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Ghana, Africa - 2009

September 2009 - September 2015
A 2166-day adventure by Rachael Read more
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  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 116

    Home sweet home

    January 21, 2010 in England ⋅ ⛅ 3 °C

    Hi guys,

    Sorry its been so long since I wrote on here! I've been back home now for nearly a month, and boy do I wish I was back in Ghana! The last week in Ghana was really good, I spent chilling out with my family and the friends I had made. The school had a send off for me and Ben saw me down to Accra on the day I caught my flight home! I had to leave a few days early because of 'BA striking' which didn't even end up happening!

    Since I've returned home I have got back into my daily routine pretty easily, although I am missing the laid back easy going life I had out in Ghana! I would love to go back out there although would take me some time to save up enough money again, or maybe I would do a short visit on the way to travelling somewhere else...? who knows!

    Ghana is the most amazing experiance of my life, meeting so many people from different walks of life, not caring what you look like nor what you do!

    Will upload some pics to finish of this blog. Hopefully there will be more blogs from other destinations of my travel!

    Thanks for reading!

    Rach xx    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 72

    2 weeks left

    December 8, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Howdy,

    Since I last wrote I have been down to Accra (The capitol of Ghana) to meet all the other volunteers for the last time before I leave and also to visit Krokrobete which is a village next to the sea! When I set off to Accra on Friday I planned to catch the bus at 12.30 but there was no bus even by 2 in sight, so I had to use a different service so my journey had set off very late. By the time I was arriving in Accra it was 8pm and that is very late to be travelling on your own here! Anyways I caught a taxi to the hostel where all the others was staying.

    The Friday evening we all decided to go out round the clubs in Accra, this was good fun and the music is also very similar to the music I would listen to back home so by the time 18 volunteers was stumbling back to the hostel it was about 4am - this is a rare sight in Ghana haha!
    Saturday morning I felt fine, although a few of the others was suffering!! 1 Dutch girl Sanne was really struggling but we don’t think that what was wrong with her was a hang over and as the day went on she just got worse. This was pretty worrying and we ended up taking her to hospital that evening, but the good news is she is OK now! We made our way over to Krokobete Saturday afternoon where we spent the day on the beach and checking out the stalls next to the beach although I was pretty annoyed as I forgot my swimming costume! That evening there was a live reggae band at the hotel, and we had a BBQ this was really good! We had paid to stay in a dormitory but little did we know this was just some mattresses outside in a hut! eeee well .

    Sunday I set of early back to Kumasi as I really didn't want to be travelling late again! I made it back to my village which was good so I chilled out with the children and a teacher showing them my pictures etc!

    School is going well, there’s a big issue with the head master at the moment as all he is interested in is gaining money and not the welfare of the students. This is having a big impact on the teachers and leading them not to even turn up to teach! This is not that good... I would offer to teach the students myself but I can only teach English haha I couldn't teach anything else as they are the same level as me! Apart from the huge minor issue of having no teachers turning up the school is doing ok! The football team is winning their matches!

    Anyways got to shoot, as I have 4 minutes remaining! Will try and write soon!

    love you all x    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 66

    Volta Region

    December 2, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Howdy People!

    I've not wrote in a bit, but my latest trip was to the Volta region last weekend. Here I got to spend my weekend visiting some fantastic water falls! I went there with another volunteer staying in my little Village but she works at the Children’s home so I don’t see her that often. We was supposed to meet all the other volunteers when we arrived at Hohoe but due to very poor reception we could not get hold of them! The first night this turned into a bit of a nightmare as we arrived very late and we could not contact them. There were some funerals in the town that weekend which meant all the hotels/hostels were fully booked!! We walked miles that night trying to find a room! Eeee well we found one in the end when one hotel owner took pity on us and cleared out a staff dorm for us!

    We never actually met up with the others when we was there so we made our own plans so me and Nora (other volunteer) visited the Wli Falls - the highest waterfall in Ghana followed by a monkey sanctuary where we got to feed the monkeys with our hands! This was pretty cool =].

    The Sunday we visited another waterfall the Boti Falls and at the same site there was some caves, a 3 in 1 palm tree and also an umbrella rock... This was probs the hardest walk/climb/scramble/faff I have ever done, I was pretty much rock climbing in flip flops! Then Monday we came back. This trip was OK but pretty boring but I think it was due to Nora just complaining all the time about anything haha and there just being the two of us!
    Last week at school, the schools football team had a match with one of the other schools in a nearby town. This was good fun to watch and go and see! How they played in such heat I do not know, anyways we won so was the first victory for the newly established school team! This week I have been writing exams for the end of term this was a blag but had to be done. Eeee well.

    Anyways my times running out, I'm going to Krokobete (or summat) this weekend for the send off of a few of the volunteers as its their last weekend in Ghana! Boy times gone sooo fast out here! So Friday night we are going clubbing in Accra, and Sat night clubbing in Krokobete and during the day doing naff all but chill on the beach (that’s if its not full of shit like cape coast's where!).

    I'm home in 3 weeks and can't wait to see everybody again!!

    love me xxxxxx    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 54

    Amazing experience!

    November 20, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Howdy!

    Sorry I have not been able to write for quite a while, I've just been sooo busy it’s untrue! Over this past week I have been travelling to the north of Ghana with loads of other volunteers visiting Mole National Park and also Paga where I am now and I have been to the crocodile pond. Visiting the Mole National Park has been a very stressful situation as there has been loads of people all from all over the world, and not everybody getting on very well! But it has also been such a fantastic experience.

    I have been on a walking Safari where we walk for about 2hours with a guide taking us round the national park looking to see the animals about, seeing the elephants at this time of the year on foot is really rare, but we saw one! We was sooo close and the vast majority of us was some how bricking it, but if you run then it can run faster than you, so you haven't to show your fear... all the guides did was stamp their feet and throw sticks at it which was pretty surprising as they was holding guns, but the elephant just picked the stick and threw it back!

    Other animals we saw was antelope, 3 species of monkey, loads of birds, crocodiles, and we stayed in a tree house under the stars for one night, and then the guide in the morning told us there was hyena less than 100meters away through the night!! This experience was really good as we built a campfire and slept under the stars although it became sooo cold through the night and we were bitten to death! Yeah I think 2hours sleep was the record!

    The hotel we stayed at the other two nights had a swimming pool, which meant we could swim and relax by the pool yey!!

    From the national park we moved up to Paga which is right at the top of Ghana where the crocodile pond is and where I have been today... this was ok we had good pictures but the experience was a bit of a let down. We also have been to see the slave camp which was soo shocking finding out what happened to the slaves many years ago!

    Tonight we stay in a town near Paga where there is a night club next door! So tonight its party time!! Tomorrow we are heading back down to Kumasi as its one of the lads birthdays so we are going to have a proper night out for that, then we move back up north a little way to see Kintampo falls and a monkey sanctuary! so its all good stuff!!

    Time is going sooo fast here it’s crazy, there is soo much I still want to see, and I have made some really good friends too! Part of me is wanting to stay for Christmas as I don’t think I will ever have the opportunity again, although the thought of seeing everybody again and being with my family is really strong too, so I need to think!! My placement is also going really well, and a new Madam has started the school and will be teaching English with me, which means there is less pressure on me =]

    Anyway I’m going to go... I need to get ready for tonight! PARTY WOOOP

    will catch up soon... and I have uploaded pictures on facebook! Not many but enough to follow where I have been!

    Byeeeee xxx    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 45

    School, school, school

    November 11, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    I have only 10 minutes to write this entry!

    I'm really enjoying it out here now, I'm back at the school this week, the students are starting to get used to my accent now so I don't have to repeat myself anywhere near as much! I'm getting used to being called Madam too, and if I pick out anything that the students do wrong the other students shout 'beat him madam' haha, i'm like noooo! It’s so normal here for the teachers to beat the students, but they are far better behaved here than in English schools!

    This week I am travelling to the north and going to Mole National Park where I will hopefully find some elephants to bring back with me =] ... Tonight I am making a spag bol for my family as they wont me to cook a English meal, and then I will make some pan cakes another day for them =]

    Ooooo not got long left... I seem to be tanning soo much here, and I didn’t get my hair braided as they didn’t have my colour! eee well, I will write soon and miss you all loads and loads

    btw I’m not in Kumasi I’m in a town called Effiduase near my village of Banko =]

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 39

    Hair braided?

    November 5, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Hello

    I'm back in Kumasi again! Btw Kumasi is the nearest city to where I stay and it is 1hours tro tro ride from Banko (my village here). This week at school has been short as the children are on leave from Wednesday dinner to Monday which means I get a extra long weekend!

    Yesterday was a pretty bad day, my family here have had some meat which they have paid for some lads to go and catch some rats and grass cutter, this may sound pretty rank to us, but it’s very valuable here! The family had prepared the meat ready for sale and had it in their fridge at the house, when somebody had stole it over night. The family had not paid for it yet, and they would pay out of the money they received when it was sold, therefore it leaves them with a 50c debt, which is about 25pounds to us! So the family had been pretty upset and the police here is shocking, so it’s left me in a pretty awkward position, but I have already paid out quite a bit for the family for fans for the rooms! Hm.

    ....

    This weekend I have come back to Kumasi and tonight I am stopping in the hostel I stayed in last time, and tomorrow I am going to meet one of the teachers in the town center, where I will find a different hostel to stay in! On Saturday I am going to the hair dressers to see if they can sort my mop out !?! Yeh my roots are pretty bad, so I was going to see if they can dye them for me as they have hairdressers here which specialize in white people’s hair. Everybody here is saying I should get my hair braided, but I don't know if it will damage my hair or not, so if somebody can find out text me it would be great!!

    Sunday I am going to some sort of crafts place or something, and then will go back to my village of Banko where I will start another week of school!!

    The school is pretty good, but there is no English syllabus and my English is pretty poor, as you may of noticed from my blog! So I’m trying to help them as best as I can, but they don't complain so it’s ok!!

    Anyway I’m shooting!    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 34

    Sun, Sea and Shower

    October 31, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Hello Everybody!!

    I don't really have much time to write here as I have spent all my time on face book!
    I am really starting to enjoy my life here allot more now you will all be pleased to know, I think I am starting to climbotise to the weather and also getting to know people much more, I'm learning bits of the local language and getting used to being called OBRUNI (white person) which I just shout back BIBINI (black person) this always makes the Ghanaians laugh, as not many whites dare shout it back! This is a very jokey saying =]

    At the school I am getting to know the teachers much more, and they are helping me out sooo much, in the evening we often meet up and play cards or football or something, and they are helping me out with my travelling especially this girl called Adelaide where she went way out of her way to help me organize my trip to cape coast this weekend! =]

    I am in Cape Coast now, I travelled down yesterday on state transport, it cost me roughly 5pounds to travel for 4 hours which is pretty good, and as soon as I arrived in Cape Coast I met up with the other volunteers where we found our hostel! The hostel is quite good, although it is lacking in working showers!! If you go to the top on the roof there is a bar which serves some food, and you can look out to the sea and the streets before!! For tea last night, we went to a bar right on the beach which was lovely, and had ... wait for it.... PIZZA AND CHIPS!! woooooop!!!! And we had a stroll along the front and back up to the hostel!

    Today we are going to Kakum National Park where there is a huge bridge which is like VERY high!! google it and seeee! I will upload some of my pictures at some point, it’s just the whole effort and waiting for such SLOW computers and the risk of the electricity going out everywhere!

    Oooo I bought a ceiling fan for my room at my host families house too, so I can actually get a nights sleep with out being wet through in the morning! Getting used to showering in a bucket too, haha I usually cover my self in soap then turn the bucket upside down on my head, it lasts about 5seconds but it’s more powerful than my shower in Chorley!! haha!

    I'm offskis, I will write soon if I don't get chance before I leave to Kumasi I will visit the local town and write next week =]

    Love you and miss you all!!    Read more

  • Rachael KingGhana, Africa - 2009
    Day 28

    Weekend in Kumasi

    October 25, 2009 in Ghana ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Howdy people,

    Been speaking to lots of you on facebook, but I’ve not really had time to write on here this weekend!
    Had a good weekend!, my family has two houses, one in my little village of Banko and the other in the city of Kumasi (where I am now).

    We came to Kumasi on Thursday (as I get Fridays of school!), and when we arrived we chilled out and got to know the local area a bit. My rooms quite nice with a proper toilet and even a shower! I think I have already said this!

    Anyway on Friday we went to the main market, which is the biggest market in the whole of Ghana, and my god I have never seen so many people in my life! As you know I am a pretty small person and when there are millions of people around you all with big massive packages or bowls of stuff balanced on their heads your life flashes before your very eyes! But good to know nothing fell on me! I bought a pair of flip flops (which have now chewed my feet up) and then we walked 100,000 miles across the packed smelly market to the zoo! Well I was dead excited for this but I had to pay double the price because I’m white! Martin Lutor King needs to work on the whites rights!! Anyway, when we went into the zoo, it was more like a prison for animals, the cages was small, and by small I mean miniature, wouldn't even be fit for an ant. All the animals looked soo hot as there was hardly any shelter, it just discussed me sooo much, and my host father could not understand why I wasn't laughing and smiling!

    Enough of Prison! We made our way back across the packed town and then caught the tro tro home, (mini busses which are packed like tins of sardeens). When we got back some of the neighbours came to the house and two of the lads spoke fluent English!! yey finally! This was pretty good to have some young people I can talk to like a human being not a retard =].

    Saturday we was supposed to go to Lake Bosumtwe (can't spell that either) haha, but it rained soooo hard it would put England to shame! We chilled at the house, and I made my way to the bank slowly too.

    Today we went to the Lake!, was the most incredible experience so far! The weather was perfect and when we got there it was picturesque! Took loads of pictures, and met some more volunteers there too, they are also with Bunac and are on my flight home! yey i have someone to fly home with!
    I will upload some picks at some point, but the computers here will only just let me type!!

    Byeeeee xxxxx    Read more

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