First Travels

The voodoo village, Togoville, was interesting. To see a religion founded at the same time as their culture is a great learning opportunity. For example the voodoo statues put certain things at the forefront. The symbol for Togoville was the hawk. According to legend the hawk led their ancestors out of a large maze. This religious development shows that they were moving into a more developed infrastructure. The woman guardian of the village was larger than her male counterpart, indicating her importance to the community. This community mentality still runs strong today. Even Accra, the capital of Ghana, is broken up into many smaller communities that are loyal to the others. The bond is almost palpable in the streets when you see their interaction. After only two weeks in my neighborhood, they have already begun to accept me. (the lady on the street gives me two omelette sandwiches for the price of one) There is an identifiable strength in each community. There are trees that protect the village, recognizing natures importance to health. Their main religious ceremony shows that hospitality must always be given.

On the weekend I traveled to Mampong with some others from my placement. This was a great opportunity to see the natural beauty of Ghana. Here you could feel how much purer the air was. The landscape was beautiful everywhere around us. It is in the region where I will be placed for my orphanage work, Akuapem Hills.

We visited a cocoa plantation in Mampong. Ghana is the second largest produer of cocoa. The guide took us through the first plantation in Ghana, showing us how cocoa is produced. As with the voodoo village it was interesting to see this history. I find that here their history is not just in the past but it is a part of the culture, especially in rural area. In Western society we seem to look only to the future and forget about our past. Or we smooth things over, mentioning only the things we like about what we’ve done. This also shows me that Ghana has more dimensions then just the part that I am helping. There is more then meets the eye. It is exciting to know that I have only scratched the surface of what the country has to offer. The pricing for the Botanical Gardens was interesting. For locals it was about tenth of the price. This encourages the locals to come and enjoy their site. It makes the site part of the community rather then just a tourist attraction. There were family reunions and children playing. In Canada I find that people rarely go to their own heritage sites and attractions simple because it is too expensive.

This weekend I went to a soccer game in Accra. Wow. I was more interested to see the fans then the game itself. - the loud side. Even though the stadium wasn’t filled they still made their opinions known J It was good to see their fun side.

On Sunday I went to a soccer game in Accra. This showed me another part of Ghanaians- the loud side. Even though the stadium wasn’t filled they still made their opinions known J It was good to see their fun side.

Enjoying every minute of it.