Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Our apartment

My adventure in Ghana


Finally! I know you all have been waiting to see our place. Sony found a two bedroom flat in a quiet neighborhood outside the city and close to his family. There are 3 other places within the complex. Our neighbors are nice. I have pics of all the rooms in the house. It is a nice starter place for a couple to live in. If I was staying longer, it would be really nice to fix up the place. Click on photo to access photo album.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Trip to Volta Region (Eastern part)

What a roadtrip I had!  I know back home, lots of people love to go on road trips for the weekend and they are enjoyable.  In Ghana, it is a different story.  Sony and I were off to Kpando, a town close to the area where I was at last year working in the orphanage.  We left at 3pm.  About 20 minutes into the journey, the bus had a problem.  The driver chose not to listen to anyone on the bus, and he kept driving slowly.  We did stop for a few minutes to see what to do.  The driver did not want to change buses.  So he kept on driving.  Then it started to rain heavily.  The window beside me had a small leak and I was getting wet.  Sony moved to another seat so I could sit in his.  We got to Tema, a small town, and that was it for the bus.  We waited almost 2 hours for another bus to come.  The bus finally came and we were on our way. We arrived in Kpando at 11pm, 8 hours after leaving. The trip was suppose to be 4 hours.  The next morning we headed to the orphanage, which was closed.  The area was celebrating Farmer's Day, so a lot of places were closed.  Our next stop was visiting my host mother.  She was pleasantly surprised to see us.  She told us the orphanage is now a school (children have to pay fees) and there have been no volunteers since I was there.  It was not good news to my ears. Afterwards, we left to go and visit Sony's brother in a town called Ho, just over an hour away. We travelled by taxi, so it was quick and there were no problems.  We spent a few days with his brother before heading back.  We took the City Express this time.  It is a newer van with air conditioning and does not stop along the way to final destination.  It only costs $1 more to travel in than the regular tro-tros.  It was well worth the extra money.  We got home in 3 hours.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Black vs. White

I saw a white guy riding a bike in my neighborhood a few days ago! I know it sounds weird, but it is exciting everytime I do see someone white in the area I live. There are not too many. I get the calls Oburni, Oburni which means white person. Some wave and say hi, tell me I look beautiful. I even had one guy tell me he wanted to marry me.....ha ha ha.....One time, there was a group of 3 girls and they said Oburni, good afternoon. I said Bebeni (means black person in the local language) to them and they were so surprised and had a good laugh. When I do go into town, I see so many white people, and I stare. Crazy. It makes me feel connected. There are quite a few that live here. The Ghanians are very friendly people. Some even try and help me with the local language. I try and go to the same kiosks (fruit stand, veggie stand, etc.) and get to know the ladies that way. I do miss the mix of people back home.