It was just over a month ago that I sat in Dr. Lisa Gilman’s office (director of the folklore program at University of Oregon) talking with her about the complexities of researching development aid programs. I had turned in a paper that looked at how non-profit organizations use traditional craft making as a tool for Read More …
At 8:30 pm on Saturday, July 23rd 2011 my childhood ended. As I wiped away the tears and looked at Megan with a weepy smile we knew that a chapter of our lives had been closed. We had just watched the final Harry Potter film. We sat through the film with tense limbs and an Read More …
By: Megan Russell (“Oburoni vs. Kejetia Market Monsoon” to be published in the Public Agenda on 7/29) I have come to find that traveling here is a bit difficult. Not only because of the monsoons that frequent the area during this particular season, the endless unpaved, pothole-laden roads, our constant pursuit for a toilet or Read More …
I adjusted the slab of rock that I was sitting on and pulled my knees in close. The voices of the guide and my professor faded away as I let the moment sink it. Before me, three African elephants bathed themselves in the watering hole only a few feet away. I felt the air fill Read More …
I can’t tell you the number of times my parents have told me to sit quietly and pray. As devout Hindus, meditation is an everyday ritual. And yet, I’ve never seemed to last more than twenty-three seconds before getting distracted by some sound or invisible ant tickling a part of my body. It’s because of Read More …
Last Thursday, we ventured out of Accra up to the north. Our road trip took us up through Kumasi, Tamale, and Mole National Park. On Friday, our full day spent in Kumasi, we visited the Kajetia street market, which is the largest in West Africa and the second largest on the continent. As we prepared Read More …
Part of our trip to Kumasi included an outing to Bonwire, the birthplace of kente cloth. Kente cloth is a fabric, first woven into strips, that comes in array of patterns and colors that have specific meanings and are usually used as decoration. At first, I did not anticipate buying anything at the factory, Read More …
Five hours on the bus to Tamale had become too much. Our legs were antsy, our minds restless and our bladders overloaded. As the scenery changed, we got a new sense of the rich culture hidden within Ghana. Small villages were settled off the bumpy, dirt road where mud huts were adorned with thatch roofs Read More …
“A sense of humor is a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge.” – Dave Barry A few days ago, the Oregon Daily Emerald published this story about our experiences Read More …
We’re lost. Those two words, standing alone as the rain began to pour, could have stirred a panic. They could have ignited every fear that I had about travelling abroad, and then thrown a bit of gasoline on them for good measure. They didn’t, somehow, but that didn’t make what happened last Friday any less Read More …
When I was sixteen years old, I had my first taste of my government’s inner workings in Washington, DC. At the time, George W. Bush had just begun his tenure. I had also attended his inauguration, not as a Republican, but as a contrarian. Iowan senator Tom Harkin gave my class passes to sit in Read More …
The New Crusading Guide By: Ariane Kunze As I emerged from the airplane into the humid air of Accra, I found it hard to breathe. When I held up my camera to take a picture of the giant “Akwaaba” sign, the lens fogged up. This was the first of many unusual surprises I would encounter Read More …
By: Megan Russell (Published 7/15) Oburoni vs. Ghanaian Practicality The following three things are among the most important skills I think Americans can learn from Ghanaians. 1. Walk slower. If there is one thing I have noticed while living in Accra it is that people walk very, very slowly. I am, by nature, an extremely Read More …