Accra, Day 5: Rehab center and skype!

Today was the day where not only did I start to feel extremely comfortable in Ghana but I also felt a strong connection to our lecturers and the topics they were speaking about. In the morning we went to Accra Rehab and it was amazing. Our guide (I wish I could remember his name!) told is the intake process (a lot like the process in the US actually, with doctors referring patients to social welfare and social welfare finding placements for the patients) and what the center does for people. They have 30 students to 20 teachers and learn skills like tailoring/sewing, woodworking, shoemaking, and other craft skills that could lead them to get jobs. 

Inside the tailor shop. There was a man there making clothes and sold some to my classmates!

Mehir modeling the shirt he bought!

A painting done a man without hands or forearms. He brings his elbows together and paints that way. 

Making shoes. 

A welcome mat that a student made 

This is recycled paper (actually written in Braile) that the students were using to practice their skills on so they wouldn't have to use materials. I thought it was very resourceful!)

The really sad about being there was hearing how little money they get from the government. The government is supposed to pay 300 Cedis a year (around 126 USD) and they didn't get their 2013 aid until December. They provide housing and 3 meals a day for their students as well as the materials to teach the students their skills. It was amazing what they do but sad that they receive so little help from thegovernment. 

After our tour (and ordering shoes to be made by them!) we were able to talk to two representatives of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled. It was really refreshing to hear from people who are disabled and living in Ghana rather than an objective view from a lecture. In fact, it was the first time I heard the word 'discrimination' being spoken when talking about a disability. There is a lot of aspects to the culture (people thinking disability is a curse) that leads to such discrimination and stigma. Only last year Ghana passed a law to protect the rights of people with disabilities. And they had said that the laws were not totally affective and that there was a lot of gray area to them. It surprised them to hear that in America it is similar and people with disabilities might not be aware of their rights just like in Ghana. They had this perception that America was this wonderful, accepting place, but in fact, a lot of the same things have been happening! It was a very good discussion and it was refreshing to hear about advocacy. 

After the rehab center, we went to a stationary store to buy school supplies for the schools we wil visit! We were split into 4 groups and given 100 Cedis for each group. My group was all the early childhood/special ed people, plus speech pathology and OT. We choose a school that focused on disabilities and I was surprised by how fast the 100 Cedis went. We wanted to get more sensory things like play doh, stickers, tactile objects, etc. We were able to get some molding clay, some play doh (well not real play doh) with cut outs, markers, crayons, oil pastels, pencils and sponge pads. It didn't seem like a lot but I'm sure the kids will love it! 

Then we had lunch at Papaye's which is fast food, but so delicious! I had fried chicked and French Fries and it was so good! We then went back to class and got to Skype with Emmanuel Yebroah who's documentary, 'Emmanuel's Gift' was something we had to watch before the course started. Emmanuel was born with one leg deformed. He was told that the only profession he would ever have was to be a beggar. Well he ended up working, buying his own things and eventually rode a bike accross Ghana. With one leg. So he was a boss and proved all the haters wrong. But he was actually in San Diego when we were Skyping which was kind of ironic since I was just in San Diego. He was able to talk about what he has been doing and take our questions. Again, he talked a lot about advocacy and it was really nice to hear. I asked him what the main difference between living with a disability in Ghana was versus in the Unites States (he lives between the two). He said the United States was more accepting and in Ghana you are looked down upon. He said that people will kill the babies born with disabilities and nobody would care but in the US that person would be procucited and go to jail. I thought it was interesting to draw such a dramatic comparison but that is how it is in Ghana. I'm really glad that we were able to talk to him and hear such great advocacy for the people who have disabilities in Ghana. 

We then had dinner at Tante Marie and headed back to the hotel! We had to be up early the next morning for our trip to Cape Coast!

Day 6: Cape Coast!

This weekend has definitely been my favorite part of the trip. On Saturday we woke up early for the 3 hour drive to Cape Coast. I was surprised by how much I slept on the bus! Brother Kwame (our driver) was not messing around on those roads and was even weaving around cars! But we stopped at our hotel for brunch and the hotel was beautiful. It was a resort (complete with a golf course!) and it was really really nice. 

Our hotel: Coconut Grove! 

Where I ate my breakfast. It was gorgeous! 

After we dropped off our bags, we headed to Elmina Slave Castle. Elmina Slave Castle was originally a place that was supposed to serve as a fort, then a missionary and then housed slaves before they were put on boats and taken west. It was a really powerful and surreal place that reminded me of how awful humans have been to each other in the past. When it was used to house slaves, they would sometimes stay for months. The governors held them there to see who could survive to be taken to the new world (like a survival of the fittest test). They were kept in small, dark quarters with no ventilation, often sleeping and living in feces, dirt, vomit and blood from menstral cycles. The women were only taken out to be 'chosen' by the governor as his mistress. He would look from a balcony, choose a girl, have her washed by his men in the open and bring her up to his chambers. The woman was often sexually assaulted by his men after the governor was done with her. And the women wanted to be chosen and taken from the filth because the living conditions were that bad. 

Where the governor would look down to choose his woman. There is a cannon ball on the ground that they would use to chain women who rebelled or fought against the men. 

The stairs the women went up when they were chosen by the governor. 

The men's dungeons were outside of the women's and just as bad. There was even a cell with a a skull and cross bones. We found out that men who were fighting back and being rebellious were put in that cell and didn't come out until they were dead. Sometimes the guards would leave a body in there and put a new person in there with the body. It was really sad and must have been horrible to know that you would never leave the cell.

The death cell

The most powerful part of the Slave Castle was the "point of no return". They were led is through a tiny doorway into a dark room. They were chained together and once they passed through the door and out of the castle and onto the ship, they would never come back to Africa. And as bad conditions were inside the castle, they were worse on the ships. It was really really moving. 

The Point of No Return. The doorway is really skinny too, and our guide said that even people who came into the castle overweight left being able to go through the door without a problem because they were starved. The water used to be up to where the grass was so the ships would be right outside the door. 

When we got to the top of the castle, it had such a beautiful view of Elmina. It was weird to be in such a beautiful place where such ugly things happened. 

Again, so beautiful! But it was hard to appreciate the beauty in such a horrible place. 

After the castle, we went to Kakum National Park which was a completely opposite experience! There was a canopy walk there that was 40 meters (100 feet) up in the air! There were 7 bridges in all and it was really, really fun!

The start of the canopy walk!

Going on the canopy walk!

The planks. It was literally a pice of board on a latter in some ropes. Not sketchy at all! 

The view of the rain forest! It was like we on top of the trees! 

Me and Alyssa!

Halfway done! 

Darci and I switched phones so we could each have pictures of ourselves so now I have a lot of Darci selfies on my phone! 

I survived 

After the canopy walk we went back to the hotel and were able to swim in the pool and check out the beach before dinner. 

This was the sunset as I was swimming in the pool. It was so beautiful!

There were some ladies walking on the beach during the sunset so I took this picture!

Another view of the sunset. It was so gorgeous! 

After dinner (which was delicious!) we were treated to a bonfire. They put the wood right on the sand! They also gave us palm wine which is a local drink. Our guide Abigail showed us some traditional African dances songs! It was great! 

Abigail teaching us to dance! 

Most of our class at the bonfire! 

The moon in the palm trees! So pretty! 

After the bonfire and some wine we went to bed. It was such a full, important, amazing day!

Accra: Day 4!

Today was probably the most 'academic day' so far. In the morning we went to the University of Ghana, Legon to get a lecture by Dr. Godson Ahortor about Religion and Disablility. The topic was very interesting. The major religion in Africa is Christianity, however there are very traditional views as well. For example, if a person is disabled, people will look at that person as if he is cursed. Or if a baby is born with a disability, people will think his/her mother did something awful in the past to have that happen to him/her. It was interesting to me because in the states, whenever I've heard someone with a disability who is also religious, they would say something like, 'this is what what has planned for me' or believe it is part of 'God's plan'. So here for people who practice Christianity to look at people with disabilities as 'cursed' seems still very traditional to African culture. Maybe Ghana (and pretty much all of Africa for that matter) has just been so colonized over history that everything starts to mix eventually. There is definitely a hint of Karma and Buddhism in this way of thinking and to 'heal' people, often a ritual will be performed or special ceremonies will take place. So the religion and views seem to be very mixed and infulenced by not only other cultures but by old traditions as well.

The University campus! It was really big and spacious and actually reminded me a lot of the UCSD campus!

Our class with Dr. Ahortor!

After the lecture, we stopped at the Accra Mall. The mall is like a typical American mall and very small. There was a Shoprite (grocery store) in the mall where we got food for our weekend trip. I bought some chips (the Lays actually tasted a little different), dried mangos and granola bars. I still had some cookies from my roommate (shoutout to Harmony aka Bone Thugs) so I thought I'd pack some of those so I didn't really have to buy much! I also went to the bank and then back on the bus!

We didn't have much of a break so I went back to the hotel and ate a delicious avacado and tomato salad for lunch and then the bus picked us up to go to class!

At class we had a guest lecture from Ibrahaim Mahammad who is a local artist.  He used to do art therapy with children at the Autism Center in Accra and now is a full time artist! He has done many exhibits and is currently in talks to exhibits overseas! He does what he calls 'art insulations' which are these pieces of recycled material sewn together and he covers large buildings with them. For his masters project he covered a museum in Accra and it looked really cool! He also talked about other artists from Africa who have disabilities. It was very interesting!

After the lecture we had dinner at Sunshine and then ice cream accross the street that was so delicious on the hot night! 

Here are some random pictures that I don't know where else to put!

Our hotel. It is actually a lot nicer than it looks! And it is very typical for buildings to have barb wire around them!

Sunset from our hotel!

Ghanian money or Cedis. Currently one Cedi is about 42 American cents. 

 

Accra, Day 3

Today we went to the city center (Accra's financial district), had our first non-group lunch and then presentations for class! One of our assignments was to assess the accessibility of places for people with disabilities. We practiced measuring and assessing during our first class but were told to also measure steps  and ramps to see if they would make code. So we were to that during our first stop at the business center!

This is the post office in the center of the business district. I bought some post cards and stamps!

While we started to measure, some people came out and ask us what we were doing. It got a little uncomfortable and I realized that I didn't want to measure anymore. I was a little concerned with coming off as a 'typical American'coming to a different country and trying to fix things. So we just kind of eyeballed things from there. But the business center was not wheelchair friendly and some places like the post office and banks had counters that were high and big steps.

While we went back to the bus, we were parked on a hill overlooking the ocean. It was really beautiful and we could see the fishing boats! 

So many boats! It was amazing.

After we got on the bus we went to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park. Kwame Nkrumah was the first president of Ghana. The park stands on the same sight that used to be a Polo field that Ghanians were not allowed access to. When Ghana won their independence, Kwame Nkrumah gave his fist speech there! It was very interesting to hear about his life and some of the politics in Ghana.

The final resting place of Kwame Nkrumah. The statue is of him doing his party's symbol which means, 'Always Forward, Never Back'

A statue of Kwame Nkrumah that was destroyed. They didn't find the head until 2009!

After the park we were to have lunch on our own. I wanted to go back to Makola Market to get some fabric. Darci also wanted to go and get fabric along with some other girls. So we had the bus drop us off at the market and all split up. Darci and I were able to find some fabric and the market was much less overwhelming the second time around. I think I knew a little more of what to expect and I did some great bargaining as well! I was able to bring my purchases down by half! Darci and I then successfully negotiated a taxi to take us back to the hotel for 5 Cedis (about 2.50 USD)! We ate lunch at the hotel, uploaded pictures and then got the bus back to class! At class we had presentations of what we have learned so far and showed each other our pictures! My group talked about how we weren't sure what our roles have been and how awkward it has been to measure things and try to change them. But we also talked about what we have learned so far and showed some pictures! Then we had dinner at Tante Marie and a seamstress was there to take our designs and measurements!

After dinner, a group of us (me, Darci, Mehir, Liz, Alyssa, Christina, Clarita and for a while, Ethan, Sheila and Olympia) went to a bar called The Republic. There was a live band and it was a lot of fun! I had a drink called 'weozar' and it was verry very sweet! I also tried ginger beer but after a while I switched to regular beer! There may or may not also be pictures somewhere on the internet of us using the measuring tape to measure shot glasses, my mouth and being used as a limbo poll. Good times! 

Darci, me and Alyssa enjoying a weozor!

Accra, Day 2: Going to the market!

On the second day, we went to two very overwhelming and popular places: Makola Market and the Arts Center. Makola Market is a huge place where people not only sell goods, but can buy pretty much everything. It's like a swap meet and Walmart made a baby and that baby was Makola Market. We were mostly on the lookout for fabric because it is very common to see a seamstress and get things custom made. And there were lots and lots of fabrics to choose from! Something else I should mention is that bargaining is something that is very common here. So whenever buying something hand made or goods, or even a taxi, you most always bargain to get a good price. But we were told that fabric was usually sold at the right price, so we shouldn't bargain for that in Makola Market.

This is the outside of Makola Market. 

More Makola Market. People were everywhere!

Inside (where it's all dark) is where we went to get fabric. 

The outside of the market.

Going into the market was very small spaces, darker and extremely hot. It was easy to get lost. A lot of people were a little unsure to let us take pictures (Africa in general has gotten a bad rep because when tourists have taken pictures, they have been used in in a context that doesn't put them in the best light. So the people are very cautious of where their pictures are ending up) so I didn't get many pictures inside the market. Plus, it was extremely busy and pretty overwhelming so I was more focused on getting what I needed to get. 

Some of the fabric in the market. This is not even close to a fraction of how many fabrics there were. 

After Makola Market we went to the Arts Center. The arts center was much more spread out and in more open space, however was even more overwhelming then Makola Market! As soon as the bus pulled up, people were already waiting for us, greeting us, wanting to know our names and see their shops. One girl, Alex, had met some people who worked there and they had agreed to give drumming lessons and let us look (buy) drums. So a swarm of guys took us to the section of the arts center where they carve wood and make drums. We got a drumming lesson (where I found out I more rhythmically challenged than I thought) but after, they would not leave us alone until we bought something. And every time I asked a price, he would change the subject and show me how he makes drums. It was also a little uncomfortable because the men would say "come to my shop and see what I do" which would mean I would be alone with them (side note: the people are extremely friendly and have offered us to stay in their houses and use their phones, so I'm sure it was very innocent but I still had to keep my guard up). So I stayed in the open and had my eye out for my friends because it was really overwhelming and I did not want to get into a strange place with a strange man. After the drumming encounter, I went back to the bus and just wanted to leave! Also, I didn't take any pictures at the arts center because so much attention was already drawn to us and I really didn't want to stand out even more!

It was a strange experience in the markets, especially haggling the prices. It actually reminded me a lot of Tijuana where you have to bargain to get a fair price. In Makola Market, at least they let you shop and browse, but at the Arts Center it was really hard to shop. I definitely want to go back to the Arts Center and get other things and look more, but I'll have to be better prepared! 

After the markets, we went to lunch at Melting Moments (really good with a NYU discount!) and then class. We had a guest lecturer who was a mid-wife and she explained the family structures in Ghana. Basically, in rural areas, there is a lot of extended families living together and they all help each other out. In the city, it is more common for people to live with people who are not their families. She also said that when someone has a disability, it is the family's duty to take care of the person with the disability. So it was interesting to hear what roles the families play and how different it is in the city and in rural areas. 

We then had dinner at Sunshine which was also interesting because they served some Chinese food! So I can say I ate Chinese food in Ghana! Then we went back to hotel, drank some wine and went to bed! A pretty overwhelming day, but still enjoyable!

Accra, Day 1

Hello friends! First off, I'm alive. It was a crazy journey and it feels like it took me forever to get here! But it was worth the journey! I left Paris early (a little early than planned actually). And I got to buy some small souvenirs at the airport! Even though I was barely in Paris, it was still not a bad place to get stuck. As the plane left, I had the most amazing view of the city, it was actually heartbreaking. I definitely want to go back and explore the city. After Paris, I got to Amsterdam and really only had just enough time to get to the plane. It was little strange because I scanned my boarding pass, went through a door and then had to go through security. Then I was on my way to Ghana! When I landed (about 7 hours later), I saw someone from my program, Isi, literally in the row next to me. I followed her to the bus and it was nice to see someone familiar and to go find our hotel with! We got through customs, which was kind of intense. As soon as we got off the plane, we had to show our vaccine card to prove we had the yellow fever vaccine, even though I had to get it to get my visa. Ghana does not mess around with yellow fever. Then I had to wait in a line for about 45 minutes to get my picture taken and finger prints as I was let into the country. For those of you who don't know, I have the tackiest luggage ever. My bag is leopard print and pretty much the size of me. It got ripped over Christmas break (Thanks American Airlines!) so there is also bright pink duct tape on the side. It really is hard to miss. So when I didn't see it on the carousel, I wanted to cry. We had to go to lost and found, fill out a form and they said they would call the hotel at 8:30 am the next day. We went to leave the airport and saw someone from NYU Accra (he was wearing an NYU shirt and had a sign) and we said "Hi" and he told us to sit on some seats. We did and waited for another 45 minutes before we left. When we were on the bus, Kingsley (who was in the NYU shirt and told us to sit in the back) didn't realize who we were and thought we were missing! So we waited for 45 minutes for people who were with us the whole time! Kingsley felt really embarrassed but we were glad just to be going! We got to the hotel and I immediately smelt salt and humidity. We were right by the ocean! I met my roommate, Sheng, took a shower and went to bed very soon after that! I think I went to bed around 12:30 am, I was exhausted from all the traveling!

NYU Accra! Where we will be having class

The next day, we woke up and ate some breakfast and then went to orientation! We met some other students from NYU Abu Dhabi who were also studying abroad. They were taking an economics class that gave me a headache just from hearing the name! At orientation we toured the campus, saw our classroom and learned some of the customs in Ghana. The campus is very small since it only houses about 100 students per year. Most of the students are from other NYU campuses and are doing some type of study abroad program. We learned some cultural references such as: how to hail a taxi, how to say please, how to say come here, and some terms that you should never say (for example, shut up is considered to be the most rude thing you can say). We also got our official itinerary and then went to lunch! We had lunch at Headlines Hospitality and ate "official" food from Ghana! I ate peanut soup, plantains, rice, fried red snapper and fresh orange juice! It was very good, but the peanut soup was very spicy. When we got back to campus, we talked about disabilities and "assessed" the campus for someone with a wheelchair. Spoiler alert: NYU Accra is not most wheelchair-friendly place. There are a lot of uneven sidewalks and small pathways. Also the stairs are very steep and would require a very long ramp to be accessable. After class we went back to the hotel where I could not get a hold of the baggage claim. Ethan (who was also in my art class so I knew him a little before) also got his luggage lost by the same airline (KLM who is also operated by AirFrance and Delta). So we decided to go to the airport later that night (along with Abigail who is our guide from NYU Accra and the nicest person I have ever met) and see what was happening. At the hotel, I went down to the beach to take of picture of the sunset. It is extremely humid here and very muggy. So the sun was very red behind the clouds. I went with some others in my program to dip our feet in the water. I was amazed by all the trash in the ocean. There were literally two tires in the sand. I don't think I would want to swim in the water because there is so much trash. Lots of plastic bags and bottle and even dog poop were around us. The water felt nice, but I don't think I could go in past my ankles ( even though in about 5 posts I will probably talk about how I went swimming in the ocean). It also made me kind of sad because it was so beautiful but just surrounded by trash. After that we went to dinner at Tante Marie and pretty much had the same dinner as we did lunch! It was very good though. After dinner, Ethan, Abigail and I went to the airport and successfully got our luggage! I have never been so happy to have clean underwear!

Headlines Hospitality; where we had lunch!

A typical Ghanaian meal: peanut soup, red snapper (fried), rice, plantains!

Overall the only way I could describe the first day was surreal. When we pulled away from the hotel for the first time, it was strange to see all the people on the side of the roads and the houses. There are no sidewalks and a lot of the roads are bumpy and narrow. The people have been incredibly welcome and it is considered rude not to make eye contact or say hello to people on the street (pretty much the opposite of New York City!). Also, one of the administrators at NYU Accra had told us that "patience" is going to be our new middle name and she is very right! The people are very laid back and take their time (especially when it comes to food service). There are long gaps in our days to not only have enough time to eat, but also that is how life is around here.