Picture of Ghana

So I know I promised a weekly blog, but the internet, among other things, were not exactly what I had expected. I am trying. But since I started late, this first post will attempt to be my first impressions of the country, the people, and my placement over the last week. It is much too difficult to upload photos here so I am going to try to paint what I have experience to the best of my ability.

I arrived in Accra, Ghana after 30 hours of traveling. It gets dark here around 5 pm. There is no real sunset. It goes from light to black in a matter of seconds. I assume it has to do with our location by the equator, but it is disconcerting nonetheless. Especially when electricity and thus light can be scarce in some areas.

That first night I made the 4 hour van trip from the Accra airport to the home base in Hohoe will excitement and anticipation. I have since learned that that will probably be the only trip I don't experience motion sickness. We took a 8 hr van ride to Cape Coast this weekend to Elmina. There we visited Elmina castle which housed slaves before they were sent to the Americas and Kakum National Park where we took a canopy rope bridge walk 100 ft over the rain forest floor. The sites were so emotionally impacting. The castle for the obvious reasons of human torture and mutilation, and the forest for the sheer natural beauty of the landscape. But as magnificent as these places were, my memories of the trip are plagued by the car sickness I felt both going and coming home. The roads here make the dirt roads at home seem like paved highways. Even if the roads are paved, they are riddled with pot holes the size of Rhode Island and speed bumps every few kilometers.

Every trip we have taken, whether it be to go hiking or to see the Wli waterfall was been through breathtaking scenery. The vegetation is lush and green outside towns. In towns though the poverty of one of the most progressive nations in Africa is still obvious. I have learned that over 60% of the adult population is still illiterate. The people here are very welcoming and hospitable but poor. The roads are lined with little shops that people in America would term "shacks' and that is what most of rural Ghana is covered with. However, although financial resources are low, the artistry of these people is amazing. Whether it be fabric, hand carved musical instruments, or jewelry the workmanship and quality is beyond compare.

The elementary school were I am at is one of the best in the region but even it is still sadly lacking. I am participating in a remedial reading program that is almost exactly like what I did in America Reads. So I feel very prepared to help these young children who want to learn but are denied resources and man power to help them.

I have to go as I have 4 minutes left of my time at the internet cafe in town. But I promise to try an update later this week.