Kayleen Travels

Featuring South African rand, Swazi lilangeni, Botswana pula, the Namibian dollar, dalasi from The Gambia, and Senegalese CFA. 

Throughout the month of December: In the U.S. Christmas season begins the day Thanksgiving ends. We spend the month of December putting up decorations, listening to Christmas music, gift shopping, and attending Christmas parties and gatherings. Christmas isn't so big in Ghana. Maybe there are some decorations in restaurants or hotels, but other than that...  At the Accra Mall: Imagine your typical mall in the U.S. The Accra Mall is basically the same, just a bit smaller and the food court is outdoors. When I was there on Saturday I  treated myself to frozen yogurt with blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi. It was really nice to be at the mall, surrounded by lights and decorations and Christmas music- On Christmas Eve: I accompanied the band to a church where they performed. It wasn't your typical Christmas Eve service. In fact, Christmas was not even mentioned, neither in speech nor in song. On Christmas Day: I accompanied the band again to another church in Cape Coast. This ch...

Merry Christmas to everyone who wants me to post more pictures of myself ;-). 

Doop doop, doop doo doop My theme song this holiday season ;-) (Also, shout out to Phil Horen, because I cannot listen to this song without hearing you sing the high notes, and it brings a huge smile to my face! I-I-I am dreaming of a whiiiiite Christmas, with every Christmas card I write... )

Nanayaa is one of my former UCC classmates who became a great friend to me. I was so lucky to be in Ghana on the day of her wedding! This was my first time attending a wedding in Africa.  I learned that Ghanaian weddings generally have two ceremonies: the engagement (which is a traditional ceremony involving the bride's family and the groom's family being introduced) and the marriage ceremony (or "white wedding", which is a product of western influence). What I attended was the marriage ceremony, and it was very similar to weddings in the U.S. There were some minor differences. For instance, the wedding and the reception were held back to back in the same location. Also the cutting of the cake was very symbolic- the husband and wife cut the cake with a third party (in this case, the husband's sister) "in the name if the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." The remaining pictures are from the couple's first dance as husband and wife, which was...

You can watch O'iada perform their song, No Shaky, here: http://youtu.be/BDl43kVGnAk That's my Ghana family there! I am so blessed by them. Enjoy the performance!

Cape Coast, Ghana Then there's me, enjoying my FanIce (vanilla ice cream in a bag). I cannot resist FanIce when I go out to town.

"This this the thing: when you start to hit 28 or 30, everything starts to divide, and you can see very clearly two kinds of people: on one side, people who have used their 20s to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their dreams, people who know what works and what doesn't, who have pushed through to become real live adults.  "And then there's the other kind, who are hanging onto college, or high school even, with all their might. They've stayed with jobs they hate, because they're too scared to get another one. They've stayed with men or women who are good but not great, because they don't want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop honest, intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don't do these things, so they live in kind of an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than they were when they graduated college.  "Don't be like that. Don't get st...

Christmas Caroling! Mass Choir Mass Drama doing their thing. My friend, Tega, is one of the leaders of the Mass Drama group-

Dry season is upon West Africa. Less rain, less humidity, less mosquitoes, and nights are significantly cooler. This season usually begins in late November or December and lasts until March.  Harmattan is another name for this season, but it specifically refers to the dusty, dry winds blowing across northwest Africa from the Sahara. And I am feeling it! My skin is drier, my nose and throat are irritated, and at night I start looking for a sweater.  For those of you who are curious about the overall weather, this week it's consistently a high of 90 degrees F and a low of 70. At 10:00am on this fine Thursday morning it is 75 and sunny. The breeze is nice (one of the perks of living off the coast) and keeps me from suffering in the heat.  My body is used to the heat, but I am only starting to adjust to the dryness. Bleh. 

...reading and contemplating and visiting under the shade of this mango tree :-)

These skits they do for Telepresence are incredible... Here are some pictures from today: The hosts, Mensah Mouse (played by Daniel) and Mesi Mouse (played by Kibibi) Kibibi. Was. Hilarious.  Papa played the Griot. A Griot is a storyteller in traditional African oral storytelling.  The high school students, with the help of a couple adults, acted out an Ananse Sem. Ananse means "spider" and sem means "story". Ananse is a trickster. These stories are funny and clever and carry some sort of lesson.  Mensah and Mesi Mouse asking some of the children their favorite part.  Introducing Sisi The Bear.  Doing a dance with Sisi at the end of the skit.  They did such a great job! The elementary school in Utah had a great time!

Akoma Ntoso Cultural Center (ANCC) opened in 2009 in Newark, New Jersey and Cape Coast, Ghana. It is named after the adinkra symbol meaning "linked hearts." Their mission is to "link hearts" across the world, that is, share Ghana's culture and history with people of other nations.  Using video conferencing technology, students from all over the world are able to interact with students here in Ghana. This creates a cultural exchange . As students are exposed to Ghana, Ghanaian students are learning about the U.S. and other countries.  We call this program Telepresence.  Telepresence is so important because there are many misconceptions about Africa.  Our students are asked questions like "Do people in Ghana have cell phones?" (Yes), "Do you sleep in trees?" (No), or "Do you ride on lions?" (Definitely not). It is because the media shows such a negative view of Africa (war, poverty, primitivity, etc) that  our perceptio...

I told a friend recently that "the adventure part of my trip is over." She laughed at me. "The adventure is never over," she said.  Of course, she is right. The adventure is never over. It just looks a little different.  I have been thinking a lot about this lately. September and October had me all over southern and western Africa. Those six weeks were full of experiences both wild and lovely, and I have many pictures and stories to show for it. But I was a little nervous about settling in one place come November. I thought maybe I would become bored or restless. I thought it meant the adventure was over.  The adventure is never over.  There is adventure in digging into the everyday life of a place and discovering the depths of it. This adventure is also filled with the wild and the lovely. But it's deeper, and it's more personal.  I have been in Ghana for over a month now. I  am no longer nomadic, but I am plugged into a community of lo...

Cereal here is limited and expensive. Anywhere from $8 USD to $10 USD a box! Dairy products are also rare and expensive. Milk is definitely not the same here as it is in the US. Usually for breakfast I have oatmeal, or eggs, or rice...  And it's good. But sometimes I really want a big bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats.  Other things I miss from my life in Michigan (aside from the obvious family and friends): Blueberries.  My car.  Euchre nights.  Heather's Restaurant in downtown Bay City.  Light sweater weather.  Not being hissed at (its what Ghanaians do to get your attention).  Decent radio stations.  Having my own dresser.  Roasted almonds.  Making/eating guacamole.  Making/eating quinoa black bean salad.  Grilled cheese sandwiches.  Cheeeeeeese.  Having access to a washing machine.  At least I found a way to eat cereal AND it's avocado season in February!

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Nelson Mandela 

“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”  (Mandela's statement at the opening of his defense in the Rivonia treason trial, April 20, 1964) Rest in peace. 

The family/community I am staying with in Ghana has two properties- one in Cape Coast (which is where I live) and the other in Bronyibima (about 20 minutes away). Even though I live in Cape Coast, I spend a lot of time in Bronyibima either helping out with the high school there or hanging out with the family.  The Bronyibima property is much bigger than the one in Cape Coast. Most of the community lives there, including all of the children. The name of the school is Mate Masie, which means "I have kept what I have heard" or "I understand." This is the main building of Bronyibima. The high school is held on the ground floor of this building. It is also the living quarters for many of the people: Another one of the living quarters. There are quite a few more like this throughout the property:  Hopefully now you have a better idea of where I am and what I am doing Monday through Friday.