When I woke up on my last full pre-vacation morning in Bormase, I turned on my shortwave radio and immediately heard the news that the unparalleled Michael Jackson had passed away.
My plan for the day was to help Patrick and his family complete any last bead work that they hoped to send with me to America. For some serious cultural exchange, I got to his house at 8am and Patrick, Lizzie, Gladys and Tetteh sat on the floor stringing beads while listening to every Michael Jackson song on my iPod via portable speakers. Patrick had heard the news and knew the impact but Tetteh and Lizzie had no idea who they were listening to. Naturally, as is all but automatic when listening to Michael Jackson, everybody was bobbing and humming to the music within minutes. What better cultural exchange is there than making traditional Krobo jewelry while listening to music that changed America, race, music and the rest of the world?
When the bead work was complete and my room was packed, I was ready to leave for the USA. When thinking of coming back, I couldn't help but notice that during the first 25 years and three months of my life, I spent about one cumulative month outside the USA. Up until yesterday I had been outside the US for over 21 months straight. I was ready for a shock.
I left Bormase with an unbelievable amount of luggage. Gifts and beads provided most of the weight but I also wanted to clear my house of all items that won't fit in a hiking backpack for post-Peace Corps travels.
The journey to Accra went well, the tro did the work of carrying my luggage. When I got out of the tro with my hiking pack, backpack, duffel bag and Ghana Gucci (we volunteers use this term for the huge synthetic bags you can find in most China towns) I was ready to make the short walk to the office. The walk is the equivalent of maybe five blocks but naturally, it started raining just before I got out of the tro.
I hadn't distributed the weight properly so I had all sixty pounds of beads in the crappy cheap bag that I was carrying like a briefcase. The rain got harder and the stares more confused as I shuffled fifty meters at a time before stopping and standing in the middle of the sidewalk in the rain. I was convinced at the time that this brief five block walk was the most physically demanding thing that I had ever done in my life. Of course that can't be true but I was wiped out and soaked when I got to the office.
I had a fun night out with Gray, Erin, Travis and Marcus (a lucky group of friends to have in Accra) and the next morning was on my way to the USA (re-organizing my 80kg of luggage took some time and bribery).
No sleep, two meals and plenty of movies got me through the eleven hour direct flight with ease. I can't believe how easy eleven hours of travel has become. A few hours at baggage claim was a bit more of a pain but at about 7pm EST, I saw my beautiful big sister Megan for the first time in nearly two years!!! Chatting away felt normal maybe five minutes later.
The two of us were a site with Megan lugging a few bags and myself with a huge broken suitcase atop my head. Fortunately, it's New York City and nobody seemed surprised.
A taxi ride with and Ivorian driver, a walk through Manhattan, a big meal at ESPNzone while watching the Yankees play the Mets (what great timing) a long walk on a 70 degree NY night and a hot shower brought my 22 hour day to an end. Burning eyes, a comfortable hotel bed and no ability to sleep brought me this blog entry five hours later. Who knows that we'll do today but the options are endless and I'm definitely up for it. 20 lb weight gain, attempt number two has begun!!!
Love to all
Ira
Monday, June 29, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Can't compare
Cheri and I are safely back in Ghana. The trip didn't go quite according to plan but we've grown quite accustomed to unfulfilled plans in Ghana.
From the hippo lake, Cheri and I went to our hut and enjoyed a day of laundry and relaxation. Just for kicks, I took a long stick and did my best to take a large black plastic bag from the crocodiles water hole. Just as I was thinking how lame it was that the crocodiles didn't react at all, the largest of the five whipped around and grabbed the end of the stick. I was quite far away and very much out of danger but I was given a first hand look of why these animals are so dangerous. I got a pretty huge adrenaline rush to boot.
That evening, we returned to Banfora and sought out bus scheduling for the next day. We caught an early bus to Bobo, wandered around the the day and eventually went out to a live drumming concert. The show was quite brief but not lacking in enthusiasm. When the artists left the stage, a number of them came over to chat with a fellow hotel patron of ours. After not too long, we were headed to accompany some of the musicians to a private party. We arrived a bit late and joined a large circle mixed with musicians on one side and party guests on the other. Each group consisted of about a dozen members and our hotel group of six joined the musicians.
Immediately, platters of food and cups of palm wine were passed around. We snacked and drank while watching drummers, flutists and xylophonists increase their energy with each song. Musicians traded places and instruments while many from the group began a beautiful and incredibly fast paced dance party in the center of courtyard in which we sat. The music and dancing continued to speed up until some members of our group took a turn and proved the difficulty of the others' dance moves by grinding the pace to a halt. We looked foolish but got a great response while thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I hope to upload a brief video from the evening if only to give a slight glimpse.
We made it back to the hotel by 2 am and were at the bus station at 6am. What better way to start a twelve hour travel day?
We reached Bamako in Mali just as the sun was setting. We struggled to locate a decent hotel and ended up staying at the Catholic Mission. Good conversation and some small small wandering were all we could muster up as we did not yet have our bearings and on a night when Ghana defeated Mali 2-0 in World Cup qualifiers in Bamako, we didn't want to take any risks.
The following day, we met up with some fellow PCVs from Mali and Mauritania. The automatic camaraderie that Peace Corps service creates is undeniable. Everyone we met was very welcoming and unbelievably helpful. A group of maybe twenty of us (many traveled to see the football match) spent the night having beers and trading Peace Corps stories. As usual, representatives from each country harped a bit about the unique difficulties of their respective sites. Ghana has the beach and fresh fruit. Burkina Faso has steak sandwiches, yogurt, cheese and good transportation. Mali has amazing culture, rock climbing and nice silver. Mauritania has sand and a completely alcohol free host country. They can pretty much shut down any complaint about Peace Corps service. They got what I pictured when I learned I was coming to Africa. They have mud huts, limited food and the need to go on overnight alcohol smuggling missions on donkey cart whenever they want to have a party. We had a great night and again got to sleep at around 2am, arrived at the bus station at 6am and slept for most of our twelve hour bus ride to Mopti.
By the time we reached Mopti, we had learned about the dissolution of parliament in Niger and about the travel restriction from June 2 through June 9. On June 7 I learned that the restriction was changed to be only June 7-9. On June 10, I learned that the restriction was postponed to June 14. Our vacation had to end on June 14 so after two nights in Mopti (including a nice pirogue ride on the Niger River) we realized that we could only get to Togo if we traveled all the way South through Burkina Faso and Ghana. We traveled for the better part of 50 hours in order to spend a nice relaxing day on the beach in Togo. Our trip to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Benin and Togo became Burkina Faso, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo. It was amazing and completely humbling.
We were reminded of the difficulties of travel in the third world. When asking about the travel restrictions for Niger, a Peace Corps employee told us that since a hostage was just recently killed and Al Qaeda knows that the USA doesn't negotiate with terrorists, we would probably not get kidnapped crossing the border but it wasn't a good idea. Many volunteers complain about the strict, overbearing restrictions that are sometimes placed over us. When the rules keep us from traveling into countries with active terrorist organizations or strong coup potential, I can't help but be thankful.
Love to all
Ira
From the hippo lake, Cheri and I went to our hut and enjoyed a day of laundry and relaxation. Just for kicks, I took a long stick and did my best to take a large black plastic bag from the crocodiles water hole. Just as I was thinking how lame it was that the crocodiles didn't react at all, the largest of the five whipped around and grabbed the end of the stick. I was quite far away and very much out of danger but I was given a first hand look of why these animals are so dangerous. I got a pretty huge adrenaline rush to boot.
That evening, we returned to Banfora and sought out bus scheduling for the next day. We caught an early bus to Bobo, wandered around the the day and eventually went out to a live drumming concert. The show was quite brief but not lacking in enthusiasm. When the artists left the stage, a number of them came over to chat with a fellow hotel patron of ours. After not too long, we were headed to accompany some of the musicians to a private party. We arrived a bit late and joined a large circle mixed with musicians on one side and party guests on the other. Each group consisted of about a dozen members and our hotel group of six joined the musicians.
Immediately, platters of food and cups of palm wine were passed around. We snacked and drank while watching drummers, flutists and xylophonists increase their energy with each song. Musicians traded places and instruments while many from the group began a beautiful and incredibly fast paced dance party in the center of courtyard in which we sat. The music and dancing continued to speed up until some members of our group took a turn and proved the difficulty of the others' dance moves by grinding the pace to a halt. We looked foolish but got a great response while thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I hope to upload a brief video from the evening if only to give a slight glimpse.
We made it back to the hotel by 2 am and were at the bus station at 6am. What better way to start a twelve hour travel day?
We reached Bamako in Mali just as the sun was setting. We struggled to locate a decent hotel and ended up staying at the Catholic Mission. Good conversation and some small small wandering were all we could muster up as we did not yet have our bearings and on a night when Ghana defeated Mali 2-0 in World Cup qualifiers in Bamako, we didn't want to take any risks.
The following day, we met up with some fellow PCVs from Mali and Mauritania. The automatic camaraderie that Peace Corps service creates is undeniable. Everyone we met was very welcoming and unbelievably helpful. A group of maybe twenty of us (many traveled to see the football match) spent the night having beers and trading Peace Corps stories. As usual, representatives from each country harped a bit about the unique difficulties of their respective sites. Ghana has the beach and fresh fruit. Burkina Faso has steak sandwiches, yogurt, cheese and good transportation. Mali has amazing culture, rock climbing and nice silver. Mauritania has sand and a completely alcohol free host country. They can pretty much shut down any complaint about Peace Corps service. They got what I pictured when I learned I was coming to Africa. They have mud huts, limited food and the need to go on overnight alcohol smuggling missions on donkey cart whenever they want to have a party. We had a great night and again got to sleep at around 2am, arrived at the bus station at 6am and slept for most of our twelve hour bus ride to Mopti.
By the time we reached Mopti, we had learned about the dissolution of parliament in Niger and about the travel restriction from June 2 through June 9. On June 7 I learned that the restriction was changed to be only June 7-9. On June 10, I learned that the restriction was postponed to June 14. Our vacation had to end on June 14 so after two nights in Mopti (including a nice pirogue ride on the Niger River) we realized that we could only get to Togo if we traveled all the way South through Burkina Faso and Ghana. We traveled for the better part of 50 hours in order to spend a nice relaxing day on the beach in Togo. Our trip to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Benin and Togo became Burkina Faso, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Togo. It was amazing and completely humbling.
We were reminded of the difficulties of travel in the third world. When asking about the travel restrictions for Niger, a Peace Corps employee told us that since a hostage was just recently killed and Al Qaeda knows that the USA doesn't negotiate with terrorists, we would probably not get kidnapped crossing the border but it wasn't a good idea. Many volunteers complain about the strict, overbearing restrictions that are sometimes placed over us. When the rules keep us from traveling into countries with active terrorist organizations or strong coup potential, I can't help but be thankful.
Love to all
Ira
Monday, June 8, 2009
QWERTY
Same day but on a normal keyboard. I'm now in the Peace Corps Mali office and can use a keyboard that doesn't make me feel like I'm learning to type all over again. I don't know how hunt and peckers can do it.
Cheri and I went from Ouagadougou through Bobo Dialasso to Banfora. From Banfora we went to Tengrila in order to visit what guide books and Peace Corps Burkina Faso volunteers said would be a nice lake.
We arrived in the late morning and were greeted by a largy man with small tight dreadlocks who introduced himself as Souleyman. He set us up in our round mud hut and then showed us around his place, playing xylophone and drums like it was his job (it turns out that it is his job). He showed us his crocodile pond which held five crocodiles ranging from four to six feet in length. The housing compound had a monstrous Mango tree in the center and had plenty of tables, chairs and hammocks for relaxing. After getting settled, Cheri and I wandered to the nearby lake. We were scheduled for a 6am pirogue tour the following morning but thought that it would be nice to get a lay of the land. On the way, a nice young Burkinabe peddled his bike beside us and chatted in broken enlish. We chatted back in broken but improving French while working towards the lake. The three of us spent most of that afternoon sitting lakeside and chatting, each of us learning much desired foreign language skills.
I had to leave the qwerty keyboard and Im back on azerty so again slow.
The last morning in Tengrila Cheri and I were scheduled to take a pirogue ride at 6am. Cell phone malfunctions allowed us to sleep until half past six and we hurriedly left the hut to find out guide. He was nowhere to be seen so we continued toward the lake. Our Burkinabe buddy met us along the way and ended up guiding us on a pirogue to within twenty feet of a family of hippos. I was initially nervous but saw a man standing waist deep fishing only 20 meters away. What a great way to start the day.
I am impatient with this keyboard so will sign off. Our travel plans have been thwarted a bit due to an Al Qaeda presence in Northern Mali and the dissolution of parliament in Niger. Further updates when we know more.
I Mali now, back through Ouagadougou due to travel restrictions tomorrow.
Love to all:
Ira
Cheri and I went from Ouagadougou through Bobo Dialasso to Banfora. From Banfora we went to Tengrila in order to visit what guide books and Peace Corps Burkina Faso volunteers said would be a nice lake.
We arrived in the late morning and were greeted by a largy man with small tight dreadlocks who introduced himself as Souleyman. He set us up in our round mud hut and then showed us around his place, playing xylophone and drums like it was his job (it turns out that it is his job). He showed us his crocodile pond which held five crocodiles ranging from four to six feet in length. The housing compound had a monstrous Mango tree in the center and had plenty of tables, chairs and hammocks for relaxing. After getting settled, Cheri and I wandered to the nearby lake. We were scheduled for a 6am pirogue tour the following morning but thought that it would be nice to get a lay of the land. On the way, a nice young Burkinabe peddled his bike beside us and chatted in broken enlish. We chatted back in broken but improving French while working towards the lake. The three of us spent most of that afternoon sitting lakeside and chatting, each of us learning much desired foreign language skills.
I had to leave the qwerty keyboard and Im back on azerty so again slow.
The last morning in Tengrila Cheri and I were scheduled to take a pirogue ride at 6am. Cell phone malfunctions allowed us to sleep until half past six and we hurriedly left the hut to find out guide. He was nowhere to be seen so we continued toward the lake. Our Burkinabe buddy met us along the way and ended up guiding us on a pirogue to within twenty feet of a family of hippos. I was initially nervous but saw a man standing waist deep fishing only 20 meters away. What a great way to start the day.
I am impatient with this keyboard so will sign off. Our travel plans have been thwarted a bit due to an Al Qaeda presence in Northern Mali and the dissolution of parliament in Niger. Further updates when we know more.
I Mali now, back through Ouagadougou due to travel restrictions tomorrow.
Love to all:
Ira
le blanc
Now that Cheri and I have left Ghana, we have turned from Siliminga and Blefono respectively to Le Blanc. The big difference now is that neither of us can wow the offenders by rattling of something clever in the local language. The two of us share maybe one hundred words in French but have been using the numerous hours of travel to pick up some extra phrases via downloaded lessons on the ipod.
I am on a French keyboard and not feeling patient enough to catch up on every part of out trip but I will offer some highlights.
From Accra we went to Kumasi for a night. The next morning we joined a 7 hour bus to Bolgatanga of the Upper East Region. We stayed at the house of a local radio DJ, drank pito and attended the going away party of a fellow PCV.
From Bolga we went to Ouagadougou where we unexpectedly spent three nights. A day wandering the newly re=opened Grande Marchez, an evening with an Irovian friend of Cheris, a makeshift picnic in a very dry but still nice forest. Many many steak sandwiches and we left for Banfora. We got in a bit late so had a meal and planned the next adventure.
The next morning, we tried to rent bicyles and check out a lake nearby. In trying to ensure that we had helmets, we clearly misled out hosts and wer subsequently led on a long walk through busy, moto filled, muddy streets until we met a market seller who had sold large straw hats that would be much more appropriate for a rice paddy than for a long bikerid. The mud, traffic and lack of head protection made us feel fine about scrapping the bike idea and taking a taxi.
The keyboard has worn me out so I will catch you all up on the rest next time. Now in Banfora then to Mopti then Niamey. Break out the map.
Love to all
Ira
I am on a French keyboard and not feeling patient enough to catch up on every part of out trip but I will offer some highlights.
From Accra we went to Kumasi for a night. The next morning we joined a 7 hour bus to Bolgatanga of the Upper East Region. We stayed at the house of a local radio DJ, drank pito and attended the going away party of a fellow PCV.
From Bolga we went to Ouagadougou where we unexpectedly spent three nights. A day wandering the newly re=opened Grande Marchez, an evening with an Irovian friend of Cheris, a makeshift picnic in a very dry but still nice forest. Many many steak sandwiches and we left for Banfora. We got in a bit late so had a meal and planned the next adventure.
The next morning, we tried to rent bicyles and check out a lake nearby. In trying to ensure that we had helmets, we clearly misled out hosts and wer subsequently led on a long walk through busy, moto filled, muddy streets until we met a market seller who had sold large straw hats that would be much more appropriate for a rice paddy than for a long bikerid. The mud, traffic and lack of head protection made us feel fine about scrapping the bike idea and taking a taxi.
The keyboard has worn me out so I will catch you all up on the rest next time. Now in Banfora then to Mopti then Niamey. Break out the map.
Love to all
Ira
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