Weekend Visits: Wli Falls, Hohoe and Tafi Atome

We loaded the STC bus at Tudu Station where we were scheduled to leave for Hohoe at 3:00pm. We were out of the station no later than 3:45pm, or what locals might call "leaving early."

STC Bus schedule at Tudu Station.

I was content with the decision to take the STC bus, Ghana's popular national transit system, as the journey ahead of us was likely to take about five hours (probably about 45 minutes sans Friday afternoon Accra traffic). The Trotro seemed to me the poorer travel option given that in Trotros my knees are always pressed into the metal frame of the seat ahead of me for the duration of the trip. Five hours was sure to leave some unattractive bruises.

The bus was comfortable and allowed for some much needed nap time. We stopped in a village along the way where the bus was swarmed by people selling food to the hungry traveller. As a vegetarian, my snack options were limited to a loaf of white bread, peanuts or Kenkey (a kind of deep fried maize meal donut treat). I opted for the granola bar I packed along with me.

Rest stop in a village with no shortage of kebabs, fried fish and other treats.

Soon enough the sun had set and the bus was pitch black. I took the opportunity to listen to some podcasts, lean my head against the window and close my eyes. An hour later I realized this was a grave mistake. Upon its stop in a village near Hohoe, the bus flicked on the lights and my eyes were met with a family of cockroaches crawling all over the window and wall that I was using as my headrest! And we're not talking like, nuclear family of cockroaches... this was like a cockroach family reunion including the extended family, uncles, aunts, 3rd cousins, nephews and nieces and their best friends, grandpa's new wife, the cousins that you are told to call "cousin" even though you aren't related etc.

*Deep breath.*

I don't think I can talk about the cockroaches anymore so I'm going to skip to the part where we arrive at Hohoe and I jump out of the bus shaking my head and flailing my limbs violently to ensure no cockroach has decided to resettle its cockroach life on my body which is officially a cockroach-free zone DIDN'T THEY GET THE MEMO? *shiver* blech.

OKAY! Let's fast forward to the next morning at Wli Falls where an ill-prepared Gabrielle was met with a 6-hour excruciatingly exhausting hike to Ghana's highest waterfall wearing BIRKENSTOCK SANDALS (thank you crappy 4th Edition Bradt Ghana Guide Book for omitting the part about Wli Falls that informs the reader that the "pleasant hike" towards the falls requires two years of intense cardio training and an ice pic)!!

Now my friends who hiked along with me may disagree as to the level of difficulty of the hike, as they arrived at the falls about 1.5 hours ahead of me. But I for one have yet to participate in a hike where I had to use my hands to climb a near-90 degree ascending mixture of dirt, rock and tree branches (I harken back to my first entry where I stated VERY CLEARLY that Zilkhas are not climbers). All this in the rain no less!

I nearly broke (both emotionally and literally) when I positioned my hand on a rock to prop myself over a fallen branch only to hear and feel a stomach-wrenching *crunch*. Flattened against my palm, with its legs sticking out in ill-formed "z"s in a tragicomic Looney Tunes kind of way, was a hard-shelled beetle the size of a small mouse. I cried out in disgust but continued along trying to forget what just happened. In the words of Doreen from Finding Nemo: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..."

"How much longer until the falls?" My friend Melanie, equally exhausted, asked our guide. Melanie's struggle with the hike made me feel a lot better about my own shortcomings, as she too needed breaks to keel over from a cramping stomach and a racing heart.

"We have about one hour until the falls." The guide responded, displaying no evidence of any physical exertion, not even a bead of sweat on his brow.

Breathtaking view isn't it? Not as breathtaking as the hike, I assure you.

Soon enough, the hour passed and the sound of the falls became louder and louder. Through the trees we could see that the site which once seemed much too far away to be worth it, was to become a reality.

Wli falls, from below.

I expected to find my friends in the same rough shape as me - covered in a delightful mixture of earth, mud, bugs, sweat and mist. Wrong again. I seemed to be the only one who was covered head to toe in filth.

Our guide snapped this photo in the middle of my instructions on how to use the camera "click and HOLD the - oh, I look bad in this photo don't I?" Notice the layer of dirt covering my clothes.

Given my current state of looking like Pig Pen from the Peanuts comic, jumping into the falls was the answer to my prayers. I did myself a favour and temporarily suspended the knowledge that I will have to do the very same hike all over again to return back from the falls. I simply tried to enjoy the moment. I especially enjoyed the sensation of standing under the falls as it was the closest thing I have experienced to a stand-up shower since I arrived in Ghana. Like a showerhead with a near-fatal level of water pressure!

Me forcing a triumphant smile. I have used Photoshop to removed the stink lines emanating from my body in this picture.

A friend enjoying the refreshing falls.

The hike back was met with similar challenges, though this time I was accompanied by a headache and a horrible taste in my mouth from taking a bite of the world's sweetest fruit. I have to thank my lucky stars though that my sandal broke only at the last 30 minutes of the trip - when all that remained was flat land.

Other than the sweet fruit, our guide showed us some other neat plants and vegetation including a pineapple bush/tree, coffee beans and cacao trees.

Our guide shows us the cacao beans located in the cacao pod. The white stuff tasted sweet and gooey but inside was a reddish-brown bean which provided the pallet with a faint reminder of chocolate.

Sunday brought about a completely different activity. One I have been anxiously awaiting since I was informed of its existence: the Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary!!

We left for the sanctuary at 6am as we were told (by that same deceptive guidebook that led me to wear Birkenstocks and skinny jeans on a 6-hour hike) that the monkeys tend only to come out in the early morning or at night. Waking up at 5:30am was early enough for us, thank you very much.

We bargained with a taxi driver until we were blue in the face to take us form our hotel in Wli to Tafi Atome (about an hour to 75 minute drive) for 25 Cedis. Upon arriving to our destination, our driver tested his luck and tried to bump the price up to 30 Cedis to which we wildly protested with the help of the Monkey Sanctuary staff. I was desperately hoping that the Monkey Sanctuary would actually be run by monkeys, with one wearing thick glasses and a visor, crunching numbers on an old fashioned calculator with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth... alas, much to my dismay I was met with boring run of the mill HUMANS.

Our guide led us through various trails in the forest, often asking us to hang tight for a few minutes (or forty) while she went into the thick of the forest presumably to bribe the monkeys into entertaining the tourists.

An hour or so passed and all we had seen up until that moment were a couple of butterflies and some ants. We sat patiently, awaiting our guide's return. The taxi driver (who tagged along for the monkeys with the hopes of our using his service to return to Hohoe) grew impatient and told us that the guide didn't know what she was doing and we were very unlikely to see any monkeys.

Upon her return, the guide, remaining optimistic, motioned us to follow her back to the dirt road where the Monkey Sanctuary office was located. I really felt as though our chances of seeing monkeys was diminishing by the second. Even a dog at this point would have lifted my spirits.

Just as we were ready to resign ourselves to a monkeyless Sunday ("Guide, where's the closest bar?") lo and behold, we were brought to a bench underneath a tree just off the side of the main road where at least a dozen monkeys were flipping and flopping about!

The guide handed us some bananas (cliche, I know, but it really is their favourite snack) and showed us how to feed them. They were so adorable and so much fun!

Here you go little fella!

"Don't worry, you look fine! Just act natural, no don't look at the camera.... ok, tilt your chin a little to the left. Yes! That's it. Tyra would be so proud."

The king monkey or the leader of the pack, so to speak. You can't tell here but he's actually a lot bigger than the others. I told him he looks just like the actor who plays the wise old monkey doctor in The Lion King. "If I had a nickel for every time someone said that."

After running out of bananas, an hungry monkey contemplates eating a live snail. "I mean, the French do it all the time, don't they?" Kinda...

A monkey's expression after I tested my new stand up material on him. "You see it's funny because airplane food is so SMALL... get it? Whatever, I don't care for the opinion of someone who eats with their feet anyways."

Our journey home on the Trotro (no buses leave from Hohoe on Sundays) was, as predicted, painful, particularly on my back where the back of my folding seat kept digging every time we hit a bump in the road... which is all the time. Luckily it was a hell of a lot faster than the STC bus (driving at 165km/hour can speed certainly things up) and we were back in Accra by 2:30pm or so.

Weekend Visits: Bojo Beach

This past weekend I joined my friend and fellow CCI volunteer, Matt, his housemate, Duncan and a New Zealander, Andrew, to Bojo beach. Located about an hour outside of Accra (though the trip is likely to take about 2.5 hours with traffic), Bojo beach is one of Ghana's nicest, cleanest beaches.

The beach is actually located on a sand bar a little off the coast. To get to the beach you take a canoe across a small body of water. On our return to the parking lot at the end of the day, Andrew, feeling adventurous, opted out of the minute-and-a-half canoe ride and decided to swim the distance from the sand bar to the coast (equivalent to a city block or so). Upon leaping into the water, he discovered that the water level rested pretty much at waist-level, forcing him to actually just walk across. He still managed to arrive to shore before the canoe, though! Unfortunately, however, the sea floor was covered in sharp spikey shells which were unkind to the man's poor feet.

Bojo beach was quite beautiful, spacious and relaxing. I had completely forgotten how fun the ocean is! Quite different from my usual summer swim at Toronto Island where e coli and arctic temperatures are a strong deterrent to playing in the water. We played catch with a tennis ball in the waves and although I found my aim to be quite spectacular (the boys might suggest otherwise) I seemed to lack the powerhouse throw demonstrated by Matt and Andrew that enables one to launch the ball far(ish) distances. I chalk their strength up to their higher levels testosterone and the presence of muscles on their arms. Both are physiological qualities I sadly lack. Alas, there goes my dreams of becoming a professional tennis-ball-thrower-in-the-ocean.

We had lunch and a few beers, I read and wrote while the guys played an abridged form of cricket. Afterwards we drove about 15 minutes along the coast to a fun and touristy hotel/camping ground called Big Milly's Backyard. Our little bungalow was very quaint and pleasant save for the absence of a bathroom door (the curtain was a poor surrogate). Not to get into too much detail, but any person who has travelled to Ghana and consumes the local dishes, recognizes the importance of a bathroom door.

The night ended with a live Reggae band and dancing but I, being a loser, became exhausted at around 11pm and crashed.

Here are a few pics from the beach. Enjoy!

In the distance, a mother dog is feeding her little puppies. SOOO cute! It takes everything in my power not to pet the dogs and cats here. I took this picture because Andrew happen to be holding a cricket bat next to the dogs and we all thought it would make it look like he was returning from giving them a beating. Rest assured, just a photographic coincidence - no animals were harmed in this photo.

You can't really read the sign in this photo but it states that the swings are for children only. No Adults! Obviously this was ignored ("What sign? where? I'm not an adult?")

The canoe ride back to the coast. More specifically, the canoe ride back to the coast that we missed.

Will Gender Equity Make its Way into Ghana's Revised Constitution?

First of all, I would like to say that I now officially know more about the Ghanaian constitution than the Canadian constitution. It appears that the more literate I become in Ghanaian politics, the more I realize how disappointingly unversed I am in the politics of my native country, Kananatario... what's it called again?

I am raising the topic of Ghana's Constitution as it is due for a review period in coming months. The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana was created in 1992 and maintains its stature as the supreme law of the land. As this monumental document is now being reopened, revamped and updated, interest groups around the country are tasked with the act of assembling their constituencies and clearly identifying the key issues in they would like to see reflected in the update constitution.

Various organizations are fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet with the Constitutional Review Commission to discuss what they would like to see in the updated Constitution. Among these groups is an assembly of women and men who represent the interests of women and gender activists all over the country. These representatives are to meet with the Constitutional Review Commission today, Wednesday August 11.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to a forum on Monday August 9 where members of women's groups, assemblywomen and men, politicians, MPPs and media alike were gathered to review how the Constitution can better address national gender issues. The "Validation Forum on Gender Proposals for the Constitutional Review" was organized by NETRIGHT and the Women's Manifesto Coalition (WMC) and took place at GNAT Hall (a teacher's college in Accra).

A representative of ABANTU opened the forum by providing some background on the constitutional reform process. When the Constitution was formed in 1992, Women's groups were not as organized and thus their voices and concerns greatly omitted. When the constitutional review process was announced in February 2010, a great opportunity opened up for a much stronger and more sophisticated Ghanaian women's movement - a movement that has vastly increased its political clout over the past two and a half decades.

ABANTU and NETRIGHT met with the Review Commission soon after the announcement in February to ensure that this time around, women will play a significant role in shaping the updated Constitution. A meeting date was set and women's groups got to work.

NETRIGHT asked its member organizations to submit proposals for the changes they wish to see in the new Constitution. These recommendations were consolidated and reviewed by a committee of legal experts who synthesized the proposals into key recommendations.

ABANTU joined in the action as well, commissioning Chris Dadzie, Chief Legal Officer for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, to produce a report on proposed amendments to the constitution that will better reflect the needs of women.

Mrs. Dadzie's presentation on proposed changes was thorough and meticulous. Each article, sub-article and (in some cases) sub-sub-sub article, was examined with a fine-toothed gender equity comb (available for purchase at your local Feminist Book Store... comes with a free bumper sticker).

To ensure the Constitutional Review process was not solely left in the hands of select panel of experts (a major challenge in any political movement), the room of about 120 forum attendees representing all regions of Ghana were given their very own fine-tooth combs to further probe Mrs. Dadzie and NETRIGHT's proposed amendments. The room was divided into four groups each of which was given a set of Articles to review. The groups were to record whether they agreed with the proposed changes to the original Constitutional text and whether any further modifications were required.

If this sounds like an incredibly exhausting task to you... then you are right. Challenging though it may be, it was necessary if NETRIGHT, ABANTU, the WMC and other women's groups are to confidently communicate on behalf of women across the country - a slightly more onerous task, n'est pas?

I was fortunate enough to be the secretary for group 3 - recording the comments of a group of 25 - 30 people none of whom were at a loss for words. It was a wee bit challenging to synthesize all the opinions into a few bullet points, particularly when discussions got especially heated and folks would converse in Twi. Every now and again the group facilitator would look over her at me and voice a casual "you understand?"

Here are some of the highlights and key amendments that will be proposed to the Constitutional Review Commission:

- The addition of a bill of rights for women that details the forms of discrimination against women in Ghana. Currently nondiscrimination clauses in the Constitution focus only on maternity rights. The proposed revision would employ a more holistic, all encompassing definition of discrimination against women.

- Legislating special measures to accelerate women's success and progress in Ghana. What this means is pushing the government to move from a stance of simply stating that women and men are equal to a position of proactive enforcement. A good example of this would be the implementation of affirmative action - insisting that a certain portion of parliamentary and municipal leaders are women.

- Recognizing and addressing the plight of women in rural areas where poverty and ill health are much higher. Many of these women are central to the survival of their communities but their work lies in the informal sector. In other words, their contributions are non-monetized and thus largely overlooked.

Other reforms proposed a number ways to address the gender gap in education, employment and public life.

All in all, it was quite an experience to witness and even participate in such a vital part of the democratic process. Ghana's women activists have every reason to be optimistic about the impact the reviewed Constitution will have on the nation. Other African countries who have recently revisited their constitutions have reported positive progress in the ways of gender equity and women's rights (Kenya is a most recent example).

I certainly hope that all the marginalized groups in Ghana are afforded the same opportunity as ABANTU and NETRIGHT to contribute to the rewriting of Ghana's Constitution. Yay for the wheels of progress!

New Logo! You Vote!

Hello to all my lovely 31 (million) blog readers. My darling and amazing friend Jennifer Mason (also referred to as Jenny Schechter) has taken it upon herself to design two new fancy title headings for my blog!! As Jenn and I can rarely make decisions about anything, we were left unsure of which heading design to use for my blog.

As a fan of the democratic process, I thought I would ask my readers to indicate which of the two options they prefer, and I will move ahead with what the majority selects. Or, I will charge you taxes and use this capital to set up a "Blog Heading Design Task Force" who will then deliberate over the decision for months to come. I'll be sure to report about this in my annual budget.

Unfortunately I cannot post these as large images or else I will be sitting by the computer watching a little spinning upload animation for about six more years. However, keep in mind that the introductory text is the same as the text that I currently have above.

Okay. So here is option number one:

And option numero dos (that's Spanish for "the second option I'm going to show you" or possibly "I'll have a number two please"):

Now in this second one, the squiggly line in the back is the introductory text following a "journey."

Post a comment with your preferred option!

The Black Gold: The Mixed Blessing of Oil and Gas in Ghana

In 2007, UK's Tullow Oil discovered about 600 million barrels of light oil off Ghana's shores. Since then, Ghanaians have been teetering between optimism and fear - cautiously awaiting what will result from the extraction of this much sought-after resource.

Yesterday, I attended a meeting at NETRIGHT (a member-based umbrella organization of women's organizations in Ghana) on "Gender Issues in Oil and Gas Exploration." NETRIGHT has organized a committee to address issues that have emerged from the oil and gas extraction from a gender-based perspective. This committee, comprised of a small number of national & local NGOs including ABANTU, is seeking to establish itself as a lobbying group and a mouthpiece for those communities most affected by the oil and gas extraction - communities whose voices are often neglected.

Much of the media buzz on Ghana's oil has remained optimistic. Many are anticipating widespread job creation and a hefty new revenue stream that will help fund all sorts of national programmes in health and education and ideally improve infrastructure. However, amidst the widespread giddiness over the potential boost to the economy, apprehension and fear are just as strong as many are all too familiar with oil's nasty reputation for destruction. Ghanaians need not look any further but to their (almost) neighbour Nigeria - a country where the oil industry has caused one nightmare after another.

Environmental degradation, the illegal usurping of land and subsequent destruction of farmers and fishermans' livelihoods have plagued Nigerians surrounding the oil regions. In addition to these issues, Nigerians have witnessed widespread human rights abuses, terrible corruption and an increase in violence (including the murder of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa) all due to the oil industry in the country. Needless to say, the majority of Nigerians have yet to see the benefits of their country's valuable natural resource. For more information on oil issues in Nigeria, take a look at this link: http://www.globalissues.org/article/86/nigeria-and-oil.

The purpose of yesterday's meeting was to brief committee members on the socioeconomic issues that we can anticipate from the oil extraction in Ghana, using countries like Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea as examples. Through awareness campaigns, activism and lobbying, members of this committee hope to get policies in place that will prevent oil's destructive patterns.

Dr. Akosua, one of the committee members, initiated the meeting with a thorough literature review on the impacts of oil and gas on local communities. She also reviewed a recent study conducted by Dr. Rudith Kings on the impact of oil on the livelihood of citizens in Ghana. It was a fascinating albeit frightening introduction to the issues that we can anticipate in the communities where oil and gas extraction will occur. In some cases, we can already see the impacts taking place on local environments and economies. I'd like to summarize some of the key issues that Dr. Akosua touched upon.

For many African countries, Dr. Akosua reminded us, natural resources are a curse rather than a blessing. Take, for example, the mining of gold or diamonds. History has shown us a solid link between countries rich in resources and conflict - particularly with oil. Dr. Akosua sited a UNEP 2009 study that reported "since 1990, 18 violent conflicts around the world were fuelled by exploration of natural resources." Conflicts arise for a number of reasons - control over the resource itself, the depleted economy that results from the destruction of land, the displacement of indigenous people, the lack of transparency in government spending, human rights abuses, child labour, exploitation... am I depressing anyone yet?

Whereas one would expect that a country lucky enough to house such valuable natural resource would be just as lucky as to reap the rewards of said resource, unfortunately this is rarely the case - even for countries outside of Africa. As it turns out, most oil producing countries see a decline in their living standards even as their GDP sky rockets. What is more, countries sitting on oil rarely see a decline in their country's oil and gas based products like fuel for cars and cooking. This is because these countries often do not have the technological or financial capacity to refine the oil themselves in which case they must outsource this job to foreign corporation. Once the oil is refined by a third party, it is subject to the prices set by the global market.

Unfortunately the financial rewards of oil and other commodities are usually seen only by corrupt government officials and the foreign corporations contracted to extract the oil. Rarely does the general population see the oft-promised increase in spending on health and education or the influx of jobs on the labour market.

One of the tenets of oil optimists here in Ghana that Dr. Akosua was quick to refute was that of mass job creation. Sure a ton of jobs will open up, but who exactly will be filling these positions? If other African countries are any example, many of the jobs created will be filled by foreigners as they will be the only ones with the necessary qualifications and credentials.

Okay, so Ghanaians may not get the higher-paying positions and may not get as many jobs as initially thought - but what about the surrounding economy in the oil and gas towns? Surely the local markets, restaurants and other enterprises will benefit from an influx of foreigners and newly-employed Ghanaians? Well, perhaps. But Dr. Akosua warns that the influx of foreigners (particularly western foreigners) often leads to gentrification of the area. European expats, homesick for their creature comforts, tend to forgo the wooden stand at the side of the road for a drive to the nearest western-style grocery store where they can load up on overpriced imports from home (I found a box of Corn Flakes the other day for 8$ Can.!!). When the demand for these shopping centres becomes high enough, a savvy entrepreneur will eventually takes the leap and open a "Shoprite" or "Max Mart" in the mining or oil town whose economy was once fuelled solely by agriculture.

Dr. Akosua also reminded us that the jobs created are almost exclusively filled by men, thus turning oil towns into a haven for lonely single men (or married men who left their families to take up a job). This often leads to an increase in commercial sex work, rape and violence against women which then leads to increased rates of HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The list of potential problems that oil can bring is quite numerous and daunting. Too numerous to go through all of them here. The committee at NETRIGHT was adamant about educating and preparing the communities that will be the most impacted by the extraction of oil for the potential problems coming their way. Many of these communities are already quite poor with low levels of education and poorer health as compared to the rest of Ghana. Their livelihoods are inextricably linked to the land and sea - many of them are farmers and fisherman. Oil and gas extraction will have grave consequences on the ecosystem in these areas if the government does not do everything in its power to perform the extraction carefully.

The meeting left us with a better sense of what Ghana will have to deal with, and there are definitely many likeminded groups lobbying the government to do this oil thing right. However, upon leaving the meeting, my supervisor gave voice to what I believe was the general consensus in the room: "I wish they would just leave that stuff in the ground."

A Quintessential Accra Sunday Perhaps?

What's the start of that famous joke? Ah yes..

So a Jewish Iraqi Canadian Girl walks into a bar... well not a bar. Rather she walks into Redeemer's Church International in Lapaz, Accra, Ghana.

Ba Dum Dum Ching!

Okay, so I have to work on my punchline a little bit. Or find more creative ways to introduce what I did this weekend. How about I just tell you what I did on Sunday?

I joined my host family to church. I had asked the previous week if I could go with them one Sunday, as it seems to be such a huge part of (most) people's lives here. Or at least the people I work with and my host family. When I asked my coworker (who goes to the same church as my host family) what denomination the church is that they belong to, she answered "charismatic." Another coworker further explained that "charismatic" was not simply a way of describing the liveliness of the ceremonies but is the name given to this denomination of Christianity, a branch of the Pentecostal church.

The church was about a 25-minute drive from Labone (where I live) in an area called Lapaz. As we approached the church, driving into the living quarters of Lapaz residents, you could see streams of people walking along the dirt road in their Sunday best. Women typically wore bright colourful patterned dresses with a matching piece of material wrapped on their head. The men, despite the strong heat, wore nice pressed suits. These wardrobes weren't necessarily the case for younger churchgoers, some of whom dressed quite casually or a little more "going to work."

Now I know the most pressing question on your mind is... BUT WHAT DID GABRIELLE WEAR AND DID SHE LOOK DAZZLING??? Well, I am sad to report that I don't have a picture of my outfit but I did indeed look dazzling in a powder yellow dress with slim brown piping around the neckline and straps. Perfect for the occasion, if I do say so myself!

Anyways, amidst the closed-up shops (which tend to fold into compact metal squares), empty restaurants, hair salons and homes, we passed a number of churches along the way, and a Mosque as well (I'm currently trying to find the statistics on the Muslim population in Ghana but I get a different number every time. A few sites report that Muslims represent 45% of the population in the country). With each church we passed you could hear the singing and clapping of the pupils inside.

Upon our entry into the church, a two-story concrete building with a hand-painted banner that read "Redeemers Church International", my host mother, Eva, went straight to the front and danced with some of the other women. The men joined later as a small band played music and sang. I, feeling a bit shy, stood back and clapped, once in a while buckling my knees to the rhythm (a very Obroni thing to do, I presume).

Front of the Church.

The term "charismatic" was quite the fitting descriptor for the energy in the building that Sunday morning. After some passionate singing and music, the preacher delivered his sermon (fortunately for me in English). The ceremony concluded with the pastor (none other than my very own Host Father Steven!!?? I had no idea I was in the midst of a celebrity this whole time!) healing people with the touch of his hand. People would come up to the front of the church, close their eyes whilst my Steven placed oil on their foreheads, recited some prayers and pressed his hand against their heads. Quite a few people from the church stepped up to do this, each one reacting to the ritual a little differently. Some remained calm and quiet, intent on spiritual connection. Others would shake, stagger sluggishly, careening around the front of the hall with the support of some of the male attendees.

Preacher delivering his sermon.

Eva, my host mother with her bible.

Briana, My little host sister, in her church dress. A-DO-RA-BLE.

After this ceremony came to an end, Steven invited all the Church newbies to the front of the house and greeted us formally. I felt a bit shy, but the smiles and welcoming words of those who ran the church led me to a place of greater comfort and ease.

My host family, Eva, (a very hungry) Briana and Steven, the church Pastor.

All in all, it was a very enriching experience. Different than my experience going to the church in Burnt River! But in many ways I experienced the same emotions. I tend to enter places of worship with pleasant curiosity yet I cannot help but carry a sense of apprehension, conflicting thoughts on organized religion itself and (I kid you not) a deep-seated fear that someone, something or some spirit in the church will stand up and point me out as a phoney! Like the voice of Charlton Heston will come over the loud speakers (the loud speakers being the Heavens of course) and in a deep booming voice announce that I don't belong there. Boom! Lightening strikes and I have to explain myself to the whole congregation!!

Unlikely, I know. Some people are afraid of spiders and others are afraid of spiders AND Charlton Heston's voice.

After church, I participated in another common Accra ritual - going to the beach!! I met Adusei and we had a great relaxing time at Labadi Beach - a collection site for foreigners and Ghanaians alike. Enjoy the pics below.

I spy, with my little eye, someone that needs sunscreen.

A boy who came over to our table and sang a birthday song with a three-string guitar. I gave him a couple cedis and asked if I could take a picture. He melted the hearts of most of the patrons at this particular bar on the beach. They would motion him away at first, as they do with most of the buskers, but he persisted with the cutest, sweetest voice singing about his birthday (according to the song, this event was to take place the following day... though I wouldn't be surprised if I bumped into him sometime in February singing the same song). People caved, enjoyed the show, clapped and forked out some money. All the other buskers and performers paled in comparison.

Well... Except these guys. Great acrobats! Except when one of them ate a beer bottle and regurgitated the broken glass. "And for my next trick, watch me make the audience disappear in horror!"

Rasta performers drumming as the sun sets.

Move over Julie Andrews! "The Sound of Music" at Ghana's National Theatre.

Holy Rogers and Hammerstein, Captain! It's an all-Ghanaian cast of The Sound of Music! Amazing. I spotted the poster while on the Tro Tro and knew I needed to see this!

The show was produced at the Ghana National Theatre, one of Accra's finest architechtural sites, designed and built by the Republic of China (well, not the whole Republic of China... surely they had other things to do, but they commissioned the building). The architecture reflects the Chinese influence. I attended the show with another CCI volunteer and his housemate.

Here are a few of my favourite (and not so favourite) things about the production. I'll say straight off the bat that the actress who played Maria (I will update this entry with her name tomorrow), carried the entire show. Her voice was great, she hit every note and her acting had that "musical-theatre-student-I-need-some-ritalin" energy and snap. She was absolutely great.

Other notable performances included Liesl and Rolph (Sixteen Going on Seventeen was adorable). Liesl had a great voice but wasn't miked so we didn't get to hear her all that well. Max seemed to play the audience well, hamming it up to the audience's enjoyment... ah yes, the audience, now there's a character in the show that played a huge role! The audience was very interactive, often singing along or shouting comments back at the characters (one teenage girl's voice was heard during the Captain's solo: "Sing to ME!"). Whenever there was a slip up, the audience would crack up, but warmly applaud and cheer when the actor/actress would get back on the right track (or in the case of the Mother Abbess, getting back on the right note(s)... Climb Every Mountain was a little rough). They also booed the Nazis when they marched on stage.

So what were the bee stings and the dog bites of the production? Well, the show was over THREE HOURS long with no intermission which made me feel very VON TRAPPED! Not to mention Von Thirsty and Von Hungry... Am I over Von Doing it? There were plenty of moments of dead air they could have cut and scenes they could have tightened to make the play run smoother and faster.

The most noticeable shortcoming of The Sound of Music was the audio production. Microphone glitches, audio levels and the balance of background sound with vocals were an unfortunate occurrence. They also didn't have a mic for everyone in the cast, which is fine, but they made a funny choice hooking Gretl up with her very own mic. Now although Gretl was super-duper-Olson Twins-circa-first-season-of-Full-House-cute, she barely had any lines, didn't sing along with the others all the time and her head was too small for the headset - thus employing the mic as a necklace rather than an audio device.

The Captain was pretty good but fell flat a wee bit too much and took the "conservative stiff" personality a little too literally with a strut reminiscent of Gumby.

One really funny choice that I'm sure Rogers and Hammerstein wouldn't have thought up on their own but I really liked was playing the Baroness as a very scantily-clad gold-digger with a nasty attitude. With every entrance, the Baroness played it up as the audience would hoot and holler disapprovingly at her scandalous outfit and 6 inch heels.

All in all, it was a lovely performance and a great experience. The theatre is beautiful and it was fun to hear all the familiar Sound of Music tunes (for you die-hard Sound of Music fans out there, I am happy to report that Kurt hit his high note during "So Long, Farewell"... not an easy task for a twelve-year-old boy!).

I really hope this production company puts on another musical! According to the program they are planning to put on Grease and Joseph and the Technicolour Dream Coat! I am seriously considering auditioning if they'll have me!

Note: I tried to post video of the show but again the internet connection doesn't seem to be strong enough to handle it. I'll try again another day. Hrmph.