First Week of Work

So we had out first week of work. Kind of. Monday was a holiday and we didn't have to go to work today. Tuesday was cool because we got to attend a review meeting with all the girls education officers of the 18 northern districts and hear about some of the challenges and good practices. Hopefully soon we will be going to visit the districts, although that depends on fuel availability etc. we have moved to a different guest house and still don't have a place to stay, but I think we will end up staying at a guest house for the whole time.
Some of the other interns who are in other communities in the north are visiting this weekend so that will be fun! Really we've only known each other for 3 weeks, but they're like our family here because we all spent so much time together so we miss them! it'll be fun to hang out for the weekend.
Also for everyone who makes fun of my love for crossword puzzles, at one of the girls camps they held, they had the girls do crossword puzzles to improve their vocabulary and critical thinking. So I am vindicated!
I am definitely looking forward to doing some field research since there is not as much for us to do in Tamale. But we go tot look over some of the regional reports and have already learned some interesting stuff. There are some definite barriers for girls, but it's cool to see some of the initiatives that are taking place.
Also, there is a walk for the World Food Programme to raise money for them, and Patrick and I got invited by our boss, so that should be cool.
I hope everyone is well!

Pics

This is the courtyard of our guest house in Tamale. Our room is on the north.













This is the edge of the main market in Accra

















This is me on the beach in Accra

May 25th

On Friday Patrick and I sort of had our first day. We got picked up at 9 am and went to the regional office for the Ghana Education Service (GES) and met a few people including one of the women who works in the Girls Education Unit. There is a very small office with 2 desks for the 2 people in the girls education unit and it seems like Patrick and I are going to work in there with them. It is going to be a tight squeeze. Then Akwasi (the coordinator for WUSC) took us to meet some bigwig in the GES who had stayed home ill with what was thought to be malaria. I say what was thought to be, because everyone going into the hospital is basically treated for malaria and people say it is the most over diagnosed disease going. They prescribed him some antibiotics and sent him home. I felt so rude barging into his house, but he was nice.

There was a volunteer house that we were supposed to be able to live in, and it would’ve been perfect. It was close to the office, and the new football stadium which was built for the 2008 African Cup of Nations (Ghana was the host). Unfortunately, the last volunteer who lived there trashed the place and made it basically unlivable. Apparently she had lot of cats and never cleaned up after them and was just terrible. We were supposed to be able to go in and look at the house, but no one could track down the keys. Everyone was shocked that a volunteer could come somewhere under the pretense of cooperation and show such disrespect to the people she worked for and what they have given her. So it’s really too bad that this didn’t work out. We are going to be guest house jumping for the next 9 days, and then at the TICCS guesthouse we’re at now there is a permanent residence called the White House and a room is becoming available on June 2 so we’re supposed to live there. So at least I’ll be able to say I lived in the White House for 2 months! I am really looking forward to being settled in and I really hope we have access to a kitchen. We did in Accra, but not at this guest house. And it’s getting hard eating restaurant food all the time. We all just want to make some food for ourselves.

The other day I walked down the street and bought a pineapple and a mango for breakfast which was delicious and fresh.

I don’t know exactly how hot it gets here, but in room, we had a thermometer for s bit, and it was 32 degrees out of the sun. And the air conditioners here are usually set between 28-30 degrees and it feels so cold compared to the air. Yikes!

Yesterday we went down to a leather tannery in the southern part of the city, which was really neat. We paid the guys there a few cedis and they took us around and showed us all the different steps to make the leather. They dry it and soak it and take the hair off and then soak it and stretch it a few more times and then dye it and soak it and stretch it some more. They had it quite well set up for tourists actually. There was a guide that would explain to us all the different steps and then at each stage they had a piece of leather at that stage that they could show us on. There was this mixture of water and cabbage and some other plants that when you soak the skin in it, the hair just scrapes right off. It smelled kind of funky, and I know a few people were feeling a little queasy and turned off, but I always like to know where things are coming from. At the tannery, they make some really beautiful sandals so we are all getting some made which we will pick up on Tuesday.

It has rained 2 nights in a row now, which is nice because the weather is much cooler when it rains. This weekend is a long weekend because it is Africa Day on Monday. Not all countries in Africa celebrate it, but Ghana does and so Patrick and I will officially start work on Tuesday.

The development industry is VERY obvious here. There are signs everywhere for cooperatives and development agencies and tons of cars are branded by the organization they have been donated by. There are quite a few westerners as well. And we’ve seen a surprising amount of support groups for disabled people, either for employment or just for support. I was pretty impressed with that.

May 26

Today Patrick and I went and bought a hotplate, some cutlery and some pots so we can finally start cooking for ourselves! It’s nice because we have been eating out at restaurants the whole time, which is expensive and kind of a pain. We just made some soup and it was sooooo satisfying! I’m excited to start work tomorrow. Our office is a 35 minute walk from our guest house, so it’s convenient enough.

Hanging in Tamale

Hey everyone. Thanks for the comments that people have been sending! nice to hear from everyone since I know I am lazy about checking people's blogs. Its nice to know peopel are reading mine! Here is a super long description of our time in tamale so far that I wrote earlier today. Patrick and I were supposed to start work today, but we never made contact with our country coordinator. So I think we'll start tomorrow.

The guest house we’re staying at is really nice. We have fans and air conditioning which has definitely come in handy for some of us. There is a library that has some really interesting books, some gardens which are really pretty and a bar/restaurant that serves burgers and pizza and such. There is also a good restaurant near by that serves all sorts of good food. I had a falafel sandwich today which was yummy. I’ve gotten in the habit of buying water in bags. It is purified and much cheaper than bottles water, and I have to drink soooo much of it to stay hydrated. I’ve already gotten a sunburn (even with SPF 50). The sun is so ridiculously hot, but it is less humid and there is a breeze which is nice, so it’s cooler in the shade. I also have lots of bug bites (my bug spray has 30% deet). Actually, all my bug bites are swelling up so much and so itchy. Two of them in particular had some puss which was really gross and I think one of them is infected. Oh well. Such is life.

Yesterday we went into the town which was pretty cool. We went into the market which was much less intimidating than the market in Accra. This city as a whole is a lot more relaxed and slow moving than Accra and I think I like it better. A bunch of the girls bought some really nice fabric and we’re going to have some traditional outfits made for us by local tailors which will be really cool. Then we went out to lunch. There is a low of rice here and it usually either is fried, or has some sauce and sometimes meat that you mix in. The traditional food is fufu and banku which are both maize paste which are made into balls and dipped in soup.

After lunch we went to the National Culture Centre which was basically just a market with a lot more crafts. I bought a beautiful painting and a mask. I’m such a shopper so I have to remind myself that I’m going to be here for 3 months and I don’t need to get everything now.

Me and my roomie for now (Jessica) made a HUGE faux pas. We were walking through the market and there was the square of concrete that was blocked off with stones that was a muslim prayer centre and from what I understand you can’t wear your shoes in it, and I don’t think women are supposed to go in at all. Well imagine how well it went over when 2 white girls walked right into it. Some guys yelled to us and we came out and apologized profusely. Yikes!

This town is mainly Muslim, although the guest house we are staying at right now (at the Tamale Institute of Cross Cultural Studies) is run by a Catholic church and we’ve seen a few Christian churches. There isn’t really much conflict here about it though. Everyone is quite religious here, but no one cares what religion you are. On the way back through town, it was one of the Muslim prayer times and it was really interesting to see. There were a few mosques that had loud speakers that were blaring the prayers and at the prayer centre that Jessica and I walked through there were rows and rows of people praying, while the market and the hustle and bustle kept going on around them. It was neat to see how the religion fit into, and didn’t disrupt, the rest of the city.

The architecture here is very different too. A lot of the houses are made out of red mud around a frame of sticks and branches with thatched or grass roots. There are also a lot of stone buildings.

So things are mostly going really well. I'm excited to get started on my placement though.
I'm just going to post some pictures too.
Take care everyone!

Tamale

So we finally made it here! The bus ride was way less bad than everyone told us. It took 12 hours and it was air conditioned and comfortable. Although there were no bathrooms. We saw some cheesy Nigerian movies which involved violent hostage situations and then one Romeo and Juliet esque love story and imagine my surprise when one of the characters showed up in an old third flames jersey with the horse head! I was shocked! There is a big used clothing market here so you see a lot of ppl with American or Canadian clothes.
Tamale seems cool so far. The guest house we're staying at is awesome. I don't have much time, and i'll try and post some pics and stuff later. Just wanted to let people know I'm here and we're exploring the city today!
Oh and also we went to the beach, shopping and to the national museum in our last few days in Accra. Take care everyone!

Some pictures

WUSC office in Accra

I tried to upload some other photos, but the internet is so painfully slow, that I think I will call it quits. I'll try some more later.

End of Week 1

Hi everyone,
We finished our training and finally got a better idea of what we will be doing in the field. I am really excited about my placement. Patrick and I have different mandates than the other volunteers. We are doing research and evaluation type stuff. My mandate is to research girls clubs and good practices in starting them, training them, what they can be used for and their effect on the community. I’m really looking forward to it, because I think these clubs will have a big effect on girls and their families. Patrick is looking more and community based organizations, but I think that both topics are really neat. We are supposed to find out what has worked, and what hasn’t and the limitations and recommendations to improve the programs. We are also dealing with most of the Northern region (there are 10 regions in Ghana, which are like provinces, and 3 northern regions). But that’s cool because we’ll probably get to travel around and visit some other towns, and hopefully visit with the other interns.
We are heading up to Tamale in Monday morningand the bus ride can be anywhere from 9-14 hours. Apparently it is unsafe, uncomfortable, and they don’t stop very often so you can’t really pee. The good news is that its air conditioned and Kafui (one of the ladies who works for WUSC) said it might be too cold for us. Phew!

Also we went into the city yesterday to check it out and it was pretty crazy. It rained a bit and we split into 2 groups, but it was really cool. My team went to the Makola market, which is the biggest market in Accra. It was pretty crazy. Apparently its supposed to be the best market for beads and fabrics, but we were mainly in the food section. There were huge snails, live crabs, pigs feet and just about any kind of fruit and vegetable ever. It was super busy, a lot of hustle and bustle. It was really overwhelming at first. We didn’t get to see much of the rest of the market.
Then we found our way to the National Cultural Centre where we had some lunch and met some guys who make drums. After we finished eating they brought us around to their drum shop and they taught us how to play some simple drum beats which was really cool. The drums were beautiful and I kind of want to get one made. The guys were a little forward, but pretty cool. Then we went to the Nkrumah memorial and monument which was really neat. Nkrumah is their national hero here and they call him the founder of the country, so it was really interesting.

I'm excited to get up to the north, but again, I don't know what our access to internet will be like. We will not have wireless so we'll see. But my cell phone is cheap.
Take care everyone!

Hi everyone
I can't write too much. But I just wanted to let everyone know that I bought a cell phone! Exciting! I feel so high-tech since I don’t even have one in Canada. It was pretty cheap and pay as you go which is super nice. If anyone misses me enough to want to call me (or text me, which is cheaper!) I think incoming phone calls are free for me (this is what I’m told although I’m not sure if I believe it) and the number is complicated because it’s international. I think it is

011 – international number

233 – country code

24 – area code

706-6039 – my phone number

so 011-233-24-706-6039.

Take care!

Hi everyone! I made it to Ghana in one piece. I wrote this last night but had no internet to post it so here it is.

May 12 11:15 pm local time

Wow. What a day. I guess it was a few days. First we took a bus from Ottawa to Montreal. Then a flight from Montreal to Amsterdam, where we had a 6 hour layover, and finally a flight from Amsterdam to Accra, the capital of Ghana. All in all, from the time I left the apartment in Ottawa to the time we got to our accommodations in Accra, the trip took about 30 hours. I think. I only slept for about 4 of them so my math might be way off. I can’t believe I’m here. When we landed, I felt totally out of my element and it really started to sink in that I’m in Africa. It’s crazy to think that yesterday I was watching Seinfeld on the couch with Tom and now I am on the other side of the planet. The trip went fairly smoothly. On our first flight I didn’t sleep at all and the movie didn’t look good but I was sitting next to 2 interesting people so that was nice. Then when we got to Amsterdam we found this swanky lounge with leather recliners and dimmed lights. I had such a good sleep and then I slept most of the flight to Accra so that was nice. The food wasn’t great, but my tummy was also feeling yucky, so that might’ve had something to do with it. It is such a relief to be here. Although I feel overwhelmed right now and a little scared.

We landed in Accra at about 6:30 and the sun was long gone (day light is from 6am-6pm) and it was still 30 degrees and crazy humid. Walking off the plane felt so weird. We walked off a huge plane right onto the runway where we took a bus to the terminal, which was about 100 metres. Weird. We got picked up at the airport.

We are staying at a guest house that is close to the WUSC head office (World University Service of Canada). It is really nice and more than I was expecting. I have my own room with a double bed, a TV in my room and my own bathroom. That’s better than Ottawa! Except no internet, and no running water at night. and my shower doesn't work. So after such a long trip, I would’ve liked a shower. But that’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow we are supposed to sleep in, but my body is on such a weird schedule, I don’t know if I’ll be able to. Then we are going to the WUSC office. We have 2 days of training on Wednesday and Thursday and then there are a few of us heading to the North of the country and that will happen on Monday. There are 10 interns right now, most form OttawaU, 2 from Waterloo and then one from Uvic. I feel a little lonely but its nice to have people around. Oh and how could I forgot the most embarrassing the terrifying thing that has happened so far? I locked myself in my bathroom for a few minutes. The lock got stuck and I’ve had a terrible fear of being locked in bathrooms, stemming I think from the fact that this happened to me a few times when I lived in Scotland. Soooo emabressing! Anyways, so far things are pretty crazy, but I’m looking forward to getting more settled in.

May 13 12:30 pm local time

So here I am at the WUSC office where the have Wifi. So hightech! I have som pics, but I will post them later. Too much else to do. I'm feeling a little queasy from the heat/humidity/jet lag and maybe breakfast didn't sit too well either. It is soooo hot here and everyone tells us its going to be way hotter in the north. At least it won't be so humid. Anyways, I better get going here, but take care everyone and I’d like to hear from any of you if you have the chance!

Pre-departure

Hi everyone!
As many of you know, I am going to Ghana (west Africa) for 3 months this summer for an internship. I'm going to be in Tamale, which is in the northern part of the country, to do research on girl's education. I think there will be 4 of us from University of Ottawa in Tamale working in the field of girl's education. I'm leaving on May 11 and will be traveling with a master's student named Patrick. I'm glad that I'll be flying with someone because I've never traveled somewhere for so long. I'm really excited but kind of nervous too because I have lots of stuff left to do.
Before we depart, we were required to do 4 days of pre-departure training, which we finished yesterday. In the training, we talked a lot about culture shock, and how we have to be cognizant of our roles and behaviours as westerners coming into a different culture. I think it will be really important for me to keep that in mind in order to adapt to the local culture and cooperate with our local partners.
Anyways, for anyone who is interested, I'm going to try and update this blog with stories and photos and much as I can so feel free to follow along.
I'd also be happy to hear from everyone while I'm in gone! E-mail is probably the best way to reach me but I'll update you on my address or phone number.
Until next time!