Excursion Trip

October 30, 2011

Currently, our group is residing in Accra until Tuesday when we all depart for our various locations for our Independent Study Projects.  I am planning on going back up to Tamale with a group of students to compare the education system in the Northern Region with that of the Southern Region in Accra.  On November 15^th, I'll make my way back to Accra to study the school system here for two weeks, and then I'll have a week until I arrive back in the States!

Over the past few weeks, we traveled throughout the Volta region in Ghana to see various places and crafts.

In Sogakope, we stayed at the Volta View Hotel.  The area was fairly urban, and the food was delicious.  Our hotel was very nice, except for a very large cockroach in my room that apparently could fly.  While in Sogakope, we went to a pottery workshop.  We learned how to make pots from mud and clay, and even got to try making different objects with the clay.  Unfortunately, all of our creations got rained on during a heavy storm and were ruined before they were fired. 

We stayed in Dagbamate, which was my last African village experience of the trip.  We were all a little ready not to be placed in the villages anymore, so this was a little repetitive.  Many students also started to get homesick because we were moving around so much. We got to see many drum and dance performances, and even drive very close to the border of Togo!

After leaving Dagbamate, we stayed in Krobo Odumasi.  This area was beautiful, and our hotel area was very nice.  The hotel had a connected restaurant that served French fries for only 2 cedis. This was a nice touch from home!  In Krobo Odumasi, we made our own beads out of used glass and bottles! I chose to make white beads out of crushed glass and brown beads made from crushed Guinness bottles.  Since this was the bead capital, we were able to purchase so many beautiful African beads! It was often hard to choose even what to buy.  We were also able to visit the Palace in the area, and meet the king of the Eastern Region. This was quite a big honor, especially because he was busy with the festival that was happening at the time.  There was a festival from Wednesday to Friday that only happens once a year, in honor of millet harvesting.  We got to see dancers and drummers on Wednesday, and take part in the celebration. At one point, a group of us were eating "fanice", while standing right outside of the palace during the celebration.  Two men were pushing a large bull down the street, preparing to sacrifice it for the festival.  All of a sudden the bull bucked its back legs and turned, charging towards our group.  We had to run behind the other wall of the palace! Though really scary, I can now say that I survived a bull charging towards me in Ghana.  On Friday we were also able to take part in the festival before we left for Accra.  We watched as all of the chiefs from the region and the king were cared in on people's heads.  Then we all paraded, with the chiefs and the king, to a large field that was the festival grounds.  I have many pictures and the experience really reminded me of an American festival.

As far as coming home, I couldn't be more excited.  I have learned so much during my stay here, but I'm also quite ready to come home.  I miss my friends and family so much.  Especially while moving around so much, thinking of home and being homesick is sometimes too easy to do.  But I only have 5 weeks left!  I'm more than grateful for this experience but I can't wait to be with you all soon!

Cape Coast!

October 20, 2011

This morning we left Cape Coast to travel to Accra for lunch and then to the Volta Region for four days.  After the Volta Region, our group heads farther East to continue our excursions, and then eventually back to Accra.  After a few days in Accra, we will all individually leave for our ISP locations.  I still have yet to completely figure out where I will be during the Independent Study Project time in November.  Currently, I'm between a village in the Eastern Region or Tamale in the Northern Region, but definitely in Accra for the second half of November.

Cape Coast was an incredibly rich experience for us all.  We stayed at Somma Guest House, which had a roof top restaurant/bar that overlooked the ocean!  The views were so beautiful, and we ate both breakfast and dinner on the roof top everyday.  On the first day we arrived in Cape Coast, we had some time to explore and relax.  I, along with some other SIT students, went to the beach.  The ocean water was so much cleaner than the beaches in Accra, as well as being less crowded.  The waves were super strong but really fun to swim in. 

The next day we took a tour of Cape Coast Castle, the youngest of the slave castle dungeons in Cape Coast.  The tour was very informative, yet extremely sad.  Each and every one of us felt different things.  Though I have learned about slavery and the slave trade for quite some time, being in Cape Coast at the actual sight of all of the inhumanity was a horrific feeling.  The castle dungeon was not exactly what I expected, but I learned a great deal about the history of Ghana, as well.

 After the tour, we went to Kokum National Forest where we got the chance to do a canopy walk through trees!  The canopy walk consisted of a hike up to the top of a forest, and basically walking on a small wooden plank with ropes on either side to hold on.  There was a net with fairly large holes about waist-high which provided some extra protection.  We were over 150 feet in the air!  The views were incredible, though I was probably shaking almost the entire walk.  The walk was over a mile long and had 7 platforms in between each stretch of walk.  The platforms were literally small wooden platforms around a large tree, similar to the deck of a very small tree fort.  The canopy walk was so much fun, and definitely ended too fast.  It was also probably one of the scariest things I have done thus far in my life, but it feels like a really cool accomplishment. All in all, the first day in Cape Coast was extremely intense and overwhelming, but filled with various learning experiences.

On the second full day, we had a free day and went to the beach again in the morning.  In the afternoon, we traveled to Elmina, which is right outside of Cape Coast.  Elmina Castle is one of the oldest slave castle dungeons in Ghana, and is much more well preserved.  The tour was much more intense for me, probably because the tour guide was more descriptive about the torture that occurred in the castle dungeon.  It was hard to see such a beautiful view of the ocean from such a horrible place.  Later than afternoon, we stayed in Elmina and went to Mabel's Table.  At Mabel's Table, we walked along the ocean for a while, kind of recovering.  We sat in on a lecture of the owner of Mabel's Table, a man from New York who moved to Ghana 17 years ago.  He was definitely the best lecturer I have seen yet in Ghana.  He is very involved in creating Ghana/African pride, redeveloping education in Ghana, and converting much of the Ghanaian exports to free trade.  He was extremely intelligent and captivating.  We were all blown away by the discussion that was informative for all of our projects.  The food we ate at Mabel's Table was wonderful too! We had fish, chicken, rice, salad, and cabbage.  Everything was prepared with a little bit of an American taste, which was a nice change in the food we usually eat.

The last day in Cape Coast, we had a short lecture in the morning on Ghanaian storytelling.  Then we went to the beach, yet again.  I had spring rolls and delicious pizza!  The food at the beach is again fairly American, but enjoyable!  Our last night in Cape Coast was bitter sweet because of the beauty of the town.  However, the historical nature of the place is so brutal and horrific, that the learning experience in itself outweighed any of the beauty seen. 

Tamale and Adventures in Mole National park

October 13, 2011

Tamale is wonderful!!!  We are officially in the Northern region of Ghana for the first time.  There is definitely a huge influence from the Islamic culture, which is quite a change from the Christian atmosphere we were used to in the South.  The weather is extremely hot and sunny.  Thankfully, we are still in the rainy season so the weather is not as hot as in the Spring. 

We are staying at Las Hotel, while the other half of the group is staying at a Catholic Guest House.  I really like the area of our hotel because it is modern, urban, and busy; however, overall much more quiet than Kumasi or Accra.  Tamale has a decent amount of traffic but no tro-tros!  Solely using taxes has been a nice little vacation.  There are tons and tons of motorcycles and bicycles here, as well.  One can see women, men, and children on the motorcycles at any point during the day. 

Yesterday and today we had lectures on various things in Tamale.  The lectures, for the most part, are very interesting and helpful for most of our independent study projects.  Yesterday in the afternoon we took a tour of the local market.  We saw all of the kola nut, both ripe and unripe, and tried some.  The kola nut is hard and literally the most bitter thing you can imagine.  People in the North use kola nut for ceremonies, weddings, and visits to the chief.  Many of the females in our group bought headscarves for our visit to the mosque.  We learned how to wrap them, but surprisingly, wearing one was a little cooler than I anticipated.  The sun is so intense here that head cover is really nice when walking outside.

On Monday we went to a shea butter co-operative owned by a group of older women.  They make the shea butter and soaps themselves, which is a process we got to both participate in and observe.  The shea butter goes through a process of drying and grinding and is then mixed by hand in a large metal bowl.  The women stir in water, until the fat from the shea nuts actually forms on the top of the water in the bowl.  The fat is what is makes the actual shea butter.  They boil the fat, and disperse it into cups.  The women also make shea butter soaps with different fruits and natural essences.  I definitely purchased a lot of these for gifts! The women were very welcoming about selling their shea butter on an international level. Some students were even able to arrange having shea butter sent to them in the states from the co-operative! It was really interesting to see such a natural product being made, and have the opportunity to help make some!

On Tuesday, we had more lectures and then walked from the Catholic Guest House to a drumming show.  The Northern Region has different drumming from the other regions we have seen, dancing as well.  We were able to participate and watch the drummers/dancers for about an hour.  I was really impressed with the costumes and dancing.  The sun was so hot, and it was probably the hottest part of the day, yet these dancers were dancing in huge or elaborate costumes, seemingly unfazed by the heat.  It was such a beautiful sight.  Many local people gathered around to watch the dancing too.  We also tried "soya" on a kabob. This is basically the Ghanaian version of tofu.  It was surprisingly delicious! And almost even BETTER than tofu! Soya was much firmer than tofu and fried and coated with a spicy stew. Delicious!

Wednesday rolled around, and our group left mid-morning for Mole National Park.  We were all warned about the road that leads to Mole, apparently quite a "rough" road, even for Ghana.  A small tro-tro was our transportation to the park.  We were also told that the trip should really only last about an hour, but due to the horrible condition of the road, the trip took around 4-5 hours.  I have probably never been on a bumpier trip.  But the entire trip was worth the rough ride.  We arrived at the park and immediately saw baboons!  The accommodations were really nice, and the rooms we stayed in were quite large.  Also, the views from the hotel were absolutely incredible!  We changed into our swimsuits and swam in the pool, literally overlooking the park with animals visible.  Dinner was wonderful! Many of us chose to order cheeseburgers with French fries, and of course some wine.  The group decided to go to sleep pretty early because we needed to be ready to go on our safari walk at 6:15 Thursday morning.  The safari was so incredible; words cannot even describe how much I loved it.  We split into two smaller groups, each traveling with an armed guide.  We first came upon a small town right outside of Mole National Park.  The town has warthogs and baboons wandering around constantly.  They coexist, for the most part.  Apparently the baboons have figured out what human food looks like, and how to snatch it.  Baboons there know the difference between male and female humans, and usually only choose to take food from the females.  It was odd being so close to creatures that are actually pretty vicious.  Our group then headed into the valley/bush area.  The entire park has tons of different species, including 400-600 elephants!  We saw more baboons, warthogs, 3 types of antelope, and eventually elephant! Our guide tracked the elephants for us, so we were able to get close to them.  Right now, Tamale is experiencing its cooler and rainier season.  This makes spotting animals and elephants harder because the water in the park is copious, making their actual location fairly hard to detect.  After seeing some elephant dung and a footprint, we finally came across 4 elephants.  Three of them were large with tusks and the other was a smaller child.  I learned that elephants are the second fastest land mammal, next to the cheetah.  The elephants we saw were called Saharan, I believe.  This means they were larger with rounded tusks, rather than the smaller ones found in different parts of Africa.  It sounds silly, but the elephants were much larger than I expected! Even in the wild, where the amount of space is unbelievable, the elephants still looked so large.  We were able to get fairly close to the elephants, when one turned toward us and started walking while making eye contact.  At this point, our guide loaded his gun and told us to back away.  Though a little frightening, my mom reminded me how cool this experience was. I was close enough to an elephant in Africa to be scared that it may charge me! Ah!  We took our pictures, and hiked out of the valley.  I had a wonderful cup of coffee, again overlooking the park, reflecting on our time in Mole.  Though Ghana is truly extremely westernized and economically advancing, it was really neat to see much of what "Africa" seems to be when people think about it.  The National Park was definitely different than those in the States, and was a once in a lifetime experience.

Village Stay and Off to Tamale

October 8, 2011

In exactly two months from today, I'll be on my way home to the United States! It's crazy to think that my trip is at the halfway point, or very close to it.  Currently I am traveling on a small and cramped bus to Tamale, in the Northern region of Ghana.  Tamale is pretty urban, and the people do not speak Twi.  There are some different languages but apparently, many people do speak English.  Tamale is much hotter than the Southern parts of Ghana where we have primarily been and not part of the forest region.  Tamale is much more Muslim than Southern parts of Ghana, so we have to dress much more conservatively.  While we are there we will be going to Mole National Park, and have a chance to see elephants!  We also will be taking a trip to the first mosque in West Africa.  The majority of our time is exploring Tamale and attending a few lectures as a group.  We are split into two different groups, and will stay in two different hotels.  A week from today is when we depart Tamale and head back to Kumasi for one night.  After that, we head out on our educational tour of Ghana for about 15 days.  And then back to Accra! I have a feeling that the next two months are going to go really quickly, and I'll be home before I know it!

Our group left the village region, Bekwai, yesterday and arrived in Kumasi for the evening at Lizzie's Hotel.  The village was an incredible, intense experience.  Each village had seven people with their own staff.  My village group got along really well, and it's a little sad to not be with just the nice small group.  Our staff was really hardworking too.  Auntie Afresh was our main staff member who was in her thirties. She had a daughter named Viola who was five months old and adorable!  It was really fun having a baby around to play with and entertain.  Sylvia and Simon were our other staff members, both in their early twenties.  It was nice to have a little younger staff to hang out with and help us with our interviews.  Patience was our "caterer", and literally made the best food I've had yet in Ghana! We had such a wide variety, and no fish was included!  She was trained in Kumasi, and uses a lot less oil than a lot of the cooking we had previously been eating, so the food was a little easier on our digestive system.  I’m definitely going to miss her cooking.

While we were in our village, Morontoo, we saw and learned so much.  I was able to visit both the Primary and Junior High Schools of the village.  I ended up doing my mini-independent study project on the education system in Morontoo.  The villagers were so helpful and willing to speak with me.  I interviewed teachers, students, parents, and elders, including the chief of the village.  I am planning on doing my major-independent study project on a comparison of the education system between village life and urban life.  Hopefully I'll be able to stay in a village for some time, and then head to Accra.  I also have a month to fully decide, so my plans may change.

The village of Morontoo had about 600 villagers.  My family was extremely nice, as was everyone in the village.  I lived with the oldest man in the village and his family.  Absolutely no one in my family spoke English, which made interacting pretty difficult.  But I really appreciated having a nice home to sleep in.  When I left, we each presented a gift to our families.  I gave my family some bread, Milo, soap, and candy.  My host sister was so grateful for bread because she had asked me to pick some up at the market, and was so excited that I actually did!  However, living in the village had its' difficulties, as well. All of the villagers wanted to speak with us, whenever we walked by.  Especially in the village culture, it is rude to not greet anyone you run into on the street.  Greeting people usually made everything take longer, and everyone constantly asked us where we were going and what were our names.  It was nice to go to Kumasi yesterday, and not have to greet everyone on the street.  The villagers also constantly asked for our help, and for material items.  Our group was extremely willing to help out.  We ended up paying the hospital bill for a 13-year old boy named Bernard, who cut off part of his finger cutting cocoa beans with a machete.  He had the accident a month ago, and was unable to afford any medical attention.  After seeing his finger, we paid for him to go to Bekwai and receive medical help.  This was really rewarding to be able to help a child, and his mother came to thank us multiple times.  As a gift to the entire village, our group paid for 10 desk and chair sets for the school, because one classroom in the Junior High does not have any furniture.  The village elders thanked us, and we shared some gin shots with them as a celebration on our last night.

Despite helping in any way we could, we all felt a little guilty for not being able to help more.  The villagers automatically assume that we have unlimited funds, and though we are much better off than many people here, it was difficult to realize that we were unable to help everyone.  This struggle was felt by our entire group, and was definitely stressful to deal with.  I think our whole group wants to help out the village once we are back in the states.  They love to receive clothing, school supplies, and general help.

We were able to learn a lot about farming in the village, as well.  Most people and families in the village farm or have farming in their family.  We visited a couple of farms.  I learned a lot about the palm nut tree, which is actually much different than the tree we call a palm tree.  The villagers use every single part of the tree.  The leaves are used to fan kings and elders in ceremonies and festivals.  The bark is ripped off to make small brooms.  The palm nuts are bright red, boiled, and used to make palm oil.  The little hairs on the palm nuts are dried to be used as fire starter.  And inside them palm nut tree is palm wine! We got to try palm wine directly from the tree, and watch the palm wine man tap into the tree.  Palm wine is very fresh, and tastes like coconut fruit juice.  It is clear but somewhat frothy.  The wine is somewhat alcoholic and goes bad very quickly.  Palm wine is used later to make abateshe.  This is fermented and distilled, to make a really alcoholic drink that tastes like a mixture of gin and vodka.  It is very cheap and pretty easily found in the village by the bottles.  According to legend, a man was really thirsty one day and saw an elephant drinking out of a palm nut tree.  The man went over and drank some of the liquid inside.  After drinking his fill, he realized that he was actually feeling intoxicated, and thus, palm wine was born.  On the farms we were also able to see cassava, yams, cocoa yams, and plantain trees.

From our village we were able to see the lake, where 27 villages reside by.  One day we walked down to the lake, a steep but insanely beautiful trek.  We swam and waded in the lake because it was just so hot.  The lake was beautiful and large.  The villages depend on the lake for fish, water, and other food.  The walk from the lake was pretty intense, especially due to the pouring rain.  The water situation in the village was really interesting, and a girl in our group did her mini-ISP on the topic.  In the past the village went to two small rivers, connected to the lake, for all drinking, cooking, and cleaning water.  The water is believed to have a spirit, and must be greatly respected.  Sometimes the water would dry up, and the villagers would have to wait.  On Wednesdays, no one is allowed to go near the rivers because of respect for the spirit.  Some even believe that they can ask the spirit for things and its' power to help infertility.  About 8 years ago, the village received a two large water tanks that are connected to a deep hole in the ground.  The village currently receives water from the tanks, as long as the water is available.  The water is really clean, and if desired, we could have even drunk some.  The tanks do cost money, as the village has had some trouble with mechanical issues.  A bucket of water is about 15 to 20 cents in American currency.  Yet, many families are unable to afford to buy the tank water and still use the water from the rivers.  We fetched water a couple of times and learned how to carry the buckets on our heads!  Everyone in Ghana carries amazing amounts of things on their heads, and honestly, carrying the water bucket this way was much easier than with one's arm!  The village also sells sachet water, water in small plastic bags that has been purified elsewhere.  SIT has informed us of certain safe sachets to buy, and generally the sachets are extremely inexpensive.  For example, a large bag of 30 sachets is about 60 cents in American currency, as one sachet is about 2 cents.  The idea of sachet water has helped children stay in school because they do not have to run home to drink water, and has attracted more quality teachers because of the ease of technology like this.

This past Wednesday, our group took a tro-tro to the Bekwai market.  It was nice to see a large urban area once again.  We had an American dinner night, where we cooked for ourselves and the staff, in an attempt to make American food.  We bought tons of sweet bread, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers, onions, pasta, and crackers.  I was in charge of making the salsa, and we made garlic bread with garlic pasta.  As I was making the salsa, I cut up the peppers, not knowing much about them.  Annie, a girl in my group, also de-seeded the peppers.  About ten minutes later, her mouth was burning on the outside, around her mouth because she had incidentally put her hands on her mouth.  About five minutes after that, my hands were on fire.  They felt as though I had burns from a stove or fire.  We had a staff member rub tomatoes on us, then cold water, aloe, and lotion.  I literally do not think I have ever been in that much pain.  Annie and I both cried, but our pain subsided eventually.  We had our hands and faces washed with soap and then shea butter.  The wine and American food also cheered us up a lot.  Apparently, Ghanaians do not ever touch the peppers but mash them or use the juice in the cooking.  The peppers only topically burn one's skin.  We unfortunately learned the hard way.  On the bright side, the salsa was amazing, and had just the right amount of spice!

End of Kumasi - On to Morontoo!

September 21, 2011

We are almost out of Kumasi, and basically done with our scheduled classes.  Twi classes officially end on Friday.  I'm a bit nervous because not only do we have a quiz, but also, we actually have to try to use our Twi when we go into the villages next week.  We also have a dance performance on Friday.  Dance class has been really fun, sweaty, hot, and exhausting.  Our dance teacher definitely instructs in a way that is completely non-Western.  Our group often finds ourselves frustrated with the teaching technique, but I can't help but think how sweet it is that I am taking a traditional African dance class in Ghana!  We leave for the villages on Saturday morning! I'm really ready to be done with Kumasi for a while.  I'm not sure if it was the hospital/malaria episode, or just Kumasi in general, but I really miss Accra and am not the biggest fan of Kumasi.  Accra is also much more like a city with a lot more to do and see, so I'm really excited to go back at the end of October! I may even be staying there for a chunk of my independent study project in November!

Like I said, on Saturday our group travels to the Ashanti Villages.  Today we visited a museum at the palace of the current Ashanti King.  I learned so much, and feel as though I definitely have a better grasp as to the history of the place I am staying.  The area where the villages are located is called Bekwai.  The three villages we will be split into include Morontoo, Ampento, and Beposo.  Some have Twi letters in them, so these may not be exact spellings.  I, along with 6 other students, will be placed in Morontoo.  The villages range from about 800-400 people, and are located at the most 20 minutes apart.  We stay with a family, but eat as a group.  We will get to visit schools, cocoa farms, etc., as well as take part in everyday village work with our families.  I'm really looking forward to mixing things up a bit and not having to trek to school everyday.  I'm sure I will have wonderful stories about the village in a few days! We are supposed to have some electricity, not super dependable, but I will try to post when I can.

As far as Ghana, I suppose I am getting used to the environment here. Everything is still a bit odd.  I was talking to a girl earlier today, and literally everything one does here is a challenge.  I miss the convenience of the Western world.  Also, many people in Ghana do not have hobbies or do as much as Americans are used to.  This could be a great thing, depending on how one looks at it, but it is something to get used to.  I certainly am used to always being busy or doing something, yet life here is just not that way.  Perhaps this will be a very good lesson to take back.

I must say that I am getting a bit tired of the food here as well.  I thought that I would absolutely love it, and I do most of the time.  Much of the food tastes exactly the same, however.  I think the villages and other places we travel will have slightly different cuisine, which will be a treat.  The fish here is also not the fish I pictured.  No one identifies exactly what type of fish it is, and the taste is EXTREMELY fresh.  A very interesting taste in stews, etc.  Today after the museum, a couple of girls and I went to a large gas station and actually found some American-style food.  I had my first Ghanaian cheeseburger with French fries, and an ice cream sundae.  This was the most amazing treat! My cheeseburger was wonderful with real cheese! And the ice cream sundae was called a "bee sting" and had vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and crumbled pieces of sugar cone. Delicious!  Speaking of ice cream, there is also a treat that one can find quite easily on the streets here called "FanIce".  FanIce comes in a thick plastic bag and is essentially vanilla ice cream, though it tastes like funfetti icing : )  Yum! In order to eat FanIce, one has to bite the corner off and suck out the ice cream.  In the heat, this is the perfect treat! They also have chocolate flavored, strawberry flavored, and fruit flavored.  The people selling them ride bicycles with large boxed coolers attached to the handlebars.  And FanIce is only about 20 cents American dollars! Even better!

The weather has definitely been changing here! It has been getting a lot hotter and sunnier.  Yet, in Kumasi it rains almost everyday.  The rain is usually really hard but lasts for less than an hour.  I prefer the heat but the rain has become a little annoying. Other than that, I'm learning a ton, and am really excited to visit the village.  I really cannot believe that it is the end of September.  However, I also cannot believe that I will be in Ghana for another 2 months.  The time is weird to think about.  We have been here for so long, but it feels like we have so much more to go. 

Kelly: 1 - Malaria: 0

September 13^th – 15^th

Oh how crazy the past few days have been.  On Monday night, I went to bed with a slight fever.  I informed my staff, and waited until Tuesday.  By Tuesday morning I still had a fever so I went to school to talk with the staff.  As the day wore on, I began to feel better so I went to Twi class, and listened to the lectures.  A former SIT student from this very Ghana trip was actually visiting.  She went on the trip in 1999, and is now a minister on sabbatical, hence the amazing traveling! She is only visiting Ghana for a few short days, and is then off to other countries in Africa.  Anyway, it was very exciting to hear from a former student.  She knows exactly what we are all going through, and gave some great advice. It was also nice to see that some survived the trip, and liked Ghana so much that she promised herself she had to come back!

So I continued on with my day, until I got home to Auntie Maggie's house.  I felt very hot, sweaty, and tired.  I took my temperature, which turned out to be 103.3, and decided to call Papa Attah.  Papa had Auntie Grace, the homestay coordinator, meet Auntie Maggie and me at a post office.  Auntie Grace drove with me to Garden City Hospital in Kumasi.  I knew I had to go to the hospital, but I was emotionally holding up pretty well for a while.  As soon as we arrived at the hospital, rain started pouring outside.  There was thunder and lightning, and it was literally the hardest I have heard it rain since I've been here in Ghana.  The lights were flickering in the hospital, while I was having trouble communicating what my symptoms were, and I just started crying.  I was also frustrated because anyone who felt my body just kept telling me that I didn't feel warm, yet I was burning up!  And then there was confusion with my last name, and everyone at the hospital kept calling me Elizabeth instead of Kelly. 

Right away, a nurse told me that she was going to admit me for the evening.  I went into a private room with a bathroom and 2 beds.  The room was pretty nice, with lots of windows.  Soon a doctor came in to see me.  The doctor thought I should be tested for malaria, and I went to the lab.  I had my blood drawn for the test.  The odd thing about hospitals in Ghana is that no one wears gloves.  I never felt like anything was dirty, but the hospital does not seem quite as sterile as those in the US.  I went back to my room and received 10 pills for my first malaria treatment.  Auntie Grace brought me some cream crackers for dinner because I had almost no appetite.  She spent the night with me, which was very kind and helped out with my fear.  I received the results back the same evening, and sure enough, I had the malaria parasite present.

The next morning, I had a headache but felt a little better.  I still had a low fever, and took some more treatment.  Auntie Grace brought me breakfast, and I slept almost all morning.  Auntie Maggie brought me lunch, and I slept quickly after lunch.  I was supposed to be discharged at 3:00 PM, but I ended up being very tired and cold.  I got so cold that I was shaking, and had goosebumps everywhere.  The nurses took my temperature, and decided I needed a malaria injection…in my bum.  One shot in each cheek.  I really hope I don't ever have to experience that again.  My bum is still sore from those shots.  Anyway, the shots brought down my fever, but I was told that I had to stay at the hospital for another night.  Later that afternoon, Kwame, one of the SIT staff, came to visit me.  I sat up and talked with nurses and Kwame for about an hour.  This was a really fun conversation.  The nurses were all in their early twenties, and were for the most part, all Muslim.  The nurses wore blue and white dresses, and the "big nurses", or nurses with a higher degree, wore white shirts with blue pants.  The whole afternoon chat made me feel a lot better, and it was nice to have more interaction with people my age.  Auntie Grace brought me dinner later in the evening, which was white rice with some sort of fish and pineapple.  I really missed America food while I was in the hospital.  I do like the Ghanaian food, but when you're sick in a foreign country, sometimes all you want is familiar food.  And all I wanted was my mom's teakettle tea.  But I survived, and slept the night.  The lights were kept on the whole night, which was sort of frustrating.  And people came in all night long.  A nurse slept in my room to keep me company, which was very nice.  At one point in the night, I woke up and saw a man mopping my room.  The hospitals are just very different here apparently.

I woke up around 5:00 AM to find someone bringing me warm water to bathe with.  I had a shower in my bathroom with cold water, but it was running water, unlike my homestay, so I was pretty excited about using it.  I ended up just using the cold water shower because it felt better anyway to use cold water, and an actual shower head.  I received another set of injections in my bum to help the malaria, ouch, as well as another set of treatment.  The doctor came in to visit, and was concerned that I may have typhoid fever as well.  At this point, I was getting very frustrated and confused. I just wanted to know what I had, and what was going to be done about it.  I had another little mini breakdown, and called my mom.  This was actually probably the best thing I could have done to get answers, however.  She called SIT, and talked to Yemi who said that I was being treated for malaria and for preventative typhoid fever.  He also told her not to worry.  I was told by Auntie Maggie that I was going to have to stay in the hospital until Friday morning.  All I wanted was to go home to change my clothes, and be by something sort of familiar.  Plus I felt like I was missing out on a lot of great experiences, like an African Priestess' shrine. 

I was feeling better and really could not sleep very much.  And I was getting tired of just laying down.  Auntie Maggie left, and I slept until around 2:00 PM.  At about this time, I realized my phone was going to die.  I borrowed a charger from one of the nurses, except when I was going to charge my phone, the power went out.  So I just lay in bed, and waited for someone to come visit me.  Kwame and Papa Attah came, and told me they wanted to speak to the doctor also.  Papa Attah told me that I should be walking around the hospital and getting fresh air.  This was my first stay in a hospital, basically ever, and I honestly was not aware that it was all right to just get up and wander around.  Especially in a hospital in Ghana, where I really had no idea where I was going.  But I walked up to the main room with Kwame and Papa Attah, and waited for the doctor there.  Auntie Grace came to bring me dinner, as well.  Papa Attah and I went in to speak with the doctor, and he said that I could be discharged as long as I did not have a fever.  I was so relieved to be able to go back to Auntie Maggies, and be alone for awhile.  I took a taxi home, and ate Auntie Grace's dinner at Aunite Maggie's house.  I have a lot of pills to continue to take, and I have to get a check-up on Tuesday.  For the most part, I am feeling much better, and I will continue to get rest until I feel completely better.

Though I missed some things with my SIT group, I feel like I also gained the cultural experience of a Ghanaian hospital!  It was a scary experience, but also a great learning experience.  I made friends with the nurses, and a couple of them asked me to be their friend on Facebook.  One nurse wants to do henna on me, and gave me her phone number.  They were all very nice, and took great care of me.  In Ghana, it is culturally customary to greet anyone you meet.  But instead of just saying hello, you must ask how they are doing, etc.  This was somewhat odd in the hospital, because everyone who walked into my room said hello and asked how I was doing.  Then they usually asked me how my health was.  I was often confused whether or not to say how sick I was or wait until they asked me about my health.  Oh, the cultural shock.

Auntie Margaret and the Beautiful Kumasi

September 11, 2011

I have arrived in my Kumasi homestay, and everything is going great so far!  My homestay mother picked me up yesterday afternoon.  She is actually a grandmother, who is strong, beautiful, and just awesome.  She came up to our group and introduced herself to everyone, while I was secretly hoping the entire time that she was my homestay mother. And she was!  We live in an area of Kumasi called Boukoum.  I'm not sure of the spelling yet, but the pronunciation is correct.  The area is much different from Accra.  One interesting thing about Kumasi is the great influence of Islam.  In Ghana, the farther North one moves, the more Muslims generally live in the cities.  There are Mosques everywhere in Kumasi, and a lot more Arabic writing around.  I even can hear the call to prayer from my homestay!  The one thing I really do like about Ghana is how noisy everything is.  I fell asleep listening to chatter, goats, drumming, and singing.  This morning I heard a gospel choir, and currently I can hear music that resembles a marching band.  In Kumasi, there are also trees, grass, and open spaces.  Our house is very large, and much more open to the outdoors.  Whenever I eat meals, I eat on a back porch that is beautiful and completely open to the air.  Boukoum has a large quarry for stone, so I think a lot of the jobs here are in that industry.  Becca, another SIT member, and I live within walking distance from each other and will go to school together.  I think we are within walking distance, but I will have to wait to see on Monday for sure.

Yesterday, my homestay mother showed me my room, which has a huge bed and is very big!  Then we walked over to a restaurant/bar in the neighborhood.  I met my homestay mother's daughter, brother, granddaughters, grand nieces, and general friends.  We had some Guinness and Star together.  This was probably my favorite time thus far in Ghana, because everyone was cheerful and happy.  The weather was beautiful, and it was very nice to relax.  My homestay mother is named Auntie Margaret, and her daughter is Julie.  They looked at pictures of my friends and family, and were really excited to hear about my life in America! This was a really welcoming experience.  Julie thought my dad was really attractive, and told me that she wanted to come to America to marry him! This morning when I woke up, she called me daughter and reminded me of how much she liked my dad, hahaha. 

On the walk home, I met many more of Auntie Margaret's friends and family.  Her granddaughter, Anita, who is 10, walked me home as well.  Anita taught me a song in Twi before dinner! I want to write it down with her sometime today so I can remember the words.  Anita has an older sister named Evelyn who also sat with us.  Auntie Margaret's house is beautiful! She has a large gate on the outside, which actually keeps the goats in! She has many many goats wandering all around the house.  Yesterday, Anita let me hold a baby goat.  This was such a cool experience!  The goats wander outside of the compound but know exactly where they sleep and get fed.  One of the goats is pregnant, so maybe I'll even get to see some newborn babies.  At my homestay in Accra, I was used to be awakened by roosters in the morning.  Here in Kumasi, the goats woke me up! They kind of squeak at one another, and I heard one of the mothers looking for her two babies. 

Yesterday for dinner, I had plain rice with spicy red sauce, chicken, and salad.  Auntie Margaret kept telling me to eat and eat and eat.  She said she never wants me to go hungry, which definitely will not be a problem in this house.  I really like having a more motherly homestay mother.  She loves to hug and fuss over me, and she constantly calls me her daughter.  It's nice to have someone taking care of you, especially when you are so out of your comfort zone.  This morning I got to sleep in, and I ate spicy sausages with eggs and bread for breakfast.  I also had black coffee, Nescafe instant.  This was a nice surprise because I have been missing black coffee a lot recently!  The only downside to my meals is that I eat all alone.  People walk by and chat with me, and Auntie Margaret checks on me, but I am usually alone.  The Ghanaian culture, especially in urban places, seems to not eat meals together very often.  I do miss American meal conversation, as well as just sitting at the table after the meal is finished. 

Auntie Margaret is a very interesting woman, and I'm excited to learn more about her.  She has a farm with cocoa and many other things, but says it is too far to travel to with me.  She raises goats, and has a very large family.  She said that she was married when she was 19 but divorced at the age 22, and because of the stigma with divorce, has not remarried since.  She is also very religious, and is taking me to a Methodist church in her neighborhood.  Yesterday we were talking about snow, and she said she spent time in London and Germany, where she was able to see snow for the first time!  I think she will have great stories to share, and I'm excited to speak with her more.