Tema (Accra), Ghana

Hello everyone! I finally made it to Africa!!!

        Ghana was amazing! I had such a wild adventure while I was there. The people were so friendly and always wanted to talk. When  you would ask a Ghanian where something is (like a bus station) you should expect to stand there talking for at least an hour. They wanted to know everything about my life back in America as well as how I was enjoying Ghana and if I would come back. The people always were laughing or had smiles on there faces no matter what was going on around them. Life in Ghana was so laid back also... we definitely were on "Ghana time"... we arrived when we arrived and left when we wanted to leave. There was no set schedule... but when it came to driving... Oh MY GOSH! people were CRAZY! There is no lanes, traffic lights, or rules on the road. People honked there horns to let other drivers know there were there and so the whole time you would see 4 to 5 cars squeezing onto a road and trying to drive... it was pure madness!

    DAY 1 (Oct. 1): I had a field lab for my Science of Love class where we went to talk to Ghana's social welfare director. While we were there we learned about the ways Ghanian officials were trying to license and improve the orphanages in the country. They were also putting laws in effect to give the orphaned children rights which hopefully would lead to a better living situation for them. After that we went to a local orphanage called "Kinder Paradise." This orphanage had a total of 35 kids who's age ranged from 2-23. Once our bus arrived there was a swarm of children greeting us at the door. Each student got one child old enough to provide us with tours. So I had a 12 year old girl who showed me where she slept, went to school, and played. When it was all said and done I was happy to see that they had a pretty good situation. Of course they could use more comfortable mattresses, better books and school supplies as well as more things to keep them entertained but all in all they had practically everything they needed. It was such an amazing opportunity to be able to see what an orphanage in Africa was like. Many students brought things to donate to the children and as many of you know my mother loves making beaded jewelry so before I left she gave me over 200 bracelets and necklaces to give away. When I started handing them out many of the girls started crying saying, "This is the most beautiful thing I have ever received... Thank you." I felt so blessed to be the one providing something as simple as a beaded bracelet to these girls who had never owned a piece of jewelry in their life! After we left Kinder Paradise we headed back to the ship. Me and a few friends decided to head out in Tema to see what the night life had to offer... it was interesting to say the least.  By the end of the night I was proposed to three times. Apparently many of the men want to marry America women.

This is a picture of a classroom at Kinder Paradise.

  
 DAY 2(Oct. 2): Me and my friend Siera decided to venture to a town called Cape Coast so we can see the Slave dungeons/castle as well as go to Kakum National Park. So we took the Semester at Sea shuttle to Accra which is the capital of Ghana and then we proceeded to the bus station. We got on the bus and started our adventure to Cape Coast. It was a three hour bus ride but it was interesting because we saw many villages along the way and we were able to see a lot of Ghana. Once we arrived in Cape Coast is when the adventure really began. We wandered around for about an hour trying to find a place to sleep. We finally found a hotel put our stuff down and started venturing around looking for some dinner. While we were eating at a restaurant we met some local men who showed us around the town a little bit.. it was nice to be able to hang out with some locals. The picture below is the houses in Cape Coast.


DAY 3 (Oct. 10th): We woke up early (thanks to a rooster) had breakfast then went to the Castle/ Slave dungeons. When we walked through the door we were offered a guided tour. We first walked into the male dungeon. It was underground and it was the place were over 100 male slaves were kept anywhere from two weeks to three months. There were not any bathrooms or any light for them at all! After that we walked into where the women were kept. It was the same except there was a little room that was so small with nothing but a small opening that was used to pass food through. This room was used as a punishment when a women would refuse sex to the British men. Once we left the women's holding room we went into a room that was the size of a small kitchen (like the one  in my apartment) that was used when slaves would rebel against the British. There were scratches on the floor created by the shackles that were around the slaves wrists, ankles and throats. When a slave was in this room they were not allowed any food or water. So they would eventually die from starvation. At this point in the tour I lost it. I could no longer hold in my emotions. In school we learned about the slave trade and how bad they were treated but it was actually put into reality when I went on this tour. Once we left this room we walked through a door. This door had a sign above it... it was called "The door of no return" I am sure you can imagine what it was used for. The slaves would walk through this door when they were getting on the ships to go to Brazil and the Caribbean. We walked through it and it was the one of the craziest feelings ever. I could not image what they were feeling when they knew what awaited them. The tour ended at this door... we were lucky enough to return though. Once outside we collected ourselves, did some shopping and called a taxi to take us to Kakum National Park which is a rainforest. Once we arrive we signed up for a canopy walk. We hiked for about a half hour to the destination. The canopy's were 8 bridges that ranged from 90 to 120ft above the forest floor. We walked on all of them! It was such a thrill!! It was a good way to get our minds off of the castle. After the rainforest we decided to head back to Accra where we ended up at a reggae concert on the beach... it was sooo much fun!! The picture below is one of the bridges.



DAY 4 (Oct 11th): I had a Semester at Sea trip to visit the Queen Mothers. The Queen Mothers (pictured below) are women who are voices for the people in there villages. They help promote education and equal opportunities among women and children. We sat and talked with them for over two hours about their roles in society as well as what they do to help out members in their villages. It was an honor to meet them because they are extremely important people in Ghanian society. After talking with them we stopped at a local market where we were able to shop. It was interesting because everyone wanted us to shop in there stores. It was also overwhelming because people would pull you into their shops and practically hassle you to buy things. After the market we stopped off at the Presbyterian Church of the Prime Meridian where I was able to stand on the Prime Meridian line. I was in the western and eastern hemispheres at the same time :) It was really cool!

ALL IN ALL..... GHANA WAS AMAZING!!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!

Today (Oct. 12): It was a special day for us on the MV EXPLORER. This morning  we celebrated Neptune Day. Everyone went on the top deck where they were conducting this important ceremony. We all got green slime poured on us, had to jump into the freezing cold pool, kiss two fish, then got salt thrown on us. This ceremony was conducted because we sailed across the equator. It is a legendary maritime tradition. Today I can happily say I am a rare emerald shell back and I have been to the center of the earth (O degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude).

Peace and Love Friends!

~~ Amy