Reflection?I LOVE GHANA!

As I have said over and over, there is so much poverty in Ghana. It is so crowded and dirty and there is so much pollution and garbage. The landscape looks so fragile and delicate, as if one storm would blow down everything. Plastic bags and garbage pile up on the sides of the roads, most of the children don’t have shoes and their clothing is dirty and tattered. Not once did I see a hospital or a grocery store or a house that was fully built with a strong roof, front door and windows (like we see at home). The roads are so bad that what should take a half hour drive takes hours. There markets are filled with things that are imported or donated from America and all other corners of the world. Old refrigerators and TVs are used in Ghana homes as shelves and closets. However, there is a huge sense of community here. Most everyone walks everywhere and so they know each other.  If your shack is right next to someone else’s, you are also sharing a fire. And if you are sharing a fire, you are cooking and sharing vegetables. And if you are cooking, your children are playing outside and you are keeping an eye on them and so everyone is working together. At home, we spend so much time in the car and on the phone that we do not have these types of interactions with people. For the most part, we are self-sufficient and don’t need to depend on others to keep the fire burning and the clothes line dry. As a result we don’t interact with others face to face unless we make an effort to say hello in a grocery store or take a day to garden with a neighbor or have coffee. I fell in love with the sense of community and friendship that Ghanaian people have with one another. And truth be told, if we gave them the houses that we live in with buttons and washers and technology, they wouldn’t know what to do. And if I lived in their tiny little houses I wouldn’t know what to do either. The trick is to finding a balance to live a sustainable life. All of us need a strong foundation of friends and family. So, as we make our way to South Africa and I catch up on all my homework and papers, I hope that all of you at home will make some time to unplug and connect with those around you. Community is so important and over time our wants and needs will come and go but our friends and family are forever. Ghana is an amazing place and I hope that all of you get the chance to make a trip here at some point in time—I can’t wait to come back!

Habitat for Humanity

Today I went to a small village with some other SAS students and worked with Habitat for Humanity. At the sight they had three houses that they were working on. They had the foundations laid down and the houses were being made with cement blocks and concrete with tin roofs. We spent the day digging out concrete and thick clay mud that would eventually be the floor of this house. They had very little tools and it was so humid. But, we worked all day and it felt really good to be making a difference. While we were working some children that lived near by came over and talked with us. While we worked, they taught us songs and took pictures with our cameras. For lunch a few women came out of the bushes with 3 huge coolers and inside it was filled with 20 plates and forks and hot rice and chicken. It was such a good meal. I still want to know how they cook in the jungle with just a pot and some rice and live off so little. I have never seen so much poverty in my entire life, and yet they are so happy and giving. The kids are so cute and sweet and told us all about going to school and church and that they liked to play soccer. One little kid came up to me and asked for my shoes. He said that he couldn’t go to school because he didn’t have shoes. I wish that I had had a whole box of TOMS to give out.

The Water village

We took a trip to a water village. We drove about 3 hours out to this little town and walked out to a beach where small canoes were waiting for us. We got in and canoed out of town into this jungle. It was a 45-minute ride where we paddled through swampland, crocodile waters (although we didn’t see any) and passed by men and women making their daily commute by boat to their city. We are out in the middle of nowhere and it starts pouring rain and suddenly we see a little village of about 20 houses on stilts. We arrive and are welcomed by the men and women that live there. They take us through the village, which had a small schoolhouse, a church and one room houses with pots on hot coals cooking food and babies sleeping on small mats and children playing with a small deck of cards. The kids were so cute and we gave them our silly band bracelets. It is still so amazing to think that these people live in a water village—it is not even like a houseboat…it is like living on a dock. The story says that a snail led these people to this village and they have lived here ever since. They have chickens and fish and have a teacher and a doctor. They hang their laundry out to dry and make all their tools by hand. If they need anything, they take their canoe into town and get it. Otherwise, the village is entirely independent and self-sufficient. It was amazing. As I walked around I tried to envision myself living there and growing up on the water. After spending time with the villagers we made our way back into town and were met by Ghanaian people with fresh coconut that they cut open and handed to us. I don’t know about any of you, but I have never drunk straight from a coconut that was just cut from the tree, but it was tasty. We got lunch back in town at a restaurant and were sitting outside on the beach and all these little kids came over and sat near us. They were hungry and we ended up giving them our soda’s and plates of food.  It is heartbreaking to see so many poor and homeless children and families. They make do with so little, and we have so much to give.

The Water village

We took a trip to a water village. We drove about 3 hours out to this little town and walked out to a beach where small canoes were waiting for us. We got in and canoed out of town into this jungle. It was a 45-minute ride where we paddled through swampland, crocodile waters (although we didn’t see any) and passed by men and women making their daily commute by boat to their city. We are out in the middle of nowhere and it starts pouring rain and suddenly we see a little village of about 20 houses on stilts. We arrive and are welcomed by the men and women that live there. They take us through the village, which had a small schoolhouse, a church and one room houses with pots on hot coals cooking food and babies sleeping on small mats and children playing with a small deck of cards. The kids were so cute and we gave them our silly band bracelets. It is still so amazing to think that these people live in a water village—it is not even like a houseboat…it is like living on a dock. The story says that a snail led these people to this village and they have lived here ever since. They have chickens and fish and have a teacher and a doctor. They hang their laundry out to dry and make all their tools by hand. If they need anything, they take their canoe into town and get it. Otherwise, the village is entirely independent and self-sufficient. It was amazing. As I walked around I tried to envision myself living there and growing up on the water. After spending time with the villagers we made our way back into town and were met by Ghanaian people with fresh coconut that they cut open and handed to us. I don’t know about any of you, but I have never drunk straight from a coconut that was just cut from the tree, but it was tasty. We got lunch back in town at a restaurant and were sitting outside on the beach and all these little kids came over and sat near us. They were hungry and we ended up giving them our soda’s and plates of food.  It is heartbreaking to see so many poor and homeless children and families. They make do with so little, and we have so much to give.

Ghana

We arrived in Ghana and it was incredible. The first day we just explored the city. I wish that all of you could have been there with me because it is hard to put Ghana into words, but I will try my best to paint the picture in your mind. Ghana is a rainforest. Huge ferns and palm trees of green, wide muddy red roads with puddles and potholes that are so big that cars can get stuck (make for an VERY bumpy car ride), Ghanaian people running up to our taxi’s and busses waving and smiling, women carrying huge loads of bananas, fish and laundry on top of their heads and babies wrapped in pattered fabrics on their back. Shack upon shack with simple metal tin roofs and found pieces of shutters and wood that stack together that stand around small fires and lines of laundry, baby goats, pigs and stray dogs running all over. School children running around in beautiful bright colored outfits of purple and yellow and pink and little kids sitting beside their mothers, asleep in front of their tiny houses or gathered around a big bowl of mushy rice. Huge dark clouds roll in and tracheal rainstorms soak everything. Then the sun comes back out and all the while the air is humid, sticky, smoky, dusty, and tropical. The people are so welcoming. They have open arms and smiles that stretch from ear to ear. The invite us into their homes and markets, share stories and offer us rice, coconuts, fabrics, and beads…and that is just the beginning.

What happens at Sea?

Hey everyone! I know that it has been ages since I checked in! For all of you that are not SAS Alumni, you should know that time at sea is filled with full time work. It is a mad catch up when we all get back on the MV and have classes and papers and projects due and everything has to get done before our next stop. This is one of the many reasons this trip is NOT a vacation. Before I fill you in on all the Ghana details I wanted to share with you some of the things that we discuss while at sea. In my sustainable communities class we discuss a lot of issues both environmentally, economically and socially that affect the environment. My teacher reminds us “not to let the landscape over ride our mindscape.” We talk about a region, such as Ghana that was once inhabited by 2,000 and now has a population of over 3 million and how that affects community, resources and survival. We discuss our role as students, teachers, community builders, voyagers and travelers and the notion of “giving someone a fish or teaching them how to fish.” We refer to people in the field such as Howard (who studied the importance of garden cities), Mumford (who studied the growth of industrial cities) and Leopold (who said, treat the land for the land) and how these ideas relate to the now and our current state in the world.  From all this we conclude that we need “enough, for all, forever,” and it is up to us to take the next step to “be the change we wish to see in the world (Gandhi).”

From Morocco!

Hey All!

I know it has been a while since I checked in! I was backpacking my way through Morocco. Actually I took a bus, but I had everything in my backpack (Thanks to learning how to pack from my mom and Hope!) and then we trekked all around once we arrived with our backpacks! We got here during the end of Ramadan (which all depends on the moon) and so it was up to the moon when it would come to an end. But everything was closed and everyone was hungry and ready to celebrate! Once the moon ended Ramadan the celebrations began and it was really fun to be there for the occasion!

We got to Casa Blanca and had a day to just explore. I was impressed that I could remember how to get to the bank and the postage stamp stand from the last time I was here. The next day we took a bus to Marrakech. I missed the memo that Marrakech is in the desert (literally like Palm Desert, minus the golf courses and Hawaiian shirts and white shoes). I am not one to complain about weather…but it was SO SO HOT in Marrakech. It was kind of nuts. I have no idea how they have there heads covered and wear full-length clothing and don’t pass out from the heat, but they don’t. We stayed at this cool hotel with lots of tile. The shower didn’t work and there was no air conditioning and so we were roughing it, but it was in a perfect location and we had a good view of the city and it had a really pretty pool. The thing that I couldn’t seem to remember is not to drink the water—and so you can’t hold your toothbrush under the sink unless you want to get sick.  We found this awesome restaurant that literally felt like being in Oceans 11. The whole night I was waiting for George Clooney to come down this flight of marble stars that was lined with candles down the middle of the restaurant and sit down with us, but he never did. Tim Gunn would have been mad that I didn’t pack any “night out” clothes and literally wore Nike to dinner. Maybe good George didn’t drop by.
We visited the Bahia Palace, the Dar Said Museum and the reed-covered bazaars. The Palace has this AMAZING tile that you can’t possibly capture in a picture. It is totally incredible. My favorite part is that there were these circular holes in all the doors throughout the Palace and they put them in for all the feral cats that wander the palace so that none of them get stuck in one room and claw the place apart. We tried to imagine what it would be like to be a cat living in a Palace that was built in 1880. The gardens were really amazing with Palma granite (my favorite), grapefruit and oranges. At the markets we got a work out. It is so EXHAUSTING to get a good price and we literally spent an hour in one stand trying to get a good deal on a blanket. The guy was so funny, saying, “I am your friend, I say truth, I don’t spit because you cannot put that back in your mouth…so I give good deal.” We were literally in this blanket stand dishing it out with this guy for the best price—but it ended in success! A wool blanket from the Atlas Mountains! Then the guy wanted us to take his families name and number and stay with them in the Atlas Mountains. Not enough time! Ha-ha! That wore us out and so we left for the Jema el Fna Square and that was INSANE! There are these snake charmers that put snakes around your neck and NO means nothing. They have monkeys that they try to put on your head, fire-eaters and storytellers and tons and tons of food. It is wall to wall filled with people! It is nuts! I–THANKFULLY- did not have anything put around my neck or on my head, but a few guys got a hold of a fake snake just to freak me out!

The next day we went to Safi. We stopped in Essaouria and it was a cute little beach town. The shops were cute and we got Nutella Crepes which tasted so good, but are so bad for you. Then we got a carton of Moroccan OJ (Which is the best stuff on earth) and sat by the ocean with the International Herald Tribune and caught up on the world. When you are traveling the world you have no idea what is going on IN the world and when you are home sitting at your desk you know everything that is going on in the world! I miss news! Then we went to Safi. We got there late and so we had dinner and green tea. If you ever go to Morocco you have to have green tea. It is the second best stuff on earth and it is not sold at Starbucks or at Tazo. This stuff is SOOO GOOOD–AMAZING. The pottery in Safi is so pretty. It is impossible to choose what to get and so we took lots of pictures of things that we liked and the pottery wouldn’t fit in an overhead compartment unless we broke it into a bunch of little pieces anyway! Oh and Marla, if you are reading this, I got an AWESOME beaded bed cover in attempt to make my room as cozy as your dorm at Haystack! You would love it!

If you haven’t been to Morocco you should know this: Morocco is really special and it is such an amazing place, but it is also a hard place to visit. There is a lot of pollution and poverty and it is dirty and there is litter everywhere, homeless, hungry and shantytowns. It is busy: there is traffic, cars in all directions, donkeys carrying fruit and eggs and chickens. There are chickens for sale, (even, chicks that they dye in all different colors and sell in boxes) hookah, lots of yelling and shouting. There is peace: the call to prayer, compasses in cars and lights that flash from the tops of mosques that point to Mecca, and there are mosques with beautiful tile and patterned rugs to pray. It is dusty, dirty, hot, busy, and crowded with blue oceans, beaches, palm trees, mountains, olive orchards, sheep, goats and donkeys. There are people from all over the world, unlimited pot full’s of green tea, heaps that are all colors of the rainbow, henna and camels–and that is just a small taste.

The last day back in Casa Blanca we went to one of my FAVORITE restaurants (that I found last summer with Lauren—I missed you girl—and that I went to with Courtney and Brooke—missed you two too!) and ate amazing food and loaded up on as much green tea as possible. It was the perfect way to wrap up Morocco. I love it! I will miss it and I am excited for Ghana! Hugs to all of you and LOL---meaning LOTS OF LOVE!

First Taste of Morocco

We arrived in Morocco today and everyone is getting various trips figured out! It was a really short trip from Cadiz to Morocco and so we arrived a day early. I am heading to Marrakech and Essaouria for the time that we are here! We did have a chance to head out into town. I remembered where the bank was! Along the way we saw kittens, had chickens offered to us to buy, passed by all the markets and people and dodged cars and mopeds. I had forgotten how dirty/crazy/busy Morocco is!
Before I leave I have some late Thank you shout outs!: Thank you Emily and Kate for finding me Soy Milk in Spain. Thank you Nimish for putting this amazing map up on my blog during your internet time at the Cathedral. Thank you Kate for the Lemon Drops. Thank you Amy for the vitamin C. Thank you mom for my note that arrived in Spain!
Oh, and I heard a great tip of advice a few days ago that I forgot to share with everyone. Some times on SAS you have to use the “F” word ––– FLEXIBILITY.  We had one of those moments along the way last week and a friend turned to me and instead of saying the SAS “F” word, she said, “SIUAD”, which means: SUCK IT UP AND DEAL! I think that this is great advice. It is fall (my favorite time of the year) football is starting at home and if you find yourself not having enough time to read all my posts, you are feeling sorry for yourself that you can’t travel right now, you are getting back into the groove of school or work or whatever and you are missing me terribly, I want you to think to yourself, “SIUAD.”

From Spain!

Hey All,

It has been a few days since I have checked in! It has been so busy and time flies when we are in port. Our time in Cadiz was really fun. The first day I went on a dolphin watching tour and expected to see about 4 dolphins. We ended up seeing about 200 or more! It was really fun.
        The second day I went on a hike to Grazalema Natural Park! I had been there before and it is still one of my favorite places! You pass the white town route and go on about a 5 hour hike where you reach the Puerto de las Cumbres and at the top you can see the Andalucian Sierras, the boarder of France on one side and Morocco on the other. This is also only one of three forests in the world that has the Pinsapo pine tree and they have been around for over 600 years.
        The next day I went to Arcos and Rhonda. I have been to these places too, but I couldn’t wait to go back! Both are part of what they call, “The White Town Route.” These are small white villages that are tucked into mountainside. Arcos is this perfect little town with cobble stone streets that wind up the hillside, with one little church at the top of the hill with tiny little cafes that line the sides of the street. Once you reach the top, the views of the mountains, gardens and valley are spectacular.
        Rhonda was the last great uprising of the Moors against Ferdinand and Isabella and sits on the ridge of the Sierra, split by the Tajo Gorge and the sides of the cliff drop 400 feet. It was much busier than the last time I was there because at the Plaza de Toros (Bullfight Square) they were getting ready for a Bull Fight! They only have a bull fight three times a year, when everyone comes and watches the fight and it is a really big deal. The whole town comes to watch the fight– even the Royal Family was there! I made it to the Palacio Bosco, which is a house that was built in the 18th century and you are able to take a tour to see what a typical Andalucian house looks like from the inside. This house has AMAZING gardens and views of the Tajo River. While we were there, a tour guide told us that when Michelle Obama visited Rhonda she came to this house and spent a half an hour enjoying the gardens and the view!
        Then I headed to Seville and explored the city. There was so much to see and do. I had never been there before, but was hooked the second that we got to town. Some of the highlights included the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace), the Cathedral (we walked all the way to the top and could see views of the whole city)…the bell tower was 320 feet tall, we also went to the Archives museum and I was able to find Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle in Spanish! YAYAYAY!
        The last day in Spain, I spent in Cadiz with friends. We walked all over the city and went out for breakfast for the famous churros con chocolate! If you haven’t ever had this—it is just heaven on a plate. It is this fluffy pastry that you take and dip into a bowl of hot chocolate syrup and then you wash it down with café con leche (Coffee with milk). We found the post office and I ended up doing a little shopping and found two FABULOUS coats that I can’t wait to wear back in Portland. If any of you have ever seen the Seinfeld when Jerry buys that new leather jacket (with the pink lining) and is so excited that he wears it with his pajamas that was me last night. I had on my pj’s with my new jacket! 

Cadiz! Day 1:

Hey everyone!

We made it to Cadiz this morning! We got here just in time to eat breakfast and watch the sunrise over Cadiz with Dean David who joined us for breakfast. It was so nice. Everyone has scattered to the four winds for all their different trips. We watched everyone leave and then got ready and a group of us went on a boat trip to watch dolphins. We headed out with a Marine Biologist and I was expecting to see maybe 4 dolphins (if that). Well, not only did I see 4 dolphins, I saw about 200+ dolphins! It was crazy! We even saw a dead one (which was sad) and the biologist caught it in a net and brought it on board and some of us (no me) touched it.  It is super hot and sunny here and so it was the perfect trip to be on the ocean. We were on the trip with the marine biologist class on SAS and a lot of those kids are scuba certified and so it was fun to talk about all the goings on under the oce (ocean)!

The past few days I have been reading and working. Time management is one of the hardest things about SAS. There is never enough time in a day. And we kept loosing hours and so not only are/were we tired, but we are behind.

I am taking the following classes: Sustainable Communities, Video Journalism, Global Studies and Anthropology: Family Utopia. I am really liking my Sustainable Communities class. It makes me appreciate Portland (even more). Green is the new Black. We are ahead of the game! I love it! And Family Utopia has brought up a lot of good conversation and deep thinking. Yesterday we learned that god parents are supposed to support you, not only physically, but also spiritually (Rod and Charlie and Marg) and that their role holds a lot of responsibilities. I am still practicing the video stuff, but we are working in groups and so I think that will help.

Tomorrow I am running in Cadiz in the morning (YAYAAYAY!!!!) before heading for Rhonda and the White Town.

Peace and Love

Happy September First!

Hello,

 

A quick update from the ocean. We are almost to Spain...almost. Just two more days of ocean. So far we have seen one fishing boat and some islands and that is it! But the weather has been sunny and today is the first day with no sea patches, ginger or medicine! We finally have our sea legs!

 

The last few days have been class days and class logistics. It is really busy and hectic with tons of reading and a whole lot of work. There is a lot more reading and work than I remember there being the last time I was on SAS. Time management has been  tricky.

 

The cutest thing I saw today: There are some teachers on the ship who have twin 4 year old girls and they are so cute. While I was out on the 7th deck reading by the pool the twins came over and wanted to "make footprints.' They had their mom and dad dip their feet into the pool and then they would put the girls on the wood floor around the pool to dance around and "make footprints." They did this for like a half hour. It was so, so cute! I love having all the little kids on board!

 

The time change is nuts! We just keep loosing an hour everyday. I think Oregon is about 8 hours behind me now. Day and time have suddenly disappeared and now we just keep track of time by what port we are going to or are in and what classes we have.

 

I miss running on land so, so much. One of the treadmills is broken right now, but I am excited to get to Cadiz and run on land for a change!

 

Back to class for me!