http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/kminor/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from kminor en-us Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:04:06 +0000 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:04:06 +0000 Photographs from Ghana. http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-119009.html Rain Rain Go away and come back another day.Is not a song that is sung here. And for good reason.The interesting and most valuable lesson I have come to learn has shown itself only through time. As the seasons changed from Rainy to Dry from Dry to Rainy I realized the most important lesson. Water is life. This may seem obvious and is not a new concept or idea or breakthrough. But this reali http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/blog-246600.html Dancers in Singa Kristy It's been a long time. I greet Chief Zack never has he approached me to greet me. He is a chief and as tradition goes he is supposed to be greeted first normally lower then him with your hands closed. I don't really apply to these rules but try my best to show respect. He is one person that I trust and respect fully in Ghana. I admire him and his life. I only wish I http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Volta/Lake-Volta/blog-152489.html To Benin and BackIn Africa that is the way it is.I almost forgot. In an attempt to extend my Ghanaian Visa I had to physically leave the country and return. I thought I was lucky to be so close to a border with some very spectacular mountains that I often daydream about looking out of my window. I was excited to get closer to them and maybe get a peak inside Togo a place I knew relatively nothi http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-142849.html SchoolI never thought that a topic like education could be such a huge issue in development. I guess I had the assumption before I came that if there were more school facilities and teachers that anyone could learn and a country would be well on its way. I made some very simplistic assumptions which I am learning the hard answers to now.At home in Canada if I think back to my grade school days http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-107246.html It is one thing to be overseas in terms of actually over an ocean away from your home country but the overseas I am talking about is just as out of reach out of mind and out of sight.The ldquooverseasrdquo areas I am talking about are here contained in Ghana but for me specifically in East Gonja. There are no seas or oceans that run through Ghana but when the rainy season hits Ghana it cu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-101866.html In the month of Ramadan where Muslims observe fasting from daylight to sunset the EWB volunteers in Tamale Ghana decided why not try and hold our own Stand Up event right here in Tamale. It was a challenge to organize and recruit people in Ghana to come to the event. Imagine handing out flyers and explaining to your friends family and colleagues in Tamale about the event and why they should c http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-100456.html Desiba As I am getting into the ldquoregularrdquo routine of going to work I know that I will be leaving the office and staying in a district in the Northern region. It will only be a couple weeks until I move for 34 months to the district of choice commuting back to Tamale as required. I will be working with the Planning Officer and doing capacity building in the District as well as docu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-92727.html Have you ever been to some place that is breathtaking That you never imagined that you had never seen before I have been to many places and seen many breathtaking sights but this feeling is different. Something that was beautiful but only for a moment to me. For everyone it is a sight that is worrisome. Where did the water go Where are the fish What will happen in the dry season How will http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/blog-84740.html That is right. I am in the vacation period of culture shock and loving every minute of it. Is that bad Well who cares I am having a great time It does not help that I arrived in Zabzugu yesterday only to be surprised by the shape of blue mountains on the horizon the green of the grass and the ever red of the dirt. I was promptly greeted at the District Assembly and placed at their guesthouse http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-81733.html The house is a compound meaning all the doors to the rooms face into a middle circle where all the socializing cooking washing and playing happens. Most houses from the ones I have seen are set up this way more like a community than a row of houses. Food is prepared for everyone in the compound and everyone pulls their own to make the household complete.I still have not figured out everyone wh http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-76972.html And I feel settled.The road to Kumasi the city between Accra and Tamale began my journey into my new house. It was the chapter of the book Shadow of the Sun I was reading on my last night in the Christian Council hotel. The road to Kumasi for me was an introduction to Ghana to say the least. We had departed from Accra to our new home in the Northern region only to find we would have a few bumps http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-76968.html Hello from Tamale. I am just dropping a line to say hello. It has been a very busy time here getting into Tamale and this weekend I am going to a District with a Junior Fellow. I will post my thoughts when I return on monday or tuesday. Until then it's all about learning the local languages.Oh... there are many stories to tell already. I also bought a cell phone chip so if you would like my numb http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Ghana/Northern/Tamale/blog-72103.html Where to begin the blog Tonight as the time passes midnight and I try not to think off all the items on the checklist I forgot to check off and the 8 books that do not seem to fit in my bag I try only to keep myself from jumping up and down with excitement. Tomorrow is my departure to well a number of stops London Dubai Accra.. and than Tamale. For the next 11 months I will be working NORPRE http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/Canada/Ontario/Toronto/blog-70598.html