Ghana Part 2 - Castles

Kevin, Julia and Lindsey arrived on the 3rd of January and our adventures together had begun!  

We spent a few days in and around Cape Coast visiting colonial slave castles and forts, swimming in the massive surf and sharing the last two years of our lives over a few rounds of Club beer.  For me the castles beautifully balanced striking architecture and a horribly haunting history.  These structures are gorgeous; the real estate boasts dramatic views over the Atlantic and the white washed walls create a stark contrast to the brightly colored fishing boats beached on the shores below.

Cape Coast Castle

Elmina Castle

It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that from the 15^th-19^th centuries millions of Africans were funneled through these walls and shipped to South America, Europe and the Caribbean. When Europeans introduced textiles, horses and other western goods, the coastal African tribes bought the prized possessions on credit.  Indebted, these Africans started capturing other Africans from inland tribes and repaid the Europeans using humans as a currency.

Trade Routes

On one of our last nights a group of Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) from Liberia showed up at the same beachside hostel we were staying at.  With great amusement Kevin, Lindsey and Julia taught me how to be a PCV.  I got the high-level lingo, and typical highs and lows PCVs used and experienced and I was IN.


"Hi my name is Andrew - I'm a Returned PCV from China."
"Yeah, after I graduated I went to Chengdu to help rebuild schools and teach children after the earthquake in 2008."


"It was very rewarding but disheartening dealing with all the Chinese bureaucracy."
Poor Kevin and Julia, having just meeting me for the first time, had NO clue who the hell I was.  This experience was kind of fun and incredibly challenging.  I realized two things:
1) I'm really good at lying.  I did have two years of actual experience living in China to draw on and I was able to sew it all together surprisingly seamlessly.
2) I really don't like lying.  Even though we expected this ruse to last one night we ran into one or more of the Liberians in almost every city we visited!  Suddenly I had to fall back into character or admit my lie. I kept all of these guys at an arm's length so they didn't get to know who I really was.  And in turn, I never got to know who they were.  Sorry if you read this, guys!  Hope we cross paths again one day - I'll tell you the whole truth... and the first round is on me!

Ghana Part 1 - Jesus

Take a chance on "yes."

In the summer of 2009 I found out that my wonderful friend, Lindsey, was moving to The Gambia as a Peace Corps volunteer.  The Gambia is a tiny country enveloped by Senegal in Western Africa.  Around that same time I was hired at UBC, a university enveloped by Vancouver, in Western Canada.

For two years I had promised Lindsey that I would visit her.

How? I'll figure it out. 

When? Someday.

Well two years went by fast - 'someday' had not shown its face and I still had not 'figured it out.'  I said YES - that was the easy part. Following through - now that is the challenge for me. I am a big fan of having my cake and eating it too.  Ma and Pa Haas taught me nothing is impossible, so why not go all out?!  It was time to take action.

Through a series of email conversations with Lindsey we figured out the only time I could take enough time to make a 10 hour flight and 8 hours of jet-lag worthwhile was during the winter holidays.  Also, I wanted to see Ma and Pa for Christmas, of course.  So, I put it my perfect trip out to the Universe: One week in Vermont.  Two weeks with Lindsey in West Africa.  A few phone calls and optimized use of frequent flyer miles, and It worked!  By fall 2011 I had my ideal trip planned.

Vancouver > Vermont > Accra and back

We realized in our scheming that by the time I would arrive in Africa Lindsey would have moved out of her village, Kerr Jarga Jobe, and will have said goodbye to her host family and friends.  She did not want to go back and have do it all over again.  So we decided to meet in Ghana where her parents volunteered in the Peace Corps from 1982-1984 - 30 years prior to our arrival!  Our mission, should we choose to accept it, was find the Green Compound in Bolgatanga, 800+km north of Accra, the capital city where we planned to meet up...   

I spent Christmas in the always beautiful Vermont and then hopped on a flight just in time to celebrate the New Year in West Africa!  There was only one small hiccup…Lindsey, Kevin and Julia's Air Nigeria flight left two hours too early and without them.  I suddenly found myself alone in a city of 2 million people with three full days to do ... something.  This trip was my first to Africa and I merely knew a few historical facts and my geographical location.  I was supremely unprepared... and I loved it!

In Accra my mornings and evenings were spent wandering aimlessly through the city streets, and when the sun was highest in the sky, I took sheltered naps on my bunk.  The heat absolutely floored me.  On New Year’s Eve I literally had nothing to do and the only two other guests in my hostel ordered pop with dinner...  SERIOUSLY!?  It’s New Year’s Eve!  Where is the Champagne!?  I was feeling a bit down and extremely anxious to find anything to do.

During that morning’s exploration I found that Accra Sport Stadium was hosting something called "Crossover," a massive New Year’s Eve sermon, from what I could figure.  After finishing my beer I jumped in a cab and made my way to the World Cup stadium to see what it was all about.

I walked under the mammoth gates and through throngs of opportunistic vendors selling every food and trinket under the sun.  I zigged and zagged up the stairwell and joined my 30,000 new gospel-singing friends.  For 4 hours it seemed every single person in this stadium jumped up, danced, sang, and rang in 2012 praising Jesus!  Most. Unique. NYE. EVER!

Accra Sport Stadium

This was the most bizarre and haphazard start to my trip. I laid my head down on my pillow that night awestruck, a little perplexed and very present to the fact that I was in Africa.  I had said yes to this trip, taken action and flown across the world, but until that moment laying in my bunk I felt like I was drifting through a dream.  My African reality hit and it was going to stick around for the next two weeks.