Not much to report this week. Betsy and I have been cleaning in the TRC and library. I am working to finish my schedule of workshops with teachers this semester. I am beginning a pen pal program of sorts (I think we will do our interaction through the web instead of letters in the mail) with a school in Pennsylvania. It is quiet around the campus because the girls are preparing to start taking their exams next week. Since Betsy and I don’t give exams (aren’t we nice) we have been working on planning for our future workshops and classes for this semester. I am also so excited about our TLM contest! We are going to have all of our students create TLMs and have a science fairish display and have awards. I can’t wait!
In other news- my friends Ellen and Tracy will arrive in Accra this coming Tuesday! I can’t wait. I won’t update this blog again before then- so please be patient. I am sure we will have tons of great pictures to show as we travel to Cape Coast, Kumasi, Lake Bosumtwi, and Accra.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Christmas in Janurary
Thanks to the Millers (Betsy’s Family) and the O’Brien/ Kipars (my grade school best friend’s family) Betsy and I had a Christmas party Monday, January 12, night. Betsy and I retrieved our packages in Kumasi Monday morning and took our wrapped goodies home. We decided to have a late Christmas party. We invited our friends, the Canadians, over for boiled peanuts (first time I made them in Ghana- yum), Christmas songs (thanks to Betsy’s brother-in-law’s flash drive), homemade cookies (thanks to Betsy’s mom), and present opening.
As Bring Crosby sang Jingle Bells Betsy and I decorated a corner of our living room with the ornaments, stocking, and garland Cindy, Frieda’s mom, sent. Then Laura came over and helped us unwrap our prizes. Santa was far too good to us with scented candles, bug hotels (not very vegan of me),
decorative napkins and plates, Bath and Bodywork soaps,
anagrammed notepads, insulated tumblers, baby wipes, a novel,
CDs, hand sanitizers,
and much more. It was a fantastic time.
So far this past year I have had Thanksgiving in September and Christmas in January. I love Holidays that keep on going. Below are Laura and Betsy after the festivities.
Teaching Teachers
Up until now I have only been working with students of Agogo Presbyterian Training College. They are women that are in training to be teachers, but have yet to do their student teaching. While the APTC students were away on their Christmas break we had teachers from surround communities come to complete course and tests for there teaching certification. I did not have a set class time so I just held open hours everyday from 3pm-4:30pm. Once the free time to make Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) became more popular I came earlier and stayed later.
I went from having 15 visitors to 53! It was very exciting. On Sunday, the teachers last day on campus, I started open hours at 1pm and stayed until after 5pm. I gave everyone that came a free homemade poster (from earlier classes). The teachers were thrilled to get a poster and to have the supplies and aid to create their very own TLMs.
People were making big books, pocket charts, phonics slides, and flash cards.
On the last day there were so many people that there was not enough room in the TRC so people worked on tables outside. I look forward to seeing what these teachers create when they return in April on the APTC students Spring break.
More Food
So Laura and I have been trying our best to think of new dishes using the ingredients most available to us: black eyed peas, cabbage, carrots, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, hot peppers, curry powder, peanuts, yams, cassava, avocado, and plantains. If you have any recipe ideas I would love them. I had created Mexican flavored beans with veggies, salsa, guacamole, and plantain chips weeks back. Last week Laura made a Thai peanut sauce with stir-fried veggies.
It was delicious. She also blew my mind when she made sweet avocado pudding. It was out of this world yummy.
While in Kumasi this past Monday I hit up the vegetarian restaurant again. Here is the menu.
And the layout of the place.
I took my food to go and ate jollof rice and tofu kebab.
Great food=Happy Alison.
It was delicious. She also blew my mind when she made sweet avocado pudding. It was out of this world yummy.
While in Kumasi this past Monday I hit up the vegetarian restaurant again. Here is the menu.
And the layout of the place.
I took my food to go and ate jollof rice and tofu kebab.
Great food=Happy Alison.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Georgia State University Magazine
The Georgia State Alumni magazine is going to do a short piece on me teaching in Ghana. I feel like a mini celebrity. How cool am I?
No news this week. Worked and read. Betsy gets back from Malawi today. Hooray!
No news this week. Worked and read. Betsy gets back from Malawi today. Hooray!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
My Holiday Travels with Jessie- Finally More Pictures
Part 1 of my holiday trip: Christmas at Lake Bosomtui
On December 23, 2008 Jessie, my IFESH friend, came to Agogo. We got packed up for our big trip around Ghana. Jessie and I left for Lake Bosomtui in Ma’s car. This was much quicker and more comfortable then riding in a tro-tro. They took us all the way to Lake Point Resort. It was beautiful.
Our room was fantastic.
The restaurant decorated for Christmas and the service and food was great. For lunch I had “Pizza” Toast with no cheese. It was just tomato sauce and bread, but tasted good.
Then for dinner I had my favorite- red red, rice, and fried plantains.
Jessie had barracuda.
Jessie and I loved our little hut. It was spacious and even had a cool toilet.
The lake is also good for swimming. We took out a pedal boat and jumped out into the middle of this huge lake. It was really fun.
The beachfront was well landscaped too.
I spent hours reading and writing in my journal.
Needless to say, my Christmas was very peaceful and chill. We left the day after Christmas to return back to Agogo for the next part of our trip.
Part 2 of my holiday trip: Near the Volta River
On December 27th, a Saturday, Jessie and I were lucky to catch another ride to Koforidua with Ma. Once we were dropped off we got on a tro-tro to Akosombo. Akosombo is in the Eastern Region and is on the Volta River. Jessie and I stayed in town just south of Akosombo called New Senchie. The hotel was called the Senchie Riverside Resort. It was very beautiful and was right on the river.
Next door a beach club has opened up and has a variety of activities: trampoline for jumping on the beach, trampoline for jumping into the river, canoes, kayaks, boats, tug-o-war ropes, music for dancing, and food for eating. Unfortunately we were so tired we weren’t up for parting.
We sat down at our hotel garden restaurant and had lunch. I ordered vegetable fried rice with no egg and got egg anyway. While eating by the river we had company. A female peacock and her three chicks (I guess that is what you call them) followed her around. Then a male peacock came and had a stare down contest with me.
After lunch we went to the Agomanya Market in a town nearby to see their variety of beads. In this part of Ghana there are many bead makers and bead making factories. It was interesting to see the variety of old and new beads. It made me think about my cousin Autumn that makes her own jewelry. I think she would have enjoyed it.
After the trip to the market we headed to Akosombo to check out the Volta Hotel, the fanciest hotel around, to see the river dam and get a bite to eat. The hotel was nice and had a balcony that on a high enough hill to see the river blocks away. I had a simple salad for dinner.
Our “hut” wasn’t at all roughing it since we had A/C, CNN, and hot water! I was in heaven. I hadn’t taken a hot shower since the US election night.
Here is another view of the lake from out our hut door.
The following morning we hit the road to our next stop- the mountains.
Part 3 of my holiday trip: The Ride on Election Day
On Sunday, December 28th Ghana had to have a runoff election for their president. During the first election day the numbers were too close to declare one man the winner. So this time it was Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP (New Patriotic Party) verse John Evans Atta Mills of the NDC (National Democratic Congress). I have noticed that most regions of Ghana have a pull to one of the sides- much like our states back home being red for Republican and Blue for Democrat.
So during my travels from Akosombo to Hohoe I had the opportunity to see people at the polls voting. Most election sites were outside under trees on church or school lawns. The sites were easy to find with signs and the area was marked off with tape. I wish that I could have taken better pictures, but the tro-tro was on the move.
As I write this (Jan 2) there still has not been a winner named. The election is said to be very close, but they are letting a polling site in the Brong-Ahafo region that needs to be redone. So today, Friday- Jan 2, they will have them revote and there should finally be a winner. Everyone is very excited here. I am glued to my new short wave radio listening to the BBC.
Part 4 of my holiday trip: Wli Waterfalls
On Election Day, we took a tro-tro to a town near Hohoe where the Wli (or Agumatsa) Falls are located. These are the tallest falls in all of West Africa. We placed our bags down at the Wli Water Heights Hotel and made our way to the falls.
Our Hotel:
Since our trip to this location took so long we were in too much of a rush to eat lunch. I hadn’t eaten all day (I don’t like to eat when I travel)- BAD idea. I almost brought a Cliff Bar (thanks to my care package), but I forgot it at the hotel. So I ate two Hobnobs (a great cookie that Jessie found) and drank some water and started making the hike to the upper Wli falls. You pay about seven Cedis to just hike the 45 minute trail to the lower falls, but you must add three more Cedis when hiking the upper falls and a 50 peswa fee to use a camera.
After all of the money paying we started the trek with our guide, Prince. The hike toward the lower falls was very simple, but then Prince said, “This is the way to the upper falls” as he pointed to a vertical path in the bush. I thought to myself, “I should have eaten breakfast”. I am by no means in good shape, but I wouldn’t say I am in bad shape. This hike, however, kicked my bottom. I was so tired hours later when we reached the upper falls that my legs were shaking.
The upper falls were beautiful and powerful. The water splashed so loudly you could barely hear yourself think. The water splashed so high that the cold spray coming off chilled me. We did not go swimming in the upper falls pool, but you can. I was far too cold and tired to do so.
As we made our descent down the mountain I slipped and fell on my butt a total of five times. I wasn’t even going that fast, but I couldn’t stop myself. I never hurt myself, just my pride.
Once we got back to the main path Jessie and I took a dip in the lower falls pool. It was loud and beautiful too, but not as windy. I jumped in, but quickly jumped out since it was just so cold. I was a sweaty mess from the hike, but I was never in the sunlight since the trees were shading us the whole way.
Also there were bats on the mountain.
After our splashing around we walked next door to the Waterfall Lodge, another hotel in this town, and had dinner. We sat where there was a beautiful view of the mountain and feasted on vegetable stew and couscous. It was a great meal.
As we walked back to our hotel I wished that I had a jacket and jeans on because it was finally cool outside! I heard that the Volta region was cooler, but I was skeptical. It was a nice surprise. When we returned to our hotel the owner was worried about us. She knew it would take us sometime on the hike, but since it was getting dark she was happy we got back safe. I love when people are looking out for me. We watched some of The Office (thanks to Matt’s DVD) on Jessie’s computer and then headed to bed.
The next morning we packed up and got ready for our trip to Biakpa in the mountains.
Part 4 of My Holiday Trip: The Mountains in Biakpa
We boarded a tro-tro heading toward Hohoe. Once in Hohoe we found the tro-tros going to Kpeve and got dropped at Fume. When at Fume we didn’t have to wait to get a taxi up the mountain to the Mountain Paradise Lodge. In our guide (Bradt Ghana guide by Philip Brigss) it said that it didn’t have electricity yet, but it was beautiful. We found out they did have electricity! It was a nice surprise and the landscape and view was amazing. The rest of Monday, December 29, we spent reading and chilling out on the porch of the lodge.
There was a pineapple plant in the front of the place. It reminded me of my step mom, Linda. She always buys a pineapple for me when I come to visit.
Near the front porch were large termite hills- crazy huh?
They still had Christmas decorations up.
For lunch I had spaghetti and “tofu”. The “tofu” wasn’t like the tofu at home. It was much more like that fake “chicken” cubes you add water too and it expands. It was like a spongy seitan.
Before dinner Jessie and I made friends with the cat that lived at the Lodge. Jessie named him Mr. Snickers- although I thought that it was a girl. Any who- the cat loved me as you can see.
For dinner I FINALLY had fufu! Fufu is ground cassava, plantain, and sometimes yam mixture that you eat with a stew. I have had trouble finding a vegan stew, but here they just made me ground nut soup vegan with “tofu” in it.
The next morning Jessie and I had the lodges hiking guide take us on the Kulugu Trail down to another beautiful waterfall. We asked for the shortcut hike, which was still pretty tiring.
We saw banana trees along the way.
We also saw a coffee bean tree.
And cocoa trees.
And Cassava.
Once we got to the waterfall we jumped in for a swim. It was cold, but very refreshing.
We got back to the Mountain Paradise Lodge and regrouped and headed down the mountain to Fume by foot. It took about an hour and then we took a tro-tro to Tafi Mado and started a long walk down a dirt road to Tafi Abuipe to a Kente-weaving village. Once we arrived at the city we meet our two guides and walked around the village to see all of the different kente weavers and looms round.
We saw the old fashion, and the guides say the best, looms made out of trees.
Then we saw a boy wrapping the thread in a shuttle and this is said to be the first job a new weaver learns.
Next we saw a man preparing the thread or yarn to be woven by unraveling it and organizing it.
We then visited the new weaving shelter with new looms made by a carpenter in the village. It was nice to see a woman weaving because it is less often seen.
Finally we saw finished pieces and learned about their meanings.
I would strongly suggest coming to this village for a Kente-weaving experience. They were not at all pushy and I learned a lot.
Also- I saw ducks there- which was strange because I saw no water and I haven't seen a duck sense I arrived in Ghana. I also got to see dinner being cooked over neat fire stoves.
Once we finished seeing the village we said goodbye to the guides and headed back to our mountain top lodge.
During our finally meal there Jessie and I made friends with a Ghanaian man and American man and discussed the elections. Then we went to bed before our trip back home. The trip from Biakpa to Agogo was a long one, but we did arrive home safely.
New Years in Agogo
Jessie and I arrive to Agogo on New Years Eve. We created a fantastic meal of guacamole (avocados were back in the Volta!), salsa, rice, and plantain chips. Yum! We watched at least ten episodes of Flight of the Conchords (thanks Genna) and then hit the hay.
On December 23, 2008 Jessie, my IFESH friend, came to Agogo. We got packed up for our big trip around Ghana. Jessie and I left for Lake Bosomtui in Ma’s car. This was much quicker and more comfortable then riding in a tro-tro. They took us all the way to Lake Point Resort. It was beautiful.
Our room was fantastic.
The restaurant decorated for Christmas and the service and food was great. For lunch I had “Pizza” Toast with no cheese. It was just tomato sauce and bread, but tasted good.
Then for dinner I had my favorite- red red, rice, and fried plantains.
Jessie had barracuda.
Jessie and I loved our little hut. It was spacious and even had a cool toilet.
The lake is also good for swimming. We took out a pedal boat and jumped out into the middle of this huge lake. It was really fun.
The beachfront was well landscaped too.
I spent hours reading and writing in my journal.
Needless to say, my Christmas was very peaceful and chill. We left the day after Christmas to return back to Agogo for the next part of our trip.
Part 2 of my holiday trip: Near the Volta River
On December 27th, a Saturday, Jessie and I were lucky to catch another ride to Koforidua with Ma. Once we were dropped off we got on a tro-tro to Akosombo. Akosombo is in the Eastern Region and is on the Volta River. Jessie and I stayed in town just south of Akosombo called New Senchie. The hotel was called the Senchie Riverside Resort. It was very beautiful and was right on the river.
Next door a beach club has opened up and has a variety of activities: trampoline for jumping on the beach, trampoline for jumping into the river, canoes, kayaks, boats, tug-o-war ropes, music for dancing, and food for eating. Unfortunately we were so tired we weren’t up for parting.
We sat down at our hotel garden restaurant and had lunch. I ordered vegetable fried rice with no egg and got egg anyway. While eating by the river we had company. A female peacock and her three chicks (I guess that is what you call them) followed her around. Then a male peacock came and had a stare down contest with me.
After lunch we went to the Agomanya Market in a town nearby to see their variety of beads. In this part of Ghana there are many bead makers and bead making factories. It was interesting to see the variety of old and new beads. It made me think about my cousin Autumn that makes her own jewelry. I think she would have enjoyed it.
After the trip to the market we headed to Akosombo to check out the Volta Hotel, the fanciest hotel around, to see the river dam and get a bite to eat. The hotel was nice and had a balcony that on a high enough hill to see the river blocks away. I had a simple salad for dinner.
Our “hut” wasn’t at all roughing it since we had A/C, CNN, and hot water! I was in heaven. I hadn’t taken a hot shower since the US election night.
Here is another view of the lake from out our hut door.
The following morning we hit the road to our next stop- the mountains.
Part 3 of my holiday trip: The Ride on Election Day
On Sunday, December 28th Ghana had to have a runoff election for their president. During the first election day the numbers were too close to declare one man the winner. So this time it was Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of the NPP (New Patriotic Party) verse John Evans Atta Mills of the NDC (National Democratic Congress). I have noticed that most regions of Ghana have a pull to one of the sides- much like our states back home being red for Republican and Blue for Democrat.
So during my travels from Akosombo to Hohoe I had the opportunity to see people at the polls voting. Most election sites were outside under trees on church or school lawns. The sites were easy to find with signs and the area was marked off with tape. I wish that I could have taken better pictures, but the tro-tro was on the move.
As I write this (Jan 2) there still has not been a winner named. The election is said to be very close, but they are letting a polling site in the Brong-Ahafo region that needs to be redone. So today, Friday- Jan 2, they will have them revote and there should finally be a winner. Everyone is very excited here. I am glued to my new short wave radio listening to the BBC.
Part 4 of my holiday trip: Wli Waterfalls
On Election Day, we took a tro-tro to a town near Hohoe where the Wli (or Agumatsa) Falls are located. These are the tallest falls in all of West Africa. We placed our bags down at the Wli Water Heights Hotel and made our way to the falls.
Our Hotel:
Since our trip to this location took so long we were in too much of a rush to eat lunch. I hadn’t eaten all day (I don’t like to eat when I travel)- BAD idea. I almost brought a Cliff Bar (thanks to my care package), but I forgot it at the hotel. So I ate two Hobnobs (a great cookie that Jessie found) and drank some water and started making the hike to the upper Wli falls. You pay about seven Cedis to just hike the 45 minute trail to the lower falls, but you must add three more Cedis when hiking the upper falls and a 50 peswa fee to use a camera.
After all of the money paying we started the trek with our guide, Prince. The hike toward the lower falls was very simple, but then Prince said, “This is the way to the upper falls” as he pointed to a vertical path in the bush. I thought to myself, “I should have eaten breakfast”. I am by no means in good shape, but I wouldn’t say I am in bad shape. This hike, however, kicked my bottom. I was so tired hours later when we reached the upper falls that my legs were shaking.
The upper falls were beautiful and powerful. The water splashed so loudly you could barely hear yourself think. The water splashed so high that the cold spray coming off chilled me. We did not go swimming in the upper falls pool, but you can. I was far too cold and tired to do so.
As we made our descent down the mountain I slipped and fell on my butt a total of five times. I wasn’t even going that fast, but I couldn’t stop myself. I never hurt myself, just my pride.
Once we got back to the main path Jessie and I took a dip in the lower falls pool. It was loud and beautiful too, but not as windy. I jumped in, but quickly jumped out since it was just so cold. I was a sweaty mess from the hike, but I was never in the sunlight since the trees were shading us the whole way.
Also there were bats on the mountain.
After our splashing around we walked next door to the Waterfall Lodge, another hotel in this town, and had dinner. We sat where there was a beautiful view of the mountain and feasted on vegetable stew and couscous. It was a great meal.
As we walked back to our hotel I wished that I had a jacket and jeans on because it was finally cool outside! I heard that the Volta region was cooler, but I was skeptical. It was a nice surprise. When we returned to our hotel the owner was worried about us. She knew it would take us sometime on the hike, but since it was getting dark she was happy we got back safe. I love when people are looking out for me. We watched some of The Office (thanks to Matt’s DVD) on Jessie’s computer and then headed to bed.
The next morning we packed up and got ready for our trip to Biakpa in the mountains.
Part 4 of My Holiday Trip: The Mountains in Biakpa
We boarded a tro-tro heading toward Hohoe. Once in Hohoe we found the tro-tros going to Kpeve and got dropped at Fume. When at Fume we didn’t have to wait to get a taxi up the mountain to the Mountain Paradise Lodge. In our guide (Bradt Ghana guide by Philip Brigss) it said that it didn’t have electricity yet, but it was beautiful. We found out they did have electricity! It was a nice surprise and the landscape and view was amazing. The rest of Monday, December 29, we spent reading and chilling out on the porch of the lodge.
There was a pineapple plant in the front of the place. It reminded me of my step mom, Linda. She always buys a pineapple for me when I come to visit.
Near the front porch were large termite hills- crazy huh?
They still had Christmas decorations up.
For lunch I had spaghetti and “tofu”. The “tofu” wasn’t like the tofu at home. It was much more like that fake “chicken” cubes you add water too and it expands. It was like a spongy seitan.
Before dinner Jessie and I made friends with the cat that lived at the Lodge. Jessie named him Mr. Snickers- although I thought that it was a girl. Any who- the cat loved me as you can see.
For dinner I FINALLY had fufu! Fufu is ground cassava, plantain, and sometimes yam mixture that you eat with a stew. I have had trouble finding a vegan stew, but here they just made me ground nut soup vegan with “tofu” in it.
The next morning Jessie and I had the lodges hiking guide take us on the Kulugu Trail down to another beautiful waterfall. We asked for the shortcut hike, which was still pretty tiring.
We saw banana trees along the way.
We also saw a coffee bean tree.
And cocoa trees.
And Cassava.
Once we got to the waterfall we jumped in for a swim. It was cold, but very refreshing.
We got back to the Mountain Paradise Lodge and regrouped and headed down the mountain to Fume by foot. It took about an hour and then we took a tro-tro to Tafi Mado and started a long walk down a dirt road to Tafi Abuipe to a Kente-weaving village. Once we arrived at the city we meet our two guides and walked around the village to see all of the different kente weavers and looms round.
We saw the old fashion, and the guides say the best, looms made out of trees.
Then we saw a boy wrapping the thread in a shuttle and this is said to be the first job a new weaver learns.
Next we saw a man preparing the thread or yarn to be woven by unraveling it and organizing it.
We then visited the new weaving shelter with new looms made by a carpenter in the village. It was nice to see a woman weaving because it is less often seen.
Finally we saw finished pieces and learned about their meanings.
I would strongly suggest coming to this village for a Kente-weaving experience. They were not at all pushy and I learned a lot.
Also- I saw ducks there- which was strange because I saw no water and I haven't seen a duck sense I arrived in Ghana. I also got to see dinner being cooked over neat fire stoves.
Once we finished seeing the village we said goodbye to the guides and headed back to our mountain top lodge.
During our finally meal there Jessie and I made friends with a Ghanaian man and American man and discussed the elections. Then we went to bed before our trip back home. The trip from Biakpa to Agogo was a long one, but we did arrive home safely.
New Years in Agogo
Jessie and I arrive to Agogo on New Years Eve. We created a fantastic meal of guacamole (avocados were back in the Volta!), salsa, rice, and plantain chips. Yum! We watched at least ten episodes of Flight of the Conchords (thanks Genna) and then hit the hay.
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