This past weekend, CIEE took us on a trip to Kumasi, which is the capital of the Ashanti Region of Ghana. The Ashanti people are actually the Asante (in local dialect), but they are often called the Ashanti because it was easier for the colonists. Anyways, the Asante people are one of the most culturally intact ethnic groups in Ghana. They are also led by the Asante hene, or the Asante king, seeing as (way back when) there was actually an Asante Kingdom that covered most of Ghana and parts of Togo and Cote D’ivoire. The Asante king actually holds a great deal of political power, not only in the region, but also with the national government. Essentially, if the Asante hene has something to say, people listen. For this reason, due to the king’s initiatives, Kumasi is a much cleaner city than Accra. The king has also created a national education fund that puts a lot of kids in need through school (not just Asante children).
Anyways, Kumasi is about five hours north and we left bright and early on Friday morning. When we got there we checked into our very nice (and air conditioned) hotel and had lunch. Then, we went to Manhyia (pronounced Manshia) Palace, which is the former home of the Asante King. It was pretty much a museum with a lot of stuff that the king used way back when.
After that we went to Kumasi Central Market, which is the largest open-air market in West Africa, and (I think), the second largest in Africa. The market was MADNESS. There were more people than you can imagine- selling and buying just about anything that you could think of. The smells and sounds were a total sensory overload, but I still managed to have a good time. I bought a necklace and batik (a type of dying) fabric for really cheap. I also got to practice my Twi with some of the women in the market! As we were leaving the market, the sky started to get really dark and we all realized that it was going to rain, very soon. But, since we all split up in the market, we had to wait for everyone to find their way out in order to get the bus. In this period of waiting, the sky just opened up on us. Just as a side note, rainstorms in Africa are different than America. In the US, everyone is prepared with umbrellas and raincoats and rain boots- not the case in Ghana. When it rains, everyone gets off the street and finds shelter. So, we sprinted across the street into some sketchy building where there were hundreds of other people waiting for the storm to pass. Eventually, the rain slowed down enough for us to go outside and get on our bus.
The next day we started off at the Kente weaving village. Kente cloth is a type of cloth that is culturally tied to the Asante people. It is woven, and it comes in all different colors and is very pretty (and also pretty expensive). We got to see how the cloth is made, and also the different meanings behind the patterns. I also bought some for myself and as souvenirs for people at home.
After that we went to the Adinkra cloth village, which is another type of artwork. Adinkra symbols all have a different meaning, and they are often stamped onto fabrics. So, we learned how they make the black dye used to stamp the Adinkra symbols and also got to stamp our own fabric with the symbols of our choice!
Next, we drove about an hour to Lake Bosumtwe, which is a huge lake made by the impact of a meteor a long time ago. It is in a huge crater and a lot of villages are situated around the lake. We had a delicious lunch and then got to canoe and go swimming. The water was super warm (warmer than Marlborough Lake), so I didn’t really want to go swimming because it wouldn’t have been at all refreshing. But, I did take a nice canoe ride around the lake.
We went out to dinner that night at a very nice Chinese food restaurant, which was a nice change of pace in food. The next morning they gave us some free time to explore on our own, but I took the change to sleep in the air conditioning, which was wonderful! After that we headed home to Accra.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Independence Day, church services, and more
I apologize for not updating my blog for so long. I suppose I didn’t think that I had been doing anything too exciting, which is sort of true, but I will update everyone anyways! March 6th was Independence Day in Ghana. On the Friday before there was a reggae concert at the national stadium. The vast majority of the people there were rastas, with the exception of a few oborunis . This essentially meant that there was an unbelievable amount of marijuana there (don’t worry, I didn’t smoke any). I kid you not, there was a man walking around with a platter of weed, just rolling joints and selling them for one cedi. Mind you, marijuana is also illegal here- with a prison term of up to 10 years! I supposed there was just no point in enforcing the laws because then they would have to arrest just about everyone in the entire stadium. As for the concert, the main performance was a Jamaican reggae artist named Sizzla. There were a lot of openers, and by 1am we were pretty tired of waiting for him to come on, so we just left. After that we went to Epo’s, which is a bar in a neighborhood called Osu. We didn’t actually go into the bar, but there is a stand outside of Epo’s that sells possibly the best noodles I have ever had in my entire life. There were so many fresh vegetables in them, which is (surprisingly) hard to come by in Ghana.
On Independence Day some friends and I went to the national trade fair. This was pretty much a huge fair where vendors paid for a booth, and they could sell their goods. You could buy pretty much any cool African souvenir that you were looking for, so I went a little crazy. I actually spent all of the money that I had in my wallet. I bought some gifts for people at home, a beautiful painting, and a drum (that I have no idea how to use properly). On our way home our tro-tro broke down. As it was rolling backwards, the mate (the person who sits with the rest of the passengers and collects the money) jumped out and threw a rock under the wheel to stop it from moving. This is the type of thing that happens here in Ghana that has just become regular, or unsurprising to me, which I guess is actually a good feeling. I have actually realized what a different type of travel study abroad is. All of the past times that I have traveled, I am constantly trying to fit in all of the things that I want to do and rushing around and going nonstop. But, my time in Ghana is just life, not necessarily travel. When I first got here, I felt the need to constantly be on the move, doing things and keeping myself active because I thought that if I didn’t, I would be wasting time. However, I have found that I have to take time for myself, to just relax and lay in bed, and that is totally okay.
My week days here are pretty routine- class, internship, neglecting my pile of reading, and sleeping. One thing that I do not think I have written about is the church services. Every Sunday morning (and sometimes on weekdays too) there is a church service in the dining hall next to my dorm. It is directly below my window. These church services can start as early as 5am and they aren’t nearly as quiet as our services in America. No, there is drumming and singing and tambourines and people periodically screaming in unison (why? I have no idea). Now, I have finally gotten used to this inevitable noise in the morning, and I can usually sleep through it. But, the church service on Sunday night really takes the cake. From what I have gotten from some Ghanaian friends, the group is called Militia (I find that a strange name for a church) and they are Charismatic. Every Sunday night, at about 7pm their service starts. They proceed to speak tongues into a microphone for HOURS (or until about 10pm). There is no way to escape this noise in my room. The only thing to get away from it is to blast music in my headphones. I really wish that I could accurately describe the sounds that come out of this church service, but they are sounds that were so foreign to me that I cannot even describe them. I would really like to attend an actual service (maybe just to get some video footage of it), but I can’t imagine sitting through at least 3 hours of it without getting a serious migraine.
I have lots more to say but I’m going to stop here because the power had gone out. This means that a) my computer is about to die, and b) my computer screen is the only light in the room and giant bugs keep attacking me because they are drawn to the light. More later!
On Independence Day some friends and I went to the national trade fair. This was pretty much a huge fair where vendors paid for a booth, and they could sell their goods. You could buy pretty much any cool African souvenir that you were looking for, so I went a little crazy. I actually spent all of the money that I had in my wallet. I bought some gifts for people at home, a beautiful painting, and a drum (that I have no idea how to use properly). On our way home our tro-tro broke down. As it was rolling backwards, the mate (the person who sits with the rest of the passengers and collects the money) jumped out and threw a rock under the wheel to stop it from moving. This is the type of thing that happens here in Ghana that has just become regular, or unsurprising to me, which I guess is actually a good feeling. I have actually realized what a different type of travel study abroad is. All of the past times that I have traveled, I am constantly trying to fit in all of the things that I want to do and rushing around and going nonstop. But, my time in Ghana is just life, not necessarily travel. When I first got here, I felt the need to constantly be on the move, doing things and keeping myself active because I thought that if I didn’t, I would be wasting time. However, I have found that I have to take time for myself, to just relax and lay in bed, and that is totally okay.
My week days here are pretty routine- class, internship, neglecting my pile of reading, and sleeping. One thing that I do not think I have written about is the church services. Every Sunday morning (and sometimes on weekdays too) there is a church service in the dining hall next to my dorm. It is directly below my window. These church services can start as early as 5am and they aren’t nearly as quiet as our services in America. No, there is drumming and singing and tambourines and people periodically screaming in unison (why? I have no idea). Now, I have finally gotten used to this inevitable noise in the morning, and I can usually sleep through it. But, the church service on Sunday night really takes the cake. From what I have gotten from some Ghanaian friends, the group is called Militia (I find that a strange name for a church) and they are Charismatic. Every Sunday night, at about 7pm their service starts. They proceed to speak tongues into a microphone for HOURS (or until about 10pm). There is no way to escape this noise in my room. The only thing to get away from it is to blast music in my headphones. I really wish that I could accurately describe the sounds that come out of this church service, but they are sounds that were so foreign to me that I cannot even describe them. I would really like to attend an actual service (maybe just to get some video footage of it), but I can’t imagine sitting through at least 3 hours of it without getting a serious migraine.
I have lots more to say but I’m going to stop here because the power had gone out. This means that a) my computer is about to die, and b) my computer screen is the only light in the room and giant bugs keep attacking me because they are drawn to the light. More later!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Life Updates!
I haven't blogged in a while, so in an attempt to procrastinate from doing my geography homework, I have decided to update my blog.
Life has been pretty low-key this week, just hanging around Accra, going to classes and such. On Friday I went to a neighborhood called Osu, which is a huge obruni hot-spot. But, that also means that people sell a lot of cool stuff. I bought my self a Ghana flag, and I went to this awesome store called Global Mama's. It's a fair trade store that sells stuff mainly made by Africa women. I bought a Ghanaian cookbook (so I can cook you all my favorite foods when I get home!), some jewelery, and some other trinkets that I can give as gifts. Friday night I went out to a place called the Purple Pub, which is just a really chill outdoor bar near Osu. Most of the bars in Accra are outside, which is awesome, except for the few occasions that it rains. Ghana doesn't have rainy days like we do in the states- just super intense storms and only last for a little bit. The thunder here is louder than I have ever heard in my life- and the lightning is amazing.
Anyways, a bunch of CIEE people showed up at Purple Pub and it ended up being a really good time! Towards the end of the night, however, I saw a man get hit by a car. As the man was lying in the road, the taxi that hit him just backed up and drove away. That was really horrifying to watch. I was aware that hit-and-runs happen all the time here, but I never expected to see one. I was going to go help the man, but I realized I would have no idea what to do- and then some Ghanaians came to help him, and I figured they would know what to do.
Saturday was a pretty exhausting day. Me and the other intern at my orphanage, Sarah, decided to take the kids to play soccer at the University. We show up, and there are 32 kids (most of whom I have never seen) waiting to play soccer. So, we go get a tro-tro and stuff all of them into just one. Let me tell you, that tro was PACKED, with three kids stacked into one seat. Thankfully, the tro made it there safely and the kids had a pretty good time! Then, Saturday night we had a Purim party (because my roommates are Jewish). On Purim you are supposed to wear costumes, so I broke out my lifeguard bathing suit. It was actually a really fun party with a lot of friends.
Sunday was CIEE olympics at Bojo Beach, so they bused us out there and we had some competition. It was nice spending a day on the beach, and my tan is definitely coming along nicely. I am actually wondering if I will hit a point where I will stop tanning, because I am pretty much will have been in summer weather from January-August.
This weekend I was going to travel with some people to Togo and Benin, but its independence day in Ghana on Saturday, and I think that is something that I do not want to miss!
Okay, I suppose it is time for me to get my homework done. Ghana has made me (and everyone on our program, I think) a serious slacker. There is really very little initiative to put much effort in to school. Also, some of the professors are pretty disrespectful, which has been very frustrating. Peace out!
Life has been pretty low-key this week, just hanging around Accra, going to classes and such. On Friday I went to a neighborhood called Osu, which is a huge obruni hot-spot. But, that also means that people sell a lot of cool stuff. I bought my self a Ghana flag, and I went to this awesome store called Global Mama's. It's a fair trade store that sells stuff mainly made by Africa women. I bought a Ghanaian cookbook (so I can cook you all my favorite foods when I get home!), some jewelery, and some other trinkets that I can give as gifts. Friday night I went out to a place called the Purple Pub, which is just a really chill outdoor bar near Osu. Most of the bars in Accra are outside, which is awesome, except for the few occasions that it rains. Ghana doesn't have rainy days like we do in the states- just super intense storms and only last for a little bit. The thunder here is louder than I have ever heard in my life- and the lightning is amazing.
Anyways, a bunch of CIEE people showed up at Purple Pub and it ended up being a really good time! Towards the end of the night, however, I saw a man get hit by a car. As the man was lying in the road, the taxi that hit him just backed up and drove away. That was really horrifying to watch. I was aware that hit-and-runs happen all the time here, but I never expected to see one. I was going to go help the man, but I realized I would have no idea what to do- and then some Ghanaians came to help him, and I figured they would know what to do.
Saturday was a pretty exhausting day. Me and the other intern at my orphanage, Sarah, decided to take the kids to play soccer at the University. We show up, and there are 32 kids (most of whom I have never seen) waiting to play soccer. So, we go get a tro-tro and stuff all of them into just one. Let me tell you, that tro was PACKED, with three kids stacked into one seat. Thankfully, the tro made it there safely and the kids had a pretty good time! Then, Saturday night we had a Purim party (because my roommates are Jewish). On Purim you are supposed to wear costumes, so I broke out my lifeguard bathing suit. It was actually a really fun party with a lot of friends.
Sunday was CIEE olympics at Bojo Beach, so they bused us out there and we had some competition. It was nice spending a day on the beach, and my tan is definitely coming along nicely. I am actually wondering if I will hit a point where I will stop tanning, because I am pretty much will have been in summer weather from January-August.
This weekend I was going to travel with some people to Togo and Benin, but its independence day in Ghana on Saturday, and I think that is something that I do not want to miss!
Okay, I suppose it is time for me to get my homework done. Ghana has made me (and everyone on our program, I think) a serious slacker. There is really very little initiative to put much effort in to school. Also, some of the professors are pretty disrespectful, which has been very frustrating. Peace out!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)