GHANA!

Ghana Ghana Ghana...what to say about Ghana. Well, first of all, I had a great time. Lets start from square one. My father, Richard J. Politz, is the head butcher at Whole Food and is friends with a man from the seafood by the name of Salomon. Salomon is from Ghana but currently lives in the United States (obviously). But, luckily for me, he still has family in Ghana. Salomon gave my dad his cousin’s email address so I could contact him to show me around while in Ghana. So now, you know what I am talking about when I refer to ila as my dad’s coworker’s cousin.
Anyways, I contacted Ila via email weeks ago and we discussed everything I wanted to do. He was down with it. We exchanged contact info and had plans to meet up the morning I arrived in Ghana.

Day 1 Sunday, April 11th 2010
Sarah, Tolan, Chloe, Jordan, and I all got off the ship together and were very excited to meet our Ghanaian connection, Ila. We called him from a policeman’s phone and met him right outside the port. Ila had his bff with him, Daddah. Get familiar with Ila and Daddah because I am going to be mentioning them a lot.
Today was basically a day of exploring. We took a Trotro into Agra. Now, let me describe a Trotro right off the bat so you are not confused every time I mention it. a Trotro is a 12-20 passenger van that is used for pubic transportation around Ghana. You can take them short distances or you can go to a Trotro station and hop on one that is going longer distances. Some of them are air-conditioned and others are not. When I saw they are 12-20 passenger vans I mean that the minimum amount of people ever put in one is 12-20 people. But, usually many more squeeze in. The other detail about them I need to mention is that the ones going semi-long or long distances do not leave until EVERY seat is full. This will bite me in the ass later on in my journey.
So, as I was saying, we all hopped onto a Trotro and went into Agra, the main city nearest to the port. It was Sunday so not much was open so we just walked around, saw the beach, checked out the scene, met some peeps, etc. It was fun to go exploring but it was hot as a mo-fo out. We were all drenched-DRENCHED in sweat. But, I wasn’t complain because it wasn’t too long ago that I was freezing my booty off on the Great Wall of China.
We went into Ila’s village to drop my backpack off because I had plans to sleep in the village that night. His village was filled with nice people. When we got to his ‘house’ we opened the door and took a seat. His place consisted of a full sized mattress on the floor, a mini couch, a coffee table, a mini fridge, a tv, and a fan. In reality, he didn’t need much else. He has the essentials and more. Side note: this trip around the world, especially since I am taking an ‘anthropology of stuff’ class, makes me realize how much unnecessary stuff I own. I am of course not referring to my 45 pairs of sneaks though.
The one place we stopped for a rather long time was the market that Ila and his family own shops in. We looked around the market for a while and saw stuff such as drums, t-shirts, world cup jerseys, hats, animal carvings, masks, dressed, etc. Ila insisted on giving us all a gift for our families. We did not want to accept without paying him money but he was one of those people that would physically not accept any money. It was beginning to enter into the late afternoon early evening time and we were still hanging there. Tolan bought a drum and was jamming with some locals. We were all relaxing but decided it was time for dinner.
That night we had dinner at a place in Agra. It was pretty americanized. I got a chicken club sandwich. It was aight. After dinner we walked to the shuttle stop so that Jordan, Chloe, Tolan, and Sarah could hop on the shuttle back to the ship. When the shuttle came all the SAS people got on accept me. I felt like it must have looked so sketch for me to be walking away from the shuttle with two strangers, and it did. A lot of people told me that there was confusion on the shuttle of where I was going and who I was with.
Daddah, Ila, and I took a Trotro back to their village. I was suppose to stay in a family’s home or with Ila’s aunt but it was pretty late so Ila insisted on me staying in his place. Okay, so all day Ila and Daddah were SO SO SO SO SO nice but I still had bad thoughts of me sleeping in the same room, let alone the same bed as a stranger from Ghana that I had met just hours before. I was nervous but I sucked it up and just thought about how loaded my guns (biceps) were and how I could probably hold my own if Ila tried to pull a fast one. (not that I thought a nice guy like him would, but JUST INCASE). Needless to say, nothing happened. But, let me describe my sleeping situation. It was hot, very hot. I slept in a tank top and shorts face up with no blankets or sheets. Basically I laid there sweaty with one eye opened ready to sprint for the door anytime Ila even flinched. I guess I did end up falling asleep at one point because I had a dream that Mr. and Mrs. Howell opened a restaurant and wouldn’t hire Danielle, she was pissed. Lets move on...

Day Two Monday, April 12th 2010

I feel like anytime I have to wake up before like 9 am I say “I had to wake up bright and early” when in reality it is sort of normal to wake up around 7am or 7:30. But, that morning we woke up around 7 so that we could get an early start to our LONG day ahead. There are famous waterfalls in Ghana called the Wli Waterfalls. About an hour and a half from the waterfalls was a monkey park which i was TOTALLY down for. So, we headed there first.
The Trotro ride SUCKED. I was hot, I had no where to lean against, I had sweat rolling down my calves from the back of my knees (which has never happened to me before), the people next to me’s skin was sticking to mine, and uhh yeah it was shitty. But, we made it like 4 hours later. We hopped out of the Trotro and onto motorbikes (!!!!!!!!!!!!!). To the monkey forest thing we went. We got there and had a tour guide with bananas show us to the monkey families. THe monkeys were everywhere but it was hard to see them. But, our tour guide made a monkey call and held out bananas and they all came to us. THEY WERE SO CUTE. There were a couple other American tourists with us too. We all took turns feeding the monkeys. The monkeys would wrestle each other for the banana and their feet and hands would be all over my hand, it was so fun! The monkey visit was short and sweet.
After the monkey forest we headed to the waterfalls. One motorbike ride and a sorta long Trotro ride later we got there! There was a semester at sea trip there the same time as us so I saw a couple people I knew. We hiked to the falls which took about twenty five minutes or so. The waterfalls were SO SO SO worth it. They are the biggest waterfalls in Ghana (or something). I didn’t have a bathing suit so I just hopped in with my clothes in. We had a blast splashing, taking pictures, and getting pounded on the head by the falls.
I wasn’t feeling great so we didn’t end up eating all day but outside the waterfalls were fresh fruit stands and OH MY GOODNESS did they look good. I got two mangos, a banana, and a pineapple. YUM YUM YUMMMM. That night we were suppose to meet back up with Chloe and Jordan since Ila and Daddah didn’t stop talking about them allll day. But, this is where the little Trotro dilemma occurs.
So, we get to the Trotro station, buy tickets, and hop on a non air-conditioned Trotro which is fine with me because the windows produce enough wind. But, for whatever reason, right before the Trotro leaves we Ila and Daddah decide that we are going to get out and find a different Trotro. Well, the people and the driver of this Trotro did not like this. Ila and Daddah were demanding their money back and the driver was not having it. The driver and the Trotro left so Daddah and Ila talking to the guy at the info desk. That guy called the Trotro driver and told him to turn around and come back. You can imagine how mad this made the Trotro driver and his passengers. So, when that Trotro got back all the passengers got out and started yelling at Ila and Daddah. Then, one of them saw me and started screaming about me being white and american and all that type of stuff. You can only imagine how uncomfortable I felt. Even though I have been so many countries already I have never been pointed out as the minority and definitely have not been yelled at for my skin color. I was not scared or afraid I just felt strange. Ila and Daddah assured me I would be okay. Eventually, we got our money back and headed to the Trotro with air-condition that we had planned on getting on from the beginning. Still following my story? Well, if you assumed that we just hopped in the Trotro and headed back to hang out with Chloe and Jordan you are wrong. You are wrong because THE FREAKING TROTRO WAS NOT FULL FOR LIKE THREE HOURS!!!!!!! Therefore, we did not leave for THREE HOURS. A full nap and rainstorm go by and then we finally leave. We got back around midnight, mind you I still have not eaten much at all all day. So, I get back to the ship starving and eat what I have in my room - a pickle, a granola bar, and a plum. yuuuummmy. I then went to sleep like a baby.

fyi - there were mom’s and babies on that Trotro and in Ghana aparently mom’s breast feed their babies in public and do not cover anything. You can imagine how comfortable that made me feel, nott.

Day Three Tuesday, April 13th 2010

Today Daddah, Ila, and I planned to head to Cape Coast. Cape Coast is where
the famous slave trade castle is along with beautiful beaches. I hopped on the shuttle to meet them in Accra. On the shuttle I ran into a bunch of other sasers, friends and not-yet friends, that were also heading to Cape Coast. I told them they should come with us.
There were about 15 of us in total. At first I regretted my desicion of inviting all of them because I could only imagine how hard it was going to be to find a Trotro with enough space for all of us. But, it actually ended working out in our favor. We all got in one Trotro that drove us around for the day. We had a really fun group. Not all of us knew each other initially but by the end of the day we were all friends.
It took a lot longer to get to the Cape then we expected (surprise surpise) but I think we were all pretty exhausted from the past couple days so we didn’t mind the nap time.
The first place we went was the Canopy Park. I wasn’t aware of this park until we were in the Trotro talking about what to do. But, I am glad we went there. Basically, the park was a rain forest and above all the trees were suspended bridges. The width of the bridges was only about one foot but there were nets and ropes on each side to hold on to. The bridges were probably thirty feet high, or maybe higher, and swayed from side to side as we walked on them. It was a little nerve racking but also super fun.
After the canopy walk we grabbed some lunch and headed to the Slave Castle. I really wanted to stop at the ostrich farm on the way there because I heard people rode ostriches in South Africa and I was really jealous. (I believe everything I hear so there quite possibly could have been no one that actually rode ostriches). But, we were running low on time so i got vetoed. Bummer.
About an hour later we arrived at the Slave Castle. This is a history castle dated way back to the slave age. I do not know all of the history but there were designed cells for people and very small rooms that housed hundreds of slaves. There was also a room that had a skull and cross bones on it which was for the slaves that tried to protest. They were put in that room to die. It was a pretty heavy place.
We hung out there for a while and then decided to head back to Accra because it was our last night in Ghana and everyone wanted to go out. We had a little discrepancy with the Trotro driver (once again, surprise surprise) but after fighting with him for about twenty minutes we were on our way. I guess he got the sense that we were kind of short on time because he decided to go about 90 mph over a speed bump. This cause us three lucky ones in the back row of the van to slam our heads on the ceiling. COOL DRIVER.
We were exhausted but did not want to become party poopers that night so we got the party started in the Trotro. It got pretty wild (in the safest way possible). We made record time getting back but did not have enough time to go back to the ship before going out that night. No sweat, I wasn’t wearing shocks and a tank top or anything. Nothing I wouldn’t wear out normally HA. But really, I couldn’t have cared less.
I ran into Chloe and we grabbed some food before going to the club. There was a club called Citizen Kofi that was in a really convenient part of Accra so there were a ton of people there. Daddah and Ila went to their village to shower and then came back and met up with us at the club. We all have a great time but I desperately needed to get back to the ship. I was exhausted and cranky. We caught a cab with some other sasers and the rest was all a blur.... Jking, we just went back to the ship and I passed out in less than one second.

Day Four Wednesday, April 14 2010
Nope, did not sleep in. Jordan, Chloe, and I headed back into Accra to spend our last day with Daddah and Ila. Zach, a kid that was a part of our group the day before, and Mary, his friend, tagged along with us also.
We didn’t do anything too eventually, just some general housekeeping things like last minute gifts, stamps, postcards, stickers, and some lunch. That didn’t go as smoothly as it sounds but we did get it all done.
One place we walked through that day was the main huge market. All I am saying is that they had EVERYTHING there from wigs to PIGS FEET. There was also fish, live crabs, and other random items everywhere. Anytime Tolan and I smell something really gross we say D.A. that stands for dickass. This market should have been called D.A. It STANK. But, it was a funny thing to experience.
Ila and Daddah took us back to their place in the market and MADE ME pick out things for all of my friends and family. Alot of Salamon’s family (salamon is my dad’s coworker in the states) was there that really wanted me to take stuff for everyone. I felt really guilty but at the same time felt like if I didn’t take anything then I would be insulting them. It was definitely awkward because they really deserved money for all of the stuff but they were definitely the kind of people that would not accept money, no way, no how.
The day was winding down and we were back at Frankie’s, the place we ate the first day, for lunch. It was delicious even though the service sucked.
Jordan, Chloe, and I really really wanted to give Ila and Daddah something for making Ghana such a fun experience. Along with that, they were the nicest guys we had ever met and I could not leave there with out letting them know that. Being the trickster we are we decided to give them Jordan’s drawstring bag as a present and put some money inside. Being the intelligent people they are they noticed that there was stuff in the bag and threw it back at us. We tossed it back and got onto our shuttle to the ship so that they were stuck with it. That made us happy :)

I am kind of in a rush right now because we are in Brazil and the ship just got cleared so I can get off now. But, I really really enjoyed Ghana. It gave me a more realistic taste of Africa as a whole. The people were really super nice. Some of the men were creepy but thats whatever. Many of us girls got proposed to and asked if we wanted an Africa boyfriend. We were able to make light of the situation even though we were pretty sure the men were being serious.

I am also so thankful that I had a connection in Ghana (Ila and Daddah) they really made my time in Ghana so great and memorable. I feel like if I didn’t have them there to help me find my way around and barter with the locals then my Ghana experience could have been very similar to my India one. THANK GOODNESS it wasn’t.

We all still keep in touch with Ila and Daddah via email and I am definitely going to be sending them all the pictures I have from Ghana when I get back. The End

HELLOOO BRAZIL!!!!!!!!!!
HOME IN TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY AHH AHH AHHH!