The
gap has been widening since my last post and I have plenty to catch you all up
on. But, I figure I should start with my
current situation. We are in the heat of
ISP time. My topic of study has changed
about five times, but this is where I’ve settled...How are the creative arts
taught in a school for deaf children and a school for intellectually disabled
children? From 07 November to 19
November I resided in Cape Coast and studied at Cape Deaf. I lived in a guest house with Chris and Mark
(for a couple days). We spent the
majority of our down time reading and going to the beach. Yes, Mom, I was careful and didn’t stray far
into the ocean...I know I’m not a strong swimmer. I would tell you all about the research I
collected, but you’ll just have to wait until I organize it in my final copy of
ISP. I left Cape Coast on the 19th
for Kumasi, specifically Asakore-Mampong.
I’ll be studying at Garden City Special School. I live alone in a room of a compound of a
very nice family (related to an SIT staffer I believe). Two members of my group, Ella and Courtney,
live a three minute walk from my room and another member, Laura, is a taxi ride
away. We all plan on joining forces and
constructing our own Thanksgiving tomorrow.
Should be good. I leave the first
of December for Accra, where I’ll remain until departing for the USA. Wow!
Time flies.
Tidbits
from in-between posts:
The
village:
I
went hunting! My friend JR (one of my
closest friends in the group, she’s a lifer) in the neighboring village decided
to study hunting for her mini ISP. She
had experience hunting in the states, so she wanted to does some comparing and
contrasting. After her first outing, I
wanted to hear all about it. She told me
that her, Kwame, and a local hunter went out into the bush and trekked through
THE WILD for three hours (roughly 10pm-1am).
I wanted in. JR got permission to
bring people along to see what the bush hunting was all about. A few nights later, it was my time. JR, Mark, Kwame, the hunter, and I geared up
(long sleeve, raincoat-hood up, bandana, headlamp, long pants tucked into tall
socks, adventure shoes...with a nice juicy layer of bug spray all over) and
shipped out. We had three shotguns and a
game bag along. The guns are
handmade. I was admittedly cautious
about the guns. “Nah, I don’t really
need to hold a gun. You guys go for
it.” The first kill came after about
thirty minutes of walking. Nothing was
said, no warning given. The hunter
simply stopped, lifted his gun, and shot.
I was impressed.
It
was an aposo (I think that’s the name, don’t quote me), a cousin to the
rat...not the cutest animal in the world.
The hunter tossed the kill in the game bag and onward we hiked. Kwame reached under a tree for something and
came back over to us with a snail in his hand.
“Snails are my favorite. I love
snails.” Into the game bag it went. This isn’t the exact snail from the hunting
trip, but just so you get an idea of what it looked like...
Yuck
truck. As we walked, Kwame reminded us
to watch out for ants because they’re the biting kind. Soon after he mentions this, I feel a
stinging sensation right at the bottom of my neck where it meets my spine. “OUCHY!”
I swiftly reached back into my hood and ripped the little bastard off of
me. A little blood was shed, but there
weren’t any follow-up bites...thank goodness, what a bummer that could’ve
been. We stopped on the top of a
hillside cocoa farm to rest. Those who
needed a bush stop did their thing and we all replenished our bodies with water
and milk cookies. On our route back to
the village, the hunter shot a second aposo.
This one had been storing food in its mouth. It looked like it was playing chubby
bunny. Before the aposo was bagged the
hunter squeezed its mouths contents out.
It was fascinating to see how much his cheeks could hold. I returned to my room sticky with sweat. My body was exhausted, but for some reason I
couldn’t sleep. I had just been bush
hunting on the outskirts of a Ghanaian village. My adrenaline and thoughts (of disbelief,
pride, awe, wonderment, etc.) were flowing heavily. So, I took Dad’s catch-all advice and
journaled about it.
After
the two weeks in the village, we spent a night in Kumasi. The following morning we loaded up and began
the educational excursion on our way up to Tamale. During the educational excursion we spent a
week in Tamale and about four days in each of the following: Cape Coast, Krobo-Odumase, and the Volta
Region.
Tamale
Highlights:
Very
different vibe in the Northern Region compared to Accra and Kumasi. There are fewer cars and WAY more bikes and
motorbikes. The population is
predominately Muslim, unlike the southern population. The mosques are beautiful and the prayers
sounding from outdoor loudspeakers add to the city’s ambiance. The North is also home to the most amount of
NGOs than any other region. As far as
classes went, we had lectures on Islam as a peaceful religion, the varieties of
NGOs, and healthcare.
We
spent one night at Mole National Park, about a three hour drive from
Tamale. No elephant sightings, but
plenty of monkeys, warthogs (Pumbas for the Disney lovers), baboons, and a
species of antelope whose name is escaping me.
We went to a shea butter co-op in a local village and got to see the process of how it's made. Definitely bought some shea butter and soap to take home. Yummy!
Cape
Coast Highlights:
Cape
Coast and Elmina Castles/Dungeons-wow. Heavy stuff.
Cape Coast is relatively touristy because of the areas historic
importance. In my work journal, I wrote
this about the dungeon experience: Touring
the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles/Dungeons was impactful to say the least. Though, the tour at Cape Coast was more
thorough and thoughtful than that of Elmina.
I found myself imagining life as an enslaved Ghanaian waiting for months
to be lead through “the door of no return”.
What would it be like to sit in a dark, overcrowded pit of people and
waste...all the while listening to waves freely crashing ashore just beyond the
dungeon’s walls? I don’t enjoy focusing
my energy on evil and psychologically damaging events. However depressing, the dungeon tours were
vital in my understanding of enslavement and the mentality (of both the
Europeans and Ghanaians) of that time period.
Kakum
National Park Canopy Walkway-On a brighter note, this was awesome. The Park is about an hour outside of Cape
Coast and is home to the lush green rainforest.
The Canopy Walk is exactly what you’d think it is; a stroll amid the rainforest
canopy. Beneath your feet is a narrow
wooden board secured by netting that’s fixed to each tree utilized for the
walkway. I could see green tops for
miles-got some great desktop backgrounds for later.
Krobo-Odumase
(in Eastern Region) Highlights:
We
got to witness and participate in a cheerful, colorful festival. It was a meeting of all the surrounding
districts’ kings, queen mothers, and people.
More from my work journal: Marching
the streets with smiling and dancing Ghanaians in the heat of the day was a
once in a lifetime experience (not to say this ENTIRE trip hasn’t been). I felt one with the culture and people, a
feeling that was missing at the beginning of this trip. My connections are more meaningful now that
I’m a “full-grown” Ghanaian, and that alone brings me immense joy.
Krobo
is the place to be if you like beads. We
went to one bead-makers house and he taught us how a variety of beads are
made. Then, he gave us bead molds of our
own to fill with colored, shattered glass.
When we came back, he had fired the molds and VOILA! I made beads.
Volta
Region Highlights:
Continuing
with the art theme of this part of the trip...we made pottery in the Volta! I hope it all survives my journey home.
We also got to weave some kente cloth after learning that process. Look at me go!
We
visited the border of Togo (no photos were allowed, unfortunately) and went to
the beach.
We
celebrated Halloween! I couldn’t be my
usual, a pumpkin, so I dressed up as Britney Spears (my group insists I look
identical to the pop star in her Hit Me Baby One More Time phase). Other people swapped clothes and went as
each other. Another person just went as
a clothes line. We all celebrated by
going to one of the village bars in our getups.
As if we didn’t already stick out...
After
the educational tour was over, we headed back to Accra to prepare for our
ISPs. We had paperwork to fill out and
project advisors to confirm. It was a stressful
period of time, but catching my first glimpse of the ocean on the way back to
Cape Coast made it all worth it.
WHEW!
I
hope you enjoyed the update!
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