Wednesday, July 14, 2010

This morning we got up and went to a bead workshop where we learned how to make the glass beads. It was pretty awesome. Everything was done by hand which gave me such a greater appreciation for them. It was weird to have the other volunteers doing the workshop with us. They just kept talking about how much more efficient the process would be if done by a machine. They clearly have no appreciation for the beauty of handmade things.

The process was definitely tedious, you have to first pound the glass until it’s a dust, then you take cassava sticks an cut them into little tiny pieces and place them in the center of the mold which will make the center of the bead. Then you mix dye in with the glass dust and put the dust into the mold. Then you heat the molds in a fire for 5 minutes and then fire them for 15-20 minutes. Then you let them cool and wash them. We all got to make bracelets out of the beads we made.

After the workshop we went to the bead market. It was amazing. There were so many beads ranging from 50 pesewa to 500 cedi. Some of them were African trading beads that never loose their value and many people invest in them and hold onto them, kind of like gold.

After the market we started our journey back to Cape Coast. We caught a Tro Tro to Accra. When we got to Accra we had to walk a little way to catch another Tro that would take us to Cape Coast. Ellen and I had to use the restroom so we made friends with a vendor who took us to use a public bathroom. It was really nice because we had to go through a market area and she grabbed my hand and showed me where to go. When other people were shouting at me clearly because I'm white, she turned to me and said, “Don’t mind them.” It was super cute. We had to pay 5 pesewa to use the restroom.. Which was actually a concrete room. In the corner there was a small square where the concrete was about three inches lower then the rest of the floor with a small hole in the corner. I did my best to make it in the hole.. but I clearly need practice. By the time I left my shorts and shoes were both wet… oops.

From Accra we caught a tro to Takrodi, which is west of Elmina. It was better then having caught one to Cape Coast because we got dropped off right at our junction and didn’t have to worry about catching another taxi after dark.

Overall, I had a great couple of days. Traveling was totally stress free and more fun then I expected. I’m really happy I ended up going, it was a successful last adventure in Ghana.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

This morning we got up and went to a bead workshop where we learned how to make the glass beads. It was pretty awesome. Everything was done by hand which gave me such a greater appreciation for them. It was weird to have the other volunteers doing the workshop with us. They just kept talking about how much more efficient the process would be if done by a machine. They clearly have no appreciation for the beauty of handmade things.

The process was definitely tedious, you have to first pound the glass until it’s a dust, then you take cassava sticks an cut them into little tiny pieces and place them in the center of the mold which will make the center of the bead. Then you mix dye in with the glass dust and put the dust into the mold. Then you heat the molds in a fire for 5 minutes and then fire them for 15-20 minutes. Then you let them cool and wash them. We all got to make bracelets out of the beads we made.

After the workshop we went to the bead market. It was amazing. There were so many beads ranging from 50 pesewa to 500 cedi. Some of them were African trading beads that never loose their value and many people invest in them and hold onto them, kind of like gold.

After the market we started our journey back to Cape Coast. We caught a Tro Tro to Accra. When we got to Accra we had to walk a little way to catch another Tro that would take us to Cape Coast. Ellen and I had to use the restroom so we made friends with a vendor who took us to use a public bathroom. It was really nice because we had to go through a market area and she grabbed my hand and showed me where to go. When other people were shouting at me clearly because I'm white, she turned to me and said, “Don’t mind them.” It was super cute. We had to pay 5 pesewa to use the restroom.. Which was actually a concrete room. In the corner there was a small square where the concrete was about three inches lower then the rest of the floor with a small hole in the corner. I did my best to make it in the hole.. but I clearly need practice. By the time I left my shorts and shoes were both wet… oops.

From Accra we caught a tro to Takrodi, which is west of Elmina. It was better then having caught one to Cape Coast because we got dropped off right at our junction and didn’t have to worry about catching another taxi after dark.

Overall, I had a great couple of days. Traveling was totally stress free and more fun then I expected. I’m really happy I ended up going, it was a successful last adventure in Ghana.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

This morning we got up and went to a bead workshop where we learned how to make the glass beads. It was pretty awesome. Everything was done by hand which gave me such a greater appreciation for them. It was weird to have the other volunteers doing the workshop with us. They just kept talking about how much more efficient the process would be if done by a machine. They clearly have no appreciation for the beauty of handmade things.

The process was definitely tedious, you have to first pound the glass until it’s a dust, then you take cassava sticks an cut them into little tiny pieces and place them in the center of the mold which will make the center of the bead. Then you mix dye in with the glass dust and put the dust into the mold. Then you heat the molds in a fire for 5 minutes and then fire them for 15-20 minutes. Then you let them cool and wash them. We all got to make bracelets out of the beads we made.

After the workshop we went to the bead market. It was amazing. There were so many beads ranging from 50 pesewa to 500 cedi. Some of them were African trading beads that never loose their value and many people invest in them and hold onto them, kind of like gold.

After the market we started our journey back to Cape Coast. We caught a Tro Tro to Accra. When we got to Accra we had to walk a little way to catch another Tro that would take us to Cape Coast. Ellen and I had to use the restroom so we made friends with a vendor who took us to use a public bathroom. It was really nice because we had to go through a market area and she grabbed my hand and showed me where to go. When other people were shouting at me clearly because I'm white, she turned to me and said, “Don’t mind them.” It was super cute. We had to pay 5 pesewa to use the restroom.. Which was actually a concrete room. In the corner there was a small square where the concrete was about three inches lower then the rest of the floor with a small hole in the corner. I did my best to make it in the hole.. but I clearly need practice. By the time I left my shorts and shoes were both wet… oops.

From Accra we caught a tro to Takrodi, which is west of Elmina. It was better then having caught one to Cape Coast because we got dropped off right at our junction and didn’t have to worry about catching another taxi after dark.

Overall, I had a great couple of days. Traveling was totally stress free and more fun then I expected. I’m really happy I ended up going, it was a successful last adventure in Ghana.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Today Nick, Ellen and I ended up going to Krobo. In the morning I wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t looking forward to traveling at all, but I sucked it up and decided to have one more adventure before I leave.

In order to get to Krobo we had to come to Cape Coast and get a “Ford Bus Fast Car” which is actually just a big van and the reason its called a fast car is because it fills up in Cape Coast and goes straight to Accra without stopping. When we were there waiting for it to fill up Ellen had to use the restroom, so she asked a women where she should go. To our surprise the women bluntly asked, “Do u have to shit or urinate?” It totally caught us off guard and was pretty funny.

When we got to Accra we went to the Global Mamas store and I bought a few things to bring home. I was kind of disappointed because some of the things I wanted were sold out, but that’s just life and I guess it made it so I didn’t spend so much money.

Next, went to Koala, which is a westernized grocery store. They had these chocolate doughnuts and Sarah’s birthday is on Thursday so we got one to bring back for her. All the food looked AMAZING, but it was all pretty expensive especially the American brands so I couldn’t justify buying them because I’ll be home in less then a week.

We went to a restaurant in Accra for lunch called Melting Moments. We all split a pizza, it was no American pizza but it was good regardless.

After lunch it was on the road again. We went to a taxi station where we could get a fast car to Ho. The taxi station was INTENSE. Its one of those things where no matter how hard I try to explain it you could only understand if you were there, but I’ll try my best. There are a ton of huge vans piled into a parking lot pretty much bumper to bumper. There are people everywhere and EVERYONE want you to go in their car so they’re grabbing you and pushing you and pulling you every which way screaming, “You! Where are you going?” it was pretty exciting. We ended up telling a man we were going to Ho, he grabbed us and pulled us through all the people to a fast car. We all piled in and waited it for it to fill up. While we’re waiting there are venders selling all sorts of stuff on their head from pure water to toothbrushes. They come to the window of the cars so you can buy things, a total new meaning to drive through.

Although we took a fast car to Ho we actually had to get dropped in Kpong, which is south of Ho, and catch another car to Odemasi. We made it to the Global Mamas office in Odemasi just as it was getting dark. Perfect timing. We phoned Rebecca who is the head of the Odemasi office and she gave us directions to the Volunteer house.

There were three other volunteers at the house, they just got in two days ago and you could tell they were still in the adjusting phase. They were also very much business with no personality or sense of humor. They talked about things like accounting and computer software. Barf. Thank god we had each other. J

Monday, July 12, 2010

Today I worked from the house. Everyone else had to go to the office for one reason or another. Minus Ellen and Apiah I had the entire house to myself. It was very nice to have some alone time and be able to work without any distractions.

I finished drawing flats for all the new samples and started drawing them for some of last years garments that they are going to continue doing in the new catalog.

We are also trying to plan a trip to Krobo for tomorrow to go to the bead market. I really want to go because I think it will be a good experience, and if we do the bead workshop I will learn how they make the glass beads. The only issue is I don’t want to have to deal with the stress of planning and traveling during the last week before I leave.

After work I went to the pool and read for a while. It wasn’t sunny and I kept my hoodie on the entire time, I just really wanted to sit in something comfortable and although the lawn chairs at the pool aren’t that great they are definitely an upgrade from the plastic chairs I have gotten used to. I really can’t wait to sit on a comfortable couch with a big fluffy blanket and socks on.

For dinner we had Red Red at Elis. I haven’t had it since revenge of the red red when I first got here, but I decided I should give it another chance. It was really good and I didn’t get sick, which made it even better.

Sunday, June 11, 2010

Today we went to Brenu and played in the ocean. The weather wasn’t so nice, but it was still nice to be there. I love the beach… another thing I’m going to miss about Ghana.

After the beach we went to Shell to watch Spain vs. Netherlands in the world cup. We were all rooting for Spain for Maria. It was a really good game and Spain ended up coming out on top. Maria was so excited and we were all excited for her.

Tomorrow starts my last week in Ghana. I’m not ready to go home so I just try not to think about. It's crazy how quickly time flies when you're having fun.

Saturday, June 10, 2010

When I woke up this morning I was craving a movie in the theater with a giant popcorn, but since I couldn’t have that I settled for movies on my laptop in my bed. I pretty much laid in bed and watched movies all day it was amazing! It’s so nice to have a day where you literally have nothing to do. That’s probably something I will miss about Ghana, those days seem to be much more frequent here.

Today was the last day of the Elmina festival, so at night we all went to Shell. Wisdom and Amos from the office came out this way to come with us and even Judy, Ellen and Eli came with us. It was a nice change of scenery and there were so many people out.

Friday, June 9, 2010

Today we worked on patterns at the house. There were a lot of patterns at the house that were ready to go out with flats and instructions. I ended up heading to the office around 10am to take the new patterns and try and get them out so they can be sampled and come back on Monday.

When I got to the office I patterned some squares for them to use as a template to cut fabric to sell them as quilting squares. When the squares were cut and came back from the women they weren’t very straight, so I tried making the templates out of cardboard. Hopefully that will help them to draw straight lines.

After leaving the office the few of us who went to the office went to Melcom and bough some groceries. We also went to a new market in Elmina that is smaller and closer to the office. It was nice because it wasn’t so crowded and didn’t smell so fishy. We all pitched in and got some groceries to make a fiesta.

When we went to make tortillas we realized that we bought cornstarch instead of corn flour. You clearly can have a fiesta with out tortillas, so Ellen and I walked across the street to see if they had any flour at Sea Top. Kristina, who owns the bar and who we know fairly well because we hang out there often, told us that she didn’t have any flour but she had some at her house, so she sent someone to go get some for us. She bagged it up and gave it to us. When we asked her how much to pay she said we didn’t need to pay that she was dashing it to us. It was the first time I had been dashed anything. It’s cool cause it means that we’re friends. Its like we bring her business by hanging out there and so she wanted to do something nice for us.

It had been raining a lot all day and it was pretty muddy out. Nick suggested that we all go for a walk. The walk turned into a giant mud fight. Everyone was splashing in puddles and throwing mud everywhere and all the Ghanaians who were around looked at us like we were crazy. Later we realized there was probably a lot of poop in the mud we were throwing as people pretty much just go to the bathroom where ever, but it was really fun and totally worth it. J

Thursday, July 8, 2010

I can’t believe its already Thursday. This week has gone by really fast. It seems like now that I’m getting down to the wire time has really started to fly by. I only have 11 days left in Ghana and I’ll be in the States in 12 days.

I stayed at the house again today to work on flats. The power went out pretty early in the day and my computer didn’t really get a chance to charge so I ended up going across the street to the hotel to charge my computer.

While I was at the hotel I Skyped with Mark. I feel like we talked about food a lot, I can’t wait to have a slice of pizza or a Mexi-Melt from Taco Bell. We also talked about what he has planned for the first couple of days after I get home. Thursday we’re going to a Tigers game and then the Canoe Trip is that weekend, so we’re heading up north early Friday morning. I’m really excited; I just hope my jet lag isn’t too bad.

I finished some more flats today, hopefully now that we have flats the women won’t get so confused when sewing the garments because they’ll have something to look at. I also had to write instructions on how to actually construct the garment. It was actually kind of difficult because I’m pretty sure the women don’t know all the English terminology. It was almost like I had to dumb everything down.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Today I started work at the house. I worked on drawing more flats so we can start getting samples made. Around 10am I went to the office to continue working on flats. The volunteers who are working on fair trade are presenting a workshop on proper practices and I wanted to attend it.

I didn’t end up being able to go to the fair trade workshop, because everyone was on Ghana time and the workshop didn’t end up starting until 1pm. I ended up running a few errands in Cape Coast, and then coming back to the house.

At the house I worked on flats some more. They’re looking really good. I’m excited because I will have things from every step of the design process to put in my portfolio.

Samples haven’t been coming back as quickly as they were before. It seems like the women are having a hard time reading our patterns. Its kind of funny because you could give them a garment and they can pretty much make an exact replica, but if you just give them a pattern they get really confused. It’s kind of a big problem and something Global Mamas really needs to work with the women on in the future.

After work I took a shower. It was so nice to be clean. I’m really looking forward to my first real shower when I get home. A shower where there is hot and cold water and some legit water pressure. It’s the little things like that I miss most from home.

Later in the evening we went across the street to Tom and Steve’s house. They brought real cheese with them from England and shared it with us. It was pretty much amazing.

Tuesday, June 6, 2010

I woke up this morning and made rice for breakfast. It was my first time ever cooking rice and I have decided it’s much harder then it looks. It ended up taking forever and didn’t even taste good. I was pretty bummed at my failed attempt to make a delicious breakfast.

I worked from the house today. I worked on drawing flats of the animal softies. I finished the giraffe and worked on the lion rhino and elephant. I also worked on flats of the other garments that are going to be sampled. The romper we sampled came back and the seamstress was really confused on how to sew it because they don’t know how to read patterns. We’re going to try and have flats and typed instructions to send out with each garment from now on.

We took the afternoon off work to go to a Festival in Elmina. The festival was in celebration of the river that runs through Elmina. It was a really cool experience. There was a parade where they carry all the chiefs around on chairs down the street. Everyone was singing and dancing. Then we went down to the boat races. There were so many people you couldn’t really see anything. A Ghanaian man saw me in the back and offered me his spot standing on a bench. I went from not being able to see at all to pretty much having a front row seat. I feel like that would never happen in the states.

After the festival Ellen, Nick and I went to a restaurant that served African and Cuban cuisine. It was really good. I got chicken and vegetable stew with rice. That’s probably the second time i've eaten meat since I’ve been here. We also ordered a glass of wine with dinner, and they just gave us the whole bottle.

After dinner we walked back to the house. Everyone was blaring music it was crazy how many people were out and about celebrating. Apparently the festival lasts all week. I wonder if they will be playing music so loudly every night. Thank goodness for the huge fan in my room that is so loud it over powers ALL other noises or I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep.

Monday, June 5, 2010

Today Tanya and her husband came to the office with us. It was fun to show them where we work. When I first got to the office I finished my journals from last week and sent them to Tanya. Then I went to try and extend my visa.

The woman at immigration was so rude. She seriously made me want to cry. I think I would have been fine if someone else went with me, but because I was all by myself it was really intimidating. First she yelled at me for the way I filled out the form. In an email I got from Renee before I arrived in Ghana she gave us instructions for how to fill out the immigration forms when we were on the plane. I filled out my second immigration from following the same instructions, but apparently the immigration officer did not like that. She yelled at me for using an Accra address, and again for putting tourism as my purpose for visiting. It was also difficult because I had a hard time understanding her English. Every once and a while someone else would come in the office and they would talk about me in Fanti. I could tell because they would both stare at me for a minute and then start laughing. Finally she started processing my paper work. They had to keep my passport, which is nerve wrecking in itself, and then told me I had to come back on the 19^th to collect my passport. I leave on the 19^th from Accra, and told her I wouldn’t be in Cape Coast. Reluctantly she ended up changing the date to the 15^th. She gave me a receipt and told me that if I lost it I wouldn’t be able to get my passport back. It just seems crazy to me because there is a quicker turn around on visas when you’re in the states and you have to mail your passport.

When I got back to the office I worked on drawing flats in illustrator of the softies we’re having sampled. I also helped take pictures of some of the new samples that came in so we can send them to Renee and Kristen to get them approved.

For lunch, we took Tanya and her husband to the place where we get those really good egg sandwiches.

We left work a couple hours early and went to the Cape Coast Castle with Tanya and her husband. It was really cool to go there and experience history, but it was really depressing because that is where they used to ship out slaves from. It was almost awkward because you were there with a bunch of Ghanaians, and it was almost like they made me feel like I was personally responsible for everything that had happened.

For dinner we went to Oasis with Tanya and her husband, I got a vegetable pizza. It was pretty much amazing. Its crazy that in two weeks I will be able to eat real pizza again. At Oasis, they had drumming and dancing.

After dinner we came home and went to Sea Top for a drink. We ended up calling it an early night. I came home, read for a while and went to bed.

Sunday, July 4, 2010

HAPPY INDEPENCE DAY!

This morning everyone went to the pool, so Ellen and I made streamers out of Red, White and Blue scraps and hung them on the porch. We also made a sign out of scraps of interfacing that said happy forth of July. It was weird being here, cause obviously no one here celebrates the holiday. We didn’t listen to, I’m proud to be an American or watch fireworks.

Tanya and her husband arrived around 6pm and we all went to lunch at Elis.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Today Ellen and I went to Stumble Inn to hang on the beach. It was pretty much a perfect day. We laid out all afternoon, were fed AMAZING food for lunch and dinner. Hung out with everyone after dinner and bummed a ride back to the house at night.

I think I'm obsessed with the ocean, I don’t really know what it is but I love when the waves push me over, it’s so liberating to me. The down side to spending the day at Stumble is the sand mites. I came home with a million bites again and I know I will be completely miserable tomorrow.

Friday, July 2, 2010

We're Ghana Make History Today!

Today Ghana plays Uruguay in football, if the win they will be the first African team in history to make it to the semi-finals. This is a huge deal, and I’m so excited to be here for this.

This morning, almost the entire design team came to the office. We organized the patterns we have to send them out to seamstresses. Its exciting, because it seems like we have so many done and they have a pretty quick turn around with samples, so we should have them all back by Monday.

For lunch I was introduced to this place that has AMAZING egg sandwiches. I also realized in order to get my visa extended I needed to get more passport photos taken, and there happened to be a place next door that printed them instantly. I stopped by there and sat down in the chair to have my photo taken. I smiled and the woman was like, “ohhh noooo.” So I was like, “Oh, I shouldn’t smile?” and she said, “no, you can smile just don’t show me your teeth.” She was honestly so disgusted. So, needless to say my picture turned out pretty hideous.

I tried to get my visa extended today, but it was a failed attempt. They told me I need to come back on Monday with a copy of my flight details, and a certificate from the department of social wellness in Ghana.

After trying to get my passport taken care of, and failing miserably, I went back to the house to pattern the sleeve to the dress I was working on the other day.

After work we went across the street and hung out for a while, and eventually made it to ladies night at the hotel. It was very interesting. There was a five cedi cover for boys, and we ordered small beers, which were 3 cedi a piece. That seemed so outrageous to me, it was pretty much as bad as U.S. prices.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Today is Republic Day. On July 1, 1960, Ghana became a republic of the British Commonwealth.

I celebrated today by going to the pool and watching a movie on my laptop.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Today on the way to work Nick and I were put in charge of carrying a computer monitor, but not just any computer monitor a super old school big and bulky computer monitor. It wasn’t really heavy just super awkward to carry. Originally we were going to charter a taxi to the office that will pick us up from the house and take us directly to the office. However, chartering a taxi is almost more then 5 times the price of taking a shared taxi, so I told Maria we could just take the monitor in a share taxi. It was quite the journey. First of all, its Wednesday and its already difficult to get taxis on Wednesdays due to the fact that Tuesdays are no fishing and so on Wednesdays the fishermen catch a lot of fish and drivers would rather take the fish then take us. Secondly, we had this bulky screen with us, which made people not want to take us even more.

When we finally got to the office we realized that everyone thought someone else was bringing the patterns to the office. My whole purpose in coming to the office today was to work with seamstresses sewing new patterns. I thought Jessica was bringing them, but turns out she only grab the patterns she made and said she thought Sarah was bringing the rest, but Sarah didn’t even come to the office today. This further proves previous point that we have bad communication.

Since I was already in Cape Coast, and now I had nothing to do, I ended up running some errands. I stopped by the store and got some more laughing cow cheese and noodles, I also stopped by a couple little shops on the way and did some souvenir shopping.

When we got back to the house the plan was to work on the patterns we started earlier in the week. When we got to the house everyone else used all the stiff working on other patterns, so there was nothing to make our patterns on. I ended up working on the scrap jewelry samples. We made one of the necklaces they said they liked its like a bigger necklace almost like a scarf. It turned out ok, but I can’t see the people they’re trying to target wanting it.

Today is our new friend Steve’s birthday, so after work we went to meet them at the bar across the street. It was fun all their friends from work were they’re and one of them made pineapple upside down cake. It was delicious.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Today I worked from the house. I’m not sure how I feel about working from home. On one hand its super nice because you don’t have to leave the house. On the other hand I wear my pajamas all day and I seem to eat more.

Some of the designers stayed home in the morning but ended up going to the office later in the day. I traced and put seam allowances on the sloper pattern we made last week so that someone could bring it to the office with them and we could get it sampled. I also wrote out instructions for the skirt we made and sent the romper as well.

For the rest of the day I started drafting a pattern for a shift dress with three quarter length sleeves. I think it will be really cute. It was actually the design I liked best when I submitted them last week. But, when we got feedback I thought they didn’t like it and was pretty bummed, but it turns out that they did like it and their comments were just mixed up. The bad news is that when their comments got mixed up we thought they were saying they liked the romper, but turns out they didn’t and we already made the pattern for it. It’s really cute but they said they don’t know how it will fit they’re target market. I’m not sure they know exactly who their target market consists of. Maria said we can sample it anyways so that nice at least it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

When everyone else came home the patterns I sent to the office came home as well. This is really frustrating. We have very bad communication between the design team. I’ve have definitely learned the importance of communication while being here. I have also realized how much I take email and wireless Internet for granted. It would be so much easier if we could all just shoot each other emails because it would ensure that everyone has received the same information and is on the same page.

For dinner we went to Eli’s. She made Salad and Spicy Rice. It was so good. I think I also take eating raw vegetables for granted when I’m home. Even though I don’t usually like vegetables much its one of the things I crave the most here. “The others” had a plan to take the leftovers home with them, but they never share and they’re rude so we ate as much as we could so there wouldn’t be leftovers. We clearly might not be that polite either. J

After dinner we went to C-Spot, the bar across the street, and hung out for a while. Our new friends from across the way came to C-Spot later to hang out. It was a good time. Its nice to have other people to talk to besides the same couple people all the time. I talked with the head honcho of their NGO for awhile about Global Mamas. It seems like he doesn’t really agree with or understand what they’re trying to do, but then again sometimes I don’t either.

Monday June 28, 2010

This morning I came to the office to work. There wasn’t much to do, but I wanted to come incase my romper came back. I ended up cutting out everyone else’s stencils which is a pain, but I didn’t cut my self today so that’s good. Then I colored everyone’s layouts which I actually enjoy doing because it takes me back to the good ol’ days when im summers consisted of coloring in my Trolls coloring book and running in the fire hydrant shape sprinkler in the back yard.

Once I finished cutting and coloring I worked on the batik and seamstress profiles. Everyone is suppose to fill them out and send them back to me once they go on site visits, that way I can organize them and try to find any information that might be missing. However, people haven’t been so good at doing that. I think its because things here are so unorganized everything gets lost in the confusion.

My romper also came back today. I was so excited, but then when I tried it on it didn’t fit right, it gave me a bit of a camel toe. So, I made some corrections and sent it back hopefully next time it will fit right.

After work the West Point volunteers came to Eli’s again for dinner. It was weird talking to them about their school and how strict it is. I think I would go crazy with so many rules. Their teacher who was with them said that most people from West Point are really socially awkward because their social lives are pretty much put on a stand still the entire time they’re at the school and then after graduation they’re in the military for five years. However, All the people who were here seemed pretty normal and they were all really nice.

Quote of the day: “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens” - Kahlil Gibran

Pictures.

World Cup. Celebration after Ghanas win over the U.S.

Hillary and I watching the U.S. vs. Ghana game. Check out my Ghana Gear.

Ellen and I with two friends from the other NGO Nick and Tom. This was the night we stayed at the Stumble Inn.

Hawa, the women who I was going to batik with the day i got lost.

The biggeset spider I have ever seen.

One of the stamps I made after it was sampled. Its not lined up correctly because the people on the visit couldn't figure it out, but i think it looks cool anyways.

This is a sample bag made of scraps. I was the model for the picture we have to send to the bosses in Accra. Its so cute, i hope they like it too.

Nick and I with Chillin' Chillin'. She owns the store out side the office. Shes so nice, when it was raining she let me use her umbrella and wouldnt let me give it back until it stopped raining.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Today was sunny and we hung by the pool at the resort across the street all day. It was the perfect Sunday. For dinners we went to Elis and the volunteers from Krobo came down and met us for dinner. They’re all from West Point Military Academy. Everyone seemed nice, but they were a little too uptight for me. They definitely fit in better with “the others” then with us. After Elis we all went to the little bar across the street from the house and hung out for a while.

We talked to the other volunteers about Krobo a lot. I think we are going to try and plan a trip there for sometime this week. There are two big bead markets up that way and it would be nice to be able to go to them both, so we are trying to figure something out. Nothing too exciting just a nice relaxing Sunday.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

We woke up at Stumble Inn this morning and had eggs and toast for breakfast. They had really good food, but they didn’t have real coffee, which was kind of a let down. After breakfast I took a nap in a hammock. It was cloudy all day so we all kind of took it easy and relaxed. We played cards and hung out until lunch, ate lunch and headed back to the house.

Ghana and the U.S. played in football today. We all went to the shell station that’s pretty much right behind our house to watch the game. They had a big projector screen and projected the game on the side of the building. I wore my Ghana gear and was rooting for Ghana the entire time. Ghanaians who were watching the game assumed that since we’re white we were cheering for the U.S. even though we were totally decked out in Ghana gear. For the most part everyone was pretty nice, but there were a couple guys who thought it was necessary to blow one of those horns right in our ears.

When the game was finally over and Ghana won people went nuts. Everyone was running around screaming and cheering. People were so excited. I was so happy they won because it means so much more to people here. If the U.S. would have won not very many people would have even known let alone cared, they definitely wouldn’t have responded the way everyone here did.

Friday, June 25, 2010

This morning we all went to the office. It’s so cramped when everyone is there, but it also can be fun depending on the mood you’re in. We got feedback from the second trend presentation. I didn’t submit much with this presentation except one stamp idea and a bunch of different silhouettes. The feedback wasn’t as good as the first time, but I think its because they already have a pretty good idea about what they want the new products to be.

We didn’t spend much time at the office today we’re really trying to crank out patterns so that we can get samples made and change things that need to be fixed. After the presentation I had to go to the bank. It was raining the hardest I’ve seen it rain since I’ve been here. The sewers were flooding into the street. It smelled terrible. I didn’t have an umbrella so Chillin’, the women who owns the shop across the street, let me borrow one of hers. It was so nice. When I was walking back from the bank it was still raining and it was really windy. My umbrella was flying everywhere.

After the bank I headed back to the house to work on patterns. I started patterning a romper. It should be really cute when its finished. I got the top and the bottom started, but then I ran out of paper so I could retrace it or finish it. That’s the one thing that sucks about working from the house. If you run out of materials you’re pretty much screwed because there is no where to get materials in Elmina, and I guess even if there was you would probably waste half of the day running around.

After work we went to a resort where the other NGO stays called Stumble Inn. It’s in Elmina so not very far from the house. It was amazing. They are trying to create completely Eco Friendly lodging. The rooms were so nice and the food was super good. I think everyone had really good time hanging out. It is so refreshing to get out of the volunteer house.

A bunch of us went swimming in the ocean at night. I love swimming in the ocean and letting the waves toss me around. When we got out of the ocean no one thought that we just washed off all of our bug spray and we should probably reapply it, something we’d end up paying for in the next couple days.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Today I worked from the house all day. It was so nice to not be cramped a million people in the little office. In the morning I went through all the old patterns to make sure they weren’t missing pieces and to make sure everything made sense. I also looked at patterns from a design contest to make sure they made sense.

We also got the ok to make a new dress to sample, so Hilary and I started working on this. We decided the best thing to do would be to create slopers that everyone can use to make patterns from so we will at least have size consistency for the garments we make. We drafted an entire sloper before lunch. It was hard because the proportions for their sizes are off, so we did the best we could.

We decided to take our lunch break at the pool. It was pretty amazing. Even though we were only there for half an hour it was so relaxing to lie around in the sun for a while.

After lunch we finished drafting the pattern for the new dress we’re making. It should be cute. Originally we wanted to make just a skirt, but I think they want us to make it as a dress with a sleeveless bodice. Even though we don’t think that will look good at all we’re going to make a bodice to make them happy and put in our comments that we think it will look better as a skirt only.

After work we went to the bar across the street to hang out. It seems like everyone in the neighborhood is painting. I don’t know if its painting season or what, but everything looks fresh and is painted a new color now. We went to Elis for dinner and she painted it red with Coca Cola signs on it. It actually looks really good.

For dinner we had black-eyed pea burgers. They’re so good. After Eli served dinner and half of us were still eating “the others” took the left over food got up and left. It was probably the rudest thing I’ve ever seen. They all brag about being really proper brought up in wealthy families, but they have no manners. I feel like there is never a good time to brag about how much money your family makes, but if there were to be a good time to bring it up it would definitely not be when you’re in a developing country. I felt bad for Eli too, because when they all got up to leave Eli wasn’t even finished cooking. “The others” never cease to amaze me.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

This morning I had a site visit scheduled in Elmina at 8:30, so when everyone left for the office I hung around the house because it made more sense for me to leave from the house. I was supposed to meet Hawa at the “Flower Guild Junction in Elmina”.

When you are catching a taxi here there are special signs you have to do so they know which way you are going. I asked Maria which way I should point to get a taxi to Flower Guild Junction, and she didn’t know so she told me to ask Ellen, the women who takes care of the house. So I did, and she said “no flower guild junction, coconut guild junction”. Then she told me which way to point and that I would have to stand on the opposite side of the street then I do when going to work.

I flag down a driver and told him coconut guild, because it’s a share taxi and people are getting in and out along the way it took about 15 min to get through Elmina, but I keep seeing signs for Coconut Grove and figured that everyone probably said grove I just couldn’t understand them because of their accent. As we get closer I realize that Coconut Grove is a golf course and I'm probably not in the right place. The driver tried to drop me off at the golf course, but I politely tell him I need to be at the junction. He told me there are four junctions and he wasn’t sure which one, so I tell him to take me to the closest one. I pay him and get out of the car.

As I'm standing on the corner looking lost and confused as usual, with Hawa nowhere in sight, I decided to BBM Sarah. She told me that it is Flower Guild. So, I found a woman who looked nice and asked her if she knew of a Flower Guild in Elmina. She said no, it is in Cape Coast. I told Sarah and she got everything figured out. Apparently someone was wrong when they said Elmina in the first place and I should have been heading towards Cape Coast.

I finally caught a taxi back towards the house, but no one would take me all the way there because it was out of the way so I ended up walking for about an hour just to get back to where I started so I could catch a different taxi toward Cape Coast.

I finally figured out where I was going and found Hawa. We went back to her place to batik. She really wanted me to learn Fanti so she taught me a couple of things on the walk, which sure enough I have already forgotten.

When we got to her place she told me that since she is pregnant there is a man who works with her cause she cant lift heavy things right now. The man's name was Sam, and he actually ended up doing everything. He was really nice and very interested in the U.S. I’m pretty sure he wanted me to sponsor him to come visit, but I just kept pretending I didn’t know what was going on.

After my site visit I got a taxi back to the house and worked on patterns for soft ornaments. I made a chicken with crazy hair. I’m excited to get it sampled I think it will be really cute.

After work we went to the bar across the street to watch the Ghana vs. Germany football game. It was so cute how excited everyone was even though Ghana lost. They were just happy they got to move on to the next round. Ghana plays the U.S. on Saturday. I’m pretty pumped it should be a good time.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

We are finally starting to sample all the stamps we created, so this morning I got to go on a site visit and work with a women named Jennifer. She has been batiking for 12 years, and has been working with Global Mama’s for 4 years. She sampled a kid’s print I made of a chick and a popsicle stamp Sarah made for the Home collection. We had her make each print in yellow and orange, so it made it a little easier when it came to dying the fabric. It was so fun going to work with her, this is the kind of stuff I thought I would be doing everyday. I love working with the women and hearing about how Global Mama’s has helped improve their quality of life. Jennifer paid for mine and Sarah’s taxi ride from the office to her home and gave us popcorn to eat while we were visiting. Although all of this didn’t cost her more then five U.S. dollars it is a huge deal because that is probably more money then she usually spends in a week.

The way people live here is so amazing, and for the most part people her are so nice. In terms of U.S. standards their homes are shacks that should be condemned. In normal circumstances most of us wouldn’t go near them. The people here are so proud of the home they’ve built for their family and their community, and are more then happy to have you there. If they don’t have a chair for you to sit in they will give you the one they are using. If you come over and they have no food except for what they were going to eat for dinner, they will gladly give it to you. Being here has really taught me so much about community and caring for one another.

Here there are no homeless people because if you don’t have a place to stay someone will invite you to their home and give you the bed that they sleep in. It is really a beautiful thing, and even though they don’t have much in terms of material things they are the happiest people I have ever met.

I’m currently reading a book called “Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical” by Shane Claiborne, its pretty much about Christians in today’s society and how they’re not really living the bible in the way it was originally attended. It talks a lot about the separation between wealth and poverty and how 20% of people hold 80% of the world’s wealth and 80% of people share only 20% of the world’s wealth. If people were to love their neighbors as themselves the hole concept of poverty wouldn’t exist. This idea is so similar to the way people here live and I think it is the perfect book to read while I’m here. It gives me a better understanding of the culture here and helps me to look at everything in a new light.

After work we decided to get some sausages and beer from across the street. The obrunis that are currently living across the street from us were there and we hung out with them for a while. They seem like ok people and we’re trying to organize a hang out for Friday at the other house their NGO has that is on the beach.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Today the new Eminem album came out, so I got up early to go to the hotel and download it. I’m pretty much the happiest person ever. I remember when I found out I would be here when the new album is be released I was bummed I wouldn’t be able to get it until I got back to the states.

Our other friends who went on a trip this weekend didn’t make it back last night because a bridge was flooded pretty badly (I guess two people died trying to cross it) and they couldn’t make it. Honestly, I was pretty happy when I found out they wouldn’t be coming back because then we wouldn’t be cramped in the little design room. I got to work in the main office with air conditioning. It was super nice.

When I first got to work we finished cutting out all the stencils that we didn’t get to on Friday. I was pretty happy that I didn’t cut myself today, looks like my bad luck is gone. After cutting the stencils we had to trace them onto plain paper to show the layout so that when we give them to batikers they know how we want them placed on the fabric. It was kind of funny because we had to color the stencil with the color we wanted them to dye the fabric, but the only supplies we had were crayons. If we had a 64-count set of crayols it may have been a different story, but we had a few colors of poor quality crayons. In order to make different colors we had to try to mix the crayons together. It will be really interesting to see how the batikers interpret our coloring job, hopefully at the end of the day we will all be on the same page color wise. I have to admit, coloring with crayons took me back to being a kid and I was secretly enjoying myself.

I got to skype with Mark for a few minutes while I was coloring. He was getting ready for work. Its funny how when I’m at lunch everyone is just getting up, and when I’m going to bed everyone is just getting out of work.

For lunch I wanted to get rice from the lady across the street, but she wasn’t there today, so I wandered down the street a little ways and found someone else who had rice. Even though its just rice, I still get a little nervous every time I try something new because I’ve had such bad luck with food-So far so good though.

After lunch, I worked on pulling images from the Internet for the presentation we are presenting on Wednesday. It is always really frustrating when we have to do anything regarding the Internet. It’s so slow, and everything takes so long to load. I feel like I'm spending more time sitting and waiting for pages to load then actually doing work.

We also started taking pictures of some of the sampled new products that have already been made to send to Renee. It’s weird because ultimately they have the final say in things and they only have photos to look at. I think the colors don’t turn out so well on a computer screen as they do in real life.

I also made copies of the new Eminem CD for my new friends in Ghana. It was so cute how excited they were. I was excited too because I’m clearly obsessed and I love it that they love Eminem too.

After work we went to the house. I made the worlds best Mac N Cheese for dinner. I have now perfected it and I’m pretty sure I will make it even when I’m back in the states and velveta is available.

We also started watching the first season of Gossip Girl. I never thought I would be into that show because its pretty much the definition of trash television, but I have to admit I’m secretly hooked… or not so secretly anymore.

While we were enjoying our second episode of Gossip Girl for the evening, the others returned home from their weekend trip. They have quite a story to tell. Apparently it rained a lot in the east and two bridges were flooded. Two other people had died while trying to cross one of the bridges because their car got swept away by the current and they were stuck inside. When they got to the first bridge and it was flooded they turned back and stayed in Accra for the night, but then yesterday while driving they came across another flooded bridge and the tro drivers forced them to cross it. I guess water was pouring in the tro and people were behind pushing them across. One of the Ghanaians was leading them in a group prayer as they Then when they made it across everyone started chanting, “You cheated death! You cheated death!”

Pretty crazy story, I’m very thankful everyone is ok.

Thing from home I'm missing most:

Sunday, June 20, 2010

HAPPY FATHERS DAY! I would like to devote this post to my dad! Thanks for everything you have done and continue to do. I LOVE you!

In one month at 10:30 in the morning, I will be landing in Detroit. Pretty crazy how quickly time has been flying by.

Today was really mellow. It was pretty cloudy out and there wasn’t anything really to do. In the morning I drafted a pattern for school, and then tomorrow im going to have one of the women from Global Mama’s sew it out of the fabric I batiked at Judy’s last week because we don’t have access to a sewing machine.

For lunch a couple of us came to the hotel to eat. The food was good, but not THAT good, and really over priced. I don’t think we will eat there again. After lunch we just hung around the house together. I read my book for a little bit, and then we went to Eli’s for dinner.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Today was a perfect day. Lately, sunny days are few and far between. I fee like its been raining for a week straight. On most days the rain doesn’t bother me because I'm stuck in the office all day anyways, but on the weekends I would prefer it to be sunny and today it was. Everyone who stayed in Elmina this weekend hung out at the pool all day. It was so relaxing.

Ghana played at 2:00pm and they showed in on a projector in the hotel so we went to watch it for a while. There were so many people crammed into this little room that you could hardly see the TV, but it was still so awesome just to be in that atmosphere.

I got to skype with my family today too. They were all together up north celebrating fathers day. It was nice to see and hear from everyone. However, after talking to them a hearing they were eating viennas for lunch I was jealous. Across the street from the house there is a vender who cooks and sells sausages so I ate one of them for dinner, but it just wasn’t the same.

There was also a peace rally in Cape Coast tonight for a man who was killed on may, 31. Nick, Ellen, Hilary, and I made our way out there. When we got to the peace rally nothing was really going on yet. The women in charge talked to us and said they were running on “Ghana Time” so everything was a little behind. We decided to go hit up this restaurant down the street called Oasis. They’re ended up being a mixed crowd of Obrunis and Rastas at the Oasis. Its funny because the white people here are not very friendly, it seems like they all think they’re Gods greatest gift to the world, or that they think what they are doing is better then what were doing. It’s actually really annoying. Why can’t people be genuine and be doing things because it’s the right thing to do, not so that they can one up someone else. The locals however were supper friendly. We ended up having such a good time at the Oasis hanging out with the locals we didn’t make it back to the peace rally.

Thing from home I'm missing most:

PHOTOS!

My hut at Busua beach last weekend!

This is a picture of the front of our house. My room is upstairs far right, but facing the back of the house.

The inside of our hut at the beach.

The younger monkey from Busua. This was not the attack monkey... which i still have a bruise from.

Busua. He's so annoying.

My bathroom

Friday, June 18, 2010

It seems like there is no bus system here. Almost every morning on the way to work when we catch a cab there is a kid in the front seat on the way to school. It seems funny that parents just throw their children in a cab with someone they don’t know and expect them to take them to school, but hey, that’s Ghana I guess.

When we got to work we spend pretty much the whole day creating stamp templates and cutting them out. It was a pain, but it will be nice come Monday when we can send them out and get samples back this week. Then things should really start getting hectic. While I was slaving away to get all the templates cut out using a straight razor blade I cut my finger. It didn’t hurt very bad nor is it a very bad cut it just surprised me. That’s the third band-aid in three days. Everyone says bad things come in waves of three, so hopefully I'm safe for a while.

We had a pretty slow Friday nothing big happen and after cutting out stencils we folded and packed a few garments for a shipment that is going out in the morning. After work we went to Eli’s for rice and curry. It was so good. It was also super nice because 5 of the volunteers went on a mini vaca to the east side of Ghana and the office, as well as the house was pretty empty.

Other then that, a pretty low key Friday night.

Thing from home I'm missing most:

The fam!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

I cant believe its already Thursday! This week has gone by so fast. It seems like we were just chillin’ out by the beach not that long ago. I may start panicking soon like I'm running out of time here. Even though I still have a whole month left. I only have four weekends to travel and see as much of Ghana as I can.

At work today we finally got feedback from the bosses! I’m so happy because now we can actually get down to business. It seems like we will be busy the rest of the time. I think we are going to start pattern making next week too, which is awesome. They told us which stamps they like and which ones they didn’t. Mostly they like all of the retro geometric stamps. It is very clear, however, that none of them have any idea who their target market actually is. Renee and Kristen have all of the business aspects down, but no one has any marketing background or apparel background. Its kind of funny how everything here works.

After we went over our trend presentation and all the feedback it was time for lunch. I didn’t go for a walk today because Ellen, Nick and I were going to Judy’s to batik at noon. It was so fun spending time with her. She was so happy to have people around. She was also so helpful. She actually taught us what to do and then let us do. My fabric is not perfect. You can tell at the top where I kept messing up cause I wasn’t sure how much pressure to put on each size. I think that makes it way better though. I think batik is supposed to have imperfections and you’re supposed to be able to tell it’s handmade.

After batik we were having happy hour at Eli’s. She made guacamole and plantain chips. It was so good! She made us drinks too, and Global Mamas bought the first round. Wisdom who works at the office has a drink named after him called The Wizzy Special; it was four different kinds of bitters and a shot of gin. It was pretty strong. I couldn’t drink it all and ended up mixing half of it with my beer. There was Then we had black-eyed pea burgers for dinner, which were also amazing.

We hung out at Eli’s for a while after dinner, or at least half of us did. Half of the group is super fun and we all get along really well. The other half is really dull. I feel like none of them have personalities and they don’t know how to have a good time. They’re not adventurous at all so I wonder why they even wanted to come here. They are all really uptight and complain a lot. Something people have to realize about being here is that we are not at home and nothing here is so easy. For example, if at home you order a burger without ketchup and it comes out with ketchup on it, you can send it back and get a new one. Here, however, if you order a burger without ketchup and it comes with ketchup, you suck it up and eat it anyway. You don’t send it back, because first of all everything is made from scratch, but also because they probably don’t have any more meat or bread to make you another one and cant afford to buy more if they wanted to.

Thing from home i miss the most:

Freshly shaven legs

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Today we were suppose to have the measuring workshop with quality control, however, we decided to postpone it indefinitely. After we all measured the garments and came up with different measurements we decided the measurements on the spec sheets they have are “off” intentionally. After measuring the garments it is clear that it would be impossible for them to get the correct measurement without bending or stretching the fabric. We did not feel like it is our place to totally change their entire process.

There is also a thing here they refer to as “small boy syndrome”. Basically they believe that if you are older you are wiser, educational background doesn’t matter at all. So, we pretty much don’t stand a chance when it comes to giving them advice or other ways to do things. They don’t think we have a clue what were talking about and will forever think their way is better.

After deciding to postpone the workshop we sent an email to Alice trying to figure out what to do. Alice and Emi were the two designers that were most recently in Cape Coast, so she knows why things here are the way they are. They may not make sense to us, but more often then not they were probably done on purpose. Maybe they found it works better with the culture here and the way Ghanaians think.

Around noon I went on an errand through Cape Coast to buy the raw materials for batiking. Their crazies how long simple tasks like this take here. We had to go to 3 different shops in order to get all the materials we need. There is no such thing as a one-stop shop. It definitely makes me appreciate the convenience of things in the states. It took 2 hours just to find the materials.

After buying materials Nick, Ellen, Sarah and I headed home so we could go to Judy’s and experiment new ideas for batik. Unfortunately on the way home it started down pouring. IT was raining the hardest I've ever seen here. Clearly we cant batik in the rain. I ended up just carving my stamps so they are ready for tomorrow.

I cut my finger with the pocketknife I was using to carve my stamp. Thank goodness for the first aid kit my dad sent me with! I’ve used it twice in two days, but I’m sure that’s not surprising to anyone. I’ve always been pretty accident-prone. We joke all the time about how Ellen or I will be the one who falls in the open sewers.

For dinner today we had a potluck! It was amazing. The four of us all made something different to eat and then we shared. Nick made stew with potatoes and okra, Ellen made Thai rice with peanut butter and curry, Sarah made plantain chips, and I made cheese sandwiches. We decided were going to do this a lot for dinner or we will all throw in 2 cedis and see what we can make.

Thing from home I miss the most:

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

We are still working on our designs for the presentation we’re sending on Friday, and still waiting on specific feed back from the original design ideas we sent in. I feel like we are kind of in limbo and there is not much to do right now. It’s almost annoying, but that’s Ghana. I wonder if I will ever get used to doing nothing. I thought I would adapt to that pretty easily because id like to think I'm pretty laid back, but it way harder then I thought.

We are hosting a measuring workshop tomorrow with quality control. This should hopefully clear up any misunderstandings they have about proper measuring procedure. We met as a group and went over what were would go over during the workshop. Once quality control has measuring down there shouldn’t be any more inconsistencies between the garments. If the workshop goes well we plan to have one with the seamstresses as well. This way if something isn’t up to standards they will know and fix it, or if it can’t be fixed they won’t waste time finishing the garment.

It is important to help the women have a better understanding that by accepting items that are not up to standards it makes Global Mamas seem less creditable and in turn less people will order from them. They have a hard time grasping this concept. They think the more garments they pass the better.

For lunch we discovered a women right across the street that sells a good size bag of rice and red sauce. It was deliciously spicy. After eating I went on a walk with Ellen and nick looking for a Ghana football jersey. I needed to get some Ghana gear for the next match on Saturday. I ended up finding a yellow jersey with shorts for 10 cedi. This was pretty much the first souvenir I bought for myself.

After lunch I worked on the kids softies. I started drafting some patterns and using scraps to make them. I think these will be so cute. It’s just hard because we don’t really have access to a sewing machine.

Judy, the women who lives next door to the volunteer house, recently lost her husband. He got sick suddenly and passed away a few days later, it was his funeral we went one of the first weeks we were here. Since she is Muslim she cannot leave her house for 3 months because it is a mourning period. She has two young kids and gets really lonely. She also has a batik station and a sewing machine she said we could use. I think a few of us are going to try and go over there tomorrow to keep her company and also experiment with batiking and patterns.

On the way home today I was walking and tripped off a rock. I cut my foot, thank God for the first aid kit my dad gave me!

The thing from home I'm missing most today:

Monday, June 14, 2010

Today when I got to work I did some more work on the stamp library. Pretty much I just went through last years catalog and figured out which stamps were used for which garments and entered it into an excel document. It took forever. Sarah is working on a template to put them all in. its going to be sweet when its finished because it will have everything you could ever want to know about a specific stamp in one file. Once she finishes the template I’ll have to go through and add all the information I have into the template she created.

After working on the stamp library I took a lunch break. Usually for lunch I eat in the office and pretty much work through my lunch. By the end of the day I am so sick of being stuck in the office I cant stand it. I decided I'm going to start using my lunch to walk around Cape Coast. I feel like not only is it good exercise and a good break from work, but it will also allow me to see more of the city. I’m just going to walk a different way each day.

The rest of my workday I put together a template for the capacity building. The capacity building project involves going on site visits and getting to know the seamstresses and batikers and what they are good at. In the end we want to have a file that has profiles for each woman, what they’re strong skills are and what their weaknesses are.

After work I made the best pasta I have ever made in my entire life. I really think I’m becoming a better cook since I’ve been here. I even put fresh garlic in it. Nick is a really good cook and he gives me tips. He says I should start making sauces and soups because they’re easy and then I can eat them for a while. I might try something like that tomorrow.

I’m starting to feel like I don’t have much time left. Even though I’m only about half way through my trip I feel like there aren’t many weekends left to explore Ghana. Most of the places left to go are kind of far, which is why we’ve been putting them off. This weekend I think we’re going to try to plan a trip to Mole, which is a 10 hour drive north. We don’t want to have to travel with so many people because then we’re pretty much a walking target so there are 4 of us trying to plan a trip kind of behind everyone’s back. I feel bad because we don’t want to leave anyone out, but it makes more sense for us to split up and not travel in such a large group.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Today we hung by the beach again. The weather wasn’t as nice; it was cloudy, windy and kind of chilly. This combination of things, however, made for great body surfing waves. Once again I spent the day playing in the ocean, and loved every second of it.

We went to the surf shop again for lunch and watched the Ghana vs. Serbia football game. It is awesome how excited people here get about the games. I knew that football was a big deal here; I just didn’t realize how important it actually is to them. When a game is on, people literally drop everything to watch it. Our tro driver told us there was no way he would drive us during the game. No matter where people are, they find a way to get to a TV to watch the game.

After the game, when we were driving back to Cape Coast we saw so many people decked out in Ghana gear. It is so cool to see the whole nation untied. I feel like that is one thing we really miss out on in the U.S.

Overall- an AMAZING weekend. J

The kids in Busua were so cute... And thats a HUGE step for me. :)

Some more cute kids. Ellen dug a car out of the sand. They loved it.

The beach. There was an island. There was also a dead baby goat on the shore, so we had some African Vultures hanging around

My very first beach bonfire. AMAZING! bamboo burns a lot faster then i thought it would.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

I couldn’t sleep last night cause it was so hot in our villa. Ellen and I work up at 4am and couldn’t go back to sleep so we sat on the beach and waited for the sun to come up. It was an “oh Africa” moment. The beach is so relaxing and beautiful.

Once everyone else woke up we ate breakfast. I had real coffee another thing I seem to take advantage of in the states. The rest of the day we hung on the beach. I taught myself to body board. I’m pretty much obsessed now. The waves were pretty big and I had a blast playing the ocean.

For dinner we walked up the beach a little way to the Black Star Surf Shop and ate dinner. The shop is owned by an American man and a Ghanaian man. The food was amazing. By far the best food I’ve eaten since I been here. I’m debating spending every weekend at this beach just to eat the food.

While we were eating dinner some other obrunis came up to talk to us and figure out what we were doing. We seem to attract a lot of attention, its not very often here you see a group of 10 obrunis traveling together. They told us they were getting a TV to watch the U.S. vs. U.K. football game and then they were having a party afterwards and we’re invited.

We ate dinner and then hung out to watch the game. After the game they had a bon-fire on the beach and we all hung around the fire. It was almost like I wasn’t in Africa anymore because there were so many white people in one area. A lot of them were peace core volunteers or other volunteers working for different NGOs. Its cool to learn about all the different projects everyone is working on.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Today we’re took the afternoon off work to go to the beach! It was so hard to concentrate all day and you could just tell everyone’s mind was somewhere else. It was also supper sunny all day I just kept thinking about how much better life would be if I were at the beach instead of stuffed into this little room with million other people, and by a million I just mean the other designers.

Today Hillary and I worked on specs for the first part of the day. It was terrible. No two garments have the same measurements and it’s really frustrating. The only solution is to go back to square one and re-make the patterns.

After working on specs and getting extremely frustrated I started working on the stamp library. For this we have to go through and figure out which stamps have been used for which garments. There are also a lot of stamps that haven’t made it very far in the production process. For these we have to figure out how far they made it and why they were rejected. This is a very tedious process. Today I just went through the old catalogs and created a spreadsheet of which stamps were used for which garments that year.

Time was crawling today, because I was so excited to go to the beach. Finally, 2pm came and we left the office, packed and were on our way to the beach!

By the time we got to Busua, it was already dark. It doesn’t help that it gets dark here at 6pm. We ordered food from our resort. I had a cheeseburger. It was pretty much the most amazing thing ever. A cheeseburger and pizza are my two biggest food cravings here. So although this burger was not the best burger I have ever eaten, it hit the spot for sure.

After dinner we had a bon-fire. Their version of a bonfire is pilling 10 ft tall bamboo sticks tee-pee style and lighting it on fire. It was my first beach bonfire, and it was awesome.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

At work we are at a place where we can kind of all work on what ever we want because were in a transition phase. Mostly we’re just waiting for the go ahead from Renee and Kristin regarding our ne ideas. We got feedback from them via email this morning and they both seem really excited about our ideas. They said they see a lot of potential. I’m so excited! I was a little nervous as to what they would say because everything is a lot different than their previous products.

After getting some positive feedback I drew a couple silhouette flats in illustrator and then I came up with some more stamp ideas. After we already came up with our ideas for stamps Kristin emailed Sarah and asked us to make some stamps using their traditional symbols as inspiration. I made a really cute stamp out of one of the symbols. I just changed it slightly, so instead of just being a design it looks like it says, “love”.

After working on stamps Hilary, one of the new designers, and I worked on the specs. It’s so frustrating because nothing makes sense here. No two garments, even if they are the exact same size, have the same measurement. Then we tried measuring the patterns. This is obviously where the root of the problem is. They have no original copy of pattern, so it changes every time.

While we were working on measuring the patterns Maria came to let us know that some garments came from the seamstress and almost every single one was rejected because there were holes in the garment where the seamstress ripped the stitching out. We went on a site visit to see her and figure out what is going on. This was my first site visit. It was cool to see where the women work. This woman lived in an apartment building and worked on her balcony. It was hard to communicate the problem with her, but we came to the solution that her needle was too large and she needed a new one. I felt so bad because she was almost in tears by the time we left.

We went to the market with her to buy a smaller needle and a seam ripper. It was really cool to see where people buy their sewing supplies.

After the site visit we went to grab some groceries for the weekend. I just got the usual, some noodles, some cheese, some bread and butter. Ya know, nothing too crazy. I’m a little paranoid about food now considering I’ve been sick half the time I’ve been here.

After we got back from the market Hilary and I went back to measuring the pattern pieces of different garments. There is no room in the office now that there are so many people in the here so we went back to the house a little early and finished measuring the patterns their.

After work, Nick, Ellen, and I went on a walk to downtown Elmina. It was my first time walking down that way. I really liked it the town it is so cute and reminds me of something that would be in a movie. Its way more chill then Cape Coast. On the other hand, people there are not as used to seeing white people as the people in Cape Coast so they holler at us a lot.

Over all, a pretty successful day.. and tomorrow- THE BEACH!!