Feel the Burn

Note to self: Hiking in Ghana hurts. It hurts on a number of levels. First, though it may not be Sulfur mountain, or the Three Sisters, or Brokeback mountain as for that matter (and god knows I kept my eyes open for a stranded Heath or Jake along the way…better yet both…), Adaklu mountain is pretty damn steep. Sure, it’s also beautiful and covered in lush vegetation and crowned with some impressive boulders at the top, but above all, it’s really really steep. Combine this with the fact that I have not been swimming, nor walking very much as for that matter, and that my measly little yoga routine thrice a week is the only think that has kept my muscles from fully atrophying in Ghana, and you end up with the perfect recipe for a sore obruni. And sore I was, not only during the said hike, but for a good five days following the ascension.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s really hot in Ghana? Yes, my lovelies, now add searing noon-sunshine, tropical humidity and 35degree weather to the steep mountain and inactive jello-body and voila, ‘tis the story of my weekend hiking adventures in the Volta region. The worst part in all of this is that just as we had plugged through the first third of the hike, up to a small village in the mountain, sitting on a bench for a good hour panting and sweating profusely, we saw a few women go by, flip-flops on feet, baby on back and log or heavy basket on head. They had come up the same way as we, ridiculous boot and backpack-wearing mountain conquerers, and somehow had barely broken into a sweat. Put us all to shame. Well not all of us actually, because Elizabeth has been going to the gym in Accra and was thus able to merrily prance up the mountain. Meanwhile, the three whiny stepsisters struggled to drag themselves up a never-ending 45degree incline, cursing and tripping along the way. Partly out of envy, partly for revenge, and partly because I think it’s quite witty, I nicknamed her Sporty Spice, a label I intend to use from now on. Ha! Sticks and stones (and big ass mountains) may not break your bones, oh but for the bitter pain of being associated to mediocre pop stars from the 90s (plus Sporty Spice was like no one’s favorite!) Ha, fit Elizabeth, take that!

All right, bitterness and burning muscles aside, we had a lovely weekend. Though painful, the hike was wonderful and allowed us to sit at the top of Adaklu mountain and overlook the vast expanse of the Volta region, in all its green freshness. We stayed in a really nice hotel, complete with pool and rooftop restaurant/bar, where we ate some yummy food and celebrated St-Paddy’s day in style (ie had a great excuse to drink beer). And I must admit it was quite nice to escape from Accra and enjoy a little getaway with the lady-friends…good for the body (okay maybe not) and certainly much appreciated by the soul.

And so it is that sore-legged but otherwise unharmed, I began another busy week, filled with interviews and other exciting research-related endeavors. I’ll spare you the details though, because I don’t feel a blog is an appropriate place to discuss such matters (ie I’m lazy and I don’t feel like talking about my work right now). Suffice it to say that all is on track, that I’m feeling inspired and motivated, and ready to take full advantage of my last two months and a half in Ghana (how quickly time flies).

There will be no lady-getaways this weekend, no crazy treks up a mountain in oven-like temperatures. Instead, there will be eating and drinking with friends, and some good ole fashioned lying in bed reading the last Harry Potter book while gorging on Kingsbite chocolate. What more can a girl ask for, really? A Jake or a Heath might be nice, I guess...or better yet both ;-)

I miss you my darlings.
A tres bientot
Sophie

Death to the Sinus: A poem in four parts

Forgive me friends, for I bloggeth inconsistently. It’s certainly not from lack of interest or things to say. Quite the contrary, I’ve been itching to get back to ghanagogo for a few days now (and I mean itching quite literally seeing that my body has been and continues to wage an ongoing war with an invasive heat/eczema rash…but on that charming note I digress). It's not that motivation has been absent, but rather that various obstacles have come to stand in the way of my blogging escapades...and so dear readers, please allow me the honor of listing them off to you, in no particular order:

-I’ve been busy: Quite suddenly and somewhat out of the blue, I’ve been hit by a major tidal wave of activity and stress. I’ve had many meetings and interviews for my research, projects to accomplish for SWAA, not to mention all that domestic stuff that also contributes to keeping a young lady’s calendar full. I’m certainly not complaining because this indicates that my work is progressing and that I might indeed be able to write a dissertation somewhere down the line. But it also means that hours devoted to more leisurely pursuits have been radically reduced (and as my fellow grad students will attest to, any other scenario would be quite worrisome indeed. What? Free time? Is that Latin or something?)

-I’ve been sick: In addition to my full upper body rash (which I’ve affectionately and perhaps not so politically correctly come to refer to as “my leprosy”), my poor organism has been assailed by yet another unidentified bug. It might have been a throat infection, which turned into a cold, which turned into a sinus infection, but it’s hard to keep up with the body’s many states in a context where at least a third of my time is spent feeling a tad bit off. I guess this mild respiratory infection should come as no surprise though, seeing that I inhale massive quantities of sand, dust, exhaust fumes, burning plastic fumes (plastic recycling…who needs it?), pollution and other foes of the sinus on a daily basis. Nevertheless, I must admit that I’m starting to get a bit sick of these constant infections. Quite literally. And to wonder whether there is such a thing as a sinusectomy…

-I’ve been celebrating Ghana’s 50th birthday (which may also have contributed to my body’s demise, though well worth it ultimately). Last Tuesday and Wednesday were national holidays, and so we had plenty of time to take advantage of the many festivities happening throughout Accra. Melinda and I went to Independence Square on Tuesday morning, for a parade and a presidential address. We didn’t see any of it though, cause with 10,000 bodies present… well, need I say more? But it was absolutely amazing, because our morning was spent in an incredibly festive atmosphere, with thousands of shiny happy people proudly displaying their Ghanaian reds, yellows and greens to mark this symbolic event. I felt like I was part of history. And best of all, Melinda and I were fortunate enough to spend our morning with Tim and 25 kids from the primary school where he teaches, making the whole thing only that much more exciting and magical. They were so happy to be there and to have us with them, lavishing their obruni guests with endless hugs and songs and smile after smile. Absolutely precious.
Amazing atmosphere and company aside, after a few hours in the heat, in the sun and in a massive crowd, Melinda and I had shrivelled up into cranky old raisins, ready to hold up the nearest supermarket to steal their stash of ice cream. It was time to go. Not particularly interested in experiencing incarceration in Ghana (Midnight Express anyone?) we opted for a more legal approach to thirst and hunger quenching, grabbing a bite to eat at a local fast food joint. After a well deserved --if not necessary-- shower, we met up with Tim and Mercy to head over to an afternoon BBQ at Laurence and Florent’s house (some CUSO friends). We relaxed in their lovely garden, drank a few beers, ate a bit of goat, and did a bit of salsa (Mercy kindly taking it upon herself to teach us the basics). And to finish off our lovely (but tiring) golden jubilee day, we headed over to Country Kitchen for some yummy Ghanaian grub, which in all its fried and oily goodness was exactly what our bodies needed before crashing and sleeping for a good ten hours.

-And finally, I’ve been traveling (okay, not really, but I’m traveling later on today, so I’m using this as an excuse to segue into my conclusion). Yes, the time has come again to escape Accra for a couple of days and so it is that Melinda, Elizabeth, Tracy and I are venturing off to the Volta region for a bit of down time with the lady-friends. E and T are in charge of itineraries and plans so I can’t really divulge much information as to the what and where of the weekend. But I do know that Saturday we’re hiking on a mountain (okay maybe more like a really tall hill by Rockie standards) and Sunday, we’re visiting a waterfall. Aaaahhhh….nature, fresh air and no burning plastic…my sinuses are quivering with excitement!

So my darlings, on that note, I bid you adieu until next week, when I look forward to filling you in on the details of our merry adventures in the Volta region and of what promises to be another hectic and productive week.

I miss you all and send you lots and lots of love. (No hugs and no kisses though, as I may very well be contagious).
Sophie

Busy Bees, Jubilees and Boring Blog Entries

Howdy y’all,

Well, I’m certainly not feeling as inspired as I did last week, so it looks like it will be a short and possibly boring entry today. My sister (aka the Baboon Duchess…what, she started it!) long gone, it’s been back to reality for me. And as is usually the case when one returns from a holiday, the transition has been a bit rough. First, I suffered from an acute case of demotivation accompanied by symptomatic chronic procrastination. The condition soon mutated into a serious bout of questioning and reconsideration, with a severe and rather painful attack of what’s, why’s and what for’s. In addition to these more esoteric aches, I also came down with some strange unidentified physical ailment (not malaria though I tested for it twice). The latter kept me in bed for a few days with fever and the worst headache of my life, which no amount of advil seemed capable of numbing (watch as I get sued by Wyeth). Oh, how I have suffered!

But thankfully, this is all in the past. My post-vacation and Eve withdrawal symptoms slowly subsiding, I have been able to reclaim my (mostly) content, motivated and headacheless self. Which is good because I had a pretty busy week, attending a workshop on access to justice for women and children on Monday and Tuesday, followed by another workshop on female condom promotion on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday were devoted to taking care of business in all its forms and formalities, and writing extensive notes about the said workshops. And so it that another Friday evening has rolled around, bringing with it the promise of rest and relaxation (and I think I need it seeing that my brain hurts and that my capacity to focus long enough to write an adequate blog entry seems to be seriously impaired.)

And what about my social life, ask you eagerly oh faithful subjects of my regal baboon self? Hmmmm…where do I begin? On Monday, I went to bed at 9:30, Tuesday at 10, Wednesday I watched a few episodes of Lost (I’ve started season two) and then Thursday I watched some more episodes of Lost (that show sure is addictive). As you can see, it’s not because one is living in Ghana that life is that much more exciting! I’m certainly not complaining, but just trying to infuse a bit of reality into the imaginings you may have of me sitting under the palm trees by the ocean, sipping Pina Coladas from cracked coconuts with little paper umbrellas in them. Nope, even Baboon Queens have routines…and it’s not cause you're writing it in Africa that your blog will be that much more titillating.

I am hoping that by next week, I will have some more exciting news to share with you…I believe this is quite likely since Tuesday marks the 50th anniversary of Ghana’s independence (and btw, Ghana was the first African country to achieve independence), a momentous event which has been causing quite the stir in the country. There will be parades, presidential addresses, music, dancing and a civic holiday on Tuesday and Wednesday to allow everyone to partake in these celebrations. I’m not sure what I will be doing exactly, but regardless, I am still very happy and fortunate to be here to share in this important occasion.

So on that note, I’ll finish my blog entry by wishing Ghana a very happy 50th birthday and encouraging you to do the same. Please feel free to send gifts in the form of jewelry, size 8 women’s clothing, gossip magazines, chocolate and cd’s to my mailing address….I’ll make sure that they end up in the right hands (hihihi….)

As always, you are in my thoughts.

LoveLoveLove

Sophie

Ps: Being the novice blogger that I am, I didn’t realize that I needed to moderate comments to be able to see them or for them to be posted on the blog. So my apologies for totally ignoring your comments for the past months, and rest assured it's not personal, it's purely incompetential!

Pps: You may remember last week's discussion of a certain long-legged Angelina (not to be confused with the Brangelina Angelina...watch as I get sued again!). Well she seemed to arouse in you quite the powerful emotions (alas ours is an arachnaphobic society) so I thought I might go ahead and post a lil picture of our sweet furry friend for your viewing pleasure. You can't really tell her size from the picture (and god knows neither Eve nor I were going to get close enough to put a ruler next to her), but if I was using my pocket knife as a weapon against her possible attacks, well it should give you an idea...when's the last time you met an insect that was of stabbing proportions?