The Big 5

After some sad goodbyes I have continued my journey to South Africa! Today marks my one week here and I have already done so many things!!!!  I have been reunited with Sally, Wade and Reinette from my adventures in Paris and it feels like a dream!

PARIS PICNICS

It wouldn't be a proper reunion without picnics! Picnics defined our time in Paris, so I am expecting to have many here. My first full day in Jo-b

erg Sally, Wade and I went to Walter Sisusu Botanical gardens for a lovely first picnic. We ate way to much and enjoyed catching up. While visiting Reinett in Cape Town we traveled to Frankenbosch, a French inspired wine town, for another impressive picnic. I got to try some South African snacks at these picnics, my favorite being Beg Korn Bites which are kind of like Doritos. There is also a beef jerky kind of thing here called biltong, but it is much fresher. I tried some ostrich biltong which I'm still not sure how to feel about....

WINE

Following a Paris theme, my time spent with Reinette in the Cape Town area was full of yummy wine. On my first day we went on two wine tasting, which was a lot of fun. The second  one we went to was a wine and chocolate tasting, AMAZING! Stellenbosch where Reinette lives in considered the wine country of South Africa, and is absolutely beautiful. Rolling hills full of vineyards, with white Dutch colonial houses scattered about, and a mountain range in the background. It was hard to leave such a beautiful place! 

MOUNTAINS

Cape Point

Table Mountain View

Pencil Skirt Trek

To my surprise South Africa is full of mountains! While in Cape Town I was able to visit two of the more famous ones. After a lovely coastal drive and fresh fish and chips lunch on the water front, Reinette and I visited Cape Point. Technically it is the second most southern point of Africa, but it sure felt like you were on the edge of the world! On our way back down the mountain I spotted a wild ostrich, which may account for my odd feelings of eating one!  The second mountain visited was Table Mountain in the heart of Cape Town. We had a great time exploring the city in the afternoon then headed to the mountain for the sunset special, half off tickets, woooo! We took the cable car up the mountain and then explored! Reinette and I weren't properly dressed, but enjoyed our fashion hike. I even climbed up an off shoot to be on the edge of the mountain, all in a pencil skirt. Very proud! The views were breath taking and so was the wind!



BRIES

One thing that I quickly learned here is that South Africans looooooove to eat animals!  I also quickly learned that there is no such thing as "grilling" or a "barbeque" only Bries. My first night in Stellenbosch I learned all about how to Brie. Proper wood, the right temperature, and high quality meat are the three most important parts of a Brie. I must admit, a Brie does make for a pretty darn good meal! My first Brie at Sally's I had bacon wrapped chicken, wow yum!

CONCERTS

And to round out my BIG 5, last night  I went to see the Foo Fighters with Sally and some of her good friends. If you know me well, hard rock isn't reallllly my cup of tea (which I now love tea by the way), but I rocked out at this concert. It was funny to me, being the only American in the group, going to an American band, not knowing any of their music! I was amazed by all of the super serious Foo Fighters fans. I heard more than once last night that the lead singer was the God of rock and roll and other high praises. The concert was fun, but I was happy to get home, and have a cup of tea with a rusk (kind of like hard short bread that you dunk in tea). 

My first 7 days here in South Africa have been more than amazing! I have made the most out of each day thus far and there are many more adventures to come! I have a few days here in Jo-berg before Sally, Wade and I head out for more mountains and the beach!

Going Going Ghana!

My 10 weeks here in Ghana have flown by! My first night laying in my mosquito net bed thinking “what did I get myself into” seems just like yesterday. But as I prepare for my final days here I have no feelings of regret or uneasiness about my time in Ghana. I have truly loved every minute here after those first 24 hours.

When traveling I have tried greet the experience with no expectations or pre-judgments, but that's difficult!!! Ghana has far surpassed my expectations, but I feel that is mainly due to the people that I have met here.  The community of Global Mamas employees quickly welcomed me on their adventures and I am so thankful for that!  I have been lucky to see almost all of the major sites that Ghana has to offer, due to the companionship and advice from these people.

Coming from the Midwest I consider myself to be a pretty friendly individual, but Ghanaians take friendliness to a whole new level! From my co-workers at the officer to random people on the street I am always gaining new friends. Everyone greets you with a smile and ask you how you are doing, which makes you feel like you know everyone!

 Of course I will miss all the new friends that I have made, but I will also really miss being by the ocean. I don’t know what it is about it, but I could get used to the view.  I will miss hearing the waves in the evening and watching the fishermen on my way to work in the morning. I can sit for hours and just watch the waves.

So just as how I hope to return to Paris someday and relive my memories, I now have another place in the world to call a second home, full of warm memories (literally warm though!). 

Next stop SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Bragging Rights

Held wild monkeys, rode a motorcycle, climbed the second tallest mountain in Ghana, trekked to the highest waterfall in Ghana, and traveled 13 hours via tro-tro! This weekend is definitely something to brag about!!!

The adventure started early Friday morning, when Alicia ( a fellow Cape Coast Intern) and I headed West via tro to Peki, Volta Region. Despite some minor confusion with the driver of the Tro we made it to Roots Yard eco lodge that afternoon. Rasta Bob and his wife Jaqueline have created a lovely space tucked into the plains of the many mountains of Volta. Roots Yard is a vegetarian/vegan only lodge so I loved eating vegan again! Their tofu and soy milk is made on spot, so cool!!!! We just took it easy at the yard and enjoyed good food and conversation.

Saturday morning we headed North to Tafi Monkey Sanctuary. The village of Tafi acquired monkeys a long time ago and has been worshipping them since and more recently using them to attract tourists like me! I knew that I was about the have monkeys climbing on me, but I did not know that soon I’d be on the back of a motorcycle! When the tro dropped us, we were surrounded by motorcycles not taxis. I’ve always told myself that I’d never ride a motorcycle, but I totally change my mind. I loved it!!! Granted we weren’t going super-fast, so I felt safe, but it was so much fun! Seeing the monkeys was a lot of fun too. Our guide walked us into the jungle doing a monkey call. All of the sudden we were surrounded by a family of monkeys, I’d guess about 20. With a banana in hand I was told to stand still and wait! They just jump right up and sit on your arm while they dine on your banana offering. For the most part I felt really comfortable, but I was pretty afraid of the male of the family, he was huge! Monkey tracks and banana slimmed cleaned off I was back on the bike headed for the tros. I may have enjoyed the bike ride more than the monkeys. Then it was another 2 hours in the tro and a taxi ride to our next lodge, Waterfall Lodge. Wow what a beautiful location! The summer hut, aka outdoor sitting, had a great view of the upper falls and mountain. A great meal and new friend made, plans were arranged to hike the loop the following morning.

The Loop consists of a 6ish hour hike up the second highest mountain in Ghana (but come on it was huge!), which then leads to the upper falls, and down to the lower falls. Our trusty guide Wisdom led the three of us to the top, all while wearing flip flops! The hike was challenging but so rewarding! The view from the top was amazing, and seeing the power of a waterfall up close was truly breath taking. Tired and hungry the rest of the day was spent snacking and drinking, in the summer hut.

6 am wakeup call and Alicia and I were headed back home to Elmina. Long story short we tried to take a short cut that ended up being a long cut. I got home at 8pm last night! The longest tro-tro ride anyone can handle



This weekend was sooooooooo wonderful! One of my favorites by far! 

All time is all time

“All time is all time. It does not change. It does not lend itself to warnings or explanations. It simply is. Take it moment by moment, and you will find that we are all, as I've said before, bugs in amber.”

-Kurt Vonnegut Slaughterhouse Five

With less than a month left here in Ghana I have been reflecting a lot on my stay here and what moments in time have meant the most to me.

My stay here has given me the opportunity to allow myself to sit down with a book and just read for fun! I honestly don’t remember the last time I picked up a book, just to read. I hope that when I get back to Netflix civilization I can keep a good balance between vegging out with a Netflix original and a good book. This Sunday my roommate lent me Slaughterhouse Five and I read it that day! I absolutely loved it, and am now reading Hocus Pocus. In case you were wondering I've also read; Secretes of the Firekeeper’s Daughter, Life of Pi, Gone Girl, Rose Madder, Slaughterhouse Five, and currently Hocus Pocus.

Secondly I’ve really enjoyed getting to know some of the locals. Eli Max is hands down my best pal here in Ghana. I see her pretty much every day. We have started watching this really awful soap opera every night on her T.V. I still can’t tell if Eli likes it or thinks it’s hilarious like I do! Eli just makes me smile and I love hanging out with her. This weekend I plan on teaching her Grandma Kinder’s chicken noodle recipe and I’m very excited! One my projects at GM is to make sure that all of the Mama’s have their Fair Trade certificates and their workshops are up to date. So these past two weeks I have been traveling all around Cape, with the help of Doreen my translator/support system. I’ve been able to meet a lot of the ladies who make GM possible, and I feel really lucky for that opportunity. Around Cape I have also made friends with lots of the Rasta and chop stands that I visit for lunch. It’s nice to have a familiar face to say hello to! Lastly I’ve made good friends with some of the staff here at Elmina Beach Resort, I now have a free WiFi hook-up! But overall everyone that I have met in Ghana has been super friendly towards me! I do have a semi funny story of unkindness though;

I went to “take lunch” at a soup shop close by the office. It was my first time going by myself. I ordered fufu and light soup, which I thought would be fine! Go me! I’m eating fufu right! Nope! There was a lady cop in the shop and she says to me, “why aren’t you taking chicken(my questions mark doesn’t work...) you will die weak!” I didn’t have a good answer for her, and I left leaving her disgusted in me. May not be the best story! But it makes me laugh. She was so stern with me!

Of course there are many other things that I love about Ghana, but the last that I will mention is not having plans ever. If you know me, you know I like to plan. Here it just doesn’t happen, and I’m going with the flow! Everyone here just takes their time and lives by the moto “Don’t Rush”, which I ‘ve taken to heart. I even walk slower now!

As I continue my adventure around the world I will keep this Vonnegut quote in my mind. I will cherish all moments, but remember that I can always revisit them in my future (kinda). 

I am a Unicorn

This weekend I traveled to Ashaiman with Nick. We traveled by Tro-tro and got lucky because our tro played Bob Marely and other Rastafarian music the whole way! A nice change of pace from music that I don’t know what they are saying, nothing against the music here though! Once we got to the house I got a mini tour and we headed to the local market for some shopping. Just some back ground on this location. Ashaiman is located right outside of Accra, the capital of Ghana, and it is considered one of the poorest areas in Ghana. Global Mamas opened a location here to try and provide some income for people in the area. GM rents this rather large house in the middle of small homes and across from two huge churches (that speak in tongues!), there are over 15 locks to be locked each night...not sure that made me feel safe! The lower level is all sewing rooms and an office space. There is also a kitchen. Out back is the batiking area, where I spent most of my time. The space is covered so the ladies can work during the rainy season. Then upstairs is two bedrooms, conference room, large sewing room, and a nice screened in patio. This place is so nice compared to all of the houses I have been in thus far, it seems so strange to be built where it is! Any who Nick and I went to the market, where all eyes were on us, literally! So I joked that we should just pretend that we are unicorns so the stares will feel more worthwhile. So now I am forever a unicorn! Once we got to the market we bought some fresh muscles for dinner, which was amazing!

The second day I just wondered around the workshop and asked the ladies questions. I found that I spent most of my time outside with the Batikers. Nick was teaching new colors and stamps so I got to sit in on the lesson, I even got to try out a new stamp! It was a lot of fun hanging out with the ladies. That night we headed into Tema a nearby town for a nice dinner.

On Saturday Nick took me into Osu-Accra area to do some shopping! I got to see the Global Mamas store which was super cute! It was really cool to see all of the fabric that I am surrounded by in Cape Coast made into so many different items. The store had a great vibe to it, and I bought a few souvenirs some lucky people…..cough cough Sally. Next door was a Mexican restaurant so we decided that we needed a 3’o clock drink! I had my first Pinna’ colada, so good! This was the second time that I have been cold it Ghana, it’s a strange feeling being cold when you spend most of your time if not all being slightly over heated. We didn’t stop with the treats at drinks, we headed for ICECREAM!!!! Real ice cream, not fan-ice!!!! In case you wanted to know I got a scoop of peanut butter and a scoop of Kinder (like the chocolate bars I had in Pairs) Sooooo good! I even dreamt last night that I was eating more ice cream haha, beats the other crazy doxecycln dreams I’ve been having. Then we headed to a grocery store which was just so weird! I know I’ve only been gone for a month, but the markets are just so far from rows of organized boxed goods. Our last stop of the day was dinner at the nice little restaurant. It was great until it started to monsoon rain, and the roof leaked and we had to move three times and I was cold for the third time in Ghana. Great food, not so great service. Due to the rain we had to pay a cray amount for a taxi home, but thankfully our driver played some great jams and we had a mini taxi dance party!

I’m really glad that I got the experience of traveling to  Ashaiman, but I a so glad to be back by the ocean and palm trees! It is just so darn beautiful here, even if my unicorn spirit doesn’t sparkle as brightly. Cape is my home, and that’s a great feeling to have J

Ps. I tried Fan-yogo today. Nothing like ice cream, but a lot like frozen go-gert!

Adwoa Monday Born

Let me just start off this blog by saying that I am one lucky lady! Yesterday I turned 23 in Ghana, and my day was so wonderful!

My morning started off with balloons in the hallway and a fresh cup of coffee made by my sweet roomie Nick. Then I headed to Eli’s to grab my usual egg sandwich. Eli grabbed me for a big hug and sang me happy birthday! After being serenaded, Justine and I hailed a cab to start our adventure to the rainforest canopy walk in Kokum. Getting transport proved to me difficult than usual but in the end we made in one piece!  I forgot to mention  on the way we passed some lilies that had bloomed over night!

The rainforest was such a fun trip! We ended up doing the tour with a group of Floridians and Kentuckians which was amusing for both Justine and I to hear a southern accent. The walk way was 350 meters around and 40 meters high. Overall I felt safe crossing the forest from above, but at times I was really holding on to the rope prepping myself to fall over the edge!  No wild animals were seen, but I did spy a few butterflies and heard plenty of birds! After the walk we got lucky with our tro-tro which played Ghanaian music videos! I couldn’t realllly hear the music but the videos were pretty funny to watch. This tro-tro ride now holds the record of 25 passengers!

Justine and I arrived back in Cape and decided we were in great need of coffee and ice cream! I’m really going to miss sharing this treat with her L After I headed for a solo lunch at Baobob for a garlic mushroom sandwich, bisep ( hibiscus tea and ginger) and a great view of the ocean. On my way back to the office I ran into my favorite Rasta Daniel and purchased a beautiful painting from him. I must say it was pretty overwhelming being in the Rasta shops because everyone is yelling  out to look at their things! When I walked away they took their anger out on Daniel, which made me chuckle a little. To end my day in the city I stopped by the office to pick up a dress that I had one of the Mamas make for me! The office found out that I was my birthday and they sang to me and dumped water on me ( a tradition I guess!).

After a nice nap and cold bucket shower I headed to Eli’s for my Mac n’ cheese birthday dinner! When I got there my co-workers Nick and Laura were decorating the place and made me leave!!!! I hung out next door with Judith to pass the time. Once I was allowed back in people were starting to show up. I feel so lucky to have met so many great people in the past month. I had 12 friends at my dinner! That’s 12 more people than I expected to meet here in Ghana! The food was great of course, and it was so nice to have cheese!!!!! My last surprise was a cake that Laura had made for me, and Fan-ice that Miles got for the cake. A side note; Fan-ice is kind of like ice cream but not really. It comes in a pouch that you rip with your teeth. The vanilla is the best flavor and taste like icing. While I blew out my candles everyone sang and I got moooore water dumped on me! A very refreshing dinner haha

I went to bed feeling very loved J

Tomorrow I head to Ashman with Nick and Accra for the weekend. A new adventure each day!!!! 

Cape 3 Points& Elmina

Bed view

Reading view 

Sorry to brag but I had an absolutely amazing weekend on the southernmost part of Ghana…..on the beach! A few of the local expats and I skipped work on Friday and headed out to Escape 3 Points Eco-Lodge. To get there we had to take a Tro-tro which is like a glorified church bus. At one point there were 22 adult passengers and 1 sleeping baby. The ride was a lot more comfortable than I expected, and I enjoyed watching the passing villages. After two tro rides we (7 of us) got into a taxi and headed for the beach. Turns out our driver extremely ripped us of for our ride, but he was an interesting guy non-the less. I fell in love with the place right when we arrived. Everything on the property is made out of its surroundings. So a lot of bamboo, palm, raffia structures held together with nylon string!!!  I

Beach

My lovely hut 

decided to splurged on a personal hut which was super cute and cozy, with a great view of the ocean. The weekend itself was spent hanging out on the beach, having some drinks, and reading. I am currently reading Life of Pi, which was really fun to read while looking out onto the ocean. Our first day there we were the only guest so we had the entire beach and resort to ourselves! So cool!!!!! Before we headed out on Sunday my friend Nick and I decided to walk along the beach and find a path to the seemingly nearby lighthouse. Turns out the path was flooded but it was a lot of fun exploring the woods. We were able to walk to this cove that looked out onto the lighthouse, which was a lot farther than expected. It was such a neat feeling being on the very end of Ghana!

Today Justine and I headed to the Elmina Castel after work. What an interesting place! The castle is the oldest slave trading structure that still stands in the world, built 1479(I think)! The building has only be renovated to maintain safety which also made the visit extra special. Walking through the same halls as the Africans that were taken from their daily lives was very eerily. The rooms had a smell to them, which told that many people had lived there before. After exploring the dungeons and seeing the door of no return we were taken to the upper level of the castle which were used to house the officers and generals. Another point that must be made about this place is that it was originally built as trading space for food goods and wares, it wasn't till 100 or so years later it was used for the trade of people. Lastly the British occupied this building until 1957 when Ghana gained its independence. Such a worth while visit to a place with so much history! Before we entered the building we were hassled by some men trying to get our names for souvenirs. I forgot not to be nice and friendly and gave my name to a man. I now own a conch shell that says; To my American friend Ms.Lily Have a nice trip to Elimina Castle on October 20, 2014. From your friend Richman with his email inside. He said any donation would do and the money would go to his football team, so I dashed him some of my change. I still don’t know where my money really went!We then took a short walk up a hill to catch a great view of the city below. 

View of Elmina 

Castle from the hill

My gift

Tomorrow is my birthday and it is already planned to be a fun one! More details to come in my next post! 

Travel is Education

View at PaPa's Place

With the arrival of a new volunteer this week here in Cape Cost I was able to be a super tourist this weekend! Before Justine and I hit the road my co-workers took me to this very cool little bar spot called Papa's Place. It looks over the Castle and the coast line. I met Rasta Danielle there, who is quoted in the title of this post.

I mentioned wanting to travel north to Kumasi, Ghana to my co-worker Laura and she suggested calling her friend Kweku. Lucky for Justine and I Kewku was free for the weekend and agreed to act as our travel guide on our adventure!

Saturday

The Palace 

Peacocks...the King's dinner

After a 3 1/2 hour journey on a pretty descent highway system we arrived in Kumasi. My first impression of the city was whoa! there are soooooo many people here and EVERYONE is trying to sell something. The road traffic line are scattered with people in the street trying to sell things, then there were more people on the sidewalks! We left the congestion to head to the former Ashanti palace for a history tour. The tour was super interesting, but pictures were not allowed. One of the coolest parts of the tour and creepy parts were these wax figures of former Ashanti Kings and Queens that were very life like! But they were all adorned in

1/4 of the market

My batik!!!

real gold! Next we parked the car in the cultural center and headed through the super busy streets to go to the one of the largest markets in all of Africa. Walking there was pretty overwhelming. Kweku and no mercy for Justine and I as we practically jogged behind him as we weaved in and out of people and cars. I was so thankful to have him there once we arrived in the market, because I would have never found the fabric stalls! This market is like a city itself. SO massive and apparently always open. It is also full of pickpocketers so I didn't really take any photos. I was able to find some beautiful fabric, which I gave to a Global Mamas seamstress today to make a birthday dress for myself! After the market we at this funny little hotel restaraunt then headed to our AIR CONDITIOND hotel! This was so major! I haven't felt cold in so long haha.

Sunday

Fresh Cocoa

Kente Loom

Justine and I in tradition grab

Lake Bosumtwi

Stampin with David

Our first stop was to the first ever Kente weaving village. This village is now known for making all Kente for the King, pretty cool! We were walked through the process of weaving and got to watch the men at work. I learned that women are not allowed to weave, because they'd be out of work during pregnancy so it just  not allowed at all. We also got to see a cocoa farm and try some cocoa right off the tree! It tasted nothing like chocolate! Our next stop was an Adinkra cloth site. Here cloth stamping is done. The dye is made from a certain tree bark which is cooked down and made into a kind of paste. We got to watch this process and learn about some of the Adinkra symbols then we got to stamp some fabric! Our last stop was Lake Bosumtwi, the only natural lake in Ghana. The legend is that it was made by a meteorite. It was pretty beautiful. We stopped for lunch here and order a pizza which took over an hour to make! Kewku had to have a stern talk with the staff before it arrived. Thankfully it was pretty good, but I'm not sure it was worth the wait! Then we set back for Cape Coast.

Pizza! 

It was a lot of fun to travel a bit for the weekend, but it was also a nice feeling to be "home". This weekend I'll be headed to the eco-built beach resort! Happy birthday to me!!!!!