Cool Ghanaian Bird

This bird was so cool! At first we thought it was some kind of noise coming from our shower.  Does anyone know what species this is?

Epic Travel Blog FAIL

Okay, so I've been back from Ghana since July 26th....and I look at what I accomplished with my blog for the 3 months that I was there...and let's just say it didn't turn out the way I'd hoped.  The internet was impossible to access in the village and when we were finally in town, the internet cafe's internet never seemed to work.  Siiiigh....oh well, so is life.  Anyways, to conclude on this section of my blog, I'd like to say the trip was epic. I don't have time, after the fact, to write down all my stories on this thing but I imagine I'll be telling them to friends and family for a while yet.  It was one of the coolest things I've ever done!

So...what's next?

Only time will tell.  I'm graduating from university in December and who knows where I'll end up after that.  The world is my playground....I don't doubt there will be adventures ahead (and who knows, maybe I'll be better at blogging them next time)!

Until next time,

Kira :)

At last...some pictures!

Picture Posting Attempt....

Okay, so uploading pics on this thing didn't work since I got stuck with the slow computer today (although the internet is slow altogether) I may have more time next week to try again, so be patient. Today we went to some cool rock formations that were part of a sacred grove area.  This means the area is semi protected.  We learned about the history of the site and went and saw a bunch of bats. I have pics and video and am so sad I can't share them!  Ugh. Anyways...Ghana is still fantastic. I'm just feeling so malnourished from eating pasta and white-bread based stuff every single meal of every single day.  Today we actually stopped at a gas station and I treated myself to some strawberry ice cream.  I'm craving Big Macs but there are no McDonald's in sight...this must be why most people here have amazing bodies.  Anyways....I had absolutely no time today.  I'll have a full hour next Tuesday to use the internet so hopefully I can actually explain more about being in Ghana. Sighhhh....anyways,

Ciao!

Kira

The Oburoni Has Landed!!!!!

So I am finally in Ghana, Africa and have been here for about 10 days.  My emotions have been pulled in every direction from the new environment - there's so many things to look at in every direction.  The scenery is beautiful, the culture is different, and not to mention the fact that we have no running water! We pump all our water from a well for 'showers', drinking water, and doing laundry. 

My time is already up on the internet but I'll be coming to the market more in June, so hopefully I'll have a chance to upload at least a few pictures. I came very unprepared today since we stopped by the internet cafe on our way home from the Bat Caves in Boyem.  We've done so many cool things and there is certainly not enough time to explain everything that I've experienced in the past week but as a quick outline, we've began collecting data for our primate groups at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (where we are staying at), visited Kakum National Park (did a hike through a legit rainforest), visited a local chief and a couple village priests and went through almost a ritual asking him if we can stay and do research here (of course, he accepted), we've been stared at by EVERYONE (we look really weird to Ghanians because of our whiteness) and more! I'll be more prepared next time, I think, to explain everything.  I have some cool pictures too....and I can't wait to share them with everyone - I really really need to spice up this blog!!!

Until next time (probably in a couple of weeks)!

<3 Kira <3

Time to go!!!

Wow, let me just say this week was INSANE! If you want to do something absolutely extreme - take a block week course!  We had lectures all day on Monday Tuesday and Wednesday and had to write a full-out 2 hour final exam on Thursday.  After the exam we had a research project to develop and we presented them on Friday.  There was barely time to sleep or eat all week, so if you are ever going to do a block week course, be prepared to have absolutely NO free time!  However, it was a great opportunity to get to know the classmates that I will be spending 3.5 weeks with in Africa.....regardless of all the work it's been fun to hang out with all these people and I feel like I learned a great deal about primatology and Ghana.

Anyways, time to let you all know my game plan for this blog.  I'm hoping that my Mom, Dad, Grandma and siblings read this whenever they're curious as to what I'm up to (or miss me profusely ;) ).  I have very limited access to internet while I'm there because I will be in "middle-of-no-where" rural Ghana.  It takes a one-hour bus ride to the nearest village where I can access an internet cafe and even if I get to the internet cafe, the internet isn't always working.  I will be going to market only TWICE in May and ONCE A WEEK in June and July.  The internet will probably cut in and out so I can't guarantee that I will be able to email all my family and friends consistently.  This is why I have my blog - so I can do one post instead of fifty (yes, I exaggerate) e-mails.

And somehow, I have to figure out how to shove all this.... :

...into this:

Wish me luck!

Time to finish packing, brush up on my Twi (A Ghanaian language) and TAKE OFF!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D  I'm hoping my blog will get more exciting once I'm actually in Africa, but for my sake, I'd like to document the entirety of my experience :)

I love you all and will miss you!!!!!

Love Kira

How Lovely....

So...if you didn't notice, it's April 28th.

I love pretty much love everything about living in Canada, except for this kind of weather...so you could probably imagine how excited I am to go to Ghana, where the average LOW temps are +20 degrees celcius and, well, snow just doesn't exist!

The faintest words demonstrate my enthusiasm ^

ANYWAYS....10 more sleeps until HOT Africa!

I found the following video about a PhD candidate doing some Anthropology research in Ghana. Thought it was pretty neat:  http://www.bu.edu/cas/features/bodybeat/

Cheers!

Chill-out music

This is Wanlov, a Ghanaian musician who will serenade us with his music...

The Final Countdown

Alright...so the travel blog has officially begun!  For the first time in my life, I got to be selfish and choose my own destination to travel to (with some influence of available field schools).  It has always been my dream to go to somewhere completely different, somewhere warm, and somewhere far away from my Canadian homeland. Therefore, my next destination is Ghana, Africa! The countdown has begun: T - minus 24 days.

Some of you may not know or understand what I will be doing in Ghana, so I will do my best to explain it here (This is for you, Grandma F!).  So, the first 3.5 weeks involves doing University coursework.  The first week of May, we come up with group research projects.  Once we arrive, we carry out those research projects and then we complete a written paper once we get home again.  Our research involves studying either the Mona Monkeys or Black and White Colobus Monkeys at the Boabeng-Fiema Monkey Sanctuary (BFMS). Here's a picture of each:

After the 3.5 weeks, my fellow students will leave BFMS and continue their travels elsewhere.  I will be staying at the sanctuary and helping a PhD student with preliminary research for a project that she's working on for about 2 months following the field school.  It sounds kind of boring but I'll be sure to post lots of pictures to give you guys a better idea of Ghana.  Anyways...that's the general outline!!!! Happy Travels!