Well, our first semister of classes are done, after that we ahve a trip to the north of the counrty for one week and then start our next class called, local dynamics of change... In that class we take a lot of feild trips and write reports instead of essays.
Here it is study mode now, sitting around reading notes and procrastination a little by using the internet... the banjo will come a lot to i think.

I am really getting used to the soup with massed up stuff in side. I even like fish alot now. The other day we had a tune stew with a corn flour doughy stuff in it, it was increadable, it has taken be some time to get used to it but now I could eat it everyday, but i still eat some weastern food, this morning I had for the first time, bacon and eggs... nice, and cafe latte -

Well, time keeps moving on and the days keep flying past... I have starrted lokoing into my placement for after chirs mas I am thikning that an orphanage would be good.

PEACE and LOVE
ALEX

Well, It has been another amazing weekend… I’ll start from the beginning.

ME and some friends (3 of whom I have travelled with on all of my trips) were talking in class and I said, “so, where are we going?” out of no where and they all said lets look at the map. So we pull out the map and pick a spot, the place where the river meets the sea, Ada-Foah.
The next night I pack some few necessaries into my Banjo case and put it on my head and take off. We walk through the most downtown part of Accra, very busy, and everyone is looking at me funny because I have a banjo on my head, and I am white. WE get to the bus station with the help of many friends and 2 hours later we arrive at a beach resort that no one else is staying at. We get a nice deal and settle down at the bar for some dinner and a few beers. The next morning we go to the ocean and it is beautiful and the huge waves are rolling in so we swim for hours. But only one of us got a bad burn, I did well with the sun screen this time!
Later on we decide to take a boat trip and the guy takes us to a small village on an island where they make strong sugar cane rum. And it was the chiefs birthday, so we sit down and drink and end up singing to him for and hour. We sing oh Canada, the fresh prince of Belair theme song, oh they built the ship titanic, just ridiculous songs to be singing to a chief on his birthday. We made him a card when he was away for a few minutes and he was blown away that we knew his name, and he liked the highlighter pen so we gave it to him. Good Ol’ Ebenezer, we all gave him our phone numbers.
The next day on our way home we stopped before we got on the Tro tro and saw a local phenomenon, a huge dead and rotting whale on the beach. This things smelled so bad and was so huge, it was just incredible. And a rare occurrence in these parts I think. IT was great.
And then we arrived home and now I have been writing essays and the like for some and have much more to do before Wednesday, about the time that I have to start studying for my exams which fall next week. But after them I will have two credits for third year, amazing how the time is flying here.
Well, I wish you all the best and home that all is good with all you fellars, peace and love.

Note, after writing this I saw a kid with a tim hortons t-shirt on. Pretty cool... eh...

Well, time goes on...
another week done, one more week of class and then exams and I will ahve 2 full credits. I have a few essays left to do aswell, but that isn't stopping me from traveling to the place where the volta river meats the sea, a pllace called Ada.
I am attempting to take my banjo with me to the beach, it might be a hassel but I hope that it is worth it in the end.
YEsterday I went to a nice reggea beach party. lots of nice people and some local friends of ours who are always making sure all is fine and we are safe.. A really nice night, but I was litt le tierd in class today. Thats fine, I still learneed a lot about african democracy and some intiatives for develpment along those lines.
Life is nice...

I hope to same for you.

PEACE and LOVE
ALEX

It is incredible how much the time picks up as essays start picking up. We have more than one per week, however they are not really that difficult and very interesting usually. But I find myself not having to time to really think them through. And often they are opinion pieces.
The academic study is getting very interesting; we are learning about African philosophers and their views on democracy… It raises many good points that we should keep in mind when thinking of our democracy. What makes a democracy a democracy, they say, no corruption, a system that rises above particular issues (non-regional or ethnic) and they talk about creating a political space for everyone, among others. Our prof. this week says that if I ever complain about my democracy I can come and switch with him, but I do think we should always be questioning our democracy, that should be our democratic right. Now, he is right that our democracy may be “better”, but that we shouldn’t complain about some issues. I feel we have very little real political say as normal individuals in Canada and that a more inclusive system in decision-making is necessary.
The food is still good too, but is getting to me a bit. Tonight I ate Kin-keh (or may be kin-kay), A play dough consistency corn, cassava mash, with some fish (also good, but starting to get to me) and some hot tomatoes based crushed up stuff. I do need my French fry, falafal, salad and burger fill sometime. But I think only because it is so easy to get. Once I leave Accra it might not be so possible.
Life changes a lot when you leave Accra. IN some statistics I’ve read, 60 of the rural population live in poverty (defined in this study by less than 700 cedi’s per year [about 90$]). People are happy, but work is hard, families support each other, but people don’t have much of the things that we think we need for a good life. Sanitation is poor, and urine smell is everywhere, many don’t have electricity and water comes form an enclosed container, if they are lucky (as for what I’ve seen, but it is not like that as much in north maybe). Even in Accra the poverty is rate above 20%, but that is a lot less than in the rural areas. We are learning many reasons for these things, but there is a positive strand through out, because progress is being made, democracy is the new trend after many years of military rule. People who come to guest lecture are real individuals making a difference in regards to what ever it maybe that they study or focus on, like education, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS (not so much progress on this one), Economic development policy, understanding African politics and looking into the future. It is all very exciting, though often hard to take. Times here are seriously tough, and have been for a long time…, but then you have some people who seem to have money, who would fit into our societies materialism and who’s kids want IPODS and laptops, and cars, and who send family to America for vacation or school.
Westernization too is having it’s effect on life here, some for more than others, unless you look at the western (and European) mode of importing raw materials form Africa and exporting finished products back, which effects many more, and in some ways all people. But That is an issue for real conversation, not a small blog entry like this one.

Well, that is all for now. The lights are flickering in my room as another fine day comes to a close. I wish you all the best… PEACE

ALEX

HEy everyone
Times here are continueing on nicly. I am feeling more and more comfortable amidst the hustle of the tro-tro's, the confusion of a mapless street and the people I beging to see everyday as my traveiling routes change and adapt.

I bought a nice new bike light system for caprice (*my bike), it is powered by friction on the wheel and cost 4 dollars. I will bring it home to use there. The biking is geting better to as I get used to my home.

BUt I get used to it I begin going out later and hanging out with my friends more, whifch is very nice, and my host family doesn't seem to mind. BUt it is a marked difference from my first 5 weeks.

As we all beging to know each other better our convorsations become nicer, we have lots of inside jokes and normality sets in. it is really nice, b ut it makes these blogs harder to write, if all is normal what shjould I tell you to whom all is differnt, I will try.

School is also getting better we are getting in to politics and political-economics and things, which are more inteeresting to me, we get to read the Ghana PRSP (new form of SAP) and critique it a little. That is 'development' for some people here, but a lot of thinking has gone into it. Many interesting angles comming out that would be imposible to get in Canada. We ahve had many guest lectures on things like AIDS or culutre and development.

The essays are not hard but take up my time, and I must get to some reaserach now so I will elave you. PEACE adn LOVE

ALEX

Well, I am sitting in my room with the lights out, attempting a new technique, I will write at home and transfer my writings to you over the internet later. I want to wtire more, but do not always have the time to write at the internet café.


I have been wanting to wtire to you that I feel that what I have been wtinting is not always a good interpretation. There are many of the things we have at home here. Most people have power, some have water, people drive nice cars, the roads are for the most part paved, at least the main ones. Like home there are speed limits on the highways, and no one follows them. But there are too many duuferenced to make that point.

People are nicer here at first glance, and like normal you have to wait to see if they are really nice. But most are very nice and just want to help you. For instance, yesterday I was biking home and my tyre blew out. I stopped to ask a man who replaces tyres to help me, he said he couldn’t and then called me back to him and took my wheel off patched the hole in the tyre(the spell tyre like this here), and got me back on the raod, when I asked him how much I should pay him he said nothing, he just didn’t want me to be walking all the way home. I say good morning or evening to everyone I pass, and they love it, moreso if I am speaking a local lauguage, but either way really.

The fruit is nicer here too. You always by it from a nice woman at a nice stand, and the fruit is always displayed in a nice way, be it a pytiamic or on a nice metal stand. The tastes are so sweet, and the price so cheep, it so good. All is good.

I am doing well
PEACE alex

Finally I get to write, it has been a wile with internet problems, but also the time here is picking up pace, and the days move forward with out giving me time to use the internet as much.

SO much happens everyday, I will try to describe some of it to you.

First, I had a little bit of a down week acedemically becasue our professur was 1)a bad teacher and 2) an economisist, he reapeated him self over and over and all his lecutres were based in regrssion technologies. Terible... but he was nice
and he took us to the market and tuaght as all about where certain products come from and how they are sold using many different measuring systems like fanta bottles or different sizes of tin cans, it is realy cool to see.

Today I got my bike fixed up it cost 30 000 cedi (3.5) for a new tyre, to have my wheel trued, oil and grees and clean up my freewheel. HE also told me he could constuct me a fixed gear bycycle, cool, eh.

Times are good, I have so much to write but no time at all, I will try to have a good one for you all next time. PEACE
ALEX

Hello everyone!
I appologize for the lack of posts last week, the internet was down and te power was off everytime I went to use it...


As I bike down the road my tire begins to skid in the dust as the days get hotter. Then rain comes and the roads and firm again, but in only a few days with out rain a strong wind can blow dust up at me and the tire on the bike spins more. But the rain brings wanted coolness to progressivly hotter and sunnier days.

This weekend I joined, with some of my fellow trent students, a group of americans who were going to a palm festival in the Dzodzi (djoudji). OUr gracouis host had us all sleep at their familys 'compound' (little gathering of relitives with in a bigger town), and more of us came that were expected, so I ended up, very happily sleeping on some nice boards raised off the ground out side. The aFRICAN NIGHT, when not intimidating, is beautiful. The calling fromgs and crikets, the cool wind and seem ing closer stars. It was a great expiernce.

The palm needs to be celebrated. WE can use all its parts, for plam oil, palm kernal oil, we make broms from it, we can tap it for palm wine and mushrooms grow on the decaying wood. And palm oil has been a huge export from this part of the world for a long time, though in the industrial revolution they used to lubricate machines, and here we eat in soup, and has been good for the local ecnomy since the 1800's, as 'ligitamate (still unfair) Trade" took over at the end of the trans atlantic slave trade.

All the chiefs of the area come, the paramount cheif is carried in on a metal throun, peo0ploe dance and drum and praise the palm tree but the festival is also used as a place for political discutions of the community. Also there are partys everywhere, the street is full, cars honk (angirly in this situation) and people are marry making everywhere.

Time here is going very well and school is continuing very nicly, I enjoy it a lot.

I wish you all the best

PEACE AND LOVE
ALMO