Election Results and Happy Holidays!

Opposition Leader Is Declared the Winner of Ghana’s Presidential Election

Great to be home but I definitely miss Ghana and all the friends I made there.
All the very best,
E

Sunday Ghanaian Presidential Elections and guess what I'M DONE!

This past Sunday voting was held for the next Ghanaian president as well as for the members of parliament. At this point just over 80% of the votes have been counted and it looks like the New Patriotic Party, the current ruling party's candidate, Nana Akufo Addo holds the lead with 49.3% of the vote. If neither candidate passes the 50% threshold, which will be announced at 2:00 pm today, then there will have to be a run-off

This election has been flagged as a test for African democracy after there have been flawed polls with violence in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. The election has been closely watched by African democracy activists, as well as by the Ghanaian people, who have only hoped for a peaceful process. For days on end I have seen Ghanaians glued to their blasting radios, listening to any information they can get about the election, and it has been with out a doubt the main topic of discussion among both Ghanaians and foreigners here.


Well in other news, I am done. I finished my last paper and turned it in this morning. Does is feel good? Hell yes. I sure have had a lot of work these past couple weeks, but luckily I have been able to keep my mind pretty on track to finish strong. Also, I didn't fail Twi and that is also wonderful. My brain is currently packed full of new African knowledge and I feel that since this experience has been framed from within the continent my retention of that knowledge will be quite good. I have actually loved writing some of my final papers which have included The Effects of Cell Phones on the Developing World, Major Historical Influences on the Architectural Development of Accra, The G8 Africa Action Plan in Relation to Africa’s Development, The Failed State Syndrome and Africa, and The Globalization of African Music. Interesting eh? Though it was difficult at times to get everything done in a timely manner, I thoroughly enjoyed researching and really digging into all of these topics.

Now that I have completed my work, do you know what this means?
Paaaaaaacking time! (and a little bit of fun in the sun while I still can! It was of course just 9 degrees back home yesterday.)

xoo Ellie

Mepaakyew!

Dear friends and family,

I am currently sitting in my academic center listening to the rain pound down on the roof. It is my second to last Friday night here in Ghana and the different emotions which have been hitting me in waves are catching me off guard. While I have been looking forward to coming back home for the past month, I am now facing feelings of hesitation towards my return(don't worry loves my ticket is still solidly booked).

As my friends and I have been discussing, it is approaching the unknown which seems most daunting. How exactly will we face our transition back to life in the States? Will we just be too busy catching up with our friends and loved ones to think about it? We haven't really been able to process our time here- our last weeks are being spent wrapping up our classes and finals. When do we really take that moment to step back and how will it then effect us?

How will we face the questions from our friends... consensus being- how can you possibly sum up this kind of experience in a passing conversation or even an hour long one? It wasn't a trip, it was 4 months of my junior year of college living, breathing, tasting, smelling, touching, understanding, questioning, and experiencing life in Ghana, a small but highly influential piece of the continent of Africa. Here is a classic cliche, I wouldn't change my decision to come here for a second, from hours spent getting lost in colorful crowded markets, to traveling in cramped stinky trotros, haggling with taxi drivers(no meters in Ghana), getting led in the right direction by strangers, to getting led in the total wrong direction, and undoubtedly becoming a more complete student of the world. I have not only been able to learn about Ghana academically but I was given the amazing opportunity to live it, and for that I am so thankful.

xxo Ellie

ALSO
Here is my shameless plug... As I know if you are still reading this blog you must be interested a bit in my life and of course a part of my life back in the States is rowing and the boat I was in this past year is one of the top ten finalists in the Crew of the Year poll for 2008. So your job? Vote. :)
Here is the link.
This is our blurb:
Trinity Women's Openweight Varsity 8+ - Won the Head of the Charles, New England Championships, and NCAA DIII Varsity 8+ Championship. Was the first DIII school to attempt to qualify for the Henley Women's Regatta and ended up winning the Senior 8+ event. Also nearly qualified for the Remenham Challenge Cup event at Henley before breaking an oar.

THANKS
back to paper writing!

Wli Falls

Well I probably had some of the best fun I have had all semester this past Saturday. It was our last big trip and it was to the tallest waterfall in West Africa, Wli Falls. It lies close to the border of Togo, in the Eastern Region, and let me say--- just takes your breath away. We were able to go directly under the falls and feel the the water pound over our bodies like hail. The rushing of air is so strong and the sound is powerfully deafening. So of course since our group consists mostly of girls, it almost goes without saying that there was a lot of screaming going on.

My Thanksgiving was wonderful... we had a very nice group dinner in our courtyard.... And there was a stellar full-stomached dance party which followed...

OK! Back to finals.

The End is in Sight ( trip to the Northern region recap.)

Dear friends and family,

I have been working to bury my head in the books... Finals time has truly commenced here. I have been trying not to fall back into my typical procrastinator habits but I knew I could no longer neglect my loyal blog followers.

(How have I been spending my past few weeks here in good ol Ghana? Shall we photo montage? Yes I think we shall.......)

From the 6th to the 9th of November we took a trip up around the Northern region of Ghana. It has a predominately Muslim population with many different tribal groups intermixed. I know that my trip to the north really helped to round out my experience here in Ghana. It is pretty unbelievable to see how visiting a region just a couple hundred km north can transform a view of a country.



Why of course I will share the trip highlights, which are as follows:


Dr. Abdulai's clinic

We visited a free clinic which was started by a local Ghanaian surgeon, Dr. Abdulai(he is wearing white in the picture). He shared his story with us about how he was working in Germany making a very comfortable living and made the decision to start his clinic based off of the success of two unpaid surgeries he performed in Ghana. He felt that their successes were a direct message from God to start the clinic and today it runs completely on donations both foreign and local. He is a man who simply exudes light and joy. Within seconds of meeting him it was impossible not be thankful that people like him exist in this world.


Mosque

Allahu Akbar

Diviner

I was able to meet with a Diviner. The Diviners basically tell you of your future or anything which may interest you. To insure things go the way you want in your life they always present a prescription at the end. My prescription included purchasing cola nuts and giving them to the mother of twins, while on the other side of things one of my friends was asked to slaughter a cow.

Pikworo Slave Camp

The Pikworo slave camp was a location in Paga used to hold slaves before they were brought down in chains to the castles and forts along the coast of Ghana.

My friend Joy holds a rock once used by female slaves who had to grind and cook food on the rocks in the scorching heat.

This is the punishment rock. When certain slaves behaved very badly they were made an example of and were chained to this rock at their feet and were beaten to death. Their struggle is represented in the erosion that their chains had created at the base of the rock.

Widow Basket Weavers


We visited with widowers who have been able to find a steady source of income through basket weaving. Female widows are typically out casted in tribes of northern Ghana. When their husbands initially die, the wives are firstly accused of killing him either by their own hand or through fetish(voodoo or witchcraft). They are then frequently forced to walk through their villages completely exposed when they go to bathe and are publicly humiliated or shunned. These women have been able to ban together and find happiness in their unity, though widows across northern Ghana continue to face hard times within their communities.

Aburi Gardens on the First of November

This past Saturday we took a trip to Aburi Botanical Gardens in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.
At first our guided tour consisted of literally a stop at one tree after another with a long winded explanation of the tree.... Most of the group, still recovering from Halloween the night before were feeling some regret for taking this trip... Until it got a little more hands on.

We ventured on into the more sensory intensive activities which included chewing on the inner bark of a cinnamon tree, smelling all spice leaves and menthol leaves, eating berries, and star fruit.

Here is some of the group pulling off bark from the cinnamon tree.
This is my friend Madeline standing in front of a monstrous tree covered in leaves. (sorry I don't remember the name of it)

The biggest treat of the tour? Getting the opportunity to try the miracle berry or miracle fruit. Once you eat one of these berries it makes any of the food you eat taste sweet. I was caught off guard because I didn't realize how strong its effects would be, but it was pretty amazing. I had a nimble of the miracle berry and then a bite of my not so ripe star fruit which had previously tasted extremely bitter... and miraculously it now tasted so very sweet. Pretty unforgettable.

Tomorrow morning we head out on a four day trip to the Northern Region of Ghana. It is predominantly a Muslim population and very different from all other areas of Ghana so I am quite excited.

all the best from Ghana.

Pictures

Green Turtle Lodge Pictures from fall break are all up with captions.

Kumasi Trip Pictures from early October.


I forgot to mention that I had a kick bottom Halloween in Ghana Friday night. A bunch of us pieced together some costumes then headed over to the other dorm for my first success and then failure at jello shots---- the heat really took it to them on my walk over to the other NYU dorm.
We made a stop at a Halloween party being thrown at the University of Ghana---kind of lame but good to see some people dressed up in costumes. We then made our way to a club called Aphrodisiac. They were throwing a Halloween party of their own... but they were charging 20 dollars per person to get in. Crazy? yes. My friend who is constantly working on a budget proceeds to bargain our way into this club. She gets a price of 60 dollars for our entire group of 12 girls, impressive right? We then proceeded to dance the night away. At points I found myself working to corral my over-served friends away from the closed off sections which were for private stripper parties... hmm I left around 2am to see my friends off to bed.

There is still a bit more left to my Halloween story. You see in Ghana there are police check points along the roads to make sure that everyone is safe in their vehicles. Well, before we arrive back at the dorm we are stopped at a check point. The police officer, with quite a big gun might I add, checks in to make sure we are all right. I am thinking since I am the most sober of the bunch should handle the conversation. I will present my side of the conversation with said policeman "Hello officer, yes we are fine. Where are we going? To our dorm, NYU, yes we are students, yes here in Ghana."..............."No I will not marry you."

Just a reality I 'spose.

My Halloween in Ghana.
Melted jello shots... sketchy club... dancing... marriage proposal.


All for now, go vote.

-Ellie