asomdwee

Writing a blog about my experiences in Africa seems weird to me. I did so much there and there is so much to say about all that, but it’s odd to be writing about it from my own house in America. The things that happened don’t really seem like they happened to me. I don’t feel like I said good bye to Charles and Nat just 34 hours ago, it seems to me as if the whole thing was like a dream.

But that’s just about enough of that!

I really got a kick out of the trip’s second half. Mole had more of the rugged, outdoorsy feel that I thought the whole trip outside of Accra would be. Seeing elephants, bush boks and the occasional baboon hell bent on getting some food, was way more exciting to me than sitting in the bus or going shopping.

Tamale was a real neat and unique city, due to it’s high number of bicycles, Muslims and motorcycles. The shea butter village tour was my only real interactive experience with a village like that and i loved getting to mix shea butter, feed goats and ride a bike around.

Niii and Charles were great both as guides and as friends throughout the trip. Nat was an amazing driver and his enthusiasm for everything was awesome.

Goodbye AfriPeace Blog. Thanks for reading!

Patrick

It’s been a while and there is a huge plethora of experiences to blog about so lets get started.

JIKO orphanage – This place was awesome! i loved playing frisbee with the orphans, getting to see how they lived, and of course, donating things to them. It was an incredible feeling to help these people that need our help. I would definitely come back here, if I return to Ghana.

Green Turtle/Safari Beach – By far the most pleasant experience thus far has been the quality of The Safari Beach Lodge. After being bummed about not being able to stay at Green Turtle, it was great to find out we had decent lodging as well. I think our group bounced back from the shenanigans well, and I am not going to further about that! Oh yeah, and that beach was Sweet!

Agona Swedru – The homestay experience was arguably my favorite experience up to this point. I love the Barnes Family! Awompa, Ife, Kojo, Efua, and all those other Barnes’ men there for the funeral, you are missed already! Working at the T.I. Amidiyhaa school was a good character building experience, as well as a school building experience ( i crack me up sometimes). I dont want to embellish a lot, because i want to tell these stories at home!

Time’s dying now gotta jet!

Patrick A Redford

Ghana is hot

But regardless of the heat, I am still prodigiously enjoying this experience. The leaders are effective more or less, the street vendors are amusing, and the group is cool. My roommates, (Kalen, Robert, Ben and Ryan) and I have a good system going in our room. I really like our guide, Charlie, and our bus driver, Nathaniel.

Overall, the experiences here have actually come close to what I imagined they would be. Although I didn’t anticipate the dog-selling street vendors, the people, food and other cultural aspects are similar to expectations.

That is all

Patrick A. Redford

Today, July 5, 2008, three days until we depart, I’m finally realizing what we’re about to do here. Although I have been preparing for this trip for months, the fact that I am going to be in Africa for a whole month finally registered wholly registered today. I am about to go through a life changing experience and it finally feels like I’m some kind of ready.

What I expect to experience in Ghana:
I expect to see a different way of living and thinking about life. I am so used to Californian life that it will take a huge adjustment to understand and live the Ghanaian life. I don’t even know what this means yet because I am so unexposed to African culture. However, I do expect to enjoy learning about all this.

Pre-trip Preparation
Part of the reason it took so long for me to internalize what I was about to do, was because my preparation was so delayed. Just this weekend, I finally made the big R.E.I. run to get all my supplies and clothes. Although my prep was rushed, I believe I will be ready to go!

Patrick A. Redford