Living in Montana, I've seen powerful rivers, beautiful cliffs, and gorgeous nature but the Volta Region of Ghana gives Montana some decent competition.
AFS students from Belgium and from The United States went on a study-tour of the Volta Region this past weekend, and really, we had a blast!
I left for Accra the 12'th of November on the night bus and arrived at five in the morning. On the way through Sunyani, Kumasi, and the rest of the Ashanti Region there was the most beautiful lightning. I've seen it a couple times in Dormaa, but mostly in southern Ghana. No rain or thunder, just grey skies and lightning. I was listening to The American Dollar and would fall asleep and wake up over and over again to the same pretty view of lightning and night sky in Africa. (Thanks for the music sweetheart, it made it more magical.) At first I thought the bus kept turning their brights on and off, but whenever the lighting would go at it the entire valley we were driving through would light up like it was daytime.
When I arrived in Accra I met Dabney, AFSer from Alaska at circle. Circle is this really large roundabout in Accra. Accra is huge, I would say even bigger than New York City. They have sections, like Achimota and Weija, but it's still all called Accra. Takes maybe two hours to get across it by car or tro-tro. Dabney gave me some tro-tro lessons while we found our way back to her house in Weija. When a tro-tro rolls up to the side of the road a guy will use a hand signal and shout out where the tro-tro is heading. If you're going anywhere in between here and the place they called out you can hop on, if not you wait for another tro-tro. The way they call out for the tro-tro's is absolutely hilarious to me! "Curcu-curc-curc-curcllleee" or "Malaaaam Junction, Mallam, Mallam, Mallam". The names of the places just blend together until "Dorm Pillar 2" becomes "Dormapilaaytoo". Without Dabney I would have been totally lost, but by the end of my stay in Accra I could have managed to at least get to Circle.
We met her host family and then headed out for my first pizza I've had in about two and a half months. It was so good, and totally worth the 6 cedi. Later that day we went to a store close to her house and met a Mulsim man about to go for his call to prayer. With some serious gesturing and pointing and laughing we figured out he was inviting us to go with him. We walked around the corner to this small, little half-finished mosque and washed our feet, hands, face, and arms before we went in. He gave us scarves to cover our heads and let us stand on mats behind him and another man while they prayed. It was beautiful and really kind of the man to let us come and watch and take photos like he did. And Rev, the mosque had about two or three of the plastic, recycled mats with the pretty designs on it!
On Monday the Belgian Consulate invited the Belgian students and the three American students to a party celebrating their King's birthday. Driving through the gates I felt suddenly small and under-dressed. The party was held at this mansion of a house, in their backyard with classical music playing and tons of people from all over the world to talk with. I spoke with a couple from Russia, Spain, and Malta and also a Ghanian woman who, to everyone's surprise gave me some tips on washing clothes by hand without getting the little cuts on your knuckles. I talked with one of the students and we both felt the same way, after living in Ghana with our host families for so long, we felt a little out of place at the party. It doesn't mean we didn't really enjoy ourselves though! We thoroughly enjoyed the cheese and crackers, salads and fruit, Belgian wraps with french fries (french fries were invented in Belgium I learned, and that's what they're famous for, not waffles), and fruit and cake dipped in chocolate. Margaret went back for more of the chocolate at least ten times. I wasn't far behind her I don't think! We were invited to spend the night and all soaked in the hot showers and great breakfast the next morning.
On Thursday evening we left for the Volta Region. The drive kept bringing us into more and more beautiful and mountainous areas of Ghana. Half-way to Ho we went by a river-town where instead of the normal plantian chips and fanice that the women sell from their heads to the buses and taxis that stop there they had a million different fishy-looking things. Someone on the bus dared to buy a bag full of green little dried fishes. From far away it looked like dried seaweed but everyone agreed that it was not good, and not seaweed. Blech. Once we got to the hostel that night we had a great night all watching Lost (about a a hundred or more episodes all on one disk bought in Ghana for 2 cedi) and talking about our host families and things we'd learned since we last saw each other. We also spent about two hours taking braids out of a Beglian students hair because it was really hurting her head, braids just aren't made for Obruni hair.
On Friday we went to Wli Falls. The drive there was spectacular, trees that are five feet from the center to the edge I swear! The walk to the falls took about a half hour, maybe even longer with all the stopping we did to look at the streams we passed or take photos. When we got to the falls a class was there on a field trip who all laughed at us as we took photos in front of the falls. I try hard to not be too tourist-y while I'm here, but I think everyone relaxed about it for the study tour. We swam underneath the falls and all tried to get as close as we could to right underneath where all the water poured in. While I looked up at the falls I felt a bit like Justin, trying to guess how much water was flowing out per second. A couple sat underneath the falls, from the Netherlands I think, and I talked with them about what they were doing in Ghana. It's incredible how many people come to volunteer and work in Ghana from European countries. They had been working at a school for three months and now were taking their last two weeks as a vacation before they went home. I don't know where we'll end up traveling Justin, but let's definitely do some waterfall watching.
The study tour included a night out to go dancing, a cultural dance performance that blew my mind, and a trip to a pool. We all had a lot of fun and decided to get together again in December for one of the students birthdays.
Now I'm back in Dormaa, I missed my host family and am really glad to see them again. I've always got a lot more to say but I knew I should write a little about the study tour before it's been too long.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving back home, I love you all.
Write more soon!
