Ghana
Well, I haven't updated since I got back from Ghana, but since I don't feel like trying to describe my experience since that would be a mammoth exercise, I will just post some e-mails I sent about it to my parents and Del. They seem to capture the experience in the moment pretty well.
Hi Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Jessica, and Karen,
Ghana is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and I am having a wonderful and safe time. Because it is so poor, my tour group is living like kings. We are staying at a more luxurious hotel than I would ever be able to afford in the states, which means I have a toilet and a shower and air conditioning! Hooray! I recieved a wonderful dinner that was more than I could eat for 3 american dollars. So, no worries, I'll be surprised if I am capable of spending more than 9 dollars a day on food. I saw some children and adults with distended bellies from starvation, which was very sad. Our hotel is right across the street from a very poor encampment. Ghana thrives very well commercially in general however, it is really a happy place and I believe that life here is in many ways similar to life in an American city, in that people live their daily lives and go grocery shopping and buy clothes, etc. I went to a dance club with my tour group last night, and that was amusing. I love the feeling of being the only white person in a crowd, it is so different and cool. I'll keep you updated.
Love,
Amanda
Hi! Yesterday, I went to an African church service, the people were so vibrant that it was more like a party/dance than a religious experience. There was drum beating and clapping of hands, and, in fact, since there is a church on practically every block, you could hear music all day in the streets. Everyone was dressed up to the nines as well in colorful exciting clothing. How nice that these people can look forward to such a celebration every week. Accra has a funny smell, everytime I went outside there was a pungeant sweet scent everywhere I went. I don't particularly like it, but I have to get used to it I suppose. There are lots of goats here, in particular, one often sees baby goats with their umbilical cord still hanging as they walk. Today I visited a castle where slaves were kept in dungeons, it was very moving. Most people don't speak English as their first language, but rather, speak one of the 50 tribal languages found in Ghana. Hence, it is always a bit difficult to communicate. Everyone knows English, but they often have poor grammar and small vocabularies because they usually have only gone to primary school. I saw crocodiles today at a restaurant that I ate at. I also walked on a suspended bridge over the top of a rainforest. It was so high and so long, and SO fun. After a while, I was able to look down while walking, quite a feat for me since I am afraid of heights. Seeing the poverty here has made me want to do something to help. I think that overall people are very happy and it is a nice place to live, but most of the people I see live in one room with their entire families, or a mud hut with a straw roof. This is not in Accra of course, but outside of it. In Accra people live in tall apartment buildings, but are still crammed into one room, or live in small wood huts on the side of the road. You probably feel as if I am contradicting myself when I say that people are happy here, but honestly, from what I see of family life, people are able to make a good life for themselves. Though they live in one room, they are outside all day working at their various jobs: fishing, coconut harvesting, etc. The weather is wonderful, the food is good and cheap. There is a strong community and family life, and sanitary conditions are ok by the sea. I think that things are just less advanced, but not more miserable than the USA. However, I have seen also many beggars and people who are not getting adequate medical attention, and the entire time I have been here I have seen only one policemen, which says to me that the public infrastructure could use some work. I am throwing around ideas in my head...maybe I should join the peace core, or try to volunteer and teach English somewhere...or I could go to a French speaking African country and
teach music lessons at a private school for free. Then, I would become fluent in French and be helping in my own way. I have to do a researchproject for my class, and I think that I might research alternatives for people who cut down rainforests, or research about whether or not Ghana has public organizations to help people who are on the streets. Homeless people here are seldom homeless because they are crazy, unlike in America. It is usually because they are too old/weak/sick to work, or because their family has died of something like malaria. On a lighter note, today I saw some crocodiles and fed them, they were swimming in the water surrounding the restaurant I was eating at.
That's pretty much it for the useful e-mails I found. In other news, I am planning on staying at Simon's Rock for the summer working at the Athletic Center. I am enjoying my classes immensely. I will be applying to grad schools soon like NYU and some others in New York, and probably a few in Boston. My thesis will have something to do with French women writers. And....that's pretty much all the interesting goings on.
Hi Mom, Dad, Jennifer, Jessica, and Karen,
Ghana is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined and I am having a wonderful and safe time. Because it is so poor, my tour group is living like kings. We are staying at a more luxurious hotel than I would ever be able to afford in the states, which means I have a toilet and a shower and air conditioning! Hooray! I recieved a wonderful dinner that was more than I could eat for 3 american dollars. So, no worries, I'll be surprised if I am capable of spending more than 9 dollars a day on food. I saw some children and adults with distended bellies from starvation, which was very sad. Our hotel is right across the street from a very poor encampment. Ghana thrives very well commercially in general however, it is really a happy place and I believe that life here is in many ways similar to life in an American city, in that people live their daily lives and go grocery shopping and buy clothes, etc. I went to a dance club with my tour group last night, and that was amusing. I love the feeling of being the only white person in a crowd, it is so different and cool. I'll keep you updated.
Love,
Amanda
Hi! Yesterday, I went to an African church service, the people were so vibrant that it was more like a party/dance than a religious experience. There was drum beating and clapping of hands, and, in fact, since there is a church on practically every block, you could hear music all day in the streets. Everyone was dressed up to the nines as well in colorful exciting clothing. How nice that these people can look forward to such a celebration every week. Accra has a funny smell, everytime I went outside there was a pungeant sweet scent everywhere I went. I don't particularly like it, but I have to get used to it I suppose. There are lots of goats here, in particular, one often sees baby goats with their umbilical cord still hanging as they walk. Today I visited a castle where slaves were kept in dungeons, it was very moving. Most people don't speak English as their first language, but rather, speak one of the 50 tribal languages found in Ghana. Hence, it is always a bit difficult to communicate. Everyone knows English, but they often have poor grammar and small vocabularies because they usually have only gone to primary school. I saw crocodiles today at a restaurant that I ate at. I also walked on a suspended bridge over the top of a rainforest. It was so high and so long, and SO fun. After a while, I was able to look down while walking, quite a feat for me since I am afraid of heights. Seeing the poverty here has made me want to do something to help. I think that overall people are very happy and it is a nice place to live, but most of the people I see live in one room with their entire families, or a mud hut with a straw roof. This is not in Accra of course, but outside of it. In Accra people live in tall apartment buildings, but are still crammed into one room, or live in small wood huts on the side of the road. You probably feel as if I am contradicting myself when I say that people are happy here, but honestly, from what I see of family life, people are able to make a good life for themselves. Though they live in one room, they are outside all day working at their various jobs: fishing, coconut harvesting, etc. The weather is wonderful, the food is good and cheap. There is a strong community and family life, and sanitary conditions are ok by the sea. I think that things are just less advanced, but not more miserable than the USA. However, I have seen also many beggars and people who are not getting adequate medical attention, and the entire time I have been here I have seen only one policemen, which says to me that the public infrastructure could use some work. I am throwing around ideas in my head...maybe I should join the peace core, or try to volunteer and teach English somewhere...or I could go to a French speaking African country and
teach music lessons at a private school for free. Then, I would become fluent in French and be helping in my own way. I have to do a researchproject for my class, and I think that I might research alternatives for people who cut down rainforests, or research about whether or not Ghana has public organizations to help people who are on the streets. Homeless people here are seldom homeless because they are crazy, unlike in America. It is usually because they are too old/weak/sick to work, or because their family has died of something like malaria. On a lighter note, today I saw some crocodiles and fed them, they were swimming in the water surrounding the restaurant I was eating at.
That's pretty much it for the useful e-mails I found. In other news, I am planning on staying at Simon's Rock for the summer working at the Athletic Center. I am enjoying my classes immensely. I will be applying to grad schools soon like NYU and some others in New York, and probably a few in Boston. My thesis will have something to do with French women writers. And....that's pretty much all the interesting goings on.