Sleep & Kakum

I don't think that anyone in Ghana sleeps. I've been awake before 6 every day since I've been here, and both of my host families told me that I sleep in. Today, my host mom woke up at 3:30 a.m. and started playing music in the kitchen. Insanity. And it's always loud outside. Music, people yelling, roosters, goats, taxis honking. I guess you get used to it if you live here... I thought that people napped since they are all up so early and in bed so late, but my NGO and host family both assure me that Ghanaians don't take naps. Maybe it takes so long to get anything done here because they're all tired all the time lol.

Our group went to Kakum National Park this morning. It was a little touristy, but still really fun. A couple of Canadians built a rope bridge over the forest canopy, so we walked it and then took a walk through the forest. We heard one of the monkeys that the major river in the area was named after (the monkeys make a noise that sounds like "kakum") but didn't see it. The park lets you spend the night in the forest and takes guided night walks through the park to see wildlife, and I'd really like to do it if I have a free night before I leave. As of now it's not looking like I will, though. The park is only about 30 minutes away from where I'm working, Kakumdo (it means "under the river"), although the roads are kind of rough in a tro-tro. On our way back, we stopped at a monkey sanctuary run by this crazy Dutch couple. They let some of the monkeys sleep in the same bed with them. Apparently, they adopt and try to breed some of the baby animals in the area that have lost their parents to hunters/poachers. After the sanctuary we stopped to eat a Hans Cottage Bottle, also run by Dutch people. The food was pretty decent, but I am so sick of rice! The tables are sitting on a boardwalk over a lagoon with crocodiles, but we didn't see any crocodiles today. After I finish doing some research for the diabetes lecture I'm giving on Wednesday night with my NGO, I'm heading home to watch the US play with my host brother, Emmanuel. Hopefully I can stay awake for the entire thing!