I’m not kidding you when I say the nature of this summer programme underwent a metamorphosis. (Note: This programme is brand new this year) When I applied for this summer programme, the title of the offer says “internship in Ghana” and it says it’ll relate to tropical diseases and maybe some public health work. Upon acceptance into the programme, I found out we were going to get some classes. We were also told that this placement that was tailored based on what we wished to do. A few days before leaving, we received the list of placements that we were going to do and most of us got something other than what we expected. In the end, I had a lot of lectures, coursework and a placement at an NGO that advocates for road safety, tobacco control and drinking awareness.

My placement saga goes as follow: In the first placement, I was supposed to be doing laboratory work. It turned out that I had to rely on the kindness of my supervisors’ fellow researchers to actually get any  lab work, even though it was cleaning Petri dishes for the first half of it (re: half a day). Nonetheless, thank you Vaida and Felicia for taking care of me (and Maria). In our later and “permanent” placement, we got to meet students from different schools in Accra, even the schools in Nima, the most impoverished area of Accra. We also had our office time, which means we sat around with little to do most of the time. This is most probably because it was their first time having an intern from Boston and Lancaster University and they hadn’t fully agreed on the extend of the responsibilities they could give to the students.

I don’t usually feel like I’m a lucky person, but this time I’d say I am. The people that I met in my placement are truly inspiring. On top of a furniture shop, sits VALD, Vision for Alternative Development, an NGO filled with people who believe in the cause they are fighting for and are willing to do the hard work. They also gave me a rare opportunity to teach in the schools; not any school, but the schools in the rough area of town and being inspire by the passion of the students and the teachers for education in the schools we visited. I even received a lot of support from them for teaching and they corrected me if necessary. Thank you Salomon, Hajarah, Labram and Bright for making us feel so welcomed and embracing us as a part of the VALD family.

This might sound like a cliché, but I do feel really lucky that I got to meet new people through this programme. I’m not the most outgoing person, so I consider myself very lucky to meet and be roomed with Lisa (my karaoke partner and beach buddy :p ). I felt that lucky to meet her to the point where we (and Maria and Hanna) caused quite a scene when we parted at the airport (silly Lisa chose a flight after most of us left so we had to bid farewell when I was leaving Ghana).

As a realist who experienced parting with friends by thousands of miles, I know how hard it would be to stay in touch with someone, especially someone who you had only known them briefly. Even better, we are both really awkward at Skyping or Face-timing or whatever – technology doesn’t always erase the distance, actually it never does. Thankfully, being the two peas in a pod we are, we vowed to each other to stay in touch and that she would go to the UK for Easter break. And you know what, even with the eleven hours difference (West Indonesian time), we still message each other everyday (yay!). It was really nice to meet all of them, other special mentions to Jenny and Amber; I hope you’re all doing great! And the buddies from Lancaster Uni Ghana, thank you for taking care of us, Diane, Nana, JFK, Akua, Angela and Big John!

All in all, it wasn’t always sunshine and happiness, or to follow the earlier analogy that I used, it wasn’t always the ‘happy-go-lucky caterpillar stage’. But fortunately for me, at the end of the trip, I gained a lot from these unexpected things that I got. I thought I was going to work at a lab, which is quite familiar for me, but instead I got to encounter people who have very different backgrounds from mine. I thought I was just going to room with my best friend from the UK and I wouldn’t be able to share a toilet with a stranger, but I got an additional roomie, who turned out to be my new best friend. Like in Pokemon Go, your unexpectedly ugly Metapod will be an unexpectedly badass Butterfree (in a less nerdy way: it was worth it)!

This trip was supported by Santander.

Unfortunately, this is not a RomCom story where I meet an unrealistic guy who swept me off my feet; no, it’s just a story about the loveliest places in Ghana. We visited many more places in Ghana, but here are some of the most touristy sites that made my heart flutter (ew).

TOP 3

Admit it, when someone mentions they’re going to Africa, you’d think of a savannah, with zebras and lions, or maybe straight up Lion King. It is a must-have experience in Africa and thankfully, I got to see one out of the three things I mentioned. Check the first (top) picture of yet another collage, which shows the view from the top of one of the rocky hills of Shai Hills. After seeing some baboons and ostrich in their sanctuary, we drove across that vast savannah on our regular bus with a tour guide and were dropped off at one of the hills. This hill was said to be the easiest one to climb. Yes, with no warning whatsoever, a ride on the bus turned into an easy climb up the hill, which later turned into a less easy rock climb. With all my wisdom, I wore my Converse that day, which was not very reliable in terms of keeping me from slipping. Fortunately, the rope didn’t fail on me and I managed to focus all my weight onto my grip – no more slipping for me. Even more fortunate, I got to see that view from the top of the hill. It was just a very serene feeling once you get to the top, seeing so much greenery on the land underneath. It was the kind of feeling that cools all your senses despite being closer to the boiling sun that was roasting the top of my head. A special mention to Adela, who conquered her fear of height and managed to enjoy this view with us.

The second picture shows a beach not far from Accra, called Bojo Beach. It is only around an hour away from where we stay and that’s with traffic, which is very decent considering the heavy traffic in Accra. Bojo beach offers us a much needed escape from Accra after two weeks of staying in the hotel most of the time. Also, after being let down by the previous two beaches in Cape Coast and Keta Lagoon where the beaches are nice, but not suitable for swimming and we didn’t have time, I finally got to experience a beach in Ghana! To get to the beach, you have to cross a small area of water using a canoe, shown in the picture (yea, that’s not the beach). I will be as honest as a a Tripadvisor review and say the beach isn’t all that. However, it made to the top three thanks to my friends who turned it into a great time. Lisa shared the same enthusiasm for standing in the water, waiting for the waves to smash us (which is what we did), so we did that for a total of around three hours. Sunbathing, eating okay food, desperate Pokémon hunting, all the usual stuff, but it was special because I spent it with the people I actually want to hang out with.

Last is Kakum National Park, and it is last simply because the collage looks nicer if Bojo Beach is in the middle. This place is probably my favourite touristy place of the trip (though Shai Hill is probably my favourite, too), where I got to walk on 40 metres high canopy walks, surrounded by so much green and magnificent trees. While walking on the canopy walks, it was important to keep walking and not stopping for too long, because the pressure on the ropes and the platform posted on the trees were going to build up. The pressure on the tree might had been quite high, but not as high as the pressure on the people walking on it who kept getting yelled at to keep moving (not in a supportive way). Because of this, I didn’t really have a chance to relax and enjoy the view or even take as many picture as I hope I would. Nonetheless, it was a new experience for me and despite it passing through  quickly compared to the long drive to get there, it was definitely worth it.

Miscellaneous

• Cape Coast – we stayed at Coconut Grove, a very nice beachfront resort that makes our usual hotel looks much worse than before. We went to Kakum National Park from here.

• James Town – a fishermen village. Not a very touristy place, but it was a meaningful experience that let us see a different side of Accra.

• Elmina Castle – also in Cape Coast, a castle that was built in 1482 and was a centre for slave trading. It was a necessary tour to increase our awareness of the history of Ghana.

• Keta Lagoon – a small town with good seafood and the practicum supervisor’s hometown! He and his father even welcomed us to their home; it was too sweet for words.

Religion (mainly Christianity) is a big part of Ghana. As someone from Indonesia, which is a Muslim country and on some levels can be quite similar to how religious Ghana is (writings on the public transports and we have religious TV shows), but I was still quite surprised by how it is such a big part of the country. To show this; two days after we went to Republic Bar, we were scheduled to went to a church! The church we went to was massive and people were dressed up to the nines. It gives you the feel of going to see a gig, especially with the lighting, the stage at the front and five singers singing harmoniously, accompanied by a live band. People are also very open about religious their beliefs here. For example, one of the first questions I was asked by our supervisor and colleague in my placement was what my religion is.

Even as you drive along the roads of Ghana, you’ll see a lot of billboards advertising religious events, public transports with religious remarks on them and even at a random shop, like the top right picture that I took in a cellphone carrier shop, they broadcast their belief. Second, the top left picture I took in a clinic of an orphanage called Village of Hope. It was a Christian organisation that took care of 250 children in a village, which has its own school, clinic and naturally, households. Not only the passage from the Bible, the symbol painted in brown at the top right section of the picture is a symbol you can find everywhere (even on regular plastic chairs) means “the almighty God,” based on what one of the buddies (local student from LU Ghana) told us. Lastly, the bottom picture is of a play that we saw the Sunday we went to church. The play told a classic religious story of how Jesus can drive evil spirits away. The photo shows the ending where they sing a song of praise after the couple (protagonists) believe in Jesus. Most of the audience are very interactive with the play, shouts of “Amen” were heard throughout the play. It’s quite different from what I see in the UK, but it’s a part of the Ghana experience.

Unfortunately, even though the topic of religion is very common, some people don’t have much understanding about other religions, for example, Islam. Islam is actually the second most common religion in Ghana, but some people are so unfamiliar with it, they make random assumptions based on what they see on the news from outside of Ghana. However, despite of their level of understanding of the different religions, Ghana is a very peaceful country where people can worship God in their own ways side by side without any conflict whatsoever (which is something they are and should be very proud of). Another misconception that is quite common here based on the visits we have to different clinics is regarding witchcraft and “bad spirit.” Some people believe by getting rid of the bad spirit, they can be healed, so they go to traditional healers instead of medical professionals.

I’m glad that I got to experience this side of Ghana; seeing more than meets the eyes. It gives an authentic experience of a country, which is exclusive for each person.

Dance floor for dancing at Republic Bar and Grill

How lucky is it to have a summer programme that starts on a Wednesday, so just two days after starting, we got to enjoy the nightlife of Ghana. Republic Bar is a semi-outdoor bar in Accra, famous for its self-distilled liquor and music. Republic might have plastic chairs instead of comfy armchairs; the outdoor situation is the side of a street, facing two very simple food vendors instead of a garden; but it offers a lively, Afrobeat-sy atmosphere that gets you up on your feet. The drinks are tasty, well, some of them are, but they won’t be familiar (besides a Mojito) and mocktails are also available. They cost around four quid and they have yam chips instead of the usual fries. They have their own house liquors, which are…strong.

The dance floor is probably a 5x5metres square in front of the DJ stage, which is a few steps behind our tables; in other words, it’s out in the open, inviting passersby to join in. The people dancing on the floor are not your typical group; I would say they were in their 30s and they dance better (or at least more vigorously) than most people in Sugarhouse. They make way for the most energetic singer to dance in the middle of this automatically formed circle (the usual kind), but it was so amazing to see how welcoming they are to other people who would like to bust a move/let off some steam. I guess their small dance floor managed to select for people who actually want to dance and people who want to be creepy on the side (which was probably how my tiny dance circle on the side got approached by a guy with a questionable motive). Also, guess who got to dance in the centre? (I did and my friend, too, but we’re not very proud of it so let’s not bring this up ever again).

All in all, I hope this was a good introduction to Ghana. Some of the next posts might not be as touristy and more about the harsh reality of staying somewhere unfamiliar for six weeks, but I hope you’ll look forward to more Ghana in this blog

(This trip is sponsored by Santander)