Monkeys, Motorcycles, Mountains and More!

So I have a few extra mins here on the computer and thought I'd give a brief synopsis of what's be going on since I left my village stay!

The first place (and where i wrote my last blog from) was Tamale in the North. I had a very amazing time there.  We met up with our fellow canadian firends Chelsea and Aryn and had ourselves a very merry Christmas.  We spent two days prior to christmas preparing for a giant meal piut on by Dr Abulai and the Shekina Clinic.  He is one of the most interesting people i have ever met!  I don't have enough time to discuss it here though!

So the day of the dinner, we served 3550!!! It went on all day.  It was truly a spectacular, albeit humbling day.  My main responsibility was to hand out second clothes.  As a sidenote, we helped prepare over 700kg of chicken, and served a bull, who incidently almost ran us over a few days prior as he got loose from his ropes (he flipped our bags far away, and let me tell you i have never run so fast!)

Since then, The group has split up for the rest of our travel time.  The first day, Jennifer, Hannah and I (along with Chelsea and Aryn) headed back to the south of the country.  We said our goodbyes to our friends and stayed the night in Nkawkaw with Father Andy (THE COOLEST MAN!), and played the bean game... (Very fun, I'll teach you when I get home).

We then left early in the AM to head to HoHoe.  After a brief lay over in Accra (and a stampede for the trotros...) we made it to HoHoe and our hotel for the eveneing.

The next day we hiked to Wli falls and I jumped in and went under the falls (and got a picture for sadie!).  These falls are boasted to be the Highest in West Africa (I can't upload photos and this cafe so you'll have to trust me, they were!).

AFter that we headed to Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary!!! IT WAS AWESOME! We fed the endangered Mona Monkeys BANANAS!  They ate right from our hand! It truly was an incredible moment!
Also, for the last little bit of the drive there are no trotros, so we had to jump on the back of motor cycle taxis! (DOn't worry mom, I wore a helmet.)

After that we ended our day in Ho.  A small city... this morning we got up and hiked Mount Adaku.  Our guide saw a snake, and he knew I didn't like them, so he didn't tell me until after w got down.... probably for the best.  I still haven't seen a snake!

Anyway, that's all for now.  Tomorrow we're off the Butre, on the ocean with a brief stopover in Cape Coast to see the slave castles.  Should be incredible. 

I've also gotten in touch with my work placement and they are anxiously awaiting my arrival, which is very good to know!! It's a big weight off my shoulders.  So after Butre, we go to Kumasi to meet up with the group one last time, then off to Cape coast for me for the duration of work placements (2 months)!

I miss you all very much, and as I sit here typing, I realized that I miss egg nog alot... a strange thing to miss!

Love ya all!
Have a safe and Happy New years!

Matty

Make Fufu, not war.

Hey Folks!

It sure has been awhile!  I'm officailly done my stay in the village now and am currently in Northern Ghana in a city called Tamale.  The group and I will be staying here for christmas and helping out with the massive free dinner preparation over the next few days at the Shekina Clinic.  I'll blog more about this at some later point, but I want to talk a bit about the village while its still fresh in my mind!

My last four weeks in the village were amazing!!! I've become really close with my family and have officially met all th emmebers, with my two other village brothers, Francis and Richard, coming home for seperate weekends.  I've included (or will be trying to include) a photo of the whole family (minus Mr Nartey) in this blog.  ***Well I couldn't add the photo, so check out facebook.

Hmmm sooo... maybe I'll just go over the highlights and what comes to my mind:

The other day I got to kill and prepare a chicken from start to finish.  It was really cool to be able to do.  I slowly learned how to cook some of my fabvourite meals so that I can make them when I get back (I hope you like to eat with your hands... well your RIGHT hand)

I made a friend named Joseph.  He's such a great guy... he's 22 and lives in Tweapease with his grandfather.  It was really nice having someone to hang out with it, and on my last day he gave me 30 bananas, which was really nice... but who can eat thrity bananas in 12 hours?? I tried... (By the way, bananas here are so incredibly awesome!... all the fruit is for the matter.

Baby Denzel is 3 years old ( I think I may have mentioned him in my last post)  Anyway, he used to be afraid of me, but now LOVES me!!! We hung out all the time.  One day, and the greatest memory I have of him, he showed up with a CAR TIRE to my compound.  Now this may not seem like such a feat, but there are practically now cars in my town, no one knows where he got it from, and, most impressively, it's bigger than him.  That sheer fact that he could lift it was incredible (and very funny to watch... I have some good videos of his struggle).

I taught all the kids how to play the ukelele!!! They caught on so quicly and learned to play Knan!

I learned all about the processes to get the cocoa to market and made palm oil!  I also learned how to carry water on my head!  Though practically everyone was laughing at me I managed to stay pretty dry.

My family also had a tv so I was able to watch the news every once in awhile.  We also watched some pretty radical ghanain films and even 'who wants to be rich!', the Ghana version of who wants to be amillionaire... very interesting.

Soon upon my return to the village, i went to a wedding in Tema with Monseigneur Paul... alot of funny stuff happened along the way, but I'll tell you some other time.  The coolest (or saddest?) thing though was that I returned to a slaughtered goat!!  His name was Billy aka Highjump (becuase he would jump over the half door to the Ktichen and start eating things).  Anyway, he was delicious.  And it was neat to watch it being prepared.  Though it is strange to eat something that you have named.

Speaking of goats, my favourite goat, Belinda, got to the point where I could pick her up without a fuss and she would come around and hang out with me.  Also, Mama had her twins.  It was cool having two tiny goats running around!

My family was fantastic.  All 3 boys surpirsed me and showed up at home for my last weekend there.  We played a lot of cards (Spar, a ghanaian game, and I taught them Speed) and a game called Ludu (like Sorry!) and one called Ouare.  Both very fun. 

We also acquired a new child about 2 weeks ago.  One of my mother's aunts died and after the funeral, the girl she was taken care of came to live with our family indefinetly.  Things are different here... her name is Portia and she\s ten.  She's very nice and now her and Pricilla are best friends!  Also, i was very glad to not go to the funeral.  Some of my group mate's have been and there are quite interesting stories.

Other than that, my day to day life consisted of alot of reading, chatting, washing my clothes by hand or going to farm.  Overall, it was a very good time and I already miss it.  As a going away gift they gave me a VERY nice shirt. 

I guess that's my last month in a nutshell.  I'm forgetting more than i remember to write, but these stories will slowly come out when I get back home.

I'll leave it a that for now.

I hope all is well back home.  It's 39 degrees where I am right now during the day and only 15 at night, which belive it or not, is pretty cold.  I have to wear long sleeves.

I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year!  I wish I could be there to celebrate, but know that you are all in my thoughts!  I really am missing the snow and cold right now (honest!)... it really doesn't feel like christmas, though I do hear a lot of carols and I sang to my family a killer rendition of Santa Clause is Coming to town.

Cheers,
Peace and love everyone.

Matty

How can you kill a tiger?

So I've got 26 mins on the computer and a lot to type about!  This will be my last blog entry until almost Christmas!  Tomorrow I head back to stay with my village family for the next 4 weeks.  I am very excited to return, though it has been fun here in Nkawkaw.

A few days, the group and I and the Fathers went to Boti Falls... I wish I could upload some pictures becuase they were beautiful! Two huge falls over the side of a cliff.  We had lunch there and walked in behind the falls.

Last night, we attended the welcome ceremony for the new nursing students.  It was quite possibly one of the strangest, yet most entertaining nights of my life.  I can't even begin to describe the dances, performances and dramas, but there was lots of hollering and chanting and meowing.

So I remembered to bring my journal this time and so I can write down things that came up duirng my last village stay.

The first has to do with gender roles.  My village family has a clear divide between who cooks and cleans (the women) and who farms.  I've been trying to help out with the cooking and cleaning but have thus far not been allowed.  Also, I only eat with the males in the family.  Only once have I've eaten with my village mom because I really pushed fo rus to eat as "family".  I'm finding it difficult not being able to lend a hand with things (because I like to cook and don't mind cleaning), and will try to get more done during my next stay.

The thing I miss most about being in the village is the conversations.  As an big extravert, I crave a lot of talking and interactions with others.  It's very tough with the language and cultural barriers to "get my fix" of deep convos. 

Something that struck me the other when talking to my village father, was that he only gets paid 3.20 Ghana Cedis a kilo for the cocoa he farms.  Now I've famred cocoa and its not easy work.  This is especially shocking to me becuase, prior to leaving, I went to by M+M's at the bulk barn, and I'm pretty sure in was over 8$/pound.  Think fair trace the next you buy chocolate.....

Finally, I live with a lot of goats.  It's pretty rad.  My village family laughs at me becuase I have given them all names, along with some backstories.  There's Billy, Mama, Obie, Eeyore, Obeebeeknee, and a few otehrs.  They wake me up in the morning with all there bahing.  Also, who knew that roosters like to crow all night long!!

Anyway, I've only got a few more minutes left here and I don't wanna use it all tlaking about goats.  The other day we were asked to describe Canada to a class of Nursing Students.  It filled me with great pride to talk about it.  I really miss home and I really love our country.  The students also asked us what the difference between us and the US was... we weren't sure how to answer!  So I said we were nicer. 

Well that's just about it for now... I added a couple photos to facebook, but can't add any here.  Instead, I'll leave you with a funny thing the Father said:

"With the emotion and passion, how can you kill a tiger?"  In reference to the sexual taboo of 'no sex in the bush'

Ahhh these fathers talk about sex more often than a lot of other people I know.  It's quite funny!

That's all for now, I hope this reaches everyone in high spirits and good health!!!

Peace and Love and I'll talk with you soon!

Cheers
Matty

PS 4 mins left so I gotta save without proofreading!

Obruni Canadianis

Obruni Canadianis -  A rare species from the western hemisphere that stands out like a sore thumb in Ghana. 
 "Watch as the obruni canadianis watches a goat cross the road and almost get hit by a car... see how they react in terror" (That needs to be read with an english accent, as if by David Attenborugh).

Obruni means "white man" and e hear it shouted everywhere... so we shout back Obibini... which means black man...  And people laugh.  Something you don't see in Canada!

So where to begin??? So much has happend over the past little while that I think I'll just start rambling.

I'm now living in the village away from my group mates (or sisters as we tell everyone because "friends" can mean something more).  I'm having a great time with my family.  I live in a little twon of 2000 called Tweapease (Tway-Ah-Pay-Ass-see).  My family is very welcoming... there's Mr Nartey, Mrs Nartey and Pricilla (13) and Prince (22 - but he has gone back to school... me and him are bff's).  Also there is Denzel (3)... he's still afraid of me but I got a smile out of him the other day.... this is understandable because I am the first white person he has ever seen.

I'm learning quite a bit being here.  My village "parents" are both teachers, so that leaves me a lot of time on my own during the day (I read alot, and the down time is definetly welcomed).  I also get to go and help out on the farm... so I've helped with getting cocoa buds off trees, harvesting plantains, peppers and contomore (like spinach, but way bigger).   I also farmed cassava, which was suprisingly easy to uproot.

The food is amazing!!! And all of us are now debating whose Banku/Fufu is best.  I swear my village mom makes the best banku.

We're still in the rainy season which means storms everyday!  It's very welcomed, as it cools down the day... it's consistently 30+ degrees...  (although, when a couple of my "sisters" were sick, the families swear it's because the cold!)... Anyway, the point of this is there are wicked lighting storms far off at night, and it reminds me of Arizona when we're were 15 at tracy's house sitting out back with you Dad.

My village is of of the 3 that has power.  I live in a pretty nice place (I'll try to upload some photos) and I have a guest house all to myself.  At first, I felt this may not be along the program goals and my personal goals, but the more I really look into, the more I see that this is poverty.  I won't get in to the details now.

I've made a lot of observations that I wanted to write about but alas, I wrote them in my journal and have forgotten it back at the house.  So I need to return to the internet before I head back to the village later on this week and will write more then.

The important thing to know is I'm very happy, having a great time and learning alot. I'm so very lucky to have this wonderful opportunity.

I tried to upload pics and it didn't work!  So check facebook, I'll get them up there.

Cheers Everyone! I hope Canada is well and not too cold yet. I'll check back in a few days!

Matty

Kids will be Kids... will be kids.

The adventure continues as we headed Northish on a trotro to the city of Nkawkaw (pop 90000).  The trotro ride was a long (yet surprisingly comforatble) 3:30 hours.  We arrived and were picked up by monseigneur Paul, our host.  Nkawkaw is a welcomed change of pace form the hustle and bustle of Accra... though it is still busy, people are less in your your face.  

We're staying in the guest of the local Church, and me being the only male has been given a private room.  It's nice to have my own space - my own little getaway. 

We've met some incredicly interesteing people!!! Auntie Agi works with the fathers at the mission house and has been cooking us fantastic meals (and' we've gotten the chance to help everyday)... I have much much much more appreciation for the work the goes into preparing something as simple as fufu... lots of pounding the plaintain into dough.  A lot of hard work that I found tough.

I'm not really sure what to say so this entry will be scrambeled.  I'm just going to let my thoughts flow out...

I finally got a picture of a lizard... in fact was has become my roomate.  He moved into the my bathroom... he's just very small maybe 3 inches long, and lives in a crack in the tile of my tub... I've named him Ned.  Also, I've adpated qute well to "showering" with a bucket! It's pretty easy... and it's very refreshing with the heat being so hot.  Speaking of weather, we haven't gone a day here withough rain and lightning... but it passes very quickly.  

We have also started our language lessons in Twi.  So far so good, and I am able to hold (simple) conversations with people I run into on the street.  Oh people are still calling us Obruni, which is kinda endearing.  The kids especially.

Speaking of kids, you may be curious about the title of this blog.  After being here for just a brief time, I've realized something... one of life's infallable truths... wherever you are, kids are kids.  We are surrounded by their curiosity everyday, and they love to come a see us.  The other day, we showed them a "high five"... it started with one kid, then two, and before we knew, there was a line up of thirty circling around us getting high fives over and over again.  It made me smile.

Everyone we've met is great!  I've mentioned auntie Agi, there's also Samuel Kofi Ampon, who helps with chores and is teaching me how to speak some Twi (as well as how to handwash laundry!)... then there is Kwasi Obed... one of the cutest kids I have ever met!! he's 13 and is so smart and interesting.  The Fathers are great too! They are helping us along with all our needs.  Also, there is Stephen... I like him very much! He is what I would equate to a custodian in Canada for the Mission house... I had a photo taken with him and we he grabbed my hand (which is a sign of friendship in ghana, good friends walk around holding hands).  it was very touching!

Well I only have thirteen minutes left and I want to upload some photos so I will say Akyre (See you later).  The next blog won't be until half way through my village stay so check in then!

Oh yeah! How could I forget about church! We went to church on Sunday, and me not being very religious, was a little apprehensive...  however, it was so much fun!!! People were dancing and singing and clapping and having a great time! Then they introduced the 6 of us to the entire congregration (we had to stand up in front) ---- 300-400 people!

That's it for now!!!

Cheers,

Matty

PS Well looks like I can't upload any photos... check out facebook under Nkawkaw! Cheers!

This is our final day in Accra and then we're off to Nkawkaw tomorrow on a trotro! 

A lot has happened it the last couple days... I'm not sure where to begin!  The fruit here is amazingly good.  I've never tasted a banana so good... and we found "Sweet one", the pineapple lady... yum.  We visted a few museums and got to ocean today! The ocean is very different then back home... a lot of grabage... and there were pigs and goats, and it was warm (but we didn't go swimming).  We also got lessons today on drumming at the cultrual centre.  My teacher was Anthony, and he's a really nice guy. 

As we are still in the rainy season, we woke up this morning to a torrential downpour and lightning storm.  It was really neat! 

Yestraday we went to Kaneshi Market (the one on amazing race mom and dad with the yellow background and where they finished with the lady with fish on her head.).  It was neat, we walked around for along time.  It's so very strange standing out everywhere I go. 

I'm not really sure what else to share, by the next time I have computer access, I should have a lot more to say! it's only been three days here, and it seems like a lot longer.  Language lessons start this week, and we will be learning Twi.  One word I have learned is Obruni... everywhere we go people shout it... it means white person. 

It's hard to explain all that is going on, but I'm having alot of fun and learning alot.  I'm going to try and upload a lot of photos on facebook, but I'm having trouble, I'll upload one at the monument erected for Ghananian Independence... it represesnts the trunk of a tree and a new beginning.

Cheers,

Matty

FYI - Lizards = Ghana's version of a Canadian Squirrel

Heya Folks,

So I made it to Ghana... after a 20 or so hours worth of travel and no sleep on the plane, we finally arrived yesterday!  It's very hard to explain in words the first few moments of stepping off the plane and onto the runway... the smells... the instant sweat... remarkable.  We were greeted by Aryn and Chelsea (two past particpants) after we made it through customs.  We headed to our hostel in a couple taxis... driving is, well, different here.  It's pretty agressive and I don't know if I could handle it.  We were in the cab for a while until I noticed the spedometer was broken... not that that matters, I was just curious how fast we were going.  We made it safe and sound to the Salvation army Hostel.  It's a nice place, complete with a fan to keep the 6 of us cool during the warm night.  We ventured around quickly, bought some water, then needless to say, crashed hard and slept through the night.

Today we had some great experiences! We got to ride in our first ever trotros!!! Which absolutely lived up to all expectations... they're kinda a van, that fits 15 people in it.  Pretty fun!  We also took at trip around the market for the most part of the day.  For Breakfast we had Coacoa, which went down surprisingly easy.  Oh!!!  We also had Bofruit (spelling?), which is, quite frankly my favourite... essentially a ball of deep fried dough.  SO GOOD!
At lunch we had delicious Watchay (spelling?)... spicy beans, with cassava sprinkling and shito (shrimp sauce).  And now we're at the internet cafe.

So I'm feeling very good about things... I don't have much more to say as I've only been here for a day!  So things are great!  Also... mom and dad, and all you other amazing race fans, I think I saw a place the teams were at in Accra... Africa Link?  Maybe.. it looked familiar.

Alright yall, it'll probably be a while till I write again.  We're in Accra for the next few days, then we head to Nkawkaw where we'll stay in the villages till christmas.  So I'll try and keep ya posted, but will have (VERY) imited internet access...
Oh and the title of this post... we have seen lizards... and it must be real funny for Ghanaians to watch me chase after them to take pictures, it's like someone taking a photo of a squirrel... except they're like super fast squirrels and, ultimately, I have been foiled in any attempt to capture them on film.... alas... it's only day 1... I'll get one.

I miss you all!

Cheers,

Matty
PS... I'm going to try and upload a photo, if it works it's of us in a trotro... if not... just ignore this...

Dear Canada... See you in 6.

So tonight is my last night in Canada!  Tomorrow I jump on a flight to Amsterdam, then to Accra (Ghana).  As I sit here with my folks, drinking one last beer before 6 months of sobriety, I am torn between two extremes.  On one hand, I'm getting very excited to reunite with my group and begin this awesome adventure, on the other I know I am going to miss home so much.... I think it's a healthy balance, though.

Speaking of home, I can't thank everyone enough for how supportive they've been, especially my family.  I spent an amazing summer at home, and the last week has been incredible.  It will be very hard to be so far from them for this long... but I know they will always be there for me and I love them very much. 

So the whole idea about the name of the blog - 'jump*' is our group motto.  It stands for a lot of different things, including many group goals, as well as being personal to each one of us.  It is our commitment to each other, ourselves and immersing fully and giving our all to this wonderful opportunity.

So the next time I write, I'll be in Ghana -- an entire ocean away.  I'm sure it will be very much more interesting then the first couple notes.  I look forward to seeing everyone again upon my return.  Stay tuned!

Cheers,

Matty 

In the Beginning...

So here I sit, one week prior to my depature to Ghana.  A lot of different emotions going through my head; excited, nervous, happy, anxious, and just a dash of scared.  For the most part I feel prepared, both mentally and physically, now all I have to worry about is packing - trying to fit six months of my life into a 39 litre bag.

I've got an amazing group that I'll be travelling with: Jaquelin, Jennifer, Michelle, Rachel and Hannah.  Together we've already been through 5 amazing weeks of preparation all over southern Ontario, which included a 5 day bike trip along the rail trail, among many other amazing.  It's hard to believe we've known eachother such a short time, but I wouldn't want to go to Ghana with anyone else.

So what do I expect over the course of the next 6 months?  Well... I dunno.  And I'm very excited about that.  I've got a rough idea of where I'll be and what I'll be doing, but for the most part it is unknown.  I intend to learn alot and take advantage of this amazing opportnity.  If you're reading this you most likely know why I'm going so I'll keep it brief and short.  If you don't know what I'm doing, check out this website http://www.oneworlded.com/ghana.html

That's it that's all... I try and keep ya posted along this journey so stay tuned.

Cheers,   

Matty