Your persistence finally paid off...

   Hello everyone! My initial thought was to not keep a blog during my time here in Ghana because I wanted to focus more on experiencing Ghana rather than worrying what I was going to write. Only I didn't expect the numerous emails and phone calls demanding that I keep a blog and to post my photos! :) And so I am finally caving in and starting a blog. We'll see how this goes, this being the first time I've ever done this.
   I'm just now starting my 8th week here. It's crazy that I've been gone for almost 2 months because at one time it feels like its been 2 months simply because of all the things I've seen but at the same time it doesn't feel like it at all! There is no way that I can try and bring everyone up to speed on what I've been experiencing here but I'm going to attempt to give a little insight into my travels.
    So far I've traveled to a little beach town called Senya-Brekau and stayed the night in old slave fort named Fort Good Hope, ironic name huh? Anyway it was a beautiful little town but my time there made me realize just how much poverty can warp one's view of the world. When the "oburonis" (Twi for outsiders or 'white man') decided to go on the beach we were confronted by a group of guys who wanted us to give them "sentiments" because we were on "their beach". Fortunately we were able to convince them that we had nothing to give them and they left us alone. It makes you realize how poverty can alter someone's world view so much that they believe all Americans are rich and entitled and therefore are obligated to give handouts especially to make up for what they considered "the White rape of Africa".

Senya-Brekau

  I know that I've expressed this story before and it made some of you believe that I'm being accosted all the time, but it's not true! This was the only time that I felt slightly scared here and so this story has stuck with me and I believe will continue to stick with me for some time. It was a learning experience that I continue to reflect on.
   Moving on to other adventures, one weekend a group of us girl "oburonis" traveled to Koforidua, a town near Boti Falls. During our weekend getaway we hiked in the mountains, swam in the gorgeous falls and explored Koforidua also known as "Koff Town". Everything was so much cheaper than in Accra which I thoroughly enjoyed. Usually cabs in Accra cost like 5-8 Ghana Cedi but the most expensive taxi we had in Koff town was 3 Ghana Cedi (US $2). Also the falls we visited were absolutely gorgeous. There were all these signs to warn us not to swim but that is only because most Ghanaians cannot swim. It's strange that something that all my friends know how to do in the US most people cannot do here simply because they have no opportunities to learn. Even people who live on the coast do not/cannot swim because they respect the power of the ocean too much. Even so we ignored the signs and went swimming, the water was at most 4ft deep.

Boti Falls

    Last weekend we traveled to Cape Coast to visit El Mina Castle, the infamous slave fort that sent slaves to the Americas. The slave castle is the oldest European building in all of Africa being around 500 years old. It was a very strange day. When you visit you notice that the slave fort is on a hill overlooking the town of  Cape Coast and is a daunting sight, a constant reminder to the people what occurred there. Touring the castle they showed us the dungeons that the slaves were kept in, the "door of no return" and many other horrific scenes. It's one thing to read about the slave trade in textbooks and quite another thing to witness the actual place these atrocities were committed. What was even stranger was that you could smell the castle. A smell that made you sick once you thought how long it took for the smell to accumulate there and still exist centuries later. It was a very sobering experience and was one of the saddest things I have ever witnessed.

El Mina Castle

    The same weekend of El Mina we also visited Kakum National Park, a park famous for its "canopy walkway". This consisted of a rope bridge/walkway through the treetops that measured about 40 meters in height. It was a little scary but was well worth traversing simply for the amazing views it offered. In this forest there are elephants but our group consisted of too many people making noise for us to see any. It's ok, I'll get to see elephants once I travel to Mole National Park in the north. Even so the park was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn't believe just how green it was. 

    There is no way that I can tell of all the amazing and different things I have encountered  during my time here in Ghana. Later I will update on how my classes are, how my dorm room is, riding in trotros, etc. Overall I hope that this post (and really this blog) will satisfy everyone’s curiosity.  Thanks everyone for showing so much interest! I cannot wait until I see everyone again, until then “nante yie” (safe journey).

P.S. I miss grocery stores and being able to choose variety in my diet. :) Don't get me wrong I do love the food here although sometimes you just want something different ya know? Cioci sent me some chicken noodle soup and it was amazing. I made a huge pot and all of us "oburonis" had some and it was such a great reminder of home. Thanks so much Cioci!