Africa - Week 3 Update

Friday, January 28, 2011 at 12:26pm

Hello Friends,

I’ve now been in Cape Coast for 3 weeks. Hard to believe still and it still feels like I’ve been here much longer. I just want to try and fill you in on some of the excursions we have been on and some of the things we’ve done.

Last Monday we started orientation week and on after a morning of listening to them talk about some stuff, in the afternoon they took us in a van to Elmina Castle. Its in Elmina, another small town about 20 minutes away. In driving up to the castle, we cross a bridge that looks out over a small lake or inlet area that is full of boats and fishermen and lots of people. I would have loved to go down there and get some photos but that will have to be another day. When we pulled up to the castle, the van was swarmed by young kids selling jewelry, shells, snacks, etc. I thought salesmen at home were pushy and obnoxious. This takes it to a whole new level of pushy. I understand that they are trying to make a living and such but if I’m interested in buying something I will. Otherwise, it gets pretty frustrating and overwhelming cuz they just keep after you after you say no. I usually just walk past and let the others take the brunt of the attention.

We walked across a drawbridge into the castle. There is a fairly big courtyard area with a Portuguese church in the center kind of and then facing it were a bunch of stairs and passageways that led to different parts of the fortress. Inside that church were some displays with photos and history set up for you to look at. If you can see the photos, you will see all the things I’m talking about. We got a tour through most of it and then were allowed to wander ourselves. This is the biggest castle left that was used as a slave fortress. That surprised me since it didn’t seem that big to me. There are high walls that surround it with stairs leading up to the top where you can walk around and have a good view of the ocean and the town. There are old canons up there in a few places and a few rooms used for look out towers or guard stations.

There was a place for the women’s dungeon and the men’s. At capacity they held 400 women and 600 men in these tiny spaces. There were about 30 people I’d guess going on the tour and just having us in those spaces felt cramped. Above the open area for the women’s place was a walkway where an officer could come and pick a woman to have sent up to his private quarters where he could do whatever he wanted with her. His quarters were large and spacious with a huge bedroom, a large dining room, a dressing area and then a private bath, all up on the top floor.

The rooms where they kept the slaves were small and usually without windows, cave-like as they were carved out of stone. There was a heavy ball that looked like a canon ball where the women would be chained if they refused to have sex with the officer. They would be forced to stand there all day and maybe longer, chained to this ball and they couldn’t move.

There is another spot by where you enter the courtyard where there are 2 rooms. The room on the left was a room where white officers were put for punishment for whatever. It had 2 windows on 2 walls and the door and they would be put in there for a while. The door next to it, with the skull and crossbones above it was for slaves who misbehaved. There were no windows or openings and they often never left that room alive.

It was a powerful experience and heartbreaking to ponder the weight of what the place was. I would have liked to have spent more time there but felt a bit hurried by the group. This is the first place I’ve been to that has such a powerful history and it was humbling and brought tears to my eyes. I couldn’t help but think of, “Amistad,” as that reminded me of this place and is one of the movies I’ve seen that showed a bit of what a castle like this functioned like when it was being used as a slave fortress. I hope to see more of these castles. There is one in town here, in Cape Coast, that is right by the market we shop at so I would like to go see that one, too. I don’t know if there are more in Ghana or not and going to Cote d’Ivoire isn’t safe so that’s not an option right now.

After we were done and headed out to the van, we were again mobbed by street merchants who were now equipped with personalized conch shells for the ladies who had given their names before we went in. Sneaky, these kids. With a trinket that has your name on it you’re more inclined to purchase it, it would seem as some of them bought some items.

We also went to Kakum National Park last week on Friday. It is close by and was about a 45 min drive in an air conditioned bus. The roads can get pretty bad in spots so that’s why it took that long since it wasn’t that far. We were led slowly up a steep hill with stone steps in places, dirt path with roots everywhere in other spots, to where we could walk on the canopy walkway. (There is loud music blasting from speakers in our dorm right now, drowning out most of the crickets and other noises, though the crickets are hanging in there. There is usually music of some sort playing here and there are few nights where I don’t hear it.) There are 6 walkways at Kakum, going from the start then from tree to tree. I’m not sure how long each section is but pretty long, as you can see from the photos hopefully. They are very wobbly of course, especially if someone is very unstable or just prone to shaking the net/cable things. There are boards fastened to metal ladders that are suspended by sturdy ropes and thick cables, with a net a little more than waste high the whole way. I felt very safe and enjoyed the walk, trying to see how far I could make it without having to grab a side. Some people did not have as much fun, unfortunately. The view was pretty cool but hard to see how high up you were because in looking down you just see the tops of the trees. I didn’t see the ground at all and we didn’t see any wildlife. I guess you have to come back for the night camping to see any critters. I’m not so inclined to do that but there are others who have mentioned wanting to do that. It was a fun fieldtrip and I’m glad they took us. That is one of the things people ask you is if you’ve been to Kakum and also to the Elmina Castle and now I can say I have.

Going to the market is always an adventure. We go maybe 2x/week or more if we need something. There are little markets here on campus but they don’t always have the best prices nor nearly as much stuff. When we go to Kotokuraba, the market in town, we usually grab a cab and since we know they rip us off whenever they can, we have learned to take the charter taxis. Instead of going to the taxi stop across from the entrance of UCC, we start walking and just flag one down. They are about 60 pesawas, which is equal to about maybe 45 cents, so pretty cheap. Before that we were paying 3-5cedis depending on the driver so this is much better and we haven’t had any awful taxi rides yet though I know there will be a time when we do.

The market runs along one long street that is maybe a mile long, maybe a little shorter. The street is narrow, with cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, people and animals all making it even narrower. There are gutters that run along both sides of the street that are about 2-3’ deep and are used for urinating in by some, though I hear that is illegal and they aren’t supposed to do that, and also for discarding garbage, among other things I’m sure. They are often covered in cement slabs or wooden slats with gaps in between. I don’t trust these things for walking on as I’m afraid they are going to give way and I’m going to fall in and get some awful disease so I try to avoid stepping on them when possible. As you can imagine, they don’t smell nice and sometimes it is so overwhelming its everything you can to do to not lose your lunch. Add in the smells of the market itself and it can be a pretty potent stench, especially in this climate. Don’t you want to come check it out?? Haha!! There are stalls and shops on both sides of the street crammed in so tight you pass in front of one about every 10-20 steps sometimes. They vary in size and some are more like a tiny supermarket with things on the walls but usually they are a little wooden shack that has everything they can cram into it there. You see a lot of plastic ware, some hardware, kitchen items, clothes and clothe, all manner of accessories from sunglasses and hair products to wallets and shoes and on and on. There are vendors everywhere, often children, selling water, plantain chips which are pretty tasty, banana chips, frozen juice bags, fruit, and a dozen or a thousand other things. They carry lots of things on their heads and while a couple of us have tried carrying a few things, we are not quite up to their standards.

People often stare and comment and we say hello all the time, trying to be friendly. We figure if they are going to stare they might as well say hi. If I got a dollar for every time I said hi or hello to someone here I think I’d have several thousand dollars and I’m only 3 weeks in. Most people are friendly and say hello and ask how you are but there are others who are not as friendly, of course. The kids are great and will follow you down the street saying, “Obruni! Obruni!” which means white person or foreigner, and they laugh and want to touch you and talk. Many of them are in school uniforms of all kinds of variety and color. My roommate, Abby, has multiple piercing all up both her ears and 2 under her left eye and its funny to watch people walk by and stare at those, though I’m not sure she is as amused. Most people here don’t have those kinds of piercing though they do often have the standard 2 piercing, mainly the women. Some people, if they are bold enough, will ask her about them and come close.

Often people will ask where you are going, especially the taxi drivers, and sometimes they are trying to be helpful but oftentimes they seem to have an agenda, especially the taxis. I’m not so fond of the taxis, as you might have guessed. I don’t always want to tell them where I’m going!! Its no concern of theirs. I’m just walking. If I want a ride, I’ll get one.

There is an area of the market where you can get most of the fresh food and it smells the worst. There are all kinds of meats, grains, vegetables, fruits and who knows what else in that part. We have wandered in and around there buying different things and even though the smell is sometimes overpowering, it is a grand adventure, finding what we want and getting what we hope is a decent price. The walkways in that area, that is mostly covered and more crowded than the other areas, are very narrow, with room for usually only one person to squeeze through very carefully. Last time there I bought some tomatoes, potatoes, rice, lettuce, cucumbers, and bread, I think. Lots of fresh food here and it tastes great, with more flavor than food at home and without all the processing, course you also get other things here that you hope a good soapy wash and a peeling knife get rid of. I love going the more I go and it gets easier and more relaxing, too. Its better to go with 1 or 2 other people rather than a group of 6-8 I think cuz then you only have to concern yourself with the 1 person as opposed to a whole group of people all looking for different things. Making a list beforehand so you remember what you were looking for is a good idea. There are also lots of spices and herbs but I don’t find any basil yet. I may need some sent if someone feels like mailing me some.

Tomorrow, Saturday, a few of us girls are planning on going to the Coconut Grove Beach Resort down past Elmina where we have gone before. It’s a short taxi ride and we can swim in the pool or on the beach there and the girls like to lay out and burn/tan and it’s a nice break from campus. They have good food and a guaranteed shower plus I hear they have great wifi which I’m anxious to check out. Not being able to skype has been a huge frustration for me and I just want it to work so I’m willing to go spend most of the day at the resort if it means I get to try that and go for a swim. It’s a nice resort with bungalows to stay in and there are usually white people there, at least when I’ve been there. Being in the distinct minority all the time, its funny to go to places like the resorts and some of the restaurants in town and see so many other white people around. Just an odd thing. I always wonder what they are here for and what work they might be doing.

Not sure I want to get started on the whole registering for school and starting classes chaos yet so I’ll leave that for another update. Let me just say it has been the most absurd and maddening sort of thing we have had to try and figure out yet. I may actually get to meet some professors next week, if they show up, and see what these 5 classes I’ve registered for are like but you never know. This is Africa. You never know how its going to go. In the event I do start my classes, I’ll keep you posted on that adventure as well.

The music is still blaring and I’m going to try and send this. I feel like I’m getting a bit more adjusted to the heat and then I walk outside and am instantly drenched and realize I’m not quite there yet. I have not had any tummy issues yet, thankfully, and my sunburn is minimal as I usually put on sunblock. I have some bug bites but not too bad. I drink a lot of water and since the Sprite here is so good, I drink some of that, too. I can get juice here but I’m still trying to find one that I like enough to buy regularly. Its good but sometimes too sweet.

I’m going to try and cover some of the cultural things I’ve noticed and learned about next time. There is so much to write about its overwhelming so bare with me and I’ll try and cover as much as possible. We learn so much everyday it seems and trying to remember it all in a way so as to share it is difficult. I’m meeting a lot of people on campus and that’s been fun. I’ll tell you more about that in the next update, though.

I always welcome your questions and comments and try to respond when I get them. I love to hear about what’s going on with you, too, even if it seems boring to you. There are times when missing home and friends and family and everything hits pretty hard though I think I am doing pretty well so far. I try and stay busy and not dwell on the fact that I’m an ocean and a continent and a half away from most of you and will be for another 4 months. I try, anyway. I am enjoying myself here and am thankful for the one bright star above our dorms at night and look forward to the night when I get to see more. I hope you are all well. Take care, God bless, and lots and lots of love to you!!