Brong Ahafo Exploration

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back: a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” -- Anais Nin

In the last five days, I was often covered in a layer of brownish/orangish dust, was stung by a bee, and was bitten repeatedly by tiny black ants. In spite of this disgust and pain, I couldn’t have been happier!

This journey of dust and bugs began last Friday when my colleagues Sonia and Amy S. arrived in Bechem. Amy hasn’t been feeling well, but I think getting out and about was just the anecdote she needed. My roommate helped me prepare some jollof rice and chicken for their arrival. Actually, my roommate did most of the work, and even with my efforts, didn’t really let me do much. I’m pretty certain she doesn’t trust my cooking skills, but regardless, it all turned out absolutely delectable! That evening I introduced Sonia and Amy to Father Matthew, and the entire student body, much to everyone’s surprise! After leaving Father Matthew’s house, we decided to check out the end-of-semester assembly. We tried to sneak in and chill in the back, but of course were immediately spotted and invited to the stage. The assembly was mostly just announcements and pieces of advice from the administration for the student body in regards to their month off from school in between semesters. As I quietly sat and attentively listed, a young man tapped on my shoulder and asked if I would like to offer any advice. Seems I didn’t really have much of a choice. I didn’t say much, but I would have to say that my message was well-received and likely the most memorable of the night. Midway through my ramble, I said, “Spend less time on Facebook and more time in books.” Everyone seemed to enjoy this message as chatter spread through the assembly hall with this piece of advice. After I spoke, the principal even repeated my message with a little call and response action from the students. Sonia, Amy, and I decided I should patent this message and make some posters. Sorry Mark Zuckerberg. I love Facebook just as much as anyone else, but it seems that these kids would benefit from a bit of balance between books and the world wide web.

Our goal was to tour the sights of the Brong Ahafo region, the second largest region in Ghana. Saturday morning we journeyed to Sunyani for lunch at the Eusbett hotel, and then it was on to Techiman, which was a brand new destination for us all. We managed to get into a fairly descent hotel and wandered the market a bit. Techiman is known for having a ginormous market, but we missed the popular market days for that week and only got a small preview. Our dinner was brought together by some hunting along the streets where you can buy all kinds of delicious, authentic African cuisine. We gathered jollof rice, fried yams, and fried plaintains mixed with groundnuts. A little leftover pizza on the side for Sonia and Amy, and we were all set with a few Savannahs to drink. Ede!

Sunday morning, Amy and I journeyed to Buoyem while Sonia attended church. It is about 25 minutes outside of Techiman and is called the Belly of the Rock because it is surrounded by mountains and is a quaint little place with about 800 residents. Here, Amy and I were guided to the African Rock which consists of several huge stones and a smaller, flat stone that is shaped like Africa. From here, we experienced a phenomenal view of Buoyem and the surrounding villages. It was a scene from The Lion King. Actually, it was better. We even got to see tortoises, which are living near these rocks. Tucked back inside of some disregarded stone plots sat two fifteen-year-old tortoises. This area is very, very, very dry this time of year and these poor little guys were crispy as toast.

I'm certain they loved our attention. From the tortoises, our guide, Romeo, led us to a small waterfall. This kid was great. He was completely enamored with us American girls.Though it was approaching ninety degrees and the sun was blazing down, Romeo didn’t spill even one drop of sweat. I however, was panting and filthy, but blissful nonetheless. This Buoyem is a hidden treasure.

From Techiman, we hopped a shared taxi to Nkoranza where we stayed one night at the guesthouse on the grounds of Operation Hand in Hand.

http://www.operationhandinhand.nl/engels.htm

This is a home for children and adults with disabilities because unfortunately, in Ghana, many intellectually or physically disabled persons are abandoned by their families. Thankfully, along came a lovely Dutch woman who decided that these children and adults deserve a place. The residents attend school and participate in beadmaking and weaving workshops as well. They even have a specific room for individuals with autism called the Snoozle Room full of textures, colors, and visual stimulation.

We had a lovely stay and even got to interact a bit with the residents on our guided tour. Our guesthouse had a roofless shower and outdoor seating area. Perfect for stargazing. This is a special place indeed. Operation Hand in Hand gives a lot of love to people who have been rejected by their families and society. It also sets people up for success by offering engaging learning activities. I've been doing some research about special education in Ghana, and it's not good. This small haven sheds a little light on a very dark education system in Ghana.

Monday morning we explored Boabeng-Fiema Wildlife Sanctuary which houses about 900 monkeys! Two species live here: Mona and Columbus. The monkeys are considered sacred and a part of the community. So sacred that when a monkey dies, the community has a funeral and buries the body in a monkey cemetery within the forest. Believe it or not, around 7am each morning, monkeys wander into the local homes to gather food. We were able to feed them bananas and were within inches of these frisky little critters. Amazing! I also got to stand inside of a tree that used to have another tree growing inside of it. Does it get any cooler than that? Our journey of exploration ended in Kintompo, which is the exact geographical center of Ghana. Here we enjoyed beautiful, cascading waterfalls.

Fuller Falls

Kintompo Falls

Life is good people. It really is. Not much to complain about these days. When I am in my 90s, because I am determined to make it that long, I will look back on this time in my life and smile. Because I am really living, and for me, that means exploring and learning new things. In fact, a song entitled, “I Love My Life” is very popular in Ghana right now. Though it’s a bit over-played, I love the message and it seems appropriate right about now. Here is a link to check out the song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM7J6aEWlPM

I won’t be back for a few weeks. I’m of to KENYA and TANZANIA on Friday!!!!!!!! Camping safari trip. Truly livin’ the dream here.

Power

“Electricity is of two kinds, positive and negative. The difference is, I presume, that one comes a little more expensive, but is more durable; the other is a cheaper thing, but the moths get into it.” – Stephen Leacock

The college’s transformer apparently somehow caught on fire a few days ago. I don’t know anything about the inner workings of electricity, so I’m not sure of exactly what happened. However, I do know that I love electricity. I love how it powers the ceiling fan in the room. I love how it keeps my laptop juiced up. I love how it fuels my refrigerator so that everything stays edible. I just plain ole’ love electricity.

I have been very lucky here at my college because power is generally flowing. Maybe once a week, for a few hours, there will be no power. This most previous power-free incident lasted for about 18 hours. Did I live? Yes. But it’s still mildly annoying, because the power went out again later that day, and this morning it has gone out again. Thankfully my computer is fully charged, so I’ve got a few good hours. If you don’t have something, ever, you don’t realize what you’re missing. But, to have electricity fairly consistently during my stay here makes it a little more irritating when it goes out. I suppose this is just another part of the experience.

Consistently working electricity is something most Americans take for granted. Sure, every so often, a storm will pass through and you might lose power for a few hours. But, there are people in Africa and other places around the world that have no electricity at all. Ever. Imagine how different life would be? Here in Ghana, I spend a lot of time alone. On a day-to-day basis, if I’m not teaching or going to town for food, I’m doing work on my computer, doodling around on facebook, watching DVDs, etc. I’ve learned just how dependent I am upon technology. I’m taking an online class, my only communication with many people is via email, I update my blog frequently to keep people abreast of my life….and the list could go on and on. It’s not that I couldn’t go without the computer or the phone. Of course I could. But I’m a 21^st century American woman and I appreciate the genius of Apple and Google and Facebook and technology in general. In Africa, it’s a different story for many people. In larger cities, people go to internet cafes and some people even have the internet at home. However, many people I have met only browse the internet on their phones and spending an evening on their computer isn’t always the chosen leisure activity. About a week ago, my roommate asked to check facebook on my computer to look at some pictures and she was on it for several hours. She was completely enthralled with the same searching that us Americans do. While she was on the computer, I showed her husband my kindle and he was absolutely fascinated. Technology doesn’t consume so much of people’s days here as it does in America, but the interest is definitely there. More efficient systems and tools are seeping in, but Ghana still has quite a ways to go in terms of matching up to the technological prowess of the United States.