Food Poisoning, Lake Bosumtwi, and Marriage Proposals

I know it’s been a while on my blog updates. So sorry. I have officially had my first bout of sickness here in Africa. I think it was food poisoning or a bacteria infection from some food or water. Either way, it wasn’t fun but thankfully it was short lived and didn’t involve a hospital stay. It did keep me here in Legon for a weekend but my friends were very kind and stayed with me. As my time is dwindling here I’m realizing my weekends to travel are becoming fewer and fewer…I’m going to be back in the states before I know it.

This past weekend a few friends and I headed up to Lake Bosumtwi located in central Ghana, which is the biggest natural lake in Ghana and was made by a meteor that hit the earth. Before we made it to the lake we spent some time in Kumasi (the huge market town). On Saturday morning we decided it would be fun to wander through the market which is the Biggest in West Africa and not for the fair-weather traveler. Not the best idea we’ve ever had. It was crazy crowded – think the day after thanksgiving shopping (Africa style of course) on crack. We somehow made it into the meat section of the market, which you can only imagine, smells to high heaven and made me consider a vegan lifestyle. Not to mention we could barely keep sight of each other because of how crowded it is. After wandering, completely lost, for about an hour we made it out. Amazingly enough only Jayne was pick-pocketed, and thankfully it was only her phone. She was at the end of our line of obrunis, so she was definitely a target.

After our eventful morning we took a series of trotros and taxis to get to the Lake Point Guest House. Which is right on the lake shores and has these cute little huts and everything is eco-friendly. We swam in the lake and just chilled at the lodge. It was a nice break from the crazy noise and trash of Accra. After dinner we headed back to our hut and found the lovely family of ridiculously large spiders that happened to be staying in our hut too. Of course it turned into a thirty-minute ordeal of trying to kill the spiders with shoes and bug spray while we screamed and jumped on the bed every time they moved. One escaped but the other was not so lucky. At one point in came running at my foot and scared the crap out of me, but I finally got it. Of course Jayne and Kendall, rather than trying to kill it, spent their time standing on the bed capturing all the chaos on video…should make a hilarious facebook video.

The next morning we hiked along a dried-up stream through the mountains surrounding the lake. Amazingly enough I did not twist my ankle on the river rocks…it was a great morning and so beautiful - Lots of bamboo and butterflies and beautiful views of the lake. When we got back we decided to check out early and save some money heading back to university a day early. Man was that a disaster. The Austrian lady who owned the lodge and her Ghanaian husband were not having any of that. They insisted on us paying for our second night (33cedi, which in Ghana is A LOT for a hotel room-even a nice one)…and we of course, said absolutely not. They told us that anywhere in the world when you make reservations to stay you pay for those nights. Which is absolute bullocks, and I told them so because I myself have worked in the hotel industry. They said, “This is Ghana” but we informed them that we live here too and always check out early. Anyways, it turned into a two-hour stare down of us trying to reason and insist upon fairness while they yelled and made a few racial comments along the lines of “This is Africa, these white people don’t belong here.” The woman who said it was Austrian for God’s sake!! At one point both Jayne and Kendall were crying from frustration with these ridiculous people. In a perfect world we would have paid for the services we HAD received and walked away. However, we were in the middle of nowhere with no transportation and an angry owner threatening to call the police for trying to destroy his business. So we paid them and vowed to write every travel book and review about their blatant disrespect and terrible business. My friend Max kept saying, “I have backpacked all over the world, and this is just not how business is done.” I walked away from the whole ordeal thinking “only in Africa!” My friends and I are pretty excited to write four separate letters of complaint to travel books – especially those based solely on independent travelers’ reviews…

I keep encountering situations with Ghanaian men that I find pretty hilarious. I’ll tell you a few of my favorites. When I was traveling in Wa (northern Ghana), my friends and I were bartering for some fabric. At one point I was very kindly telling the man to be a good Christian and give us poor students a fair price and he looks to my friend Alli (who is very petite and little) and says to me, “Okay, I give you 5 cedi and you give me your daughter.” Apparently a good deal on fabric is equivalent to selling my daughter to this man! Not to mention she’s about four years older than me…of course no one ever believes me that I’m only 19 – they literally laugh in my face when I tell them. Whatever…I still got a good deal on the fabric ☺ Yesterday in Kumase when we were surrounded by men trying to get us on their bus (it’s like a game – who can snag the obrunis), this 40-year-old Ghanaian man decided it would be a good time to propose to me. The conversation went something like this:

Man: “I like you.”
Me: “I’m not getting on your bus, it’s too expensive.”
Man: “No, I like you.”
Me: “Okay then.”
Man: “Where are you from? Britain?”
Me: “America.”
Man: “Obama!!!!! I love you, take me home to your country.”
Me: “Sorry, but I’m living here right now.”
Man: “Let me have your phone number.”
Me: “No.”
Man: “Let me have your email address.”
Me: “No.”
Man: “Why don’t you like me?”

I feel like I have one of these encounters at least twice a week. I have my first test this week, and I think it’s going to be pretty painful, seeing as how I never have any idea what the professor is talking about...although my friends have mentioned that they rarely even grade the exams, especially in this class because it’s about 800 students. And I’m beginning to actually barter in Twi – I feel it’s very effective because the Ghanaians love it and this it’s hilarious when the Obrunis try to speak their language. They usually just lower the price because they think we’re so funny and appreciate how hard we’re trying.

That’s all for now! Good news – I got the camp job this summer, so I will be heading to Wisconsin for a few months. Gramps and Grammy – I got your letter and there should be one coming your way soon. Love and miss you all!