Kokrobite Beach and Community Service

This weekend a couple friends and I took a trip to Kokrobite, a beach about two hours from campus. It was a great trip, though it did result in my FIRST sunburn since I’ve been here. I know, it’s hard to believe! We stayed at this place right on the beach called Big Millie’s Back Yard. Although we were not fortunate enough to meet Big Millie, we did find out that she’s an English Woman turned Ghanaian after living here for 17 years! The beach was beautiful; white sand, blue water that was just the right temperature, and women walking around selling fresh pineapple! We got to watch men pulling their fishing boats to shore which was pretty cool too. They sing and make noises the whole time that they work so it was pretty entertaining. 

The first night at the beach we ate at this amazing Italian restaurant. The man who owned it was from Italy and had Italian wine and real food too. It was probably the best meal I’ve had since I’ve been here, and the wine was some of the best I’ve ever had! 

The children at the beach were definitely an experience. First of all, most of them run around naked so you would just be lying on your towel and a little naked boy would run by and dive into the water. These aren’t toddlers either; some of them were probably as old as six or seven! There were a few other children who we came into contact with while at the beach. My roommate Meg and I were laying on our towels while our three other friends were on a walk when about eight kids came up to us and started demanding things from us like water, food, money, earrings  and they  were even touching our hair. It was ridiculous! I made the huge mistake of giving them Jelly beans. They almost trampled each other fighting for each one. It was really sad. I felt bad, but we learned quickly that you have to be firm with them to get the, to go away. I know they were plotting to steal my back pack. They kept speaking in Twi and pointing at it. When they started to move closer I grabbed it. 

The tro-tro ride back to Accra I sat next to a man who told me that his name was Adolf Hitler. That was a treat. I also had to get feisty at the tro-tro station with a man who grabbed my arm to try to get me and the group to go into his tro-tro. I smacked his arm off of mine and yelled at him not to touch me. The men here don’t have any concept of personal space most of the time but they back off if you let them know you won’t take it. 

Saturday we had a program wide community service day at Echoing Hills Group home. The home is mostly for people who are mentally and physically handicapped, but a local orphanage also brought some kids to the home for the day. We painted, swept, weed wacked and played with the kids and people in the home. It was a really rewarding day. There are some great pictures I’m about to post so check them out! The kids were so cute. This little girl named Yvonne was particularly attached to me because I picked her up and gave her my necklace when she was crying because another girl had pushed her down. It was kind of a free for all for the Obruni’s attention! I carried her around on my shoulders for a while and she kept making me run and chase other people. It was a blast and I was exhausted by the end of the day. We also got to play soccer with the kids, and helped them paint a mural on the front of the home. It was definitely an amazing experience.

Next weekend I’ll be going on a trip to Kumasi, a city a little bit north of Accra. We’ll also be going to some villages around that general area. More updates from that trip to come!

Cape Coast weekend trip

This week has been one of the most eventful over all since I have arrived in Ghana!! I apologize for not writing sooner! Last Wednesday was my first day volunteering with an NGO called S AID – Street Aid for girls. Basically the organization takes teen girls off of the streets, most of whom were former prostitutes and have small children, and give them a place to stay and  a basic education. The organization is funded by goods the girls make out of plastic water sachets which we drink out of and typically pollute the streets of Accra. All of the funds that the girls save while staying at the facility are matched when they leave. The girls sew the sachets together and add fabric swatches to create aprons, bags, and they also use beads to make necklaces. The goods they make are sold through a partner organization in the US. Check out http://www.said-ghana.com/ for more details.

Volunteering was an amazing experience, and I will definitely continue to go back each Wednesday. The girls speak little english, and most have small children under a year old. What volunteers do is make sure the babies are less of a distraction to the girls as they learn basic english and math skills. I also got to teach the girls a few sentences and subtraction last Wednesday. It is interesting because they get frustrated when they can’t do the problems or write sentences for themselves, but then get so excited when they get the correct answer. They like whoever is teaching to write “very good” or “great job” on their papers after they are checked. It is a little depressing to see 16-19 year old girls who have infants and cannot read, write, or do basic math.  Despite this it is extremely rewarding to be able to teach girls how to function in society. This week I was with the elementary level girls, but when those girls improve, they move to an upper level curriculum where they are also taught basic business and entrepreneural skills so that they can start their own craft or food business when they leave S AID.  I’m sure there will be a lot more stories to tell throughout my experience volunteering with the girls.

Friday night a few of us went to an upscale bar in Accra called Citizen Kofi. It was crazy to go from such an African atmosphere to such a Western/American one. It was a nice break and after the happy hour at the bar, we got food at a restaurant called Frankie’s which has the biggest menue I’ve seen since I’ve arrived! I got hummus and pita which was a welcome break from rice and eggs!!!

This weekend was definitely my favorite so far! We went to Cape Coast to see the slave castles and to Kakum national park to do a canopy walk. Check out the pictures on Facebook they are amazing!!! My group went to the Elmina Slave Castle, which was the older and larger of the two. It was built over 500 years ago and was run at various points by the Dutch, Portuguese, and British. The castle was eerily beautiful and was set on the beach, so the view from the towers was phenominal. It was hard to imagine hundreds of slaves being crammed into the small dungeon rooms our guide showed us. The female dungeon disturbed me the most. When we walked in there was a strange smell, which the guide told us was because the women had nowhere to relieve themselves and had no way of dealing with menstruation. The lived in feces etc. over a foot high at points. The fact that a hint of the smell still remains after 500 years is a testament to how terrible the dungeon actually was. 

While our first day at Cape Coast was a bit depressing, the second was amazing! We woke up and journeyed an hour to Kakum National Park. The park is home to the largest canopy walk way in West Africa. It was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done. We hiked to a tree house type things where the canopy walk began and were basically walking on a rickety wooden plank attached to trees with ropes. There were posts around the trees that connected the walkways where you could stop to look down at the rainforest below. It was definitely an adrenaline rush! Jake faced his fear of heights, along with a few others and everyone braved the walkway. After the park, we went to a restaurant called Han’s Botel, which was built up on stilts over a lagoon famous for crocodiles. This was where I faced my fear. The crocodiles come up on the land around the buildings where the restaurant is and you can even pet them. They told us that they are very tame and no one ever gets bitten, but I was still terrified at first to touch the crocodile! I felt like at any point it could just turn and snap my head off. One girl touched one and it moved a little and everyone screamed! Jake just bent right down and touched it, but I had to convince myself for a while that it was safe! Overall it was an amazing day. 

We came back to our  hostel to unfortunately find that the water was out in the building, which meant I got to take my first bucket bath. Luckily the water came back on this morning so I can finally wash my hair after two days. Pleasant I know. 

Check out my Facebook for a visual of what I just described! Happy reading!

A note on gender in Ghana

During our second, but essentially first week of classes (Professors don't show up for the real first week), I have been particularly attuned to gender issues and relations on campus between students, and also off campus within Accra. To those of you who know me well this should come as no surprise. Part of this attention stems from a few of my classes here in the Social Work department which I am taking in pursuit of a Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor back at AU.

My Monday started off with the Social Work course called Family Welfare. Because the professor didn't show up the first week,  he just went over a basic course outline during this lecture. While we didn't cover much, some of the students' reactions to what was covered were interesting. For example, the professor said we would be covering relationships between spouses in Ghanaian marriages and families. Specifically the belief and tradition of the male as the head of the household. He said that many Ghanaian men are viewed or view themselves as weak if they consult their wives at all while making family decisions. At this comment, the males in the classroom cheered. It took all that I had not to turn around and glare at them all. A girl beside from Denmark looked at me and said "This is going to be difficult."

Later on that evening in a sociology course I am auditing called Culture and Reproductive Health, the lecturer was discussing methods of population control used by various countries. We got onto the topic of birth control and womens' health in general. The lecturer is a very strong-willed Ghanaian women who doesn't let the men rule the classroom, which is what seems to typically happen  in the classes I've attended so far. We were discussing the birth control pill Depo Provera, which did a lot of damage to Ghanaian women in the '60s and '70s thanks to a US scientist who didn't quite have all of his data straight, yet decided it was ok to release the drug to third world countries for a test run. This discussion led to a discussion about a woman's right to her own body, and to making her own health care decisions. At this point, a lovely young gentleman raised his hand and asked "Well, what if the woman can't make her own health care decisions." A bunch of boys in the class made sounds of agreement, and the teacher asked if he meant that she was physically or mentally unable to, because of a medical condition, or because her husband thought she wasn't able to make decisions for herself without him. It was established that the boy meant the latter, which prompted the teacher to ask him how he would feel about someone of another gender making decisions about his body and well being. He had no response. On a separate occasion in that same class, a friend in my program told me that she raised her hand and countered an ignorant male, and the female portion of the class cheered for her and nodded their heads, yet it seemed none of them felt comfortable enough to counter the males themselves.

Later on in the week Jake and my roommate and I went to visit a friend in the hospital who had malaria. When we were in the taxi on the way back we were stuck in traffic and were in the lane closest to the side of the road. In Accra, there are people that come around to cars when they are stopped at red lights and stuck in traffic, to try to sell them things. I was looking out the window at some of these people and noticed a heated argument happening between a man and a woman along the side of the road. I knew the woman was selling things to passers by because she was carrying a large basket on her head, as most of the women here who sell things do. The argument escalated and the man started to whip her across the face with a small rag he was holding in his hand. The woman motioned like she was going to fight back, so the man advanced at her with his fist and she instantly cowered away. It was one of the most awful things I've witnessed since I've been here. The woman put  her basket back on her head and walked out to the cars to continue selling her goods. The man resumed talking with  another man and I continued to glare at them. The other man who had not been beating the woman noticed I was staring and started to point at me. Then both men started pointing and laughing at me. They both knew I had witnessed what had just happened, and could do nothing about it. I glared at them until traffic moved and we drove away.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to what is to come as far as my observations go on this topic, but it will be a learning experience. I know that Ghana has domestic violence laws, as does the US, but it takes more than laws to empower women to stand up for themselves. Interestingly enough it is the Christian tradition that has made Ghanaian society so male-centric. Before Christianity became heavily popular here, the Uncles, or brothers of women were closer to being father figures to children than the children's actual fathers. There were often multiple men in charge rather than just one holding all the power. When Christianity became popular, the society switched to a more western family structure with the father as the head of household.

I am currently looking into a volunteer opportunity which involves looking after the children of young and teen mothers so that they can be educated. Hopefully this will allow me the opportunity to give back to the women of this country and help them to not be the victims of cruel treatment and male dominance.

Weekend Fun

This weekend was our first weekend without any orientation programs. We did have a Welcome Durbar on Saturday which was fun. They served some American food, and I got to have salad for the first time. I miss vegetables, oh and olives. Oh and just about anything that isn't rice or chicken or eggs. My diet consists of starch, meat, fruit and carbs. I have to admit that I'm getting a little tired of the food selection here or lack there of. Today for example, the only available options were the night market aaaand the night market. I had an egg sandwich for breakfast and rice for lunch. For dinner I'm holding out to eat at the bar/hotel where we are watching the Super Bowl! I'm hoping for some pizza. Jake and I are going to check out some nicer restaurants in the near future and splurge every once in a while to maintain our sanity. Enough about food, it's making me hungry!

The Durbar was really interesting! They had a live African band with drummers and cowbells and also African dancers. The dancers were really cool. For their second number the three women danced around with pots of fire on their heads! It was crazy. The women here are so talented. They carry around EVERYTHING on their heads. It's really impressive. Some of the men do too but it's mostly women. The first day we were here I tried to carry a bag of little sachets of water on my head and made it three steps. The next morning my neck hurt.

The Durbar was at the Great Hall, which is the highest point on campus (is it sounding like Harry Potter yet?) The view from outside the building was incredible! There is a stretch that overlooks the whole city of Accra. They call it Accra by night. It's like a sea of a million little lights. I tried to take a picture but it didn't do it justice.

My weekends will actually be starting on Fridays, since I have no class! This Friday some girls and I decided to go to the Arts Center which is essentially another market. I ended up getting a Ghanaian dress to wear to the Durbar, beaded sandals, and some gifts to take home for people. To get to the market, we took a transit bus which was my first experience using city run public transportation. It was a double decker bus which was amusing. Inside it had a picture depicting the double decker bus dominating a little tro-tro (a van which is not city run) in an accident basically saying that buses are safer than tro-tros because they win in a collision. I think I've mentioned before that the advertising strategies here are blunt and often graphic! It's really entertaining. The trip to the Arts Center went smoothly, it was the return trip that was a bit more interesting.

Thursday is the day that I take my malaria medicine, as I described in my last post. This means that Fridays are also kind of rough with various medicine-related stomach and other issues. While we were waiting for a tro-tro on the way home I started to feel faint. I had warned some of the girls earlier in the trip that I'm a fainter. It's a lovely curse that goes along with being strawberry blond. (Thanks mom) So when I told them I was feeling light headed and a little nauseous we all decided it was best for a few of us to just get in a cab. It's a lot more expensive than a tro-tro, but I wasn't about to put a price on passing out on the side of the street at Tema Station. We got in a cab around 4:30pm so pretty close to rush hour. It took us an hour and forty five minutes to get back to campus, when it only took us about 45 to get to the market. Part of this delay had to do with the fact that our first cab broke down about half way home. We were sitting in traffic and the driver turned off the car. When he went to re-start it, the car wouldn't start. Luckily he flagged down a cab for us and negotiated with the driver to split what we had originally agreed to pay him. At least my initial Ghanaian car trouble experience is out of the way. I kind of have a feeling it won't be the last though!

Overall the first weekend was pretty good, all malaria-medication symptoms aside. On the subject of malaria, there are three girls who have already gotten it. Luckily they all are fine, though the first girl had quite a scare and was told if she waited one more day to go to the hospital she may not have made it. It's been a good lesson to the rest of the program that at the first sign of fever, aches or chills we need to force the person to get to the hospital. The problem with the first girl was that her fever kept going up and down so she was lulled into to thinking she was getting better.

Well I hate to end this post on such a somber note, but it's time for me to go eat some pizza! **I mean watch the Super Bowl...

Until my next adventure, happy reading!
 

Mefloquine Day

Today is Mefloquine Day. I hate Mefloquine day!!! Taking my malaria medicine is pretty rough, but has inspired me to begin a Mefloquine dream diary. One side effect of the medication (aside from "feelings of mistrust towards others" as the box describes) is crazy vivid dreams. So here is the start of my Mefloquine Dream diary:

1. I had a dream that I got back to the States and forgot everything about Ghana, didn't bring anything back, no pictures, nothing! I freaked out because people started to not even believe that I went....then after that there was a shipwreck where my friends from Ghana washed up in the US. Crazy.

2. One night last week I had a dream that Jake told me he was gay.

3. Before I left for Ghana I had to take the medicine a few times. One night I had a dream that I was being robbed...there were other ridiculous aspects to this but I forget most of them.

The dreams are pretty crazy!! I have woken up with my heart racing and once almost in tears! It's funny to hear everyone else's crazy dreams too. My one friend had a dream that he was holding this baby but he kept dropping it. He couldn't hold onto the baby, it just kept rolling out of his hands!

I guess if the dreams are the worst side effect of preventing malaria it's pretty worth it.

Last night we went to Reggae night again. There were these little kids who did gymnastic/acrobatics! It was so cool. This one little boy could  bend over backwards, grab his feet and roll himself around like a tire. Check out the pictures on FB they should be posted soon.

So far classes have been alright, though I couldn't really understand my teacher in the one I had today. My schedule is pretty sweet. My classes are on Mondays and Tuesdays mostly, but there is one Thursdays. So I have Wednesdays and Fridays completely free!  Yesterday I layed by the pool for the better part of the afternoon (I know, be jealous). It's been kind of funny because most professors don't show up for the first week of classes so I've only had 2 out of the 5 I'm taking. My social work class about children's rights in Ghana seems pretty interesting though so I'm excited! I'm also going to audit a sociology course that I can't take for credit because of a time conflict, but it's about culture and reproductive health. It basically covers all of the taboo issues in Ghana relating to sex and gender. The teacher is a woman who gave us a lecture during orientation about gender issues in Ghana and she was really good so I'm excited to audit a full course of hers!

Well that's all for now, Jake and I are off to check out the bookstore..maybe they will have UGH t-shirts!