Day 82 (wednesday) The longest day

The last picture of my journey...this one is especially for Brett Moretti.

Well today started with me on a flight to London. It seemed like everything went pretty well but it just seemed like a longer flight than it actually was. Either way, I was ready to get off and grab some coffee at the place I went to when I was traveling to Ghana. There was no such luck and I actually didn't have that much time. You would think that a 2 or 3 hour layover would be enough but I had to clear customs on the transfer so by the time I got to the gate, they were boarding for the long flight from London to Dallas, Texas. Fortunately I had enough money that I could buy a cup of coffee and a nice salad/hummus mix because, as my luck would have it, the airline did not have a record of my meal request (I had checked it the night before but still had no luck) so I only had some pieces of lettuce, a cracker, and some grapes while there was pasta, sandwiches, and pizza served at 3 separate times throughout the flight. When I got to Dallas, I was a zombie but happy to be so close to home. I had to clear customs and recheck my bag and it was pretty smooth sailing through the airport but there were so many international travelers today that it was a big game of hurry up and wait (plenty of people were getting very hostile). I grabbed some trail mix and scarfed it all before I got on the plane. I was getting ready to board my final flight home and ran into some wonderful people that I've known for quite some time (I run into them in the most random places), the Huddleston's, and it warmed my heart to be so close to home. I chatted with them for a bit and was able to do a little catching up. Now it's on to the final 3 hour leg. For this one, I threw on some tunes and just closed my eyes. There was so much on my mind and I couldn't ever get comfortable enough to sleep. I wrote in the blog and got it all finished up. It was so refreshing to see the mountains in all their glory. I guess you never realize how great they are until you don't have them for awhile. The funniest part for this leg was when the dozen missionaries sitting in front of me and how excited they got when we flew over the “Y” in Provo, they were all glued to the window. We landed right on time and it was at this point that my trip had officially come to an end.

Thanks to all who followed me on this experience. Some of you got a little taste of what life can be like in Africa (Ghana) and hopefully you learned something along the way. I love my life and I hope you can love yours too. Thanks again.

Day 81 (tuesday) Final day in Africa!

The Accra mall.  It was really a change of pace but nice nonetheless.

Just a cool building across the street from the mall.

Me and the fam...unfortunately the picture that included Aunty Grace did not turn out well so this will have to do.

Me and Maame Esi...total sweetheart.

Me and the one who made this all possible...Maureen.

I didn't really sleep much but I figure that I've got a long day of traveling tonight so it will be ok. I spoke with Maureen for a short time and we discussed what the day was going to look like. I can't believe that the experience is coming to a close and that today is my last day in Africa. We had a little bit of lunch and then set off for town. I was planning on looking at a jersey that I saw a couple days ago and I know that someone would have liked it. We met the lady who makes beaded jewelry at her place so we could see more of her items and I found some really cool things. I bought a few of her pieces and she was so nice that she included a fancy looking bracelet (I bought another one similar to it because I was going to give it to Maureen and the lady included another for no cost so I ended up giving them both to her). As we were looking through more of the necklaces and bracelets, a woman came frantically into the shop to let us know that the president of Ghana had just died. Maureen thought it was clever to say that it was quite a coincidence that he passes away on the day I was leaving. We got a pretty good laugh out of it. After the shop we traveled into another part of Accra to a bookstore because Aunty Grace wanted something. Maureen couldn't find exactly what she was looking for but ended up with a couple books (mind you it was purely a christian based book store). As we were walking towards the main road I saw a few things and decided to check it out just in case I couldn't find what I was originally after. I settled on a cool scarf (also for somebody else) and made our way into one of the busier parts of town. We walked by the shop and it didn't look familiar so we walked up and over the crosswalk to make sure and we went back down and I couldn't find the jersey I saw the day/s before. It wasn't too big of a deal but it was starting to get a little late and I wanted to spend some time with the fam before I had to go. We got home and I finished writing my letter to Maureen. It was really hard because, as I said in the letter, there are no adequate words to express how grateful that I am for her. I had planned all along to leave her some money so I included a nice bill with the letter and bracelets. I told her that she couldn't open it until I was gone though, just to make sure that she would accept it. I took a quick shower and came in for my last meal which included stew, rice, and my favorite fried red plantanes. After the food, the family wanted to get together for a little fellowship and prayer. Aunty Grace is wonderful with words and said a lot of valuable and sweet things and Uncle Joe, well, he's just Uncle Joe (a sweetheart). Afterwards, Maureen had given me a bunch of little things for a few people that she got the chance to meet. She also wanted to give me the books that she bought at the bookstore earlier in the day (I felt so bad but I respectfully declined them. It also turns out that I didn't have the room in my bags for them so I told her that I would contact her at a later time via email and possibly have her send them with Kwadwo as he will be spending the fall semester in Salt Lake City). We took a few pictures with the family and started saying our goodbyes (they were going to church and Maureen and a cousin were going to take me to the airport). It was kind of interesting to note that one of the cousins, Maame Esi, sort of took a liking to me but didn't talk to me until the night before (just a few words) and the day of my departure. It was sweet and she is certainly a cute girl. I was packed and ready to go so we headed to the airport to try and get there early. We hit a little bit of traffic but nothing too crazy, as expected. I got in and Kwadwo had come from Kumasi to see me off. The terminal was super hectic so I thought I might be in line for a long time but British Airways was the only airline at the time with almost no line at all so I was checked in really quickly. We spent the next couple hours just sitting around and having some drinks and finally it was time for me to go to my gate. It was tough to say goodbye but I hugged Maureen one last time and turned around and didn't look back. I went through the customs process and apparently I was supposed to extend my visa as it was only good for 60 days so the (*$&#) immigration officers hassled me and I had to pay to get them to stamp my passport (not only were they incredibly rude to me but they tried to overcharge me...I called them out on the price inconsistency and got the guy to say it too). I got to the gate and they were already boarding for my 10:45 flight.   

Day 80 (monday)

Saw this lady in town today...They carry everything on their heads, it's amazing.

Woke up in the middle of the night and had a bit of a hard time falling asleep again. I woke up again and checked some emails regarding schooling information and got going on some of those matters. Maureen prepared salad and toast and warmed some water so I could have coffee. After breakfast she showed me around her garden. The property is pretty big so most things were pretty spread out. No one really took care of the garden while she was away so most of the plants are dying off and the vegetable garden is completely gone. I can imagine how great it used to look. I came back in the room for a bit to relax and write in the blog. I am noticing that my legs are getting torn up again, just as they were completely clear, oh well, something to remember Ghana by I suppose. We went into town for awhile and visited the art center. It was pretty cool with most of the things similar to what I had already seen. I visited a few shops (everyone wanted me to see what they had) and I eventually settled on a few things and finally began to round out buying things for people. Bargaining and being able to say no is pretty valuable if you can actually do it. I was going to possibly buy some paintings and the guy told me an absurd amount and I said no. He came down a bit more and I said no and that I wasn't going to be prepared to spend a fourth of the amount that he was asking and so I moved along. As I was visiting another shop, the guy showed me some of his things and then showed me some of the same paintings that the previous guy did, claiming that he was the artist. Needless to say, I purchased two paintings for less than the price of one that the other guy was trying to get. We made our way into town a bit more so Maureen could go to the bank and then began the journey through town and through the central market and eventually to the house. We heard from Edwina's (she's my classmate) sister and learned that there were a few items that she would like to be sent back to Utah for her. There was a bit of a breakdown in communication and she was supposed to come to our end by the end of the night but that ultimately didn't happen. We were also expecting a lady who makes beads to call as Maureen had previously had the lady make some beaded jewelery for me to take home for some people. She eventually called and it was getting pretty late but she came by and showed us the other things that she made. I wasn't in the best frame of mind because I was trying, to no avail, to get my traveling situation taken care of. It had been pretty stressful not knowing when I would be leaving but over the past week or so I had received notice that there would be a change to the itinerary and I was given the option to accept or deny the suggestion. After denying it, I hadn't heard back from them until the night before with an absurd proposal. I couldn't call them (the only numbers to reach them are from within the US) and they were not responding to my emails. I was speaking with Aunty Grace and Uncle Joe about everything and Uncle Joe grabbed me and said come on. I wasn't very presentable but he insisted that I just come anyway. I figured we were just going on a walk but we eventually went to a couple of bars. He told me to get whatever I wanted, I didn't really want anything but he insisted, and through the language barrier, I obliged. I ended up with a coke at one place and another soft drink at the other while he had a couple glasses of wine. He was trying to buy some drinks for me and I absolutely appreciated the gesture but couldn't adequately explain to him that I don't consume alcohol (although there were times I thought about it). We finally headed back to the house so I could try and figure things out. I finally got in touch with mom (who automatically became stressed over my stress...and little bit of greed) and gave her the information and she got things settled for me. Now I know that i'll be leaving tomorrow night and will be home in the SLC on Wednesday in the early evening. I was up pretty late figuring a few other things out but eventually made it to bed.  

Day 79 (sunday)

Where they were making palm oil.

Maureen sitting in one of the classrooms.

Me sitting in front of one of the oldest standing structures in the village.

Shaking hands with the chief...bummed that it turned out blurry.

Me and the eldest woman in the village (110 years).

The mother of one of Maureen's uncles and I.

I woke up a few times throughout the night but felt pretty good. I had some fruit and coffee for breakfast again and then spent some time relaxing and was under the impression that I would be going to church with Maureen. I got ready and made sure my bed was straightened and my bag was packed and we had some lunch and took off to tour the village. What a blessing and wonderful way to round out my experience here in Ghana. I saw some amazing people and structures and learned some of the history. I saw buildings they used for the schools, amongst other structures, and got to see how they harvest palm fruit and make palm oil. I was introduced to several people and was fortunate enough to have met the oldest lady in the village (110 yrs old). She was absolutely wonderful and full of life and still very strong. She was excited to come out of her room to meet me and happy when I asked to have my picture taken with her. We walked around some more and I was able to meet the chief. It was nice to sit in front of him and to have him so willing to share with me. I wasn't sure whether or not it was appropriate to have a picture so I didn't ask but surprisingly he asked if I wanted one. I was pleasantly surprised. He was originally just wearing regular clothes and then went into his room to change into appropriate attire. He has been ill recently so it was a bit of a struggle to get to his room. We took some photos and had pleasant conversation. He wanted to make me king of the youth in the village and I was delighted by the gesture. We walked back through the village and set off for home to grab our things. We had some more food and I realized that it was past the time that church was letting out. We were set to meet back with the family at Maureen's home as one of the uncles was going to take us back with him to Accra (that was the plan). When we got to the house, the uncles had already left so we had to take public transportation again, it was kind of a bummer. It was a bit of a long journey but we finally arrived in Accra. Maureen wanted to buy some vegetables for dinner but when she was buying them she wouldn't let me pay for anything. It was a very sweet and sincere gesture and sort of frustrating at the same time. We headed home and it was nice to be back. It was great to see Aunty Grace and my favorite Uncle Joe and I was glad that everyone made it back safely. I took a much needed shower and laid down for a bit. I didn't think that Maureen was going to make dinner tonight (I had suggested that she should relax) but she did. She must have been reading my mind and made curry pasta with vegetables (I had been thinking about it for the past couple of days and thought it would be a nice alternative to rice). It was so good and totally hit the spot. I came back to my room and had a pleasant conversation with one of Maureen's cousins about spirituality and Christianity. I started reading and writing and became very tired. Maureen came in a short time later and asked if she could sleep in my room, of course I obliged and I fell asleep a short time later.

Day 78 (saturday)

The big tree.

Me and "the big tree".

A sturdy bridge to the tree.

Maureen and her twin sister.

Today I slept in and it felt nice. I had breakfast (coffee and fruit) that Maureen had prepared for me and then relaxed for a few hours. I got up and ready and had some more food (rice and stew), Maureen insisted that I keep eating. We all got ready and set off for Oda which is a couple hours away for a funeral. It ended up being a pretty long ride and took a while longer because of the traffic. On our way, just about a half hour away from our final destination, we stopped at the big tree. This tree is said to be the biggest tree in West Africa. We paid our entrance fee and walked down a poorly maintained path to the tree. There were people leaving as we were approaching and two gentlemen available to answer questions and tell us about the history. They told us that if we wanted to take pictures of it that we should donate “from our heart” but we (Maureen) said that we've already paid the fee and there was no disclaimer about an extra fee so we should be allowed to snap photos. We learned about the tree and took some pictures. It was pretty cool. We went back to the entrance and waited for some time to get picked back up to go to the house. We had a good conversation and the driver finally got to us. He was with another aunt of Maureen's and they decided to go look at the tree so we sat in the truck. We headed out eventually and got to town and visited the house where Maureen is from. I very well received and felt completely comfortable. We set our bags down in the house and visited with several people and I met a lot of her family, including her twin sister as well as her biological mother and father. We went back into the house and ate some more food. It started getting late and I was thoroughly exhausted, her biological dad took us to their home in a village called Ayerebi. Not surprisingly the roads were horrible and it took us nearly twice as long as it should have. The house was nice and the beds were comfortable. I turned the fan on and fell asleep quickly.

Day 77 (friday)

We woke up and got ready and set off for the castle. We were to have breakfast at the same restaurant as before (I just wanted coffee and toast or something similar). I saw some pigs on the beach and I figured it was sort of uncommon so I went to take some pictures of them against the ocean and a boy started yelling at me (all I caught is that it wasn't safe) so I walked back towards the restaurant and the boy kept yelling, I said I understood and that I was leaving. He kept talking and was talking to Maureen, I suggested that we could just sit down and get our food. The boy looked at me as Maureen turned away and asked if I wanted to fight him. I said “why would I want to fight you?” and was thoroughly surprised by his remark. He made a finger gun and pulled its trigger, it was sort of amuzing. We eventually just walked into the restaurant and sat down and the same thing happened and the waiter said they were out of coffee or that the machine was down. I just asked for the packets and made that work. We stopped at the shops that I remembered and grabbed a few things. I spent a good amount of time looking over the items and it was really hot and I was exhausted. We walked to the bus station and grabbed tro tro to Accra. This trip took a couple of hours and the driver was a little less than stellar. As we were heading through town, I saw a cow in the back of a pickup truck. I didn't realize until we got closer that it was still alive and there were several men prodding the cow and ripping at its nose to make it stand up and get out of the truck. The poor thing was suffering so much and probably didn't have the energy to do much. Needless to say, it was suffering beyond imagination. We eventually made it through town and to Accra. We had a little trouble finding a taxi but finally grabbed one and set off for home. The traffic was so heavy again and it took us quite awhile to make it to our end. It was pretty scary but we made it safely. We dropped our bags and I took a much needed shower. Maureen made a huge plate of stew and rice for me (ate it all) and then I came to rest for a while. I didn't really rest, rather I laid down but couldn't really get comfortable. A short time later, Maureen came in and told me that she was setting off for church and that they wouldn't be back until after midnight (It was about 4:30 when she came in). I watched part of another movie and spent some time uploading my pictures. I went into the house and warmed some water and had some coffee and worked on the blog for a bit and the rest of the night will consist of a bit of reading and straightening out my travel itinerary for Tuesday. Today was a good day!

Day 76 (thursday)

The start of the journey to Nzulezo.

About 15 minutes in.

Just a villager passing us to go into town.

I just really liked this picture in the forest.

Approaching the village.

...and another one.

Me and the headmaster with some of the school children.

Just a view out towards the river.

One of the residents.

A photo of me just before we left.

This cute little thing followed me around for awhile.

Me and our guide.

Woke up today feeling pretty good. We were getting ready to take off and got a ride from one of the drivers (I learned that this house is essentially government housing and the family is here because the aunt is a statistician) to Maureen's cousin's house. She had wanted me to meet her for some time. We sat and chatted and had a little food (more rice and veggies). Her cousin wanted us to stay at her place for the evening but we had already made plans to travel to Takoradi and meet another uncle and he was going to house us for the evening. We snagged a taxi to a bus station and then drove to Takoradi. The trip was supposed to take, at most, 3 hours but we didn't get to our destination until just after 5 hours on the road. It's exhausting because of the sun and there is really no chance of sleeping with how bad the roads are. We met the uncle and we were both ready to crash. He was a nice fellow and ended up taking us to a hotel, he didn't want me to be uncomfortable so he paid for us to sleep in the hotel for the night (it was a bit expensive but under no circumstances would he, nor Maureen, allow me to help). After we dropped our things in the room, we walked back downstairs and spoke with the uncle again and followed him into the hotel restaurant where he paid for dinner. I slept ok and was ready for the next part of our journey. We got everything together and went in for our continental breakfast and learned that they didn't have any juice (Maureen was super bummed about this) and wouldn't substitute anything for it. I had some coffee and dry toast and waited for quite awhile for my oatmeal but finished it and was later glad I did. I found out that we would have to take a few different cars to get to the town near Nzulezo where we would have to paddle a canoe to reach the village. We got to the town eventually and I paid quite a bit, relatively, about 3 times as much as Maureen. She got her life jacket and we met up with our guide and set off for our canoe. We paddled through some incredibly thick forest and some large ponds before we eventually opened up into the river. The village was finally in our view so I knew it wouldn't be long before we got to the village. I took some photos and asked plenty of questions and it started raining a bit as we pulled up to the village. We walked into a room and the guide was beginning to tell us that we would need to provide more money or some sort of offering to the chief in order to hear the history. Maureen wouldn't allow it because we had already paid money for the ride (we were supposed to pay a little extra in order to take pictures but Maureen nixed that too) and got the guide to tell us on the way back (apparently he isn't allowed to tell of the history while he is on village grounds or he risks being fired). We walked around the village and spoke to some of the people and the headmaster of the school. The kids were all really sweet and enjoyed seeing new faces and they were all very receptive to having their pictures taken. We spent a good little chunk of time there and headed back to the town. We had to get back to Takoradi and had a bit of trouble finding a car that would get there. We found one that took us sort of out of the way first but it was really our only option and eventually made it. It was a blessing that we made it safely, the driver was speeding and cutting in and out of the lanes passing people while cars passing in the other direction were approaching. Several of the 20 something passengers were yelling at the man and Maureen was legitimately terrified (I know I've said it before but to reiterate her fear...3 years ago she was in a terrible tro tro accident where her leg was shattered (she had it operated on but it got infected and it almost had to be amputated but they were able to save it) and she watched several people die) and incredibly relieved when we were approaching Cape Coast. She even told the driver to stop before we got all the way into town and we stopped at UCC. It was getting late which meant that we didn't get there in time to visit the shops. We met a good friend of Maureen named Ben and he met us in the food shop as we were finishing our food. He paid for our food and found a place for us to stay (for the same reason as the uncle). We got to a nice little guest room in a small place off campus with Ben's mother. I settled in and was getting ready for bed but had to use the restroom and later figured out that it was actually the shower (I peed in the shower, totally pulled a Costanza). I went to bed and actually fell asleep as Maureen was talking to me, and slept ok (the mattress was just a soft foam pad).

Day 75 (wednesday)

Maureen's cousins and me.

Got up around 3 and had a bit of a rough time falling asleep again and heard a little noise outside. I later learned that it was Maureen's aunt just getting home, whom I met later in the morning. I laid around for a few more hours and then Maureen came to get me up for breakfast. I learned that uncle Joe, as he's referred to, was waiting for me to join him for coffee. We had spoken for awhile last night and I learned that he too loves coffee and was excited to have a coffee drinking friend. Uncle Joe is a beautiful man and I learned that recently he suffered a stroke so he has been spending a lot of time in New York receiving treatment and speech therapy. What a wonderful, pleasant and kind person, I feel so fortunate to have such a great host. I enjoyed spending my breakfast time having coffee with him and talking to him. Maureen was outside doing some chores along with some of her cousins. As we were heading in for breakfast, I told Maureen that I would rather just stay in today which means that I will forgo the trip to the mountainous region where we were set to hike to the tallest peak in Ghana (which isn't much by my standards reaching just a few thousand feet) and visit one of the largest waterfalls in west Africa. It was certainly something that I had planned on doing throughout the duration of my trip but we have done so much traveling that I am a bit overwhelmed and exhausted. I figured that it would also give Maureen a little bit of time to get reacquainted with her family. Today I will likely visit the U.S. Embassy and will probably head west as we will visit nzulezo tomorrow which is a village on the water referred to as the village on stilts and requires a one hour canoe ride to get there.

Day 74 (tuesday)

Me and a few of the sociology/social work faculty.

Woke up at a decent hour and had some pancakes and half a cup of coffee (the water boiled off) and then took a shower and finished packing my things. Peter picked us up and we drove around campus for a bit to run some errands and then headed to the engineering guest house for the final lunch provided by some of the social science staff. Kwadwo and a few others joined to see me off, it was really sweet and a wonderful gesture. Kwadwo took us to the bus station and this time we got to take vip instead of anything else and it was absolutely wonderful. We stopped along the way at a rest stop and I got a little dish of fried rice, unfortunately it was pretty terrible. The roads were about as nice. The main road from Kumasi to Accra is really bad and because it is such a main road, it has gained national attention. The president will begin reprimanding people if the project isn't done by the end of the year but I don't see how they could do it. We made it just fine and my initial impression of Accra was that it was very busy and there were several tall buildings everywhere. We got to Maureen's place and it was a really nice place and I felt very welcomed.

Day 73 (monday)

Got up around 7 today and still felt pretty exhausted but couldn't go back to sleep. Maureen got up and made pancakes and we spoke for awhile. She ended up calling 'the guy' and explaining her displeasure with him. I spent the rest of the morning writing in the blog and then figuring out what the rest of my day was going to be like. Maureen got a call from her supervisor so she had to bail pretty quick to go meet him (he had set up a few other meetings with her to finalize her work and didn't show up to any of them). I spent the next few hours organizing my things and putting the room back in order and, with the exception of my computer, have gotten everything ready to go. It started setting in for me today that this will be my last day in Kumasi. I also think yesterday is catching up with me. Went to Maureen's family's place one more time to say our goodbyes and had some dinner. We also dropped off some of our luggage. We got home pretty late and I jumped right into bed. The “property manager” guy was clapping and screaming and it was incredibly annoying. Maureen went outside and told him to quiet down.

Day 72 (sunday)

These two were hanging out by the pool.

A view down into the park from the hotel.

These two were just hanging out (literally).

Saw this guy on my way to the visitor's center.

Our guide leading us into the park.

Antelope.

Red monkey.

This guy was funny, he kept jumping around and tried to intimidate one of our group members by jumping at him.

Oh, the baboons.

A view from down in the park.

The first elephant we came across.

A couple more joined.

...and another.

I just liked the picture.

This one was my favorite.

Me and the herd.

Another shot of me in front of the park.

My friend, Meg, that I sat next to on the first leg of my journey home.

An image of some street folks in Tamale (the city I went to before my trek back to Kumasi).

Well, I didn't sleep as I figured. I got my things together and splashed some water on my face and headed out to the pool area where other people were also gathering for the morning safari. It was really cool to see the sunrise and animals out, at a distance, in the park. I was also told that it is common for elephants and many other animals to come all the way up to the hotel grounds in the early morning (no luck this morning). The baboons were out everywhere and it was cool to see them too. They were jumping all over everything and looking for food wherever they could scrounge for it. They were on top of the buildings and roaming around everywhere. I joined the group and we headed for the visitors center which is where the groups would be split up to start their safari's. We had to be accompanied by an armed guard and I was with some guys from France and a couple from England as well. We started out on our safari and walked through the fields and saw some warthogs, red monkeys, baboons, and a couple different species of antelope. I was primarily interested in seeing the elephants, as were the rest of the group. A couple of the French guys had gone on the evening safari the night before and didn't get to see any. We made our way out into the park, it had rained heavily the night before so it was pretty muddy. I should have gotten the boots for rent because it was slippery and I stepped in puddles of water and my shoes were soaked. We were on the tail end of our tour and were heading back towards the visitor's center and we saw one of the other groups standing around and it turns out that they were taking pictures of an elephant, SUCCESS. I was so excited to see an elephant at such close distance in its natural habitat. We were observing the one elephant for a little while and then one after another joined and there were 5 total, so awesome, they are such magnificent creatures. We headed back to the hotel and had to square up with payment. At this point the magic of seeing the animals was wearing off and now I was thinking about how I was going to get home. Just as I was leaving the office, Kuukuwa called me and had just arrived at the park. I was so glad to see her, it rejuvenated me. She was aware of my situation and was so sad that things had worked out that way. She was running around trying to figure out a way to make sure I was taken care of. I joined her with her group for a little while. She had spoken to another group and was able to secure a place on a bus with a volunteer group that was heading to Tamale. I was so relieved but still wasn't sure about whether or not I would have sufficient funds to get all the way home. Before I could even say anything, she gave me the money for the trip from the park to Tamale which eased the burden a little bit. She knew that I couldn't buy food or drinks (fortunately I saved enough of what I originally brought) so she bought me some water...I wouldn't let her buy me food though, I said it was too much but that I was incredibly grateful. Her group set off to another place to eat and I just waited for the group to finish their breakfast before we could take off for Tamale. As I was sitting on a little stoop by the pool, 'the guy' showed up (only because I had called him the night before to tell him that I was going on the morning safari and was telling him that he should help me get to Tamale) unannounced because he couldn't get a hold of me. I had already made arrangements to join the other group so his services weren't needed. I was frustrated with the whole experience and voiced my concerns to him. The fact that he lied to my hostel mates and “found it hard to speak to them with regards to price” but had no problem charging me almost twice what they had talked about before was all incredibly frustrating. He told me that they should have known to expect something like that, I cut him off again and told him that he was missing the point. The conversation went on for several minutes and he asked if I wanted the difference back and, all things considered, I said yes. He got on his phone and just kind of ignored me and didn't speak to me the rest of the time. He offered to give me some of the money back (which is not at all the point) and he just sat in the parking lot and watched me leave. The guy was a total disappointment. The group that I joined was a volunteer group based out of Tamale and consisted of people throughout Europe and a couple from Philly. The bus was in pretty bad shape but I was just excited to be leaving. I sat next to a wonderful girl (Megan) from Philadelphia (currently a student from Boston University) and had a nice conversation with her. I had to sit over the wheel well so I had very little room for my legs, still worth it being able to leave. The road was terrible and the rain made it even worse, Megan had told me that it broke down a couple times on their way to the park. We stopped at a little village on the way so people could get food and drinks. I just stayed on the bus with a couple of other people. We took off and eventually got to Tamale. At this point I was completely exhausted. I exited the bus with one of the guides and he escorted me to the bus station and I was able to get a bus directly to Kumasi. It was supposed to be a 6 hour journey and I was relieved to be getting home. I called Maureen to let her know that I was boarding the bus and she was glad to hear it and told me to call her when I got in and that she would come get me. Shortly after I boarded the bus, the phone was completely out of battery and wouldn't turn on and I didn't know anyone's number by heart so I knew I wasn't going to be able to get in touch with anyone. I just figured that I would cross that bridge when I got to it. I called Maureen around 4:30 and we didn't set off until some time after 5. I couldn't get too comfortable because my rear end was still pretty sore from the pickup truck the day before and there wasn't very much room for my legs. We made several stops and it was getting very dark and I wasn't sure exactly what time it was. We finally got into Kumasi and as I exited the bus there were only a couple cab drivers around so I figured Maureen was at home. I told one of the taxi drivers that I needed to get to tech junction and he said ok but then another driver came and said that he would take me and then they started arguing about it (pretty comical really). I ended up going with one of the drivers and made it to tech and realized that it was late enough that I wasn't going to catch another taxi from tech to the house. I asked him if he would be willing to take me in towards campus (he fumbled around and was willing to take more than 10 times the regular fare) but he was not so I paid his fee and ran across the road and began walking home. I walked in towards campus and a taxi driver happened to be driving in the same direction and asked where I was going, I asked how much (as I didn't have any money) and he just told me not to worry about it and get in. He took me home and wasn't expecting much so I gave him the small bit of change that I had and he seemed grateful, I absolutely was. I got in and Maureen was awake to greet me. We spoke for a little while but I assured her that I was ok and that she could go to sleep as we could speak in the morning. I took a quick, and very cold, shower and settled in and realized that it was around 2:30. I don't know if I've been this tired before. Needless to say, I am so glad to be back in this bed.