Week 17

Okay many apologies for skipping two weeks! Got swamped with IA's but long story short, the power was out almost every day,  so it was a bore, but I went in to Makola Market for some last minute fabric buying and such and spent the weekend hanging around Accra with some people. You're basically caught up woooo! ;)

Monday
Group project due in Coastal Management so we all met up to work on it. Surprisingly productive! We got all our work done within 2 hours and I felt like I bonded with my group, which was all Ghanaian students. Afterwards, we had our first soccer game! We played Akuafo and I can just cut to the chase and say it wasn't pretty. We went down 4-0 but discovered that two of the girls on their team play for the NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM, the Lady Black Stars. And that's just unfair so i don't even count that as a loss in my head....And the game wasn't as one sides as the score would have you think, those 2 girls were the only two players that were above us, skill wise. We held our own quite well, it was just whenever either of them got the ball, there was no going back. Another game tomorrow!

Tuesday
Woke up no power or water. typical ughh. Decided to make the trek to IPO only to discover no power there either. UNBELIEVABLE. Stopped into Dr, Alhassan's office for a little to use his generator to get a little bit of work done, but then just headed back to ISH to bum around. We had our monthly ice cream and cake celebration this week, which was nice, and then hightailed it over to the field for the game (poor choice of the day: eating chocolate cake and fan ice before a soccer game. whoops.) Game went excellent, with us winning 3-1! Yay! Ran straight from the game to dance class, ew, but the power was out in the performing arts department. We had class outside, which is always somewhat of a disaster in my opinion. It's hard for the TA's to really have control in a dark quad of like 40 students so it usually ends with one of them getting frustrated and telling us to leave, but we lasted most of the time for once. Pretty tired and gross when we got back, so basically scarfed down dinner, did a lil bit of work d headed to bed

Wednesday
Started out in Coastal Management. It was our last day of class which is kind of a bummer in my opinion!I have immensely enjoyed that class, both because of the material and the people. We did our group presentations and then discussed our IA's and the final which is coming up. A few of the people in that class are going to give me a cooking lesson next week though so I'll look forward to that! Afterard, I just headed to IPO because (unsurprisingly) it was lights off at ISH. DIdn't do too much, but grabbed lunch from bush canteen (palava sauce) and headed on back to be greeted with power! Whoooo!

Thursday - Friday
Started out with class in the morning (ew) and afterwards headed back to ISH to pack. I made a long anticipated trip up to the North this past weekend with a few people, which was awesome! We headed up to Mole National Park which is one of the premier game viewing sites in West Africa. No giraffes, gorillas or zebras but they're known for their elephants. It isn't an easy trip though, and we started out by taking a tro tro from Okpongolo to Kwame Nkrumah Circle to catch one of the big buses that goes up there. I had booked the bus ahead  of time so we had tickets, we just has to locate the station in good time. We finally stumbled upon it, thinking we were going to be late, but we ended up leaving about an hour and a half late (typical). It's about a 12 hour bus ride from Accra to Tamale, the big city in the North. Fairly eventful bus ride, with our tire blowing out around Kintampo (about 4 hours out of Tamale) and then an hour later, the buses stabilizer busted, so it was quite the bumpy journey. By the time it was light, we were well into the Northern Region and were able tot ake in some of the beautiful scenery. So my good friend Jenna had gone up last weekend and met a really friendly young tour guide at the park named Inusah. She told me to give him a call before we left so I did. He was very sweet and really made sure we had all the directions correct and offered to pick us up from Tamale to come with us on the bus from Tamale to Larabanga (where the park is. Another 4 hour bus ride. Safari's ain't easy!) But so we're about 5km from the bus station in Tamale and the silly thing breaks down. Like what the heck. You made it from Kintampo missing a tire and without a stabilizer, but a little speed bump took ya on out? But anyways, Inusah wasn't in town yet, so he called and had a friend of his pick us up from the bus and take us to his house, where he proceeded to cook us breakfast and give us a little tour of the town. Seriously, so nice! We made scambled eggs (with real cheese, praise the lord!!!) and Lebanese tea. After that, Amin very graciously drove us to the other bus station so we could pick up the bus to Mole Park. We met Inusah there and we knew right there that he was going to turn out to be a blessing for the weekend. Right away he bounded up to us excitedly and took us to a delicious Nigerian restaurant for lunch . I have to try and get some of it in Accra, I love it! We then made our way back to Metro Mass and piled on the easily one of the most run down buses I have EVER been on for that 4 hour trip. It was a rickety and bumpy ride and we could't be happier to finally arrive. We got to the motel and checked in and sat down for dinner only to realize about half of ISH was here too. I guess this is one of the last big weekends before the semester kids leave so a lot of ISHies decided to make the trip! It was nice bumping in to many people we knew and we had a nice dinner under the stars. Went to bed kinda early, b/c me and Cathy decided we wanted to get up early and watch the sunrise.

Saturday
Woke up at around 5 and headed on over to the lookout point at the motel. The motel sits up on a hilss and look down on to a watering hole and the whole of one side of the park. It was absolutely gorgoues. Since we arrived in the evening, we got a real nice view of the stars but didn't really get to see this side of the park until just then. Just savanna as far as the eye could see. There were already quite a few bush buck and kob and antelope hopping around down near the watering hole and right behind us on the grounds of the motel were a bunch of baboons, patas monkeys and warthogs. So cool. We grabbed a seat and kept an eye out for elephants as we took in the sun rising over the park. Didn't see any, but it was still pretty. We grabbed some breakfast and then met up with Inusah, who took us into town for the day. We went on a canoe ride on the White Volta River through the village of Mognori and then into Larabanga to see the oldest mosque in West Africa. Small but beautifully built! We headed back on over to the Mole Motel after and all went swimming for a little bit before our evening safari. We befriended a group of Canadians who are also studying at Legon and split the jeep with them. We got to sit on top of the jeep which was super fun. We took off bumping thorugh the park and saw so many antelope and bushbuck. Even though they might not be as exciting as elephants, they are so prety, especially the males with their winding horns. We drove in search for about an hour and then hopped out of the jeep when we got to one of the watering holes so that we could get a little closer to some of the animals. We saw some really awesome waterbucks (which are HUMONGOUS, bigger than horses!) and water buffalo down at the watering hole and of course, some crocodiles and patas monkeys and the kob and antelope. As we hopped back into the jeep we got to drive around and find  a nice clearing to watch the sunset in. Beautiful! No elephants today but it was still a fun safari! It was Cathy's birthday so we had a nice big dinner and of course, embarassed her by loudly singing happy birthday which the assisstance of our new Canadian friends. We spent the evening at the lookout point, looking at the stars and trying to see hyenas. Beautiful stars, and lotss of warthogs as well! ;)

Sunday
Started out the morning with the early morning walking safari. It was a lot of fun with an eclctic group, 4 cali kids and 3 older but very sweet German couples. We did the 2 hour walk (they were sprightly for old folk!) and it was nice, because it was a different experience from in evening; the different time of day as well as the fact that we got to go much deeper into the bush since we didn't stay on the roads. We saw a lot of different landscapes that we didn't get to see on the other trip. We again, however saw no elephants. Headed back to the compound for breakfast, and afterwards split up; a few wanted to go swimming but me and Cathy were determined to get some elephants in! So we went with Inusah back to the lookout point on the bluff and lazed around there for the better part of 2 or 3 hours. And we were rewarded! Just as one of the other guides had come down to say hello and we were lamenting at our lack of luck, he suddenly pulled both of us to our feet and pointed out in to the distance and the further water watering hole. And there they were! Two HUGE elephants just wandering back into the bush. It's really amazing how big they look, even at a slight distance. Didn't get any pics unfortunately, because we were too caught up in the moment to whip out cameras so enjoy all the pics of deer and baboons instead! ;) We spent the afternoon and evening lounging at the compound, alternating between the lookout point and sitting in the shade. We ate at the bush canteen on the compund (perhaps not the best of ideas as I ended up accidentally chowing down on some bush meat . sorry Auntie Rose, I know you told us not to! and to you mr bushbuck! It was good though! And I'm still standing!) Inusah had some of his friends from the area come by and we enjoyed talking to them about Larabanga and Tamale and living there. It was nice to talk to locals who are our age but not from the hustle and bustle of Accra. That evening we went to Inusah's family's lodge and met some of his family and got to enjoy another spectacular view from the roof. They host many international students that are doing volunteer work in the area so they were all used to obruni's and the few volunteers we met were all awesome! Super fun!

Monday
Only way to get from Mole to Damongo, Larabanga or Tamale is the Metro Mass Transit bus service. It leaves once a day from the Mole motel at 3:30 AM. We hauled ourselves out of bed and on to the bus for the rise back to Tamale. Equally annoying, is the fact that buses from Tamale to Accra leave only at 5:30 in the evening. So we arrived in Tamale at around 7 AM and had all day in front of us. We started out by Inusah taking us to his apartment in the area (literally our savior all weekend, he took such good care of us!) and getting us some breakfast. We spent some time relaxing there for awhile and then we went out and ventured around town. Tamale is literally everything Accra is not. It's relatively clean, the roads are not very crowded, it is safe to ride motorbikes, people know each other, they wave to one another as they pass. Now I'm not saying Accra is some heinous place we should all hate, but this was a nice change of pace. I think that if I came back to spend any amount of time in Ghana after this, I would definitely come settle myself down in Tamale or Damongo. I think we also had a good experience however, because we were traveling with someone who is obviously well known and respected in the community; everywhere we went we were smiled at, or he greeted them and children happily trailed along behind us simply for the sake of walking with us. We went to the market and got a few things each and then we headed to the cultural center to do a little more of the souvenir shopping. After that we headed to the same Nigerian restaurant for lunch (yum yum yum!) and then spent the heat of the afternoon back at the apartment. We met more friends as they came in and out during the day and at around 4 we headed to the bus station for the ride home. It was an uneventful drive and we were thankful to be off it when we finally got back to Accra (at 4 AM, we made pretty good time for once!) I had such a great weekend this weekend, and while I still rank Akosombo as my favorite place in Ghana, I definitely rank this as my favorite trip! I think it made me wish that I had more time here since I really don't have time to come back, but now I have a reason the return to Ghana soon! I'm getting nostalgic and I haven't even left!

Week 15

Monday
Here's something you've read before, I woke up today hot, sweaty and with no power. BIG SURPRISE RIGHT? ugh. Headed to our monthly healthy breakfast at the study center where I had some delicious pita bread and real cheese (hallelujah!) . Along with yogurt, granola, fruit and all the other healthy things. STayed at IPO afterwards since the power was still out at ISH. Did some work until lunch time and then headed out to MaxxMart for lunch. Me and Cathy also stumbled upon a bookstore on our way. We walked upstairs and it was basically a Barnes and Nobles! Where has this place been hiding?! We spent about an hour in there and bought one or two books each. Super nice! We headed into get our food after and spent some time eating and getting groceries. Braved the heat to heat back to ISH afterwards only to arrive and be greeted with no power AND no running water. Ugh. Decided to take a taxi (not even sorry, the heat was unbearable!) back to IPO and hung out there until 5 when they closed. Went back to no power at ISH and it stayed that way until about 7. It came back on for about and hour and then went off again for the rest of the night. boooo. Went down to the night market for dinner and then headed off to bed around 11.

Tuesday
Met with my group for Management of NGO's. Still dislike our group leader, but we got through the meeting okay and then dispersed. I headed to IPO where I attempted to work. Didn't get a whole lot done, but I got to chat with people I haven't seen in a few days, which was worth it. Headed over to the bush canteen to get lunch (palava sauce obviously) and then back to IPO. Got more work done this round. It started to pour in the afternoon though which was unfortunate. A few of us split a taxi back to ISH and spent a few hours relaxing there (with no power obviously because it ALWAYS goes off when it rains) and then headed over to dance class at 6. We started learning a new dance this week. It's a little more involved than the others and involves a lot of jumping and such. Lots of fun though. I really like the song that goes with it as well. I really want the dance instructors to give us like a CD of all the songs we do cause they are all so beautiful! Power was back when we got back to ISH so me and Cathy made ourselves some pesto pasta. It was great and we spent the rest of the evening going over some loose plans for Germany (which is coming up sooner than it seems! 5 weeks!).

Wednesday
Another rainy day here in Legon. Headed to Coastal Management in the morning for our IA. It wasn't too hard, but Professor Nyarko is a tough grader so we'll see how it turns out. Headed back to ISH after because I decided I didn't want to go all the way to IPO. It was a risk, since it was pouring rain, and that usually means the power is about to go out but it miraculously stayed on all day. Wooo! Did a combination of work and watching movies staying in bed. At dinner time it was still pouring rain so me and Emily took the lazy way out and ordered a pizza. So worth it. We watched a movie and enjoyed our dinner and then lazed around until bedtime.

Thursday
Started out the day with Management of NGO's. We learned about grant writing and getting funding. Pretty interesting and highly relevant! After class I headed over to IPO to get some work done on my research paper. Per the usual, I spent the first hour being distracted since many of the Cali Crew were also in the study center but I my favorite couch on the balcony was open so I set up shop there and got a good amount of work done. Stayed there until Environmental Ecology at 3:30. Class was the usual;boring. Headed off to dance for our IA on Bamaya. I think it went well! Headed back to dinner (an no power, surprise surprise) after.

Friday
Woke up with no power. Ugh. But me and a freind decided to head over to Aburi to the NGO that I mentioned last week, Aban. We left Ish and hopped on a tro tro. Got off in Aburi and the directions to Aban are well signposted. We wound throuhg the village and up and down a ginormous hill (no kidding it was like a mountain like this ^ ) and finallly made it up to it. We went in and were greeted by Emmanuel, who had come to class. He showed us around and we ended up hanging out there all day, chatting with the girls and helping to teach. We bought a few smal products before we left and then headed back to ISH. Came back to no power. How surpising. Decided to go out for dinner to Osu and then headed back fairly early since we were leaving early the next morning.

Saturday
Headed to Winneba for the night for my friend Ryan's birthday. Winneba is known for its beaches and turtles that come there to lay eggs. It;s about 2 hours away, and is adorable. It looks exactly like Cape Coast, but is much less crowded which is awesome! Our lodge was super cute and about a 10 minute walk from the beach. We arrived and ate at the lodge then  headed to the beach for a few hours. We then came back and hung around before dinner and headed out on a turtle viewing eco walk around 9:30. We drove out to the Ramsar site, about 30 minutes away, and then proceeded to take a 3 mile hike along the coast in search of turtles. Not one was seen. We saw lots of nests (6 feet in diameter! Leatherbacks are HUGE!) and TONS of crabs, but no turtles for us. We saw a gorgeous lagoon and me and Nicole (who is in Coastal Management with me) walked down to the edge where the lagoon meets the sea and waded in a little. It was so cool and natural. We started the walk back and no turtles, but still lots of crabs. I gess you can't predict nature right? Still a fun walk. Outr drive back was eventful. I was in the 2nd of 3 cars and all of a sudden we saw the car in front of us swerve over to the right to reveal a giant ANACONDA ( or boa constrictor. who knows really... big snake is my point.) I mean HUGE. It was as fat as my thigh. So this snake pops into vision and we're careening towards it and our driver tried to swerve but couldn't and we hit it. So, to make a long story short, we killed a snake. Oops.

Sunday
Headed back to Accra in the morning. Got back around 2 (to not only no power, but no water! ARG.) and spent the day studying for our Twi final tomorrow. Lots of stuff to review; no fun. Ordered chicken avocado wraps for dinner and called it a night! 

Week 14

Monday
Spent the morning on my research paper. Spent the afternoon wandering around ISH, just talking to different people, since I needed a break from the room. Walked down to the night market for lunch and grabbed banku and tilapia. Had Twi class in the afternoon. Our final is in two weeks, so we just reviewed and learned a little about family customs. After Twi a couple of us headed over to the mall. Some people needed groceries and little appliances. The mall is like our Target, we go there for everything we could ever need. Grabbed dinner from Shopright, chicken and mushroom pot pies mmm, and headed back. Did Insanity and then hung around and went to bed.

Tuesday
Started the day with a group meeting for NGO's. Our NGO is going to be called Go Green Ghana and will focus on improving the management of waste disposal in the country, specificallly in recycling. Should be interesting. Only concern is with our group leader, a supremely patriarchal, obnoxious and typical Ghanaian man. He is actually ridiculous. Won't listen to anyone's opinion but his own and is controlling s ever. We'll have to bring him down a few pegs. After that I headed back to ISH to head out to go fabric shopping in East Legon. Another international told us about this place that sells not only the traditional African cloth that we see so much of, but also just some regular, lighter fabriccs that we could get regular clothes made out of. Ended up spending about 70 GHC (whoops, it was all so mice though!) on stuff for friends that i'm going to have made into skirts ans shirts. Super excited, it's all awessome! After that we had our monthly ice cream and cake celebration for October bdays! Little bit of a bigger deal this month, because Auntie Dorcas, the program coordinator here at the UCEAP Study Center, just had her baby! She brought little Kojo in and of course everyone just fawned over the little cutie pie! They had more food than usual and we had it in the big semiar room downstairs, so it was a lot of fun! We headed back to ISH to change for dance and headed out again. Dance class was short as there was no power on that side of campus (TYPICAL) so we headed back after, did some Insanity and then me and a friend started studying for an IA (midterm) that we have on Thursday.

Wednesday
Started out with Coastal Management. Professor Nyarko got there about a half hour late since he had to take his kids to school so we didnt do much. Talked a little bit about our field trip Friday and he gave us a pop quiz, which really was pretty easy. Makes me feel good about our IA next week. Headed back to ISH after and wasted away most of the afternoon with one of my friends, both talking, watching Netflix and sitting downstairs in the little kitchen area. Went to Twi and learned our final is in 2 weeks, so we didn't do too much, just reviewed a little bit. After that headed back to ISH and went over notes a little bit with a friend for our Environmental Ecology midterm tomorrow. Went t bed pretty early after some Insantiy.

Thursday
Started out with Management of NGO's, which has descended from one of my favorites, to one one of my least favorite classes. Today was redeeming however. We learned about this AWESOME NGO that was started right in this class called Aban (Aban is an andinkra symbol meaning protector and love) which takes water satchets and other things and makes them into bags and things. They also hand stamp the traditional Ghanaian batik fabric, which is all cool but the best part is that they house and have a school for the girls that are a part of the program. They provide a safe space for girl's that would otherwise be living ont he street. It's truly a great program and I plan n visiting the site sometime next week. Please check them out at aban.org! Me and one of the other Cali students spent the rest of the afternoon at a cafe on campus, snacking and studying for our IA. Headed over around 3:20. It was pretty easy, questions came right from the lecture notes and we were all done within 45 minutes. Afterwards we headed back to ISH and had a good evening just relaxing and celebrating being done with our IA! Went to bed fairly early, as I had to be up at 5 the next morning for our fireld trip for Coastal Management.

Friday
Showed up to the Marine Science Dpeartment at 6am, as instructed, for our field trip. Professor Nyarko made it very clear that we would be leaving promptly at 6, so naturally we were rolling out of the parking lot at about 7:45, much t me and Nicole's chagrin since, as the obruni's of the class, we had showed up at 6. But we made it to our first site, Jamestown Beach in Central Accra. Jamestown is easily the most polluted beach in Ghana and our goal for the next 2 hours was to set up a perimeter and sort through and calculate just how much trash was within a 100 x 100 meter space. We were supposed to take about an hour and a half but it took us the better part of two and a half hours to finish. It was interesting because right next to us people were fishing, from the same beach that all this trash was washing up on, to sell in the markets around town. After about two hours we all collectively rebelled and sat down for a break to wait for the bus to return. It was nice because we had time to jsut sit and talk with the students in our class, something we don't always get to do on Wednesday mornings. It's such a good group of people within that department, I enjoy them all and always look forward to seeing them on Wednesdays. After we FINALLY finished at Jamestown, we all loaded back on to the bus to head over to Bojo Beach. At this point it was about 12 and we were supposed to have been back on campus at around 11 (I know, what a joke.) Started out to Bojo, which is a pretty clean beach, made it there in about an hour. We took the world's smallest fishing boat across the Densu River to the beach (literally squeezed 10 of us on to a "boat" no bigger than a twin bed) and sorted trash there for about an hour. It was more like us standing around pretending to pick up the same piece of trash for 10-20 minutes since there is so little in the area but it was still a good time. Me and Nicole were amused by how amused the Ghanaians were at the attention we get in these smaller villages. Children come running with the typical cries of "obruni obruni!" aka foreigners, villagers gawk and stare and men wolf whistle. It was hilarious how shocked they were. But to us, we felt as if we were getting less attention than usual since we were with such a large group of Ghanaians. Made it back across the river afterwards and headed back to the bus. Sat in traffic for awhile, but made it back to campus by 4:15ish, a full 5 hours and 15 minutes behind schedule, in true Ghana fashion. Took an extra thorough shower (since I was basically covered in trash and dirty water (can you say cholera?) and then headed to DNR (because where else would we eat than our fav Turkish restaurant?? ;)) with Jenna. Had a lovely dinner and then headed back to ISH to watch a movie and headed to bed. What an eventful Halloween night! ;P

Saturday
Left bright and early to head to spend a night in Akosombo with Jenna and Lorraine, from the Cali Crew. Started out from Okponglo and attempted to find our way to the infamously elusive Tudu Station (see week 10!). Finally located it after being dropped off a few stops too far (again). Made it on to an Akosombo tro and only had to wait about 10 minutes for it to fill up. Should mention that we had no hotel booked since none of them were picking up their phones so we had decided to head out and hope for the best! We made it to the town just south of Akosombo, Atimpoku in about 2 hours and proceeded to locate a good place to rest. We decided on an awesome place called the Adi Lake Resort, which was situated right on the Volta River. I must say that the Akosombo area is hands down my favorite place in Ghana. It was absolutely beautiful, and the town was small, but not too small, but also not big enough to be overwhelming, The people were all amazing and it just had a really good vibe. The Eastern and Volta Regions are by far the most beautiful in the country. After relaxing at the lodge for awhile we ventured North into Akosombo proper and saw the eponymous dam. The Akosombo Dam provides power not only to all of Ghana but also to parts of neighboring Togo and Cote Ivoire. The imposing clay and rock structure was built in the early 1960's, a project spearheaded by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. We spent some time there and then proceeded to head back to  Adi Lake. We decided to take a little canoe ride on the river in front of our hotel. Of course, 2 minutes after we got on the water, it started pouring. We docked at a little jetty in front of one of the 5 star hotels and spent an hour or so there, waiting out the storm. By storm, i mean monsoon. It was INSANE. Rain pouring down, but the wind was so strong that many of the canoes were blowing off their ties into the river. After the wind stopped enough and the rain lightened up a little we hightailed it back up the river to the hotel (thank god Jenna rows crew! ;)) Spent time drying off and relaxing and then headed out to dinner at our hotel. Had a killer view of the water and just enjoyed the evening. Joe, one of the workers at the hotel, also runs the hotel's catfish farm. The Akosombo area not only is the energy hub of the country, but also where almost all the tilapia and catfish eaten in the country comes from. After dinner, Joe was going to perform a procedure on some of the catfish and invited us to come watch. I have learned a lot about aquaculture last year in my marine policy class so I was stoked to go. It was super cool, as we got to see them take the eggs out of the female and watch them make an incision and take the sperm out of the male to fertilize the eggs. Super cool. We were all exhausted though, so we stayed for about a half hour and then headed off to bed.

Sunday
Woke up in the morning and relaxed around the grounds for awhile. We had breakfast at the hotel and then spent some time deciding what to do with the rest of the day. One of my friends from Coastal Management is from the area and she had told me to hit up the Sajuna Beach Club so we decided to do that. The hotel manager of Adi graciously drove us over and we spent some time just habging out there. It was absolutely gorgeous. It borders the big luxury hotel in the area, the New Senchi Resort, so the area was absolutely pristine. I kind of prefer the more wild, unkept feel from upriver at Adi, but this was beautful as well. It was a purely Ghanaian place, we were the only obruni's there for most of the day. We found a cozy spot and spent the morning there. Jenna and Lorraine wanted to go out on a boat tour so we went on a short ride up the river and then came back to Sajuna for lunch. After that we started out toward Accra, but decided to stop at one of the bead markets. The Agomanya bead market is the oldest in the nation and hosts Cedi's Beads, the most popular shop in the area. We spent quite a while there just looking at beads and I ended up buying almost 120 GHC worth (oops. not even sorry, they were so amazing) After that we headed towards home, which should have taken about an hour but took about 3 because of traffic (naturally). Got back around 9 or 10 and spent the evening around ISH talking to others about places they had hit up over the weekend.

Week 13

Tuesday
Spent the day in bed recovering. Was feeling  a little dehydrated, so I just drank down a bunch of Gatorade and sugar/salt water. Decided to make it to dance class in the evening though. The new dance we are learning is called Bamaya. We finally finished it up and we should be getting tested next week. Can't express how much I love dance class, I think it definitely made me feel better after a tough weekend! Had some plain rice for dinner after.

Wednesday
Coastal Management in the morning. We watched a video on ballast water and the impacts of the shipping industry on the coast. Pretty standard from what we've learned in the US. More excitingly Professor Nyarko finalized our field trip, which will be next Friday out to the Tema Port, just East of Accra. Stoked on that. Decided not to stay for seminar today as I wasn't feeling 100%. Headed back to ISH to eat and relax. Had Twi class in the afternoon, where we learned basic questions. In Twi, there is no different sentence structure for questions, it is all simply in the inflection. For example, Wo pe aborobe is "you like pineapple" To change that into "do you like pineapple?" you simply elongate the end of the word aborobe. Confusing, in my opinion...After Twi we had a palavar session with Auntie Rose and Uncle Albie. We watched the movie Big Men, on the oil fields and business here in Ghana. Short discussion afterwards followed by dinner, courtesy of the study center (hallelujah!), of avocado and chicken salads. Headed back to ISH and off to bed afterwards.

Thursday
Decided to play hooky from class this morning to go into town. (Hey, I deserve a break!) Came back and just hung around downstairs for the afternoon. It was ridiculously hot all day, so ISH was pretty much full of us internationals trying to avoid the heat. I hung out with one of my good friends here for the majorityof the day and we headed off to dance class after lazing away the afternoon. Dance was fun, we just rehearsed Bamaya some more. The end of the Bamaya dance has a freestyle portion where everyone has to do a solo, which is basically my worst nightmare. Of course, the cheif drummer looked right at me and i had no choice but to come to the front of the circle and move. SO embarrassing... I think we're getting tested next week and then on to the next dance! Had dinner downstairs at ISH with other internationals and hung out with some poeple in the room for the evening.

Friday
STarted out the morning with a meeting with Dr. Alhassan, my research supervisor. I don't think I've said much about him yet, but he is awesome! He is a Professor of Geography within the Kwame Nkrumah Institute for African Studies and has pretty broad interests, focusing on patterns of the Ghanian diaspora and humanitarian and environmental relief with USAID.   He is extremely helpful and interesting and just an all around great professor. He actually reminds me of my dad, one, because he wears a lot of really loud, fun shirts (and we have definitely gifted my dad enough loud and crazy tops over the years) and two, because he is an academic but can still crack an absurdly corny joke and get away with it. We chatted a bit about my research and he gave me pointers on writing and organization and about my trip to Ada. After my meeting with him me and a friend headed over to MaxxMart for lunch and groceries. We ran into some other internationals who were also escaping the heat in the AC of the store. Headed back to ISH for the afternoon to stay out of the heat. That evening a few of the Cali Crew went out to dinner for one of the guy's birthdays. He was craving Chinese so we hit up a place called Spadana out in Osu and had a big family style meal. We hit up Pinnochio for ice cream afterwards (because none of us are capable of walking by without going in), stopped by one of the bars for a little and then headed back to Volta Hall to chill out for a little.

Saturday
Spent the day doing some souvenir shopping in Osu. Got some shea products and fabric from Global Mama's, and awesome fair trade NGO and found a place called Trashy Bags, which makes all of it's products out of recycled water satchets or billboard fabric. Super awesome! We also stumbled upon a pretty cool place called Pure Essense which makes super great shea products that I want to hit up next time. All the natural African shea you find here is so amazing! After a few hours of trekking in the heat up and down Oxford Street, we hit up El Paso, our favorite Mexican hideaway for lunch. Always delish. We all had either a burrito or fajitas with Spanish Sangria. refreshing! Headed back to campus, and good thing we did because as soon as we got back the sky just opened up. One of the bigger storms I've experienced here. Th thunder was earth shattering and the lightening just illuminated the entire sky. And the sheer amount of rain paired with the strength of the wind was unreal. And i think the big difference is, that when it rains here it's not like a dinky one hour storm, it dumps for HOURS. amazingly the power stayed on all night (first time for everything, wooooo!) but it hasn't gone out for about 4 days so it is inevitable. We decided against cooking, fearing that the power would go out midway through, so we ordered Thai food in. Spent the evening indoors watching movies and talking!

Sunday
IA's (midterms) are in the coming weeks so everyone spent the day studying. I spent the morning on my research paper and the afternoon on Environmental Ecology. Around 4 me and a friend went down to the track and ran some laps and did cardio since no one wanted to do insanity. I find it interesting because the track is always filled with Ghanaian men and obruni women, never Ghanaian girls. It's definitely not apart of their culture for women to work out. For dinner, me and my roommate cracked open a box of Kraft Mac n Cheese. Excellent study food.

Week 12

Monday
Monday started out with soccer practice bright and early! Did some passing drills and scrimmages. Not much else to report on the day, I honestly can't really remember. (oops!)

Tuesday
No classes in the daytime so I just kind of lazed around all morning and early  afternoon. Around lunchtime, me and a friend went down to the Accra Mall to do some grocery shopping and snag some lunch. We had ham and cheese sandwiches (so American, it was fantastic) and ice cream. After spending some time in the shops we headed back to campus. A group of us did Insanity (a ridiculously exhausting workout video, but I'm committing to do it everyday for the rest of the time that I'm here! ) After wearing ourselves out doing that, we headed off to dance class. Dance class was fun, as always and we started learning the new dance after our midterm. This one is much harder and calls for some more precise hip movements that I have not yet mastered. Video to come though! After dance class me my roommate and some of the guys from the Cali Crew headed to our favorite restaurant in Accra for dinner; DNR Turkish Cuisine. Literally the best food ever. We always go with about 5 or 6 people and order enough food for 10. It's such a chill environment (right on the roadside) and really does have amazing grub. We probably come here at least once a week (and if we don't come, we get it delivered). We were there until they kicked us out at closing (11, so early!) and then had a chill evening back at ISH.

Wednesday
Headed off to Coastal Management in the morning. Class was good but I felt the mood was a little more subdued than usual today. I found out that the Ghanaian students have to turn in their thesis proposals tomorrow, so it now makes sense. Class was a little more stressful today, as Professor Nyarko could tell people weren't quite paying attention to him and proceeded to shoot exam questions at us, and singled people out, making us stand up and answer questions aloud. After class though I stayed for the seminar that is optional for international students; it was on coral reefs. Super interesting lecture done by Dr. Appeaning Addo who I met with last week, he's a great lecturer, I kinda wish I had taken one of his classes as well! After that I headed back to ISH to finish my assignment for Twi. We had to type out a one page dialogue on a conversation in the market ( It was fairly repetive - how much variety can you really have in a market? Everyone is there to buy something or another - Ex: Wo wa ankaa? Do you have oranges? Aane, me wo ankaa. Yes I have ornages! Wo wa kontomire ni boyare? Do you have palava sauce and yam? Aane! Yes! ....You get the point) Grabbed Mama Tantalizing food for dinner ( peanut soup and banku) and had a fairly relaxing evening.

Thursday
Lots of class today, started out with NGO's. Spent 2 hours talking about how to name your NGO. My one gripe with the Ghanaian teaching system is that they sometimes literally spend the ENTIRE class period talking about something that should really only take 30 minutes to explain. Fairly boring. Came back to ISH after only to be greeted with no power. Went down to the night market and had red red (fried plantains and beans cooked in red palm oil) and hung around downstairs talking to people for a few hours. Power came back on around 3, right when I was leaving for class. Environmental Ecology was standard, although we found out we have a field trip for the class! Professor Attua mentioned they usually take the class to Kakum (the rainforest canopy walkway that I visited when I first arrived in Ghana. See second post for deets. ) which is super exciting! That was one of my fav places and I would love to go back. This week has been ASPA (Association of Students in Performing Arts) Week so there has been a lot of fun activities going on within the dance department. Today for class, instead of being in the studio, many of the dance students, from levels 100-600 (undergrad to masters), all met outside and we started out having a huge dance parade where we all joined in. After about 45 minutes of that, Kofi, our instructor called each level up to do their dance in front of the department. We (level 200) performed Gaun, which is the one we had to do for our midterm. Watching everyone dance out on the street by streetlight and joining in a cheering people on was so much fun. I feel like it is experiences like this, where you're surrounded by culture, is truly what makes study abroad. I really felt like I was in Africa, with the rhythm and drumbeats going and seeing all the truly impressive dance moves.

Friday
Woke up hot, sweaty and with no power. BIG SURPRISE. Power stayed out almost all day. Headed to the mall for groceries and just hung around town for the day. As the closing event of ASPA week, the Dance Department had a banquet in the evening. Me and a few friends decided to hit it up, if for nothing else than the food. Event was supposed to start at 7, we got there around 7:30 and were still among the first to arrive (that Ghana Man Time though...). Event was nice, they had an emcee and the stage was decorated nicely.They gave out a lot of student awards, a few to people we know from dance class, which was cool to be there to cheer them on for. Just headed on back to ISH afterwards and had a chill evening in.

Saturday
Started the morning out with a dance workshop at 8 to make up for the class we missed on thursday. After that, a couple of us decided to head out to Kokrobite Beach, just West of Accra, for the night. Per the usual, the journey there was eventful, confusing and ridiculous. We knew we  needed to get to Kenishie Station, but no one informed us that there is a difference between the Kenishie tro tro station located at Kwame Nkrumah Circle and the actual suburb of Kenishie. Naturally, we turned up at Circle, only to realize we had to take yet another tro to get to the real Kenishie and then found out that we could only take a tro as far as Bojo Beach and then taxi. Long story, short, we made it by mid afternoon to our little hotel, the Kokrobite Garden which was AMAZING. It is owned and run by the sweetest Italian-Spanish couple and there are only 5 rooms, all little bungalows and a one person treehouse. Super cute. We spent the day having drinks and swimming and buying more souvenirs at the beach and headed back to the hotel for dinner, where I had the best Italian food i have EVER had. Literally salivating just thinking about it now. After dinner, we headed back to the beach for some live Reggae Music at one of the resorts. Very mellow and fun and we spent the rest of the night there.

Sunday - Monday
Proved to be an interesting day. Started out by spending some more time on the beach having drinks (10 am in Ghana, but it's 5 o clock somewhere, right?) and chilling. Decided to head on back to Accra around 1. It was on the second tro tro ride that I started to feel kind of funny. As we made it back to ISH i felt downright sick and proceeded to spend the next three hours throwing up every 30 minutes or so. It was terrible. At the prompting of my friends I finally decided to call Auntie Sharon and go to the hospital. They made me stay the night (UGH) since it was already 8 and gave me something to stop me vomiting. Next morning, I saw the doctor and she informed me it was a gastrointestinal infection. I am now back at ISH and on my meds, still not eating anything too major, but feeling better nonetheless. They made me stay in the hospital to monitor me (much to my chagrin) until Monday evening, so I spent Monday bored to tears in the hospital room. When they finally discharged me I felt as if i had been sprung from prison (not that they weren't all nice people in there). Spent the rest of the day recuperating in bed. Feeling better though, and updates for next week are to come!

Yebehyia bio!

Week 11

Monday
Today was a national holiday, so no classes! Yay! The California Study Center had our monthly wellness breakfast this morning, so bunch of us headed over to IPO at 8:30, bright and early. Auntie Rose had a delicious breakfast our granola, yogurt, pita, bananas, hard boiled eggs and REAL CHEESE. I can't emphasize how hard non laughing cow cheese is to come by people. It's a struggle. We ate and had a discussion on continuing phases of cultural adjustment. Afterwards a friend needed to head to the art supply shop, Acrylics, in Osu to get some supplies for her internship. We taxied down and did some exploring in Osu for a little while. We went into this awesome store called Global Mamas, it's a non profit, fair trade organization that sells clothes, jewelry and lotions, all produced here in Ghana. It's an awesome store and I will definitely be making many trips back for souvenirs! ;) After that we headed over to Acrylics, only to see it was closed for the holiday. We instead headed over to one our favorite spots, Pinnochio's, an ice cream shop. They have the most delicious ice cream in such a variety of flavors. I had a double scoop of some sort of french fruit and a delicious dark chocolate. So worth the 11 cedis. After that we headed on back to ISH and just hung around for the rest of the day. That evening, it was one of the girl's in the groups birthday so we went out to dinner back in Osu at a Japanese restaurant called Monsoon. It was pricey but delicious! I had salmon and avocado spring rolls (no raw fish for me) that were excellent. I came back and did a little bit of writing for my research project and then headed to bed.

Tuesday
I'm somewhat embarrassed to say that I did absolutely nothing of importance until dance class today. Soccer in the morning and then I wasted my internet away watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix, and the heat was so intense that I couldn't even bring myself to leave ISH for lunch and just ate at the kitchen downstairs. So I hid inside all day, basically. We were supposed to have our IA (interim assessment AKA midterm) in dance but (big surprise) it was once again postponed. We practiced the dance we're being tested on on thursday a few times and then began to learn a new dance. The new dance is significantly harder with much more intricate body movements, but I'm looking forward to getting more into it!

Wednesday
Coastal Management in the morning. Today me and the other girl from the California program in that class did a presentation on coastal management in the United States. I think it went well, the students chuckled at our accents throughout the presentation but they seemed interested in what we were saying, nonetheless. Lecture was interesting, we discussed different coastal habitats and how different human activities effect them. I felt pretty smart because Professor Nyarko talked a lot about the SOngor Wetlands where we went last weekend and I could connect that well. That afternoon I had a meeting with Professor Appeaning-Addo to talk about the natural science behind wetland destruction and erosion. He was awesome and interesting and I ended up talking to him for about an hour. I left are meeting super jazzed to start writing and headed back to ISH. I was just walking up to the parking lot when I ran into a friend who inquired as to why I wasn't in Twi class. In my excitement at my project, I totally blanked on going to class. Oh well (sorry Mom and Dad). No new Twi phrase for ya'll this week! Spent the evening writing and then when outside for Mama Tantalizing for dinner (she had mashed potatoes!!!)

Thursday
Started out with soccer practice and then NGO's. We started talking about how to establish a mission, in preparation for our group projects. Headed back to ISH for a little while afterwards to rest and avoid that intense noonday African sun. We headed to Environmental Ecology afterwards where we talked about the carbon cycle, pretty much review from ENVS 24 back in Santa Cruz. After that we had our Dance IA! I think it went well, I mean I'm taking the class Pass/No Pass so I just need a 60%, but i'm pretty sure I got a solid "pass". Headed to the Night Market for dinner (jollof rice, shito, boiled egg and a pineapple) and hung out with friends for the rest of the evening.

Friday
Swung by the post office and IPO early and then headed back to ISH only to realize that the power was out. I secretly had plans for another Gilmore Girls filled morning but that was obviously thwarted. I headed downstairs with my iPod and a book, deciding to just hang out, snack and read outside since there was a breeze and the room was too stuffy without the fan. Power stayed out all day and into the evening so I spent the day downstairs out at the shady tables in the quad alternating between reading and chatting with people who came by throughout the day. I played a little bit of Owari with some of the guys from the Cali Crew (a game similar to Mancala) and realized I suck at it. I've decided to get a board and practice. Mid afternoon, the water also went out  which was actually kind of comical since a lot of the Cali Crew was doing Insanity (a work out tape) outside and were all sweaty and gross only to realize there was no water for a running water shower when they were done. Spent the evening hanging out and went to bed early since me and 2 others decided on a hiking trip for the next morning. (Still no power)

Saturday
Me and two of the other girls from the Cali Crew left ISH at about 7 to head out to the Shai Hills Resource Reserve. It's 3 short tro tro rides away from Accra so it didn't take us too long to get there. However, the entire way there we couldn't help but glance up at the threatening looking clouds in the sky. As we sat on the tro tro on the way there, suddenly we saw baboons on the road! We were soon at our stop and as soon as we stepped in the gates of the park we were surrounded by baboons! We got our guide and decided on the shortest of the 5 trips offered for time and money purposes. We set off (clouds still looked menacing) and soon encountered ostriches! They are such cool animals,, that I've never really payed much attention to before. We continued on after encountering them, along a fairly flat savannah terrain. Even though this turned out to be the easiest part of the journey, it was nice because I felt that we were getting a tatste of the landscape you typically think of when you think of Africa; that wide open savannah. As we were walking, our guide, George, pointed up at a pretty decent sized mountain in the distance and informed us that that is what we would end up on top of at the end of this. Slightly surprised we continued after him, as he announced that the rains were coming and sped up his pace. At this point we were getting to some pretty steep rock faces to climb up and he was flat out jogging to make it to the cave at the foot of the summit before the rains. As we hauled ass up the mountain face, through crevices and up steep rock faces, we managed to make it into some dense jungle just as the sky opened up. It was pouring rain and we were still only about 3/4 of the way there and slowing down. Soaking wet, I looked up at this next rock face, slightly discouraged when suddenly I heard a growl. Alarmed, we all looked around, thinking of lions and the like. George calmly stated "oh no it is just a monitor lizard! They are big lizards, maybe 5 feet with sharp teeth and very aggressive. Do not worry!" Let's just say that was enough for the rest of us to scamper up the next set of rocks without a look back. We finally made it to the cave, which was absolutely amazing It's just so fascinating to think about how some of these things are formed over time! We waited there for awhile, hoping for the rain to die down so we could head up to the summit. It didn't so we decided to go anyway. As we sat in the cave we looked around and inquired as to how we would make it to the top of the mountain from here. George pointed to a pretty narrow crack in the ROOF of the cave, indicating for us to climb up there.Not sure how, but we managed to get up there and shimmy on through. The sight was one to behold. As we sat up on the summit, drenched to the bone, with the rain still coming down on us, looking out on to the African savannah I couldn't help but be reminded of the opening scene from The Lion King where Circle of Life plays. It was absolutely beautiful. Because of the rain I didn't get too many pics, but I guess that's just a reason to go back, right? After sitting out there for a few, the rain got the best pf us and chased us back inside (also I swear I heard another growling monitor lizard in the bushes and I'm not one to overstay my welcome!). We then proceeded to slip, slide and clamor down the mountain back to the main gate. It was an adventurous trip and I'm kind of glad we got to see it once in the rain, because it gave us a different perspective. I should also point out that we thoroughly amused/annoyed every tro tro that we took back to Accra (sopping wet, muddy obruni's are apparently not a common sight.).
A few pics that I managed to get!

Sunday
Woke up quite sore today from our journey yesterday! Also woke up to the power still being out. I just lazed around for awhile and it ended up coming back at around 9. That afternoon, Auntie Rose and Uncle Albie had gotten us all tickets to the Accra Hearts of Oak v. Asante Kotoko game here in Accra. They are the two big country rivals (think Dodgers v. Yankees) and people get quite passionate about the outcome. We first had lunch at one of the beach resorts on the coast in Accra. We spent about 2 or 3 hours there, just hanging around and eating. The lunch buffet was delicious, one of the best we've had since being here; it had a nice eclectic mix of Ghanaian, Asian and American food. After we headed on over to the stadium! It was quite exciting, pulling up to the crowded stadium; there were people all around selling a myriad of souvenirs. I was already wearing a jersey so I didn't buy anything else, but it was fun to see. We started the hike up to our seats (we were in the sky box) which were incredible. About half the group was for Accra (whooooo!) and the other half was for Kumasi (booooo!) and Auntie Rose had promised us all ice cream form Pinochio's should Accra win. The game was a good one, with Kotoko scoring early and dominating the field. We all had a good time watching the game and buying cheap beer from downstairs. With about 10 minutes left Accra got a goal in off a penalty kick, tying it up. The game ended 1-1, good enough for Auntie Rose, so we did indeed head over to Osu for ice cream! The game had a lot of good energy and I'm looking forward to trying and making it to a Black Stars (the Ghana national team) game before I leave as well! 

Week 10 continued

Friday
So as i mentioned before, while I'm here, I'm doing a research project about wetland destruction in Ada Foah, a village about 2 hours east of Accra. What better way to conduct research than a site visit with friends, right? RIGHT. So on Friday me and four good friends of the Cali Crew decided to spend a weekend out in Ada. We started out from campus about 1:30, a little later than we were hoping for but still doing good on time nonetheless.  So here we are, all happy and jolly waiting at the Okponglo tro tro station, we even managed to secure a tro tro to Central Accra in about 15 minutes (an IMPOSSIBLE task on a Friday afternoon) to actually fit all five of us. About 6 stops from Tudu station (where were supposed to pick up the tro to Ada) our tro tro suddenly breaks down in the middle of the road. I've heard of such things happening but it never really occurred to me it could happen to me. So we all piled out and waited for another tro tro to come; it took a little longer to find one with enough space to fit us all, but we finally did and we were on the way again! However, the driver of this tro wasn't nearly as friendly as the other one. We told him multiple times we needed Tudu station, and when we passed it he just kept right on going, saying he was going to Tema station instead. The other passengers on the tro tro stood up for us though and made a commotion and he let us out 2 stops later. We walked back (stopping to ask directions many times, and surely looking ridiculous and full on obruni, walking through the streets of downtown Accra with all our backpacks and things) and were met with another problem. The tro tro to Ada wasn't currently there and there were already 15 odd people waiting for it. The guy standing in front of the open slot told us about a half hour, but that could literally mean anything in Ghana time. About an hour and a half passed, it was now about 4, when suddenly a tro tro appeared to be pulling into the empty slot in front of us. That's when literally all hell broke loose. I'd like to compare this with perhaps what it would be like to shove ones way onto a lifeboat of a sinking ship; no rules, full on pushing and shoving and a women and children first mentality. The five of us managed to fight (and i mean FIGHT) our way on, all sitting in equally uncomfortable positions with goods and people shoved in all around us, but not too concerned as this was only supposed to take about an hour and half. After finally pulling out of the station (hooray!) we started out on the road, only to be met with deadlocked, bumper to bumper traffic. It took us about an hour and half to make it to the Accra Mall roundabbout (a usual 5 minute trip) and once we made it there, naturally, it started to pour (by pour, I mean monsoon style rainstrom, wind and all.) The back of the tro tro was open so water just streamed in for the next half hour or so. It took us about 3 hours to make it to the city of Tema (usually about a half hour away) in traffic and the roads finally opened up and the rain stopped. After that we careened (quite dangerously, it was an experience comparable to that of the Indiana Jones Adventure rise at Disneyland) down the dirt roads to Ada. We finally made it there around 9 and were met by two awesome people from the place we were staying at, Maranatha Beach Camp, we walked us down to the river's edge to the boat that would take us to Maranatha. Walking through the trees and getting the first view of the Volta River open up in front of us with the moon glistening over it was enough to pull all of us out of our tiredness. The boat ride was absolutely gorgeous, about 20 minutes of pure bliss. We had clearly left the light of Accra behind and could actually see the stars We pulled up to Maranatha and Robert and Desmond kindly offered to whip us up something quick even though the kitchen had closed already. After eating we headed over to our beach hut, which was one of the coolest rooms I've ever had. It was a thatched roof, thatched wall, hut standing on the sand. Mosquito nets hung around the three double beds and the floor was simply the sand of the beach.

Most of us were pretty pooped after dinner, but me and one of the other girls decided to go for a walk on the ocean side of the property. (Maranatha is near the Ada Foah Estuary and the Songor Wetlands, so one side is on the Volta River and the other on the Gulf of Guinea.) We spent an hour or so sitting on beach talking to Lanny, one of the workers, who gave us a lot of info on the wetlands and how many of the local still regard these areas as sacred, even though people have come in and built these multi million dollar resorts. He also gave us some interesting info on the turtle population here, as it is prime breeding grounds for leatherbacks and Olive Ridley's. After our chat, we finally went off to rest up for the next day.

Saturday 
Started the morning off with a lovely breakfast of pineapple pancakes and fruit! During breakfast we ended up making friends with two older women from Iowa, a super sweet Australian couple about our ages and a friendly young Dutch guy. We ended up chatting a lot over breakfast and then decided to all split the cost of a 3 hour boat tour around the surrounding islands. We started out by taking the boat to the estuary where the Volta River and the ocean meet and then continuing on to Rum Island. The Chief of Rum Island is a jolly old man who grows sugarcane and distills the rum in hand cranked machines. After getting a tour of the process, naturally,we had to sample some of the good stuff for ourselves. The white rum made on the island is the basic form, but he also makes red rum, flavored with the bark of mahogany! Super interesting (and strong!) , I bought some to bring home (thought good 'ol Dad would appreciate it) so look forward to that. We next proceeded to Crocodile Island. On the way there, however, we passed an oyster fishing boat. We were talking about how interesting it was when Lanny simply waved them over and some of the group bought oysters from them. They dumped in about 4 or 5 pounds into the bottom of the boat and we were on our way again. We bought coconuts on Crocodile Island and saw a few crocs (sadly, not in the wild, they were in a pond on the island, not in the water, as we were expecting.) We headed back to Maranatha after that and spent the afternoon resting and swimming in the ocean and river. Come dinner time, we all gathered again and had a relaxing dinner (accompanied with some red rum of course ;)) After dinner, Maranatha hosts a bonfire, which was a chill event. We talked to some of the other guests around and just took it easy and headed off to bed fairly early, exhausted from the day. Group pic on Rum Island

Sunday
We awoke Sunday and spent the morning eating breakfast and jut hanging aroound. We also spent a large portion of the morning in typical Ghana fashion; waiting for our bill for the weekend. It took about an hour and a half and it was about 11 by the time we were ready to head out. We bid our new friends goodbye, with hopes to see them in a few weeks in Accra. The boat ride back was rainy (obviously) but miraculously, there was already a tro tro waiting for us in Ada Foah when we got off the boat (apparently, Robert had called them, we knew this was no coincidence!) we hopped on to the tro tro and were on our way home after a lovely weekend. Of course a weekend as killer as this, couldn't be without some sort of chaos to begin and end with. About 20 minutes outside of Accra, our tro tro broke down again. At first we decided to try and stick it out as we were literally on the middle of the highway, but as the mate and driver were fiddling with parts, the engine started smoking and we decided to high tail it out of there. We didn't have to wait too long, and finally managed to squeeze on to another one, which ended up being more convenient because it was going in the direction of campus instead of Tudu station so it saved us an exchange; guess that worked out in the end! We finally made it home and all quickly ran to the showers (forgot to mention no showers there, and we were covered in a solid layer off sand and dirt, trailing sand behind us on all the tro tros, much to the chagrin of all the passengers and drivers we encountered.) and ordered delivery from my favorite restaurant here in Accra for dinner. It was an excellent weekend and I hope to head back to Ada Foah before I leave Ghana (in 10 short weeks, ahhhh!)

Week 10

Madwo (Good evening) all! This week has been a good one, starting with a regular week of classes and ending with a little vacation for the three day weekend. Keep readin' for

Monday
Started out with soccer practice bright and early at 6 am. It was a productive morning; we worked on our passing and moving as a team and ended with a little 3 on 3 practice. After practice me and friend decided to go swing by the Accra Mall, as she wanted a pair of shoes and I have no class till 3:30 on Monday so I tagged along. We walked down to the Okponglo tro tro station at the corner of campus only to see a sea of deadlocked traffic. We quickly decided the mall wasn't worth it and decided to walk over to MaxMart (A small Lebanese chain of grocery stores, that are very popular here.) to grab some groceries and food since we hadn't eaten after practice. The journey was a hot one, but we rewarded ourselves with chicken shawarmas when we finally arrived. Picked up some little groceries and found chedder cheese sauce(a major success!) so I decided to make some mac n cheese for dinner that night. We headed back to campus and had Twi class later that afternoon. We spent much of class reviewing, practicing constructing sentences (Mine was Me kumm ntonton "I killed the mosquito") After  class me and a friend decided to get to work on our mac n cheese treat. We had also stopped by the vegetable market on campus on the way from Twi and grabbed some green onions, bell peppers squash to mix in there. The kitchen was busy that evening, another few of the Cali crew were making pineapple fried rice as well as a Ghanaian student making fresh banku, and right as we were all getting into our cooking, in true Ghana fashion, the power went off. It has become a regular occurance at ISH for the power to go off, so we all groaned and crossed our fingers that the porters at the front would spare us and turn the generator on tonight. We lucked out and they did, and there was mac n cheese for all!

Tuesday
 As I've mentioned before, Tuesday's are my lazy days and I ended up doing very little today. We had Twi lab in the morning where we watched a movie in Twi (a most ridiculous film whose plot twists would surprise even the most avid Hindi movie viewer) and then a few of us ended up being recruited by the International Programmes Office (IPO) to pose as student models for the admissions booklet for the University of Ghana. They took a picture of three of us sitting on the grass pretending to read and talk to eachother. SO any prospective UG freshmen out there, keep an eye out for me! ;) I wasted away the afternoon in the Study Center, talking to people as they dropped in and out and went down to Akuafo Hall (one of the residence halls) for some palava sauce for lunch and then headed back to the Study Center for ice cream and cake. The Program Coordinators at the STudy Center put on this event at the end of the month for who whoever had a birthday during the month. They basically buy American style cake and ice cream for everyone and we all come together and sing for the people whos birthdays occur during the month. It's an optional event but it is the one event that all 35 of us UNFAILINGLY show up for. Cali kids need our cake fix! Dance class that evening and our midterm was pushed back until next Tuesday, because the dance department is paying to take all of us to a performance at the National Theatre on Thursday! We're all so psyched to see some real dancing, not this simple (but fun) obruni style dance! It should be a lot of fun. Amusing anecdote from dance class: One of the student came up and asked me and another student to be in amusic video for her friend this week. From dance class to MTV? Deets next week on how that turned out. After Dance some of us went over to Volta Hall (some of the Cali girls live on the other side of campus in a local hall. We all lived at that hall for a week and half during orientation so it brings back memories of all hanging out during orientation.) to celebrate one of the girl's in my programs' birthday. It was a relaxing night, we all just hung out, played cards and drank some beers and then headed back to ISH at the end of the evening.

Wednesday
Started the day with my favorite class, Coastal Management. We leaned about Integrated Coastal Management, stuff i've learned about extensively in Santa Cruz but it's fascinating to hear it from a West African perspective. While I'm here in Ghana I'm writing a research paper comparing the increased intensity of tropical storms in Lousiana, USA and Ada Foah, Ghana and how they are a result of wetland destruction. My Professor for coastal management set up a meeting for me to talk to one of the other professor's here, Profoessor Appeaning, for next week so I'm looking forward to that! After that I had Twi class where we learned how to negate verbs, (Ex: Me ndi ankaa "I will not eat the orange") After Twi, our soccer coach wanted us to go watch a Champion's League game so that we could observe tactics and apply it to our own playing. We went out to one of the sports bars in town, right near Okponglo and grabbed some dinner and watched the Atletico Madrid v. Juventus game. The place we went to was really nice, it had great local food and a more laid back vibe then a lot of the bars in town. I will definitely be going back!

Thursday 
My class heavy day, I started teh day with socccer bright and early. Nothing too eventful, we just ran the usual amount of laps and did some drills and practiced in our positions. I have Management of NGO's soon after practice so I usually run back to ISH to hop in the shower and change. Ghanaians always look their best for class, so to avoid looking like even more of an obruni, we try and dress up best we can to fit in! NGO's is my largest class, about 70 people. Our professor, Justice (literally, in Ghana if you're not named Kofi, you're Justice or Wisdom!) is an animated man and gave an interesting background of the structre of NGO's. Our main project for the class is to construct our own NGO's and we're going to start that next week. After that I swooped by the Bush Canteen to pick up my fav, Palava Sauce w/boiled yams, and headed back to ISH. That evening, instead of Dance class, the Dance Department decided to take all of us to a performance at the National Theatre. It was an awesome experience to see a show and see the amazing dance moves and styles of the national theatre company!

Hope you all had a lovely week! See my next post for Friday - Sunday, which I spent traveling! 

Week 9

This week was a relaxing one. I'm finally starting to feel settled in and get into a rhythm of things, which is nice, and makes this feel much more like home.  I'll start by delving right into the week!

Monday
Monday was actually a national holiday for Kwame Nkrumah's birthday (first President of the free Republic of Ghana). A few of the us international students decided to take a trip up to the Aburi botanical gardens int he Eastern Region for a night. We went up on Sunday morning and stayed through Monday late afternoon. The gardens are absolutely gorgeous! I'd been to the gardens before with some of the Cali Crew, but it was nice to spend the night with some of the different international students for once. We stayed in two person chalets, which were surprisingly nice for only 20 cedi's (about 6 US dollars) a night. We spent the evening lazing around the gardens and had dinner in the beautiful restaurant on the grounds. The next morning, there were festivities going on for the holiday so we spent the morning walking around, eating ice cream and enjoying the different drumming and singing groups playing in the gardens. We headed back to Accra around 2 and had a pretty lazy Monday evening.

Tuesday
Tuesday's are my lazy days, and I spend it living up to that name. I went to Twi lab in the morning where we learning some bargaining Twi to help get better bargain for taxi''s and goods in the market. My favorite new line to use - Wo pe se wo sisi me! "Are you trying to cheat me?" It has worked gloriously on taxi drivers. Spend the rest of the day laying around in bed and then headed off to dance class at 6. Dance is easily my favorite class and it did nothing but live up to its name today. The energy of everyone in that class is enough to get anyone going. One curveball today though, we have a test next week! They're going to divide us up into small groups and grade us on the dance we've been learning the past few weeks! Update on how that goes next week!

Wednesday
This brings me to my second favorite class! Coastal Management. This class is literally what I want to go into when I graduate. After two years of oging through my ENVS major being confused about what I want to do, this has been great. We've been talking about coastal erosion and wetland destruction and how it relates to the coast and i literally get so pumped to talk about it. There's so much that can be done here and i'm so jazzed to start some owrk in the field. My professor for this class is also awesome and has organized a few field trips for the semester. Since this is a level 400 class, it's also pretty small - only 15 students. Since there's only two obruni's (foreigner) in the class it's mostly Ghanaians which is great. The Marine Science Department is one of the smaller one's on campus so this group of students is already pretty tight with each other, but they have been unbelievably welcoming to us. Many of them came up to me and asked me my name and they light heartedly laugh at my California accent whenever I speak in class. Looking forward to making connections and learning a lot in this class.
Wednesday also has Twi class, which is hands down my hardest class. We had our first exam today, which was pretty tough but I still have high hopes. Spent Wednesday night just chilling and got dinner from the lady who sits outside ISH for dinner (We call her Mama Tantalizing because she describes all her food as tantalizing. I'm pretty sure it's the only English adjective she knows. Nevertheless her food is cheap and delish, so it's a staple.)

Thursday
Another light day, Environmental Ecology was cancelled for the week and we were assigned groups for our group project in Management in NGO's, which is going to be to create our own NGO. Super stoked for that, it should be a great experience to have. I'm loving how practical this class is turning out to be. We had dance class that evening and practiced the dance we're going to be tested on on Tuesday in small groups and i'm feeling pretty ready! I'm gonna try and get a video, so stay tuned! For dinner, me and Emily made pesto pasta! The pesto sauce was pricey, but worth it and i'm sure we'll be splurging again. If only we could get our hands on some real cheese!

Friday
Only thing of importance today was soccer practice. Our coach finally assigned us positions and we spent the majority of the hour setting up and practicing moving from offense to defense. As usual, tiring, but rewarding! Always gets my day off to a jumpstart to have practice at 6am which is nice though.

Saturday
Today Auntie Rose and Uncle Albie (Two of our Program Coordinators)  took a few of us on a trip back to the Volta Region. She plans small trips for students throughout the semester and this was the one I chose to go on. We went to a village about 3 1/2 hours away and got to check out the progress on a rainwater cachment system a past student had set up there. The trip to the village was another adventurous one, as most of the roads had been flooded from yesterday's storm. We ended up having to wade through knee deep water to get to the village, which was unexpected but surprisingly fun. (Although Auntie Rose did scare us by warning us of worms that can burrow in to your feet that lurk in flooded waters.) After spending time in the village with some of the people, who were all amazingly friendly, as usual (Ghanaians don't have the reputation as the friendliest in Africa for nothing.) we stopped at a little resort on the Volta River where Auntie Rose bought us all drinks and we went out on a boat ride. It was beautiful and we all made plans to go back and spend a night there.
Pictures from the day:

Yebehyia bio! (Until next time)


  

Maakye! (Good Morning)

As promised, here's an update on the actual "study" part of this study  abroad experience!
I'm sure all of you (unless you've been living under a rock) have heard the unending reports on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. While Ghana remains unaffected, the surrounding countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Nigeria all have reported cases. As an one of the premier institutions on the African continent, The University of Ghana naturally gets student from all over Africa, including these countries. To stem the spread of Ebola (and any other infectious diseases) to the University and the rest of Ghana, the University suspended the beginning of the quarter by two weeks in order to do preventative screenings of inter African students coming to the university. In addition to all of this going on, there was also threat of a union strike by UTAG (the professors union) that threatened the start of the university by ANOTHER week or two. Long story short since many of you have heard this already, we had two weeks off for the Ebola screenings where we traveled a bit and then they set up some special classes for international students in case the strike dragged on. It ended up ending after a week and we were able to enroll in our actual classes. I'll be taking Twi (the local language), Tradtional African Dance, Environmental Ecology, Management of NGO's, Coastal Management and conducting a research project on coastal erosion here in Ghana. More on the classes to come!

But during that two weeks of delay we took a trip to one of my favorite spots we've hit, the Wli Waterfalls in the Volta Region. To begin, the day started out at about 5 am on a wednesday morning. For once, all of the Cali Crew made it down relatively on time, so we were actually able to watch the bus pull up. I use the term bus loosely however. During the first two weeks we were here in Ghana we had a bus drive us around for orientation, an actual large, air conditioned bus. What pulled up, is best described as a large tro tro (high speed small mini buses, main mode of public transport here). We tentatively climbed in only to realize that not only was it a cramped space, there were also 5 unlucky poor souls that had to sit on these crickety fold out seats in the middle part. Thank the lord I got on early and did not have to sit on one of those, but I was in the back of the bus, which didn't seem to pose a problem at the time, but it would come to. We started out, a group of sleepy, excited and cramped Californians. It became evident early on, before we had even gotten out of Accra, that our bus driver was a bit of a dare devil. He was a particularly speedy one and liked to wait until the last second to hop back into our lane when passing other cars. As we left the Greater Accra Region behind us and booked it through the Eastern Region towards the Volta, the roads began to get worse and worse. Paired with our bus driver, the ride was quite an adventurous one. Every bump sent us in the back flying into the air, making for a harrowing five or six hour journey. As we pulled up to the start of the hike we piled out of the bus, thankful for some solid land. The hike to the waterfall was a pleasant one, through refreshing rainforest and across a series of 6 bridges. By the third or fourth bridge we could begin to hear the roar of the falls. As we turned the corner, the Wli falls loomed out above us. I don't know how many of you have seen anything quite like a waterfall rising up hundreds meters above you, but it is quite a humbling sight. We passed the first few minutes just looking up at the falls, so natural and mighty, falling down in front of us. Our tour guide informed us that we could all swim in the pool at the bottom so all us didn't hesitate to jump in. The water was so fresh and clean and all of together spent quite a bit of time right in the mist of the falls and traveled under them to this little cave in back and just sat in awe for a little while. Here's a pic of the Cali Crew in the pool

We ended up only spending about 2 hours in Wli before hopping back in to the bus for the rise back, but it was so incredibly worth the short amount of time we spend there. As we made our way back into the bus, I decided to be a nice person and take the middle "seat" on the way back. It was, believe it or not, even more bumpy on the way back and to top it all off, it got dark about half way back which made the whole ride that much more nerve-wracking. Highlight of the drive back was that once we got to the edge of the Volta, there was a considerable amount of traffic, so our driver turned into the jungle on a narrow path and decided it was in our best interests to take that road instead, to avoid traffic. Another hour or two of hair raising turns and bumps and we were finally in the familiar traffic of Accra (never thought we'd be so happy to be sitting still in traffic!).

Starting from now, I'll update this once a week, to fill ya'll in on my weekly goings ons!

Thanks for reading! 

Akwaaba!

Akwaaba! (Welcome)

After repeatedly typing out what i've been up to the past 2 months (holy shit I can't believe it's been that long.) to different people I have decided to start a blog to document my time here in Ghana. Since I've missed a little more than 7 weeks already I'm just going to roll these weeks into a few fun-sized posts.

Before coming to Accra I remember being told by a few people that men would readily propose to you or declare their love after knowing you for only a few minutes, mostly because they think you are a banking bank or a ticket to a visa. In other words, I was prepared (so i thought), but did not expect it to start literally the moment i hopped off that plane. I should also point out that walking up to the door of the plane was like being suddenly drenched in warm water. The humidity literally smacks you in the face faster than you can imagine. After the group of us Cali kids were shuttled into the airport we were, naturally, lost and confused. We had been told that the EAP would be there to pick us up but naturally, they were running on GMT (Ghana Mean Time AKA show up whenever the hell you please). And so, we wandered through customs, were continually yelled at in Twi and eventually made it out where we were immediately surrounded by no less than 50 people offering us various services, ranging from a cab ride to campus, an offer of a private tour of the country and a plea to "please leave the program and come to my brother's hotel, you will like it much better." A few of us got separated and were approached by 3 men wearing University of Ghana T shirts (still stand by the fact that this was what mislead us, they looked SUPER legit). Thinking we had found our people, but slightly confused that they didn't seem to be surprised there were 4 of us rather than 30, we followed them. 30 seconds later they were offering to marry us and take us on a private tour of the country.Quickly relaizing our mistake we dashed back ad found our REAL people who are quite literally the most welcoming and greatest people EVER. They all began introducing themselves as Auntie this or that which instantly makes you feel that much more at home, knowing that these people that are going to essentially be in charge of you are your Aunties, not just a program coordinator.

But diving into the stay itself, we were taken on a campus and city tour the day after we arrived. I think it is truly amazing how much the campus here reminds me of Santa Cruz. It has the same nature-y feel and has made me feel right at home. Instead of walking on sidewalks there are dirt paths through gardens and trees that make walks to class that much better. We began dance class immediately which is hands down my fav class. Our Professor, Oh! Ni Sowah is such a passionate man and believes that everybody has the ability to "boogie" within their soul. Class is super energizing and fun and is something I look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday.

After a few days of dance class and speeding around town, our program took us on a multi day, multi city tour of parts of the country. We hit Cape Coast first, and our drive there proved to be quite an eventful one! About an hour and half down the Accra-Cape Coast highway everyone was drifting off into naps. Suddenly there was a lot of yelling and shouting and pointing and BAM we were sideswiped by a taxi! Our bus driver, Solomon, naturally charged out of the bus guns blazing, only to realize that the taxi in question was indeed empty except for a lady sitting in the BACK seat. It took awhile, but we learned that the taxi driver had stopped the car briefly to run out and grab something and the break had slipped. Pretty dramatic stuff! Both the lady and all of us were fine though and we continued on to Cape Coast. Upon pulling into our hotel (The Anomabo Beach Resort) , we were all amazed. It was literally this very fancy beach resort right on the water. The rooms were these awesome two person huts with the waves just beyond the window.

We headed out to the Kakum National Park the next day. If anybody has ever seen a picture of Ghana anywhere I guaruntee you it was a picture of Kakum. It is the number on tourist spot in Ghana for sure, and the iconic rope hung canopy walkway is the highlight of the park. I would like to emphasize the ROPE TIED idea of the canopy walkway. It is literally a series of 7 bridges that are about 10 inches wide and several hundred meters long that are held up by ROPES. Now i'm a fairly tall girl so I won't lie and say I wasn't a little freaked. Those rope nets on the sides of the bridges are pretty darn short in my opinion and I can't say I was totally convinced of their effectiveness. Take a look at that pic and tell me I wouldn't have totally toplled over the edge if I had slipped! But it was a great experience and I think anyone that comes to Ghana should hit the spot, because it is beautiful and exhilarating and amazing.

Last on our trip was a trip to the cultural capital of Ghana, Kumasi. Kumasi is home to the iconic Ghanaian Kente cloth. This is cloth grown, dyed and loomed right in the Ashanti Region and all peices of Kente tell some sort of story. They are highly intricately woven, colorful strip of fabric that are worn in a toga-like fashion by the chiefs (Asantehene) of traditional tribes. We had a good time touring the village of Adanwomase (and spending waaay too much on all sorts of fun Kente) and the adjacent cocoa farm (Cocoa is one of the most commonly grown goods here! Many people chew the seeds in the raw form. I, however, will stick to actual chocoate, the bitterness is definitely not my thing.) We also went to Mahyia Palace, which is where the current Asantehene still lives! Unfortunately, he didn't make an appearance, but we did get to tour the palace, which was fasinating to learn about. We ended our 3rd night in Kumasi with a trip to a local bar  called +2 Pub and then in the morning began the 5 hour drive back to Accra. It's funny how quickly we all have come to think of Accra and the International Student Hostel (ISH) as home. We had only been in Ghana for about a week and gone for about the same time but we were all saying things like oh i wana go home, but none of us were referring to the States.

Anyways tune in next time for an update on the challenges the Ebola outbreak has brought to us on campus and a crazy bus ride to the tallest falls in West Africa!

Yebehyia bio! (Until next time)