Rebirth: Northern Ghana Tour

I just got back from a 5 day tour of Northern Ghana with my USAC buddies. I’ve come back from the journey a year older. We left the day of my birthday so most of it was spent in the van but the night prior a couple of us went out to this reggae concert by the beach. Around midnight we ran into the ocean, knee-high in celebration of my 22nd Birthday. Who’d a thunk I’d be spending the first moments being 22 on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. On a metaphorical note, it’s almost as if the water cleansed me, a rebirth in a sense. In the 5 days that followed I experienced things I could only imagine prior. Looking back, trying to remember and express it all seems like such an overwhelming task. I will try my best but it will most likely come out disjointed.

In total we drove through five regions in Ghana. The journey to the North was a journey in itself. The roads were so incredibly bad that a significant amount of the ride I felt as if my seat was a saddle and the van was a horse and at times that horse was galloping. Imagine 10 people in a van for 6 plus hours a day bouncing on dirt roads. And because the roads were so bad, it took a major toll on the car. We had to make several stops to get the van fixed and for the last two days of the trip we went without air-conditioning. Since the van’s air was out we had the windows open which would be a lot nicer had there not been so much dust that consequently escaped into the van.
One of the times the van broke down in this small Northern village and a few of us got out to stretch. We started walking down a main trading road and everyone started looking our way. It felt like a scene straight out of a movie. Children's faces were filled with awe. It’s the strangest feeling being (potentially) the first white person a child has ever seen. Some children were frightened by our presence but most started following us around in excitement. One young girl wanted just to touch us. This unexpected pit-stop reminded me of all the hidden beauty there is to discover.

Our first day was spent in Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city. A map of Kumasi brags that “all roads are paved” here. Indeed Kumasi is quite modern, maybe even more modern than Accra and also much busier than Accra. Before arriving in Kumasi we stopped at Greater Ashanti to visit the Ashanti historical museum. The Ashanti kingdom is the largest ethnic group in Ghana and the Ashanti is a familiar name to foreigners. There culture is very interesting and complex and because of the latter this is all I will say about them for now.



Day two:
On our way to Larabanga to go to Mole National Park we stopped at Kintampo to enjoy the breathtaking Kintampo Falls which lie on the Pumpum River. This was my first time actually standing underneath a waterfall and with effort I also made it inside the waterfall.



Day three:
We woke up at 6am to begin our safari through Mole National Park. In the early morning is when the animals are out most. Before we even started our hike we saw tons of baboons as we walked towards the camps meeting place. I’m talking like 20 plus baboons just sitting around.
Within the first 10 minutes of our ranger led hike we saw three wild elephants!!! You know how everyone has a life-long to do list (AKA bucket list)…well to see wild elephants was on my list. They were so spectacular. I was ~20 meters away from the huge creatures and it was one of the most exhilarating experiences. Our ranger would yell “everyone move back” as the elephants started to walk in our direction and we’d have to start running back. I learned that at their full speed elephants are the second fastest animal, crazy! They have super poor eye sight though and can really only see you if your closer than 20 meters. I also saw tons of warthogs (like Pumba from the Lion King) and antelope. If we would have gone in the dry season (when the vegetation is little) we would have seen more animals but that’s alright.
We took a 15 minute drive to see a famous Islamic mosque and a spiritual stone. When we arrived at the mosque, as soon as we opened the van’s door, children ran up to us—all wanting to hold our hands. As one of our guides started to talk about the history of the mosque it was hard to pay attention because one of the girls holding my hands had this plastic bag filled with brown liquid around her hand. My first reaction was to think the worst: was she missing a hand? Or, was this some sort of punishment? The older guy next to me explained that around her hand was juice from the baobao tree and it was their practice to dye the hand skin. The skin underneath the fingernails and cracks on the hands had a reddish tint. Before we left, I gave a few cedis to an older child who said he was fundraising for his school.

The Mole Motel we stayed at had an outdoor pool where we spent most of our free time. Megan and I (the two whitest girls in the group) decided to borrow Naima’s sunblock. About 10 minutes after generously applying the lotion to our face, neck, and shoulders we realized that the bottle said “sun intensifier.” Our faces were burning like hell and upon realization we both jumped at the same time into the pool to try to save our skin and stop the chemical reaction we were having to it. Luckily the burning sensation seized and I was able to avoid extreme sunburn.
It was also during our pool side relaxation that one brave baboon started to walk really close to where we were sitting. One of the waitresses then yelled at us to use a chair to shoo him away. The baboon was looking directly into Ric’s eyes like he was going to attack or do something of the nature.

Day Four:
We left Mole National Park early the next morning to go back to Kumasi. By this time the sight of the van was beginning to make me feel slightly nauseous in anticipation of the rough ride ahead. After several delays, we finally arrived at the Hotel that we stayed in Kumasi that first night. The difference between that hotel and the Mole motel were far and many. In the hotel in Kumasi i was able to take a hot shower for the first time since I arrived in Africa. Nothing can quite explain how wonderful that shower felt. To be able to step in the water without first holding your breath because the shock of the cold water makes it hard to breath, to be able to shower and actually feel like you're truly clean afterward and not just like you moved the dirt around, and the best part, to be able to shower not because you have to but because you want to...it was so amazing. At Mole Motel it wasn't just that I was not spoiled with hot water, we didnt have any running water! There were buckets of water in our bathroom because the running water goes out so often.
Another thing about Mole Motel is that the restaurant service was probably the strangest I have ever had. The waitresses always looked at us as if we were ruining their lives and the food orders were always mixed up or missing. But the biggest thing was that the food was always brought out at different times. One morning we all ordered breakfast at the same time. I simply ordered scrambled eggs and toast. The time between when everyone else got their food and when I got mine was well over a half hour. And what I don't get is, it's not like they couldn't understand us because Joe was arguing in Twi and it's not like they forgot about me because we told them several times and its not like they had to spend much time making it.

Anyway, enough ranting. Back at Kumasi we went to the largest market in Ghana where I got a few nifty things for cheap.

Day Five:
On our last day we got to see how Kente cloth is made. Ghana is perhaps best known for Kente cloth, which is hand-made interwoven fabric. Each cloth has either a pattern or a symbol that represents something. Symbols like 'back to your roots,' 'i'm not afraid,' 'strength in family,' etc. I bought a silk kente cloth which I think i did an impressive job bargaining for the price.

About 15 minutes from home we drove past a car accident. I didn't see it but others did and I guess there was a dead body lying on the ground. To be a pedestrian in Accra is quite scary. Here, there is no pedestrian's have the right away rule and car accidents are many.

An ongoing list of things to know about Ghana

Whether you plan to travel to Ghana or just want to know more, this list should answer some questions.

• There are no covers on the gutters. This may seem like a small difference but on my way to class i usually cross over ~20 open gutters. --> *Photo shows open gutters
  
• The left hand is consider unclean. You should not eat with your left hand.
  
• If you invite a Ghanaian man into your room it is expected that you have sex with him, in fact it is almost like a contract that guarantees sex. If you do not want to have relations with a man you must tell them firmly or otherwise they will keep trying. It is important to match your face with feelings. So if a Ghanaian male asks you to marry him (which is pretty common) it is easy for us to smile or laugh at the gesture but to save yourself some time, show a firm "No" face.
  
• There is no toilet paper or soap in any of the bathrooms so carry them around in a purse or bag.
  
• The showers are cold but with the warm weather it's not too bad.
  
• Since the International Hostel building is in the shape of a hollow square you can hear almost anything, anyone, anywhere.
  
• The color of dirt is a reddish orange. It's pretty but it dirties you up fast.
  
• The people here talk very softly, so even if they are speaking English its hard to understand. I started to feel like I was going deaf trying to understand people. Though the official language is English, most speak Twi (pronounced Chwee). It would be helpful to learn basic sayings before arriving here.
  
• Ghana is very homophobic. However, it is perfectly acceptable for two guy friends to walk around holding hands and dancing with each other.
  
• For the most part there are no street signs and they don't use North, South, East and West. Instead, landmarks are used for directions and locations.
• There are no laundry machines in the hostels. I hand wash my clothes 1-2 times a week. Drying time takes about 1-2 days depending on the material. However, Some of my clothes never feel completely dry. The air is so moist here, especially in the wet season, that papers on my desk will start to fold over from being damp.
  

Classes and slight confussion

Today was the third day of classes. Here, the first week of classes is kinda like a trail week. Class times and locations are still being altered and the professors only show up about half the time in the first week. Class sizes range from hundreds to less than 20 students. In total, there are more than 35,000 students at the University. International students represent about 3% of the total and their goal is to have about 10% of international students. The campus is pretty big and I can easily get lost. Class registration is a pretty complicated process compared to U.S. standards. Each student must go around to their department's building to see exactly which classes are offered and the time slots for each class. Students then must sign up in person for the classes they think they are going to take. For example, I am taking classes in Sociology, Political Science, and English. I had to walk around to each department to figure out my schedule. The process doesn't stop there. You must then register online as well. For the last few days the registration site has been down. I guess they're working on getting it fixed. Despite confusion, i am excited about my classes. I plan on taking International organizations, International conflict, conflict resolution and human rights, Sociology of gender, Literature of the African diaspora, and Society, government, and culture of Ghana. I am also planning on taking intro to Twi (the most common native language spoken here).

Braids and Babies

Today I got my hair braided at the Busch Market on campus. It's this place where there are rows and and rows of little trading posts where you can find household items, jewelry and sunglasses, fresh fruit and fish, and tons of hair dressers. I really like my new braids and with my frizzy, curly, hard to manage hair, this new hair style makes things a lot easy. It was really cheap too; 20 cedi (~$15). The woman's name was Olivia and she was nice. The whole process took about two hours but that's including the times Olivia took breaks to take care of her six month old child named Andeshia (sp?) which means independence. Many traders bring their children to work with them. You can find children strapped on backs of woman or playing in the market. As an American, where obsessive parenting is the norm, I find it a little hard to watch children walking in markets on dirt floors with no shoes and a busy parent almost out of sight. But this is how they do things here.

Markets vs. Malls

I just cant get over how amazing the markets are, so full of life and so very overwhelming. My USAC group took a tour of the city today and we stopped at the craft market and a large market called Medina market. The craft market is just filled with crafts...drums, dresses, purses, jewelry, painted canvases, wooden sculptures, etc. I don't think i've ever seen so many vibrant colors in one place.
As soon as we opened the door of the van we were attacked by traders trying to sell us something. Traders will do just about anything to get you to buy something, especially at places that are more touristy, like the craft market. If you make eye contact with them or their crafts for more than two seconds they typically take your hand and drag you inside to show you more crafts despite your no's. Ghanaians are very personable and very touchy-feeling. Something that is unusually to Americans, where individualism in the norm. At the markets, especially the craft market it is essential that you bargain. I'd say the rule of thumb is to start by asking for half the price they've stated.

*The picture above is from the Madina market on the outskirts of Accra.

About a 5 minute cab drive away from campus but what feels like worlds away is the Accra Mall. I've been told it was built a couple years ago. This mall looks like a small mall you would find in the states. It's filled with stores like the Apple computer store, a Puma shoe store and food places where you can buy pizza, french fries and ice cream. This drastic difference feels unsettling to me. Also, as I was walking into the mall there were young children begging for money. One grabbed my hand and made a gesture with the other that meant she wanted food. Situations like this are very awkward and heartbreaking. For the most part though, I've heard that Ghana has a low rate of beggars compared to other African countries. It is very easy to see that the people here work hard to make a living and while they may beg that you buy something most don't beg for free hand outs.

Redirected

I am safe and sound in Accra. Our travel went off course a little when our flight to Frankfurt was delayed. We spent four hours in the O’hare airport. The delay in Chicago made us miss our flight to Accra from Frankfurt so we were redirected. We had to rush through the German airport as soon as we landed to make our flight to London.
So all in all we traveled for more than 30 hours!!!! I got no more than an hour’s sleep at a time and between that and crapped seating and lugging around my bags from terminal to terminal I am sore and exhausted. After 5 airports it was of no surprise to me that my luggage had been lost. To make matters worse, since our flight did not arrive at the scheduled time, Ric and I had to fend for ourselves to get transpiration to University’s international hostel/dorm. We took a cab and our cab driver didn’t know where we needed to go and took us to these random hostels. To top it off, today we learned that the cab driver totally ripped us off, charging us 10 times the price of what the drive should cost.
So picture this: Ric and I siting outside this empty hostel, with half our luggage, at night, no idea where we are, in a strange land. I saw a woman walking in near us and tried asking her where we were and she said something i couldn't understand and then kept walking. I later learned that she was most likely a prostitute. After much waiting we finally found this nice Ghanaian couple who directed us to this hostel we could rent for the night. It was 10 cedi per person, no doubt up in price because we were Americans. The hostel keeper first showed us a room that was missing a bed and had a giant lizard crawling up the wall. The second door he opened revealed a room with two beds but an overflowing bathroom. Third time was a charm. There was no sheets on the mattresses. Luckily, I saved a blanket from the airport which I slept on, using my neck pillow for my head. The walls were paper thin and the halls were loud but even if it would have been silent i doubt i would have gotten more than an hours sleep at a time.
We took another cab early in the morning and this time we arrived at the right place.

Up In The Air

I am writing from somewhere over the Atlantic ocean. I have just shed one tear, it fell at 7:28 p.m. (central time). I'm making special note of it because Alex was making a bet that i would cry at the airport. I win because I didn't. Alex drove me to the airport, walking with up to the security check point. This morning I was in such a rush and stressed over packing that the final goodbye to my family didn't feel like a long-term goodbye and I don't think it has fully set in yet. Things feel surreal right now. West Africa has always been something I thought of in future terms and now I am Ghana bound! It is happening for real; no turning back.