Dec. 25

First off we all say Merry Christmas to everyone from Ghana! It was a very eventful day many will say created a unique holiday experience. Waking up this morning wasn't your typical run down the stairs to presents and a Christmas tree followed by time with family while eating a lot of warm food. Instead my morning started with my roommate struggling to open our door to get outside that followed by her running back in second later saying “Big monkey, big monkey” then the rest of us jumping out of bed to see that we had been blocked from leaving our room by a baboon. Throughout the day the baboons would run after us or corner us if we were carrying food, so we learned our lesson there. For lunch we had refreshing watermelon, pineapple along with jollof(rice), yams(in mashed potato form), multiple vegetable stew toppings, and off course french fries. We also did a Secret Santa gift exchange that consist of things we had bought at the markets days beforehand. Time was spent around the pool getting some sun and later in the afternoon we went on a walking safari where we saw elephants, crocodiles, warthogs, grey monkeys, vultures, and many species of antelope and other birds. Later we had dinner, spent more time by the pool, and had time to call home. Hope everyone else had a good and eventful Christmas that didn't consist of being cornered or having food taken by baboons.

-Nicole

Merry Christmas from Ghana, I got attacked by a baboon! No injuries were obtained, but I did loose my biscuits. After a very filling lunch of pineapple, watermelon, and some carrot soup, Caitlan, Nicole, Autumn, and I were meandering back to our hotel room, where we had to cross through a gate entrance into the outer part of the hotel complex (outside the barbed wire). I of course was not paying attention to see a baboon had come out of nowhere and was running straight for us. We all decided the safest thing to do was run back into the fenced area, but the barbed wire proved to be of little use against a hungry baboon. He jumped right between the wires and continued to run straight for us. At this point I went right into my primal mode and ditched the other girls and started to run for myself going back outside the fenced in area. Blindly running I did not realize the baboon was coming after me the whole time. I felt a hard tug on the black bag I was carrying that had a whole package of biscuits in it. The bag fell out of my hand to the ground as the baboon quickly snatched up the package, shoved it in it's mouth, and ran off into the bush. At this moment I realized, after years of working with animals on my parents farm, I still didn't know everything. For example, I don't know what to do when a baboon is chasing me. Lesson learned first hand.

Even so, I did get to enjoy Christmas morning sitting by the poolside reading a book my Grandma gave me for Christmas. Everyone joined (even some warthogs), and soaked up some Ghanian sun before our afternoon safari walk.

Mole National Park is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Ghana, and one of the best places anywhere in West Africa for game viewing. The park has two man-made “dumps” where there is water year round, even during the dry season (October-March). This allows the animals to have access to water, and means they are usually around the area and can be found by guides. Our guide led us down the steep hillside behind the motel into the savanna below. We walked for half and hour before we found a herd of five elephants (four large males and one small male). The elephants were so large and majestic, walking through the trees so graciously, hardly making a sound. It was really a spectacular Christmas, and I hope my family had a very Merry Christmas as well!

P.S. Happy Birthday Warren!

-Caroline Freese