Spain And Turkey Trip

Here is the link to Vicky and I´s blog for our trip to Spain and Turkey:

http://tamuandvicky.blogspot.com/

back home again

I´m back in the states now. It was a great trip and I´m sure I´ll keep ghana in my heart for a long time to come. But, it´s back to be back in Boston with Vicky.

Goodbye Ghana family. Thanks for everything.

Last Days

Last days, and my host made me a great birthday dinner and gave a wonderful send off to the airport.

On my b-day we had mexican food and they poured beer all over me.

Then on the send off it was very sweet. They tried to make it a surprise, but i was wise to their ways. They threw a big party with the whole family and told me how much they'd miss me and told me I must never forget them, since I am now part of the family.


peace out all

Sorry I've taken so long...

Apologies everyone. I've just been really busy with wrapping up my time here.

So, where I had left off was... right before my trip up North. I wanted to see the Northern half of Ghana because it is home to the nation's best wildlife reserve. Its name is Mole National Park and, if anyone is ever in the region, I highly recommend you going up there. It is a must see for anyone who is in Ghana, or one of the surrounding countries for that matter. I loved it. I started by leaving Accra on a Thursday morning.

I took a bus up to Kumasi and spent the night with a host-brother-in-law. To be had never been to a majority Muslim area before. There were mosques everywhere and most of the women wore head scarfs. Disembarking from the bus, I met a kid named Muhammad Zakaria. Hehonest, I can't remember his name, my sister just instructed me to call him 'pastor'. I feel bad about not knowing, but I did genuinely attempt to pry his name out of her when putting his number into my phone. His wife is the one at my house with the new born baby. She normally is living with him up in Kumasi, but came down to Accra in order to get the help of her mother during the first few months of the infant's life. Because of their situation, I now understand why Cid's daughter-in-law wanted to move back to Germany to be with her family. American families are just so isolating. Here in Ghana, a family is made up of around a hundred members and they all keep very close contact with each other, whether that means calling to check in on you or coming over to spend a few nights. I no longer understand why we choose to live in such isolation. These giant families keep things really welcoming and interesting.

After leaving my brother-in-law's, I took a bus up to Temale. That's the largest city in the North and any travel in the top half of the country stops though it before going on. It was an interesting place. I works a a guide for students who come to Temale; simpling meeting us at the bus station and taking us around(interesting enough, he did the same thing for 5 other students from my program on that weekend alone). He took me to a famous boabab tree, to the oldest mosque, a palace and to his community where I ate with his family. Oh he also found me a place to sleep. I slept at the police barracks. Temale's police station rents out extra rooms to travelers. Nothing special, but it got the job done.

The next morning, it was off to Larabanga(the city next to the park). I found a guest house operated by some very highly recommended brothers. It was really cool because I was able to sleep in a mud hut(nicer than it sounds). After that, it was off to the park. My pictures really explain the rest. We all packed into 4x4s and went out into the bush to check out the wildlife.

Then in the morning I headed back(20 hours of bus riding).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MAN!!

Sending you love on your B-day!

I love you so much my sweet! You are fantastic and I am so thankful that God has blessed you to see another one of your Birthdays! I am so glad I could talk with you multiple times today and let you know how very special you are to me and loved ones. Although we are physically apart I hope you are having an amazing day in Ghana!!! I can't wait to celebrate us together in 18 days!! I miss you...and today, among the other things sent, I wanted to send one more thing your way.

For you mu - with much love :)

http://www.yahoo.americangreetings.com/ecards/display.pd?prodnum=3022772&path=41060

B-day Love

Thank you baby for all the love you sent me on and around my B-day. The love you have for me makes me feel so special and fortunate. I love you so very much and I can't wait till we celebrate both of our days further when you return. You are so missed and so loved and I hope you are able to feel that on your special day which is coming up this Friday. Even though you are far away, we are very close to each other. You are in my heart and my prayers. I pray that God blesses us to see many more Birthdays!!! I love you bunches mumu.

And you are the best birthday gift I could ever ask for. Mwah! :)

I will send your more love on your special day. Although u told me that you only consider your b-day to be when you return to me, I still want to show you the amount of love you showed me on your Friday!

Kumasi Trip

Our program went up to Kumasi this weekend(sorry for the belated post). While we were up there, we saw an adinkra work shop, a kente work shop, swam at a crater lake and had fun at a pool. It was a while ago and most of the stories are mixed in with the photos that I took, so, I will largely be glossing over the details on this blog post.

Kumasi is the cultural capitol of Ghana. It is home to the Ashanti people. They are Ghana's largest ethnic group and live in the center of the country. Their language, Twi, is the most widespread language in the country. This is significant because it is more popular then English, dispute English being the country's official language. There has long been a debate about changing the national language to fit the reality on the ground. Some argue that Twi will boost national unity, because nearly everyone already speaks it and it would thus be an easy transition for the country to make. Opponents say that switching to Twi will give preference to the Ashanti people at the xpense of the rest of the tribes. Those who want to keep English argue that it is an internationally recognized language spoken through out the world and will give Ghana a step up when it comes to international issues, plus, due to its foreign origins, it would have no affect on intertribal relations. Opponents of English point out that nations develop fastest when their people are able to be educated in their mother tongues. Hardly anyone speaks English in their homes... Twi is by far more popular and its popularity would only increase if it became the national language.

Another interesting thing about the Ashanti is the power they held during the pre-colonial era. Ashanti were the dominant group. They were the only tribe that was able to challenge the European powers and went to war defending their lands. Those wars lasted many decades and because the British were never truly able to suppress them, the Ashanti kingdom marked the norhtern limit of their colony. So when someone goes farther up to a city like Tamale, they will see very little European influence.

The Ashanti were also the domestic group that benefited most from the transatlantic slave trade. Due to their dominance, they forced many of the other tribes to pay them tribute. Those tributes often came in in the form of slaves. And since the Ashanti could only use so many slaves, they sold the rest to Europeans and profited handsomely. In the process they destroyed what would later become the Northern and Southern portion of their country. Either way, Kumasi and the surrounding region is very wealthy. Their king layers himself in gold any time he goes out. His jewels are quite heavy, luckily he conserves energy by being carried everywhere he goes.

We went to the King palace and took a tour of a museum devoted to the history behind the kingdom.

We also went to a few workshops that made local crafts. I took a lot of pictures so check those out.