African Union Day

A very happy African Union Day to all!

I have moved into my host family's house and will remain here until I leave on July 2nd. When their current guest leaves I will have my room, which I'm very thankful for. Until then I'm sharing with my host sister Gabriella. She's got shelves along one entire wall of her room packed with shoes. I can see our friendship going a long way.

Right now, we're watching a football game of a bunch of the Black Stars and other amazing world footballers in a game of Africa vs. the World. There's lots of Ghanaian music and dancing, it's pretty cool.

Hopefully, after, I'll be getting some more clothing for work. I should have trusted my gut and packed at least twice as much clothing and fancier shoes. Ah, well. The fashion here is amazing so I'm sure I'll get some good stuff. I'm hoping to also have at least one African-style dress made - they're so beautiful, I can't pass up the opportunity.

Well, I hope you are all happy and healthy. I miss you, as always.

Much love.

Birthday in Accra

Hello all!

I turned 23 today! I had a very relaxing day reading and napping, and I went to a beautiful spot on the coast of Accra proper for a bite with another Canadian, two Germans, and three Ghanaians. The sea breeze was so refreshing, and on our way out to the parking lot, I got a beginner's drumming lesson!
When I got home, I sat with my current host family for a lil Rush Hour 3, and they got me a delicious piece of cake from a bakery nearby! How sweet is that?

That's me, Kobby, Afi, Ato, and my cake in the middle!

Hope you are all healthy and happy.
Much love,
Emmy

The Ark Foundation

Well, this morning I put my big girl underpants on and came to work all by myself. Unfortunately, I endured 20 minutes of poking, prodding, and marriage proposals from a trotro driver while I waited to leave Circle, but I managed! I'll be going home by myself, too. That will be trickier - it takes three trotros to get back, and the traffic on Fridays in even more insane than the rest of the week.
Working at the Ark Foundation is absolutely amazing. The work they do here in Ghana is phenomenal. They provide the only shelter for women and children, for example. There are several shelters for children, but only Ark's takes women, too. They also have a 24-hour crisis hotline, legal services, including free legal representation, free counseling with social workers, and all kinds of training programs for women on leadership, advocacy, women's rights, etc.Right now, I'm helping The Ark seek affiliation with a university or college in order to for the Women's Law and Human Rights Institute to become an accredited institute of education. How freaking cool is that?
In other news...
I found a bakery that has cake. Real. Cake. I don't know why, but no one here has a sweet tooth, and (of course) I've been craving sweets since getting here. I plan to eat a giant piece today.
Oh, and I wear SPF 60 sunblock every day, and Deet-filled mosquito repellant, and I'm getting tanned and bitten daily. Someone explain this to me, please. (I think I may even be getting tanned through my shirts - is that even possible?)
Hope you are all well,
love and kisses,
Emily

p.s. No one in Canada has the right to use air conditioning. If it's not 30 degrees Celsius, don't turn it on. We're using fans and it's 30 degrees all the freaking time. Drink more water and suck it up! We only get two or three months of real summer weather and it's minimum 30 degrees here all the time! I propose that Canada develop an application system for air conditioning. People with certain health conditions or over/under certain ages can apply to use it more liberally, and everyone else is only allowed if it's over 30 degrees. See? I should clearly run Canada.

Work Begins

I reached some more landmarks today. The first, I received my orientation for work today. The Ark Foundation does so much for this country - for example, theirs is the only women and children's center in Ghana. There are a few children's shelters, but only theirs for women, too. I'm very excited to help them in any way I can.
Second, I've officially been called obruni. On the way home from the office - with the help of Sydney (a neighbour of the family I'm staying with temporarily) and two trotros and one shared taxi - I was crossing one of the many streets in Circle, and I walked smack into the back of Sydney. All the people around laughed and said, "Ah! Obruni, eh?" Syd was none too pleased, either.
Third, I've had my first marriage proposal. I went for a walk to the corner and back looking for bread, and on the way back was called over to a young man by a shop. He asked me if I was married and I said "yes, well, engaged" and he asked where my husband was ("Canada"). He then informed me that he would be my second husband, because I needed a white one and a black one. I said I didn't think I could handle two, and politely ended the conversation. Phew!
Also, I'm in the process of changing my return date, as I have decided to complete an 8-week internship rather than a 12-week one. I think I'll still be able to learn a lot in 8 weeks, and hopefully provide some usefulness, too, so I'm happy with the change. In retrospect, I think Accra was just a little far for my first independent traveling experience.
Much love,
Emily

Kobby's House

Well, I've moved again, this time from the Golden Lemon Guest House (which would have been very expensive to stay at for a week) to Kobby's. Kobby is an employee at AFS here in Ghana, and is very kind (like all the others I've met here). I'll be here until the 23rd (next Monday) when I will go to my host family.
Today, I'm going to familiarize myself with the area a little and take taxis to the AFS office - BY MYSELF! It takes two to get there - one to Circle, then one in the direction of Worker's College, where I will get off by a big Catholic Cathedral or YWCA, depending on the route they take. Hopefully the language barrier wont be too much of a problem. Wish me luck!
Later, I will meet Fabian, a German volunteer who has already been here in Accra for 10 months, help me figure out trotro routes. Hopefully, I'll also be able to pick up some fabric from the market, but I may leave that to another day...
I'm missing you all very much and look forward to being home. But, I promise, I'm taking in every moment here while I can.
All my love,
Emily

A Little Bit of Accra

Here are a few observations I've made in the week I've been here that I think you may find interesting...

1. the traffic is INSANE. First of all, if there are rules of the road, the only one that's loosely followed is "drive on the right side of the road". Cars will go into the far left (oncoming) lane to turn left, do U-turns where ever they want, randomly form a third lane in the middle of the road... like I said, it's crazy. Secondly, all the big cars (trucks, SUVs) do whatever they please because they know they're safe if they get in an accident, so the littler cars have to do their best to stay out of the line of fire, so to speak. Everyone drives as fast as they can, or want, and it's usually right behind the bumper of the person in front of them. Cars are driven until they die on the side of the road. Literally. And then men come and help the driver push-start it. Trotros are dented and dinged up from hitting things and things hitting them, and are are know to have their brakes give out, but their the cheapest way to get around and their always packed.
2. there are lots of animals everywhere. Flocks of 1 to about 4 or 5 sheep graze on the side of the road. Chickens wander around the side of the road and around stalls. I hear rooster calls in the morning. There are a lot of medium-sized dogs. No really big ones, no really small ones, all look approximately the same, (smallish head with a pointed snout, slight body, and bottle brush tail) in various colours. There are many cats too. They all look like they are between the age of kitten-hood and adult-cat-hood, when they're thin and kind of gangly, but I'm not sure if they're kittens or just skinny. Dogs and cats go the stalls with their owners so you can usually find the cats milling around them, or, like last night, a dog curled up sleeping in front of it. 
3. sales. Holy cow. There are stalls lining the streets, packed more and more tightly the closer you get to downtown. They are three-walled structures that vary from ones made of wood that resemble fishing shacks with a wooden gate that closes and locks when the shop closes, to metal ones with a metal gate, to concrete ones with glass windows and doors on the front. You can buy pretty much anything from them, drinks, snacks, groceries, pharmacy items, shoes, clothes, have pictures printed, etc. There are also vendors who walk up and down stopped traffic selling items held in big bowls carried on their heads. This is very convenient in a trotro, since the top of head of the vendors reaches approximately the bottom of the window so you can just reach in a take what you want. They sell water sachets, phone cards, toiletries, gum, chocolate, belts, bicycle tires, sandals, and probably anything else you can think of.
4. there doesn't seem to be a huge emphasis put on property value here, though I've only been here a week so maybe it's different in different areas. Anyway, the areas I've seen have huge mansions and other nice homes next to decrepit buildings and slums. It's definitely different.
5. food. Breakfast wouldn't be breakfast in Accra without Milo! The milk used in Milo, coffee, and tea is a tin of Carnation condensed milk. There are two main types of bread, sugar bread and butter bread. They are baked in wood burning ovens in stalls on the side of the road and they are the most wonderful thing I've ever tasted. Banku is a starch food made of casava and corn that comes in a ball and has the consistency of raw dough. It's eaten with soup or sauce with meat (fish, chicken, and/or goat). You pinch pieces off with your fingers and press a divot in the center and kind of use it as a spoon. Kinki is the same idea except it's made only with corn and it has corn husks around it. Fufu is casava and another grain that's escaping me at the moment. Anyway, it's much stickier and it's swallowed without chewing. Oh, yes, and when there's goat in the soup, it's aaaaall the goat. I haven't had it myself because I don't think I could handle the rubbery skin. The staple food here is rice - plain rice, fried rice, jallof rice. It's very good, but it gets a little sickening when you eat it twice a day.

Hope that was interesting, I'll report more as it comes. Love you all, and miss you very much.
Emily

Golden Lemon Guest House

Hello again! So, here's the update everyone: I developed some sort of intestinal infection after eating something my system was not prepared for, or possibly drinking sachet water that was infected, I'm not sure, anyway I was admitted to C & J Medical Hospital in Accra on Wednesday morning and left Friday afternoon. I got probably 7 rounds of IV antibiotics, some fluids, too, and am still on oral antibiotics, but I feel MUCH better. There were some issues with the host family I was originally going to stay with so I have been moved to a guest house (kind of a bed and breakfast type deal) until a temporary family can be found. I will be going to my new host family on May 23rd.
I've been in Accra one week tonight, and I'm not going to lie, it's been really tough. I've been brutally homesick and culture shocked, and sick, so it's been a small slice of hell. The biggest consolation has been your encouragement and the kindness of the people here. For example, there was a lady with malaria in the same ward as me while I was in the hospital. She heard me crying in my bed Wednesday night, I think, and asked me what was wrong and I explained that I was missing my family and she said she was too, but don't worry, if I am missing my mummy, I can look over at her and think she is with me. On Friday, when we were both discharged, I sat with her, her sister Tina, and her younger son Ernest, and I was invited to share their lunch with them, and they bought me water, and we talked about our families. They gave me the phone numbers of a relative in Canada, a relative in Cote d'Ivoire, and Tina gave me her number, too, so that I could let her know if I go home or stay in Ghana. Sitting there with them laughing and talking was so rejuvenating for me, since I felt so deprived of familial contact. It was wonderful.
There's so much I think of throughout the day that I want to share with you all, I hope next time I sit down to write my memory will serve me better! I hope you are all doing well, I know I am missing out on a fabulous party today, and I wish very much that I was there. I love you all so much.
Until next time!
Emily

AFS Ghana Orientation, Day 1

Greetings family and friends and my Coco Banana,

Wow. So much has happened since arriving. I have not had access to internet, which is why I have not been able to email or post. We were picked up at the airport by two AFS reps, a young man and woman. From there we went to the Crystal Beam Hostel. We are staying there until tomorrow, when our host families are to pick us up. I have purchased a (very cheap) cell phone and will buy some minutes for it today when we're finished orientation so I can make some brief calls to Mum and Dad, and Cody.
Some incredible things I have experienced already, only 36 hour in:

1. getting my passport taken away at immigration because I did not have my host family's address (don't worry, I ended up putting AFS Ghana's address and getting it back)
2. women's urinals. This is why they do not use their left hands. 
3. food venders on the side of the road. The one we went to had three or four skinny little pet cats roaming around. I gave them bits of banku, but didn't pet them, juuust in case.(In an ironic twist, the doctor that spoke to us this morning told us to not buy food from street vendors. Though our AFS guides have taken us at least twice. Hmmm....)
4. bitten by a (fire?) ant in bed. Holy crap did that hurt. Oh, and maybe this is just the hostel, but you do not sleep with sheets over you at night. It rained hard this morning, apparently the rainy season has officially begun. Time to bust out the mosquito net and bug spray!

I got to meet the Director of AFS Ghana, and he is a very friendly and welcoming man. We are learning some Twi (pronounced Chwee), the local language, to make communication easier, and are diving right in to local foods. I find it very spicy so I can only eat small amounts at a time.
As I said, tomorrow evening I will go to my host family, and I am very excited. Apparently, Ghanaian families are very protective of their children, particularly of their daughters, (so be comforted, Mum and Dad!). I will have three young host siblings, which I am excited to meet. I hope I can maybe help them with their English, and they will help me with my Twi. I'm looking forward to being away from my fellow Canadians and be immersed in Ghanaian culture, since being here only three months, I need to soak up every minute. I miss my friends, family, and Cody very much, however. I have not been approached or hit on or offered a marriage proposal from any Ghanaian men, so either my ring is working or I'm not too attractive according to Ghanaian standards! Either way, I feel much more comfortable about that.
Well, with some luck I'll be able to write again in a couple of days.
I assure you I'm doing everything to keep safe and healthy.
I love and miss you all very much.
Emily

Amsterdam Airport

Egg McMuffin, the universal breakfast food of travelers, fast food junkies, and those nursing a hangover, available worldwide "thanks" to the globalization of Western corporations, including but limited to McCrapFood - check. Shower - check. Book - check. Bench in a reasonably quiet lounge area to facilitate napping - check. Complete exhaustion and lack of focus on what I'm writing right now - double check. Now, to figure out a way to strap myself into my backpack so that it can't get stolen while sleeping...

Will write again in Accra.