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!
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