No I Don't Want Your Bracelet!

As I arrived in Ghana on Tuesday, Sept 13 I literally had no idea what to expect.  Thus far, the only African country I had been to was Morocco but that was much more like a Middle Eastern country because Islam is inextricably woven within their culture.  Stepping off the ship, it hit me that This is Africa.

The first day there was a group of 10 of us that planned to go to the Boti Waterfalls.  Initially, Tim, Stella, Ken, and myself were planning on venturing out there.  But on the ship anything and everything spreads like wildfire, so from Monday night to Tuesday morning our wolf pack had grown by 6.  The ship docked in Tema, but SAS provided a shuttle between Tema and Accra, which is the city where everything is in Ghana.  We hop on the shuttle (for $15, because if there is a chance that SAS can squeeze a penny out of you, they will find it) and despite the cities being 20 miles apart, it takes us over an hour to get there.  The traffic is horrible, and the unpaved dirt roads were even worse, but I could care less because hey, I am in Africa.

An hour later we get off the shuttle in Accra and are immediately bombarded with vendors trying to sell us bracelets, necklaces, and literally anything they could think a tourist would possibly want.  After many stern “NO I DON’T WANT YOUR BRACELET!” we find a restaurant and grab some lunch.  An hour later, we grab some taxis to take us to the tro-tro station.  A tro-tro is the main mode of transportation in Ghana, and is basically a large van that goes to the major destinations locals need.  The catch is that tro-tros never sell out of space, even if they run out of it.  Everyone who needs to will find a way to pile in by sitting on your lap, squishing in, and finding every creative way imaginable to get in the van.  With such a large group, we offer the driver 20 cedi each (about $13 USD) to take us to the Boti Waterfalls, which are about 2 hours north of Accra.  Gladly, the driver accepts and we are off.   Ghana is a third world country, and literally everything is a very obvious indication of it.  We weren’t driving for 5 minutes when the back of the van pops open, and we have to reach back (while still driving at about 40mph) to shut the back and lock it.  Everyone starts busting up with laughter because at that moment we were all on the exact same mental wavelength… “holy shit this really is Africa” (excuse my French Mom, see Dad I really am learning!).  From that moment, I knew that I was going to have the time of my life.

The two hour drive gradually grew by thirty minutes, then another, and then another.  Despite the three and a half hour drive in a run down van with no air conditioner in a tropical country, it was one of the most spectacular drives I have ever taken.  As soon as we got out of Accra, the roads rapidly changed from smooth roads to dirt trails.  Winding up to the rainforest, we passed numerous villages along the way in which the extreme poverty was visible.  The juxtaposition of wealth and poverty within one area of Ghana was unlike anything I have ever seen before.  Villagers live with the little clothes they can make or get from NGOs and make money trying to sell goods along the side of the road.  The houses we passed were not so much houses as they were shacks covered with tarp and any other semi-impermeable covering they could find.  There were children running around playing while their mothers made jewelry and cooked plantains on an open fire along the road, which they would sell later as their sole source of income.  As we would pass by, kids would wave at us and women would stare, because we were the first white people they have ever seen in their entire life.  Some kids would reach through the open window as we were stopped in traffic to touch our arms or hands because we white people are so foreign to them.  I figured that because these villages are so remote they don’t see too many tourists, but I was shocked at how amazed they were by someone who looks so different from them.  I never understood how someone could not understand diversity, but it hit me as soon as I saw those children that they truly have no understanding of the world outside of their village.

One eventful ride later, we arrived at the Boti Waterfalls.  It was worth every second we had spent stuck in the car.  As soon as we arrived to the waterfalls, 7 children ran out to greet us at the car with such pure excitement.  There is one family who lives at the base and runs the “guided tours” through the waterfall.  We get out of the car, and our guide Charles takes us down about 50 feet of stairs to the waterfalls.  Boti Falls are twin falls about 100ft. tall, and are situated in the middle of the tropical rainforest in Ghana.  The falls are one of the most spectacular natural sights I have ever seen in my life.  Any and all frustrations or fatigue I felt up until that point were instantaneously washed away with the water that was pouring down the falls.  After a few minutes of utter awe, Charles gathered us around and told us the story of the falls.  The tribes of Koforundia (the area where Boti Falls are) still hold onto their indigenous religions, and believe that the Falls have ancestral spirits within them, and guard their villages from any evil spirits.  There are certain areas that we aren’t able to take pictures of because they believe that spirits remain near the Falls to watch over the people.  After the story and a few more pictures, we took one last glance, sighed a sigh of pure bliss, and ascended the stairs for the final time. 

At the top of the stairs, the kids were playing tag, running around, and immediately ran over to see their visitors.  Valleria (one of the wolf pack) brought a beach ball just in case there were kids who would appreciate it- and we had found them.  Valleria took out the ball, blew it up, and the kids went insane!  We were playing soccer with them, then were just bouncing it around and having the time of our lives.  For a few minutes, we were on the same level with these African children we just met who didn’t understand us, and and it was one of the most emotionally raw moments of my life.  Nothing mattered to any of us - not money, material possessions, where we came from, where we were going – all we cared about was trying to keep the ball from touching the ground.  Such genuine emotion is nearly impossible to find amongst the constant chaos of life, and it took me going to a remote village in Africa and playing with 7 African children, 9 students from across the States, and one beach ball in order to experience it.  There have been many moments in the past 3 weeks that I know I will never forget, and this one is at the top of the list.

After playing with the kids until dark, we decided to head back to Accra.  We piled in the van still on cloud nine, but the car would not start.  With a storm quickly approaching, we weren’t even fazed by the chance that we might be spending the night with 10 people in one van.  Literally nothing could ruin the experience that we just had.  No matter, the car started the next time we tried and we were off!  It was just in time because the second the car started, rain began to pour out of the sky.  Driving back in the dark on dirt roads in pouring rain was much more fun than it sounds.  We were all talking, playing car games (just like the Mormons do!) and getting to know each other so much better.  The amazing thing about Semester at Sea is that you may not know someone in the morning, but you will most definitely know them by the end of the day.  Once we got back to Accra, we hopped on the shuttle and headed back to the ship, which after a long day in a foreign country feels very much like home.  It was 11pm by the time we got back, and despite how extremely tired we were from the 4 hour drive back, none of us could go to sleep.  Instead, we headed up to the pool deck, got some burgers (or veggie burger, in my case!) and just talked about life for the next hour.  Walking back to our cabins, we all said goodnight to each other.  While some of us started as strangers to one another at the beginning of the day were very quickly added to the wolf pack as we knew that we are all now so close. 

Day 2 started off with a 5:45am wake up call.  I was signed up for a tour to the Slave Castles and Dungeons with my professor (traveling with your professor feels like one very long field trip, but guarantees you a badass letter of rec!) and I knew it was going to be a very emotional day.  I grab breakfast with my wolf pack, and despite our lack of sleep, we were all awake and ready to go.  By 7am, we hop on the bus and prepare for another four-hour bus ride.  While this ride wasn’t quite as fun as the previous day, it was incredible to drive through a new part of Ghana and how vastly different tribes and villages live in Ghana despite how advanced we think the world to be. 

As soon as we pull up to the Slave Dungeons, I am overwhelmed with a myriad of sadness, astonishment, and shock.  The first castle that we go to, St. George’s Castle, was built in the 1600s by the British in order to transport slaves and goods to and from the new world in the Atlantic Slave trade.  Our guide took us through the different dungeons that were used to hold the male and female slaves (separately) for up to two months while the ships came to take them away.  The dungeons had little light, less ventilation, and were nothing but a stone floor and 4 walls with a small ditch running through the middle that was used as a sewage drain.  On the floor and on the walls there are still imprints and carvings made by the chains that held the slaves.  While waiting for their death, slaves would carve their names or whatever else they could draw or write in the walls.  I saw the name “Ceymi” carved into the wall and it hit me that that man was standing exactly where I was and had died in that very room.  The cruelty, death, and torture that remained deep within the walls completely overwhelmed me, and I was in such shock I could barely speak.  We moved into another room in the dungeon, and noticed that the stone floor was entirely black.  Our guide explained to us that when the dungeon was restored, the anthropological team tried to remove the layers and layers of blood, sweat, dirt, vomit, feces, and waste that piled up over the hundreds of years the dungeon was in operation, but was unable to remove all the layers.  We were literally standing on death.  From a historical perspective, I was in awe, but from a personal perspective, I was in a combination of shame, shock, disbelief, and sadness it was extremely difficult to process everything that I was experiencing.  The dungeons were markers of cruelty and death; that much was apparent from the conditions within the dungeons.

In an abrupt and emotionally confusing change, we ended the tour and hopped back on the bus to go to lunch before our next castle.  Everyone seemed a bit off considering what we just witnessed, but most people were able to bounce back just fine and enjoy the incredible lunch that was planned for us.  We drove through an impoverished village with dirt roads and mud houses to get to a beach resort where we had a beautiful beachfront lunch.  I felt guilty eating such a fantastic lunch topped off with fresh coconuts, but it made me appreciate everything that I have and that I work for so much more.  I don’t think of myself as someone who takes much for granted, but it was a very awakening experience to see people with literally nothing but the clothes on their back and realize just exactly how much I do have even in the roughest of times. 

After lunch, we were off to the second dungeon for the day: the Elmina Castle.  This castle was built by the Portuguese in the 1400s (yes, it is 700 years old!) initially as a trading post for gold and sugar.  However, once the Atlantic Slave trade began the Dutch took the fort from the Portuguese and started using it to hold slaves.  The dungeon was very similar to St. George’s in terms of the abhorrent conditions, but was used as a castle for the governor of the Dutch East India Company (the one from the Pirates of the Caribbean, for all my non-history major friends).  The Company’s emblem “W” is built into all the iron works, including the sign at the entrance above the castle moat.  We toured the entire castle, and the disparity between the slave dungeons and European quarters was worse than the difference between night and day.  The governor’s quarters were larger than the entire female slave dungeons where over one hundred people were kept for months at a time.  It was absolutely incredible to see and I know that no words will ever be able to describe just how horrendous the dungeons were.  They were literally death houses where millions of men and women died in a 200 year period, and that death is held within the remains of the walls of the dungeons. 

After the tour, we hopped back back on the bus for another five hour drive back to the ship.  We were all exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotion, and headed back to our rooms for a nap before all going out in Tema that night.

Day 3 was off to the best start because it was the first day in over a month I was able to sleep in!  Of course, I can’t sleep in so I wake up at 8am with no more than 5 hours of sleep.  It is a lazy morning and after getting ready to go to Accra, I meet up with some friends and catch the shuttle into town.  The 30 mile drive took over an hour and a half to make because the bus broke down – not once, but twice – within 30 minutes.  We had to wait for another bus to take us into the city, but regardless we all could care less because “hey, this is Africa”.  No matter what obstacle we came up against, no one seemed to mind because we all are having the time of our lives.  Once we got to Accra, we find a local spot for lunch where I had some of the most amazing fish of my life!  Then we planned to head to a store called Global Mamas, which is a non-profit/NGO that focuses on the economic development of women.  I got an amazing, hand dyed skirt there and the greatest part is that all of the profits go towards helping the most impoverished women in Ghana.  Next we went to the National Center for Culture, which is a very large African market, and I went to town with shopping!  It was an amazing time shopping, talking with the locals, and seeing how the make the African drums!  After a couple hours in the market, we headed home, took a nap, and got ready to go out in Tema for the last night.

Day 4 was off to another fabulous start because I got to sleep in again, and this time until 9am!  With a full 8 hours of sleep, I was ready to go out and take on Ghana one last time.  Stephanie and I headed into Tema and went to the market, the post office, and a wonderful Chinese restaurant!  Since being here I have seen so many Chinese signs and restaurants, and it is because ever since Ghana discovered oil off their coast a couple months ago the Chinese have been pouring money into their economy to try and exploit the resources.  Damn Chinese are taking over the world!  It was a great last day in Ghana, and before I knew it we were back on the ship and waving bye to west Africa. 

I had an absolutely amazing time in Ghana, despite the obstacles and setbacks.  Every country gets better and better, and I can’t wait to experience South Africa in just 6 days!  Time is flying by here, but I know that these moments will have a lasting impact on my memory and who I am.  I can’t wait to see what these next couple weeks hold in store for me as I make my way through the last of Africa!

Of all the Gin Joints in all the World, I walked into the right one!

It is hard to believe that just three days ago, I took my first step onto African soil.  In those three days, I feel like I have experienced more than I can even describe.  Morocco, despite all the frustrations, has been the experience of a life time and this is only the first port!

As I disembarked from the ship on Saturday (Sept. 3) morning, I knew I was in for the adventure of a lifetime.  This being our first port, everyone was stirring with excitement to leave the ship after a week of sailing and finally explore what we all came here fore.  My roommate Stephanie and I had made plans to take a three hour train ride to Marrakech- where Sex in the City 2 was filmed- and get massages from the same spa.  We meet up with 5 other people who are heading to Marrakech as well, and all decide to take the train together.  We stop at the ATM, get a taxi, and arrive at the train station with plenty of time to spare.  When we go to buy our tickets, they inform us that 1^st class is all sold out, so we take the 2^nd class tickets and hop on the train.  There isn’t a big price difference in US dollars (maybe $4) between 1^st and 2^nd class, but there is  HUGE difference in comfort.  Steph and I are lucky to find seats in the car, but the other people in our party have to stand for the first 2hours in a packed car with no air conditioning.  Despite sweating up a storm and listening to numerous conversations between angry passengers in rapid Arabic, I enjoyed people watching for 3 hours in this vastly different culture.  One man in his early 20s was sitting next to me, and he didn’t speak a word of English nor I Arabic.  With a smile and a nod, he offered me a cookie that looked like the Arabic version of an uh-oh Oreo.  I was hot, starving, and curious so I accepted his offer by responding with the one word in Arabic that I do know - shukran – thank you. (I have since then picked up quite a few more sayings).  It was a pretty good cookie, and it was my first experience that opened my eyes to the fact that despite any cultural differences or language barriers, something like kindness and a smile are universal. 

Three hot hours later, we arrive in Marrakech and catch a taxi to Nikki Beach, which is the spa we are going for massages.  The taxi driver speaks only French and Arabic, but between Steph and I we are able to tell him exactly where we are going and agree on a price to take us there.  We drive to the outskirts if the city, and arrive in this resort area that looked like a desert Eden.  White marble lined the walkway up to the resort reception, and once we stepped inside we realized that this was Heaven.  It was the most beautiful spa I have ever seen in my life!  Men were pulling up in Ferraris, women were dressed in designer from head to toe, and everything was in French (which immediately classes it up!).  Again, with just enough French to get us by, Steph and I decide to get 75 minute Swedish massages for just over $100 USD.  It was a bit pricey, but I justified it by making it my early birthday present to myself.  Normally I wouldn’t spend that much money on a massage, but seeing as how I was in Africa at the same spa I Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda had been to, I had to do it.  I immediately realized that this was the BEST DECISION I HAVE EVER MADE!  For 75 minutes, I was in absolute heaven!  First of all, I have never felt that classy in literally my entire life and it was by far the best massage I have ever had!  We left the spa feeling more relaxed and ready to take on the world, seeing as how we were literally about to! 

After we left our little peace of African heaven, we catch a cab to the old medina where the sook (African market, like a night market for all my Chinese people!) is located.  It is also the same sook that is in Sex in the City 2 where Carrie saw Aiden!  All the goods are incredibly hand made and so cheap!  I learned some pretty valuable bargaining skills very quickly, and managed to get a hand made silk scarf down from 150 Dirham (Moroccan currency) to 30!  That is like $4 US!  We stopped for some food, and I had the best orange juice I have ever had in my life!  It was freshly squeezed, pure OJ!  The market is basically a circus where everyone comes to shop, eat, and socialize.  There were snake charmers, monkeys on leashes, and women offering henna to anyone who would accept.  It was pure chaos, and I loved every second of it.  We left the Moroccan market and headed towards the train station, where we would meet up with the rest of our group and catch the train back on home.  This time, we were in the first class cabin and met a women who went to Ohio State University, and now runs a study abroad program and lives in Morocco with her husband.  She was telling us all about her traveling adventures (she has been to over 50 countries!), giving us advice for what to do, and passing along some very valuable words of wisdom.

After a short, but very restful night’ sleep,  I wake up at 6 and get ready to head to Rabat with a Semester at Sea sponsored trip.  We have a guided tour of the city, and after the hour and a half bus ride we stop at the Royal Palace of Morocco where King Hassan II lives.  The palace is a white sand stone structure with incredible detailing and handcrafted tiles.  It is in every way fit for a king!  Next we head to the Roman ruins where the Roman army had built fortress walls surrounding the city.  This fortress was built in 25 A.D. and is so well preserved the details in the walls are still as visible today as they were in their original capacity.  Walking around the ruins, I could feel the history that the walls held.  It was so beautiful it literally brought a tear to my eye!

After our delicious lunch of cous cous and Moroccan wine, we head to the Mosoleum of Mohammed V, the father of the current king.  Again, the level of detail and the intricacy of design were absolutely breathtaking.  This country has such beautiful architecture and culture, it opened my eyes in a whole new light about the Muslim culture and the world as a whole.  We ended our trip in Rabat by going to the Casbah, which was the old Jewish quarter.  It has a very Mediterranean feel to it and has a breathtaking view of the Atlantic!  After taking an unnecessary amount of pictures, we head back on the bus to Casablanca and return home to our ship!  Most people on the ship had left for an overnight camel track, so those of us who went to Rabat get together and decide to go out for dinner and drinks in Casablanca.  Right by the port is a restaurant called Jimmy’s, and it looked pretty nice inside so we checked it out!  First thing we notice are the posters hanging on the wall of Rolling Stone Magazine, Pulp Fiction, Johnny Depp, and the NYC Skyline!  For such an “American” place, we were the only Americans there!  Smoking is allowed literally everywhere in Morocco (even on the trains!) and so that is a bit different, but we all love the new atmosphere and embrace the fact that we are in Africa living it up for four months!  (Mom and Dad, close your eyes!)  So I order a chocolate molten cake, which was another great decision and a mojito!  The best part is that it only cost me $10 US, which is unheard of for drinks and dessert!  At this point there are 4 girls including myself and we are all having a great time!  None of us had really met prior to the trip to Rabat, but the nature of this program allows you to get close to someone in a matter of seconds.  We all decide to get some more drinks and stay there for another hour or so talking.  Around midnight, we call it a night and head back to the ship.  After an amazing day of having the greatest time with 3 girls I just met, I get back to my cabin, turn on Blue Planet (one of the 3 movies that is constantly playing) and finally sleep.

On day three, I meet up with some friends and head out to catch a train to Fes.  We again sit second class, but we luck out and the train is practically empty!  Thank god too, because this train ride was 4 hours!  We get to the city and catch a cab to the city center.  None of us have a map and don’t know excactly where the sook it that we want to go to, but we just tell the cab driver to take us to the market and we were off.  As soon as we get out, men start harassing us offering to guide us through the medina labrynth in order to get to the sook, that is located in the middle of the old city.  Of course, we deny all the offers.  However, we are completely lost in this ancient maze of allies and narrow walkways, and we decide to ask the first man who had offered if he is able to show us around.  Typically men will guide tourists around the city as a way to make money, because this is how much of the middle-poor and poor classes make their living.  Yosef (our guide) however told us that he didn’t want any money; he simply wanted to help us out as one friend to another.  In the Muslim culture as I have learned, people refer to each other as brother and sister as a sign of respect; they truly want to help others whenever possible.  This type of compassion is drastically different than what I am used to in the states, none of us believed he wanted to help solely out of kindness.  When we asked what we could get him, all asked for was as a pack of cigarettes.  Still shocked, we get him a pack and we are off navigating through the walled labrynth towards the sook.  Along the way, he takes us to all these stores and shops where artisans are crafting doors, rugs, and other handmade goods they will sell in the sook.  The medina (walled city) is an area where the poor classes live and work by selling goods in the market right outside their homes.  Everyone knows each other as well, and reputation is vital in doing business with one another.  Yosef takes us to this restaurant that is on top of his friends house and is overlooking the entire city of Fes.  From here, we can see castles on the hills, a royal palace, ancient ruins, and miles and miles of houses.  For $8 US, I had one of the best meals of my entire life!  Of course, we pay for Yosef’s lunch as well because we wanted to thank him for being so hospitable since we were used to getting ripped off because we were American tourists.  After lunch, he takes us to the 4^th oldest tannery in the entire world, which is located in the middle of the medina.  The family who lives and works there teaches us about the process of making leather, and we all get some amazing handcrafted leather goods for insanely cheap prices!  I got two leather wallets for only $40 US!  I still can’t believe how cheap everything is!  Then we reach the sook and get lost in all the commotion of the market.  There are donkeys walking down the narrow cobblestone walkways, Arabic is flying around everywhere, kids are running past us playing soccer, and we are in the middle of all of this trying to bargain down all the goods that we want.  I must say that I have gotten pretty good at the whole bargaining thing because I got a beautiful sheep wool jacket for less than $30 US!  I love Morocco because here I can afford my shopping addiction all the time!  We all score some amazing deals in the market, and we head back to catch the train to Casablanca.  We hug Yosef goodbye, thank him for an amazing day, and are truly transformed after uncovering such a vastly different culture.  After this day, I can honestly say I felt changed as I was able to truly live in a different world for one of the most meaningful days of my life.  

The next morning, I woke up and spent my last day in Morocco exploring Casablanca with some of my favorite people on the ship:  Steph, Kyle, Lou, and Valeria.  We see a massive, gorgeous mosque, get drinks at Rick’s Café (from the movie Casablanca!), and end it shopping one last time in the Casablanca market.  We all are having a great time talking as time flies by, and before we know it we have to head back to the ship.  Back on the ship, we get back into the routine of school work and preparing for classes tomorrow.

One port down, eleven more to go.  I had the time of my life in Morocco, and I still can’t believe I am this lucky to be able to have the trip of a lifetime eleven more times.  I am currently en route to Ghana, and I can only dream of how I will be changed again in the next few days!  Au revior for now!