Official Closure

I'm back. It's over. Can you believe it? I know, it's hard for me too. Peace Corps is now just a part of my history. Just a crazy blur of 2 years of my life. Putting myself to the test and passing. I'll go ahead and answer publicly some of the questions I've been asked privately...

Do you miss it?
Well, there are certainly people that I miss, but I am very happy to be back home. I do not miss africa. It never really felt like home to me. Although I am amazed at how far I went to adapt to my surroundings. I sure as hell don't miss the food.

Was it worth it?
Yes. I consider the whole experience part of my education. It isn't the kind of knowledge you can get from a text book. It's life. I learned that happiness and physical wealth are completely independent (provided your basic needs are met). Yeah, you hear all the time that money can't buy happiness, but I've seen this principle in action and it gives me hope. I've learned what I'm capable of. I've got a much better idea of what it means to be American, and what common values we share with other cultures. As well as where our differences lie. I've learned I don't know everything. All the expensive knowledge I acquired in school didn't do me a damn bit of good out there in the real world. It was quite humbling, and I did need to be knocked down a peg or two. I learned that so far in my entire life I haven't had a real problem. Not like the problems faced by the people I lived with in Burkina Faso. Maybe next time I won't freak out when my computer crashes, or I stain my carpet. So it was worth it, because I needed that time to get my head on straight. But now it is time to move on to other things.

So did you help a lot of people/ did you make a difference?
Tough question...Yes, I did my job. I taught my students, and I think they learned something from me. I made real connections with my colleagues, we learned alot from each other. Still, all things totaled up, I probably got the better end of the deal. Other than fractions and atomic structure, and stories about America, I didn't have a lot of knowledge or skills that are useful to a developing community. But hey, they were all sad to see me leave and I was well liked by almost everyone. So I do not doubt that there were many intangible ways that I affected the people around me. But I'm not fooling myself into thinking I really changed the future of Bani.

Well there are other questions I've been asked....and if you have one for me please don't hesitate to ask. I enjoy sharing what I've learned. When you think of africa, I urge you not to picture what you've seen on TV. There is another way to look at what you are seeing. These people are not helpless, they are humans, like you. Don't forget that.

This is the official end of this web log (unless I think of something really important to add)

Thank you for following me on my adventure

Adam.

Pictures

Me laughing at Ghana's money. Their largest bill is worth $2.

I was afraid of this monkey, but actually he was very friendly

Picture Perfect

Sushi!? Where am I...oh in Ghana.

The Fort in Apam Ghana. I slept here. Amazing
The Frenchies patrolling in Armored Vehicles. This worried me.

Kintampo Falls, One of the many times we stopped to smell the roses.

Axim Beach Resort. Nuf Said.

God I'm so cool. Orange rims..

Strategic Retreat

I hope Abijan falls into the sea. I'm ready for that global warming mess to start kicking in. Having never traveled through a war ravaged region, I don't know what I was expecting from this little adventure, but nevertheless I was disappointed. Ivory Coast, and Abidjan specifically, is one fucked up place.

Crossing the border was the first sign of a poorly made decision to traverse this country. It was the most blatant coruption I've ever been party to. 50 bucks for a signature on a piece of paper! The man had a large gun, so what can you say... In fact I saw large guns at every police checkpoint, which appeared about every 20 km on the road. The police looked like they were on standby for war. Each checkpoint was a makeshift bunker. Men in uniform with a kalashnikov in one hand and a Guiness in the other.. And this was the safest part of the country!

After 2 slow days of stop and go travel, we finally reach the "Paris of West Africa". As we roll into the city, we spy the only white people we are to see for 2 days. Its the french, and they are riding in armored vehicles with large guns. Now I feel pretty dumb, and exposed, on my POS chinese motorcycle. Despite these alarming warnings, we continue, not feeling directly threatened. The disposition of the ivorians is significantly different from both the Ghanaians and the Burkinabe: they always seem to be pissed off. And they are racist, and not in the good way. They hate the french, and I guess to many of them we look like them... There were a few unpleasant incidents, none of which ended in violence (thank you jesus). Almost everyone I met tried to scam me, and I think I bought my way out of more than one fight. THIS IS NOT HOW THE REST OF WEST AFRICA IS!!! NOT AT ALL!

So we had to make a decision: continue the fight and try to make the Guinea border (a country whose political situation has recently become less stable), or turn around to a full retreat to Burkina and find safe passage to Sengal through Mali. No one was having fun and I wanted to get out as soon as possible and I had no desire to check out the rebel held territory...


So now we are just a day away from Burkina, in Ghana... Retreating, back to the green zone.

Don't judge me.

Adam

Easy Rider

Its fun. The bikes are sweet. The road is long.

I have pictures to put up, but i forgot the damn cord at the hotel room. So I'm in Accra, the Ghanian capital. I spent last night in a 17th century dutch fort overlooking the ocean. $5 bucks a night.Can you believe it? The tiny fishing village didn't have any restaurants but you can buy a chicken back on the street for 80 cents. Now I'm sitting in an american style food court...its very very strange. I can't believe this is the same country. The driving on the coast is fantastic. It rains from time to time, which on a bike is certainly uncomfortable, but thats just part of the adventure. The bikes, while new, are most definately chinese pieces of shit. We've already had malfunctions and parts failures, but nothing a few rubber straps can't fix. Coming across the burkina- ghana border was no picnic. When we bought the bikes the salesman told us it would take 3 to 4 weeks to get license plates, and that just wasn't an option. So we just went without, which doesn't really fly when you try to get across the borders. We were stuck there for a whole day trying to convince people we weren't smugglers. We ended up paying the taxes twice (for each country) and went to the DMV in the next town. It seriously could have been a DMV in South Carolina! The difference between Ghana and Burkina is about the same as the difference between Ghana and America. This place is so far ahead. We got the plates in one day (it was however a very long day). It's been about a week since we left ouagadougou and it's gone by fast. We still have a long way to go. We don't know if we're going all the way to morocco, but we'll definately be in senegal before it's all over.

I promise I'll put up pictures (maybe by tomorrow).


Bye Bye

Adam