Possibilities:)

It has been particularly scorching this week, but I have been accustomed to the constant layer of sweat. I am discovering new pores and outlets of sweat I never knew existed before I came here. But I feel strangely clean sometimes…I suppose I am entirely rid of toxins in my system, getting flushed out daily☺ (sorry I just re-read that and I guess that was a lot of sweat talk, but I’m gonna keep it because that’s the way it is here)

I went to an awesome art show on Tuesday night after dinner with a couple of friends and it was so cool, we got to meet the artist and talk to him about his work. His name is Akirash, and I was able to get his information and I am going to do an artist profile on him for my non-western art class, visiting his studio and talking to him about the materials he uses, how he started doing his work in the first place, where he finds his inspiration…I am very excited because his art, it is very experimental, and focused on installation pieces as well as paintings and drawings. The art space he had set up in the studio was covered in beach sand all over the ground and in the center was a giant tradition canoe boat made out of large plastic water bottles. On the walls were beautiful traditionally focused paintings, as well as origami hats made from scraps of recycled paper and children’s shoes dyed in mud. Outside, there was a traditional performance of African dance and drumming, with the performers dressed in traditionally designed clothing, but all made from trash scraps. He was dressed in a similar outfit with paint all over his face, a smiling, young man, excited about showcasing all of his work. It was completely bizarre, but so vibrant and free. I am looking forward to talking to him more.

New Horizon Special School continues to be so rewarding, everyday I go, I am grateful for the experience. In my African Women Speak class, we have been discussing feminism in Ghana a great deal, and today I had a large research paper due about some aspect of feminism in Ghana that I found intriguing. The requirement was that we talked to many local Ghanaians around us as our primary source for research. I happily toured around this week, and met many women, the bearded fruit lady who sells us pineapple, my two seamstresses, the teller at EcoBank when the machine ate my ATM card…I had some pretty wonderful, fascinating conversations.

Spring break is coming up and we are all furiously making plans. Let me start by saying that traveling in Africa is insane. First of all, getting somewhere about 200 miles away is a day trip, at least! the roads are slow, when buses are your only option, and they also choose which days of the week to actually travel, and never on a Sunday. Also, a flight to ANYWHERE is 1000 dollars. Literally. I could get to Europe easier that anywhere is Africa, probably for cheaper too, but I want to stay here. I figure that I’m in Africa, how could I leave? So my friends Mara and Camilla and I were planning to go to Northern Ghana and Burkina Faso, to the Gorum Gorum region to ride camels and go to incredible Islamic markets. The problem is that there was a huge meningitis outbreak in Northern Ghana, and we are banned from travel in those areas. Also, Cote Ivoire, the country to my left, has been in intense political turmoil for some time so that has always been out of the question travel-wise, and then Togo, the country to our right just had elections yesterday and the effects of that are possibly going to be violent, so we are advised not to travel that direction. So essentially, if you follow me, and can picture Ghana on a map, we are surrounded, literally, by places that are off-limits. The realities here are just mind-blowing. We had a huge trip meeting with the entire NYU in Ghana group this week, and hearing all of the security measures was a eye-opening experience. There are a few people traveling to Rwanda, Mali and Egypt, but the rest of us are “re-evaluating” I should say. I will keep the Spring Break chronicles up to date for you, as they tend to be quite interesting, however I will say that our back up plan at the moment is going to this amazing eco-lodge called the Green Turtle, a few hundred miles west on the coast of Ghana, and going on hikes, day trips, visiting caves, waterfalls, staying on the beach, visiting an amazing wildlife reserve with elephants and chimpanzees and maybe going camping for few days. Some back up plan right? Our break starts March 12th, so we have time to figure it out, however. I actually love the spontaneity that is required here, doing anything. It has forced all of us to really adapt to new things constantly. Its pretty liberating.

On an ENTIRELY different note, I just found out that I was accepted into the NYU Florence Fall semester program! I applied in late January, just to see what would happen, but now that I know it is looking more and more appealing! Being here has been a traveling wake-up call for me…I officially have the travel bug, I am itching to go Everywhere!

Wow, this blog has been ALL over the place. Questions, concerns, suggestions? I’m open to anything! Please also, if anyone is curious about anything here, just little things about everyday life, or anything, Ask me! I have had a lot of people asking me about things like that and I forget sometimes to include them. I miss and love you all, as always!

Talk to you soon! MUCH LOVE