My First African Malady

Given all of the awful diseases, bug bites, and life-threatening fungi that I read about before coming here, I expected something bad to happen to my body on a weekly (if not daily) basis. I passed the first few weeks unscathed. Then it hit me. Last Sunday, I had tremendous pain in my upper right arm. I could barely even move it forward to shake someone's hand. It was as if I had torn my arm muscles lifting, but I have not been working out since I got here. Monday night it was still not better. I talked to some people who said it might be a potassium build up (which could easily be a possibility given how many mangoes and bananas I've had since coming here). It wasn't until the bus ride back from Kumasi--when I played through my actions of the weekend--that the mystery was solved: it was something that I did at Lake Bosomtwe. It wasn't swimming, because I really only floated. It wasn't the canoe ride, because I wasn't rowing. It wasn't parasites, because those take a few weeks to catch on. It was the twenty-five minutes that I spent skipping rocks. Apparently, I have not worked my rock-skipping muscles in a long, long time.....and my arm more or less revolted for a few days. But it feels all better now! Thus far, this is the only malady I have suffered while in Africa--something that could just as easily have happened at Lake Cochichewich.

God!

Since coming down here, I've been in quite a few churches for weekly mass. All of them have been very beautiful. The cathedral in Kumasi was definitely the best so far. The only downside was that the service was in Twi, the major African dialect here.

Weekend 3: Kumasi--the Ashanti Capital

Kumasi is the old Ashanti capital of Ghana. It was one of the coolest cities I've ever been in--a mixture of San Francisco, Charleston, and Africa. While in Kumasi, we went to the Ashanti palace and the market (the largest open-air market in West Africa!). We also checked out the arts center, which is the African equivalent of a local crafts fair.

Weekend 3: Monkey Sanctuary

Sunday morning we rose very early to go to a monkey sanctuary. As we walked through the forest, the monkeys came up really close to us. We bought bananas and were able to feed them. One of the neat things about this place is that the villagers believe that the monkeys are the children of the gods and treat them like humans. If someone hurt a monkey, they receive the same punishment. If someone kills a monkey, they are killed. When the monkeys die (from sickness or old age), they leave the forest to die in the center of the village. The villagers bury them in a monkey cemetery in mokey-sized coffins.

Weekend 3: Lake Bosomtwe

The first stop of the long weekend was Lake Bosomtwe. Lake Bosomtwe is the largest natural lake in Ghana (not to be confused with Lake Volta--the largest  man-made lake in the world!). The lake is situated within an ancient meteorite impact crater. When we got there, we saw a group of fisherman sitting on wooden boards and diving in to bring up fish. Apparently Lake Bosomtwe is one of the few African lakes without crocodiles or parasites. We didn't see any crocodiles when we went swimming......but I'll let you know about the parasites within a month! After we went swimming, we hiked for a bit and discovered mountain-side stations of the cross statues. The best part about our hike was coming across a partially built house. We went on the roof, and the view was unreal.

Long Bus Ride #1

Some friends and I went to Kumasi for the long weekend. In order to get there, we took a 4 am bus that should have taken about 4 hours but actually took 7. The buses designed for long journeys are really nice buses, and I was able to sleep for some of the ride. When you take the VIP buses for long journeys (that's the bus company's name), you're not only paying a little extra for comfort but also for the safety.

Public Transport

One of the greatest things about coming to Ghana is that I have a newfound appreciation for Marta. Never again will I complain about the public transportation system in Atlanta. Ever. In all honesty though, the transportation here could be a lot worse Besides feeling like I'm going to die every time I step foot into a vehicle with wheels, my only complaint is that there does not seem to be a system to any of it. There is some form of system....but it takes a lot to understand the system. Taxis are ever-present and the trotro/bus stations always have buses going where I want. There's just no way to confirm any of it. I rode on my first trotro over the weekend. Trotros are jam-packed buses (the size of a 14 -seater van---but much more dodgy) that have set routes. They wait until they are full, and then they leave for their destination. Usually, they are very cramped--but very cheap.

Football

Living with a bunch of Europeans during the time of Euro 2012, I have seen more "football" (soccer) in the past two week than I have in my entire life. I have been cheering for Spain (since I'm going there in the fall) and Italy (because I'm half Italian). Conveniently, all of my friends have been rooting for the opposing teams--and Spain and Italy were the two teams to make it to the finals. We don't have a big television at Mummy's Place, but we've been going to Epo's, an open-air sports bar that is right up the street. In the picture above, I'm with a group of the ProjectsAbroad volunteers. They're a great group of people from all over--Saudi Arabia, England, Denmark, Australia, Scotland, and the U.S.

Weekend 2: Crocs!

While Laura and I were in the slave castle, we met some people from Utah and D.C. Laura is one of my travel buddies! She's originally from Wales and is here doing speech therapy with some of the people I live with at Mummy's Place. Since we both came here alone, we have been traveling together. The girls  from the states invited us to have lunch with them at Hans Cottage Botel, a restaurant/motel built on stilts over a crocodile pond. Touching the crocodile may not have been the wisest decision of my entire life....but it was something I would have regretted not doing. So I touched it anyway!

Weekend 2: Cape Coast

Cape Coast is a very picturesque town about two hours west of Accra. One of the things that makes it so pretty is the cliffs that overlook the ocean. It is a fishing town, and there are lots of fishing boats. I absolutely love seeing the fishing boats here. They add a dynamic element of color to all of the beaches.

Weekend 2: Slave Castle

Weekend 2, I went to Cape Coast to visit a slave castle. If I had to choose one word to describe it, I would  pick eery. It was very neat to see the origin of the Triangular Trade, but it was unlike anything I've seen before. I have obviously seen quite a few remnants of slavery living in the South, but even the worst plantations were nothing compared to the conditions that the people  stored (literally stored) in these slave castles had to endure. This is a picture of the door of no return--once people left the Cape Coast slave castle, they were never coming back to Africa.

Weekend 2: Cocoa Plantation

Even without a life-long love of chocolate, the cocoa plantation would have been super cool. But given how much I love chocolate....going tot the cocoa plantation was one of the best things I've ever done. I've had 70% cacao bars at home, but I've officially had 100% dark chocolate! I also have a basic understanding of how chocolate is made: cocoa beans are grown in yellow pods (you can actually eat the fruit--it's very tasty!); cocoa harvesters remove the center of these pods and let the fruit ferment in plantain leaves for a week; after a week, the harvesters remove the placenta (name for the center of the fruit) and let the cocoa beans dry out; finally, the beans are sent to the grinders to be processed into cocoa powder! Ghana is known for their cocoa, and this plantation was the first cocoa plantation in Ghana. Accomplishment.

Weekend 2: Aburi

Took a spontaneous trip to Aburi, the botanical gardens of Ghana located in the mountains. The ride was very beautiful--lots of winding roads going through the mountains. Aburi was absolutely stunning. Very, very green. At one point, we wandered through a path in the woods and came across a forest village.

My New Puppy

Walking down the street each day is sort of like walking through a pet store. There are always puppies, kittens, baby goats, or little chicks! Playing with the street-side baby animals is kind of like eating cookie dough--you know you technically shouldn't, but that doesn't stop you. The dog I'm holding was the puppy of a domesticated dog. The puppy's name is Koco, and she belongs to my downstairs neighbor. It is the best thing in the world to come home to a baby puppy each night after a long day of work.

MicroEnsure Ghana

This is where I work! MicroEnsure is a microinsurance intermediary that operates in Africa and Southeast Asia. The office was made from a renovated house. Things have been going really well so far. I've been writing the Ghana brochure, two articles, two claim stories, a case study, a guidebook, and a couple of event strategies.

Weekend 1: Kokrobite

My first weekend here, I took a trip to Kokrobite (cocro-bee-tee). I traveled with my friends Anouska (England) and Edwin (Ghana). Before embarking on our hour-long journey (the closest place I've traveled since coming to Accra!), we stopped in Circle, a busy section of the city. We went to visit one of Edwin's friends who lived in a very cool, old house. Turns out, the house was the house of the first president of Ghana! We made it to Kokrobite later that night for Reggae night, Lots of lively music. After the band stopped playing, we went for  walk on the beach and sat by a bonfire while Rastafarians played the drums and sang African music.

Creepy Crawlies

Believe it or not, I have not seen many insects since I've been down here! I killed a normal-sized spider and saw a normal-size bee--but these things I have at home. Last week, I saw quite a few ants (as my laptop keyboard was the chosen location for their nest.). I also have only been bitten by one mosquito (banking on the fact that this one mosquito didn't happen to have malaria). Other than that, Accra is like most cities and has very few bugs. When I've travel, I tend to see more cool looking bugs. This picture is of "1,000 legs," a very poisonous bug that I saw in Aburi.

Food Part 2

 An upside to my subpar kitchen situation is that I have eaten out a lot! Eating out has been very exciting because there is always a new place to try. The first week I was here, I was not very adventurous in terms of Ghanaian food (even though I thought I was by eating fruit and chicken/rice). Since the first week, however, I've tried just about every type of Ghanian food there is. My favorite is red red, a mixture of red beans and plantains (above). I've also had okra soup, groundnut soup, light sou, fufu (a corn maize ball), banku (a fermented corn maize ball), spiced fish and rice, and a variety of street-foody snacks. Plantain chips and fried shortbread squares are my favorite. Tilapia, a fish you find everywhere, was on my list of things to try since day one. I finally had it last weekend! They serve it to you just as they caught it (minus the being grilled part...), and you eat around the scales with your fingers.

In terms of less cultural foods, there are a lot of great good places here in Accra. Earlier in the week, I had the best pad thai I have had in my entire life. I've also eaten a lot at a smoothie place called NourishLab. Some of my favorite smoothies from there include: avocado & honey, strawberry, mango & ginger, and--get ready--the Trojan Muscle smoothie. A bit of a ridiculous name.....but very tasty! Peanut butter, banana, and pineapple. I've also eaten a lot of Indian food. Ironically, the two Indian places that I have been to have both been situated out of the way behind the same type of gas station. The last place worth mentioning for now is a gelato shop conveniently situated on my walk home from work. I had an amazing bowl of chocolate swirl and cookie gelato last week. I also sampled sesame seed gelato and mint berry gelato, both surprisingly good!

Food Part 1

Luckily, I have a kitchen in my flat. Unluckily, the only thing working in the kitchen is one burner. This one burner has served me well, however. On days that I am feeling particularly cheap, I sauté green beans, carrots, onions, cashews, and garlic. Very tasty......green vegetables.....and about $0.60 to make!

Fauna

In terms of animals, I've mostly just seen things that I could find at Smolak's Farm down the street! Lots of goats, chickens, cats, and dogs. On a few occasions, I've seen pigs, horses, and cows. Only the past few weekends when I've traveled have I seen more exotic animals: crocodiles, parrots, lizards, and monkeys. 

Flora

Everything is lush here. Living in the city, I do not see a whole lot of green, but there are still a good amount of trees and bushes. When I leave the city and drive through the hills. the views are breathtaking. I'm here during the rainy season, so everything is more vibrant than usual. 

The Streets of Accra

Every time I walk through the streets down here, I feel as if I'm wandering the pages of a National Geographic magazine. Little shops selling mangoes, bananas, and groundnuts (glorified peanuts) line the streets. Goats and chickens run by me as I walk. The only down side is the lack of sidewalks. Since being in Ghana, I have not walked on a single sidewalk. Normally, this would not be a problem. Ghanaian drivers, however, haven no remorse for accidents. If you're in the way, they beep at you. If you don't move, they hit you. It's honestly walk at own risk over here.

Mummy's Place

Mummy's Place was one of the greatest blessings waiting for me in Ghana. Instead of being alone in Africa with no one to travel or hang out with, I have always had people wanting to do things. Mummy, the landlady, is like my Ghanaian grandmother. She is one of the sweetest women I have ever met, and she treats all of her guests like children. The house-complex is within walking distance of everything, and I am only a block away from Oxford Street. Oxford Street is like the Comm. Ave of Accra, and one of the few streets down here that actually has a name (you can imagine my surprise at finding there were no street signs on the first day I tried to find work!). One of the greatest things about living in Mummy's place is the people. It houses between 25-30 people from all over the world. There are 16 people from Denmark, five from Ghana, three from South Africa, three from Korea, two from Canada, one from Japan, one from England, and four Americans. There is a courtyard in the middle of the various apartments, and people tend to chill there most nights.

My Room

I live in Osu, a somewhat large neighborhood in Accra, in a guest house called Mummy's Place. I have my own room on a five-person floor. Here is a picture of my room. The second I walked in, I fell in love with it! It's the perfect size and has AC, a rare commodity here. I share the kitchen, eating area, balcony, and bathroom with five others.