Thursday, August 23, 2007

Home, Sweet Home

Hi everyone! I apologize that I haven't written since I've been back. I'm home! I started law school a few days after my return and have been super busy ever since. I've been dealing with a fair amount of re-entry culture shock, but overall am doing okay. Its been so lovely to see my friends and family!

I'm actually in class...so I gotta go! I might write again, but chances are...I'll get too busy and forget. Sorry!

Also, a reminder: before I left, my cell phone had some issues and I lost a lot of people's phone numbers. SO if I haven't called you, don't be mad, its probably because I don't have your contact information. Make sure if you call and leave a voicemail to leave your phone number.

Thanks!

Monday, August 6, 2007

Hiroshima & Tokyo

Hi everyone! Yesterday Tonya and I were in Hiroshima for the 62nd anniversary of the atomic bombing. It was really amazing. It started with a short ceremony that included speeches by Japan's prime minister and the UN Secretary General. We had a really busy day, going from different lectures, readings and activities. It was pretty emotionally and physically draining, but absolutely worth it.

We took the last bullet train into Tokyo and somehow made our way to a small capsule hotel, which was really funny. Nicer than I'd expected, actually. By the way, I've gotten really into Japanese bathing -- its so nice! Very communal, lots of soaking in different types of baths or hot springs. Its really lovely.

Today we're wandering Tokyo. I like the city, its busy and interesting. Tomorrow I fly back home to San Francisco! I can't believe its almost over. This may be my last posting while I'm abroad, but when I get back I'll do another wrapping-things-up posting and upload the nearly 2 gigs of photos to Flickr. No exaggeration.

Until then!

Friday, August 3, 2007

Nagano

I love Japan! I'm having a lovely time. Tonya and I met in the airport and took a bus to where they live: Takato, in the Nagano prefecture. Their apartment is very cute, and the area just gorgeous. Its in the "Southern Japanese Alps", so there are mountains all around, and a lot of agriculture, mainly fields of rice patties. Yesterday, Tonya went off to work and Brett and I went to explore. He took me to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to see the view. Then we went to a Buddhist temple. I got to ring the gong, it was pretty fun. The temples in this area are interesting, they're just tucked into the forest, one with nature. How zen. Then we had coffee at a shop owned by one of Brett's students, then came home. At 2:00 Brett had to go to work, so then I belonged to Tonya. They had a brief spat over making sure we were back by 8:30 pm, because Tonya got to hang out with me all week, but Brett only gets two days. I love being fought over!! I feel so loved.

Today we're going to a little boy's first birthday party. Its the child of one of Brett and Tonya's close friends. Its going to be a very traditional birthday celebration. The first-year birthday is a big deal, apparently. Should be fun! Tonight, after the party, Tonya and I are getting on a overnight bus to Hiroshima. It will be the anniversary of the bombing. I think it will be an incredible experience.

Japan is so funny! One example: people have stickers, car rearview mirror adornments, everything of the marijuana leaf. But no one knows that its a marijuana leaf. They think its a maple leaf. We went to a store yesterday and there were shelves of pot-related merchandise, including "Herb in the Car" stickers, a pouch that clearly said "Marijuana" and lots of Rastafarian stuff. Its really bizarre! Can you imagine decorating your car with this stuff in the U.S.? It would be like a "Please, please pull me over and search my car, Mr. Policeman" sign.

The food is lovely. Lots of noodles and tofu...I haven't had actual sushi yet, because there will be a ton of it at the party. And I have nearly a week for that. I'm having a great time! This is the perfect ending to my trip.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Airport Layover Hell

Hi everyone -- I'm back at the airport for my loong layover. There was trouble getting a prompt flight to Japan at a reasonable price, so Tonya and I are both getting to know the airport...but unfortunately at different airports in different cities. D'oh! And the computer is set up here so I can't upload pictures, which would have been an excellent use of my time. I'll have to wait until I can use Tonya's computer in Japan. I wish I could share them with you! I've taken so many.

I have 3 minutes of internet left so I'll be quick: my plans are to fly to Tokyo in the early morning hours tomorrow, meet Tonya in the airport and head to her house in Nagano. From there, she has a fun itinerary of parties and cultural events lined up. I'm really excited! Will write more when I get a chance. Love to all.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Hanoi

Hi everyone! Sorry its been a few days since I last wrote, but I have a good excuse! Tonya and I have been on Ha Long Bay, on a renovated junk boat, kayaking, meeting lots of interesting people and drinking perhaps too much local Vietnamese wine. I have a looong layover in the airport tomorrow as I head off for Japan, so I will try to find internet access so I can write something more extensive. But, long story short: having an amazing time, love Vietnam and all is well with me. Plus I'm getting a lovely tan. Write soon!

Thursday, July 26, 2007

More Saigon

Yesterday I had no trouble catching the train back to Saigon from Phan Thiet. I waited in the station for about an hour with an adorable family, sharing cookies with the kids. The train wasn't bad at all: the seats recline, plenty of space. I finally got my Vietnam train ride! The views were incredible. We wound through an agricultural belt and I got to see fields of plants growing all those strange (to me) Asian fruits...I never knew what a dragonfruit tree looked like! Everything is so green and lush here. I was definitely the only Westerner on the train, but everyone was super nice to me. We can't understand each other's words, but that's not necessary for friendship, it seems.

I arrived in the Saigon station at about 7pm and got a room in a guesthouse in the backpackers area. Its not nearly as crazy and chaotic as the backpackers zone in Bangkok -- thank god! I went to the airport to pick Tonya up. Its so great to see her!!! I can't believe its been 2 years. I'm so excited. Today we fly to Hanoi and plan to go island hopping in Halong Bay for a few days. I'm really, really enjoying Vietnam.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Ho Chi Minh City

Vietnam is just amazing so far! On my flight to Saigon from Bangkok I sat next to Chou, a Saigon native coming back from visiting a friend in Thailand. We chatted and hit it off -- she's 28, she's also just going back to school after working for a few years, she also likes traveling alone. She offered to take me to the train station on her motorbike. I figured I already trust her more than I would any taxi, so I accepted. The train to Hanoi ended up being sold out for the next two days, so I had to figure out a new game plan. I met Chou's family and some of her friends, one of whom is an American ex-pat named Mike who was a war photographer here in the 60's and 70's. He was excited that my parents had also been here during the war, so he led me on a detailed walking tour of central Saigon, complete with descriptions of how things were, where and what important things happened, etc. I saw where all the journalists used to hang out and drink coffee. And the streets that used to be all seedy bars filled to the brim with GI's are now lined with luxury hotels, department stores, and Gucci shops. It was fascinating. I took lots of pictures.

Chou's family were immediately warm, welcoming and generous. One nice thing about traveling alone as a young woman is that people tend to take you under their wing. They asked a lot about my family and told me that since my parents were so far away, here in Vietnam I was as their daughter. We had dinner, which was a whole fried fish. Head with open mouth and eyes, skin, everything. I was brave and ate it. I'm such a brave vegetarian!

By the end of the evening, it was very clear to me that these were all wonderful, trustworthy people, so when they offered that I could stay in their spare room, I accepted. They all seemed quite worried about me spending money because I'm a "poor student". They wouldn't let me pay for anything, not food, not bottled water during our walk, not our pricey coffee at Rex's. They are so incredibly sweet. And as devout Catholics, they were excited to hear that I'm also from a Catholic family. Melissa left me with two San Francisco shot glasses, I gave them to Chou's family.

Chou and I stayed up late talking and giggling about breakups and relationships. She's in love with an American boy who "doesn't love her". I told her American boys are just trouble.

In the morning, Chou called a resort on the coast a few hours away from Saigon and bargained with the manager to get me a room for one night for less than $10. Chou is very charismatic, so after a few minutes, the manager agreed on an insanely low price and upgraded me to the "VIP Room". Pretty amazing! In the morning, we zipped around Saigon on Chou's motorbike. She said that she doesn't like motorbikes because they are dangerous; if Saigon had a subway, she would never drive. But you'd never guess she was afraid when she's driving around! It was really, really fun. I think Chou is one of the coolest girls I've ever met, in any country.

Chou got me onto the small bus to the coast, giving me a bag full of sweet rice cakes, bread, bottled green tea, and popcorn, in case I got hungry. I thought being in Ho Chi Minh City would be stressful, but thanks to my new Vietnamese best friend, its been one of the easiest parts of my trip!

The bus was interesting. The scenery was lovely, but the girl next to me kept alternating between eating fistfuls of caramel popcorn and vomiting into a (clear) plastic bag. The sight, sound and smell of someone vomiting usually makes me incredibly nauseous, but I was able to tune it out and stare out the window. When I got to the beach town, I bargained with a motorbike taxi to take me the 20 kilometers to the resort, and then we were on our way. I wish I could have taken pictures from the motorbike. We passed lots of animals, small fishing villages, scenic harbors with fishing boats, little boys trying to hunt birds with slingshots. When I got to the resort, it was really nice. My $7 room has not only air-conditioning (already a luxury for me) but my own yard with hot tub, big shower, free soap! I didn't know what to do with myself. I sat there for about 20 minutes deciding what I felt like doing. Luckily, Tonya called to discuss meeting up and Hanoi tickets, and that got me out of my daze.

The resort is nice, but it was quite clear that there was no one who spoke English around for miles and miles. Its sort of a strange feeling. People were very nice, but I felt pretty lonely. The beach was lovely, though. I'm happy that I am meeting up with Tonya tonight.

This morning I got a motorbike taxi back into the larger beach town and bought my train ticket. The train doesn't leave until 2:00 PM and its only 12:30, so I have some time to kill. I figure I'll wander around and find something to eat, then go to the station to read. Tonight I'm picking up Tonya at the airport, and tomorrow morning we head up north to Hanoi. Yaay!

Monday, July 23, 2007

One (More) Night in Bangkok

We flew back from Cambodia today for Melissa to catch her flight home -- boo! She has to go back to work. I, however, am continuing on to Vietnam tomorrow. Tonight I'm staying in this really old budget hotel called the Atlanta. Its like a cheap Casablanca. I like it! And I'm exhausted, so I plan to go to sleep in a few minutes. Might have energy to post again tomorrow morning before my flight. Goodnight!

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Cambodia

Why go to Thailand when there's Cambodia?? That's what Melissa and I have kept asking ourselves. We've spent the last few days here in Siem Reap, Cambodia and are both absolutely loving it. We've been seeing the temples of Angkor Wat and others, which have been amazing. Of course, even more than the sights, the people we've met have been so lovely! I have an excessive amount of pictures, all of which I plan to upload to Flickr during my loooong layover in the Bangkok airport tomorrow (Monday).

The poverty is harder to ignore here than it is in Thailand, but you know what? That's okay -- I don't really want a sanitized tourist environment. Its been pretty heartbreaking but also really fun. And the food is great; our meals here have generally been better than in Thailand and I looove Thai food.

I'm on a really bad computer so I'll keep this short...but I plan to upload my pictures and write a more extensive blog tomorrow when I have lots of time to kill at the airport. Right now I just want to go and enjoy our last night in beautiful Cambodia!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

One Night In Bangkok

Hi everyone! We've made a decision to head to Cambodia tomorrow to see Angkor Wat. Chiang Mai was pretty, but we were unhappy with our hosts...they were very generous and good people, but weird. They tended to only speak to Melissa and ignore me -- it was all very strange. So we made our escape yesterday evening and took a sleeper train to Bangkok. The train was fun! We splurged on first class (still cheaper than any Amtrak train I've ever been on) and had our own little cabin. We made friends with the guys working on the train and a passenger from Israel, drank lots of Chang beer, and passed out at 11pm (much later than the other passengers). We got in at 7:30 am and were exhausted. We took the subway to the Sukhumvit area of town to look for a hotel a friend recommended. We had trouble finding it so we sat in the nearest outdoor patio bar to rest and put our bags down. This led to our early morning beer session -- hey, you're only in Bangkok once, right? We had food on the street later. The guy working there didn't speak English and our few Thai words didn't get us far, so we guessed with the menu. Unfortunately, bean curd soup has pork in it. And Melissa got this noodle dish with, ahem, gravy -- which in her words had "the consistency of snot". It made for pretty funny pictures, though! I chose the safe option: pad thai. Not the most adventurous choice but it was good and I knew there was no meat! I've been eating shrimp occasionally. Some days I can get myself to eat fish, other days I can't. Overall, I'm doing fairly well.

After looking at the map we realized most people recommended that we stay in Th Khao San, the touristy backpacker area. We headed over that way and immediately regretted it. The best times we've had here have been hanging out with locals, not other Western tourists, so I'm not sure why we didn't realize that we wouldn't like it. But by that time we were super tired so we checked into the nearest not-as-sketchy hostel and took a nap. This evening we've been wandering around, we had really good dinner that within a half hour made me vomit and gave me a huge headache (msg?)...we went down to the river and enjoyed the sights. It was a nicer restaurant. I've heard that the street food is safer than the food in "nice" restaurants -- they were right.

Tomorrow morning we're heading out early to Cambodia! I'm really, really excited that we decided to go.

Most importantly, CONGRATULATIONS TO JIMMY AND KATH!! I got a text message a few days ago from Jimmy that they got engaged, but didn't post it in my earlier blog in case he hadn't announced it to everyone. I think its safe to say it now, if not...oops!! Sorry...

My next post should be from Cambodia -- yaay!

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Chiang Mai

We just got into Chiang Mai an hour or so ago and are staying with a couple that are friends of a friend of Melissa's in San Francisco. One is an (American) retired English professor. We haven't met his Thai partner yet -- he's at a class. Chiang Mai looks really beautiful!

Our last night in Phuket was very fun. We went out with the owner of the hotel to an amazing drag show, it was SO great. If anyone ever goes to Phuket, definitely stay at CC Blooms! We only have wonderful things to say about the place. It was beautiful, not super touristy, and the staff are great, especially Miss Canada, the transgender cook. Most of our evenings out were spent with locals, not other tourists, which I think is a little unusual. Its been perfect!

I'm so tired (again)!! Its hard for me to type coherently. I think after we eat I'll perk up a bit. Just wanted to check in! I should be able to email/post more frequently because there's internet here at the house. I'll post again soon!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Phuket & Ko Phi Phi

Hi everyone -- sorry its been a few days. I didn't have internet access the last few days. We were on Ko Phi Phi, a small limestone island near Phuket. It was really, really nice! I kept very busy sitting around on the beach, drinking beer. Melissa and I are both pretty sunburned! Now we're back in Phuket at the same hotel we were at when we first arrived. We came back for one more evening so we could hang out with the owner and his Thai boyfriend. They wanted to take us out when we were here earlier, but forces of nature (i.e. a bad hangover) didn't allow it! So we're going out with them tonight and heading up north to Chiang Mai tomorrow. I'm super tired and feeling pretty stressed out about some law school preparation stuff. This was pretty much the worst time for me to not have internet access. All my stuff from Hastings came! Argh. Luckily, my family is amazing (obviously) and I think everything will be okay.

I'll try to write more soon when I'm feeling a bit calmer and clearer. So far Thailand is just perfect, though! I have fun stories to write, I'll catch everyone up soon. xoxo

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Airport fun

I'm in the Bangkok airport and I'm exhausted! My flight left Delhi at 12:30 am this morning and I wasn't able to sleep. I'm here on a layover between my flight to Phuket. On the plane a woman curled up to sleep and put her foot on me. Augh!! Those of you who know my foot-phobia (caused by working at a shoe store for 2 years)will understand just how horrifying this was for me.

My last day in India was really nice. The family was so sweet to me and gave me many hugs and gifts. They gave me a woven bracelet they'd gotten recently at a shrine in the Himalayas. I'm supposed to wear it until it falls off. Luckily, I really like it. Its red, my favorite color. I also have anklets on that jingle when I walk. I probably annoy everyone around me, but I think its fun!

We (the family and I) were joking that we should have many goodbye parties for me. So we had a "samosas and sweets party" at 10am yesterday -- which is exactly what it sounds like: we ate samosas and sweets. I like this kind of party. Then at 1pm we had our "beer party" where my host father, uncle and I got a bit tipsy on Kingfisher "Strong" beer and everyone else drank Fanta. No one else is allowed to drink alcohol. Of course, then I took a nap. At 7:30 I left for the airport. Sonu (one of the brothers there) has a friend who has a van taxi, so we took that. Amit and Sonu came along to see me off and decided that we would have beer in the taxi. Yes, its legal. So we have lots of fun pictures of our second "beer party" inside the taxi, which included lots of spilling.

My flight went well other than the foot thing (eek! don't want to think about it). I took Indian Airlines, which seems to not care as much as other airlines about passengers who freak out about turbulence. Also, they told us to put our seatbelts on, oh, 20 seconds before we landed on the ground in Bangkok. It was pretty funny. They also served the worlds unhealthiest meal: an egg roll (which was actually wrapped in egg -- like an omelet. a real egg roll?), a fried Indian patty thing, and a weird quiche-like cake. And ketchup. Whats the ketchup for?

Well, my internet time is running out so I'm going to wrap up and go to my gate. I'll write more in the next day or so! Thailand is nice so far..but I'll write more about that in my next post.
For some reason, its not letting me write a title for this...unless it changes its mind this might be my untitled post.

I'm leaving for Thailand tonight! My last few days in India have been interesting. My last day at CSI on Friday was cut short due to heat exhaustion. I felt so miserable! I spent the whole afternoon in bed. Pooja and Amit kept coming in to try to get me to drink this very salty lemon drink. Everyone was really sweet. The next day it was still hot and I felt pretty weak until about 1pm when the sky clouded over and the rain started. Yaay! I suddenly felt alive again. We went on the roof and played in the rain. It was great.

Now I'm heading downstairs to have our "party": samosas, sweets and drinks. Beer for me and the adult males, and Fanta for everyone else. Next time I'll post from Thailand!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Indian drama

A couple of days ago, I found out that one of the cousins of my host family read my personal journal. I was really upset, but now I'm over it. I've been feeling quite a bit better the past few days. I've settled into a routine here. Here is a typical day for me in India:

I wake up around 7:30, have breakfast and chat with my host sister and/or brother for a little while, then I head to CSI at around 9:15 am. Technically, they open at 9 am, but any time I've gotten there before 9:15 I've been the first one there and had to wait around for someone with keys. This morning was a nice treat: they were setting up decorations for a wedding. The office is in a community center, so sometimes there are other events going on.

At work, I tend to be more productive in the mornings because the weather is cooler and because the director isn't there yet. The computer I use is right next to her desk. My chair is literally about 1 foot away from her chair. And she yells really loudly in Hindi at everyone. I can never tell if she's angry or if that's just how she speaks to everyone. Whenever she's speaking to me, she is sweet, polite and somewhat quiet. I've been thinking of it as her "English personality" because she seems to change so much depending on which language she's using.

At 1 pm I go home for lunch for about an hour. I usually dread going back because of the said loud yelling and the stiflingly hot office. But I manage to get myself to go, and I try to be as productive as possible. Sometimes this is not productive at all. Today I finished the grant proposal project I was working on and, per the director's request, have started writing short summaries of each major project to be used on the website. Its not exciting, but I at least feel helpful. And tomorrow is my last day, so I really can't complain. And today my coworkers told me I look like a "very sharp Indian lady" because I was wearing a scarf on my head and shoulders. That pretty much made my day.

When I get home, I often have a headache from the Hindi yelling so I relax and read for a bit. I'm short on interesting books, so I'm halfway through reading Karen Armstrong's biography of the Prophet Muhammad for the third time. Yes, same book, third time in a row. Luckily its a complext subject, eh? After my headache goes away, I go play or watch a Hindi movie with the younger children in the family.

There's a power outage every night from 9 to 10 pm, so we usually sit on the roof or just in the dark living room chatting. At 10 pm I have a glass of whiskey mixed with water (not a huge fan, but I want to be polite) with my host father, and then dinner. Then we all talk for a while, then I go shower and lie in bed trying to avoid itching the imaginary mosquitos on me until I fall asleep.

Oops! I have to go -- just found out that the teenagers want to take me to a movie (at a real theater...oooh!). After some initial frustration, I'm actually really enjoying my time in India right now. xoxoxo

Monday, July 2, 2007

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Happy Birthday! To anyone who will see Mom this week, please give her a big hug for me.
Also, here is a picture of me in my new "suit". I'm standing with my host mother here in India. I'm 25 now...isn't there that poem about wearing purple once you're old?

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Speaking of "freak"

Today I found some books that a previous volunteer left here. One of them is called "The Third Gender" and is a study on transsexuals in India. Here they are called 'eunuchs'. When I first saw it, I was pretty impressed. India is extremely conservative. I'm pretty sure homosexuality is outright illegal. So a book about gender issues, especially transsexuality, struck me as incredibly progressive. Almost Berkeley-like, even! But then I saw the first page:
WOW. Its so politically incorrect I just don't know what to say!! So it might be a step in the right direction that social scientists in India are starting to sympathize with the condition of eunuchs. But...wow. "Prevention of the birth of such unfortunate freaks of nature"??! To the eunuchs and how we can stop them from being born?! Progressive is not the word that comes to mind. And the book's forward was pretty much the most self-aggrandizing, pompous garbage an author has ever written. Seriously, he said he was pleased that he would always be the first and foremost thinker about eunuchs. Um...I'm 3/4 through the book and not impressed with his methodology nor his conclusions. But then again, he is a man and India has made me into something of a man-hater. You probably would, too, if you had them staring and snickering at you all day long!

That's all I've got...except this fact: India has over 1,500 different varieties of mangoes. And its mango season. Yaay! Below is the mango man delivering to our house today:




Saturday, June 30, 2007

Circus Freak

One common theme in all the places I've visited so far is that I feel like an absolute freak. In Ghana, they stare and talk because I'm white. In Egypt, they stare and harass because I'm white and female and wearing Western clothing. On the streets here in India, its pretty much on par with Egypt. I'm getting weary of feeling like a circus freak. Yesterday evening, a tailor came by to measure me for a dress and everyone was laughing at my measurements. It was pretty obvious that's why they were laughing, but I asked my host sister, Pooja, what they were saying and she said "its just funny...your body is very different from ours. Thicker." Ouch. Not exactly something a sensitive Western woman wants to hear about her body. I am also at least 5 inches taller (and often more) than any woman I've met here. It will be nice to get back to San Francisco, where I couldn't be freakish even if I tried. **sigh**

Also, my eyebrows have been butchered by an Indian woman with a piece of thread. Well, not butchered. They're just thinner than I've ever, ever had them before. I feel like my face is naked =S I guess I should just embrace the freakishness...

Friday, June 29, 2007

Child Survival India

Child Survival India is the name of the NGO I'm volunteering with while I'm here. And yes, they abbreviate it as "CSI". No one here has heard of the television show, so I'm the only one who thinks thats funny.

Things are going pretty well. I've been doing research and trying to write a grant proposal for one of their programs promoting legal literacy for women and children in the relocated slum communities outside Delhi. About 8 years ago, in order to accomodate Delhi's urban growth, the government relocated the slum communities within the city proper to "temporary" housing in rural areas outside the city. The housing looks like it was never really finished; there's rebar sticking out everywhere and a lot of places don't have roofs or full walls. The government still plans to move them to "real" housing eventually. Anyway, CSI has a lot of programs in these communities, including the one I'm writing about. But in writing this I'm also having to write/research a lot about the nonprofit as a whole. I spent some time in Narela, one of the communities not too far from where I'm staying. I got to experience the Indian bus system, which is hot, overcrowded and full of shady people! Posted on every other seat was an airbrushed message: "Look under your seat. If there is bomb, sound alarm. Earn reward." EEk! I decided I would try to travel by rickshaw or foot whenever possible. My day in Narela was interesting. I walked around with the coordinator for a while, I sat in one some legal consultations, I met the ob-gyn who volunteers there...but I mostly hung out with the young women. They insisted on doing my makeup and hair (the picture to the left is post-makeover). I definitely felt kind of overwhelmed by all the poking and scrutiny...I felt like I was a toy or something. Actually, they did say they thought my skin looked like a doll. That made me sad, because I think that means all the dolls kids have here are probably white. Anyway, I managed to conceal my irritation and made a lot of friends. Most of the time, though, I'm at the main office on the computer. I think that's okay with me...if I went to Narela every day I think I'd get reeeally overwhelmed, even just by the commute alone. The main office also has a lot of people to interact with, staff and clients, because that's where a full medical clinic and a few other programs are located. I also feel like I'm more useful at this writing project. In the actual community, few people speak English at all, let alone enough to counsel them in it. It seems like non-Hindi-speaking volunteers are really just there to amuse everyone, not to do a lot of actual work. The power cut out today for 5-6 hours, so I didn't get much work done. But I'm going in to the office tomorrow because India has a 6-day workweek!

I posted some more photos. I'm so on top of keeping my Flickr updated these days! Hope you enjoy. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Indian Farm Life

I'm just going to come out and say it: I milked a buffalo yesterday. Yes, a buffalo. And all I could think was "so this is where delicious mozzerella comes from..."

I'm living with a host family on a small farm in a village about 45 minutes away from Delhi. The family is wonderful. Its a large extended family with several generations, and I haven't been able to keep straight how each person is related to the other. There are two small children, one is 6, the other 4 (I think). Indian kids seem really small for their age...the 6 year old is about Ryan or Collin's size! They've warmed up to me and follow me around a lot. We point at different things (a peacock, cow, buffalo, airplane, etc) and they'll say it in Hindi and I'll say it in English and then we try to pronounce it in the other's language and end up giggling a lot. They're adorable. There are 3 teenagers, a girl and two boys. I get along with all of them really well. After work today I'm going into the village with them to look at shops and maybe get my eyebrows threaded. The next generation is a bit older than I am, then the parents, and then their parents. Its a little confusing. Only a handful of them speak any English, but we manage to communicate and I think they like me anyway. I'm trying to learn a little simple Hindi, but of course there's only so much I can learn in 3 weeks!

They are Hindu and vegetarian, and they make amazing food. They were surprised and pleased to hear that I was also a vegetarian. They try to feed me a lot, and laugh at me when I say I can't eat any more. They also had me try a plain, raw green chilli and everyone watched my face to see my reaction. Luckily, I held my own even though it was pretty hot. They told me they belong to the "Jatt" farmer/service worker caste. They said that although they are not rich, they still live well, honestly and simply. I think their house is absolutely beautiful. Its 3 (albeit narrow) stories tall, with lots of open veranda-like spaces. The rooms have lots of windows and ceiling fans. It makes the summer heat bearable. The heat isn't quite as bad here, away from smoggy Delhi.

Also, I'm drinking a LOT of chai (tea). Its the social drink here, so I have it at home, at work...everywhere. Its a good thing I like chai! And I realized that drinking hot tea on a warm summer day isn't as bad as it sounds.

Work is going really well. The organization I'm volunteering with is called Child Survival India. They have a variety of programs including HIV/AIDS prevention and care, general medical care, legal resources, domestic violence/abuse support. They focus on rural slum populations.

Yesterday evening I sat with the whole family on the 3rd floor, most of which is the roof deck (still marble). It looked like a storm was coming. Its not technically the monsoon season yet, but I think it might rain today anyway. It was really exciting. The winds picked up and there was lightning and dramatic clouds. It didn't rain more than a few drops, though. We stayed outside until after 11pm, chatting, watching and waiting for the storm. They think I should come back to visit and stay longer. They said if I can't come back for a year or so, then I can bring a husband with me (ha!).

So, basically, I really like it here. I adore my host family and I enjoy and respect the organization I'm working with very much. I was worried that India would be too overwhelming for me. I think Delhi could drive a person crazy, but out here in the village its lovely.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Birthday & Taj Mahal

Hi everyone! I had a lovely birthday, despite the fact that I missed all of you terribly. I hope everyone in SF is having a fun Pride weekend and being safe!!

6 of us volunteers hired a car for a day trip to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort. Its about a 4 hour drive from Delhi. At one point we had to stop to pay a "road tax" so the driver had to leave us for about 10 minutes. Immediately, a group of obnoxious men descending on our car, tapping on the windows, etc. I do NOT like this aspect of India one bit. One guy even tried to open the drivers side door. I was in the front passenger seat and I gave him a LOOK OF DEATH and shook my head slowly. He tried to pantomime some joke about driving and I continued the evil stare, looking very not-amused, and it worked. They left and didn't come back. I was soooooo pissed off. After that we only got attention from people trying to sell us stuff. One tiny old man came up and sat down with a basket and began playing a shrill, awful flute-like instrument. Lo! and behold, a real snake came out, swaying left and right, towards the sound. I saw a real snake charmer!! I didnt even know those existed!! We also saw lots of monkeys on leashes. Weird. Our driver did come back and we continued our journey. There are so many animals along the side of the road here. There are monkeys, boars, sheep, dogs and, of course, cows. I think the cows here look more statuesque. They seem taller and more angular -- but that might be because they're really thin. They graze on the trash heaps at the side of the road. For being so revered they aren't taken care of very well. For some reason, though, the idea of these cows being sacred makes perfect sense to me. For the record, the other volunteers think I'm crazy -- so this is not the majority opinion. I don't know...cows are cool. And these ones are especially striking-looking.

The Taj Mahal was beautiful and enormous. We went inside, but my favorite moment was afterwards when we sat on the grass in the shade in front of it. There are so many people that it can be very hectic. Also, people want to take pictures of us. I don't mind women and children taking pictures and I'll even pose with them. But the men/boys who ask I say no. From far away they do anyway. Its really uncomfortable, but unfortunately there isn't really anything I can do about it.

The Red Fort was really, really interesting. Its this labryinth of passageways and balconies, and a small marble mosque hidden inside. I could get lost in it. Its huuuge. I don't even think we saw everything, and we wandered for a really long time.

Today we went to see a film. It was fabulous. Lots of dancing and a random Willie Nelson lookalike Pied Piper character, played by a superfamous Bollywood star. I've included a link to the trailer on youtube below, you guys should watch it. Its pretty funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRA7dDf20vs

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful birthday emails! I miss everyone a lot. Love you all.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Delhi

Hi everyone! I just uploaded a lot of pictures to my Flickr account. Some have been commented on and rotated, the rest I can't get to today but hopefully soon! I have more photos but have reached my June upload limit! July is just around the corner, though.

I have to get going!! Thanks to everyone for the birthday emails! I'll write again this weekend to let you know how the Taj Mahal birthday-day went. xoxo

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

India

This morning Dominic and I woke up at an ungodly hour (8:00 am) and went to the airport. I had such a lovely time with him in Dubai! Yesterday we went to the historical district and had an amaaazing middle eastern meal. I'm really happy that he is moving back to San Francisco soon, possibly as early as July!!

The flight went well. The immigration official upon my departure from the UAE left his phone number in my passport. How unprofessional is that?? But pretty funny, nonetheless. I arrived here and realized that its a good 10 degrees Celsius cooler here than in the UAE. I'd been bracing myself for India to be horribly hot, and its definitely warm, but its relatively tolerable!

My birthday is on Saturday and Im going with a group of other volunteers to see the Taj Mahal! I think that sounds like a wonderful birthday plan. And the other volunteers seem really nice, so I dont think I'll be too, too lonely. Of course, I will miss you all terribly anyway.

I couldnt upload my photos in Dubai because the UAE has censored internet and you cant access sites like Flickr! Sorry. I'll get around to it eventually, I'm sure...

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Strange, strange UAE

Yesterday evening, Dominic and I were driving down the freeway into the city. There was suddenly a lot of traffic -- which isn't unusual. We could see a car pulled over onto the median on the left ahead...and then Dominic said "Oh...I think someone hit a Pakistani". The manual labor here is mostly performed by men from Pakistan who work for virtually nothing. You see them walking on the side of the freeway in the obscenely hot weather (its way over 100 degrees Fahrenheit with around 70 percent humidity), walking for miles. I haven't seen any pedestrian overpasses on the freeways here, so they jaywalk regularly. People here tend to speed a LOT in their fancy cars, so accidents are fairly common. Dominic says that in traffic accidents (and many other things), fault is generally assigned by nationality/social status. I.e., if a UAE national hit an American, the American would be at fault. At the bottom of the ladder are the Pakistani nationals. So, as we were inching along in traffic, we first saw a hat on the freeway. Then a bag that looked like a to-go container from a restaurant. Then the car, whose roof was dented and windshield smashed. Then the body, with a handful of men standing around, looking irritated. It was awful. They'd covered his body with a blanket, but not his head (???). Dominic said that the worst part is that there will be no repercussions for any of it. It happens frequently, but nothing changes.

Sorry if that was too graphic, but I was really disturbed by it (obviously). Dubai is so odd. I'm glad to be here and see it. I'm still trying to process it, so I'll probably have more to say in the next few days. I can't really decide if I like it here or not. But its interesting, which is definitely enough of a reason to see it. So far, Dubai reminds me quite a bit of Orange County on a grander scale: people showing off obscene wealth, so its luxurious and well, nice, but not necessarily tasteful. And it doesn't seem real, somehow. And I can only imagine, with the insanely rapid growth and lack of smart planning, how many construction defect lawsuits will crop up here in the next few decades!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Dubai

Hi everyone! I got to Dubai yesterday afternoon and Dominic picked me up. The traffic here is awful, so we didn't even try to head back to where he lives in the University compound. We stopped by a mall -- apparently everyone hangs out at malls here -- and then went out to a restaurant. Dubai is interesting. All the buildings are huge and impressive, but things here seem like they're just for show. For example, the restaurants are beautiful and the presentation is good, but the actual food isn't that great. And everywhere the service industry workers are foreign laborers, often from the Philippines. Apparently, you won't find sommeliers or excellent service anywhere. They are sweet, but its not the excellent service you would expect in a "nice" restaurant.

Hanging out with Dominic is so fun! I've missed him. For those of you who don't know, Dominic is a friend of mine from Berkeley who is living here in Dubai on a Fulbright fellowship. He's researching the UAE court system. He seems to think its not a big deal (charming), but I'm pretty impressed. And we've gotten to gripe a LOT about annoying/horrible things we've experienced recently, particularly the law school admissions process.

We're off to get something to eat! I'll try to post again tomorrow.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Right when I start figuring out my way around...

...its time to leave Egypt. Buuut I'm very excited to go to Dubai and see Dominic!

Today I wandered around Zamalek, which is an area on the island in the middle of the Nile. I went in search of this lead-free kohl eyeliner shop I'd read about in a magazine (silly, I know, but I wanted to see that area of Cairo, anyway). It was nearly impossible to find -- the shop has no sign (of course), but with the help of some super-nice women in a hair salon who knew where it was, I found it. Afterwards, I walked down to L'Aubergine, the only restaurant in Cairo that bills itself as vegetarian. It was excellent, but the waiter kept coming by mid-bite to ask where I was from or some other inane question. I'm not going to miss every waiter leaving their cell phone number on the check. I wish I could wear a paper bag over my entire person when I walk around here. Though that would probably get too hot. But less people would stare at a huge walking paper bag, I'm convinced.

After that I walked around a bit. I stopped by a great bookstore and got a biography of the Prophet Mohammed's life and a small Arabic phrasebook. I went to this trendy little cafe called Cilantro and drank cappuccino and read for a few hours. Then I took the long way home, through quaint little streets with lots of trees and plants, and people's pet cats and dogs running around -- animals look a lot better taken care of here than in Ghana. I get the impression more people have pets. Anyway, I had a really lovely day. And I realized I'm starting to get to know my way around here, at least in the Downtown area.

I leave early tomorrow, so my next post should be from Dubai. I'll write soon!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Ancient versus modern Egypt

Today I went to visit the Pyramids. I saw the 3 in Giza and then the Step Pyramid nearby in Saqqara. I walked around them a lot and went in some museums. They're really....large! It was definitely cool to see them, but the experience was pretty annoying. Its the world's biggest tourist trap. Everyone is aggressively trying to sell you something. People come up and start talking about history and you say you don't want a guide and they claim not to be a guide and then expect money at the end, even if you weren't really listening. I started just saying "NO. GO AWAY." This only worked occasionally. If you don't answer, they follow you around. One particularly annoying guy shoved a stupid stuffed toy camel practically in my face and said "Take for free." Soooo incredibly irritating. Its difficult to enjoy anything in that kind of atmosphere.

I'm really, really sick of people trying to sell me something! I still like Cairo, but I'm looking forward to going to Dubai and seeing a familiar face (Dominic). I also wanted to upload all my pictures, but the computer here is really slow...I think it would take 5 hours. Hopefully I can do that when I get to Dubai! I have some more photos from Ghana and, of course, all the ones from here in Egypt.

Tomorrow is my last day in Cairo and I just plan to hang out around the city. I don't feel like doing any more touristy stuff. Bye, everyone!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Islamic Cairo/Coptic Cairo

Yesterday evening I went out for a bit (its light out until around 8pm) with one of the other hostel guests (another American). The weather in the evening is so nice -- it cools down quite a bit and there's a lovely breeze. We went down to the Nile, which is huge. After eating falafel bought on the street and walking around for a bit, we went to a rooftop cafe. The view probably wasn't guidebook-beautiful but I loved it. You can't see the river but you can see all the surrounding buildings. A lot of the buildings are pretty dilapidated and there's laundry hanging out to dry. I just felt really right in the city...its hard to explain. I like urban settings. The sun went down when we were at the cafe, and the calls to prayer rang out...it was just perfect.

Cairo actually seems pretty safe for a capital city...I feel like I get hassled less here than say, DC or NYC. Maybe even parts of San Francisco. But I definitely feel like when men speak to me, its like they're speaking to a silly little girl. They are nice but not respectful. I don't mean that they're really inappropriate or rude, but that they don't respect that I might also be an intelligent human being with something relevant to say. It was really nice hanging out with Justin (the other American here...he's a Ph.D student at Chapel Hill in NC and is really lovely. And speaks Arabic, which is convenient for me) because he's the only person I've met here that doesn't speak to me like I'm an idiot.

Today I went to the Citadel to see 2 mosques and a Museum. The mosque of Mohammed Ali is very large and Ornate. After removing my shoes and having to put on a very unattractive green robe-thingy, I was able to go inside. I sat down for a while and just soaked it in. Outside there's a great view of Cairo, through the smog, of course. The calls to prayer sounded amazing from up there, you could hear them coming from all parts of the city below and just resonating everywhere. Even in 90 degree weather, I get goosebumps when I hear it. I talked for a few minutes to some Egyptian students, who wanted to ask me about views of Islam in my country and about George W. It was interesting but a pretty typical conversation: no, not everyone thinks that all Muslims are terrorists, and no, I don't like Bush, either...etc. etc.

After that I went to Coptic Cairo and wandered around. I went into the Coptic Museum and into a few churches. In one, I lit candles for friends and family that have passed away...including all grandparents, Uncle Bob, Petra and Kathy Sesok. The museum was interesting. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the Muslim sights here more because its newer to me. I've been in a lot of Christian churches...but I don't think I'd ever been inside a mosque before today.

I had dinner at a pretty nice restaurant (my meal costed about $6 U.S.). I love the food here. The falafel is incredible. I had the Egyptian version of dolma, which are called something completely different. They're a lot smaller and thinner and way more flavorful. There's more grape leaf than filling, and it somehow works. Definitely the best I've ever had. And I ordered mango juice, which was more like mango puree and it was AMAZING. I feel like I could drink it all day. Incredible.

I took a lot of pictures, but I plan to upload everything tomorrow night, I think. Tomorrow I'm off the the Pyramids in Giza, so I know I'll definitely take a ton of pictures. I'm really enjoying Cairo so far. This city is chaotic, but its so vibrant and interesting. I'll have to come back to get the things I'll miss, because there's no way I'll see everything and I honestly don't have the energy to do the Tour Nazi thing for 4 days. I'm actually pretty worn out from Ghana. I'm going to read and go to bed early. I'm getting up early to go to Giza and see some wonders of the ancient world. xoxo

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Egypt!!

Hi everyone! I'm here in Cairo. I landed this morning and am absolutely exhausted. I checked in to a hostel across from the Egyptian Museum that was recommended by Lonely Planet and a few other travel companies. Its great, actually. Its not necessarily that nice, but it seems clean enough and everyone is really friendly. It feels safe, which is high on my list, especially here. The guy running the place, Amir, is really helpful. He taught me how to say "No, thanks" in Arabic to deal with hagglers on the street (its "Lla Shukran") He also said that if I take a taxi anywhere, to have him write the destination in Arabic and quote a reasonable price, so the drivers don't misunderstand the location and/or try to rip me off.

I really just wanted to take a nap but instead I showered, changed and headed to the museum. I saw lots of cool Egyptian stuff. I saw a lot of mummies, including Ramses II. Mummies are creepy. I also saw animal mummies, including a huge crocodile, little baboons, dogs, etc. Afterwards I was starving, so I wandered into a restaurant. The food is AWESOME. I had incredible baba ganouj and then this delicious okra baked stew thingy...don't know what it was called exactly but it was really good.

So now I'm back at the hostel. I'm so tired, so I don't think I'll go out again. I don't plan to go out at all after dark, anyway. I bought a book that's supposed to be the quintessential modern Arabic novel, so I'll start on that. So far I really like Egypt...but I think I'll like it a lot more after a good night's sleep. Bye, everyone!!

Goodbye, Ghana! Part II

I wanted to wrap up the last day in Ghana after I last wrote, because it was really sweet. I had the most amazing goodbye! Big Mama and Gloria (her adult daughter, also lives in the house) each got me necklaces as goodbye presents. I got many, many hugs. I totally cried -- knowing me, how could I not? And all the volunteers came outside when we drove away and sang that cheesy nanana heyheyhey goodbye song...it was priceless. Big Mama and Gloria drove me to the airport, which generally isn't supposed to happen, so it was really sweet for them to offer.

I was waiting/reading in the airport and this Egyptian guy in a business suit came and asked if he could sit at my table. His name was Hashim (I think) and he had just come to Accra to sign a transfer agreement for 45 million U.S. dollars that his late father's business had accrued somehow (hopefully not shady). He felt compelled to show me all the paperwork, which was pretty funny. He got a Coke and two glasses for us to share and we chatted. He was a odd guy...he'd hated Accra because he's terrified of mosquitos (er, well, the diseases they carry, to be more specific) and barely left his hotel room. Quite the opposite experience from mine...especially the $45 million part. I got some Egypt recommendations, too, so that was helpful.

When we were waiting at our gate, everyone heard singing and other commotion outside, and went to the window to look. Apparently the plane that just came in from Cairo (also the one we were taking to Cairo) had carried Madam Fathia, the recently deceased wife of Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. She was Egyptian. Her death was very big news in Ghana while I was there. Anyway, there were a lot of people crowding around the government hearse, singing and praying. It was pretty amazing to see. Someone also said that the current president was down there, too, but I couldn't see.

The flight was fairly empty so I had a whole row to myself! I stretched out on 3 seats and dozed for most of the 6 hour flight. I think those 3 airplane seats were more comfortable than my bed in Ghana!

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Goodbye, Ghana!

Tonight I leave Ghana and fly to Egypt. Its definitely a bittersweet feeling. I'm going to miss this country, but I'm very excited to continue the trip.

Last night a huuuuge group went out to a local bar/restaurant to celebrate my last night. There were at least 20-25 people, I think! Big Mama, Gloria, my 3 host sisters, Edem, Kofi and a hoard of volunteers all came. It was so lovely! It was the perfect send-off. This morning I woke up and went to the beach for a few hours, where I ran into Ezekiel, our minister/reggae singer friend from Cape Coast!! That guy is everywhere, its so funny.

Well, I'm off. My next post will be from Egypt!!!

Friday, June 8, 2007

Akua Serwaah's Last Day

As the title suggests, I got the spelling of my name in Ghana completely wrong before. Today someone wrote it for me. So there is the correct version!

Today was my last day of volunteer work at the hospital. We had a little party in the morning and took some pictures. I'm uploading them to my flickr account as we speak, providing that this old computer holds out on me. I'm also uploading some pictures from the past few days. A lot of them were taken by neighborhood kids who loove playing with digital cameras. You'll probably be able to tell which ones were taken by the kids!

Over the past weekend and on Monday, a LOT of new volunteers showed up. We all went somewhere on a tro-tro yesterday, and there were 14 of us. Amazingly, we were able to find a tro-tro with room for all of us. Everyone is very nice. Its been fun to have more people around, although I really enjoyed the house when I was able to hang out with the girls a lot, too. Its nice either way. Since I've been here a couple of weeks, everyone is asking me lots of questions. I feel very knowledgeable, even though I'm really not!

Everyone at work was really sweet today! They usually are, but since its my last day it was even better. I'll definitely miss them. All week my boss, Sister Leticia, has been calling me "Boss Lady" or "Senior Woman" since she told me to train the new volunteers that started. Its pretty cute. All the people I worked with told me to send greetings from Ghana to my family and friends at home. So...hi from Ghana!

Tonight the huge group of volunteers, Tina & Melody (my host-sisters), Edem (language teacher), Kofi (drove us some places) and not sure who else are all going out for a bit to celebrate my last night here. Tomorrow morning I'm going to go to the beach! There's a really nice one nearby. Then tomorrow night I am off to Egypt! I heard the power is supposed to be off tomorrow, so I may not get a chance to write until I'm in Cairo. Love to you all!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Sad Day

Today I counseled a girl around my age and she tested positive for HIV. This isn't the first client I've had here that tested positive, but I think its affecting me more than usual today because I relate to her more, if only because of age and gender. She seemed already to be pretty weak and sick, so it may have progressed to AIDS by now. Its so incredibly sad. I don't really know what else to write about it.

On a brighter note, things at work have been going well. My boss here told me that all her colleagues (like the director, etc.) that I've met have been "very impressed" with me. Unfortunately, I'm thinking that I won't get to do much with the domestic violence project because its still caught up in administrative red tape getting started, and my last day is Friday. Hopefully incoming volunteers can take it up...I'm disappointed that I won't be able to do it, but despite that I'm still pretty satisfied with my volunteering experience here in Ghana.

I feel like I'm writing differently now, and its probably because I have to speak very slowly here and use concise, simple language in order for people to understand my accent. Obviously, I don't know enough Twi to have more than a very, very basic conversation with people. I can talk about how I am, about ducks or cassava, and my name.

Okay, I think that's all I have for today. Hope everyone is well. I'm here in Ghana until Saturday evening when I fly to Egypt. Oh! I forgot to write this: I extended my layover in Cairo since Dominic won't be in Dubai until the 14th. So I have 4 nights in Cairo. I've heard there pyramid things or something, right? Maybe I'll see those. I'm pretty excited! But I will write more before I leave. xoxo

Monday, June 4, 2007

Uploading pictures!

Sorry its taken me so long! I'm just putting them all up on Flickr: the good, the bad and the sweaty. Thaaanks everyone for being patient! I also apologize that they are out of order...I'll work on that next time. xoxoxo

Wli waterfall

On Sunday, Jen and I went to see West Africa's tallest waterfall, called Wli. There's a short hike to get there, but it isn't very steep, so you can actually look around and enjoy the sights instead of being distracted by exhaustion and excessive sweat. There were so many butterflies, all feasting on fallen mangoes. We had to cross the same river 9 times to get up to the falls. It was so lovely. Once we saw the waterfall, we immediately felt more relaxed and happy. Its not as big and/or powerful as, say, Yosemite, but it was very peaceful and soothing. There were thousands of fruit bats nesting (do bats nest? whatever) right next to the water. I really didn't want to leave! But I wanted to get back to Accra before dark, so we reluctantly headed back down. So lovely! And yes, I made it back to Accra before dark.

New project at Accra's Police Hospital

I was finally able to meet with the director today! He's going to have me start a project with some of his staff members to analyze the hospital's current methods of identifying and addressing domestic violence cases. He wants us to provide recommendations and a new model for the hospital to use. I'm really excited! Obviously, this will take longer than the limited amount of time I have left here, but I can at least help get the project started. I'm actually disappointed that I can't stay longer to work on the project.



The director chatted with me for a looong time about Ghanaian politics, etc. He's a really interesting guy. He complained that agencies here don't communicate with each other effectively, or sometimes even at all. Funny, that's my exact complaint with my volunteer program: no one tells me anything until its already happening! But today felt really good because I'm finally forging my own path! =)



After our discussion, I went back to the HIV/AIDS counseling office and was (again) able to counsel a number of clients all by myself (yaay). Its pretty much the perfect day here.



A huge group of new volunteers arrived last night. Some came after I went to sleep, so I haven't even met all of them. I woke up early and did my laundry (with a bucket of water, soap and a clothesline, of course) and headed to work. I'm actually starting to feel pretty comfortable here. I know my way around fairly well. I'm happy to see that I can adjust pretty easily to a place so vastly different than what I'm used to.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to take Tina (my 23-year old host sister) to the internet cafe to show her how to use a computer and open her first email account. And on Friday, I'm supposed to go out with my host sisters and some of the other locals I've befriended here. My host sisters never get any free time, so I'm very excited to hang out with them away from the house.

Saturday, June 2, 2007

Lazy day in Hohoe

I'm having what might be my first lazy day of my entire trip, and its so nice! We (Jen and I) wanted to go see the Wli waterfall today, but it started raining this morning and now the roads are too muddy to get through. It rains a lot more in this region of Ghana. We're planning to go to the waterfall early tomorrow morning, though. I would like to see it before I go. Here's a link: http://www.bridgingdevelopment.org/expeditnpages/sites/wli.htm

Right before the rain started, the electricity went off. We stayed in our room until about 1pm (yes, I napped and it was glorious) and then ventured outside. We decided to try a different place to stay for tonight, so we headed over to the 'Taste Lodge'. I was instantly so much happier! The people are much friendlier, there's lots of fun, loud music playing and the room, oh, the room!! We have our own shower, toilet and sink with running water! And an air conditioner and a fan! And a small TV! All for $15 total for the 2 of us. I'm in heaven.

Hohoe is very near the border with Togo, so all the keyboards here are French. I find if I don't look at the keyboard, I'm less confused by it. Walking through town, we can also hear a lot of French on radios, etc. The kids at Jen's orphanage learn Ewe, Twi, English and French. I have a feeling children in school here work a lot harder than in the U.S. They also carry crocodile machetes. Scary.

So our plans for the day include...a lot of nothing. And that sounds just perfect! Hopefully I'll be able to post again tomorrow when I get back to Accra. If the power is off tomorrow, then I'll post on Monday instead. xoxo

Friday, June 1, 2007

Hohoe

Hi everyone! By now, you probably realize that I use this blog not only to write my adventures, but also to check in and let everyone know I'm okay. Sooo...I'm okay! I worked this morning and they actually let me counsel some people by myself! It felt really good. I think I did an okay job, too. Each client was really interesting.

Side note: one of the social workers bought a huge bunch of bananas and had me eat one with roasted peanuts (which they call groundnuts here). Its the Ghanaian version of my beloved peanut butter-banana sandwiches!! This quickly replaced Red Red (plantains and black-eyed peas with some kind of red sauce stuff) as my favorite Ghanaian meal. See, they understand how brilliant the combination of banana and peanut is. Thank you, Ghana.

I didn't get to meet with the hospital director today because Gloria, the director of my placement program, insisted that she go with me in the morning, and then proceeded to take 2 hours to get ready, then run an errand....and made me really late. So I might meet with him on Monday. I am not a big fan of Gloria. I wasn't before, and today cemented that. She lives in my host family's home, too. Everyone else is great, so I guess I'm still lucky.

I left work a little early to get a head start on a 5-hour tro-tro ride up to the Volta region of Ghana to hang out with Jen. I met her at the orphanage she's working at, in a small village called Ve Deme. I met her host family and some of the kids. They're really wonderful! Then we caught another tro-tro (we're pros at this by now, I'm pretty proud) to Hohoe, the district capital. We got a room at the Grand Hotel (which is not that grand, but that's okay) and came here to feed our internet addictions. Tomorrow we're going to see a nearby waterfall that's supposed to be really great (can you tell this was a last-minute trip?) and go from there. I'm already happy because the temperatures up here are cooler than in Accra. Hrm, I guess "Hohoe" isn't the best title for this blog, since I haven't really seen much of it yet. Sorry. Too lazy to change it now.

I hope to write again tomorrow! Jen is just as internet-addicted as I am, so that shouldn't be a problem. Love to you all!

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Akua's adventures in volunteering

Sorry for the gap in posting: the electricity was out yesterday because of the rationing, and the day before because of a thunderstorm. But today we're back up and running!
FYI: My Ghanaian name is "Akua" because I was born on a Wednesday (right, Mama?). I've been named by several people so far, its really sweet.
As some of you know, this week I began my volunteer work. I'm working at the Police Hospital in Accra, in the HIV/AIDS support center. I didn't know exactly what I'd be doing until the day of, but its HIV/AIDS counseling. One of the social workers, Sister Leticia, quizzed me all about HIV/AIDS and pronounced that I already knew everything and was ready to counsel people. I seriously doubt that, but it was very nice. I think she meant that I've got the basics down. The only problem is that most of the clients who come in do not speak English very well, so I haven't felt like I'm being very useful. Obviously, my Twi is not that great from one week of lessons, and many of them speak other local dialects, anyway. It's fun -- I really love the nurses, social workers and lab technicians I've met, but I don't feel like I'm really helping anyone. Good news, though: tomorrow at 9am I'm meeting with the director to see if I can help out with the Domestic Violence & Victims Support Service, in evaluating DV cases and, if necessary, preparing for and assisting at court. Its disappointing that I can't be that helpful where I'd originally wanted to work, but the idea of seeing the Ghanaian court system is pretty exciting. Keeping my fingers crossed that it works out! I think that would be simply amazing.

The hospital itself is interesting. Its run by the Ghanaian police (obviously), so there are armed men in uniform everywhere. The nurses still wear cute little hats pinned to their hair. I'll try to get a picture of one soon. Oops! I forgot to start downloading my pictures. SOrry! But you've all had Jen's to enjoy. I'm lame, I know, but I'll eventually get these up!

Today was pretty funny. One of the lab technicians, named Edem (yes, same name as my Twi teacher -- all Edem's must be great based on my extensive population sample of 2 people), took me for a "tour" of the hospital's laboratory. He seems a little crazy...I never use this word but I think the only way to describe him is "zany". He's just always jumping around and making lots of jokes and cracking up. He's pretty hilarious. Anyway, he took me along and I got to see how they test for a variety of things, including HIV, Hepatitis B, typhoid fever and malaria. I got to see what they look like under a microscope, too. I also saw, under microscope, the sperm of a sterile man (ya, weird, I know). The tour was VERY informal (i don't think they really do tours -- Edem is just crazy), we were just sort of wandering around and popping into rooms to look around. I have a feeling that in the U.S. a random temporary volunteer would never be given the access that I was allowed, and probably for good reason. No one seemed to care, though. I would just come in and they'd look me over and say something along the lines of "Hi, white girl. Where are you from? Oh, San Francisco. Maybe I visit you someday."

Its funny, health insurance plans here are called health insurance "schemes". Considering the nature of insurance companies, perhaps "scheme" is more appropriate, anyway! Here's a random word on traffic in Accra (its in my head because of my commute home): Traffic in Accra is horrific. Its exacerbated by the many, many street vendors hawking their wares. They stand in the streets, soliciting cars, with their goods in buckets balanced on their heads. At first I thought it was kinda cool, like a drive-thru that comes to you ("why, yes, I would like some chocolate, thank you") but its quickly gotten annoying because they clearly slow everything down even more. But I guess if you don't have your own store, what do you do?

Haha -- side note: a group of kids in the internet cafe are watching the movie "300" on the computer behind me. The narrator's voice is SO cheesy, I can barely stand it!

Ok, I guess that's it for now. Hopefully the next time I write I will have good news about my volunteering situation! I will try to write again soon. Miss you all! xoxo

Monday, May 28, 2007

I Want Your Addresses

Hi everyone -- if you want a postcard from anywhere, better send your preferred addresses to catherine.m.gillespie@gmail.com. The influx of emails will make me feel happy and loved. If you prefer a postcard from a particular country/region on my trip, let me know. Also, the postcards might take awhile to get there, so if you're moving soon, give me your new address or a permanent address just in case.

Link to Jen's pictures

http://flickr.com/photos/jenicra84

By the way, the ugly and/or sweaty pictures of me aren't actually real; just a mean photoshop trick of Jen's. In Africa I am always perfectly composed, made up and not sweaty. Really....

And I will upload my own photos soon! My camera is charging at the house right now. The laziness is unacceptable, I know! But Jen's pictures are better and more plentiful, anyhow. Thaaaanks for letting me use your pictures, Jen!

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Cape Coast

Soo here's a recap of my weekend in Cape Coast (and I'm a little tired so sorry if there are typos):

Joseph, Jennifer and I took an unbelievably uncomfortable tro-tro ride from Accra to Cape Coast on Friday afternoon. We got there and it was much cooler (temperature-wise) than Accra, but we were thirsty and hungry and dirty and sweaty (as we often are). I sat by a window and by the time we got there, the arm I'd had by the window was covered with a film of black soot from the exhaust. There are no emissions regulations here that I'm aware of, and it shows. We then tried to go to this one hotel, but it had been closed recently. Its so funny, there are signs for the hotel everywhere, and when you point them out, people look at them and scratch their heads, puzzled and say they've never heard of it. Soo then we went to this one hotel and got rooms for $1.50 for the night. There was electricity and there was supposed to be running water by morning. Definitely the dirtiest hotel I've ever been in...but its Africa, so hey. We went down to the ocean to Castle Beach's bar and restaurant for drinks (after having bucket-showers at the hotel and dinner somewhere else). Most of the restaurants here are open air, and this one we sat right over the ocean. The beach in this area is just rocks, so it actually looks a lot like Monterey or Big Sur, with huge waves crashing against rocks and making tidepools. We soon made some friends with a few random locals, reggae musicians who sang for us. One boy had a rap about HIV/AIDS and another about respecting women. Obviously, I loved it! Another guy was EZ, or Ezekiel, a former reggae musician-turned-preacher at the ripe age of 27. He was just lovely. When we left he negotiated a dirt-cheap cab fare for us and wished us well.
On the way back, we passed this bar we'd had dinner at earlier and it had turned into a huge party, spilling out into the streets, with incredibly loud music. We decided to get out there and hang out for a few minutes. We went inside and danced for awhile. This deaf boy came up and started signing, and Jen speaks ASL. He was so delighted, it was really sweet. The music was really loud so he could feel it even though he couldnt hear it, and he was a great dancer!! So we eventually headed home and fell asleep.
On Saturday we headed up to the Kokum Rainforest. There's a long canopy walkway high above the rainforest floor there that we wanted to see. We climbed up an enormous hill to the canopy. I'm afraid of heights, so this was a big deal. The canopy was very narrow, it was basically a ladder with wood over it, then really strong netting up 6 feet (so at least you couldn't fall over it). Its hard to explain, but we're uploading pictures soon. Jen is the more diligent photographer, so I recommend you check out her Flickr site (through her blog, link is at the right of the page). Anyway, walking across the canopy was terrifying. It was swaying every which way, the wood was creaking, and you can see the rainforest floor faaaar below. But you can also see amazingly beautiful views of the forest. I'm pretty proud of myself for getting through it, despite my fear of heights. I didn't outwardly freak out or anything, either.
There's an option in the park to camp out in the rainforest. We decided to try it. It was basically a wood floor with dirty floor mats and a ratty mosquito net. But the showers there had wonderful water pressure, it was definitely the best shower I've had in Africa so far!
I didn't sleep much, because I realized I WAS SLEEPING OUTSIDE IN THE AFRICAN JUNGLE. Insane. I found myself wondering what an acceptable level of bugs on my body would be. Surprisingly, I didn't really get any new bug bites. You will all meet a much tougher Catherine when I return. The sounds of the rainforest were amazing, though. So much life. We woke up at 4:45 and took a dawn rainforest hike, and saw one monkey. I'd hoped for more, but it was still nice.
Sunday (today) we caught a tro-tro and rode back to Cape Coast. On tro-tro's, they call the guy who collects fare and yells the car destination, etc. is called a "mate". On our way, the mate jumped out shortly before we got to the last stop, so I was sitting in his seat when we pulled up. I had a brief vision of me as a mate, screaming "CIRcleCIRcleCIRcle" or "Ac-CRA, Ac-CRA" out the window. Some guy asked me if I was the mate, and I laughed a lot. It totally made my day. We went to the Cape Coast Castle, where hundreds of thousands of slaves were kept and transported through the while it was the center of the Gold Coast slave trade. We went inside the dungeons. It was pretty awful, obviously. Standing inside the dungeons had a huge effect on everyone on the tour. There was also a detention cell, where slaves who had revolted or had otherwise caused too much trouble were put in. There's absolutely no light or ventilation. They were put in there to die. I could see scratch marks from their fingernails on the stone walls. I think this room had the most powerful affect on me -- this very human evidence of extreme suffering on the walls.
We also went through the "Door of No Return" to the beach outside where the ships were loaded with slaves headed to the Americas and the Caribbean. Today it was crowded with people fishing or hanging out in the sun, playing really loud music. Quite the contrast. Then we went back through teh same door, which was labeled "Door of Return". It was labeled after Ghana's independence 50 years ago, so that anyone in the African diaspora could return, symbolically. It was pretty powerful.
After the Castle, we went to the nearby restaurant for lunch. We ran into EZ (from Friday night), who joined us. He brought us his music from his "artist days" because we'd expressed interest. He's sooo great! We met a lot of wonderful people this weekend.
Now I'm back in Teshie Camp 2 (the area of greater Accra that the host family is in), safe and sound. I'm exhausted! But it looks like there's electricity, so I get to have the fan on when I sleep. Its the little things that make me happy. Hope everyone had a lovely weekend, too! xoxoxox

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Chief's wife

This morning, I had another language lesson with Edem (I misspelled his name as "Adam" in my last post). The other volunteers are learning another language that's spoken more in the region they'll work in, and their lessons seem to be very textbook. Edem is great -- its very informal. We'll go over lots of stuff, but he'll tell me what people actually say, which is different from what the books say. And I'll ask him tons of questions, like: "How can I not look like a complete ass on the tro-tro?" and "How do I say I'm a vegetarian?" and "What do I say to order this delicious porridge you're describing?". He also made me practice this one really common word over and over because I was mispronouncing it...aaand the mispronunciation is a word for "the private area of the female", as Edem awkwardly explained. I discovered that very dark Africans can blush. And as you all know, so can I. A lot. Which I promptly did. Oops!! On a less traumatic note, I also found out that children are named by the day of the week they were born on. Example: the name Kofi is a male who was born on...um, ok I already forgot which day but I think its Friday or Saturday. So, when I go back and look at my notes, I could tell you what day of the week Kofi Annan (yes, he's from Ghana) was born on. But many people don't actually use their real names. Edem's real name is something else, which I can't pronounce or spell yet. Some people don't like to tell you their birth names because in order to practice voodoo on someone, you need their real name. I joked with Edem that he must trust me, because he told me his. He laughed really, really hard about that...I think he thinks I'm crazy. At least I seem to amuse people here.
Yesterday a man approached me and (jokingly) asked if I was a chief's wife. I think this is a compliment. Sweet. And then he said Jen is a chief's soon-wife. She is a year younger than me, so perhaps this is fitting. Although I think over here I'm getting close to old-maidenhood.
So tomorrow we are going to visit a century-old botanical garden with Edem and afterwards, Joseph, Jennifer and I are taking off by ourselves to visit a national reserve rainforest for the weekend. Jen and I think we might splurge and get a $10 hotel room for one of the nights and have *real* showers and toilets. And AIR CONDITIONING.
Last night we watched the big soccer game. We asked for recommendations, and went over to this tiny hole-in-the-wall bar in Nima (an area of the city; apparently more Muslims live there, as a local guy explained). But, alas, the power was out there...I felt so bad for the little bar! They had signs up and looked so prepared for a night of booming business, and then the power situation ruined it. So then we went to the central area of Accra to a huuuge sports bar which was apparently the place to be to watch the game. It was ridiculously crowded. There was an interesting mix of people: lots of locals, but also many British ex-pats and other tourists (it was near a hotel). It was outrageously expensive -- and by expensive I mean $2 pints of good beer (how quickly I adjust...). It was lots of fun, though. I didn't think I'd really go out here, but luckily I'm with this group of people and we all look out for each other. And people are generally very helpful if you're lost -- which we often are. Next week I'll be on my own -- but I'll be working a lot, which I'm looking forward to so much.
Hope you are all well! I may not be able to write over the weekend since we'll be out of town. But if I can, I will. And I hope to return and post many beautiful rainforest and beach pictures. And pictures from the rain earlier in the week. I forgot to bring my camera, so I can't upload those today. Take care, everyone!! xoxoxo

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Dabodabo

Dabodabo is my new favorite word in Twi (the most common dialect in Ghana). It means "duck" and so is not at all relevant to this posting, but its fun to say.
Sooo...a little more about my arrival, now that I have a few minutes! When I got in, I learned that there was no electricity. Apparently Ghana runs on mostly hydroelectric power and, because of the recent drought, electricity has been rationed. From what my host family says, they alternate 12 hours of electricity on in one half of the country but not the other, and then switch. It seems to happen much less predictably, though, from what I've seen.
The first night was nice. Kofi, a neighbor kid, drove us home from the airport. Driving in Ghana makes Italy look like nothing (Mike, you should try it). We got to the apartment around 8 or 8:30 and because it was dark, spent the evening sitting on the porch, chatting in the dark. I really enjoyed it.
The next morning, the power came on. There is also no running water (also rationed) but I took my first "shower" (i.e. stood in a shower with a bucket of water) and it was the most amazing shower of my life -- the weather is so hot and I hadn't showered in days and had been flyng for so long.
I kept trying fish, which was exciting, until yeterday when I couldnt handle it. We had this curry-like dish with whole minna in it, staring up at me. I can't do it...maybe I'll try again in Thailand. I did try, though! A for effort, right?
On Monday night a big group of volunteers decided to go to the beach and got in trouble for it...but it was a pretty fun adventure. The water is really warm, its nice.
On Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday? Or Monday...I'm on Africa-time) it rained...it was amazing. The water just came pouring down. Everyone went to the porch to just stare and watch it. The hot, humid air became so pleasant. We helped the host family put out and carry in buckets of water. I loooove rain. Especially here, now. It makes the dirt roads pretty rutty, which is difficult. I rode in my first tro-tro (not sure how that's spelled, actually) yesterday. Tro-tro's are like a hybrid of taxi's and buses. They seem to be privately owned, but have fixed rates. They're minibuses crammed full of hot sweaty people. Its quite an experience. I have never sweat so much in my life.
I'm learning to speak Twi from Adam, a local guy who is finishing up his accounting degree and is just lovely. Its a really fun language. If you are lucky, I will say other fun words upon my return!
This weekend, several of the volunteers and I are planning travel to the nearby national reserve to see the rainforest. I'm really excited, I've read about it and it sounds beautiful.
Well, I should wrap this up. Tonight we're planning to go watch the game somewhere, which sounds fun. PS I have INSANE respect (more than before) for anyone who plays soccer in Ghana in this heat. I can barely handle sitting still in it. No heat stroke yet! Yes, Mom, I'm staying very hydrated. You can find purified water everywhere in these funny little plastic satchels...they look like implants.
Bye everyone!! I will try to write again soon. My friend Jennifer also has a blog, so I have a buddy to run off to internet cafes with. I leave you with this parting Twi word: Nkatee. It means peanut..but sounds a lot like "Cathy". Go figure.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Ghana

Hi everyone!! After many hours of flying, I made it to Accra last night around 6pm and met my host mother and her family, who are absolutely lovely. Will write more in the next day or so!!

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Eeek, I'm leaving!!!



Leaving for the airport reeeeally soon and trying to get everything ready!! I'd wanted to write a lovely and poignant post to you all before leaving, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen! I've had an amazing past few weeks with my beyond-words incredible family and friends. Aaaand with this I will leave you with a handful of pictures from the many, many goodbye parties.....love you, everyone!

P.S. I'm pretty proud: I st
ill have a decent amount of space in my backpack!! I rule.
P.P.S. No time to rotate the pictures -- sorry!!

Monday, May 7, 2007

Spon.Joy in San Francisco


Yesss!!! It worked, there's a picture here!! Please bear with me while I figure out this blog thing -- I've never felt so technologically-challenged! I'm trying to decide if this is the site I want to use for my blog (thanks for the recommendation, Leona!).

I'm leaving in less than two weeks!! I'm scrambling to get everything in order for my trip and that whole looming law school thing in the fall, but also seem to be going out a lot and being wonderfully irresponsible. Aaand somehow also working really hard so I can help leave things in as good of shape as possible for Yvonne, my wonderful boss (didn't think those two words went together, eh?). I can finally relax when I'm on the plane, right?