On the road again...

I don't think I can begin to describe the epic journey that was last weekend. We decided (we being a group of people doing homestays, comprised of Treza, Kate, Hilary, Julie, Mallory, Lindsey, and myself) to undertake the daunting task of going to Mole National Park, home of wildlife galore. Now, for those of who you don't know Ghana's geography that well (which I expect is most), Mole National Park is about 17 hours northwest of Accra. And that would be 17 hours by bus. It is quite the undertaking for 4 days. We actually began our journey at 4 am friday morning and concluded it on monday night around 8 pm.
This story however cannot be told in a simple blog post. There are too many funny side anecdotes and too many pictures that must accompany the story telling. Thus, I will have to resort to the readers digest version.
So we began our journey with at 4 am planning to catch the 6 am bus to Kumase, about 6 hours north of Accra, in the heart of Ashanti country. However, with some luck, we ended up catching the 4:30 bus and made excellent time. We were also joined by several other CIEE students going north to meet a colony of Jews outside Kumase for Rosh Hoshana.
Once we arrived in Kumase, we realized we missed the STC bus to Tamale. STC is essentially like a charter bus. It's the nicer of the options for transportation. So, we had to go across town to the MetroMass bus station in order to get a bus there. However, this bus is nowhere near as nice as the STC. First of all, it is packed. Some people didn't even have seats. They were sitting on large bags in the aisle. Secondly, there isn't air conditioning. Thirdly, and most importantly, the man behind me decided to transport a chicken with him to Tamale, and store it underneath my seat for the 8 hours we spent on that bus. It slid around so much that it ended up directly between my feet several times. And naturally, on occasion, it would casually peck at my feet and ankles.
After that (somewhat) painful ride, we finally landed in Tamale and found our guest house for the evening. The next morning we got a ride with Frederick who was already taking a trotro (small van/bus that seats up to 20 [usually illegally]) out to Mole. We really thought we caught some luck because the 7 of us had the entire tro tro to ourselves. It was so lovely...

Until it broke down.

So naturally, we got out and pushed. Frederick called his mechanic friend while we were pushing and we heard him say, "Yeah, I'm with a bunch of whites. They're pushing."

About 3 hours and countless amounts of riddles and word games later, our friendly mechanic came to our rescue and got us back on the road. We finally made it to Larabanga (a small village right outside Mole) after the bumpiest ride I've ever encountered. I imagine the Oregon trail to feel something like that 2 hour trotro ride.

When we arrived in Mole, there were just tons of baboons and warthogs hanging around the hotel. That right there made the entire trip for me. They literally were 20 feet away. Every now and then, a small monkey would just dart across the road. It was fantastic.

We went on a river cruise that evening and saw the beautiful overflow of the Volta River. After a hearty meal and a Star (Ghana's favorite beer) we went to bed and rested up for our walking safari the next morning.

James, our faithful guide, took us on a three hour walking tour of the Guinea Savanah where we saw tons of monkeys, warthogs, antelopes, and other various birds and insects. We didn't however, see any elephants, which is what we set out to do.

After our long unsuccessful walk, we ate some breakfast at the hotel. As I was finishing up my coffee, I see a monkey saunter up to our table. Before I know it, he jumped on our table, quickly surveyed the site, and made his way over to my plate where he stole the sugar and marmalade right off of my plate. He was then shooed away by the waitresses. I couldn't believe it. A monkey was literally one foot away from my face, only to steal my food! I luckily snapped a picture just in time.

After breakfast we headed back to Larabanga to try and find a way back to Tamale somehow. The only metromass bus that goes to Tamale leaves once a day at 4:30 am, so we had missed that one. We eventually bargained our way back to Larabanga and then on to Dimongo where we got another tro tro to Tamale, but only after heated debates over a fair price, which ended up not being that fair.

Eventually, we made it back to Tamale and our wonderful guesthouse to get a good nights rest before going home all the way to Accra that monday.

We spent every single day of our trip traveling. There wasn't one single day out of the 4 that we didn't spend on a bus in some form.

Now this is only the abridged version of the story and I'd be happy to give the full account with pictures to anyone who asks.

I can't wait for our next excursion. Cote d'Ivoire maybe? Togo? Who knows!?

Amen.

Religion is a big deal here. If you are a missionary and want to come here and preach the word of God, there really is no point because everyone (essentially) already knows it and would rather be doing the heathen-converting/saving (aka, me). There are evangelical vans that drive around neighborhoods with the sole purpose of blasting sermons. Most CDs for sale are some sort of christian pop or gospel.

I've found that along with the normal getting to know you questions such as, "What is your name?", "Where are you from?" "Where are you staying in Ghana?" etc, also comes "So what church do you belong to?"

Now I personally am not religious. I've never been and I really don't know if I ever will be. But here, when someone finds out that you do not belong to a church, it is quite the shock. Several members of my host family asked me, and actually had me repeat my answer because they were in disbelief.

My family goes to church every Sunday (for the most part) and they even hold a Saturday morning devotion where they gather together in the living room while my host dad reads passages from the bible for them to discuss or they'll sing hymns. Many a Saturday I have been awoken by the basso profondo of my siblings.

Because I'm not a Christian I have been wondering if my family will try and convert me. I've even tried the whole "I'm Jewish" thing. I know it's lying, but many people have told me I totally look the part. Not to mention my name is Leah Glass. Very Jewish.

Anyways, one day when I was walking home from school, I was confronted by a nice, tall man named Joeseph. He was telling me about the Agape Gospel Church that meets on Wednesdays, some Thursdays, and Sundays. That particular day was solely for adoration. They would be dancing and singing to praise the lord. In order to get out of that situation quickly I told him I was Jewish.
"OH! Shalom! That is great! What is your name?" (he appeared to be even more shocked that if I had told him I was a heathen)
"I'm Leah....very Jewish name."
"Oh yes! Leah, from the Bible! Wife of Jacob, sister of Rachel! How great!"
"Mhmm, yeah...right...wife..sister...I know..." I had no idea.
"Well everyone is still invited to our church. You are more than welcome."
Okay, thanks Joeseph...

So I thought the Jewish thing worked. Nope. The next week I was confronted by that same Joseph again.

"Hello, hello...it's Leah right?"
"Uhh, yes..."
"I am Joseph. From the Agape Gospel Church. Remember? Now now, I know you are Jewish, but you could still come to our service. I know you do not believe in Jesus Christ, that he has not come again, but we both worship the same God. You could still come and participate."

Damn it. I really thought I was home free. This time I just made up some excuse about lots of homework and being really busy because I am a student. I think it would be wise for me to find a new route home. Joeseph is probably tracking me.

Note to self:

Cockroaches can fly.

I don't know if this is common knowledge or not, but cockroaches can indeed fly. I found this out just last night as I was going to switch off the light in the bathroom. There, staring at me with his ugly shining eyes, waving his long skinny antenna at me, was a the biggest cockroach I've ever seen. Maybe it wasn't even a cockroach. But it was a disgusting bug that resembles a cockroach and as soon as I was going to try and sneak away quietly to grab my camera to prove to all those in disbelief, he flew away into some dusty, dark corner of the house.
I am never going to leave my door open. I don't think I could stand waking up with that big sucker on my face, trying to get into the dark cavern that is my mouth. When I first thought of Ghana I imagined heat and humitidy. Lots of spicy food and obviously living conditions unlike those of the united states. However, when I pictured those living conditions, bugs were never a part. Maybe it was just my naivete, but they just never crossed my mind.
But now. All I can think of is where they're lurking. The majority of them that I've seen have been in the bathroom, so if I have to hold my pee until I get to the univesity, you know I do it. I hate waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom because I feel that these dark creatures are probably nocturnal.
Now of course, a lot of this information is just what I assume. I really don't know that much about these insects except that they're gross and they weird me out.
And keep in mind that I am not one easily irked by bugs. The spider from Annie Hall wouldn't even cause me to think twice. But these roaches. They're something else. Maybe it's all the movies and tv shows I've seen that have portrayed them with the creepy crawling sound they make. I'm not really sure. All I know is that they can fly, and I will try my best to avoid them at all costs.

Despite the bugs however, Ghana is wonderful. People always ask me "how is your time so far in Ghana" and when I say I love it, they doubt me. Yes it was a little tough the first couple of days, dealing with the culture shock and the homesickness, but I love it now. Everyday is literally, a new adventure. I have learned that I cannot expect too much out of this developing country because the organization that I am used to is just not present. Registering for classes was a scavenger hunt and even after I was officially registered for a course, I didn't know when it was going to be taking place. In fact, I didn't really start most of my classes until the second week of classes because of the lack of organization.

As my host brother Kwabena constantly says, "You need to feel free". I need to just enjoy my time here and not worry about the lack of organization and the constant chaos. I should just do what I want and really make the most of this chaotic but very welcoming country.