Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
I just want to start off by saying everyday here is a great day, especially because they all start off with a beautiful drive down the mountain on the way to Mampong. Today, we had a lot of humorous conversations with our colleagues at the centre. Many members of my lab asked me what religion I followed and of course this is always sort of awkward to explain, especially to a stranger, so I tried to keep it as simple as possible. I didn’t feel as if I was being judged, they were very accepting but it was so funny because every young guy that came into the lab, they would introduce him as young and unmarried, lol. Sami, one of the two high priests in our lab, introduced me to (forgot his name) and said, “Blank is young and single but Jesus is between him and God but that’s ok, he can just convert you.” LMBO, I was cracking up. We also had this mango situation where there were like seven people crowded around trying to tell me and Alanna how to eat this mango I was trying to peel. Some were telling us to eat the peel others were saying not to, then they were arguing over the right way to peel it and whether or not we should share or just one of us eat it…lol, I love these people.
Monday, May 18, 2009...The Research Begins...Sort Of
Last night was kind of funny in hindsight but it was pretty scary at the time. While our cabin is very nice and homely, being in the garden feels like you’re in the middle of the forest and with no electricity, it was pitch black by 8:00 p.m. We went to bed around 8:30 p.m. but we were awoken throughout the night by crazy noises, some sounded like crackling coming from inside of the house others came from outside like this constant howling/crowing/cockle-doodle-dooing from like 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. I kind of wrote off the noises in the house as the natural creaking of the house and the foot steps outside as the night watcher’s footsteps but Alanna was completely freaked out. So, we lived in fear until the electricity came on at 5 something and I got up at 6 to do Taebo.
Today was our first day at the center. We went around to all of the different offices (Accounts, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry, Microbiology lab, etc.) Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and I am excited about our project. As of right now, we are only sure that we will be making plant extracts but hopefully we can do some biological assays and MAYBE do the rat uterine tests when the medical student gets here in June or July. Dr. George and Dr. Sittie arranged for Olga and Mr. George to take us to the market for food, water and various other things we need in order to prepare our own meals. It was really great, we’ve passed through many markets but this was our first opportunity to really go into the heart of a market and buy things and bargain with vendors. Side note: There are vendors everywhere in Ghana, along almost every road and many stay open through the night. It is just amazing to me, every inch of good space is utilized to its full capacity. I am very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of Ghana. In fact, I feel that life here moves at a much more natural pace than in America. Back home, everyone is always rushing, and while the drivers here are no less (or even more) aggressive, people seem to take life in stride. I also like that arguing seems to be accepted as a natural means of communication just as joking around or having a calm conversation. I’ve seen many people argue but with the intent to end it and they don’t seem too emotionally involved in the quarrel.
Today was our first day at the center. We went around to all of the different offices (Accounts, Pharmacology, Phytochemistry, Microbiology lab, etc.) Everyone was very friendly and welcoming and I am excited about our project. As of right now, we are only sure that we will be making plant extracts but hopefully we can do some biological assays and MAYBE do the rat uterine tests when the medical student gets here in June or July. Dr. George and Dr. Sittie arranged for Olga and Mr. George to take us to the market for food, water and various other things we need in order to prepare our own meals. It was really great, we’ve passed through many markets but this was our first opportunity to really go into the heart of a market and buy things and bargain with vendors. Side note: There are vendors everywhere in Ghana, along almost every road and many stay open through the night. It is just amazing to me, every inch of good space is utilized to its full capacity. I am very impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of Ghana. In fact, I feel that life here moves at a much more natural pace than in America. Back home, everyone is always rushing, and while the drivers here are no less (or even more) aggressive, people seem to take life in stride. I also like that arguing seems to be accepted as a natural means of communication just as joking around or having a calm conversation. I’ve seen many people argue but with the intent to end it and they don’t seem too emotionally involved in the quarrel.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Today seemed so long but we actually didn’t do that much. It was kind of funny because as I woke, I was hoping that the water would be working today, so that I could use the bathroom in the hostel…I had to pee really bad, lol. But it turned out that the water still wasn’t working and a couple of hours later the electricity went out too. Alanna and I sat staring at the fan as the rotations became slower and slower…it was so sad, hahaha.
So, we took that as a sign to go get something to go out and exchange some more money and get a new sim card and minutes for her phone. We ran into Tope in the hall and he scolded us for trying to go to the market by ourselves (lol), so we woke Kwaku and Polina and we all drove together in Kwaku’s dad’s old car. When we got there, we parked behind this bus, which turned out not to be such a great idea because the bus driver of the next bus that pulled up behind his car went off on Kwaku, lol…sorry Kwaku!!
When we got back to the hostel, everyone was starving but it is Sunday and all the delivery food places weren’t answering the phone, so we sat around for a while, listening to one another’s stomach growling and then 4 of us headed out to Chef Solo’s to pick up some 1.50-2.00 cedi meals…you can’t beat that!! Right after we finished eating, a man showed up to take Alanna and I to Aburi Gardens. It really caught us off guard because we didn’t know what time we were supposed to be picked up and we thought that Kofi Jyan was coming, but he didn’t.
The ride to Aburi Gardens was AMAZING!!! I missed a lot of great pictures because the car was moving pretty fast but we rode through the mountains and saw lovely homes (I guess it is the equivalent to suburbia). Aburi Gardens is up in the mountains and the landscape is absolutely amazing. We haven’t had much time to explore because it gets dark at six, so we’re trying to wake up early and go for a run around the gardens. We have our own little house here with a living room, refrigerator, bathroom, closet room, bedroom and television. Unfortunately, the electricity is out her too, so a couple of candles, sitting in glass Fanta soda bottles, are holding it down for us right now.
We miss our friends back at the hostel so much, we had become a little team…it’s crazy how you can sometimes hit it off with people so fast and so easily. And even when you live half way across the world, you can have so much in common.
So, we took that as a sign to go get something to go out and exchange some more money and get a new sim card and minutes for her phone. We ran into Tope in the hall and he scolded us for trying to go to the market by ourselves (lol), so we woke Kwaku and Polina and we all drove together in Kwaku’s dad’s old car. When we got there, we parked behind this bus, which turned out not to be such a great idea because the bus driver of the next bus that pulled up behind his car went off on Kwaku, lol…sorry Kwaku!!
When we got back to the hostel, everyone was starving but it is Sunday and all the delivery food places weren’t answering the phone, so we sat around for a while, listening to one another’s stomach growling and then 4 of us headed out to Chef Solo’s to pick up some 1.50-2.00 cedi meals…you can’t beat that!! Right after we finished eating, a man showed up to take Alanna and I to Aburi Gardens. It really caught us off guard because we didn’t know what time we were supposed to be picked up and we thought that Kofi Jyan was coming, but he didn’t.
The ride to Aburi Gardens was AMAZING!!! I missed a lot of great pictures because the car was moving pretty fast but we rode through the mountains and saw lovely homes (I guess it is the equivalent to suburbia). Aburi Gardens is up in the mountains and the landscape is absolutely amazing. We haven’t had much time to explore because it gets dark at six, so we’re trying to wake up early and go for a run around the gardens. We have our own little house here with a living room, refrigerator, bathroom, closet room, bedroom and television. Unfortunately, the electricity is out her too, so a couple of candles, sitting in glass Fanta soda bottles, are holding it down for us right now.
We miss our friends back at the hostel so much, we had become a little team…it’s crazy how you can sometimes hit it off with people so fast and so easily. And even when you live half way across the world, you can have so much in common.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Today, I woke up around 11 a.m., only to find that there was no running water. But no worries, there is a reservoir outside that we can collect water from and rinse the soap off of your body by pouring a bucket of water on yourself…it is actually pretty cool, lol…I’m probably one of the only people who enjoy taking bucket showers. We moved very slowly during the morning (the heat + not knowing where restaurants are makes it hard to get going), so by the time we got ready to go around 1:30 p.m., I sat down on my bed and fell asleep again, lol. Then, around 3 p.m., we rounded up the crew and headed for the beach, we figured we’d find a place to eat on the way. We got to the beach, and a restaurant was conveniently placed right on the water front. So, we ordered our food (I had vegetable rice with pepper sauce on the side!!) and proceeded to be hustled by every guy selling something on the strip, haha. I don’t know why we were such a target but they were just swarming our table and being super persistent. I told a couple of them…”if I keep buying your stuff, I’ll be out here with you in a minute; u got something for me to sale?” But they were fun and I got some good deals…in total, I spent 20 cedis and got 3 necklaces and 3 bracelets. Not bad, I don’t think. Then I rode a horse and played in the water and soaked my pants real good. The darkness came…and we headed home.
•Woke up at 6:00 a.m. because it was already fully light outside with a light overcast. Weather.com was wrong, not a drop of rain fell today.
•Raman took us to change money, and then out to lunch.
•The food was great!! I can’t wait to eat more. For lunch I had red red (fried plaintain and black eyed peas), jollof rice, and fresh squeezed pineapple juice!!
•On the way to change our money, we saw a car crash w/a motorcycle and a taxi (I think).
•I was expecting that the exchange rate would be 1 dollar to 1 cedi but currently it is 1 dollar to 1.45 cedi, I got 142 cedis for a 100 dollar bill, I was so geeked.
•Polina, Alonna “Niké”, and I went to the internet café, my computer died on me before I could send all the emails I needed to or upload my blog.
•I got my hair braided for 8 cedis, amazing deal.
•At the salon I watched “Let’s Dance,” the Nigerian version of “So you think you can dance."
•There was a little girl in the salon and she started to scream and cry, her mother yelled…be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet…the girl kept crying, so the mom hit her hand and repeated…be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet (louder and louder)…then she swooped the toddler up and said GO TO SLEEP, said be quiet one more time, and the girl was knocked out within 3 seconds…it was amazing… like magic.
•We met two Nigerian medical students, who live in our hostel, named Temitope and Adebimpe. They’re doing there “elective” here in Ghana and we’re going to the club with them tonight.
•Our night out was lots of fun, we went to a very nice upscale bar, drank and danced until about 12 a.m. then we headed for a club called Tantra…where they play a mix of techno house music and hip hop, this was also had a very upscale feel, with a mixed crowd. We left around three but the club doesn’t close until sun break…we just couldn’t hang…such a long day warrants a good night’s sleep…and that’s exactly what we did.
•Raman took us to change money, and then out to lunch.
•The food was great!! I can’t wait to eat more. For lunch I had red red (fried plaintain and black eyed peas), jollof rice, and fresh squeezed pineapple juice!!
•On the way to change our money, we saw a car crash w/a motorcycle and a taxi (I think).
•I was expecting that the exchange rate would be 1 dollar to 1 cedi but currently it is 1 dollar to 1.45 cedi, I got 142 cedis for a 100 dollar bill, I was so geeked.
•Polina, Alonna “Niké”, and I went to the internet café, my computer died on me before I could send all the emails I needed to or upload my blog.
•I got my hair braided for 8 cedis, amazing deal.
•At the salon I watched “Let’s Dance,” the Nigerian version of “So you think you can dance."
•There was a little girl in the salon and she started to scream and cry, her mother yelled…be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet…the girl kept crying, so the mom hit her hand and repeated…be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet, be quiet (louder and louder)…then she swooped the toddler up and said GO TO SLEEP, said be quiet one more time, and the girl was knocked out within 3 seconds…it was amazing… like magic.
•We met two Nigerian medical students, who live in our hostel, named Temitope and Adebimpe. They’re doing there “elective” here in Ghana and we’re going to the club with them tonight.
•Our night out was lots of fun, we went to a very nice upscale bar, drank and danced until about 12 a.m. then we headed for a club called Tantra…where they play a mix of techno house music and hip hop, this was also had a very upscale feel, with a mixed crowd. We left around three but the club doesn’t close until sun break…we just couldn’t hang…such a long day warrants a good night’s sleep…and that’s exactly what we did.
May 13th - May 14th
Yesterday/Today was all travel and very little sleep. We (Ayanna, Alanna, Taysha, Polina, Janaiya, Folasade) left from DTW at 9:00pm and we arrived in Amsterdam around 11:00am. I was surprisingly not tired but it definitely caught up to me on the second flight. The food they served on the planes was actually not half bad…well I can only speak for the vegetarian options, there were mixed reviews on the meat dishes. The first plane served curry beans w/ greens and rice and a salad on the side. The second flight served Aubergine curry offered with coriander couscous, raisins and Spanish red pepper…classy, right? And the passion fruit mousse was served over gram cracker crust (just delish). To make the flight even better there were the most adorably little girls sitting behind me, except they were never sitting, they played in the isle for the majority of the flight and I played something equivalent to peek-a-boo with them for a little while. Both flights gave me a chance to pretty much finish this month’s issue of Essence…it’s a must buy…all about being green and they gave green awards, here are some highlights:
Ways to go green at home:
Let fresh air in, unplug unused appliances, wipe your feet, turn your heat down and put on a sweater, use recyclable bags, say bye-bye to bottled water anddddd GO MEATLESS(they suggest visiting black vegetarians.org/recipes/soulfood.htm for those who don’t wanna give up soulfood!!)
They also had a wonderful interview, as their feature article, with Michelle Obama and her mother, Mrs. Robinson.
Finally, a few of the Green Award winners are working on projects in the Bronx that involve both creating green job training and salvaging abandoned building parts for reuse (google Majora Carter and Omar Friella for more info)
Unfortunately, it gets dark very early in Ghana, so when we arrived at 7:30 p.m., it was already dark. It was still pretty cool to see Accra at night, even though it is very dark and the only light comes from small store fronts and vending machines and buildings, people are still walking about and street vendors are still set up and open for business.
The dudes at the airport were definitely trying to hustle us. They run up to help you before you can even say “yes, I need help” or “no, I got it” and next thing you know their asking you for a tip. Hustlers everywhere, I need to think of another believable country to tell them I’m from, because if you say American, they’ll automatically assume you got bukoo money.
Now, we’re at the International Student Hostel in Accra. Taysha, Janaiya and Folasade are leaving for Mampong Ashanti at 5:00 a.m., Kwaku and Polina are here for good and Alanna and I will be here until Sunday, so we’re going to exchange some money tomorrow and go get our hair braided with Polina, should be fun!!!
Yesterday/Today was all travel and very little sleep. We (Ayanna, Alanna, Taysha, Polina, Janaiya, Folasade) left from DTW at 9:00pm and we arrived in Amsterdam around 11:00am. I was surprisingly not tired but it definitely caught up to me on the second flight. The food they served on the planes was actually not half bad…well I can only speak for the vegetarian options, there were mixed reviews on the meat dishes. The first plane served curry beans w/ greens and rice and a salad on the side. The second flight served Aubergine curry offered with coriander couscous, raisins and Spanish red pepper…classy, right? And the passion fruit mousse was served over gram cracker crust (just delish). To make the flight even better there were the most adorably little girls sitting behind me, except they were never sitting, they played in the isle for the majority of the flight and I played something equivalent to peek-a-boo with them for a little while. Both flights gave me a chance to pretty much finish this month’s issue of Essence…it’s a must buy…all about being green and they gave green awards, here are some highlights:
Ways to go green at home:
Let fresh air in, unplug unused appliances, wipe your feet, turn your heat down and put on a sweater, use recyclable bags, say bye-bye to bottled water anddddd GO MEATLESS(they suggest visiting black vegetarians.org/recipes/soulfood.htm for those who don’t wanna give up soulfood!!)
They also had a wonderful interview, as their feature article, with Michelle Obama and her mother, Mrs. Robinson.
Finally, a few of the Green Award winners are working on projects in the Bronx that involve both creating green job training and salvaging abandoned building parts for reuse (google Majora Carter and Omar Friella for more info)
Unfortunately, it gets dark very early in Ghana, so when we arrived at 7:30 p.m., it was already dark. It was still pretty cool to see Accra at night, even though it is very dark and the only light comes from small store fronts and vending machines and buildings, people are still walking about and street vendors are still set up and open for business.
The dudes at the airport were definitely trying to hustle us. They run up to help you before you can even say “yes, I need help” or “no, I got it” and next thing you know their asking you for a tip. Hustlers everywhere, I need to think of another believable country to tell them I’m from, because if you say American, they’ll automatically assume you got bukoo money.
Now, we’re at the International Student Hostel in Accra. Taysha, Janaiya and Folasade are leaving for Mampong Ashanti at 5:00 a.m., Kwaku and Polina are here for good and Alanna and I will be here until Sunday, so we’re going to exchange some money tomorrow and go get our hair braided with Polina, should be fun!!!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Before Take Off
This entire semester has been a test of my endurance only to prepare me for experiences that will challenge my stamina even more. I have come to realize that despite my natural inclination to push people away...I need people. And I absolutely love the people around me, everyday they surprise me with their charm, their warmth and I am even intrigued by our disagreements becuase they serve as another means by which we can grow as individuals and as friends. It has taken me a long time to understand relationship dynamics and by no means do I know everything. But I know one thing for sure, I value every friend and family member with whom I have a relationship and I look forward to imporving upon those relationships as I continue to sculpt my existence and my character.
I look at this trip to Ghana as an opportunity. An opportunity to learn not only about herbs and Ghanaian culture but also about myself and I will hopefully return with a renewed since of purpose.
I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my fellow LCers for being so awesome, my parents for not completely freaking out about massage therapy school, my DYNAMIC E-board for holding it down at LC and planning a terrific year for 09-10, and my friends, who through thick and thin have remained true and I look forward to the years to come.
Check my blog every once and a while this summer and leave some feedback, I'll be reporting on my project and my MCAT studying, and my weekend adventures, etc.
Peace out,
Ayanna
I look at this trip to Ghana as an opportunity. An opportunity to learn not only about herbs and Ghanaian culture but also about myself and I will hopefully return with a renewed since of purpose.
I would be remiss if I didn't give a shout out to my fellow LCers for being so awesome, my parents for not completely freaking out about massage therapy school, my DYNAMIC E-board for holding it down at LC and planning a terrific year for 09-10, and my friends, who through thick and thin have remained true and I look forward to the years to come.
Check my blog every once and a while this summer and leave some feedback, I'll be reporting on my project and my MCAT studying, and my weekend adventures, etc.
Peace out,
Ayanna
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