"God's pencil has no eraser"

I have been thinking about this a lot, not just in Ghana, but in Guatemala and even at Clark. Especially after spending a Ghanaian Passover I think about it even more and this thing is RELIGION. 

Ghana is a very Christian country, from Catholic to Pentecostal, and I put RELIGION in all caps because in this country, like many others, it is in all caps, always important, constant overwhelming presence. I see Christianity in the names of stores, on posters, billboards, in the words of sermon preachers on my 7am bus ride, on signs in the campus library that reads "Please be quiet. Don't forget to pray," from strangers when they greet me with "Hello, how are you? What is your name? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" I chalk these experiences up to cultural learning. I often ignore them because, even though I don't like to admit it, all the religion stuff freaks me out because I have no context in my own life to explain so much devotion to a single ideal by so many people. I try to reason out how people can believe in Christ by relating it to something that I believe in, such as medicine. Is it not true that if someone told me Advil did not relieve headaches, I would fight them on it, listing my experiences with its success and advocating for its use, even though I have no idea how Advil works? So how is that any different from religion? Just as I assume medicine and science explain the world around me and how my body functions, isn't that how religious individuals justify God's word?

But I cannot ignore the hypocrisy, the propaganda and the hate that I see perpetrated in the name Christianity. (Now, before someone gets offended, I am talking about Christianity specifically because that is what I have been experiencing. I understand that other religions and traditional practices hold similar stances but I have not encountered them in this way. I also am talking about Christianity as it has manifested itself in my experiences, which may not represent other forms).

For example, what strikes me about Christianity in Ghana is the mix between Christianity and spirituality, which presents itself with speaking in tongues, demon possessions and over the top sermons in community spaces. In Ghana in particular, God is not a part of your personal life, but a fixture in communal life that is not open to other options. It is a stark contrast to New England, where I would be surprised to see a single billboard advertise a religious event, of which I see at least 10 on my commute into Accra. 

I have been trying very hard to be open minded and culturally tolerant in my perceptions of religion in Ghana. But, if I'm being honest, it makes me annoyed and sometimes really angry. I don't like that I feel I have to avoid the topic when people ask me if I'm Christian because I feel they will judge me. I don't enjoy watching preachers on Christian television chant at people, sending them into a seizure, curing them from an obsessive eating of uncooked rice. I don't like it when a little girl tells me she doesn't like Obama because he is the anti-christ. But I have calmed these minor annoyances from become anger or elitist frustration, with some exceptions. I cannot avoid being angry when a 3 year old boy comes to the Police Hospital with a broken leg and whipping marks all over his body because his step mom had a vision at her church he was possessed by the devil, and decided to take care of it through violence.

But I understand that I cannot judge any society and the people within it from a superior lens. My way is no better than anyone else's. Because everyone perpetrates hate, but perhaps not everyone uses a book and a prophet to back it up. Everyone fears the unknown, dislikes uncertainties and is selfish, but some conceal these sentiments behind the curtain of Jesus and others don't. It was very timely that I stumbled upon this article while I was mulling over these conflicting emotions: Im Christian, unless you're gay  because it captures the religion conundrum much more eloquently that I can hope to. 

Despite all this - the hate, the propaganda, the violence perpetrated in the name of a belief, the is most important thing to note is that all Christians are not the same. They are not all conservative, creationist Republicans that push their Christian agenda as a vehicle for political sway and bigotry. Now written out that seems obvious, but I don't think this understanding is often put into practice. If you have ever read Half the Sky you will learn that we would have no charity and very few people traveling around the world trying to help those less fortunate, were it not for religion. There would be no Martin Luther King Jr., no Mother Theresa. What I have learned more than anything is that there are many remarkable people that do not fit the stereotype but are very devote believers in Jesus Christ. I met these people in Guatemala, I met these people at Clark and I am meeting them here in Ghana. These people defy my own conceptions that to be liberal you must be secular. That to be conservative you must be preachy. These are people that are using faith to do great things while being tolerant and culturally understanding and without imposing their beliefs upon those they do good work with. It is those people that I feel are misrepresented in our society, in the media and in highly religious countries. 

This is a heavy one, I'll follow it with a light one in a few days (lets be honest, it'll probably take me over a week) where I'll share all my favorite things about Ghana!!

REALLY QUICK UPDATE:

Kumasi was great - I bought too many gifts! This weekend we celebrated my friend Rachel's birthday! This week is my last week of classes to be followed by a trip to the Volta Region where we will visit Kekeli Inc. among other things, and then I have my Traditional African Dance exam and Twi exam!! Yikes, it's like real school. Yebishiya bio! ("see you later," not the correct spelling). 

Just another Passover...

This past weekend a group of us traveled to a rural Jewish community in the village of Sefwi Wiawaso.   I think I mentioned this in a previous post but if not here is a website that explains how what why when of the Jewish community: http://www.kulanu.org/ghana/visit_to_ghana.php

After traveling from 5am-7pm which included 3 hours waiting, 2 bus rides and 2 taxi rides, we arrived at the village in time for dinner and the evening service. Upon arriving we met this group of 5 gap year students that had been in Ghana since September. They spent the first few months in Accra and since January they've been teaching in a rural village outside of Kumasi. Although they are getting such an amazing cultural experience, they are having issues with their directors and are really cut off from other American students. We also met a student who is on the NYU Ghana program, which is very different from CIEE. They have their own campus near Accra and have all of their classes on site, which would seem very structured, but apparently they have very little programming after orientation. It was interesting to see how different each program is and it definitely made me appreciate how wonderful CIEE is - both the programming and the staff!

So after chatting with the gap year students, who I think were really happy to talk to other Obrunis for a change, we went to the seder. The village itself is beautiful. It was so interesting to see what parts of Judaism are practiced by this community and which aren't. Unlike seders I'm used to, this seder was with the whole community, so it was more like a service with a seder plate. The plate had the egg, but everything else was different. Instead of horseradish there was pepper sauce, instead of charoset it was honey, instead of parsley and salt water it was this spinach-like vegetable in dirt-tasting water (I'm not even going to try to figure out what it was) and instead of the lamb bone it was legit lamb/goat/sheep. We never got a straight answer when asking what the various livestock were wandering the village. The village has a very large children to adult ratio. There were about 30 children to maybe 6 adults, 4 of whom were men, so it was a big mystery whose children they were.

I feel weird complaining about this but I was really excited to do a rural home-stay: I saw us staying with families and carrying buckets of water on our heads etc. However I was mistaken and we stayed in a very nice guesthouse for the price of the average hotel, which was equipped with running water and electricity. Despite my initial excitement, I quickly got over it when I didn't have to pee in a hole in the ground but a lovely (usually) flushable toilet.

The next morning we had passover services, which I have no idea how closely resembles American passover services since I've never experienced a conservative service in my life, but our more Jewish friends had to read the Hebrew parts of the service, so I know that Hebrew is not often used. After 3 hours we retired to our guesthouse with the instructions to return for the 2nd seder at 3pm. And surprise surprise the seder was not until 8pm, but there was a reason for this bout of Ghanaian untimeliness - they needed to slaughter a goat/lamb/sheep first! And of course, silly us, showing up at 3:30pm for the seder, got front row seats to the slaughter show. I will refrain from posting photos or going into detail, but it was really cool from the wanna-be-nurse perspective, but really sad from the animal-lover inside me. One interesting thing is that they follow the kosher law that the lamb is supposed to die in one knife stroke. However this tribe does it a little bit differently, purposefully not killing the lamb instantly. The butcher (probably not his real title) told me through a translator that they do this so the animal is "giving its life voluntarily" and so the spirit/energy remains in the animal instead of leaving the body when it dies instantly. So we stood there watching this poor animal die slowly for five minutes (it felt like an hour), but the process of roasting and cutting the meat was really cool!! The whole weekend was realy interesting, especially to see of how their Jewish practices have altered to fit their cultural context without the influence of the global Jewish community. I'm sure I am leaving stuff out but this post is already getting long. Leave a comment if you want to know more!

PANIC!

First off, I've been counting weeks starting on Wednesdays because that's when we arrived in Ghana, but since my flight leaves on a Sunday and its less confusing, I'm now starting on Sundays. So that makes this week ten in Ghana.

Here is the reason for my panic:

- TEN weeks in Ghana so far
- FIVE weeks of classes left (this is the really scary one)
- EIGHT weeks left in total

Have I done everything I've wanted to do? NO! Do I feel like I'm still actively pursuing my cultural education? I could do better.
So, since I'm me, I will make a...

TO DO LIST
- Go to Makola Market. Its a main destination in Accra and I haven't gotten around to it yet!

- Hula hoop. I have this hula hoop that Gideon gave me from an old CIEE student. I was contemplating bringing mine to Ghana, which I bought so I could start making hula hooping my new hobby since a friend in Guatemala introduced me to it, but I decided not to bring it. So I figure it's kinda fate that I was given this one, so I should use it!

- Learn to cook more Ghanaian dishes. I don't spend as much quality time with my host family as I think other home stays do, which is fine. I enjoy having a home stay and hang out with them occasionally, and feeling a part of the dorm community, kind of a best of both worlds. However, I do want to hang out with them more and I can use this as an excuse. My host mom taught me how to make red red (bean stew and friend plantains aka my favorite food), but I want to learn to make stews, pepper sauce and soups So I can cook them in the states.

- Hang out with my host brothers. This is along the same lines as above, but I barely spend time with my host brothers Lesley and Oliver, who are also in their twenties so we should be friends, but we're still on a small talk basis. But to be honest I was hoping they would initiate so I haven't been putting in the effort, so I guess I will initiate if I want to form a relationship with them.

- Make a Ghanaian friend. I have some Ghanaian acquaintances from classes and people I am friendly with from the Police Hospital (two of whom have asked me to the beach/Reggae beach party, which I politely declined since the "friendship" I'm seeking involves me wearing all my clothes) and am close with the Upals, but I haven't made any Ghanaian friends that I hang out with on my own.

- Spend less time on the internet (ironic). Its so easy to sit on my computer every night at my home stay, especially if I'm home sick. I think I need to reinstate my rule that I only go on the computer if I have to for school or after my host family goes to bed. I spend so much time doing nothing on the computer, probably because it's comforting, but I don't really like it.

- Write more letters to receive more letters! I have a certain friend that will not be named that gets an ABSURD amount of mail and im JEALOUS and damn it, I want mail! So I've started sending postcards (look out gnomies) and I want to send more because its fun to send and to receive! So if you want a postcard, leave a comment, or feel free to send me one! It takes about 2 weeks for mail to travel between Ghana and the US. Here's the address:

Emma Craig - CIEE
c/o Kwasi Gyasi-Gyamerah
Private Mail Bag 31
Ground Floor, International House
Office of International Programmes
University of Ghana, Legon
Legon, Ghana
West Africa

- Observe every ward at the Police Hospital. Since I am doing my research I haven't been observing, unless you count waiting around the Children's Ward to interview people. I want to observe, at least for a day, the Maternity Ward, Public Health Ward and Out Patient Ward. I would also really like to go with the Social workers on their field assignments and do an ambulance shift, if possible!

- Do a rural home stay. This is actually going to happen so it's kind of cheating to put it on the list. Over Easter Break a few of us are going to a Jewish Community outside of the Ashanti region, where we'll be staying with families in the village. If you want to know more: http://www.kulanu.org/ghana/visit_to_ghana.php

- Volunteer at an orphanage. I need to go anyway for my research project so I might as well help out right?

- Read about Ghana. I have a very limited academic knowledge of Ghana, so I would like to read up more on the history and other aspects of the Ghanian perspective.

That's eleven things to do - I think that will tide me over for the month.  I'll let you all know as I tick each one off my cultural learning list.

In other news, I went on a hike outside of Accra yesterday - it was beautiful and so so so so much fun to go hiking for the first time in awhile. We saw ostriches ("saying hi," which was our tour guides euphemism for having sex two feet away from us) and baboons!! The hike was gorgeous and was a very different terrain that I'm used to in Accra.

Also, my host mom told me two students will be living with us for two weeks at the end of April, which is far away but I'm excited to show them around and have other Obrunis in the house for a bit, even though I'm planning to be traveling during that time.

This week I am finishing up my research on abandoned children and writing up a report. Hopefully I will start the recommendation to the Police Hospital and will begin the first steps towards initiating an actual project during April. Wish me luck!

Togo & Benin!

So last weekend I ventured to Togo and Benin (google it), traveling to Benin Friday and to Togo Saturday night until Sunday afternoon. I traveled with 6 other CIEE students, which I thought would be stressful but it was actually really great and pretty easy to navigate all of us.

This trip was full of hilarious moments, entertaining (and sometimes entertained by us) locals, lots of border crossings and delicious new snack food. The most impressional part of the trip were...
1. Cumbersome border crossings
2. Moto-taxis (Sorry, mom!)
3. Avocado and omelete baguettes
4. Fetish Market

Let me explain...

Our adventure began at 6am in Tema station (which we realized wasn't the best starting place, since the Madina station is closer to the border and closer to my home stay, but you live and you learn). After a few hours in a van and striking up conversation with a man with a Cheesecake Factory (no he has never worked there), we arrived at the Togo border. Crossing the Togo border was not seamless. The Benin border was even more obnoxious, mostly because the crossing guard claimed we were not allowed to come to Benin for a day, since "Why should you come to Benin for a day when I'm not allowed in the United States for a day?" but once our taxi driver talked to him he let us through and everything was fine. Some interesting sights on the way to Cotonou, Benin: informal gas stations that sold gas of varying grades and quantities out of reused wine bottles and jugs, the gorgeous coast line, and a ridiculous amount of trucks hanging out on the side of the road.

After almost 12 hours of traveling (everything always takes longer than it is supposed to), we arrived at our hotel just as the sun was setting. Our friend Ryan, who has a great sense of direction, lead us to a nearby restaurant we saw on the map, but we got lost. Apparently the crossing guard we asked about the restaurant, just to make sure we were on the right track, set us in the wrong direction, so Ryan knew what he was doing after all! We finally found the restaurant after a very nice couple flagged down some motorcycle taxis (called moto-taxis) for us and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner of hummus, falafel and wine right on the beach.

The next morning we set out to find some cheap street breakfast and check out the fetish market! We asked this random guy where the nearest baguette stand was (the giant egg sandwich in the photo below was equivalent to $0.50) and he ended up not only showing us to some baguettes but touring us throughout the giant market, making sure our money was hidden, bargaining for us, and eventually led us to the fetish market. The fetish market was a varied selection of animal skulls, skins, herbs and what looked like dried up reptiles and rodents. There was also a man selling a small piece of wood with a string and a tack that fits into it, which was painted red with "sacrifice," that not only cures AIDS but keeps your husband loyal, and it was only $10! What a deal! (photo below)

After the market we made our way to Lome, Togo. After another round of boarder crossing, during which the power went out and the visa official needed to use my cell phone light to fill out the rest of my form, and a frustrating conversation with our taxi driver (we thought he was bringing us to the hotel, he thought he was taking us to the station and wanted to charge us more, even though it was closer!), we finally arrived at the hotel and had a relaxing evening with good food, great laughs and more wine!

Sunday we hit another market (we're obsessed) and got more baguettes (obsession number 2) on the way, which this time had avocado, tomato and optional bean or fish sauce, which I refrained from trying. It was Sunday, so the market wasn't very crazy, which was good, and I bought a lot more souvenirs and such since I wasn't being hassled and pushed around. I finally bought some fabric and I'm hopefully going to get some clothes made this week, but finding a seamstress that isn't expensive, does good work and doesn't take over a month seems to be a cumbersome task, so we'll see how that goes. A few of us also stopped by the beach for a bit, which was a five minute walk from the hotel, and witnessed a guy pooping on the shore, which is apparently very common, while Ryan climbed a tree and knocked down some coconuts (with help from a local). I love coconut water, so drinking it straight out of the coconut for free and not in an overprices juice box was heaven!

The ride itself was uneventful, but upon crossing the border and entering the tro-tro station I was literally dragged away from my friends by a crowd of 15 tro-tro driver trying to get the business of seven seemingly naive Obrunis (how wrong they were). I wasn't scared or concerned for my safety, they're harmless and just think that grabbing my arm and yelling at me is going to grant them my business, so I stood there and waited for them to stop yelling, at which point my friend Harrison stepped in and pushed them off me and started making fun of them by yelling at me to go on HIS tro-tro, and the comic relief calmed everyone down. After this fiasco I was able to board a van with all my limbs attached. Besides that the only bit of excitement was when we got pulled over and made to sign in with our passports at some check point, which often happens when white people travel, and Jeremy, Ryan and Harrison proceeded to try some street vendors undetermined meat. I don't think they ever stopped eating mystery street food for a minute the entire trip, Jeremy in particular. The resiliency of his stomach astounds me. 

Overall the weekend was hectic, busy and really really great! We did so much it was hard to remember everything for this post. There's nothing like a few days away from your daily routine with good friends and great adventure to make you feel refreshed!! Here are some photos from the weekend.

Attempting to impersonate "American Gothic" with our omelet baguettes

Apparently you can fit 4 people on a motorcycle (Don't look Mom!)

Fetish Market

This weekend I'm staying on campus for the most part, but I'm hopefully going on a hike and getting those clothes made that I mentioned before. I'll try to post again next week but things have been pretty much the same here except for trips, but I'll try!

Travel!

I have finally figured out my travel plans and just had to share them! So this isn't so much introspective but me gloating about my super amazing travel plans! I am going to be very busy and I hope these next two months don't fly by too fast!

Here's the schedule!!

March 16-19 TOGO & BENIN

I am going with 6 friends with no particular plans besides to observe and try to fit these two cultures, which are very different from Ghana, into my understanding of Africa.

March 24-25 Kokrobite & Hiking. 

There is a beach that is supposably paradise just outside of Accra, and some good hiking outside of Accra, too. 

March 31 Community Service Project with CIEE. 

April 6-10 Passover in the Jewish Community. 

Yes, Ghanian Jews exist! There is a Jewish community near the Ashanti region so a few of us are going to do Jewish Passover things! I wonder if Ghanaian Jews watch the Prince of Egypt and drink copious amounts of Manischewitz, as is my Jewish tradition. 

April 13-15 Ashanti Region with CIEE

April 20-23 Stay in Accra. 

I need to write some papers and get other loose ends taken care of because next week is when the real fun starts!

April 27 CLASSES END

April 28- May 2 VOLTA Region 

Hiking, monkeys and the beautiful Volta Lake!

May 3-5 Take two exams

. . . Yuck!

May 6-15 NORTHERN REGION

It takes a full day to get up North so I saved this trip for finals time, which is three weeks long. Tamale and Mole (habla espanol?) are the main spots with the star attraction being the safari!! There's much more such as hippo sanctuaries and eco-villages, but I'm mostly very excited for the safari!

May 16-20 Goodbyes

Hang out in Accra, say good bye to my wonderful host family and wonderful new friends (take an exam) and jet out Sunday night to meet mom in London!

May 21 - June 3 Vacation in the NETHERLANDS with Mom!

She is the most deserving of a vacation, and how lucky am I that she's sharing it with me!!

June 3 - June 7 Brighton, UK

I’m staying with my fantastic friend, Morgan at the University of Sussex until my flight home. 

More blogging to come. Here are some photos from Ghana Independence Day!

Independence Square, Downtown Accra

For some reason, Ghanaians (at least on Independence Day) love taking pictures with Obrunis. 

I now know what it feels like to be a celebrity and it is exhausting!

Red-red (the best food on the planet)

I’ve been really positive in my past posts, which is all completely honest, but I think I’ve been pushing away the little things that are bugging me, and that’s not how I deal with my feelings normally. If I’m being honest, I’ve been feeling a bit dejected lately, although it is changing. I’m in a rhythm here, the honeymoon is over and I’m starting to feel the pangs of homesickness. From talking to people it seems that I’m pretty busy compared to others on the program, probably because not everyone is doing Living and Learning Seminar or Internship, and they both happen to give me the most work and take up the most time. The rest of my classes are interesting, but pretty basic compared to Clark, and I don’t have any outside work except for Twi, but it’s not much. I wouldn’t say anything here is making me unhappy, it’s not like I dislike my classes, but there is definitely a sense that the preliminary buzz of being in a new country is wearing off and I’m starting to feel that I need to be trying harder, experiencing more, branching out, but its hard to know where to start. What I'm trying to say is that I'm realizing I need to push out of my newly formed Ghana comfort bubble.  

But do not fear loved ones! I understand this is all part of the process and that ups and downs are normal. I think I’m making strides towards enhancing my experience with my internship, because until this week and last week, I really disliked my internship. All I did at the hospital was sit at the doctors station and watch them copy charts and meet with patients (which is all in Twi) or follow the nurses around as they give injections and check patients’ temperatures. Of course I am learning from that and it is really good for Pre-Nursing experience, but it’s not very fulfilling. It doesn’t feel like a mutual exchange: I’m not really helping anyone and I feel that I'm in the way. The one aspect of the Children’s Ward that is fulfilling to me is spending time with the abandoned children - they are so sweet and resilient and largely ignored, even neglected by the medical staff. I have been upset by the conditions of the abandoned children in the hospital, and interested in their process to a home and where they end up. Many of the children have disabilities, chronic illness or psychological trauma, which are not addressed in orphanages or with their families (sometimes parents reclaim their children, often if one spouse took the child without the other’s consent). So, I figured while I’m sitting around doing nothing, why don’t I do something to help these kids out! 

After brainstorming with my friends, I have developed a basic project idea that I am initiating (hopefully!) through the Social Work department at the Police Hospital. The idea is to connect abandoned children that come through the Police Hospital with a student volunteer from the Social Work or Psychology department at UG that would be an advocate for them - like a Big Brother Big Sister program. The student would spend time with the child, follow them from the hospital to an orphanage and basically assist the social worker and orphanage in finding the child any extra services they need, such as medical visits, therapy, and just being a friend to a kid that have no one looking after their interest exclusively. I have the support of my academic advisor and CIEE, and the Police Hospital has been allowing me to do the project, even though they are not exactly encouraging but are giving me the resources I need and meeting with me when I need help, which is fine. While drafting the project proposal, I am also trying to advocate for the two children that came through the hospital last week - Donald and Comfort. Donald has cerebral palsy and is currently in an orphanage that specializes in disabilities. Comfort was severely abused and has scars all over her body from a year of domestic servitude with a family that her father gave her to, apparently without the consent of her mother. She is back with her mother now, but she needs professional help that she is not receiving at home. She is extremely bright, difficult with authority and temperamental, which is to be expected. I am in contact with a cerebral palsy organization for Donald and a psychologist for Comfort but I’m still waiting on responses from both on when the two resources and the children will connect. Hopefully everything will come together next week. It is all exciting, one because I feel like I’m actually doing something meaningful and two, I’m not bored anymore, but it is scary because it is very possible that as I continue I will discover that my project idea is not feasible or even wanted. But I might as well try. I will keep y’all updated! 

In other news, I have dethroned myself as the ClarkU Study Abroad blogger and have passed on my duties to Rachel Abrams (Check her out!). From now on my blog will be a lot more introspective. I want to explore my inner conflicts and figure out who I am here. Of course I will continue to post fun photos and trip updates, but a lot more about my thoughts, too.

Here are the things I want to improve about my Ghana experience:

Make more close friends, both within and outside the CIEE bubble, Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian

Explore Accra and feel more connected to the city

Study Twi and actually use it in my daily interactions

Become closer with my host family

Read more about Ghana history, culture and current events (beyond reading Meredith’s cell phone news updates) 

Avoid future sunburns! I’ve been in pain all week after the weekend at the beach.

Of course I must end on a positive note. This is more for my mom than anyone, but I AM having a GREAT time and I’m not depressed all the time sulking around in the sunshine. I love the friends I’m making, I’m excited about my internship project, although its terrifying, and I’m really excited for the trips I’m planning (tentative itinerary to come). But I don’t want to let myself settle into a routine that limits my experience and doesn’t allow me to do all I can, so I would like to keep striving for a more fulfilling, enriching experience.  

Also, all my friends’ blogs have family and friends (and even haters) commenting but I don’t get any blog love =( 

Comment please!!!!

I went to the Green Turtle Lodge last weekend and within 3 minutes (not exaggerating) I got stung by a jellyfish! It was a great first independent trip in Ghana, sting included. 

Mada ase paa (Thank you very much!)

After a month of Ghana life I have finally settled into a routine with my classes and my internship. My week is very disjointed, with a very busy Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and a very slow Friday-Monday. Two weekend ago (February 11th and 12th), CIEE took us on a trip to Cape Coast, which is a very historical beach side town west of Accra. We spent the weekend learning how to Batik, a traditional tie dying technique, and traipsing the Kakum Canopies, which were a little too rickety for my taste. 

The most powerful part of the trip was the tour of the slave quarters at the Cape Coast castle. We toured the spot where thousands of captured slaves stood as they waited months before being shipped to the Caribbean and Americas as part of the Triangle Trade. For the African American members of our group, it seemed to be very emotional and intense to stand where their ancestors once stood, thinking of the horrendous conditions they struggled through to bring the next generations to where they are today.  

After the tour, we debriefed with the group and discussed our reactions to the tour. It shifted into a discussion of the developing separation and tensions felt by some groups of people based on race. Of course this is not true for everyone, but it was becoming evident enough that it was worth discussing with the whole group. That night we self assembled a dialogue with most of the students on the program about discomforts and race relations within the group. I know from facilitating the Difficult Dialogue Seminar that forming a constructive and open dialogue, even in ideal conditions, is very difficult. It was so incredible to see a diverse group of women come together to talk about something so personal and societally ingrained. It was a conversation that I really valued and I hope continues throughout the semester.

This weekend I’m going to the Green Turtle Lodge, a beach hotel/turtle sanctuary in the Western Region. It should be relaxing and hopefully we will see some turtles! 

I also I am potentially shifting my now very boring observation at the Police Hospital into a social services project, but I will save that for my next post!

For those of you that didn't hear, Clark University was ranked one of the most socially awkward colleges. Here is an awkward picture of the Ghana Clarkies to prove it.