My time in Ghana!

This has legitimately been one of the most incredible experiences of my life, and I can't wait to take all this knowledge and love with me for the rest of my days.

Also, I'm attaching pictures in a separate blog post in hopes that this works a little better!

The first two days were spent on a S@S trip located predominantly in Winneba and focused on schools. Winneba is a sister city of Charlottesville, so we were working to create an even better relation between the two cities.
First off, a small group of Ghanaians from the University of Winneba School of Education (a school with connections to UVA) greeted us at the dock. We welcomed them onto the ship with open arms, took them on a tour, and ate lunch with them in our main dining room. We ate and talked and learned about each other. I learned some opinions of the upcoming election and what they thought would be the result. Also, I learned that my African born name would be Yaa or Yawa, meaning Thursday, after the day of the week you're born. Soon, a woman named Mavis, or Ohui which is her family name, and I became friends. On the two hour bus ride to Winneba , she gave me some recipes for typical Ghanaian dishes and taught me about Ghana as we passed the sights and sounds. I learned about the Liberian refugee camp located between the two places, which has been there for almost 12 years! They are an exceptionally tolerant peoples. All of them strongly believe that if you cause no harm and hurt no one, then we can all live in peace and harmony; and they do! They occasionally fight with words, but very rarely with fists or weapons. She taught me about the pineapple fields and the chunks of protected forests. She introduced me to plantain chips! So yummy. Once there, we were greeted by song and ceremonial libations (a special prayer chant with which they pray for our safety and for peace or whatever is applicable and then pour alcohol on the ground after every portion of the prayer). Then we settled into our hotel and prepared for dinner! We ate like kings the entire trip. The hotel cooked us incredible meals filled with spices, beans, rices, plantains, chicken, and other specialties. Also, a lot of French fries! We headed to a ceremony with all of our teacher friends at their school. We listens to their local choir and exchanged stories about our schools and programs and lives. Also, the president provided us with more information about the education system in Ghana and about the upcoming election, along with other information. Some fun facts: English is the national languages and is taught beginning around grade 3, there are 6 public universities and many private ones (many of which are religiously affiliated), about 70% of Ghanaians vote despite the fact that they don't get off of work and have to stand for hours in the tropical sun. I was fascinated to say the least! Mavis also gave us each a gorgeous beaded bracelet that she painted and made herself. I was so lucky and loved as to receive a bracelet and a matching necklace, all of which she had done and picked for me. I was beaming, and the bracelet has yet to come off. A few of us on the trip shared stories over a beer and then we retired for the night.

The second day was an absolutely wonderful experience! After an early breakfast, we hit the road to do some service. Armed with boxes of toothbrushes from an organization called Global Grins (more on that later) and dozens of books from the Charlottesville libraries, we visited 6 schools. The schools in Ghana typically house kindergarten through high school, and often they have a preschool on grounds. Needless to say, the children were absolutely incredible. All of them were precious and loving and so welcoming. They also LOVE cameras and getting their picture taken. And they ALL want to be picked on in class! They are such bright children and work SO hard for their education. Granted you can sometimes see the poverty peek through in that they are not always like that and some kids are much too old for their grade, but for the most part you can see that the rigorous education system truly pays off for them. I truly wish words could express what you feel when you see the kids of all ages. And what you feel when they say things like "See you tomorrow!" and "Take me, too!" It's a revolutionary experience to mentally compare your schools and then your level of appreciation. A school of eager, bright kids in a place that has no guarantees of potential and no lighting other than what naturally comes in through the bars that replace what would be windows and walls. Enthusiasm abounds here in Ghana, and you can see why they are currently one of the fastest developing nations. The little ones all know all sorts of songs to teach them various things. Depending on your level, there are many different songs to remember the English alphabet, and almost of all of the songs have little sentences with each letter to help the kids remember. 4-year-olds we're singing one that has "A is for apples, B is for baseball" and so on. The grade up got waaaay more complicated! It was amazing.
That afternoon, post another delicious meal, we met the chief of the fishermen of all of Winneba. This is a man that settles any and all disputes between fishermen, the people responsible for one of Ghana's chief export. Absolutely incredible to meet him. He asks that we send more investors his way; the sooner they have investors, the more likely it is that Ghana can thrive as it beginning to and that business will come to Winneba. And with the beaches they have, I'm surprised there aren't at least one or two small beach resorts somewhere on the coast of the city! We then proceeded to go the local market and meet the Market Queen. She's in charge of so much to do with the market, but was so unassuming. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that almost very Ghanaian you meet will be one of the nicest and most humble persons you'll ever meet. Anyway, the market was crowded and crazy and wonderful! I got some beautiful African fabric for such a great price, and the whole place was just too cool. Everyone wants to know you and talk to you. After that, we returned to the hotel to find that a huge group was there to welcome us with traditional music and dance! We watched them and danced alongside them to work up our appetite. After a long dinner with good conversation, we said our sad farewells and took our bus back to Tema and our home-away-from-home.

Day three was spent on an adventure to a local village, Torgorme, to take part in a naming ceremony, give gifts from both S@S and ourselves (many of us bought them bread at a stand on the side of the road), and receive gifts of beads and pots with our old and new names on them. It was so awesome!!! We were greeted by song and dance along with more prayers and libations. Naturally, we all joined in, either by choice or by the locals and the children dragging you in. We learned how to properly dance and proceeded to join in anytime we were welcomed. As you can imagine, I always joined in. Then we all received our names that were chosen by the community and the group of chiefs of the township. Personally, I found out that my name is Yawa (Thursday, as I previously said) Dzigbordi (which means patience). I decided that that's some sort of sign that I need to have more patience with people and the world! We then were taken on a tour of of the village, guided by both the one who lead everything as the main English speaker and the young children holding our hands and dragging us each and every direction. After everything there was over and we said our sad farewells, we went to a local country club-esque place to eat lunch made up of more local cuisine. To say the least, I ate pretty close to my weight in rice, spicy bean and tomato stew, yams, and piles of grilled and sautéed plantains! I don't know what I'll do without all the plantains in my life. We then made our way back to the ship, where I reminded for the evening.
On the ship, I hung out with my friends Andrew, Max, and Bronwyn. We talked at the dinner table over food and juice and coffee for about 3 hours! Dinners always turn into long conversations, which great. We then went out on the 7th deck to hang out and play ping pig and soccer (once they cleared out all the table and chairs). I also got to talked to my parents!!! One of my friends spent a few cedi to get a phone card, and let me use some of his 15,000 Ghanaian minutes to call both my parents and my sister. It was so great to hear their voices!

The last day was spent in the artistic markets of Accra with Tucker, Bronwyn, and Gabby! We did all kinds of bartering and working down pricing and spending our cedi. I got some great African goods that I'm incredibly excited about. We also drank from coconuts! It was so cool, and we got to eat the middles.

Also, after this trip I have a whole 'nother appreciation for showers and clean clothes. I have never been so covered in dirt and bug spray and sunscreen!

Some random things about Ghana:
They have over 70 languages! The most common is Tri (Chwee), but the national language is technically English which they begin learning around 6 or 7
The largest ethnic group only makes up about 15% of the population.
They have a great democracy that's actually working pretty efficiently! They've had 5 successful elections and had a few power changes that went over well.
But the chiefs and kings still hold a LOT of influence.
They were the first to accept the Peace Corps into their country.
They have the largest Peace Keeping Corps and have many training centers throughout Ghana.
They are the 2nd largest cocoa producer!
Religions are as follows: 69% Christian, 12% Muslim, 13% African Trditional Religions, 6% Eastern religions. And the Christianity is EVERYWHERE. For example, here are some names of shops that I passed: Merciful God Vulcanizing Shop, Jesus is Lord Hair Shop, His Majesty Beauty Salon.

Also, Global Grins is a non-profit that collects funds in order to purchase thousands of toothbrushes that are then distributed around the world! You can just ask to get a box sent to you to take on any trip, or get large orders for study abroads.

Love y'all!