Not my own writing, but I wish it were...I just had to post it bc its amazing...
Always use the word 'Africa' or 'Darkness' or 'Safari' in your title. Subtitles may include the words 'Zanzibar', 'Masai', 'Zulu', 'Zambezi', Victroria Falls` 'Congo', 'Nile', 'Big', 'Sky', 'Shadow', 'Drum', 'Sun' or 'Bygone' Zimbabwe. Also useful are words such as 'Guerrillas', 'Timeless', 'Primordial' and 'Tribal'. Note that 'People' means Africans who are not black, while 'The People' means black Africans.
Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.
In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn't care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.
Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat; monkey-brain is an African's cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.
Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans (unless a death is involved), references to African writers or intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation.
Throughout the book, adopt a sotto voice, in conspiracy with the reader, and a sad I-expected-so-much tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in love with the place and can't live without her. Africa is the only continent you can love—take advantage of this. If you are a man, thrust yourself into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa as a man who wears a bush jacket and disappears off into the sunset. Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed.
Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a seven-year-old and needs a firm hand; he is scared of snakes, good with children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas. The Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe (not the money-grubbing tribes like the Gikuyu, the Igbo, Zulu, Ndebele or the Shona). He has rheumy eyes and is close to the Earth. The Modern African is a fat man who steals and works in the visa office, refusing to give work permits to qualified Westerners who really care about Africa. He is an enemy of development, always using his government job to make it difficult for pragmatic and good-hearted expats to set up NGOs or Legal Conservation Areas. Or he is an Oxford-educated intellectual turned serial-killing politician in a Savile Row suit. He is a cannibal who likes Cristal champagne, and his mother is a rich witch-doctor who really runs the country.
Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama. Her children are all delinquent. These characters should buzz around your main hero, making him look good. Your hero can teach them, bathe them, feed them; he carries lots of babies and has seen Death. Your hero is you (if reportage), or a beautiful, tragic international celebrity/aristocrat who now cares for animals (if fiction).
Bad Western characters may include children of Tory cabinet ministers, Afrikaners, employees of the World Bank, those thugs from USA. When talking about exploitation by foreigners mention the Chinese and Indian traders. Blame the West for Africa's situation. But do not be too specific.
Broad brushstrokes throughout are good. Avoid having the African characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in mundane circumstances. Have them illuminate something about Europe or America in Africa. African characters should be colourful, exotic, larger than life—but empty inside, with no dialogue, no conflicts or resolutions in their stories, no depth or quirks to confuse the cause.
Describe, in detail, naked breasts (young, old, conservative, recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies. Remember, any work you submit in which people look filthy and miserable will be referred to as the 'real Africa', and you want that on your dust jacket. Do not feel queasy about this: you are trying to help them to get aid from the West.
The biggest taboo in writing about Africa is to describe or show dead or suffering white people.
Animals, on the other hand, must be treated as well rounded, complex characters. They speak (or grunt while tossing their manes proudly) and have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children? Elephants are caring, and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs. So are gorillas. Never, ever say anything negative about an elephant or a gorilla. Elephants may attack people's property, destroy their crops, and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant. Big cats have public-school accents. Hyenas are fair game and have vaguely Middle Eastern accents. Any short Africans who live in the jungle or desert may be portrayed with good humour (unless they are in conflict with an elephant or chimpanzee or gorilla, in which case they are pure evil).
After celebrity activists and aid workers, conservationists are Africa's most important people. Do not offend them. You need them to invite you to their 30,000-acre game ranch or 'conservation area', and this is the only way you will get to interview the celebrity activist. Often a book cover with a heroic-looking conservationist on it works magic for sales. Anybody white, tanned and wearing khaki who once had a pet antelope or a farm is a conservationist, one who is preserving Africa's rich heritage. When interviewing him or her, do not ask how much funding they have; do not ask how much money they make off their game. Never ask how much they pay their employees.
Readers will be put off if you don't mention the light in Africa. And sunsets, the African sunset is a must. It is always big and red. There is always a big sky. Wide empty spaces and game are critical—Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces. When writing about the plight of flora and fauna, make sure you mention that Africa is overpopulated. When your main character is in a desert or jungle living with indigenous peoples (anybody short) it is okay to mention that Africa has been severely depopulated by Aids and War (use caps).
You'll also need a nightclub called Tropicana, where mercenaries, evil nouveau riche Africans and prostitutes and guerrillas and expats hang out.
Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances. Because you care. Dont forget Mugabe.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
FOOOOOD (w/ lots of pics!)
this is based on a paper that i had to write for my orientation class!! enjoy!!
I had never eaten Ghanaian food before I got there!
Turned out that food was an AMAZING part of my experience ~ i learned SO much, from how to order it, how to eat it, how to prepare it, and most of all, how to share it!!!!
Jollof rice - this yummy rice that has been cooked in tomato/spicy stew, so it has both of these qualities and sometimes extracts still in it - DEF a favorite staple in my diet. The first time I ate it, I was on the bus outside of ISH, and as I opened my Styrofoam container, I realized that I had no idea what I was about to eat.
Fufu is of a dough- consistency and you eat it with your hands, dip it in the stew, and swallow without chewing. (perfect for me, right? not exactly, while its good, i preferred other things while I was there, BUT now I REALLY want some!)
this has NOTHING to do with this post but yes, this is a <$0.20 SHOT of gin. heh.... several brands too!
When I ordered banku for the first time. I put on my best adventurous mindset, but was almost rejected! The man first asked “But what if you don’t like it?” I was REALLY frustrated by this response and wanted to scream at him. or cry. but i did get it eventually ;) banku is similar to fufu but made with different crushed grains
FUFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!
It ALWAYS felt AMAZING to be invited to food. Everyone did it, but it always made me feel so welcome. The only way that I have found to make eating food an even more enjoyable experience has been to share it with someone. Ghanaians seemed to be professionals at this.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Research Project
Hello all,
so i realized that i never posted my independent research project. yes, it is 30+pages. - i very seriously doubt any but maybe 1-2 of you are interested in reading it, but even if you just want to read a word or two to see what i spent so much time on..... and if you DO want to read SOME, i would suggest reading the table of contents first ;)
http://anitajohnson08irp.blogspot.com/
much <3 as always,
-anita
so i realized that i never posted my independent research project. yes, it is 30+pages. - i very seriously doubt any but maybe 1-2 of you are interested in reading it, but even if you just want to read a word or two to see what i spent so much time on..... and if you DO want to read SOME, i would suggest reading the table of contents first ;)
http://anitajohnson08irp.blogspot.com/
much <3 as always,
-anita
Thursday, January 8, 2009
UCSD!!!!!! :-D
helllloooooo from sunny SD!!! (well, it JUST went behind a cloud but thats ok...)
so i know i was really bad at posting that i got back, but this thing called fast internet in my room really does wonders!
its actually been quite a journey down here.... as i might have mentioned, i didnt have a place to live down here until a few days before christmas, and i never received confirmation of this however.....
i drove down with my parents, arriving at UCSD just after dark on saturday, called the # to meet the RA, who first told me they couldnt find my folder. yikes, but ok... when i was able to meet her, i got a set of keys, but she told me not to unpack bc there wasnt ANYBODY's name on the room so i might have to move. blah. fine. after hanging with some cool peeps all night, but NOT meeting my roommates, i got to reunite with my newman center peeps at mass! By sunday night, i had met all 3 roommates, kim, sunny, and kelly, but my room was rapidly decomposing because i was still not unpacking, but had 4 classes on monday, 2 of which actually required work in advance! lame! ( aka, point #1 that i'm not in kansas anymore, toto....)
point #2: i dont know all the white people here. granted, i am sill most definitely a minority to all the asians, but it was definitely strange to drive around campus and stare at all the oburunis (white ppl/foreigners, who are no longer foreigners, i realize.... well, maybe they are, but ya....)...
point #3: campus is DANGEROUS!!! people walk so fast! and there are ppl on BIKES and SKATEBOARDS (ok, myself included for the first time this morning, but its been a few days) - totally almost got run over by a biker and jumped in fright at another one on monday!
point #4: 1st lecture, bio was a bit of a trip - the prof had a microphone, my seat was comfy, and he used a powerpoint. woa.
point #5: i had to do pre-lab work BEFORE lectures started.....whaaaaaaat? add that to the stress of not being able to move in and being asked a ton of questions on what activities i'm gonna get involved in this quarter....blaaaaaaaah!
point #6: i made a conscious decision to go print some papers for my lab at the library BEFORE i went to check about my room because i was SURE i was going to have to sit and wait for someone for way too long! nope! i just talked to one person, she said everything was fine with my room, and apologized a million times that i had to wait for less than 5 minutes. woooot!
but the whole unpacking thing took a while- i still ahve a box of kitchen stuff that hasnt made it downstairs yet, but i rearranged everything to my liking, and FINALLY today felt at home when i finally set up my speakers! woot! soooo excited
anyway, ive had a really really good week. i've been very social, catching up with people before the quarter eats up all of our time, and its been absolutely amazing. i'm so happy!!!! i'm actually still enjoying my classes, (ochem lab, analytical chem lab, intro to policy analysis (polisci), and 2 frosh courses, bio and physics) especially since the labs look to be much less hassle than the one i took last quarter, and we're finally able to use what we've learned in class, not just spew numbers! or maybe they're just so refreshingly interesting after all this history last quarter hehehehe....
i also really like my apt- its pretty much smack in the middle of campus, i can almost see 2 of my lectures from my room, and its only a 5-10 min walk from i-house! the kitchen and living rooms are less than half the size of last year, but not really tripping about that bc my cooking buddies are still in the beautiful i-house/erc apts...woot! everything's working out with the roommates, we dont really hang out, but that works too!
anyway, its been a really good week for transitions too - a lot of decisions, comparing my life in ghana to here, and what parts (incl personality traits) i want to keep or will be able to keep. i def have a different view on a lot of things, which i know, is like the reason for studying abroad, right? but i really wasnt expecting it, bc its not about my worldview, like i called european colonialists bad names before, was into the social justice and a more balanced learning of the world BEFORE i left. that hasnt changed much, but other than laughing more at people who whine, emo people, racial remarks, and people who watch youtube vidoes all day, (all of which might go away eventually), i think i have changed. i didnt have internet in my room til tuesday afternoon, and i didnt have my printer set up til yesterday, and i didnt freak out. i think i managed to become more patient and calm for the time being, but we'll see if those things continue throughout the quarter....and beyond!! heh. some of that i really hope so! but i could really use a less expensive meal around here, or a bit more downtime before classes go crazy on me heh, but its all good, right?
thanks for listening again! much <3, and since i'm not sure if i'll be posting more, please do email me at ajatucsd@gmail.com or my aim and skype names are both ajatucsd so please do let me know how things are going with you!
peace,
anita
so i know i was really bad at posting that i got back, but this thing called fast internet in my room really does wonders!
its actually been quite a journey down here.... as i might have mentioned, i didnt have a place to live down here until a few days before christmas, and i never received confirmation of this however.....
i drove down with my parents, arriving at UCSD just after dark on saturday, called the # to meet the RA, who first told me they couldnt find my folder. yikes, but ok... when i was able to meet her, i got a set of keys, but she told me not to unpack bc there wasnt ANYBODY's name on the room so i might have to move. blah. fine. after hanging with some cool peeps all night, but NOT meeting my roommates, i got to reunite with my newman center peeps at mass! By sunday night, i had met all 3 roommates, kim, sunny, and kelly, but my room was rapidly decomposing because i was still not unpacking, but had 4 classes on monday, 2 of which actually required work in advance! lame! ( aka, point #1 that i'm not in kansas anymore, toto....)
point #2: i dont know all the white people here. granted, i am sill most definitely a minority to all the asians, but it was definitely strange to drive around campus and stare at all the oburunis (white ppl/foreigners, who are no longer foreigners, i realize.... well, maybe they are, but ya....)...
point #3: campus is DANGEROUS!!! people walk so fast! and there are ppl on BIKES and SKATEBOARDS (ok, myself included for the first time this morning, but its been a few days) - totally almost got run over by a biker and jumped in fright at another one on monday!
point #4: 1st lecture, bio was a bit of a trip - the prof had a microphone, my seat was comfy, and he used a powerpoint. woa.
point #5: i had to do pre-lab work BEFORE lectures started.....whaaaaaaat? add that to the stress of not being able to move in and being asked a ton of questions on what activities i'm gonna get involved in this quarter....blaaaaaaaah!
point #6: i made a conscious decision to go print some papers for my lab at the library BEFORE i went to check about my room because i was SURE i was going to have to sit and wait for someone for way too long! nope! i just talked to one person, she said everything was fine with my room, and apologized a million times that i had to wait for less than 5 minutes. woooot!
but the whole unpacking thing took a while- i still ahve a box of kitchen stuff that hasnt made it downstairs yet, but i rearranged everything to my liking, and FINALLY today felt at home when i finally set up my speakers! woot! soooo excited
anyway, ive had a really really good week. i've been very social, catching up with people before the quarter eats up all of our time, and its been absolutely amazing. i'm so happy!!!! i'm actually still enjoying my classes, (ochem lab, analytical chem lab, intro to policy analysis (polisci), and 2 frosh courses, bio and physics) especially since the labs look to be much less hassle than the one i took last quarter, and we're finally able to use what we've learned in class, not just spew numbers! or maybe they're just so refreshingly interesting after all this history last quarter hehehehe....
i also really like my apt- its pretty much smack in the middle of campus, i can almost see 2 of my lectures from my room, and its only a 5-10 min walk from i-house! the kitchen and living rooms are less than half the size of last year, but not really tripping about that bc my cooking buddies are still in the beautiful i-house/erc apts...woot! everything's working out with the roommates, we dont really hang out, but that works too!
anyway, its been a really good week for transitions too - a lot of decisions, comparing my life in ghana to here, and what parts (incl personality traits) i want to keep or will be able to keep. i def have a different view on a lot of things, which i know, is like the reason for studying abroad, right? but i really wasnt expecting it, bc its not about my worldview, like i called european colonialists bad names before, was into the social justice and a more balanced learning of the world BEFORE i left. that hasnt changed much, but other than laughing more at people who whine, emo people, racial remarks, and people who watch youtube vidoes all day, (all of which might go away eventually), i think i have changed. i didnt have internet in my room til tuesday afternoon, and i didnt have my printer set up til yesterday, and i didnt freak out. i think i managed to become more patient and calm for the time being, but we'll see if those things continue throughout the quarter....and beyond!! heh. some of that i really hope so! but i could really use a less expensive meal around here, or a bit more downtime before classes go crazy on me heh, but its all good, right?
thanks for listening again! much <3, and since i'm not sure if i'll be posting more, please do email me at ajatucsd@gmail.com or my aim and skype names are both ajatucsd so please do let me know how things are going with you!
peace,
anita
Friday, January 2, 2009
Back on track?
Hey!
So i guess for lack of stories on CNN about american students going missing in ghana, you realized that i'm back in california, which is completely true! i got back without any problems, actually nice flights, considering one was overnight to london and the other was the very long journey from london to SFO.
culture shock has been ok, much better than i expected. first difficulty was the damn COLD! the first time i left the house after i got to modesto i literally changed my shirt 3 times because i couldnt figure out how to dress myself. the concept of wearing 2 layers of clothes took a while to get used to! in ghana, i pretty much trashed all my white clothes because i sweated in everything, but the white was less conspicuous!
i'm still scared of the speed of life but i've gotten over american driving a bit more. First meal was definitely a burrito, and i still cant get enough of them, but maybe i should stop because my stomach isnt adjusting as quickly as my appetite! I'm still on my malaria medication (for 30 days after i get back), which isnt difficult, but i definitely dont miss the mosquito nets or being itchy from the knees down all the time! exciting!
i leave for UCSD on saturday, which is really nice, i cant wait to get down there, but i'm still really scared of it! its been really nice to get to see all the family etc, but there's def more life waiting for me down there! i'm taking 2 labs which will be interesting, but i'm pretty scared of the workload. to be completely honest, academics in ghana were absolutely nothing in comparison with UCSD. i only spent 11 hrs/wk in class, had a only 2 papers (one 5 pages, one 2) and 3 tests before finals; this quarter, i'll spend at least twice as many hours/week in class (thanks, labs), and actually have to study! crazy how that works out!
another huge shock has been general sticker shock! lets just say i sometimes got 10 cedi (almost $10) bills from the atm, and couldnt exchange the dang things! i spent about $3.00/day on food; try paying for your $.50 bowl of fufu! angry ghanaian women! yikes! although i ate out at nice restaurants WAY too much in south africa, i think i only paid more than $5.00 for a meal MAYBE 5 times since orientation ended, and now i go to fast food and my $5 almost disapears! boo!
anyway, its all good down here, i just realized i hadnt sent out any updates in a while! oh and make sure you check out the bbc news website, africa section, to see what happens with the election! maybe i'll get into that later when i have fast internet instead of mom and dad's dialup.....!
hope your new year has gotten off to a great start, and hope to see you soon if i havent already!
-me!
So i guess for lack of stories on CNN about american students going missing in ghana, you realized that i'm back in california, which is completely true! i got back without any problems, actually nice flights, considering one was overnight to london and the other was the very long journey from london to SFO.
culture shock has been ok, much better than i expected. first difficulty was the damn COLD! the first time i left the house after i got to modesto i literally changed my shirt 3 times because i couldnt figure out how to dress myself. the concept of wearing 2 layers of clothes took a while to get used to! in ghana, i pretty much trashed all my white clothes because i sweated in everything, but the white was less conspicuous!
i'm still scared of the speed of life but i've gotten over american driving a bit more. First meal was definitely a burrito, and i still cant get enough of them, but maybe i should stop because my stomach isnt adjusting as quickly as my appetite! I'm still on my malaria medication (for 30 days after i get back), which isnt difficult, but i definitely dont miss the mosquito nets or being itchy from the knees down all the time! exciting!
i leave for UCSD on saturday, which is really nice, i cant wait to get down there, but i'm still really scared of it! its been really nice to get to see all the family etc, but there's def more life waiting for me down there! i'm taking 2 labs which will be interesting, but i'm pretty scared of the workload. to be completely honest, academics in ghana were absolutely nothing in comparison with UCSD. i only spent 11 hrs/wk in class, had a only 2 papers (one 5 pages, one 2) and 3 tests before finals; this quarter, i'll spend at least twice as many hours/week in class (thanks, labs), and actually have to study! crazy how that works out!
another huge shock has been general sticker shock! lets just say i sometimes got 10 cedi (almost $10) bills from the atm, and couldnt exchange the dang things! i spent about $3.00/day on food; try paying for your $.50 bowl of fufu! angry ghanaian women! yikes! although i ate out at nice restaurants WAY too much in south africa, i think i only paid more than $5.00 for a meal MAYBE 5 times since orientation ended, and now i go to fast food and my $5 almost disapears! boo!
anyway, its all good down here, i just realized i hadnt sent out any updates in a while! oh and make sure you check out the bbc news website, africa section, to see what happens with the election! maybe i'll get into that later when i have fast internet instead of mom and dad's dialup.....!
hope your new year has gotten off to a great start, and hope to see you soon if i havent already!
-me!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
One more time.....
hello!
its my last day in ghana, and dont worry, this is the only time (10 min) i'll be spending on the internet today. i've gone on my last tro-tro ride, been to the market for the last time, (hopefully) been grabbed by the arm for the last time, was called by the name "obama" again, argued over prices, a miscommunication settled by hand gestures, and been told "feel free" by one person while getting yelled at by another for doing the same action.... good start to my day! actually it was really fun, and i was able to laugh at a lot of things that are normal occurances and apprecaite them one last time - people walking down the alleyways of the market with loudspeakers preaching the gospel and/or singing, bells, horns, the call "one cedi, one cedi, oneone cedi", "akosua!" (a ghanaian girls' name, but somehow its used for any white person when they dont want to use "oburuni", tro-tro ride that involved drivers yelling at each other for space, "purewater", "plantain chips" "ap ap apple", "mate, busstop" "yeees yog-hort", "milomilomilomilo", "agoo" (a call for attention, generally when some manual cart is going to run you over), "mtn, tigo, onetouch!" (the different pay-as-you-go phone companies - they stand anywhere, in the street or market or whatever, selling cards).... wow this probably doesnt make any sense
sorry, but anyway, i would say that i have to go to say goodbye to people, but almost everyone has left. most ghanaians moved out over the weekend, the EAP-ers on the group flight left last night, and most people who are spending the break traveling have also left. i'm really sick of saying goodbye. i feel like thats all i've done since last week. anyway, its totally been worth it, i've gotten to see almost everyone! woot!
aight but its time to go spend my last 8 hrs on campus! yay! perhaps one last bowl of fufu?
its my last day in ghana, and dont worry, this is the only time (10 min) i'll be spending on the internet today. i've gone on my last tro-tro ride, been to the market for the last time, (hopefully) been grabbed by the arm for the last time, was called by the name "obama" again, argued over prices, a miscommunication settled by hand gestures, and been told "feel free" by one person while getting yelled at by another for doing the same action.... good start to my day! actually it was really fun, and i was able to laugh at a lot of things that are normal occurances and apprecaite them one last time - people walking down the alleyways of the market with loudspeakers preaching the gospel and/or singing, bells, horns, the call "one cedi, one cedi, oneone cedi", "akosua!" (a ghanaian girls' name, but somehow its used for any white person when they dont want to use "oburuni", tro-tro ride that involved drivers yelling at each other for space, "purewater", "plantain chips" "ap ap apple", "mate, busstop" "yeees yog-hort", "milomilomilomilo", "agoo" (a call for attention, generally when some manual cart is going to run you over), "mtn, tigo, onetouch!" (the different pay-as-you-go phone companies - they stand anywhere, in the street or market or whatever, selling cards).... wow this probably doesnt make any sense
sorry, but anyway, i would say that i have to go to say goodbye to people, but almost everyone has left. most ghanaians moved out over the weekend, the EAP-ers on the group flight left last night, and most people who are spending the break traveling have also left. i'm really sick of saying goodbye. i feel like thats all i've done since last week. anyway, its totally been worth it, i've gotten to see almost everyone! woot!
aight but its time to go spend my last 8 hrs on campus! yay! perhaps one last bowl of fufu?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
so, here's the deal...
hey guys,
so i have a blog started, entitled "halloween, volta ladies in the volta region, and politics" but life has moved on now, and i actually just came back from a few days in Togo (the country to the east of Ghana- ghana is about the size of oregon, and togo is about 1/3 of that size! oh and ps they speak french there!)! i had a super great time, and was also able to stop by Kpando (in ghana - pronounced Pando)in the Volta region, which was really nice too! hmmm, see a pattern? the volta region is absolutely beautiful, and the people are so nice! i'm not seen as someone to interrogate or as a "$", but instead, people are just super helpful and i love it so much!
anyway, i'm back to reality now, (boo!) - i have finals on the 2, 3, 5, and 12th of december, and my independent research project (30 page paper) due on the 9th...although i AM almost halfway done with the paper, i really do need to study for my exams! i also have 2 more places to visit on my "to do" list, and my flight leaves on the 16th~ yikes, time is getting organized!
so i guess the point is that i'm kinda putting blogging on hold - thats not a promise, bc of course i dont hate, i procrastinate, heh...but no worries, i have the entire flight from accra to london and then from there to SFO to write really long stories about my time here (that i can type up to post!), and also ones about broader issues that i keep referring to- gender inequalities, ghanaian education system in general, politics (elections are dec 7), my research paper, and everything else! woot!
anyway, so i'll be back in california dec 17th (around noonish, i think) and will get back to SD after the weekend before classes start! i really look forward to seeing you all!
but for now, hellooooo research paper! ;)(and happy thanksgiving! haha)
so i have a blog started, entitled "halloween, volta ladies in the volta region, and politics" but life has moved on now, and i actually just came back from a few days in Togo (the country to the east of Ghana- ghana is about the size of oregon, and togo is about 1/3 of that size! oh and ps they speak french there!)! i had a super great time, and was also able to stop by Kpando (in ghana - pronounced Pando)in the Volta region, which was really nice too! hmmm, see a pattern? the volta region is absolutely beautiful, and the people are so nice! i'm not seen as someone to interrogate or as a "$", but instead, people are just super helpful and i love it so much!
anyway, i'm back to reality now, (boo!) - i have finals on the 2, 3, 5, and 12th of december, and my independent research project (30 page paper) due on the 9th...although i AM almost halfway done with the paper, i really do need to study for my exams! i also have 2 more places to visit on my "to do" list, and my flight leaves on the 16th~ yikes, time is getting organized!
so i guess the point is that i'm kinda putting blogging on hold - thats not a promise, bc of course i dont hate, i procrastinate, heh...but no worries, i have the entire flight from accra to london and then from there to SFO to write really long stories about my time here (that i can type up to post!), and also ones about broader issues that i keep referring to- gender inequalities, ghanaian education system in general, politics (elections are dec 7), my research paper, and everything else! woot!
anyway, so i'll be back in california dec 17th (around noonish, i think) and will get back to SD after the weekend before classes start! i really look forward to seeing you all!
but for now, hellooooo research paper! ;)(and happy thanksgiving! haha)
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