I'm Home

Sunday, May 29th, 2011
Many of the people from my program left for America today, so I spent a large portion of the day saying goodbye and spending as much time as possible with them before they left. I also had to finish my paper for one of my classes and finish up my last blog before Brittney took her computer back. Since it was a Sunday none of the cleaning ladies were working, so everyone left me their appliances and other items they wanted donated. Therefore, my entire room was filled with items to be sorted out, but I did not mind since I had nothing else to do. I was also allowed to use any of the appliances for the following days until it was time for me to move out. I got a pot to make coffee in the mornings and to boil water for oatmeal; so hanging on to the donations was well worth it.
After everyone took off I made my way to the dance department to hang out with a friend for the evening. Like usual I was rushing to get there on time since I was running a little late. The goodbyes took longer than I intended and I did not want to rush anyone so I waited them out until the last person was gone. As I was making my way to the dance department I tripped and once again I broke my shoe. I almost made the decision to turn around, but it would have taken me thirty minutes and I was already running late. So I decided to attempt to salvage the shoe until I returned that night. This turned out to be more embarrassing than I had previously predicted because every time someone walked by they would comment. Usually they were attempting to be kind, but that did not make the entire ordeal less uncomfortable. It was dark outside so the process was not going as well as I had hoped. Thankfully, a kind man stopped and offered to help me. We reconstructed my sandal for about ten minutes and finally we found a solution. When I was able to wear the shoe with little discomfort I thanked the man and he just went along on his way. It was one of the kindest moments I have experienced in Ghana in quite some time.
I made it to the department about ten minutes late and to no surprise it was an hour before Shamo arrived. He called to let me know he was on his way and about fifteen minutes later I spotted him and we made our way to Jerry’s, a local bar. He asked me to pick our seats and I made the mistake of choosing a table right next to the jukeboxes making it very difficult to talk. We did talk the entire time we were just forced to scream in order to hear each other. We had the most interesting conversation about Pram Pram, his hometown, and the Gaa festival, which I planned on attending in two days time. He explained how he is part of the royal family and his clan’s animal is a cat. Each clan has their own set of names; therefore, if someone was walking through Pram Pram and asked for Shamo they would not know exactly who the person was, but they would be able to direct me to his clan’s house. Also, there are two distinct sides the upper and lower each side has a family house. In those homes the family meetings are held and once a year they meet to discuss grievances that may have aroused during the year, but could not be discussed because it would have been disrespectful for the youth to bring up an issue with an elder or someone of a higher rank.
We also discussed the family dynamics in his unique home. He was one of five students in his graduating class from Senior High to go to University. He was able to achieve this goal because it was instilled upon him since he was a child. One of the large problems in his village is the proximity to the beach. Children go over to the beach instead of going to school and the fisherman convince them to stop attending school and make money by working on the boats. This is effective because the parents either do not find out this is happening until it is too late or they are not concerned with education as long as their child is making money. Shamo’s family understood the importance of schooling, so he was forbidden from going to the beach until he reached junior high. He would be checked everyday when he got home by his parents. If he had sand in his hair or smelt like salt he would get into trouble. Once he came home and declared he was going to be a fisherman. His dad remained calm and said that would be fine, but first he needed to finish school then he could become anything he wanted to. This was effective and Shamo made it through university and no longer has any desire to be a fisherman.
After he explained the festival we left and we both went back to our perspective hostels. I had to drag donations to my room from the porters lodge and this caused an argument. I was already so tired and not in the mood for the disagreement so I decided to let the porters win until the morning. They were claiming that the donations were being made to them and not to the Rise Up charity, which was total nonsense. I took what they allowed me to bring to my room, sorted through the items, and flopped onto bed and fell asleep.

Monday, 30th, 2011
I woke up early to begin the process of packing up all of my belongings to transport them to Pentagon for the next two days. This was a much more difficult task than anticipated because of the vast amount of belongings I had acquired. Luckily, Quasy and Stone have not yet returned to their homes so they kept me entertained while I jammed both of my luggages full. They also assisted me by removing things that were too high up for me to reach and pulling the zippers shut when my strength was not adequate to close the bags. Finally I finished packing and I was able to shower with running water and do my last load of laundry.
Then I made my way around the dorm and handed out all of the donations that had been left in my room except for my blender. I made my last smoothie, papaya and banana, and handed my blender off to a very thankful woman. She was so excited and she came back about ten minutes later and said, “I want to know your name.” It put a gigantic smile on my face because I understood that she must have asked one of the other cleaning ladies, who spoke English, how to say that and then memorized it so she could repeat it to me. As I was walking around trying to take in the last moments in my hostel I witnessed one of the most depressing sights. The cleaning ladies who never steal anything and work tirelessly to keep the students happy where picking through all of the trashcans. They were looking for any items they could salvage and take as their own. I was so sad when I saw this happening, but I realized that I could do nothing more to help. I did all I could and life is hard for some and merely being aware of this fact is a step in the right direction towards a better world.
It was getting late and I was preparing to leave when Yaw, the man from the Rise Up charity, called and asked if he could stop by now to pick up donations. Of course I agreed although I then realized I would not be able to leave for almost another hour. I went upstairs and watched the boys play ping-pong and said my final goodbyes. I realized that I would not get back from Pentagon, the hostel where I would be keeping my things over night, until late and I would leave Accra at 5:30 AM and not return.
I should have explained earlier, but just to inform everyone about my plan for my final days I will quickly go through my plans. Today I will move my thing s to Pentagon. I will sleep in my hostel and then leave in the morning for Pram Pram for one night. The following day I will return to Accra and spend the night in Pentagon. The following day I will leave for Kumasi with a group of six people including Mickey. Three of them will stay for the day, watch the Black Stars game, and go back to Accra the same day. Mickey, Colleen, and I will remain in Kumasi until June sixth and we will return in time to bring me to the airport. Twenty-two hours later I will arrive back in America!!
After Yaw came and went I left for Pentagon and when I arrived Mickey came out to help me carry my things up four flights of stairs. I was overwhelmingly thankful because I had several bags, one luggage that weighed over seventy five pounds, so without him I am sure my things never would have made it all of the way up the stairs. Once I arrived with all of my things I learned how exceptional my host was because I was permitted to spread my things all over the room like it was my own. Then we spent almost two hours attempting to upload a CD to my computer. It was a very difficult procedure since we had to shine a flashlight on the screen and attempt to find the cursor with a speck of light and then download the CD into iTunes. When we finally accomplished that task it took about twenty minutes for the songs to upload and even longer to play the songs we wanted to hear. In the end it all worked out and I was able to get over five hundred Ghanaian songs on my computer which I thought would be impossible because it was broken before I got the opportunity to download songs. Just the two of us had a dance party for a little while and then our friend Gideon came over. They were able to get a key to an empty room next door, so we would have more beds for every one to sleep in. This would have never worked in my hostel, but Pentagon is much more lax in the rules.
I found a ride back to my dorm at 4:30 AM so I decided that would be easier than finding a taxi back to my hostel now after midnight. Therefore, I found space to sleep in Pentagon and went to sleep knowing that sometime during the night Mustafa would stop by to drop off his keys so we would have his car in the morning. It was after three by the time we went to bed, so I knew that the morning would be interesting.

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
I did not predict how unique my morning would be because when my alarm went off at 4:30 I discovered there were no keys because Mustafa never arrived to drop them off. My host immediately got on the phone and began calling him non-stop while I got ready. Then we tried Cami, one of Mustafa’s good friends, because she would be able to tell us his room number.
We decided the only solution would be to venture outside of the hostel and look for a taxi that might be running at four thirty in the morning. We did find a taxi with the driver sleeping inside, so we tapped on the window until he woke up. The result was the car rolling down the hill and the man struggling to get it to start. It went for about a block before he could get it to stop and then I learned that his battery was dead. Therefore, the only taxi in sight was not running. Finally, someone picked up on the other line and it was Cami’s groggy voice. She gave us vague directions to find Mustafa’s room, a typical Ghanaian practice, and we went to attempt and find him. We found a room called his phone and did not hear it, so we kept looking until we heard his phone ringing. We shouted his name and knocked on his door until he finally got up. He came to the door cheerfully, apologized saying he forgot to drop off the keys, and walked right to his car to give me a ride.
I arrived at my hostel with thirty minutes to get ready, so I moved as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I did a great job preparing the day before and all of my clothes were set out and my coffee was made and waiting for my in the kitchen fridge. Thankfully the power was on so my coffee was cold and I was able to gulp it down and throw on my dress. I even had time to whip on some make-up and throw my hair up before running outside to meet up with the people I would be going to Pram Pram with. I discovered for the first time that Shamo was on time, which I should have expected because he knew if we left late we would miss the start of the festivities. I made it to the dance department with his waiting, walked to the trotro station; rode on three different trotros, and the entire journey went smoothly. The only issue we stumbled upon was a trotro driver that had many rules. No women were permitted in the front seat, we were scolded for talking because he was trying to hear the radio, no preaching was allowed in the car, and there were no Asians allowed. However, we did not let him bother us, we just slept for the majority of the time.
We immediately went to the shrine since it was around nine and the rituals were supposed to begin at seven. The first thing I did was ask for a washroom and to no surprise the journey was a difficult one. I had to walk through peoples homes and when we arrived the women told me someone was showering in the area where you usually urinate, so she gave me a bucket and I went in the kitchen filled it and handed it back to her. I felt terrible, but I had no other options. I went back to my position next to Shamo and prepared to watch the Gaa festival. Shamo was a saint and explained everything that was happening step by step and when I asked him something he did not know he was honest about it. He would ask someone sitting around us and I would get all of the information I requested.
The first thing we witnessed were women getting possessed by the ancestors of their clan. The possessed women bark, crawl, quack, meow, and other things that replicate the animal of their clan. No one is able to get possessed until after they have been initiated and this usually takes place at puberty. The girls are sat on a stool and they have to walk around it three times. After that they sit one more time and if they get possessed and cannot stand up it means they have broken their virginity and they are immediately exiled from the community. The initiation can be done from birth if the child is very powerful and from birth they are aware that she will have powers later on. The powers are never shown off, only during this festival, so this is the typical time when ancestors visit. Libations are poured near the shines to feed the ancestors and the possessed women are brought inside their prospective shrine to be dressed in tradition cloth and decorated with paint. They wear white to represent purity and they are given all sorts of jewelry and make-up. Many times each woman will change several times and the cloths used were gorgeous many of the times. The newly initiated women were left topless, while the older women were more covered and may be wearing white with some other colors as well.
After the women were changed by the elders they would go to the master drummer and tell them what to play and how long they would dance for. The women would then dance for several seconds and return to the drummer to give a message, this would happen several times during the performance of each woman. The women would not actually be speaking, the ancestors would power them and it would be the ancestors who talk and tell the drummer about different important things in the community and about the future or past. The entire sight was extremely interesting and it was a shame we were not permitted to take photos.
Many of the women have tattoos on their bodies, either on their chest, arm, or shoulder. The tattoos say their name and Pram Pram this way they can be identified if killed. This is no longer common so many children do not have the tattoos. Also once a woman is initiated they are given marks on their hand in between their thumb and forefinger.
We were sitting in the back opposite the drummers and surrounding the drummers were the priests of the community and on the right were the elders who were not possessed, but had been at one point of their lives. On the right were those who were initiated but never possessed, it was from this group that the ancestors would choose to come down into. The women carried brooms, which they use to place spells on people. If someone in the community did something bad they would hide because the possessed women can perform horrors onto those who have done wrong. The women who were once possessed all have powers and at any time they are able to use those powers to punish the bad and honor the good.
I also met a little girl who was adorable, but since she was not schooling she spoke no English. I let her play with all of my things including Aquaphore. She put it all over her face and I did not know how to explain to her that it was not meant for that. It was really funny and she had a good time so I just let her do it. The women around her kept scolding her for playing with my phone; they did not understand that I did not mind. Shamo said they were saying that I was going to spoil her, so I should stop giving her things. But I was a bad person and ignored them because I figured being spoiled for a couple of hours would not ruin her behavior forever.
After the rituals Shamo showed us around and introduced us to some of the priests. He also showed us where the liquor is held that is poured for the ancestors. After, we took a tour of the town on our walk back to his house. We saw the house he grew up in and we met several of his friends that he had when he was a kid. We made our way to his current house, met his sister, nephew, and mom, and put our things down. We talked about what we had seen and how the festival has changed since Catholicism has become prominent in the village. Then the last-born daughter, who was absolutely gorgeous, served us a delicious meal of banku, tilapia, and pepper. There was so much food, but we had to finish it because Shamo said finishing wouldn’t kill me. He was just kidding, although in Ghana it is rude to leave food on your plate. They take it to mean that you do not like that meal they served.
Following the completion of our meal we went on a tour of the yard. We saw his pig farm, pigeon’s house, goat cage, three cats, and two dogs. I am sure there are animals we missed, but when we saw as many animals that were available we made our way to Golden Beach, which was breathtaking. It was only about a ten minute walk from his house and we sat on chairs under palm trees looking out on the crystal blue water with the waves pounding against the shore. We stayed there for about two hours just talking and then we walked over to the next part of the festival.
We first saw the family house of Shamo and then we witnessed the tree where the priestess danced around. Everything is done three times, first the possessed women go around the tree three times, then they repeat the dance in two more locations making it three times in all. While they are dancing there are groups of people walking, dancing, and chanting. They chant about bad things people do in the community and also about positive things. The groups find out about what men and women have cheated, who has stolen, who has sinned in any way, and they first chant at the person’s house and then out in public. They sing a song telling a story about the sin the person committed. No one knows how the groups find out about the sins, but they are always accurate in their accusations. It is also during this time that those with powers show them in the street. Water is turned into food, men keep objects flying in the air, and other specials powers.
The groups chanting are extremely interesting even if you are unable to understand the words. They are dressing in the same clothes and they wave around flags while dancing the same dance. The High Priest carries around a drum to each shrine that will be danced at and the final destination is the ocean. The dance is done three more time on the beach and then people jump into the water with the drum to cleanse themselves of any impurities. During this time everyone is permitted to dance and since I am white and stick out there were women who pulled me in to dance. I did not fight since I enjoy dancing and the women were very happy with the entire ordeal.
The idea of the festival is to thank the ancestors for the good harvest during the year. The festival marks the end of the harvest and in August the big festival will be held. It is considered the beginning of the New Year and the festival is performed to thank the ancestors for a healthy year and to wish for another positive one.
After the festival we met up with Shamo’s friend and went to the neighboring town to go out to dinner and dance. Each town celebrates the festival on a different month; therefore, if we left Pram Pram we would be more likely to find a place to hangout where music was permitted to be played outside. The boys ordered our dinner, like usual without asking what we would like. The dinner was good and we danced while we waited. A cute little girl was sitting next to us and I could tell she wanted to dance. However, she was too embarrassed so I could not get her to stand up with me. I was also trying to learn new Ghanaian dance steps, but I failed at most of them. After we danced for a little while, ate dinner, and got drinks we went back to Shamo’s house.
I was hysterical laughing while I got ready because I could not figure out where to spit the toothpaste that was already in my mouth. There was no sink and I did not know if it would be rude to go outside. I finally asked Shamo and he said yes I would have to go outside. I ended up feeling really stupid, but in the morning I new what to do without having to ask. We stayed up for about an hour talking about the day’s events and then we went to sleep.
Shamo’s sister started waking us up at four thirty asking if we wanted breakfast. About once every half hour until eight when we finally woke up, we were woken up with someone inquiring about when we would want breakfast.

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
The sweeping was loud and there was chattering outside because the world surrounding us was awake and ready to start the day by four. We finally woke up around seven and got breakfast, which consisted of bread and blue band (like margarine), eggs with onions and peppers, and coffee (Nescafe). It was a nice start to the day and we were off by ten o’clock too Tema. Tema is the center of the world, where the Meridian line passes through. We had trouble finding the exact spot where the line passes through the Earth so we were walking around when Shamo spotted a friend of his driving a bus. He pulled over and drove us around until we found the location we had been searching for. We then walked through the market stopping on the way to get small banana breads. They turned out too be really good and it made the horrible experience we were about to have a little more tolerable.
We got on a trotro that was almost full, so I was not in the same row as Shamo. The man sitting behind me was an older man around eighty who clearly had some sort of mental disability. He kept rubbing me, which made me uncomfortable, but since he is older it is inappropriate to say anything to him. When the mate asked him to pay he said my wife would pay pointing to me. I made it clear I would not be paying for him; he was rude, and extremely creepy. He spoke English and kept ranting about different pointless topics. The mate continued to ask him to pay and he replied the same way each time, followed by him asking me for the money. As we were getting closer to the university I went to call my host in Pentagon to make sure that the room was unlocked to ensure I had somewhere to go. I realized my phone was dead and luckily Shamo had the phone number.
I was able to get through and thankfully I was informed that someone would be there to let me in. However, when I arrived at the room I discovered that was not the case. I did not know what to do, but I thought on my feet and came up with a solution. I walked room to room until I found one that was empty. I plugged my phone in the outlet and called one last time. They came right over and let me into the room where I stayed for the next couple of hours watching Dogma.
I was alone so I decided to walk the four flights down to the bottom floor to retrieve a bucket of water. By the time I arrived back on the forth floor I soaked half of the stairs and a large part of the bucket was now empty. However, I still had more than enough to bathe and wash some of the dishes that had been piling up in the sink. After I finished I got ready to go out.
The room now consisted of more people because the other hostels were beginning to kick people out. Since Pentagon had not yet done that, people from other dorms began to pile in for the free housing (this is essentially what I had done the night before they actually forced me out). Therefore, there would be four of us going out for my last night in Accra. We could not find anywhere to go, so we ended up at EPOs. It was gay night, so I was prepared for a hilarious encounter.
It was an entertaining night surrounded by probably over thirty gay men. There was one other female in the club and possible one straight man excluding the people I went with. Many of the men were flaming, which was a huge shock since I cannot recall seeing one gay man in the entire country outside of this night. In addition to the way the men walked, talked and danced, they also used the ladies room as opposed to the men’s room to allow for more hysterics. I am glad that I got to see this portion of Ghana before I left the country.

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
All of my friends were up and awake by seven except for Mickey who slept for most of the day, not waking up until after eleven. I found Colleen, one of the only Americans still in Ghana, and went down to lie out at the pool. We remained there until Mickey was awake and ready for lunch. I ate lunch with Colleen, Mickey, and one of his friends. It was entertaining because despite the sweat dripping down our faces and our clothes all wrinkled up because we had just taken them out of our bags to put them over our bathing suits, we still got tirelessly hit on.
I got redred for the final time in Ghana and then headed over to the dance department. It was a relaxing day because it would be the last I would spend in Accra. I also had to finish my goodbyes because there were many people I care about that I would never see again. I found Shamo and other dance TAs and sadly said goodbye as we all departed. We returned to the room where I packed my suitcase for America and a small overnight bag for the remainder of my trip in Kumasi.
The water and electricity were back on so it made it easier to get ready. When we were all ready we left Accra and made our way to the VIP bus station. It would be Cami, her mother, Colleen, Dan, Mickey and me all going to Kumasi for the first night and only Colleen and I would stay until June sixth. Cami and her mom were running late, but thankfully I was permitted too buy the three tickets to secure a seat on the bus for the two of them. They had taken a nap and their alarm did not go off, so it was not until they received the phone call from Mickey that they became frantic and got ready as quick as possible. They arrived before the bus took off and we were all seated in very large seats on a luxurious bus with air conditioning. However, there were several problems. First, the bus was extremely over priced in comparison to riding a trotro and second, that it was terribly cold. I thought I was going to die of frostbite on several occasions. Thankfully, I had brought my sheet along so I was able to maintain some sort of warmth. There was a plus side. That is that the TV was not turned up to a blearing volume, which is usually the case on the more formal buses.
We got to our destination when we had predicted. We went straight to Mickey’s uncle’s home, which is located on a police base. It is referred to as the Buffalo base and it was there that we would get a ride to his grandmother’s house. We piled nine of us into a vehicle that is intended for five, which is ironic since his uncle is a cop. We did finally get to his grandmothers house. The first thing we did was introduce ourselves to everyone in the house. Then we ran to the market and got supplies to make egg sandwiches since it had been awhile since any of us had eaten. I made egg sandwiches for everyone and Colleen made Milo. We then spent the remainder of the day hanging out and watching football.

Friday, June 3rd, 2011
We continued our adventure by traveling to the stadium for the football match. We took a taxi to a general area where Mickey’s uncle was supposed to pick us up. Since we were extremely early we decided to stop at a small museum located in front of a hospital. The Okomfo Anokye Museum located in Bantama is the home of a sward that is supposedly stuck in the ground. It marks the spot where the Golden Stool of the Asante’s originally fell from the Heavens and landed. It is believed that if someone pulls the sword out of the ground the Asante Kingdom will disintegrate and eventually come to an end. After we finished the tour we went out to the road to wait for our ride.
When he pulled up we again jammed ourselves into the car illegally and made our way to the game. The Black Stars (Ghana’s team) played Congo at five and we arrived at the game by twelve. Therefore, we needed to find things to keep us occupied. Since we had VIP seats we figured we would be able to see perfectly and stay dry if it rained. We clearly were misinformed because when we arrived at our seats we learned that we could not see well at all. Mickey went searching to find out how we could get our seats moved to a better area. He succeeded and we were moved to a better section although we still were not under anything and if it rained we would get soaked.
We got ourselves food and made conversation with the people sitting around until it was time for the game to start. The fans were all excited and there was a roar all throughout the stadium. Since there were very few white people in attendance all of the TV stations were attracted to where we were seated. They continued to ask us questions that I did not know the answers too and they wanted to know what I though the result of the game would be. The only thing I could come up with was that I prayed that the Black Stars were victorious.
The game finally began and the first half was slow although the Black Stars were winning. Before half time it began to pour and we were all soaked. We attempted to stay dry, but we accepted defeat and stepped out into the rain. I was drenched and I loved it. We all had a blast and the game began to pick up. It turned out to be a wonderful game although the goalie made a terrible mistake. Which allowed for Congo to score, but the Black Stars still won in the end. The fans were all thrilled running back and forth after all three goals and cheering and clapping throughout the entire game. After the game the entire crowd pilled out of the stadium with music blaring and flags flying in the air. Mickey and Kofi, his little cousin, came out dancing to the music. They were adorable and Kofi looked as if he was a mini version of Kwame (Mickey’s day name). We were laughing and women around us began to yell until we were able to explain that we were friends with them and were only laughing because they were adorable.
The next thing that happened was another first for me, we road in a cop car back to Mickey’s Mother’s house. However, on the way back it began to downpour and our driver did not want us to continue the ride. The traffic was terrible and there were so many people in the car, so we stopped at the police station until the rain slowed down. The cops hit on us the entire time we were around. They were speaking to us in Twi and I failed because they were talking to me quicker than I could comprehend. The cops all wanted to come back to America demonstrating that the cops are the same as many of the other Ghanaian men.
When the rained slowed we again got in a cop car and Mickey road in the pick up because there was not enough room in the truck. We made it to Mickey’s mom’s house and this was the first time we were meeting her; she was so kind. She made us rice with tomato sauce and we all enjoyed the meal immensely. After we finished we made our way back to our hosts home and Cami, her mom, and Dan immediately left for Accra. They left at around midnight and they got back by six am. Colleen and I were shown to our room, which was a large room with a gigantic bed that we would share. He bed was so large I forgot I was sleeping with someone else in the bed when I woke up.

Saturday, June 4th, 2011
We woke up this morning with the intention of going to the lake, but the weather was not permitting. We decided to go to the market to get breakfast before determining what we would do with our day. Since it was after eight all of the koko (porridge) we are used to eating was finished. We kept looking and we were able to find cheaper koko that is simply smashed corn in baggies with no spices. It was a new food for me and I actually enjoyed the taste and we also got bread to go with breakfast.
Despite the fact that it was Saturday and the Cultural Center was likely to be empty we decided to take a ride there to check it out. We were correct to assume that the shops were all vacant, but we did meet up with some friends of Mickey who own a shop. They were creating gorgeous drums that I wish I had the space to bring back to America with me. We also walked through the theatre where we found men and women who were all very interested in taking photos with us. We smiled for several before running off to make it to the house of Mickey’s mother.
We got there later than we had hoped, so as soon as we arrived we immediately started pounding fufu. Well, when I say we I mean Mickey started to pound fufu and I found his three younger sisters and began entertaining them. I did not only play with two of his sisters I also played with all of the other children who were interested in seeing the white person. They taught me hand games and I attempted to teach them things. Duck, duck, goose worked as long as I was it, but as soon as someone else had to say the English words the game failed and we had to start a different one. We had a lot of fun even thought we were unable to speak with one another.
The kitchen where they were cooking was outside and shared with everyone in the complex. The children were also watched by whoever happens to be outside and families are willing to share their food with any of the children that say they are hungry. I learned a lot of things about the family and while I was doing that I missed the pounding, but I am okay with that because the kids were amazing and I loved playing with them.
We were served dinner and it was delicious, a combination of groundnut soup and kontomere. Since we finished dinner at an earlier time than expected we made the decision to go back to the home we were staying at before going out for the night. However, when we got to the corner where we were suppose to pick up a car we learned it would be a more difficult task than we predicted. There were many people around trying to get in a car since it appeared like it might rain soon. We waited for about twenty minutes and then decided we would just stay in the area. Mickey called around and found a friend that lived nearby. We went to his house and stayed there for about thirty minutes before we went out.
After we left his home we peaked through a fence to see Kwame’s primary school. Next, we walked to a nearby bar to sit and listen to music. We passed Miami on the way and later we visited Los Angeles before getting on a taxi and going to New Orleans. We were able to visit both ends of the United States in one day!! Our last destination was Sweet Pub. We danced there where someone gave me a cedi for doing well, or looking like a fool and being the only white person, until it began to rain. We found a taxi and went back to Kwame’s grandma’s house to go to bed.

Sunday, June 5th, 2011
My last full day in Kumasi!
We woke up early to bathe and get ready for church. I had considered this possibility, so I had an appropriate dress too wear. However, when I arrived at church I learned I looked less appropriate than I had hoped. All of the women wore dresses to the ground and their hair was covered with fabric. There were only older people at mass and the women and men were separate. The women sat on the left while the men sat on the right. Therefore, I would not be able to sit with Kwame I had to sit with his grandmother and Colleen. As soon as we sat down we heard obruni and knew that the pastor was talking about us, but we were unable to understand the rest. We finally interpreted what he was saying, so Colleen (the other obruni with me) and I went to the front to sit in special seats so that God would have a more direct path too us. We were also given a translator, who would translate the sermon and the songs to us. She was a wonderful women and quite entertaining. Not only did she interpret the words spoken in Twi, she also repeated everything he said in English. She would then turn and say do you understand, like we could not understand the pastor’s English only her English.
During the Pentecost mass there were four offerings, so by the forth we were out of small bills. However, the priest called us out and asked us to please go up according to our day names to donate to the church, apparently the last offering is the only mandatory one. So we were forced to donate our big bills, which we did with big smiles on our faces considering they were welcoming us into their church. We were also forced to dance at every opportunity. The women would push us out to the center of the church and then call us back in when it was time for the men to dance. Although that may have been horrible for some people, I loved it and danced to the Lord with joy. At one point the woman sitting in front of Colleen gave her a tambourine and made her go and stand with those playing instruments. I was relieved it was not I since I am tone deaf and would have utterly failed. But to no surprise one of the other tambourine players came up to me two minutes later and handed me her instrument and pulled me down to join as well. I tried my best, but I am sure after about thirty seconds she regretted pulling me down. I had a blast nonetheless.
There were also times during the mass where we would have to pray out loud and every time our translator could not hear us praising the Lord she would let us know and listen until she was content. It was weird at first, but I quickly got used to it and I was able to drown out all of the other voices. Before mass was terminated they called Colleen and I up to say hello and tell the congregation where we are from and why we were attending mass. In our jumbled Twi we did our best to inform the members of the church the situation and quickly left the stage to return to Kwame who was now in the back of the church.
We got water and bofrot and made our way back to the home of Mickey’s mother to make shito. When we arrived we immediately began by peeling and chopping about three-dozen onions. My eyes were dripping tears by the completion of this task and I was having a very hard time cutting in my hand with no cutting board while I could hardly see through the tears. Next, we peeled ginger, which may sound simple but it is more complicated than it looks. It was a large amount of ginger and it made my hands sting. We took a break halfway through the peeling to eat kontomere with yams. Lunch was delicious and it was a nice break from the cooking preparations. We got back to work and began grinding up different spices with a mortar and pestle. I was failing at the task and taking way to long so Colleen and Kwame took over that job, while I helped mix together fish powder and shrimp powder in a bowl. Many ingredients needed to be added and since we were cooking outside on a small stand the coals had to be changed often. This means that each time new coals were added the pot had to reheat and the process took even longer than it would on a stove. It took hours to boil and it began to get buggy and dark. However, I was having a really nice time between learning to cook and playing with the young children.
We needed to use the light from our phones to finish the job because there was no electricity where we were cooking and it was after seven by the time we finished. We were so excited about the shito and in extremely high spirits when we returned to Mickey’s grandmother’s home. She was pounding fufu for us with light soup for dinner and she let us participate. I tried for about one minute before she started hysterically laughing and I gave up. I danced with the young children who live in the home and we entertained each other for over a half hour, while dinner was being prepared. We were also making rice so it would be ready in the morning before we left for Accra and I was put in charge of watching it. I did a great job making it for the first time in a pot with no rice cooker.
When dinner was ready we all ate and then got ready for bed. We decided to sleep on the roof outside so we pulled mattresses out there and got a blanket. It was gorgeous outside and there were so many stars it was magnificent. We also played oware for a couple of hours so I would know the different ways of playing. I bought a game to bring back to America and I am sure that I have already forgotten the different ways to play and strategize. After a while we were all extremely tired and we fell asleep peacefully and quickly.

Monday, June 6th, 2011

At five AM Mickey’s grandmother woke us up, for a reason Colleen and I could not understand. Since we were in someone else’s home we did not complain, we simply pulled our mattress inside and began getting ready for the day. Mickey witnessed our actions and with a sleepy smile on his face explained that his grandmother was worried about the temperature outside so she wanted us to come in from the cold. Colleen and I were astonished since we would not have considered the temperature even remotely chilly, the only issue we could fathom would have been the bugs, but even those could have been worse. Nonetheless we were happy to climb back into bed and sleep for two more hours.
We got up once again at seven and got ready for the day. We were ready early, but we had to wait for our ride before we could leave for Kwame’s mother’s house to pick up our shito. When our ride arrived we spent about ten minutes figuring out how we would fit into the car. It was a long process that was not necessary, but they did not want the two white girls to be uncomfortable. When we finally figured it out we were on our way. We said our goodbyes to our hosts, got our shito, and made our way to the VIP bus station. We found a bus and got on as quick as possible since we were running late. I was freaking out and hoping that I would not miss my plane. If the bus had any compilations or there was anything blocking the roads I would have been in big trouble. With God on my side we made it back in time for me to shower (with running water) and stuff my bags full. Mickey was a saint and wrapped up the shito so it would not spill and carried my luggage down to the taxi that he prearranged to pick me up. Both Mickey and Colleen road with me to the airport and I arrived with plenty of time.
When I walked in I learned that my luggage would have to be weighed, so I crossed my fingers and placed my small luggage on the scale. It was only about forty-five pounds making it five pounds under the allotted weight maximum. Then I was forced to place my second luggage on the scale and to my surprise it weighed about eighty pounds. The man’s jaw dropped and he said that it weighed way too much. He told me to rearrange the weight and come and go. I did as he said attempting to move everything heavy into my carry-on and anything small into my smaller bag. After I did this my large luggage weighed about seventy pound and with a little bit of persuasion and a sad looking face I was permitted to take my luggage through with zero charge. I thought I was in the clear until I saw another scale further up. I explained to the man telling people were to stand in line that my luggage was overweight and I really needed to be put in a man’s line so he would let my bags through. He said okay with a smile on his face and helped me pass through with no trouble. If I was not in Ghana it would have never worked because when I arrived in America my luggage had a tag on it that said over-load. Therefore, if I was flying in the opposite direction I would have been charged for sure.
I made it to the gate early, spent an hour journaling and talking to a Ghanaian worker until it was time to load the plane. I also got my last meal, which was a meat pie and water leaving me with exactly one cedi to bring back to America. My flight went smoothly with almost no one on the plane so I got to lie down. I slept almost the entire way and landed in Frankfurt at five AM. I had five hours before my next flight boarded, so I decided to go into the city and explore. I did this alone for several hours, but I did not get much done since I had no Euros and I did not speak the language. I go back early, but luckily I found a friend to keep me busy until we once again boarded a plane that was not full. I had an empty seat next to me so again I got to lie down and I watched Country Strong, so it was a great ride. I landed to the best people in the world. My dad got me flowers and surprised me, I had a thermos of coffee, Kayla, and Annette were both there, and when I got home I was welcomed to balloons and signs. I love my family so much and I was thrilled to be back in America with my friend and family.

Goodbyes Begin

Saturday, May 28th Continued...

After lunch I worked on my last paper that is due tomorrow and then I spent time with Sarah, while she packed up and got ready to head to the airport. She ate banku for the last time and I drank her soup just like what we have been doing for the last four months. It was sad to lose my second good friend in one week, but I am so excited for her to be with her mom and in Paris! After she left Leslie and I decided to drown our sorrows in smoothies. They turned out delicious and different than the usual taste because we added coconut. After smoothies I once again worked on my paper and then went out to Legos and Jerry's for the night. We started at Legos where the goodbyes began, there were tears in the eyes of many, and forced smiles while people lied through their teeth that they would meet again. There was agony in the voices of all who spoke and strained conversations because people knew that it would be their last. After several hours many of the people left indefinitely to pack up and get ready for the following day when they would be leaving Ghana, some to South Africa, many to Europe and few to America. We all attempted to pull ourselves together and we continued onto Jerry's for the remainder of the night. Nostalgia set in when Jerry, the owner allowed, gave us twenty five free cups to play flip cup with. Our entire table was cheering and jumping up and down in excitement over the simple game that none of us have played in almost five months. We taught the Ghanian’s that we were with how to play the white man's beer game and it was a great success. We were able to salvage the last couple hours with one another and have a wonderful time. The end of the night was sad because I was forced to say goodbye to many of my friends, but I know in my heart that those that matter the most will be in my life forever.

Ten Days Remaining!!

Friday, May 27th, 2011
I woke up to my roommate shouting, “wake up Julie there is ice cream and sausage,” which may have been the best way to wake up ever! The word ice cream got me out of bed quickly and I devoured ice cream for breakfast. Naa, my roommate, is a senior and finished her last exam, so she is officially done with college. Hence the reason why her and George were celebrating with ice cream (fan ice, strawberry) and sausage (hot dogs). It was delicious and when we finished I showered and did my daily load of laundry in such a great mood.
I saw Kayla walking by the room and she informed me that she would be going to Kaneshie with Devin soon. Since I have never been to that market and I could always use a day of shopping I decided to go along for the ride. We went to the market where we split up in two groups of two. My group was comprised of Leslie and I, both of us are new to the market. Therefore, it was not the worlds easiest task to get around, but we were able to use our Twi to find watches and scrap booking supplies, which are actually seamstress materials like buttons and ribbons. After we completed our shopping list we got back on a trotro and returned to our hostel.
There is a stand in the night market that sells fried rice, salad (cabbage, mayonnaise, and ketchup), spaghetti, stew, shito, and chicken all mixed in a container. You can either buy 3, 4, or 5 cedis worth, but you do not pick and chose what you want it all comes together. I had never eaten there before, so some friends and I decided it would be a good night to try it out. It was a great decision, it was an overwhelming amount of phenomenal food. After dinner we got ready and went to Legos, a nearby bar. I had never been there before and it turned out to be an extremely relaxing chill out spot. There was music which a couple of people danced too, including me, it was in doors and the set up was appealing to the eye. We remained there for a couple of hours and then made our way over to Bella Roma. When we arrived we learned it was a decision that many people had made that night, the building was so crowded, but we managed to find a spot on the dance floor. We danced for hours and everyone had a blast. It was after four by the time we returned to the hostel for bed and the entire night turned out to be a success.

Saturday, May 28th, 2011
I woke up this morning earlier than I had intended, so I decided to make coffee. Kayla let me borrow her pot to boil water in and Devin had Starbucks instant coffee that she allowed us all to share. I boiled the water, added coffee, shelf milk, and sugar and in the end it turned out to be the best coffee we have had in Ghana. I was so excited and although twenty to thirty minutes seems like a waste of time to make coffee, it was well worth it.
By the time I finished making the coffee it was time to go to the seamstress. It was pouring rain out so we decided to take a taxi. When we arrived we were greeted at the door by a little girl that could not have even been two years old. She was adorable and so excited to see us as long as none of us tried to touch her or pick her up. Auntie Charity spotted us and came over to lead us inside. The little girl followed us in and stayed there until Auntie left to fix the articles of clothing that did not fit perfectly. All of my items came out beautifully and I was so happy with the results. I cannot wait to get home and show everyone what I have gotten made. After the seamstress Leslie and I went straight to Pentagon, another hostel, to meet Micky, a Ghanaian that was going to take us out for waakye at a place names Akwai Allah in North Legon. We arrived in time to see many of our friends that we do not see often before they left to run errands and shortly after Micky arrived and we were off for food.
I cannot describe what happened next, nothing will be able to do it justice until you see the photos. We ate from the biggest bowl you have ever seen and we scarfed down the entire meal. There was eggs, rice, beans, spaghetti, shito, stew, plantains, chicken, beef, and gari all piled into a gigantic bowl. We all washed our right hand and dug in. We ate for about twenty minutes nonstop and consumed more food that I have ever seen in one place. Ten people stood around one bowl and we all just chowed down using our right hand, there was food falling all over the floor, and on my arms, the entire thing was comical and absolutely amazing. I am so glad I got to experience eating the best waakye in Legon with such amazing people surrounding me.
We were so full we just sat and relaxed for about a half hour before getting taxis back to our prospective hostels. It has been an amazing morning although everyone leaves tomorrow, making this day the very last that I will spend with eighty percent of my friends from America, Ghana, and Nigeria.

Video Shoot

May 25th continued...
I was asked to be in a music video and I decided to go after some convincing from one of my friends. I was picked up in a beautiful car and brought to the drama studio. We stayed for about an hour and then the dance director came and yelled at the cast for being in the studio without permission. It turns out that they sought out permission from the wrong individual, so we were forced to leave right away. We made plans for me to get picked up at seven thirty am the following morning by King, the artist. We clearly determined that we were speaking in white man's time and that he should actually arrive on time because I would be furious if I woke up that early and then he was late. He said okay and asked if we wanted to make the time later since he was not aware that he would actually need to arrive on time. I explained that I had plans the following day at nine, so we would have to do it early so I could be back. He assured me he would be on time and I would be back by nine.
There was suppose to be a dance show that began at seven, but I had left the studio at six thirty and it appeared as if the show would be canceled because of the rain. However, I received a phone call around seven thirty informing me that the show would go on and it would start immediately. Therefore, Sarah and I finished dinner and walked over. By eight thirty the production had begun. It was a composition of different types of dance from all over Africa. The performance was wonderful, the costumes were beautiful, and everyone seemed so thrilled to be upstage. However, at around ten it began to pour and most of the audience left because like everything else in Ghana the stage is outside. The rain came to a halt around fifteen minutes later and the show continued like normal.
After the performance I came back to the hostel to meet up with Happy, an individual I had met in the village on a mountain in the Volta Region. I was so excited to see him and it turned out that he arrived only a little after the show finished. I hung out with Happy for about an hour, but the bugs were terrible and since it was after midnight he was not allowed in the hostel. So he left and I promised I would go and visit him on Saturday before he left for the village. After he left I went to bed, knowing that the following day was going to be an early morning.

Thursday, May 26th, 2011
I was ready by seven thirty and like I expected King was late. He had a wonderful excuse, there was traffic; like I have never heard that before. It was about eight thirty by the time he arrived to pick me up, but I was not angry because I expected that to occur. That is why I told him my plans were at nine as opposed to twelve, which is the time they really were arranged for. The next issue I encountered was that we were not going to the drama studio today, but instead to Taifa, which is about a thirty five minute drive from Accra. The house we were shooting in was beautiful on the outside with five floors and a huge amount of property. There were about ten cars in the parking lot like area one of which was an Escalate. I have no idea who lived there, but I have never seen such a large house in my life. But, when I entered the house I realized the interior was nothing in comparison to the outside. I was taken into a room with air conditioning and the internet and told to keep myself occupied until the set was ready. What I was told would happen, would be that they would shoot the part I was in first and then I would be able to go home. However, this is not even close to the actual scenario.
It was after ten by the time we started and the rain made it difficult to get anything done. Every time it began to pour the equipment would need to be moved in and then we would have to wait until it stopped once again. At around one they decided to carry everything up to the forth floor and continue the shoot inside. While the men moved the things upstairs the girls all got food and I was able to eat jollof and chicken. After we ate we went upstairs and the shoot continued. The room was relatively small for the amount of people that were inside of it and the lights made the green screen extremely hot. People had to continually run out and dab our faces to remove the sweat. Different people came and went and I was stuck there the entire time. It was seven thirty by the time I made it back to my room and the only benefit from my day was a t-shirt with Kings name on it. I will be in a music video, but I do not even know who the artist is, so it seems as if I just wasted my day and missed the event I had planned at noon. Although I did meet a lot of nice people and for a part of the time I was there I did enjoy myself, so I do not regret participating.

The Tabs are Flowing, The Tabs are Flowing, The Tabs are Flowing :)

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
Lome Hotel Le Galion- We got up at our usual time around seven, we all took warm showers once again and we went to a place not far away to get a car to our next destination, Ouidah. We encountered a hilarious man that was so excited to see us. He screamed Obama and came limping in our directions so he could give each of us a kiss on the cheek. We walked for about twenty minutes when we were stopped by men in a loading car. They would be traveling to Ouidah and they informed us that that was the only way to get there. We were not convinced in the slightest so we told them we would be back in a little while we just wanted to get some bread. I am sure more was said because the conversation went on for a bit, but it was not in English so the contents of the conversation are unknown to me. We were successful in discovering the actual trotros that would take us to our next leg of the journey. We made a horrible decision however in deciding which car to ride. We were able to get in one that would be leaving right away, but there were not enough seats so the three of us would have to squeeze into two seats. So we decided to wait for the next car. This turned out to be a car that took an extremely long time to fill so we remained in the hot car for some time before we finally went on our way. This was also the last vehicle we would board that was not filled beyond the believable capacity. Although I was not extremely squished the woman next to me was terribly annoying. I think she may have been from Ethiopia and she was not a happy person. She did have a terrible seat, but none of them are luxurious so she had no real reason to complain. The entire way was bumpy and there was so much screaming along the way. On top of these poor circumstances the woman next to me slept almost the entire way leaning on me, so we were both sweating on one another profusely.
When we finally arrived at the boarder to cross into Benin the driver brought us right up to customs, which was extremely kind of him, considering everyone else had to walk to the proper gate. The process was very simple we got our passports stamped in Togo and again in Benin and we had to once again fill out forms letting them know where we would be staying and when we would return. We then had to get back on the trotro, but there was a slight problem. First, the Ethiopian woman and her friend were in our seats so they had to exit the car. This is much more difficult than you would think because the only exit was out the back and the seat went up in an odd manner making it very difficult to stand and move the middle seat if you weighed more than fifty pounds. They finally got off and we got on and they once again had to go to their original seats. This process took about twenty minutes and while it was occurring the driver was trying to convince Hannah and me to give him our number. We tried to communicate to him that it would be of no use considering we do not speak the same language. Although the entire process was frustrating it was also quite comical. When we finally got to the end of the journey we got a ride on motor bikes to the museum because he no one knew where the hotel was located. We decided since we were already there to take the museum tour and then go to the hotel. The tour guide was nice and spoke some English so we were able to learn a little bit. He explained how the French colonists came into the country and introduced Catholicism. So the locals still today go to church on Sunday mornings and practice voodoo at night. He repeated several times, 50/50 no problem. We learned about the12 kings and the different pictures that represented the rein of each one. We saw pipes and ceramic that was used to trade slaves. We learned that twins are sacred and there is a ceremony each year to bring all of the twins together to be blessed so they will bring good luck to the entire village. We were then brought to the outside of the museum where we saw the first church ever built in the town and the mote that was once filled with crocodiles to prevent the slaves from escaping.
After the museum we went to the Python temple, which we thought would be interesting. The tour guide was already at the museum because it would be the same guide that would take us on the following day on a slave tour. He was summoned by the museum to negotiate with us about the price of the trail and the place where we would be picked up. He agreed to bring us to the temple and tour us for free. So Hannah and I got on one bike and Anna got on another and we traveled for about two minutes to the temple that turned out to be a tourist trap. There was no tour, the guide just told us that there were forty one virgins that walk to the ocean and get water. That water is considered holy and it is placed in a large bucket that both a male and a female python drink from. Then we went into a room that contained around twenty snakes. He informed us that the doors are left opened at night so the snakes can get out and eat. Each morning the locals carry the snakes back to the temple when they see one roaming around. The guide then through the snakes around our necks and we immediately took out our cameras. Once again he attempted to rip us off by charging us 2,000 CFA after he had told us earlier if we decided to take photos it would be 1,000 CFA. However, we paid the 1,000 and walked out annoyed. We then quickly walked across the road to see the Catholic Church, which we were scolded in front of and informed we were not permitted to take photos or enter.
We finally decided to go to the hotel which the guide book said was 1 km away. That turned out to be untrue so we were nervous we were headed in the wrong direction after walking for over a mile. We ended up finally finding the place called Edelweiss Les Retrouvailles and when we got there we found out that the only room available had air-conditioning, meaning it was double the price. It was a large room with one bed, but we were given a mattress and sheet to put on the floor. There was a small hand towel, soap and a little bit of toilet paper that did not last us very long. The shower was also leaking at an alarming rate and since there was no curtain or anything separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom the entire floor was soaked. But, it was a nicer room than some of the others in the past and the rest of the hotel was really charming. There were dogs all over the place and we met two really nice girls from Germany. We talked with them for a while and then we left to find food. We found a woman selling yam chips and balls of doe which we think were ground beans. While we were waiting our turn on line the boy told us he spoke English small small. It was hilarious that of the little bit of English this by did speak he would say small small. We also got some beans from a different stand. That journey was much more entertaining. We found a child near an empty bowl and when we caught her attention she immediately ran away to get an adult. The women came over and told us to hang on while a teenager ran into the house. She came back a little while later with a bowl of cold beans that we felt obligated to buy. While we were waiting Hannah made a friend. There was a little girl that was shaking her hips back and forth and then doing all sorts of tricks that Hannah was copying. It was hilarious to watch and it was keeping everyone busy including a young boy that shyly joined in periodically. We then went back to our rooms and made our way to bed a little while later.

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
We had agreed to meet the tour guide in front of our hotel at eight o’clock, but the price was never settled on. The German girls informed us about the price they paid and we learned we were going to pay three times that amount if we accepted the price the guide gave us the previous evening. Therefore, when we met with the guide we told him how much we would pay and we were able to get a reasonable price, although it was still much more than the German girls had paid. We were told we would be going on a slave trail called route des esclaves and there would be twenty two stops along the way. We intended on counting, but we lost count after some time. What we did find out was about four of the stops had to do with slavery the remaining eighteen we statues of some voodoo figure or of the symbol of one of the kings. Additionally, we would stop on the motor bike for about fifteen seconds and he would speed off after speaking three words not allowing us to ask questions. If we did fit a question in, he was clueless to the answer. There were some interesting things along the way. We saw three trees, the market tree where the slaves were sold at Place Chacha, the forgetful tree which the slaves would circle in order to forget their past and the families they would be leaving behind, and the tree of return which is said to be the place where the slaves soles return after they die. The guide said they return as slaves, but I would like to think they returned as free men. We also saw the place where the house they were kept in for two weeks used to stand before brought to the ship to be sold. There was a cemetery where slaves were buried dead or alive and the final stop was a gate that was built to represent where the slaves passed to get onto the canoes that would lead to the slave ships. After the tour we were taken to the sacred forest to do one last tour before leaving Ouidah.
Anna came in handy once again because the English tour guide was not around. Therefore, the tour was in French and Anna was supposed to repeat everything to us in English. However, this is not what happened. Since it had been raining everyday there was an overwhelming amount of mosquitoes that would not stop attacking us. We were bent over the entire time trying to prevent the bites. We were hopeless and none of us could focus enough to hear the tour. Therefore, we got very little out of the forest. The only thing I learned was that the king died and returned as a tree and that is why the forest is known as the sacred forest. We got out as quick as we could and once again made our way back to the hotel. We decided we would not spend the second night like intended because we had already seen all of the sights and it was still early in the day.
One of the men at the hotel was kind enough to bring us to somewhere where we could get a car. He negotiated a price for us and it was a wonderful ride to a trotro station. The next ride did not go so smoothly. We were crammed into the back seat and we were sweating profusely. Additionally, there was a women sitting in front of who had zero volume control. She was screaming most of the way and all three of us were having a hard time dealing with it. We then stopped for about thirty minutes to remove about fifty sheets of metal from the top of the car. The process took longer than we had predicted and I thought someone was going to pass out. It was such a horrible experience and it just got worse as the time passed. Finally, the driver returned to the car and we began driving again. Shortly after, someone got out of the vehicle leaving us with a tiny bit more room to spread out amongst the group. When you have five extra people in a vehicle you would be surprised how little removing one actually does. It was not long before more people got off and Hannah was able to move up a row allowing the people in the back including me to spread out a little bit. We finally got to Abomey and the mother in the front seat started screaming at her child and smacking her face in an attempt to wake her up. She was only about three years old and her mom had to finally dump water on her to get her up. I was so scared I thought something horrible happened, but her mom was hysterical laughing which was no surprise because they laughed at us pretty much the entire ride.
We finally got out of the car and onto motor bikes to get to our next hotel, Chez Monique. This hotel was adorable because it had statues of animals all throughout it. There was also a real monkey in a cage and dogs walking all around. When we got there we found young children to play with and draw pictures with until it was time to leave for dinner. Before dinner we got fruit and walked through a local market. Then we went to a cute restaurant, Chez Delphano, up the road that had a small TV in the corner that was playing Spanish soap operas dubbed to French and paintings all over the walls. I ordered a traditional dish from the Ivory Coast, Atcheke, and it was delicious. It was couscous with tomatoes, onions, and almost a salsa dipping on top. It also had chicken that actually had meat on the bones. Before the meals arrived a local artist came in to show us his work and he actually spoke English. Hannah ended up buying a tapestry from him and taking a photo with him. Later three boys came in one of which spoke English. It was funny watching him think really hard about each word, but he did a good job considering he only knows the language from school. He is still in high school and so were his friends and after a while Anna finally told them she spoke French. So she took over the conversation and Hannah and I just sat quietly until dinner came and they left. When we got out of dinner they were standing outside with a pen and paper so they could get Anna’s information. We then went back to the hotel and discovered that a band was in the lobby which is outside playing traditional music. I got brought to the middle to dance for a bit until I was able to meander away. When the show terminated we dispersed to our room and studied for a couple of hours before we went to bed.

Thursday, May 12th, 2011
This morning we got up at the usual time and took our showers. The shower was so cold I had difficulty standing under the stream of water. We then went off to breakfast, which we decided to eat at the same restaurant we had eaten dinner at. We did not pay our bill the day before because they did not have change, so it worked out that we were eating there again so we could settle both bills at once. I ordered french toast and coffee (real coffee). It was fabulous, the french toast tasted more like bread that was fried and there was no syrup. However, the best part was the mango and pineapple jam which was out of this world. I ate slowly in an attempt to savor every last bite. The coffee was also amazing, not because it was anything special just because it was not instant. We devoured almost a full jar of jelly and in the end we ended up purchasing a jar to have with us for the remainder of our journey. One of the best parts about the meal was that we only waited about thirty minutes for the food. We are yet to see another person eating at this restaurant, but I would recommend it to others.
We then found motor bikes to take us to the Musee D’Histoire De Ouidah that we were all very excited about. My driver seemed to be in a huge rush because we arrived at the museum about two minutes before the other two bikes; thankfully he knew where he was going. We had only heard great things about the tour we were about to go on and we were hoping to learn everything that we missed out on because of the uneducated guides in the past. Our first encounter was not the best because we realized we were paying way more than the sign indicated. The man at the desk said it was a service tax, which is completely absurd considering we have paid zero taxes since we have landed in Ghana. We were again disappointed when we found out that the English speaker was not around, so the guide would speak in French and Anna would have to translate. It turned out wonderfully because not only was our guide extremely knowledgeable she was also extremely kind. Every time Anna looked confused she would repeat the statement in a different way so that she would better understand. She accepted every one of our questions and always knew the answers. We found out along the way that some of the minimal information we had obtained from the slave trail was false. There were 12 kings each one added land to the palace and after he passed a temple was built in his honor. We were shown two of the temples and the guide explained that they were blessed by spilling the blood of 41 people on the walls. To our relief we were informed that all of the people donated their blood to be used, no one was injured in the process. Unfortunately, Hannah and I were unable to enter the temple because we were impure (on our periods) and if we did enter our babies would die. We decided the risk was too great and waited behind. Anna told us there was a bed on the floor and each night food is placed there for the king’s spirit to eat.
It seems to be prevalent in the culture of the people of Benin to feed the dead. Each king has a staff that is made in his honor after he passes. Every year there is a celebration and the staff is given food to eat. There were twelve kings all from the same family until the 1900s when the French colonized and a new family came into power. The French and Portuguese came into the palace and built a structure right in the center just to prove their dominance.
We also learned about the Amazon women who fought like men during the war against the Nigerians. They would capture the men and bite through their necks with their bear teeth. We saw the weapons that the king used and the weapons used to chop of people’s heads. We were shown umbrellas made for each king and the tour guide demonstrated how the servants would spin it while the king sit underneath. We learned about a king that was exiled by the French and about the other kings who were each famous for something different.
At the termination of the tour the guide gave us each a mango that had fallen off a tree and we went off one more time on our own. We attempted to follow the trail of the kings, but we were unsuccessful. We ended up at dead ends, in the middle of villages, and just wandering around for about three hours. We passed hundreds of kids many, which sang a song that is almost identical to the song they sing about white people in Ghana. However, instead of aborunis we are yovos and the remainder of the song is identical just in French. We also found a place to buy cards which would come in handy later on. On our journey we saw a large part of Abomey, including the governor’s house, an old castle wall, the first school to be built in the town, and a prison. We searched for pure water on our way. We were ineffective because these countries are much poorer than Ghana. Therefore, pure water is less abundant they more commonly have filtered water in clear plastic bags with a knot at the end. The problem with this water is it is not purified or made by a company so we did not want to chance drinking it. Thankfully Anna was able to find our way back and when we arrived at the hotel the young kids were all there and ready to play. We played cards for a little while and then we gave out pens to the kids. We spent a couple of hours with the children some of which were like monkeys. They were in our room for a short time then we went back outside with them. We threw them around and we each carried two at a time until the thunder began and we had to send them off to find shelter before the ran began. This led to all of the parents the following day coming up to me and asking me for more pens. I was happy to comply considering I have no need for the pens. Also while we were playing cards we ate our mangoes and a man saw me picking my teeth so he came over with toothpicks for me to use. It was really embarrassing, but super kind.

Friday, May 13th, 2011
We traveled all day today and each trip was more epic than the proceeding one. First we took a motor taxi to the station to get a car to Asove. It was a normal size car and we put ten people inside plus a baby. We waited for about thirty minutes, and then the baby and mother left and another woman joined the front seat. After about an hour in totals wait we took off. We stopped several times along the way and it was not for one to two minutes. We would stop for thirty minutes plus, while we all sat like sardines piled in the back of a car. In the back seat was Hannah, Anna, the biggest woman I am yet to see in Ghana about the size of a small horse, and a child on her lap. In the front seat there where two adults with what looked like six year old twins on their laps plus the driver. The first stop was requested by the woman sitting in the back with us, she wanted to stop and buy mangoes She bought hundreds of mangoes and the driver had to spend a significant amount of time tying up mangoes and placing them on the roof. At this point we had no idea what happened to our luggage we were just hoping for the best.
We continued to stop more than once an hour and for the life of me I could not comprehend what the stops were for. It was so hot in the car and we just wanted to get out so our legs could get circulation back. The stops seemed to be set up by local village people trying to charge the drivers to pass the road. It is possible that some of the interruptions were truly cops trying to check luggage and ensure that the papers of the passengers and driver were in order. However, some of the stops had no one sitting by them, others had very poor men standing around the gated area, and they seemed to have no real authority. The stops came in all different fashions. Sometimes it was a gas bottle with a stick through it that required someone to sit next to so they could pull it back when someone needed to pass, sometimes a rope that just needed to be lowered, and sometimes two sticks that no one actually moved they just needed to be driven around, and sometimes they actually had some metal structure that needed to be pressed down so the metal rod would come up in order for cars to pass. The latter seemed to be the true stops, but the others seemed to have the same effect, the driver would stop, get out, show his papers, sometimes pay, and then get back in the car. Sometimes arguments erupted, but I was never able to understand what the fuss was about. We finally made our way on the horrendous roads to our destination.
It was not long before we found the next taxi we needed to take to get from Asove to Notse and once again we would put an overwhelming amount of individuals inside. This time there were nine of us in total. Hannah, Anna, and I all sat in the front seat practically on top of the driver. Anna was clearly on the stick, so every time the gear needed to be changed she would have to try to maneuver herself out of the way. The taxi had zero handles, no mirrors, and none of the windows moved up or down. We again stopped a countless number of times. During one stop Hannah and I really needed to use the washroom so Anna asked the people in the backseat if it would be appropriate for us to use the toilet where we were stopped. They all immediately irrupted in laughter. There was an older man in the back that seemed to be the most amused because he continued laughing loudly for over a minute. I am not sure if it was funny because they just like to laugh at yovos or if they were under the impression that we were unaware that there was no actual toilet in the middle of the woods.
The next time we stopped we realized it was going to take some time. The driver and two men were piling rusted pieces of metal on the roof that must have weighed more than them. It was insane the way they lifted the gigantic bags and tied them on the roof. Hannah and I decided that we would not ask, we would just venture off and find somewhere appropriate to “do nature”. We succeeded in finding a small path that we used to get a little ways into the woods. We returned to a greatly amused car load of people, Anna said they pointed and laughed the entire time we walked away. We are so used to being a source of amusement none of us paid any mind to it.
The next stop was the border between Togo and Benin. This consisted of an illiterate man sitting in a hut with a cellphone, pen, stamp, and radio. The guard was in charge of writing three lines and it took almost thirty minutes. He was unable to decipher the months because they were not in French and he had a lot of trouble just writing USA. They then instructed us to go through customs. This led to a problem because there were three more huts in the area none of which appeared to be a place of authority. We began walking towards one of the buildings and we were hissed at by a nearby man. We learned we were headed in the wrong direction, so we turned around and made our way to the correct stand. When we finished we were escorted back to the car. This was the least secure border we had witnessed thus far with only a rope separating the two countries from one another. The rest of the drive was long, hot and bumpy, but we did eventually make it to Notse.
We easily found the next trotro that we would need to take to Kpalime our final destination. Thankfully the driver informed us that it would be a while before the vehicle was full so we could wait outside. This was a wonderful break from the cramped cars and we were able to find a shop with water and crackers to hold us over until we arrived at our hotel. It took about an hour for there to be enough passengers to allow us to begin the trip. We all hopped in the car and we quickly learned it would be a very long trip. The seats we so close together my legs did not even fit. We were forced to raise them up towards our chins because adjusting them on an angle would involve kneeing the person sitting next to you. It would not have been horrific if two minutes before we pulled away a group of four people had not shown up. The driver decided it would be more convenient just to add the four of them to the vehicle. That means we were now putting four in a row instead of three, plus the extra children. It is comical to imagine who designed such a car and how many people they intended to fit inside. I do not believe they would have ever predicted that that many rows would be installed and that such a large number of people would be receiving rides simultaneously.
This was the worst journey thus far because after we were all stuffed in we learned that the car was finished. Men climbed out attempting to step over the children and around the women so they could push the car out of the way. We waited for about thirty minutes for someone to show up to look at the engine. The engine is located under the first seat, so the lucky individuals sitting there were able to step out of the car into the fresh air and wait out the time outside. I was unable to move since I was in the last row in the back against the window. The car did eventually begin moving, but not for long. We broke down about five times during the trip. Sometimes the people in the front seat had to depart for the driver to look at the engine, other times men would shimmy their way out and push the car until the engine caught and we started moving. Every time we stopped, which was often, the car would struggle to turn back on and we were constantly going in reverse the forward to again go into reverse. I do not know the significance of such an act, but it was irritating. It was an extremely hot day and Hannah and Anna were stuck next to a woman who refused to exit the vehicle. At times when the car stalled for more than twenty minutes everyone would exit except their row because the woman would stay in her seat. Additionally, she was not only breastfeeding the entire time, she would leave her boob out when she was not breastfeeding which is very common and would not have been an issue if she was not pressed up against Hannah. Poor Hannah was smacked by the woman’s breast each time we hit a bump and the remained of the time she was pressed up against it. I truly thought Hannah and Anna were going to lose it so I was trying to keep them entertained by thinking positive, although I failed to make them smile we did make it through the trip alive.
We finally made it to the trotro stop and it was close enough for us to walk to, Hotel Bafana Bafana where we would be staying in Kpalime. The city as a whole was much more difficult to navigate than we had predicted according to the travel book. The country has less money and it is not set up for tourists. It is difficult to find transportation and the individuals were not as friendly. The hotel did have very kind people working at it, but the rooms were less than luxurious. There was one bed with a bathroom if you would like to refer to it that way. In order for the water to run you needed to turn a valve near the floor and then use the faucet. When you were not using the water you needed to turn the water off and when we failed to do this after about thirty minutes someone would come and tell us that the water was still running. We soon learned that the switching off of the water was essential. The bathroom was in the corner of the room and there was no door or curtain so anyone in the room could watch the individual using the bathroom or taking a shower. The shower head was positioned right above the toilet seat, so if you failed to turn the water off and attempted to use the toilet the water would drip on you the entire time. Additionally, there was a picture of two Asian children in the corner. At appeared as if they were going to get married, but they may just be siblings considering they are only about three in the photo. Why they did not use the dollar they spent on the picture for a shower curtain we were unable to figure out. Although the hotel was not amazing it still had a fan that moved extremely slowly, but it was better than nothing. We really had no complaints we were happy there were rooms available since reservations do not exist.
We were also unable to figure out how to flush the toilet the entire first day and night we stayed in the hotel. After we saw our room and used wipes to try and clean the dirt and dust off of our faces Devin and Kayla showed up. Hannah, Devin, Kayla, and I are all neighbors in ISH (our hostel at the university) and we are all from the same program CIEE. Anna is from a different program, but she lives in our dorm and we have several classes with her which is how we became friends. Devin and Kayla had a different final schedule so they were unable to join us for the entirety of our trip. We would be with them for the final two days of our adventure and they would follow our path starting at the end and working their way to Lome the first place we visited.
We hung out for a little while and told the new girls about our wonderful and regretful encounters before we made our way to the town to find something to eat. We found delicious peanuts that were not roasted, but appeared to be boiled. I favor them over the peanuts we have in America. We went back to the hotel to relax, study, and play cards. While we were sitting outside in the small courtyard a praying mantis landed on my arm, so I was sure the next day’s travels would be successful. Devin and Anna went to the room to exchange money with one another since Devin and Kayla still didn’t have any CFAs. They discovered that something was wrong with our door and they were unable to get in. They had to call a man to help them break in. When it was time for bed that night we learned that our door no longer locked, so Hannah put her backpack in front of it to protect us.

Saturday, May 14th, 2011
We woke up a little later than usual because Hannah was not feeling well. We decided to go to find some breakfast and bring crackers back for Hannah. We each picked up fruit and bread and returned to the room right before it started to pour. We allowed Hannah to rest for some time and when the rain slowed down we checked on her status. She was feeling much better so we decided we would start our day.
Before we left the hotel we decided to inform the women at the front desk that the door to our room would not lock and the toilet would not flush. She showed us how the toilet worked and we were all utterly embarrassed because we figured the lock probably did not have a problem either, the problem was that we are mechanically inept. But the door really was broken and she allowed us to switch rooms. We were given a room with the exact same set up except for the fact that instead of the toilet facing the shower head it faced outwards towards the bed. So anyone lying in bed could not only see the person on the toilet the person on the toilet would be staring right back at them. So we decided to sleep with our faces on the other side to avoid having to wake up to someone using the bathroom. This room also had the same photo of the two Asian kids, but it had two fans keeping the room extremely cool.
After we were settled in our new room we decided to find a car that would take us to a local monastery. However, local is an over statement because it was really 50 km away. We got into many fights with several drivers and Anna became extremely overwhelmed. We needed to back up from the situation and give her some time to get her thoughts together. After a short period of time, she was able to find someone who would take us for a better deal than we had heard previously, so we all piled in the car in hopes that we would depart shortly. We sat for about forty minutes with people constantly bothering us. Hannah was in an especially jumpy mood and she seemed to be startled every time someone would reach their hand in the car and grab her and just speak quickly. There was a girl with a shirt that read Obama Girl and a young man that seemed to be glued on either side of the car. Neither of them would leave us alone. When the driver returned he spoke in French for some time and Anna would later tell us he was trying to explain that he was unable to move his car. People had parked all around him blocking his vehicle in to prevent him from driving. They claimed that we had agreed to go with a different driver and if we would not go with him we would go with no one.
We had to exit the car and Anna was so fed up at this point we made the decision to change destinations and go to Mount Klouto which was close by. We paid an exorbitant amount, but bargaining was out of the question with the incidents that had already occurred. We got in the worse taxi I have ever seen and went on our way. There were no door knobs, the steering wheel looked like it was going to fall off the entire center console where a stereo would usually be was empty, the wind shield was completely shattered, and the windows on either side did not role up or down. There was not even a handle to attempt to crank them down. There were no locks on the doors and only one door could open from the inside. The taxi was comical, but the driver was kind. He waited for us to hike for a little over an hour and then brought us back to our hotel.
The hike was not actually a hike it was more a tour through the village. We saw teek leaves that made beautiful red paint, coffee plants at all stages, leaves that close when you touched then, a calabash tree, and a plant that looked like it was splashed with red and white paint. We also smelt a mint plant and we were given natural tattoos that the women use. It is a plant that leaves behind a white residue if you put it against your skin. We saw the local school, people’s homes, and the church. Although the tour was not what I expected it was a nice experience and the guide was both enthusiastic and English speaking. He then took us to see butterflies in glass cases, because a part of the description is a butterfly garden, and many people bought coffee that was supposedly made locally.
After the tour we went back down the bumpy hill honking fifty percent of the time. We again passed beautiful sites of the mountain, a waterfall, and wonderful views of the trees. When we got back we went to the hotel and spent the remainder of the day relaxing and studying.
After a couple of hours we went back into town to get a couple of things done. First Hannah and Anna wanted to buy a CD with both music from Benin and Togo. While they were surfing through music Kayla and I stood outside next to a man that was washing worn down shoes. He seemed to speak no English, but eventually he turned to me and said I love you, you is good for me. It was extremely funny considering those are the only words he was able to utter in English. Everything else he said was in French. I do not understand West African men and their fascination with telling white woman that they love them. I stood their pondering how many languages he is able to say those couple of words in; I really wish I could get into his mind to help me understand his thought process. Hannah and Anna did eventually find the music they were looking for and we then went on our way to find dinner. We found a delightful little sit down area that served local food. I ordered couscous and beef. The sauced that the beef came in was outstanding and not extremely spicy. It was made with tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Although we were bothered many times by locals while we waited for the food to be prepared, we enjoyed the experience and the food was well worth the wait.
We continued back to the hotel and I went straight out to the table in the court yard to work on my readings. There was a little girl just walking around and standing by the table watching me as I read. So I invited her over and gave her a piece of paper and pen. She ran off and returned with two markers and an old magazine and we sat next to each other without saying a word considering we spoke completely different languages. However, she was adorable and she seemed to be enjoying herself. I would outline shapes and she would trace over then, she wrote her name several times, and we filled in all the letters with holes in the center on the first five pages of the magazine. I did eventually go back to studying and after a while I went to the room to shower and go to bed.

Sunday, May 15th, 2011
We made it to where the trotros sit and wait for passengers at around eight o’clock. Luckily the car leaving for Ho had only three seats left, perfect for our group. Our bags were placed on the roof of the car and we were ushered into the vehicle. The car was parked for a mere thirty minutes before we started on our way. We did stop right away to get petrol, but that only took about ten minutes. We were in a blue car that is very difficult to explain. The best I can do is to have you picture a car you may see in Hotel Rwanda the movie or any vehicle you can see refugees escaping in. If none of these images work picture a hay ride with the barrels of hay on each side and a strip down the middle. Now change the image to see the car about half of the width and the line of hay down the center is a box that leaves about six inches on either side. Therefore, the people sitting on the side have their knees digging into the person sitting in the center and the metal that makes up the side of the car digging into their backs. The car is made to sit around ten, but we stuffed 23 people in.
Hannah and I spent a good amount of time attempting to decipher who the individuals in the car were and how they were related to one another. There were clearly two women who were unrelated to anyone else, plus the driver who was on his own. There were four men, 7 women, and six children all of whom seem to have a relationship. They were clearly from the same tribe where women bread their hair in a very particular way and fetishes are worn. The women all had large ear piercings and the men wore similar hats and clothing. They all also spoke the same language, even one man that did not seem to completely fit in according to his clothes.
The dominant man seemed to be married to several of the women and father to many of the children. There was one female who is about thirteen or so and her relationship to the others is the most skeptical. She seems too young to be a wife, but too old to be a child. The other children all ranged from age five to infancy. It would be out of the ordinary for there to be one child that is eight years older than the rest.
The next woman in her twenties had one baby clearly with the dominant man and she was visibly pregnant. The next woman also in her twenties had a young boy, but was sitting too far away from the men to know who the child belonged too. The following woman seemed to be in her forties and be the mother of three children. I contemplated over this woman for a long period of time because it is clear that two of the three children are fathered by the dominant man. However, the middle child was being neglected by everyone. He was left with one of the women who were unrelated and he screamed the entire second half of the journey, while no one paid him any mind. Additionally, it appeared as if the second man was married to this woman, not the dominant man. The two older children of about five were passed around periodically and ignored in general. The babies were passed around so that they could be breast fed by the woman in her forties because she was not pregnant. There were times when all of the children were sleeping, times when they were awake and just quiet, but there were also times when all of the babies would cry at once and it appeared as if nothing could be done to console them. He were packed in so tightly it was difficult to move the children, they were all dripping sweat and they were crammed in an area with limited air flow. When the car stopped moving the babies would all scream making the entire problem worse. The road was long and bumpy and we were all relieved when we discovered we would get a break while we got our passports stamped. The border was more protected than the Togo Benin border, but security was lax. We were able to cross the border to buy bananas and then return back to finish the process. To leave Togo there was no form we needed to fill out we just needed to hand a man in a hut our visa and passport. It took a longer time than usual because we did not know the vehicle number. After we finished we all got back on in the car and the children seemed to be in a better mood. The dominant man bought mangoes for the children and the third man that looks like he does not belong handed out bananas. The fruit calmed everyone down for the thirty minute drive to Ghana’s border control.
When we arrived at Ghana’s patrol we were all so excited to be back on familiar land. The men hit on Anna like crazy and she was forced to give the guard at the border her number and he has already called her several times. We saw women for the first time it was at the entrance into Ghana. There was also a stand where you were supposed to prove you received the yellow fever shot, but one white person showed their papers and that was enough to prove we were all vaccinated. Then we were given our final stamp of our adventure and held up by new men at customs who wanted to talk. They called us over after we were already headed towards our vehicle. We thought we made a mistake a missed a step, but when we arrived we realized they just wanted to flirt with us. After a couple of minutes they asked if a vehicle filled with people were waiting and we replied that they were, so they let us leave. We got back in the car and drove for about another hour with several stops to check our papers on the way. We finally got back to Ho and we were so excited. We got on a trotro that only had three people in each row and our legs were able to fit in front of us without having to angle them to the side. We had to wait a long time before we left, but none of us paid any mind to that we were just thrilled to be in a car that we could breathe in. Also the radio was not on which is a huge problem with traveling anywhere in Ghana. The radio is either blasting someone preaching or music that we cannot understand because it is pulsating through your eardrums.
We made it to Madina with few stops and it was a miracle that we were back on campus by four o’clock. I was able to study for a good amount of time and unwind after such a long journey.

Monday, May 16th, 2011
I finally got to sleep in past seven o’clock, which was fantastic. I got up around nine and got breakfast. After I learned the water was once again flowing, so I got in the shower as quickly as possible, washed my laundry, and cleaned all of my dishes. I also treated myself by allowing the women in the hostel to wash my clothes. I only washed the outfit I had worn that day and my undergarments from the trip. My clothes smelt terrible from being in a bag for the week and from the horrible traveling situations, so I felt the only way for them to ever be clean again was to hand wash them for several hours or to give them to someone else to do. Since I have only done this once in the past I allowed myself to do it this one last time. I spent the remainder of the day studying for my final tomorrow until it was time for dinner. I went over to Hannah’s room and we made the most delicious smoothies which I had been craving for days. They had oranges, mangoes, pineapple, and bananas, they were to die for. We also had a special treat from Leslie. Her mom sent her a package containing trail mix and Oreo cookies, which we devoured within the hour. After our outstanding food we were forced to retreat to our rooms to continue studying. I then went to bed extremely early in preparation for waking up early the following day.

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
Kayla is amazing and has allowed me to use her computer while she is finishing up her journey in Togo. Therefore, I woke up extremely early this morning and made my way first to the book store in hopes of getting a mug with the university symbol on it. This attempt failed for two reasons, first I was early and had to sit and wait until the store opened and second because they are finished. I then went over to the CIEE office knowing the internet was working I was so excited to finally get on and post some of my blog. I again was too early and had to wait about forty five minutes for someone to come and open the office. I finally got on and was able to type up a large amount of my blog, go on facebook, and make contact with my two sisters and father. At some point I did have to leave to write my exam, but it only took about an hour because it consisted of a meager three questions. Two of the questions were math based, so they took zero effort if you knew the formulas. The test was extremely easy and I studied way too hard for it. I am thrilled that it is over I only have two remaining, one of which is going to be very difficult the other I think I will manage with little headache. I had a meeting afterward with my advisor, but it was not actually a meeting it was just me picking up my paper from a professor. So I decided to go back to the office in hopes that I could get on line for another thirty minutes. What actually occurred only God can explain. There were constant u-pals in and out and I was able to stay until after seven. It was an extremely productive day not because I got a lot of work done, but because I got to talk to my family and update anyone interested on at least a small part of my trip. When the office was finally closed I made my way back to the dorm and continued typing there although I am unsure when I will have the ability to get online to post the blogs.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
I woke up at six and was unable to fall back to sleep, so I decided to finish up my blogs and make my way to the CIEE office. I only stayed a short time because I needed to get back and study. I spent the rest of the day doing history readings until it was time for dinner. Demola, Hannah, and I had plans to go to the Nigerian restaurant on campus; although Demola warned us many times not to get our hopes up. Everything was finished when we arrived, so the waitress brought us the only thing that was available. It turned out to be the same meal I had with eba at The House of Ovation. It was good, but not nearly as delicious as the previous time I had tried it and it tasted like a completely different dish. The good thing about dinner was it did not take long to receive our food like at a typical restaurant.
After dinner I was so excited to go salsa dancing, it had been ages since the last time I had the opportunity to frequent Coconut Grove on a Wednesday. Unfortunately this month is the Ga’s festival, so no noise can be made outside until June. was overwhelmed with dance rehearsal and then in Togo and Benin I was unaware of the festival since I had not attempted to go out. We all put our heads together and tried to think of somewhere we could go to dance, that was indoors, opened at nine (which is extremely early), and entertaining on Wednesdays. Someone suggested Bella Roma so we made our way there to discover that salsa was taking place. We were so excited we went straight in and then contacted our other friends and let them know the good news.
Unexpectedly, King (one of the partial owners from Tantra was there) and as usual he bought me and all of my friends drinks. He also bought a 150 cedi ($130) bottle of champagne and ordered the best grilled chicken I have had in Ghana. The chicken was outstanding; it was a thick piece of chicken breast with no bone, and a delicious dipping sauce. I first had a strawberry daiquiri that was very well made and then we all switched over to champagne. Eventually, we made it to the dance floor and we all found a partner that allowed us to have a blast. There was a short competition which none of us took part in, but we were greatly entertained by merely watching. At around eleven the music changed to high life and we danced until the restaurant closed.
We had made friends with our partners, so we decided to continue the fun at Tawala. Tawala is a reggae night held on the beach that goes on all night. The boys paid for out taxi, the entrance fee, and our drinks when we arrived and we were horrible people and barely sat with them. We were all so tired by two o’clock we decided to leave, so we could get to bed. The night turned out to be a lot of fun and in the end we only spent 50 peswas, the price of the trotro ride to Coconut Grove.

Thursday, May 19th, 2011
I woke up and ventured over to the bathroom to discover that we still have no water. It has been almost a week since the tabs have flowed and the poly tanks remained empty. Therefore, in order to do laundry, bathe, brush our teeth, cook, wash our dishes, or clean the rooms we need to walk all the way over to ISH 1 and fill a bucket using their reserve water and then carry the bucket back. This becomes a great annoyance after a couple of days and I am glad I will get a break from it tonight.
A friend from my program and I are going to the Monkey Sanctuary in Ho, which is in the Volta Region. The name of the sanctuary is Tafi-Atome.
We left for the monkey sanctuary at around twelve in hopes to arrive around four thirty, which seemed plausible until we reached Madina. We waited for about thirty minutes for the car to fill that would be going to Hoho, but luckily half of that time was spent outside of the vehicle. It was a nice trotro that we were not to crammed into and the people around us were kind. When we reached the Volta Region I let the driver know we would be alighting at Tofi Atome, but he was unable to understand me. I repeated myself several times and used the word monkey assuming he would know the village with the monkeys. Finally, a look in his eyes made me realize he had understood where our destination was. We looked for signs on the way and we finally spotted one, which gave us a sense of relief. After driving for about ten more minutes the driver pulled over and said that we were at our stop. We believed him because there was a sign near by that said Tofi something, so we figured that we must be near by. We found a motorbike taxi and Leslie and I both hopped on. We arrived at a Kente Village and soon realized that we were in the wrong village. We did not allow ourselves to be frustrated, we simply found two more motorbikes and made our way to the neighboring village that we were actually trying to visit. The drive took about thirty minutes, but it was gorgeous, truly a breathtaking experience. There were times that I wish I was leading because Lessie's motor cycle was fulling up so much dust my eyes began to burn. However, it was still an amazing panoramic view. We could see the mountain and there were trees on both sides of us for half of the ride. Then we arrived at the village and we drove threw waving at all of the children as we passed.
Tofi Atome is a village with extremely kind people that have opened their homes up to strangers in order to bring money into the community. An NGO was formed about fifteen years ago that organized a tourist sight within a village because of the overwhelming amount of monkeys that live in the forest nearby. The project has done wonders for the people and many individuals have been sent to secondary school because of the profit made.
When we arrived we were taken to our room where we discovered that Anna (the person I went to Togo and Benin with) and her father would be staying next door. It was a pleasant surprise that came a long with an additional gift. Not only did we have Anna and her father to share our experience with we also had running water. It had been almost a week since we have had water and a running shower made the entire trip worth it before we even had the monkey tour. It was sad that we witnessed the people of the community using a latrine and showering with a bucket of water they had to be filled by walking to the nearest well which needed to be pumped repeatedly. Additionally, we were able to see people shower like a typical village because the wood panels that surround three sides of a shower are only about four feet high. Although we witness this constantly what made the experience more depressing was that we were dealing with a unique circumstance where we had running water and a real shower right next to where they were living. Even though it was sad Leslie and I were still thrilled to take showers. When I opened up my bag I discovered I had forgotten soap, so I was immediately depressed. Luckily we found someone up the road selling soap that would work for the one night we would be staying over.
I decided I would not shower until after dinner because we were told that someone would come to get us when our meal was ready at around six. Since we are in Ghana we knew that it would be around six thirty, but I still did not think I would have time to shower before then. It was hilarious because Anna's dad had just arrived in Ghana that same morning making him oblivious to many aspects of life we had become used too. He truly believed we would be eating at six and he thought that we would be given options before we were served. What really happened like usually, is someone makes a meal, places it on a table, we all sit down and eat what ever that meal consists of. There is never options and you have no idea what the meal will be until you sit down and the cap is taken off of the pot. At a little after seven someone from the village came over to let us know that the Queen Mother had finished preparing our meal. We went and sat at an adorable table where we were each presented with our own plate and fork, it was at that moment that we realized they must be accustomed to tourists. Typically we would all eat out of the same pot and there may be one or two spoons provided for the meal. The meal turned out to be rice with tomato sauce and it was absolutely delicious. After we finished we headed back to the room and I finally got my shower. It was an interesting experience, twice I had to take a beadle off my leg and the entire time a dragon fly was slamming into the light making an awful noise. There were more bugs than I have ever experienced in a shower before, but it was still wonderful because the small trickle coming out of the tab was a lot more than I had had in quite some time. After my shower I went back to the room and the four of us remained outside just taking in the view. There were children playing football to the left of us and about twenty goats walking around and scrummaging for food. We could see women sweeping in from of there homes, and child getting ready to sleep. We were getting eaten alive, so we decided to migrate inside of one of the rooms until we were all exhausted and ready for bed.

Friday, May 20th, 2011
We got up around five thirty and began to prepare to see the monkeys. We were so excited to go on the tour that we almost missed the excitement going on outside. We walked out of our rooms and there were about ten monkeys just hanging around the room and throwing cashews at one another. They were adorable and they would swing down right in front of us from out of nowhere. I did not realize that the monkeys were wild animals, when we planned the trip I was under the impression that they would be tamed animals kept in a confined area. That was not the case at all, this project was set up in a village that was build amongst the natural habitat of the monkeys. After we finished getting ready the tour guide took us on the short walk into the forest. He brought out bananas and let us hold then so that the monkeys would jump up onto us. The larger monkeys are never fed because they cant jump up high enough to sit on your shoulders, but the tour guide realizes this and just hands him bananas. It is amazing how the monkeys fly down the trees and jump right onto your arm, peel the banana, eat ever last piece of it, and magically disappear in an instant. Since they spend so much time around humans they were not frightened at all, it was almost as if they were waiting for breakfast to be served although five bananas is not possible enough to feed all of the animals. They feed off of leaves and fruit that they find in the forest. Our guide told us sometimes it is difficult to find the new settlement of the colonies because they move around in order to find food. After the tour we were once again brought to the simple little table to eat breakfast. We were served sugar bread with butter (which is not actually butter, but it is suppose to taste similar) and hot water with the option of tea or coffee. When we devoured the bread and gulped down the hot beverages we proceeded back to the room to pack up and head to our prospective destinations. We made our way to the front of the village where we were provided with two motor bikes to take us to the main road to catch a trotro. He went al the way to Hoho, about thirty minutes in the wrong direction, to then get a car to Accra.
At the station we again had to wait a very long period of time before the spots were filled and we took off to get back to school. This trotro was suppose to have air conditioning, but in reality only those in the front row could feel the air, I just left my window opened to make up for the lack of air. However, I have no complaints because we got to where we needed to and we were not over crowded. During the ride we got hungry, so Leslie got us Abolo which is something new for me. I have no idea what it was, but I appeared to be flattened pancake batter wrapped in a leaf. It tasted delightful and I fulfilled this weeks one new food item.
Later on during the ride a police man waved us over to the side of the road which is not a typical. Police like to show their dominance, so they make cars stop just to look inside or check someones bag just because they can. They never give tickets they just take bribes when they discover that the driver doe not have a license or his vehicle has never been registered. This was a completely different experience. They made the car stop and immediately opened the door and asked a specific man to get out and bring his bag with him. They opened it up and quickly discovered Heroin. They took the man quietly over to the cop car and arrested him. There was no yelling and no fuss made we all just piled back into the car and went off.
Through my experiences I have come to learn that Ghanaian activities are always overwhelmingly loud. The radio is always up way to high, music is played to loudly, and when people are driving or in a car they lose their volume control. This is all ironic because they talk very softly under normal circumstances even when they are on the phone. But once in a car people revert to something completely different. Therefore, I was in awe when I witnessed such a smooth arrest with zero yelling or hassle. After the debacle was terminated we were once again on our way to Accra. We arrived back at Spana, near the Accra mall, about a five minute drive from campus. We got seats on a trotro and were back at ISH by a little after two o'clock and I spent the remainder of the day “learning” (the term used for the replacement of studying in Ghana) for my exam on Monday.

Saturday, May 21st, 2011
I allowed myself to neglect studying the majority of the time I have spent in Ghana, so once again I had to spend the bulk of the day reading and preparing for my exam on Africa in the global system. The most difficult part is staying calm during the readings. Each reading is more biased then the next and there is never two sides presented. It is horrible being forced to read inaccurate information and having to regurgitate it the day of the exam in order to get full marks. However, I am forcing myself to do it because my grades are the most important thing and I had done my best through out the semester to make my opinion known and represent the second side of every situation whenever possible. So for the exam I need to choke it up and write what will make the teacher happy in order to get the grade I want.
In the middle of the day I took a break for lunch and got kenkey with Leslie. It was the first time she would be trying this, so I was excited to Christian her. It was so spicy she did not enjoy it and she could not finish, but at least she has now tried it. After a day full of studying I allowed myself another short break to go to an Ethiopian Restaurant. I have never eaten Ethiopian food before and I figured why not try it in Africa, it is likely to be more authentic than in the states.
The restaurant was only in East Legon, which takes less than ten minutes to get to from campus and it is a buffet, so we did not have to wait endless hours to get served. There were about thirty people all going out to eat from our hostel, so we were in luck that we would all be eating the buffet. When we arrive I was shocked at what I saw. The restaurant was decorated with all sorts of Ethiopian garb and music videos from the country were playing. Each table had a name of a different region on it, and there were beautiful umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. The food was in adorable pots that each sat on their own burner. There were six pots three were vegetarian, one chicken and egg, one lamb, and one beef. The each had very different flavors few were spicy. My favorites were lentils in some type of sauce and the cabbage with carrots covered in a green sauce. The way they eat is similar to the way that Ghanians eat. We each got injira, which is a sponge like bread that tastes like sour dough rolled up. You use your fingers to pinch the injira and grad the different types of food. It was an interesting experience, but I did not greatly enjoy the flavors and it is something I will never try again. After dinner the waitress roasted coffee beans right in front of us and we were all presented with a small mug of coffee that tasted absolutely divine.
Everyone continued onto a club for one of the girls birthdays, but I was unable to go out because I really needed to study for my exam. When I got back I discovered that the poly tanks had been refilled, so we once again had a source of water although the taps still were not flowing. Therefore, I washed my clothes, my dishes, and bucket showered before the water ran out again. I finished up studying and went to sleep. It was cooler than usual last night, I needed to pull my towel over my body to keep me warm. It is nights like these that I cherish greatly, I slept all the way through the night and when I woke up at seven thirty I was fully rested.

Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
I spent the final day before my test studying and doing nothing else. I spent a lot of time with Hannah and Anna to prepare, we went over all of the notes and some of the questions our professor presented in class. Unfortunately, we did not have power so we were using flashlights and nook lights to see our notes. The heat became unbearable at times with the combination of no fans and the heat of the lab top on the persons lap who was typing at the moment. Finally the power came back on and we were all o excited that we would get to sleep clean and cool.

Monday, May 23rd, 2011
I woke up early and went over to Hannah's room to go over our essay that we would need to write for the exam later on in the day. Kayla who lives right by us also came over and she was her typical amazing self and made us all oatmeal. She gave us each honey, a banana, oatmeal already prepared, and a mug of tea. She is always doing the most motherly things and we all love her dearly for that and many other reasons. Hannah and I were able to work the entire time Kayla got our food ready and we finished up within the hour. We both went to our own rooms and did some last minute studying on our own, before something amazing happened. Hannah came running by my room with a towel whooshing by my door and a bucket jingling by her side as she screamed, “Julie, THE TABS ARE FLOWING, THE TABS ARE FLOWING, THE TABS ARE FLOWING.” I was so excited I immediately grabbed my things and ran into the shower. The pressure was low so we knew it would not last long. I put soap on my body and shampoo in my hair in about thirty seconds and I was in the water for about a minute before it went off. I stood there soapy for about two minutes and the water started to flow once again. I was able to rinse off and wash my dishes before the water completely stopped again. It was amazing and it made for a great morning because once again the reserve water is finished and there is no source of water. After our showers we met up once again for the last time with Anna to have a quick review. When we finished we all walked over to the faculty of Law where our test would be distributed.
When I arrived the first thing I did was ask around for a washroom. I immediately found a man who knew where I could find it. He told me I had two options, I could either walk to a building a block away and find the office with the key and use their bathroom or I could use a small yellow container that was positioned in the far corner. Although I had no idea what he was talking about, I figured I would go and look for the yellow container to see what he was referring too. I discovered a porter potty and when I entered I had the pleasant experience that could be had using one. It appeared to be brand new, it was extremely clean and there was even toilet paper. That would be the last pleasant thing of the day.
The test was so much more difficult than we expected, none of us knew half of the answers. We asked around and everyone seems to be on the same page. I guess we will find out in time how we all did. We walked back from the test with excitement in our hearts because we had finished our last exam, but also with bitterness because of some of the questions that our professor used for the exam. We all took the entire time to finish, so our hands hurt and we were ready to just relax.
However, I was unable to go straight back to the hostel because I needed to go to the seamstress to pick up my clothes. This was the only thing keeping my spirit up because I so badly wanted to see everything that was to come. When we arrived it was after seven so it was pitch black outside. She lives through several small side streets, none of which have lights and the homes do not have electricity so we could barely see where we were going. At first I led us through the wrong gate and then we finally found the right place. Things only got worse from here because two of the items I ordered were too small, one fit properly, and the other items were not yet finished. She said the lights had been out for days so she has not been able to sew. Although I think she just made up the excuse and did not get around to finishing the stuff. You would assume she would call and let me know not to bother showing up because my order was not ready. Now I have to go back to the seamstress on Saturday and if things don't fit she will have no time to fix them before I leave for Kumasi.
We made our way back to campus and I hung out in friends room for a couple of hours before I got my exhausted body into bed.

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

People are starting to go home and today was my first hard goodbye. I woke up at seven so I would have the entire day to spend with Hannah, while she prepared to go home. We went to Beacon House, an orphanage, in the morning so she could say goodbye to the children. They were so cute and I just wanted to take them all home. It was sad to find out that many of the children have already been adopted, but they are unable to successfully get visas to get back to the states or Canada.
We started the day with circle time and the kids seemed to get bored quickly. The older children were in school so we were only entertaining the children ages five and under. Circle time is suppose to help the kids learn the alphabet, colors, and other things that are necessary to enter first grade. However, the standards in Ghana are vastly different from those in America. Teachers do not show up at least once a week, so the children just sit in an empty classroom all day. If they are bad or make noise the teacher from next door goes over and canes the children who are misbehaving. The kids are years behind in education, many cannot read and write by the time they leave the fifth grade, and the teachers are on average unqualified. It is sad to see and the orphanage works the same way. The two people who run circle time are eighteen year old German volunteers who are not educated in a way to teach children effectively.
After circle time we read to the children, they ate their snack which was juice, and then we got to play games with them. They were so excited about duck, duck, goose and we also just threw them around. They have a limited amount of toys, but they make the best with what they have. When it is time to eat they each get a squirt of soap on their hands and then they line up in front of a little girl who dumps water over their hands to rinse them. They all eat banku just like professionals and they greatly enjoy the taste. They had a blast taking pictures and also playing with our hair. The children were amazing and I fell in love with some of them by the time I left. The one thing I will never forget is the harshness of the women who are allowed to discipline the children. One little girl was crying and disturbing the lesson so she was caned and when she continues crying she was caned again. How can spanking a child help to calm them down, that I will never understand. Another thing was the way they were dressed. Although they all had a slight odor they were relatively clean for being little kids, but their clothes were a mess. The little girls wore these dresses that were donated from a college. The college organized a group that sewed about 50 pillow cases into dresses, although they are adorable it is sad to know that is what these little girls have to look forward too.
We left after lunch and from there I went to meet up with Kayla and Devin to go to the art market. We decided to ride trotros over even though it is only about a thirty minute walk because we were trying to save time. We finally found one with space and we got on to find out that there was only one available seat. We begged the mate to let us all pile in and promised we would pay regular price since we were only going a little ways away. It was hysterical the way we sat, but the mate allowed us to stay on. It was a female mate, which was unique because you never see that here, so it put all three of us in a good mood. My trip was semi-successful I got everything I absolutely needed although there are other things I could still get, but don't absolutely need. I am glad I got a lot done though and I feel so much better about where I stand with souvenirs. After we finished shopping we walked back to campus as quickly as we could to get back in time to see Hannah and get her on a taxi for the airport.
We got back in time to see Hannah and to find out the tabs were flowing. This was thrilling because we were sure we would not have consistent water again until we reached America. We helped Hannah get the remainder of her stuff together, walked her to a taxi, and watched her pull away. It was extremely sad, but the time will come when everyone has to leave.
After we talked about Hannah for a while we decided to make bruchetta, or something that resembles it. We got tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions, garlic, and Kayla has spices in the room that we used. We toasted bread on a skillet and enjoyed a wonderful meal. After dinner I went out to Jerry's a bar that people from our program frequent regularly, but I have not been too. It was a relaxing night that ended in the ponding of one of our friends for her birthday. We then made it back to ISH and I went straight off to bed.

May 25th, 2011
I had wonderful plans for today to go to the beach, but I woke up around eight thirty, took a shower, did my laundry, washed my dishes, and then the rain began so the idea of going to the beach failed. I also needed to get a paper done and sit down to type up my blog, so I was able to get some of that done before heading off to a video shoot for a high life band and then a concert at the drama studio.