BEST WEEKEND EVER.

So one of the great things about being here is that there is time to do things. My classes, with the exception of Twi, meet only once a week so I have Wednesdays and Fridays completely open as days to volunteer/intern, explore and travel.

This past Friday some friends and I had planned to go to the beach but when we woke up to a rainstorm, our plans changed. Without the typical rainy day backups like movie theatres and bowling, we decided to catch the first tro-tro headed towards Accra to see what we could find.

Hoping off the bus somewhere near downtown Accra, we started walking down a road we thought would eventually lead us to a coffee shop. As silly as our line of aimless Oburonis must have looked, the amount of attention that we attract still feels so strange. On campus and off, Ghanaians’ exclamations of “Oburoni, Oburoni!” constantly remind me how much I stand out here. The funny thing about the word Oburoni is that it isn’t discriminatory at all. When I hear it I usually just smile and wave to let the Ghanaians know I’ve picked up on at least one word of Twi. 

After a few wrong turns we somehow came upon a French bakery (Delifrance) tucked beneath some trees. The bakery owner was so excited to have people in his shop that he quickly pulled out four baskets of croissants and danishes and insisted that we eat as much as we want without cost. Nicest man ever. He’s Lebanese and returned to Ghana a few weeks ago so that he could continue to finance his daughter’s studies in the U.S. It’s awesome to see how the hospitality and friendly nature of Ghana’s culture is spreading to its visitors. I am still thinking about those croissants and cupcakes. 

After saying goodbye to Delifrance we found our way to the original coffee shop we were looking for. It is rare to find anything but instant coffee in Ghana but finally I had my first real cup of coffee since orientation!!! This is huge for anyone who knows of my former addiction/ complete love for coffee. The cafe, Cuppa Cappuccino, is placed in a little garden setting in a quiet neighborhood of Accra. Right when I felt I was back in the middle of West Hartford CT, a woman holding her child’s hand, while balancing a platter of bananas on her head and a baby on her back would walk by and I’d remember where I was. Truly the best of both worlds.

Eventually the rain let up and we took the tro-tro back to campus. While the day didn’t exactly introduce us to a ton of Ghanaian culture, it was really cool to see parts of my world back home hidden behind a few wrong turns in Ghana.

At 7:30 the next morning I left campus for my first weekend trip! CIEE includes four weekend trips that are organized, paid for, and focus on some showing us the major staples of Ghana.

This weekend we traveled to the eastern region and our first stop was a woodcarving village. Piles of wood covered the ground that the men inside the tent were sitting in but each of them were working on something different. One man was sculpting two people facing each other, another was hand-painting a woman’s profile, and another was carving away a design he had sketched on a piece of wood. By the time I left the tent this last man had already transformed the solid block of wood into the profile of a woman holding a bag. It was insane to see how talented these woodcarvers are. The market just outside of where these men were working was filled with tent after tent of woodcarvers selling their goods including a wood carved map of Africa that I couldn’t pass up buying.

After some time at the woodcarving village we headed to the botanical gardens for lunch and wandering. Even in the rain the gardens were beautiful and it was the first park-like setting I’ve seen since being here. A guide showed us little plants scattered all over the garden that instantly shut when you touch them and then re-open five minutes later and pointed out a palm tree that naturally grew horizontally and with two heads. Pretty sweet. 

Dried Cocoa!

On to the cocoa farm! Cocoa is a huge export of Ghana so getting to explore a real cocoa farm was awesome. One of the cocoa farmers told us that every piece of chocolate in the world has to have some amount of Ghanaian chocolate in it and while Nigeria has the highest production of chocolate, Ghana holds the title for the world’s finest cocoa. Ghanaian cocoa farmers do not rush the natural cocoa process, their methodical and patient process is what makes their chocolate such high quality.

After the cocoa farm we headed back to the hotel that CIEE booked for us. It’s uncomfortable to drive through hours of rural villages and then somehow end up pulling into a hotel. I was hoping the bus would turn a little earlier and allow us to explore some of the villages, but hopefully this is something I’ll get to experience on my own adventures.

The next morning we headed to Boti Falls. Driving through Ghanaian countryside is an experience itself. Village after village greeted our bus of Oburonis with waves and laughs. Seeing these villages was definitely one of the most powerful reminders I’ve had of where I am. Houses made out of dirt and mud and whatever resources available sit fragilely while the people who live in them go about their daily lives, fetching water, hanging laundry, singing and dancing. The people in these villages seemed as functional and organized as someone living in New York or Boston. They have their own way of doing things, it’s not better or worse, it’s just different.

Eventually we reached Boti Falls. Not really knowing what our destination was, we followed a guide and hiked our way to Umbrella Rock. I can’t describe this place as anything else but breathtaking. The rock formed naturally at the top of a giant canyon filled with trees and grasses and everything that makes Ghana so exquisitely beautiful. I love the bustle and pace of Accra, but to be able to stand quietly at the top of Umbrella Rock and see something formed entirely by nature made me realize how much more of Ghana I need to see.

Eventually we left Umbrella Rock and began an intense and slippery downhill hike through the middle of a jungle. The only issue with the hike was that it was difficult to take in everything around me without falling on my face. Still, it was perfect. We would be walking on relatively flat land for a few seconds and then out of nowhere have to maneuver ourselves through a giant vertical drop of pure rock.

The humidity and the rain and the lazy swinging vines lead us through an ancient cave and landed us parallel to Boti Falls. Boti Falls has two waterfalls, one male and one female. Beneath the falls is a lake kept constantly moving by the pressure of the water. After standing for a few minutes in pure amazement, we ignored the “No Swimming, Stay Alive” signs and jumped in. So worth it. Climbing the rocks behind the falls gave us an even better view of their beauty and a moment to process what was pouring down in front of us. Swimming beneath a waterfall in Ghana…that’s one to check off the bucket list.

Sadly we had to leave the falls and head back to campus but even today I feel energized from the weekend. I finally feel like I’m really getting to see the diversity of Ghana. It is so easy to become stuck in a routine or to procrastinate on opportunities but already Ghana has taught what a waste that is. I have been given the time and the space to do anything I can think of and after what I saw this weekend, I am confident that I will use the next few months to explore and embrace every adventure.