togo

Togo!

motobikes are the taxi's. I rode so many "motobikes." And it's a French speaking country, but luckily I found some English speaking people. So wonderful.

So I got across the border and I hoped on a motobike to a egg stand where I got an egg sandwich and milo! SO good, and then planned my next move. money change. that was an adventure, because there wasn't a fixed price on the money, the bank I went to wasn't taking American dollars right then, so I had to use the black market. a couple of people would fight over, and pull up the price a little, finally I got a price, and then found later that the banks (if they would've taken) were higher that day. bummer!

So I sat with the guy that had English and helped me get my money, and just took in the city of Lome, capital of togo. Near the beach with music blaring and motobikes swarming the roads. It was so relaxing. Wow, off the the markets where I got some shoes and shirt and a linen shirt. I wish I had bought more linen. Barganing in French is not that easy. Lots of smiles and laughs and facial expressions. I'm going to try to find Linen in Ghana, but I havne't been to successful. After the markets, I decided to check out a movie, in French and the movie theater was so dark that it was difficult to see with the distance to the movie. I didn't stay long.

Off to the hotel. chez Alice, and wandered and found a voodoo festival going on. Some ladies were on the side and watching and I was invited to join them, that was super exciting even though I couldn't understand what they were saying or laughing about. SO, I also couldn't fully understand what was going on in the festival, but they allowed me to take pictures, which most people don't allow people to take pictures of people. (that's a confusing statement but I hope in makes sense).

Stayed under the mosquito net and away in the morning. Off to Kpalime, in a minivan. Went to see a waterfall and just relaxing in a nice hotel. they turned on teh English channel for me, so nice of them. a motocyclist was my tour guide for the day so that was nice, because he knew where everything was and gave me some insite to the culture as well.

the next day, I think was the most exciting as I went on a Butterfly tour. the guide knew how to catch butterflies but didn't know much about them. He knew more about the natural medicine and also the natural paints from the natural environment.
orange-came cutting the bark of a certain tree
black-from a white sap of a tree mixed with orange and some water
red- smooshing a bright green leaf
blue- smooshing a green leaf, boiling it in some water.

I ate rice and chicken all over, one of the most common dishes for international persons.

this is short but I am also rushed! I will see most of you in a few weeks!!!

"It's feeling like Christmas"

I heard a Ghanaian say "It's feeling like Christmas" as the outside weather was feeling more dry and hot here in Ghana. It was so foreign to me to have this feel like Christmas at all. But it's coming right around the corner. We have one week left of classes and then a month of exams. My exams are fairly spread out with about one exam a week. I will have time to do some traveling. Hopefully I'll get to Togo and Benin next weekend with a group of people. They speak French there, so it will be interesting.

It has been such a long time since I have written a blog so I'll update a bit of what has been going on here.

Politics are a daily topic with the US elections at a close, and the elections for Ghana are right around the corner, everyone is involved. I walk around and hear "Obama" chanted towards me. I smile and wave; and I can see everyone is looking to the US to see how the next four years will go.

I was in class just yesterday, and I experienced a great spontaneity of the work and learning as a student in Ghana, as I was elected to give a presentation on a topic I know nothing about next Monday. And I was informed that some of the information will probably be on the final exam. Everyone speaks English here, however, most people cannot understand me when I speak and especially when I speak fast, so the presentation should be interesting. I had almost traveled this weekend, good thing I didn't!

I have just started trying to cook Ghanaian local foods. It's becoming costly, because what I spend 6$ on, I can get at the local market for under 1$. I had hoped to being back some of the foods to the States. We'll see how that goes. I just secured a Banku making event with a classmate. Banku is a staple food here in Ghana, made out of cassava and sometimes mixed with corn. It has a sour taste and more slimy texture. It is supposed to be eaten with one's hands and usually with soups. The first time I ate it was in the first couple weeks in Ghana and I didn't like it and haven't had it since, so here is for round two!

I am continuously learning about the food crops in Ghana which gives me the importance of staple crops in Ghana and West Africa. We have to do research projects either on a specific crop disease or on specifics of a crop or local environmental practices and I've found it isn't an easy gather of information. Since Ghana is a developing country much research hasn't been conducted and financial support for more research is also lacking. Much research must be manually conducted and is not an easy internet source search. Professors and students alike are noting the importance of research in the development of Ghana and all of Africa. It's amazing to see the impact these students are making now and the projected impact each will make in the future.

Back to a weekend of relaxation and studying.