Spring Break Part 3: Windhoek and Sossusvlei

Our flight to Namibia was short and sweet (we each had our own row!)and upon arriving in Windhoek we got in a taxi and had a ride through the deserted landscape to our hostel (which was, again, gorgeous) which had a pool and dogs. We made a pasty dinner and hung out a bit in the large outdoor common area. We woke up early (like every other day) to begin our safari with two young British guys who had also been staying in our hostel. Our driver, Martin, was super nice and called all of us princess and angel (and even referred to us collectively as Martin's Angels) and our 4 x 4, the aptly named "Sexy Beast," was quite comfortable during the long drives. We arrived at Agame Camp in the late afternoon, set up our tents, and started swimming (I know... real camping doesn't have swimming pools...). We had a delicious dinner and then stargazed until bed. Wake up was 4:30 AM because we had be at Sossusvlei by sunrise. We climbed the totally picturesque dunes and even did some staged jumping photo shoots before breakfast. Then we walked partway up Crazy Dune (so called because as Martin says "You have to be crazy to climb") and then ran down the sand to Deadvlei, a clay wasteland riddled with buried dead treas. Then we headed to a little canyon where we dove off the cliffs into the refreshingly cold water before making our way back to camp for more swimming, a gorgeous sunset, and another night under the stunning stars.

Spring Break Part 2: Because I Don't Want It to Be too Long

On Monday we woke up early and got right into our wine tour bus with Isaac, our adorable and extremely knowledgeable driver who talked to us about South African and American politics (he was a McCain supporter, as were many of our taxi drivers). We picked up a nice Polish couple and headed to a wine cellar where we had our first wine tasting, complete with introductory lessons (that made us laugh more than anything). Our second winery was called Goats Do Roam and though the wine was excellent I think all of us enjoyed the cheese tasting the most (I don't want to say how many times we went around the cheese table for seconds). Isaac then drove us through Fishhoek where we had a picnic lunch under the trees. Then we headed to a cheetah conservatory where we got to pet a real cheetah (though it wasn't very scary considering it appeared to be asleep, or just really bored). Our last winery of the day was Simonseg and though it was empty we still had a great tasting. Then we had to say goodbye to our new Polish friends and Isaac and met up with some friends on Long for cocktails and Kurdish food (where we got charged $1 each to watch belly dancing!). Tuesday we woke up to gloom and overcast skies and a phone call saying our skydiving had been canceled because of the weather, and though we were disappointed we soldiered on, mostly by consoling ourselves with window shopping and a delicious sandwich lunch. Then, Griffin, Marlee, and I hiked Lion's Head (a smaller mountain near Table Mountain) where we had breathtaking views of both Cape Town and the ocean. We asked a passerby to take a picture of all us and after he obliged he asked if he could take our pictures for the Cape Town newspaper because he was writing an article on the recent muggings on Lion's Head. This mostly just got us thinking every hiker was a potential mugger, though everyone we met on the way was nice. The first few minutes were torture but once we started rock climbing (not too intense but still brag worthy) it got easier and we made it to the top quickly. The view from the top was even more amazing and it was really sad to have to head down. When we got to the beginning of the trail we realized it would be pretty hard to hail a taxi but luckily we met two nice hikers who gave us a ride back. We met up with other girls from Ghana and ate delicious burgers. It being Saint Patrick's Day we went to the nearby Irish Pub and hung out way into the night.

Spring Break Part 1: Cape Town aka My New City (one day)

We arrived in Cape Town, South Africa after one of the easiest flights I have ever been on (at least in the past 10 years). Not only was there no wait in Accra, our transfer at Johannesburg was a breeze (meaning none of the taking off of the shoes or the jackets or putting the liquids in the tray business). All of us had empty seats and were able to sleep the entire flight so by the time we woke up we were already landing. The pilot pointed out the sights of Cape Town, including Robben Island and Table Mountain (the enormous plateau in the middle of the city). We met our driver right at the gate and arrived at our hostel, Carnival Court, within the hour. The street our hostel was on is called Long Street and though it was very Western I'm having trouble comparing it to anyplace in the US. It was the cutest street filled with restaurants, bars, clubs, boutiques, and anything else you could imagine. All the buildings were a mix of New Orleans and modern architecture and our own hostel was quite adorable, with old wooden floors, our own fireplace, and a great balcony overlooking the street. After putting our stuff down we got a taxi and headed to the waterfront (another area straight out of the US) were we got fish and chips. Then we did our historical tour of Robben Island, the infamous prison where political prisoners such as Nelson Mandela were kept during the long years of apartheid. The ferry was not quick enough (it kind of made me seasick) but the island was beautiful. Our bus driver was hilarious and knew everything there was to know about the prison (he had even given Barack Obama his first tour). We got to go inside the prisons and see where Nelson Mandela's cell was. We also saw the many penguins that inhabit the island (it is the third largest penguin colony) and then headed back to the mainland for a short nap. That night we all went to a Mexican restaurant where we promptly devoured a plate of nachos (we have been very cheese deprived) and then proceeded to pig out on fajitas (with extra cheese). We tried getting into a club on Long Street but didn't feel like paying an expensive cover charge so we headed back to our hostel and hung out with the other travelers. On Sunday we woke up early to get a taxi into Simonstown, which is a bit farther down the cape. The drive was fantastic and reminded me of driving through northern California. It was weird passing such nice suburbs because even the suburbs of Ghana weren't that western looking. When we arrived in Simonstown we headed to the wharf and got in our kayaks. The trek out to the Boulders was extremely difficult, I can't ignore how bad of shape I am in. But we got to see more penguins swimming among the rocks and then got to go swimming ourselves, though it was freezing! The row back was less painful and Marlee and I kept up with the guides to be second back (though technically it wasn't a race). A local guy suggested we skip the tourist restaurants by the water and directed us to The Meeting Place up on the hill. The place was really cute and looked straight out of Crate and Barrel (the food was delicious as well, including more cheese!). We then walked down the main street, which reminded me a bit of Carmel before getting onto the train (even the train ride was amazing because it passed right by the ocean!). Long Street was deserted for once so we walked down a quieter street and ate pizza and pasta for an amazing price before heading back to Long Street where we spent another night with people from our hostel.

Burkina Faso and FESPACO

The past few weeks have been very busy (mostly because I was spending over 30 hours in a tiny van driving along a ridiculously bumpy road) yet very fun. I went with my documentary class to Burkina Faso, the country immediately north of Ghana, for the largest (and perhaps only) African film festival, FESPACO. We left at 5 am in a too small Ford van crammed with all out cameras and sound equipment and for the first few hours we drove without AC to spare the engine. By 6 pm we were safely in Bolgatanga, a town on the Ghanaian side of the border. Though at times we weren't sure if we would ever make it, the roads were so horrible and practically non existent. We set out at 5 am again on Saturday, passed through the delightfully dilapidated border crossing with little trouble, and arrived in Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina) around noon. The first day was spent wandering aimlessly around the film festival, wondering if we were going to get passes or not and eating kebabs. All that was accomplished was discovering a good local street bar with delicious egg sandwiches on baguettes (one of the many examples of french influence). But luckily the next day we had complimentary passes and saw our first movie, a very long documentary about the current political of South Africa, which actually pretty interesting. The next day we were able to see my professor's movie about rastas in Ethiopia and several other interesting films in french with french subtitles. My four years of French were a little helpful but not much, and the movies were just downright weird (one was about an albino murder mystery in Mali involving sacrifice and theater... and the other was about a crazy family in South Africa, both fiction). We also saw a very cute documentary about child bus drivers in Egypt. Along the way we took a lot of footage of the festival and the people of Burkina (called Burkinabes) and had time to interview lots of other festivaliers (the official name of everyone attending). Everyone had an amazing time and our two TA's took us out to dinner and dance clubs and were constantly entertaining us. By Tuesday no one wanted to leave but as soon as we finished walking around the open air market we had to pack up the van again and head to Bolgatanga for the night. Wednesday we woke up again at 5 and headed on our way, though it took us longer to get home because right at the outskirts of Accra, where the road starts to get a little less bumpy, our tire blew out. Scaring all of us and the entire group of people selling food on the road side. By the time we finally got home it was almost 9 and all of us immediately went to bed and passed out (even though we had spent most of the car ride sleeping...). The rest of the that week and the next have been going by very slowly because I cannot wait to be on a plane to South Africa and Namibia. We fly down for spring break this Friday and will be kayaking, dune surfing, wine tasting (and maybe even skydiving)!

Finally Some Pictures

Here's a picture of the crocodile getting ready to eat...
This is the view from the top of Elmina Castle, looking out over the river and the fishing boats. The picture does not accurately show the massive amount of people that were gathered.
This is the view from the other side of Elmina Castle, facing the ocean.
This is the doorway leading into the dungeon where they kept slaves that tried to revolt or incite riots. They would leave people in there with no food until they died and then throw their bodies out into the ocean.
A view from the pool at our hotel in Elmina, the water was a gorgeous shade of blue but the current made it too strong to really swim.
This is the little bungalow we slept in at Kokrobite, a beach town just 40 minutes away by tro tro.
This is a picture from a while ago when we went to Kaneshi market. These kids were adorable and would not stop posing!

The internet is being very slow so I will have to post the rest later.

The Lap of Luxury...

So this weekend was our first NYU sponsored "excursion," complete with embarrassingly large tour bus and of course, Christa (our ever chipper student activities director) who likes to treat us as if we are a group of middle schoolers. But that aside, the trip was a really awesome all expenses paid semi-relaxing weekend at the beach. We left Accra at around 6:30 a.m. and just barely made it to Elimina without being made Popsicles by the very intense air conditioning system. From there we headed to the famous Elimina Castle, which was once a fort used in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The castle was built in the 1400's by the Portuguese and is still pretty well in tact. The tour was a bit depressing though, we had to walk through the slave cells which were cramped and unventilated. Then we walked down through the passage of no return to the little door where the slaves were taken out to the waiting ships (oftentimes after enduring a terrible 2 to 3 months in the prisons). The whole thing was heart wrenching and it was just awful listening to how terrible the conditions were and how mean the Portuguese and Dutch were. And on top of all the associated sadness, the heat was so unbearable that one girl fainted right in the middle of the presentation and several other people got very sick. All in all, a rather somber morning (though a very informative one).

On a lighter note, after Elimina Castle we drove to a small restaurant on stilts above a crocodile pond. At first we didn't see any crocodiles but when one of the wait staff got out a can of meat a huge one climbed over the bank. The lady then proceeded to feed it bits of guts off a stick, I'll upload the picture I got of it eating! Then it just hung out very creepily with its eyes above the water line looking oh so suspicious. We then headed to Kokum National Park, a certified rain forest (we had a big debate whether or not it was one) near the hills. There, we got to hike up a pretty excruciating path (I sweat out close to 3 pounds probably) but the finale was definitely worth it. We got to walk across these thin rope bridges 100 feet in the air, where you were basically walking along the tops of the trees. The view was amazing, though slightly scary because the bridges were made of rope and therefore swung a lot when 10 people walked on them. Everyone made it across without too much trouble, though it did start to rain (that's when we agreed it was probably a rain forest).

By this time it was late afternoon so we got to head back to our hotel, Coconut Groove, and see our rooms. I know Ghana is a lot cheaper than the US and everything, but even still our hotel was pretty swanky. We had huge rooms with mini bars and turn down service (including chocolates) and there was a great pool right at the edge of the beach. There was also a delicious buffet dinner followed by a huge bonfire and traditional palm wine (I don't really recommend it, it kind of tasted like cleaning solution and rubbing alcohol). Then we all just hung out on the rocks overlooking the waves and swam in the pool.

In the morning we had to be up pretty early (well... 9:30) as the bus was taking several of us to a batik making session. Batik is a type of cloth, very common throughout Africa I think, that kind of resembles tie dye. The process was really labor intensive but very entertaining. We had to cut out our own designs on big pieces of foam to make stamps, then dipped the stamps in boiling wax and made designs on a piece of cloth. Once the whole cloth was stamped we were able to dye it (I chose yellow so that my numerous mistakes would be less visible). We ran out of time so most people stopped there, but the rest of the process involves soaking the cloth in boiling water to get the wax off and then drying it again and picking off any left over wax. Some people made some really beautiful cloth, mine was so-so but I can definitely live with it.

By that time we were already running really late so we had to hurry and check out and then get back on the bus for the 3 hour ride home. Unfortunately we made several annoying stops (including a stop to buy pineapples and roasted grass cutter, a rat of pretty giant proportions that is considered a delicacy here) so it took us even longer to get home then we anticipated. When we finally got home all of us were so exhausted that most of us fell asleep, though we woke up to steal the internet from one of the other houses (the internet in my house has been down since Wednesday, which is more annoying then i thought).

It took me a good week to post this only because the internet has still been out and I spent a very long day trying to book my plane ticket for spring break. We have decided upon South Africa and Namibia! I'll try put up a post of just pictures from last weekend right after this.

Busy Busy Weekends

I have never before had such hectic weekends, but now I would not trade it for anything. Since it has been a while since I last wrote anything this might be a long one (I apologize). On Friday night our program had its semi-annual social mixer (ha!) which was really just a gathering at my dorm between NYU students and Ghanaian students from the University of Legon and Ashesi. Unfortunately it had to rain for the first time since we've been here, so we had to scramble and move all the speakers and food inside. But the rain was amazing, it fell in sheets for a good 20 minutes and then the lightening came, huge cracks that you could see outlined in the sky. They looked purple and terrifying but it was awesome to watch. After it cleared up we were able to resume the mixer (which was really just plain awkward at first...). Luckily it became more enjoyable as the night wore on, though the male students from the universities are very interested in getting as many girls phone numbers as they can, so sometimes you just have to pretend you haven't bought a phone yet. Though that can lead to a whole other set of problems, including offers to buy a phone or a Sim card, or requests for your email. But awkwardness aside it was quite fun and I was able to maneuver my way carefully around the exchanging of numbers.

On Saturday 16 of us took a huge bus to a small beach town called Winneba. The town was eerily reminiscent of the suburban east coast. In Accra, and especially Labonne where I live, all the houses have 8 foot fences with electrical wire or sharp spikes at the top. And almost every house as a 24 hour guard. However, in Winneba there were no fences, just green grass and cute brick ranch houses. The place did seem really deserted though, we could never find a taxi and it was even harder finding people to give us directions. The hotel we stayed at was near the beach on a small lagoon (Lagoon Lodge, quite the appropriate name) though because it was all booked we had to stay in the "Coconut Guest House". Sounds nice I know, but it was really just a building that resembled a barrack with little rooms and a communal bathroom. But we can't complain because we only spent 6 cedis. The walk to the beach was pretty interesting, we had to follow a dirt path for about 20 minutes through some pretty long grass that reminded me of Jurassic park. But when we finally made it to the beach it was totally worth it. This beach was one of those postcard beaches, with palm trees in the sand almost to the water, shells washed up along shore, and not a single person around except the fishermen way off in the distance. The water was bright blue and warm and we swam for a long time. However, when I finally decided to take a nap in the sun I ended up getting sun burned (though not as bad as everyone else). At night we walked into the outskirts of the tiny town and had drinks at a small outdoor bar. Then we all walked back to the beach (which was really difficult since the only light we had was our cell phones) and sat and listened to the surf and watched for shooting stars. In the morning we all headed back to the town to catch the bus and then endured a very very hot hour and a half bus ride. At that point the only thing keeping us going was the prospect of buying fanice, this delicious invention that is frozen ice cream in a bag. When we finally get home everyone was exhausted and at night we were too tired to watch the Superbowl, though a bunch of people went to the American bar (which I heard as the only good Mexican food in Accra).

On Monday I went to my first full day of community service, at New Horizons Special School. I played games with the kids and even came in last in one of the races (only because my shoe fell off). Then I observed each classroom and got to do one on one activities with the kids. In the afternoon a bunch of us went to the Accra Mall (which has, of all things, a Shop Rite) to get groceries. It also has a movie theater, a food court, and a bizarre store called GAME that is like a mini Target. We really couldn't figure out what it was but it had really cheap cereal and wine and also sold appliances and car parts. At night we all went out for this guy Danny's birthday. The place we went was a cute little bar right on the beach with delicious skewers (by the end of the night we had ordered 30 haha). Going out is so much more relaxing here than in New York, you always end up sitting on the beach or on some rooftop where you can see stars and bats and hear crickets. It also helps that drinks here are phenomenally cheaper than they are in NYC, I don't know how I will be able to go back and ever eat out at an actual restaurant without balking at the price...