"Rebels or Not?"

“Rebels or Not?”

The second day of our “tour” we headed out to see Sand Dunes. The guide was having car problems in Agadez, so we had to get out and push a few times while we were still in town. Where as most tourists use new SUV’s we had a pretty beat up 4-wheel drive, Peace Corps style. If we were smart, the car braking down would have been a bright red flag saying, “Hey, don’t go out in the desert where you can get stranded for days if your car brakes down.” But, no, we didn’t take notice of this flag; instead we drove 100km out of Agadez with our guide to go see some sand dunes.
On the way out we ran into this guy who was walking on the road alone. The winds were so strong we couldn’t believe someone was walking through it w/o protection. Our guide stops and talks to him in the Tuareg language, we had no idea what they were saying. Then he gives him some of our water and some money and we leave him and keep heading south. We ask later, turns out he was an escaped prisoner our guide knew, who was trying to walk the 150km to the next big town with no water and no money! The guide said we would have picked him, except… he was an escaped prisoner.

We continue on, leave the prisoner behind. The winds are so strong we can’t see anything. The guide leaves the road and starts to drive towards the sand dunes. Then he decides we shouldn’t leave the road too much b/c if the car brakes down “no one would find us for 5 days!” So we head back to the road, to turn around and head back to Agadez. As we go to turn, what happens, of course the car brakes down on the hill leading up to the road. So we push, push, push. Unfortunately it’s only Tina, Chad, and me who are trying to push a vehicle UP hill. Needless to say, we were unsuccessful. I’m thinking, “ This sux, we didn’t even get to see sand dunes.” Probably only 4 cars a day pass this road. And it’s already 3pm. Our guide tells us to get a blanket and sit on the side of the road. But, the winds are so strong, if we got stuck here all night; it would be seriously tough. Tina then goes across the road to go to the “bathroom.”. Chad and I start heading to get a blanket when we hear a car coming. Chad and me start running to it, flaring our arms everywhere, waving our hands. Thinking, “We are so friggin lucky.” Then it comes a bit closer and we look at each other and say, “Oh shit!” As it comes closer we see the silhouette of 10 guys in black turbans in the back of a pick up truck with machine guns and AK 47’s sticking out in every direction. Sort of like the Charlie’s Angels image except with turbans and a whole lot more guns and guys. Chad and me walk back to the car as fast and as casually as we possibly could. Hoping maybe they didn’t see us, yeah right! Me with my light green turban and hot pink shirt (I looked like a Care Bear Arab as Chad liked to say). Tina was still across the street, I’m sure with her white ass hanging out. So of course the car stops, our guide runs over to talk to them. We still don’t know what to think. We heard of rebels around Agadez: 3 white people stranded on the side of the road, car not working, in the middle of the desert, no one around. You really couldn’t ask for better targets. Except... we are poor Peace Corps Volunteers and we actually don’t have any money, hence our shitty car that broke down.

So Chad says to me, “Are we going to get shot?”
I start bitching, “Why did we come to the desert with a car that was braking
down in town?”
Chad tells me to “shut up.”
Tina’s still wiping her ass across the street, thinking, “Are those rebels? Or not?” Thinking she should come check, she comes back to join us. (Later we told her, next time this happens, she should stay there and wait and see before she joins us). Then low and behold a few minutes later 3 of the guys with their machine guns and all, along with the prisoner we met earlier, all get out and help us push the car to get it started. It turns out the guys in the pick up truck were military. Very very scary looking military. They probably look very similar to what rebels would look like anyway. And it turns out the military picked up the escaped prisoner (guess they didn’t know) to give him a lift. Who would’ve guessed? Strange how things work out, like one big happy story. The car started, we ran and got in as fast as we could to drive away. My adrenaline was pumping harder than it has in a long time, I had sand in my mouth and lungs and then we picked up an old Tuareg guy who carried a sword and gave him a lift back to Agadez.

Bus Trip and Travelling Toilet

Bus Trip and Travelling Toilet-
Ouaga to Niamey:

Big bus wedged in next to Chad. We were in the back with a baby jamboree; babies kicking, pooping, pissing, breasts flying everywhere as the babies are eating often and they sleep with their mommies boobs in their mouths. The bus gets filled up with people who have tickets in the station. Then we leave, turn the corner, and another 15 people push, shove, and pull themselves to also get on the bus. These people will stand and sit in the aisles for the next 10 hours to Niamey and pay a little less that will go directly into the bus drivers’ pocket.

The driver of this bus didn’t like waiting for anyone, so he would pull away as people were still getting on. Literally the doors wouldn’t be closed and people would be hanging on from the outside of the bus trying to pull themselves on. We tried to not get off as much as possible. Unfortunately, sometimes nature calls and you have to do your business.

So this is the recurring “bathroom” scenario if you can imagine:
Normally takes place in front of a whole lot of men who are wondering, “What is this white girl going to do?” The wind is blowing, I am trying to hide behind a flimsy “bush” that goes up to my knees with 40mph winds coming up my behind and it’s cold as hell. I’m holding my skirt attempting not to flash all of the men, trying to get the toilet paper in my hands. Praying for a NON messy pooh because number one, I don’t have enough toilet paper, and number two, it would take too long to clean up and the bus driver would have no qualms leaving me in the middle of nowhere. In addition, I end up pissing on my foot and shoes, and it always ends up getting on my skirt. Skirts are definitely better than trying it with pants, but nothing is full proof. Then I run back to the bus, panting, relieved and thanking god I made it. Look down at my shoes with slight disgust, wonder if Chad and Tina can tell, figure they also pissed on their shoes.
Then sit back, relax and wait for it all to dry so I can forget it ever happened because I’ll be wearing these clothes for the next 4 days!
And that’s travelling in Africa.

Dusty Bus Trip

Bus trip – Niamey to Agadez:

1/6/05

Our trip from Niamey to Agadez is very worthy of a description. It took us 18 hours, It was a big coach bus and we had good front row seats. We left Niamey at 5am, exactly on time strangely enough. There were two other foreign couples on the bus. We made it straight until 2pm when we came to a rest stop. After 30 min. we thought we would go b/c we were still far away and we are supposed to get there before dark. B/c of all that rebel talk and just safety. But, right when we think we are about to go they start taking all the luggage off the bus. Of course we don’t speak French so we can’t ask what is happening. Then we finally figure out we are switching buses. Holy Crap! Trying to switch the luggage on two buses?? Do you know how long that is going to take?? That’s going to take two hours. But, oh well, they’re doing it, so we rush to get our stuff and move to the other bus b/c we want to be sure we get good seats or any seats at all. As soon as we settle down, pack our stuff in and I take my book out to read. What happens? Low and behold, they change their minds. We rush, rush, rush to pack our shit up again and get our same good seats back. Now they have to put all the luggage back in again, which does end up taking 2 hours! Damn buses!

After that fiasco is when the ride really became hard. I was worried because it was getting late and it had been the same driver since 5am that morning, About 6 hours before we reached Agadez is when the climate really changed and the desert began. The dust becomes more and more the closer you get to Agadez. The Harmattan winds were blowing so hard they could knock you over. Everything in the bus continued to get layers upon layers of sand on it and there was only one tiny window open on the whole bus. If I opened my mouth I got sand in it, I could taste it, my teeth crunched. I had a layer of sand on my skin; my hair was thick and dirty. Everytime I picked up my water bottle I had to wipe off the sand before I could drink it. That was every 15 minutes. We started to use a handkerchief to breathe through. And it was all because of the Harmattan winds, everything was so hazy, no sun could be seen, covered by the haze, visibility was 20 meters. We thanked god for the protection of our big bus. But as I looked out through the window I could see villages!! People walking doing their daily work, animals, children “playing.” All through these amazingly strong winds. It’s amazing to think these people can make it through this season. I was thinking, "if our bus broke down, I don’t think I could make it one night here." Night hit before we reached the pure desert part. WE drove probably about 4 hours in the night. But, we could see the sand on the side headlights and often the wind would blow ripples of sand onto the road. Tina and I decided it looked like we were riding on clouds into heaven. It was a bit nerve wracking because we knew our driver also could barely see anything, but we had finally changed drivers and I had faith in him. Our only worry was having a bunch of guys ride up on camels to rob our bus. J.k we were fine and we did finally make it! 18 hours later at 11pm. We arrived of course without a room because we forgot to book one. So this nice French guy helped us and we walked around for another hour with all our stuff and eventually found a room we could afford. Being here (in Agadez) is like being in another world. It’s a lot to take in, trying sometimes, but it’s living.

1st day in Agadez

1/6/05

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Good start to a New Year! I feel truly refreshed about life in Africa. Africa truly is soooo big and each country has its own distinct, full culture. I think only seeing Ghana for a year and a half was definitely starting to get dull and tiresome. But, visiting all these other countries and seeing how diverse African countries can be, yet how all the people are still so amazingly nice has been refreshing. Once again, I’m starting to feel my love for the continent rekindled. I feel sort of like how I felt in the beginning of coming to Ghana and that’s really cool. Definitely needed.
Right now I’m in Agadez, which is very Muslim and everyone’s wearing turbans and everyone is so nice too! They are like all Africans: friendly, inviting, and hospitable. Maybe not all are like that, but all the ones we have met so far. I have to admit this might be the first time I had some Muslim friends, and it’s nice. Breaking barriers and stereotypes. And… today I wore a turban the whole day long!!!! I am going to for all the rest of my days in Agadez too. I already have 3 different styles going on. I really love it and I love when the Agadez men dress me in it. Normally, it’s only for men, but they don’t seem to mind if a European woman wears it. I know it’s not so culturally correct, but I like wearing it sooo much. It’s like I’m in hiding or camouflage. Nobody can see me, except for my eyes and if I wear sunglasses then they can’t even see that. Ok except for the fact that the color I chose for my turban was light green and the only long sleeve short I had was hot pink. So I stood out a little (i.e. Chad called me the Care Bear Arab.)
Our hotel is completely made out of mud, but amazing architecture with it. It was 2 stories with an open roof. Our room the first night had a floor of stones and then we moved to the roof. Which gave a beautiful view at sunset, but it was also FREEZING!!! In our hotel we met 2 Algerian guys, one super skinny, one super big, who of course were also nice and smiled a lot. They cooked us a yummy Algerian dinner of soup and salad, their treat. They were on their way back to Algeria, doing business in gold they said, we didn’t ask questions.
Today was our first day in Agadez. We went to the camel market where they sell camels, goats, sheep, and donkeys. They’re all standing around together in an open market with a whole lot of Nigerian’s standing around negotiating prices. We then went to the “Grand Marche” market. It’s roofed in and much less harassing than a Ghana market. Although the children beggars are much worse in Niger. They say its part of their Muslim Koranic training to teach them to be humble. But, whatever it is, it can definitely try on your nerves. Eventually we learned not to stand still long, if you do then you’ll end up with 10 kids with bowls in their hands asking you for money. And you feel bad, but there’s only so much you can do. But, if you keep walking you won’t get so surrounded, just the odd one who follows you. But, you manage, as you do in Africa. But, at least it’s only the children. In Ghana, you have more adults trying to get you to buy their things, do this and that. In Niger, the adults are definitely more chilled out. Muslims in general are more chilled out. I think it’s b/c they don’t drink alcohol. Unlike the downfall of the Ghanaian man as I see it. That’s my conclusions anyways.
We have met a lot of cool and interesting people here in Agadez. A woman from America who married a Tuareg man (the nomadic tribe of the Sahara) and has lived in Agadez for 20 years!! The last time she left Agadez was to go to Niamey two years ago! She’s hasn’t left little Agadez, in the middle of no where, in years!!! She and her husband adopted 11 children. We are going to a tour of the desert with her husband tomorrow. We will spend one night in her husbands’ village outside Agadez, do a camel ride, and see sand dunes the next day.
Oh yeah, it’s freezing in Agadez!!!!! We had no idea. WE were thinking “Africa... the middle of the desert... HOT!” Turns out we were wrong. It is so cold!! WE only brought Ghana clothes: dress and sandals. (that’s my attire everyday). So we had to loot some Peace Corps free boxes where PCVs leave clothes they don’t want. I managed to get a hot pink long sleeve shirt and some nasty pants, that may have been there for years, and I really didn’t think I would wear them. Turns out I will wear them everyday in Agadez, along with my pink shirt, a sweater and my turban. Anything to keep warm. Luckily I have my sneakers, I was going to trade them for some souvenirs, but now I can wear them!
Tina and Chad have only sandals, sux to be them. They say the desert gets to 0 degrees. Which is why we can’t do a big tour like we wanted. The Harmattan picked up only three days ago, lucky us, and that’s why the winds are so strong.

More Giraffes

More Giraffes!

This is a journal entry I wrote the day we saw the giraffes! It is much better to write the day you experience something, you remember so much more detail. To wait and write later, never holds up. So here we go… I promise not as long as the other e-mail.

We saw Giraffes today!! In the wild! We were 3 or 4 meters away and that’s it! We drove about 30 minutes away from Niamey. Picked up a guide, then drove down a dirt road another 20 minutes. Passed old, ancient villages. At least they seemed ancient to me. Their houses were SO “African.” Round mud huts, with thatch everywhere. They have these small round circular thatch structures, that are used to store millet, that are placed on raised perfectly placed pieces of sticks and wood. It is soooo cool looking, hard to explain. Don’t worry, I took pix.
Then we drove further into the bush, where the road gets sandy and the guide climbs on top of the car to start looking for the giraffes. He directs the driver farther into the bush on a beat up path. Not before long we pull up to a stop and to our right we can see a head of a giraffe up in the trees. Its ears separated by 2 horns on its head, eating some leaves of a tree, 6 meters high! It was amazing. We get out quietly, slowly, so as not to disturb them. We start walking toward them, we see 1…2…3…4…5…6…7!! All standing in close proximity of each other grazing in the trees or standing in the sun. As their enormous bodies emerged from behind the trees and I took them in with my eyes, I was awe-struck. I swear my jaw dropped. They were huge!! They look like Brontosauruses and I feel like I’m in Jurassic Park. These beautiful creatures living in the wild, as they like, here!! The same place we are. We stand in astonishment for a while, taking in their long elegant legs, which help them stand so tall. Their long elongated necks, their round bellies, their color (the round patches of brown and white.) The horns sticking out on their head, 2 horns is for a female and three horns is for a male. We take in their large eyes, which are covered with long, beautiful, feminine eyelashes, then to their long pointed snout, with big round puckered lips, which look like they’re ready for a kiss. Once in a while, their tongue slips out, which is a foot long black slimy thing. When they lick their lips, their tongue reaches to the back of their heads. It’s slimy and grose, probably the only grose thing on the whole animal (at least that I saw). Except on them it’s not as grose it only adds to them… the giraffe.
They are not aggressive at all. We were so close 3 or 4 meters, and they would just stand there 5 or 6 meters high, eating the leaves of the tree or standing in the sun. The big old daddy one was 6 meters tall, his head was in the biggest tree and his brown patches were faded obviously through time. He truly looked like a huge old dinosaur. Once in a while, they would turn their long neck and look directly at me, I swear I made eye contact, then I would stare away because I got the heebie geebie’s. Then the giraffe would ever so casually, without a care in the world, walk away and leave me pondering its existence. They move so slow and with such confident elegance. They are safe in this world, in this part of Africa; they are free to roam with their mates and their babies. They only have to put up with these ant-like human figures that come to stare at them and take pictures maybe once a day. But, the giraffes take it all in stride. It’s nice tonight, to think that those giraffes are out there, living their lives… free, as they like! It’s reassuring of something… what exactly? I don’t know.

Oh, the City Life!

Burkina Faso!

Our first entry to the North from humid, wet, beach like, Southern Ghana. Perspective definitely changed as body adjusted to climate, being that Niger was much drier. But, this is first journal entry upon entering Burkina Faso from Ghana…

30/12/04

Burkina is SO, SO, SO Dusty!! It’s everywhere! In houses, walking down the street, you breathe it into your lungs and through your nose. Our skin dried up immediately as our lips chapped instantly stepping off our air-conditioned bus (hey, we didn’t rough it all the way). And… it’s hot. Really, really hot. The air feels like we are baking in an oven. It’s a lot to take in your first day. It is a dry heat though, so your sweat dries before you feel it. Sort of like Vegas I think, except no air conditioning anywhere. However, the nights are cooler, much nicer than Ghana. Except for that damn dust that gets in the way. I guess that’s what you get for travelling during the strongest part of the Harmattan season. Dec/ Jan. It’s cooler they say then the “hot season”, but dust and sand will be everywhere! Thankfully, we will not be here to experience the “hot season”, poor Burkina PCV’s.

So on top of the climate, on the list of things to adjust to on your first day in Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso), there are tons of motorcycles in Ouaga. They call them moto’s or taxi-moto’s, b/c they are…well… a motorcycle and a taxi. And they are everywhere!! Driving in every direction (normally the wrong one), backwards, forwards, sideways, against traffic, with traffic, between traffic. Along with the cars that are doing the same thing. And the motos carry the craziest things on them. I’ve seen one with 20 to 30 chicken tied all around in a circle of the driver. I’ve seen taxi motos with the driver and a women carrying three huge baskets of things; 2 under each arm and one on her head, don’t ask me how! Even moto’s carrying goats and cow heads!!! I swear! They carry anything and everything. So it’s tough, crossing the street is scary. At least on the first day. Walking through the city feels exactly like a video game or an episode of “Paperboy”, on Nintendo if you remember. We’re everything is trying to get you, like dogs, wheels, crazy men, but you have to continue delivering newspapers. Well, in Ouaga, we’re also dodging dogs and crazy people, but along with that we’re dodging cars, motos with god knows what on it, bicycles, sellers, goats, chickens, beggars, small children, all moving super fast in a haze of dust. And there we are….3 whities….just trying to make it to our next destination without having our foot run over. To me, this seems the story of cities in Africa. Villages move slower than you could ever imagine and the cities are like constant games of leap frog or paper boy, in which you hope you have more than one life left.

Melissa's first entry

This is my first Blog entry. The first of many more to come. I will probably babble on every week about this and that. Things about Ghana, things about America, things about everything. So you are all welcome to come and read anytime. I hope you enjoy it. And maybe get a little more insight into a Peace Corps volunteer’s experience.

West Africa Trip -------------

I finally just got back from my trip around West Africa last week, Tuesday. We managed to do all that we said we would. Almost… I hope some of you managed to look at a map to see the countries I was visiting. Believe me, I didn’t even know where Ghana was until I got my Peace Corps assignment package, so I understand. Below is a link to a web site of a West African map, so you can see where I traveled (if you’re interested).

http://www.cpj.org/Briefings/2000/Bekoutou/map.html

Of the whole trip, definitely favorite country was... NIGER! Hands down. Such a different place than Ghana. WE saw such a different type of Africa. It was truly refreshing and made us all more appreciative of this huge diverse continent. All of us had been in Ghana for 20+months, and I think we were getting a bit bored of it all. This trip and seeing the amazing diversity in culture and people and way of living, showed us that there truly is so much more to see in Africa. We had surely not seen it all by living in Ghana for 2 years. Ghana is just one small part and culture of Africa. Yes, there are similarities between African countries I think, but there is a lot more difference I think. Which means there is sooooooo much more to see. It probably will take a lifetime.


Here's some highlights and exciting moments of the trip (not all necessarily fun at the time):

Seeing a baby elephant loose on the streets of Ouagadougou and it trying to be captured by 5 **Burkina men (very strange site)
**Trying to inhale the dust filled air when we first arrive in Burkina Faso
**New Year’s Eve with Peace Corps Burkina Volunteers, disco party and beer pong
**Seeing the “last wild herd of giraffes in west Africa” outside Niamey in the bush.
**Seeing Niger –It’s villages seem so ancient, so Africa!
**Driving through a strong Harmattan windstorm at night getting to Agadez. Trying to breathe as the air became so thick with dust our clothes and our bags were covered an inch thick and even our mouths would get sand in it if we breathed without a scarf. And I thought Burkina was bad???
**Wearing turbans and riding camels in the desert
**Wearing turbans for a week in Agadez (I even have a style now)
**Attending a Tuareg wedding ceremony outside Agadez (Tuareg are the nomads of the Sahara)
**Eating dinner in the tents of a Fulani family. Also nomadic people of the desert.
**Having car brake down in the desert 100 km out of Agadez, during harsh Harmattan winds. (I’ve got a story to tell about this one, not so funny at the time, but very funny looking back)
**Riding back from Agadez for 12 hours in a bus with a missing windshield and front window.
**Stilt Village in Benin, village built on water.
**Watching Voodoo dance in Ouida, Benin.
**Burning leg on exhaust pipe in Benin. (Not fun, but now I’ll have a scar to show for my trip and reason why I’m in the peace corps med-unit right now)
**Pleading our way, in Ewe the language I learned in Ghana, out of paying a bribe at the Benin/Togo Border (this was the only border this happened). Thank god for Ewe, it worked!
** Chilling out in Kpalime, Togo, last stop b4 coming home


and here's a “brief”(ok not brief) summary of the way my trip went, when you have some time on your hands:

From my site, close to Ho, which is in the Volta Region (lower east side of Ghana), I traveled to Kumasi, the second biggest city in the middle of Ghana. That’s where I met up with Tina and Chad, my two Peace Corps friends. From Kumasi we took a 14 hour night bus to Ouagadougou (pron. Waggadoogoo, how funny is that name??) the capital of Burkina Faso. We spent 3 or 4 days there and celebrated New Year’s Eve with the Peace Corps Volunteer’s (PCV’s) there. It was fun. Of course the regular Peace Corps events of 70’s and 80’s disco party and a little beer pong took place. All the PCV’s in the countries we visited were so nice and friendly, so it was always a warm welcome in every country. They also helped us so much with the language too. Almost all West African countries are Francophone, meaning the national language is French. Ghana is only one of 4 or 5 that actually speak English. So the PCV’s helped us a lot in getting us around, although Tina did get us by a lot and I did learn the numbers and how to throw a hard bargain in French. J

From Ouaga we took a bus to Niamey, the capital of Niger (10hours). In Niamey, we saw our first camel’s walking around the streets with cars and donkeys. Very cool, I was super excited about it. WE spent 4 days here. One of the days we went to see the “last wild herd of giraffes In West Africa” Well, that’s what they say anyway. WE drove down a road out of Niamey, picked up a guide, he drove us down a dirt road. Me, tina, and Chad all had our mouths hung open b/c the villages we saw and the houses and millet storage units were so interesting, so different so “Africa!” It’s hard to describe, but they were made using mud huts and standing on such interesting structures of sticks. We were all thinking “wow. This is Africa!” (don’t worry, I took pix)

Then we drive a bit further into the bush and then our guide sticks his head out the window and climbs onto the roof of the car. It takes us a few minutes to realize what he’s doing. Then we figure out, he’s looking for the giraffes! How cool??? WE started looking too, through all the tall trees and dried up brush. Then within a few minutes among the tops of the tallest trees we see the head of a giraffe. It was sooooo cool. It felt exactly like we were in Jurassic park. When they are driving in their 4x4 and first see the dinosaurs through the trees. You know you’re looking for them, but it’s not until they are right in front of you in their natural habitat that your breath gets taken away. One, b/c I’ve never seen anything like it before, two b/c the giraffes were just so ungodly big and three, they were beautiful and completely unmoved or affected by our presence there!!! They were so elegant and so relaxed and so big! Their heads reach the top of big trees! I didn’t even reach the top of their legs. Meanwhile they still have their whole body and neck going up even higher. Especially the papa one, he was enormous. Truly how I picture a dinosaur. The giraffes let us come so close to them. Maybe 2 or 3 meters. They didn’t seem to be phased at all. They stood by the trees and ate the branches. Every now and then they would turn their long necks and I swear stare straight at me, flashing their long eyelashes up and down. Then ever so casually they would walk away to the next tree and nibble on its branches. Just relaxing and taking in the sun. They were a herd of about 12 giraffes that we saw. Males and Females mixed. Giraffes, in the wild, are beautiful creatures. Perhaps my favorite so far.

So we spent the 4 days in Niamey, taking in the people, the dust, the cold (yes, it was cold there! We had no idea) and the new environment. Getting ready for our long trip to Agadez.

From Niamey, we took an 18-hour bus ride (this was long and torturous) from Niamey to Agadez, also in Niger. Agadez was the peak of our trip, the farthest point we were trying to go, and also the highlight of our whole trip. The bus ride up was really interesting because you could tell we were entering such a different world every hour we drove more north. After the 5th hour. It then started to become colder and colder, hour after hour. Dustier and dustier and the Harmattan winds kicked in and the sand was being brushed onto the road. When we stopped at a rest stop in the evening, the winds would blow us over. The men have to squat to pee, b/c their pee would blow back on them, no matter what direction they were in. So you really feel like you’re sort of driving into this twilight zone. And it was night, so we couldn’t see anything around us. We only felt the dirt in the air, on our clothes, on our bags, and in our mouths. And the chill in the air becoming colder every hour. We started the trip in just a summer dress and ended it in pants, skirt, 2 shirts, a sweater, and then finally wrapped a piece of cloth around my head as a hat. It was a little nerve-wracking b/c none of us really knew what it was like in Agadez, in the desert, and there were always rumors going around about this and that, so we started to chat to keep our minds off it all and eventually we did reach Agadez.

It was truly another world up there. A world of the Sahara with nomadic Tuareg and Fulani people’s wearing swords (literally), capes, turbans, and amazing decorations and silver jewelry. They had camel markets, sand dunes not too far away and interesting mud mosques. We spent a week in Agadez. Since explaining this can be a book by itself and we do have some funny stories from it, I will explain more about Agadez later.

So after Agadez, we then made our way south to Benin. We pretty much went straight from Agadez to Parakou, a city in the middle of Benin. We had traveled 28 hours with only a 2-hour break in a Peace Corps office. That was REALLY long and torturous. For about 12 hours of it (half of it at night) leaving Agadez and heading down, our bus, which was big, was missing a huge windshield. Just one whole side was gone. And it was freezing up there in the desert. Since we were the only ones stupid enough to be on the bus, the three of us were cuddled on the left side of the bus in as many layers as we could find, which wasn’t much. We managed though, even though the time does seem long at times, it also passes really fast when you’re on the bus. So we made it.

Then we headed south to the coast to reach Cotonou, the capital of Benin. WE went to the famous stilt village, a village of 45,000 people literally built on water (sort of like Venice, but…different) then we went to the famous Voodoo town of Ouida. Benin is known for their voodoo, they are the ones who spread it to Brazil and Haiti during the slave trade. We saw some pretty cool traditional Voodoo dance, where the men dressed up as women and everyone was in such decoration. Being as we had just missed the big voodoo festival the weekend b4 (we had no idea, again) we were happy to catch at least a little of the voodoo stuff. Ouida was on the beach, which was nice, except the currents and waves are so strong you can’t swim there at all. (Nothing to do with the Tsunami, we were very far from it) So I just sat back and imagined how we managed to get from the edge of the dusty, windy, and COLD Sahara to the beach all in the same week. Once we got to the coast the distances were easier. Only an hour or two between places.

We then left Benin for Lome, the capital of Togo, which is right next to Ghana. So we were almost home. Togo is a really small country, so Tina and Chad went back to Ghana pretty fast and I went up north to a place called Kpalime, which is actually pretty close to Ho, my town in Ghana. In Kpalime, there is some good hiking, unfortunately I had blisters on my feet and I had just burnt my leg in Benin, so I couldn’t do much of that. SO I hung out with a Togo PCV for a day or two, practiced my Ewe (the language I had learned), which they also speak in Togo and then took the very relaxed border that finally leads back to Ghana and is very close to my town of Ho. Because I of course have proper visa’s I do not have to pay the small bribe to the Customs guys of 300 CFA (50cents) on Togo side and 2000 cedis (20 cents) on Ghana side. But, maybe next time….


So that was how our trip went. At least some of it. But, I still definitely have a lot of stories to tell. Yes, I can go on forever. I kept a journal of the trip, so I wouldn’t forget to write anything. So, since I have so much to blab on about I just started my own blog spot web site. Have you ever heard of it? Basically it’s like an on-line journal. I can write about everything in Ghana and from my trip and instead of annoying you with group e-mails all the time, you can instead just go to this web site and see what I am up to and how Ghana is. I think I will try to write in it every week. It seems a really great way to stay in touch with everybody. The web site is:

melissainghana.blogspot.com

I will post any new and interesting Ghana realizations and some more things about my trip. Then you can also respond with comments to what I have written. So we can chat with each other like that. So give a look if you can. I will probably post this first e-mail on there.

Don’t get me wrong, I will probably still send some group e-mails b/c I know some of you will never go to the site, but you will open up an e-mail in your inbox. But, sometimes I feel bad sending all of these group e-mails. SO I think if you don’t want them anymore, maybe just drop me a line, and I can take you off my list. I promise I won’t feel bad about it. Ok??


Alright everyone. Happy New year 2005. I miss everyone A LOT. Can't wait to see you all in august/september this year.

Love and kisses,
Melissa

p.s write back