I do not have much time left of my internet minutes and I have day summaries racking up in this notebook of mine, so the post will be a little different. When I return to Cape Coast I will dedicate the next post to summaries only. Those alone, 12 days total, will be so much to read that I would not want to bore nor overload the entry with too much information. Today, I will leave with a small outline of our travel schedule in the North. Before that, let me explain some of the greatest difficulties in adjustments while being on the road and in a very different part of the country.
The North is HOT. The heat is like walking through a heavy fog. My friend put it nicely and accurately, "It feels like someone is trying to blow-dry me with a hair dryer." The food, dependent on the area, is either a hit or miss. The miss is not because of oil surprisingly but is because of the type of meat. We ate some really tough pieces of chicken. It was similar to trying to crack a lobster claw with your hands. I really am unsure if the chicken was guinea fowl or just really bad ancient-aged chicken. On a more uplifting note, the building structures of the North are beautiful! Most are made out of mud-clay bricks, some rectangular with metal sheet roof and others circular with thatched roofs. The towns/villages we drive through are immensely tiny and worn away but the people and children of each are in their own beautiful and full of life. There are also many motor bikes and bicycles as a means for transportation, which also leaves room for instances that your arm on the window side might get clipped off because of the tight driving. The Muslim community is a lot more prevalent and noticeable because of the Ghanaian dress and the mosques that can be seen as we drive. Finally, the running water supply as well as the taste of filtered water varies dependent on the area we are in. We have already faced some interesting circumstances that made us really take for granted the most basic things we are given at home. These are just a few of the difficult adjustments, however, the trip itself has been amazing and a lot of fun otherwise! Unfortunately, the day summaries will come in the next post to describe, a little, the things I have been up to so the Northern trip might just be a segment of my experience in Ghana where we might have to chat further in detail over coffee or lunch because it has been absolutely worthwhile to be here.
As I mentioned, I said I would lay out a brief schedule of the Northern trip just to get a bearing of where I have been and where I will be going. At this moment, I am in a random cafe in the middle of a busy market on a busy street in Tamale.
March 18 > Depart for Kumasi, Visit Manhyia Palace
March 19 > Depart for Wa
March 20 > Day departure for Gwollu to meet with the Elders on Oral History of Resistance to Slavery
March 21 > Day departure for Sankana to meet with the Elders and visit sites of Resistance to Slave Raiders
March 22 > Depart for Mole National Park
March 23 > Depart for Tamale, Leather Market
March 24 > Activities in Tamale, Shea Butter Market
March 25 > Depart for Kumasi via Kintampo Falls
March 26 > Two lectures with guest professors "African Art and the African Diaspora", "Ghanaian Contemporary Art"
March 27 > Day departure for Ahwiaa, a carving village
March 28 > Depart for Cape Coast
Well that about sums up the Northern trip. I have 3 minutes left to log out and make sure this saves so I apologize for the briskness in the post but I'll be sure to have the day summaries up before we leave for Benin on April 1.
Lots of Love,
Lysa
