going...going...Ghana

2 African countries down, 2 to go!

We are officially on our way to Cape Town, South Africa.  We left the port last night at 8pm and it was a very special departure.  For the past 4 days, a group of artisans had set up a mini-market inside the port about 100yards from the gangway.  Many, many people have been purchasing their crafts (myself included) while we've been here.  So about 15 minutes before we pulled away from the pier, they lined up and started drumming and dancing and singing as a way of saying goodbye.  We all gathered on decks 5, 6, and 7 and waved and yelled thank you and watched the celebration.  A couple students waved the Ghanaian flags they had purchased.  It was a very heartwarming farewell.

We had our post-port reflection groups last night and, as usual, my group was excellent.  I also brought them some cookies, so maybe I'm guilty of trying to buy their participation.  Oh well.  I look forward to going to my group while most of my coworkers dread it.

I forgot to mention what I did yesterday.  Well, I mostly got wet.  Cicero and I headed into town to walk around the market in hopes of finding shea butter (apparently you can get a big glob of the pure stuff for 1 cedi - less than a dollar).  It was raining the second we left the ship.  The walk to the port gate is significant - probably about a mile.  Taxis can't pass the gate, hence the walk.  It's an easy walk, but we got WET (and I had a rainjacket on).  We took a taxi into town and circled the market a couple times.  The market in Takoradi is a far cry from the market of Marrakech.  Marrakech has a lot of goods and crafts and is geared toward visitors.  Takoradi had none of that nonsense - it was truly the people's market.  Fish, more fish, then some more fish, goat, eggs, tomatoes, more fish again, garden eggs (my favorite new word - it's what the Ghanaians call EGGPLANT), mops, brooms, buckets, etc.  So we got a feel for Takoradi and walked around a bit.  We stopped at a supermarket to buy some snacks.  I absolutely love supermarkets in other countries.  It's such a glimpse into the culture.  After that, we headed back to the port.

I know I mentioned that Ghana is HOT.  Well, it is.  But I think Morocco was actually hotter (Marrakech specifically), it's just that Ghana is insanely humid and you can't breathe.  It's the end of the rainy season here, which meant we got rained on a lot, but it also meant some cloud cover and "cooler" temps.  The old adage is true "It's not the heat, it's the humidity."  (Although in Morocco, it was the heat). 

Most of the students I talked to loved Ghana.  Like, LOVED Ghana.  I found Ghana to be beautiful and welcoming, but it didn't grab me the way Morocco did.  I think part of that was my approach: in Morocco, we just went to another city and hung out for 4 days.  In Ghana, there were things I wanted to see and do, so I saw and did them.  I didn't leave time to really get a feel for daily life.  I'm not unhappy with my choice, but maybe just wish I'd had more time in Ghana for that.

So just a few bits and pieces of other stories and thoughts:

- I heard from a few students that they'd been yelled at for taking pictures.  It's a very sensitive issue - people want to capture everything they see while they're gone, but the places we go and the regular people we see (specifically developing countries) take offense at being turned into a tourist attraction.  Students are learning about being respectful and appropriate in their picture taking.  I personally try to think of what I'd want people to take pictures of if they visited Milwaukee or Chicago and would be showing people pictures of my cities elsewhere, and I would want them to capture the beautiful parts, the best parts, not the homeless people or the violence.  I'm trying to translate that to the other countries we visit.  I think I'd be freaked out if I had kids and a large group of strangers from Africa came up and started taking lots of pictures of my kids.  Anyway, it's something we're all thinking about and reflecting on.

- I learned an interesting tidbit about taxis in developing countries.  Well, I should start by saying that while in our taxi on Friday, we noticed that the gas needle was below Empty the whole day.  I assumed it must be broken.  But he never had to stop for gas, and we drove quite a bit.  Anyway, he pulled over at a gas station on the way back to Takoradi and said he had to make a few adjustments.  Marci and I ran into the gas station to get a drink and as I walked around the car, I noticed he had opened the trunk as well as the hood.  In the trunk I noticed a very big tank - like a giant helium tank.  I must be pretty dense, because I just thought "oh that's what's bumping around, he must be trying to secure it."  I didn't even mention it to Marci until we were walking back to the ship.  She looked at me and said "OHHHH, they do that in Vietnam too."  I said "what do they do??"  She explained to me that taxi drivers often use propane as fuel because it's cheaper.  So they keep the GIANT propane tank in the trunk.  Awesome.  With the huge rate of car accidents in Ghana, I don't see why this is a wise choice.  You get rear-ended and KABOOM.  Anyway, I'm alive.

- The two common "scams" in Ghana: You get out of a car, or approach a popular place on foot, and you're mobbed by men saying "welcome to (wherever you are)! What is your name?" and they stick out their hand for a handshake.  You introduce yourself and (red flag #1) they ask you how it's spelled.  They run away afterward (red flag #2) and you think "strange..."  But then you go inside wherever you intended to visit.  2 hours later you leave, and they come up to you with either (scam 1) a bracelet with your name embroidered on it or (scam 2) a seashell that says "To Our American Friend Stephanie, Welcome to Ghana, Love Isaac".  "It's just a gift, for my new friend!" (red flag #3 - there are no such things as gifts).  Most people take the item and then get hounded for money or for a "trade." 

I knew about Scam 1 and when we arrived at Elmina, the guys are all asking me my name and my response was "I don't want a bracelet, I already have one." (I'm so tricky, I don't have one...) They said "oh, okay... but what is your name?" So I tell them.  Fatal error! 2 hours later we're leaving the castle, and they come up with the seashell.  DAMMIT!  I SHOULD'VE SEEN THAT COMING!  Oh well, I didn't.  AND I didn't buy the seashell.  I'm pretty good at saying no.  But they try. They try very very hard.

- I got a mosquito bite.  I don't know when I got it.  I'm so bummed.  I gotta keep taking my malaria medicine. I'm hoping I don't have the dengue fever either!!! (no prevention for that!)

-  Tara had a tour guide who told her that you can get malaria from the sun.  And he was serious.  He also told her - when someone had asked about the amount of sharks in the Gulf of Guinea - "no no no, no sharks here.  They all followed the slave ships to the new world and never came back." 

- Takoradi is the closest land location to 0 degrees latitude, 0 degrees longitude. So that's fun.  Apparently we'll be 35 nautical miles away from 0'0' and there are rumors FLYING everywhere about whether or not the Captain will change the course to sail through or not.  I had heard yes, then no, but it's back to yes again.  Who knows.  Either way, we're pretty close and that's awesome.  We'll be crossing the equator today or tomorrow and will be celebrating on Tuesday.  I will have much more to say about that on Tuesday :)

Well, that's all I'm Ghana tell you.  I didn't take full advantage of all the Ghana puns that are out there, and I'm a little disappointed in myself.  I guess there's always Mauritius... 

Happy Sunday to you all... it feels like a Monday to me - back to work!