Back at Tafi

The rest of the pictures are up on the Ethiopia post. Thanks for your responses. And thank you, Bonnie, for reminding me--I meant to mention that there is an episode of Planet Earth (the one on mountains) that is mostly set in Ethiopia. It talks about the Danikil desert (we didn't go there...but it looks crazy) as well as the highlands- the monkeys, wolfs, and everything. So you should watch it!

On January 25th, I returned to Tafi Atome. It was great to be back and see everybody- I received a very warm welcome! On first view, some progress has been made. They finished painting all of the sanctuary buildings (guesthouses and bathrooms), and put up signs given to them by NCRC at the head of some of the paths through the forest. One of them is named after a peace corps volunteer, so I asked which path they were going to name after me! :-)

On closer inspection, not too much has changed. They are still having trouble with the signatures on the bank account, so the money is not going to the bank. Community members and chiefs are still asking for money. And the tour guides have not come up with a receptionist schedule (so that someone is always in the office). So there is definitely still work to be done...lots of it. But I have not been frustrated yet- either with the work or slow-moving days. I think that is because this time I really prepared myself for the worst (which I don't think was the case) and for the immense amounts of downtime.

On Monday I headed back to Accra to try to get into the Ghana-Morocco African Cup Football (that's soccer...) match. I went with my friends Samson and Joshua. It took over an hour to get to the stadium, and we still didn't have tickets when we got there! Tickets come out a few days before the game and cost about $4, so people buy huge stacks of them and so they sell out within the hour. It is illegal to scalp tickets, but of course it happens. So we stood on a sidewalk outside the stadium and started asking. Luckily, we saw a guy with a big stack of tickets and managed to get 3 of them for about $10 each--definitely not bad! We got into the stadium and to our seats just as the players kicked off--perfect timing!

I really don't know how to explain the atmosphere in the stadium, but I will try. Everybody -and I mean everybody- was in some kind of Ghana gear-- flags, wigs, hats, shirts, paint, belts, ties, pants, shoes, everything. The Ghana colors are red, yellow, and green so the stadium was so colorful! And loud. Constantly loud. The fans never calmed down. I had to scream to talk and never heard the ref's whistle. My ears rang the rest of the night, and my voice was gone! Oh yeah, and we won :-). We scored 2 goals in the first half and never gave Morocco a chance. It was a beautiful game.

Unfortunately I do not have digital documentation of the game because my camera was stolen from my pocket about 3 minutes after getting into the stadium. I noticed it quickly, but not quick enough. The good thing is that I didn't have any pictures on it that I don't have on my computer, and it was close to falling apart anyway. I am mostly sad because I didn't get pictures at the game!

So my posts might not contain pictures for a while. I am trying to find a temporary solution, but it may take some time.

A World Away

Ethiopia is not close to Ghana, in any way. It took almost as long to get there as it did to go from DC to London. They speak Amharic, not English, and it’s cold (at least where we were). Addis is the world’s 3rd highest capital city, situated at 2,300 meters.

Jeff Kerby, a good friend from University, met me at the airport and served as a wonderful tour guide for the next 12 days (he speaks enough Amharic to get around). We saw the sights of Addis for the first few days, then took the 12 hour bus ride east to Harar, an extremely old and religious walled city. These walls contain one of the highest concentrations of mosques in the world, making it the 4th holiest city in the Muslim world. Outside the walls, however, is majority Christian, with a high number of Orthodox churches in view. And everyone gets along! – a model religious city, in my opinion. Our highlights included wandering through the labyrinth of streets and ally ways,

meeting the hyena man,

and touring the Harar beer factory.

Next we headed to Kerby’s camp (after 13 1/2 hours on the bus, a day to recuperate in Addis, and another 9 hour bus ride). Kerby studies Gelada monkeys with a fellow American, Vivek, under the guidance of two American scientists currently back in America. The camp is located in the Ethiopian highlands, north of Addis, at an altitude of about 3500 meters. It’s high, and cold, and absolutely beautiful.


There are many endemic animals in the highlands that people travel from all over the world to see. I think I saw most of them. The Geladas, of course,


the Ethiopian wolf,

and the Ethiopian hare (sorry, they are too quick for pictures!)

I spent three days at camp with the boys, watching the monkeys, helping them with busy work, trying desperately to keep up as they ran up hills after the monkeys, and just having a good time.

A 10-hour bus ride (and only three breakdowns!) brought us back to Addis for my last night, in time to eat lots of pizza (Addis has wonderful and cheap Italian food left over from their occupation in the 19th century) and drink a few beers.

I had a really great trip and really enjoyed catching up with someone from University- those four years already seem so distant to us! But it is always comforting to return to the known and I was excited to get back to Ghana and the culture I have gotten to know so well.

A new year; A new challenge

I am now in Ghana by myself. Though I left America last September alone, expecting a somewhat solitary experience, I met Mo immediately. For three months, we were inseparable. We lived together, ate together, worked together, and travelled together (good think I like the girl!) Though she planned to spend only 10 weeks in Ghana, she extended her stay, overlapping with John's arrival. After Mo reluctantly departed on December 28th, John and I took a vacation on the coast. We spent our days hiking, sight-seeing, and relaxing. On New Year's eve, we were on the beach around a bonfire with champagne and very international company. Last night John left to return to America.

Thus begins a new stage in my adventure. Today I rode on a tro tro by myself for the first time; I navigated Kumasi by myself; I ate by myself. And I had a good day. I have mixed feelings about living and working at Tafi without John and mo. Though there will be difficult and lonely times, overall I look forward to the new challenge. I am just so grateful that I had company in the beginning- through the culture shock and adjustment period. Now at least I feel at home in this country- I understand the culture, I like the food, and I have made many friends all over the place. That will make the task at hand at least a bit easier to handle.

Before I do that, however, I have one more vacation. Tomorrow I leave for Ethiopia. I am very excited about this trip for a number of reasons: I get to see a good friend from University; I get to visit a country I know very little about (with a practically- local guide too!); it will allow me to prepare myself for my new challenge; and it's travel--I'm always excited about travel!

I am not sure if I will have internet access while I'm gone, but I guaruntee I will have lots to tell when I return!
I have finally managed to add pictures to the Christmas post, so you can see those now.
Since I have decided to return to Tafi and not Mampong, I will have a different mailing address from now on.

C/O Becca Chandler
Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary
Box 492, Hohoe
Ghana, West Africa

Thank you for all of your Christmas love, and Happy New Year!