This past weeked a couple of us decided to hang out in Takoradie, a city on the western coast of Ghana. After work on Friday, I hopped a tro-tro and got on an STC bus to Takoradie. THe ride took about 5 hours. The bus was pretty nice- air conditioned and everything. When we got there it was already dark so we thought against going exploring in the strange town, so we just watched Spread with Ashton Kutcher which was a pretty good movie. In the morning we went straight to the beach. It was sooo nice and sooo clean and we were the only ones there. After swimming we went to lunch at one of the hotels on the beach which was really really good :) Then we went and explored the market. Unlike in Accra where there are stands and vendors EVERYWHERE selling stuff, in Takoride, people only sell stuff in the central market. Its a HUGE circle in the middle of the city. Its a lot cleaner and more organized than the ones that I have been to in Accra. Also there werent any tro-tros in Takoradi so we had to take taxis everywhere, and there was no traffic which was a huge change from Accra. When we were in the central market there were these 6 guys that all came out in jump suits with huge backpacks on and a hose thing coming out of it... I thought that it was the ghostbusters Im not kidding. But they stood on different road dividers and a ton of people swarmed them and got into a line in front of them. Turns out they had coffee that they kept warm in the big packs on their back so they would just fill up cups with the hose and people went wild for it... it was so weird. After the market we went to the harbor and saw all of the big ships :) That night we went to a club for dancing. After dancing for like an hour the power went out so everyone went outside and people blasted the music in their cars and we all continued dancing :) SOOO FUN! After that we went home and slept and left for home in the morning.
Monday, teaching at school was boring. The ICT teacher was writing the exams so I basically did nothing and left at noon. Then He told me it would be the same thing on Tuesday so I didnt have to come in til Friday... but then I found out theres no school on Friday because its a muslim holiday... so I guess I really didnt do much at my internship this week. Next week I'll just be correcting exams and then my internship will be over.
I have been using my spare time to write my papers. I have two done and one to go. I gave my presentation on the first one so thats over with. We also took our Twi test and the teacher let us use open book (such a joke) so im sure we all got 119.5% :)
Other than that have just been working on Thanksgiving. We got everthing together Tuesday night and started cooking Wednesday night when we ran out of gas... lol figures we are cooking for 30 people and the gas goes out. We had to wait until this morning to get more gas. I dont think there is any way that dinner will be done today lol. Hope everyone is used to Ghana time :)
Im getting really really excited to go home! Less than three weeeeekkkkkkssssss :)
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Teaching ICT has been a little more intersting. They called in some computer techs to try and fix the computers so classes were cancelled for a few days and I just sat around feeling useless because I dont know how to make computers work lol. They ended up fixing 6 of the computers so we uploaded some software on them and then finally I got to teach with more than one working computer. It was glorious... unfortunatley the children dink around with the computers and push random buttons and click things that they shouldnt and by the end of the first day there was only one working computer left... and all that was working on it was Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing... in Spanish. Some kid switched the languages and now we dont know how to change it back because everything is in spanish. Needless to say we are now constantly trying to refix the computers instead of teaching the children on the one working computer... same shit different packaging :) The kids are preparing for their exams so we are mostly reviewing the stuff that we have been teaching them this semester. I also had to watch kids get beat with a computer cord/plug because the teacher couldnt find his cane- it was horrific and i never want to have to sit through that again- i felt totally helpless and taken aback!
This week we went to the mall a couple of times so that i could find an outfit for my birthday. The club that we decided to go to has a dress code and none of us brought party clothes or shoes so we all went shopping (the girls). It was so fun and after a full day of shopping we all had gelato (the best icecream EVER). It was like being back home and it made me kind of homesick :( We also stopped at the mall and saw 2012 which was really good- although I wish it had more of the history of the mayan predictions and the religious references- because Im a nerd like that.
We went out Saturday night to a club in Osu called Cinderellas. It was so much fun OMG we danced from 11-5 in the morning- my feet were numb from being in heels for that long but I looked like a rockstar so it was totally worth it :p Sunday was a day of recovery for most of us so we just chilled around the house and slept a lot.
My actual birthday was so nice. Everyone came over from the Aya center and bought me a bottle of sparkling wine :) and the people in the house got me a pink cake that said "Happy Birthday Princess" and had a ton of candles and it tasted SOOOOO YUMMY! and of course there was icecream too! I felt really spoiled. I also got some sour gummy worms, a chocolate bar, and a Chelsea jersey with my name on the back :) My family also sent me a bunch of cards and pictures which made me homesick but was really nice! I def felt special and had a great birthday. I don't feel like im 22 yet, hopefully it sinks in soon.
Now its down to crunch time... 26 days left. I have to write three papers and make sure I wrap everything up before heading home.
This week we went to the mall a couple of times so that i could find an outfit for my birthday. The club that we decided to go to has a dress code and none of us brought party clothes or shoes so we all went shopping (the girls). It was so fun and after a full day of shopping we all had gelato (the best icecream EVER). It was like being back home and it made me kind of homesick :( We also stopped at the mall and saw 2012 which was really good- although I wish it had more of the history of the mayan predictions and the religious references- because Im a nerd like that.
We went out Saturday night to a club in Osu called Cinderellas. It was so much fun OMG we danced from 11-5 in the morning- my feet were numb from being in heels for that long but I looked like a rockstar so it was totally worth it :p Sunday was a day of recovery for most of us so we just chilled around the house and slept a lot.
My actual birthday was so nice. Everyone came over from the Aya center and bought me a bottle of sparkling wine :) and the people in the house got me a pink cake that said "Happy Birthday Princess" and had a ton of candles and it tasted SOOOOO YUMMY! and of course there was icecream too! I felt really spoiled. I also got some sour gummy worms, a chocolate bar, and a Chelsea jersey with my name on the back :) My family also sent me a bunch of cards and pictures which made me homesick but was really nice! I def felt special and had a great birthday. I don't feel like im 22 yet, hopefully it sinks in soon.
Now its down to crunch time... 26 days left. I have to write three papers and make sure I wrap everything up before heading home.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Question Answering Time Again
I know that I havent answered questions in a while... Im sorry- keep em coming I love them!
*Im not sure how close you can get to the anthills but Im not going to find out lol. They are like termite biting ants... its like how many licks does it take to get to the center of the tootsie pop... but instead of not knowing the answer because the people bite the sucker... the people that try to find out are the thing getting bitten by 3,3482395728972357 ants lol.
*The shacks outside of my office in the picture have corrogated metal roofs... i love the sound when it rains.
*It costs money to pet the crocs lol - i was like eff that im not paying to get my arm bitten off.
*Yes, we as white americans get stared at ALL the time... and people shout Obruni at us lol.
*Aunt Dede, I want to see you in glasses!
*I dont remember if I ate alligator or crocodile that one time on vacation... I hope it doesnt come back to haunt meeee!
*Thank you to all who say that I look good/tan/skinny/adorable/happy in my pictures :)
*Ground nut stew is actually good. I know that peanut butter and tomatoe might only sound good together to a pgnant woman- but its actually really tasty. I can't wait to eat american food again though.... i miss salad and ranch dressing!
*Yes the core to African culture is centered around food/music and dance. I love it!
*Yes, I pinch myself often and I still dont believe that I am here.
*My room still looks like a jail cell lol... its so plain!
*The marketplace is just as much for the men as it is for the women which is really weird since I know that the men back home hate shopping so much- they would really hate spending an entire day in the market- its so hot and crowded and the men have to carry everything that the women buy :)
*The canoe ride on the lake was not as good as the one on the river with the Emeotts!
*The children were leading us to the bead village in the picture of us will all the kids.
*The sphinx does have some scaffolding around it... they were doing a dig while we were there... it makes me want to be an archaeologist!
*yes mom the pic by the pyramids was for you, and yes the camel was very alive
*I take notes daily so that I dont foget ANYTHING!
*The animals is Mole are wild- they are not socialized to humans at all so we had to be really quiet on the safari- if they see you they run away... except the elephants- they charge you. The monkeys came up to the tables where we were eating and took some sugar cubes off of it so I guess they arent really as scared of humans.
*The monkeys peeled the bananas that we held in our hands and ate them- it was so cute!
*The waterfall was pretty intense so I think thats why the girls were a bit scared. It wasnt too deep and it was the most perfect temperature in the world :)
*Im not sure how close you can get to the anthills but Im not going to find out lol. They are like termite biting ants... its like how many licks does it take to get to the center of the tootsie pop... but instead of not knowing the answer because the people bite the sucker... the people that try to find out are the thing getting bitten by 3,3482395728972357 ants lol.
*The shacks outside of my office in the picture have corrogated metal roofs... i love the sound when it rains.
*It costs money to pet the crocs lol - i was like eff that im not paying to get my arm bitten off.
*Yes, we as white americans get stared at ALL the time... and people shout Obruni at us lol.
*Aunt Dede, I want to see you in glasses!
*I dont remember if I ate alligator or crocodile that one time on vacation... I hope it doesnt come back to haunt meeee!
*Thank you to all who say that I look good/tan/skinny/adorable/happy in my pictures :)
*Ground nut stew is actually good. I know that peanut butter and tomatoe might only sound good together to a pgnant woman- but its actually really tasty. I can't wait to eat american food again though.... i miss salad and ranch dressing!
*Yes the core to African culture is centered around food/music and dance. I love it!
*Yes, I pinch myself often and I still dont believe that I am here.
*My room still looks like a jail cell lol... its so plain!
*The marketplace is just as much for the men as it is for the women which is really weird since I know that the men back home hate shopping so much- they would really hate spending an entire day in the market- its so hot and crowded and the men have to carry everything that the women buy :)
*The canoe ride on the lake was not as good as the one on the river with the Emeotts!
*The children were leading us to the bead village in the picture of us will all the kids.
*The sphinx does have some scaffolding around it... they were doing a dig while we were there... it makes me want to be an archaeologist!
*yes mom the pic by the pyramids was for you, and yes the camel was very alive
*I take notes daily so that I dont foget ANYTHING!
*The animals is Mole are wild- they are not socialized to humans at all so we had to be really quiet on the safari- if they see you they run away... except the elephants- they charge you. The monkeys came up to the tables where we were eating and took some sugar cubes off of it so I guess they arent really as scared of humans.
*The monkeys peeled the bananas that we held in our hands and ate them- it was so cute!
*The waterfall was pretty intense so I think thats why the girls were a bit scared. It wasnt too deep and it was the most perfect temperature in the world :)
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