Busy in Dubai

Dubai has been amazing & there is so much to see & do here! I can't wait to write a long update about what we've been up to, but we've been packing our days full of stuff in order to see everything we want to while we're here. I'm hoping to update tomorrow!

In Dubai

After many more hours of traveling, we finally made it to Dubai! We left our hostel around 8 pm, flew out around midnight, and then arrived in Cairo, Egypt around 8 am local time. We arrived in Dubai around 3 pm local time and were greeted by a much cooler climate!

We came to our hotel, Riviera Hotel, which overlooks the Dubai Creek. It is a beautiful hotel with all the amenities - quite a change from our hostel in Ghana where we had no sheets, no toilet paper, no air conditioning, etc! The first thing we all did was take warm showers (no warm water in Ghana either) and finally feel clean. Then, we took a water taxi across the creek to get dinner. We ate at a small Middle Eastern restaurant, where I had fish and rice. It was pretty good. Then we walked around and explored the city a bit before taking a water taxi back to our hotel. We got back just in time before the thunderstorm started! After getting back, my roommate Chelsea & I decided we were still hungry, so we ordered room service. We got a plate of hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed vine leaves, and fattuosh delivered to our room for 20 dirhams (about $5). It was so delicious!!!

Since being back in our hotel, I got the internet set up on my laptop (yay!) and proceeded to watch the Ravens game on NFL.com. I cannot believe they beat the Patriots & hope they can pull it off again next week against the Colts!! On the topic of football, I am going to close with an anecdote my aunt e-mailed to me tonight:

A man goes to the Pittsburgh Steelers ticket office and inquires about buying playoff tickets. The ticket teller replies that there were no tickets for sale because the Steelers did not make the playoffs- this goes on for 3 days and on the 4th day the ticket teller loudly replies the "Steelers did not make the playoffs!!" The man replied, "I know. I drove all the way from Baltimore just to hear you say that!"

Kakum National Park & Elmina Castle

Today we took a LONG drive along the coast of Ghana to Kakum National Park & Elmina Castle. Kakum National Park is a large rainforest with a canopy walk around the park. It was amazing! The views were fantastic and it was just a different aspect of Africa. The walk through the rainforest to the canopy was a brutal, uphill walk on uneven rocks, but it was so worth it once we got to the canopy. Afterwards, we ate lunch at the "Rainforest Cafe", where I had "red red", a popular native dish. It was beans in a sauce and fried plantains. Plantains go with everything here!

After Kakum, we went to Elmina Castle. Elmina was built by the Portugese and then captured by the Dutch. It was originally a trading post for gold and ivory, but then was used for slave trade. We went on a guided tour & it was so interesting to see everything. I took tons of pictures. The views from the castle were also amazing.

Something really interesting happened while we were in Elmina. There are many young adults who sell goods on the side of the road/at the entrance of tourist attractions. One of the young men at Elmina was wearing a Wildwood, New Jersey t-shirt. (In case you don't know, my family has visited Wildwood consistently for the past 20 years, and now we have a condo there.) We took a picture together and then he wrote down his e-mail address so I can send it to him. I told him I'd also send him photos of Wildwood so he could see where it was he was wearing the shirt from. One of his friends asked if he could have my pen for his schooling. I gave them the pens in my bag (I only had 2), and then they said they also needed books and t-shirts for their schooling. It really struck me because 1) we have been giving little toys to the kids, but I didn't think about giving necessities to the young adults, and 2) even though they were selling goods, they weren't trying to sell me anything, they just wanted to take pictures and exchange e-mail addresses. It was really eye-opening.

We went to Cape Coast after Elmina and ate dinner outside of 11:the Cape Coast Castle at the Castle Restaurant. We chose to tour the Elmina Castle instead of Cape Coast since there are less tourists, but Cape Coast is where Obama spoke when he was here over the summer. (Everyone in Ghana seems to love Obama!) I had grilled chicken and boiled plantains - boiled are not the same as fried!! Our restaurant was right on the beach and it was beautiful.

Tomorrow we have a free day until we leave for the airport around 7 pm. We are going to check out the campus bookstore and then ship everything we've purchased home. Our flight leaves around 11:30 tomorrow & then DUBAI!

A Visit to Emmanuel

Today we went to visit Emmanuel in his region. What an experience it was! We went on winding, bumpy roads through the mountains to get to the site where we were meeting him. It was a long ride & luckily I didn't get carsick! (That is quite an achievement for me haha)

We got to a place called O'Green Canteen and we were greeted by Emmanuel and many of his friends. They were all so kind and welcoming. Emmanuel spoke to us briefly and then we were entertained by many traditional African songs and dances. I cannot even explain it but I took lots of video. He later explained to us that the children who were dancing live in the orphanage that his sister runs - what a great family effort!

After watching some of the entertainment, we went in the building to watch a video of Emmanuel accepting an ESPY award with Jim MacLaren, and the award was presented by Oprah Winfrey. It was quite inspirational to hear both of them talking about what they have overcome.

Then we were served a delicious lunch! They gave us a great salad and a type of bread to go with it that was just like American waffles. It was so good. Then, we saw more songs and dance, and then we were served peanut soup and rice balls.

After lunch, we took many pictures and then traveled to a bead market. We were accompanied by a shop owner who sells jewelry made by people with disabilities! We all purchased many items from him (at least I did!). I am bringing back lots to share!! Then, Emmanuel took us to see the land where his school for the disabled will be built. He has a large plot of land and is breaking ground in May. He is anticipating the school opening in about 5 years. I wish I could come back for the ceremony for breaking the ground - he anticipates his good friend Oprah will be here, too!

Tonight some of us went to the restaurant on campus and had a delicious dinner. We had grilled chicken, fried fish, some sort of beef stew, fries, plantains, rice, cucumbers (very different than American cucumbers), and some sort of fried dough balls. It was the best meal I've had in Ghana.

Tomorrow we're headed to the Cape Coast Castle & then Saturday we have free time before our flight to Dubai at midnight! When we get to Dubai, I'm going to try to post the videos and pictures I have taken - the internet here is just way too slow.

Around Accra

On Monday night, a group of us went to the Accra Mall, just a short taxi ride away from our hostel, where we ate dinner. The mall is a large international area where people from all different countries hang out. They have some typical stores like a Levi’s store, shoe stores, an Apple store, and a full grocery store. We ate dinner in a fairly Americanized restaurant, but it was very good.

Tuesday was a long day! We started our day by taking a bus tour of Accra with a stop at the Ghana Federation of the Disabled. They talked about recent policies that have been developed, but have not really been implemented – sounds similar to America. Everything they talked about sounded very similar to the efforts made in America in the 1990s.

After our site visit, we went to lunch at an authentic restaurant with our tour guide. While we were waiting to get our lunch, we visited with a street vendor and her four children. Her youngest daughter was adorable – I wish you could have met them, Wendy! She was selling cooked yams & plantains, so Dr. Eisenman purchased a plantain while we took pictures with the children. I tried the plantain and it was my first time eating one cooked in the peel – very different than eating them cooked out of the peel. Afterwards, we all had traditional meals of noodles, rice and beans, plantains, and either beef or fish. It was very spicy – at least too spicy for me – I need to build up my spice tolerance for the rest of this trip!

After we ate lunch, we continued our bus tour of Accra. We drove through Osu street, which is full of street vendors 24/7. Then, we drove to Independence Square and got out to see the square & the beach!! The beach here was amazing. It wasn’t much different than the beaches at home, but it was very quiet and the water was so warm. We just put our feet in the water, but we’re planning on going back when we have free time later this week. I can’t wait to swim in the ocean!!

Our last stop on the tour was a market. The market was very similar to markets in Jamaica. (I went to Jamaica in high school & it is similar to Ghana in many ways so it has been my frame of reference as I process the culture.) All of the vendors were very pushy and very eager to make a deal. It was difficult to walk through the market without being hassled. Some of us just went on the bus to avoid the trouble, where we found it was actually quite advantageous to make deals through the bus window as vendors approached the bus. (It was hilarious – I have about 8 minutes of it on video but it went on for about half an hour.)

I took a nice nap upon returning to the hostel. Our tour guide invited a design student to our hostel tonight and she is making custom dresses for all of us. She is very talented! I also purchased a beautiful blanket from her and she is making me a pillowcase to go with it. She also made some other things that I may or may not be sending home to my mom & sister – get ready to receive a package, Mom & Dad! : )

For dinner, we went to Frankie’s, a popular restaurant here in Accra. After dinner, we went to a private beach/bar. They had chairs and tables on the sand & we were the only ones there. (No one in Ghana goes out until around midnight and It was the middle of the week.)

Today we had off for majority of the day. In the morning, some of our group went to the Archaeological Museum on campus, but I chose to sleep in until 11 (it was much needed!). Some of us went back to the Accra Mall for lunch and we did a little bit of shopping. I went to the Apple Store and was able to purchase 30 minutes on the internet for 1.25 cedis (about $1) – a very good deal!

We had a class session this evening & then dinner. We had a nice buffet of chicken, fish, stew, rice, potatoes, plantains, salad, and watermelon. Everything was delicious! After dinner we met up with another group from UD and watched Emmanuel’s Gift. I recommend this to anyone who wants to see what Ghana is like! Emmanuel was born with a twisted, shorter right leg. His mother never gave up hope on him, and he went on to bike all the way across Ghana to raise disability awareness. He then came to America and participated in a triathlon and then was fitted for a prosthetic leg. He came back to Ghana to build wheelchairs for people in Ghana and further spread the message of disability awareness. It was a very moving story & tomorrow we are going to Emmanuel’s village to meet him! We will be spending some time with him and then eating lunch together and going to a bead market! I’m excited!! : )

PS – We just got internet in our hostel. It is super slow but it’s better than nothing!

In Ghana

We are safe & sound in Ghana. It is very HOT here!! We got off the plane and were greeted by the 80+ degrees and humidity, a big change from London, where it felt colder than Philadelphia (sorry Paul, enjoy your 5 weeks there). We arrived around 10 pm last night & got settled into our dorms. There is courtyard in the center & we have views of wild animals out our window! The amenities aren't the nicest ever (Res Life friends, think RAT camp), but everyone is so nice & we are having a good time so far.

This morning we ate breakfast in the university cafe & had fried eggs, baked beans, bread, & some sort of meat that was described as pieces of hot dogs. (I didn't try the meat so I don't know how else to explain it!) After breakfast we went on a tour of the campus & it is huge! They have the biggest library in all of West Africa, which I have to see before we leave, considering my love for Hugh Morris at UD. : ) Today we are starting our first day of class, and then tomorrow we're headed to the Ghana Federation of the Disabled.

As for the internet here, the internet cafe in our dormitory isn't working because this is technically their break, so we're some of the only people around campus. Right now we're using the main campus computer lab, but I don't know how much more I'll be able to get on while we're in Ghana. Also, we're having cell phone troubles here, but I'll try to contact people more when we arrive in Dubai!

London

We are currently in London!! It is 5:15 am at home right now, but 10:15 am here on the other side of the world. Thankfully, we'll be in the same time zone when we get to Accra. Our flight leaves from here at 2:30 pm, and we should be in Ghana around 9:30. (My dad says that will be a good time to check the football scores since the games should be over by then, but if anyone wants to send me updates on the Ravens & the Eagles, it would be appreciated!)

I was able to get some sleep on the flight & I'm feeling somewhat rested now. My roommate Chelsea & I just ate breakfast here in the airport, I called my parents on Skype, and now it's time to get some work done before we take off again!