Apologies

Ok so I haven't written a blog in a really long time so I'm sorry all. My computer crashed a few weeks ago and it's still not fixed, the internet has been very faulty lately, and I've just been super busy. So here goes a long one:

So last I wrote the African Cup was still going on, which sadly Ghana came in 3rd place (Egypt, the defending champions, won), class were going well (still are) and teaching was the best (still is)! Teaching is so amazing actually. I just love my students and I'm very thankful to be having such a great volunteer experience because many of the other students have been complaining about theirs. My weeks are pretty filled with school and teaching and for the most part NYU has planned stuff for our weekends. So here's the run down of the past few weekends:

Feb. 9-10 - No planned excursion with NYU. So my friend, Rachel, and I went to a small village outside of Accra to volunteer with a church group that provides Saturday schooling for under privileged kids. It was actually very overwhelming because these kids were the dollar-a-day kids you see on tv and they thought that we were their sponsors. Plus, there was 200 kids and only 2 of us and they all wanted our attention. But it really was great spending time with the kids, they're all so wonderful. The rest of the weekend we watched the end of the African Cup and hung out with peeps. Pretty chill.

Feb. 16-17 - NYU planned an overnight trip to Elmina and Cape Coast, towns west of Accra on the coast of Ghana. Both town have famous slave castles that we visited. On Saturday, we went to the Elmina slave castle, built in 1452 by the Portuguese, and it was very powerful. We learned a lot about the terrible conditions the slaves were kept in and the practices of the slave owners. As powerful as the visit was, I was a little uncomfortable with how the NYU staff members and some of the students tried to make the experience more "authentic" with moments of silence, tears, and unnecessary emotional breakdowns. It's not that I don't think that all of those things are real or expected reactions to such a powerful place as a slave castle, I just think that some of the students and staff were trying too hard. But hearing about the history of the castle and seeing it first hand was astounding.

Outside Elmina Castle

Inside Elmina Castle

Elmina

After the Elmina slave castle, we went to Kakum National Park where they have a canopy walk. It's a bunch of these very thin bridges in the canopy of the trees. It was really cool, though anyone with a fear of heights would probably hate it. I absolutely loved it!!!



The hotel we stayed at was seriously one of the nicest hotels I've ever been to. It was called the Coconut Grove Resort Hotel and it was beautiful. That night, we had a bonfire on the beach and just hung out, it was very nice. The next morning a few of us went into Cape Coast, about 30 minutes away from Elmina, and went to the slave castle there. I enjoyed this trip more because there was only five of us and it just seemed more powerful in a smaller group. We were able to experience the castle without having to think about what was expected of us or what other students might think. Cape Coast slave castle was built in 1637 but the Dutch and was used as the stopping ground for most of the slaves that came through Ghana before the Middle Passage. After the castle, we went back to our hotel and rested around the pool, and then went back to Accra. All in all, it was a very nice weekend.

Cape Coast Castle

Kathleen, me, Rachel, Emily, and Briana

Cape Coast

Feb. 23-24 - This past weekend, NYU organized a trip to a village in the Eastern region called Kwamoso and we worked w/ Habitat for Humanity. We helped build a house and it was seriously hard work, literally building adobes (like mom would say)! I was definitely very sore afterwards but it felt really nice to be so productive. A few of us spent the night in the village at a home stay and it was awesome. They had a huge bonfire and dance party after dinner and the people were just so friendly and welcoming. The next morning we went to a Catholic mass and even though it was in Twi I could tell what was going on by tone, it was really interesting. I had a great weekend, though I was exhausted by the end of it. Unfortunately, I didn't take my camera so I don't have any pictures. :(

The past few weeks have been absolutely amazing. I'm still so excited to be here. Every now and then I forget I'm in Africa, and it just hits me and I just get so thrilled about it again. I'm also SO very excited for Diana to come in a few weeks for my spring break. Some friends and I are planning a trip to Benin so she will join us and I just can't wait!!! I will do my best from now on to keep the blog more up to date. Hope everyone back home is well.

Gist of the week

The weekly rundown:
Teaching, football match (Ghana beat Morocco 2-0, big freakin deal! I mean BIG!), class, beach, more class, more teaching, awkward night out, cooking class (we made Omo Tuo and Groundnut Soup, recall from the 5 new founds I've tried below, and it was delic!), girls night out, lazy day in followed by one of the craziest nights EVER!

Now the juicy details...
Teaching is the best thing I do. The kids are amazing; every day I'm there they impress me more and more. They make my job so much easier w/ how eager they are. Honestly, I never thought I would have to worry about them fighting over who gets to do the math problem on the board or who gets to read out loud or who gets to erase the board. I even picked up another class just so I can see them one more day a week.

Class: My classes are going well and though they are quite interesting, school really is not at the top of my list. I know I'm here to be a student and all but there's just so much else going on, it's a little hard to focus. But don't worry, I'm still going to get everything I need done and do well.

So the craziest night ever... ok, before when I described how crazy Ghanaians are about soccer, I'd barely hit the tip of the iceberg. We went to the fanpark, a big park w/ a large screen showing the game, to watch the Ghana v. Nigeria match and b/c Ghana and Nigeria are big time rivals, it was insane. Nigeria scored first and the whole place was SO quiet, seriously it was like we were at a funeral. Some people were even on their knees praying. Then when Ghana scored the place went nuts. It was like one giant mosh pit... people were jumping around and throwing things and hugging everyone and yelling, LOTS and LOTS of yelling. People sprayed everyone w/ beer and water and some people were even throwing beer bottles! So the score was tied and for the rest of the game everyone was freaking out... any time anything happened people were yelling and screaming and jumping around. And then one of the Ghanaian players got red carded... seriously, my ears are still ringing from how loud everyone was being. When Ghana scored the winning goal, it was like everyone there had just won millions of dollars. Afterward, there was parties everywhere... on the side of the road, at gas stations, everywhere. People were parading down the streets, screaming, blowing whistles and horns, some people were even streaking. It was definitely one of the craziest things I've ever seen, but also really fun. We're going back on Thursday to watch the Ghana v. Cameroon match, and I'm going to try and take my camera and take pictures.