Monday, November 07, 2005
Stories (email from Jenell on Nov 7, '05)
Hey all.
I am still in training in Techiman and itching to get to my site... for all the obvious reasons, but also b/c I just finished lunch and can still taste palm oil and fish. I am pumped to cook for myself soon, as mango and avocado season are quickly approaching.
bat caves
Last weekend (for halloween) a bunch of trainees and I went on a 15km hike through jungle, farmland, people yards, sacred forest with medicinal plants... until we came to large caves with thousands of bats. The opening was large at first, but we had to crawl through a narrow hole to a second opening where the bats were so plenty (as they say here) that you could feel the air from their flapping wings all around you. Deeper in the cave there was a beam of light coming in from above and we could see the bats catching the light as they fluttered through... otherwise all you could see were their glowing eyes.
water fall
Yesterday 9 other trainees and I went to kintampo waterfalls. We busted out the swimming suits and went into and under the waterfall onto a protected ledge where we could sit and look out at the jungle through a sheet of moving water. So cool. Plus, the mist from the waterfall was actually cold... I had goosebumps (tori hara) for the first time since I left minnesota. Of course as water sanitation volunteers we were a little nervous about going in water, but it was so cool that it if we catch anything strange it was worth it. Then we had a picnic with fresh pineapple, oranges, papaya, roasted ground nuts, bread... all that was missing is the cheese. Can a girl get some cheese in this country?!
tro-tro
Getting to the waterfall we got on the normal mode of transportation... a tro-tro. This is a van (much like the VW busses of Oregon)...with 5 rows of seats and as many as 20 people in it (most with B.O.... also like Oregon :D) depending on how many goats and plantains are with the passangers. The driver dodges potholes and goats as we cruise down the beat up roads and lets out a warning beep around corners or when passing to let others know we are there. To fully explain tro-tros would take days... but I will leave you with this taste.
Only 3 more weeks of training then I will be in mpaha (at which point I will be fluent in Gonja... I can dream, right?) I hope all is well.
love
jenell
I am still in training in Techiman and itching to get to my site... for all the obvious reasons, but also b/c I just finished lunch and can still taste palm oil and fish. I am pumped to cook for myself soon, as mango and avocado season are quickly approaching.
bat caves
Last weekend (for halloween) a bunch of trainees and I went on a 15km hike through jungle, farmland, people yards, sacred forest with medicinal plants... until we came to large caves with thousands of bats. The opening was large at first, but we had to crawl through a narrow hole to a second opening where the bats were so plenty (as they say here) that you could feel the air from their flapping wings all around you. Deeper in the cave there was a beam of light coming in from above and we could see the bats catching the light as they fluttered through... otherwise all you could see were their glowing eyes.
water fall
Yesterday 9 other trainees and I went to kintampo waterfalls. We busted out the swimming suits and went into and under the waterfall onto a protected ledge where we could sit and look out at the jungle through a sheet of moving water. So cool. Plus, the mist from the waterfall was actually cold... I had goosebumps (tori hara) for the first time since I left minnesota. Of course as water sanitation volunteers we were a little nervous about going in water, but it was so cool that it if we catch anything strange it was worth it. Then we had a picnic with fresh pineapple, oranges, papaya, roasted ground nuts, bread... all that was missing is the cheese. Can a girl get some cheese in this country?!
tro-tro
Getting to the waterfall we got on the normal mode of transportation... a tro-tro. This is a van (much like the VW busses of Oregon)...with 5 rows of seats and as many as 20 people in it (most with B.O.... also like Oregon :D) depending on how many goats and plantains are with the passangers. The driver dodges potholes and goats as we cruise down the beat up roads and lets out a warning beep around corners or when passing to let others know we are there. To fully explain tro-tros would take days... but I will leave you with this taste.
Only 3 more weeks of training then I will be in mpaha (at which point I will be fluent in Gonja... I can dream, right?) I hope all is well.
love
jenell
