Day 25 and 26

Today we got up early to work on our community presentations and to give them. The presentations went well and the towns people were actually open to talking about teenage pregnancy, something I thought would have been harder for them. About 30 people were there unlike the 300 that they thought were going to come. After the presentations we worked on our professional presentations. This one we will do tomorrow after we visit the Integrity Foundation School.  I am glad to have gotten the presentation done and over with and can’t wait to give the presentations tomorrow and be done with all the research stuff.  Tonight we just worked on our presentation while everyone else hung out. I am not sure why but everything seems to take us longer than the other groups. Oh well I really enjoy how our presentation ended up and I think it will go well tomorrow!

Day 26 June 15, 2011

Today we got up early and continued to work on our presentations. We had to write out what each of us was going to say for each slide. Around 12ish we headed off for Felix’s school. The kids were so cute when we got there they had a song and dance ready for us and performed it! I videoed it to show everyone once I am home.  We broke up into our research groups and talked to the kids about our topics. Talking to these kids about teenage pregnancy was a little awkward to say the least, but the Q and A afterwards was a little better. The kids asked questions about Obama, and one even asked if he could be the next president of America. After our mini group presentations we gave all of our donations to Felix. We donated pens, pencils, books, bubbles, stickers, and pretty much anything that a kid would like. He was so greatful and the kids loved everything. I think that next year when students come I want to send some donations with them to give to Felix. After we left the school kids we did our professional presentation. The presentations were held at the health clinic and about 20 people came. Everyone seemed to really be interested in what we had to say which was nice. Overall I think that my group did great and I am proud of the effort that we all put into the project. After the presentation we came home to pack. Today was our last day in Larteh and tonight is my last time sleeping in this house. It is weird to think that I will soon be home, when it seems like I just got here. Don’t get me wrong though I am ready to come home. We have been without running water now for 3 days and it is starting to get hard. After I packed my bags I weighted them and they were both around 44 so I am a little nervous because I don’t want them to be overweight.  If they are I know a few people who have said that they would help me out and I would be able to put some things into their bags. It’s nice to be on a trip where pretty much everyone gets along and there are no clicks or anything. After everyone packed up we had our goodbye dinner. This was such a nice dinner and everyone had such nice things to say. I don’t want to go into too much detail because it is something that was very personal and special to me. I am really going to miss being here in Ghana, and I am not sure if I will be back, but if I do I know that I would be welcomed the same way. It still amazes me how friendly people are here. Everyone wants to help you and everyone wants to be friends with you. The culture and the people here are amazing and I truly value getting to know them both. Tomorrow we head out to the waterfall around 6:30 and to Accra afterwards. My plan is to finish up last minute shopping so that I can enjoy Friday at La Palm before my long journey home. See you all soon!! 

Day 24

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY WONDERFUL MOM! :) Sorry I couldn't call you! I will try to call you tomorrow! Love you!
Anyways, today was mainly filled with creating our community and professional presentations. But, in the morning I went back to the wood place that I went to on Saturday. Some of the girls who were in Accra when I first went wanted to go again, and I wanted to pick up a few more things as well. I got some cool masks, a neckless, and some animal carvings. All in all it was a great morning and I was happy to get out of the house! After shopping however, things changed. We just worked on our presentations and for some reason it seemed to take forever to get things done. Tensions were running high with everyone today and I think that everyone is ready to go home and be done with this research project. There are many reasons for this, but I am trying to stay positive so I won't list them. The best part of my day was sitting on the porch with sam venting about how the day went. I feel like now that I talked it out I can go to bed and wake up to a fresh new day. I just pray that everyone has patience tomorrow, and that all the presentations go well! (They are expecting about 300 community members to be present! And the professional presentation has been moved to Wednesday after we visit the school.) Also, a little up date about my grandpa, I guess he is doing better each day and was (last time I check) on a rehab floor at the hospital. Love you grandpa and sending warm healing thoughts your way!

Day 23

Today was such a nice relaxing day! Last night Holly slept in the bunk above me which is normally empty and Sam put a matress on the floor and slept there. It was fun to have a sleepover with all four of us in one room! We all slept in until around 9 which was amazing, that rarely happens here. We had a nice morning not doing much. Sam and I went on a nice walk down the road in the morning which I enjoyed. The rest of the morning I finished up some homework and read a little of my book. Mr. Ansari, who we are staying with, came home from Accra with his wife. His wife had been gone since we have been here. She was so nice and friendly. Around lunch time a few of us went to the local grill to have lunch which was really good. We took a Tro Tro there and on the way home the chief of police, who was also at the grill, had his driver drive us home which was cool. After that I did more homework then ate dinner. Mrs. Ansari made us dinner and, it was pretty good! Ever since she had been home she has bene scrubbing down the kitchen (which need it), and cleaning up everything; its been funny. After dinner I just hung out with some of the girls. Today was a nice relaxing day which was well needed. The rest of the week is looking like this: Monday-work on presentations, Tuesday-Give community and professional presentations, Wednesday-Talk to the local school and hang out with the children and have our good-bye dinner, Thursday-Pack up and go to the waterfall (I'm super excited for this!!!) and spend the night in Accra (and go out), Friday-Do last minute shopping (cultural center, Global Mama;s =, and go to the place where they make the caskets in all different shapes and things) and leave to fly home! and Saturday-Arrive in Detroit! Can't wait to see you all! :)

PS today has been cold! I have been wearing my sweatshirt all day! Who would have thought? lol

Day 22

Two things that I forgot to mention in yesterday's post: 1) when we went to the fetish priestest's house there were a bunch of little kids sitting all around us and at one point in the performance this little boy taps my hand and says to me "you are beutiful." It was so cute I could have died. 2) Also at the same event during the presentation another boy tapped my hand and asked for the time so I light up my watch to show him (it was dark out) and then he asked for my watch. I felt to bad because I can go home and buy myself another watch, it's no big deal, but I do need my watch while I am here so I can know the time. It's situations like this that make me sad becuase I want to help, but unsure of what I should do. Anyways, today was a great day! Sam, Kaitlyn, Marissa, Holly, and I all got up early today and were going to go to bead city (I forget the citys real name lol). We got a taxi that was going to drive us around all day and everything was falling into place. Then being flexable came into play. On the way to bead city, actually Somanya, the taxi broke down! Luckily it was right outside a car place and a guy came to start working on it right away. The repair was talking awhile so we were going to take another taxi, becuse we were almost there, but our taxi driver was so nice he said that he wanted to make sure we got there safe and that he wanted to complete his job. The repair took about an hour which wasn't too bad, and then we were off first to Global Mamas. The only problem is that no one could find it. Our guide book gave us one location, and each local gave us another, and the actual store was no where to be found. So after about 30 minutes trying to find this place we left that idea and changed to just going to Cedi's bead factoru. We had saw the sign a little while down the road, but the taxi man still stopped and asked for directions from some man in town. The man watned to come with us to make sure that we go to the right place. Good intention, however, having 5 people in the back of a tiny, tiny was not fun. Once we pulled up to the bead factory there were about 20 visitors who looked like they had already done the tour and were waiting to leave. Once of the people made this statement to us "there's 5 of you? I only thought there was 4!" It was so funny we were all just about dying at this point. The actual bead factory tour was awesome! It was just the 5 of us and he showed us all the steps to making the beads. After the factory tour we stopped by the gift shop and boy was I so excited! I got so many different braclets, and necklesses the shop was so cool I loved it. After the shop we decided that we wanted to go to the near by market. We were under the impression that this market would have wood carving and stuff to give as gifts. But when we got there we realized that it was just a market with food and practical everyday stuff. We decided that since we are normally made our meals in the house by the girls, but they wont be here until tomorrow, that we would make dinner ourselves. So we shopped around the market and got noodles, garlic, and bread. Our plan was to make garlic noodles and garlic bread! Yummy! After we were done shopping we left to come back to the house. After we got back Marissa, Kaitlyn, and Holly all took naps and Sam and I stayed up looking over all the beads that we got and planning out what gifts we still needed to get. We really wanted to get wood carvings to we called Connie and asked if there was any place close that we could go to. She said that her and Linda were going to go later today to one and that we could come. About 3 hours later we went and Sam and I cleaned up the place. I finished up a majority of my gifts and now all I have to get are 2 more things! (everyone get super excited!) After that we came back made dinner, which was soooooo good, and talked for a while with Connie and Linda. Overall it was a great day that made me feel more independent here in Ghana. Tomorrow we have a relaxing day to hang out and maybe work on some school work.

Day 21

Today we left to go back to Larth! We got to sleep in a little which was nice, packed up, and piled on the bus. The bus was so stuffed from everyone's shopping it was crazy! The bus ride was going to take about 4 hours and we would return home by 3:30, just in time to change and head into town to see the fetish priestest. However this drive ended up taking about 6 hours and we didn't get to see the fetish priestest until around 6:30/7ish. On the way home we stopped for lunch at this restraunt and I got really good veggie pizza! The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Once we got back we stopped to let two girls off the bus then continued into town to see the priestest. When we got there she was dressed in traditional dress and there were drums and chairs set up. We all sat down, I got the front row, and the drumming started. People started singing, drumming, and dancing aound. I took some pictures and a short video, but then it got too dark to see anything. The pirestest got posessed by one spirit and started dancing. People from our group also got to dance with her, I declined because I wanted to experience what was going on, but not participate in it. Next, she sat down and fainted, meaning that spirit left her and another one was going to posess her. The next spirit posessed her and more drumming and dancing occured. Then she sat down and people could go up and ask questions. About 7 girls went and asked questions, I again decided not to. Her answers to all the questions were very vague and not specific, which was somewhat to be expected. After everyone was done asking questions the spirit left her body and the ceremony/performance was over. Overall it was a cool experience to see, and something that I will never forget. After the performance was over we came back to the house and unpacked everything. Tomorrow and Sunday are free days in which we can do whatever we want. Sam, Marissa, Holly, Kaitlyn, and I are going to this bead city tomorrow. Our goal is to tour the Cedi's Bead Factory, go to the market, and Global Mamma's has a store there in which you can take a half day workshop on making beads! We have to provide our own transportation, so this should be a fun trip! Ill let everyone know how it goes tomorrow!

And if anyone has time look at Global Mama's website (www.globalmamas.org) They have the cutest things and it's all fair trade!

Day 20

Today we woke up around 6:15 which was sleeping in a little compaired to yesterday! I was nervous to go see the bonesetter because so many people said that it was emotional, but  I also wated to see what traditional methods people use to treat bones. So the bonesetter was located in this back part of the village by like this car fixer-uper place so needless to say it was kind of weird. So the first group of students got to go into the lady's hut to see her work on this baby who was 40 days old. The baby broke its arm during delivery and her mom took her to the hospital to get it looked at. She said that the hospital said she was fine and that it wasn't broken, but the mom knew it was, so she turned to a traditional method to heal bone. The bonesetter uses a vasaline like substance that has methanol in to to rub on the skin over the broken bone. IT was sad to see such a young baby in so much pain. The next group, my group, got to go in for the nest patient who was a little boy with a broken arm. The boy did not even make a peep when they were rubbing is arm, even when we heard his bone pop into place. It was insane and this little boy was so brave that it was moving. After the bonesetter, we went to Lake Bosumtwi to eat lunch, swin, and go on traditional boats! Lunch no joke took about 3 hours. So that was kind of hard to sit through, and was kind of annoying. After lunch, we went out on a boat like a little metal one, but with no engine it had to be paddled by hand. We went out in the middle of the lake and got to jump in and swim around. Swimming was so much fun! We were in the lake for about like 30-45 min and it was amazing! It is crazy that this lake was made from a meteorite! After swimming we went and sat on traditional boats. Mine was pretty much a wooden plank that looked like it was taken from an old dock (with rusty nails still in it!). The local fishermen use these boats and I have paddle them by hand becuse the spirit in the lake does not allow anything else for fishing. It was super fun trying to keep balance on it and I even stood up on it! This was some much needed relaxing time/playing time. Oh something I forgot! On the way to lunch at the lake we were driving down a dirt road when all of a sudden we came upon a huge hole in the road! Eric the bus driver tired to go around it and almost fell it so Marissa and I helped him to back it up all the way back down the road (there was no place to turn around). After we got back from the lake we all showered to get the lake smell off of us then went for Indian food. IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!! I love Indian food now! Sam and I have decided that once we are home we are going on a double date to get some (she is an Indian food expert lol). Tomorrow we are driving back and seeing the fetish priestist perform her talking to the spirits. I guess she get posessed and dances so that should be cool! The rest of the weekend hopefully will include going to a bead company (where they make beads) and going to a private island by ferry :)

Day 17, 18, and 19

Sorry I haven't been blogging, but here is everything that has been going on!


Day 17 June 6, 2011
Today was a nice productive day in the land of research. We dedicated the whole entire day to coding our data and analysis of it. Our Data coding took longer then planned (like all day) so we pretty much only coded and will save analysis for another day. The main thing that has been happening today is that everyone is getting sick. There are at least 5 girls who have fallen ill today alone! It is so crazy because all but one was feeling fine the day before! Marissa and Sam are two of the people who are sick and I feel really bad for them. Word on the street is that it was something that they ate for lunch yesterday. The only two waves of people getting sick have happened when outsiders have cooked food for us. Normally we have the girls in the house cook (they get credit for working here) and so far everything we have had has been good. Connie has even said that normally more people are ill by this time in the program! I am so thankful that I am not sick because these girls look ill. They all feel very achey, feverish (one even had a fever of 101.4!), chills, headache, vomiting, and other GI problems. I hoep they all feel better by tomorrow because we are leaving to go on a trip tomorrow morning until Friday! I by the way am sooo excited for this! I am planning on doing some shopping and relaxing while on this vacation! I just wanted to say thanks for all the warm thoughts from yesterday. Yesterday was a hard day, but it is nice to know that all my friends and family at home care and love me. I'm having a blast here but I cant wait to come home and see you all!!! Now I am just sitting around waiting to hear about gpa and how his knee surgery goes! FYI it was the hottest it has been all trip today. It was crazy! I think that the heat made everyone who wasn't sick feel not well and the people who were sick 100x worse. I am glad that it is finally night out and that the power is back on so we can have our fan again. If this is what the people here call their winter I would hate to see their summer!

Day 18 June 7, 2011
Today we left early, early, early, in the moring so that we could start making our way to Kumasie (?). The bus ride there was supposted to take 3 hours, but like everything on this trip it took about double that time. On the way there we hit lots of traffic which made the trip longer and we also made a few stops along the way. One of the most memorable stops was a rest stop...we all had to use the washrrom so we stopped and paid 20p (like $0.15) to use the bathroom and boy were we suprised to find 4 open stalls, that looked more like showers, for the bathroom. It litereally looked like a shower drain and you just had to squat down and go, needless to say I got stage fright and couldn't do it. lol. The rest of the day we mainly sat in the bus, got pizza for dinner, and I got a cool painting along the way as well. We got to the hotel and it was nice. Tomorrow we have to wake up super early to see the Ashantiehene (the Ashantie Chief) which is a big deal, then we will go to the largest open market in west Africa!!! How exciting! :)

Day 19 June 8, 2011
Today was our big day to see the Ashantihene! And boy what a big day it was. It all started with getting up super early just to be there at :730 to see him. Funny thing is the Chief had a meeting until noon. Something no one decided to find out until we were already there and waiting. So while waiting we went and saw a mesuem about the Ashanti people and the history of the kings and the British influence. It was all super neat and we saw all these old guns and kid thrones, it was pretty cool. Something cool about the Ashanti people is that they have this golden stool, and they believe it is the soul of the Ashanti people, and if it ever gets stolen then they will die. Also, they are known porcupines, kill 1,000 of them and a 1,000 more will come, but we were told that they are a peaceful group of people. lol. So we pretty much waited around after the tour on the bus until it was time to go sit down to see the Chief. There was most likely like 200 people there to see him and there was a main stage and chairs set up along the side as well. We were sitting along the side and pretty much couldn't see a thing. So needless to say a 4 hour ceremony to see the Chief that was all in Twi and which we couldn't see made it super long. It was cool however, when it was our turn to go up and be introduced. All the people here love it that Connie, our leader, can speak Twi. They all just about die, which is super funny. When we went to go see him we had to take off our shoes as a sign of respect, which I understand, but at the same time grossed me out as well. After the ceremony everyone was starving so we went to eat at the cultural center. This cultural center was nothing like the one we saw the first day. This one had a nice restraunt, and was more like a park with people doing and selling art in it. I walked around with Sam after lunch and we found a potter. His shop was so cool (I didn't take a picture and I regret it!), and we decided that we wanted to buy something. We needed something small to bring back with us, but also something neat. We ended up buying little, little pots which are super cute and I really like them. Also, they were also only a cedi! What a great deal! I wish we had more time to walk around here because I really enjoyed seeing the people make their art, instead of just buying something off the street. After the cultural center we all headed off to the market. I am not sure I can accuretly decsribe my expereince in the market, but I will do my best to try. The market is the largest outside market in West Africa and is most likely the smelliest as well! We started off at the market all following Connie to find the beads which was super hard keeping all 16 of us together! The stands are so close you have to walk in single file, people have things on their heads so you have to watch your head, and everyone is rushing around weaving in and out. It was an experience to say the least, but one that I really enjoyed. After we got the beads Connie took Marissa, Sam, and I around to show us somethings in the market....that was if we could find them! We saw traditional medicines, house hold appliances, clothes, shoes, all kinds of foods (and boy did the meat section smell!), we saw chickens, cows feet, pretty much anything you can think of they had. It was cool Connie got us all oranges and taught us how to eat them (they cut the top, then you peal it off, and squish it like a stress ball, then drink the juic off the top), it was super yummy and fun. Next, we wanted to get some notebooks for the school we will be volunteering at on Wednesday. There is a school in town that we are going to on Wednesday to teach from 12:00-2:00 and from ages 3-17. Most of the students have teenage mothers and the man who runs it is named Felix and he is trying to stop the cycle of teen pregnancy in Larth. He is an awesome man with a great vision. So on Wednesday we are donating a bunch of school supplies, but we didnt have any notebooks so we got 120 for 50 cedi. After we got the books it was time to head back to the bus so we asked a local boy to help us get there, in exchange for a cedi and he agreed to help us. On the way to the bus we all of a sudden saw a mob of people start running in the direction of the bus and Connie goes oh look something is happening! I guess that a local man was caught stealing and the mob of people was going to take care of it, I guess that is how things are done in Ghana. After this we were almost back at our bus when our guide was stopped by a young street boy who was asking for money, when our guide went into his pocket to get him some a small bag (of what we believe to be cocane) comes falling out of this pocket. He quickly picked it up, Marissa, Sam, and I all look at each other, and then we all continued on like nothing happened. It was really funny and sad at the same time. After we were all back safely on the bus we came back to the hotel to change for dinner. Before dinner I talked to my best friend :) then went and had Chinese food, which was good. After that we went to bed becuase we have to get up early tomorrow (5:15 am) to see the bone setter which I heard is very emotional.