Getting Emotional
Since we’ve been pretty bad about proper planning and agreement over here, we didn’t end up going out on Tuesday night. Teresa and I did scour the stores of the area around the University with Edmund, in hopes of finding her a not too expensive bottle of flavored vodka, but we failed at that too. Who knew everything was expensive around here? It turned out to be an early night, but that was all well and good.
On Wednesday, we went to class with high hopes to go to the Accra Zoo later in the afternoon. For those of you that are not aware, I absolutely love zoos. I’m a child in that respect. Most people grow out of them or realize that their treatment of animals is sub-par, but frankly I think zoos are the most wonderful place on earth. Right behind Disney World. Regardless, my hopes and dreams were dashed. Go figure that they JUST so happen to be doing construction on the zoo to make it even better, so it was closed. And I won’t even be able to see the improvements. Sad but true. After a few attempts at other plans – a museum, some people possible getting their hair done, exploring Osu – tensions mounted and things got rough. It was one of those moments where 6 girls’ personalities just weren’t meshing, and some people (me) got upset. Emotional moment number 1. It was one of those moments, though, that I realized how close I’m getting to these girls despite our differences. After a walk to cool off, Teresa, Katie, and I had Edmund take us to East Legon (by the airport) to an American café! Seriously, just what I needed. I had a bleu cheese and avocado burger with French fries and ice in my water. Oh, how I’ve missed ice. If that doesn’t make sense, it’s because we’re basically forbidden to drink tap water here because it’ll screw with our systems and make us sick, and ice is made with tap water. Also, I have to use a water bottle to brush my teeth. And lettuce, raw vegetables (i.e.. salad) and fruits without a thick rind are out of the question. Rinsed with tap water. But today I had my ice, and life was good. After lunch we decided to just drive around and have Edmund show us parts of Accra we hadn’t seen before. It was awesome, and we ended up at a great gelato place as well. Delicious. After a significant amount of traffic, standard in Accra, we headed back home. The group worked out our issues, and we all lived happily ever after.
Thursday was back at the day care, and on the way there we witnessed the most foreboding sight possibly on a Tuesday or Thursday morning: rain clouds. Rain means the 100+ kids have to be corralled inside for the entire day, which is basically a death sentence for all those trying to keep things calm and orderly. Sure enough, a few minutes after getting there, the rain started to fall. But before that, Rashida found me. No surprise there. I have to admit I was a bit peeved with her after her throwing rocks incidents the other day, but who can resist that cute little face? Certainly not me. For the entire morning she was attached to me, but at least behaving. When I was needed to break up a fight or discipline children (about every 5 minutes or so), I would plop her down on the wall that serves as a railing and go off and take care of my business. She’d wait patiently until I walked back over, when she would promptly throw herself into my arms. It was one of those days where keeping the kids under control became a desperate affair. Before class, we were told to keep them out of the rooms (giving them a sidewalk about as wide and long as a hallway in your house to play on). Clearly, all they wanted to do was go in the rooms, especially one problematic group of little boys. After 20 minutes or so of wreaking havoc and not listen, I stepped in. Cue me grabbing each boy by the collar and placing him, not so gently, outside the door in a pile. It sounds dangerous but whatever, they got tangled up which gave me enough time to shut the door. Trust me, the women who actually work there are a lot less gentle than that. In the midst of the insanity, Rashida was being cuter than ever. She learned to say my name in the most ADORABLE little voice, even though she can’t really pronounce it. The “rl” sound trips up most Ghanians. After a morning of cuteness, I took Rashida to her classroom and headed to the one I volunteer in. The children in class were absolutely awful for the most part. There was choking, punching, and wrestling involved, but towards the end of the day we got them to identify the pictures on the wall and sing songs with us; definitely a moral victory. At one point, Rashida wandered her way into my classroom, but clearly she did not belong there nor did I have the time to deal with it. So I shooed her out, and Katie had to drag her away. I had never seen Rashida actually shed a tear, until this moment. With tears streaming down her face she kept crying “Carly, Carly” and ran to Teresa and cried till she fell asleep. Seriously, this is traumatizing stuff for me. It’s probably going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Emotional moment number 2.
After day care, lunch, a satisfying nap, class and a dinner of Pringles and a banana, it was time to get ready to ACTUALLY go out! We planned to go to Bella Roma for real this time, and by 830 ish we were out the door. Yes, that’s early, but we were told by the manager that if we get there before 8 we’d get in free, and that was the most important part. However, Edmund is a diva and it took him forever to get ready. Katie, Kimberly, Farouk and I hopped in a cab and took the LONGEST possible route to Osu. Edmund drove the other 3, such a cop out. When we got there, the other 4 were waiting inside to tell us the club was closed tonight. And so began the adventure. We left Bella Roma, and since no one had really eaten anything, we decided to get some food. Walking down the street in club clothes, we garnered a lot of unwanted attention, but it was vaguely hilarious. We had a delicious and inexpensive meal at some chicken place, and headed out again. I’m not quite sure where we were going when a man in his car slowed down and drove beside us on the street. Yup, it’s as creepy as it sounds, but apparently it’s not a big deal in Accra. Edmund struck up a friendship with the creeper, who wanted to go out with us that night. Quite in fact, Edmund asked if anyone wanted to get in the CAR with him and DRIVE somewhere. Stranger danger 101. That didn’t happen, but he did direct us to a bar we could go to while we waited for the club, Aphrodisiac, to open up. It ended up being a cool little place with a live band and super expensive drinks, but oh well. There were also a lot of middle-aged white men, a few Europeans, and a couple women I can only assume were prostitutes. It was a nice mix. We had some drinks, danced a little, and then headed out once more to actually try to get to a club. Katie and Farouk decided to go home, so it was Edmund and the rest of the girls. We piled into his car and drove around until we found it. This was my first club experience, and I have to say it was interesting. Once we were inside, we were informed that things didn’t pick up in this club until about 2am…it was 12. So we sat on a couch for a little while, admiring the other like 10 people that were there at this hour. After some coaxing we danced, and about an hour later we headed home. It wasn’t a crazy night, but it was fun to get out and experience some new things. Plus, we had to be in the van by 7am the next morning to hit the road.
Which leads to Friday, and our trip to Cape Coast! Definitely a super cool part of my stay in Ghana. We all slept for most of the ride, but as we got closer I started to wake up, and glimpsed the Atlantic Ocean. That was a mind-boggling moment. There I was, thousands of miles from home on a different continent, looking at the same ocean I’ve visited almost every summer for a good portion of my life. Similar, yet oh so different. Whereas I spend my beach visit laying out on the beach or frolicking through the waves, I watched groups of men haul huge fishing nets out of the rough surf. It was a moment where I realized that my life here (for a month) and my life at home exist in two entirely different worlds. The first stop was to Kakum National Park, a rainforest where we’d be doing our canopy walk. Yeah, it’s as cool as it sounds. We hiked up the mountain, mixed in with a large field trip group, and about 10 minutes and 2,000 gallons of sweat later we were at the top. The guide informed us that wild elephants and various types of monkeys live in the forest, but sadly the odds of us seeing them were slim to none. Still, I feel like I get points for at least being SOMEWHAT close to an elephant while in Africa. After this info, we lined up and waiting in the shelter-looking thing to start the walk. I’m not entirely sure what I expected when I heard “canopy walk”, but I’m pretty sure I had some Indiana Jones-like images flashing through my mind. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t that far off. Sitting in the shack thing I found myself looking at the “bridge”: metal ladders, covered with wooden boards, with rope nets/railings on either side. Sounds safe, right? Don’t worry; they assured us they test the bridges every morning. I don’t buy that for a second, but I hopped right on anyway. The walk consisted of 7 of these bridges, with platforms attached to trees between them, roughly 500 ft above the rainforest floor. The view was AMAZING and it was a crazy experience. I took a few pictures, but mainly I was concerned with making it from point A to point B. Also, there are no pictures of me actually on the bridge, but that’s for the best. There’s no need to document the gross level of sweatiness I achieved that day. But I was there, and I did it. Each bridge was progressively less sturdy than the last, leading me to believe these “bridge checkers” get lazy and say fuck it when they get to bridge 5. By the 6th, I was pretty much fearing for my life. But really, it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had thus far in my life.
Once the 5 of us who did the canopy walk met up with the rest of the group, we headed to lunch at the University of Ghana at Cape Coast. After a decent meal and time to dry off, we piled back into the van to the Castle of Cape Coast, a former castle used as a European trading post and eventually a port for slaves. This was truly a somber and humbling experience. Sitting right above the water, the view was beautiful. There’s something ironic about that, though. This was a place where such monstrosities occurred, but a beautiful, light blue sky and a gorgeous, dark blue ocean framed it. Yet those who passed through the castle saw neither. They were kept in dungeons and cells, and lead onto the boats through tunnels, never seeing the light of day. When we walked inside, we were directed to a museum, which told the story of the Ghanian and West African people and explained the history of the slave trade. After that, we were given a guided tour. We were literally led through the dungeons, and were told about the hundreds of people that were jammed into small rooms with little light and little food for 2 or 3 months. It was appalling. Similarly, we were actually taken into a condemned cell, a place that people were literally sent to die. We walked through the gates that led to the sea, through the “Door of No Return,” where slaves were herded on to ships bound for a life of cruelty. It’s difficult to explain what I saw and what I thought while I was there, but I have to say I’m glad we did it.
Yesterday was a pampering day – Katie and I went to the mall, got pedicures (and a manicure for me), walked around, and had some potent drinks at a lovely bar. The other girls went to the salon for hair/nails as well, and we all met up at the mall for dinner. Today, we had planned to go to the beach, but we got about halfway to where we were supposed to catch the local public transportation (called the Tro-Tro), and it started POURING. Picture included. Ghana during the rainy season can be difficult at times.
Only 12 days till I’m home!
