Life is finally starting to return to normal after my brother’s 2 and a half week visit. I just wanted to get my side of the story straight before he told too many people the wrong version…my side will make him look like a much bigger sissy and me look like I haven’t been sick for almost 4 weeks…I may include a few white lies!
So his plane arrived April 27 and I felt like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting for him, must have slipped my mind that he bullied me my first 18 years of life. When I saw him I gave him the biggest hug and just didn’t want to let go. But I eventually did and he got to hear my Ghanaian English for the first time (slow broken English that is a language all on it’s own) as a bartered over a few measly dollars for a taxi. On to the Swissrest Lodge we went where Griff had a chance to meet some of the PCVs that I had been going on about for the past 8 months, including a PCV who had been robbed just moments earlier in a drive-by laptop snatching. Ironically enough we ran up stairs to drop our things and unpack a laptop my brother had brought for my counterpart before taking a few PCVs out to forget the recent robbery. While unpacking the laptop I got to peak at all the gifts and goodies Griff brought from family and friends, talk about more stuff than I knew what to do with. We found the laptop and mess of cords that went along with it and took it down stai
rs to meet its excited new owner, Jonathan. Griffin was about to experience his first real taxi ride when 6 full grown men and me all squeezed into a small taxi that can’t comfortable hold 4. Egan and Ryan were cracking me up the whole night trying to convince Griffin that they were gay just for the hell of it, Jonathan (my Ghanaian counterpart) and his brother were enjoying hanging out with a crowd of white people in Accra, and then the owner Duncan came over and insisted that all new customers have to visit Greece. A 15 minute walk later we were all in Greece, a brafel that he invites new friends to take apateshie shots at. Griff wasn’t a huge fan of the apateshie shot but it was the smoothest I had ever had in Ghana. A few hours later we all headed back to the hotel and everyone had successfully forgotten the robbery.
Day 1 of our trip began mid-morning as we leisurely left the hotel, deposited all of my brother’s money into my bank account(I just have skills), repacked our bags at the PC office, and headed to Kofiridua to meet up with Jacquie and Carolyn. It was on our 3 hour tro ride that I began to feel sick, the general I don’t feel good but I don’t know what’s feeling bad that I’m beginning to learn to live with in Ghana. A short side note, last week I was sick for my first time in Ghana, vomiting and diarrhea at the same time…a newly acquired skill since I came to this country. Regardless, we made it to our meeting point where Carolyn drug us through some alleys to this smelly scummy sitting area that is said to have the best fried rice in town. I wouldn’t know because I wasn’t feeling well enough to eat, I would assume that it wasn’t the best though because Griffin bit into his rice and broke his tooth on a rock. We left Kofiridua to go to Kukurantume, the village Carolyn lives in for the evening. We went to her counterpart’s house for Griffin’s first dinner of fufu, he liked it…for the first 5 minutes and then he grew tired of it quickly. We went hom
e after dinner and Griff got to take his first bucket bath in Ghana, lets just say he sounded like a 5 year old girl shrieking every time he had to put a scoop of cold water on himself. It was hilarious! We slept on mats on the floor, but it was still a great night’s sleep.
Day 2 of our trip was interesting…we woke up and Carolyn made up pancakes with real syrup that her parents sent. I’m sure Griffin didn’t appreciate it, it was the first pancakes I had had in 8 months. We headed back to town to meet up with Jacquie and Niall. I was feeling terrible still so I sat at a spot while Griffin and Jacquie ran to the bead market to shop for my Mom, and Carolyn went to meet Niall at the station. By the time they returned Griff was about tired of me being sick, he told me, "suck it up" so I did my best and we headed off to catch a tro tro. We climbed in the back row of the tro and headed to Kumasi. Griffin was on one side of the seat, a Ghanaian woman was between us, and I was on the other side of the seat, I started feeling real sick on the drive so I stuck my head out the window to vomit. This was the point Griffin realized that I was really sick and I couldn’t "suck it up", I don’t know how but I managed to make it out my window and some how it came back in and to the other side of the tro and I got him…I’ll just let him think I did it on purpose. Griff gave me a shirt of his because I managed to get sick on myself as well as his, the smell of a shirt washed in American detergent was the only thing that kept me from getting sick again…for the whole 4 hours we had left! Well I’m sure you don’t want all these details! We made it in to Kumasi and went to the sub-office, I made Griff a garlic and egg sandwich for dinner and he loved it. We enjoyed running water and long showers after our long day on the tro.
Day 3 I let Griff sleep in and I made him another egg sandwich because he liked the first one so much. After he finished breakfast I taught him to wash his clothes by hand. We headed to town and I showed him the market in Kumasi, he wasn’t a fan of the market or the fishy smells. Next we did some shopping for dinner that evening and then headed back to the sub-office. Griff wasn’t shy to let me know he was bored…still! A warning to all PCVs with family visiting, it is difficult to catch back up to Western time. I made black beans and rice and actually bought some real cheddar cheese to top off the beans, it was amazing.
Day 4 was relaxing for me; we stayed at the sub-office all day because Griff needed to be around internet to take his last college exam. It was a one hour timed online exam so he spent the afternoon studying. He started the exam and with his luck the power went out, luckily the generators came on without the computers ever shutting off. He finished his exam and we packed up so we could head out early the next morning.
Day 5 we headed out early with more egg sandwiches in hand…he is my biggest breakfast fan, he doesn’t want anything else. We went to the station in Kumasi and then caught a tro to Techiman. 3 hours later we arrived in Techiman and meet up with Chris and Terri and had lunch at our favorite lunch spot in training. Griff and I had groundnut soup and rice balls, my favorite Ghanaian dish…he liked it and his teeth stayed in tact. After lunch we walke
d through the market in Techiman, most of the pictures in the blog are of the market trip...I forgot to upload all of my pictures to my jump drive when I left for the internet, guess you will have to wait till next time. The picture to the left is of the juju section, dried up animals mainly, crazy! Next we headed to Terri’s house and meet up with Ashley, Katrina, Ira, Travis, and Jon for a big Terri made dinner AKA- amazing!
Day 6 Griff and I headed out at 6:30 a.m. to meet my homestay family who lived 30 minutes away from Terri’s house. We were there by 7:00 and they were so excited to meet him, I told them his Ghanaian name was Quame Griffin, meaning Tuesday born. My homestay father, Ansu, loved it and must have said his name Quame about 50 times. They insisted that we eat breakfast before we left, so we didn’t make it out till 8:30. We were back in Techiman meeting up with the group at 9:00 to head to Fuller waterfalls. We got on a tro for about 30 minutes and meet up with Jeremy, a PCV near the falls and we got to swim and climb the falls all afternoon. Griff brought this water proof, shock resistant, camera and was playing with it like a 5 year old. He ended up tying his camera to a balloon and floating his camera down the falls. The falls turned out to be his favorite part of the trip. We had canned corn beef on crackers for lunch at the falls, it looked and smelled like cat food, but for some reason it tasted amazing. We made it back to Terri’s that evening for dinner and some well needed sleep.
Day 7 we left Terri’s at 8:30a.m. to head to the station to catch a tro to Wa in the Upper West Region. We made it to the station and the car to Wa had one seat left, but we were 2 so we had to wait for the next tro to fill. We ended up having to wait for 10 ½ hours! We didn’t end up leaving until 7:30 that night, and we didn’t sleep at all on the tro because it was a bumpy dirt road the whole way. Griff kept a small Ghanaian girl from crying the whole trip with a laser light he had brought. We made it to Wa at 2:00 a.m. and took a taxi to the lodge that we stayed at. Exhausting day, but I’m glad he was able to experience an average day in Ghana, I hate to think of how many hours I’ve spent waiting for tros to fill.
Day 7 we were up and moving by 8:00 a.m. and decided with Gray, Erin, and Alicia that we were going to go to the hippo sanctuary. We went to the station in Wa and got a tro to the village near the hippo village about 3 hours away. By the time we made it there we were all red from the dusty road. We paid to spend the night in a platform in a tree, we bought food to cook for dinner, and we paid for the taxi to the village. 20 minutes later we were in the small small hippo village, a 20 minute walk after that we were getting in a canoe on the Volta River. We rode in the canoe for about 30 minutes and were convinced that ever rock we saw was a hippo. We were so excited when we actually saw a real hippo in the wild, well 8 hippos to be exact. The canoe was about 50 meters away and we sat for about 45 minutes just watching them. About 4 or 5 of them opened their mouths; it was just amazing how huge these animals were. We canoed back, and then walked to our tree house, we made spaghetti for dinner, then we went up to the tree house. It was a platform about 40 feet up with very steep steps to get there; we had mats to sleep on and mosquito nets to sleep under. We listened to music and played with a laser before we went to bed.
Day 8, I slept great, Griff didn’t! We headed out at 8:00 a.m., back to the village away from the hippo village, then we got in the back of a truck that held 30 people total for 3 hours. We made it back to Wa in the early afternoon and went back to the lodge that we stayed at 2 nights prior. One room is $7 so we decided to be cheap PCVs and share 1 room for 5 people. Griff and I were interviewed by Alicia while Gray and Erin went to a meeting for an HIV/AIDS bike ride they are planning. We ate Tized for dinner, a traditional Ghanaian meal for the Upper West.
Day 9 was long! Nobody got any sleep because 5 people in a small bed just didn’t work, but Griff and I left at 4:00 a.m. to head to Bolga. We made it in to Bolga around 1, Blake meet us at the station and we headed to Congo to have Pito, a home brewed alcohol in the North, and cat for dinner. The cat was really good, almost sweet tasting…but not much meat! I still can’t believe I ate cat, I love cats!
Day 10 we left Blake’s house at 8:00 a.m. and headed to Bolga. We went to the craft market in Bolga because Griffin was on a quest to get face masks and everyone said Bolga was the best place to get them. We got to the market and Griff went crazy…he started talking Ghanaian English and haggling like a pro…I was in total shock! He was wonderful at it, he got some amazing deals. He of course went over board, bought a chair, a table, and at least 15 masks. I finally pulled him away from the market and Blake, Griff, and I headed to the crocodile pond in a small village about 30 minutes away. The taxi took us straight there, we got out and paid money to take pictures with the crocodiles. The pond was surrounded by a fence, we walked over to the pond and our Ghanaian guide made a whistle sound and about 8 crocodiles came out of the water. They picked the biggest one and we walked around the crocodile to the back and the guide told me to pick up the tail. I grabbed the tail and Griff started taking pics, the guide just walked away and left me there with the crocodile. The crocodile started to move while I was holding its tail, so I calmly asked the guide, "what do I do?" He just told me to follow it! So I followed it while I was still holding its tail. Eventually it stopped and everyone finished their photo op. They fed a crocodile a tiny chicken we had to buy for 3 dollars and then we left. We were probably there for about 30 minutes max, but we all really enjoyed it. Griff tried to convince our guide to let him wrestle one, but he didn’t go for it. We went from Bolga to Tamale and got to the Tamale sub-office that evening. Kim cooked us an amazing dinner, spaghetti with real meat in the sauce.
Day 11, it’s hard to believe he has been here this long! We relaxed at the TSO that morning and ate French toast, I started getting sick again at about this point…Griff and I both had the runs and we ate Imodium like candy. Around noon we left foe the station to catch a tro to Mole National Park with Blake, our luck…only 1 seat was left. We never made it to Mole. I suppose it was a good thing though, we were all so exhausted we looked forward to another night at the TSO. Everyone thought we deserved another good meal so we went to a restaurant and ate pizza in Tamale.
Day 12 was another relaxing morning at the TSO with French toast again. We lounged and packed slowly, we had a bus to catch at 5:00 p.m., and over night, air conditioned bus to Accra. So we made it to the station at 5, and the bus didn’t show till 6, and we didn’t leave till 7. I loved the bus ride! Griff didn’t love the bus ride; he thought it was too cramped. We made it to Accra at 5 a.m. and took a nap in our hotel. Griff had an appointment at 11 to have an old hernia looked at, he managed to not only hurt his tooth but to also reinjury an old hernia surgery. I found out he could have the surgery redone in Ghana for only 200 bucks, compared to the 2000 it costs in the states. We made the doctor appointment and then got lunch and Griff went to shop for some more masks.
Day 13 we finally headed to my site! A 5 hour tro to Takoradi, then a 3 hour tro to my market town, then a 20 min to my village. We made it in around 3 p.m. and I took him for a short tour of my village. He met my landlord, like my Ghanaian Dad, Ateiko, who loved Griffin and was so excited to finally meet him. I made us Mac-n-Cheese for dinner, 2 boxes that took every ounce of strength I had to save for his visit. We were both still so sick neither for us could finish dinner. We unpacked all Griff’s bags and dug through all the goodies he brought. Thank you to Mrs. Cueto for the slim jims, treats, and med stuff that always comes in handy, thank you to Terri for the good book, music, sweets, and fruit roll ups, thank you to Mrs. Pfleuger and my class for the rice crispy treats and lip gloss, thank you to Michele H. for the tons of beef jerkey, thank you to Mom and Dad for everything you sent…and just to set the record straight you have all succeeded in making me the most spoiled volunteer in Ghana, by far. Thank you for my birthday gifts and for thinking of me so often. A big thanks for Griffin also, for coming to visit and for hauling all of the stuff you hauled for me! Back to the trip…
Day 14 we had a relaxing morning and Griff’s new found favorite breakfast, garlic and egg sandwich. We went to Beyin about 15 minutes away on a tro and then took a canoe out to Nzulezo, the stilt village. When we came back it was about 2 in the afternoon. We went straight to the Beyin Beach Resort so Griffin could meet me good friend Nina and Patrick. We had a pizza for lunch, the ham and pineapple pizza, Griffin’s favorite. We stayed in the nicest room there and slept like babies on the soft beds. Unfortunately we had to leave at 5 a.m. to make it to my site to repack and head on to Accra. We spent all day traveling back to Accra and made it in by the early evening. I was once again feeling sick all day.
Day 15 we woke up in Accra and went to Griffin’s dentist appointment, a filling in Ghana only costs $25. After his appointment and the nearly 2 hour wait we went to lunch with Erica and Chad. Sunshine salads, one of my favorite places in Accra! We went back to the hotel and packed up Griffin’s bags, I tried to sleep off my sickness while Griffin walked back to take one final look at masks. At 6:00 p.m. we loaded up and headed to the airport! It was hard saying good bye but I was looking forward to getting back to normal.
Turns out that evening I went back to the PC bunk room and I came down with a temperature of 104.5 and a serious chest infection. I started hallucinating and my limbs started to go numb. The next morning I went to the doctor and ended up spending over a week in Accra. I had to get 4 shots in my bum…let me tell you they were the most painful thing in the world. Thank goodness Erica was also in Accra for the week for physical therapy so we got to hang out the whole time. I finally made it back to my site last week. Let me tell you it feels so good to be home. I’m finally getting used to the lonely feeling again; I’ve had time to replant my garden which was very dead when I came home. I think it should make it this go around; we are deep into the rainy season now. It rains every day for several hours. I am planning to buy 2 rabbits next week and get my rabbit ranch going again. My landlord’s cat has had 2 kittens so I get to watch them play all day. The rainy season has also filled our well again so the kids are coming by to draw water, I love seeing them when I leave my room. Best of all, I am back to teaching all my students! Hopefully I can have my beach clean up competition soon and the HIV/AIDS soccer tournament soon after.
I hope everyone is well back home, I miss you all dearly! Mom, congrats on the new car…I bet you are one hott mama driving around in that convertible. Griff, good luck on your move to Texas, and thanks again for visiting me! I had a blast! Tess congrats on finally making it out of Cocoa Beach High! Good luck with college!
Oh, and sorry for the lack of pictures...like I mentioned I forgot them all at home. I will post some of the real good ones next time I'm at the internet...probably 2 to 3 weeks.
Spring is in full bloom in Ghana, rainy season has begun, little babies are running around all over, and bright flowers are blooming everywhere. The best part about spring in Ghana is it marks the beginning of mango season. I probably eat 3 or 4 mangoes a day and they are stacked up on the sides of streets for sale all down the road. the ocean has been "spoiled" according to the villagers, nobody has been fishing for the past 2 months and from what I hear they won't until July. I've been attempting to swim and I admit it's been tough. I can stand in water to my knees with wavers hitting over my head. The waves are huge and the rip tides are strong. I won't be sad when the waves and tides ease up! The fisher men have been repairing their nets for the past 2 months and they are ready for the tight season to be over.
Scared-cat. Scared-cat has a home waiting when he is old enough, he will live with one of my Ghanaian friends, Azaneboah. Azaneboah has named him Lucky and wants to keep him to remember me by.
focusing on my work in Ghana and living for the moment. Work has been going great, after distributing the 10,000 copies of the brochure I made last year for the stilt village, Nzulezo. (These pictures are Nzulezo, the stilt village and some of my friends that live there) 
This year I created 5 different posters to promote new attraction in my area and my NGO has just made 4,000 copies of them. Our most famous attraction is Nzulezo, a village built on stilts above the Amansuri Lake, which is protected by Ghana Wildlife Society, my NGO. You can take a 1 hour canoe ride from Beyin to the village on stilts. There is also the Meandah crocodile pond which you can continue to from Nzulezo an additional 15 minutes. The crocodile pond has a boardwalk nature trail that is 500 meters long. Last time I was there I saw a mona monkey swing across the trail on my walk to the observatory on the crocodile pond. The last time I went to the crocodile pond I 
stayed the night there to research the crocodiles. The Amansuri wetlands is home to long snout, dwarf, and Nile crocodiles. (To the left is a terrible picture of me at the crocodile pond) We are also promoting a new visitor center at a village called Ebonloa. Ebonloa has a nature trail and is located on the Amansuri Lake as well so you can go to Nzulezo from Ebanloa too. In addition to Ebonloa you can see akepteshie distilleries and learn how the local people brew the local gin. Then there is the sea cruise, taking hand crafted wooden boats with an outboard motor 1 hour to sea and returning. Whale season will 
begin soon and you can actually see the whales jump from the shore. Another of our att
ractions is For Apollonia, a trade castle that was also used during the slave trade. (The picture to the right is Caitlin, Sarah, and I on a cannon outside of the castle. To the left is the inside of the castle.) Well you can imagine with all the attractions I'm staying busy. Our project was originally funded by the Dutch government, when that contract ran out the French decided to fund us. Our French funding ended this month and they just visited this week. We are hoping the French Ambassador will continue the funding after the visitor center in Ebonloa opens at the end of June. Oh, I also made post cards for our attractions and we printed 1,0000 copies that we are selling in our gift shops. I will try to send some out to my friends and family. I guess that about wraps up all the work I've been doing for my NGO. I am also working on building latrines for my village in my free time, which I haven't had much of. I will keep you posted on the latrine project as it continues.
