Kumasi Zoo

When we woke up, it was overcast and cloudy. We had free time in the morning, and most people wanted to go to the market, which is the largest outdoor market in Western Africa,. Since we had done a lot of shopping the day before and didn't want to shop in the rain, Suzanne and I decided to go to the Kumasi zoo.

Only 11 acres large, the zoo had very few animals. Most of the animals were monkeys from the local forests, but there were also some porcupines, crocodiles, birds, squirrels, ostriches, and a camel. The cages were on the small side and made of chain link fence, but the zoo was better kept than I had expected.

I interviewed the head zookeeper and one of the tour guides in order to write a story about the zoo. Just as we got in our taxi, it started to pour. Unfortunately, our taxi had holes in the roof so we were both soaked by the time we got out.

Before heading back to our hotel to check out, we walked around central Kumasi. The Armed Forces Museum was closed, since it was Sunday, but we got to look at the tanks and planes that were lined up on the street.

The drive home took longer than expected (7 hours), and by the time we got home, everyone was hungry and cranky. Needing real food, we went to Mama Mia, a pizzeria run by an Italian ex-pat. Our pizza was cheesy and warm, and was the perfect end to a great weekend in Kumasi.

Group Activities

Another of our group, Alex, had an interview so he arrived early to Kumasi. At 9:00 a.m., the four of us left the Stadium Hotel and went to the Milklin Hotel where we would be staying with our group. The group was scheduled to arrive around 10:30, so we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel and dangled our feet in the pool.

Once the group arrived, we went to the National Culture Center which is a traditional crafts center. We browsed the shops for souvenirs and ate lunch before leaving to visit the palace of the Ashanti Kingdom. The Manhyia Palace was the home of the Asantahene, the king of the Ashantis. The palace was built moderately recently, in the late 1800s, and four kings have lived in it. Peacocks stroll hte grounds as htey have since it was built, and the rooms have been restored to their original states.

Our final attraction was a stool village, where traditional Ashanti stools are made. A golden stool is the symbol of the Ashanti Kingdom because the Ashantis have traditionally been carpenters. We wandered through the village, which was filled with wood carvings and crafts, before leaving for dinner.

Although dinner was on our own, most of us went to a place called Vic Baboo's Cafe which Sam, Suzanne and I had discovered the day before. After delicious Indian food and creamy milkshakes (far better than Churcheese's) we split up for the evening. Six of us decided to go to a small jaz bar that we had seen earlier. AS the evening got late, we sat beneath glowing lanterns, listening to soulful jazz and croaking frogs.

Aburi: Take 2

Because of last week's weather, we returned to Aburi Gardens to take more photographs. Gerald, our instructor, gave us a list of photographs we should try to take: formal portrait, informal portrait, frozen motion, close-up, convergence, and a landscape. For my motion shot, I spent the day chasing butterflies and trying to capture them in flight. I ended up getting quite a few good shots, and I got to explore the gardens during the process.

Suzanne and I went into the woods and followed a little dirt path. I was really enjoying the hike, there were lots of birds; butterflies; and even a large millipede. Unfortunately, we had to go back for lunch.

We had lunch at Dynasty, an upscale Chinese restaurant in Osu. It was absolutely delicious and just the thing we needed after a morning of work. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our final projects.

Cocoa Farms

After breakfast at the hotel, the three of us took a taxi to KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) to meet my contact who would take us to cocoa farms in the surrounding areas.

Once we met Elikem, we had to travel about 20 miles outside of Kumasi. We did this by taking my first ever trotro, a minivan that is used for public transportation. Once we reached the town of Kubease, we hailed a cab to take us over the bumpy dirt roads.

At our first stop, I interviewed Grace Dede who started farming two years ago with her husband. No one in the community spoke English, but we were all very polite. As the chickens ran through the yard she told me that she farmed cocoa as an insurance for the future since she had no education to get a better job.

After thanking Grace in Twi, Mada ase, we continued up the road. In a larger village, I spoke to Kofi Adjei who has farmed cocoa for twenty years. While I interviewed him with Elikem's translations, Sam; Suzanne; and our cab driver explored the small village. The children were extremely excited to see Obrunis (white people) and followed the girls all around the community, posing for pictures and pushing each other out of the way.

Because I had never seen cocoa before, Kofi took me into the forest. He hacked through the underbrush to a cluster of trees from which dangled bright green seedpods. One of the seedpods was infected with black pod rot, and Kofi chopped it down so it wouldn't contaminate the rest of the crop. He broke open the shell and showed me the small cocoa beans inside. These beans will be dried and fermented before being sold to become chocolate.

On our way back to Kumasi, we hit an unexpected roadblock. Local farmers had cut down a tree to use for firewood, but it was lying perfectly perpendicular to the road! The five of us got out of the cab and watched as they cut up the tree. Elikem and our cab driver helped them move just enough of the tree to allow our cab to pass, and then we were on our way back to our hotel.

To Kumasi!

In order to visit the cocoa farms in the central region, I left Thursday night for Kumasi. The rest of the group was coming up early Saturday morning, but Suzanne and I packed our bags and left immediately after class.

We stopped at Koala before going to the bus station and stocked up on the necessities: a loaf of bread, tea biscuits, snickers, and diced fruit. After a last visit to the ATM, we stuffed ourselves and our bags into a cab and said "STC (State Transport Company) bus to Kumasi, please."

We bought our tickets and boarded the green and white bus. With air-conditioning and movies, the five hour ride over dirt roads didn't seem too bad. Admittedly, the films were from Nollywood, the Nigerian Hollywood, meaning they were soap operas stretched to last one hour and fifteen minutes. But Final Kingdom 1 and 2 were enjoyable enough, and I did sleep through the other two.

We arrived in Kumasi at 11:30 and took a cab to our hotel. Our friend Sam had arrived at the hotel earlier and had already checked into our room. We were all exhausted and needed to get up early, but that didn't stop us from having a sleepover. We pushed the beds together, watched An Officer and a Gentleman on Sam's laptop, and stayed awake until 3:00 a.m. talking.

It's the Rainy Season

For photojournalism class, we had planned a trip to Aburi Botanical Gardens located an hour outside of Accra. We drove up through the hills outside the city (the other Coloradan and I thought we were going west, but who knows), and into the forest.

It was late morning, and the fog covered the botanical garden. We took off in groups to capture the misty trees and flowers. While we were taking pictures, the rain started to fall. We dashed to the little restaurant and barely made it before it began to pour. We had a nice breakfast, but the rain never let up enough to keep shooting.

The rest of the week has been spent doing interviews for my project. I spoke with someone from the Ghana Wildlife Society. I had an amazing two hour interview and learned a lot about cocoa farming and biodiversity. When I was finished, I asked him for other contacts. It turns out that a member of Conservation International was in the building. I hitched a ride to their head office to interview the coordinator.

During the ride, I was squished into the back with a three women who all spoke French. I followed much of the conversation (they were speaking about the Ghanaian and U.S. elections) mais elles parlaient tres vite!

After another great interview, I set up a visit to some cocoa farms in the central region. Since the group is going up there on Saturday, I'm planing to leave a day early. It's an adventure!

Harrison-Ford and the Case of the Missing Electronics

Suzanne and I roomed together during the night, and when we woke up she couldn't find her iPod to check the time. Since she had left it in the bed with us, we pulled apart the sheets looking for it. We couldn't find it, so I said I'd check my phone which I had zipped away in my bag right before going to bed.

It was also missing, along with my iPod and camera. While we were sleeping, someone had broken into our room and stolen two iPods, two cameras, a phone, and about 40 dollars. The doors were all locked, and the only open window was directly above our bed, not to mention that we were on the second floor. Still, our stuff was gone. No wonder Big Millie's boarded their windows shut.

We walked to the village to file a police report. The station was an open cinder block building, and the police officer wasn't in yet. So we wrote what was missing and our contact information (minus my phone number) on a piece of notebook paper and left to go back to Accra.

Five minutes outside of Kokrobite, the receptionist called to say the police officer was in. Our cab turned around, while the other continued home since Suzanne was felling ill. Our police officer's name was Harrison-Ford, and he commandeered our cab back to the hotel with Aisha while Sam and I waited in the lobby.

While they were gone, I called home to let Mum know what was going on (thank you for waking up at 4:00 a.m.). When I started crying, the receptionist's niece came over and crawled into my lap and made everything better.

Harrison-Ford returned about an hour later with the security guard, whom he had arrested. Harrison-Ford explained that some security guards will let their friends in during the night to steal, but I don't know if that was what happened. At this point, Sam; Aisha; and I all filled out police statements, writing to the margins and leaving no paragraph spaces so that someone else could not add additional information. At least this post was easy to write, since I've had so much practice explaining what happened.

Finally, we were on our way back. After skipping breakfast and lunch because of an emotionally exhausting morning, all we wanted to do was eat. We went to Melting Moments, and I ordered Mac and Cheese, the best comfort food in the world. On the bright side, we finally found good cheesecake, splitting two slices between our table.

While everyone else went out for the night, our group of 5 rented movies and made spaghetti. It was a frustrating day, but at least I have good friends who are good in a crisis.

Beachy Keen!

At 5:30 a.m., Sam checked her phone to see what time it was, and all four of us said, "Thank God someone else is awake!" None of us had slept much during the night. The room was completely dark (as the windows were boarded shut), and the beds slanted, which produced an unbelievable feeling of vertigo.

We ate breakfast by the beach, and decided to look for another hotel where we could get a decent night's sleep, not to mention a shower. We walked along the about 25 yards and found a nice two story blue house called the Korkor Inn. It was more expensive than the first place, but the view down to the beach was worth it.

We spent the rest of the day sunbathing in the sun, splashing in the water, and exploring the beach. In the afternoon, we even saw a fishing crew bring in their boat.

For dinner, we went back to Big Millie's to watch a traditional African dance performance by Kokrobite school children. After waking up early and being in the sun all day, we were all tired and passed out early.

The White House and Big Millie's

During class, we were able to tour the seat of the Ghanaian government. The "White House" is a former slave castle that has been the seat of the government since independence. The president does not reside there, and because of the former history of the place, plans are in place for the construction of a new executive building.

During our tour, we were able to meet with the press secretary and ask questions relevant to our projects. We also toured the gardens. They were stunning, but unfortunately, no pictures were allowed.

Afterward, five of us (Aisha, Sam, Suzanne, Will, and I) packed our bags for Kokrobite, a beach village about an hour outside of Accra. We crammed into one cab and began driving. Although our driver, Joshua, only asked for 20 cedis, we payed him 30 after putting up with us for so long. He also bribed his way through the police barricade (we had too many people) and drove us down a road that was filled with washboards, bumps, and ridges.

Finally, we arrived at our hotel, Big Millie's Backyard, for the night. The 5 of us were sharing one room without running water or air-conditioning, but it was a blast! We had drinks on the beach as the fishing boats returned for the night, then took turns reading Pride and Prejudice before finally falling asleep.

Where's the Ghana Wildlife Society?

We don't have class on Wednesdays, so we split us to do research and reporting for our projects.

I had found a website for the Ghana Wildlife Society, but there was no email address or phone number. There was an address though, so I figured there would be no harm done if I simply showed up. My friend Sam had nothing to do that day, so she decided to come with me.

Many streets in Accra don't have addresses, so directions are given based on nearby landmarks. So based on the directions from the website, we told the taxi driver to take us to Efua Sutherland Children's Park after bargaining for a better price.

The cab dropped us off at the park, but there was no obvious Ghana Wildlife center. So we started walking. We found a church and asked for directions, but the security guard had no idea where we were trying to go. So we kept walking until we found a collection of government ministries. We walked into the Ministry of Culture, and there were able to tell us that the Wildlife Society was past the library.

At the library, they told us it was around the corner. Around the corner, they told us it was just up the street. Just up the street, they told us it was through the next gate. After asking each person that we met for more specific directions, we finally found it. After waiting for a few minutes, I was able to schedule an interview for next week!

We rushed back to meet our vans, which were taking us to a craft market. We wandered among the stalls, admiring carvings; jewelry; drums; and fabric. I was able to purchase a lot of my souvenirs and bought fabric for future dresses.

Interview at Ghana Forest Watch

For my final journalism project, I am reporting on the links between cocoa farming and deforestation. Ghana's main export is cocoa, but tourism is being affected by the loss of virgin rainforest that cocoa farming causes.

Today, I had an interview with Rebecca Teiko Dottey, who is the coordinator of Ghana Forest Watch. Forest Watch is an organization that advocates for sustainable forest use and farmers' rights. Rebecca explained that because most cocoa farmers are sharecroppers, it is more economically beneficial to harvest the timber. Government policy does not promote sustainable use or longterm development.

After the interview, Rebecca offered to take me to the Western Region. She was leading a group that would visit five cocoa farms that had created a community forest use program. Although my professor gave me permission, I needed to be in photojournalism class for a trip to Abury gardens. I will just have to visit a cocoa farm on my own.

Back to Accra

My roommate Emily and I had breakfast at the hotel. Then she went to the beach, and I went into Cape Coast. Some of our group went to the Cape Coast Market, while the rest of us went to Cape Coast Castle.

The castle is another slave castle, but it was built and controlled by the British. While the construction and materials of the two castles was similar, Cape Coast Castle seemed more cruel. There was even less light and ventilation in the slave dungeons and cells. During the tour, we walked through the door of no return like slaves did to board ships carrying them to Europe or America. Today, the harbor contain hundreds of fishing boats.

We checked out of our hotel and drove back to Accra. But the 3-hour drive lasted almost 7 hours. A political rally for the New Patriotic Party (currently in power) filled the streets and blocked traffic. My friend Sam grabbed her notebook, I grabbed my camera, and we got off the bus to do some reporting.

By the time we got home it was much later than anticipated, and we were all hungry. The supermarket was closed so four of us went to Papaye, a fast-food (relative) restaurant in Osu. Afterward, we went to Creamy Inn for an ice cream dessert.

Cape Coast

At 6:15 a.m., we all piled onto a bus to go to Cape Coast, a coastal fishing city west of Accra. We arrived in Cape Coast 3 hours later, and checked into the Coconut Grove Beach Resort in Elmina, ten minutes from Cape Coast. Because our day was full, we didn't have time to go to our rooms. We just left everything but our cameras in the lobby, and got back on the bus.

Our first stop was Elmina Castle, a slave castle built by the Portuguese. In history class, we learned about slave trading after slaves were already on a boat. It was intense and emotional to see the conditions in which people were forced to live. The women's dungeon still smells after 300 years of vomit, blood, urine, and feces.

We ate lunch at Hans Cottage Botel (a boat-hotel), which is made of huts build over a pond filled with Nile Crocodiles. It's hard to forget I'm in Africa while eating red red (beans and fried plantains in a spicy tomato sauce) and watching crocodiles laze in the sun.

After lunch, we drove to Kakum National Forest. which is a deciduous rainforest. We hiked across Kakum's canopy walk, which is made of cargo net and wooden planks. The bridge was about a foot wide at the base and rose to over 120 feet at its highest point. Although it swayed and shook as people climbed over it (some clinging to the rope as much as possible), It was amazing to look down on the underbrush from the tops of the trees.

We had a traditional Ghanaian dinner at our hotel with locally caught fish. After dinner, the hotel built a bonfire on the beach and served us palm wine in halved coconut shells. We danced to music around the fire and explored the beach in the moonlight. None of us had on our swimsuits, but we ran into the ocean anyway. Sitting by the fire before going to bed, salt began to crystalize on my clothes as they started to dry.

A Quest for Cheesecake!

A couple of us spent Thursday evening at a local jazz bar, called Jazz Tones. When the waitress gave us the money, we immediately decided to order cheesecake. Unfortunately, there was no cheesecake. Disappointed, we ordered bowls of ice cream--no ice cream. Giving up, I ordered a Pina Colada, but they couldn't make it: it had ice cream in it.

After all of us settled on something to eat and drink, we enjoyed the music. The singer and owner is an American ex-pat, who just recently bought Jazz Tones. Toward the end of the night, she came over to talk to us. Because she is transforming the place and changing what is offered, she tells the wait staff not to give out menus.

The next morning, we decided to find cheesecake. Sunshine Cafe, where we usually go to dinner, always has cheesecake in their display case. We went for lunch, and ended up ordering sandwiches instead because... there was no cheesecake. There were cupcakes, carrot bread, and lemon coconut cake, but the delicious cranberry cheesecake that is always sitting there was not sitting there.

At this point, not finding cheesecake was no longer an option. We took a cab to Koala and headed straight for the bakery. There it was, with a toasted cream coating and graham cracker crust. With our cheesecake and a small tub of ice cream, we checked out.

Back in the dorms, we decided to watch A Knight's Tale to commemorate the end of our quest. We sat down with our ice cream and cheesecake and took a bite... it was not true cheesecake. Instead, it was similar to a sponge cake, not bad, but not cheesecake. Oh well. We finished our movie and went to bed, since Saturday was going to come early.

Dressing for Ghana

Wednesdays are free time, given to us to use for our projects. I was running low on supplies and money, meaning that I needed ot go to the atm and to the supermarket. My friend Suzanne and I took a taxi to Osu "Oxford" Street (named after the street in London because every tourist tends to congregate here).

We went to Koala supermarket for lunch food and decided to buy single servings of ice cream. We walked down Osu eating our ice cream in the warm Ghanaian climate before heading back to the dorms to get work done.

That evening, a local seamstress named Marjorie came by to see if anyone wanted to commission some clothing. After being measured and choosing between the brightly-colored fabrics, I commissioned two dresses. She finished them overnight, and they are absolutely beautiful!

A Weekend in the Water

Saturday morning was sunny and warm, so a group of us packed our towels and headed to the beach. We took a cab to Coco Beach Resort, which has a private beach available for hotel guests or paying customers. For the price of 1 cedi,we were able to relax on the warm sand and splash in the Atlantic Ocean. We even started a game of football (soccer) with some local Ghanaians. We had pineapple pizza for dinner, while watching the sun set behind the palm trees.

On Sunday, we went to the Shangrila Hotel and spent the afternoon at their pool. We played in the water and read books in the sun for 7 cedis. We even saw the winner of the Mr. Ghana competition relaxing in the water. For dinner, we went to Churcheese, which is the Ghanaian equivalent of Chucky Cheese's. Although ice cream is apparently not an ingredient in Ghanaian milkshakes, we still had fun sliding and swinging in the play area.

Happy 4th of July!

The last few days have been spent in class and touring local media stations. We've covered arts and entertainment, politics, the Ghanaian economy, and began our photojournalism lessons.

During the afternoons, we visited a private and state-owned radio station, as well as private and government newspapers. Today, we visited Public Agenda, a newspaper that promotes civil service and advocacy.

During our tour of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, a state-owned television and radio station, the on-air d.j. interviewed us on air. I explained to Accra the history and significance of Independence Day.

To celebrate the 4th of July, we met with a group of students from Oregon and went to Ryan's Irish Pub. We spent the night with other Americans, celebrating the 4th in an Irish pub in Ghana.

Republic Day

July 1 is a national holiday celebrating the day in 1960 when Ghana gained complete autonomy from the British empire. We had the day off, and a lot of students went to a soccer game, the President's Game between the Kotoko and Heart of Lions teams.

The rest of us had planned to go to some of the festivals being held, but a drenching rain changed our minds. We decided instead to go see a Ghanaian film at the local TV station. At TV-3, we found out that movies don't play until 6:00 p.m. In one of the studios, however, we found a dance party.

It was a group of schoolchildren who had taken a tour and were having a dance afterward. We joined the group and danced for nearly an hour. Even the six-year-olds were better dancers than any of us! Each of them wanted us to take pictures and dance with them. Eventually, they had to return to their school. But we talked to their teacher about visiting and possibly volunterring while we're here.

First Day of Classes

Although our journalism classes will start next week, this week we are having lectures about Ghana. Today we focused on a brief history of Ghana, from ancient empires to independence, and the importance of religion in the Ghanaian culture.

In the afternoon, we visited TV Africa--a private television station that produces news and daily programs. During dinner, we saw a monkey playing outside in a tree. It was amazing to think that I was in Africa watching wild monkeys.

A la Plage

After a quick car tour of Ghana University, we went to the beach! Our group spread our towels in the sand and headed for the water.

We spent about four hours there, playing in the sun and listening to the drummers who were performing at the nearby restaurant. I'm sandy, slightly sunburned, and have sea-hag hair, but it was fun!

Tonight, we're going to a sports bar to watch the EuroCup final. Go Germany!

Mausoleum and Market

Today was orientation, so we drove to the NYU center in Ghana. There are only two classrooms in the center, but we only have 16 students enrolled in the program. After orientation, we had a sampling of traditional African foods at a restaurant named Headlines (how appropriate).

Afterward, we drove to the mausoleum of Kwame Nkrumah--the first president of Ghana. We also visited the Accra marketplace, which was filled with people and goods. My friend Kendal bought fabric and asked the seller if she could take a picture. The woman happily agreed, but only if Kendal would pay her two cedis (equivalent to about two dollars).

For dinner, we met in the same restaurant where we had lunch, and the owner offered us glasses of wine on the house. We made a toast to our program and the people who are a part of it.

First Day in Ghana

I woke up to Raisin Bran at the Days Inn by JFK, then took the Shuttle to the Delta Check-in. Our group was supposed to meet at 2:00. By 2:15, I had found someone else going to Ghana. By 2:30, Danny went to see if he could found our group anywhere else. Apparently, JFK has three Delta check-in areas, and we were at the wrong one.

The flight was uneventful, just long, but we landed at Kotoko International Airport at 8:37 a.m. GMT. Vans dropped us off at our dorms, then we went out to exchange money and eat lunch.

My roommate, Emily, and I fell asleep around 4:00 p.m. and didn't even wake up for dinner; we just slept straight through until morning.