Ghana Adventures!!

Ghana! It still seems a little crazy that I have been in West Africa for almost a month! Unfortunately, this semester is going way too fast! I’m starting to regret not signing up for a year!

            A lot has happened in the past two weeks! I’m currently working at an Orphanage, Children’s Ward of a hospital and starting soon I’ll be working with a sex-trafficking refugee service. I’m so happy that I have been able to get involved with the community and people here in Ghana!

            The orphanage is so great! The kids are adorable and so sweet. The children’s ages range between a year and seventeen. Because it is a private orphanage, the government sends many kids to this particular site that have disabilities. There is one client who is blind and has severe developmental disabilities and it has been a joy listening to music with him. There are other children who have learning disabilities along with health concerns including HIV and AIDS.  It has been really fun just playing with the kids and reading to them. They all LOVE attention and are so thrilled when volunteers show up to hang out with them. One really cool thing that I have noticed about these kids, is that they love reading. Most of them would rather read than play games. I think that is a major difference between Ghanaian children and American children.

 

            Another service learning assignment that I have started was at the Children’s Ward in the University Hospital. I was placed there with another girl named Emily who is also from Chico! We showed up to the hospital and gave them a paper proving that we can work there. After we were escorted to Children’s Ward we were introduced to the head doctor. No joke this was our orientation, “What is your schedule? Great, see you tomorrow. Go to administration and get a long white coat.” I honestly couldn’t help but laugh. We weren’t told what to wear, what we could do, what we couldn’t do, how to use things, where things are… anything. And another funny part is that we were given these fancy coats that made us look so official. We honestly looked like doctors but we had no idea what to do. I still laugh just thinking about it.

            Unfortunately, the University of Ghana’s professors have been on strike for the past 2.5. For us, it is super annoying and also stressful because after three weeks, the University shuts down. Thankfully, the International Program has a special agreement so international students will get classes but I feel bad for the Ghanaian students. We have a couple more days so lets hope that the professors will come back!

            Even though the professors are gone, I LOVE this University. I have joined the University of Ghana basketball team and it is so much fun! I guess I can officially say that I have played college basketball and I have played overseas. It is going on my resume! J

            This past weekend was absolutely incredible. Our group went on a trip to the Volta Region in Ghana and I think it is my new favorite place in the world..no joke. We left Friday and after several hours of driving, we stopped at a Monkey Sanctuary. We were given bananas and then walked in a rainforest-like area. As we walked, we saw tons of monkeys. If we held a banana out, the monkeys would jump on us, peel the banana, eat it then go away. It was so fun! We got to feed tons of monkeys as they jumped on us! Some of them were super sneaky and if you didn’t hold the banana tight enough, it would grab it and jump away. Who knew that monkeys actually ate bananas!!!

            After the Monkey Sanctuary, we drove to our hotel that was on top of a mountain. It had an incredible view, amazing food and hot showers. It was perfect. I forgot how much I missed hot water.

            The next day was absolutely amazing. We started the day by climbing the tallest mountain in West Africa. It was the hardest hike that I have ever done. Most hikes in American do switch-backs or have a little bit of flat land. This mountain didn’t. On our way up, there was even ropes to hold onto as we went up. It was literally straight up. I was so sweaty and tired but getting to the top was such an amazing accomplishment along with an AMAZING view. When we got to the top, there were people cheering and it automatically made me happy. You could see the beautiful African forest in every direction and it was breathtaking. We took tons of pictures and many Africans took pictures of us. It was hilarious. People would ask us to take a picture with them like we were celebrities.

 

            After the hike, we made our way to the most amazing waterfall I have even seen. I’ve seen a lot of waterfalls in my lifetime but this one was by far the most beautiful. We had to walk about 30 minutes to it and as we got close, we could hear it and as soon as we saw it, I was blown away. It was so high and there was so much water! We immediately got in the water. There was so much water that when we got close to the actual waterfall, we would have to hold onto another person and slowly made our way under the water. It was so awesome!

            The following day, we were making our way back home but we first stopped at a mini safari park. We saw antelope, ostriches, and baboons! The baboons were so cool! We got to feed them and touch them! One of the baboons tried to steal my camera. That freaking baboon! After the baboons, we went to a bat cave. It was pretty smelly and dark but once we got in there, we had the chance to walk up the mountain to where a chief would usually look across the savannah to see if they were getting attack. It was so beautiful and as far as we looked we could see the savannah! The trip was AMAZING. Next weekend were are going to the Ghana verse Zambia soccer match. It is a world cup qualifier so it is going to be intense. Ghana beat America in the last World Cup! I’m planning on buying a jersey and painting my face! Next weekend, we are also going to Cape Coast. Cape Coast is where one of the major slave ports in Africa is My eyes have been opened about how much I have already learned about the Slave Trade that I didn’t learn in America. It is a completely different point of learn about the slave trade in Africa.

            Some of the other things I have done in Ghana I have done is that I went to one of our Ghanaian “Buddy’s” friends house to learn how to make FuFu. Fufu is a traditional Ghanaian dish. To make it, you first boil cassava and plantains. After they are soft, you pound it with a huge stick. It was a super intense workout.

            I am also taking an African Dance which is the most entertaining thing I have ever done. I have never laughed so hard and I also realized that I am the worst dancer in the world. African Dancing is hard but so amusing. I cant wait to dance for you all in American.

            After being in Ghana for a month, I have learned so much about myself, the American culture, Ghana and other people. I am so freaking blessed and this opportunity is amazing.

PS I love letters so if you want to be awesome, feel free to write me!

Janae Schallert

University Studies Abroad Consortium

P.O. Box LG PMB 26

Accra, Ghana

You guys rock!

Janae

Ghana Adventures. Week 1!

It still blows my mind that I am in Ghana!

I’ve been here a little over a week and I’m still LOVING it! The past few days have been an adventure! On Thursday we took a bus around the city of Accra for a city tour and it was extremely interesting. First we went to the W.E.B Du Bois museum who was a very strong activist for civil rights in Ghana. We then went to one of the main outdoor markets in Accra. Apparently it isn’t the safest place so we were told to keep everything on the bus. (Money, Camera, Bags, Phones, ect) We walked down straight down the street and didn’t buy anything. It was very different. It is hard to describe but I’ll try…. It looked as if at one time there used to be a lot of building but everything was burned down. Now everybody is living in tin houses or little huts. It seemed like people were barely making do. It was a dark place. It was considered the slums and it honestly looked like it. The sewers were full and there were people sleeping under cars and in tires. It was hard to see but also extremely eye opening.

            After the Accra Market, we went to the memorial site where the first president of Ghana was buried and also were he declared the independence for Ghana. It was a beautiful site. There was a nice statue and several fountains. There was even a tree that Nelson Mandela planted.

            We then got to go to the Arts and Crafts Center in Accra. It was AMAZING. The art was absolutely breathtaking. They sold paintings, bracelets, bowls, hand-carved masks, drums, clothing.. Everything you can imagine in African form. It was beautiful. I learned how to bargain so I even got a lot of cool things for cheap. (Let me know if you want anything.) The one thing that caught me off guard was the lack of personal space that Ghanaians have. As we walked in the market, there were people literally grabbing us and pulling us into their shop to see their merchandise and if you didn’t go, they would follow you until you caved. Very persuasive people!

            On Saturday, we had the most incredible day! We were told that we were going to the beach and we were pumped but I had absolutely no idea what we were really going to be doing. So we got on the bus and it took about two hours to get to our destination. We got off and we were at this beautiful resort with a pool, right on the Volta River. We then got in two different boats and started floating down the river. On the shore there were beautiful huts, and amazing boats with very colorful paintings and symbols. There were children playing soccer and waving to us as we passed. We then made it to our destination where we were greeted by traditional African dancers and drummers who put on a whole show for us! They even taught us to dance- it was so fun and so hilarious! After the show, we got to swim in the river and if we walked about 30 yards across the river bank, we were at the ocean. It was breathtaking. I made friends with some of the local children. They LOVED my camera and insisted on taking pictures. It was pretty funny and adorable! After hanging out at the beach, we took the boats back to the resort and we ate like kings! It was such an amazing day!

 

            On Sunday, I went to church with a couple of people from our program and it was an extremely different experience. The first part, there was a TON of singing and dancing! It was beautiful! The whole service went on for 5 hours which caught all of us off-guard.  It wouldn’t have been as difficult if the service was in English… but it wasn’t. It was in the local language called Twi so it made it extra hard to sit still for 5 hours.

            Today was the first official day of school but I learned that that is not super true. The registration process here is pretty difficult. We were supposed to sign up for classes online last week but you cant sign up without going to each specific department and finding out the times. But the times weren’t posted until today so we couldn’t go to register until we went to the departments and it was a mess! I spent ALL day walking around just hoping that we weren’t missing class. It wouldn’t be bad if the campus was the size of Chico State but the campus is MASSIVE! It takes about 35-45 minutes to walk across campus and when you have no idea where you are and you get lost, you can add about 20 minutes to that. It was a little bit chaotic. The two classes I had today were cancelled and I later learned that our professors are on strike… I’m not super stoked about that.

            I’m still blown away by how amazing the people are here. Everybody is so welcoming and so willing to help! I have become good friends with a little girl named Sarah. Her mom cleans our bathroom so Sarah has been hanging out with us. She turns 8 on Wednesday! She is seriously such a joy. She will always knock on our door and ask for candy and then ask to hang out in our room. I told her that my brother is a doctor and her face lit up. She told me that her dream is to be a doctor and go to University of Ghana. I know she can do it. I gave her a hat that says, “California Girl” on it and I even started singing Katy Perry’s California Girl song. She quickly told me to stop and asked if I could sing Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star with her instead. It was beautiful. I know Sarah will be a good friend by the end of the semester.

 

Next week, I will be starting my Service Learning at an orphanage for kids with disabilities and I am stoked.

I am so ridiculously blessed by this opportunity. I could not be more thankful.

Skype me!!!!!! (Janaenaee22)

Love you all,

Janae

I'm in Ghana!!!!!!

I’m in Ghana and I could not be happier! I have been here since Saturday and it has been an adventure from the start. I left London and then flew to Brussels then Germany and I finally made it to Accra, Ghana. I met 4 people from my program in Germany and that was very nice so we could arrive all together. When we got to the airport, we had to go to passport check and customs. It was interesting. They had each of us look into a camera for about 5 seconds and I didn’t know if I should smile or not. So I smiled.. I was sternly told not to do that. Oops. When we went to get our bags… mine didn’t arrive. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I filed a report and ended up leaving the airport without my stuff.

We arrived at the International Student Hostel and we were welcomed and assigned our rooms. My roommate is great. Her name is Lena and she is from Chicago. I’m pretty glad that I have an American roommate so we can go through the culture shock and crazy experiences together. Our room is decent. Not at all close to what I lived in my freshman year at Chico State. But it works and it is a safe place to sleep. Our whole program is basically on our floor so that is fun. Everybody in my program is super great. I really could not have asked for a better group! Very social and funny. We also have “buddies” who are Ghanaian that hang out with us and help with everything. We are extremely thankful for them. For the first couple days, they have fed us breakfast, lunch and dinner and unfortunately tonight’s dinner will be our last meal. Tomorrow we will have to fend for ourselves. The food is different. We have been having some sort of meat with rice. It isn’t bad, but it is something that I will have to get used to. We have a really fun outdoor market outside our hostel where you can get just about anything so that is super convenient. The women selling things are extremely friendly. As a respect thing, we need to call anyone older than us "Auntie" so I have met many aunties around the hostel. I love it! There was a lady also outside who would size us for traditional African clothing for extremely cheap! Let me know if you want anything! :)

We have had orientation the past two full days explaining security, safety, clubs, immigration, health and just about every little thing we need to know. It was long but informative. Most of our group did a campus tour together yesterday but a girl Shea and I had to go to the airport to see if our luggage had arrived. Peter, our buddy, went with us and we took a “Tro-Tro” which is basically a van with 9 seats but they fit as many people in as they can. There is a driver and another man who is hanging out the door yelling where they are going. For example, if the van is going to Accra (main city), the man will yelling “Cra Cra Cra!” and people will wave them down. It was quite the experience. We got to the airport and MY BAGS WERE THERE! I was so happy that I didn’t have to sleep in jeans again. Those two nights were miserable! After talking with the airport people for a long time, I finally got them and I was so excited! We took a taxi back and then we had a campus tour with just us three. The campus is HUGE! It took an hour and we didn’t even do half of the campus. Very pretty and I’m excited to get a bike!

Today was the most interesting day. We took another Tro-Tro to a place called Medina Market. (Google it) To be honest, it was a little bit overwhelming. There were hundreds of shops which were all very close together. They sold everything from phones to pig feet to LARGE snails to mango to shoes. As we walked by people, some people would grab us so we could look at their clothes, others offered to buy us and some were even proposed to. Many people, actually just about every child we walked by called us Abroni which means foreigner. It isn’t an insult but I was surprised about how often we were called it. One girl in my group broke her sandal right in front of shop that sells used shoes and sandals so we watched her and our “buddy” bargain which was extremely interesting. It was an incredible market but it also really opened my eyes. There was a sewer along the rode and I full on gagged twice. There was feces and trash and it smelled awful. The whole market wasn’t very sanitary and many of the children were running around. It was something I have never experienced. It wasn’t “bad” but VERY different to the American culture. Very interesting to see how other people live and survive.

Anyways, I am seriously having a BLAST! I can already tell that I made the right decision to spend 5 months in Ghana. If anyone has skype, feel free to add me. (Janaenaee22) I would love to see your beautiful faces!!!

PS, I gave up on wearing sweaters! Way too hot! 

Much love,

Janae 

Ghana see ya later!

The summer before my freshman year at Chico State I attended freshman orientation and that is when I decided that I wanted to study abroad in Ghana. I talked with an advisor and since that day, I've had my heart set on traveling to Africa.

Anyone who has talked to me in the past year knows how excited I have been for this adventure. Every chance I get I would bring up the topic of Africa or invite someone to join me on the trip! Unfortunately nobody has committed to visiting-although I am still up for visitors! I was accepted into the program January of this year and I've had a countdown since then. The 120 day mark, the 100 mark, the 50 day mark, the month mark and boy it flew by. It seems so unreal that in less than 24 hours, I will be in Ghana- the place I have dreamed of going for two years.

One of the coolest parts about this adventure is that I have no idea what it is going to be like! I have no expectations. I don’t know anybody going. I don’t know what the food will be like. I don’t know how often I will be able to shower or how often I will be able to instagram cool sunsets. It is a new place with new people, new culture, new food, new everything! I've never been to the continent, let alone a 3rd world country! That is why I chose Ghana! I don't know anything! Something that I have realized about myself is that I learn the most in uncomfortable situations. When something is different, I pay more attention and learn from it. I know this experience will be great but there will be times when I am scared, lonely, lost confused but that is what makes it an adventure! I also know that I will meet people from all over the world, travel, encounter my biggest fear (snakes), laugh a lot, get laughed at, dance in an African Dance class, work in an orphanage and have a blast! I’m excited to be a part of the community and get involved with as many different things. I was even told I could possibly join the University of Ghana basketball team! How cool would that be!

 

A fun quote that I heard this summer was "You have to be comfortable with the uncomfortable!" This will be such a different experience, one that I will never forget. 

Well enough rambling! I will try to update this blog often and keep all my friends and family updated with this amazing journey that I am about to embark on!

Y'all are amazing!

Janae