Sunday, 06 May 2007

  • One Month Left!

    As of today, I have exactly one month left here on the continent of Africa.  Since my housing ends on May 20, I’m planning on spending a few days traveling in Ghana with Damipi and then heading to Togo to spend my last few days in Africa with him and his family.  Since Easter, I’ve done a bit more traveling and a lot of the same old stuff as well.

    I went on a mini-vacation with Sarah Bird, her boyfriend Tony, and Naeesa to Paradise Beach in Ada Foah.  Our trip was a little less than heavenly, though.  Because all of us were low on cash, we hoped to save money on our island vacation by bringing our own water and some bread to munch on.  Tony emerged from his and Sarah’s hut and said, “I think we’re going to have to give the bread to the owners to keep.  I saw a cat in our hut.”  Later we discovered that it was in fact a humongous rat that had eaten a fist-sized piece of the bread loaf and left droppings on their bed.  Gross.

    To make things worse, we all ordered the spaghetti on the menu (which was quite tasty and only $1) only to find out that it gave all of us diarrhea.  Although we four were the only guests at the place, and there was a staff of over ten people, every meal we ordered took a full two hours to arrive and our orders were often wrong. Despite the beautiful surroundings, I won’t be going back.

    I’ve now developed a large rash on the side of my face and I wonder if it’s the first stage of river blindness… I took a risk and swam in the beautifully warm and shallow waters of the Volta river (swimming in fresh water carries the risk of contracting river blindness).  Let’s hope I don’t pay for that swim with my eyesight!

    Our trip to Takoradi (Ghana’s third-largest city) was much more fun and rodent-free.  We spent the entire three days eating huge cheap plates of chips and Chinese food at a restaurant called Naakoff Chinese Restaurant (yes, pronounced “knock-off”) and watching satellite TV in the hotel room.  We also went to the beach which is always fun.  I have never spent so much time at the beach in my life.  I love it.

    Things have been getting a little dicey here in Ghana.  The administration announced a new policy called “In-Out-Out-Out” where only first-year students can stay in on-campus housing (which costs about $100 for Ghanaian students) and everyone else is left to fend for themselves in the (relatively expensive) surrounding area.  In the middle of a protest (which I mistakenly thought was a parade), I was filming and got a fist-full of dirt thrown in my face by an angry protester.  That was scary and unsettling.  Apparently, death threats were also issued to professors and administrators on a statement submitted to local radio stations written in “blood”.  Also, the campus was “shit-bombed” (as the Daily Graphic so graphically put it) by a group of students who smeared feces on the walls of several prominent locations of final exams in protest of the university carrying on with business as usual.

    There’s also been a rumor (which I guess isn’t a rumor since it came from the U.S. State Department) that the dreaded bird flu has been detected here in Ghana.  It’s funny—during all of those “scares” (anthrax, bird flu, SARS, etc.) it was always “somewhere else” but now I’m smack dab in the middle of the place where we now are advised not to eat chicken or eggs (staples in my diet here).

    Two days ago, I went to a fashion show and art exhibit at the house of the US Ambassador to Ghana, Pamela Bridgwater.  Not only was her house fancy and fabulous, but the fashion show was entertaining and gave me ideas for two new dresses (which has now turned into a more affordable hobby since I now trade fashion magazines from the States for the dresses she sews for me).

    I also scheduled a visit to Ashesi University, a tiny liberal arts college in Accra modeling itself after schools like Swarthmore (or Pomona…) and had lunch with the deans and a professor to hear about their experiences and learn more about the school.  I also got to talk to some students about their experiences at Ashesi and sit in on a presentation about internships two students had at Goldman Sachs.  I am entertaining the idea of applying for a Fulbright grant to research in Ghana with Ashesi University after I graduate from grad school.  Ashesi seems like such a fantastic institution because it combines my interests in education, the Diaspora, and business in a special way (the school specializes in teaching Business Admin, Computer Science, and Management Information Systems).  I think I could learn a lot working there and want to keep in touch with them just in case it could actually work out.

    Light’s out has now increased to every other day, so tonight we won’t have light after 6 pm (15 minutes from now) so I’m trying to plan a fun night out for myself.  I’m feeling uninspired however, and hope that something wonderful pops up unexpectedly.

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