The Last One: Ghana, Africa

So, last week we covered my plans for the first two months of my summer. Although I am having difficulty thinking much farther ahead than two months in Spain because I’m so excited, I will dedicate my last travel blog post ever to Ghana, Africa, a.k.a where I’m headed in August.

Malaria. Snakes. Dust. All initial impressions of Ghana seem to either scream “Danger!” or murmur “Ehhhh,” so why would I go to such a place?

Naja nigricollis nigricollis 

Well, my mother was invited to present a paper at the University of Accra (the largest city in Ghana) called “Si que no es: Approaches to Afro-Caribbean Identity.” Although I have seen many of her presentations before, this one is particularly exciting because I kind of collaborated on the paper. Kind of. By that, I guess I mean I proofread some parts...

With some research on Accra, however, the city is not terribly dangerous. Every travel website I read basically tells tourists to be smart, stay in at night unless it is absolutely necessary to go out, and just be aware of surroundings. Considering all of these instructions also apply to Wilkes-Barre, the city I live in, I should be golden.

That being said, I am not sure just how much there is to do in Accra, as far as tourist-y stuff is concerned. This contrasts my other blog posts, where I yammer on about all the cool sights there are to see. Accra’s description on Lonely Planet says it has “good shopping, excellent nightlife, and definitely the best eating options in Ghana.” Well, since I’ll be staying in at night, looks like I have two great ways to spend my time. I do love food.

I’m only kidding, there are lots of things to do. Since the city is right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the beach is definitely an option.

White Sands 

There is also the Osu castle, which is a beautiful city hall. Apparently, Obama and Queen Elizabeth II have visited regularly and stayed there. The structure itself was built in 1650, so it’s really old. Although it still houses the seat of the Ghana government, this building has a long and violent history due to colonial battles for control and nasty shipwrecks.

Also known as the Elmina Castle

There is also the Jamestown Lighthouse, from which the entire city and harbor can be seen.

Or the Usshertown Lighthouse

So, regardless of its potential flaws, I’m really excited to be going back to Africa because it has a culture that I’m largely unfamiliar with. So, wish me luck with airport security, because, according to the T.S.A, I’ll be a health risk (not just Ebola, but they’re pretty worried about that, too) for 30 days after my return. Thanks so much for reading these 20 travel posts and happy sophomore year!

Summer 2016: Granada, Spain

In honor of  this blog nearing an end, I am dedicating my last two posts to my plans for this summer. On Saturday, May 7th, right after finals week, I will be leaving to spend 2 months in Granada, Spain. Why, you might ask?

It all started started with a Spanish linguistics course I took last semester. My professor, Giuli Dussias, was always having technological malfunctions during class and being really funny about them, so I really liked her. Once, when she had just started class, her phone rang and she whined:

“Ooooo, it’s my son! He’s studying to be a doctor in Italy, and he never calls me! Can I answer it?”

The whole class (about 250 people) said yes, so she answered and put him on speakerphone, and it was just really funny. I guess you just had to be there.

Anyway, she told me to come in a few times to assist a post doc named Melinda with her linguistics experiment and eventually apply for a research grant through PIRE (Partnership for International Research and Education).

The experiment, designed by Melinda, focuses on how bilinguals react to language changes, otherwise known as code switches, in a sentence. Using an eyetracker, which is exactly what it sounds like (a computer that tracks an eye and records how it reacts to visual stimuli), I’ve been testing Penn State students who are studying Spanish as their second language. These participants are paid $15 to sit through a 388 trial-long linguistic activity, two language proficiency tests, and a background questionnaire.

I never thought I would actually get the research grant though, so when I began running experiments on my own all the time it was not a big deal at all. But, in the end, I somehow convinced the Centers for Language Science Board to give me money and put me in charge of thousands of dollars worth of equipment abroad. Weird, right?

Ever since I found out they gave it to me, it’s been seriously hectic. Between scheduling participants, coding data, and presenting my experiment at various poster fairs, I haven’t actually gotten excited about the trip until...now.

I briefly visited Granada once when I was 10. Although I was young and only there for three days, I remember this city really vividly because it was so hot and it was so...cool.

I mean, just look at it. 

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This city was the last city to remain under Moorish control during the reconquest of Spain by the Christians. Although this happened a long time ago, both cultures are very prevalent in the art, architecture, and daily city life.

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For example, the Alhambra is an Arabic palace that was originally built on Roman ruins in the 9th century. It is characterized by its Moorish arches and mosaics and was the dark inspiration for Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish playwright and poet. Can you see why?

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Known for gypsies, folklore, and el cante jondo, the promise of Granada is helping me through the terror of midterms and intricacies of this advocacy project.

Amsterdam: Part III

I know what you’re thinking. Amsterdam Part III? Really? But the title is kind of misleading. On our last day in Amsterdam, we took a day trip to Bruges, Belgium, which was about a 3 hour bus ride away from Amsterdam Central.  

Dubbed “the most romantic place on earth,” Bruges is a tiny medieval village that specializes in lace, chocolate, and mussels. It is also known for some extraordinarily high prices, seeing as a friend and I bought two orange juices, two espressos, and free water for 30 euros.

The displays in the chocolate shops were so cool. They had chocolate in all shapes and sizes, but, most notably, was the “tool box.” Yep, these rusty old tools are solid chocolate dusted with cocoa powder.  

And there was, of course, Belgian beer. For breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the Flemish consider beer both a delicacy and a meal.

Anyway, the first thing we did was get extremely lost within the walls of the city. There were swans and ducks on the lawns and floating down the canals, so I could see why it would the place would seem romantic.

The cathedral in the middle of the city is called the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and it is named after the shrine dedicated to a vial of Christ’s blood. I paid the donation fee and sauntered up, but it honestly looked pretty gross. Not to be disrespectful or anything. 

There were some really nice stained glass windows, though. 

After that, we decided to take a short boat ride through the canals to learn about the history of the city. Of course, as per my usual clumsiness, I knocked over the boatman’s coffee that was balanced precariously on the banister as I was getting into the boat, which he didn’t seem to appreciate.

Although the city dates back to Julius Caesar’s time, most of the buildings we passed clocked in around the 13th century. The tour guide pointed out these tiny details that I never would have noticed, like small windows drilled into the brick walls during the Middle Ages to spy on entering ships and enforce tax laws. Can you spot it? Just follow his pointed finger. 

We also saw the Hotel de Tuiliereen, a building right on the canal that was built in the 15th century. Apparently the windows are made from pure, antique crystal, and the rooms cost anywhere from 890 to 1000 euros a night.

We ended the day with mussels and french fries, which was probably an amazing meal by any standard, but I won’t brag. 

Amsterdam: Part II

So, last week I talked about going to Amsterdam over Spring break, but that story is not over. On Thursday, we took an all day trip to Volendam, a fishing village on the coast of the North Sea. About a 35 minute drive from Amsterdam central, this tiny village specializes in cheese production and windmills.

The harbor is a main tourist attraction mostly because it has retained its original culture in everyday life. Kind of the same thing as the Amish, the women and men of the town can be seen semi-frequently in the traditional garb of the Dutch people, with high, pointed white bonnets and wooden clogs.

It is also a very cold and foggy place.

Although the weather was kind of awful, I could tell this place would be adorable to visit in the summer. Since it’s basically marshland, there are bridges and walkways everywhere, and quaint little houses and shops on either side.

Throughout the day, tourists had been asking me for directions and details about the history of the place, and they looked really disappointed when I would shrug and claim ignorance. This did not mean anything to me until a tour guide walked up, shook my hand and said:

“You must be the new hire! Nice to meet you!”

Only then did I realize we were dressed in identical red parkas and jeans, and she thought I was a fellow tour guide. Ha.

Anyway, we also went to a huge cheese shop where they had every sort of cheese you could imagine. They even had coconut cheese, which I did not try because that just sounds gross.

The fog was so thick, though, it was hard to tell that there were miles of marshes right in front of our faces.

Anyway, we took a tour and learned a lot about windmills from the people who actually live and work in them. There was a line of windmills like these that each produced something different. Some moved water to produce steam for various things, while others churned oil to make paint.

Also, these types of shoes are actually worn by locals to walk on the marshy land. While we were waiting around in a gift shop, I saw this random man standing in a large pair meant for decoration, so I casually went and stood next to him. He was a little weirded out, but didn’t ask any questions and allowed himself to be photographed.

Thank you for the candid, ye nameless man.

I was also caught rather indisposed in the throes of a thorough yawn… Enjoy.

Amsterdam: Part I

If I told you to think of a place where pretty much everything is legal, I would tell you to think of Amsterdam. The city of bad decisions and bad intentions where everyone goes to have a good time and go crazy.

To cover the basics, Amsterdam is in the Netherlands, otherwise known as Holland, and is located in the northwestern region of Europe.

That being said, Amsterdam is the only city where prostitution and marijuana are legal because, ironically, the rest of the country is quite conservative.

After 21 hours of traveling, a group of 30 Penn State students and myself arrived in this X-rated playground on the first day of Spring Break.

Day 1, I visited the Anne Frank House. The museum was really well done. Built directly into the building in which she hid, the whole thing is redone to be really modern. So, you walk through the first parts of the museum where everything is glass and stainless steel, and then suddenly you find yourself in a really narrow stairwell leading up to the annex itself, which is musty and antique.

They didn’t allow cell-phones, cameras, or picture taking, which made the whole experience more powerful. They also made me put my backpack on in the front  for “security reasons,” so I looked like a dork the whole time.

I learned a lot of things about her, though. For instance, her diary wasn’t a “secret” like I was taught to believe in grade school. Her family actually had the idea that she write an account of her war experiences in both Dutch and German for publication when they were liberated. This is also why friends of the family saved the diary after she was arrested, because they intended to give it to her at a later time.

This is her building, then vs. now. 

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We also went to the Rembrandt museum, which was cool...and too long. I have an extremely short attention span, so I skimmed a lot of art to get to the real masterpiece, “Nightwatch,” which I studied so much in high school.

Again, I wasn’t allowed to take pictures, so this is my blurry little secret.

Anyway, I’m sure you want to hear about the un-kosher stuff, so here goes.

First off, the Red Light District is freaky. It’s a total tourist attraction, but I was blushing badly and kept my eyes on the sidewalk as I walked through. Basically, women stand in windows in bikinis and stare you down as you walk by... If you translate the picture from French, you'll understand why it's relevant. 

Also, Marijuana is EVERYWHERE. Seed banks, Head Shops, and “Coffee houses” are just about the only business establishments the eye can see in Amsterdam Central.  

Coming from the U.S., where there are laws prohibiting most things, Amsterdam is a surreal place. The people, the history, and the traffic are crazy, but it’s definitely a great city. 

Budapest: Is Anybody Hungary?

Although it may disappoint my fans, this is the fourteenth post of my passion blog and I am RUNNING OUT OF STORIES.

I know, this is kind of a tragedy, but I’ll be sure to bring back photos and do cool things over Spring Break.That being said, I will be posting about cities I would really like to visit in the future, starting with Budapest.

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In my research on Hungary I found an article entitled “9 Culture Shocks Americans will have in Hungary,” that was both amusing and informative. Most of the bullet points were really to be expected, like #2 “Everybody smokes.” Anyone who has ever been to or heard anything about Europe already knows that it is a time portal back to 1950’s America. #3 doesn't really worry me either, “Food reigns supreme over anything and everything,” in that it describes the sanctity of every mealtime as an event to be looked forward to and savored.

There were, however, some points that made me raise an eyebrow. #1, entitled “The disznóvágás,” which roughly translates to “pig slaughter.” Now, although I do not advocate the goriness of killing animals, I was intrigued because I have heard such wonderful things about Hungarian meats.

A word of advice: do NOT google disznóvágás. It’s a bloody mess. Just eat the sausage and don’t ask where it comes from.

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I also liked tip #6, “Get used to pessimism, straightforwardness, and the Hungarian temper.” Attributing the sour Hungarian temperament to “relentless invasions and occupations” by the Mongols, Turks, Habsburgs, Germans and Russians alike, the article states that casually asking “How are you?” will more likely start an argument rather than a conversation.  

Moving on from this article, I was interested by the Buda Castle, located in the heart of Budapest and on the shore of the Danube River. 

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The Buda Castle is interesting for a number of reasons, the earliest of which is that it’s original structure “disappeared.” I kid you not, it was last seen in the year 1243, until Hungary was invaded by the Mongols, who destroyed it so well that no remains of the palace were ever found.

Luckily, it was rebuilt even bigger and better in the same exact spot. Completed in 1356, the Buda Castle was, at the time, the largest and grandest castle in all of Europe. From there, Hungarian and Habsburg kings added onto it. Destroyed by Turks in the late 1500’s, and then set on fire in the 1800’s, it’s a miracle that the castle exists today as a building over 1000 feet long with over 6 wings.

Because of all the trauma it has undergone, the building itself is described by a few articles as “austere” and “devoid of ornamentation,” but... I’d still visit. 

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Panama: Outlaws and Island Living

Much to my regret, we only stayed in Panama City for one night before setting off to Bocas del Toro. Mouths of the Bull.

By the time we landed, I was so tired that I almost didn’t register the haphazard airport that was made up by a few cinder blocks, a tarp, and some lawn chairs.  

Located in Panama, Bocas del Toro is an archipelago made up by a series of tiny islands, some inhabited, most not.

Actually, most of the islands are mangrove plants, which are not even considered land, per se, just overgrown water plants.

Anyway, staying in Bocas del Toro was a unique experience in that, while our hotel was on the largest (least tiny) island, there were water taxis that would take us to other islands for lunch or day trips on boats like these.

Just kidding, the boats were more like these, but there were some really nice privately owned boats owned by...who? Not sure.

Nearby was Zapatillas, a deserted island about the size of a football field on which Daniel Craig filmed some steamy beach scenes.

I took this picture.

And Hollywood took this one.

I also went scuba diving for the first time and saw a shark...and a jellyfish. Or, I should say I was in the water when someone said they saw a jellyfish, at which point I jumped back on the boat.

But, hey, at least I actually did the diving. My mother, on the other hand, donned all of the equipment, told me to take this photo of her, and subsequently got out of the water forever.

Another interesting thing about Bocas del Toro is that it has been a notorious hideout for criminals fleeing the law.

While we were driving around with a friend who lives there full time, he told us this story about an American guy and his girlfriend who came to Bocas a few years prior to “buy some real estate.”

The story is that this guy, coined “Wild Bill,” killed a family of five for their estate on this tiny island. He then renamed their home “Hacienda Cortez” and turned it into a small bed and breakfast.

So, apparently this family of five lived under the radar due to a pretty sketchy past, so they were not reported missing.

It wasn’t until “Wild Bill” killed again that he was caught. He killed another american woman for her estate, but she was noticed to be missing by her family, who found it suspicious that she would disappear and leave her house and dog to this strange, burly man.

Eventually, he was caught, but this apparently wasn’t the first incident in which outlaws were found to have been hiding out in Bocas del Toro.

Furthermore, in the 1500’s, Christopher Columbus fell in love with these islands because they provided safe haven from the rough waves of the surrounding oceans.

Ships were wrecked and horses drowned in the mangrove swamps, so they had no choice but to bury their treasure and leave it behind for continued survival.

Dare I propose a return trip and a hunt for hidden treasure?