Author's Note: This is the third part in a series about my time abroad. Take a look at my trip to Cape Coast and other adventures here.
Adventures Abroad: Part 3
Days 8-12: June 20-24, 2016
We learned how to dance azonto for our lesson this week! Here is a frame from our video:
This week was a whirlwind of items. Simultaneously, I worked on redesigning the layout of the processing facility in order to better accommodate production, running experiments with our leaf processing team to determine better leaf processing protocol, updating and standardizing our operations protocols, and contacting local laboratories in order to find a way to better execute our microbiology experiments.
Something I had only recently noticed was that my host family is growing an avocado tree in a cup! I knew we had an avocado tree already, because I love avocados and we had been eating them almost daily, but I didn't know what a baby tree would look like!
I believe we had an incredibly productive week, overall. I was so focused on work that I didn’t even think about potential weekend plans at all that week. When my bosses asked what I had planned, I was stumped!
Much to my surprise, I received a WhatsApp message from some of the volunteers I met the previous weekend saying they would be in Accra for the weekend and wanted to spend more time with me! This made me incredibly happy because I had more of a direction for my weekend and, more importantly, I had a second opportunity to see the people who made my previous weekend an incredible one! I thought I was only going to see them for one day of my entire life, but now it was two days! Miniscule in terms of a lifespan, but immense in terms of the memories made.
Day 13: June 25, 2016
Kaitlyn, Leo, Todd, and Matt* were making their way from Cape Coast to Accra on Saturday afternoon, so I had the entire day until sundown to spend on my own. I wasn’t sure what to do at first, so I spent some time in my room catching up on my One-Second-A-Day video, journaling, and responding to emails.
I researched things to do in Accra and how to get to where I wanted to go. Even though there is no formal mapping system for the tro tros, I found accratrotro.com, which was quite helpful in determining how I could get where I wanted to go! It definitely doesn’t provide a clear or complete picture, so I would not rely solely on this. It does provide a nice starting point for figuring out how to get somewhere. If you’re ever trying to get around via tro tro, still make sure to ask around for the best ways to get somewhere via tro tro and be very clear with your destination. I ended up needing to go to a place called Tema Station, but there is also a part of Accra called Tema that is nowhere near the station. If my hosts hadn’t warned me of this, I could’ve ended up very far from where I intended to go!
Where I intended to go (and where I thankfully ended up) was the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum. There is a beautiful garden with various trees planted by world leaders and representatives over the years and statues dedicated to Kwame Nkrumah, one of the most important leaders in Ghanaian history. Kwame Nkrumah led Ghana to independence from Britain but was overthrown in a coup d'etat on February 24, 1966, which just happens to be my birthday thirty years prior to my actual birth. I guess I will never forget that date! Kwame contributed largely to the development of Ghana, spearheading things like founding the national university and building the Akosombo Dam on the Volta River. At the park, there was also a small museum holding some of Nkrumah’s belongings and detailing his life from the beginning of his role in Ghanaian history all through his death. It was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the place and the people I was visiting. Learning about important events and figures in history can provide real insight into the way cultures have come about and why certain aspects are important or hold so much significance.
I also visited the Center for National Arts & Culture, which was conveniently beside the mausoleum. There, I met many aggressive hawkers who would grab my arms and pull me towards their shops in attempts to get me to buy their products. Thankfully, I have had similar experience with hawkers in Vietnam and Thailand, so I was not too fazed by the experience.
After walking around some and exploring the local market, I made my way to my friends’ hostel so that I could wait for them there since the sun was soon setting and I did not want to walk around alone at night. I met a four-year-old boy named Jarrod at the hotel who insisted on playing a card game with me that he called “Red or Black.” The object of the game was to have as many correct guesses as possible when predicting whether the next card in your opponent’s hand was red or black. Apparently, I am psychic because I got way too many right for it to have been entirely up to chance.
When the group arrived, we hung out for some time at the hostel before heading out to Osu, a nearby section of Accra with many popular bars and clubs. We ate at an Ivorian street vendor’s completely outdoor restaurant and had delicious chicken and avocado salads, had drinks at a bar named Republic, and danced with locals at another bar called O2.
It grew late into the night very quickly so it was going to be quite difficult to find a taxi that would take me all the way home. Instead, I stayed at the hostel with the group of friends. We went swimming in the above-ground pool and played rummy on the terrace overlooking the city until 5am! Though Matt fell asleep in a hammock almost immediately, the rest of us actually lasted for quite a long time and did not retreat to bed until we had already napped on the terrace for some time.
It’s insane how quickly time can go by when you’re spending it with people whose company you truly enjoy. You won’t even notice the hours flying by, nor will you feel the exhaustion until it is just too much to bear anymore.
I had to take advantage of the time I was allotted to spend with these people whom I only have limited chances to see. I wouldn’t have preferred for that night to go any other way.
Day 14: June 26, 2016
Even though I had only a few hours of sleep the previous night, I went to church with my host family the next morning. I hadn’t been to church since I was maybe ten years old and I don’t consider myself religious, but I enjoyed the sermon regardless of those facts.
The pastor focused on stress and the role of your faith through stressful times. I liked this sermon because the pastor was truly interested in engaging all of the attendees. He would hand out packets that were fill-in the blank notes that you can take home as reminders. They had important scriptures and words of wisdom to take to heart.
They way the pastor spoke about their faith’s role in times of stress was also something I enjoyed. He did not promise his attendees that their God will solve all of the troubles for them or remove them from all bad situations but reminded them that their God is with them as a reminder to be strong through such situations and troubles.
I felt like anyone, no matter the religion, can take something away from the sermon I attended. It’s not just about believing in a higher power to get you through something, but also believing in your own resilience and willpower to make it through any difficulties. It is about always having hope that you’ll get through it soon and the other side will be better, and know that if things are not better, you’re not yet on the other side.
Church culminated with lots of singing, which I love. I can’t sing and I am sure many others there also can’t sing, but it is beautiful for everyone to join in and be happy together. There were receptions afterward for men and women, children, and newcomers to the church afterward, but it really became one large reception so that everyone could catch up with one another, interact with the pastor and singers, and chat about life.
Later, we went to lunch with a group of women called Wives of West Africans. Daisy is American and Kwami is Ghanaian, so she was invited to be a part of this group. All of the wives were European and the couples were taking care of their very cute mixed-race children. Two of the boys who were about 2 years old were completely inseparable — they ran around the restaurant together wrestling, break dancing, and just generally being adorable.
I think this group will have the most positive effect on the children. Most Africans are not fans of people marrying outside of even their own tribes, so it is unclear how well the children will fare in school with the other Ghanaian children. This group can provide a sense of community and let them know that there are other people who come from similar backgrounds, so they do not have to feel alone or singled out. Of course, the Ghanaians are incredibly nice people, so it is always the hope that there will be no trouble or bullying in school.
Regardless, just like with religion, student groups, volunteers, teammates, or Greek institutions: having a community of people with whom you have a shared experience is a powerful thing.
Day 15-18: June 27-20, 2016
My last three days in Ghana went by incredibly quickly. I went to the University of Ghana to work in their microbiology lab alongside the Head Technician, Aunty Rose, and some of her student lab technicians who were at the university on attachment.
With their help, we planted dozens of samples to analyze bacterial loads. We prepared samples, made different agar plates and slants, reagents, performed Gram stains, and analyzed our samples under microscope. Over those last three days, I learned a lot about lab techniques that I will get to bring back to my next lab class experience.
Before heading to my last day in lab, we gave thanks to one another at MorigaConnect. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to come to Ghana and represent MIT’s Engineers Without Borders team. I didn’t know exactly what to expect out of the trip, but I went in with an open mind and definitely feel I have gained much from the experience. From the thanks I received and the conversations I had with others, I think I helped them to also gain something. I hope our project with MoringaConnect is seen through completion and I will have the chance to return in January with more of my team.
What’s a trip without some sort of silly mistake? I made it all the way through security at the airport and decided I wanted to buy something from the duty-free store only to discover I did not have my wallet. I furiously checked my bags and pockets praying it wasn’t stolen. When I knew it couldn’t be with me, I called my host immediately. When Kwami and Daisy dropped me off at the airport, my wallet must have fallen out of my pocket and into their car. This was definitely the best case scenario for me, since I can’t pay for things in anything other than cash until I receive my cards or get new ones. So for now, my only form of identification is my passport. It will make me look like a tourist in my own country.
Conclusion
I was ecstatic when I first found out that I may be going to Africa this summer. Then, after spending some time thinking about the logistics and other implications of traveling alone to a developing country, I developed something of my own — cold feet. I started to find every excuse for me to not go on this trip: I couldn’t leave my research position for more than two weeks, I wanted to spend more time at home in Los Angeles, I didn’t think EWB would gain anything from only me going on this trip, I wasn’t the right person for the job. Anything that could potentially pull me out of this, I was thinking it.
I didn’t tell anyone I was thinking so negatively at first. I thought my last interview for a Tau Beta Pi grant to fund the project went terribly. Right before I went in wearing jeans and a faux leather-sleeved utility jacket, a group of six or seven professionally dressed grad students exited the interviewing room with smiles on their faces and briefcases in tow. Even though I felt completely unconfident in my interview, I stayed true to the project and myself, answering questions as honestly as ever and as completely as I could. For anyone who has ever left an interview or test feeling like they were destroyed by it, remember that all you can do is your best and if it doesn’t feel like enough to you, it may have been more than enough anyway.
Once the funding went through, I really had to decide if this project was going to happen. I tried to see if anyone else wanted to go because I was getting really nervous about spending three weeks in Africa alone. In the end, I was the only one who could go and our EWB leaders felt like I was still a great person to go and represent our group. I talked to my research supervisor and she encouraged me to go and not pass up such an opportunity, even if it meant being away from our project at MIT. The turning point was my parents encouraging me to go. They were nervous about me traveling alone, as any parents would be, but they ultimately saw me as an incredibly capable and independent person who could handle myself on this trip and gave me their full support. Having my parents’ encouragement and support fuels my determination and desire for adventure and for that, I am grateful.
Looking back and thinking about the uncertainty I felt about going on this trip makes me laugh. I met spectacular people, visited wondrous places, and ate delicious food. I worked on an immensely important project for both MoringaConnect and the Ghanaian economy as a whole. I am glad I did not let my fear of what may be ahead stop me from doing this amazing thing I did and I hope I won’t ever allow it to do something like that in the future. We all need to look at things like this in our lives and realize we have so much more to give and to gain than a decision made out of fear will allow us.
Thank you for following my trip to Ghana! I hope I will have more adventures abroad to share with you soon. :)
