Weekend trip

This past weekend was full of new experiences and fun times. We took an 8 hour very bumpy trip to Cape Coast to accomplish the worlds highest canopy walk which was amazing, everything was so green and beautiful. We then went to Cape Coast castle where part of the slave trade had taken place and I took some great pictures of the different slave caves and the cannons pointing out to the vast ocean on the coast. It was so interesting walking the castle and learning about the culture. I find the people here to be very religious, but in their own unique way. A pastor that was also touring the castle asked where I was from and when I replied America, he went on to let me know that this (the slavery and harsh conditions in the castle) is what my people did to them. I was not quick to get offended but just thought it very odd that a pastor would judge me. I am beginning to see that while some people here are very friendly, like our friend who opened his nice house to us with the nicest hospitality, some are quick to judge and constantly shouting remarks to the yevos (white people) who are walking in the street. I feel this is probably because we are such an odd sight, but we are here just to help. I was also amazed at the division between classes here. We saw a couple beautiful houses along these slum filled streets, the very well off and the very poor live side by side and it seems like little progress has been done to aid those in need. We also shopped in Accra Mall which looked like something right out of a city in the States, very westernized with an Apple Store and movie theater. Had I first arrived in Ghana and gone to the mall first, I would never imagined all the poverty and ailing conditions that lie outside such a nice, modern marketplace. It really was mind boggling to me the differences between the two. On the way home to Hohoe from Accra we came across an accident between a huge bus and a small taxi. The sight was horrific. As traffic slowed, everyone traveling along the road parked their cars on the side of the road, got off, and walked towards the sight of the accident. Being that these are mostly back, vacant roads, this went on for about a mile. As our tro tro (small bus) was parked along the side, another volunteer and myself walked to the sight with all the other Ghanaian people who were walking back and forth along the street. When we got there we just expected to see mangled cars in the street and police helping, but when we got there the emergency team (which was just one small truck) had picked up the bodies and put them in the back of the truck bed and the cars were no where to be found. The people motioned and encouraged us to go look in the truck, and not knowing before exactly what was in the truck, we went to look. What we saw was very disturbing and I could not believe the way the situation was being handled. People were taking pictures of the bodies in the truck with their phones and digital cameras and showing them to others. Something that would seem so odd in the States was seen very normal here. Soon traffic got back to normal and we loaded back in the car to drive to our destination. When driving we saw the very damaged taxi in pieces with its hood completely ripped off and the large undamaged bus also parked along the side. It was a very crazy sight. A total of 6 people passed away in this very unfortunate accident. Upon arriving home we shared our stories with the rest of our host family and being exhausted from all the traveling went quickly to bed. I am excited to see what the next week has in store for me being that so much has happened in my short week stay here already. Until then...

First few days in Ghana

I arrived in Accra, Ghana Sunday night and took a tro tro to Hohoe, Ghana Monday morning. It was a very bumpy ride and went by very fast because there is not much of a speed limit here. I am so far enjoying my stay. The other volunteers are very nice and everyone here is so welcoming and friendly. I am still trying to get used to the heat though, but I'm sure I'll be come used to that soon as it seems everybody does. The orphanage I am working at is full of excited children who love to learn and like hanging out with volunteers. I just want to bring all of them home and show them the states! It is so interesting learning about the Ghanaian culture and even about the UK from the British volunteers. I have learned so much in my few days here. For some reason my mosquito net will not stay up but mosquitos have not been a huge problem yet and hopefully they won't. We come to the internet about twice a week for a short while so I will try to blog whenever I can. I hope to learn even more in the next few days. This weekend we are going to Cape Coast so I will be sure to blog all about that next week. Until then..