Walking through the sky…

I was very tired with my school life so I decided to go on a vacation to the Mole National Park. It was an awesome trip, so I will tell you about this national park. To get in to this park you have to pay adult/student US$4.40/2.70, still/video camera fee US$0.50/2.20). Also, Mole means, easy to get. When you first enter this National Park, you can see bus-sized elephants, baboons and a lot of other creatures. There are 90 species of mammals in total in the park, so you might see some new animals that you have never seen before. I heard that this is the biggest national park in Ghana at 4660 sq km and best for viewing wild life. They say the best time for seeing wildlife is during the harmattan season from January to March, but it is always nice to visit! Guided walks are offered twice a day, usually at 6.30am and 3.30pm, and cost US$1.60 per person and usually lasts two hours.

When you want to stay near this national park, there is a motel called, “The Mole Motel. This motel is camping with your own, or renting a tent US$2.20/US$4.40, d/chalets US$19/22. It wasn’t very great to stay there. The water and the electricity were sometimes in short supply. However, it was an awesome time to live with the animals on the ground! You can just relax at the motel which overlooks a watering hole; you will see groups of elephants bathing in the early morning or evening, a few hours before the sun sets. Also, this motel has a swimming pool that I could go to when I got bored of the national park.

I also tried to buy a souvenir from a shop, but the price was much higher than I thought it should have been.

I think the most interesting thing I did was watching the water buffalo in the water holes with my family. It was amazing that it was my first time to see one of them.

It was an awesome trip to the Mole national Park with my family. I will never ever forget it!!!

Now, I am going to two villages called, Busua & Dixcove. These are two fishing villages, and I decided to visit here for awhile since it is not too far from Accra, where I live. Busua is more developed than Dixcove and many people come to visit. This place has a long, sandy stretch and water that is fine for swimming and even for a little surfing! My dad was fishing and my brother was surfing. It was fun to swim here and the water was very clean!

While coming back, we decided to visit another National Park called, “Kakum National Park.” I heard that more than 100,000 people visit this park each year to view its natural life. This park is the home to the elephants, antelope, monkeys, and more than 200 species of birds and butterflies. People say the best way to see a tropical rain forest is from above. The best thing of this park is the aerial walkway, called the sky walk. This park is the only place that you would actually do this. This skywalk is 1,093 feet (333 m) long and hangs 88feet (27m) above the ground from eight gigantic trees. The people told us that since every tourist tries this skywalk, that we should try it too, so I tried it and it was so great! I got to see a bird’s eye view of this forest, where a lot of things live.

This was  the most amazing vocation I have ever had in my life!

« Never A Chance To Be Bored! :)

Never A Chance To Be Bored! :)

I am having a great time studying in Ghana, and I am very used to Ghanaian culture. The games and Music they play here are awesome and the Ghanaian Drumming is very popular and traditional. I am trying to learn it from my teacher. People here are very musical and they all love to dance. I am taking a few dance classes with my friends to learn Ghanaian traditional dances.

People who go to this school are very friendly and they do a lot of things for fun! I learned that in the ancient times, kids were more likely to play more with rocks and tress, like Oware, which I mentioned in another blog. However, Kids in My school are more likely to play online games such as Bunch, Badaboom, Bloomin Gardens, and Battle ships. They thaught me how to play them and it was very fun. Also, there are a lot of games we play running around. They are very fun so I will show you some of the games that we play in Ghana!

*Ampe- 

Materials: fast-paced music playing (can be played only to clapping)

Object: to be the highest scoring team

Directions: We divide in to two teams. One player from each team stands on opposite sides of one another. One player is Ohyiwa and the other is Oware. Players begin jumping and clapping with the music. As they land, each one moves one leg forward, with their knee protected. Ohyiwa wins a point if the left leg meets the other player’s right leg or vice versa. Oware wins if the left leg meets the other player’s left leg, or if their right legs meet. The team that reaches 10 points

First wins. A set of games can be played and the team with the highest score wins the game.

*Pilolo-

Materials: small balls, sticks, or pennies

Object: to find the hidden objects and get back to the finish line as quickly as possible

Directions: Select one “leader”. While the players close their eyes, the leader hides objects all around the playing area (This may be best played outdoors or in a gym with good hiding spots). The players gather at a starting/finish line. The Leader then yells “Pilolo” and the players run to find a hidden object and get back to the finish line first. The person Who crosses the line first wins? Another variation: divide the players into two teams. The team whose players all cross The finish line first wins. The game is played several times.

*Pilolo means “time to search for.”

*Big Snake-

Materials: a small playing area marked off with lines or cones, a whistle

Goal: Create one big snake!

Directions: Select one person to be the snake. The snake lives in its home (the marked off playing area, large enough to fit several players inside). When the teacher blows the whistle, the snake comes out of its home and tries to eat (tag) the players. Once tagged, the player Must join the snake’s body (by holding hands or holding waists). The head of the snake and its tail are the only parts of the body (players) who can tag other players. If the snake’s body Breaks, the snake must go back to its home, regroup, and start again. The game ends once Everyone is part of the snake.

Ghanaian people truly enjoy and love a lot of different kinds of music. People say that Ghana is made by music, dance, and festivals. In the Southern part of Ghana, people usually use drums, and in the far Northern part of Ghana, people are more likely to use fiddles and other string instruments. I am learning some traditional Ghanaian dances and knew about a dance company called,  the “Kakaloi Dance Company”. The founder of this Dance company, Raphael Tetteh Okai , once said,”Traditionally dance is closely connected with the way the people live, especially during festivals, where they use dance to tell stories and to entertain themselves. The relationship between the dance and the music is very close. You can’t really separate the music from the dance. The language of the music tells you how you have to dance.”

I am also taking a drum class to learn how to play some traditional drums.  Thomas Torkena, drummer, Labadi Beach, who is a drummer, one said, ““Ghanaian music is very, very good for you – if you are feeling down it makes you happy, it makes you want to dance, to shake your body!”

Once I researched about some poplar songs in Ghana so I will tell you some top best love songs in Ghana.

1.Kojo Antwi – ‘Bor mi nkomo der’
2. Kwabena Kwabena – ‘Me ye’
3. Ofori Amponsah – ‘Odwo’
4. Praye – ‘Wodin’
5. Kojo Antwi – ‘Me Dware’
6. Kwabena Kwabena – ‘Odo kor nia odo wor’
7. Kojo Antwi – ‘ Dade Anomomaa”

8. Sarkodie – ‘ Baby’
9. E.T Mensah – ‘All for you’
10. Pat Thomas – ‘Odo A Medo Wo’

Also, I get to learn some children songs in kindergarden. These are several songs that we learned with the kids.

*Twi-  Dabi mek nwuram… Kaaika

*English-Once Upon a Time I Went Into the Forest

*Akan- Obwisana

Ouch! Yesterday, I accidently got hit by a soccer ball. Soccer is the national sports of every African country. However, in Ghana people think that other’s are obsessed with Soccer. Ghanaians are used to playing soccer from a very young age. They play soccer whenever they find some open space and a random ball. People say Ghanaians are not just enjoying soccer; they say they are actually very good at it, so you can say that soccer is the most popular sport in Ghana. Also, the Ghana national soccer team is called, “The Black Stars” They have won the African Cup of Nationals three times. In 2006, Ghana decided to compete with other players in the World Cup, the biggest sport event in the world. Since I am very enjoying soccer in Ghana even though I am not as good as they are, I will tell you about the Ghana’s one of the greatest soccer stars. People talk about a lot. Odenke Abbey, was born in 1968 in Accara where I am living. He grew up as a champion on the French national team. Also, in 1998, he helped France with the World Cup.

Ghanaians are also good in other sports such as boxing, and track with Vida Anim. For example, Ike “Bazooka” is one of the famous boxers in the world that Ghana produced.

I am enjoying Ghanaian life and my school very much where you can listen to music, dance, play sports as we as studying. I hope I have a great time here and learn some more interesting things!

Walking through the sky… »« The history of our homeland Ghana!

The history of our homeland Ghana!

God Bless Our Homeland, GhanaI am used to my new school now and I am enjoying school life. I just realized that it’s break, I can go on the internet, to post my blog about my history homework.

My history teacher gave us homework, to research Ghana. “Ghana…?” At first, I thought that is would be unfair that all of my Ghanaian friends already knew the history, but I realized that I had to do this homework anyways, because this assignment is for my final grade! Right after I came home, I started to research this country. The official name of Ghana is “Republic of Ghana” and there is no official religion, that people can believe what they want to believe. This country was founded on March 6, 1957. The form of government is Republic and they call the chief of the state the President.

In 1884, a German leader called, “Otto van Bismarck”, asked the most powerful 14 Europeans to meet in Berlin, Germany to talk about dividing Africa. In the end, Great Brittan, France, Portugal, and Germany each owned parts of Africa. However, Ghana became independent on March 6, 1957.

The first President called “Kwame Nkrumah” was born in 1909 in the village of Nkrofu. He was outstanding at school and I heard that everyone knew him in Ghana. After teaching a few years in Ghana, he came to the United States and went to Lincoln University and The University of Pennsylvania. Finally, in 1957, he became the first president of Ghana. By 1966, Ghanaians were angry at the things he did and he lived the rest of his life in the west part of Guinea and died there in 1972.

From 1972 until 1993, no Ghanaian citizen was elected as the leaders of Ghana. In 1979, a person called “Jerry Rawlings” took over the government. He was once elected to be the president, but people say that the elections had not been fair.

Now, I was really curious about the history of the flag of Ghana. This flag has three stripes of red, yellowish gold, and green. Also there is a big black star in the middle of the flag. The green part represents the country’s forests, the red stand for the blood of people who died fighting for the independence of Ghana. Also, the gold part stands for the wealth of Ghana.

Ahhhhhhhhh! I got so tired of researching this project and anyways, I am still going to work on it for the rest of the week. Now I am so thirsty that I am going to go to the refrigerator and get a Pee cola.

I am back at it again. I felt too guilty not researching so I decided to keep search about Ghana.

I asked student, my friends, and even some teachers to find out what happened in Ghana, but I couldn’t get a specific answer. Finally, I went to our school Library and found a book, called “Ghana, Enchantment of the World”. I read the history part of this book over and over. I saw a lot of words that I didn’t know such as “Gold Coast”. I tried to find it in a dictionary and it said, “–noun

1. A former British territory in W Africa; now a part of Ghana.

2. A wealthy residential area along a shore, as in Florida between Miami and Palm Beach or in Chicago along the shore of Lake Michigan.”

I got interested in this word, and tried to find pages in the book related to this word, “Gold Coast.” Finally, I found a page that had a title called, “The Kingdom of Ghana.” It said that the Kingdom of Ghana (Ghana’s formal name) was founded by the Soninke peoples. They described Ghana long time ago and said there was magnificent numbers of gold. They say,” Ghanaian rulers wore gold bracelets that were so heavy they couldn’t lift their arms.” On this page, I could learn all the specific things about gold in Ghana. People have called it the “Gold Coast” for the glorious numbers of gold.

I searched a map to see the gold coast in 1896. The Major gold deposit were colored in yellow which were Asante, Northern Territories, and Neutral Territory.

Since I talked about “Gold” a lot, I will tell you about gold weights. This was a object to represent leadership and the king. There were a lot of shapes to make a gold weight, and the Porcupine shapes were really popular which represented the strength of Asante Warriors.

I wasn’t sure if I knew all the History of Ghana specifically to get a good grade on it. I asked my history teacher if there was anything that I had to work on more. She told me about Ghana  2,000 years ago. She told me that the Asante made the land better to grow crops such as yams, plantains, and onions which are still famous and very important foods in Ghana. As time went on, people started to move from the north to the east. At the same point, the Mande people took control of the northern part of Ghana. People say that the Mande were in to trading cola nuts, gold for cloth, and even metal. The Mande are now Muslims, who follow the region of Islam.

The Asante, who had the most power in Ghana in the early times were in to trading, getting gold, ivory, and even sold slaves to Europeans. They had a well organized society, with a person who could control groups of families. I went to a historical museum related to the Asante and saw how the royal families got treated and what they wore and ate in the past. By the end of 17^th century, Nana Osei Tutu became the king of Asante.

The Portuguese were the first Europeans who arrived to Africa. Wherever they went, they builted castles, which are still there these days. The first caste, called “ST.George of the Mine Castle” was made in 1482. I visited there with my family yesterday, and it looked very old and dirty.

he National anthem of Ghana is called, ” God Bless Our Homeland Ghana.” My friends told me that everyone who is in Ghana should know this song so I will show you the lyrics.

God Bless Our Homeland, Ghana

God bless our homeland Ghana
And make our nation great and strong,
Bold to defend forever
The cause of Freedom and of Right;
Fill our hearts with true humility,
Make us cherish fearless honesty,
And help us to resist oppressors’ rule
With all our will and might evermore.

Hail to thy name, O Ghana,
To thee we make our solemn vow:
Steadfast to build together
A nation strong in Unity;
With our gifts of mind and strength of arm,
Whether night or day, in the midst of storm,
In ev’ry need, whate’er the call may be,
To serve thee, Ghana, now and evermore.

Raise high the flag of Ghana
And one with Africa advance;
Black star of hope and honor
To all who thirst for liberty;
Where the banner of Ghana free flies,
May the way to freedom truly lie;
Arise, arise, O sons of Ghanaland,
And under God march on for evermore!

Uhhhhhhh…. I still have much to do. I just realized that there was slavery in Ghana. People say most of the slaves were stolen women used as servants and farm workers. Also, other Africans were shipped to the Mediterranean, where they shipped them to Spain, Portugal, and other Europeans Countries. I heard that some people treated the servants very cruelly.

This project opened my mind. I learned a lot about Ghana and its people. People don’t have a lot here, but they also have somewhat of a sad history. They were abused and didn’t even obtain independence until the late 1950’s. I am also reading some book about Ghana. Now I think I have to rest a little, see you later!

Never A Chance To Be Bored! :) »« What is my next class? Where should I go?

What is my next class? Where should I go?

I am having a great time every day at my new school, and I am getting along with my new family. Actually, now I just call them my dad, mom, or sister. I am enjoying my trip very much, and now I am used to the Ghana time.

At my school, Ghana International School, which is also known as GIS, I am in the upper school. This school is in Accra, and it is very close to my house.  We go to school at about 8am while our parents go to work. The school day is pretty long, but it is really fun that we do a lot of recreations including sports like basketball and swimming. In addition, my favorite classes are art, drama, and music. Math class is kind of easy compare to what I did when I was in the United States, but I am still enjoying it.

When I first came to this school, I was really worried if they would teach us in African like in Twi or Ewe. However, since this is an international school, they taught me in English. I am making a lot of friends, and I wear a button down shirt with pants. We don’t wear blazers, because it is really hot in Ghana. Also, we wear sandals more than dress shoes.

At break time almost all the students go to the school canteen, which is more like a school snack bar. They buy some munchies like chips that I never seen before.  My friends told me that if you want to buy something from the snack bar, you should run as fast as you can before break, or else all the foods will be gone. I could see students eating and chatting at break time.

Since I was new, I was just standing on the hall way like a tree. I was miserable that I didn’t know what to do and even where my next class is. Suddenly, our student leader came and said, “Whose class are you taking now?” I told her my teacher’s name, and I went safely to my class. When I got back home, I thought about the girl that helped me and thought that I would like to be like her when I grow up.

They play the game called “Oware,” which I mentioned in the blog before. It was really fun, but I couldn’t play better than my Ghanaian friends who played that game for their whole lives!

Oh! I forgot to tell you about my new great teachers. SIR CHARLES ARDEN-CLARKE is the founder of this school. Mrs. Diana Nyatepe-Coo, who is our principle, invited me to the class on my first day of school when I was so nervous and freaked out about coming to a new school.

I am having a great day, and I am enjoying my school life. I am also preparing for my history exam, which I would work hard on it!

The history of our homeland Ghana! »« Fell in love with Ghanaian food!

Fell in love with Ghanaian food!

I love my family and my neighbors! I totally fell in love with the new flavors of food that I had never tasted before!  Since there are so many great foods in Ghana, I will tell you about them a little bit.

Fufu is one of the food that the entire Ghanaian population loves to eat.  To me, it looks like sour cream and mashed potatoes; it tasted as sour as sour cream. Since there are 5 people in our family, we all had to join in to make this. Since this is really popular in Ghana I will tell you the recipes which I got from a site called “http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Ghana.html ”!

Fufu    

Ingredients

*6 cups water

*2½ cups instant baking mix (such as Bisques or Jiffy Mix)

*2½ cups instant mashed potato flakes

Procedure

1)Boil the water in a large saucepan.

2)dd the instant flour mix and potato flakes to the boiling water and mix well.

3)Cook, stirring constantly for 10 to 15 minutes.

This is best accomplished by two people working together: one to hold the pot while the other stirs vigorously with a strong, wooden spoon.

The mixture will become very thick and difficult to stir, but the mixture must continuously be stirred.

4)Fill a medium-sized bowl with water to thoroughly wet its surface, and then empty the water out.

5)Gather a large mass of the mixture (about 1 cup) on the spoon and transfer it to the wet bowl.

6)Shake the bowl vigorously until the dough forms into a smooth ball.

7)Serve on a large platter with soup or stew.

(Makes about 6 servings.)

We mostly eat food with our hands, but since Accra is very developed and kind of westernized, sometimes we use a fork and a knife. These are some of the table manners that I found in a site called http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/ghana.html

*Wait to be told where to sit.

*A washing basin will be brought out before the meal is served; use it to wash your hands.

*Food is generally served from a communal bowl.

*Do not begin eating until the eldest male does.

*Eat from the section of the bowl that is in front of you. Never reach across the bowl to get something from the other side.

Also, when we have to make Ghanaian food such as Fufu, everyone joins to my house to help us. Also, since Ghana is near by the ocean, people eat a lot of fish that my family always cooks fish for lunch.

Also, some of the Ghanaians, depending on their religion, celebrate Christmas! At first I thought that only a few countries celebrate Christmas. I found a site called”
http://www.villasinghana.com/536.html?*session*id*key*=*session*id*val* ”. I found a typical course of what people in Ghana eat at Christmas.

A Typical Ghanaian Christmas Menu

*Chicken, goat, or sheep

*Chicken stew

*Cooked rice or jollof rice

*Boiled soybeans, yams, or eggplant

*Fufu

*Gari biscuits

*Mangoes, oranges, or pawpaws (papayas)

My sister’s favorite food is Yam. She told me that peoples can eat Yams in many ways.

Many ways to eat Yam

yam is a root vegetable which is Comparable to potatoes.

*Yam Chips/Fries

*Yam Balls – Mashed and mixed with vegetables, then deep fried. 

*Boiled Yam – Served with meat or fish!

Also, there are many kinds of drinks in Ghana. For example, Shitto is a soft pepper drink that is really popular in Ghana. Peecola, which is a Ghana version of Cola, I heard that it is really popular in here.

 Yummmmmm, see you again!!!

What is my next class? Where should I go? »« Good to be home!

Good to be home!

I said “Ming-gah-bou, ” which meant hello in Twi, to my new family. They smiled at me generously which made me feel very welcomed. I thought they would greet me by bowing, as I am used to that, but instead they politely shook my hand.

I think their names are really remarkable in many ways. My new sister told me several interesting things while we traveled in the car. Her name was Ababuo, which meant “child that keeps coming back” which is also from Ewe orgin. My new brother that I didn’t really talk to much, was Adofo, which meant “One who loves, a courageous warrior.”My new father, Pinyin seemed really strict, but a nice person. My new mother’s name is Sisi, which means that she was born on Sunday. Also, their last name was Rawlings. I thought it was really cool that in some part of Ghana, they name people what day they were born.

I saw the traditional clothes they were wearing. The fancy and colorful fabric looked fabulous on them. I asked my sister what they were wearing, why, and how they make them. Gladly, my sister told me the answers. She told me that the clothes in Ghana are a little different depending on the class. For example, she told me that a royal family in Ghana wears a Kente cloth. This clothing called the Kente clothing is made by the Asante peoples in the 12^th century. This clothing is woven 4 inches (10cm) wide. Today, I heard that this famous pattern is seen everywhere such as on scarves and umbrellas. Each pattern is named by events that took place related to the Asante king. These typical patterns sometimes represent strength, bravery, beauty, valor, and relationships. Also, they usually use yellow, orange, blue, and red to make this fabric. The Adinkra cloth which is also from the Asante culture, is another fabric that explains things trough the fabric. The word “Adinkra” means “farewell” and were made for funerals and things. Also she told me that in northern Ghana, men wear along smock, usually a comfortable loose shirt. She told me that her family is one of the few families which still wear traditional clothings in a city like Accra.

Finally, I saw the house that I am going to live in for a year. It was just plain normal house, but I could see that there were lots of flowers. Since it is in the capital city, Accra, the things were better than the country side. The first impression of my house was a little disappointing

 That the house looked like it was going to fall in two parts. However, I soon forgot everything while playing with my new family and new neighbors.

Next, I saw my bathroom. I couldn’t believe that there was only one bathroom for such a large family, but I really didn’t care. I also saw several buckets that were blue. I asked my mom and she told me that they needed them for emergencies, when there is no water. I was kind of scared to think about living without using water in a country Where I thought there would be plenty. Iasked her how could there be lack of water if there are so many waterfalls and oceans and she told me that there are water that is suitable to drink and not safe to drink. She said if you see people especially young kids selling water in a plastic bag, avoid it.

In front of the house, I could see a huge baobab tree that was very important for the people in this town. This tree is also known as the Upside down tree, because it gets thicker as it grows, it looks like the tree is upside down!

“ewwwwwwww!” I screamed when I realized that there was a huge centipede in the window frame of my room. I totally jumped of my bed but my new family seemed pretty much used to it.

At first, I was really concerned I would just sleep on the floor with nothing and the centipedes would be crawling everywhere. I tried to use my bug spray, but my sister said to not harm the bugs unless they bothered me, and I had to listen to her. Fortunately, I slept on a normal bed almost like a bed that I am used to here. Since the house wasn’t large enough, I had to share a room with my new sister.

That’s it for now! Goodnight!

Fell in love with Ghanaian food! »« “Hi! Are you my new mom?”

“Hi! Are you my new mom?”

After 20 hour trip stuck inside the plane, I was really tired and exhausted, but I am so excited to see my new parents! I stepped out of the airport and saw my new parents holding a card that said my name so I figured out that they were my new parents. I waved my hand at them and they waved back to me!

They were wearing some kind of traditional clothes which I blogged about a little bit when I was packing. This clothing is made by African styled, loose patterned fabric. When I was in side the plane I thought that my parents would be more western styled like wearing more likely a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. However, I realized that there are also some people that are still traditional in a big city like Accra too.

My family had a car so I got a chance to look around Accra a little bit while I rode the car and go to my home. It felt a little awkward that the people were really different than what I am used to, but all the things were written in English, that made me feel better.

Soon I realized all of my family braided their hair. So I asked them “why and where do you braid your hair?” they told me that it is much easier to live with an African style hair and they told me that there are hair shops where they braid people’s hair. They pointed one out for me, and the boards were so colorful that I thought it was really cool.

Also, I saw kids playing soccer in the streets that I really wanted to join; if I wasn’t so tired. Also, I saw teenagers playing some kind of a game… I thought. I asked my new sister and she told me that this game called “Oware” is the most popular game in Ghana” She told me that to play this game needs nothing more than a board. I thought it would be really cool to try to play it one day. Also, I saw people growing fruits and vegetables.

Somehow I saw a weird thing that looked like a fish. I asked my new family and they told me that it was called a Fantasy Coffin. I was really impressed to see such a thing that I could never ever see in the United States! This coffin is used when a person’s life ends. For example, my new mom told me that a taxi driver who used to drive a car called Mercedes-Benz got buried in a coffin that looks like that car.

Zzzzz…..

I just realized that I just woke up from sleeping because of the noisy sounds in Accra. Since Accra is the capital of Ghana it was really crowded and noisy. I asked my new dad when would we arrive and he told me that there is always traffic in Ghana.

I am really exited to start a new life in Ghana!

Good to be home! »« Every one is coming to my house!

Every one is coming to my house!

For this amazing trip to Accra, Ghana I had a party to celebrate with my friends and family! I was really excited for this party and was planning this since last week. I invited some of my best friends in Korea that are Jeoung-Won, Jeoung-Yeoun and my other friends. I was thinking about how and where I would be able to invite my friends. I knew that my friends couldn’t come to the United States so I decided to go to Korea. I decided to go to my own house in Korea.

 We ate several dishes of Korean food that I thought I wouldn’t be able to eat in Ghana. I ate Korean traditional Egg-roll that my friend is talented at making, Bulgogi which is a traditional meat dish made with traditional sauce that my mom made for me. Also, for desert, I ate Matt-tang which is one of my favorites. This dish that I made is made from sweet-potatoes dipped into honey or melted sugar.

 I am really excited about this trip and I really want to visit my new home where I will live for a year. I talked with my friends about how the trip would be and what I would learn there. My friends were impressed that I already knew some facts about Ghana and that I knew how to speak some basic phrases in Twi or Ewe.

On the other hand, I was really nervous about thinking, “What if I can’t get used to the other Ghana culture?” I told my friends that I am happy I am leaving to go to a new country and exited to learn new things, but I am kind of worried if I won’t get used to a new culture and miss my home.

 I hope that I can meet new friends and make best friends in Ghana. Also, I want to play the games that the kids in Ghana play and eat foods that the people in Ghana play. My friends encouraged me telling me that I would do a great job and I felt better after this party.

I have so many feelings about living alone in Ghana. I am happy, nervous, and I am even sad that I won’t be able to talk with my friends and families for even a year! I think that this will be a great trip for me living by myself in Ghana that I don’t have to rely on my parents and do things on my own. Also, I am really excited that I can go to a totally different school meeting some absolutely different friends, and even living with completely different parents.

I really look forward to getting used to the Ghana culture and I hope that also they would understand me as I would appreciate them too.

“Hi! Are you my new mom?” »« Oh No… Another Language!

Oh No… Another Language!

I was thinking about how I could communicate with the people in Ghana without problems. I thought that the best way to be in touch with them is to learn the language. I thought that it would be really hard to communicate with people with body language, because sometimes it is really hard to understand.

 In Accra, where I am going to go, most people work in business so they usually know how to speak English.

English is the official language of Ghana so most of the boards in the stores are written in English. I would be able to communicate with most of the people in Accra Ghana.

However, some people in the countryside are more likely to speak Twi, Ga, and Ewe. Since Twi is one of the most common Akan languages, I learned some phrases that I should know.

*Who ho te sen m = how are you?

* Me ho ye =I’m fine

* Mepa wok yew =please.

*Meda ase =thank you

* Aane =yes, and dabi =no.

In some parts of the country which are Accra and the south part of Togo, people speak Ga. Also, About 600, 00 people in Ghana speak this language. In 1764, a person called, Christian Jacobsen Protten, the son of an African women and a Danish soldier, made a way to Write Ga with the Alphabet letter.

Also, some part of Ghana speaks Ewe. For example…

* How are you = Efoa? And I’m fine, thanks. And you? = E, me efoa, wo ha efoa.

*Me wo lo=I love you.

I also researched some African sign languages from a internet site called, www.thibologa.co.za/full.html to communicate with all the people easier. This site is made for to teach people sign languages in all languages.

These are some phrases that I researched from the internet and the language book that I bought. I will need to practice to pronounce the phrases well! I am excited thinking that I can really talk with the people in Ghana. I am looking forward to meeting new people in a country that I never been before.

Every one is coming to my house! »« Which Air-Line should I use?

Which Air-Line should I use?

Finally! I am done with packing and I tidied all my things in my room. I am all ready to go to Accra and I am so exited! Now I have to choose a flight from Boston (where I am) to Ghana Accra. I searched online in many sites and I was confused, because there were too many choices with different, price, layovers, and air-line.

  I was thinking carefully which air-line would be the best and a fair price.  Finally I decided to use the Delta air-line and I chose a ticket that Departs in BOS in 7:05P.M so I am planning to leave from my house about at 4:00 P.M. This flight departs on wendsday, 3 Fubuary 2010. It was $1,775.20 which I think is a suitable price. There will be a layover that is a 5 hour and 5 minutes in Amsterdam.

 I think this ticket is better than others, because there is only one layover which is Amsterdam. I realized that the trip is going to be 19 hours and 45 minutes and including the layovers, it will be 25hr and 35min! I think that it is too long! The flight number from BOS to Amsterdam is Delta 230 and the flight number from Amsterdam to ACC was Delta 9372.

This ACC airport in Accra Ghana is also called the Kotoka International Airport. This airport is located 6 miles north of Accra. Also, this airport is run by the Ghana Airports Company. This flight arrives at Ghana, Accra on February 01. I am thinking that I would have to spend a lot of time in Amsterdam so I should also research a little about Amsterdam.

I figured out that I should also search another ticket for coming back to BOS, I am also going to use Delta airline. For departing I am going leave from Acc in 9:30 A.M and going to stop in New-York for 2hours and 40minuets. I am going to arrive in BOS in 9:30P.M. The flight number that I am going to use for ACC to New-York-Kennedy is Delta 167 and the flight number that I am going to use for New-York- Kennedy to BOS is Delta 6470. This flight will arrive in Boston, MA (BOS) on Friday, 11^th Jun 2010.

Now I am all ready for my trip! The only thing I need is just me and my suitcase!

Oh No… Another Language! »« Packing for my trip to Ghana!