The Adventure

Day 1 – Monday, Dec 28, 2009

Friends…I am back….The Africa Adventure was the trip of a lifetime. There are not enough adjectives to describe our amazing yet humbling experience.

At 4:45 a.m. I arrived at the Evansville Airport after a very sleepless night(scared I would sleep through the three alarms I had set). Experiencing problems at the electronic Kiosk check-in, I proceeded to the ticket counter.

My ticket was located but couldn’t be processed without the credit card that was used to purchase it. No problem as Mark and Jana were walking in the door. Unfortunately, Mark did not have the credit card he used to purchase the on-line tickets with him. So, after a few stressful moments and realizing there wasn’t enough time to make it home to get the credit card, he was told if he could verify the last four digits of the card they would process all of our tickets. Fortunately we found the numbers on the printed itinerary and were able to confirm and proceed with ticketing.

We continued through security and waited for our flight to Cincinnati. The Evansville flight was delayed about 30 minutes but we finally made it to Cincinnati. Due to mechanical problems in Cincinnati, the plane was in the hanger and the flight from Cincinnati to JFK was delayed several times.

What was supposed to be a three hour lay-over in Cincinnati ended up being a six hour wait. We HAD to be in the air by 1:30 p.m. to make our connecting flight at JFK. We finally boarded around 1:45 p.m. thinking, “No problem, we can make up the time in the air”.

However, as we began to taxi out, the plane suddenly turned around and headed back to the terminal. Urrrggg.

The captain announced the plane needed to be de-iced. Okay great – just hurry up. By the time we were de-iced and taxied back out again it was 2:30 p.m. We landed 90minutes later (as far as possible from our departing terminal) at JFK in New York at 4:00 p.m. for a 4:10 p.m. flight to Africa. We jumped out of our seats, grabbed our carry-ons, and sprinted out of that plane - thanks goodness all other passengers stayed out of our way.

We literally RAN (not jogged or trotted) we RAN like hell to the International terminal. Mark took the lead and he parted the sea of people as Jana and I tried to keep up. I can’t even begin to explain our fear of missing that plane, not to mention the pain in my lungs and heart (which as this point was beating on the outside of my chest). If you are old enough to remember the OJ Simpson Hertz Rental Car commercial where OJ is running through an airport and hurdling suitcases, chairs, and people then you know what we looked like - That was us. No kidding. We literally ran onto the plane and right into our seats as they were closing the door. But then……

We taxied out - and stopped – and we sat for an hour. Apparently they had to remove baggage already loaded for people on standby who didn’t make the flight. Then the captain announced that he would like a second check of baggage made. That took another hour.


Just as the captain announced that we were ready to taxi out, a man went into the bathroom to smoke a cigarette. Alarms were activated and the idiot was arrested and removed from the plane for the Federal Offense he had just committed. And guess what??? They then had to find his luggage and remove it from the aircraft and also call in a mechanic to fix the alarm and smoke detector. Another hour on the tarmac for a total of three hours.

At this point the crew was not serving food (it’s after 7:00 p.m. and we haven’t eaten since 8:00 a.m.) or beverages (I really could have used a Jack and Diet) and to say the natives were getting restless is an understatement. However, the three of us were still patiently waiting our departure. Go us.

As we prepared to taxi out again the captain announced, “Folks, you aren’t going to believe this but the intercom system just malfunctioned and we need to return to the gate so the mechanics can work on the problem”.

As if all these delays were not enough, now one of the passengers had requested to get off the plane. So the pilot had to get clearance to return to the terminal and let them de-plane. By the time we finally took off from JFK we had sat on the tarmac for almost 4 ½ hours.

Finally in the air, fed, and watered most of the passengers were starting to fall alseep. And, I just have one thing to say about that. If you are one of those people who can sleep on an airplane – you suck! As much as I tried (Sleep Aid was worthless) I only got a couple of hours of sleep. So Day One started at 3:00 a.m. and lasted 26 hours from the time we took off from Evansville to the time we landed in Accra, Africa.

Day 2 – Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009

Due to all the departure delays, our flight landed four hours late in Accra. Fortunately, we were able to keep Andy posted of our delays via text messages. We boarded JFK in freezing cold weather and whipping winds and were smacked in the face in Accra with heat and humidity. It felt like we had walked into a sauna.

We passed through Immigrations, collected our luggage, and headed to Customs. After all of that, we finally rounded a corner and saw Andy waiting for us with a big smile on his face. He looked great and I couldn't stop hugging him (I had 15 months to catch up on plus all of the hugs I had brought from home from everyone).

We got a taxi and checked into the Blue Royal Hotel. The Hotel was decent and had a shower and flush toilet. So far, so good. Beds were very low to the ground and VERY firm. We ate lunch at Mr. Smoothies (the best smoothies ever) then took a taxi to Independence Square where the Freedom monument is located and did some sightseeing.

From there we walked about two miles to a lighthouse in James Town then back in a taxi to a bank to exchange our currency to “cedi”. We dined on African pizza and beer for dinner. Our first day in the country went very well.

Day 3 – Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009

After being up 35 hours, walking two miles in the heat to the lighthouse, getting a full belly, and a nice shower, we thought we would sleep good; however, all four of us were wide awake at 12:30 a.m. - just four hours of sleep.

We watched a movie and got ready to leave for the airport to catch our 4:30 a.m. flight from Accra to Tamale (We decided to take the flight instead of enduring a 14 hour bus ride). This was an EXCELLENT idea.

In Tamale we went to the market and bought vegetables for the meals we would prepare with Andy in his village. The market consisted of various vendors selling their goods of vegetables, rice, beans, raw meat (complete with flies), home furnishings, souvenirs, etc. We also went to a “grocery” to purchase cheese, eggs, and butter.

After the market, Andy took us to the Peace Corps office in Tamale. The office is gated and guarded by Anthony and Romeo. We met Andy’s friends Kym and Cam (a married couple in Andy’s group). After we left the PC office, we hailed a cab for the return trip to town. At the time we did not notice the taxi had a female passenger in the car. The driver told the female passenger to get out (which we didn’t want her to do) and for us to get in. Andy said this is a very common and expected practice in Ghana.

Hot and thirsty we headed to Point 7 for beers. After our “break” we visited COLWOD for souvenirs. Collaboration with Women in Distress (COLWOD) is a charity organization founded in 1995 to help abandoned women. Through teaching them skills, i.e. tie-dye, batik, and sewing, COLWOD enables them to achieve economic independence as well as regain their dignity.

The air in Tamale had a strong stench. I would best describe it as a combination of burning trash, car exhaust, and sewage (which was collected in the gutters along the roadway). After purchasing our bus tickets for the trip to Tali, we headed to SWAD, a Lebanese restaurant, with Kym, Cam, and Cheri – all Peace Corp Volunteers (PCV) for dinner. We sat outside on the patio and had a wonderful time listening to everyone’s PC stories.

The energy from this group of young people was invigorating. The hit of the evening was the bottle of Jack Daniels Mark brought with him to the restaurant. The PCV’s went crazy over the good booze. "Hard” liquor in Tamale comes in a bag – commonly referred to as “booze in a bag” and apparently isn't the best.

Day 4 – Thursday, Dec 31, 2009 (New Year’s Eve)

We were up and out the door of the hotel by 4:00 a.m. to take a taxi to the area we would load on the Lorry (bus) to Tali. It was still dark outside and the taxi driver basically dropped us in the middle of the street to wait for the Lorry (as it hadn't arrived yet). Andy left the three of us to purchase some bread and it was very unnerving sitting on a curb with all our luggage in a foreign country where people were pointing and laughing and speaking gibberish at us. Unfortunately, we didn’t understand any of their comments (or maybe it was fortunate we didn’t understand)!

Before loading the Lorry we sampled Bofroat (fried flour donuts), Kosi (fried bean balls) and Fried Yam Chips (a lot like American French fries) from street vendors. We are sitting in the front row of the Lorry squeezed in like sardines. People are smashed in everywhere inside, they are hanging on the sides and the back of the vehicle, and are sitting on top of the Lorry. Andy has witnessed a steer hoisted to the top of the Lorry. Men on top of the Lorry pull it up by its tail and the men on the ground push it up. Its legs are tied together to keep it from kicking. What a horrific experience for the steer.

Our journey on the Lorry from Tamale to Andy’s village of Tali began on paved roads. A short distance from town the road became a very rural, bumpy, dusty, dirt road. The dirt is a red/orange dusty powder that creeps into everything – your nose, clothes, luggage, shoes, skin, and hair. For 1 ½ hours we were crammed in the Lorry which made several stops at various villages along the way. Every stop I kept thinking someone is going to have to get off before anyone else can get on, but they just kept piling in. Andy leaned over and asked me "mom, how's your bubble (my need for personal space) doing"?

Since all four of us were sitting in the front row we were the first faces people saw when they climbed up the stairs to the bus. Needless to say, it created a lot of chatter and laughing. Andy used this opportunity to teach us a few words in Dagbani so we would be able to properly greet the villagers upon our arrival. Dasiba (dess-e-ba = good morning), Antire (on-tray = good afternoon), and Aninwula (a-new-la = good evening) and Naa (na = a response to everything!).

The Lorry finally stopped in Tali at Andy’s village. We were greeted by Abu (Andy’s counterpart – who will continue the projects in the village after Andy leaves), Dawa (Andy’s supervisor, who is associated with the Carter Center in the fight against Guinea worm), Abukari (the former village Chief’s son and Andy’s best friend) and lots of village children running around laughing at us. The children brought a cart for our luggage which they promptly took from us to deliver to Andy’s compound.

His compound consists of two buildings with four rooms in one building and three rooms, a bathhouse, and two latrines in the other building. Andy has one room in each building. He uses one for his living quarters and one as his kitchen. His rooms are across the courtyard from each other. Teachers in the village use the remaining rooms in the compound.

Upon entering the compound courtyard I was hit by a very pungent smell which I thought at first was the latrines, but apparently it is bat shit. There are thousands of bats residing in the ceiling of Andy’s compound building. The noise (constant bat chatter and smell) are overwhelming. Every day at dusk the bats fly out of the building to go hunting for food. The commotion they create when exiting the ceiling is a tremendous noise that sounds much like rain pounding on a tin roof.

After settling in to the compound we toured Andy’s village (population approximately 2,000) where we were surrounded by goats, chickens, pheasants, steer, and Ghanaian children shouting greetings to Tiyumba (tee-um-ba=Andy’s village name meaning “let’s love them”). Needless to say, the white people brought a lot of attention and Jana quickly became a very popular visitor.

We passed the mill where ground nuts (peanuts) and maize (corn) are processed. We also met a very special young man, Issah (e-sa), who is Andy’s “small boy”. Issah helps Andy with errands and burning trash or anything else Andy needs. Some villagers speak broken English and want to engage us in conversation as we pass. The children enjoy us “snapping” their photos and showing them the picture on the digital camera display.

Seeing the village for the first time - the layout, the living quarters, the trash, the sewage, the animals, the children, the people, the emotion that welled up inside of me as I walked the dirt paths around the village was so overwhelming that the tears just flowed. It was so humbling. I quickly re-lived the trip that I had just made to get to this point – four different planes, multiple taxis, and a Lorry. I realized that I made that trip with three other people - not alone like Andy did the first time.

I could not fathom being Andy the first time he arrived at his site and knew no one. Had no one to greet him or show him around the village. He had to find the correct transportation at each step of his journey, be stuffed on a bus with people he didn’t understand, make sure he had the proper currency, had no food and didn’t know where he was going to get it, and had to “set up house” since he was the first volunteer at this site and the only thing he had was a bed in his room. All of the difficulties and challenges he faced just arriving at his village were to much for me to process.

In the afternoon a special meeting with the Chief and the Village Elders was called so we could be introduced to the villagers. The Chief took this opportunity (his words were translated to us by Dawa) to thank us for Andy and to tell us his village appreciates Andy’s help. The Chief told us his village would look out for and protect Andy while he was with them and if Andy needed anything, all he had to do was ask.

We visited with Abukari and was introduced to his family. Abukari farms seven acres of land and plants ground nuts (peanuts), maize (corn), yams (potatoes) and rice. He farms four acres by hand and three acres with a tractor he rents. As is the custom, he has two wives and nine children. His mother died two weeks ago and her burial spot is located in the middle of Abukari’s compound. Ghanaians believe by burying the deceased in their compound they are always with family. Every family has their own compound made up of various “rooms” which are connected with a wall around the outside. Normally the men have square rooms and the women and children have round rooms.

After spending the day meeting people and being approached multiple times with wedding offers from the villagers, Andy finally sold Jana for 1,000 cows to Abu’s family. Jana was not happy.

Today was a very emotional day and I am mentally drained due to lack of sleep, weary from travels, hot, dirty, shocked (at the living conditions), and relieved (Andy is accepted and appreciated-which means so much to me-in his village). I am ready to head to the bath house for a warm bucket bath. Since it gets pitch dark by 6:30 p.m. Andy lit candles in the window of the bath house for me. It was a very relaxing and surrearl experience accompanied by prayer chanting in the distance.

Andy prepared his specialty, Ghanaian chili, (taco mix, tomato sauce, chick peas, noodles, green peppers, onions, and garlic) for dinner. After we ate, Issah and Somed (so-med) (Issah’s brother) brought us yams from their farm.

Our New Year’s Eve entertainment consisted of loading peanut butter on the mouse traps we brought from home and waiting for the inevitable “SNAP”.

Happy New Year’s to us.

Day 5 – Friday, Jan 1, 2010 New Year’s Day

Remember yesterday when I said Andy sold Jana for 1,000 cows? Well, we woke up this morning and Andy’s compound was surrounded with cattle. In their infinite humor, Mark and Andy woke Jana up declaring Abu had paid his 1,000 cow fee and that she now had to marry him. Jana was not at all amused. Fortunately, it really wasn’t “the dowry” it was the cattle herders moving them through the village –but their timing was perfect!

After our fun with Jana, Andy prepared a New Year’s Day breakfast feast of fried spam, yam hash browns, and scrambled eggs. After breakfast, we exchanged Christmas gifts.

Moses, the compound landlord, school teacher, and one of Andy’s friends came to visit with us. Since the teachers are on holiday break and not at the compound with Andy, he rode a motor scooter from Tamale to Tali for the visit. Moses helps Andy with the drama club at school. He is extremely personable (speaks excellent English) and we really enjoyed our visit with him.

Moses had so much fun with us that he declared himself a member of our family. Birth placement is very important with Ghanaians so children (and wives) are numbered. (i.e. first born, fifth child, baby last, first wife, second wife etc.) Villagers were always curious of Andy’s family placement. In our case, Andy is the first born and Jana is fondly referred to as baby last. So Moses kidded Andy he wanted to be the “new” first born.

After Moses left, we visited with Issah’s family at their compound and his sister hand washed some of our clothes. There is a definite knack to hand washing clothes. It requires a twisting and scrubbing motion with the heel of your hand (instead of scrubbing with knuckles), lots of soap (bar or powdered), and several rinses. My socks that were burnt orange in color from the Ghanaian dust were pearl white by the time she finished.

Ghanaians are very hospitable and friendly. We really enjoyed our visits with the different families. Everyone greets each other and you are expected to squat (to show respect) to elders. In turn, we taught the village children low five, high five, and fist bumps. The kids were so cute and fun and they followed us everywhere. There were times I felt like the Pied Piper.

The afternoon was approaching (the heat of the day) so we found a shade tree in the field to sit under and read and try to catch a breeze. It was better to be outside under the tree versus in Andy’s room because starting about 11:00 a.m. the room became an oven. This was supposed to be the “cool season” in Ghana due to the Harmattan winds that blow in from the Sahara Desert; however, we were told it is a little warmer than normal. Frankly, it is down right HOT!

After things cooled off a bit, we visited the Mosque and watched the prayer service. The village is 99% Muslim and they pray five times a day. The men gather in the front of the Mosque and the women in the back (as not to distract the men from prayer).

After the prayer service, we divided into two groups and went around to all of the family compounds and replaced water filters. The filter is a large round white piece of cloth with a small square mesh filter in the middle. When water is brought from the dam, it is poured into large clay pots to be used for drinking, bathing, and cooking. The filter is placed over the clay pot before the water is poured into it so it catches any Guinea worm eggs and keeps the eggs from being ingested when drinking the water.

When we finished with that project we walked to a neighboring village and watched a funeral celebration. As I explained earlier, when villagers die they are buried in the family compound; however, a date in the future is selected by the family for a celebration.

The family of the deceased provides food for the celebration and it includes drumming, dancing, and shooting guns. It was a huge party with people lined up in single file dancing all around the outside of the family compound. The drummers made a circle and the dancers danced around them. Women were dressed in beautiful colorful wraps and dresses and the men wore tribal smocks. The whole gun firing thing was a little scary. They didn’t use bullets just gun powder, but they were very loud and had a heck of a back fire.

Abukari’s family made us dinner consisting of Teeza (baked corn dough), baked hen and stew. The Teeza is eaten by scooping your fingers into the bowl and then dipped into the stew and "slurped" off of your fingers and swallowed - not chewed. No silverware is used. Families eat out of the same bowl and everyone has their own section to eat from.

The war with the mice is still on. We didn’t catch any last night with the peanut butter so we are trying Teeza tonight.

It is a very hot dry evening with lots of dust in the air – it’s hard to breathe. Sleep will not come until the early morning hours when it cools off and the breeze picks up. Finally, I fell asleep to distant drumming.

Day 6 – Saturday, Jan 2, 2010

Andy and I fixed pancakes for breakfast and afterwards we walked to the dam. The water table had dramatically dropped and there wasn’t much water left. Unfortunately rainy season is still several months away. These rains will replinish the water table.

We watched women gather water in metal buckets and carry them on their heads back to their compounds. Andy guesses a bucket of water weighs at least 50 lbs. While at the dam we also watched men make the mud bricks they use in building huts. They use a pick to loosen the dirt and then they add water until it is a muddy/pasty mixture. They place the mixture in a wooden frame and slide the frame off of the mud to sit in the sun and bake.

We visited with Abukari and his family. They were making waist beads to sell at the market. The waist beads are used on small children to determine weight – to make sure they aren’t loosing or gaining too much. Andy helps Abukari farm and has built buildings in his family compound. Abukari showed us his harvested and bagged crops and the seeds he will use for the next farming season. Currently, he farms maize, rice, ground nuts, and yams.

Craving a little American food for lunch we raided Andy’s Chef Boyardee stash and grubbed on ravioli and fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Afterwards we went to “the station” for cold Coca Cola (in a glass bottle and made with cane sugar) and people watching.

Tonight Dawa’s family made rice and stew for dinner. We ate it the same way we ate the Teeza – It was very good.

The mouse traps were empty again this morning, so Jana rigged the traps with pieces of Slim Jim’s and set them out for this evening.

Day 7 – Sunday, Jan 3, 2010
Jana rules….She is worth more than 1,000 cows. She caught a mouse. One down – hundreds (maybe thousands) left to catch.

This morning Chef Andy prepared fresh pineapple and fabulous French toast for breakfast. Both were delicious. The bread here is wonderful and makes excellent fried PB & J sandwiches and French toast.

Today is our last day in the village. I am not ready to leave. There is no chaos here. No rat race (except for the real mice), no rush to get everything done. It’s very peaceful and routine and settled. I like it here. I like the people. There is so much they could teach me.

Dawa, Abu, Ibrihim stopped by the compound this morning and presented Mark with a beautiful fabric smock and me two pieces of traditional “two yard” material. The two yard is used for everything: wraps, skirts, blankets, head wraps, and baby carriers. It was so thoughtful of them to present us with these gifts and I will cherish my two yard forever!

Sadly, it was time to say our goodbyes to the people we met in the village. First we went Issah’s. Jana and I gave the girls some clothes and trinkets and thanked them for taking such good care of Andy. Issah gave Jana and I a picture of him. Every time I look at the picture I break out in a huge smile! Then we walked to Dawa’s and returned the dishes from our dinner last night and thanked his wives for preparing the food. Next, we headed to Abukari’s. We had clothes for his family also. And, we visited one last time with Abu's family. I really didn't want to leave – I liked it in the village.

After our goodbyes we headed to the market near Andy’s village. The villagers were still setting up their “booths” and preparing their items for sale. I was surprised how large the market was – there were tons of people that came from all over to sell items. We slipped into a “tiki hut” that was the market “tavern” (so small you couldn’t stand up in it) and sat on rocks and drank Pito (locally brewed beer (using millet) out of calabash bowls (gourds). The Pito is 20 cents a bowl and is pretty darn good. Apparently, the longer the Pito sits during the day the stronger it becomes (due to the fermentation process). Nothing like getting plastered for under a $1.00. We also sampled Fufu (pounded yams in ground nut soup) and Jana shopped for “two yard” fabric so she could have a skirt made by Andy’s tailor in Tamale.

By now it is mid afternoon and getting very hot. After trying to figure out how we were going to get all of our luggage to the station and wait for a Tro-Tro to get back to Tamale we decided the best route might be to negotiate a private Tro-Tro to take us from the market back to Andy’s compound – about 25 minutes away – to get our luggage and drive us to Tamale. Andy made all of the arrangements and we were ready to go….almost…. The Tro-Tro that agreed to take us looked like it had been rolled in an accident several times and was having issues starting. Several men began pushing it through the market area to try and jump start it. After several attempts (a crowd of Ghanaians found humor in the white people waiting for the private Tro-Tro that was being pushed around the market place) and the Tro-Tro not starting, we found another one willing to take us on our journey.

Back in Tamale we stopped by the tailors (Hamsah) to drop off Jana’s two yard material, spent some time at an internet café, and went to Giddipass, a really neat roof top restaurant, for cold beer. Tonight, we dined at the famous (per PCV’s) Sunshine Gardens Chinese Restaurant. We sat outside on the roof top and enjoyed a cooler evening. There is really an interesting concept at meal time in Ghana. Meals are not normally served at the same time. They are brought out when each individual meal is ready. Sometimes, the wait between meals can be :30 plus minutes.

Day 8 – Monday, Jan 4, 2010

I’m still not sleeping good and experienced a very restless night. It’s going to be a long day on the bus. Roll call was at 4:00 a.m. (side note: Andy is getting to much enjoyment dragging his family out of their beds before dawn) to catch the taxi to the Tamale STC (Bus) Station to travel seven hours to Kumasi. The good news was the STC bus had AIR CONDITIONING and ONE SEAT PER PERSON (no one in my bubble). The bad news was NO BATHROOM and hence my first experience at roadside potty stops. The way that works is when someone needs to relieve themselves they yell for the bus driver to pull over. The driver pulls to the side of the road and people get off. During our first potty stop, a very well dressed man (business attire) caught my attention because he had rolled up his pant legs and I noticed his BRIGHT red socks. I poked Mark in the arm and asked “Why do you think he rolled his pants up”? Mark said –“so his pee doesn’t splatter the dirt onto his pants.” OK..sounds logical. I look again and the man had dropped his pants and was squatting very low to the ground – thank goodness his shirt tail covered his butt. I poked Mark in the arm again and said “I don’t think it was pee he was worried about”. Mark said “God, I hope he doesn’t touch my seat when he walks past”.

After arriving in Kumasi we checked into the Sir Max Hotel. It was a dream. A very beautiful “resort” with all of the amenities of home: a TV, refrigerator, swimming pool, restaurant, and outside bar area. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon and evening there. It was early to bed so we could be up and ready to go by 3:00 a.m. to travel to Cape Coast.

Day 9 – Tuesday, Jan 5, 2010

There are only three full days left with Andy and I am not ready to go home – even though he keeps dragging us out of bed at ungodly hours in the morning I want more time here. Today, we were up at 2:30 a.m. to be out the door by 3:00 a.m. to travel to Cape Coast. I didn’t know I could operate on so few hours of sleep. Nine days into this adventure and I’m still not sleeping more than four to five hours a day (I usually get at least eight hours of sleep a day and take two hour naps on Saturday and Sunday). I’m not sure what keep us going each day, but we all seem to have an abundance of energy. I also will add at this point we are all getting along and I haven’t had to break into my drug supply yet!

We take a taxi to the STC station, load the bus, and journey four hours to Cape Coast. We have traveled a lot since leaving Andy’s village. The reason is so that we have a chance to see the country while breaking up the trip into smaller time increments as we head south back to Accra. As we move south we see a lot of foliage (which you don’t see in the north) including tons of banana and coconut trees. Upon our arrival in Cape Coast we grab a taxi and head to the Hans Cottage Botel. (yes with a “B”). A Botel offers guest accommodations at marinas to mariners like motels offer to motorists. I assume that since the restaurant is located in the middle of a crocodile invested lake and accommodations are offered on the property it qualifies as a Botel.

After settling into our room we took a taxi about 20 miles to the Kakum National Park. Kakum is a rain forest with a 1,150 foot long canopy walk. There are only three other canopy walks like this in the world. They are located in Peru, China and Malaysia. The “plank” that you walk on is about two foot wide and is suspended 122 feet in the air by wire and ropes connected to seven trees. Each tree has a platform to stand on so sightseers can view the forest. Rains from the rain forest feed several rivers that produce enough water to supply 130 towns and villages in the area. It is extremely hot and humid in the rain forest and we are all drenched and ready for a cold beer at the gift shop. (Are you seeing a pattern with the beer?)

We ate dinner at the Botel’s double story wood and thatched restaurant. After dinner we headed back to the room so Andy could re-create the bead necklace he gave Jana as a Christmas present and that broke while we were at Kakum . This evening I learned to bucket flush a toilet. That’s when a flush toilet breaks and you have to "fetch" enough water to flush out the bowl. I will tell you right now that I would rather crap in a hole in the ground than bucket flush a toilet!

Day 10 - Wednesday, Jan 6, 2010

We FINALLY got to sleep in this morning (until 7:00 a.m.). We grabbed breakfast at the Botel’s buffet (which consisted of cold eggs, toast, and tea). That’s it. Smallest buffet I’ve ever eaten at. However, I was happy to recognize what I was eating, so I slapped that cold egg between two pieces of toast and called good.

Guess what?? We “got a taxi” and drove to Cape Coast to explore the Cape Coast Castle. The Castle is reputed to be the largest slave holding site in the world during colonial era. We spent several hours at the Castle perusing the gift shops, strolling through the museum, and taking a guided tour. The Castle is in excellent condition and we toured the areas slaves were held before being shipped overseas. While I was quite intrigued with the architecture and how well maintained the facility was it was very disturbing to see the conditions the slaves were subjected to. Many died before they were ever placed on the ships.

While at the castle, we bumped into a fellow PCV and her family that were visiting from Seattle. Nicole volunteers in Wa which is in the Upper West Region of Ghana.

For lunch we found a shady table, overlooking the beach, at the Castle Beach Restaurant and split spring rolls and a huge plate of French fries. After lunch we taxied back to the Botel for some down time and to get out of the afternoon heat. After arriving at the Botel we met another PCV, Cory, and his parents who had just arrived in the Country. We enjoyed a fun evening and dinner at the Botel with Cory and his parents.

Day 11 – Thursday, Jan 7, 2010

We were up at 5:00 a.m. this morning to catch a taxi to the STC Station for the bus ride back to Accra. After checking into the Blue Royal Hotel (seems like we were just there) we dropped our luggage and walked to the Melting Moments Café for a very delicious “western” breakfast of fresh fruit, French toast, and omelets. Yuuummmm. All of us were very sluggish that day and the heat and humidity were stifling. We decided to go back to the hotel to rest. After our little break we headed to our favorite smoothie shop - Mr. Smoothies - for chicken wraps and cold beverages. We headed to the grocery store to pickup desserts for later this evening. Back at the hotel we started packing our luggage for our trip home and to wait for Kimmie to arrive back in the country from her two week break in the States. When Kimmie arrived at the hotel we grubbed on cheesecake and shared some laughs. Sadly, this was our last night in Ghana.

As I was waiting to fall asleep I thought about all the things I found “interesting” in Ghana:
• Babies don’t cry – they were very content being carted around on their momma’s backs.
• Ghanaians “brush their teeth” by chewing on sticks. Yep, looks like a big fat cigar hanging out of their mouth and they chew on it all day long. Sometimes you want to brush the wood chips off their lips, but they have this thing about touching so that probably wouldn’t be very cool.
• Ghanaians use straight edge razors to cut their nails and hair.
• During prayer services women pray at the back of mosque so as not to distract the men.
• Girls in school shave their heads so as not to distract the boys.
• Watching Andy negotiate our taxi fares and keeping his cool when the drivers tried to get more money from him after we arrived at our destination.
• The hotels are EXPENSIVE ($100-$135/night). It’s one thing to pay $135 for a room and a cold egg sandwich, but not so cool to pay $135 and have to BUCKET FLUSH the toilet. (Did I mention how much that sucks?)
• Everything comes in a bag…booze, filtered water, ice cream.
• Andy was the only one that needed a valium on the trip.
• Cell phones were everywhere! – Even in the villages. How can you have a cell phone and not running water? Where are their priorities???
• When Ghanaians want your attention they “hiss” at you. That gets old real quick. Hiss, hiss, hiss.
• Chickens are spray painted so everyone knows whose chickens are whose.
• Coca Cola is very big in Africa and is still served in glass bottles and made with cane sugar.
• The honking taxi drivers – as annoying as the hissing. They honk for everything. But, they don’t yell at each other and they don’t flip each other off!
• Ghanaians recycle and find a use for everything. For example, the plastic water bags were made into coin bags with zippers, sewn together to make large carrying bags, and used to start seedlings.
• The environment: the trash, the smell, the raw sewage, the heavy dusty air.
• Fan Milk (purchased from street vendors) is the equivalent of soft serve Dairy Queen in a bag - delicious.

Day 12 – Friday, Jan 8, 2010

So, here it is….the last day with Andy. We woke up early and headed to the airport. I’m still not ready to go home and leave him again. The past 15 ½ months actually went by fairly quickly. Hopefully, the remaining 11 ½ months will too. Andy plans to be home by early December 2010 for Jana’s college graduation. Sad to leave…happy for the experience… we said our goodbyes, passed through customs, all the security checks, and lucked into on-time uneventful flights back home.

On the flight home, I reflected over the past 12 days in Ghana and I realized:
• how very lucky I was to be able to make this trip and learn so much more about the Peace Corps, Africa, and unconditional giving to total strangers.
• How appreciative I am to live in the United States.
• That my son is a man who can survive under any circumstance.
• That he has wisdom and talent beyond what I imagined.
• That I am so humbled by the simple un-materialistic way of life in Ghana.
• That there is poverty beyond what I have ever seen before.
• How I better understand the importance and significance of the PCV’s who focus on teaching and educating for a better life.

To every Peace Corp Volunteer out there – God Bless you!

Andy is the first PVC in his village (Tali is a village of 2,000 people in Northern region of Ghana West Africa) and has had many hurdles to jump in order to integrate in the village, to gain trust, to design and implement a plan to help, and to teach. The “teach” is the important part. Because when he leaves the village the progress needs to continue. He is determined to show Ghanaians how to make their lives better and healthier. The Peace Corps motto is “to develop people not things”.

The struggle so many PVC’s face is the Ghanaian mentality that NGO (Non-Government Organizations – i.e. church groups, civic groups) will provide for them because the NGO’s come and build. Whether it is a new church or a bore hole or a public latrine the NGO will build it, but they aren’t there to teach how to use it, how to support it, or how to fix it. They just leave the country when their “mission” or “goal” is completed. Is that really helping or is it hindering?

Andy’s “official” job title is Peace Corps Health and Water Sanitation (WATSAN) Volunteer which means he focuses on improving the health of the village. In the short amount of time Andy has been in Africa he has:

• Integrated into his community, learned the language, and developed relationships.
• Farmed the land and helped build mud huts.
• Checked the filters at the water dam and also does in home filtering which helps eliminate guinea worm.
• Filled in for math and English teachers who don’t show up for classes.
• Started a drama club with about 30 JHS students. The students write the scripts, act, and construct scenes, costumes, and props. Play topics have included HIV awareness, family planning, and teenage pregnancy. Four hundred villagers attended the first play “Regret”. He is determined to master Romeo and Juliet with the Drama Club before he comes home.
• Hosted a two week long girls leadership camp where girls from the poorest villages attended an “American style” camp which focused on 1) increased self confidence and assertiveness in young women 2) developing strong community leaders 3) promoting critical thinking and problem solving and 4) HIV/AIDS education. The camp included leadership lessons, goal setting, personal hygiene, nutrition, HIV/AIDS/STD awareness. They incorporated games that stressed teamwork and problem solving, invited speakers, had a career fair, performed mini dramas, sang around the campfire, made jewelry, and distributed hygiene kits and new school supplies.
• Participated in the “Lake Volta HIV/AIDS Boat Trip educating and testing over 1,000 people in nine communities. Through games and activities the group taught HIV theory, transmission routes, risky behavior, and prevention strategies.
• Chaperoned fifth grade girls at the district assembly for career day and discussed the importance of staying in school.
• Started the Men in Partners Workshop focusing on sexual consent, domestic abuse, gender equality, family planning, and changing negative behaviors.

So, you can see he has been very busy. Hopefully, when he leaves his village the programs, awareness, and skills taught will continue.