Experience Ghana, Experience the World

Ghana where do I begin with this experience… Ghana had to be the most eye opening unbelievable experience I have witnessed in my life. Fun Fact: Ghana is known as the “Heartbeat of the world” since it is the closest country to the center of the Earth, a fact that Ghanaians pride their country on. The first day I got here I went on a tour of the Castles and Slave Dungeons that were used by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British to bring houses slaves until they were sent as slaves to different areas of the world, mostly the Americas. It was interesting to see Ghana’s view of the Triangular trade and how each castle has a door known as “the Point of No Return” where the slaves went through a narrow doorway to the ship that took them to their new life as a slave. I have learned more about slavery being here and seeing first hand what one race has done to another than any textbook or lecture in my fourteen years of education can truly touch upon. That night my friends and I went to a local bar and met some of the locals who sat and asked us about our experiences so far in Ghana and when I brought up the Slave Dungeons the locals explained their feelings on the infamous part of their history. I personally thought they were going to be in distaste that I would spend money to go there, it ended being the opposite which I was surprised by. The explained how important it is for people to understand this important aspect of their past and how they hope it can serve as a model to the world of why slavery cannot prevail.

Day two brought showers all day to the country, but knowing we had only a limited amount of time in Ghana, my friends and I took a taxi to a local beach town where we walked the beach for the afternoon and went hiking. To me the miniature hike was a first and what a way to try hiking on the beaches of Ghana where the views are picturesque and from something out of a postcard. Granted it would have been that much better if the rain was not there it was hot out and the rain was refreshing and not overbearing. We finished our adventure off with the worst lunch I have ever eaten. I asked for a hamburger with cheese and forty-five minutes later a white patty arrived on my plate. After examining the food for a good fifteen minutes and my roommate taking a bite of his same burger it came to our conclusion that it was a lamb burger that we were eating, I ate half and gave up mowing on the fries that came with the meal instead. This would be the only bad food that I have eaten in any country especially Ghana, where the food was above par and almost even to that of Morocco and as good as Spain. Ghana took the cake with sauces and the fried plantains, which I opted for seconds and thirds at our first day’s lunch.

The experience though that truly changed my life was my time participating for the “Habitat for Humanity” program on the third day. We drove three hours out of Takoradi, the port we were stationed out of, to a small village in the northern region of Ghana. The site was then a ten minute walk from where the bus was able to drop us off and into an area no person would dream to live in and yet we were building a development of houses for families to live in. The leader Naomi then broke us up into groups of eight and assigned a house and a task for us to complete that day. The house my group was assigned to was still in the development stage where we were building the walls and exterior. What shocked me was that I was going to be building a house that people were going to live in and made of materials that would no be suitable in the United States to build a shed out of. My specific job was to place the cement like material between the bricks to keep the blocks sturdy and together. Meanwhile other people were placing dirt around the foundation to make the floors of each prospective room. Another thing that shocked me people were going live in a room with dirt and roots as their ground, no wood, cement, or any other floor like material keeping them from the bare earth. We worked for half a day, while local children and people watched us work and you could see how grateful they were for the work we were doing and all I could think of is how I take for granted that I have a floor to go home to and there are times that I want more and these people were perfectly content with the little to nothing we were providing them. Finally our time was up and I was not satisfied with the work we did, being there made me want to do more and work more and more on this house, which Naomi told me it would take a little over a week to complete. As we were leaving after the wonderful home cooked meal the group made for us (sidenote: thanks to Malaria meds and travel meds I have not gotten sick from the food) we headed back to the bus where the children took pictures with us and thanked us for the work we had done for them and as the bus pulled away groups ran along side the bus waving us off. It was an experience I am glad I had the opportunity to be apart of and after talking to many SASers on the trip something I hope to do again when I get home.

Yeah this is a long one, but I’m telling you visit Ghana if ever given the opportunity it will change your life and you will have enjoyed every aspect of it. The last day yesterday, we visited the market, which unlike Morocco is NOT meant for tourists, but is actually for the locals. It was amazing to see that these people could come here and get anything from food such as pigs feet and a copious amount of fish to clothing such as materials to make it or their children’s school uniforms. The souvenirs were more toward the port such as the bracelets makers who remember your name and face and make Ghana bracelets for you or the souvenirs next to the Duty Free shop which is conveniently located right as you walk off the ship. All in all this Ghana experience was one I will never forget and now its off to South Africa, which everyone has said is more similar to the US than to Ghana or the rest of Africa. Today we passed the equator and the prime meridian a first in SAS history (which is rumored on the ship right now) I should be in South Africa in about seven or eight days we will see what happens on the ship during this time. Until then enjoy yourselves (Happy Belated 21st Devan)(NICHOLS hope Homecoming was a blast, heard there was a fire alarm at 6:45 AM DO NOT MISS THOSE, and ALICIA DELUCA hope you had fun cheering in your last homecoming game)

Ed