Meeting my Ghanaian family, learning how to take a bucket bath, and avoiding fish heads

Last weekend was an in-city homestay, where NYU students had the opportunity to live with a Ghanaian family for the weekend. We were able to go either in pairs or solo, and while most opted to go in pairs, I thought I’d be macho and go by myself. I kind of regret that decision. We arrived at the AFS center, which organizes the homestays, and waited for our families to pick us up. We had gotten some instruction as to how to behave and what to expect, but for the most part I had no idea where I would be or what I would be doing. I was eventually taken to a bank, where I waited for Maame to get off of work and take me home. I played snake on my phone (soooo addicted…) for about an hour and a half until I met my mother, who put me into another car. She didn’t say much, so I tried to ask some questions about her family and what we would be doing for the weekend.

Eventually I got to a house- it was large but crumbling. I would say that it was a fairly normal middle-class accommodation; lots of space (houses here are really nice), but no running water or AC or fans or anything like that. I met grandma and Nana, 9 years old, (meaning Monday born. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this, but everyone in Ghana is named after the day of the week on which they were born. When they are baptized they take on a Christian name, so many people go by that, but there is still a large part of the population with the same 14 names. I was Thursday born, so I am “Yaa”. I like it.) and Effua (Friday born), one year old. I was ecstatic to have a baby in the house, it was pretty much the only thing I’d written on my form that I wanted when I filled out the application for the program. There were no men around, I am not sure what happened to them but I didn’t ask.

As soon as I got there, I was fed a huge pile of rice and this tomato sauce that I’ve had a lot here with spices and peppers and onions, and FISH HEADS. I have been trying to be open to trying new foods, but the thing is that in Ghana they eat every part of the animal, bones, skulls, brains, and eyes included. (even chicken bones…)

Shortly after I was fed, the power went out, which happens pretty frequently here. Maame was disappointed because every Friday night she watches CSI on the local station (they play CSI at 9 on Fridays, and Friends at 10:00 on Saturdays!) I played with Effua and talked to Grandma, but eventually decided to retire early when the power returned at 9:03- in time for CSI.

Saturday was chores day, so I awoke after “sleeping in” (8:00am, but Ghanaians typically wake up at 5am or so), to sweep the house. Maame laughed at how I swept the dirt into little piles instead of sweeping everything into the hall. They fed me an enormous breakfast and then we mostly stayed around the house, watching tv and such. I was force-fed yet another meal, and Grandma told me to eat everything. I tried my best. Later they made me my favorite meal, groundnut soup. Because I had written on the form that I was a vegetarian, they decided to use lots and lots of fish heads in everything they made. I happily ate my fufu and soup, but simply could not eat the fish heads. They had gone to all the trouble of preparing my favorite meal and I did not want to let the food go to waste, so I went into the kitchen as though I was going to do my dishes and just slipped the fish heads back into the soup pot. Mission successful.

Sunday we went to church, which is quite the social event here. I was the only white person of course, so when the minister saw me sitting in the back he shouted “Obruni!”(meaning ‘foreigner’, we get that a lot) and everyone turned to look and clap. The service was 3 and a half hours and was mostly in Twi, but it was interesting to take in the culture of church. Everyone wears beautiful tailored dresses and shoes and hats and beads, and there is a lot of dancing during worship. When it came time to give the offering, we danced to the front of the church and put our money into the pot labeled with the day of the week that we were born. Before the service was over they counted up the different pots and announced the winner (Saturday). After church I was fed again (way too much food this weekend. On Sunday morning they presented me with a vat of oatmeal, a loaf of bread, and six eggs. They expected me to finish it all. I seriously debated with myself whether it would be better to eat until I threw up.) I went home in the afternoon, and was glad to be back in the AC and amongst people who spoke English. This weekend was successful and interesting, but somewhat exhausting.

Monday at City of Refuge I began conducting my drama therapy sessions. Because you need a masters degree in order to be a drama therapist, I was concerned about how to conduct drama therapy work within the realm of my knowledge and abilities. Psychological rehabilitation is a HUGE need at City of Refuge (every child there has a story that would blow your mind, and most have had no time to process their experiences), as well as in Ghana as a whole. One of my friends here mentioned that there is a girl who showed up to her internship and was expected to diagnose clients from the DSM, and she had only taken one psychology class!

I decided to conduct some exercises but not attempt any sort of analysis, because I am not clinically able to do so— I didn’t think that pretending to be a drama therapist (which is a clinical title, btw) would be helpful for these kids in the least. I began to work with a group of five children, most of whom had been trafficked. We did some basic drama excersizes to get them comfortable with the idea, and then I took them through the session that I’d had planned for the day. Us volunteers left around 6pm in a cab, and got back home around 8:30.

On Tuesday in my film class we pitched our ideas for documentaries; there are 16 people in the class and four films will be made. My idea was selected, so I will be directing a film that explores the psychology behind beauty standards in Ghana, and compares them to the beauty standards of Western nations.

Friday I went back to City of Refuge and continued some sessions. Currently we are attempting to organize their library, which I am heartily enjoying. The children are all so great, they are remarkable obedient, not to mention talented. I was sad to leave baby Edwin!

This weekend some of my friends wanted to go to Togo to renew their visas (we need new visas every 60 days, but if we leave the country and come back it is renewed automatically and we don’t have to pay the $100.00 fee), but I was exhausted and wanted to get some work done this weekend, so I stayed in Accra. Ultimately I was happy that I did, there is a lot of stuff locally that I’ve been meaning to do.

Next week I head to Burkina Faso for the FESPACO film festival- the biggest in Africa! I am going with my film class, on an NYU grant. I am excited to practice my French, and I’ve heard it's a beautiful country. Can't wait!

Trip to Cape Coast and more

I cannot believe that it is already February 8^th. Time is FLYING by!

Wednesday after class, Emily came to Labone to spend some time with Kelsey and I. We first went to an ice cream shop that was recommended by one of the RAs- Arlenccino, which served Italian Gelato and COFFEE!!! It was pretty expensive, but worth it. Afterwards I took her to Marjorie, our dress-maker (she is Ghanaian and not at all affiliated with NYU, but we all have her make our dresses) to put in a request and get one of my dresses fitted.

Later that night, we went to Reggae night on Tawala beach, a weekly event with live music. Because it was Bob Marley’s birth week, his wife was there. Apparently she lives in Ghana. Anyway, she made a speech, and everyone sang happy birthday to Bob. It was much MUCH crazier than usual (and Reggae night can get pretty wild, especially with a bunch of obruni girls arriving together), but I found some students in a different study abroad group and ended up talking with them for a while. I love standing in the waves and listening to live music.

Thursday I took the day to rest, which was very needed. I read, journaled, and generally reflected on things. I definitely need more time to myself- I live in a house with 18 other students, and while I love having people around all the time, it can be easy to forget to rest. I should probably do that more.

Friday was my first full day at City of Refuge, and the highlight of my week. I arose early in the morning to make the journey- I have to take two trotros and a taxi to get all the way to the site, and it can take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours. I was nervous about navigating there on my first day, but it ended up being fairly simply. Long, but simple (then again, when is there not traffic in Ghana)

A new baby had arrived just before I got there. Her name is Princess (a common name here), and she is nine months old. She has some fairly significant health problems (developmentally, she is three months old) and was abandoned at the hospital. The government sent her to City of Refuge. The staff LOVE her, I haven't even gotten a chance to hold her yet. She is incredibly sweet.

Additionally, some of the children were participating in a local sports competition, up in the mountains. Apparently they had been training all week in “racing, long jumping, and high jumping”, and Friday was the championship. About six of the kids qualified and were not around all day.

With all of that craziness, the children had the day off of school. I was later told that they had never had such an easy day… Some of the staff went to purchase supplies, so I talked with the head teacher about plans for drama therapy and working on a performance with the children, as well as scheduling. Afterward, I wanted to get to know the children. I held babies (except for Melvin, who is terrified of white people), and watched “High School Musical II” (a late Christmas present from their San Fransiscan teacher, Autumn) which they danced to. The kids are so well taken care of- you wouldn’t know that they were recently slaves working in a fishing village except for their scars and their stories.

City of Refuge feeds us lunch, so I ate some sort of goop. There weren’t any non-Ghanaians around to explain it to me, but it was pretty good. The children were incredibly sweet. I love them already.

On Saturday, we got up to leave at 6:30am for Cape Coast, a town on the gulf in Ghana where the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade was conducted.  We toured the largest castle that held slaves, the Almena castle (which was Dutch), built in the mid 1400s. The tour guide has given many NYU tours, and he was phenomenal at explaining the history of the castle. It was heartbreaking- the smells of the dungeons, the darkness, and generally imagining the injustices that went on there.

It’s one thing to read about slavery in a textbook, another thing entirely to see where slaves were kept and here how they were treated in the actual place where they lived and died. It is easy to be distanced from the issue of slavery, particularly the trans Atlantic slave trade, but it was a human tragedy that I really believe needs to be remembered. Slavery continues to happen EVERY DAY, as the children at City of Refuge understand all too well. We all made a vow to do whatever it takes to prevent slavery and injustice in the world, and with the actual faces to put the numbers to I don't see how I could ever ignore this issue again. I hope that everyone gets the chance to see this castle sometime!

After touring the castle, we went to a national reserve that includes Africa’s only canopy walk. It reminded me or Robinson Crusoe or Tarzan, there were very (very) thin rope bridges that crossed the treetops. It was pretty awesome- I ended up going around twice (there are seven bridges total, about 30 minutes worth of crossing). Eventually we headed to our resort, where we swam in a pool and combed the beach for shells. We had a group dinner on the beach, and then a bon fire. The next day we awoke to a lovely brunch, and people had the option of going back in to Cape Coast to tour another castle, or staying at the resort. I chose to stay at the resort and take advantage  of the pool.

Yesterday, I went to City of Refuge for the second time. I took the trotro to Tema, where John and Stacy had agreed to pick me up. They had errands to run in the market there, so I helped pick our dozens and dozens of veggies and got to see the winding market of Tema- I loved it. When we got back to the house, the children were done with school for the day. I got to play my heart out with the kids, who were all getting their hair cut (I had to hold some of the babies very still). They fed me dinner and I was able to talk to John and Stacy, as well as the San Fransiscan head teacher Autumn.

I am in love with the children, I can’t wait to see them again on Friday!

RINGWORM MEDICATION FOR UNDERPRIVLEDGED CHILDREN!

So, following my first official day working at City of Refuge (more to follow later), I was informed that we will be going on a "reality tour" of the local fishing villages, in order to see what the life of a trafficked child is like, where they come from, etc.

Unfortunately, due to lack of government involvement, this NGO is one of the only resources available to rescue trafficked children in the area, and they are currently at maximum capacity. Any children who have living and stable family environments (many parents are tricked into giving up their children, lured by promises of free education) are returned to their families. Currently, every child at the home has either been abandoned, neglected/ abused, or orphaned.

That being said, there are some things that we can do to benefit the children currently being trafficked. Obviously they are not well taken care of, and many (MANY) are afflicted with ringworm, which untreated leads to complications and just generally terrible health. FOR 2 AMERICAN DOLLARS YOU CAN SUPPLY ONE CHILD WITH MEDICATION THAT PREVENTS RINGWORM FOR THREE MONTHS.

I will be collecting money to buy this medication, and then taking it to the children myself in the beginning of April. Please contact me ASAP about donating. Thank you!

Coping with the heat

After returning home from the beach last weekend, the second school week commenced. This last week was our first ‘real’ week of school, with classes and internships/ volunteer work being more officially in place.

Before that, though, I got to see Miss Emily Buehler, a good friend from GMS last summer who is studying abroad at the University of Ghana, which is very close to me in Lebone. It was great to see her, and she brought me desperately needed refills of my malaria medications (and Jiff peanut butter! Thanks mom!)

Tuesday night was a movie night, where we watched the documentaries made by NYU Accra students from previous semesters. One was about HIV/AIDs in Ghana, which affects approximately 1.9% of Ghanaians- fairly small for an African country, but larger than in the US. The second was my favorite, and it was about being black- various black NYU women talked about their lives and what being black has meant to them. Some knew their heritage (one girl was Ghanaian), but most of them did not and came to Ghana looking for a sort of home-coming experience. The overall artistic quality of the production was astounding. The next film was about homosexual culture in Ghana which is fairly controversial as homosexuality is illegal here. Then there was a film on Kwame Nkrumah, the first Ghanaian president who helped bring independence to this country (another controversial figure- he is painted as a sort of saint, but also tried to give himself a life-long reign…) and lastly… we watched a film about FanIce! FanIce is an ice-cream product sold on the streets. It costs about 50 peswes, and comes in Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, or Yogurt flavors. They come in little pouches and you have to bite off the corner to eat it. I had my first FanIce after watching the film, and it was fantastic.

Thursday I visited the City of Refuge, where I will be spending Thursdays and Fridays this semester. This is an NGO dedicated to the rehabilitation of trafficked children, generally from a nearby fishing village. Kids as young as two are either orphaned, abandoned, or sold, and then forced to work at the fisheries. This organization takes the children in out of slavery, and provides them with a home and schooling. The children were very sweet- they currently house seven girls and six boys (plus a few babies), and the couple who began this ministry is eager to continue serving the needs of these people. You can read more about this program online at:

http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/

It is also possible to donate at this website using Paypal. I urge you to consider making a contribution to this worthy program. They are currently working on expanding in order to provide more opportunities and house more people. I will be posting pictures and such, and anyone with questions can feel free to contact me.

Something that the couple running the place told me, which I really appreciated, was that they “don’t want to put a sad face forward.”- there are a lot of orphanages in Ghana (and around the world, I am sure) that exploit the children for money. At this house, the children are WELL taken care of, and well loved, and it shows.

I will be working on helping the children communicate their story through the form of drama- they will each be doing a piece on either their unresolved pasts, or their life at City of Refuge, which will be presented to their community. Additionally, I will be doing some basic drama therapy and play therapy excercizes with the children, as many of them are in need of psychological healing. Other than that, I am around to help in any capacity- teaching, playing, and generally loving.

This place is about an hour and a half away from my residence, so I will have to take the Trotro- basically a really crowded van. Because it was our introduction to the site, NYU drove us out and toured us around (there are four volunteers total). On the way home, we saw a baboon strolling down the street! We see plenty of lizards and stray dogs and bugs and bats, but no cool animals until that moment. It made me feel like I was really in Africa (even though all of Africa is definitely not covered with elephants and lions and tigers… but still, I am a child of The Lion King generation, no matter how hard I fight it).

Today I made the trek to Shai Hills national reserve- about 8 of us went in all. There wasn’t a ton of information available in my guidebook or online, but I had passed it by when I had gone out to City of Refuge, and it looked like a great place to see some cool animals.

Off we went, expecting to take a leisurely walk through the wilderness and photograph moneys and antelopes, when we arrived to find a guide waiting to take us on a full-fledged hike.  In 90 degree weather. I had brought a 1.5 liter water bottle, but many of the people in my group didn’t have any water at all (1.5 liters was definitely not adequate, by the way), none of us had brought any food. It was beautiful, and we did get to see some amazing wildlife (baby baboons!), but pretty strenuous. We all regretted not having the foresight to bring more water and food… that is the understatement of the century. But the view at the top was worth the struggle, and we all lived.

After our hike, we were having difficulty catching a taxi (we actually needed two due to the size of our group), and we were all eager to get home. We ended up taking a trotro- the local ‘bus’ system, which basically consists of a 16-person van stuffed with as many people as will fit. All 8 of us piled in, I am pretty sure that  there were around 35 people total- it was kind of hard to count. Yet we ended up paying 2.5 cedi each for the ride, roughly a third the cost of a cab, and we were all pleased to have taken our fist trotro ride. I will have to become more familiar with the trotro system for my volunteer work.

Today, our RAs hosted a cooking workshop, to teach us how to make some Ghanaian dishes. I worked on Jollof rice and chicken— it’s a long process but really worth it. I might try and post the recipe later. Other dishes were redred (fried plantains paired with a bean dishes), spicy plantains, and tiger nut pudding.

Later today I am going to make banana pancakes- I realized that I have the necessary ingredients and got super excited. I am going to give some to the RAs, because they have never had American style pancakes before. It'll be nice to have some American food :)

 

Where is the chocolate???

Unless you want to drink instant coffee (I just can’t), there is hardly any coffee at all to be found in Ghana. Same goes with chocolate- you can buy pricey imported chocolate at the international market, but other than that there is one type of chocolate that is locally produced and available for purchase here (and it too is very expensive.)

THIS MAKES NO SENSE, seeing as Africa in general and West Africa in particular produces massive amounts of coffee beans and cocoa beans. We are RIGHT HERE, and yet it is unavailable!

This is because most of the coffee/ cocoa is sold to other countries, mainly in the west. Many of my professors have talked about how this is contributing to the economic disparity of Ghana and other African nations- they don’t benefit from their own products.

So… I implore you to buy fair trade coffee (and teas). It is usually not that much more expensive than normal coffee anyway, and it is more ethically purchased, allowing farmers to make living wages. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s a start. You can read more here:

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/products/retail_products/default.aspx

One important note: STARBUCKS COFFEE IS NOT FAIR TRADE. While they claim to have ‘ethically purchased’ 60% of their coffee beans (which isn’t even that great) they only purchase 3% of their coffee fair trade. There are a lot of great (and local!) coffee shops that serve fair trade coffee and often at even lower prices than at Starbucks.

And if you attend a church where coffee is served, or if coffee is provided for you at school/ work, discuss purchasing only fair trade with the person in charge- it makes a huge difference. (Especially at churches- it is sad to me that we drink coffee every Sunday that is enjoyed at the expense of poorer nations.)

I realize that there are a lot of ‘popular’ causes to support, and in this economy something as simple as coffee seems to be an easy place to save money. I assure you, this problem is real and it is important. If you really can’t afford the switch, cut out the coffee altogether! It’d be better for you anyway ;)

Akwaaba

This post is long overdue… the internet has been a bit spotty, so I have had to be patient ☺

Apparently the size of Africa is misrepresented on maps. In actuality, Europe, North America, and China can all fit into this massive continent. I am trying to make the point that Africa is vast and diverse- I don’t know any other continent that is referred to as definitively (referring to 'Africa' instead of Ghana or Kenya or South Africa etc.) I am hoping to do a documentary project on the American perception of Africa, as many of the Ghanaians have been offended by the misconceptions that are so prevalent about their lovely country.

    This past weekend was devoted to taking in some fun sites with our RAs. All four of our RAs (actually called “CRAs- community residence assistants or something like that) have graduated from various universities around Ghana and are now doing their year of national service. Because the Ghanaian government subsidizes university, students are expected to work for the government for one year upon graduation. Our RAs are AMAZING. Very sweet, and incredibly helpful. Not to mention that they are impossibly beautiful.
    We went to the market on Saturday, which was quite the endeavor. It was crowded with women carrying baskets on their heads and stalls with vendors attempting to entice us. The girls in our group (our group is 44 people total and 40 of them are women) were on a mission to buy fabric in order to get dresses made. I ended up getting three different prints. The fabric ‘culture’ is fairly significant here- there are different types that are popular, some are dyed, and the most expensive are hand-woven. Most of my fabrics were called “woodin” which is a specific brand and somewhat more expensive than other prints (about 6 cedi/ yard [which translates to about $4.00 per yard)).
    Pretty much anything you need to buy, you can get from the market- cosmetics, household appliances, jewelry… and of course food. There was a ton of fresh produce, as well as buckets of snails and other meats. The snails were pretty huge and freaked me out a bit, but they are considered a delicacy and I am trying to be open-minded about their culture. I would try them if necessary... I think...
    After the first market, we went to a craft fair. I should’ve known that it would be hazardous when the RAs didn’t get off the bus with us and said, “Remember your bartering skills!” Um, yeah. The craft fair was chalk full of the most aggressive sales people I have ever encountered. Their prices were ten times that of the market, and they would NOT take no for an answer. I felt that I held my own bartering- I got two paintings for 30 cedi when they told me 55- but it was an intimidating process. People literally pulled you into their stalls! It is a great exercise in learning how to say NO. way. Once we were finished and entering the bus, salespeople swarmed around the bus and continued trying to sell us stuff. By then they had learned our names, so it was awkward. Thankfully our RAs and bus driver are much better at handling such situations, and shooed the people away.

   On Sunday, we had a New York-style brunch with the NYU Ghana staff, which was much needed at that point. The coffee wasn’t instant (finally!) and tasted like heaven. After brunch, we went to the beach. It was different from the beach I’d visited earlier in the week, which was more of a private restaurant/ lounge type beach-front. This beach was happening, and tons of people were surfing and swimming. I body surfed for a good long while, and it was great. The rip tide is pretty strong in these waters, though, so we had to pay careful attention to the lifeguards on duty as they directed us to where the safe zones were. At the beach we met a group of students from UC schools, who are also on a study abroad program. We’ve seen them around some.
   
    Monday was the first day of classes. I had African Women Speak, a class about the empowerment of women that focuses on female African writers. We began the class by discussing gender and its role in American society, and everyone had a lot to say! This class is going to be great. Apparently our professor is famous in Ghana, so she said we might have the opportunity to accompany her to a press conference. Next, I had Twi, which is the local language of the Ghanaians- Wo din de sen? I am excited to learn some Twi, I feel like it’s something I can carry back with me after my stay in Ghana is complete. 
    Tuesday I had Documenting the African City, in which I am going to make my documentary. It is a popular class and I am definitely looking forward to filming. My Community Psychology class today was cancelled due to the fact that my prof is in the hospital.

    I visited a local orphanage with a friend from the program who had some things he needed to drop off for the children. It was small, maybe 12  children total, and many of them are going to be adopted soon! One of the adoptive families was there visiting (they still have four months of paperwork to get through before they can take their son home), and it was great to see. The children were incredibly sweet. One in particular stole my heart, his name is Noah and his grandmother abandoned him at the orphanage about 4 days ago. He is around 4 or 5 years old, but he would not speak to anyone. Eventually he cuddled with me, thank goodness- I was dying to comfort him. We are planning on visiting this orphanage again soon. Meanwhile, if anyone is looking to adopt, I have some children for you!

Tomorrow I am meeting with the Special Educational Needs, Counseling and Drama Therapy Center (SENCDRAC). The title is pretty self-explanatory, I will be doing drama therapy and counseling with special needs children as a volunteer. The other place where I want to volunteer, City of Refuge, is about an hour outside of Ghana and helps to rehabilitate trafficked children. I will likely be doing drama and play therapy with those children as well.

    I am excited to get started!


1/23/2011

    Yesterday we left for a beach called Kokrobite, about an hour or so away from where we live in Accra. It is in a more rural area of Ghana, but the specific beach we visited had a resort called Big Millie’s. It was amazing! We ended up deciding to stay the night- it was around 9 cedi each (about $6), in one of the smaller cabins. The beaches are so warm here, swimming and trying (operative word being trying) to body surf is awesome. There were tons of souvineers to buy and fruit shakes to drink, we all felt like we were in paradise. Saturday night is Reggae Night at the resort, so once again I got to see a live reggae band and do some dancing. This morning most of us chose to leave right away, and due to cab complications (ideally price-wise we should fit 4 people into each cab, but everyone was already heading out in groups) Kelsey and I fended for ourselves. It is much more difficult to catch a cab in a rural setting, as we found out, and after walking down the street for a while with no luck a local man warned us that we would be robbed if we continued walking towards the next town. He said we could wait at his shop for a cab, and then he flagged down a man for us who was heading to the airport. Kels and I hitched a ride with him back to Accra, and then took a taxi to our dorm in Lebone. What should have cost us 20 cedi, maybe more, took 3! We were lucky, that was literally all the cash we had between the two of us.
    Before anyone gets worried about the fact that Kelsey and I were hitchhiking in Ghana with no money. let me remind you that the culture here is vastly different from the US. I would never hitchhike in America, but violent crimes here are very uncommon- petty theft is it. Additionally, people generally have a very helpful attitude.
  
   Hopefully I'll be able to get some homework done for this next week...

Learning about Accra

One of the main reasons I chose to study abroad was that I desired to learn from a culture that was different from my own. As the directors of the program keep saying, “The American way of doing things is not the only way of doing things, and it is not necessarily the best.” With that in mind, I am trying to see the benefits of this culture, as well as some of the short-comings of my own. I am not looking to criticize America, but to diversify my way of looking at things.

This week is dedicated to orientation, and our schedules have been extremely full. I am exhausted beyond all belief. Day one of orientation we had lectures about security, cultural customs, and general rules. Afterwards we had a welcome lunch reception at a nice local hotel. They served local dishes, including jilaff, foufou, LOTS of rice (they serve rice WITH rice here!), curried chicken, stewed spinach, fried plantains (which taste a bit like jojos only spicier on the outside and sweeter on the inside) and much more. For dessert, fresh watermelon, pineapple, and lychee. I am getting addicted to the fresh fruits and fruit juices available here, they are incredible!

Speaking of which, Accra has left quite the impression thus far. It is known in Africa to be a very modern city- there is a mall, a movie theatre, and most of the convieniences I would enjoy at home (aka the internet is incredibly slow…) However, these are luxuries- there are certainly poor areas. Additionally, running water, electricity, and garbage pickup are not common in rural areas. I think, though, that it is good to get out of the habit of relying solely on technology to run my life- the associate dean of the program (who is American) stated that living here, she has learned to appreciate candles and moonlight. I thought that was pretty profound. I am eager to put down the ipod and cell phone and really be present in the world surrounding me.

We  have been made very aware that such things as electricity (and a generator on top of that!), internet, garbage pickup, and security (we have 24-hour security gaurds, and our dorms/ school buildings are literally walled in with 900 volt barbed wire on top) are privledges. Because of this, we are expected to take extra care in using our resources responsibly. This puts things into perspective; in America (particularly in NYU dorms) it is easy to be wasteful because there is little accountability. Unless you are the person paying the bills, there is no need to pay attention. It is a pet peeve of mine when people don’t turn off lights or recycle- such simple ways of taking care of our earth and being good stewards of our resources.

The former mayor of Ghana gave us a brief lecture today about the history of colonialism in Accra. We then went on a bus tour to view the various governmental buildings and monuments, as well as a ghetto where we experienced what some might find to be the more “stereotypical” Africa. The people here have all been very welcoming- they stare and smile and wave. We exited the bus to walk around a former slave compound, and several impoverished people had taken shelter there. The kids were mostly very excited to see us, they followed us around staring- the babies here are so cute! They learn to walk at a really young age, my guess is that it’s from being tied to their mothers backs with their feet sticking out (maybe it builds the posture?) I felt obnoxiously American in our bright green tour bus, which was far too large for the streets, but since we had the former mayor with us I felt better about things. He’s teaching one of our classes.

We also heard from the various NGO’s and foundations that we have the opportunity to volunteer for. I am considering a couple, both dedicated to rehabilitating and educating children and young women who have been trafficked. I would be able to use drama therapy and play therapy techniques, as well as potentially teach the kids the fundamentals of drama. Many of the organizations do amazing things that interest me, but I really want to pick one and dedicate myself to it. 

Much much more has happened than this so far, and there is much much more to come. For now, I am exhausted (we are scheduled from 7am until 8:45pm every day this week), so I am going to skip reggae night at a local beach (it sounds awesome but it happens every week, so it will have to wait.) Time to rest up.