least. Some were bad some, some good, and one girl from our group is amazing! There was a really strange man from Nigeria there who was extremely effeminate but constantly hitting on us girls… I personally think he is sexually confused. Anyways it was annoying and creepy, but slightly entertaining and we all looked out for each other. . I also met a nice man from Canada who was 30 and has been living in Nigeria for the last 3 years working on helicopters and it was his first night in Ghana. Anyways it was really cool to find out why so many people from around the world were there. I am also a huge fan of “Star” beer, it is the most popular Ghanaian beer. On Saturday the 17th, we went to the Kwame Nkrumah museum and garden. He was basically the man who got Ghana its independence and was the first president until a peaceful military coup. He is loved by many Ghanaians (except some older ones who were alive when he was in power) even though he put the country in HUGE amounts of debt. Anyways the Garden and his monument is ridiculous. It has a huge stone sculpture with his and his wife’s grave inside and then a large fountain. . The museum was a little small and lacked organization and detail but was interesting. I really enjoyed seeing it but was a little disturbed with how nice that was and how awful the living situation is for some people. We also drove past the stadium where the black stars play and the new president’s palace (like the white house), both were really nice and possibly too extravagant for the living situations of the people. After we went to the cultural center market most of the vendors were really pushy and tried to take advantage of our ignorance to Ghanaian prices but I met an artist who was very kind and talented and I told him I would come back because I loved how he ran his business and his paintings. After we went to lunch and got Chinese… which just tasted like Ghanaian food again and then we went to the large mall in Accra. I basically felt like I was in the US. It was really nice, definitely the nicest place I have seen inside so far. I did get a small mocha thereJ. I had a pineapple at the night market for dinner and then played Frisbee and soccer with other ISEPers. It was a lot of fun but oh my goodness I am out of shape. On Sunday I went to mass, where I met Father Eben (a friend of my priest at home). Mass was fun, almost all the women wore traditional Ghanaian clothing and about half the men did. Which means very vibrant bright and colorful outfits. The choir was absolutely amazing even though I could not tell what they were singing because of their accents. It was hard to understand the sermon too but just being there was really nice. After mass we all went to the beach. It was fun and interesting… The water is actually quite nice and the waves were really fun. The Ghanaian men would kind of swarm around us though, but they were not disrespectful, some even invited us to play a large game of monkey in the middle. Some men were on horses and rode up and down the shore selling rides and many other vendors walked around, but they were not too pushy. There were a lot of Rastafarians at the beach too, which we are constantly told to avoid. Some ISEPers built sand castles with Ghanaian kids. At the beach I bought plantain chips for 20 paswas (sp?) which is less than 20 cents. They were really good and to me better than potato chips. That night we just went to the Night Market, but it was actually really good. The stand we went to was new and had both Ghanaian and “American” food. I has “spaghetti with vegetables.” Which was angel hair pasta with ketchup and hot Ghanaian spicy veggies, but surprisingly it was fantastic. The ketchup made the spice not too hot and it all worked well together so I think I will be going back because it was only 1.5 Ghana Cedi. After that about 8 of us went to a bar called Jerry’s. It is basically a patio bar and is really chill. It was fun just to sit and talk in the pretty atmosphere. On Tuesday the 20th a group of us went to Medina. It was less overwhelming than the first time because there was less of us. I got a knife for eating fruit and then a group of us bought a large pot to cook in. At 3pm a bus took us all to the Du Bois center to watch the inauguration. It was really cool. There was a lot of booths selling Obama things and a band and then when the inauguration started it was projected on a big screen (it was outside). It was really cool to be in Ghana for such a historical event, and I feel lucky to have such a unique experience of watching the Ghanaians watch the inauguration. It was really moving and almost brought me to tears a handful of times. After we went to a pizza place where the food actually tastes American, if not better. It is by one get one pizza on Tuesday nights. On Wednesday the 21st, we played soccer with about 6 ISEPers and then some Ghanaians (who were amazing) came and played with us. It was a lot of fun and a really good workout! Ghanaians are so good at soccer (football). At home you can kind of read a persons body movement and tell where they are taking the ball, but not here. They could dribble around me for hours. I hope it works out again. Then we had our second twi class (over half the country speaks twi.) The prof is really fun and the language so far is not too challenging. He always says, “hallelujiah praise the Lord!” when something is easy, and if its difficult he says, “dats killin’!” It is really humorous. At night we went to the beach because Wednesday is Regge night at the beach. It was fun, there was a live band and a lot of little bonfires. It was fun to dance, but we had to constantly avoid creepers or find a kind was to not dance with them. Overall it was fun though. Today I went to the beach with 2 friends just to layout and be in the water. It is much cheaper on weekdays and less crowded so that nice. Whenever a vendor started to walk over I just pretended I was asleep. After we came back and had lunch at a new vegan (that’s right, VEGAN!) stand in the night market! It was delicious!!! She even has peanut butter! I had a Ghanaian version of a veggie burger and some plantain chips. Being a vegetarian here is actually really easy, and I practically have been since I got here because I am weary of the meat. After lunch I registered for 3 of my classes. I will be taking Regionalism and Ethnicity in Ghanaian Politics, Local Government Administration in Ghana, and Human Rights in Africa. I will also be taking an African drumming class and then Twi. I might take a religion too but I have not decided. Okay that is all I have time for, but I will be writing soon about a trip up North! I love and miss you all!

Hello!! So I am in Ghana and I have finally had access to the internet! On the flight over Jess and I had a long delay in Amsterdam and got to spend sometime there with our lovely tour guide Nora ;) It was really cool to get a quick look at the city and have some coffee and breakfast! (Thank you Nora!!!) Arriving in Ghana was so exciting! Flying into the airport at night there were so many city lights and it was beautiful! One suprising thing about our landing was that we landed on dirt, not pavement and once we did land all the Ghanaians on the plane clapped. Once we got our luggage and left the airport we found Ghanaian student waiting for us and then helped us to a bus to drive to campus. Men tried to help us with our bags and we said no but they still did anyways and of course asked to "tips" afterwards. Our Ghanaian guides told us not to give it to them so we didnt. I live in the International Students Hostal 1, or ISH1 for short. It has Americans, Europeans, Nigerians and even a few from China. The whole hostel is outside except for our rooms, therfore there is a big courtyard in the middle. The first night I basically just unpacked and slept. I hardly experienced any jet lag (we are 6 hours ahead of US central time) The last few days have been filled with meeting other students and listening to speakers talk about Ghanaian religion, culture, health, and politics. We also had a campus tour today with was a lot of fun, and I now have a student ID! Overall Ghanaians are the nicest people and extremely hospitable! The food is not a good as I was expecting, however tonight we had the first thing I really loved, it was a spicy angel hair pasta with vegetables! By my dorm there is a night market and a bunch of us bought fruit tonight, which is amazing! I split a pineapple with a friend and it was delicious! Tomorrow we are going into the city which I am really excited about because we have been on campus this whole time... although the campus is huge and like a little city in itself! The internet connection is slow so adding pictures might be a challenge but I will give it a shot soon! It has been really fun learning uniqe Ghanaian words and gestures, like they say someone is a "shock" if they are a genius, and they have a handshake which ends in a snap. Anyways sorry that this is so choppy and has no flow but I will write more another time and hopefully include some pictures!