Dec. 21

Dec 21

We started the day in Ho at 8:30, with breakfast of egg, toast, thick oatmeal with the option of condense milk, orange slices(which had green peel) pineapple, baked beans, and cooked vegatables. Chris passed out two numbers from a hat to each of us then Caroline had us pick our secret santa names from her own hat. Chris told us what our numbers meant, they were for our scavenger hunt. Then Chris counted us off for the groups to go to the hunt. 

  We then walked to the market. Hunting for our items. I only found the slingshot, and some fabric, both a 2yd to sleep and 4yd. ( I would later buy another 2yd) My group had some problems finding some items, but everyone got at least one of their scavenger items. Change was hard to come by or have made.

Upon returning from the market a moment was taken to show the spoils and talk quickly about our experience(s). We all showed off our 2yd or other cloths, we have not yet had a picture of all of them together but a sample.

We then went to lunch at White house, which was a short bus ride away, we had the options of plain, fried, or jollof rice the later was a mix of rice and a tomato stew, the plain rice was acompanied with cooked vegetables, and chicken.

Then we took some time to look around the area and some did some shopping a tourist shop which sold mostly wooden crafts, some carved animals, and the matron of the shop offered some bracelets to those there. Back onto the bus, then to Batik. A training shop for a local craft of batik, tie and dye, as well as screen printing. We got a talk through and some examples of the process. Many of us bought some of their prints or cloths, this is where I bought the purple, white and black cloth. Then back to the hotel where we have so far take a dip in the pool and ordered a few stars (pronounced Sta) and Castle (cas-tel) where I finish my blog post looking forward to dinner of more jollof, red red, fried chicken, and tilapia.

The pitied Nikolai

We woke up, had breakfast, drew numbers and secret Santa names. The numbers were for a scavenger hunt that we had to find in the market by our hotel. The market was only a short walk from the hotel, and the whole way there all I could focus on was the fact that we were walking next to an open sewer… The sewer system here is just these open pits all along the sides of the roads that people throw trash in and go to the bathroom in, which takes some getting used to. Even at 9 in the morning there were so many people in the market. There was so much going on that I feel like I missed half of it. People yelling at us from all directions and so many different smells. A few steps in it smelled like fish, and then a few steps later it would smell like candy. It was pretty cool all in all. I bought a soccer ball for my scavenger hunt item, and then some cloth to make into a skirt. After the market we went for lunch at a place not too far from the hotel. We had fried chicken and rice. After that we went to a tye and dye place, and learned all of their methods and styles and training. It was interesting because we tried it in class, but came nowhere near their skill. After that we came back to the hotel pool and got to know each other and just hungout before dinner. I'm looking forward to the bead markers tomorrow.

 Emily #13^th

We Made It! - Autumn& Nathan

Dec 19/20

It was our first time flying. Going through the check point freaked me out the most. Was afraid I wan't going to be able to get on the plane to start. I thought that it was an enjoyable experience. The only thing that I didn't like about the plane was when it came time to landing. My ears couldn't pop for the longest time. I was really hoping to see more out the windows but had to look over people and was a little uncomfortable doing that. I was super glad to come into the heat when we got here.

-Nathan

Time has finally come, we left for Des Moines at 3:30 am on the 19^th take off at 6:00am. My first take off was not as bad as I was thought it would be. The flight to Atlanta did not seem too long granted I had the window seat so I spent the entire time looking at the ground. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. Then the flight to New York, was about the same as the first flight however the plane was larger, and we had the option to watch a movie, I watched Iron Man. I also got a window seat for this flight, the closer we got to New York the more clouds there were, which the most beautiful thing ever. Landing this time was slightly bumpy. With another “hour” layover in the JFK Airport. Our flight to Accra was oversold so they were giving out thousand dollar gift cards to those who would wait till the next day for a flight to Accra. We got on to our original flight two hours after the original time of take off, due to maintenance on the radio. For the 10 hour flight I was in the middle seat, so take off felt like I was on a roller coaster but blindfolded since I could not see out the window. Since I had nothing else to do and I was too uncomfortable to sleep I watch more movies(Jurassic World, October Sky, Trainwreck, Remember the Titans). The highlight of the flight was when we landed an everyone cheered and clapped, which never happened on either of our first flights. So It is 9:30am in Accra so we have to go through the entire day still. Next was all the fun of going through customs! Really it was painless, we pretty much handed our passports, yellow fever certification cards to them as well as we had filled out some paperwork on the plane, It took less then half an hour.

We immediately got on a bus, which is worse than the plane for seating, but yet way better than the public transit. We meet Eric, MTN, and Stephan when we went to see the Fantasy Coffins, which we will go back later for a workshop for 3 days later in the trip. We also tried to find a place to stay when we are back in Accra later during the trip(we didn't find a place that would allow two of the same sex to room together). Finally we left for Ho, as we drove through the markets the venders practically ran to the bus when they saw use but the only person who had money was Chris, our instructor, So we had to tell them no all the time. A few times Chris stopped to buy some of venders foods for use to try. (Yes, mom we are eating street food) We got to try local bananas, ground nuts, plantain chips, ginger cookies, and milk cookies. We all passed out on the bus, only to be awoken every few minutes because driver had to weave between gigantic potholes as well as the multitude of large bumps the bus did hit. We did stop at a rest stop where the toilet was just a cement slap with a dip in it(luckily for me I did not have to go). We finally arrived in Ho around 5:30pm we checked into our rooms, Which are way nicer than I expected not to mention the bed was King sized when we were told that we would have twins. The only down side was the beds were extremely firm, like sleeping on the floor. We ate dinner at 6:30, I cannot believe I was afraid of the taste of the food, everything was delicious. What shocked all of us was they had french fries which were much better than most american fries we have had. Then we had chicken, beef, Fried fish, salad, rice, fried rice, Then we all died(passed out) in our beds.  

OK, Here We Go!

It’s less than a week before our departure to West Africa, so Chris asked students, “What is the first thing that you think of when I ask you about the trip to Ghana?”  For better or worse, here are the unedited responses:

“Feel very unprepared to go because I’m too busy worrying about finals. Haven’t packed anything, worried I’ll forget something.”

“Excited to diversify my pallet, but I will miss Pizza Hut.”

“So terrified to shit myself with out running water nearby.”

“Africa - by Toto”

“I hope I find some legit 70s, 80s, and 90s tee-shirts.”

 “I feel a little unprepared clothing wise.” “I’m afraid of how much I’m going to have to poop.”

“I’m not afraid of the country or the people I’m going to meet. I’m not that nervous honestly, mostly excited.”

“I’m not ready.”

“What if I don’t see anything.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to miss all of my winter break and come back immediately starting my final semester at Iowa State.”

“I’m going to burn, loose something, forget something, get lost, get sick, and watch Star Wars… hopefully”

“I’m more nervous than I think I should be.”

“Looking forward to trying new food!”

“I am really excited to go and experience a different culture, but I am afraid I am going to get the shits and get sick.”

“I’m really excited. The more we’ve been preparing, the more I’m ready to go, just gotta get through this week first. I’m ready to see their lifestyles, taste their food, and enjoy the experience given to us.”

“Will I have enough clothes to last 3 weeks?”

“Nervous but excited, it hasn’t sunken in yet that I am even going.”

“Is my card going to work for money?”

“Nervous about the crowds and navigating around the cities and getting lost.”

“I am both excited and nervous about the trip. I am nervous because it is my first time traveling to a foreign country and a little bit nervous on the bathroom situation. New experiences. I am excited to get to know more about the materials we used that they use to make outfits, jewelry, and so much more. I am nervous about bargaining for prices when buying stuff. Overall I think it will be a good experience.”

It’s natural to have a little case of the jitters before an epic journey, but rest assured it will prove to be an adventure worth taking. Chris and I are already proud of everyone for giving up their cozy holidays at home in exchange for an opportunity to challenge their minds and expand their horizons. Check back to see if anyone’s fears come to pass or if they become buried and forgotten, perhaps pushed aside by a positive or potentially transformative experience.  

- Tammi  (Co-Program Director)