Hi everyone!
Now that it is over, let me tell you about the time I got malaria... haha
Last Monday I woke up feeling a little slow, with a queasy feeling in my body. It had been a cold night (by Ghanaian standards), so I thought it was just a bad few hours of sleep. Little did I know!
At DAI, I was having a hard time concentrating and felt unusually demotivated for working. As I didn't feel better and wasn't much help in the office, I decided to go home a couple of hours earlier, to get some rest and get on with my week.
Ohhh boy, after a quick nap, I woke up with a headache and ... a fever! haha
fever + headache = malaria (always, or so says Mr. Kumi).
I texted Yaw and told him I wanted to get tested in the morning, to then see how we should proceed.
Early the next day, I felt increasingly more sluggish, so I hopped on a taxi (trotro just would not cut it) and went with Clara to a clinic nearby. A quick prick on the thumb, a few drops of blood and 15 minutes later, the result came in: malaria.
Now, my parents completely freaked out when I told them, through a text message. Afterall, in Sao Paulo malaria is just not something you encounter often. It is portrayed as a killer disease, and rightfully so, but only when not medicated correctly. (aha, this is where it gets interesting)
Clara accompanied me to a hospital, where after some waiting, a doctor quickly prescribed me the usual malaria medication.The doctor himself was actually on his third day of treatment, having recently contracted malaria.
This is pretty common in Ghana, where I believe it is safe to say almost every adult has had the disease at some point. Yaw, for example, has gotten it twice this semester.
After buying all the drugs, I went home for some rest and to begin the five-day treatment.
The thing is, after 24 hours I was feeling worse, not better. I had completely lost my appetite, could barely walk, and my head spun at any attempt to move.
I did not know if this was normal, how the medicine was supposed to work, if it was safe to stop or to continue taking the drugs. Despite constant support from my Ghanaian family, Yaw and Clara, I still felt like I was in the dark, unexperienced in a disease that seemed so common in this country.
On Thursday morning, Yaw picked me up in a taxi and took me to see another doctor, one of his personal friends. All I remember up to getting to his office was how much the car was shaking - my organs were obviously not in the right places at the time.
After listing symptoms, the doctor quickly told us the medicine prescribed was the issue. Apparently, there is an enzyme that processes it, and some people (myself included) do not have high enough levels of it in their system. Why I was not tested for this possibility still puzzles me, but at the time all I thought about was getting something in my body that would make me feel better.
New medicine in hand, Yaw dropped me off at home, where I slept through the day. Efua was kindly bringing in chicken soup and orange juice in every meal, and making sure I wasn't feeling too bad. Even my sister, Abenaa, dropped by just to see if I was feeling better. Mr. Kumi was also very attentive to my symptoms, and guaranteed me he will buy more of the new medicine so I can take it "whenever you get a headache in the village. Headache in Ghana is always malaria."
Friday was the day of our excursion to the Volta Region. I was still not in conditions to travel, so Clara came over and we watched TV from 9am to 2pm. By then the side effects were finally becoming mild, and the hours were more about resting than just muscling through the nausea.
Clara and I eventually joined the group on Saturday, and this weekend I will blog about our fun excursion.
Honestly, malaria itself was not so bad. What was really terrible was not knowing I couldn't take the regular kind of medicine, which provided some two very upsetting days. Also, missing almost five days of work felt incredibly counter-productive, while also I couldn't make sense of any books I tried to read. (HUGE thanks to Ryan, by the way, for getting me a copy of Atlas Shrugged, I'm psyched dude!)
As Carla, my boss at DAI, said, "malaria is inevitable here, and it toughens you up". I do feel stronger now, but I am also pretty sure on passing on extra mosquito repellent from now on.
Thanks to everyone from the Bridge Year Program for helping so much with speeding my recovery!
Up and running,
Henrique
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Arts in Ghana
Hello all!
Having visited the National Museum last week, and with considerable exposure to Ghanaian music, the next items on the list was obvious: seeing the famous thematic coffins and visiting an art gallery. OK, maybe it was not so clear, and our visit to coffin workshops and the Artists' Alliance was a suggestion from Yaw and Clara, the program coordinators, over the week.
Nonetheless, on Saturday Ryan, Lindsay, Pallavi and I (Cam was resting at home) took long trotro rides to a neighborhood by the Labadi beach. Around this area, a special kind of casket is manufactured. People with special wishes while alive, sometimes decide to be buried in tune to their passions or professions. For example, we saw several models of beer bottles, cars, cameras, fish, airplanes...all in reality coffins!
Clara had given me telephone number to call, and Halo, one of the craftsmen at the first shop we saw, told us a little about his work. It takes about two weeks to finish one of the caskets, and the price is around 2500 GHC, or $1700.
After a quick walk looking at a few coffin stores (two...), we hauled a trotro and went to the Artists' Alliance, an art gallery opened by famous Ghanaian painter Ablade Glover. Different pieces were on sale, from furniture, cloths and beads, to painting, drums and weapons.
Many of them were from colonial times, and thus a brownish-gray color predominated in many wings of the building. Naturally, our volunteer/college student budgets were way short of being able to purchase any of the 5-foot tall drums, or abstract paintings there exposed. Nonetheless, the collection was indeed impressive and comprehensive on the Ghanaian colonial and modern arts scene.
In my first few weeks with the Kumi, my brother Kwasi had showed me a book with selected paintings by Ablade Glover, whose heavy brush-style of painting routine scenes in the country had already caught my attention. The Alliance is an initiative of his, and thus also has some of his painting for sale. Seeing his work up close is a complete different experience, one that had me running up the stars for another quick look before leaving the building. From inches away, you can feel the dry paint reaching out (so much to the point that there are spider webs between strokes). As you step back, scenes of marketplaces, trotro stations and beaches appear. Below, my favorite at the Alliance, which is not as "crowded" as most of his other works.
On Friday we leave for a 5-day excursion to the Volta Region, so I am sorry to say the blog will have a post-less week for the first time in 3 months! Look forward to coming back and updating with some cool stories, straight from different parts of Ghana!
All the best,
Henrique
Having visited the National Museum last week, and with considerable exposure to Ghanaian music, the next items on the list was obvious: seeing the famous thematic coffins and visiting an art gallery. OK, maybe it was not so clear, and our visit to coffin workshops and the Artists' Alliance was a suggestion from Yaw and Clara, the program coordinators, over the week.
Nonetheless, on Saturday Ryan, Lindsay, Pallavi and I (Cam was resting at home) took long trotro rides to a neighborhood by the Labadi beach. Around this area, a special kind of casket is manufactured. People with special wishes while alive, sometimes decide to be buried in tune to their passions or professions. For example, we saw several models of beer bottles, cars, cameras, fish, airplanes...all in reality coffins!
Clara had given me telephone number to call, and Halo, one of the craftsmen at the first shop we saw, told us a little about his work. It takes about two weeks to finish one of the caskets, and the price is around 2500 GHC, or $1700.
 |
| The girls showcasing the inside of a truck coffin. |
Many of them were from colonial times, and thus a brownish-gray color predominated in many wings of the building. Naturally, our volunteer/college student budgets were way short of being able to purchase any of the 5-foot tall drums, or abstract paintings there exposed. Nonetheless, the collection was indeed impressive and comprehensive on the Ghanaian colonial and modern arts scene.
In my first few weeks with the Kumi, my brother Kwasi had showed me a book with selected paintings by Ablade Glover, whose heavy brush-style of painting routine scenes in the country had already caught my attention. The Alliance is an initiative of his, and thus also has some of his painting for sale. Seeing his work up close is a complete different experience, one that had me running up the stars for another quick look before leaving the building. From inches away, you can feel the dry paint reaching out (so much to the point that there are spider webs between strokes). As you step back, scenes of marketplaces, trotro stations and beaches appear. Below, my favorite at the Alliance, which is not as "crowded" as most of his other works.
On Friday we leave for a 5-day excursion to the Volta Region, so I am sorry to say the blog will have a post-less week for the first time in 3 months! Look forward to coming back and updating with some cool stories, straight from different parts of Ghana!
All the best,
Henrique
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Ghana's National Museum
Last Saturday was the first free day I spent in Accra. Really. Up to this point, I usually did things around Madina and Legon, the neighborhoods in the outskirts, which is where work and home are.
Around the National Museum, Accra is a very beautiful city, with architecturally magnificent buildings, such as the National Theater and the Flagstaff House, and streets surrounded by trees. It's also a relieving change, to walk on paved sidewalks, next to almost empty streets. On a day to day basis, as noted on the last post, it's mostly about trotros off-roading in the middle of traffic.
The National Museum is moderately sized, but has very insightful expositions on Ghanaian and West African culture. I'll talk about a few of my favorite examples:
This is a model of how the traditional cloth, kente, is woven. The patterns and colors on a kente cloth have different meanings, similar to what the Adinkra symbols represent. Yellow, for example, means wealth. Each pattern also has a name, and the knowledge of how to weave each one is passed on through the generations.
The throne used by Kwame Nkrumah on his induction as Ghana's first president.
A mask in form of an antelope. Sorry, can' t remember exactly which country this is from, but my guess is Cote D'Ivoire. This is used in a ceremonial dance, asking for a good harvest. These people believe an antelope taught their ancestors how to farm, and symbolizes the necessary skills for good agriculture.
A collection of stools. Stools for traditional rulers in Ghana (chiefs) are the equivalent to thrones for kings. The main difference, however, is that they represent not only political power, but also have spiritual meaning. In some tribes in Ghana, the chief was not allowed to ever touch the stool, as it would then lose its mystical powers.
Like the Adinkra symbols, different shapes and designs of stools symbolize distinct types of rule, such as power and wisdom.
For the Asantes (the largest ethnic group in Ghana), the chief united the people in times of war by telling them a Golden Stool descended from the skies, as a gift of the gods and proof that their empire had their blessing. To this day, the Golden Stool is a symbol of the Asantehene's (Asante chief) power, and is only seen in public in especial occasions.
The Museum also had a great exposition on the Slave Trade in the Gold Coast (as Ghana was known in colonial days). A complete shift in perspective from slavery, as I was used to looking at it from a country that received slaves' perspective. Here, emphasis was placed on slave raids, and how tribal wars were actually the main source of slaves in West Africa.
Oh, this was a first: Ghanaian students wearing Japanese kimonos, dancing Japanese rhythms and combining it with hip hop. Awesome.
Have a great weekend!
Oh, and LET'S GO BRASIL! Wednesday, against Argentina. It's on.
Henrique
Around the National Museum, Accra is a very beautiful city, with architecturally magnificent buildings, such as the National Theater and the Flagstaff House, and streets surrounded by trees. It's also a relieving change, to walk on paved sidewalks, next to almost empty streets. On a day to day basis, as noted on the last post, it's mostly about trotros off-roading in the middle of traffic.
 |
| National Theater |
 |
| National Museum |
The National Museum is moderately sized, but has very insightful expositions on Ghanaian and West African culture. I'll talk about a few of my favorite examples:
This is a model of how the traditional cloth, kente, is woven. The patterns and colors on a kente cloth have different meanings, similar to what the Adinkra symbols represent. Yellow, for example, means wealth. Each pattern also has a name, and the knowledge of how to weave each one is passed on through the generations.
The throne used by Kwame Nkrumah on his induction as Ghana's first president.
Like the Adinkra symbols, different shapes and designs of stools symbolize distinct types of rule, such as power and wisdom.
For the Asantes (the largest ethnic group in Ghana), the chief united the people in times of war by telling them a Golden Stool descended from the skies, as a gift of the gods and proof that their empire had their blessing. To this day, the Golden Stool is a symbol of the Asantehene's (Asante chief) power, and is only seen in public in especial occasions.
The Museum also had a great exposition on the Slave Trade in the Gold Coast (as Ghana was known in colonial days). A complete shift in perspective from slavery, as I was used to looking at it from a country that received slaves' perspective. Here, emphasis was placed on slave raids, and how tribal wars were actually the main source of slaves in West Africa.
Oh, this was a first: Ghanaian students wearing Japanese kimonos, dancing Japanese rhythms and combining it with hip hop. Awesome.
Have a great weekend!
Oh, and LET'S GO BRASIL! Wednesday, against Argentina. It's on.
Henrique
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Daily Life in Ghana
Hey all!
So, I thought this week I'd post some of the funny pictures acquired over the last two months.
Working at DAI, I now have to wear nicer, office clothes. However, I had not planned for this... Only three shirts and one pair of pants in my bag. Luckily, on my way home, I walk through Madina Market, a bustling place to buy whatever you need. There's food, a bakery, school supplies, and, luckily, shirts and pants!
There are several options to choose from: piles of clothes, shirts hanging from the ceiling, or walking vendors with pants on their shoulders. Personally, I explored all three. Each of the three shirts I got was 5 GHC, which is around 4 USD. However, they feel as soft as cardboard. Totally fine, they do the trick.
The pants were also an improvisation, and cost only 6 GHC. Surprisingly, they fit as if tailored for me. Of course, I have to look away from a few small holes on the leg...
For the transport part, trotros are the cheapest option. In Brazil, they would be the lotacao. It's basically a van, with a driver and a mate, a man who coordinates the payments and calls for the stops. After 5 p.m., however, it's almost impossible to catch a trotro without some sort of "personal defense".
Imagine all these people, 75% of which trying to take the Achimota (the one I have to take too). The cars mostly don't have any signs showing where they go, so the way I know which one is Achimota is because there are people jumping through the open door several meters before the trotro even slows down.
After the initial fight, the ride is mostly peaceful. On my way home, I take two trotros for about a one and a half hour ride, total.
Riding trotros is also a great way to be exposed to some interesting situations on a daily basis. Out of the window, I've seen heated discussions, a fist fight and have gotten the usual friendly hello's.
Last Sunday, as Cam and I were waiting for the next trotro, a group of people playing drums and dancing suddenly, literally, appeared behind us. The flash mob was a funeral celebration. Within minutes, we were also handed twigs (which we still don't know what represented), and joined the fun!
Oh, for the Brazilians reading this: check out the name of the restaurant that is on my way home. The picture was taken in a speeding trotro, so hopefully it's clear enough.
Dressing nicely, riding trotros,
Henrique
So, I thought this week I'd post some of the funny pictures acquired over the last two months.
Working at DAI, I now have to wear nicer, office clothes. However, I had not planned for this... Only three shirts and one pair of pants in my bag. Luckily, on my way home, I walk through Madina Market, a bustling place to buy whatever you need. There's food, a bakery, school supplies, and, luckily, shirts and pants!
There are several options to choose from: piles of clothes, shirts hanging from the ceiling, or walking vendors with pants on their shoulders. Personally, I explored all three. Each of the three shirts I got was 5 GHC, which is around 4 USD. However, they feel as soft as cardboard. Totally fine, they do the trick.
The pants were also an improvisation, and cost only 6 GHC. Surprisingly, they fit as if tailored for me. Of course, I have to look away from a few small holes on the leg...
For the transport part, trotros are the cheapest option. In Brazil, they would be the lotacao. It's basically a van, with a driver and a mate, a man who coordinates the payments and calls for the stops. After 5 p.m., however, it's almost impossible to catch a trotro without some sort of "personal defense".
Imagine all these people, 75% of which trying to take the Achimota (the one I have to take too). The cars mostly don't have any signs showing where they go, so the way I know which one is Achimota is because there are people jumping through the open door several meters before the trotro even slows down.
After the initial fight, the ride is mostly peaceful. On my way home, I take two trotros for about a one and a half hour ride, total.
Riding trotros is also a great way to be exposed to some interesting situations on a daily basis. Out of the window, I've seen heated discussions, a fist fight and have gotten the usual friendly hello's.
Last Sunday, as Cam and I were waiting for the next trotro, a group of people playing drums and dancing suddenly, literally, appeared behind us. The flash mob was a funeral celebration. Within minutes, we were also handed twigs (which we still don't know what represented), and joined the fun!
Oh, for the Brazilians reading this: check out the name of the restaurant that is on my way home. The picture was taken in a speeding trotro, so hopefully it's clear enough.
 |
| Quem quer comer no Fogo de Chao? |
Dressing nicely, riding trotros,
Henrique
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)