I can’t believe I’m halfway around the world from where I was 2 days ago…all the way in Japan. The past few days have been beyond hectic, and its finally starting to catch up with me. I am not yet sick, but feel as though I will be if I don’t get some serious R&R these next few days. I’ve been taking my vitamins and Emergen-C, and slept a full night last night, so I’m well on my way…
Just to update on my disaster, I was supposed to leave Ghana on Friday night, arrive in SFO on Saturday, and leave SFO on Sunday to arrive in Japan on Monday. Since KLM (officially the worst airline ever—I highly recommend you never fly them) overbooked my flight, I couldn’t get out of Accra until Saturday, which pushed everything back a day. Though they gave me a voucher to make up for it, I still had to pay JAL $150 to change my ticket to Japan to Monday, and I missed the first day of my seminar and free dinner with the group. It really sucks. Lesson: Don’t ever fly KLM, especially to Africa. The difference in the flights to/from Amsterdam and to/from Accra is really ridiculous. I have never seen such a pitiful operation run by an airline before…in Accra we sat on the runway for an hour while about 12 KLM attendants counted who was on the plane and tried to figure out seats because apparently one person had checked in and hadn’t shown up. Anyway, enough with my rants about KLM.
So now that I’m here in Japan, the difference in the “developed” and “developing” world is really so staggering. I’ve gone from maybe having hot water to having a hot water heater under my bathroom sink in my dorm room that I can switch on and off as I please. Instead of riding a taxi for ~ $2 USD to get anywhere in the city, I’m now paying about $2USD per subway/train ride on what is probably the worlds’ most efficient transportation system. I miss Ghanaian Red-Red (plantains and bean stew) already, but I especially miss the prices. Last night I ate at a tempura fast food shop for about $6USD. That would have bought a feast of tilapia and kelewele in Ghana.
Anyway, I am super exhausted, but really happy to be here. It feels good to be back in Japan, and I’m pretty comfortable here by myself. I went shopping for a towel and stuff at the dollar store and ate alone and everything when I first got in yesterday (it was almost a 3 hour trip from the airport to the dorm—I barely slept on the plane, so I was awake for like 23 straight hours!) and once everyone came back from dinner I was able to connect with them and say hello.
Today will be my first day of class, as we will commence our walking tours of the various neighborhoods of Tokyo. Should be fun, and I’m looking forward to it. Send me an email and I’ll send you my phone # here. I’ll be getting a cell phone today hopefully as well.
Signing off…
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Monday, August 22, 2005
Drumming
The past few days have been so crazy, its felt as though I’ve been here for weeks. I was in a funky mood after I wrote my last blog—Accra is realy reminiscent of Taipei to me because of the pollution, traffic, crowds, etc. It’s really not a beautiful city, and there’s not really much to do besides go to markets…
The day after I was in a bad mood, from my allergies acting up, and it being hot and stuffy at night when we’re trying to sleep, we decided to go to the Arts&Crafts Center. This outdoor market is a jumble of small crowded booths, goods, and aggressive hawkers trying to sell you their goods. Erin, Valerie, and I wandered around for a while, bargained for a really long time for some wall hangings that we ended up not buying, and gaped at rows upon rows of beautiful wooden statues, carvings, masks, hand woven cloths, clothes, daishikis, earrings…pretty much anything you can think of related to “Africa” was for sale in this market.
I decided I would probably buy a drum for my Dad. Once I mentioned this fact to a local shop man (named “Billy Ocean”) he proceeded to lead us to the drum shop where they make the drums. We head over to a row where there are lots of small, cramped wooden shacks and sat down on long low benches. Valerie and I were handed jimbas (sp?) the large drums, and Erin proceeded to video record us as we drummed, sang, and danced for about 40 minutes with about 10 locals guys. The longer we played, the more attention we attracted, and eventually there was a crowd of about 20 people there, watching or participating, (including the guy who had followed us around all afternoon with a batch of wall hangings that we had considered buying). It was the first time I really felt happy in Ghana.
The day after I was in a bad mood, from my allergies acting up, and it being hot and stuffy at night when we’re trying to sleep, we decided to go to the Arts&Crafts Center. This outdoor market is a jumble of small crowded booths, goods, and aggressive hawkers trying to sell you their goods. Erin, Valerie, and I wandered around for a while, bargained for a really long time for some wall hangings that we ended up not buying, and gaped at rows upon rows of beautiful wooden statues, carvings, masks, hand woven cloths, clothes, daishikis, earrings…pretty much anything you can think of related to “Africa” was for sale in this market.
I decided I would probably buy a drum for my Dad. Once I mentioned this fact to a local shop man (named “Billy Ocean”) he proceeded to lead us to the drum shop where they make the drums. We head over to a row where there are lots of small, cramped wooden shacks and sat down on long low benches. Valerie and I were handed jimbas (sp?) the large drums, and Erin proceeded to video record us as we drummed, sang, and danced for about 40 minutes with about 10 locals guys. The longer we played, the more attention we attracted, and eventually there was a crowd of about 20 people there, watching or participating, (including the guy who had followed us around all afternoon with a batch of wall hangings that we had considered buying). It was the first time I really felt happy in Ghana.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Red Red
Back at the internet cafe, BusyInternet, with about 13 minutes left, just enough time to quickly write a blog...
I've spent the past couple of days getting to know Accra, basically through the various shopping runs we've made to buy materials for next weeks' camp. It's been terribly unorganized but bargaining and roaming the streets of Osu, the sort of downtown area, has been fun. One thing that has been delicious is the food. We tried Red Red the other day, which is fried plantains and this sort of bean stew that can have chicken or fish or beef in it if you want. So yummy. I was worried about being able to eat, but since we've mainly been going to nice restaurants, its been cool. There's this one place we went to, called Marquis Tante Marie that serves a grilled tilapia (fish) dish--similar to some of the Jamaican fish dishes I've had, and so delicious. Yummy.
I've spent the past couple of days getting to know Accra, basically through the various shopping runs we've made to buy materials for next weeks' camp. It's been terribly unorganized but bargaining and roaming the streets of Osu, the sort of downtown area, has been fun. One thing that has been delicious is the food. We tried Red Red the other day, which is fried plantains and this sort of bean stew that can have chicken or fish or beef in it if you want. So yummy. I was worried about being able to eat, but since we've mainly been going to nice restaurants, its been cool. There's this one place we went to, called Marquis Tante Marie that serves a grilled tilapia (fish) dish--similar to some of the Jamaican fish dishes I've had, and so delicious. Yummy.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Thoughts on Resources
Being in a third world country has forced me to see how most of the world lives--electricity only during most, not all of the week (like when we had rolling blackouts in Cali), running water that doesn't always work unless you have your own tank on your property; supermarkets not as the norm, but rather as a novelty; and clothes dryers--still something I've only seen in the US. the list could go on and on...
As I think about all of this, it makes me wonder--is there enough for everyone to live what I think is a decent life? Is the reason the wealth in the world so out of balance because there really aren't enough resources to go around for everyone? I think its fact that there's enough food for all people...but is there enough energy to create the kind of electricity we enjoy in the US? Could everyone have running hot water all the time? If so, then its really sad to see the state that a lot of people live in. We saw a shanty town in the distance as we drove home yesterday, and the stench from the burning garbage, and the sight of the filthy river that school kids were playing soccer by was unsettling. However, if there aren't enough resources, it explains a lot about human nature, about ailments such as racism, war, terrorism, etc. Everyone is fighting to keep as many of the limited resources available as possible on their side. And as I get a glimpse into this side of the world, it makes me a bit more understanding of why people may act as crazy as they do. If we lived like some people are forced to, we might be terrorists too...
Signing off,
Camille
As I think about all of this, it makes me wonder--is there enough for everyone to live what I think is a decent life? Is the reason the wealth in the world so out of balance because there really aren't enough resources to go around for everyone? I think its fact that there's enough food for all people...but is there enough energy to create the kind of electricity we enjoy in the US? Could everyone have running hot water all the time? If so, then its really sad to see the state that a lot of people live in. We saw a shanty town in the distance as we drove home yesterday, and the stench from the burning garbage, and the sight of the filthy river that school kids were playing soccer by was unsettling. However, if there aren't enough resources, it explains a lot about human nature, about ailments such as racism, war, terrorism, etc. Everyone is fighting to keep as many of the limited resources available as possible on their side. And as I get a glimpse into this side of the world, it makes me a bit more understanding of why people may act as crazy as they do. If we lived like some people are forced to, we might be terrorists too...
Signing off,
Camille
Monday, August 15, 2005
Ghana, at last…
Not much time left on the computer, so sorry for the random ramblings…
After a 10+ hour flight to Amsterdam, a 3 hour layover at what was 2am California time, and another 6 hour flight (filled with noisy children, though I was unconscious through most of the flight), we finally made it to Ghana! We passed through customs, and emerged into a balmy, tropical night and were greeted by Shirley’s cheerful sister Sharon, her quiet brother Steven, and warm parents, Sam and Harriet.
We stayed the night at Shirley’s large home, and her mom made us chicken (tasted like Korean bbq chicken) and fried rice. We’ve been drinking lots of bottled water, tea, and juice, and have been well-taken care of. Shirley’s family’s home is sprawling one-story home, with several bathrooms and lots of sitting rooms. They have their own kitchen director, driver, and security guards…you can live extremely well here if you have some money…
Walking around, we see everyone carries everything on their body: babies ride piggy back style with clothes wrapped around their and their mothers’ waists, and practically anything can be found in a basket on top of someone’s head. There are palm trees everywhere, the air is warm, the dirt is reddish gold and there are people out walking around all the time. I will write more later, as I don’t have much time left, but send me an email if you’re reading along!
Love, from Africa =)
Mille
After a 10+ hour flight to Amsterdam, a 3 hour layover at what was 2am California time, and another 6 hour flight (filled with noisy children, though I was unconscious through most of the flight), we finally made it to Ghana! We passed through customs, and emerged into a balmy, tropical night and were greeted by Shirley’s cheerful sister Sharon, her quiet brother Steven, and warm parents, Sam and Harriet.
We stayed the night at Shirley’s large home, and her mom made us chicken (tasted like Korean bbq chicken) and fried rice. We’ve been drinking lots of bottled water, tea, and juice, and have been well-taken care of. Shirley’s family’s home is sprawling one-story home, with several bathrooms and lots of sitting rooms. They have their own kitchen director, driver, and security guards…you can live extremely well here if you have some money…
Walking around, we see everyone carries everything on their body: babies ride piggy back style with clothes wrapped around their and their mothers’ waists, and practically anything can be found in a basket on top of someone’s head. There are palm trees everywhere, the air is warm, the dirt is reddish gold and there are people out walking around all the time. I will write more later, as I don’t have much time left, but send me an email if you’re reading along!
Love, from Africa =)
Mille
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