Accra Like A Native

February 7, 2011

When I woke up this morning (after sleeping on the ship), a group of friends and I made our way towards Accra, Ghana. Because our port is located so far from the actual taxi station, we had to walk for about 15 minutes until we were finally able to get a taxi. Because our group obviously contained about 8 Americans, the prices for everything posed by the local Ghanaians were much higher than what they should have been. Luckily for us, we had our friend Esenam, who actually lives in Accra, with us. Esenam is an interport student that has been on our ship with us since Manaus, Brazil. During the time leading up to each port, Semester at Sea invites on board an interport student and sometimes, an interport lecturer. Both individuals participate in discussions regarding their country, which is open to the ship. A few of my friends and I had been eating lunch and/or dinner with Esenam frequently, so a friendship was formed amongst us all. Because of those reasons, she invited my friend Kayla, roommate Ian and I to travel with her to Accra, and to meet her family.

In Ghana, you negotiate a taxi fare before actually getting into the cab, so there aren’t any surprises when you get a extremely high fare which is calculated by the mile, like in the United States. The taxi driver tried to charge us 5 $GH (cedi, which is their currency; $1 US = $1.43 GH). Esenam immediately knew that fare was too high, and we ended up paying $3 GH TOTAL for a ride to the bus station. Though we planned to take a bus to Accra, the wait time turned out to be longer than expected. Because of that reason, we took a 15 passenger van to Accra, paying $9 GH a piece, which wasn’t bad. The 4 hour van ride wasn’t too bad for me because I sat in the front seat, but I can’t say that the same is true for my friends.

When we arrived in Accra at the bus station, I immediately recognized the Keneshi Market that I had once saw on this past season of the Amazing Race. People were scattered everywhere, trying to sell anything from raw fish, to razors, phone cards, etc. It was at this point when our group of friends split to go our separate ways, due to our separate agendas in Accra. In my group Esenam, Ian and Kayla remained. Because Esenam doesn’t have a license (and probably due to the crazy drivers in Accra), her parents had their driver pick us all up and took us to our hotel. Along the way to the hotel is when I was really able to observe Accra. As the wind blew in my face through the window I smelled a mixture of freshly baked bread, burning oil and urine. A lot of people had on pants surprisingly, but even more to my surprise I saw men sitting on the curb completely naked. I saw both men and women carrying large buckets on their heads, filled with large bottles of water, bread in some and even fruit in others. The entire time I was wondering how someone could carry that much weight on their head without hurting their neck and/or back. I’m sure that they’ve all gotten used to it and probably have the best posture, free of back problems than anywhere else.

Once we finally reached our hotel, we deliberated on what the price was before finally settling into our room. To our surprise, 3 people weren’t allowed to stay in one room (out of the nine rooms in the entire hotel), so we had to book two. The two rooms connected and the door read “D&G”, which we nicknamed the Dolce & Gabanna suite. We were all relieved that there was WiFi at this hotel and would later be able to communicate with both family and friends.

Next, we headed to a local market area that very much so reminded me of the “Alley” in the Los Angeles Fashion District, located downtown. The biggest difference was that this market in Accra, or series of booths/shops, was located on a main street.  By this time we had all gotten some money from an ATM, so we began to buy gifts for both ourselves and others. Up until this point I hadn’t bargained much, but between the 4 of us in our group, we definitely sharpened our skills, which will be needed for the countries to come.

After a long day of traveling and shopping, we finally made our way over to Esenam’s house for dinner, which was prepared by her mother and cook. Upon entering her home, we were welcomed by her mother. It is traditional in Ghanaian culture for the host family to provide their guests with water upon entering their home. The water is strategically distributed from right to left, which was explained by her mother as she gave each of us a bottle of water. Following this, Esenam’s mother disappeared to help set up the table, as we talked to her father for about 10 minutes. Her father shared with us that he was born in a village about 400 miles away from Accra, but ended up moving to the city after meeting his now wife. He shared with us that he currently manages about 5 branches of the electric company in Ghana (equivalent to a district manager). Esenam’s mother runs a school for pre-K through 3rd grade right in their home. They had a guest-house turned into a classroom, backyard into a playground and other classes within their home. I found this to truly be astonishing to me, and shows that her mother genuinely cares about the education of Ghanaian children.

Once the food was ready, we went into a different room to eat dinner. Esenam’s mother came into the room with a bucket of water, soap and a towel for everyone to wash their hands (which is traditional in their culture).  On the menu was a light soup with beef, fried plantains, jolouf (Esenam’s favorite dish), some type of stew, fried/baked chicken and steamed vegetables. The food was delicious and I was excited because I LOVE fried plantains. While at dinner, her father explained to us why it is rude to use your left hand opposed to your right. In Ghanaian culture, the right hand is deemed the clean hand, and the left is dirty. Reaching out to shake someone’s hand, calling a taxi, stopping a car during traffic and other things alike with your left hand is seen as being disrespectful. I had been told prior to reaching Ghana that I should shake people’s hand with my right, but sometimes it can be difficult when you have a camera out and EVERYBODY wants to shake your hand while walking down the streets of Accra.

Following dinner we ate Ghanaian strawberry ice cream, which was good. After talking for a bit more, Esenam’s mother drove us back to our hotel. Because we had free WiFi, Ian, Kayla and I were on our iPhone’s/iPod touch’s using Facetime, Skype, Facebook, HeyTell, Textfree, etc. We spent a good 2 hours that night catching up on all of the things that we couldn’t before since we don’t get free internet on the ship (though we’re able to send emails for free; mine is jamurkey@semesteratsea.net by the way ;) I took a shower before going to sleep and brushed my teeth using a bottle of water. So far my Ghanaian  experience has been amazing and I’m excited to see what will come about in duration of the remaining days.

"May those who return find their roots...."

February 6, 2011

Today we finally reached Ghana! It’s amazing to me that I’ve been able to travel to Africa, by boat a mere 400 years following the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade where my ancestors were enslaved to the United States. For that reason, this trip will for sure have a deeper meaning for me when compared to my counterparts, but it will be one that I’ll never forget. Once our ship docked, my friends and I looked outside to observe the Ghanaian culture in the Takoradi port. Just about 30 feet away, I could hear and see a few men playing drums while the others danced alongside them.

After a hearty breakfast, I stepped off of the ship for the first time in 9 days and boarded a “luxury” coach for my first field directed practica (FDP). Our trip entitled “Castles and Slave Dungeon Tour” featured a tour of both the Cape Coast and El Mina slave castles. If you don’t know the history of either, I suggest that you research them, but they are two of the more well known locations where slaves were taken to be shipped off to the Americas, after being captured in Western Africa during the 1600s.

Once we pulled up to the first castle (Cape Coast), my demeanor and mood changed completely. I began to think about all of the African men, women and children that were sold, raped and killed right in the very site where I was standing. Our tour guide began the tour on the side where the male slaves where kept, with a sign hanging slightly above the entranceway that read “ male slave dungeon”.  To the right of the door was a passage engraved:

 IN EVERLASTING MEMORY
of the anguish of our ancestors
may those who died rest in peace
may those who return find their roots
may humanity never again perpetrate
such injustice against humanity
we the living vow to uphold this

To the left of the door was a plaque that was unveiled by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on July 11, 2009. Both of these things were firstly identified by our tour guide and then individually observed by myself and the rest of the group. I found myself zoning out, away from what the tour guide was saying while standing outside of the doorway as I went into deep thought about the slave trade and treatment of them. I began to think that if I were alive during the 1600s, I’d be the one being beat, while shackled to 2 men (one in front and the other behind) in this same dungeon (about 20 x 30 x 60 ft) with 149 other men. In this same dungeon ¼ of them would be sick, dead and/or dying, with our feces piled alongside the border of the dungeons floor some 2 ½ feet high. During this same moment, I’d be watching my family and friends torn apart, being shipped away to different places, raped and killed. I’d also have to be sure not to “step out of line” or else I’d be thrown in a cell with no ventilation, left to suffer and die with other slaves that had been disobedient.

As the tour continued, we were able to enter both the male and female slave dungeons of Cape Coast. We were shown the wells outside of the dungeon where water was stored for the slaves, as they passed to make their way to the ships to be carried to the Americas. About 8 feet in front of the wells were stairs that led to a platform, overlooking the coast, where canons were stationed and used if there was a threat coming from the coast. Next, we headed towards the “door of no return”, located just adjacent to the female slave dungeon. This was the door where all slaves were taken through to be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. As the tour came to an end, we were able to walk through a museum located on site of the castle, which gave a historical overview of the origin and development of the Cape Coast castle.

After a mentally exhausting tour, our group of 39 headed to a beach resort to have lunch. On the menu was none other than local Ghanaian cuisine, which was pretty good. Shortly after, we continued our tour to the next castle, El Mina. This castle had a similar infrastructure to Cape Coast’s being that there were both male and female slave dungeons, but was a much larger facility. At El Mina some 750 slaves were kept at one time, in small spaces. All of the dungeons were underneath the bedroom and kitchen area of the slavemasters, which consisted of breathtaking views of the beach on one end and the gruesome courtyard in the center of dungeons where slaves once were stored.

While riding back to Takoradi from the El Mina Castle, I pondered to myself about what I had just encountered. Once I made it back to the ship, I shared my experience with my roommate and another friend. I was able to document my experience with photographs and video, which I am excited to share with my friends and family back at home. I believe that these sites are extremely important for people to see, especially if you share any lineage from Africa. This tour has caused me to reinforce my aspirations towards success, not only for myself but for my ancestors that never received an opportunity to do so. Unfortunately the rollover-effect, which derived from slavery, has and still affects blacks in the United States today. Though progress has been made, a full recovery may take a century or two, if at all.

Redeemer de Christo

January 26, 2011 (Day 3)

I woke up this morning and headed to the Christ the Redeemer Statue. We caught a train up to the top, which took about 10 minutes. The view at the top was even better than the one that I had seen the previous day at Sugar Loaf.  I took a lot of pictures, including one of me holding the hand of Christ the Redeemer. Later on that night, we ended up catching a cab to a club called Zero/Zero (the 40/40 equivalent of Rio apparently). The club was empty at first but it eventually got PACKED! The people in the club tried to charge me 50R$ but I wasn’t having it once I found out that the locals were only paying 25R$. When I got to the front door to pay (you pay after you leave the club in Rio, which is backwards), I brought my point up. Lets just say that I walked away that night without spending any money, though I can’t say the same for my friends.

When we got back to the hotel, we had an hour to get ready to leave Rio. The plane ride was the worst experience that I’ve had flying thus far. We waited on the plane for 50 minutes without air, got kicked off of the plane only to go right back on, and sat again without air for another 35 minutes. Finally we reached Manaus and I boarded the ship, reuniting with friends that I had met a week plus back. When I walked in my room, there was a sign on my wall that read “ Welcome Back”, from some of my friends on the ship, which was cool.

To sum up my experience in Brazil, it was very memorable, scenic, filled with people in Speedos, small bathing suits (some fit and others not), Portuguese, churros con dulce de leche, poverty, prostitutes and parties. It’s a good thing that I was able to use my Spanish skills to navigate around, pretending to be Dominican, which made me “blend in” more and not appear to be a tourist. I shall return again someday.

We Speak No Americano pero yo hablo Espanol ;)

January 25, 2011 (Day 2)

We started off the morning with complimentary breakfast, which consisted of fresh mango, pineapple, watermelon, etc. I was afraid to drink the water, so I spent a lot of Real (their currency R$) on bottled water. After breakfast, we headed to the Sugar Loaf Mountain. We had the option to either hike up the first part of the mountain and take the tram for the remainder, OR just to take the tram all the way up. I decided to take the hike (which was my first time hiking). It was pretty cool and I saw a lot of spiders, lizards, etc. There were monkeys running around along the way as well (I took pictures from a distance but I’d never get too close). The view from above the Sugar Loaf was AMAZING! You could see over the entire city of Rio from it.

Later on that night we went to a club that was in Epicopa (I forgot the exact name/spelling).There were a lot of locals around our age, but the people only spoke Portuguese. I thought that it was funny how the DJ was playing OLD American music, but it’s nothing wrong with a little “Old School” every now and then. Fortunately for me, I didn’t have to pay that night, but some of my friends ended up paying over 100 R$ (about 70 U.S. Dollars!). You’ll be surprised with what a little Spanish can get you ;)

Moment For Life

January 24, 2011 (Day 1)

After a 9hr flight, I finally arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Once I got to the airport, I was able to meet up with the SAS group that was also participating in the “Rio Like A Native” trip. One of the first things that I noticed was that people only spoke Portuguese. Fortunately for me, I was able to speak Spanish, which was better understood than English for many of the locals. My roommate for the trip were Malachi, who I had met previously while on the ship, and Alex who I had just seen for the firs time.

After everyone got settled in the hotel from the bike tour on Copacabana beach that I had missed, the group took a tour to one of the local favelas ( a place of poverty). I had never heard of favelas prior to the trip and wouldn’t normally think of this type of poverty existing when I previously though of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Our tour guide gave us a background on the history of Rio, informing us of the year in which slavery was abolished (around 1874), which was 10 + years after the Emancipation Proclamation was created in the United States.

The people living in favelas are the part of the population that live below the poverty line in Rio. This favela (referred to as a community in order to refrain from being offensive) was actually the location where Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” video was filmed. Because he helped this community (financially), there was a painting of a stamp (portrait), along with a statue of him in the heart of the community. It was amazing to me how these people had schools, stores, church, bars, etc., all within their very small community in which they lived in. We were allowed to go into the home of one family living in the community. This older couple (around 78) allowed teenage parents to keep their kids while they went off to work, as long as the children did well in school and helped around the house.

Later on that night we went to a bar on Copacabana Beach and saw a lot of prostitutes walking around. Come to find out, our hotel was in the Red Light District of Rio. I guess that SAS forgot to do their research on that end, or maybe they didn’t care. After all, it’s not as though I’m at Pepperdine.

Only For One Night, San Juan

January 15, 2011

I ended up being able to book a flight to head home from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The ship was stopping for gas, and two other people were getting off as well. Priscilla and John are an older couple that live in Rhode Island. John had fell on ice a couple of days before the trip but decided to go anyway. Come to find out, he needs surgery and has to return to the U.S. for that reason. While waiting for customs, we had a long convo. Priscilla actually had previously served as a dean on SAS and John used to work at Brown University before retiring. Priscilla and John were nice enough to pay for the cab far.

Once I said goodnight to them both, I walked around San Juan some, looking for some authentic Puerto Rican food. I found a place called Yerba Buena where I ordered Churrusco (steak) y arroz con beans. The food was good but I was afraid to drink the water, so I didn’t. I then found a bar that appeared to be American influenced. And had a couple of drunk. The people at the bar must have thought that  I was a native because they spoke to me in Spanish as I answered with “no entiendo”, even though I understood some of what they were saying. I was surprised myself because some of the people were my complexion or darker, and looked black but spoke Spanish. Right now I’m on the plane waiting to take off towards Atlanta. The people in Puerto Rico seem nice, and I definitely will have to come back soon for longer than one night.

The start of something new

January 12, 2011 (Day 4)

It seems so surreal that we’re actually going to boarding the ship today. I’ve never been on a cruise ship before, so I’m just hoping that I don’t get sea sick. At least I know who my roommate is. His name is Ian, from Detroit and goes to school at Morehouse College. There seemed to be so much going on, on the ship, but I did manage to unpack everything. The food was good for both dinner and lunch but I’m sure that the bread, salad, pasta and potatoes will eventually get old.

First Things First

January 9, 2011 (Day 1)

I can’t believe that today is the day that I leave the U.S. for the first time, and one step closer to beginning my voyage to Semester at Sea. I only slept for about 4 hours last night and my mom/dad took me to the airport. Once I got on the plane, I noticed Kelly sitting in a seat to the left in first class. Kelly and I have talked a few times before on Facebook because she’s doing SAS too and is from St. Louis. When we got to Atlanta, Kelly and I found Eric, one of my roommates that I will be staying with at the Towne hotel in Nassau. I’m not sure what we’ll be doing tonight but I’m planning on having fun. It’s funny because I started to recognize people at the airport from Facebook. One of the initial things that I’ve noticed about Nassau is that everybody is black and they drive on the left side of the street.