Dress Design!

I went to the tailor this evening after dinner to pick up the first dress I had made! The tailor does very good work. My classmates have all had items made and they all look great! I went with something simple for my first design, so next time I will have to give her one of my more creative designs.

If you see any cool clothes online that you think I should have made let me know!

It is Not the Destination, But the Journey

Famous Last Words

WHAT A WEEKEND!

With orientation over, and classes not quite in full swing yet, several students decided to take advantage of our first free weekend. A trip was planned to go stay at the Green Turtle Eco-Lodge in Takoradi. I was hesitant at first when asked if I wanted to go. I had initially said no, as I had worries about such an impromptu trip in an environment so new to me. For those of you that have not met the controlling side of me, I am all about having a plan. I am the kind of person that shows up to the airport 4 hours before my flight...Ok, 5 hours.

After the travelers had left to catch a cab to the bus stop, I found myself recalling the words of my mother, "you only live once Dev, take big bites". That was it. I had my backpack packed in 30 seconds and I was out the door running to meet up with the others. That day the part of me that longed for control did not get to drive. I was throwing caution to the wind. (Thats probably not what you had in mind when you said, "take big bites" huh mum?)

The group of us split up and stuffed ourselves into two cabs. The cabby was nice enough to allow us to stuff four people in the back seat, but informed us that we would have to "dodge". This meant that one of us would have to duck down every time there was a police officer around, as it is not legal in Ghana to over stuff cars. I found this shocking, as there seem to be no other driving laws. After all, you don't even need an inspection sticker, or a license, to drive! Regardless, "dodging" became a fun game for the 30 minute taxi ride to the bus stop. When the cabby screamed out "DODGE!" Michelle, the smallest, would duck down and Michael and I, seated on each side of her, would throw our arms over her as if she was an arm rest. We would all then celebrate our great scam upon its success.

At the bus station we learned that, despite the fact that the STC bus has a schedule, it does not follow it. Typical Ghana, always testing your patience. We were able to hop on a bus around 3pm, which was just fine by us. The bus was pretty dirty, as we expected it to be. We also noted pretty quickly that there was no restroom, or washroom as they call it here. Oh but do not fret, they pulled over every once and a while to let people pee on the side of the road!

Due to traffic, it took us nearly 6 hours to reach Takoradi. I can't say that the drive bothered me, as I was fascinated by the scene just beyond my dirty window. Once in Takoradi, the search was on for two taxis that could take us to our final destination. We made a huge fuss about the GH 30.00 the taxi drivers were trying to charge us, only to give in after 15 minutes of attempted negotiations. And after making such a huge fuss about the GH 30.00, we found out just why it was that the cost was so high.

The road to the Green Turtle Eco-Lodge was worst than one you would see in a Jeep, or Hummer, commercial. Rain had pushed around the dirt revealing large jagged rocks and creating huge crevasses and mounds of dirt. The only thing fit to drive on this road was a monster truck, and here we were in our tiny dinged up taxi, with four of us stuffed in the back seat. The driver paused as the the road came into sight. A villager walking by stopped to laugh, as if to say "you are doomed".  The taxi driver scanned the road ahead with his eyes, took a deep breath, and went for it.

I genuinely felt bad for the driver and his car as it stalled out repeatedly and slammed down on the jagged rocks, only to go over a two foot drop into a huge puddle moments later. The road went on like this for seemingly forever. At this point, we were miles away from any civilization and the foggy road only grew narrower. Had it not been for the headlights, there would have been only pitch darkness. All the while, there was a constant stream of American music streaming through the radio. Will Smiths, "Getting Jiggy With It", played through the radio, acting as a constant reminder of home as we drove further and further away from anything familiar to us.

Our fear soon grew into senseless laughter. With each bump in the road we held our breaths and upon conquering it (hardly) we would cheer out, only to have the headlights, seconds later, reveal a far more daunting obstacle ahead. Michael, seated in the front, would follow up every one of our chants of encouragement with the line, "famous last words".

This picture does the road justice.

After an hour or so of going on like this, we finally arrived at our destination. Grateful that the driver had sacrificed his taxi for us instead of  kicking us out five kilometers back, we tipped him kindly.  We all watched as the taxi pulled away for the long journey home, leaving us in nearly complete darkness. There was a glow of a lantern perched on a bar several feet away. Everyone that worked at the lodge, we would soon learn, was fast asleep. The only people in sight were four drunk stragglers playing pool by the bar.

Wittle Puppies by the bar. I loved them.

Donavon, a 35 year old South African man would act as our impromptu guide and bartender for the evening. He had purchased several bottles of whiskey before the bar closed, which he rationed out to us weary travelers as he told us his fascinating life story. Fascinating may even be an understatement... if that is even possible. 

Donavon, a regular at the Green Turtle Lodge, designs and builds mines all around the world, but predominantly in Africa. Back in South Africa, Donavon owns and lives on a wild life farm. When I asked him whether or not he had any lions on his farm, he informed me that he does. Not only does Donavon have lions on his farm, but he also has an eight month old pet lion living in his home with him. You can imagine my excitement when I learned of this.

As the evening came to a close, Doavon kindly showed us to our wet tents where we would be spending the evening. As I lay in my tent, with only a towel beneath me and a mosquito net as a poor excuse for a blanket, I listened to the roar of the ocean. I kept thinking with the sound of each coming wave, that this would be the wave that swept up the beach and engulfed my tent. I must have fallen asleep at some point, though it never felt like it.

Our tents in the light of day.

Upon awaking, I got my first look at the area. It was truly beautiful in spite of the rain. I found my way to the bar, where I gladly gobbled down some eggs and toast. This was my first meal in the past 24 hours and boy did it taste good. For whatever reason, the bread in Ghana is amazing. 

Even with the rain, we all made the most of our day. Some splashed in the water, while others walked up and down the beach discovering neighboring villages. It was never really about the destination anyway; it was about the Journey. As night fell, we all cuddled up to the bar were we socialized with the rest of the travelers at the lodge, most of which were in Ghana doing community service. There at the bar I met yet another fascinating man. This 30, or 40 year old man, Carlos, had ridden his motorcycle all the way from Madrid to Takoradi. It is amazing the people you meet in your travels. Everyone has their story.

After having a huge bonfire on the beach, I called it a night and headed for bed. We had a long journey back to Accra to make in the morning. At 6am our taxis arrived at the lodge. The tired bunch of us piled in and braced ourselves for the long ride back to the bus station.

Donavon tending to the fire he made us. 

Upon boarding our bus in Takoradi, we found that there was a man preaching at the front of the bus. Initially, I assumed that this man was just trying to sell something to the people on the bus prior to its departure, but when the bus pulled away from the "station" the man was still on it, preaching away. The man continued to preach and sing for an entire hour and a half! The people on the bus really started to get into it too! I was shocked. Was there a Sunday mass really taking place on a bus?

When the man finally finished up, I turned to the young Ghanian man next to me and asked if every bus has a preacher on Sunday. I was shocked to find that most buses do. The man then turned to me and asked bluntly "do you believe in god?". I paused a moment before responding with a safe and honest answer,  "I don't know what I believe, but I hope to know someday". The man nodded, taking it as an acceptable answer. I breathed a sigh of relief, as the man preaching moments ago had said with fire and passion that, "NO atheist will ride this bus!". A few moments went by and then, all of a sudden, the man seated next to me turned to me and said, quite simply, "I hope you find God in Ghana".

I loved that he said that.

A Night Spent In The Oceans Mist

A little soccer in the Church Crescent (one of our dorms) court yard prior to a night of fun on the beach.

We made our way to TAWALA for Wednesdays Reggae Night at around 10:45. After all getting scammed by a man, posted out front pretending to work for the bar, we finally made it in for some good music and good times.

If only you could see the waves crashing up on the beach behind me! Instead, it looks as though it is snowing due to all the sea mist in the air... The waves actually looked like they were going to eat me up. Some waves came so far up the beach that everyone would dart up the beach for higher ground, which few were able to fit on. None of us left with dry feet. It was truly an experience.

None of my pictures came out because of the mist, but I was trying to get a picture of the huge fire that was going on the beach...

P.S. Telling the locals that I was married was a quite effective tactic!

Welcome to My Bobst

For those of you that have never feasted your eyes to the NYU library in NYC, below I have posted a picture of the infamous building that many of us NYU students call home during finals season.

Bearing the above photo in mind, you may now feast your eyes on the NYU Accra library which I posted a photograph of below.

Dear lord, the contrast between these two facilities is remarkable.

Gargantuan vs. homey

And, oddly enough, both still very functional.

I will tell you one thing, it is much easier to get a librarians attention here in our Accra library :)

Adinkra Symbols of West Africa

Everywhere you look in Ghana there are symbols. Driving down the road one notices that buildings are adorned with symbols. These same symbols are found in the art work the Ghanians make and even on the plastic chairs that we have in our academic center. Today, after returning from the Accra Mall, where I went food shopping, I noticed that the chocolate I had purchased had a heart like symbol on it.

I have come to learn that these symbols are the Adinkra symbols of West Africa. Each symbol represents different things. This one, for instance, is called the Sankofa and it denotes learning from the past.

There are a number of these symbols, but the one you see around Accra most often is the Gye nyame which denotes the supremacy of God.

Gye nyame- The supremacy of god 

DAME-DAME

The symbol of intelligence and integrity 

DWENNIMEN

"ram's horns"

symbol of humility together with strength

The ram will fight fiercely against an adversary, but it also submits humbly to slaughter, emphasizing that even the strong need to be humble.

HYE WON HYE

"that which does not burn "

symbol of imperishability and endurance

This symbol gets its meaning from traditional priests that were able to walk on fire without burning their feet, an inspiration to others to endure and overcome difficulties. 

SESA WO SUBAN

"Change or transform your character "

symbol of life transformation

This symbol combines two separate adinkra symbols, the "Morning Star" which can mean a new start to the day, placed inside the wheel, representing rotation or independent movement. 

ANANSE NTONTAN

"spider's web"

symbol of wisdom, creativity and the complexities of life

Ananse, the spider, is a well-known character in African folktales.

Last, but not least, my personal favorite.

ODO NNYEW FIE KWAN

"Love never loses its way home"

symbol of the power of love

Where the Streets Have No Name

In August 1987, the world renowned rock band, U2 released their third single off of their album The Joshua Tree. The song was entitled "Where the Streets Have No Name" and was meant to be a commentary on the idea that one could identify anothers religion and income based on the street that one lived on.  The lyrics were written by Bono about the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, but they seem to apply to a large number of places around the world... except for Accra.

Here in Accra, even if a street has a name the chances of it being labeled, or known, are about zero. What Bono did not think of, when he decided that he wanted to go to a place where the streets have no names, is that it makes if very difficult to get, or give, directions to anywhere! Everyone here uses land marks to get around, which I have found to be a very difficult system. Telling someone to take a right where there is a lady selling plantains can be quite problematic... turns out there is more than one women selling plantains in our area.

The idea that wealth and religion can be identified by the street one lives on is lost here, or at least in my mind it is. In my experiences here so far I have found the city of Accra to be much like a patchwork, made up of a number of religions and socioeconomic statuses. On a single street you can have the poorest of the poor living next to a beautiful fenced house. Even the financial district of Accra has slums scattered in between the modern big banks. 

The picture below is of an area called Osu. This street I photographed, which has no name, is the main drag in Osu. I have found this area to be one of the more modernized areas in Accra, but even here a nice restaurant may be located next to a dingy shack. 

Don't Freak Out Mum

The man that places this lovely python around my neck reassured me that "Pythons don't have teeth". Well, if this were true, which it is not, it did not matter much due to the fact that pythons kill with constriction...good thing it is around my neck...

P.S. Can you tell that I am freaking out? That little bugger was licking me. I was pretty flustered. Olivia on the other hand seems to be quite entertained...

Beach & Brunch

It is official, my summer has come to a close. While I am sad to put what has been such a great and memorable summer in my past, I am ready for classes here in Accra to begin. "Wait, you mean we have to take classes here?! ...oh yeah".

 Today, in order to bid farewell to the summer in style, we went to Osu for a delicious brunch and then made our way to the beach for a day of fun in the sun. 

The beach that we went to, called La-Pleasure Beach, was in fact quite pleasurable. The beaches in the Accra area are very different from our beaches in the states. There is far less swimming, due to the fact that the ocean is used as a public restroom... to an extreme. Also, people do not lay out on towels at the beach. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the Ghanaian people are not exactly trying to get a tan. Secondly, there are fly eggs in the sand that are looking for a prime place to hatch... human skin apparently is pretty prime. GROSS. I am freaking out thinking about it...AH.

....Ok, now that I have scrubbed and inspected my skin seven times over, I think I can continue.

So, if you can not swim and you can not lay out on the sand, you may be wondering what it is that one does at the beaches in Accra. Well, when you arrive at the beach parking lot, you pay GH 5.00. Once you walk onto the beach, you are greeted by a man who drags tables, an umbrella and comfy chairs over to which ever area you choose. Once you are settled, you are hooked up with a waiter who will bring you drinks and food if you decide that you would like such things. 

Besides for the bar service, there are a number of self employed individuals trying to make a buck on the beach. There are men and woman that come up to the tables and try to sell things that one would find in the markets. There are men with horses that are selling rides up and down the beach. Lastly, there are entertainers that put on shows and ask for donations.

Everyone on the beach also finds ways to entertain themselves. There are people playing soccer everywhere you look and many of the players have impressive foot work. Others, dance along to the music that they have blasting from the bar. Some talented individuals manage to dance and play soccer all at once. This makes for great people watching, which is my favorite activity. 

Above are some NYU students playing soccer....I mean football.

Above are a group of men putting on a show in hopes of making some money. They were very talented and super bendy. They would give the NYC street performers a run for their money. 

What I Will Not Be Eating In Ghana

US $25.00

US $8.10

I could go spend GH 8.00 on a full meal, or I could buy American Pancake mix... rough.

A Day In The Market

Today we dedicated our day to shopping in the markets, which was a truly remarkable experience. The majority of us were out to buy fabric to give to our tailor, who is coming to our dorms tomorrow. A large number of the people here in Ghana have their clothes made for them by tailors. As students who stick out like sore thumbs, we try our best to do as the Ghanaians do and fit in as best we can. The tailor takes our measurements and our design (one of mine is shown above) and makes the clothes out of the fabrics we bring her. Today I purchased three yards of the two fabrics above for GH 4.00 a yard. The fabrics here can  be relatively expensive, as they are one of the only things that you can't really bargain down. The mask, also in the picture above, I was able to bargain down from GH 20.00 to GH 4.00. That should give you an idea of how much you can typically bring down a price in the market place. Although, the man that sold me that mask did say "I give only you this mask for GH 4.00 because you are my wife". 

The market was full of beautiful stuff. The art market that we went to in particular was very impressive. There were wooden carvings of elephants, giraffe and all sorts of animals, as well as many masks. The paintings for sale were also very impressive, I will certainly be coming home with a number of those. I wanted to buy so much, but decided I would come back another day when I had more time and more patience. It is quite overwhelming being an american girl in the market place. There was not a single male, or female that did not try to get me to come into their shop. Some men went as far as to physically try to pull you into their shop. 

One trick I found was effective for the shop keepers was to extend their hand at you, gesturing for a handshake. I found it harder to walk away from the men that were trying to shake my hand and introduce themselves, than to walk away from the ones that just called to you.

All of the shop keepers were very kind and fun to have banter with, but after ten minutes I found that my patience was running out. The NYU staff keep reminding us that you have to have patience to live in Ghana.... Don't they understand that I live in New York City most of the year? Patience is so not my strong suit, so this will be a great learning experience. 

Several things in the market place freaked me out a whole lot. In the areas on the outskirts of the market food is sold. When I say food, it is not an americans idea of food. There are live GIANT snails for sale, as well as women walking around with giant tubs of uncooked hacked off pigs legs on their heads. The pigs legs were really what got me....I genuinely thought they were bloody human limbs until I noticed a hoof.  It is pretty safe to say that I will not be eating any of the foods sold on the street. One other thing that I found particularly disturbing was the newspapers that advertised prostitution. There was nothing subtle about these particular newspapers, and as a female I was horrified by the graphic and grotesque images that were printed on the front page. Although, I don't think you would have to be a female to be horrified by these images.

Prostitution is illegal in Ghana, but it is not enforced. The police force recognize it as a way to make a living and sympathize with the women, allowing them to walk the streets and work the bars, as well as publish newspapers with their adds. 

Despite the moments that I felt uncomfortable in, the market was an over all great experience. You have to take the good with the bad and learn from it all. That is what this experience is all about. I can't wait to see what else is in store for me here in Ghana.

And I Thought Balancing a Book On My Head Was Impressive

If The Heat Wasn't Melting Me, This Puppy Was!

Today, as we pulled into the lot of a huge art market, these two boys caught my eye. Well, it was not the boys that caught my eye, but rather the precious little pups they had in their hands. The boys could clearly tell from the over enthused look on my face that I was a potential buyer. Seeing this, the boys ran after our bus and waited for us to step off.

The boys were asking GH 7.00 per puppy, which is about $5. Although they did got these puppies off the side of the road, so they are at no cost to them. I wanted to buy the puppy I am holding below so badly, it took all I had to hand the puppy back to the boys.

Sharmalee and the puppy.

I don't care how god awful I look in this picture...I am holding a puppy and hence everything is right in the world. It is a good thing that I got all those rabies shots because there was nothing that could have stopped me from holding that cute little thing... 

Coming soon!

Stay tuned for: Baby Animals the Ghana Edition.

There are so many baby animals running all around Ghana. It is my mission to collect pictures of them all and dedicate a blog to their cuteness. This wittle kitty was across from our table at dinner. I keep trying to convince the RA's to let us keep them, which usually goes over about as well as the time I asking my dad if we could keep the coyote in our back yard.

"Bring out your dead!"...in style.

Can you guess what these giant wooden sculptures are?

Coffins!

In Ghana they believe that you should have an extravagant coffin in death to mirror how you lived in life. I am down. Someone carve me up a baller coffin! 

What would you have your coffin look like?

(Taylor, I refuse to let you be buried in a Diet Coke bottle...Sorry)

P.S. Who would want to be buried in a Nike Shoe? I could get down with a Christian Louboutin stiletto... Sign me up for that. 

Bokko

In Accra, when someone wants to ask "how are you?" they say "wo ho te sen?", which is directly translated to "your body feels how?". My favorite response to this question, as there are a few, is to say "bokko" which means you are cool and that everything is perfect. For the most part, that is quite true for me. Ghana is amazing and I have not even been here a week!

Today we traveled to an art museum to check out a plethora of african art. What was so cool about this particular museum is that everything in the museum is for sale. Not only is the art for sale, but it is pretty affordable. If I were not a broke college student, I would have loved to buy everything on the walls... instead I settled for a postcard sized print of one of my favorite pantings.

One of my favorite pieces of art work. This giant canvas was priced at around GH 3,000 and GH 4,000.... and the US dollar is the equivalent of GH 1.5. What blows my mind is what I am about to show you below.

The whole piece is made of threadlike yarn! I can not even imagine how long that took! 

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things!

THE ENTIRE WORLD SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FANICE! FanIce made its way onto my list of favorite thing the moment I ripped it open with my teeth and the contents touched my lips. It is like ice cream cake in a pouch...YUM. Be jealous. 

Ashesi University...The School in the Sky.

This is Ashesi Universities court yard. We as NYU students have the option to take classes at Ashesi, although the drive there is brutal. I felt as though I was on a roller coaster ride as we made are way up a hill and through a village on a road that consisted purely of pot holes. Pretty crazy trip, but the views from the top of the hill are breath taking and the school itself is brand new and beautiful.

I am excited to add this to my arsenal of quotes. "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now".

Wow... Welcome to Accra

Today at orientation we were blessed enough to have a previous mayor of Accra (also a professor of one of my courses I intend to take here) come in to talk to us about the history of Accra and also to take us on a tour around the city.

Accra started as a small village with a very strategic location. Due to the fact that geographically Accra had very few resources, it thrived off the fact that it was strategically located for trade with the west coast. Below you will see a photo of an old dutch slave traders home, one of the few thats original structure still stands...well sort of stands. Due to erosion over time, as well as earthquakes, the structure no longer has a roof and many of the walls on the opposing side have crumbled. the structure itself is built out of the rocks that the dutch kept at the bottom of their ships as a tool to weigh down and steady the ships on their way over. When they arrived to Accra, the rocks were removed from the ships and the weight was replaced by human cargo, more commonly known as slaves.  The wall you see, just behind the little boys, makes a circle in which the slaves would stand as they were auctioned off to buyers. It is safe to say that it was an emotional place to be standing so many years later.

The house now serves as a home to a large Ghanaian family, who really just look to be squatters there. The two little boys that greeted us as we entered were just the cutest things in the world. They pranced around jumping up and down around our feet while in a sing song voice repeating the phrase "How are you?", clearly all they knew how to say.

This little guy grabbed onto my skirt and followed me as we were walking out, singing over and over "how are you?".
I melted.

From the back of the dutch slave house this was the view. There is a large fishing community in Accra, as you can see. The boats are all on the shore because it is tuesday and tuesdays are set aside to worship the god of the sea and mend fishing nets.

Day Bakko (one)!

After getting settled into my room yesterday evening, I took my first stab at sleeping in my new bed. Now I can sleep pretty much anywhere, so this bed will pose no challenge for me, but DAMN is it loud. You can not move an inch on this bed without the wood boards below it creaking like WOAH.  Had I been tired this would have been a non-issue, but I was not…so it goes.

Feeling slightly home sick and frankly overwhelmed by this huge and sudden change in lifestyle, I found myself wide awake at 4am. It was hopeless for me to try to return to my slumber, so I made the most of it. God knows there is nothing like a nice P90X core synergistic and ab ripper work out to start your first day in Accra!

As I stood in my room dripping buckets of sweat from my work out ….gross, I realized just what a pain in the ass it is to not be able to drink from the tap. #thirdworldproblems. All I wanted to do was dive at my sink and guzzle some water before collapsing onto my floor, but NO. I had to run downstairs and grab a bottled water from the supply NYU was kind enough to give us for our first week… How much is tuition again?

After talking to two of my favorite loves from home on facebook chat (thank god for the internet and facebook chat), I grabbed myself my first shower in my rooms bathroom. I could not have been more pleased, in fact thrilled, that when I turned on the hot water heater it actually worked. I am sure that will be short lived, but I will cross my fingers.

At just about the time I was getting out of the shower, the sun started to come up, so I grabbed my book and went outside to sit and welcome the morning. I was not the only one welcoming the morning it turns out. There was a chorus of roosters making it known that the sun was up and that it was time to get your ass out of bed. 

Later, I enjoyed myself a nice breakfast of toast. There was an array of different kinds of fresh baked bread in our kitchen. I went with a slice of banana bread and mixed fruit bread…neither of which taste like one would expect. I learned the hard way that the toaster here takes less than 30 seconds to toast something. Leave it to me to nearly burn down the place on my first day here…typical. 

After listening to a pretty epic sounding stray dog fight outside, we departed for our orientation at the academic center. Orientation was pretty intense, there is a great deal of information to take in and not a whole lot of time for the staff to prepare us to be on our own. Our attempts at learning Twi are pretty pathetic…

The whole group of us, which is about 38 or so in total, all enjoyed a great lunch of Ghanaian food and then began the long process of purchasing cell phones. Saying it was a long process it really an understatement, even for a group of tech savvy students, these cell phones were quite the struggle.

By the time we were done getting everyone settled with their new phone, it was time for dinner, which we enjoyed at a local restaurant that NYU set up a meal plan with.

Tomorrow is an 8:30am start, so it is off to bed for me! Fingers crossed I don’t wake up at 4am again…arg.

P.S. Embrace this constant stream of blogging mom, as I am sure it will not last long. Soon the fun starts :)

The view outside my window... interesting. There is a rooster hiding somewhere in there.

Our dinning area and lounge on the first floor.