TravelStream™ news feed for member asilnicki on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/asilnicki en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:06:45 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1185346620/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1185346620/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1185346620/tpod.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:06:45 -0400 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Daejeon, Korea Rep.

In December of 2005 I was chatting on the phone to an old friend and mentioned that perhaps my next overseas experience would be in Korea, who would have thought that 19 months later I would board a plane and actually head to Korea! I left my family's house in Peterborough at 3:30a.m. the morning of July 13 and a car ride, two plane trips (Toronto to San Fransisco and San Fran to Incheon, Korea), and a bus later I arrived at 9:30p.m. on Saturday July 14 in Daejeon, South Korea.
I met several other ESL teachers on the plane and buses along the way who are now stationed throughout Korea.
The entire plane ride and weeks leading up to the trip, I kept asking myself "why am I doing this"? I've never been particularily interested in Asian culture. I mean, Ghana made sense, I was studing development issues and Ghana is a developing country, but Korea?? The best answer that I could derive is "where else will they pay for me to fly across the world, rent an apartment for me, and give me a full-time salary". So here I am.
The past two weeks have been difficult. I feel like I should tell everyone that I'm having an amazing time, and that I'm loving it here, but to be honest, I'm bored out of my mind! Perhaps I'll meet some other English speakers soon, school will get busy and I'll start a little life here. For now...I'll keep harassing Chris to spend every waking non-work moment talking to me via web cam.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1129896480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1129896480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1129896480/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:59:55 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Shai Hills, Ghana

Our trip to the Shai Hills Forest Reserve

Two weeks ago Lisa, Meghan, Hannah, Mike, and I, all Carletoners, took off to the Shai Hills Forest Reserve. It is a large park spanning hundreds off kilometers which preserves space for wildlife. Baboons, antelopes, many bird species, and small animals are all common sites there. We arrived Saturday afternoon, made a reservation at the park and headed to the one and only resort in this small community. Mike and Hannah took off to explore the small local village, while the girls and I sat to have some coffee (only instant nescafe here) and get some readings done (occasionally we have some of those assigned). Although the sign out front of the resort says that they have a swimming pool, in actual fact there is no pool. We were a little disappointed but enjoyed our stay regardless. Sunday morning we woke bright and early to get to the park for 6am. Of course there was a down pour and we got soaked. We waited at the park's office for a few hours until the rain let up. Then we were given an armed guide (the baboons can be dangerous) and off we went. After the first 10 minutes of our walk we had a family of baboons cross directly in front of us. They didn't really care to see us, although one of the males came over and got within a few feet of us and just checked us out for a minute. They were so cool to see!! The fog was just lifting from the ground at that point so the floor of the forest still had a thick midst, it was really beautiful.

We had decided to visit the watering hole and the grazing land. The walk was long, and very muddy, but the landscape was beautiful. We reached the watering hole and saw a crocodile. Well the eyes and snout of a crocodile, he just swam around in the water. Unfortunately due to the rain there were no other animals nearby. The guide took us back to the main trail and we began to walk towards the grazing land. Half way through our two hour hike the guide noticed a herd of cows in the distance. He got quite upset and announced that they weren't allowed to be there and he would be back in "small small", we should just wait for him. After an hour and a half we decided that the "small small" was a little too long long for us and we headed back out towards the main gate. On our walk we ran into several other guides and park officials who were on their way to meet with our guide, as they walked away we noticed the extremely large guns slung on their backs. The group tried to reassure me that they were only BB guns, yea right guys, thanks anyway.

We made it back to the gate just in time to meet another large family of baboons. For over half an hour we sat and hung out with this wild family. You can see in the photo album just how close we were to them. It was really amazing. Although I'm not sure how I feel about them hanging out so closely to the highway and crossing the street, but I guess that's what happens in our day of modernization.

We left to have some breakfast at the resort. After which we headed out again, this time to a new entrance of the park to go and see the sacred bat cave. At both park locations I noticed a housing community. The guide explained that they have been built for people who maintain the park to live in. The community is fairly small, about 15 houses in all, but they seem to be quite prosperous and happy, it looks like a good development project. We walked the 4km track to the hill that contained the sacred bat cave. Along the way herds of wild antelope ran in front of us and grazed along side us. None got close enough for any great photos so unfortunately you'll have to leave it to your own imagination.

The bat cave was a long and muddy walk but gorgeous none the less, with Sahara looking landscape. We climbed the hill and entered the first of two caves. The outer cave use to be used by the local tribe as a meeting/gathering place and an area to protect themselves. They use to climb to the cave and roll rocks down the hill when other tribes were approaching. The inner cave is where the bats live, thousands of bats. We just stood in the cave and let them fly all around us, a pretty cool experience, although they sometimes got alarmingly close to your face.

We went back to the main road to catch a tro-tro, but being a Sunday evening empty tro-tros are nearly impossible. Fortunately for us a land cruiser stopped and picked us up. The man driving was a local tribal chief and he and his daughter were on their way to Legon. The man use to live in the states so his English was excellent. The air conditioning felt amazing and all of us were so thankful. When I get back to Canada I have a lot of "paying it forward" to do, especially to travelers.

Hope you enjoy the pics. Not sure where I'm off to next, this past weekend was not much to write home about. Just did some homework and some partying. But I will write again soon. Let me know how things are at home.

Love you all,

Adrienne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1124807160/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1124807160/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1124807160/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:42:49 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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University of Ghana, International Programmes Office, Ghana

Hey family and Friends,

No one worry I am still alive (which seemed to be your big concern in my good-bye and b-day card). Not only have I survived a week in Ghana, I have also survived the jungle. The Carleton Crew and I headed up to Kakum National Rainforest on Saturday morning. We took a bus to Cape Coast (about three hours from Accra) and then taxied ourselves to Kakum. Instead of staying at the popular Hans Cottage Botel, like all the other tourists, the group and I decided to rough it and stay in the rainforest. So we all slept on this little wooden platform with only a mosquito net for protection. It was an interesting experience. Although I didn't get to see any forest elephants (they have 56 in the park), I did get to hear lots of monkeys and see all kinds of birds. I also walked the canopy which is a serious of ladders with wooden planks nailed to them and suspended by cables from tree tops. It allows you to walk from tree to tree and see a birds eye view of the rainforest. It was an incredible experience, and I have it all on video tape for your viewing pleasure when I get home. When we finished the Canopy walk we began a two hour hike through the jungle with our guide Christian. Christian is a native of Ghana and was able to explain to us what all the trees in the forest were, their medicinal purpose (or their poisonous one) and the cultural value of the plants. It was an interesting guide, and when we walked into a clearing with 50 foot tall bamboo plants, the experience was even better.

Emotionally I am surprised at how much culture shock I am experiencing. I thought I was prepared especially after Haiti, although I have great support from the Carleton Crew I do feel that I am really going it alone. The people of Ghana are really nice, and extremely friendly but I am always cautious of alternative motives and I don't like how skeptical I am becoming. I've been a little home sick, but mostly I miss the convenience of home. Its really hard to eat here, and although some of the food is quite good, even those without dietary restrictions are limited in their food choices. But I guess that's the reality of the developing world, resources are limited.

The poverty doesn't bother me much, only when I see the children sleeping on the streets or selling beside the highway late at night. I've been able to travel a bit already and have seen the shanty towns. I thought the University would keep us hidden from a lot of it, but to my pleasant surprise it really makes no attempt. We are sheltered more than most, but just outside of my residence is the night market. It is comprised of local women and children who run little food stands, most of them with extremely religious names like "fear thou not beans". The women are wonderful and love to make fun of me when I pronounce the food names incorrectly, the children and babies are as expected, beautiful, but the poverty is very real. Not only do these women and children sell from these stands, they also live in these stands. However, I can't feel too sorry for them, which sounds horrible, but like Haiti, people here are so happy. There is not the hustle and bustle of the developed world. Everything here goes at a much slower pace which allows for people to develop really close relationships with those around them. The women in the night market have created a tight knit supportive community. They really help each other out and spend a lot of time socializing with one another.

My favourite thing so far besides all of the kind people is the music. High life is really popular here, as is reggae and gospel. People are singing and dancing all the time whether at work or play, and the enthusiasm for life is contagious.

Hope all is well at home. I picked up a cell phone here last week. I'm still trying to figure out what the number is for calls overseas, but I will list it soon.

Miss you all.

Adrienne xoxo
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127152020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127152020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127152020/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:39:44 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Kumasi, Ghana

Sorry for the delay in my writing. For those of you who haven't been informed I spent most of last week in a hospital in Legon. After four weeks in Ghana I managed to contract malaria, which means I was infected by the malaria-carrying mosquito only after two weeks! Yea me! But I am doing much better now, with a big thanks to my friends here that took such good care of me. Thanks to Poppa and Kyle for calling and checking on me every night and thanks to all of you that sent well wishes through e-mail. The good karma vibes definitely were felt!

I have written this blog twice now, it takes about 90 minutes and both times it didn't save. So here's my third attempt, and I'll make this one shorter than the other two.

Thursday night the CAN (Canadian, American, Norwegian) girls troops (as we call ourselves)_ told me to pack my bag 'cause we were off for another weekend in Kumasi. So I grabbed my stuff got a good nights sleep and at 5 the next morning we were off. We went to a new bus station this time, thinking we would rough it and not take the luxury bus. We got a little lost on the way there, which is nothing new for us. But managed to find our way. We got swarmed by a group of Mates (men who assist the bus driver by finding people to fill the bus, collecting the money and arranging where to drop everyone off). Catherine got her watch stolen and I was amazed that we managed to hang on to everything else. We got onto the bus, which had no air condition but did have the horrible Ghanaian movies that I am growing accustomed to. As the bus began to move a man stood up and began his one-hour prayer service, in twi. The only thing I understood were the hymns that would break out with everyone on the bus signing. This was very new to me and the rest of the CAN team but we enjoyed the cultural experience. After the sermon another man stood up, this one had a briefcase instead of a bible and he was selling medicine. This "medicine" solved every problem from acne to stretch marks, and to make it worth even more; it conveniently took of nail polish and cleaned your jewelry. I think my favourite part was when he told people that it also helped with indigestion, you could DRINK THIS STUFF. People were buying bottles of it, the women next to me kept telling me how amazing it was and then called her friends and family to see if they wanted some as well. I wasn't sure if I should intervene and tell her that maybe drinking nail polish remover wasn't the greatest idea, but she just laughed at me.

After the sales man sold his quota (a two hour ordeal) he left the bus and the Ghanaian movies began. The movies often contain some moral tale, so they usually contain a lot of violence and screaming, often with children involved. They are really horrible and someone always dies, but the Ghanaians love them and are always laughing!

We finally made it to Kumasi, but it was already after dark. We were fortunate to find an Evangelical priest who took us to the Presbyterian Hostel. We got two rooms for the night and managed to find a vegetarian restaurant close by for some dinner.

Saturday we went to the arts centre. The pieces were beautiful and I bought a ton of Christmas gifts for family and friends ;-) We left the centre and went to the Ashanti Museum. The museum was quite small but they were very proud of it. The talking drums were amazing and make the sound of a lions roar perfectly!

We went back to our vegetarian restaurant for lunch where I realized that I had left my new purchases in the back of the taxi (sorry folks no good news to report they are long gone). We had a great lunch and after managed to find a taxi that would take us to Lake Bowtosmi. The resort was only accessible by foot as it was hidden deep in the forest surrounded by mountains and a beautiful fresh water lake. The resort was amazing and the girls and I thoroughly enjoyed the view along with the Ghanaian-Austrian owners. We were too late for diner so we had a few drinks with our hosts and then went to bed. After a couple hours of sleep Hilde and I woke up to hear the sound of a mouse eating our bedpost. I wasn't feeling very well and getting back to sleep was proving difficult so I tossed and turned for the rest of the night. I finally gave up at about 5am. I went down to the lake to write in my journal but ended up watching the fishing community for several hours. The sun rose from behind the mountains. The men in their canoes had small handheld scoop paddles and were catching fish with their hands and spears, it was incredible to watch. I woke the other girls and we ate breakfast with Kiki the parrot. I was starting to feel really sick and decided to go lay down. A couple hours later I asked to get going. Hilde was amazing and right away got the girls together and flagged down a taxi. As the taxi drove I continued to feel worse. The girls offered to take me to a hospital in Kumasi but I disagreed since we all had school the next day. Unfortunately for us we found a not so honest taxi driver who didn't take us to the luxury station, which is formal so he doesn't get a cut of the profit for bringing us there. Instead he took us to the normal bus station, which doesn't have windows that open or a bathroom. I was so sick and didn't care to fight, so the girls loaded me up with plastic bags and we began the 6 1/2 hour ride back to Accra. The girls got a taxi right away and we went to the hospital. At this point I had a fever, had fainted, and was throwing up. The doctor admitted me right away and treated me as though I had malaria. The girls went and bought me some food and water. The hospital is very basic (no water, toilet paper, or showers). I spent three nights and four days there, on the third night the women who had spent the last two days screaming decided at four in the morning to begin singing hymns and reading aloud from her bible. I had barely any sleep that night and knew that being there was not making me any better so I finally signed myself out when I felt I could stand long enough to make it to a taxi.

Jon, a fellow BPAPMer from Carleton had been an absolute sweetheart, luckily he owns a moped so he drove to and from the hospital to get me my prescriptions bring me non-fishy/meaty food (the pizza was really good Jon, thanks a million, although a large was a little too big), and since Ghana doesn't have Interac, no credit cards are excepted, and I had no money on me, Jon and Hilde covered all of my hospital bills until I was well enough to pay them back. I love my friends!! I spent another three days in bed at residence, but it just felt so good to be back.

By Saturday I was feeling well enough to venture out, so Jon and I headed down to Osu to pick up some fabric (I'm getting some dresses made!) and food at the western grocery store (mom all I wanted was your ginger root tea and some tomato soup! I even dreamt about it!). We got back just in time to get dressed up and head over to the International Students Durbar. The International Programs Office had put on a special dinner and show to welcome us. There were African drummers and dancers, great food, dancing, and a good dose of culture. I manage to stay for a couple of hours but ended up leaving early because I was so worn out and starting to feel a little ill again. I went to bed at 7 and managed to sleep for a wonderful 14 hours!!

Jon thought it would be good to get me out to the pool for Sunday afternoon and I was itching to move my body a little and I was soooo bored! So we gathered up a group of ISHers to join us and Jon and I headed out on the moped. We went to Shangri-La which is a hotel/resort in Accra. The front of the building looks more like a motel. The inside is beautiful with a total Africa feel, but once you get out in the back yard it looks like a five star resort. There are fountains, and waterfalls, tennis courts, an outdoor restaurant, and a large pool with a swim up bar. I had a great time just lying around and cooling off in the pool. Fresh air and some exercise felt wonderful! Although the resort was very "Obruni" (white) I really enjoyed my little escape.

I managed to start school on Monday and have been feeling well ever since. I added some pictures to my blog, if you get a sec check out the Volta River entry!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1137342420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1137342420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1137342420/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:17:43 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Hey All,

Just wanted to send a quick update. I am now back in Ottawa and back in Rez (...yeah I know...). Unfortunately my laptop and I are not friends right now, I think she's a little upset about being taken all over the world (who woulda thunk it), so I am currently relying on Carleton's computer labs until the wonderful people at CCS make the laptop all bettr. I know that Paris, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland have not been put on to my blog, but I want to be able to update with illustrations, so thank you for the kind reminders but it'll be up soon. However for those of you who I have yet to speak with and those of you in foreign lands (I miss you sooooo much) here is my new contact info: cell (613)798-6304 home: 1233 Colonel By Drive Mailbox 2022 Ottawa ON K1S 5B7 Carleton University.

Love you all. And Canadians GET OUT TO VOTE!

~Adrienne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1125345000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1125345000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1125345000/tpod.html Mon, 30 Jan 2006 00:08:26 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Volta River, Ghana

Friday night was rather uneventful so off I went to bed at about 8pm. Meghan, Mike, and Lisa had all come to my door at some appropriate hour but well after I was into my deep sleep. They apparently told me about a trip we were taking the next morning. Saturday I awoke to the annoying "beep beep beep" that anyone with an alarm can be sympathetic to. So I rolled out of bed with a vague memory of Meghan and Lisa. I went to Meghan's door but she was still asleep. So assuming that I had dreamt everything back to bed I went. At 8pm the girls were pounding at my door wondering why I wasn't ready to go. It turns out we were on our way to Ada Foah, a small fishing village and resort where the Volta River meets the Ocean. I grabbed whatever I thought necessary stuffed it all into a backpack and ran out the door. We bartered with a couple taxis until we could get to the STC station for 30,000 cedi (a reasonable price). We decided that instead of waiting for the STC bus (greyhound style, minus the bathroom, which means on long trips they pull over to the side of the road for you, I haven't adjusted to this bit of cultural difference yet) we'd take the tro-tro. To anyone who knows Otto they will understand when I say a tro-tro is an ottobus. It is an 8 seater van, converted into a 14 seater van that people cram into. There are no identified Tro-tro stops so you find a corner and yell out where you want to go, the tro-tro's "mate" yells back where they are going and will have the driver stop the tro-tro if you decide to get on. I had yet to experience the tro-tro method of transportation but after our four hour adventure I feel like a pro. We got a tro-tro from Accra to a roundabout close to Tema. We met several women who were selling food at the side of the road, they managed to flag down a taxi and help us lost Obrunis find our way for a reasonable fee (the taxi drivers love making money off of us when we are lost). We were getting out of a taxi in Tema when some man saw me and decided that he wanted to take me home. He put his arms into the taxi window and began pinching my cheeks. I quickly scooted out in the other direction and he came racing around a grabbed on to my arms. My girl friends immediately came to my rescue and we began yelling at him and trying to pry his hands off of me. Some of the other men from the area came running over to help and as soon as they freed me, the girls got me away and onto another tro-tro where the local women worked hard to comfort me, and I watched as the local men yelled at this guy, some in English, most in twi (I don't think any of it was very friendly). It was my scariest experience so far, but don't worry mom/poppa, the entire community and my friends were there to help me out and were really disgusted with this man. The tro-tro finally dropped us off at Ada Foah. We were suppose to begin a 60-90 minute walk to the destination that the girls had now filled me in on. We were heading to a resort of grass huts on a pier of sand where the Volta River meets the ocean. We met a school teacher from Ada Foah on the tro-tro who offered to steer us in the right direction. She shooed away the hoards of taxi drivers who accosted us the moment they saw us, and she offered to take us to her house while she got her son to accompany us to the resort. She walked us through her small village, which was a mixture of concrete and wooden one room homes. As we turned a corner we saw a small lot filled with grass huts. One was tree house style; the other was open air with a picnic table and chairs. A little girl named Barbara with the sweetest little dreadlocks came running over racing a tire in front of her to greet us. This women's home was beautiful, she told us that some of her children (she had 8) were in America and so she wanted to help us like people in America have helped her children. She sat us down at her house and went out to find her son. We met her daughter-in-law and the mother of Barbara who was a beautiful woman and made sure that we were comfortable while we waited. He son, a very authentic Rasta came over to meet us. He had found a canoe that we could use to get to the resort instead for hours in the sand. We agreed and went off to the river. A large canoe was at the shore waiting for us. We were all expecting to grab some paddles and move ourselves down to the resort. Instead the locals just laughed and told us to have a seat. The women's son and the owner of the canoe jumped in the Bow and stern and began paddling. There we sat in a handmade canoe boating down the Volta River. We began to past these massive cottages with shinny big boats and swimming pools. However we came to a wall where the resorts and cottages ended, and a small fishing village appeared, literally next door. The fishing village consisted of small grass huts, goats, ducks, dogs, large hand made/carved/and painted fishing boats, kids playing soccer on the beach, men women and children bathing in the river, older men bringing in fishing nets, and of course little children screaming hello at us. I cannot describe how breathtakingly beautiful the whole canoe experience was. I have caught some of it on tape and cannot wait to show it to you all. After an hour that I wished wouldn't end we made it to the New Estuary resort. We rented two grass huts for the five of us and went to get into our bathing suits. The girls spent the next two days laying in hammocks, swimming, sun tanning, and playing in the ocean's waves. I decided to really get a feel for the local culture and was determined to learn to fish. I managed to meet a young man who I will not attempt to spell his name but it began with a Sar so this is what I will refer to him as. Sar is 14 and he spends each day fishing for 3 hours, he generally catches four fish a day. Our English was quite broken but I managed to understand that his father left the family in search of work in Tema, his mother and sister have both since past away and now it is only him and his 16 year old brother to keep each other company and ensure survival. Sar was setting out his fishing lines along the beach on the river side of the pier. He let me tape him casting his line (it was made with a piece of fishing line attached to an anchor of wood that he would burry in the ground. He had two fishing hooks attached to the end of the string that he would hook a piece of dead fish on to. Then he would swing the string over his head in a circle like a lasso and then cast it out to sea). I attempted to help him but wasn't nearly as good as him, although he found it quite humourous and I was glad to not have hooked myself. I also had the opportunity to met several of my "Rasta brothers" (peace, one love, unity, respect) (Dana, Graham are you cringing yet?). One of my Rasta brothers made me a bracelet to show his respect, I made sure it didn't have any other meanings before I accepted it, so I am pretty sure that I am not engaged, however mom/poppa he would like to meet you someday....? The Rastas all seem to teach at a drumming school and also have a handicraft that they sell at different markets. Their handshake is a little different than the snap that I am just getting use to but I will teach anyone who wants to learn when I get home. I know have a Rasta name that means "born on Wednesday" but I don't remember it anymore. We left our resort via canoe again. When we arrived in Ada Foah we managed to catch the last tro-tro back to Accra with a little luck and a lot of confusion. Luckily for us it was the fish tro-tro which meant that we rode with literally hundreds of dead fish (an experience that anyone especially a vegan can really appreciate). There was also a crab that must have hitched a ride with the fish and was running around pinching the toes of the tro-tro passengers. It was actually a really funny experience. We had to pass through several police check points which is usually a quick flash light glance into the tro-tro. One officer was doing the routine check when he saw the fish, we went running up to the driver and asked "are you trying to kill the Obrunis??" Everyone in the tro-tro burst out laughing. We made it back home at 9pm to my delight we were an hour earlier than expected and just in time for my first phone call from home (thanks Poppa).

It was a memorable weekend, and as soon as my massive sunburn disappears (I put SPF 30 on every 15 minutes) I will appreciate the memories even more.

Miss you love you.

Adrienne
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1128442920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1128442920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1128442920/tpod.html Sun, 22 Jan 2006 16:23:19 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Accra, Ghana

Jon and I had planned on renting a car and traveling to Ho for the weekend. It was the annual Yam Festival and we wanted to see the chief durbar. Unfortunately plans for the car fell through Friday morning when we went to pick up the car. The rest of the group decided to go out and tro-tro there was regardless, but Jon and I decided to stay back and nurse some fellow malaria contractors. We went out Friday night to champs, a local sports bar owned by a Canadian Couple. To be honest, we were hoping to witness "American Idiot" again. We ran into my friends Becky, Naxto, Afam, Audio, and the crew. We had some drinks and hung out with them; Brittany and Jon even went onto the stage and sang a few songs. We went to a dance club afterwards that looked just like one you would find in Ottawa, which I still find surprising in Africa.

Spent Saturday on the beach in Accra. This beach is called Labadie and it's about a twenty minute drive from my residence. It is definitely the tourist beach, and although the white sands are beautiful the black plastic bags that float in the water and hit you in the face as you swim are not overly appealing. Although on this beach there is "no faeces" (that's how they spell it) allowed, it's still not the most appealing water in Ghana. However with little bars, cafes, local entertainment, and art/craft huts, the beach was an awesome place to get some homework done and chill with my fellow Carletoners.

I got back home at 6pm. Jon came to my room and asked if I wanted to go to Cape Coast. I didn't haven anything else to do so I figure why not. Then he told me that Naxto had called. He and Becky rented a car and driver to take them there and they were coming in 20 minutes to pick us up! I scrambled to pack up everything I could think to take and ran out the door. It amazed me when they pulled up and their driver was white and Becky wasn't there. On the way to Cape Coast we got the full story. Naomi is recent graduate from a Parisian university; she is Dutch, and currently fulfilling her internship with the world food program. She had arrived three weeks ago and met George (the driver). George is a Ghanaian who manages a local factory; he spends his weekends traveling with friends and had decided to go to Cape Coast for the weekend to his favourite resort. Naxto had met Naomi at an NGO meeting and George invited her and anyone she wanted to come along to the resort. So off we went. The resort was beautiful, by far the nicest I've stayed at yet. It even had air conditioning and hot water!! We spent the night eating at drinking at the resort's restaurant right on the beach.

The next morning I woke up as usual, earlier than anyone else, and decided to check out the resort in the day light. It was even more breathtaking. I walked up and down the beach checking out the local fishing villages and talking to some of the local people. When I got back I woke up Jon and made him join me for an incredible buffet brunch. A couple hours later everyone was awake and George suggested that we all go to Kakum. I was the only one (besides George) who had been before so I briefed everyone on the way. We did the canopy walk again and I finally saw my first wild MONKEYS!! I was the first to spot them playing in a tree beside the canopy I was on. It was very exciting, and they were SO cute!

We left Kakum and went back to the resort to play in the waves and pack up for home. The trip back was especially long as traffic in Accra on a good day is like the Don Valley. On a Sunday night it's simply impossible to move. George was playing his music which consisted of U2, Shania Twain, and Cat Stevens, it made me a little home sick (never thought Shania Twain could do that to me). Another superb weekend, even if it didn't go quite as planned. Oh and to all of you who drive in cars whenever you want, appreciate it more for me, ITS SUCH A LUXURY!! Especially with air conditioning, ahhhhhhhh....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127931300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127931300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127931300/tpod.html Wed, 18 Jan 2006 17:05:24 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Quebec and Ghana, Canada

These are just some random pics of me with Jonny in Quebec the weekend before I left, and some pictures that Jon took on our evenings out. Enjoy!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127490600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127490600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1127490600/tpod.html Thu, 05 Jan 2006 23:22:21 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Keta, Ghana

Friday morning Joe and I took off on his moped bound for the Nayho Clinic. Joe was sick and we all feared malaria, so we went for the routine blood work. Joe was feeling remarkably well so we assumed that it wasn't malaria. We went back to ISH and my weekly travel group had not left yet. Although I had planned to spend a weekend in Accra they convinced me to go with them. Lisa, Meghan, Mike, Catherine, Lucas, and I set out for Keta, on the Gulf of Guinea.

We managed to tro-tro our way there without too much of a problem. Every time we get to the markets there are children who are begging. The come and grab onto your hands and ask for money, pointing to their mouths. They are usually immigrant children, and don't seem to speak English although than "5000 cedes". They will hold your hand and begin to swarm you and if you aren't paying attention they try to remove your watch or get into your purse. I had one little girl come up to me at the tro-tro station and pointed to my water bottle. I didn't think twice like I do with money, she was thirsty and I was happy that the bottle was still full and cold. Its moments like that, that really break my heart.

We reached Keta before by late afternoon. We were hoping to spend our first night in an old slave castle. Unfortunately the castle had crumbled and they no longer allowed people to stay there. We did manage to get a tour and went into many of the slave caves, we were told stories of the living conditions, saw where people tried to dig holes in the concrete floor, saw the bolts from where people were chained to the ground, and the stories only got worse in the female slave quarters. It is so sad to stand where such abuse happened but our history is full of it.

We found a hotel to stay at right on the gulf; we quickly grabbed our bathing suits and headed to the beach. Not many people were there and we were certainly the only obrunis. Lisa, Lucas, and I swam for a little bit but we were all hungry so we headed for dinner.
The crew went out that night to check out a local reggae bar. I unfortunately received the news that my Oma had passed away, so I spent the night in.

The next morning Lucas, Mike, and I woke early to watch the sun rise over the ocean. The local community is a fishing one and again I stood in awe watching people pulling in the nets and singing to keep in time. Its so picturesque. The community kept telling us to "go see the big fish". Not really interested we finally gave in, only to witness a shark! The community was really excited about it, Lucas and I were a little freaked since they caught it in the water that we had been swimming in the previous night!

We headed out of that town and up north. Our tro-tro broke down several times along the way, but it gave me a chance to witness the local agriculture and systems of irrigation, which were really incredible. We finally reached out final destination that was in the town with Africa's oldest lighthouse. Apparently 600 years but we're not so sure. We found a little hotel that had three rooms for us, we threw down our stuff and went out exploring. We traveled through this small community learning a new "obruni" song that the children sing as we pass by. We got to the beach and took off swimming. I was a little reluctant after the shark sighting earlier that day, so I became the official photographer. We decided to check out the old lighthouse and so up we climbed the steep stairs to the top. The view was amazing and well worth the frightening climb. We found the only restaurant in the town, which was a forty-minute walk from our hotel. We began to order only to be told "we don't have that today". It turns out their electricity was off an as a result we could have rice. So we all ordered a large plate of plain rice and fanta.

We headed back to Accra the next day and decided a course of action, which would allow us to take a boat down the Volta River. We took a tro tro to the last stop and got out on a pier. We found a man who knew a man who had a boat and began negotiating prices with him. Lucas and I were leading the negotiations but when we began to run into problems the rest of the group decided to tro tro home. Lucas and I let them walk away as a strategy to have the man bring his price down lower. He didn't seem willing to budge until he told Lucas "I like your friend, she is pretty" and pointed at me. I looked at Lucas, and he asked how much "how much do you think he'll take off the price if we give you to him?" I was about to yell at him when he put his arm around me and said "but I love her, she is my wife and I will not sell her to you." Thank God for Lucas!
We managed to talk the man down from 250,000 cedes, to 175,000 and the group agreed. It was a beautiful boat ride down the volta and the rest of the trip home was flawless.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1136378460/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1136378460/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/asilnicki/ghana-2005/1136378460/tpod.html Wed, 04 Jan 2006 19:16:54 -0500 Adrienne's First African & European Experience

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Milan, Lake Como, Verona, Venice, Naples, Pompei, Rome, Pisa, Italy

On December 12th I landed at the Malpensa station in Milano Italy. 5 hours later, my best girlfriend landed as well. As always Laura knew just what to say immediately ("you're so tanned"yay!! First time ever to have someone tell me that), Ant you're the greatest! Laura and I took off into the city in search of our hotel (thanks Poppa) and Jonny. We had a quick catch up and then went out to eat some dinner (mmmm Italian Pizza). I had my first hot bath that night (drawn by Jonny, Kiss kiss, thanks a million sweets it was fabulous) and a bottle of wine (double mmm). The next day it was to Lake Como. Only about 45 minutes by train, lake como is a perfect day trip from Milan. I was definitely feeling the cold by this point but Laura kept reassuring me that it was warmer than Canada...:-(
We took an incredible bus ride up the mountain to Belaggio, a land of sun, beach, water, and the Swiss Alps. The Alps were beautiful, and since we were traveling in Off Season, no one was around to disturb the peace. We sat and drank a ridiculously expensive coffee by the water and stared for hours at the Alps (see pics on this page). After a tour of the city and some bird feeding (Laura was almost attacked) we made our way back to Como and Milan. The next stop was Verona and we arrived, (later than expected because we got a little lost, although did learn the new phrase "doveh" meaning "where is...") at our 18th Century Villa hostel. It was pretty and cold. We slept, ate breakfast and left our bags to go explore. We saw the Roman amphitheater, ruins, a castle, ate Gelatto at 10 am (despite my cries of "its too cold!")and saw the incredible Colosseum. The Verona Colosseum was by far my favourite, its big, well looked after, and not overcrowded, infact very few people were there (see pics). We spent the afternoon exploring the little streets of Verona (Char the Louis Vuitton pic is for you). Then we hit the train and ventured out for Venice.
Venice as promised was beautiful. Its a quiet (no land motor vehicles allowed) beautiful little town. I felt like we had entered an old Charles Dickens town (it was probably suppose to feel more Shakespearean) and I loved it. We spent one full day visiting the sites on the vaporetto. We took an Adrienne and Rick Steve's guided tour of the line 5 through the old water ways of Venice. The buildings have had little work done on them (because the local law makers forbid it) which keeps is authentic, yet falling apart appeal. We visited Saint Marco's square and of course the Cathedral (see pics). We went to the Murano Island to watch glass blowing, and I dragged poor Laura and Jonny to a million little stores until I found a ring that would fit, but they were really good sports (love you long time). We roamed the little streets, eat from a local baker, and Jonny drank from the fountain. Laura loved the little quiet side streets, and I have to agree that they were beautiful. Then we took a ridiculously long time getting to an Island that has a little church, once we saw the Church we stood and waited...and looked around, and realized that there really was nothing else on that rock...so we stood and waited...and then got a Vaporetto back to civilization. The ride on the vaporetto was really nice though and we did get to see a lot of Venice.
The next morning Laura and I woke up early and headed out to see when our train was leaving. There wasn't anything else we really wanted to see in Venice (very doable in a day) but we stopped in a little Cafe for some people watching (yay!!).
The train took us to Rome and then Naples. It was a full day of travel but it let us see a lot of Italy. Laura and I dined on the train (see pic...mmmm Olives). We arrived in a Naples, which is actually a sad little town with a 35% unemployment rate and sky high crime levels. We stayed in a dodgey hotel close to the train station and left ASAP the next morning. We met up with a fellow Canadian globetrotter (who we referred to as 'what's up' guy) and together traveled to Pompeii. Pompeii was only 30-45 minutes away by train. I was really excited to see the sights and had my expectations met. Pompeii was outstanding, it was really spectacular. The city is massive, and as Laura had forewarned there were chariot wheel marking in the streets, paintings on the wall, brothels (which we didn't get to see), a amphitheater, a Colosseum, a gladiator training camp...etc. We exhausted ourselves from wandering for six hours, and never even saw it all. There is still more to be excavated, so I am excited to go back one day and see the rest.
After Pompeii it was Rome. I expected Rome to be the highlight for me. Sadly I was disappointed. The ruins lie right in the middle of Rome with major road ways, tons of tourist traps, and shops all over. The ruins weren't marked very well, so thanks to a little guide pamphlet and the Rick Steve's book we were able to figure out what things were. Otherwise it was just a bunch of ruins which no significance. I would suggest a guide as a worthwhile investment for anyone else who goes. We visited Palentine Hill, which was pretty, but Laura agreed with Rick Steves that there really wasn't much to see. I enjoyed the little museum, and we both really thought the chariot race track was cool (Poppa, do you think we could have one in our backyard?) but we both wanted to see a re-enactment, but no such option was available to us. I skipped (literally) to the Colosseum. Laura smartly suggested that we buy our combo Palentine Hill/Colosseum tickets at the shorter Palentine Hill line up, so we managed to skip the 90 minute line up. However the Roman Colosseum was a zoo. It was super crowded with hoards of tourists and groups. The bottom of the Colosseum is open (see pics) which was neat because you could see the passage ways for the lions. There was good information on the architecture of the building and its history, but we didn't spend too much time there.
The nicest part of Rome is that everything is really close, at least all of the tourist stuff. In the same day Laura and I managed to visit Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. I didn't appreciate the Pantheon as much as Jonny, but he's correct in the fact that its because he understood the engineering feat that it is much better than I. Laura was super pumped to see the Trevi Fountain and sadly we were both a little disappointed. It is very pretty but not to the extent that we had expected. We found a little pub, grabbed a couple of pints and had an incredible night just chatting away and catching up on our lives (thanks for that Laura). We had midnight pizza at a cute little restaurant and then went back to the hostel for some shut eye.
The next morning in typical Adrienne fashion we arrived late to meet Jonny and Phil at St.Peter's Basilica (I swear it was the metro, we would have only been 15 minutes late otherwise). I have to admit that I did not think St. Peter's or the Vatican would be overly impressive and they weren't on my top ten list, but I was astounded. The Vatican especially took my breath away. There are pictures for you to see, but they don't do the sights any justice. The Vatican is incredible! Jonny and I share the same sense of humour at times so we were able to joke around about the Vatican violence and the misuse of Africa in gathering the money, skill, and accumulating the wealth to built and house such an impressive building and monument. But the place is truly spectacular. There are no pictures of the Sistine chapel. They did not allow pictures to be taken, but it is equally impressive. The ceiling is amazing, and standing in silence staring at the work of incredibly talented painters, among hundreds of visitors equally amazed is quite an experience. I can't explain it better, just go!
After the Vatican (which closes at 1 pm to all visitors) Jonny, Laura and I went for some lunch and gelatto. We walked around the city and went to a pub in the evening. Jonny and Phil parted from Laura and I for the remainder of the trip. Laura and I were off to Pisa the next morning. The sight is far from the train station, but with our three hour layover we had plenty of time to sight see and check out the local market where I spotted all the goods from Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Benin. Pisa is an architectural masterpiece, and although we didn't take the 15 euro climb to the top, it is easy to appreciate from the ground. The train took us on to Milan. We spent our last day in Milan and caught a ballet at La Scala Opera House (Europe's finest) that night (see the 'posh' pics in our box seat).
Italy was incredible, but Jonny and Laura really completed the trip. I can't thank either of you enough. I was really sad to leave Ghana, and culture shock was a little tough for me, but you were both there, and you tried to understand, that's more than I could ever ask for. Kiss kiss.
Ciao.
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