Blogs from Central, Ghana, Africa - page 5

I feel like visiting an orphanage in Africa (or any other developing country for that matter) is one of those things you might find listed on the website stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, which makes fun of the seemingly normal but somehow ridiculous interests of middle-class caucasians. I admit that I once felt noble telling people at home that I had just returned from Ethiopia, volunteering at a homeless soup kitchen and holding orphan babies. Even though it was a temporary treat for the kids I served, the experience was more about me, and the effect it would have on my life. And I guess there’s really nothing wrong with that, as long as I don’t believe that makes me Jesus. Spending a Saturday afternoon at Royal Seed Orphanage in Kasoa, Central Region, however, was a much different experience than ... read more

I just got back from a weekend trip my program CIEE took us on. We left early on Saturday morning heading to Cape Coast. Since I had been there the weekend before, we had a little better idea of how to pack and what to expect. But unlike our solo trip, we got to stay in a high-class hotel. Once we arranged our roommates and dropped off our stuff at the hotel, we got back on the bus and headed either to the Cape Coast Castle or the Elmina Castle. I chose to go to the Elmina Castle because it is older and is in a different part of the city than I had been. Here is a little history background… The Portuguese originally built Elmina Castle as a trading post in 1482 as St. George ... read more

Wren writing: This morning we experienced what will probably be the most exhilarating breakfast of our lives. It had rained all night the night before and was still pouring when we reached the restaurant. The restaurant is located in the little lake (that contains the crocodiles!) and the bridges that connect it to the shore were already flooded with about 3 inches of water. And as we stood in line for the breakfast buffet, water began to flow into the restaurant and swell around our ankles. So we went to the upper level to eat and by the time we came down (we just had to get a camera because it was so cool), the water was up to our knees. One of the smaller crocodiles had come up and sat itself on the bridge to ... read more

Wren here: Today, after accomplishing the feat of eating five whole mangoes for breakfast, we left Kumasi for Cape Coast. Before our bumpy five hour bus ride to Cape Coast, though, we had the pleasure of a 40 minute car ride to the bus station with Ralph, Rachel, Wren, and Anna all crammed into the back seat, intensley humid, 90 degree weather, Ralph and Wren in long pants, and... windows that couldn't open!! The smell in the car was quite potent and, combined with the heat, it made for a tough ride. Anna was quite close to fainting I think. By the time we got to the station, our clothes were literally drenched in sweat. But, on the other hand, it made what we would usually consider the hot and humid outdoors feel almost like winter! ... read more

Term 3 began two weeks ago and I started properly in my new school in Simiw. I had arrived before the end of the last term but time was taken up with revision and exams. With JHS3 no longer in school, (they sit their final exams after the second term) I’ve been left with Form 1 and 2 for their final term. I’ll be able to see out the best part of the term as we’re flying home two days before term ends. As it happens we recently got an email stating that our flight times have changed and we’ve now got longer stop-overs tacking about three hours onto our flight. Fantastic. Being the first Ahoto volunteer in Simiw - and the first white teacher in the school - there is a great buzz around the ... read more