While my Morocco entry featured hesitation about aspects of the culture, levels of disappointment and discomfort, and a somewhat ambivalent tone, I have almost nothing but positive things to say about our second port of Tema, Ghana. Much like the morning of docking in Casablanca, I woke up relatively early to witness our approach to land. The Tema skyline wasn’t quite as exciting as Casablanca’s, mostly because it’s a simple port city that relies more on commerce than tourism; the real excitement is in Senase and Accra. Once we finally arrived, we were immediately greeted by a group of men on drums and women dancing. Waka Waka, this is Africa, anybody? Yes, Morocco is in Africa, but Ghana has a more “African” vibe to it. It’s true, though. The whole country has a heart, a soul, a beat, an electrifying rhythm that’s pretty impossible to ignore. So, let’s get to it!
My plan was to go to Senase village which is farrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr away from Tema. I got this trip for free from the guy called Fred and who is originally from Senase. I met him through the Facebook group and he offered me this trip for free, even it was around 300 dollars. This homestay was organized by my dear friend, Lou. She’s splendidly Swedish, which is beside the point, but it’s fun and alliterative. Our group of about 30 students walked out the port to find our tour guide, a native Ghanaian named Fred. We were immediately swarmed by people selling stuff. Difference between them and Moroccan salesmen? Well, a lot. For one, they make bracelets and other things right in front of you. I got my name on a black band in red, yellow, and green. We can pretend I’m African, right? Second, they are friendly. Very friendly. Almost to a fault. I felt bad saying no to them, but I can’t buy everything. Since they are so friendly, they’re pretty easy to take advantage of as well; I paid extremely little for some things that clearly were worth more, which looking back on makes me feel like a greedy Western world person. Thirdly, they are willing to trade. Lastly, and probably most frighteningly, the concepts of “no” and “personal space” don’t entirely match up to what I’m used to. I’d tell them I didn’t want something because I already had it or didn’t have money, but they’d shove it in my face anyway and ask for my money. They will follow you anywhere. I was in Accra and a guy gave me a small bracelet and told me to pay how much I have. I honestly didn’t want that bracelet, but he insisted. Finally, I told him no, but he said he gave me that and I don’t have to pay. Typical for Ghana. I paid him of course, since I felt pretty bad just taking it.
Our bus ride to Senase was…eventful. By eventful, I mean long. Also, bumpy. Ghanaian road infrastructure doesn’t exist. Highways are paved, of course, but not particularly well, and a lot of roads are really just dirt paths with giant bumps and holes at every corner. It’s like four wheelin’ on backcountry mountain roads, but not mountains roads because they’re in the grasslands, jungles, and even right out of the city. We were in a bus, so picture the bumpiness. It was much like a roller coaster. I was sitting next to the driver trying to record roads and people next to. Very sad thing was seeing kids and women selling things on the street next to the “high way”. Everything that they have to sell that day was on their heads. However it sounds for you, it is true. On their heads. And that’s not all. Many women have baskets on their heads and kid on their backs ripped in scarves. Temperatures are probably between 30-40 degrees which makes situation even more difficult. I felt very bad.
Anyway, the bus ride was about 9 hours longer than it was supposed to be because our bus broke down in the middle of a random village. It actually didn’t really break down—the air conditioning started to malfunction and Fred began to worry that the battery was going to overheat or something—so we really could’ve gone, but we didn’t…but that’s part of the adventure, right? While we waited in this village, a few little kids came out to see what the commotion was. We began to play with them, singing little songs and dancing. Fairly soon afterwards, though, they multiplied. Children were everywhere. They appeared out of every little corner and crevice and wanted to hang on to every American limb possible. These kids were so cute. Every little thing brought adorable little smiles to their faces. Singing, dancing, playing soccer, blowing bubbles, giving stickers, anything brought unbridled joy to these little kiddies. Male, female, very young, young, almost our age, shy, loud, funny, playful, boisterous, every type of child was there. It certainly made the hours pass by quicker. In the middle of playing, though, I felt a smatter of raindrops. Thinking nothing of it, we all kept entertaining the kids. Suddenly, the clouds opened up and let everything pour out. It was the most out-of-nowhere rainstorm ever. It’s nearing the end of their rainy season, so it’s humid, muggy, and rainy. Truth be told, it rained at least a little bit each day we were in port, but never for too long. It’s about to get really dry, apparently.
It was already too late and we found some restaurant in the middle of nowhere. We stayed there for more than three hours trying to kill some time. I got a mosquito bite which was kinda scared. Ghana is well known for having malaria and since I didn’t take any malaria pills, I was a bit worried. I realized that I can’t do anything to change that fact, so I took a beer . It was very hot during the day and night and I had my pans and jacket on me all the time, plus bug spray on my skin, all in all not comfortable, but survivable. Finally, at 3am, which was 9 hours later, we started our ride to Senase.
We finally arrived in Senase t 7 A.M. Bleary eyed and sore from sleeping on the bus, a little skeptical of our surroundings, but overall ready to see something really different, we wandered into this new land. The clouds were low to the ground and the air smelled thick, so it felt somewhat dreamlike. Senase is actually much larger than I imagined it was going to be; I figured it would be a few streets and houses, but it’s actually a large town of about 13,000. At least I think that’s the size—somebody in the town told me that, but they had a thick accent, so they may have said something else. Frankly, much of our time in the village was spent sitting around, eating amazing food, visiting the schoolhouses, giving out the toys and other supplies we collected on the ship, playing with more cute children, and just meeting people. The only really planned thing we did was a drumming and dancing lesson in order to learn a routine that we were to perform for the village elders. Speaking of food, I have to recommend it. If you can handle spicy, try some foufou, red red, fried plantains, and joloff rice. If you can’t handle spicy, don’t eat Ghanaian food. Everything we ate in the village, except an oatmeal-like porridge we had on our final morning, was spicy. If anything else, I will miss the food of this country. Also, I tried Star, a Ghanaian beer, and it was really tasty. I am assuming that my friends know that I tried beer in every country . We went out to a bar on our last night in the village in the built up area and had a ridiculously fun time. Ghanaians know how to party! Dancing and drinking with them was so fun.
Children on the streets were incredibly cute and ready to pose for pictures all the time. They were obsessed with cameras and they wanted so badly to be on the pictures. The best thing about them is that fact that they are not embarrassed to take your hand, to sit in your laps, to hug you, kiss you, whatever. Just seeing the freedom of these kids who were running everywhere, playing without balls, play grounds and toys, reminded me of my childhood and my friends. Freedom and huge wings to fly through your dreams and thinking that one day things will get better. The most powerful element of youth is that we are too young to know what is impossible. Surrounded by hundred of kids jumping on my back, holding my hands and making my hair, I felt comfortable and ready to come back to Ghana and stay longer than four days. Another fact that none of the kids ask me for money, food or anything else, which is the main difference between Ghana and Morocco.
I stayed in the house with Jerry, Caitlyn and Laura. There was one bed and three mats where we could sleep. There was no electricity in the house and no bathroom. However, in the house next to ours, there was a family with a bathroom, which didn’t change the fact that there was no water in the bathroom. Laura really wanted to take a shower, so our host went to draw well and brought her water in a bracket. That is the thing that they do every single day if they want to wash something, brush their teeth or cook. Life is way more difficult than we can see on the Discovery.
Our final day was especially exciting. After practicing our moves and our beats, we met the village elders. They introduced themselves in English, but then the chief said he was going to speak in the native dialect to us in order to keep with tradition. He told us how welcome we were, how glad they were to have us, and how much they want us to come back and help them more. After our meeting, we suited up in our traditional red, green, and yellow outfits and shook our hips and beat our drums for the elders and other onlookers. I was part of the drum line as bass, which may sound like an easy job, but those drums hurt your hands after a while. Afterwards, we said our goodbyes. It was difficult leaving the village; the children were especially sad and wanted to take as many pictures as we possibly could. More than that, though, I had never done something quite like this homestay while traveling. Seeing this new kind of life really was eye opening and heart breaking. The lives they lead are rough, but at the end of the day, they are all such happy people. It’s given me a different sense of appreciation, a different sense of poverty, and a lot more. Absolutely worth it, despite minor difficulties getting there (and back—our bus broke down again, but it was only for like 45 minutes). I want to return to Senase and help out more.
I spent my last day exploring Accra and assuming experience with my friends who did other things in Ghana.
So, Ghana. What a place. With all this positive, I have to put it into context for a moment and talk about something difficult. You may have noticed an emphasis on the children. There were adults. Lots of them. Children, though, are the heart of any country, and these kids are amazing. They have so little, but are so happy and friendly and welcoming. Why are there so many kids, though? Well, the unfortunate reality is that the life expectancy is 62 years old. It’s so low for a number of reasons. Poor sanitation practices (we had to drink purified water out of plastic bags, which strangely reminded me of bagged milk we drank in kindergarten), poorly regulated education, and bad health conditions all lead to this reality. In Senase, we were told that the nearest doctor was over an hour and a half away down bumpy dirt roads.
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