Sunday, August 24, 2003 :::  

so i thought i'd share the last entry ot my journal with you.

Wow, hard to believe this trip is already over. What an awesome experience. I've already beena sked by two Rotarians to come to their clubs and be their weekly speaker. I hope I can come up with something good. {:o)

This trip has changed my life - changed who I am. It's hard to say exactly how, but when you travel to another country and spend time working very closely with locals you learn something - people really are the same everywhere you go. This is something I believed was true before my trip, but I couldn't say I knew it. Now I can. There are two ways I think I'm a different person. This experience in another country is something I want to repeat and repeat and repeat - something I actually want to really do with my life. Secondly, I honestly feel, because of this, I have a bright and happy future ahead of me.

Rotarian Kim from Riverside says I should apply for Rotary's Ambassadorial Scholarship - up to $50,000 to study abroad for 2 years. It seems like the process is long, but I could take a year off to earn some money. South America? Australia? Ghana?

Ghana - the people:
Before I left, I read up a little on the country I was traveling to and was given the impression that Ghana was one of the few countries with its head on straight, headed in the right direction. If the people I met are any indication, Ghana is going to get where its going quicker then most countries.
My friend Scott was right when he told me before I left that Africa is one of the world's richest countinents. It's riches lie in the people - the true measure of wealth - potential.
If you smiled at a stranger on the street, chances are, they would smile back. Our hosts were extremely loving. Whenever we went out, they insisted on paying for everything - wouldn't let us drop even 1 Cedi. They took us in and made us a part of their family while they were there. The RYLA participants were completely amazing - ready to learn what we had to teach, ready to seize life and practice everything they learned, and ready to make the rest of the world jealous that it's not West Africa.

The City:
Many cars. Many people. Peddlers/beggars at all the stop lights trying to make some money. Not pushy. A ity of roundabouts. Blue/orange taxis everywhere - the way to get around without a car. Fairly cheap, but you gotta bargain before you get in.
Ive been told by those who've been that it's like Mexico. The market areas were the most visually stimulating - many, many small shops, carts packed together with all typs of wares. (Like a bazaar?) If you owned an "electronics" shop, you'd buy everyhting you could that would constitute "electronics" and hope people bought it.
Instead of gutters, there are ditches usually less than a foot wide and a food deep. All ground water flowed down these. All buildings and streets are surrounded by these. They were often covered by premade cement slabs, so you wouldn't drive into them.
Many of the shops were just converted steel storage (cargo like) containers. Security. All properties are walled with cement walls. Eddie's (my host) house was such and even had glass shards affixed to the top. Custom, apparently. Also, I was told there use to be a high armed robbery rate, which has since gone down due partly to nightly road blocks looking for suspicious activity. All buildings are made of cement. Gone is the hope of banging on your wall to tell your sibling he/she sucks cheese whiz. Good and strong (if built correctly) and won't rust or decay in the humidty.
Nothing gets built at once. You s tart something and complete it bit by bit as you earn the money. We saw many partically completed buildings. Alex's houes was built this way by his father over a 10 year period. While at Alex's I noticed a big slab outside - the future addition. Only problem with cement = hope you don't ever need to knock down a wall.

The Food:
Rice based.
"Red Red" - red beans and plantains (both red). This is my favortite.
Fu fu - tomato based, spicy soup. You drop in a big ball of dough, the fufu. You eat it with your right hand, using your fingers and swallowing (NO CHEWING) or you'll gag.
Banku - dough that tastes like sourdough bread. First bite was ok. After that, I didn't like it.
Club and Star - two brands of Ghanaian beer. I'm not much of a beer drinker, so I won't critique.
Muscatella - soft drink by maker of club that tastes just like liquid candy corn.


Boy, that's long. sorry for the novel.


So if you've made it this far, you get a star (sticker or beer, your choice - on me).

Ive uploaded the rest of my pictures and put them on my website (instead of yahoo). Check them at http://www.skizzot.com/photos/thumbnails.php?album=3. And then, once again, my journal is at http://www.skizzot.com/ghanaRYLA/journal.pdf.

::: posted by Soup at 4:15 PM::: (0) comments

---