Canadian Girls in Ghana

CHANTEL - I know that An and I have been here for almost four weeks now and this is the first time we are posting anything. We have been writing constantly and keeping track of everything that is going on but it has been nearly impossible to get anything posted what with the slow internet connections and power cuts. The power in Ghana comes from a dam and this year the dam is at the lowest it has been in years so the government had ordered regular scheduled power cuts in every area two days a week for twelve hours each. That had been fine, we know to shower beforehand because with lights-out comes water-off and we plan to eat at the market and do something off campus on those nights. However, the power has been ... read more

CHANTEL - So Saturday night continued our introduction to Ghanaian party life and laid the groundwork for what would become our routine weekend schedule. An and I have adapted a very serious work ethic that we would like to call the work hard/play hard game plan. It consists of us working our butts off during a regular 9 to 5 like day, heading home for some dinner and a rest and then heading out to meet up with friends and enjoy whatever adventures the evening may bring us. We made the decision to head out with some of the American students to a bar of their choice before moving on to meet up with our local friends at a different location. I feel that we have a different idea of what is a fun night out ... read more

CHANTEL - Got to cross something off my life’s to do list today…play soccer in Africa! Seriously, if I can surf over here next I am going to be ecstatic. Playing in soccer has been a dream of mine for quite some time so when one of the American girls offered to take me with her to Labadi to play soccer with a local competitive women’s team I jumped at the chance to join in. We headed into the village and wound up at massive dirt field in the middle of a village compound surrounded by what looked like run down housing and possibly a school of some sort. The field was overrun by children and goats but as we put our gear on the field started to clear and crowds of people gathered to watch ... read more

AN - That morning we walked to Reuben’s office. Mr. Adotai was taking us to the Odumase-Krobo to visit the Queen Mothers Association. Over the phone, Manye had told Reuben it was best if the girls (us) came to Krobo on Wednesday morning and return home later that afternoon. I was there when Reuben had called Manye. From what I could hear, there was something about Valentine’s Day being a day of celebration, United Way was going to be present and that Chantel and I should join in the festivities. Both Chantel and I were not clear on what was going to happen that day, but we were both pumped to see Manye once again. The last time we saw her was during her visit to Vancouver in October, she was a speaker on the Focus ... read more

AN - So this entry has less to do with the cultural experience of living in Ghana, but more of the cultural experience of living in Ghana as an international student. One evening we were told that one of the American girl that lived in our building was having a birthday party. Her name is Ashley. We met her on a couple of occasions and she seemed like a nice girl. We have also met a few of her friends that were of course from the same program and from the same country (America). We thought it would be a good idea since, we were still quite new in town and we should try to make some friends. So, we agreed to come. Ashley was able to have the international bus driver take her friends and ... read more

AN - Our friend Janneka was leaving Ghana in the next few days, so she decided that she was going to Ghanas Art Centre to pick up some last minute souvenirs. Both Chantel and I decided to join her. After a morning of some school work, we met up with Janneka, where we decided to take a tro-tro to Accra’s tro-tro station. The tro-tro ride there wasn’t too bad; just the usual hot, sweaty, stuffy, reeks of b.o., cramped and rocky. Once we got to Accra’s main tro-tro station, the images that we faced was truly that of a developing country; the smell was worst. Perhaps the worst smells I have ever encountered in Ghana. Once we got of the tro-tro it was overwhelming the amount of people around us: of course we understood it was ... read more

CHANTEL - Today we decide to take it easy and head to the beach with some of the girls from campus. Our first trip to Labadi beach and we’re pretty pumped, I think that I am about the whitest person in Ghana so it is definitely time to work on my tan. Ended up being a crazy action packed day with the lost little girl and An being chased down the beach by the crazy Ghanaian girl. After spending sometime laying in the sun we hit the water and were slowly working our way in (the waters warm and the waves are good sized) two Ghanaian girls felt that we Obruni’s simply were not getting wet fast enough. So they started to splash them and we began to splash back. Then they grabbed An and I ... read more

February 10, 2007 CHANTEL - Today is market day. We have been hassling Priscilla to take us there for some time because we need stuff for our room and we both need to find some clothes. The market was not at all what I expected. It’s actually one gigantic outdoors second hand shop with thousands of stalls crammed together. I love shopping and I generally enjoy markets, I braved one of the world’s biggest outdoor markets in Thailand and thought it was great, but this market was not fun. Way too crowded to look at anything properly, so much stuff everywhere, with people yelling at you and grabbing at you - we found a few things but I was not a fan. It’s enough to try and get through it with the heat and the smell, ... read more

February 9, 2007 CHANTEL - Today I finish up my English essay, force An to read it over once more and then we head off to the post office to see how to mail things off in Ghana. The post office is on campus and after I stick about a hundred stamps onto the envelope I am informed that it goes in the massive sack full of mail in the corner. I feel slightly concerned about my essay making it to Canada, An and I make jokes about pigeon air mail and writing my professor to inform him that I strapped my essay to a goat and that I had high hopes for the goat making it to Canada. I was quite pleased when I found out that it had actually made it there in one ... read more

CHANTEL - Today was pretty uneventful and easily classified as a normal day on campus. Run around for awhile and then sit and get work done in the office. The only difference about this day was our little incident at the Chicken Inn, one of the little fast food places at the gas station near campus. An and I try to limit how often we eat there but today was a day where we both felt like we needed some good old chicken burgers and fries. After we ordered and sat down An noticed that some guy who had been watching us as we walked in was about to come over and chat us up. The unattractive scary looking forty-something white guy flashes his icky smile and informs us that he was watching us come in ... read more