Goodbye Ghana - Hello Canada!

And all of a sudden, here I am on my last day in Accra. Our flight leaves at 9pm tonight, and I am extremely excited to get home and see all of my family and friends (and yes, partake in some Tim Horton’s treats!).

This has, as everyone predicted, been the adventure of a lifetime. Everyday had its ups and downs, and it was not all seeing elephants and eating FanIce; some days it was really difficult to be away from home. They say that homesickness is a good thing, because it means that you have a home worth missing – but that does not make it much easier! Some days were very long and hectic, when you just felt too hot and crowded and prayed to just be able to walk down the street without attracting attention. However, I gained experiences from this journey that I would not trade for the world. I have learned to problem-solve in a whole new way, to work in a professional environment in an entirely different culture, and I have been exposed to a world I never thought I would get to see in person. All of these experiences have challenged me mentally, emotionally, and physically, and for that I am grateful.

I feel as though I have become a very patient person. Frustration still happens of course, but not without perspective. When I found myself wanting to complain about a long trotro ride or foiled plans, it was not hard to remind myself that I am living in Africa for the summer, and things cannot always go as planned. Also, for every negative thing that may have happened, at least five positive things did. I would think “wow, I am tired”, but then remember that the day before I had hiked a waterfall, met a new friend, or even held a monkey. This made everything a bit easier. There was always something to look forward to or reflect happily on. It has never escaped me how lucky I am to be here in Ghana.

As much as I hate to admit it, I will miss walking down our massive hill each morning, as being greeted by neighbours and goats along the way was definitely worth it. I will miss laughing as we would squeeze into a trotro, buying food out of the windows of vehicles, and chatting up taxi drivers. I will miss being so close to a beach, and being able to travel from a busy city to a lush paradise each weekend. I will miss the acquaintances we would run into on our route each morning and our seamstresses; but most of all I will miss my colleagues at the Gender Centre. I felt truly welcomed and part of a family there, as if I had at least five mother figures at any given time willing to offer advice or assistance. Going to work each day only improved as we became closer to each person at the office, and I will definitely miss our chats with them every morning.

In short, almost every adjective could be used to describe this trip – exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating, thrilling, challenging, and even relaxing. It has gone very quickly (perhaps too quickly) and it will be strange to re-adjust to my Canadian lifestyle. I am very much looking forward to applying the knowledge and skills I have learned during my time in Ghana to my studies and my life in general as I enter my final year at Acadia. Thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout this process and who have read this blog and enjoyed it. I had lots of fun sharing my stories along the way, and I cannot wait to tell some in person!

Until next time!

An Elephant Never Forgets, and Neither Will I - A Trip to Mole National Park

The view of the watering hole at Mole National Park

 This weekend was the one that we had all been waiting for since the start of our trip: a visit to Mole National Park to see some elephants! Jessica, Leah, Ashley, Bevan, Shannon and I had set aside August 3^rd to 6^th to go to the park, and it was amazing how quickly those dates arrived. After attempting to fly (far too expensive) and battling with bus schedules, we finally headed out of Accra on a 4pm bus to go up to Tamale (the capital of the Northern Region) where we would then catch a bus to Mole. The trip to Tamale was supposed to take 11-12 hours, and the ride from Tamale to Mole about 5. While I expected that a 4pm bus would really leave around 6pm (this has been my experience with transportation in Ghana so far), to my amazement we were pulling out of the station at 3:56pm –  a miracle!. The bus itself was amazing: air conditioned, with huge leather seats and tons of leg room, it was much better than economy class on a plane! Since most of the ride took place during the night, the trip actually felt so much quicker than I expected. We all got a fair amount of sleep in, and the rest stops were perfectly planned and involved delicious jollof rice and chicken! All in all, it was an excellent trip up to Tamale.

We arrived in Tamale around 5am and took a short taxi ride to the Metro Mass Transit Station to check out the ticket situation for bus tickets to Mole. It turned out that you could not get a bus to Mole until the afternoon, around 1 or 2pm; there were other buses going other places which could get you close, but they were all full. We had a dilemma on our hands: we were not really interested in waiting around for 6 hours after a 13 hour bus trip, but the only other option was to take a taxi which seemed expensive. In the end, we were able to find a taxi that would take us to Mole for only 20ghc each, which although the bus was only 5ghc each, we really wanted to just get to the park and not lose a whole day. Six of us piled in the taxi, promised that it would take less than three hours in the taxi as opposed to 5 hours in the bus, and headed off.

We made it!

The Northern Region is obviously very different than the Greater Accra region. The highway was lined with fields and trees, and every so often there would be a community of mud huts, something I had never seen before. These homes were all the same shape, but each had different symbols carved into its walls. Every community also had a mosque, as the Muslim population is much more concentrated up north. The contrast with the southern parts of the country were fascinating and beautiful. The beauty ended however when we hit the dirt road leading up to Mole. This road is so bumpy and there really is nothing to see but trees. This would have been fine, save for the fact that our driver was going about 20km/hr and we were packed and layered so tightly into the car that later, we all admitted that we thought we may never walk again. After an extremely painful 3.5 hours or so (the last half hour of which Ashley and I decided to ride in the trunk of the station wagon to avoid being squished – which may have been a worse experience in reality), we arrived at the gates to Mole National Park! We paid our entrance fee of 5ghc (yay for being a student), we travelled another minute or two down the road and ended up at the hotel around 10:30am.

Our first elephant sighting!

We were too early to check in, so we decided to grab some breakfast at the hotel restaurant, which is next to the pool (you read that right) and overlooks the massive watering hole. The views were spectacular and while we were waiting for our food, we saw five elephants at the watering hole! There was a female, a bull, and three babies and it was one of the highlights of the trip for us all I would say. We were not 100% sure we would get to see any elephants, and here we were a mere hour or so into our trip and we saw a whole family! Seeing these massive creatures was so surreal; I have never seen an elephant in real life before, and this was the way to do it. Even from so far up, you could see just how massive these animals are, and how majestic. After lunch (which took about 2 hours to arrive) and a dip in the pool (absolute heaven), we decided to go on the 3:30pm walking safari.

Some warthog friends sorting out their differences

We set off from the information centre with our group, plus two Americans and our phenomenal tour guide, Moses. Moses led us through the forest, pointing out animals as we went. We could often only catch fleeting glances of antelope and deer of all kinds, but even that was worth it. We could also see baboons and warthogs everywhere, which was fantastic. The views and sounds in the forest itself were amazing. We walked for about 2 hours down to the watering hole, stopping frequently to peek through the trees at animals Moses had pointed out and taking pictures of our surroundings. On the way, we saw elephant footprints, fresh dung, and trees which had been freshly severed by the elephants’ massive tusks. By the time we got to the watering hole in this expansive, grassy area, the elephants had gone. This was no disappointment to me though, as I had already seen what I came to see hours before! The walk itself was pleasant enough, and seeing animals in the wild is obviously never guaranteed. I got the impression from Moses, who committed himself fully to making sure that we got to see an elephant during our 2 day visit, that some tourists who do not get lucky enough to see elephants get quite irritated, believing the long trip was for nothing. I had a different attitude: I was never sure that we would see elephants, and so in a way I did not expect to. This made getting to see them a treat as opposed to an expectation. Animals are unpredictable, and the reason one visits a 4700 square km national park as opposed to a zoo is to view them in their natural habitat. This means that you risk not seeing any animals at all, but when you do you know that you are watching them go about their real, daily lives and are not confined to any small area just so that people can gawk at them (don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy a good zoo). To me, this makes the experience more special, and the journey to find wildlife was just as enjoyable as actually seeing some.

After returning from the safari around 6pm, when the sun was just about starting to set (making the views back even more spectacular), we went for another dip in the pool and then settled down for dinner where we got to watch some Olympics as there was a television in the restaurant. This remarkablynormal activity was so welcomed by all of us, and after watching Great Britain absolutely sweep so many track events, we turned in for the night, exhausted but happy.

We got up and headed out for our 7am safari the next morning with the other guests. We decided, finding 4 other people, that renting one of the big Jeeps for 2 hours for only 10ghc each would be totally worth it and we piled in (some of us on top of the vehicle!) for another adventure. I sat inside the car at first with some people from Germany, Italy, and the US. We drove through the forest with Moses, but did not really see much wildlife. We passed a few other groups on the way and tried to see if they had seen the elephants, and Moses got out several times to track them because he had seen footprints (pretty cool). All in all we kind of struck out in terms of seeing elephants that morning, and it had started to rain a bit. I was on top of the Jeep at this point and while riding on top of a vehicle was very fun, being cold and wet, sitting on metal slats, and getting whipped in the face with tree branches was slightly less so. However, this did not stop me from having a good laugh at the situation!

Our first sighting!

We went to our complimentary breakfast (lucky us!) after our safari and were able to have a few sips of coffee, some toast, and the most delicious eggs I think I have ever eaten. Then we split up a bit, with some of us heading to the info centre to check out the store and whatnot. We were not there long at all when Moses came and found us, and said that there was an elephant nearby. We rallied the troops as it were (keep in mind that this was not a regularly scheduled safari), and went off only about five minutes down the road, when we saw him. He was huge, with one full tusk and one half one, standing in front of a house with a satellite dish (gotta love the juxtaposition there!). We stood in awe, staring at this massive, gentle being, and took as many pictures as our cameras could handle. We did not stay long, as this trip was somewhat off the books and Moses did not want the elephant disturbed too much; however, I do not think any amount of time with him would have been enough for us! We walked away in wonderment, thanking Moses dearly for specifically coming to find us and bringing us within 20 feet of the most amazing animal any of us have ever seen. It was definitely an experience I will never forget.

We filled the afternoon with phone calls home, sitting by the pool, watching more Olympics and eating lunch. It felt so good to be in this place, around all these animals, and just relaxing. It has been a long and hectic three months, and I think we all really enjoyed winding down. Later in the afternoon, around 2:30 or 3pm, Leah came to get us, saying that she had seen elephants again down by the watering hole and Moses had agreed to take us there to find them. After pleading with his boss to let him take us down for a very short time ahead of the other tourists, we set off down a special and direct trail that got us to the bottom in no time. We ended up having the best time – we had to cross this small river over a log, and we just laughed at our own incompetency. I shimmied, Shannon stretched across it like Inspector

Another view of the watering hole

Gadget, and we all had a blast. We then had to cross a very muddy section of grassland and again had so much fun getting dirty and wet and slipping through the grass. By this time we had seen the elephants, very dark form having taken their own swim, from quite far away and it turned out that they were just too fast for us. Moses tried to track them to see if they might come back, and we sat up in a small lodge on the edge of the grassland for a while observing monkeys, listening to the forest, and waiting, but to no avail. I do not think this bothered any of us all that much; it was a shame we missed the elephants by such a small margin of time, but we had so much fun getting to where they were that we did not mind. The journey back was just as enjoyable and fun, and we all felt light, happy, and relaxed when we got back to the hotel.

We went swimming yet again, and then enjoyed our dinner and, you guessed it, more Olympics! Just before dinner, there was a baboon that grabbed cookies out of the hands of another guest, scratching her arm in the process. The whole hotel burst into laughter, as we had all heard about how the baboons will steal any food they can get their hands on. There were a couple of other encounters as the animal tried to return to take more, but after being chased away a few times, he gave up. Such a funny experience!

Larabanga Mosque

The next morning, we had arranged for a tour of a mosque in Larabanga, 6km outside of Mole. From there the plan was to catch the 9:30am bus which we had tickets reserved for. We took Jeeps to Larabanga (this time with seats on top) and we flew to the town. Now that was a fun Jeep ride! We arrived in Larabanga in minutes and were told the history of the mosque and got to look around the structure. The first record of this mosque appeared in 1421, but chances are the mosque was built long before that. As non-Muslims, we are not allowed to enter the mosque but were able to walk all around it and take pictures. The mosque is re-surfaced every year which makes one wonder how many layers have been added to the building and whether or not that would change its

The Mystic Stone

original shape much over hundreds of years. There were several doors to the mosque, all for different purposes. The doors to the mosque were very tiny because the idea is that when one is entering a house of god they should kneel; with door-frames so low, if you forgot to bow down while entering the mosque you would hit your head. That is one way to remind people to be respectful! After considering the mosque and interacting with countless local children, we decided to continue down the road to another attraction, the Mystic Stone, which is a stone that people tried to move many times but it kept inexplicably returning. Now it stands within a small stone structure where you can go and make a wish on the stone. We all made our wishes (and of course, if I want it to come true I cannot divulge my own wish), and then admired the view of the countryside before us.

Goat family on the way to the Mystic Stone

We walked back to the town, attempting to catch some earlier buses along the way but to no avail. As it turns out, we would never even get the 9:30 bus to Tamale as it had a flat tire that was taking ages to fix, and we all had buses to Accra to catch. After waiting in Larabanga in the heat for several hours, we were able to contract a trotro to take us to Tamale. Expensive, but we really had to get on our way! Luckily, the tro cost only 10ghc more than the taxi to get into Mole and was obviously much more spacious. The driver also flew at warp speed over all the bumps which made it a fun and quick trip! We were all wind-blown (especially since a window flew out of the tro on our journey, which I though was hilarious) and absolutely covered in red dirt, making us all look much more tanned than we were, by the time we got to Tamale. Once in Tamale, the scramble to make the 6pm buses to Accra was on. Ashley, Shannon and Leah had planned to stay the night in Tamale anyway as they were heading to various locations in the morning, but Bevan, Jessica and I needed to get back to Accra sooner. After visiting the three bus stations multiple times, we discovered that all the 6pm buses were completely full up and the next bus would not be until 6:30am. This was frustrating, but we simply got the name of the hotel the others were spending the night in and headed there for the night.

This hotel was remarkably cheap (about 10ghc/night/person) and rightly so. It was very much a motel scenario, and was pretty sketchy to be honest. Looking back on it of course I cannot help but laugh at the mysterious marks on all of the walls, the broken lights, and the horrible bathrooms; but at the time, I kept joking that my last night on earth might be spent in this place! The reassuring thing though was that there were many obrunis staying at this motel, meaning that while it may have been slightly less than beautiful, it was likely safe. We walked to Sparkles, a restaurant in the culture centre, and ate some delicious spring rolls and some terrible pizza (which funnily enough cost more than our room!), and then pretty much headed to bed as we were all exhausted. Of course, the rooms were quite hot to begin with, and then the power went out, stopping the fans from blowing any air around. Also, it made it pitch black and terrifying! Luckily, the power came back on after less than an hour and I had a surprisingly relaxing sleep from which I was happy to awake the next morning!

The bus back to Accra was nice, and 11ghc cheaper than the one we took to Tamale. The catch was that there was less seat and leg room and there were Ghanaian movies blasting from two television screens on the bus the entire time, making it very difficult to sleep or relax and listen to music. Fortunately, these films were truly hilarious, and often involved ghosts, mystical snakes, and over-acting; unfortunately, they also often involved lots of loud screaming. The Ghanaians on the bus were loving these movies, and laughed constantly which was also funny so I could not complain too much. Overall, the ride back to Accra was worse than that to Tamale, but it was manageable. The worst part was experiencing the road from Kumasi to Accra. We had travelled on this road on our way up north; however, it was at night and so we were remarkably able to sleep through most of it. This road connects the two largest cities in Ghana, and yet it is unpaved and an absolute terror to drive on. There are very few street lights and the terrain is so bumpy that you literally fly inches out of your seat every couple of minutes; this continues for about 2 hours. This is amazing to me since it connects the two busiest places in the country. Since it was the last stretch of our trip, our time spent on this road seemed like an eternity and when we hit the smoothly paved roads of Accra I nearly cried with relief! The three of us finished off a long day with a much-needed trip to Eddy’s pizza (the best in town if you ask me) where I demolished an entire 10 inch pizza all to myself; I regret nothing.

This Mole trip was a big one; the planning of it was stressful, and the journey to and from the park were long and uncomfortable. However, I had experiences this weekend that I would not trade for anything. Seeing elephants in the wild is something I never thought I would be able to do, and it was truly remarkable. Even just relaxing by the pool and getting to watch some of the Olympics was worth all the trouble of getting there and back. This weekend was very tiring and exhilarating and ultimately one of the most memorable of my life. It was a perfect last trip to take in Ghana, and now I am trying to hang on to every last day I have in this country. I am absolutely thrilled to be able to see my friends and family and home country in ten days (can anyone say Tim Hortons?), but it will be so strange to leave this life that we have created a world away. Here’s to a great final week!

Anonymity

The anonymity associated with being home is going to be so strange. I think it will be a mix of relief to be able to walk along a street or use transport without constantly being called to, but the lack of attention may also be unnerving in a way. I will once again be swimming in a pool of people who look and think so similarly to me, or at least who are not surprised by my appearance. I will even buy my produce from a table in a store as opposed to choosing mango from the lady who probably grew it, and have her cut it up for me right there on the street. (Luckily we have such great markets in Nova Scotia that buying food from the source will not be that difficult; but then again, it won’t be mangoes either!).

Transportation is an area where one can clearly see major differences between Ghana and Canada.

When I get home, I will no longer tell my driver or mate directly where I would like to go on public transport: I will pull a rope that signals a bell which tells him instead. I will put my exact change into a slot at the front of the bus, instead of passing money to the mate himself and getting my change on the spot. I will read digital numbers which indicate the fare for a taxi ride, as opposed to negotiating the price in advance with the driver. It would seem as though human interaction in transportation has been replaced with mechanisms and machines in the West.

These mechanisms and machines contribute to the sense of anonymity that I now associate with the West. While there is a sense of community in many areas, it is just not the same. In Ghana, there is (somehow) a sense of community throughout the whole country; it is remarkable.

All this being said, I do not want anyone to think that I am not looking forward to coming home and using this anonymous system (believe me, some days it is all I want!). Also, I would not presume to argue that one way of life is preferable to another. I simply wanted to share my transit experience from the perspective of a Canadian living in Ghana, as I have found the differences quite stark. Perhaps when I get home other differences will dawn on me after living in Ghana, even though I have lived in Canada for so long.

A Harrowing Hike and a Breath-Taking View

 Wli Falls

And yet again, I fail to deliver on keeping this blog updated regularly. Alas!

Even though it is almost the weekend once again, today I write about what we were up to last weekend. Jessica and I set off to hike Wli Falls and Mount Afadjato last Saturday morning. We did not have to wait long before we were heading off down the highway (after spending an hour in Accra traffic, as per usual) towards the town of Ho-Hoe in the Volta Region. I was but minutes into my typical tro slumber when I was awoken by Jessica poking me and telling me to look out the window. At first I only saw trees, and was just about to give her a good little smack for waking me up, I saw what she was excited about: baboons! Here we were, less than two hours from Accra, and there was a large troop of baboons just right there on the side of the road. This being the first time seeing a baboon (or any significant wildlife in Ghana so far), I was very excited.
 
The five hour trip felt much longer. When we arrived in Ho-Hoe (pronounced "ho-hoy" for those of you wondering), we decided to just get out of the trotro and stretch our legs before beginning our search for a share taxi to Wli. Ho-Hoe itself is not much to write home about it seems, and before long we were done exploring and we headed back to the station to find a taxi. This was not difficult, and we were squished into the backseat of a well-loved vehicle with two lovely ladies to begin the short ride to Wli. 

Village of Wli

Wli itself was remarkable. It truly lies in a valley, and you can see the hills rise up out of the earth from all directions. These hills are not mountains by any means, but significant, majestic, rolling green hills that appear so lush and life-giving. Whenever we went anywhere through the course of the weekend I found myself stopping continuously to admire the views around me, and wondered how the locals could ever get through a day without doing the same. 

We stayed right in town at the Wli Heights Hotel (lovely spot - highly recommended). After not having had water for about four days at this point, the first thing we chose to do was shower when we got to the hotel, after which we read a bit and then headed off to dinner. There were other obrunis in the restaurant with us eventually, most from the UK. While I was feasting on absolutely delicious fried chicken and jollof rice, a very large horned beetle made its way into the room, loudly flapping its wings and scaring the life out of all the ex-pats in the room. June bugs are nothing compared to this lot! After a good chuckle about the bug (and the UK guests' reactions to it), Jessica and I settled down for a long winter's nap as it were.

We were awoken by the sound of the rain around 1am. When I say the sound of the rain, I do not mean a relaxing and peaceful drizzle tapping on my roof and walls. I mean torrential, terrifying, deafening rain and thunder, the likes of which makes one consider if Noah could even handle this level of moisture. Luckily our room remained leak-less and we considered sleeping. The rain was still quite heavy when we woke up at 6am - and again at 7am, 8am, and 9am. Around 9:30, we heard it come to a drizzle and stop; so by 10am, we hit the road to start the hike to the Upper Falls. 

Wli from above!

 The first part of the journey was flat and enjoyable. We felt lucky to even be able to do the hike at all since it had rained so much, but Godwin, our guide, assured us that it would not be too slippery. We walked for about 45 minutes before we saw the very steep and sudden incline that marked the beginning of the real hike. Walking sticks in hand, we tackled that hill valiantly but cautiously. I will not try and fool you into thinking that it was easy - it was extremely physically demanding and time consuming, but quite worth it for the views! You could see all of Wli village nestled in the hills from above, and it was amazing.

The Lower Falls

We walked down to the source of the lower falls and were so pelted with water I thought we may never be dry again. Normally, according to Godwin, people actually take a refreshing dip in the pool beneath. However, this was absolutely not possible when we were there! The rain had made the falls so powerful and windy that the drops that reached us were almost painful - and I could not stop laughing. 

Beginning one last brief climb and descent absolutely drenched was both refreshing and challenging, since our clothes were so laden with water that they made us heavy. But before too long (though admittedly it seemed like an eternity at times), we were walking back towards the visitors' centre, wiped out but pleased with ourselves. We ate a good meal and put ourselves to bed in no time.

In the morning, the original plan was to hike Mt. Afadjato; however, this did not pan out. We only had so much time to get there and back before check-out, and it was raining again when we woke up. Hopefully we will still be able to do that hike before we leave. Of course, the second our tro to Accra pulled out of the station at Ho-Hoe, the sky turned an absolutely brilliant blue and it turned into a gorgeous hiking day. C'est la vie!

It was so nice to get away and see some more amazing sights. This weekend we plan to enjoy Accra (probably our last weekend to really spend in Accra as we will be traveling the last few weekends), and relax a bit. Hard to believe there are only 29 days left! The whirlwind begins as we try and do everything we want to before going home - it should be fun!

A Trip to the Bead Market

After a week battling a cold (quite unpleasant when you are around so many people all the time; I feel bad for those sitting next to me on the small trotros!), I was so ready for a relaxing weekend. All of us had an exhausting week, and so we decided to do a relaxing day trip on Saturday since Leah was off. The options were to bike ride through the Aburi Gardens (after us all recovering from illness), or to visit a bead market in Agomanya which we had heard about. Since we were feeling slightly lazy, we decided to go to the bead market and I am so glad we did!

Agomanya is about two hours away from Accra including the city traffic. After what felt like a very short trip, we arrived in an extremely busy area quite unlike Accra. The main street was jam-packed full of tros, taxis, and people, and honestly we were not even sure of where we were when the tro stopped! Luckily, as always, we were not out of the tro for more than five seconds before someone offered us help. We followed a young man into the market who led us through winding pathways dotted with stalls filled with anything you could ever desire - everything from fabric, to fish, beans, grains, bowls, and produce. Before long, we arrived in the bead section of the market (which I am sure we never would have found without help). It was as if we stepped into a whole other world; stall after stall was lined with the most vibrant and varied colours I have ever seen. Large, small, round, square, opaque, translucent, patterned, plain, you name it. If you could dream it up in your imagination, you could find it in this market. 

The men and women selling the beads were just as bright, colourful, and fun as the goods on display. The would chat with you and try and sell you all kinds of colours and shapes, but in a good-natured way. They were also very helpful in helping you decide which colours went best together! We were even lucky enough to find one table that had a large selection of brass jewellery, from pendants to necklaces which all of us had a lot of fun looking through.

Each table had a different selection of beads, and we all went rather crazy trying them all out. The prices, as all are outside of Accra, were also very reasonable if not low for the quality and quantity we were able to secure! We spent a couple of hours browsing the wares, chatting with vendors, and admiring each others' purchases. When Jessica, the sickest of us all, looked like she was beginning to fade, we decided it was time for lunch. We stopped and looked at the expansive market in front of us, but remarkably we struggled to locate an area with a chop bar, or at least a stall with rice and beans or some other basic dish. In search of food, we head off through the labyrinth of aisles that each housed different items. (We all struggled a bit with our senses when we went through a huge fish market - it was a very hot day and it seemed as though half of the sea was in our sight). After recovering from the fish experience, we stumbled upon a chop bar and a place to buy drinks - an oasis with the heat and hunger wearing us down! The rice was delicious and we sat for some time re-hydrating and comparing our purchases.

After lunch we went back through the market for round two (carefully avoiding fish whenever we could) and enjoyed a long second look at the market. Personally, I liked just looking around - all the hanging beads in their infinite rainbow of colours dazzled the senses and it did feel as though we were in a treasure trove. I would have liked to take more pictures, but I was honestly a bit over-whelmed with it all! We finished at the bead market before too long and started the trek home, arriving at our humble abode just after dinnertime. 

Sunday this week truly was a day of rest - we attempted to sleep in (to little avail; getting up at 6am each day has ruined me), read our books, and were generally leisurely. Later in the day we decided that pizza was absolutely necessary and so we went all the way to Eddy's Pizza on Ring Road to finally experience its culinary delights. Jessica and I drive past this place everyday on the way to and from work and dream about pizza, and so finally getting to go inside was very exciting! The restaurant was actually quite fancy, as was the service! I began my meal with a hot towel to wash my hands and everything - very decadent. The pizza was to die for and we would argue that it is the best in the city. Despite stomach problems off and on for the last week, I polished off my pizza with no trouble at all and even had a FanIce on the way home! When it needs to be, my stomach is quite the champ.

Only six weeks left on this amazing adventure - excited to go on more adventures, but also very excited to go home! 

I. Am. Ghanadian.

So yet again, it has been some time since my last post – I must get better at keeping this blog updated!

Since last weekend in Akosombo, much has happened. On Thursday, we went to the Canadian High Commission to celebrate Canada Day in style. We sat by a pool, listened to (somewhat terrible, but comfortingly familiar) Canadian pop music, and ate. Oh, how we ate. First off, there was free popcorn so I was all over that. And then we also ate hotdogs and poutine – yes, you read that right! I was actually able to enjoy Canada’s greatest accomplishment while here in Ghana, and let me tell you it was worth the two cedis. There was also a really delicious cake at the end of the evening which was also free of charge. Only problem with the cake? Instead of saying “Happy Birthday, Canada”, the message on top read “Happy Birthday Sweetheart”. All in all a humorous mistake, and somewhat appropriate as at this point we are feeling rather fond of our homeland!

Enjoying some poutine!

            We spent the whole evening meeting and talking with other interns from Canada who were placed all over Ghana. It was really interesting to hear what other people our age were doing here, and what experiences they were having. I got to have some conversations that I will not get to have when I get back to Canada – I bonded with these Canadians over trotro etiquette, the amazing food here in Ghana, insects/creatures we had encountered, etc. It was fun to talk to other Canadians about cultural differences and good-naturedly complain about the less than ideal experiences we have had; at the same time, we all know how lucky we are to be here and we definitely bonded over that fact as well.

            On Friday, our Cape Coast counter-parts were in Accra again, and so we went to the Paloma to stuff ourselves full of western food and proceeded to spend the next several hours experiencing the nightlife Accra is well known for shall we say! We wandered around Osu, looking for the best places to be and were given great suggestions along the way. We went dancing at a couple of places called Container (literally a container with tables set up outside and a very exciting atmosphere) and Duplex (a nice night-club with outrageous prices but great music). I would say that this was one of the best nights I have spent here in Accra – everyone was so friendly, and willing to teach us dance moves, and we met so many people! A fun way to spend a Friday night (and part of the morning!).

           

After a day of rest and shopping on Saturday, we went to Cape Coast for the first time on Sunday. It is a beautiful area, and very different from Accra. Things generally seem to move at a more relaxed pace than in Accra (mind you, we were there on a Sunday and then a public holiday). We almost felt as if we could (literally) breathe easier, with less traffic and thus less exhaust fumes in the air. Accra is a wonderful and exciting city with a great energy, but it was nice to get away again and head towards the ocean! The other thing that surprised me about Cape Coast (though again, we were there on a long weekend when many were travelling to the area), was the number of obrunis in the town. Almost everywhere you looked, you could see groups of 2, 3, sometimes even 20 obrunis walking around! Very strange when we are used to seeing maybe one per week in Accra. Though, it was nice to once again meet people from other places and compare work placements and experiences!

           












After exploring Cape Coast for a bit, we decided to do a tour of Cape Coast Castle, a tourist must-see. Seeing the castle and physically standing in small, dark rooms where 200 people were stuffed for months, left to rot in their own excrement, was a very powerful and emotional experience; even more so than I expected. We read about the slave trade in school and in the museum I was familiar with the characters and practices of the trade. However, actually standing in a building that was so active in the slave trade and seeing the shackles that people were forced to wear was very haunting. We walked through the Door of No Return (as thousands once did), and you could see nothing but open water which was the burial ground for a staggering number of individuals. We lingered around the castle for some time, thinking and taking pictures, reflecting on the significance of the castle and all it represented to the people of Ghana. It was a difficult, moving, and necessary experience to have.

            After the castle we went back to Oasis Beach Resort (which might as well be called Obruni Beach Resort!) and chatted for an hour before dinner. We feasted on red red (typical for me) and pizza, and then were joined by Amber, who is from Acadia, and some of her friends who were all very nice. We chatted and laughed and danced for a few hours, and then settled into bed to prepare for our next day of adventure – Kakum Canopy Walk!

            We set off early for Kakum in order to get there as close to opening as possible – even so, we were definitely not the first ones there! Kakum National Park, where we did the Canopy Walk, is definitely a tourist hot-spot and there were also many school groups present as well. It was very busy, but very fun! We embarked with a large group led by a fantastic guide, Naomi. Members of our group seemed to find us just as thrilling as the walk to the canopy bridges as our pictures were being snapped with our tour-mates all along the way! The walk up was steep and quick through the forest, and we climbed up I do not know how many wet and muddy stone stairs. We reached the first platform to board the first bridge (of which there are seven). The total distance of the walk is 350m and we were suspended up to 40m above the rainforest – much higher than it sounds! I was the excited kind of nervous at the thought of walking across slippery wooden boards bordered on either side by rope netting, but once I got up there and past the first step, I loved it! I did look down once or twice, only to see nothing but the lush forest beneath (no glimpse of the forest floor whatsoever). I have to say, I felt pretty brave and adventurous, and my only complaint about the walk was that it was too short! Even though we lingered on each platform in between bridges to enjoy the views, we had crossed all the bridges before we knew it. The views from that high up were spectacular, even through the misty fog (which actually added to the effect). And it even started to rain a bit while we were in a rainforest, which seemed appropriate!

            After Kakum, we made our way to the Monkey Forest Reserve, an animal sanctuary only 3km from Kakum that is run by a Dutch couple and has been in operation for 9 years. The couple turned an area entirely made of brush into a haven for sick, injured, and orphaned monkeys, snakes, alligators, turtles, and some species of cat and mammals, many endangered, that I had never seen nor heard of previously. We had found out about this place from the Bradt guide, and the admission was most certainly worth it as it all goes to feeding the animals. The idea of the sanctuary is that those animals which can be rehabilitated and released back into the wild are, and those that were too young when rescued and did not acquire survival skills often become permanent residents of the sanctuary unless they are adopted by others of their species. The woman who owns the sanctuary (who had a Dutch name which I completely forget) was, excuse my language, a total badass. She was older and very tough; but she was also very passionate about the work she was doing. All of the animals had names and were clearly treated very well. She explained to us the difficulty that they had been having trying to fight the environmental changes as the forest swallowed up parts of the sanctuary; it has eaten paint of off walls, and crumbled stairs unless they were made of specific stone. She is constantly trying to update, expand, and improve the facilities so as to better take care of the animals, and this was made clear throughout.

            One of the best parts of this experience was the most unexpected (as everything great has been in Ghana!). We were climbing what seemed like a million stairs, when suddenly we got to the top and looked out to see the most spectacular view of the rainforest. The sanctuary overlooks Kakum National Park, though while you could once see the bridges from the trees, now the forest has taken over and blocked the view. I joked that when we lose sight of things at home, it is because we have built enormous buildings, not because the environment has taken over! Then came the best part: turtles. There was a relatively small enclosure at the top of this hill which housed several land and river turtles. They were maybe 6 inches across and 8 inches long, and they were wonderful. Our guide took two of them out of the enclosure and sat them on the ledge while he explained the qualities of their species. I definitely was not listening to any of this information, as I became fixated on getting to hold one of these turtles, and was going over in my head reasons why I would not be able to (of which I could come up with none). So, when our guide asked if any of us wanted to hold one, I was beside myself. I had always liked turtles, it is true; however, I was unaware of how much until I got the opportunity to hold one. The turtle squirmed a bit as I held her, and I just stared at her as I could not believe my good luck. When I went to pass her onto Jessica, she pinned my finger to her little belly. While this was meant to be an aggressive or defensive move I am sure, I of course took it to mean that she loved me and wanted to come to Canada with me. First order of business after graduation – acquire a turtle to share my life with.

            After the reserve, where we also met the most adorable monkeys ever, we went back to Cape Coast and virtually passed out from exhaustion in Baobab’s restaurant. We had not really eaten breakfast and it had been a hectic few days, so we barely made it through lunch awake! The food was great and we decided being sleepy was a good thing as we had a moderately long tro ride ahead. The ride was great for a while, and then to avoid traffic around Kasoa, our driver decided to take the bumpiest back roads in existence. This would have been funny save for the fact that I had a bit of a dodgy tummy anyway, and so it was more unpleasant than amusing. Regardless, we made it home safe and sound and proceeded to pass out.

Thus ends the saga of a very fun weekend in Accra and Cape Coast! More to come, and I will try to post more frequently so as to avoid these marathon posts. Cheers for now!

Adventures in Akosombo

 

This week Jessica and I kept up with the newspapers and their gender articles as always, and were also asked to write feature articles for the Gender Centre's newsletter - very exciting! My article discussed the links between gender based violence and politics, and compared certain aspects of this with Canada. My supervisor Lena has not yet returned it to me with notes, so I could be way off base, but I will share with you what I chose to write about. Political violence is a risk in Ghana with upcoming elections causing inevitable ideological tensions in the country. The papers constantly have articles which encourage keeping the peace, and Ghana has had success doing so in the past; however, it is a very new democracy and so one can never know for sure. In my article I discussed how political violence can affect gender based violence, and hinder women's participation in politics. I looked at gender based violence not only from a physical perspective, but also from an economic and mental one. I took time to consider the efforts being made to encourage women to participate in politics in Ghana compared with that in Canada. For a little perspective, women's representation in Ghana's parliament is at 8% compared to Canada having almost 25%. (Though, anyone who knows me knows that I still think Canada's is not high enough and I make that clear in my article!). Writing the article was extremely interesting. Getting to sit in an office and research issues in women's rights in Ghana is really a great way to spend a summer!

Today we met up with one of our orientation leaders (and now friends!) Nana, and Jessica and I set off with her to Akosombo, in the Volta region. The trotro ride was 2 hours long which is not bad considering it takes that long to get to work each day in Accra! We went to the Volta Hotel first, and went on their balcony in order to get a view of the Volta Lake, which is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world and is home to the Akosombo Dam. The views were incredible. Then our taxi driver took us to the Adome Bridge, the only suspension bridge built in Ghana. He even let us stop and take pictures which was nice. The bridge and lake were impressive and beautiful.

 We then made the short trip to Sajuna Beach Resort, owned and ran by obrunis and situated on the Volta River. The resort was alive with Ghanaian youth swimming, eating, playing sports, and relaxing. Nana's mother had made us a huge lunch for the day - jollof rice and chicken. Best meal ever. Nana opened the container and Jessica and I just about died of happiness. We finished our meal (quickly!) and then just relaxed and drank fruit juice, watching all the activity. We also ended up in a foosball tournament somehow which predictably ended with us losing terribly but I was able to get some remarkably good goals in regardless!

We went on a boat trip down the Volta River which was wonderful! I am such a pro at being in tiny boats in big rivers now. The views were spectacular, especially those of the bridge! It was nice that we got to go on it as well as go under it. The Volta region is so lush and full of hills - I just loved everywhere I looked. The lake is man-made and was created only in the 1950s - however, it has become such a source of life for the people living on its shores. Even though many boats go by there in the run of a day, the kids on the banks still did not lose an opportunity to wave to an obruni! The excursion on the river was brilliant; those are the views I came to Ghana for. A great and cheap way to spend a day. Tomorrow is relaxing at the beach, and then another work week begins! Can't wait to see what is in store.