And Ghana wins!!

I headed to the capital of Accra to watch the US take on Ghana in the World Cup. I went with my friend Richelle to a place called Epos which easily had over a few hundred people packed inside and outside to watch Ghana make history. I have supported Ghana through their quest for the World Cup, but I had to throw my support to the Americans. There were a few other Americans watching the match, but when America scored it goal against Ghana, I was the only person who stood up and cheered. Thankfully, the Ghanaians did not lynch me, but they had no doubt that their team was going to beat the US. Every time the Ghanaians scored, my Ghanaian friends in Kumasi would call me to let me know that they were winning. And of course, when the US scored against Ghana, I had to call them to let them know that the US still had a chance. Unfortunately, our quest for the World Cup ended on Saturday night, but I was excited to be in Ghana to share in the experience of Ghana making history at the World Cup and to see the pride in the Ghanaian people that their team is carrying the pride of Africa during these games. A Spanish embassy worker came to comfort me when the US lost, but he reminded me that it was good that Ghana won because we will have more opportunities to get swept into the excitement of the World Cup in Ghana. A Ghanaian friend also comforted me, and told me that it was okay because I was Ghanaian as well, so I should be happy that Ghana won. Regardless of who won, aside from being in South Africa, the best place to watch Satuday night's match was in Ghana. And I was very happy to see the Black Stars continue their quest for the World Cup!!

It is hard to stay down in Ghana

I was hoping to get my passport back on Friday and be on my way to Cape Coast, but of course it did not happen. I called the immigration officer on Friday morning to see if my passport was ready. Since my MFI did not call the immigration officer as planned, the immigration officer started to yell at me, and decided that I was not going to get my passport back until he had contact with the MFI. Apparently, the folks at my MFI wanted to deal with a different immigration officer, but they failed to tell me. I asked the immigration if I would withdraw my request for an extension, so that I could leave the country, but that seemed to only upset him more, and he again told me that I couldn't have my passport back. As most of you can imagine, this was a very upsetting situation for me and I felt a loss for what to do next. At that point, I just really wanted to leave Ghana altogether and never come back. However, as I shared my immigration problems with Ghanaian friends I realized that I had a support system in Ghana. The outpour of sympathy and offers of help to get my passport back lifted my spirits and made me realize again that things really aren't as bad as they may seem. I am not sure if I have to leave Ghana, and I have no idea when I will be getting my passport back, but I do know that there are several people who are ready and willing to help me :)

Oh Ghana!

Well folks it has been quite some time since I have published any blogs. Things in Ghana have continued to be a little stressful, and I have been traveling quite a bit on my fellowship. The travel has been great, however, I haven't taken any time to check out any of the tourist sites in Ghana, and I may not get a chance now. My passport is currently being held hostage at the immigration office. I have asked for a visa extension, but I came in on a tourist visa, which sorts of complicates things. I am hoping that after the immigration officer meets with the reps from my MFI, they will grant me my 2 month extension and then I will definitely have to leave Ghana after that.

If all works out with immigration, I will be moving to Cape Coast, which is located on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. I am excited to check out a new area and explore all of the beaches in the area.

As you all probably suspect, the World Cup has been a very big deal in Ghana. Especially since Ghana has advanced to the next stage. I had several Ghanaians, including the immigration officer who interrogated/questioned me for over 1 hour, that Ghana was going to beat the US. However, they did tell me that Ghana will try to win by only one point because Ghanaians love the US.

Here is the caption from a local Ghanaian paper.


I hope the next time I blog it is from Ghana, but if Mr. Immigration denies my visa extension application I am not sure where I will go from here. Although I could really use a good burger, I am not ready to return to the US. I will have to keep you all posted where I land next.

If it didn’t happen to me, I wouldn’t believe it . . .

So I have had yet another funny experience in Ghana. Yesterday morning I got up early to meet a colleague at the bus station to head out into the field. He called me to let me know he was running late. I figure okay, I will have a nice cup of coffee and then head out. I went to turn the key in the lock to open the door and it wouldn’t open. The locks here allow for the key to be inserted both inside and outside, and you must use it inside to lock the door. At this point it was 6:48 a.m. and there wasn’t a lot of traffic in my neighborhood. I tried to pull the key out, no luck. I tried to jiggle the key lock, no luck. Then I started to wonder how I would get out of my apartment. You cannot climb out of the windows, because there are bars around them. Then I started to yell out to passing people in the street, but no one stopped. Finally after 20 minutes of calling out for help, someone from the house on the property I rent my apartment came around and heard my pleas for help. It only took another 20 minutes for someone to get the door open. The funny thing was it wasn’t even the right key. All I could think was if there was a fire I would be toast. Thankfully, there was no such emergency.

I am posting one photo from Ghana.



This was posted in a rural town that I visited. Unfortunately, Ghana lost to Holland. I am not sure what that means for Ghana - but I hope they can recover and make it to South Africa. Go Team Ghana!!

Ghana is Hard

I have lived in Ghana now for over a month. And boy sometimes I wasn't sure if I was going to make it.

I thought about if I should only highlight the good parts of my experience, or if I should also share how difficult it can be in Ghana. I remember during my training the field support specialist for my region told me that "Africa is Hard" and your assignment will be difficult. As much as you mentally prepare for the difficulties you will face, it is really unknown, so how can you really prepare. My MFI is full of nice people who don't exactly evaluate time the way we do in America and who often will not provide you with the most straightforward answer. I hear it is because Ghanaian people don't want to deliver bad news or disappoint you, so as you can imagine it has been very difficult to work in such an environment. I chose to come here and I accepted this difficult assignment, so I try to keep the complaints to a minimum. I mean how many people really have the opportunity to move to Africa and do development type of work? So although there are many days, I long for my nice computer office on California Avenue and my old apartment, I am still thankful and realize that these difficulties are part of the experience.

Here is a quick summary of some low points:

-- A rather large cockroach crawling over my hand when I was falling asleep last night. As most of you known, I am easily frightened by insects. After staying up until 2:00 a.m. going through all of my stuff to make sure no other little guys were waiting for me to go to sleep before they came out, I finally made it to bed. This morning I had one of the workers at the main house come check out my apartment with me, and of course no bugs.

-- The death of my cute little netbook (laptop)

-- Meeting some pretty intense Obrunis in Kumasi, who need a vacation to a Westernize country because it does start to wear on your spirits here

-- Having the same conversation with colleagues about the importance of transparency and full disclosure 10 times

-- Missing my family and friends

-- Trying fufu and having stomach problems for the next 4 days (Fufu is a staple dish in Ghanaian diet which is made pounded of cassava and plantains - see this link for a better description -- http://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/Fufu


Some of the highlights are:

-- Getting a chance to live in a developing country

-- Joking around with the same colleagues I mentioned above

-- Meeting with actual Kiva borrowers and conversing with them

-- Going to Accra and meeting a handful of cool foreigners, including my new friend Richelle whom I have a date to go check out a gold mine in the town of Obuasi

-- Laughing at jokes from Richelle until I was literally crying

-- Attending a concert of Nigerian and Ghanaian hip hop and r&b artists, including PSquare with my new friends in Accra

-- Shopping at a legitimate grocery store in Accra (but very sad because it is a 5 hour bus ride from Kumasi)

-- Having a lovely Italian dinner at Michelangelo in Accra

I meant to write a few blogs about the experiences above, but I have been without a computer for the past 3 days. Although this weekend, I will be staying in Kumasi, I do hope to start going to other towns on the weekend to fully maximize my time here.

Hope everyone is well!!!! I am still here and enjoying most of the minutes of this experience - well definitely not the cockroach part or the part where my computer died -- but most of it.

Hey Obroni! (“Obroni” means white person in the Twi language)

“Hey Obroni!” is often what I hear on the streets of Kumasi, Ghana. It has been nearly 2weeks, and without fail someone will call out “Hey Obroni!” In the United States, some people may find this offensive, but in Ghana, it appears to be a way for people to get your attention. And let’s face it; I am usually the only “obroni” on the street, so I always turn around. Some of my colleagues have told me that it is a term of endearment because Ghanaian people believe that visitors are special. I am not sure if it is true, but I prefer to think so.

My first “hey obroni” came from a group of small children who seemed so excited when I turned around to say hello. Their sweet little faces had huge smiles and they were madly waving their hands just to get my attention. However, not everyone calls me “obroni.” Many of the older men and women I come across just bid me “good afternoon” or tell me that “you’re welcome” which I take to mean “welcome” or “hello.” I usually respond with a hello and how are you. The older men and women usually respond “me ho ye” which means “I am well” in Twi, the language predominately spoken in Ghana, especially in Kumasi. Then I usually respond back in Twi “Wo ho te sen?”, which means how are you and then we both laugh. I guess I realize that they would prefer if I greeted them in Twi, so I try to do so after the fact. They don’t seem to mind and I think they appreciate my efforts. The only word I have mastered in Twi is thank you or “meda ase.” However, I will attempt to learn a few words each week and hopefully I will have the vocabulary of an infant by the time I leave Ghana.

I will try to be better about writing my experiences, but since I am usually working or trying to get myself situated, I don’t have a lot of great stories yet. But stay tuned! Also, as a Kiva fellow, we have been asked to refrain from posting pictures on our non-Kiva blog, so I will likely not post pictures on this travel blog until I have completed my fellowship. However, I will provide links to the Kiva website to my photos once I post them. I believe there is a way to become a follower, and then you will get updates when I post on my blog. Hope you are all well!!!

Last day in Bangkok

Like all good things, this trip must now come to an end. This trip has been absolutely amazing. I have traveled over three countries by car, bus, train. boat and plane. I have met some of the nicest people I could hope for traveling. There is Lucinda, who is the maddest person I have ever met. There was Sonia, a medical student, who was very boisterous and downright nice; Melanie, who practice homeopathy and is probably the zenest person I met; and Lisa, who has been working overseas for the past few years teaching English and lots of other people whom I may have only been acquainted with for a train ride or boat ride. Of course there were the locals that I came across - such as my tuk tuk driver, Mr. Two in Phnom Penh and Mr. Eang, my tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap.

I also had a fantastic time in Vietnam with my family. I feel very blessed to have had this opportunity to travel and visit family. It allows you to take a moment and be completely selfish, and let me tell you it was sorely needed.

The highlights of this trip include all of the fantastic people and places that I encountered along the way. I did not really have a solid plan when I came on this trip - just an idea of where I wanted to go. It worked out pretty smoothly. I loved Cambodia and recommend everyone to take a trip out there. Cambodian people were by far the nicest people that I came across.

Thailand was pretty cool as well, but Bangkok was probably my least favorite place. It is hot and loud and there are so many scams that it really keeps you on your toes. It is a hard place to relax.

Here are some tips for anyone coming to Bangkok:

1. Always get a metered taxi. If they quote you a flat fare - you are paying too much. And make sure they put the meter on!

2. If you take any flights into Don Muang airport - do not get the metered taxis at the airport that are quoted at 700 baht or more depending on where you are going. If you are going to the backpacker area it should only cost less than 200 baht plus 25 baht for the toll. I knew this when I returned from Phuket, and got into a little argument with the information guy at the airport. Just ask where the local buses are and hail a taxi from the main road.

3. Local buses in Bangkok will not let you get on the bus with all of your luggage, so don't even try. I did and was denied.

4. Avoid the tuk tuks as they are always trying to take you somewhere you don't want to go unless you want the novelty of riding in one. However, they are pretty small -- I had to crouch down in one.

5. Get a Thai massage. It only costs about $5-6 USD and they are amazing!!!

I am attaching just a few more pictures. I hope to post them online when I get back. I have loads of pictures and it takes too long to try and do it here. I guess I will see everyone when I get back home. Hope you enjoyed reading about my adventures and sorry for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.

Here is a photo of my second to last night in Bangkok with Lucinda, her friend Chris, an English guy living in Thailand, and his girlfriend Cherry. We went to an area called Intamara or something. It is located in Central Bangkok is not very touristy at all. Had the best little snacks there. I let Cherry order and basically tried everything - pretty surprising for me. I think this trip has definitely made me want to try other foods. My favorite was sundried beef with sticky rice. Can't wait to find some at home.

The standing Buddha at Wat InthraWihan in Bangkok. It was massive.

My final sunset in Bangkok.

Khao San Road, which is where all of the backpackers go. It was a little too much - but there are plenty of places to eat and drink and shop on this road. I stayed on another road, but very close as it is the easiest place to find internet and travel agencies.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with my travels!