Day 17 (monday)

Just a short walk through campus.

Kumasi Children's home...obviously.

A small courtyard area in one of the housing units, notice the bed pads at the far end.

The children were just let out of a class.  Church on the left, daycare in yellow, school house next to it, housing unit from picture above on the right, and the administrative building just in the picture on the right.

This cute little guy was the first to greet me.

They told me to make a face...I said, I always make a face.

 

Woke up early to warm some water for coffee and oatmeal and Maureen showed up just as I was in the process.  We had an early breakfast and the girls all went to the market before they were going to the bus station to ride to Accra to fly home (it was such a quick weekend but nice to have them around).  Ernest called me to let me know that he was going to be to the house to get me at around 8 or 8:30 and he was right on time.   I was showering and getting ready and eager to go. We departed and were able to snag a ride from one of the students who offered to take us to the children's home because he was going near that part of town.  We arrived and walked into an office to be greeted by the assistant director, Miss Linda.  She was willing to answer what she could but asked that we do a small tour and then talk to the director as she would be arriving when we would finish.  The tour was nice, I got to see the living quarters, the play area, the church, the school and daycare and was glad that I could be there.  When I was done, Miss Victoria greeted us and was ready to answer our questions.   I went through a list of topics that we had developed and included some of my own questions based on the direction of the conversation.  We spent about an hour with her and then went outside as the younger children were having a break from classes.   I was immediately bombarded by the cutest little kid who offered me his candy bar and then opened his arms for me to hold him, it was so sweet.   I spent the next little while playing with kids just observing their time outside.   I also met a few people from various parts of Europe who were at the facility for two months doing volunteer work.   Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and am glad that I get to go back tomorrow to do more observing and less structured Q and A.  It wasn't all wonderful though, some of the conditions were questionable and the living spaces (mainly cribs and cots) were very cramped, so much so that many children sleep on mats placed on the floor because nobody is turned away therefore they have more residents than beds.   The way they refer to the residents who are persons with disabilities were “mentally ill” and “not normal” and were just not able to do anything for themselves.  They were generally seen less by staff and there were a couple of kids that were sprawled out in an 8 by 8 pen in one of the houses we went to with nothing more than a 2 by 6 mat and a cloth and the rest was tile.   The worker who took us on the tour assured us that they were comfortable although if they couldn't think for themselves then I find it a bit hard to believe.   I could go on but I'd like to leave this blog a little decent for the sake of being ethical.  We left to come home and were pretty exhausted (and I forgot to bring some water).   I warmed up some food for lunch and then began looking at my notes and writing this.   I laid down for a bit and the power went out.   Maureen had just gotten back from doing some work at the school and I swept her floors and requested that she take a rest (she resisted at first but gave in finally...she totally deserved it).  I interacted with some of the other housemates for a bit and Maureen woke up.   I'm not entirely sure what we will do now but whatever it is, it will be awesome, i'm sure.  We pretty much just hung out with the other housemates and had dinner, it was really nice.

Day 16 (sunday)

Kejetia market when we first got there...vendors and people as far as the eye could see.

Me at the shop that the people opened for us.

The cool mask that I bought.

 

Woke up at a good hour, Maureen was back from staying the night elsewhere, just to prepare breakfast for us and then was going to set off to her family's house to get ready for church, which means she wouldn't be back until after noon.  I have a couple new bites so it seems that the nets aren't all that effective.  Maureen went to church and I had a cup of coffee and a while later I took a shower and the girls were ready to walk around.   They decided to go find a seamstress and I decided to walk up the road to a small supermarket shop to buy a box of water (man, i'm going through this stuff fast and it's also the only thing i'm drinking) then walked back with it (totally gives me more of an appreciation for the [mainly] women who carry things on their heads).   The girls arrived a short time later and we sat out on the porch and enjoyed the breeze as we were waiting for Maureen to arrive. We all warmed up some lunch and relaxed for a bit and then took off for kejetia market (I recommend that you google it for adequate photos) which is a big market in town.  We got there and it was absolutely insane (and a lot of the vendors weren't even there because they close on sundays...hmmm, sounds a little familiar) and we didn't even know where to start and stop.   I knew that I wasn't going to buy anything but since the Alaskan girls were leaving tomorrow, they wanted to check through the shops.   We saw everything, various animal carcasses being taken to the butcher shops, clothes, food and just about anything you can think of.  We took a cab to another part but when we got there it looked deserted and completely unfamiliar.  It turned out to be the area right by the DSW but I didn't recognize it because there were so few people and all the stands were empty.   Some guys said it would be ok for them to open up their shop for us to look around, so we did and everybody ended up finding something, even me.   It was funny too because one of the guys ran up and kept high fiving me and saying we were friends and that we knew each other.   It turns out he remembered me from looking around the couple of times I had been there before.   The girls got some cool bags and other things for their friends and family, Maureen got this cool little coin purse/bag (for free because one of the vendors said he liked her), and I got a cool little mask (my plan was to see how much he wanted then offer him less and then tell him that I would come back another time [they knew that I was going to be around for awhile and come see them again] and offer him less to see if he would take it. He started out saying “these normally go for 27 cedis but for you...20” and I said “yeah, I probably won't do anything today” then he said “ok, how much would you pay for it?” and I thought about it for a minute to maintain the interest and said “maybe 15” and he said “hmmm, ok, for you 15 but that's a big discount.” I told him that “you know I'll be around so I am not really interested today” and just kind of walked away but Maureen whispered to me that he said he would do it for 10 cedis so I decided to buy it).  We were all sufficiently exhausted and ready to come home and instead of waiting for a tro tro, which would have had to stop several times before we got to ted junction and then we would have had to get another one to our house, I decided to just pay the little extra for all of us to take a taxi all the way (Maureen was quite popular today and she exchanged numbers with the taxi driver too!).  We got home and immediately Maureen began preparing and cooking dinner while the girls went on a walk and to find the seamstress to check on their items.   I helped Maureen a bit and watched some tv with one of the other residents.  We ate dinner (palm oil is really heavy and is used in a lot of dishes here) then took showers and prepared for bed.  Tomorrow begins my research journey and starts with the children's home...so excited!  Today was absolutely wonderful, good people, good food, amazing time, and a beautiful experience!

Day 15 (saturday)

The peacocks were aplenty!

Me standing at the gates to the entrance of the kingdom.

Me and the Alaskans (aka, Monica and Alice).

This couple was just fascinating!  As we were originally crossing the street, the woman was walking out of a store and almost stumbled over, fortunately some people were right by her and prevented it, kind of sad.

 

Woke up quick, at about noon, just thought that I had to be in...ok that's not true, I got up at around 5 then laid back down until 6:45.  I went to the kitchen to warm some water for breakfast and decided to do all the dishes from the cakes as well as some others from other house mates so Maureen wouldn't have to and just as I finished, the water was ready.  I went to Maureen's (Abana is her Ghanian name) room and told her I had warmed some water for her for some coffee, to my surprise, she accepted and had a cup with me.  The power is on in the rest of the house but unfortunately not mine (I guess the manager has to go buy some credits).  We waited around for a bit and Maureen rested for a little while and then Monica and Alice (the friends from Alaska) phoned us around 12:30 and we got up and going a short time later.   We met them on campus and brought them back to the house so they could relax for a little while and have some lunch and drop off their bags.   Then...we set off for the Manhyia Palace (the Ashanti Kingdom).   First to ted junction and then another to the palace. We arrived and I was so excited to take pictures and really capture some of the history.  When we first got onto the grounds, there were beautiful peacocks all over the place and the grounds themselves were pretty well manicured.   We got to the office to pay (for local Ghanaians it was 2-3 cedis but for non-locals [mostly what i've been told is the “abruni (means white person in their language)tax”] it was 8-10 cedis) and there were signs everywhere that said “Absolutely NO Photographs!”  I was bummed for sure but was still looking forward to the tour.  We watched a 10 minute video on the history of the kingdom and then began our tour.   Just as we were about to enter the original palace (not the place where the king actually stays...you have to schedule an appointment and they have to invite you to his section of the palace), original being the one constructed by the British in the early 1900's because they demolished it during the war, the guide reminded us to turn our phones on silent or completely off...well, half-way through, guess who forgot that they even had a phone...ME, yep, started ringing, sort of embarrassing but we got a good laugh out of it.  There were so many cool artifacts in the palace like guns from 300 years ago, original knives and various precious metals, statues and furniture (the ceiling fan and refrigerator were more than 50 years old and still worked), old radios and even a television, as well as some wonderful fabric.  We left and had to take a taxi to the stop before ted junction.  Maureen wanted to buy some red plantanes and the other girls wanted to buy some mangos so we crossed the street and waited for Maureen to find what she needed. In the meantime, things started getting quite a bit busier...first, there were a lot of people wearing black traditional clothing (signifying that they had just come to or were going to a funeral), I saw a sweet old lady who walks hunched over (almost at a 90 degree angle), saw a taxi stall in the middle of the road then get side swiped by a huge truck (busted the side view mirror off), watched the girls get the attention for once (they are much more the targets of harassment though and at least 3 people asked for their phone numbers of which they said they didn't have phones) then try to find a taxi home.  We finally got home and showered and Maureen was preparing some dinner. I was excited for the Champions League Final (completely disappointed by the result!) so I watched it in the common room with a couple of the other residents.  It went on for quite some time and by the end I thought I was going to have a heart attack, instead just sick to my stomach (figuratively)...off to bed, what a wonderful day...It's a Beautiful World!

Day 14 (friday)

The entrance to the market just to the left.  It doesn't look like much but once you enter, it becomes a whole new world.

The presidential campaign march through the market.

Me with some vendors.  The lady with the hat had to make sure it was perfect and had to tuck her hair back.

Did the usual then back to sleep until shortly after 7.   I had a sandwich and then Maureen also made some corn based porridge for me to try (not my favorite but pretty decent).  I started getting ready for the day (I have a routine: pill after breakfast, shower, bug repellant and sunscreen, clothes and shoes then brush my teeth) and we decided to go to ted junction so I could exchange money (no problems there and in fact, the exchange rate rose slightly meaning the dollar is worth a bit more than when I first arrived) and then I decided that i'd like a trim (not all barber shops will cut “white people's” hair nor are all of them equipped to do so) so we went to a place on campus and I told the man i'd like a trim, something a little shorter, and explained that to Maureen...to make a long story short he just shaved my head!  I had a pretty good laugh at it (I haven't had to pay for a hair cut since middle school) and didn't mind the dollar and some change I paid for it.  It was kind of neat though, they use fresh razor style blades to make the edges perfect so that was quite an experience.  From there we went to a bank near campus so Maureen could get some money and then prepared to go to another market that I hadn't been to yet.  As we were walking, we approached ted junction again...I hadn't realized that we walked so far.  We got to the market and it was really busy and everything was packed really tightly and there was a little presidential campaign parade marching through the market.  It was from the candidate who will apparently win the election.   We marched through the market and got quite a bit of vegetables and things to make dinners in the coming days.  People commented on my tattoos and a couple of vendors were excited when I asked to take their pictures with me.  We lugged everything back through the market and caught a tro tro to ted junction then back to the house.  Just as we were passing through ted junction, I noticed some toffee type stuff and Maureen bought some and it was really good...finally we got back home and I warmed up some rice and prepared to lay down for a bit, man am I exhausted and it's only noonish.  Maureen and some of the other girls here were making cakes (because I said I was allergic, she wouldn't let me taste any, aside from it not being vegan, which they don't understand) and it smelled so amazingly good but I had to lay down for a bit because I have had quite a massive headache for most of the day.  When I got up, Maureen was still in the kitchen and I informed her that I was going to the gates so I could get some bread and jam and asked if she needed anything and she was out of oil so I left for just those few items.  This time I knew to give the tro tro cashier 20 pesoas exactly to get to the gates. When I got to the supermarket, the guy who usually greets me as obruni (white person) and the one who says that i'm a great designer, said hello to me and I finally got his name (takafo).  So I have this whole tro tro thing down, EXCEPT I didn't remember the name of where I needed them to drop me off...I just figured that they would drive by and I could ask them to stop, well, the tro tro ended up turning about half way down my street so I had to get off and ended up walking the rest of the way home.   It was really hot today so I was drenched when I got back.  Dinner was just about ready and I showed Maureen what I got from the store (I also heard her say that she liked candy a couple days ago and so I bought a jar of candy for her and I thought she was going to cry, she was so grateful).  We ate some more good food and then rested for a bit. I was in my room and Maureen came in and said she was sad (she doesn't usually seek out to tell how she is feeling so I knew that it was sincere) and explained that it was a matter of relationships (and explained further).  Seeing her sad was heart breaking but I sat with her in silence and offered her a strong shoulder and soft ear.

Day 13 (thursday)

Had the usual 2 am wake-up to use the bathroom, laid back down for a bit and slept in until 7.  Spent some time updating the bloggy and am now going to make some breakfast.   Warmed up some water for the usual and then added some more information to my inquiry and report from being at the DSW. I worked on that for a couple hours then Maureen came back home.  She began ironing the clothes that had been sent to the washer (you've never seen anyone so meticulous with ironing before, wow, both inside and out and gave special care to folding them as well) as we talked for some time.  I warmed up some lunch and then laid down for a bit.  I recently got in touch with some friends that I initially ran into at the airport in Kumasi and they are going to be in Kumasi (they were in a region just north of here) for the weekend and would like to meet up and join us as we will probably visit the Ashanti kingdom at some point this weekend.  We will make food for all of us and Maureen offered to house them for the weekend to save them from paying (although I suggested she accept some contribution) much and not have to look for a place either.   I was aware that Maureen was taking a much needed and deserved rest so I decided to clean and take a shower.  When I got out, I noticed a rash on my leg, it kind of itched a bit...another thing that i'm going to have to monitor.  First I swept my room and then went to the kitchen then back to my room, decided to rearrange things a bit and mop the whole floor and then decided to leave the furniture the way it was.  We decided to go out to campus so I could withdraw some money and then we were planning on making a few stops and wanted to get some food to prepare...NOPE, just realized that my atm card doesn't work on any of the atm's i've tried (they recognize my name as per the card when I insert it but won't accept that card) so i'll have to wait until tomorrow to go to a bank to exchange some currency and figure out my $ituation.  As for now, i'm going to have some warmed up supper and try to get some early sleep tonight.

Day 12 (wednesday)

A little friend of mine at the mail box center...they're all over the place and great to look at.

Center square, just as we left the DSW.

We had just gotten off a tro tro at ted junction.

Just my view from the back of the tro tro...packed tight with no air conditioning.

Woke up at a decent hour (maybe around 7 or 8) and Maureen was still around and was stringing the clothes out to dry...it was pretty overcast for most of the morning so the clothes were a bit damp.  We warmed some water for the usual coffee and oatmeal and just began talking about culture and random things that were going on in each other's lives and it was really enjoyable.  It began to get closer to noon so I began getting ready.  As we agreed several times the night before, Ernest was going to get me at 12 so we could leave shortly thereafter.  Promptly he showed up shortly after 12:30 and Maureen and I had a pretty good laugh at it.  Then we caught a tro tro into town and stopped at the mid market (also known as ted junction) to switch vehicles to get into the part of town we needed to get to.  The driver was waiting for quite some time to try and fill his vehicle to make the trip worth it...it must have been pretty slow because we waited for 15 minutes or so.  We finally got close to where we needed to go (the DSW) and just departed a bit early as the traffic was pretty heavy (when it's heavy here, it's worse than Manhattan so it's sometimes quicker to walk) and we walked through some side streets and got to the assistant director's office just a couple of minutes late (which turned out to be ok as he was late getting back to the office from court).   I was able to facilitate some Q and A with a young lady completing her national service (sort of similar in description to an intern but when a student graduates they are required to give back to their country by donating a year of their time...they register and are placed, usually by random selection) and was able to get some good information.   Mr. Anthony finally arrived and I was able to ask him some questions and gather some information that I didn't get to on Monday.   He was very generous in providing me with everything that I needed and left the office a couple of times to get the best answer when he didn't know for certain.  We then went to the regional metro office and the head of that department fielded some questions as well.   Finally we were off to get home and made a few stops along the way and I bought some more credits for my broadband stick (I won't make that apparent mistake? That they couldn't explain either).   Along the way I was looking at various shops and checking out the merchandise but had no intention to buy anything.  We boarded a tro tro and we were both exhausted. The seats are pretty close together so I hit my knees on the seat in front of me all the time (there's pretty much no suspension in those stupid things).  As we were approaching ted junction to make the switch, there were so so so many people waiting and when we finally stopped it was mass chaos with people trying to get a spot.   People were rushing the tro tro and jumping in before people could get off so I just had to tuck and bump people the ___ out of my way...don't worry, apparently during the evening like that it is common practice and also prime time to pick pocket people.  We finally got home and I warmed up some dinner and was absolutely ready for a rest.

Day 11 (tuesday)

I woke up sometime between 5 and 6 am today to a radio station playing really loudly.  I found out that it is common for that to take place as it serves as potential information for the people (mostly women) going to the market places and it's the best medium for it.  Who needs sleep anyway?   I had some coffee and oatmeal as per usual and then laid back down for a bit.   I got up around 9 and realized that Ernest wasn't coming and figured that we didn't have to go in.  It wasn't really made clear to me but Ernest called and assured that we were finished until next week and because we couldn't understand each other clearly he said he was on his way over.  To kill time I began reading a little and surfing too and eventually Maureen came home with some friends and we spoke for a while. Kwadwo had phoned her and then spoke to me and told me that I was indeed supposed to be at the DSW gathering the information that he had written down for me (the problem is, I had no such copy of the notes).   I had called Anthony from the DSW and asked to make sure that we weren't supposed to be there but had a hard time understanding him (it is much easier in person and I am learning that watching their mouths makes it easier for me to make out the words) so I had Maureen talk to him for me.  We eventually decided that we would arrive at the DSW tomorrow at 2 (according to Anthony's availability) and gather some more information.  All in all there was just a big miscommunication (which is a theme that I'm enjoying) between all 3 parties (Kwadwo, myself, and the DSW) and it is working itself out.  I began typing up a brief report on my experiences at the DSW so as to provide adequate information and data for my research.  A few hours have passed and Maureen began making dinner and it smelled wonderful.  As I was about to disconnect from the internet, it disconnected for me, UH OH, and I realized that the external modem that I bought thinking I could browse at my discretion for one month was not true...it is in fact by usage and you have to recharge it when it runs out (seems incredibly pointless).  So the month I thought I was getting, starting on and lasting until the 10^th, lasted me less than a week. I had been checking usage reports per the tab when the hard drive was connected and it said I was completely fine...NOPE!   Now the power has gone out and there are no spaces with enough light to read so I'm writing then eating dinner.  I began to read a little and listen to some music (so helpful) and was giving great thought to my day tomorrow.  I really love this work aspect (call me crazy, but I do) with regards to being in the field, developing questions and having the opportunity to be integrated into these various institutions and really be on the ground working.   So much to consider, but on that note, I bless you and wish you a good night.