Trip to the North

Hey everyone,

I am sorry that it has taken this long to update you on my recent adventures. It seems that time has got the best of me. I have been busy this last month with the end of classes and a few trips that I will tell you about in a little bit. Plus, the 90 degree weather makes it a little hard to focus. :P That is one major advantage of studying here, except it is starting to get very hot. If it is a sunny day, you really shouldn’t go out in the sun between 10-2. It totally beats the cold though. Except I am not really sure how I am going to adjust to a Michigan winter. I guess that I won’t worry about that quite yet. Well let me update you on my last month.

Classes finished here on Nov. 18. So, I spent the last few weeks before that trying to finish up all of the work for my classes. There wasn’t a ton that I needed to do, but I still had some quizzes to take and a few presentations. It is always a fun time giving presentations, because no one understands my accent. (Weird, I thought that I didn’t have an accent) I did manage to get everything done. Now, I just have my finals to finish. In Ghana, they give us a month for finals, so I should be able to be prepared. I have my first final on Wednesday, so we will see how that goes. In addition to the classes, I spent most of my time playing basketball, going into town and just hanging out with some of the Ghanaians. I did make another trip with Nate, which was a good time. We went to Accra, to visit his uncle and his family. It was very similar to the trip to see his parents, but in the big city. It was fun thoguh. Other than that, I am just waiting to take my finals.

We did manage to take an amazing trip to the Northern part of the country. The week after classes end is called a ‘revision week’ so that the students can study and get ready for finals. This means that there are no classes or finals that week, so we decided to take advantage and see the country. There is a national park called Mole Park in the North, and they have safaris. So, that is where we decided to go. I left UCC on Thursday morning with Shelby and Malin. We left early because we wanted to see Lake Bosumtwi, which is the only natural lake in Ghana. Steve and Madeline met up with us later. We barely made it there before sunset, but we managed. We spent the night in Kumasi and traveled the entire next day (including a 2 hour stint on a bus where I had to stand the whole time as we went over a very bumpy dirt road) and arrived in Larabanga. It is a really cool Muslim village right outside the park. The next morning we woke up early, rented bikes and rode to the park just in time for the morning walking safari. It was 2 hours long and we saw a bunch of really cool animals. There were gazelle, antelope, monkeys, baboons, tons of birds and we even saw an elephant in one of the ponds. Elephants are the main attraction, so I was pumped that we got to see them. I was really amazed at all of the different animals that I was able to get close too. After we got our room, I came outside and there was a warthog walking on the sidewalk. I could have petted it if I wanted to. Also, when I was sitting by the pool, 3 baboons ran right by me and sat on the fence right next to the pool. It was crazy to see all the animals that close. Since I was at the park, I decided to take a night safari. Might as well take advantage, right? I didn’t see much else, but it was still cool. In the morning, Steve and I decided to take a riding safari. I just really wanted to ride on the roof of the jeep. We saw mostly the same animals, but we saw 2 different elephants at a different pond in the park. We were probably able to get within 30 yards of them. That was by far the coolest thing I saw at the park. Once we got back from the safari, we headed out at around noon.

After we left the park, we decided to split up. Madeline and Shelby were not feeling well, so they went with Steve back to Cape Coast. Malin and I were feeling pretty good, so we decided to try and make it to Weichu to go to the hippo sanctuary. I figured it would be far more epic to continue, so that was all the convincing that I needed. We stayed in Larabanga and attempted to hitch a ride to Swala. It took a while, so I took a tour of the oldest masque in Ghana (700 years old) and one of the oldest in West Africa. Then we waited around for about 4 hours doing nothing. Finally Malin talked with the guy in a pickup truck who agreed to let us sit in the back and drop us at Swala. So, we rode with 4 other tourists in the back of a truck on a dirt road through small villages in Ghana. It was actually really fun and the kids reactions when they saw us was priceless. We did make it to Swala, and then got a ride to Wa. We spent the night in Wa and made it to Weichu the next morning. However, the hippos are not in Weichu, they are 18 Km past Weichu (which is 12 miles past no where). After some arguing with the guy at the park, we decided to ride bikes there. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but the riding was basically through sand. It took us every part of 2 hours, but we made it.

We set up camp at the hotel, which is basically one building by itself with nothing else around. We ate lunch and took the evening tour with the other guests staying there. There were 2 guys from India and a Spanish guy who we saw at Mole, along with our guides. We got to the river at 3:30 and found out someone stole the boat. However, there was another boat across the river, so the guides went and got it. Then they spent the next hour bailing all the water out. Finally, they got the water out, but it was still leaking. They had a rock solid solution though… put some mud in the holes and bring one guy along to bail water. So, it was the 5 tourists and 2 guides, one bailing and one rowing down a crocodile infected river in a leaking boat (I was just excited that my story just got that much more interesting). We set off down the river and went to the place where they heard the hippos were. It is a really cool river too. It is the Black Volta that is the border between Ghana and Burkina Faso, so at a few points I was able to touch Burkina Faso. We got to the place were we thought there were hippos (we could hear them as we came closer). Sure enough, we saw a group of 12 hippos (13 if you include the baby). I really didn’t realize how big and cool hippos are until I got close. One came out of the water a little and I could see that its body is massive. We all were pretty awestruck at the sight. We stayed and watched them for about 20 minuets. Then, right before we left, one of the hippos gave a huge yawn, so we could see its teeth, then it crashed back down into the water. It was awesome. At this point, it was getting dark, so we paddled back and went back to the hotel.

The next morning, we started back. We were going to get a ride in the Indian guy’s truck, but it broke down. So, back on the bikes! After another 2 hours we got back to Weichu and spent the rest of the day and most of the next day traveling back to Cape Coast. I found out after the trip that we traveled for over 40 hours on this trip. A little too long in a bus for my blood. So, I am now back at Cape Coast and getting ready for exams and getting ready to leave. I have less than 3 weeks left here… weird. I will miss Ghana, but I am ready to be back in the U.S. I will try to let you know about exams if I can. My computer charger died, so it has been a little difficult to do anything on my computer, which is another reason why this blog took so long to post. However, I will try to keep posting. I will also try to have photos on facebook later today. Until next time J

Jordan

Epic Trip #4: Volta/ Wli Falls

Hey everyone,

It is another rainy day here in Ghana. We have had far too many of those this year, but I really can’t complain about the weather considering I am wearing shorts and a T-shirt. However, since I can’t really do much today outside, I thought that I would update you all on the sweet trip that we took this weekend.

Romeo, one of our Ghanaian friends, let us know this last week that we would be willing to take us to his home village this weekend. He is from the Volta region (east side of the country), which is one of the places that we have been wanting to go. Volta is home to the tallest mountain in Ghana, the tallest waterfall and also a Monkey sanctuary (Monkeys!). This was more than enough to convince me to tag along. The trip ended up consisting of me, Romeo, Steve and Shelby. This is first all American trip (with some Ghanaians). We decided to leave on Thursday afternoon because the trip is about 9 hours long (awesome…) and none of us have Friday classes. The original plan was to leave about 12:30, but we had a Ghanaian going with us, so that quickly turned into 2. First we got a taxi to town. Then we took a 3 hour bus ride to Accra, followed by another half hour taxi ride to the TroTro station. It took a while to get to the station because Romeo didn’t really know where he was going. I found out later this was the first time he has been to his mother’s village in 2 years. We did finally find it though. Then we had the amazing 5 hour TroTro ride to Romeos village (I am sure you all know by now how excited I am about TroTros). So, once we got to the stop, we needed to hop on 1 more taxi and got to his village and stop the clock at the amazing time of 1 am. It was a nice solid 11 hour day of travel. We got to our room (they didn’t know we were coming somehow, so we had to fix it up), and then we crashed for the night.

We awoke pretty early the next morning. I looked around and realized that we were in the mountains. It is an awesome view all the way around the village. I wanted to get an early start to the day to make sure we got in everything. However, we were in a Ghanaian village, so nothing happens quickly. Romeo’s family did make us breakfast, which was very nice. Then we sat around for about 2 hours because Romeo just disappeared. This became a common theme for the weekend. However, he did return and told us he called a taxi to take us to the falls. After another hour of waiting, the taxi arrived and took us. The driver charged way too much money, but at least we got there. Romeo tried to get us a discount at the falls, but the guy in the office would not hear any of it. However, it was only 7 Gh to get in, so I didn’t complain. We hiked along this really cool path for about 45 minuets. The view was awesome. It felt like I was in the rainforest. Each side of the path was filled with trees and brush. Also, we saw some sweet George of the jungle vines (no, I didn’t swing on them because I couldn’t reach them) The trail followed the river all the way up to the waterfall. I really loved the wildlife that we saw too. There were tons of butterflies and bugs of all sorts of colors. However, the best part was definitely the waterfall. I was expecting a cool little waterfall tucked away in the woods. What I got was this massive waterfall that seemed to go up for ever. It is by far the biggest waterfall that I have ever seen. What really amazed me was the power of it. I tried to swim in the lake to get under it, but the water was forcing me back. It felt like it was pelting me with holes when I got to close. It hurt, but it was a really cool feeling at the same time. It was probably the best experience of the power of nature that I have ever felt.

After enjoying the waterfall for a while, we hiked back to the beginning of the trail. We were ready to leave, but Romeo disappeared again to some unknown place. So, we chilled for a while until he came back. When he did come back, we decided it was too late to do any of the other stops. So, we went back to his village, had some rice for dinner and chilled for the rest of the day with his family (mostly the kids who found it very fun to run up and poke us).

On Saturday, our plan was to hike Mt. Afadjato. We wanted to start early in the morning to get up before the sun was hot, but Ghana happened again. Long story short, we got to the mountain at about 2… right as it started to rain. We waited under an awning for it to stop, but it never really did. After a while, it slowed down, so we quick paid and started up the trail. It wasn’t raining too badly and we hoped for the best, but as soon as we got to the start of the climb, it started pouring again. It was too late to turn back, so we started to climb. Since it is a mountain and there is a dirt path, the rain basically turned the path into a mud slide (awesome climbing conditions). So, we scurried up the mountain as fast as we could go and actually we made it in about an hour. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take many pictures due to the whole rain thing. Once, we got to the top, we took a couple pictures (with Steve’s waterproof camera), said “yeah, we made it” and then started back down. It was a bummer we couldn’t take in the view, but I was just more excited about the accomplishment of getting to the top. We made it down the “totally safe” decent, waded through a river that had formed at the bottom of the mountain (all the water has to go somewhere, right) and headed back to the village. It rained the rest of the day, so we chilled in the house and watched some movies (after a delicious dinner of fufu).

We were hoping on Sunday to make it to the Monkey sanctuary, but Ghana happened again. We wanted to leave by 8, but it turned out being 12:30 because Romeo disappeared again and it is really hard to leave that village. Since, we left so late, we decided to skip the monkeys and see more monkeys later (and possibly bring one home as a pet). So, we got a motorbike out of town (basically a motorcycle, but you ride with 3 people on it. Totally safe). We got to the TroTro station and made our way home. The trip was awesome for me because my shoes were still soaked from the climb yesterday. So, I sat though 8 hours of bus riding with super wet shoes (fun fun). I did survive though (barely). It was still an awesome trip despite all the set backs. Plus, who else can say they climbed the tallest mountain in Ghana in the pouring rain? Hopefully my next trip is as exciting as the last one (Spoiler: possibly Kumasi). I will tell you all about that trip after it happens. Until then

Jordan

Winnevba

Hey everyone,

I just got done with classes for today, so that essentially means that I am done with lectures for the week. That is always a bonus. Those 8 hours on Monday add up quickly. I can’t believe it, but there are only 4 more weeks of class after this week. The semester is coming to a close really quickly…. Of course there is still a month of exams to go, but we won’t worry about that right now.

This last week was a good week, but really chill. At several points I felt like I didn’t have much to do and really didn’t know what to do with myself. It is hard having 3 hour blocks of free time, because I don’t really know how to fill it. If my whole day is open, I can find something cool to do. However, 3 hours isn’t enough time to really do much. I have been reading a lot and trying to be productive. I did have my first O.T. quiz this last week, so I had to study for that. I did pretty well on it, except I confused deutrocannonical books with deutronomical books. Come on, who misses that! Other than that, I got all the questions right. My Friday and Saturday were very chill. I hung out with some of the basketball guys on Saturday night. We went to some places at the back of campus, so that was fun.

The highlight of my week came on Sunday though. Last week, Nate (pronounced Not, my friend from my HST class), invited me to his village this weekend. I thought it wouldn’t happen, but he called me on Saturday and said he was still going. I hadn’t done much this weekend, so I was more than willing to join him. We left Cape Coast at 8:15. I thought his village was close, but it was 2 1/2 hours away. Apparently that is close for a Ghanaian. (I told Dominick about how long it took, and he remarked about how close it was and how 2 ½ hours isn’t that bad…) On the ride way there, Nate was telling me all of the history of the villages that we were passing. There were some cool villages. A lot were influential in the Slave Trade and colonialism. There were a lot of fishing villages too. It is cool to actually drive by those places with someone who actually knows the history.

We finally arrived at his village after a long and cramped TroTro ride. I was expecting to see a small community with some small houses, but his village is basically a city.  It seemed to me like it was a smaller version of Cape Coast. Not what I was hoping for, but still cool. He gave me a quick tour and we stopped to try a coconut (which are way better fresh and not in a bad candy bar, that’s right Almond Joy). Then we went down an ally (not a back ally) and arrived at his house. It was a pretty nice house with several rooms and a courtyard. I was welcomed by his entire family. And when I say entire family, I mean mom, dad, brothers, sister, cousins, aunts, uncles, nephews and a bunch of local neighboring kids. So, I basically got mobbed. I can pretty safely say I was the only white person in the city, so I think it is rare for them to see someone like me. We then spent the next 2 hours moving from room to room meeting his family. His mother is awesome. She is a really sweet old lady with a really hearty laugh. I meet his 2 aunts that were there and I talked with his brothers and cousins for a while. One of his cousins is a professional photographer in Ghana. His nephew was basically attached to me the entire time. His name is Osei and they said he was 5. We played for a while in Nate’s room before lunch and he wanted to throw his teddy bear back and forth. We played that game for a long time. It is really funny, because he doesn’t speak any English, so it was interesting trying to communicate with him.

After some preparation, we had lunch. It was a feast! I mentioned to him that I enjoyed fufu with ground nut soup, so that is what his mother prepared for us (btw, if you want a full description of what fufu is, look it up online, because I can’t give a very good description). It also came with chicken and fish. So, Nate and I feasted. It was a little weird because when two people eat together, they eat from the same bowl. I tried my best to finish it off, but there was just too much. I am pretty sure that my stomach was completely full.

It was great to fill up, but Nate didn’t give me much down time before we were on our way. He wanted me to see the city. So, we walked along some roads and saw the village. There are a few shops, but mostly residential houses…. and random goats. It seemed like a very nice place to live. We ended up at his sisters place (Osei’s mother). We talked with her for a while, and then went to buy some sugar cane (fresh sugar cane is Awesome!) He also showed me his old high school, which his cousin is a teacher at. So, we stayed in his cousins’ house for a little while, then headed out and made our way back to Nate’s place. His whole family wanted to take pictures with me, so we took a bunch of pictures. Then Nate and I made our way back to Cape Coast so we could get there before dark. We got back about 5, just in time to watch the Lions game. I felt like that was a pretty solid way to spend my Sunday. It was really cool to see him interacting with his family. I felt like I was able to see a piece of Ghanaian traditional life. They are very community centered and it was really cool to see a little of how they all live together.

Monday brought my typical 8 hours of lecture. However, when I got back, some guys were playing a guitar. So, I joined them for a little bit and we all played together. That was a ton of fun. I felt really good getting a guitar back in my hands. I miss playing a lot. I should be o.k. without it for the rest of the trip. I will make sure to give you another update after this weekend. We are leaving for the Volta region on Thursday for a long weekend (8 hour ride…) so I will tell you about the trip when I get back. Talk to you then

Jordan

Epic Trip #3: Busua-Black Star Surf Shop

Hey everyone,

I hope that life is going well for everyone back in the U.S. I hear that it is actually in the 70s there, so it sounds like it is going pretty well for a Michigan fall. It is still in the 80s pretty much everyday here. I started sweating from walking outside my room at 7 a.m. this morning and I really haven’t stopped all day. The really funny thing is, it only gets hotter from here. Yeah, Ghana. Since we have such nice weather, a few of us decided to try and have another adventure this last weekend. Let me update you on the details.

            So, since the last trip we went on was originally supposed to be a surfing trip, we decided to make this trip an actual surfing trip. Rather than try to fit two trips in one weekend, we went straight for the surfing beach. We (Malin, Steve and I) set off on Friday morning (btw, I have no Friday classes now. Point Jordan!) We grabbed a few TroTros and made our way back to the Alguna station. This is the same station that we went to for the Green Turtle and it is far easier getting there after you have already been there once. So, we hoped on a taxi and found our way to Busua. It was way more of a thriving town than the Green Turtle town. We took a little tour of the town and found a place to stay. We wanted to stay at a place called the Alaska Beech Club. It was really cool and they had a monkey (yeah, that’s right, a monkey), but it was too expensive. We settled on a place called the Dodson. It was nice, but really basic. It got the job done though.

            After setting up camp, we explored the town. There is a super nice resort that we looked at. There also were a bunch of stands selling cool African things, but it was all really expensive. Then we found Frank the juice man. He prides himself on juice and told us of this restaurant were we would get pancakes. It sounded good to us (pancakes always do) so we followed him to the restaurant. Little did we know, the restaurant was actually 2 tables set up next to a school. At least we had some great entertainment of kids playing soccer while we enjoyed our banana pancakes and fresh squeezed pineapple and mango juice. After eating (which took like 2 hours because it took him forever to make the pancakes) we went down to the beach. It looked like there were some good waves, so we tried them out (swimming first). Then we noticed this guy pull out a bag from the ocean. We walked over and saw that it was full of lobster. So, 2 hours later, we were eating some fresh lobster next to the ocean. You can’t beat.

            Saturday we enjoyed more pancakes for breakfast (and I had coffee!) Madeline came in the morning, so we were ready to try surfing. She has done it before, so she gave Steve and I some pointers. It all sounds so simple when she explains it. However, when we went to the Black Star Surf Shop, it started to rain. So, we sat around and talked with the surfing instructor. His name is Brett and he is a professional surfer from England. I now know a professional surfer, another point to me. After talking for a bit, he whispered to me that he has some surf boards and he would cut us a deal (picture a really shady deal, but with surf boards). I was all over that, so we got to use some cheap boards. He also let us use some of his surfing shirts from other competitions he was in, which I look totally awesome in by the way. The rain stopped at noon, so we hit the beach. I spent the next 2 hours trying to ride a wave. I actually didn’t start riding a wave because it would kill me. So, I started with the white water after the waves broke. Surfing is a lot harder than it looks though. It is basically like skateboarding, except you start lying down and you need to pop up and the board is wobbling on the water (and I am a below average skateboarder too). I actually managed to get up a few times. I mostly fell off the side of the board though. It was a lot of fun, but very hard to master. I had some epic falls, but nothing too serious. Toward the end of the session I was actually getting up and standing on the board, so I would call that a victory for the weekend. I have now officially been surfing, 3 points to me. We spent the rest of the day napping and resting because we were spent. Surfing is hard work. There was also a party thing at Black Star that night, so we hung out there. It was weird though because all of the kids from town were there. So, it was basically 20 tourists with 200 kids. It was very entertaining though.

            On Sunday, we hit the water again. The good waves weren’t until later, so I laid on the beach for a while and read. Once I was all rested up, we decided to hit the water. Due to my “success” on Saturday, I decided to actually try to ride a wave… Bad idea… The waves are a lot bigger once you are out on them. I think that I attempted to get up on about 10 waves and I took 10 face plants. I am really good at going headfirst into the water and getting sucked under by the wave and not so good at the standing up part. It was still really fun though. Plus, I didn’t seriously hurt myself. I may have a few scrapes, but I should recover. We had to give the boards back at noon, so we packed up and got some lunch. Guess what, more pancakes. It started to rain for a while, so we had some coffee at a different pancake place and watched the rain. It was a really cool end to the weekend. I don’t think there is a better way to end a surfing weekend then by drinking coffee and watching the rain. It did stop after a little while, so we hoped in the taxi and made our way back home. It was a sweet/ totally rad weekend.

I would say we made it back in time to watch the Lions, but they were too busy being awesome on Monday night. Hopefully the Tigers can be as awesome as them this up coming week. I am trying to watch the games, so hopefully that works out. However I have to go now to study for my O.T. quiz tomorrow. It shouldn’t be too bad, but I will let you know how it goes. Until next time.

Jordan

P.S. Check out my pictures on facebook

                                                                                       

Update

Hey everyone,
So, I have survived another couple weeks here in Ghana. Just kidding, I am actually enjoying my time pretty well here. I finally really feel at home on a daily basis. There are still many things that are anoying (such as the power going out 6 times in the last 2 weeks. Even twice in 1 day), but I am trying to make the most of this free time. I have been reading a lot (just started the Shack. Review to follow) and I have actually had a bit of studying to do recently. That has really been the top highlight recentally, so I will tell you a little about the quizzes that I have had.

In my Cultural Studies class, I actually had a group presentation and a book review due this week. The presentation was on Monday, so our group met about 4 times this last week and weekend to prepare. The group leader (his name is Ishmael) wanted me to be the group leader because "your accent will confuse the students so they will not ask as many hard questions".... fair enough.... However, that plan didn't work and we kind of got torn to shreds on our presentation. I think I did a good job, but the group.....

I have also had 4 quizzes in my other classes too. There was one in my Cultural Studies class, but I didn't realize I needed to know where the different ethnic groups lived in Ghana, so I did not do the greatest on that one. At least I passed, which isn't too hard (they tell me that 50% is passing. Not a very high bar). My Slave Trade quiz I got a 90% on and I think I had the best score in the class (btw, an 80% and above is an A here). So, I am not to worried about that class. However, my quiz for Africa in World Relations did not go great. The prof said that everyone did so bad that we all had to retake it this last Wednesday. He said that multiple people got a 0% on it (I passed btw). I am still waiting for the retake grade though. That is the class I need to do well in because I am pretty sure I can count it for my major. I also had a History exam, but I am still waiting to get that back. I thought it went pretty well though.

That pretty much sums up my last few days. I have been studying and working on papers. At least I only have a month left to study (classes end Nov.18). I am traveling this weekend, so I should have a more interesting update for you next week. We are actually going to the surfing beach this weekend (Steve said the pictures of it looked awesome!). I would tell you that if I don't come back it is because of an epic surfing crash, but someone told me I am not allowed to hurt myself surfing. So, I will talk to again after I don't get hurt, but after I have an awesome time! I have to get going though becasue I am going to a play tonight. It is something about men who are trying to date their wives or something. They tell me it will be a comedy. I will make sure to let you know how African acting is. Until next time
Jordan

Epic trip #2: The Green Turtle Lodge

Hey all of you beautiful people. I hope that life is going well for all of you. Things have settled down here a little bit, so I figured that it was time for another update from Ghana. I had a great trip this last weekend, but first let me tell you about the week before the trip.... Not much happened. You are now up to date. That is part of the reason it has been so long between blogs. I did, however, have 2 quizzes last week (and also 1 today and 1 tomorrow) that have kept me a little busy. Those ended on Wednesday though, and we didn't have class Wed-Fri because of Kwame Nkruma's birthday (the first president of Ghana) and graduation. So, basically on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday I read a lot and took naps. I also did laundry too, which takes about 4 hours here (all by hand remember) and I am attempting to do P90X. Other than that, I mostly prepared for our epic trip.

This all started on Wednesday when Molin acquired the Ghana section of Lonely Planet. Of course we all had to copy it and start reading about the endless possibilities. One of the things that we read was the possible surfing and great beaches of Busua. We were all in the mood for a nice and relaxing weekend, so a trip to Busua sounded like a plan. (Btw, Busua is a town that is about 2 hours West of us, opposite direction of Accra)  Actually the original plan was to go to Takoradi (halfway between Busua and Cape Coast), but we found out there is not much to do there. So, we decided to mostly skip it. We made the plan to leave Cape Coast on Friday. I wanted to leave early, because I wanted more time at the beach.... I thought that was a pretty straight forward plan. However, Madeline had to do some homework. So, we decided to split up. After some errands and other random Ghanian tasks in the morning, Steve, Shelby and I headed out at about 10 on Friday morning for the beached of Busua.

We managed to pick up the first TroTro pretty easily. Aparentlly it is a 1:30 drive to Takoradi. Not bad considering Accra was 3 hours (remember TroTros are totally not built for 6'3" Americans). Once in Takoradi, the TroTro dropped us off (seriousally, it pulled up to a random street coner and told us to get out) After some wondering and asking a few people directions, we found the Silver Pot to eat lunch at (thanks Lonely Plant). I was actually able to have a bruger and fries and a coke :) Then we made our way to the next TroTro. Another hour and we arived at the next station. We had to get on one more TroTro and we would arrive at our destination. They told us it would be about an hour, what they didn't tell us is that 45 minuets of that would be on a dirt road with massive pot holes basically going through the jungle. I hit my head multiple time on the roof. Our stop was the Green Trutle Lodge. Again, we heard about it in Lonely Planet, but it is technically in Akwidaa, which is about 5 miles from Busua, so we were going to spend 1 night here and then head to Busua.  Then, the TroTro droped us off on the side of the road next to a wodden sign that said "Green Turtle Logde" with an arrow pointing in the dirrection. We were basically just droped off on the side of the road and the TroTro drove off. Normally I would be freaked out, but we were all so excited about how awesome this was that we didn't even care. This truely was an adventure. So, we followed the sign...

After about 5 minuets of walking, we arrived at a clearing. We were welcomed by a very nice rustic looking village place. It was full of really cool looking buildings that were made with bamboo and other cool things. It had a bar that was shaped out of a boat and several pavilions that had straw coverings. In addition to the buildings, ther was a ping pong table, a pool table, a small gift shop and a hammock. It was full of great ways to relax. This place is awesome! We had truely gotten away from everything (45 minuets in a TroTro to the middle of no where will do that). When we got to the registration desk, we were welcomed by a very nice reception staff. We got our (fairly cheap) room and we wasted no time in changing into our swim suits and hitting the beach. There is a great beach there with an awesome view. Cocont trees were everywhere. I may or may not have climbed a couple. We spent the rest of the day (we got there about 4) relaxing in the sun and exploring this new place. I also made sure to play some ping pong and pool. Then I had a delicious dinner of stirfry with rice and shortly after that, the Swedes found their way to the lodge. We all chilled for the rest of the night and played some games (Mostly cards and pool). We also decided that we liked this place too much, so we were going to stay here for the whole weekend. No surfing this weekend :( but it was worth it.

On Saturday, I got up a little early to read the Bible and grab some breakfast. There was some great french toast, but the best part was REAL COFFEE!! It was great, I actually got to enjoy a cup of real coffee. (Not that I don't love the instant coffee nana :D) I might have to go back again just for that. After a while, the rest of the gang got up and had breakfast too. We hung out at the beach for a bit, then we decided to check out the village nearby. First, I had to beat Emanuel (the Ghanian bartender, who is awesome!) at a game of Ping Pong. Then we walked down the beach to the village. And when I say village, I mean several mud houses, not much contact with the outside world, village. It was really cool to see, but the people were a little too aggressive for my blood. Apparently white people don't come around too often and they think that they are all loaded. We only stayed there a little while before heading back to the Lodge. The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and doing typical beach activities. The night consisted of some dinner, more games and a bonfire made by some (sketchy) South Africans. I had a great conversation with Emanuael about life. Then I took a walk on the beach to see the stars. Call me what you want, but this was my favorite part. We were in the middle of, literally, no where, so the stars were awesome. I have never seen so many in my life. I felt like I could see another universe. It is amazing to truly see that part of Gods creation. I just sat and stared at them for a long time. On every trip I have taken, I wanted to get far enough away from civilization to really see the stars, but this is the first time I felt like I actually far enough away. The whole trip was worth that.

On Sunday, we relaxed by the beach again for a while and then moved out. The TroTro station was back at the village, so we hiked down the beach again. We had to wait for a while for it to show up, but we managed to catch the other TroTros pretty quick, so we were able to make it back just in time to watch the Lions game. Not a bad end to a farily awesome weekend. Monday brought more classes, but I will tell you about that later this week. Btw, I will hopefully post pictures to facebook today, so you can see where I was. Thanks for reading. Until next time,
Jordan

1 Month

            Today is a special day here in Ghana. I have now officially been in Ghana for one month! What a crazy month it has been. As I look back on it, it is amazing how much I have adapted to the lifestyle here. Things that bothered me the first week barely faze me know. For example, I have (finally) just accepted living with ants and lizards. I hardly react when I see a line of ants in my room (except when they are in my sugar). Also, I was weirded out of lizards when I first got here. Now, I just kick them out of my way. It is amazing how far your standards fall after a certain amount of time.

            Life here just seems to be growing on me. I don’t have the same sense of time that I had when I arrived. The first week, I couldn’t stand how slow things move here. Nothing happens quickly and it is impossible to even do simple tasks in a timely manner. However, I have adopted a ‘go with the flow’ mentality. Now, things aren’t as bad when I have to wait forever. (Even if you have to spend 3 and a half hours trying to get one package like I did on Monday. There went my morning) However, I still find it easier to deal with life here. My biggest struggle and greatest gift has been the amount of time I have had here. It is a struggle because it is very easy to be board, but it is great because I have time to do many things that I would not normally have time for. I have probably read my bible more this month than any other month in my life. I get to read all my books (I am reading Jesus Freaks right now) and I can just relax and be. Please pray that I continue to enjoy this gift of time and can use it to the best of my ability. Also, that I can continue to strengthen my relationship with God in my time here and that I don’t waste my time.

            So, now for the update of my fun and exciting life…. Ok this week has not been very eventful. Monday was filled with classes, like usual. I finally met my permanent religion professor. He seems really nice and very intelligent. I also believe that he knows biblical Hebrew. I found out that I have 2 quizzes coming up in 2 of my classes next week, so I will sure to let you all know how that goes. One is in AFS 101 and I am not quite sure what we have covered so far, but it should be alright. Tuesday- Thursday consisted of mostly reading, studying, going to class, playing basketball and hanging out with some of the people here. (I also had my first cup of coffee since arriving in Ghana! Is it a bad thing that that is what I am probably the most excited about?…) It is a bonus that everyone likes soccer here because there always seems to be a game on, so I can always go down to the lobby and watch a game if I am super board. Basketball is always another good way of killing time. I have successfully made the hall team and our first game is on Tuesday. Hopefully that will go well. Too bad our first game is against the defending champs…. Friday we celebrated Molin’s birthday by going to Oasis. I was actually able to get a hamburger and French fries (totally worth the money I spent on them) Saturday I relaxed most of the day, studied a bit and hung out with a guy from my history class. I also attempted to watch some football. I was able to watch most of the MSU game, so it was a good day. Hopefully the Lions game happens to be online tomorrow.

            One more thing that I have really realized since being here was something I did not really expect. While I have been in my religion class, I really have been able to appreciate how much my trip to Israel meant. We are talking about Moses and the Israelites wondering in the desert, or Joshua and the attack on Jericho and I can see the pictures of these places in my head. It is amazing how real it makes the things we talk about. I can understand more fully what we are talking about. Also, this time that I have had to read my bible has helped as well. It is great to spend some time to really sit down and read the word. This semester I get to have hours to read and study the word and there is not very much to distract me. I can’t help but get the feeling that this trip is about me trying to find who I am in the LORD and what his plans are for me. As much as I was expecting this to be a trip where I help people, I feel that I am supposed to spend more time being quiet. I guess that I needed to go to Africa to fully appreciate Israel and that sometimes you need to get (far) away from your life to find out who you really are. Hmm, just a thought. Until next time

Jordan

Fight for Accra

Hey everyone,

I am just sitting and relaxing with a cup of tea listening to John Mayer, so I thought it would be a good time to update you on my recent adventures. This past weekend, some of us decided it was time to make our first adventure to another city in Ghana. Road trip! After some minor discussion and maybe a bribe or too…. we (me, Steve and the 2 Swedish girls) decided to take a trip to Accra. (Accra is the capital of Ghana for those of you who don’t know).

            We started our trip on Saturday morning, so we had to wake up at 6. I know that sounds early, but here it is actually sleeping in. We met at 6:30 and took a taxi to the bus station. The bus was supposed to show up at 7, but didn’t come until 8:15 and we left at 9… typical Ghana time. After a nice and relaxing 3:30 bus ride (totally sarcastic, the busses suck), we made it to Accra. And when I say we made it to Accra, I don’t mean we made it to a nice bus station and the bus pulled into a spot and we all calmly got off the bus. No, the bus stopped in the road at a random point and I was basically pushed onto the sidewalk by 50 other people rushing off the bus. (Ghanaians don’t have the same concept of personal space that Americans do). So, we weaved our way through a few streets of crowded markets to get to the next “bus station”. The one thing I really noticed about Accra is it is far busier than Cape Coast. People are all over the place and people selling every odd and end are on every open part of the sidewalk. I even found out later that I was in the Greater Accra region and not the main part of the city. However, we got on 2 different trotros (15 passenger busses that they fit 20 people into) and finally got to our destination, Osu street.

            When we got to the street, I saw a Popeye’s and my heart skipped a beat. This is the first American restaurant I have seen since I got here. So, we all went inside and I had a hamburger. Let me tell you, I could not contain the excitement of having American food. I wanted to dance, but I held back. To be honest, the food was one of the top reasons I wanted to go to Accra. We rested there for a while, then met up with Tina (one of the German students) and went to the American mall. This is the closest I have seen to America since being here. They had a full grocery store and I got a Snickers bar. They had a lot of other stores, but everything was really expensive. A pair of Puma shoes cost $200 (300 Gh). Nothing was worth it… except I couldn’t contain myself from getting a pizza with tons of toppings. Totally worth it.

            After the mall, we went to the market. It basically was an endless amount of people in little shacks selling almost everything under the sun. It ranges for locks to bathroom supplies to phones. There is even one whole area that sells nothing but shoes. The girls wanted to buy some clothes. I really didn’t see anything I wanted because 90% of the stuff is cheap Chinese knock offs. However, I did get a really cool tea cup from this really nice lady whose name is very hard to pronounce…. and I can’t really remember what it was.

            After shopping, we went back to our hotel room, which was this one guy’s back yard. He has 3 guest rooms in his back yard, but they were pretty nice and very cheap. We rested for an hour and then went out on the town…. Ok we went to a few places by our room. We first grabbed some dinner and I got some French fries J Then we went to this outside bar club thing. We had a few beers and danced to some live reggae music. Things like that are far more interesting when you are the only white people in a club of over 500. We also went to a couple other places that were similar. Then, when we got back to our room, and the guy who owned it wanted to kick us out because we had a broken screw on the door. Pretty sure that was not our fault. It took us 20 minuets to calm him down and convince him not to kick us out. I had to give him 10 more dollars. It was a total buzz kill to a fun day.

            We got up early the next morning to get away from that guy because we didn’t want to have to pay him more money for a cheap fix. Steve and I walked to the beach, which took about an hour. Then we walk down the beach for another half hour. There was a lot of really cool shells and beach glass, not to mention the ocean. Then we found a resort type place. We were able to grab some breakfast, rest in the shade and take a nap on some lawn chairs. It was a great way to spend the morning and afternoon. Then we met back up with the Swedes, went through another awesome bus ride and got back to Cape Coast. Not a bad first adventure.

            I have some more stories about this week, but I will update you later, because this is getting a little long. Please pray for me that I may have strength and that I may know God’s will for me in Ghana. Until next time!

Jordan

P.S. Please let me know how I can pray for you too J

Hey everyone,
Sorry about the delay in updating you all. I haven't really been able to create a new post...... ok I have been lazy. However, I thought that it is finally time to give you all a glance at my last week and change.

So, I am now through 3 weeks of my classes, and they are finally starting to take shape. My first class is African Studies (AFS) 101. This is a basic class about the broad topics of culture and the study of culture, specifically here in Ghana. The class has been a little weird so far because my professor keeps talking about incest and makes many really weird crude jokes. However, the class does seem to be coming along. The major problem is that it starts at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, so I probably am not as engaged as I should be. The second AFS class is AFS 301. This class is based around the slave trade. We have talked about how the slaves were captured, where they were sent and the details around the journey. It is a really interesting class, but I feel a little weird being an American in that class... I do have 2 other Americans in that class as well, so it makes it not as weird. (btw, that is the only class that I am taking that has white people in it). My last AFS class is 424. This is probably my favorite AFS class. The subject is Africa in world relations. It is abut the Cold War and the role that Africa had during the power struggle between the US and USSR. It is really cool, but we are still on just the basics of the cold war so most of it is review right now. I also have a History class (206). It is West African Politics, but my professor has been sick so more details to come. The last class is Religion 323. This is my favorite overall class. The class is called Old Testament Studies. We have taking an objective look at the narratives of the Bible and examining weather common beliefs have any empirical evidence behind them. It is really awesome and I always seem to look forward to that class. Overall, it should be a good academic semester.

Along with my restless schoolwork, I have been trying to keep myself busy outside of class. Steve and I have been playing a lot of basketball. This past Monday we had out championship for the fresher games. Our hall (Kwame Nkruma) took on Casford for the title. After starting the game at 4:45 (it was supposed to start at 2), we lost 23-20.... It was a good game though. I thought that myself, Steve and Dominick all played very well, so I can't be too upset. I scored 10 points, so at least I had a good showing. Also, Steve, Dom and myself are all on the hall team now. Practice starts next week :)

I have also been starting to feel like I am starting to become more used to Africa and the life style. I have now successfully washed my clothes by hand twice. It really sucks to do and takes over 2 hours to do half of the dirty clothes. That one will take a little getting used to. I also got my first African haircut yesterday. It is basically a buzz cut, but I can now fit in with the Africans..... ok I still stand out, but I feel better. Last Monday, I got to watch a soccer game too. Ghana and Brazil was on, so they put it on the big screen. You have not truly watched soccer until you watch soccer with Africans. They go crazy for every play. It is great to see 1000 people cheering for a successful pass. Maybe I will try and play some football with them soon. At least I am getting used to the ants and bugs. I have officially accepted ants as a way of life here, but I will still try and fight them.

Anyway, I believe that is all for now. I think that I am going to Accra this weekend, so I will let you all know how that goes. Until then, take care :)
Jordan

Classes

I have officially completed my first week of classes at the University of Cape Coast! Of course, that doesn’t mean a whole lot here, because most professors do not show up the first week of class. Apparently, most professors don’t want to teach the first week, so they just don’t show up. I only had 2 professors show up for lectures this week. However, I have to come to class regardless, because they can show up 5 minuets before class ends and give out a quiz…. Yeah for Ghana time! At least I am one week in to classes out of 12 (They end classes on November 18, because they need 3 weeks for finals). It also took me until Thursday to finalize my classes, but I pulled it off. I have three African studies classes, one history class and one religion class. I am really excited about them and I will give you more details about them after I more classes. Also, I have my address now. It is

Jordan Palladino

Center for International Education

University of Cape Coast

Private Mail Bag

Cape Coast, Ghana

Also, I hear that you might need to put “air mail” on the side. Feel free to send me anything or even just a letter. My top wish list is American food and other kitchen supplies. Hope to hear from you soon

Jordan

BTW, keep letting me know if you want any questions answered 

Finally in Africa

Hey everyone,

So, I have arrived in Africa. Sorry about the delay on giving you this update. There have been a few matters that have required all of my limited internet access. I have recently learned of the passing of Ross Nykamp. I have had the privilege of being mentored by one of the greatest men that I have known and the father of one of the greatest men I know. I have been deeply saddened over the last few days by this loss and my heart still goes out to all of the Nykamp family. Know that I love you all and I think about you all the time. So, all of my internet time has been spent trying to stay in contact. Another issue is the matter of the internet, there is no wireless internet on campus and the only places with internet are a 20 minute walk and you have to pay for slow internet. This has been one of my biggest frustrations. Anyway, let me update you all on what has happened in the last week.

            After changing planes 3 times and a 10 hour flight cramped up in a plane, I finally arrived in Ghana. This is not the same as getting off the plane in any other country either. You don’t get off and are greeted by a nice clean walkway and an orderly airport. No, in Africa, it is chaos. I walked off the plane and had to walk about 200 feet on a dirt path to the airport. Then inside a shady building there are a few people who get you through customs at their own pace. Then the airport “lost” my bags and a worker came and “found” them for me and asked for $20 in payment. I gave him $5 and walked away. Everyone in Ghana seems to not work until they are tipped. After another hour of weirdness, I finally found Nelson, the man who would take me to the college. He is a very nice Ghanaian man who was the thickest African accent I have ever heard. He then drove me to UCC… which took about 4 more hours. The drive was crazy too. In Accra (the capital of Ghana) there is a ton of traffic. At one point we were stuck in a traffic jam for over an hour. Of course, the people who live there knew where the traffic jam would be, so all of the merchants walked down the street selling all of their goods. It was nuts seeing hundreds of people walking between the cars selling goods and toys and everything you can think of… well not everything. One guy really wanted to sell me a soccer ball, but Nelson kept fighting him off. I finally took a nap and woke up outside the city.

We drove another 2 hours before arriving in Cape Coast. The drive was crazy. Drivers are crazy here. They swerve and weave while going over 80 mph. My driver was especially crazy as he swerved around everyone else while barely missing oncoming traffic. The drive was also weird because I noticed all of the villages along the side of the road. Almost all of them consisted of shacks and huts. It still seems like a very poor place, and this is supposed to be one of the most developed African countries. Finally though, we arrived at UCC.

The first couple days in Ghana I have spent trying to get accustom to the culture and also trying to get basic tasks accomplished. The first thing that I have noticed since arriving here is how much I stand out. In the airport and in Accra, there are a number of white people. However, at my school, I am one of 9 white people in a school of I would guess over 15000 students. So, needless to say, more than a few people stare at me. It gets really old when people point at you and yell “Obruni” (which is Fonti for “white person”). It seems to never get old for people to point me out. I will have to get used to that. It also is a bummer, because people think that because I am white, I have a lot of money. So, every time I get in a taxi, the driver tries to rip me off. It seems to get in the way, because you haggle over everything in Ghana. No price is firm. In only one week, I have found myself haggling over 10 peswey (about 6 cents). It is just part of the culture here in Ghana. 

Another thing that seems to be different in Ghana is the use of time. In Ghana, it takes FOREVER to do anything. People are really chill here, so they have no problem with taking a ton of time to do an easy task, like registering me for classes. I had to take 6 hours to register, because the people working decided to hang out and talk for a while and not do anything. The mindset here is to take things as the come and tome doesn’t matter. I watched a soccer game yesterday that was scheduled to start at 2. It actually started at 3:45. Things like that aren’t a big deal unless you want to have something done in a hurry. It took me a week to get wireless internet and 5 days to get some basic things for our room. I kept nagging, but they just keep telling me not to worry and relax. I am still trying to get a fridge in my room. The Ghanaians tell me just to relax, but that is not how many Americans operate. Right now they moved us out of our room to actually clean it and tile it. They said we will be back in 3 days. I will give it 7 and see where we are then. I just have to get used to Ghanaian time.

Other than those things, it has been going pretty well here. I did get hurt a little bit on the second day, but I am O.K. now. I will tell you all the whole story at some other point. I am also playing basketball for my hall team. The fresher (fresh student) games are happening right now, and I am a starter for my hall team. (Halls are like dorms, and there are 6 of them. Think Hogwarts). It is cool, because it keeps me active. Being bored is one of the biggest problems here. Most of the students just chill and hang out all day. I am meeting people through basketball though. Everyone wants to learn my name, but I can not possibly learn everyone’s name, so basketball gives me a chance to just know a few people a lot better. I hung out with a guy named Dominick yesterday at the football match. He is a fresher from Accra. He plays basketball for our Hall and he is a pretty cool guy. So, hopefully I will meet more people.

So, that is about it for now. I can tell you more, but I don’t want this to get to long. I am supposed to start class this week, so hopefully that happens. Thank you all for your love and support. I will update you soon. Please feel free to let me know of any questions that you have about my experience and Ghana or anything else. Talk to you soon

Jordan

Welcome

Hey everyone,
Thanks for checking out my blog. I will try to keep you all up to date on the new and (sometimes) exciting events that will be happening to me while I am in Ghana. There should be some fairly interesting things that happen, so I will keep you posted. However, I don't leave for two weeks still, so this will be my only post for a while. I hope to see you all at my goodbye party or sometime soon.
Jordan