3.29.09
kory and i have been busy sightseeing, eating and sampling local beverages (mint tea ad fresh OJ in morocco, wine and sangria in spain). we took the ferry from tangier, morocco over to algeciras, spain - very cool! it was really neat to be on the water looking at the 2 continents. it's nice being in spain now as things are much more western and more like home - there's still a language barrier but kory's spanish from back in the day is coming in quite handy and i am picking up phrases here and there. on friday we took a bus from algeciras to la linea, spain and from there walked across the border to gibraltar. we took the cable car to the top of the rock, saw the apes and several historical sites and did LOTS of walking! it was a very surreal experience - the culture there is part british and part spanish and you can definitely tell it's a tourist destination! we ate fish and chips for lunch at my request and enjoyed speaking english and using british money...then in the evening we went back to spain. i was thoroughly disappointed though that i didn't get another stamp in my passport - the border guards barely even looked at it! yesterday we arrived in seville and have been exploring the city. we went to the cathedral this afternoon (third largest in europe) and walked to the top of the tower to get a bird's eye view of the city. tonight we are off to see a flamenco show (flamenco dancing is native to this area of spain) and then tomorrow we head to madrid. on tuesday night we're taking an overnight train to lisbon then we head home and back to reality on friday! it's been a fantastic trip and we have lots of stories and pictures to share when we get back to the states. have a great rest of the weekend!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
more travels from africa
3.22.09
after a very long traveling day i met up with kory in the casablanca airport. our planes actually parked right next to each other and i found him sitting down and filling out his customs form - i actually had to stand there for a second before he looked up and saw me :) customs in morocco was a bit confusing - more so for the customs official than me. he could not understand why i'd written on my form that i had come from ghana - after a few fruitless minutes of me trying to explain he frustratingly crossed out ghana and wrote in rome (where i had connected through). we navigated our way successfully into the city and found a hotel. the next morning we did a LOT of walking and saw the sights of casablanca - including lunch at rick's cafe (from the movie) and a tour of the mosque. on thursday we headed to marrakesh - though first we had a slight misadventure. we got to the train station in plenty of time for our 10:50 train and boarded the train on the correct platform when it pulled in about 20 minutes early. however, we got a bit concerned when it left about 15 minutes ahead of schedule and we quickly realized we were somehow on a train headed for the airport. luckily, and oddly enough, we rode the same train back to the casablanca train station where we found a cafe and hung out till the 12:50 train. marrakesh was a pleasant change from casablanca - much more tourist friendly and easier to navigate (especially if you don't speak french or arabic). we got pulled in by a snake 'charmer' (though the snakes never really moved) and got our pictures taken holding snakes and with snakes around our necks. we wandered through the medina and at dinner on a terrace overlooking the square. the next day we took a tour to the base of the atlas mountains where we saw the largest waterfall in morocco. it was nice to see the countryside and get out of the city for a bit. now we are in rabat staying with some friends and will head to tangier on wednesday. hope you are all doing well, more to come on my (our) continued adventures!
here is a link to my web album with some more of my pics from ghana...
http://picasaweb.google.com/marykay.alexander/GhanaPictures#
after a very long traveling day i met up with kory in the casablanca airport. our planes actually parked right next to each other and i found him sitting down and filling out his customs form - i actually had to stand there for a second before he looked up and saw me :) customs in morocco was a bit confusing - more so for the customs official than me. he could not understand why i'd written on my form that i had come from ghana - after a few fruitless minutes of me trying to explain he frustratingly crossed out ghana and wrote in rome (where i had connected through). we navigated our way successfully into the city and found a hotel. the next morning we did a LOT of walking and saw the sights of casablanca - including lunch at rick's cafe (from the movie) and a tour of the mosque. on thursday we headed to marrakesh - though first we had a slight misadventure. we got to the train station in plenty of time for our 10:50 train and boarded the train on the correct platform when it pulled in about 20 minutes early. however, we got a bit concerned when it left about 15 minutes ahead of schedule and we quickly realized we were somehow on a train headed for the airport. luckily, and oddly enough, we rode the same train back to the casablanca train station where we found a cafe and hung out till the 12:50 train. marrakesh was a pleasant change from casablanca - much more tourist friendly and easier to navigate (especially if you don't speak french or arabic). we got pulled in by a snake 'charmer' (though the snakes never really moved) and got our pictures taken holding snakes and with snakes around our necks. we wandered through the medina and at dinner on a terrace overlooking the square. the next day we took a tour to the base of the atlas mountains where we saw the largest waterfall in morocco. it was nice to see the countryside and get out of the city for a bit. now we are in rabat staying with some friends and will head to tangier on wednesday. hope you are all doing well, more to come on my (our) continued adventures!
here is a link to my web album with some more of my pics from ghana...
http://picasaweb.google.com/marykay.alexander/GhanaPictures#
Sunday, March 15, 2009
so long, farewell...
3.15.09
being in ghana has been an assault on my senses, for better and for worse. the sights, smells, sounds, tastes - everything is so different from home and from anything i've experienced before. here's some things i will/will not miss when i leave:
i will miss:
- playing with the children at daycare and the local kids and hearing them laugh and seeing their smiles
- working at the orphanage and knowing i was making the childrens' lives better - especially since i got to see the first group move in
- having lazy afternoons after a hard morning of work
- cheap travel and a cheap lifestyle - i could actually go for days spending little/no money
- bonding sessions with the family and volunteers over card games by candlelight
- being tan and blonder without much effort
- lots of free time to read and think
- the silence that comes from a lifestyle without electricity, running water or modern day conveniences
- fan ice (ice cream)
- the yummy bananas, pineapple and oranges
- the availability of random things when you are in the bus/on the roadside - snacks, toothpaste, shirts, coffins, furniture
- walking home by moonlight without a flashlight
i will not miss:
- waking up in the middle of the night wrestling my way out of my bug net trying to find my flashlight so i can go to the bathroom/outhouse
- finding large crickets, lizards, spiders and cockroaches in the toilet in the middle of the night
- roosters crowing at ALL hours
- being crammed in tros (mini buses) with a bunch of sweaty strangers on a hot afternoon
- a general lack of personal space
- bucket showers and never feeling truly clean
- a lumpy mattress
- being called obruni and hissed at on the street by random locals
- lukewarm drinks
- rarely getting a good night's sleep and sleeping through the night only once or twice in 10 weeks
- seeing trash everywhere without garbage cans, throwing trash on the ground, and the stench of open sewers
i leave tomorrow evening for the airport and head to morocco. i hope you all have enjoyed my insights into ghana and i will try to post more as my travels continue (i get back to reston on april 3rd). have a great rest of the weekend!
ps - sorry that i haven't posted any more pics - either it's the camera or the computer (i think it's the computer) but i'm too lazy to spend the time to figure it out :)
being in ghana has been an assault on my senses, for better and for worse. the sights, smells, sounds, tastes - everything is so different from home and from anything i've experienced before. here's some things i will/will not miss when i leave:
i will miss:
- playing with the children at daycare and the local kids and hearing them laugh and seeing their smiles
- working at the orphanage and knowing i was making the childrens' lives better - especially since i got to see the first group move in
- having lazy afternoons after a hard morning of work
- cheap travel and a cheap lifestyle - i could actually go for days spending little/no money
- bonding sessions with the family and volunteers over card games by candlelight
- being tan and blonder without much effort
- lots of free time to read and think
- the silence that comes from a lifestyle without electricity, running water or modern day conveniences
- fan ice (ice cream)
- the yummy bananas, pineapple and oranges
- the availability of random things when you are in the bus/on the roadside - snacks, toothpaste, shirts, coffins, furniture
- walking home by moonlight without a flashlight
i will not miss:
- waking up in the middle of the night wrestling my way out of my bug net trying to find my flashlight so i can go to the bathroom/outhouse
- finding large crickets, lizards, spiders and cockroaches in the toilet in the middle of the night
- roosters crowing at ALL hours
- being crammed in tros (mini buses) with a bunch of sweaty strangers on a hot afternoon
- a general lack of personal space
- bucket showers and never feeling truly clean
- a lumpy mattress
- being called obruni and hissed at on the street by random locals
- lukewarm drinks
- rarely getting a good night's sleep and sleeping through the night only once or twice in 10 weeks
- seeing trash everywhere without garbage cans, throwing trash on the ground, and the stench of open sewers
i leave tomorrow evening for the airport and head to morocco. i hope you all have enjoyed my insights into ghana and i will try to post more as my travels continue (i get back to reston on april 3rd). have a great rest of the weekend!
ps - sorry that i haven't posted any more pics - either it's the camera or the computer (i think it's the computer) but i'm too lazy to spend the time to figure it out :)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
more about work...
3.11.09
about a month ago i started working every other day at day care (the rest still at the building project) = the building project had a lot of volunteers and work was a bit slow and i was looking for a change of pace. i thought it would be a good opportunity for a change of pace. of course day care here is nothing like at home (it's really more like preschool i think). first of all, the kids come dressed in school uniforms then the start promptly change them into play clothes (play clothes here could be anything from shorts and a tshirt to a party dress!) and give them a snack (parents provide this and it is sometimes biscuits and juice, sometimes candy!). once most of the kids have arrived then have a morning assembly where they sing, march and recite the lord's prayer and a daily scripture passage. the kids then split into 2 groups - older and younger - but many wander freely around with no general direction or purpose. the older kids focus on letters, numbers, coloring, learning fruits and veggies etc, while the younger ones are basically just herded into a small area on the porch w/o much structure or activity. these kids definitely have a ton of energy (even more with the candy!) and are itching to get up and run around - but they are basically trying to sit still till break/playtime at 10:30. sometimes the volunteers help with the lessons or lead the kids in songs and games or just play with the kids. there's also an informal nap time - the kids just lay down when they are tired - whenever and wherever. one of the favorite things for the kids to do is play beauty parlor with my hair - it's very fascinating to them since it's so different from theirs :). the volunteers leave around noon so i don't know too much about what goes on in the afternoon...i was however, surprised to see that caning and harsh discipline start so early here - if a child talks back, hits another child, generally acts up or sometimes even if they give an incorrect answer these are all reasons for the teacher to cane them or slap their hands (or sometimes their head). it's been a very eye-opening experience and of course one which makes me appreciate everything at home even more!
ps - i tried to upload some more pics today but the computer/connection weren't cooperating so i will try again this weekend!
about a month ago i started working every other day at day care (the rest still at the building project) = the building project had a lot of volunteers and work was a bit slow and i was looking for a change of pace. i thought it would be a good opportunity for a change of pace. of course day care here is nothing like at home (it's really more like preschool i think). first of all, the kids come dressed in school uniforms then the start promptly change them into play clothes (play clothes here could be anything from shorts and a tshirt to a party dress!) and give them a snack (parents provide this and it is sometimes biscuits and juice, sometimes candy!). once most of the kids have arrived then have a morning assembly where they sing, march and recite the lord's prayer and a daily scripture passage. the kids then split into 2 groups - older and younger - but many wander freely around with no general direction or purpose. the older kids focus on letters, numbers, coloring, learning fruits and veggies etc, while the younger ones are basically just herded into a small area on the porch w/o much structure or activity. these kids definitely have a ton of energy (even more with the candy!) and are itching to get up and run around - but they are basically trying to sit still till break/playtime at 10:30. sometimes the volunteers help with the lessons or lead the kids in songs and games or just play with the kids. there's also an informal nap time - the kids just lay down when they are tired - whenever and wherever. one of the favorite things for the kids to do is play beauty parlor with my hair - it's very fascinating to them since it's so different from theirs :). the volunteers leave around noon so i don't know too much about what goes on in the afternoon...i was however, surprised to see that caning and harsh discipline start so early here - if a child talks back, hits another child, generally acts up or sometimes even if they give an incorrect answer these are all reasons for the teacher to cane them or slap their hands (or sometimes their head). it's been a very eye-opening experience and of course one which makes me appreciate everything at home even more!
ps - i tried to upload some more pics today but the computer/connection weren't cooperating so i will try again this weekend!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
very very very hot
3.5.09
so i found out today that march is the hottest month in ghana - lucky me! i can definitely feel that it's gotten warmer if you can believe that! however, even though i've been since sick(i am pretty much back to ghana-normal) and not sleeping i am feeling pretty good - and counting down the days till i fly to morocco! i am so looking forward to even being in rome (i fly from accra to rome to casablanca) to get some more western food - though i am anticipating some more culture shock - and then a shower, cooler weather and a more comfortable bed! tomorrow is independence day here so no work - we will probably head to a nearby town to take in the festivities. on saturday a group of volunteers are going to a pool in accra for the day - it will be a good break for the heat and a farewell of sorts as my friends start to leave. i hope everyone has a great weekend - more next week!
so i found out today that march is the hottest month in ghana - lucky me! i can definitely feel that it's gotten warmer if you can believe that! however, even though i've been since sick(i am pretty much back to ghana-normal) and not sleeping i am feeling pretty good - and counting down the days till i fly to morocco! i am so looking forward to even being in rome (i fly from accra to rome to casablanca) to get some more western food - though i am anticipating some more culture shock - and then a shower, cooler weather and a more comfortable bed! tomorrow is independence day here so no work - we will probably head to a nearby town to take in the festivities. on saturday a group of volunteers are going to a pool in accra for the day - it will be a good break for the heat and a farewell of sorts as my friends start to leave. i hope everyone has a great weekend - more next week!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
a few more pictures
here are a few more pics - not too many today but at least it's giving you all a small glimpse into my life here. i was going to post some yesterday but friday night and all day yesterday was pretty ill with an intestinal bug. not fun. i'm feeling better today, though still not great! hope everyone had a great weekend!
1. eveline, fabian and caroline on the tro-tro (mini bus)
2. cape coast fort
3. me at the building worksite
4. view from the hike at wli falls
5. akaa falls
6. my toilet, shower, and water room
7. my house
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