When the ship passes the equator for the first time on the Fall and Spring semester voyages, the students, faculty and crew of the vessel celebrate Neptune Day, a line-crossing ceremony. Students are transformed from "polywogs" to "shellbacks" in an initiation ceremony, involving slime smearing, fish kissing, and (optional) headshaving.
Today we passed over the equator for the first time in our voyage and therefore began our Neptune Day celebration. However, we passed over the equator at the prime meridian putting us in the “center of the world” and making us Emerald Shellbacks.
We woke up early to an announcement over the PA and a parade of drums and singing outside our door. Crew and shellbacks from previous voyages pounded on our doors and woke us up to come celebrate. The ceremony began with the parade coming in and introducing us to King Neptune and the Queen. We were introduced to the rest of the “royal party” and the festivities began. First we were showered in green “slime” and then jumped in the pool to wash ourselves off. Exiting the pool we were greeted by a fish which we were expected to kiss and then paid our respects to the King and Queen by shaking their hands and kissing the king’s ring. We then had salt sprinkled on our heads and dubbed a shellback. Those who chose to afterwards had their heads shaved….me choosing to not partake in that experience.
We spent the rest of the day studying for midterms the next week.
The roads are terrible and accidents are inevitable…having been in 2 accidents in 2 days, I feel I can say this is true.
Everyone is super friendly…sometimes to the point that can be seen as overbearing and too much from the American standpoint.
Plus, the women are much easier to have a conversation with. They are not looking for an American wife and will try to sell you things but do not get easily upset and frustrated if you decide not to buy.
On Tuesday (Day 2) we woke up early and headed cross country to Kakum National Park. What was supposed to be a 2 ½ hour drive turned into a 4 hour drive because of traffic and markets occurring. Once we reached the National Park, we initiated a ½ mile walk up a steep slope into the rain forest. With temperatures ranging between high 80s and low 90s with the equatorial sun beating directly down on us, it was a long way up.
Once we reached the top, we climbed into a treehouse where we began our canopy tour. The canopy tour was not what we had expected. It was composed of several bridges looping around in a circle back to the point we were at where we exited and headed back down the mountain. It was a cool experience but not worth the amount paid for it.
We were also supposed to partake on a walking tour of Elmina; however, it was so hot out the tour operator turned it into a driving tour where we looked at the slave castle, markets, a main square, a cemetery, and a few mosques and cathedrals.
We began our long drive back to Tema with our 2 buses. We then met another SAS bus at the rest stop and continued our journey with 3 buses. The 2 coach buses and small bus (more like an 18 passenger van) weaved through traffic on high speed highways. A car next to the front bus (van) lost control of his vehicle and swerved into the driver’s door of the van forcing it off the road and into a ditch. Very luckily, the van did not flip but the 2 buses behind it were forced to slam on their breaks to miss hitting both vehicles. Everyone went flying into the seats in front of them and luckily no one was hurt. The police showed up to take a report and our 3 buses traveled back to the ship with a 4 motorcycle police escort.
Wednesday (Day 3) we traveled 2 hours to Eastern Ghana to a bead making factory to see how they recycle glass and rocks into beads. The man doing the presentation was very knowledgeable but we were at the bead factory for only 30 minutes and it was not worth the money spent to get there.
On our way there we were detoured by the central market and road construction. Our bus ended up taking out someone’s electricity because it was too large to fit through and instead of stopping to help we just kept on driving. The look on the people’s faces was something I will never forget.
We stopped at a bead market after leaving the factory and lost half our group in the middle of the market. It had narrow passageways, large rocks to step over, congested traffic of people, and our tour guide was moving too fast. We found everyone eventually but were forced to stand in the hot sun while we waited for our tour guide to go find the missing people. The ladies working the bead market rounded our small group up and brought us out of the sun to sit with them underneath their covers so we were in the shade.
We headed back to the ship and stopped at an approved ATM on our way. We decided to eat and take a breather before we headed out to tackle the vendors selling merchandise. We bartered and made deals on amazing merchandise. Although at some places it was hard because they knew the exchange rate and they knew how little we would be actually paying for what would be big priced items in the US.
After purchasing some really great items, we returned to the ship where I spent the night relaxing and preparing myself for my History field lab to the Slave Castles in Elmina the next day.
On day 4 in Ghana I had a Field Lab for my history class. We drove 4
hours west to Elmina where we visited two slave castles where thousands
of Africans were forced to spend their time before they were packed on a
ship and sent to the Americas. It was an experience I will never forget.
After having been educated for years on how the slave trade affected the
world, it was a moving experience to be able to see what all these poor
people went through and how their own kind were greatly involved as well.
We then proceeded to a Beach Resort with a Gold Course for lunch. It did
not even feel like we were in Ghana anymore. Goes to show you how big
the class difference is…one is either extremely poor or very wealthy.
But despite which class you fit into, everyone is generally happy.
We headed back to the ship where we said our last goodbyes to Ghana and
set sail for South Africa!
Today was probably the craziest day I have had so far on this trip. I literally broke down into tears because of the culture shock.
This morning Lauren and I went to a dancing and drumming workshop which was incredible! We saw many traditional African dances and got to partake in many of them. We were also taught how to do some drumming. We met many amazing people and had a good lunch and headed back to the ship.
This is where our day took a turn. Upon arrival back to the ship we decided to take the shuttle into Accra. First off, Ghanaian traffic is terrible. It takes 1 1/2 hours to get to Accra which is a distance of only 16 miles. However, our trip took longer because we got in an accident. A semi in front of us stepped on their brakes and we missed rear ending them but took off a side mirror on the bus. The drivers had a heated conversation outside and when our drivers came back, they acted as if nothing had happened and continued us on our drive.
The moment we stepped off the shuttle we were swarmed by young and old African men and women (mostly men) trying to make money on the streets by selling their paintings and jewelry. The painting were beautiful but were too much for me to spend today since I had no money. Maybe I'll buy one later this week. We walked into town from our bus stop with several African guys and were again swarmed by people. A young guy named Frances (his American name) took a liking to me and decided he wanted to hang around me all day. Everyone was grabbing us and touching us and harassing us for money because we are "rich Americans." If only they knew what Wisconsin was like....no money there! (at least not for me.)
I got a picture with the guy who was hanging around me all day. Except he surprised me when he stepped behind me for the picture. Dacotah had to wait for my face to calm down and me to compose myself before she took the picture…the guy was such a creep. Especially since he started talking to Lauren about how he got some weed from his friend and just got done smoking it (but he doesn't abuse it so he says...right). Then he wanted me to kiss him and I refused and he kept calling me his girlfriend to everyone. None of us could handle it anymore....we were all ready to be back on the ship and experience that pacifying effect we've been told about. The shuttle was running 1 1/2 hours late so we decided to take a taxi because we could not stand being in the area with everyone anymore. I felt like I was in a parade of circus animals...really sad how much they look up to us just because we are white and from America. Apparently they have been preparing for our visit for 2 months and looking forward to it.
6 of us girls (including 2 we just met from SAS) crowded into a taxi for a 1 1/2 hour drive back to the ship. It was beginning to get dark out and we didn't want to stick around....good thing because as we saw from the taxi, Ghana gets crazy at night. Not sure I could have handled that after a day like today. I am really looking forward to our 13 hour trip to the national forest tomorrow and the canopy adventure that awaits....even though breakfast is at 6:15am for us....ick. But we'll have at least 2 hours to sleep on the bus.
Jenna's roommate was holding someone's baby and was joking around about taking her home with her....the dad of the little girl say okay go for it and began to walk away from her. She yelled out to stop him and explained it was a joke. She ended up spending 3 hours carrying the baby around the market and later brought her back to her dad....Kinda scary how willing he was to give up his daughter so she could have a better life as he put it.
To top it all off, I was proposed to at least 5 times today outright. And asked by many to take them back to America with me….supposedly another form of proposal.
Attached are some pictures of the dancing and drumming and one of the guys I met in Ghana.
First of all let me saw happy 81st Birthday to Archbishop Desmond Tutu!
Next, I cannot believe I will be in Africa in less than 12 hours! I have
been waiting for this experience my whole life and now all I can think
about is how nervous I am. Will post another blog tomorrow night about
my first day of adventures in Ghana!
As part of my college curriculum, I decided to take a class entitled Drawing at Sea. I had no idea what this class would entail and did not know what I would get out of it. After having spent a great deal of time drawing over the last month, I am excited to say that while earning college credit and gaining experience I will also be bringing home a souvenir many others cannot say they have….my drawings. While some of them look like they have been done by 5 year olds, some actually aren’t that bad. And I continue to get better as time goes on. And we still have 2 months left.
