I've just been eating so much good food here and I'm pretty much only friends with people who are equally as in love with food as I am, so I'm going to devote this post entirely to food here.
I'll start with why food is so on my mind right now. I just ate lunch at Aunty Munni's which is a little spot on the side of the road (a chop shop I think?). It consists of five long picnic tables on gravel, and a little shack where there are bowls of food--waakye (beans and rice boiled together), noodles, gari (granular flour made of cassava root), plantains, different kinds of meat and sauces, and hard boiled eggs. You wait in line and then order how much waakye you want and add as much of the other ingredients as you'd like. If you eat there, it's served in one large bowl for everyone in your party who's eating. It's under an awning so you're in the shade and can appreciate the warm weather, instead of being scorched by the sun (which, after walking there in the sun, it's pretty easy to appreciate). It's really, really spicy and delicious, but also so filling that I could barely walk home and still feel like I'm about to pop. Totally worth it, though.
While on the topic of somewhat non-established but completely delicious food joints, there's a pizza place called Pizza Roof pretty much around the corner from us. It's this open space that's vacant during the day but in the evening they set up plastic tables and chairs, bring a portable oven and have a light up sign that says PIZZA. They grate the cheese, chop the tomatoes and make it all right there so it's fresh and delicious, not to mention cheap and homey. It's right across the street from one of the bars around here, too.
Another local place that's good for lunch during the week is called Didipa. I actually had a dream last night about the name, and why it's named that. Anyway, they have delicious fufu in groundnut soup. Fufu can be made from cassava, plantains or yams--any starchy root. It's boiled and then pounded into a thick, pastey dough (we made it at my home stay). It's served in soup but so far my favorite soup I've had it with is groundnut. Groundnuts are peanuts and the soup is very spicy. Didipa also has really delicious jollof rice with chicken and red red.
Jollof and Red red are also served at Ashesi's campus, which is cheap and delicious, as well. Jollof is spiced rice, spiced with tomatoes and other spices. It's pretty simple but also pretty tastey. Red Red is made from black eyed peas with red palm oil and red pepper, and is usually served with plantains.
The chicken here is to die for. Everywhere you get chicken, you will not be disappointed. The beach we go to most often, Tawala, has the best chicken. It's perfectly grilled, tender and spiced. It comes with perfect fries or fried rice and an amazing green, spicy sauce. And hey, you can't really beat a beautiful beach setting and a cold beer at sunset.
Perhaps most notably, the fruit here is incredible. Outstanding. The pineapple is so sweet and juicy, the avocados are perfect, the mangos and papayas are great, the oranges are refreshing. I haven't enjoyed a banana in years until this trip. The juices, of course, are just as fresh, pure and perfect.
One of my closest friends here says she's never met a food she hasn't liked and I think that logic is wearing off on me. I love pretty much everything I eat here (except I still won't eat seafood). The places we have our meal plans at are hardly worth mentioning. One is pretty good and traditional food but the actual dinners there are long and chaotic. The other place has subpar quality food but it's got variety that's more familiar to our New York diets (menus ranging from Mexican to Indian to Chinese and American) and the atmosphere is more conducive to a relaxing meal and conversation with your friends.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
When $800 can feed a village...
This post is a little late, my internet's been down for a couple days (and I'll have more posts from the past week in the next few days) but last Wednesday, a group of 20 from Semester at Sea was volunteering with City of Refuge.
When they first got there, we just ate breakfast at the house. Afterwards, a group came to help out at the school and another group stayed to help prepare meals. At the school, some people played futbol with a group of kids, and another group of us played parachute games. We then did puzzles, flash cards and other games. Each kid was so eager and excited to learn, it made it a lot of fun. We left school early that day, went back to the house and had lunch all together. The kids loved it--so many people to play with/give them attention. It was a lot of fun.
City of Refuge also got a new orphan, Princess. She's 10 months and has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a disease that causes her head to be about twice the size of her body due to excess fluids. She can't roll over, although physically able, because of the weight and pain in her head. She has to get surgeries to drain the fluids out, and while at her last procedure, her parents abandoned her at the hospital which is how she ended up with Stacy and John. Although this is extremely sad, other than having a loving family to take care of her, she couldn't be in a better place. And with 20 extra people there, she got even extra attention and love that day.
Meanwhile, we were putting meals of rice, sauce and eggs together in to go boxes. The plan for the afternoon was to go into a small fishing town, Tema Newtown and bring 1200 meals to the children there. Once all the boxes were filled, rubber-banded and spooned (not cuddled, but given a plastic spoon), it was time to load them in the van. I set up an assembly line, but packing 1200 boxes in a van, no matter how productive your assembly line is, takes a while and a fair amount of spacial planning. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the boxes before they were put in the van. 1200 meals, is a massive number.
When they first got there, we just ate breakfast at the house. Afterwards, a group came to help out at the school and another group stayed to help prepare meals. At the school, some people played futbol with a group of kids, and another group of us played parachute games. We then did puzzles, flash cards and other games. Each kid was so eager and excited to learn, it made it a lot of fun. We left school early that day, went back to the house and had lunch all together. The kids loved it--so many people to play with/give them attention. It was a lot of fun.
City of Refuge also got a new orphan, Princess. She's 10 months and has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a disease that causes her head to be about twice the size of her body due to excess fluids. She can't roll over, although physically able, because of the weight and pain in her head. She has to get surgeries to drain the fluids out, and while at her last procedure, her parents abandoned her at the hospital which is how she ended up with Stacy and John. Although this is extremely sad, other than having a loving family to take care of her, she couldn't be in a better place. And with 20 extra people there, she got even extra attention and love that day.
Meanwhile, we were putting meals of rice, sauce and eggs together in to go boxes. The plan for the afternoon was to go into a small fishing town, Tema Newtown and bring 1200 meals to the children there. Once all the boxes were filled, rubber-banded and spooned (not cuddled, but given a plastic spoon), it was time to load them in the van. I set up an assembly line, but packing 1200 boxes in a van, no matter how productive your assembly line is, takes a while and a fair amount of spacial planning. I wish I had gotten a picture of all the boxes before they were put in the van. 1200 meals, is a massive number.
Once the van was finally loaded, it was time to head to the village! We drove about 40 minutes away and when we got there, all the children were already assembled. John and Stacy had told me that in past years, the process has been less than smooth. There aren't enough meals for everyone, so we make them just for the young kids and apparently older people have been known to get violently aggressive, throwing things and attacking volunteers trying to feed young, innocent children. Obviously no one person is more deserving of a meal than another, but we're just people too, and can't physically help everyone, as much as we may want to and try.
I'm not sure his exact position, but there was a man from Tema Newtown who was organizing the kids and translating instructions from John saying the kids needed to be in line if they wanted food, and each child only got one meal and once he or she got it, they must leave and not come back for more. With 1200 impatient and extremely hungry kids, it's not very easy to get them in lines. Anyone who's worked with children knows it can be hard to get 5 young kids to get in a line. We had a line of volunteers in front of a mob of children that was partially in lines in front of us and we began passing out the boxes of food.
Some people stood by the van and handed the boxes out, we had to quickly pass them down and out simultaneously. The kids were all reaching and grabbing and getting out of order fast. The goal was to feed the ones who were waiting patiently, but it gets really difficult when there are over 20 arms waving in front of you and grabbing at you. Very quickly, faces became familiar. Children were sneaking around and trying to get multiple meals and the smallest children who were hidden by the crowd, often were getting looked passed, or would have if their huge, sad eyes weren't so reflective. It was hard to tell some children no, when they looked so hungry and desperate for food, but it was equally sad to not give food to everyone.
This clip is one of the calmer moments, we had to reorganize the children several times, and there were more heartbreaking moments than I can count. The kids weren't allowed to get food if they came from behind but the smallest little girl I've ever seen was pulling at my shirt and she would have gotten demolished in the mob of people. I eventually gave her a box of food, but that probably caused more chaos than I accounted for.
Forty minutes flew by with a rush of spoons, 1200 styrofoam boxes and small arms. Unfortunately, by the time the food was gone, many of the children hadn't been fed. It was nearly impossible to keep track of who had received food and who hadn't. Although there should have been enough for each kid to get a meal, many were left unfed. Although this is extremely sad, most of the children who got multiple boxes, were harvesting them to bring home to their families so everyone could eat. The food did not go to waste in any sense of the word, but it was devastating to have to tell some children there was none left when they'd been waiting for their meals.
This was truly one of the most moving and incredible experiences of my life, I'm really glad I was able to partake in helping out. Helping feed this village opened my eyes to something that I never would have understood without experiencing it.
I didn't spend too much effort on the video, because I was working on passing out food but it seemed something important to document. I hope it gives you a little bit of a feel for the experience. I know I've been saying this a lot, but I hope it doesn't lose it's meaning, cause I mean it just as much every time but it was really one of the best days of my life. Every day, I further grasp the reality of how far a little bit can go, and how much of a difference one person can make. The amount of weight on each meal, the importance of a small bit of attention at the orphanage--just the impact of every action amazes me.
When just $800 can feed a village, a little bit can go quite a long way. We also visited the land that day (where they're planning to build the new site) and discovered they still don't have adequate funding and are currently building out of prayer and hope and do not intend to stop the process and hope the funds eventually come through. If you want to donate to City of Refuge, use the online donation at http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/. Thanks!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The Waves Must be Made of Happiness Here
Cape Coast weekend was: amazing, relaxing, mind-blowing, incredible, beautiful....
We started the trip with a tour of Elmina Castle which was the first European slave-port in West Africa. I don't know that I can even attempt to convey, online what it was like to be there, especially because it's probably a really personal experience emotionally. It was definitely impacting and worthwhile and I definitely recommend going for any Ghanaian travelers.
Afterwards, we went to Kakum National Park which was absolutely invigorating and exhilarating, and especially refreshing after the intense morning. Surrounded by green, of all different textures, shades and sizes, we walked along a path, unsure how long of a hike we had embarked on. After just 10 minutes, we were at the canopies!
Walking atop the tropical rainforest was absolutely incredible! I wish I could do it every day! The national park homes elephants, leopards, tigers, monkeys, bush babies and tons of butterflies and birds. A bunch of us want to come back and camp here and hope to find some animals. There's a giant film festival in Burkina Faso in late February, which would leave me unable to do anything too adventurous or costly during Spring break, making camping in the national park an excellent option! Who knows where these adventures will end up taking me.
After the canopy walks, we returned to our beautiful beach resort, where we were put in our own rooms and surrounded by beautiful forests of palm trees. My room was right on the beach, which was, absolutely gorgeous! I stole these from my friend, but I think they're absolutely beautiful. Just looking at the beach was relaxing, being on it...was out of this world.
We started the trip with a tour of Elmina Castle which was the first European slave-port in West Africa. I don't know that I can even attempt to convey, online what it was like to be there, especially because it's probably a really personal experience emotionally. It was definitely impacting and worthwhile and I definitely recommend going for any Ghanaian travelers.
After the canopy walks, we returned to our beautiful beach resort, where we were put in our own rooms and surrounded by beautiful forests of palm trees. My room was right on the beach, which was, absolutely gorgeous! I stole these from my friend, but I think they're absolutely beautiful. Just looking at the beach was relaxing, being on it...was out of this world.
After a few hours of relaxing, we had a delicious buffet dinner, followed with palm wine (a local wine made from palm plants) and a bonfire right on the beach! The next day we got to just relax by the beach and pool, it was serenity at it's best. A group of us woke up at 5:30 to watch the sunrise. Which, although ended up being anticlimactic, was still really fun and peaceful. We had an absolutely outstanding buffet breakfast, too which really topped off a great morning. Waking up early also allowed us to enjoy the maximum amount of this perfect day.
After a four hour bus ride home, I got home to find out one of my friends who I've known my entire life was coming to Accra! He's doing Semester at Sea which is a program that travels to 11 different countries over the course of the semester. We managed to meet up and it was so great to see him! We had a really fun time, we went to the Art Centre where we all bought way too much stuff, and were probably overcharged no matter how much bargaining we got done. After that, I took them to Tawala, the trusty beach. Despite the luxurious, clean and exotic beach we were at this weekend, I didn't lose any respect for Tawala. And I finally got a few pictures in too!
Ghana, so far, has not ceased to amaze me. And I don't see that stopping any time in the future. Today, I couldn't stop smiling just at the thought of life itself, it was one of the most wonderful and refreshing moods I'd ever felt. I just wish it were possible to bottle up, save and share things like that (as Disney princess/fairy tale as that may sound).
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Yet another life changing experience (First day volunteering)
I woke up last Wednesday morning completely unsure of what to expect, with not much else on me other than some handwritten, potentially unclear directions. I managed to make it to the tro-tro station (the bus system here, which is really just a van-type vehicle that gets packed with people) and figured out which one to take AND got off at the right stop. It was a great sign to start the day with, because, knowing myself, and transportation in Ghana, it easily could have gone completely haywire. From that stop, Stacy and John picked me up. We talked the whole way to the site and every part of the conversation furthered my strong belief that they're two of the most amazing people in the world.
They're working really hard to stop child trafficking, and aiming for the heart of the problem, and trying to help women who are impoverished and susceptible to selling their children for survival. John and Stacy are starting their own water company, not for personal profit but to employ 28 single mothers and bring filtered water to an area that doesn't otherwise have access to any. They find as many ways as they can to employ single women (training them in business, exporting some of their crafts to the states so the women can make greater profit, etc.) as well as local members of the community who otherwise cannot find work.
When I got there, I went right to the school where I was given a computer program that's designed to teach English. I began the day by tutoring the kids one-on-one which was really great. Each one was so eager to learn, not only the program but have a chance to use the computer-many of them had no idea how to use it. Each kid got to do two lessons but many of them continued to crowd around, wanting more. One of the girls sat next to me when she was done with her school work and watched all the other kids go through the program. Even though I was busy and couldn't play with her, looking over at her big smile every few minutes made me smile every time.
We worked on that for the whole morning which was really nice. There are cooks in the house who make lunch every day, a few of the children go to the house and bring the food back. I wasn't expecting much, I was happy to be fed but the food was actually amazing! I ate with the other teachers, Aunty Autumn and Uncle Mark and it was really nice getting to know them, Mark gave me one of the best oranges I've ever had after lunch. Not only was I happy, but my stomach and taste buds were beyond pleasantly satisfied :)
Several of the students were missing, training for a sporting event they had the next day, so they were missing from school. Because of that, they decided to end school early and finish the day with an art project. We were drawing pictures of landscape together and it was really fun, two of the girls I was sitting with (one of whom was the girl I was sitting with earlier) were trying to copy my picture, one of them got really upset when I wouldn't draw her picture for her but she ended up making a beautiful picture in the end. The other one was eagerly learning how to add to her picture, and seemed to be having a great time. The teachers gave out starburst and she insisted I have her red one, it was really adorable.
After the project, we went back to the house where I hung out for a few hours. All the children were there, the younger kids and the kids who had been away training came home so the house got busy very quickly. Two of the boys asked me to help them with their homework, two of the younger rascals were climbing on me and tickling me, one of the boys was playing tic-tac-toe with me and learning how to draw people with me. By the end, he drew one by himself and told Aunty Autumn "Look! I Did it by myself! Aunty Elizabeth taught me and I tried as hard as I could!!" He was so proud of himself and couldn't stop beaming. It was such a small but warming moment. I loved being able to do so many different things with so many different children at the same time, I felt I was truly getting a full experience and I doubt this description can even come close to accounting for my feelings. I came home truly feeling like it was one of the best days of my life (and there was still a Bob Marley birthday party at reggae night on the beach, so the day was only bound to improve).
John and Stacy drove me back to Tema where I took a shared taxi home. I think in the future I'll be doing some one on one art therapy with the students. The staff expressed the need for a counselor and they all loved doing art, and one on one attention is always good, so that'll be really fun and rewarding. I'll still work in the classroom like I did the first day though and do some group projects as well. I'm also excited for the reality tour we do at Lake Volta when we visit the village because Stacy told me last year they had a day camp that was really successful for 200-300 children in the area. She asked me to lead a group art project so I'm currently brainstorming and trying to figure out how to supply that, but I think it could be really incredible. I'm going back early tomorrow where some kids from Semester at Sea will also be volunteering because City of Refuge is going to a village to feed over 1000 women and children (I'm telling you, these people are the most incredible and selfless humans on the planet!). Apparently it's a really intense dash for the food and difficult for the volunteers, so I may have some stories for the next post about this experience.
I'll write another post about our incredible trip to Cape Coast and all life outside of volunteering, so feel free to check back to read about that tomorrow!
I'm going to be obnoxious and post another link to City of Refuge just in case any one is interested in donating to this amazing organization! If you want to donate to the arts specifically, put "Elizabeth Tulsky Art Program" as the Memo. Thanks so much! http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/
They're working really hard to stop child trafficking, and aiming for the heart of the problem, and trying to help women who are impoverished and susceptible to selling their children for survival. John and Stacy are starting their own water company, not for personal profit but to employ 28 single mothers and bring filtered water to an area that doesn't otherwise have access to any. They find as many ways as they can to employ single women (training them in business, exporting some of their crafts to the states so the women can make greater profit, etc.) as well as local members of the community who otherwise cannot find work.
When I got there, I went right to the school where I was given a computer program that's designed to teach English. I began the day by tutoring the kids one-on-one which was really great. Each one was so eager to learn, not only the program but have a chance to use the computer-many of them had no idea how to use it. Each kid got to do two lessons but many of them continued to crowd around, wanting more. One of the girls sat next to me when she was done with her school work and watched all the other kids go through the program. Even though I was busy and couldn't play with her, looking over at her big smile every few minutes made me smile every time.
We worked on that for the whole morning which was really nice. There are cooks in the house who make lunch every day, a few of the children go to the house and bring the food back. I wasn't expecting much, I was happy to be fed but the food was actually amazing! I ate with the other teachers, Aunty Autumn and Uncle Mark and it was really nice getting to know them, Mark gave me one of the best oranges I've ever had after lunch. Not only was I happy, but my stomach and taste buds were beyond pleasantly satisfied :)
Several of the students were missing, training for a sporting event they had the next day, so they were missing from school. Because of that, they decided to end school early and finish the day with an art project. We were drawing pictures of landscape together and it was really fun, two of the girls I was sitting with (one of whom was the girl I was sitting with earlier) were trying to copy my picture, one of them got really upset when I wouldn't draw her picture for her but she ended up making a beautiful picture in the end. The other one was eagerly learning how to add to her picture, and seemed to be having a great time. The teachers gave out starburst and she insisted I have her red one, it was really adorable.
After the project, we went back to the house where I hung out for a few hours. All the children were there, the younger kids and the kids who had been away training came home so the house got busy very quickly. Two of the boys asked me to help them with their homework, two of the younger rascals were climbing on me and tickling me, one of the boys was playing tic-tac-toe with me and learning how to draw people with me. By the end, he drew one by himself and told Aunty Autumn "Look! I Did it by myself! Aunty Elizabeth taught me and I tried as hard as I could!!" He was so proud of himself and couldn't stop beaming. It was such a small but warming moment. I loved being able to do so many different things with so many different children at the same time, I felt I was truly getting a full experience and I doubt this description can even come close to accounting for my feelings. I came home truly feeling like it was one of the best days of my life (and there was still a Bob Marley birthday party at reggae night on the beach, so the day was only bound to improve).
John and Stacy drove me back to Tema where I took a shared taxi home. I think in the future I'll be doing some one on one art therapy with the students. The staff expressed the need for a counselor and they all loved doing art, and one on one attention is always good, so that'll be really fun and rewarding. I'll still work in the classroom like I did the first day though and do some group projects as well. I'm also excited for the reality tour we do at Lake Volta when we visit the village because Stacy told me last year they had a day camp that was really successful for 200-300 children in the area. She asked me to lead a group art project so I'm currently brainstorming and trying to figure out how to supply that, but I think it could be really incredible. I'm going back early tomorrow where some kids from Semester at Sea will also be volunteering because City of Refuge is going to a village to feed over 1000 women and children (I'm telling you, these people are the most incredible and selfless humans on the planet!). Apparently it's a really intense dash for the food and difficult for the volunteers, so I may have some stories for the next post about this experience.
I'll write another post about our incredible trip to Cape Coast and all life outside of volunteering, so feel free to check back to read about that tomorrow!
I'm going to be obnoxious and post another link to City of Refuge just in case any one is interested in donating to this amazing organization! If you want to donate to the arts specifically, put "Elizabeth Tulsky Art Program" as the Memo. Thanks so much! http://www.cityofrefugeoutreach.com/
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