Nkawkaw is the capitol of the Kwahu West District and is about midway between Kumasi and Accra on the Kumasi-Accra Rd. The town is always bustling. Around 5:30am the town wakes up, and by 6am it is in full swing. Tro-tros, taxis, trucks and cars honk their way up the road, while shopkeepers open their stores. The taxi repair shop just below my window always plays music in the morning- I've heard everything from Beyonce to accordion music to Bob Marley.
As I walk to work, people are quick to yell out, "Obruni! How are you?" As the day progresses, the greetings change to "you are beautiful, are you married? You will be my wife." Needless to say, everyone is very friendly, and by now, most people in Nkawkaw know me. Apparently, one of the other volunteers (who lives on top of the nearby mountain) was getting into a taxi the other day and the driver said, "Are you Aislynn?" When she said no, the cabbie asked, "where is she? what is she doing?" Since I'm the only obruni in town, I think the driver assumed any female obruni must be me.
'Wo fi Ehe' means 'where are you from', so I should spend a little time talking about my host family. We live on the Kumasi road, above and behind a restaurant they own. I'm still trying to figure out how many people live in the house. Josephine, the mother, has 4 children, but I rarely see her son or her husband (I actually met hom for the first time a few days ago). Gifty, a young girl who is their hired help, may or may not live in the house...I've seen her late at night, but am not really sure where she sleeps There is a girl who works in the restaurant whom I'm fairly certain also lives in the house. So in addition to my room, there are three other bedrooms, a living room and a bathroom. My host family is incredibly kind and really hospitable. If I text Josephine to tell her I'll be home late, she responds with something like, "ok sweetie. take good care of yourself. i love you." Awww
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Friday, July 13, 2007
Akwaaba means Welcome
I know I did a terrible job updating my blog while in South Africa, but I was having too much fun! And since it's impossible to summarize an entire semester in a few paragraphs, I'll just have to tell you all about it in person and attempt to be a better blogger in Ghana. Though considering my time here is halfway over, I'm not off to a great start....
So, why Ghana? Having already been to parts of eastern and southern Africa, I wanted to intern somewhere in west Africa. Through idealist.org I contacted a couple of organizations in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali. Unfortunately, most of the groups seemed rather unorganized and wanted money more than volunteers. Furthermore, the State Department had travel advisories for Nigeria and Liberia because Americans were targets for kidnappings. So when Fred from SVG emailed me to say I could intern at the District Assembly in Nkawkaw (Ghana), I immediately said yes. And after finishing exams, booking my plane ticket and several frustrating phone calls to the Ghana High Commission as to the whereabouts of my passport (which I finally received a few hours before my plane left), I was on my way.
So, why Ghana? Having already been to parts of eastern and southern Africa, I wanted to intern somewhere in west Africa. Through idealist.org I contacted a couple of organizations in Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana and Mali. Unfortunately, most of the groups seemed rather unorganized and wanted money more than volunteers. Furthermore, the State Department had travel advisories for Nigeria and Liberia because Americans were targets for kidnappings. So when Fred from SVG emailed me to say I could intern at the District Assembly in Nkawkaw (Ghana), I immediately said yes. And after finishing exams, booking my plane ticket and several frustrating phone calls to the Ghana High Commission as to the whereabouts of my passport (which I finally received a few hours before my plane left), I was on my way.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Welcome to Cape Town
Cape Town from the air is beautiful. The sun was setting as our plane descended, turning the smooth oceans black and orange and pink. The outlines of buildings were still visible: the dense conglomerations of the townships, the tall skyscrapers of the waterfront, and finally, the airport.
A slight breeze made the warm, humid air pleasant.
Finding out that my luggage had been left in Joburg was considerably less pleasant. As I waited to fill out the baggage claim forms I discovered two things about South Africans; first, they are extraordinarily friendly, and second, they cut lines like no one’s business. Still, the gentleman who managed to bypass me in line (with two luggage carts!!) warmly welcomed me to Cape Town, and after hearing that there was no one from the University to pick me up, offered to wait with me until someone arrived. I don’t know how many Americans would do that for someone they just met.
About an hour later, after filling out my claim forms and finally locating someone from UCT (they apparently thought I was arriving the next day), I was on the Jammie Shuttle, eagerly looking forward to meeting my 14 roommates.
Getting around in foreign countries is never as straight forward as in the States, and my shuttle driver took me to 2 other houses before finally delivering me to the correct address. 10 of my roommates had already moved in, and were gathered around the TV, watching soccer and drinking wine, when I walked in.
I live with four boys and eleven girls; Marianne is Norwegian, Tessa is Dutch, and everyone else is American, mainly from the Midwest and Massachusetts. When we aren’t at orientation, the roomies tend to split up to go to the beach, or shopping, or run around campus getting classes approved. At night, however, we all go out together to the bars that are two blocks from our house.
The house is painted brick red on the outside, and sand-colored on the interior. The overall effect is kind of southwestern. When you enter the house, the living room and dining room are first. The three black leather sofas face our television set, which gets satellite TV. The dining room table is far too small for 15 people, but 8 people can comfortably sit at the square table. The kitchen is enormous. Approximately the size of Lauren and Rachel’s bedroom, a double sink, three refrigerators, an ice chest, and two very long counters complete the room. 3 bedrooms are off of the hallway, past the kitchen. A few steps later, five stairs lead to the second floor, where 6 bedrooms are situated. The third floor also has 6 bedrooms.
I’m located on the third floor, in the back right-hand room. One wall is almost completely made out of windows, through which I can see Devil’s Peak. Against the adjacent wall, two windows look towards the water, and throughout the day, I see seagulls. My room stays well lit most of the day, and the intense sun tends to wake me up around 5:30am. The sun also makes the room feel like a furnace on some days (our house doesn’t have air conditioning or central heating), and the one window that opens doesn’t allow too much of a breeze through. My room is one of the bigger ones in the house and it’s on the third floor (much safer), so I can’t really complain.
A slight breeze made the warm, humid air pleasant.
Finding out that my luggage had been left in Joburg was considerably less pleasant. As I waited to fill out the baggage claim forms I discovered two things about South Africans; first, they are extraordinarily friendly, and second, they cut lines like no one’s business. Still, the gentleman who managed to bypass me in line (with two luggage carts!!) warmly welcomed me to Cape Town, and after hearing that there was no one from the University to pick me up, offered to wait with me until someone arrived. I don’t know how many Americans would do that for someone they just met.
About an hour later, after filling out my claim forms and finally locating someone from UCT (they apparently thought I was arriving the next day), I was on the Jammie Shuttle, eagerly looking forward to meeting my 14 roommates.
Getting around in foreign countries is never as straight forward as in the States, and my shuttle driver took me to 2 other houses before finally delivering me to the correct address. 10 of my roommates had already moved in, and were gathered around the TV, watching soccer and drinking wine, when I walked in.
I live with four boys and eleven girls; Marianne is Norwegian, Tessa is Dutch, and everyone else is American, mainly from the Midwest and Massachusetts. When we aren’t at orientation, the roomies tend to split up to go to the beach, or shopping, or run around campus getting classes approved. At night, however, we all go out together to the bars that are two blocks from our house.
The house is painted brick red on the outside, and sand-colored on the interior. The overall effect is kind of southwestern. When you enter the house, the living room and dining room are first. The three black leather sofas face our television set, which gets satellite TV. The dining room table is far too small for 15 people, but 8 people can comfortably sit at the square table. The kitchen is enormous. Approximately the size of Lauren and Rachel’s bedroom, a double sink, three refrigerators, an ice chest, and two very long counters complete the room. 3 bedrooms are off of the hallway, past the kitchen. A few steps later, five stairs lead to the second floor, where 6 bedrooms are situated. The third floor also has 6 bedrooms.
I’m located on the third floor, in the back right-hand room. One wall is almost completely made out of windows, through which I can see Devil’s Peak. Against the adjacent wall, two windows look towards the water, and throughout the day, I see seagulls. My room stays well lit most of the day, and the intense sun tends to wake me up around 5:30am. The sun also makes the room feel like a furnace on some days (our house doesn’t have air conditioning or central heating), and the one window that opens doesn’t allow too much of a breeze through. My room is one of the bigger ones in the house and it’s on the third floor (much safer), so I can’t really complain.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)