Windsheild wipers, elephants, starry skies, and reports

So much has happened since my last post that I could write five separate posts and not run out of things to talk about. I wish I could do that, but I don’t have that much energy and you probably don’t have the time to read them.

If I could, I would do one on our last week in Accra before we left – special mention would go to Joys and Eddie, our friends at the YMCA who took us out for a wonderful kenkey dinner.

Another would be all about our second trip to the Eastern region with our project officers from KITE. We did a second round of studies in a second rural village to look at what they would need to be able to make productive use of electricity, when they obtain access (if all goes well) within the next four years. This time, Josh and I were asked to conduct surveys on our own (with major help from our Twi translators). This was challenging, but also an incredible experience. Our translators, Philip and Aikins, were a lot of fun and helped us to learn so much. They were not much older than us, and were both cocoa farmers – I got to try some raw cocoa beans! My favourite part of the project has been learning about the farming small-scale industries in place in the communities, namely palm oil and gari processing. Especially from an engineering perspective, these activities are so intriguing. As I’ve said before, being in the more rural areas is like night and day from Accra, which offers a refreshing but also difficult change. Mention should be given to the wonderful KITE staff who put up with us in the tiny truck cab for several hours every day.

Next, I would talk in great detail of our wonderful midsummer retreat. We met Lindsey & Amy in the city of Kumasi, where we spent four days. It was great to be able to see the other two again and get fully updated on all their experiences. The best part of Kumasi was visiting the biggest open-air market in West Africa. There were aisles upon aisles of gorgeous material, then raw fish and pig’s feet and snails, then Ghanaian beads, then mountains of groundnut paste, then shoes, then vegetables, then hair products…we got ourselves lost there for an entire day and still didn’t see most of it.

We next moved north to Mole National Park. Let me say here that if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that the four of us will return as the most effective and patient travelers on the face of the earth. It seems every trip is characterized by hopping to different bus stations more than twice to find a bus, confusing bartering antics, broken-down buses which will be fixed “soon”, things falling out of tro-tros, lost wallets or electronic devices, tro-tros missing windshield wipers in thunderstorms, spilling water all over myself, and sharing single beds. This trip was no exception.

That said, it was phenomenal. I was glued to the window the entire time, watching the scenery change from the south to the north of the country. Jungle becomes savannah, palm trees become rice fields, square cement homes become round mud homes, churches become mosques.

Elements of tourism in Ghana can often be frustrating, but on the whole Mole was good to us – I saw dozens of elephants, baboons, warthogs, buffalo, antelope, and a few crocodiles. The elephants and baboons were often within 10 or 20 feet! One morning, Amy and I had to change spots three times as the elephants were eying our omelettes a little too closely.

I would most like to talk about the last night of our retreat - we moved to Larabanga, a nearby village to Mole. The guest house there is run by an incredible set of twins – the Salia brothers – who have had a huge hand in developing their remote village. As an example, they are an integral part of running the school which relies on volunteers for teachers. We were privileged to be served a delicious meal of tuo zafi (the northern, less sticky version of banku) and groundnut soup around a glowing fire in the main hut with Hussein, one of the brothers. Hussein stayed and talked with us for hours – we talked about everything from education to solar lighting to Ghanaians leaving for Western countries to ignorance, knowledge, and happiness to trade policies and democracy. He was so knowledgeable and insightful; it is a discussion I will not forget for a long time to come. Later, we went outside to a clear sky full of more stars than I have ever, ever seen. I guess that’s what you get when you don’t have electricity.

Lastly, Josh and I are back in Accra. Over the last week and weekend we have at last finished our contribution to the lengthy feasibility study report for the project in which we are involved – it was quite the process, but with the help of the staff at KITE in the end we are quite proud of our work. We hope to soon hear what our next endeavours will be.

Well, that’s our month in a page and a half. Love and hugs and all the best to everyone at home/wherever their summer adventures have taken them. We really love knowing that people are following the blog from time to time - leave us a comment when you!

L.wig