Only Real When Experienced

Yesterday, almost four weeks after the end of classes, I took my last two finals.

Today, I leave.

WOAH. Where did  the semester go? There were days when today felt years away, yet, here it is.

I have so much to say about this experience. I sit here wondering how I will answer the question, "How was Africa?"

I turn to the title of my friend Patrick's photo album of Ghana on facebook: "only real when experienced."

For now, I'll leave you with a quote:

"Adventure is a path. Real adventure
- self determined, self-motivated, often risky -
forces you to have firsthand encounters with the world.
The world the way it is, not the way you imagine it.
Your body will collide with the earth and you will bear witness.
In this way you will be compelled to grapple with
the limitless kindness and bottomless cruelty of humankind -
and perhaps realize that you yourself are capable of both.
This will change you. Nothing will ever again be black-and-white."
-Mark Jenkins

ONE WEEK!

Fastforward one week and I (should) be sitting on the plane, minutes away from take off!

I had my first final yesterday at 7:30 AM. Now, I have three left: Saturday at 7:30 AM, Tuesday at 7:30 AM and Tuesday at 3:30 PM.

...I wish I were a morning person...

In other news, today was a big day.

1) Thomas is back from Rome!

and

2) Katie left today, making her the first in our program to go.

Byeeeeeeeeeeee, Katie!

After much rearranging and weighing, we think both of her bags were 50 pounds or under...she brought a few extra cedi to the airport in case she needed to give an employee a little somethin' to let an extra pound or two slide...oh, Ghana.

I miss her already.

I think the next week will be a little slow because Katie was one of my main partners in crime and I don't have much to do aside from study.

Here's to my last week in Africa :)

Field Day at Mawuvios

Earlier this week, Kelly organized a field day for the kids at Mawuvs.

The kids were divided by age/ability into four groups and they competed in five events: short sprint, long sprint, long run, baseball throw, and long jump.

  group one, the youngest boys and my favorites :)

group 4, the oldest boys...they weren't messin' around #inittowinit

The games lasted about 3 hours. We started around 9 AM, but even then it was HOTTTTTT, so we took a water break and cooled down in shade for a while.

Even though the boys had been running around for hours in the hot sun (mostly without shoes on), they still had energy to climb all over me, hehe.

It was a fun day for all involved :)

Neither here nor there...

I have mixed emotions tonight.

I'm feeling a little anxious, I attribute part of that to my impending finals.

I will be the first to admit that I've had a countdown for my departure for some time now. I also have made a list of the food/meals I hope to inhale as soon as I'm back on American soil.

That being said, I can't help but feel there is still lots to be done here and so much more to learn!!!

Food for thought courtesy of Mr. Robert Frost:

"We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows."

"The middle of the road is where the white line is - and that's the worst place to drive."

That's all for now, goodnight :)

Tricks of the Trade

I thought I would do a quick post giving you a few simple ways to be more Ghanaian.

1. Drink sachet water

Each sachet is 500 milliliters. The symbol on the bottom right corner signifies that the water quality has been approved by the Ghanaian government...or so they say (My friend Collin shared this with me...http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1976297/).

You can buy a single sachet for about 6 U.S. cents, or a pack of 30 for about $1.10. They are sold everywhereeeee and they also end up everywhereeeee on the ground. I would say sachets account for about 70/80% of the trash in Ghana. It's hard to fix this problem, because Ghanaians don't recycle, and sachets provide a cheap and easy way to distribute safe drinking water.

2. Don't eat your orange in slices

Ghanaians peel the (green) skin off oranges, slice the top, and suck out the juice. I, however, have been known to get a little aggressive, often hacking my oranges, because I like to get some of the fruit in addition to the juice.

3. Babies on the back

If you've got a baby, this is the way to carry it. Strollers do no exist here.

I think it's pretty darn cute to see a baby snoozing back there, completely oblivious to the chaos all around them.

Tribal Marks

When I first arrived in Ghana, I noticed many Ghanaians had marks on their faces. These marks looked like scars, but seemed too methodical, and occurred too frequently, to be accidental.

I soon found out they were tribal marks. Every tribe has their own unique style of mark which is used to identify different ethnic groups. I have seen single horizontal or vertical lines, but I have also seen faces that seem to have been marked on either side using a rake.

Seeing tribal marks for the first time was a blunt reminder that I was entering a whole new world, one with entirely different cultural practices. Now, I find myself comparing marks and trying to identify the tribe.

This is not a great picture, but you are able to see the horizontal mark on this community elder's right cheek. The marks are typically mirrored on both sides, so pretend you are looking at him straight on and can see both cheeks.

Today, tribal marks are not as popular among younger generations. Some find the practice barbaric and without purpose. Others stopped giving the marks to create a more unified Ghanaian, as opposed to ethnic, identity. However, many Ghanaians remain proud of their marks and want to continue the tradition by passing on the marks to their own children.

I have a feeling I won't see too many when I return to the U.S....

I don't always fully understand aspects of Ghanaian culture, but I am so thankful that I've had the opportunity to experience and learn about things that are completely foreign to me. Whether I prefer things here or elsewhere, whether I find them right or wrong, I'm seeing new things and I'm seeing them in a new way.

P.S. I leave two weeks from today.
P.P.S. I still haven't had my first final. I think I'll start studying this weekend, as my first is scheduled for Tuesday, May 15th.

Farewell Dinner

  Earlier this week, my program had its farewell dinner.

Farewell dinner? I don't leave until the 23rd! The three week final period only just started today; however, with differing final schedules, some people are able to leave early and others are trying to fit in a last trip or two.

The evening involved a full Ghanaian spread, drumming, and dancing.

Clockwise: Jollof rice, plain rice, red-red (fried plantains and bean stew), fried chicken, fried yam and palaver sauce, fried sweet potatoes.

                                                          Okra stew, the Ghanaian Gumbo

As you might have noticed, Ghanaian cuisine typically involves 1) carbs, carbs, and more carbs, 2) frying almost everything, and 3) palm oil. So, fear not, I will not be returning to the states a shadow of my former self.

I thought I'd introduce you to two Ghanaian beverages:

                    Palm Wine                                          and                                           Bissap

Palm wine, made from fermented sap, tastes pretty good, but the yeast-like smell is a bit of a turn off for me. I believe Bissap is made from dried hibiscus flowers. I don't really like it, but I'm also not a huge fan of ginger and the Ghanaian Bissap is heavy on the ginger.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

18 days until I leave, eeeeeek!