Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Update:
Hannah is still away from the internet; however, we have talked with her and she is doing well. She will be leaving Ghana on Friday, May 22nd at 10:00 AM and will be back in Lexington after midnight. It sounds like she has lots of Ghana stories to tell...
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Just so you know
It turns out that we will be meeting the KING of the Central region (Ghana still has a strong traditional political system) on Satruday. Originally we were going to Kumasi (another city a little further North) until Friday night and then come back to Accra until Sunday when we were going to leave for the Volta region (a very lush tropical region to the North West that has a monkey sanctuary, and water fall) until Monday. Now we will be leaving Kumasi on Friday but instead of coming back to Accra we are going to go to the Central region to meet the King on Saturday (he is throwing a party for us?...long story which I have yet to fully understand but it sounds awesome) and from there we will go straight to the Volta region. This means I may not have access to the internet until Wednesday. My Mom MAY (or may not) be able to reach my Ghana cell so she MAY be able to give you updates. But for any worry warts don't freak out if nobody hears from me for awhile, no news is good news, and I am still going to be with the whole group.
Here are pics of the fabrics i bought! I will add pics of the dresses when they are made.
Here are pics of the fabrics i bought! I will add pics of the dresses when they are made.
Umm, so yeah, I forgot my camera again. I will remember to bring it!!
Hi everybody,
So for those who are concerned about the lack of pictures once again, and probably are now convinced that I actually lost my camera (cough, cough MOM) I have not. I failed to mention that on Sunday I went to a market in Medina (a neighboring town) and since pick-pocketing is always a concern in any market anywhere, I was careful to only bring the things I really needed (aka my camera). I carefully placed my camera in my suitcase where it wouldn't suffer any damage, but where I would also not see it sitting around and remember to place it in my bag again. So yeah now that that is out of the way...
Yesterday, I went and bought fabric for two dresses I am having made!! In Ghana it is generally cheeper to buy fabric and have clothing custom-made. Fabric costs about $3.00 (5 cedis) a yard and then a tailor costs between 6 and 9 cedis per article of clothing depending on how complicated the design is.
So for those who are concerned about the lack of pictures once again, and probably are now convinced that I actually lost my camera (cough, cough MOM) I have not. I failed to mention that on Sunday I went to a market in Medina (a neighboring town) and since pick-pocketing is always a concern in any market anywhere, I was careful to only bring the things I really needed (aka my camera). I carefully placed my camera in my suitcase where it wouldn't suffer any damage, but where I would also not see it sitting around and remember to place it in my bag again. So yeah now that that is out of the way...
Yesterday, I went and bought fabric for two dresses I am having made!! In Ghana it is generally cheeper to buy fabric and have clothing custom-made. Fabric costs about $3.00 (5 cedis) a yard and then a tailor costs between 6 and 9 cedis per article of clothing depending on how complicated the design is.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Weekend continued continued...
Saturday:
So on Saturday we went and visited another slave castle, this one in Cape Coast. Cape Coast and the castle were governed by the British. The Cape Coast slave castle was structured nearly exactly the same as the slave castle in Elmina just a little smaller. Interestingly the merchants outside the castle saw one girl in our group eating a cereal bar and offered to trade her jewelry for food, a girl in the group was able to trade a small bag of trail mix for at least 5 cedis worth of jewelry.
Afterwards we went to the Slave River. The Slave River was the place where captured slaves would take their last bath prior to reaching the slave castle and therefore their last bath until they reached the nation where they were going to be enslaved (maybe a year later). The Slave River was extremely powerful but what also hit us hard was that as we were leaving the slave river a group of kids from the local rural village came up and began begging us for pens, pencils, books, and paper. Of a group of maybe a dozen children only one asked for money, all of the others wanted school supplies or food. The basic things children here ask for always hit me hard and remind me how fortunate I am that I have never had to worry about having writing utensils for school beyond sheer forgetfulness.
Sunday:
Sunday morning I went to church with my host family. I was there for close to 4 hours although it did not feel nearly as long. The contrast between their "hymnals" and those I am used to was vast. Instead of feeling uncomfortable being seen slightly swaying from side to side during a song in the US I was self-conscious when my host brother invited me to come dance with him and a large proportion of the congregation dancing in front of the pews or even just dancing at my seat. It was so much fun, and the music was fast paced, and energizing. One could really feel the holy spirit, and everyone was smiling, laughing and joyful. I do not mean to bash churches back home, but coming from the "frozen chosen" of the US Presbyterian Church the contrast was different though both certainly have their pros and cons. The sermon was good, it was on the importance of mothers and being a good mother (it was Mother's Day). The pastor brought up his observations of the difference in family structure between Ghana and Western states (he went to seminary in the US) and out of nowhere said that maybe the abruni in the crowd would answer questions about this observation afterwards if members had questions (nobody did which I was rather relieved about, though he is accurate in stating that differences exist). They do offerings by day of the week one was born on since they are attempting to build a new church (right now they have Sunday school classes beneath the frame of the church being built). Essentially it becomes a competition for which day of the week will donate the most, Mondays (including me) took third. The congregation and the pastor started laughing when they saw me going up to make a donation and again when they asked all visitors to rise. I certainly was the white elephant in the congregation. All of this was in good humor though. Several members of the church came up afterwards saying things like "Adjoua (my Ghanaian name because I was born on a Monday) I love you my sister". The sense of community, warmth, and acceptance here is refreshing.
So on Saturday we went and visited another slave castle, this one in Cape Coast. Cape Coast and the castle were governed by the British. The Cape Coast slave castle was structured nearly exactly the same as the slave castle in Elmina just a little smaller. Interestingly the merchants outside the castle saw one girl in our group eating a cereal bar and offered to trade her jewelry for food, a girl in the group was able to trade a small bag of trail mix for at least 5 cedis worth of jewelry.
Afterwards we went to the Slave River. The Slave River was the place where captured slaves would take their last bath prior to reaching the slave castle and therefore their last bath until they reached the nation where they were going to be enslaved (maybe a year later). The Slave River was extremely powerful but what also hit us hard was that as we were leaving the slave river a group of kids from the local rural village came up and began begging us for pens, pencils, books, and paper. Of a group of maybe a dozen children only one asked for money, all of the others wanted school supplies or food. The basic things children here ask for always hit me hard and remind me how fortunate I am that I have never had to worry about having writing utensils for school beyond sheer forgetfulness.
Sunday:
Sunday morning I went to church with my host family. I was there for close to 4 hours although it did not feel nearly as long. The contrast between their "hymnals" and those I am used to was vast. Instead of feeling uncomfortable being seen slightly swaying from side to side during a song in the US I was self-conscious when my host brother invited me to come dance with him and a large proportion of the congregation dancing in front of the pews or even just dancing at my seat. It was so much fun, and the music was fast paced, and energizing. One could really feel the holy spirit, and everyone was smiling, laughing and joyful. I do not mean to bash churches back home, but coming from the "frozen chosen" of the US Presbyterian Church the contrast was different though both certainly have their pros and cons. The sermon was good, it was on the importance of mothers and being a good mother (it was Mother's Day). The pastor brought up his observations of the difference in family structure between Ghana and Western states (he went to seminary in the US) and out of nowhere said that maybe the abruni in the crowd would answer questions about this observation afterwards if members had questions (nobody did which I was rather relieved about, though he is accurate in stating that differences exist). They do offerings by day of the week one was born on since they are attempting to build a new church (right now they have Sunday school classes beneath the frame of the church being built). Essentially it becomes a competition for which day of the week will donate the most, Mondays (including me) took third. The congregation and the pastor started laughing when they saw me going up to make a donation and again when they asked all visitors to rise. I certainly was the white elephant in the congregation. All of this was in good humor though. Several members of the church came up afterwards saying things like "Adjoua (my Ghanaian name because I was born on a Monday) I love you my sister". The sense of community, warmth, and acceptance here is refreshing.
Long Weekend continued..
Friday continued...
The Portuguese are not alone in their terrible actions that occurred at Elmina Slave Castle. The Dutch governed the castle for over a 100 years. Being Dutch Reformed they tore down the steeple of the Portuguese church and converted it into a room where they bought slaves from local slave traders, and eventually a classroom I think. The Dutch built their church directly above the female prison. We also visited the governors quarters. His living quarters were just for him (and those he invited to join him) and were larger than the prisons that 150 slaves were forced into.
Afterwards we went to a restaurant that was built above a crocodile lagoon. The food was good but the atmosphere was incredible. There were trees full of vibrant yellow birds, and we could see some crocodiles swimming around the water beneath us. After lunch one of the staff lured a crocodile out of the lagoon and onto the ground where we could touch its tail! I have pictures of me touching it on my phone...urg...I will post them tomorrow!
Then we continued on to the National Park. We went on a hike through the semi deciduous rain forest (that leopards live in) and a botanist pointed out various trees and plants and told us their unique qualities including medicinal value. The trees in general seem so much larger here, but the trees in that forest were some of the largest I have ever seen. There was one HUGE tree whose buttress you can pound with your fist and it echoes for miles and miles. Apparently the natives used to use it as a method of communication between far away villages like natural morse code. At the end of the hike we got to go on a canopy walk (AMAZING PICTURES WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW). The canopy hike consisted of 7 suspension bridges (very Indiana Jones style minus them falling apart). Though I am not scarred of heights and felt very secure I still got a huge adrenaline rush since the bridge swings back and forth. It was so much fun.
We spent the night in a hotel in Cape Coast (another costal town that neighbors Elmina) which had air conditioning!!
Saturday:
Oops we're on our way to lunch. I'll try to post even more later today
The Portuguese are not alone in their terrible actions that occurred at Elmina Slave Castle. The Dutch governed the castle for over a 100 years. Being Dutch Reformed they tore down the steeple of the Portuguese church and converted it into a room where they bought slaves from local slave traders, and eventually a classroom I think. The Dutch built their church directly above the female prison. We also visited the governors quarters. His living quarters were just for him (and those he invited to join him) and were larger than the prisons that 150 slaves were forced into.
Afterwards we went to a restaurant that was built above a crocodile lagoon. The food was good but the atmosphere was incredible. There were trees full of vibrant yellow birds, and we could see some crocodiles swimming around the water beneath us. After lunch one of the staff lured a crocodile out of the lagoon and onto the ground where we could touch its tail! I have pictures of me touching it on my phone...urg...I will post them tomorrow!
Then we continued on to the National Park. We went on a hike through the semi deciduous rain forest (that leopards live in) and a botanist pointed out various trees and plants and told us their unique qualities including medicinal value. The trees in general seem so much larger here, but the trees in that forest were some of the largest I have ever seen. There was one HUGE tree whose buttress you can pound with your fist and it echoes for miles and miles. Apparently the natives used to use it as a method of communication between far away villages like natural morse code. At the end of the hike we got to go on a canopy walk (AMAZING PICTURES WILL BE POSTED TOMORROW). The canopy hike consisted of 7 suspension bridges (very Indiana Jones style minus them falling apart). Though I am not scarred of heights and felt very secure I still got a huge adrenaline rush since the bridge swings back and forth. It was so much fun.
We spent the night in a hotel in Cape Coast (another costal town that neighbors Elmina) which had air conditioning!!
Saturday:
Oops we're on our way to lunch. I'll try to post even more later today
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
