Blogs from Ho, Volta, Ghana, Africa - page 8

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Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 17th 2008

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY! You'd never know it here. It was sunny all day and probably the hottest day so far. I woke up with such a bad stomach ache today that I considered staying home from placement. I ended up going so we sat around and colored with the youngest kids which they really enjoyed. It was very disheartening to hear Raymond say that no one from the local churches really donates money to the orphanage. During a fundraiser he once only received $2.00 from a church. I went with Rebecca to the market in the afternoon and bought fabric for a dress. A man grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go which was really scary. In the afternoon we visited a monkey sanctuary which was really cool to see. We fed them and they ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 16th 2008

Sorry, but this is so hard to stay updated with such slow computers...I really will try to get everything from this last week in. This weekend, we visited a hotel on Lake Volta which was absolutely insane. Imagine taking an extremely nice vacation to Mexico and paying only $50/night to stay there...and we had AIR CONDITIONING which was a wonderful wonderful treat as we do not have it at the home base. On Friday we just sat around the hotel and had a few cocktails under a cabana so it was nice to stay in after an extremely hot and bumpy two hour ride. We discovered there is a pet donkey at the hotel that they let walk around everywhere so that was really funny to see. We ate buffet at the hotel which was cold ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 14th 2008

Woke up and checked out of the Bulldog but was able to leave my luggage there. I walked to the dam to take a tram to the Museumplein where the US Embassy is located. I applied for my new passport and met a girl named Jennifer who lived in Hague and offered me a place to stay. When I was eating breakfast at a "Bagels and Beans", I met a man from Boston who was concerned I was having a breakdown. Apparently you must be a Dutch resident to receive a visa for Ghana at their embassy. He assured me everything would be alright and went home to get a jacket for me to wear. I then went to the Kinkos to use the internet where he followed me to give me his old phone cards. ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 14th 2008

Woke up and went to Christ Orphanage. I showed the kids pictures of Hailey, Hannah, Morgan, Madison, McKenna, and my grandpa and grandma. It was really funny; they couldn't understand why the twins weren't named "Achu" and "Achupe", which almost every set of twins are named here. After getting out, we went to Afrikiko Hotel on Lake Volta.... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 13th 2008

Woke up early and ate ostrich egg for breakfast. Got to the orphanage and again sang. This time, I brought stickers for the kids, which was a big mistake. They went absolutely crazy. I think it caused more crying and chaos than happiness. I had lunch and went to get an identity card picture taken; you'll all need to see it when I get back. I look like a little Dutch boy! We stopped at the post office, bank, and phone card store. I ran almost four miles in the afternoon which was REALLY hot. We took Ewe lessons at night...maybe I'll come back speaking a tribal language! A girl on the trip, Hope, told us about an experience she had with people trying to show her what "little people" look like. The Ghanian exlpained them ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 11th 2008

I woke up early and got ready to go to the Ghana Consulate. Jen walked me to tram 9 which was the train to the embassy. I bought my ticket to Schipol before I left and found the embassy with ease. I met some very nice people in the waiting room, and two nuns gave me their breakfast when they found out I had coffee. I made my way to the tram to try and catch the 10:58 am bus/train but got lost and ended up taking a connection from Leiden to Schipol. When I was on a moving ramp in the airport, my luggage fell and caused a traffic accident. The people behind me all tripped and their luggage also toppled everywhere. Ahh...typical. While getting a new ticket the woman at the counter informed me ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 10th 2008

Started the day out at the Anne Frank Museum which was absolutely amazing to see. You grow up in school, reading the book and looking at her secret bookcase, and I NEVER expected to see it in person. All of teh rooms in the Annex were open to the public. It rained all day again so I had to buy an umbrella. Met a great person while eating lunch that wished me luck with my passport issues. I went to the supermarket and it was super hard to shop, the food is so different here! A little girl who looked like Suri Cruise was in there wearing head to toe Burberry. She even had a Burberry stroller (if you're reading this, Beth, I knew you'd appreciate that). It was pretty ridiculous. It's so cold here without ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 10th 2008

I woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel and left my luggage there to see the Van Gogh Museum. Rainy again, but only a five minute walk. Beatiful museum. Ate there and then did some window shopping (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabanna). Got my bags and checked into the hostel "The Bulldog". What an experience. The receptionist in the lobby was smoking pot, and the whole place smells like it. I met two girls, Dorothea and Desiree, from Germany and I went out with them. It was crazy; we went out to supper and then visited the "Red Light District", which was an AWFUL place. They have prostitutes in every window, etc. I have decided one thing I won't miss about Amsterdam is the creepy men catcalling, whistling, yelling from their car windows, and ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 7th 2008

So I guess it's really 6am? But really 10pm in Minnesota, time, I'm so confused! We already had breakfast and let's just say that was easier to choke down than dinner, which was some chicken dish and some sort of awful potato and rice salad...apparently the diet has already started. I asked the flight attendant how impossible it would be to go into the city during my layover and she didn't think it was a good idea. Oh well. I had chicken McNuggets in the airport for lunch. It's really hard to believe how lonely you can get so fast when travelling by yourself. You can go a pretty long time without hearing the sound of your own voice. later... Great start to my trip. My passport was stolen/lost. I spent three hours calling embassies ... read more

Africa » Ghana » Volta » Ho March 6th 2008

Woke up at 3:00am for a 7:00am flight to JFK. Flight is scheduled to leave on time. I was already a little homesick when I was sitting by myself in the airport, but then I watched parent trap, and Lindsay Lohan's characters are at camp for 8 weeks, and then I thought, "Wait, they're 11 years old...why can't I leave for 8 weeks?" The woman who checked in my bagges was from Africa (not Ghana) and warned me of how hot it would be there. I arrived at JFK on time. Flight to Amsterdam leaves at 5:50pm. My seat was upgraded to JFK. Looks like they know how to treat their high-rollers around here :) I sat by a family from Farmington on the way to JFK. When I arrived I ate at the Sam Adams ... read more




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