Change the World

30th August, 2013. 7:59

Cape Coast

 

The world doesn't need someone to try and change it, it will evolve no matter what.

We are not made with superhuman qualities to come and "save" the world because it doesn't need saving. The greatest human quality is adaptation. Everyone is able to live with what they have, and if they cannot then maybe in their next life they can.

I'm not going to try and play God, I do not hold anyone's life in the palm of my hand. All we need to do is teach others to be self-sufficient so they can continue when you are gone.

 

I'm not here to save anyone. The only person I'm really here to save is myself, from greed and naivety. I'm here to see what's real and what's not, to experience a culture, learn and keep all the good things and spread that knowledge back home.

So far it has been an amazing experience, but at the same time there have been moments when ive felt cheated and angry. But thats all a part of growing and understanding. My shell is hardening.

 

I realised that my greatest weakness is sympathy and I think my time here has really hardened me because some people try to use you, because you are white and so you must have money, they will try to cheat you. But I've learnt that you must always study a person before you can trust them. I will never forget what my friend Stephen said to me during my first few weeks here. He told me "you have to show them that you are smarter than them" when a couple of kids were trying to persuade me to give money and sign a petition for their fake soccer team. I think this phrase is embedded in my mind and has been useful in many other situations during my time here.

 

The sooner we banish the idea of us white and apparently so fortunate people need to come save the third world, the quicker we may realise that we actually need to learn something from them. From their world. Some of the few I have learnt are: To fight on no matter what, to respect the elderly, to mend instead of throw away and to love with a whole heart.

 

 Travelling around the world really makes me appreciate home, the variety of culture and our open-mindedness. I used to be frustrated by the lack of Australian culture, but now I really value the spectrum of nationalities and accompanying traditions. This world doesn't need changing, we need to learn to point the finger back and realise how we need to grow.

I love you

The Countdown Begins

23rd August, 2013 7:55AM

Cape Coast

 

With two weeks and two days left I'm beginning to truly realise how much I've fallen in love with this place. My first African home, from day one I was welcomed by everyone and quickly grew fond of their culture.

Music, dance, food, nature, children, religion and family are all words that come to mind when I think of Ghana. And these are the things I will bring home with me.

 

Some of the things I am sure to miss are:

 

* The children at the orphanage

* Loud music in the streets and taxis/tro tros

* The friendliness of strangers

* My room mate Leisa

* Playing football with the boys at the orphanage

* Playing Ampe with the girls

* Being escorted to the taxiby seven kids fromtheorphanage

* Local food - red red, yam, wachi, cassava, plantains

* The sweet taste of fresh fruit - coconuts, pineapples, mangoes

* Watching people carry everything on their head

* Sitting with Millicent as she cooks

* Nana and Asantua screaming myname and jumping on me when I return home from work

* Hanging out with Angela

* Playing with the street kids

* The absence of technology

* Oasis, dancing on the beachside until 4AM

* Being woken by childrens laughter

* Drinking water from a plastic satchet

* Buying lunch on the street for less than 50 Pesowas

* Buying fabrics

* Climbing the ladder to the balcony when weve been out till late

* Not worrying about how I look

* Being with children every day

* Meeting so many people from across the globe

* Being invited to eat by friends from nearby shops

* Being proposed to

* The consistency of warm weather 

* Doing yoga on the balcony

* Getting my feet dirty

* The attitude of not babying the kids

* Their strange terminology: toffee means chocolate, sweet means it tastes good for anything (even chicken), are you okay? means are you full?, im coming means i will be back.

 

Things I wont miss:

* Being sweet-talked by guys who see a dollar sign above my head

* Being sick

 

Once in a Lifetime things:

* Swim under the tallest waterfall in West Africa

* Climb the tallest mountain in Ghana

* Walk through Kakum National Park from darkness to light (4AM-6AM treck)

* Travelled to Kumasi and the Volta Region

* Experience the Fetu Afehye (Cape Coast Festival)

* Get Malaria

A Temporary Home

My home in Ghana

24th July, 2013. 6:56AM in Cape Coast, Ghana

I’ve been here for just over a week now and already I feel like I know this place really well, in terms of both people and getting around.

Ghanaians have such a welcoming and kind hearted nature, they're always wanting to help you out or be your friend. Whenever I walk down the street, even if it’s just to the shops (2 minutes from my house) I am sure to say hi to at least 5 people. And it’s funny because you won’t just be saying a simple hello you will be asked how you are, what your name is and where you come from. Being proposed to and told 'I love you' is also very common here as well, even many taxi drivers have proposed. I think I have had the potential to be married at least 10 times already. Definitely getting a huge ego boost here!

Ghanaians remind me of Fijians by the way that they're incredibly helpful and friendly. The dominant religion here is Christianity, followed by the Islamic Religion and then Traditionalists. I’d love to learn more about the Traditionalist religions, I think it’d be based more on nature and probably likened to the Aboriginal cultures of Australia. Or so I think. So there are quite a lot of churches, I was hoping to attend last Sunday but my host brother told me that I would have had to get up in front of everyone and introduce myself and say why I was there... I’m a little overwhelmed by that idea for my first week. Maybe next weekend. 

My host family is so wonderful, I love coming home to them each day. I still don't know everyone who lives here, it’s a 3 storey house and I meet someone new who loves here every day. There is even a grandma who lives here and is 102 years old, wow!!

My host mum Milicent, who I just call Ma, works at a shop near our house selling her own food - so I definitely have been loving the food here, she’s a wonderful cook and person. She is very caring but also gives you the privacy you need. From what I know she has two kids, Angela who is a teacher and Joseph who works at a clinic. They are both unmarried and have children. Angela's child's name is Eugene but we call him P.K, he is I think 7 years old. His name has to do with this really beautiful idea here that the day you are born determines your Ghanaian name, for instance I was born on a Saturday therefore my name is Ama. However, when there are too many with the same name you are either called by your birth order or your other name, for instance Ama Julie for me. Joe's child's name is also Milicent, but we call her Nana. I have uploaded a photo of her, she is very very sweet. I play with both of the kids lots because they’re funny and very happy all the time. Whenever I come home from work they always run and jump onto me and then won’t leave me alone until Ma calls them for dinner. Only the other day I met another little girl who lives here too, her name is Dorothy Asantua and I’m not so sure of her mum’s name yet. She is very very cute, she loves to braid my hair and she is an amazing dancer! I hope to upload a video of her dancing soon! Another person that I know who lives here is Jeffrey, he is just a friend of Joes who doesn’t really have anywhere else to go, he is originally from Nigeria and the rest of his family is still there. His English isn’t as good as the others so I don’t feel like I know him as well as I do the others but still he is very friendly, we went to watch them play football yesterday.

Volunteers are generally very nice, initially it was 3 of us living in the house - my room mate Brianne and another volunteer named Greg are both from Canada, but a new guy named Christoph moved in the other day next door – he is from Austria.

Julie from Norway, pronounced Yulia, is one of my closest friends. We arrived on the same day and she lives just next door so we see each other every day and apparently act like a married couple, in the eyes of Greg. I really am appreciative of Julie’s friendship because I feel so comfortable with her and trust her completely. I feel as though she is a global travel sister. A girl named Jenny from England moved in with Julie and she is very kind as well :) It’s so nice to meet people from around the world every day.

The food here is really amazing, but I think I am very fortunate to have a wonderful cook as a mum for my home. Others have been complaining about the lack of hygiene in their kitchens, I think I’ve been very fortunate as my host mum is very hygienic and careful. The photo I’ve attached is the view I have of them cooking each morning from the balcony, where our rooms are. Each morning at 5AM they all wake up and begin their ritual of cooking, such amazing scents to wake up to. Often I do my yoga on the balcony, and go downstairs to help with some chopping or just sit and chat with them. I feel so alive here.

My usual day consists of walking Nana, the daughter of Joe, to school at about 7:30 AM, coming back to hang out with Joe, Jeffrey, Ma and another lady whose name I don’t know just yet, having breakfast, taking a wash (if the water is running) and then catching a taxi to work, staying till 4:30 or 5... Depending on whether I play football or not with the kids, coming home, playing with the kids from the street, taking another refreshing wash, eating dinner and then hanging out with the other volunteers, either going to a bar or someone’s house – this is a very very basic outlay of my general day here. Though the thing I love about my days here is that there is no real attachment to time. I can go and come as I please, I only need to follow the ways of the sun, making sure I’m not travelling alone too late in the evening – though the other night I did come back from the orphanage at 7, when it was dark and didn’t feel an ounce of fear. I really enjoy flexibility of my days. The freedom from time is so liberating. The place where I am volunteering at is an Orphanage but it is also attached to a school and a day care centre. Every school has holidays this Thursday so this week is mainly cleaning up and so on Friday only those who live here at the orphanage will be at my placement, not the school kids, which means about 30-35 people.

This place makes me feel so alive and the people are so warm and generous.

Love you truly <3

To be continued... :)

My Travel to Ghana, First Impressions

My Travel to Ghana

16th July, 2013

 At first I was anxious of how things would be like in Ghana. I could never really form a picture in my head about it; all that ever came up was either negative images from world news or the lion king... two huge extremes. I had only ever heard good things about Ghana; that the people are nice and friendly and sweet.

First impressions really do make all the difference. When my last flight landed, after 33 hours spent travelling from Australia to Ghana, I was not as exhausted as I thought I would be. I left the plane and headed towards the Immigration Desk. The man behind the counter asked me what brought me to ghana, I replied quietly with the reason of volunteering. He told me I was beautiful and asked if we could be friends. I didnt think I heard him right so I asked him to repeat himself, only to get the exact same response. I told him we could be friends. He asked for my facebook, which I took the paper he gave me and wrote my name. Soon after papers were done he gave me my passport back. My travel to ghana was accepted. To my surprise I found a little loose paper between the pages where he had placed his name and number. Never would I have thought I would enter a country in that way.

I have already met some wonderful people from all over the world, tonight I spend a night in Accra, the capital city of Ghana. Some other volunteers are here too, but there's only one guy from Canada who is also working with Projects Abroad in Cape Coast.

Tomorrow morning we will travel to Cape Coast after breakfast. Im lucky to have wifi tonight because of the hostel, however I am unsure of whether I will have any connections at my host home. I have no idea what to expect, but i'm really enjoying this journey.

I feel safe here, the people are so friendly and curtious. When you walk down the street they always make the effort to say hello. I think my travel will be a memorable one.

Im excited for tomorrow, I get to meet my host family and see my placement.

I love you, sweet dreams <3