Hey everyone!
Yes.. I'm still alive..
Sorry I haven't updated the blog at all this semester. I didn't pay for wireless on my laptop this time over, so I've only had internet access at cafes where I don't really have time to get business done and write a blog entry. But today I thought I'd spend the time to do so!
This semester has been amazing. I've made some great new friends with whom I'm very close, and I'm even closer to my Ghanaian and Nigerian friends from the beginning of the school year. I am very, very glad I did a year-long program instead of just a semester. I've been able to really connect with my African friends, and I feel like I have a real grip on how everything works here. I feel like the kind of knowledge I've attained thus far could never be summed up in just a semester. But also because I've been here a year, being separated from it will be so much harder.
Well.. I guess I'll try to sum up what I've been up to this semester. For a week before I got back in Accra I was in London visiting my friend Chelsea. London was a great experience. It felt pretty close to home, but at the same time it really had its own thing. I loved the fact that the city is maybe only a third actual British people. There are soo many immigrants that bring their own cultures with them and add such a great dynamic. My friend was busy starting her new semester there, so there were two specific days where I explored the city by myself. I went to places like Camden, Notting Hill, the Borough Market (a huge food market), Harrods, Brixton, Westminster Abbey, and various other places. I know that I definitely want to end up there after I graduate. There are endless opportunities to find out which direction I wish to take in life.
I got back into Ghana a few days before the new batch of Americans from my program showed up. I went to various markets to buy things and also just relaxed in the dorm. When the newbies showed up we got to stay in a hotel for the weekend, and I went between campus and the hotel a lot. It really made my day when I came back once to find that some of my Nigerian friends had moved back in.
I was bombarded with a lot of questions the first few weeks. The new Americans were completely lost and it was funny to see them in the same shoes I had been in months before. But eventually they adjusted.
As far as travels go, I haven't done that much so far this semester. However, I did go to a stilt village in the Western region, and went to Togo and Benin. We went to the stilt village, Nzulezo, back in February (I think?). It's a village entirely on stilts built over water. We went there and talked to the chief. It's unclear whether the village was built by people who migrated from Mali or Nigeria because the chief said something different from what the guide book said. To get there we had to walk a ways and then take a canoe to it.
Togo and Benin was really fun. Togo is only about 4 hours from Accra, and then Benin is only another few hours from there. We went straight to Benin first and stayed in one of the main cities on the coast, Cotonou. It is hands-down my favorite city I've been in so far, in West Africa. Moto-taxis were the best mode of transportation. It's the same concept as a taxi, but instead you're on the back of a motorbike. And it's a lot cheaper and more efficient than a car taxi. I really wish that concept was in Accra. Cotonou really felt like a metropolitan city. We ate a lot of good food there, too. Cheese and other dairy is expensive and/or not attainable in Ghana, so we went to a supermarket one day in Cotonou and bought Brie cheese. It was so good! We also went to a Senegalese restaurant twice and had some amazing Senegalese dishes. And baguettes were always plentiful. We went to a market and bought fabric there because it is very different from Ghana's fabric. The colors are much brighter and there are different patterns you can find. On other days we did day-trips to other Beninois towns. We went to Abomey one day, which is where we saw the palace of the king of the Dahomey kingdom, and then we also went to Ouidah, which is where we went on a moto-taxi tour of an old slave route (Ouidah is also supposedly the birthplace of what we call voodoo... we also went to a python temple there and got to hold the snakes). On our way back to Accra, we stayed in Lome, Togo for two nights. Lome is quite an interesting city. Every night was party night. Bars were always open, every night, pounding music. We were exhausted from Benin, so we basically just slept and ate in Togo (the Togolese food was good, too).
About a week ago we went to Kumasi, which is the second largest city in Ghana. It's about 6 hours north of Accra. I went there last semester, but I wanted to go again to see the football match. Ghana's team, the Black Stars, is currently competing to qualify for the World Cup in 2010, and they were playing the Beninois team. The trip was put together by my program so we stayed in the nicest hotel in Kumasi. Luckily, the Black Stars team was also staying there! It was funny to come back after the game and see all of them in the lobby being swarmed by reporters and fans. And security was tight.. a few times we were told to take the elevator instead of the stairs because they were going to come down soon, and we also were told to leave the lobby a few times. The game was really fun, though, and Ghana won 1-0. The energy was so high at the game-- there were a few different small bands of maybe 7 guys playing the entire time. They were just sitting in the seats with us, and had trumpets, trombones, drums, and cowbells. It was a non-stop party. You really don't realize how much of a passion football (soccer) is to the rest of the world until you experience it firsthand.
Right now I'm planning on going to Nigeria at the end of the semester with some of my Nigerian friends. I was going to go to Mali this next weekend, but I'm having problems booking my flight, so that may or may not still happen. There was a small tidal wave on the eastern coast about a month ago, displacing 3000 people, so I may go lend a hand instead, if that's possible. Lately I've been having a really hard time trying to emotionally deal with the fact that I'll be leaving here soon. It actually makes me physically sick if I think about it too much. I know that I'll see some of these people again, but there's so many others that I don't know if I ever will see again. These types of things always happen in life, but it's always hard to deal. I guess at this point I don't really feel such an attachment to the place anymore, it's the people. And it's hard because I do miss people at home, too, but I just wish there was some way Ghana was right next door to the American Mid-West. haha.. I guess I should just enjoy the last month and a half I have here.
Love you all!
Hopefully I'll blog at least one more time before leaving....
05 April 2009
17 December 2008
Switching Worlds
As I hug the last of my American friends goodbye, it hit me. When I come back to Ghana none of them will be there. I feel so close to so many of them. What will I do without Davey's dance moves, Nathan's goofiness, or Marilyn's surprising jokes? Mike keeps telling me to just miss my flight. But I can't. I have to go.
Rose and I get to the airport and we separate from our different airlines. Customs is a pain. We have to open our bags for them to sift through them- which is great because I had to sit on my suitcase to close it in the first place. The guys asks me too many questions about my jewelry. Why does it matter where I got it? I'm rude right back to him. I don't have the patience for it now. Finally he lets me through. My predictions were correct- my bag's overweight. I have to buy a new bag to avoid being charged more. The lady won't help me. She helps this Ghanaian couple first who had their bags weighed after me. She brags about how much money she just saved me. Whatever. After I get all of the repacking done and get through a long line, I'm told that I have to get my new bag wrapped in plastic so it doesn't open. 4 more Cedis and 20 minutes later I finally get my bags checked.
Eventually I make it through immigration. I hate airports sometimes. I have to pay over a Cedi for a Kalyppo- in the real world they're supposed to be 35 pesewas. I bump into Sammy and that makes me happy. I spot some chocolate that I'd been trying to find around Accra, and he's trying to spend his last Cedis. We sift through the over-priced duty-free shop and then head over to our gate. I see Rose! Her flight is late so I get to say goodbye to her. We sit for a few and we have to listen to another girl in our program babble about when she first met her current "love." I really don't give a shit. And neither does Rose. Saying goodbye is hard. It's always exponentially harder when the other person is obviously down, too. I say goodbye to Sammy one last time... I'll see him in Chicago, I keep telling myself.
I sit down to wait for my plane to board. Bored, I call my parents and text Chelsea. Some crazy Russian guy is yelling because airport security is trying to take something away from him. Some girls from another program walk by and tell me that people are sitting down the hall. I pick up my backpack and walk over to the group. I recognize all of them, know a few. I talk with one girl that I have an awkward history with. She's nice to me. Then she says something that bothers me; but she doesn't know that I know the background to the story, that I was close to the person she speaks of. So she doesn't find our conversation awkward. Just me.
FINALLY. We board. Lucky me. I get to sit close to her. It's really not that bad. She just irritates me sometimes. I get over it, though. The meal we're served is Ghanaian style. Chicken, jollof rice, plantains, spinach. It's crappy like all airplane food, but somehow comforting. After watching Mamma Mia, I fall asleep. When I wake up we're only a half hour from landing. I feel numb, neutral. I'm going into London, I should be excited. But I just feel normal. We go down the stairs to get to the shuttle that'll take us to the terminal. It's really cold, but I guess it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. I get into the line for the UK border and very easily get through. The guy's even really nice. Really nice. I guess I was expecting someone like a US customs officer. I get into the nice part of the terminal, outside of the security, and find an ATM. I take out 30 pounds. Ouch. I walk around a bit, and find myself scared to approach people or even go order food. That's strange. If I were in a busy tro-tro station in Accra I'd feel fine going up to a mate and asking him where I can get a tro to Osu or Madina. Why am I afraid and uncomfortable in a place so similar to my own home? It seems that I've become so accustomed to Ghana that Ghana now feels like home.
I see that there's still time before Chelsea is supposed to arrive. I go put 10 more pounds on my Oyster card for the Underground train. I finally find the courage to go get breakfast. I go to a coffee shop type place. They have muffins and pastries. I order Peppermint tea and a blueberry muffin. The man at the cash register is Middle Eastern. I have to pay. All of my stuff is in my right hand, so I spend a good 20 seconds to switch everything over to my left hand so I can hand him the money with my right hand. He gives me a weird look and asks me where I just came from. Oops. No one here cares if you hand them things or receive things with your left hand. We laugh it off.
I sit down in a comfy chair in a prime position for people watching. Ahh.. the tea is so good. I look at people walking around. For some reason whenever I see an African I feel a certain level of comfort. There's a little British girl sitting down at a nearby table staring at me. I smile and wave. She darts her eyes away to pretend like she wasn't watching me. I feel hurt. This isn't Africa. I start to feel overwhelmed with the feeling that I'm not in Africa anymore. My eyes start to tear. I can tell the woman beside can see and she feels awkward. I feel lost.
I decide to go to the bathroom to clear my head. I'm in LONDON. I should be beyond excited. I've never seen Europe or the like. I should be ecstatic. I go down to the train stop to wait for Chelsea. I end up waiting for about 45 minutes. I speak briefly with an airport worker who happens to be African. He just wants to know if I'm alright. Their hand motions here are different. This man moved his hands downward to make a slope motion. In Ghana they'd twist their wrist with their hand up. It's strange how all the little things are different.
I finally find the courage to ask this little old British man where I could make a phone call. He's so incredibly sweet. And he makes a joke about how all the young ladies approach him all the time. Haha, I laugh. I go and find a pay phone and try calling Chelsea several times, but it won't go through. I go back down the train station. I ask a man selling tickets at what stop I could find a cell phone store. A what?? He looks confused. I ask again. OH. A mobile phone shop! We laugh, realizing the difference in American and English lingo. He directs me to Hounslow Central. So off I go.
I love riding the Tube. It feels like Chicago's El. But cleaner. We emerge above ground. Surprise! It's winter! None of the trees have leaves on them, and it's dreary outside. I can't imagine that less than 24 hours before I was sweating buckets at the pool in East Legon. I get off at Hounslow Central and walk for a bit. I find the street with all the shops. A Vodafone shop! I go in and buy a SIM card from yet another really friendly Brit. I'm really surprised at how nice people are in London. For some reason I thought they'd be mean. But everyone is incredibly warm and inviting.
I can make phone calls! I call Chelsea and tell her where I am. I walk around a bit more, waiting for her to show up with Ayjay. There are these guys trying to get people to donate to a charity. I'm stopped by one of them. He yells, "I can tell you're not a shy redhead!" I'm not sure what that means, but I stop to talk. He thinks I'm British. But then he asks me my name. Anna. I push out my name with my flat Chicago-esque accent. He makes a face. Then he asks me another question. Am I currently living in the UK? No, I say. Then I explain that I'm just waiting for a friend. He looks at me and asks, "Are you....... Canadian??" Haha. I laugh. Then I tell him that I'm American. He looks scared. He asks if he just offended me. I laugh again and say no, no. We talk for a bit about a few things and then we part.
I finally meet up with Chelsea! It feels so natural to be with her again. She brought her friend Ayjay, and we walk around looking for a pub or a restaurant. We stumble upon a place called Frangos that sells chicken burgers and chicken pitas. I order the spiciest seasoning.. volcanic. It's nice to eat spicy food again. Afterwards we walk around trying to find me shoes. I just have on flip-flops and I can't feel my feet. I make eye contact with a black English guy, and he sees my Ghana bracelet tied on my purse. He nods and smiles. I find comfort in that. I love London. I can walk for several minutes and never even hear English. There are so many immigrants, it's so diverse. I fall in love with that. Another thing I like is the open food stands that spill out of the grocery stores. They're selling vegetables out in the open. It reminds me of the Night Market across the street from my dorm.
I make it back to the airport and say goodbye to them.. I'll see them again in just two weeks, so it's pretty easy to say bye. It turns out I'm in the wrong terminal so I end up having to get back on the train and go back to terminal 3. Security isn't bad. My feet hurt. My toes are blistering from being in closed shoes.
Before I know it, I'm in Chicago. Crap. I have to go through US customs. There are three large planes that just came in, and yet they only have 2 guys checking passports. It takes forever. I get through and see my family and Addie. It's surreal. On one hand I feel like I left just yesterday, but on the other hand it feels weird to see these people who are so familiar to me. I feel like I'm in a dream.
It's FREEZING outside. It's actually quite painful. After a long ride home, getting lost a few times, and a few arguments, I crash. I wake up around 8 in the morning. It's snowing outside. I mope around for awhile and then go out with my mom to get stuff done. I'm starting to feel really comfortable back in my hometown. Things don't seem weird anymore. They somehow fall into place. I go to the doctor's, and then I go to Rudy's to get my fill of Mexican food with Addie. We talk about boys, school, the usual. Addie's so great. She pays for my meal and gives me a present. I tell her that I owe her a meal after she gets back from Ecuador in the summer.
I feel sick. I just ate a ton of cheese on all of that Mexican food. My stomach is not happy with all of the new dairy. I fall asleep pretty fast when I get back home. I wake up in the middle of the night because in Ghana it'd be time to wake up for the day. I go back to bed. I wake up at 6 am. I decide to stay up. I eat cereal, but it doesn't satisfy. My body clock is way off. So now here I sit, eating Indian food and drinking a Corona beer at 10 am.
I feel stuck in two different worlds. They're oddly the same, yet endlessly different.
Rose and I get to the airport and we separate from our different airlines. Customs is a pain. We have to open our bags for them to sift through them- which is great because I had to sit on my suitcase to close it in the first place. The guys asks me too many questions about my jewelry. Why does it matter where I got it? I'm rude right back to him. I don't have the patience for it now. Finally he lets me through. My predictions were correct- my bag's overweight. I have to buy a new bag to avoid being charged more. The lady won't help me. She helps this Ghanaian couple first who had their bags weighed after me. She brags about how much money she just saved me. Whatever. After I get all of the repacking done and get through a long line, I'm told that I have to get my new bag wrapped in plastic so it doesn't open. 4 more Cedis and 20 minutes later I finally get my bags checked.
Eventually I make it through immigration. I hate airports sometimes. I have to pay over a Cedi for a Kalyppo- in the real world they're supposed to be 35 pesewas. I bump into Sammy and that makes me happy. I spot some chocolate that I'd been trying to find around Accra, and he's trying to spend his last Cedis. We sift through the over-priced duty-free shop and then head over to our gate. I see Rose! Her flight is late so I get to say goodbye to her. We sit for a few and we have to listen to another girl in our program babble about when she first met her current "love." I really don't give a shit. And neither does Rose. Saying goodbye is hard. It's always exponentially harder when the other person is obviously down, too. I say goodbye to Sammy one last time... I'll see him in Chicago, I keep telling myself.
I sit down to wait for my plane to board. Bored, I call my parents and text Chelsea. Some crazy Russian guy is yelling because airport security is trying to take something away from him. Some girls from another program walk by and tell me that people are sitting down the hall. I pick up my backpack and walk over to the group. I recognize all of them, know a few. I talk with one girl that I have an awkward history with. She's nice to me. Then she says something that bothers me; but she doesn't know that I know the background to the story, that I was close to the person she speaks of. So she doesn't find our conversation awkward. Just me.
FINALLY. We board. Lucky me. I get to sit close to her. It's really not that bad. She just irritates me sometimes. I get over it, though. The meal we're served is Ghanaian style. Chicken, jollof rice, plantains, spinach. It's crappy like all airplane food, but somehow comforting. After watching Mamma Mia, I fall asleep. When I wake up we're only a half hour from landing. I feel numb, neutral. I'm going into London, I should be excited. But I just feel normal. We go down the stairs to get to the shuttle that'll take us to the terminal. It's really cold, but I guess it's not as bad as I thought it'd be. I get into the line for the UK border and very easily get through. The guy's even really nice. Really nice. I guess I was expecting someone like a US customs officer. I get into the nice part of the terminal, outside of the security, and find an ATM. I take out 30 pounds. Ouch. I walk around a bit, and find myself scared to approach people or even go order food. That's strange. If I were in a busy tro-tro station in Accra I'd feel fine going up to a mate and asking him where I can get a tro to Osu or Madina. Why am I afraid and uncomfortable in a place so similar to my own home? It seems that I've become so accustomed to Ghana that Ghana now feels like home.
I see that there's still time before Chelsea is supposed to arrive. I go put 10 more pounds on my Oyster card for the Underground train. I finally find the courage to go get breakfast. I go to a coffee shop type place. They have muffins and pastries. I order Peppermint tea and a blueberry muffin. The man at the cash register is Middle Eastern. I have to pay. All of my stuff is in my right hand, so I spend a good 20 seconds to switch everything over to my left hand so I can hand him the money with my right hand. He gives me a weird look and asks me where I just came from. Oops. No one here cares if you hand them things or receive things with your left hand. We laugh it off.
I sit down in a comfy chair in a prime position for people watching. Ahh.. the tea is so good. I look at people walking around. For some reason whenever I see an African I feel a certain level of comfort. There's a little British girl sitting down at a nearby table staring at me. I smile and wave. She darts her eyes away to pretend like she wasn't watching me. I feel hurt. This isn't Africa. I start to feel overwhelmed with the feeling that I'm not in Africa anymore. My eyes start to tear. I can tell the woman beside can see and she feels awkward. I feel lost.
I decide to go to the bathroom to clear my head. I'm in LONDON. I should be beyond excited. I've never seen Europe or the like. I should be ecstatic. I go down to the train stop to wait for Chelsea. I end up waiting for about 45 minutes. I speak briefly with an airport worker who happens to be African. He just wants to know if I'm alright. Their hand motions here are different. This man moved his hands downward to make a slope motion. In Ghana they'd twist their wrist with their hand up. It's strange how all the little things are different.
I finally find the courage to ask this little old British man where I could make a phone call. He's so incredibly sweet. And he makes a joke about how all the young ladies approach him all the time. Haha, I laugh. I go and find a pay phone and try calling Chelsea several times, but it won't go through. I go back down the train station. I ask a man selling tickets at what stop I could find a cell phone store. A what?? He looks confused. I ask again. OH. A mobile phone shop! We laugh, realizing the difference in American and English lingo. He directs me to Hounslow Central. So off I go.
I love riding the Tube. It feels like Chicago's El. But cleaner. We emerge above ground. Surprise! It's winter! None of the trees have leaves on them, and it's dreary outside. I can't imagine that less than 24 hours before I was sweating buckets at the pool in East Legon. I get off at Hounslow Central and walk for a bit. I find the street with all the shops. A Vodafone shop! I go in and buy a SIM card from yet another really friendly Brit. I'm really surprised at how nice people are in London. For some reason I thought they'd be mean. But everyone is incredibly warm and inviting.
I can make phone calls! I call Chelsea and tell her where I am. I walk around a bit more, waiting for her to show up with Ayjay. There are these guys trying to get people to donate to a charity. I'm stopped by one of them. He yells, "I can tell you're not a shy redhead!" I'm not sure what that means, but I stop to talk. He thinks I'm British. But then he asks me my name. Anna. I push out my name with my flat Chicago-esque accent. He makes a face. Then he asks me another question. Am I currently living in the UK? No, I say. Then I explain that I'm just waiting for a friend. He looks at me and asks, "Are you....... Canadian??" Haha. I laugh. Then I tell him that I'm American. He looks scared. He asks if he just offended me. I laugh again and say no, no. We talk for a bit about a few things and then we part.
I finally meet up with Chelsea! It feels so natural to be with her again. She brought her friend Ayjay, and we walk around looking for a pub or a restaurant. We stumble upon a place called Frangos that sells chicken burgers and chicken pitas. I order the spiciest seasoning.. volcanic. It's nice to eat spicy food again. Afterwards we walk around trying to find me shoes. I just have on flip-flops and I can't feel my feet. I make eye contact with a black English guy, and he sees my Ghana bracelet tied on my purse. He nods and smiles. I find comfort in that. I love London. I can walk for several minutes and never even hear English. There are so many immigrants, it's so diverse. I fall in love with that. Another thing I like is the open food stands that spill out of the grocery stores. They're selling vegetables out in the open. It reminds me of the Night Market across the street from my dorm.
I make it back to the airport and say goodbye to them.. I'll see them again in just two weeks, so it's pretty easy to say bye. It turns out I'm in the wrong terminal so I end up having to get back on the train and go back to terminal 3. Security isn't bad. My feet hurt. My toes are blistering from being in closed shoes.
Before I know it, I'm in Chicago. Crap. I have to go through US customs. There are three large planes that just came in, and yet they only have 2 guys checking passports. It takes forever. I get through and see my family and Addie. It's surreal. On one hand I feel like I left just yesterday, but on the other hand it feels weird to see these people who are so familiar to me. I feel like I'm in a dream.
It's FREEZING outside. It's actually quite painful. After a long ride home, getting lost a few times, and a few arguments, I crash. I wake up around 8 in the morning. It's snowing outside. I mope around for awhile and then go out with my mom to get stuff done. I'm starting to feel really comfortable back in my hometown. Things don't seem weird anymore. They somehow fall into place. I go to the doctor's, and then I go to Rudy's to get my fill of Mexican food with Addie. We talk about boys, school, the usual. Addie's so great. She pays for my meal and gives me a present. I tell her that I owe her a meal after she gets back from Ecuador in the summer.
I feel sick. I just ate a ton of cheese on all of that Mexican food. My stomach is not happy with all of the new dairy. I fall asleep pretty fast when I get back home. I wake up in the middle of the night because in Ghana it'd be time to wake up for the day. I go back to bed. I wake up at 6 am. I decide to stay up. I eat cereal, but it doesn't satisfy. My body clock is way off. So now here I sit, eating Indian food and drinking a Corona beer at 10 am.
I feel stuck in two different worlds. They're oddly the same, yet endlessly different.
19 November 2008
Bonjour, Officer
"Je ne comprends pas!" The officer slapped the seatbelt out of my hand for a second time. "What the hell is going on?!" I turn to Andy. "He says it's finished. He wants to see our passports." Andy didn't have his on him. The officer could haul him to jail if he wanted to. He kept yelling in French. I didn't know what was being said until I heard "dix mille." We had to bribe him with 10,000 CFA so Andy didn't get locked up in a country still getting over a civil war that happened 4 years prior. That cop was definitely not our favorite Ivorian.
This last weekend we went to Cote d'Ivoire. Cote d'Ivoire (in English, Ivory Coast) is now only a shell of what it once was. Back in the '70s it was a major tourist destination for Europeans. Abidjan, its cultural and economic capital, was once hailed the "Paris of West Africa." Its first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, embraced capitalism and took a new approach to post-Colonialism--he kept very close ties with France instead of trying to separate from it. Cote d'Ivoire enjoyed hears of rapid development and economic boom. The economy grew 10% each year for 20 years. Then the '80s came along. Markets crashed, and in a country whose economy and development depended on agriculture, not industrialization, the food market crashes were devastating. Throughout the '80s the country saw crash after crash, leaving the economy crushed. In 1990, violent student protests broke out along with a civil servant strike. They blamed the government officials for the crisis, saying it was because of corruption and overindulgence by the officials. Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993, and his successor was removed from power via coup in 1999. After several struggles, Laurent Gbagbo gained presidency in 2000 and has ruled since. Several coup attempts occurred after the 2000 elections and tensions soon turned into a full-scale rebellion from the Muslim north. Combat officially ended in 2004, but since then violence has not been absent. The rebels still control the north and splits between them has caused more violence. The south has seen anti-UN violence, too. The UN has actually created a neutral zone through the center of the country. The most recent presidential elections were supposed to happen November 30--in about a week and a half--however, it was announced a few days before we left for Abidjan that they are postponed indefinitely.
The trip started off pretty interestingly. Mike, Andy and Mary left on Thursday. Shauna and I left Friday because I had problems with getting my visa on time. The bus was scheduled to leave at 4 am. The ride to the station Shauna and I were supposed to get never answered his phone. And we needed to get there early because I didn't have a bus ticket yet. The security guards at our dorm wouldn't walk us to the front gate, even though I'm pretty sure that's their job. Miraculously we got a ride from a kind man named Pinto after dashing to the front gate by ourselves.
The bus worked on African time, so it left at around 530. Like usual, the Nigerian movies being shown on the bus were way too loud, making sleep difficult and forcing me to blast my iPod in order to hear it. But, I shouldn't complain-- it was a pretty nice bus. We finally reached the border. On the Ghanaian side I ended up having to buy a fake yellow fever vaccination certificate for about 5 USD. It's a real certificate--it's just not quite honest that I got my vaccination 4 days before in Takoradi, Ghana. So then we go to the Ivorian side of the border. For some reason Shauna, a Senegalese man, a Moroccan woman, a man from Guinea, and I were pulled out from the rest of the group and held for extra questions. While being questioned, apparently the rest of the bus finished and left. We realized this as it started pouring rain. We ran a ways and then all squished into a taxi and chased down the bus. Luckily we found it not too far away.
Frazzled but excited, we finally started heading towards Abidjan again. There were a few police checkpoints (which are currently found all over Cote d'Ivoire), one at which I witnessed my first bribe; the guy in front of me slipped an officer some money so he wouldn't check his luggage.
Finally in Abidjan! We got there just after darkness fell so we asked a friend we made on the bus, Zain, to help us with getting a taxi to our hotel because we couldn't speak French. We said goodbye to our border buddies and hopped into a cab with Zain. Zain then told us that the Moroccan woman had shown him a picture of a girl she was trying to sell--apparently she was a Madam. He said that the Lebanese (he's of Lebanese descent) have a bad reputation for buying prostitutes in Cote d'Ivoire. Then he said something along the lines of American girls need to be especially careful not to be sold into prostitution, or something. I couldn't really understand him.
The cab dropped him off at this brother's pub, he gave us money for the fare, and then we went on to our hotel. Abidjan's downtown, Le Plateau, is absolutely breathtaking, particularly at night. It's surrounded by a lagoon so one main highway goes directly towards it. All lit up at night, downtown is a cluster of skyscrapers and bright signs. And all the colors reflected in the water surrounding it. I felt like I was in a dream.
Mike and Andy met us at the front gate of the hotel and we got to take our first hot showers in months. The next morning we set off for Cote d'Ivoire's official capital, Yamoussoukro, which is about 5 hours north. On our way to the bus station these guys tapped on our windows and actually jumped on our taxi to follow us to the station. They were doing it to other cars, too. Once at the station they wouldn't leave us alone. They were begging for money and once they insulted Andy in French and started to seem threatening, Andy threw them 100 Francs, equivalent .25 USD. Finally they left. The bus ride up was interesting, too. At one checkpoint a fist-fight was luckily contained and didn't erupt into a bigger fight. Andy was pulled off the bus at one point and asked a few questions by the military. When we got to Yamoussoukro it was already about 3 pm so we went straight to an ATM (at which my card didn't work so Mike covered me the whole trip) and then went to the Basilica.
The Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix made everything worth it. It's actually the tallest church in the world. The dome of St. Peter's is slightly taller, by request of the Pope, but the Basilica's golden cross extends the highest, therefore making it number one. It is stunningly beautiful. We went to the roof and could see the gardens in front of it, along with a huge peace dove built into the ground in front. It was so peaceful and relaxing. A strange contrast to the country's state. Back in 2004, Yamoussoukro saw a lot of the blood and violence, it being in the middle of the country. After getting our tour, we sat on its front steps for about 45 minutes and just soaked in the quiet. Darkness was about to fall so we decided to go find a hotel. At first our taxi driver took us to a super shady hotel. Located in the slums, it was run by a guy who kept upping the price. So we left. We drove around forever. There were no rooms anywhere. And the guidebook we had was no help. They knew nothing of Yamoussoukro because it was written when the area was still inaccessible. Right as it got dark, our taxi driver helped us get the last room at a hotel. After enjoying a delicious meal, some beers, and the Daily Show on TV, we went to bed.
In the morning we went to the bus station at 630 am thinking the bus left at 7 am. It left at 930 am. We hung out for a while, took a few walks, wrote in our journals. We found this amazing outdoor stand that served egg sandwiches on baguettes. We grabbed a few and went back to the station. Realizing we had more time, Shauna and I went back. There were benches around the stand to sit and drink coffee. It was the best cup of coffee I've ever had. I ordered coffee and a piece of baguette. I did as the locals did and dipped the bread in the coffee. They used some sort of gooey cream in the coffee that made it heaven. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and respected that we were trying French as much as we could. And they didn't make us feel weird for being foreign. We felt incredibly welcome. The random acts of absolute kindness from complete strangers in Africa is one of the many things that makes it so great.
The bus ride back was smooth. We saw a guy holding up a 6-7 foot long snake on the edge of a village, and saw a woman selling shrimp the size of rats. During that bus ride I was in one of my moods--that feeling of nirvana from realizing how much I love being in Africa. I just listened to Amadou and Mariam on my iPod and stared out the window at all the shades of green, gray and blue seen from the road. The colors are so much more vivid here.
Once back in Abidjan we went straight to the other bus station that has buses back to Accra. We got a room at the station's lodge--the bus to Accra left the next morning at 7 am. Andy, Shauna and I decided to go get drinks and food to bring back. This is when we run into trouble. Andy gave his passport to Mary before we left--both the security guard and our taxi driver saw that. The guard told our driver where to take us for stuff. Our taxi driver took us way out of the way. None of us wear seatbelts in Ghana. No one does. In Cote d'Ivoire it's law that those in front have to wear seatbelts. I completely forgot to put mine on--and I was in the passenger seat. Conveniently, the cabbie drove us right to two cops standing in the road pulling over whomever they please. We're pulled over, of course. The cop starts yelling at me in French. I keep saying "Je ne comprands pas" ("I don't understand") and I start to get angry because he won't stop. So I yell "Anglais!" a few times. I turn to Andy and ask, "What the hell is going on?!" And he tells me it was the seatbelt. I try putting it on, and all the cop does is hit my hand, knocking the belt out of my hand. He keeps yelling, knowing quite well I don't know what he's saying. I try again and he slaps my hand again and Andy tells me he saying it's finished, it's too late. They don't ever fully realize that Andy understands them. In French, the cabbie tells the cop to check us (remember that he knows Andy doesn't have his passport). Andy and the cop exchange words. The cop is just plain and simple an asshole. Andy looked somewhere between infuriated and scared. Then I hear the cop say "dix mille." We ended up having to pay him 10,000 CFA--otherwise he could have hauled Andy off to jail. The cabbie had completely set us up.
So we went and got food and drinks and when we get back to the station the cabbie tries charging us another 10,000 CFA (25 USD) for fare. We yell at him and only pay 5,000 and then get out. In the lodge we made friends with a Ghanaian guy, Niki. He works for the bus company and speaks fluent French and English. Hours later we are hungry again and thirsty. But it's dark outside. And everyone has told us not to go out after dark. So Andy, Mary and I decide to have Niki take us for stuff. We walk several blocks and find a bar and a bakery. The atmosphere felt so different and strange. The sky was red and everyone seemed to either be on a mission or looking over their shoulder. Right after we pass an alley, three taxis pull out of it, each with about 10 men in them, shouting and hollering. Who knows what that was about. No one hassled us, but they looked at us as though to say, "You have no idea." We got back safely, thanks to Niki. When we walk in, we see two guys sitting in the lobby counting stacks of cash. Of course we assume he's a drug dealer through the bus company, but we talked to him later and he was very nice. Apparently he brings shipments (different cargo each time) with the bus between Abidjan and Lagos, back and forth. This time it was about 300,000 Ghana Cedis worth of French cognac. That's about a third of a million USD. He then gave us a bottle to be friendly. He was really interesting. He can speak 10 languages and has houses in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana. You never know who you'll meet here.
Coming back to Ghana was problem-free. There was a crazy guy on the bus sitting behind us, but after ignoring him for a while, he stopped bugging us.
Even though it sounds like a lot of things went wrong in Cote d'Ivoire, I loved it. Some of the people I was with have no interest in ever going back, but it really captivated me. The whole time I kept wondering what this or that person lived through in the last few years. It's amazing how life always continues. Horrific things happen... and life still goes on. I could imagine how amazing Abidjan must have been back in its day. But now it's crumbling and the people are weathered from war. My friend Shauna was so angry at those men who clung onto our taxi and then acted gang-like to get just 100 Francs. I can't blame them for what the world has done to the them. They have to chase cars for miles and beg for up to a half an hour to get 25 cents split between 3 of them. It makes me sick that people are forced to resort to that. I cannot blame them for their disparity. Here I've found myself being much more able to see through other's eyes. If I grew up without any education, no one taught me any skills, no jobs were available, and there were no other sources of help, I would be begging for money. If I always only found myself in the worst of neighborhoods, grew up seeing friends getting shot and killed over money, drugs, and one or both of my parents didn't care if I succeeded or failed in life, I wouldn't trust anyone, ever, and I would be stubbornly guarded. We're all direct products of our past experiences. We just have to try to understand each other. And try to allow others to understand us.
Cote d'Ivoire, to me, was beautiful. The people were usually guarded and tougher than Ghanaians, but we encountered countless random acts of kindness. The landscape was the most beautiful I've ever seen. One the bus I saw a river with a single palm tree in the middle of it. The water just seemed to dance over the rocks. I've never seen water move like that. The food was phenomenal. The French influence was quite apparent in the food. Baguettes, croissants and coffee were abundant. I definitely plan on returning.
This last weekend we went to Cote d'Ivoire. Cote d'Ivoire (in English, Ivory Coast) is now only a shell of what it once was. Back in the '70s it was a major tourist destination for Europeans. Abidjan, its cultural and economic capital, was once hailed the "Paris of West Africa." Its first president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, embraced capitalism and took a new approach to post-Colonialism--he kept very close ties with France instead of trying to separate from it. Cote d'Ivoire enjoyed hears of rapid development and economic boom. The economy grew 10% each year for 20 years. Then the '80s came along. Markets crashed, and in a country whose economy and development depended on agriculture, not industrialization, the food market crashes were devastating. Throughout the '80s the country saw crash after crash, leaving the economy crushed. In 1990, violent student protests broke out along with a civil servant strike. They blamed the government officials for the crisis, saying it was because of corruption and overindulgence by the officials. Houphouet-Boigny died in 1993, and his successor was removed from power via coup in 1999. After several struggles, Laurent Gbagbo gained presidency in 2000 and has ruled since. Several coup attempts occurred after the 2000 elections and tensions soon turned into a full-scale rebellion from the Muslim north. Combat officially ended in 2004, but since then violence has not been absent. The rebels still control the north and splits between them has caused more violence. The south has seen anti-UN violence, too. The UN has actually created a neutral zone through the center of the country. The most recent presidential elections were supposed to happen November 30--in about a week and a half--however, it was announced a few days before we left for Abidjan that they are postponed indefinitely.
The trip started off pretty interestingly. Mike, Andy and Mary left on Thursday. Shauna and I left Friday because I had problems with getting my visa on time. The bus was scheduled to leave at 4 am. The ride to the station Shauna and I were supposed to get never answered his phone. And we needed to get there early because I didn't have a bus ticket yet. The security guards at our dorm wouldn't walk us to the front gate, even though I'm pretty sure that's their job. Miraculously we got a ride from a kind man named Pinto after dashing to the front gate by ourselves.
The bus worked on African time, so it left at around 530. Like usual, the Nigerian movies being shown on the bus were way too loud, making sleep difficult and forcing me to blast my iPod in order to hear it. But, I shouldn't complain-- it was a pretty nice bus. We finally reached the border. On the Ghanaian side I ended up having to buy a fake yellow fever vaccination certificate for about 5 USD. It's a real certificate--it's just not quite honest that I got my vaccination 4 days before in Takoradi, Ghana. So then we go to the Ivorian side of the border. For some reason Shauna, a Senegalese man, a Moroccan woman, a man from Guinea, and I were pulled out from the rest of the group and held for extra questions. While being questioned, apparently the rest of the bus finished and left. We realized this as it started pouring rain. We ran a ways and then all squished into a taxi and chased down the bus. Luckily we found it not too far away.
Frazzled but excited, we finally started heading towards Abidjan again. There were a few police checkpoints (which are currently found all over Cote d'Ivoire), one at which I witnessed my first bribe; the guy in front of me slipped an officer some money so he wouldn't check his luggage.
Finally in Abidjan! We got there just after darkness fell so we asked a friend we made on the bus, Zain, to help us with getting a taxi to our hotel because we couldn't speak French. We said goodbye to our border buddies and hopped into a cab with Zain. Zain then told us that the Moroccan woman had shown him a picture of a girl she was trying to sell--apparently she was a Madam. He said that the Lebanese (he's of Lebanese descent) have a bad reputation for buying prostitutes in Cote d'Ivoire. Then he said something along the lines of American girls need to be especially careful not to be sold into prostitution, or something. I couldn't really understand him.
The cab dropped him off at this brother's pub, he gave us money for the fare, and then we went on to our hotel. Abidjan's downtown, Le Plateau, is absolutely breathtaking, particularly at night. It's surrounded by a lagoon so one main highway goes directly towards it. All lit up at night, downtown is a cluster of skyscrapers and bright signs. And all the colors reflected in the water surrounding it. I felt like I was in a dream.
Mike and Andy met us at the front gate of the hotel and we got to take our first hot showers in months. The next morning we set off for Cote d'Ivoire's official capital, Yamoussoukro, which is about 5 hours north. On our way to the bus station these guys tapped on our windows and actually jumped on our taxi to follow us to the station. They were doing it to other cars, too. Once at the station they wouldn't leave us alone. They were begging for money and once they insulted Andy in French and started to seem threatening, Andy threw them 100 Francs, equivalent .25 USD. Finally they left. The bus ride up was interesting, too. At one checkpoint a fist-fight was luckily contained and didn't erupt into a bigger fight. Andy was pulled off the bus at one point and asked a few questions by the military. When we got to Yamoussoukro it was already about 3 pm so we went straight to an ATM (at which my card didn't work so Mike covered me the whole trip) and then went to the Basilica.
The Basilique de Notre Dame de la Paix made everything worth it. It's actually the tallest church in the world. The dome of St. Peter's is slightly taller, by request of the Pope, but the Basilica's golden cross extends the highest, therefore making it number one. It is stunningly beautiful. We went to the roof and could see the gardens in front of it, along with a huge peace dove built into the ground in front. It was so peaceful and relaxing. A strange contrast to the country's state. Back in 2004, Yamoussoukro saw a lot of the blood and violence, it being in the middle of the country. After getting our tour, we sat on its front steps for about 45 minutes and just soaked in the quiet. Darkness was about to fall so we decided to go find a hotel. At first our taxi driver took us to a super shady hotel. Located in the slums, it was run by a guy who kept upping the price. So we left. We drove around forever. There were no rooms anywhere. And the guidebook we had was no help. They knew nothing of Yamoussoukro because it was written when the area was still inaccessible. Right as it got dark, our taxi driver helped us get the last room at a hotel. After enjoying a delicious meal, some beers, and the Daily Show on TV, we went to bed.
In the morning we went to the bus station at 630 am thinking the bus left at 7 am. It left at 930 am. We hung out for a while, took a few walks, wrote in our journals. We found this amazing outdoor stand that served egg sandwiches on baguettes. We grabbed a few and went back to the station. Realizing we had more time, Shauna and I went back. There were benches around the stand to sit and drink coffee. It was the best cup of coffee I've ever had. I ordered coffee and a piece of baguette. I did as the locals did and dipped the bread in the coffee. They used some sort of gooey cream in the coffee that made it heaven. Everyone there was incredibly friendly and respected that we were trying French as much as we could. And they didn't make us feel weird for being foreign. We felt incredibly welcome. The random acts of absolute kindness from complete strangers in Africa is one of the many things that makes it so great.
The bus ride back was smooth. We saw a guy holding up a 6-7 foot long snake on the edge of a village, and saw a woman selling shrimp the size of rats. During that bus ride I was in one of my moods--that feeling of nirvana from realizing how much I love being in Africa. I just listened to Amadou and Mariam on my iPod and stared out the window at all the shades of green, gray and blue seen from the road. The colors are so much more vivid here.
Once back in Abidjan we went straight to the other bus station that has buses back to Accra. We got a room at the station's lodge--the bus to Accra left the next morning at 7 am. Andy, Shauna and I decided to go get drinks and food to bring back. This is when we run into trouble. Andy gave his passport to Mary before we left--both the security guard and our taxi driver saw that. The guard told our driver where to take us for stuff. Our taxi driver took us way out of the way. None of us wear seatbelts in Ghana. No one does. In Cote d'Ivoire it's law that those in front have to wear seatbelts. I completely forgot to put mine on--and I was in the passenger seat. Conveniently, the cabbie drove us right to two cops standing in the road pulling over whomever they please. We're pulled over, of course. The cop starts yelling at me in French. I keep saying "Je ne comprands pas" ("I don't understand") and I start to get angry because he won't stop. So I yell "Anglais!" a few times. I turn to Andy and ask, "What the hell is going on?!" And he tells me it was the seatbelt. I try putting it on, and all the cop does is hit my hand, knocking the belt out of my hand. He keeps yelling, knowing quite well I don't know what he's saying. I try again and he slaps my hand again and Andy tells me he saying it's finished, it's too late. They don't ever fully realize that Andy understands them. In French, the cabbie tells the cop to check us (remember that he knows Andy doesn't have his passport). Andy and the cop exchange words. The cop is just plain and simple an asshole. Andy looked somewhere between infuriated and scared. Then I hear the cop say "dix mille." We ended up having to pay him 10,000 CFA--otherwise he could have hauled Andy off to jail. The cabbie had completely set us up.
So we went and got food and drinks and when we get back to the station the cabbie tries charging us another 10,000 CFA (25 USD) for fare. We yell at him and only pay 5,000 and then get out. In the lodge we made friends with a Ghanaian guy, Niki. He works for the bus company and speaks fluent French and English. Hours later we are hungry again and thirsty. But it's dark outside. And everyone has told us not to go out after dark. So Andy, Mary and I decide to have Niki take us for stuff. We walk several blocks and find a bar and a bakery. The atmosphere felt so different and strange. The sky was red and everyone seemed to either be on a mission or looking over their shoulder. Right after we pass an alley, three taxis pull out of it, each with about 10 men in them, shouting and hollering. Who knows what that was about. No one hassled us, but they looked at us as though to say, "You have no idea." We got back safely, thanks to Niki. When we walk in, we see two guys sitting in the lobby counting stacks of cash. Of course we assume he's a drug dealer through the bus company, but we talked to him later and he was very nice. Apparently he brings shipments (different cargo each time) with the bus between Abidjan and Lagos, back and forth. This time it was about 300,000 Ghana Cedis worth of French cognac. That's about a third of a million USD. He then gave us a bottle to be friendly. He was really interesting. He can speak 10 languages and has houses in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana. You never know who you'll meet here.
Coming back to Ghana was problem-free. There was a crazy guy on the bus sitting behind us, but after ignoring him for a while, he stopped bugging us.
Even though it sounds like a lot of things went wrong in Cote d'Ivoire, I loved it. Some of the people I was with have no interest in ever going back, but it really captivated me. The whole time I kept wondering what this or that person lived through in the last few years. It's amazing how life always continues. Horrific things happen... and life still goes on. I could imagine how amazing Abidjan must have been back in its day. But now it's crumbling and the people are weathered from war. My friend Shauna was so angry at those men who clung onto our taxi and then acted gang-like to get just 100 Francs. I can't blame them for what the world has done to the them. They have to chase cars for miles and beg for up to a half an hour to get 25 cents split between 3 of them. It makes me sick that people are forced to resort to that. I cannot blame them for their disparity. Here I've found myself being much more able to see through other's eyes. If I grew up without any education, no one taught me any skills, no jobs were available, and there were no other sources of help, I would be begging for money. If I always only found myself in the worst of neighborhoods, grew up seeing friends getting shot and killed over money, drugs, and one or both of my parents didn't care if I succeeded or failed in life, I wouldn't trust anyone, ever, and I would be stubbornly guarded. We're all direct products of our past experiences. We just have to try to understand each other. And try to allow others to understand us.
Cote d'Ivoire, to me, was beautiful. The people were usually guarded and tougher than Ghanaians, but we encountered countless random acts of kindness. The landscape was the most beautiful I've ever seen. One the bus I saw a river with a single palm tree in the middle of it. The water just seemed to dance over the rocks. I've never seen water move like that. The food was phenomenal. The French influence was quite apparent in the food. Baguettes, croissants and coffee were abundant. I definitely plan on returning.
28 October 2008
That's the Way of the World
"And then there are things in life that you see that are just so incredibly beautiful. And how can we explain that?" Nathan and I were standing on his balcony. It was nighttime and the air was cool, but muggy. We talked about everything; how he is pretty positive that his girlfriend back home is the one, how I didn't know what I was doing with my life anymore, how we think we've changed since coming here. If there's one thing that Ghana has shown me, it's that life isn't as complicated as we make it.
My mind has been running rampant lately. Before coming to Ghana I pictured myself working for an NGO within the next two or three years. Now I don't. I feel really lost at this point. I'm wishing I would have gone into the arts. I'm contemplating making my Global Studies major a minor and then tagging on a Music Minor if at all possible. It seems as though that the only thing that has been constant in my life has been music. There's always been music. It's something that we can all share.. maybe we don't all agree on what is enjoyable, and what isn't, but we all share a love for music. The arts seem to be the only solid thing I see now. They're so integral to human creativity. It's humanity at it's finest.
I see so many different dynamics in Ghana. A guy on my floor drives a Jaguar, while across the street at the Night Market, the people who work at those stands sleep in their stands and their children relieve themselves in a nearby field. Nathan and I think it's strange how humans have set up things in the way that they have. Like the concept of careers. All we need is shelter, clothing, food, water. Why can't we just work for those things for each other? Why complicate it further? When I wonder how we would get all of these other things.. like electronics, cars, etc.. I really realize how materialistic I am. I've become angry with myself lately because I realize that I feel like I need these things. And I can't stop myself from feeling like I need these things. I really don't know what I'd do without my iPod. When I'm at home, I love to buy clothes. I know I'm not the only girl my age that does that, but I still feel terrible. I can't help myself. Even here I constantly wish I could just go clothes shopping. Well, it doesn't help that the girls on campus dress up way more than we do, but regardless. I was telling my friend what I was thinking, and he said that there are a lot of things that we can do to help others, but it seems like sometimes doing things like that wouldn't help anyone even if we didn't indulge.
The one luxury that I've struggled without here is my car. When I'm at home and want to clear my mind, I go driving. I drive and listen to music and just soak in everything. It really bothers me that I don't have that outlet here. I've come the conclusion that I would see so much more of Accra if I did have a car. I would just go drive everywhere, find out where everything is, see everything. As of now I don't have a clear map of the city in my head at all. I take public transportation so I just know some major roads and what some things look like. I feel I could experience so much more if my transportation was unlimited.
To clear my mind here I usually just go on my balcony, burn some incense, and sit down. My recent revelations on life have come in conjunction with meeting a specific person. Whenever I'm with this person I feel very carefree. Life seems simple and enjoyable. This person has had a lot happen to them in their lifetime, but doesn't let it keep them down. I just want to live life. I think that's what everyone really just wants to do. There are so many rules made by governments, religions, societies. And I think that a lot of them are unnatural. It just seems like a game of controlling the next person. That's the thing about humans. We hate to be controlled, but at the same time we try to control everyone else. Everyone deserves to just live their life. Take pleasure in simple things. Be happy with your immediate surroundings. We get so bogged down with societal pressures and other worries that we forget to cherish what we have in front of us.
The people I've met here, who are right in front of me now, are what have made my experience in Ghana. People from all different backgrounds, classes, races, nationalities, sexualities. Definitely there are things that I've learned from just being here physically, but it's mostly the people that make Ghana for me. Even after only being here for a short time there are people I feel I can tell anything. My eyes have been opened like never before. One thing that Nathan and I concluded on was that we've both loosened up a lot since coming here. Neither of us were very uptight in the first place, but we have relaxed quite a bit. Things we weren't able to tolerate before are now normal. However, we feel that when we get back to the States, we think we'll find that we can no longer tolerate other things that we did before. In particular, close-minded people. I know that I won't allow myself to be surrounded with people that can't tolerate difference. I won't have any patience for them.
I don't know what I'm going to do without the people that I'm with right now. I realize that my viewpoint on things is very different from everyone else going home after this semester. I don't know what I would do if I was only doing a semester. There are so many relationships that I've recently acquired that I want to expand on, and the fact that I'm coming back makes it possible. I don't know how I'll handle the end of next semester, though. I think the hardest thing in the world is to be physically detached from those you love. I feel like I've dealt with it quite a bit. And it never gets easier. You just have to believe that if you were meant to be together again, you will be. But you have to make that effort.
That's the Way of the World
by Earth, Wind, & Fire
Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne
We’ve come together on this special day
To sing our message loud and clear
Looking back we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future pass, they disappear
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ‘cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart ‘cause you’re never (never, never, ..) old at heart
That’s the way of the world
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
A child is born with a heart of gold
The way of the world makes his heart so cold
My mind has been running rampant lately. Before coming to Ghana I pictured myself working for an NGO within the next two or three years. Now I don't. I feel really lost at this point. I'm wishing I would have gone into the arts. I'm contemplating making my Global Studies major a minor and then tagging on a Music Minor if at all possible. It seems as though that the only thing that has been constant in my life has been music. There's always been music. It's something that we can all share.. maybe we don't all agree on what is enjoyable, and what isn't, but we all share a love for music. The arts seem to be the only solid thing I see now. They're so integral to human creativity. It's humanity at it's finest.
I see so many different dynamics in Ghana. A guy on my floor drives a Jaguar, while across the street at the Night Market, the people who work at those stands sleep in their stands and their children relieve themselves in a nearby field. Nathan and I think it's strange how humans have set up things in the way that they have. Like the concept of careers. All we need is shelter, clothing, food, water. Why can't we just work for those things for each other? Why complicate it further? When I wonder how we would get all of these other things.. like electronics, cars, etc.. I really realize how materialistic I am. I've become angry with myself lately because I realize that I feel like I need these things. And I can't stop myself from feeling like I need these things. I really don't know what I'd do without my iPod. When I'm at home, I love to buy clothes. I know I'm not the only girl my age that does that, but I still feel terrible. I can't help myself. Even here I constantly wish I could just go clothes shopping. Well, it doesn't help that the girls on campus dress up way more than we do, but regardless. I was telling my friend what I was thinking, and he said that there are a lot of things that we can do to help others, but it seems like sometimes doing things like that wouldn't help anyone even if we didn't indulge.
The one luxury that I've struggled without here is my car. When I'm at home and want to clear my mind, I go driving. I drive and listen to music and just soak in everything. It really bothers me that I don't have that outlet here. I've come the conclusion that I would see so much more of Accra if I did have a car. I would just go drive everywhere, find out where everything is, see everything. As of now I don't have a clear map of the city in my head at all. I take public transportation so I just know some major roads and what some things look like. I feel I could experience so much more if my transportation was unlimited.
To clear my mind here I usually just go on my balcony, burn some incense, and sit down. My recent revelations on life have come in conjunction with meeting a specific person. Whenever I'm with this person I feel very carefree. Life seems simple and enjoyable. This person has had a lot happen to them in their lifetime, but doesn't let it keep them down. I just want to live life. I think that's what everyone really just wants to do. There are so many rules made by governments, religions, societies. And I think that a lot of them are unnatural. It just seems like a game of controlling the next person. That's the thing about humans. We hate to be controlled, but at the same time we try to control everyone else. Everyone deserves to just live their life. Take pleasure in simple things. Be happy with your immediate surroundings. We get so bogged down with societal pressures and other worries that we forget to cherish what we have in front of us.
The people I've met here, who are right in front of me now, are what have made my experience in Ghana. People from all different backgrounds, classes, races, nationalities, sexualities. Definitely there are things that I've learned from just being here physically, but it's mostly the people that make Ghana for me. Even after only being here for a short time there are people I feel I can tell anything. My eyes have been opened like never before. One thing that Nathan and I concluded on was that we've both loosened up a lot since coming here. Neither of us were very uptight in the first place, but we have relaxed quite a bit. Things we weren't able to tolerate before are now normal. However, we feel that when we get back to the States, we think we'll find that we can no longer tolerate other things that we did before. In particular, close-minded people. I know that I won't allow myself to be surrounded with people that can't tolerate difference. I won't have any patience for them.
I don't know what I'm going to do without the people that I'm with right now. I realize that my viewpoint on things is very different from everyone else going home after this semester. I don't know what I would do if I was only doing a semester. There are so many relationships that I've recently acquired that I want to expand on, and the fact that I'm coming back makes it possible. I don't know how I'll handle the end of next semester, though. I think the hardest thing in the world is to be physically detached from those you love. I feel like I've dealt with it quite a bit. And it never gets easier. You just have to believe that if you were meant to be together again, you will be. But you have to make that effort.
That's the Way of the World
by Earth, Wind, & Fire
Hearts of fire creates love desire
Take you high and higher to the world you belong
Hearts of fire creates love desire
High and higher to your place on the throne
We’ve come together on this special day
To sing our message loud and clear
Looking back we’ve touched on sorrowful days
Future pass, they disappear
You will find peace of mind
If you look way down in your heart and soul
Don’t hesitate ‘cause the world seems cold
Stay young at heart ‘cause you’re never (never, never, ..) old at heart
That’s the way of the world
Plant your flower and you grow a pearl
A child is born with a heart of gold
The way of the world makes his heart so cold
15 October 2008
Pictures
Hey everyone!
So I've gotten some pictures up on the internet over here. I didn't have time to upload them to all sorts of different sites, so I just put them up on my Facebook account. Here is the link to the photo album so you can all see them!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2505756&l=740ff&id=6856067
These are not really updated yet, so there should be more photos to come sometime soon.
Enjoy!
So I've gotten some pictures up on the internet over here. I didn't have time to upload them to all sorts of different sites, so I just put them up on my Facebook account. Here is the link to the photo album so you can all see them!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2505756&l=740ff&id=6856067
These are not really updated yet, so there should be more photos to come sometime soon.
Enjoy!
08 October 2008
American Burgers
“Oh, it’s the Nigerians.”
There’s this bad stereotype of Nigerians here. There are these girls on our floor who always scream and run around and stomp their feet early in the morning. When we complained about them to some of our Ghanaian friends, their explanation was that they’re Nigerian. That’s the typical feelings towards Nigerians. They’re seen as partiers and obnoxious. It gets really old hearing Ghanaians say that a person’s annoying because they’re Nigerian. I’ve made friends with some guys on the floor who are Nigerian, and while I can tell that they are definitely different from Ghanaians, they are just as sweet of friends as my Ghanaian buddies. I don’t really know if the stereotype carries outside of campus, but I have a feeling it does. Sometimes I find it refreshing to talk with the Nigerians because they also don’t know Twi. And I’m starting to be able to tell the difference between a Ghanaian accent and a Nigerian accent. There is a huge Nigerian presence on campus. I believe it’s the largest group of non-Ghanaians studying here. It’s definitely interesting to see the differences between the Ghanaians and Nigerians.
Another thing I’m trying to get used to is the intenseness of Christianity. I will get extremely irritated by the Christian Right Wing/ neo-Conservatives in the States, but here it’s on a whole new level. So now I’m just trying to accept it, but it gets hard when people start judging you. Now not all of the people here judge you because of your religious background by any means, but there are the few that kind of attack you for it. I was not raised religious, and I don’t consider it a big part of my life. Once, I was sitting in the hallway of my dorm with my friends Kara and Sanny. A guy and a girl approached us and asked if we had declared Jesus as our Savior. Kara and Sanny are both Christian and replied yes. I didn’t want to lie so I said no, and that I’m not Christian. The two made a face and then asked me if I was Muslim. I said I considered myself Agnostic. I said that I was not raised religious and that I wasn’t too worried about it, and that I am just trying to lead a good life right now. He wouldn’t accept that for an answer. He said that he has studied all the religions, and they all have good parts, but no matter what I do the only way I’ll get to Heaven is through Jesus. I really wanted to reply with, “So, I could go kill 80 people in cold blood, but as long as I declared Jesus as my Savior, I’m good to go?” I didn’t say that. I tried to be as polite as possible without me losing my cool. I told him that I respected his religion and his beliefs and other religions, but I wasn’t going to change myself. He didn’t like that answer either. We eventually got him to go away, and I got really upset after that. Normally I would have just gotten really angry, but instead I ended up crying in front of my friends. They are both very religious, but they were also really upset with the guy. My friends are Christian, but they don’t judge. It was just really hard to hear from someone that no matter what I do, I’m going to Hell. I have two Jewish friends in my program. They’ve also had some hard times dealing with people. It seems to just be something I’ll have to learn to deal with here. And again, the large majority of Christians here are not like that guy; it’s just those few that always seem to stick out to you.
So the last few weekends have been really fun. Two weekends ago I went with about 10 friends to a place called Ada Foah. It was seriously the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. We stayed in huts on the beach and didn’t shower all weekend. And the stars at night were amazing. We were far away from any city, and it was absolutely beautiful. I also saw the most intense shooting star I’ve ever seen. It was just basically a weekend in paradise. We also went to this island where they brew rum from their own sugar cane crop. It was a really surreal little island with sea shells embedded in the ground, kind of giving the effect of a walkway, but they were there naturally.
This last weekend our program went on a trip to the Volta Region. On Saturday we went and swam in this waterfall which is the tallest in
This next weekend I’m going with friends to the qualifier football game for the 2010 World Cup. It’s in an outside town so we’ll probably go there the night before and then wake up early to stand in line for tickets. It’s against
Today I went to the Accra Mall to get stuff for burgers (me and three others are making American food tonight), and on our way back we took a taxi because I was running late for something. Driving up the hill towards campus there was a protest. They were students protesting for peaceful elections (the presidential election here is Dec 7), and they were completely infesting the road. These big flatbed trucks full of people drove by and guys were running all around the traffic. They were coming to the cars and asking for money (God knows where the money would go). Guys were running past us yelling, “White ladies! White ladies!” and went up to the cab driver and said, “You have whites in your car, you have a lot of money! Why don’t you give us some?” And one guy tried opening my friend’s door. So we quickly locked the doors and rolled up the windows. It seemed pretty crazy while it was happening, but I guess looking back it wasn’t that bad. It was quite the experience though.
Well… off to make American burgers! Bye!
29 September 2008
Imagine
“It’s crazy. Not long ago there were people running around here hunting for slaves.” I looked out the bus window and tried to process what Julie had just said. It made my skin crawl and gave me a lump in my throat. When we got to the slave castle I just felt numb. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I wanted to cry but there were no tears. I wanted to vomit, but my stomach just felt like a void. Never before have I felt like I did that day.
Two weekends ago CIEE, my program, took us to
We were given a tour of the place and were shown the many different parts. We went into the female and male holding cells where men and women would be shoved tightly into small rooms for about 3 months at a time. We also went through to the door of no return. This door was the last they saw of the Ghanaian shore before being piled into the slave ships. It was one of the narrowest doors I’ve seen. Upstairs there were the governor’s quarters and his colleagues’ living space. It was disgustingly nice. There was a fireplace and his bedroom had painted walls and wood floors. I can’t imagine how evil a person must be to be able to enjoy a nice fireplace when there are men dying and women being raped downstairs. There was even a Bible verse posted on the wall of one of his rooms.
The hypocrisy of it all is baffling. The English, Dutch, and Portuguese that operated out of that castle all considered themselves men of God. There’s even a Portuguese church in the middle of the courtyard. There were priests integral to their operations and who lived on the grounds. It’s absolutely disgusting. Our tour guide said that he had thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that they had no connection with any Christian God. It’s amazing how perverted religion can be to commit some of the greatest crimes of humanity.
There was also a room designated for the rape of women. The children of those rapes were outcast as Mulattos and were rejected by both the white and black in
The castle is such a repulsive place but at the same time, a visitor’s first impression is its beauty. It’s a giant white stone castle on the ocean, surrounded by palm trees. It’s eerie how something can be so incredibly horrific and beautiful at the same time. It’s almost like you feel guilty for noticing the beauty.
After we left the castle we went to
After this trip we had a group discussion about all of it. Different things stuck out to different people. The thing that struck me the most was the realization that such deep divisions still exist. The average human mind seems almost incapable of seeing the fact that we’re all human. The divisions between race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexuality, etc, are so incredibly strong. It seems to me that the many of the people in the world can’t see past these minor differences and just open up their arms. I feel that there is a real lack of empathy in humanity. Humans are unable to fathom horrors that they haven’t either witnessed or experienced. None of us really can, but we can realize that there is an unimaginable pain that needs to be stopped. We hear through the media or through word-of-mouth that there are ridiculous amounts of child soldiers in
I just kept staring out the window on the way back. There was a little boy squatting to defecate on a large pile of trash. A minute down the road was a resort with a waterslide. In my ears all I could hear was John Lennon.
Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people living for today
Imagine there’s no countries, it isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And the world will live as one
Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people sharing all the world
You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope some day you’ll join us
And world will live as one.
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