clubbing and cape coast adveture

After sitting Friday's outreach out (due to continuing GI issues). I got to meet the new set of volunteers that arrived, and I realized how far I've come in the past 2 weeks. I'm definitely a lot more comfortable here, which I hadn't realized until I saw how uncomfortable they were. They also made me appreciate this experience more. One girl, Tina, kept repeating "I can't believe I'm in Africa. This is so cool." And it is. Just wish I wasn't tied to the bathroom anymore.

I went out Friday night as planned, but didn't drink since I wasn't feeling well. We started at a chill outdoor bar with loud music and friendly waiters. Then we went to Osu where the nice restaurants are and me and Shriya went off to check out a live band. They were okay but it was awkward and smelly people (the world really needs to embrace deodorant) tried to dance with me.

Then we tried to get into a club called Bella Donna. We were denied. Apparently flip flops aren't accepted in clubs, even in Africa. But seriously, they should be happy I was able to borrow a nice outfit--all I brought were techwick shirts and EMS pants and bug spray.

Then we had a long and drawn out search for an alternative club, and more and more Ghanaians kept following us, trying to lead us places and sell us stuff.

Eventually, after failing, half the group went home and the rest of us took a cab to Afrodisiac. They also tried to turn us away for our shoes but in desperation we begged, "We came here to VOLUNTEER not to PARTY, PLEASE this is all we have." They took pity on us and let us in. The inside of the club was beautiful--a classy club--with plush couches, dangling lights, cool effects, and well-dressed people. We jammed out to classics from the '90s like backstreet boys... but would have preferred the Ghanaian hits. clap clapclapclap AWAY!

We got in just before 3am and again I wasn't able to stay in my bed through the night. The next morning (an hour or so later than planned) I organized a day trip to the Cape Coast region.

I thought the drive was only 2.5 hours, but it was actually over 3.5. We stopped for bananas in one market that had giant live snails and no good bananas. Instead I got grilled plantains later, which were delicious, but were man-handled by the woman making them and given to me wrapped in a piece of typed up computer paper. Resourceful? We also got kenke which is mashed up corn wrapped in plantain leaves that apparently tastes awful (I'm still avoiding most street food).

We hit Kakum national park at about 3pm (our next destination closed at 5pm and was over half an hour away...) for the notorious canopy walk.

There are a set of planks suspended by rickety ropes on trees high above the rainforest canopy. I was kind of nervous, I'll be honest. You never know about safety in developing countries... and it was really rocky! and the wooden planks were sometimes loose! By the 5th or 6th bridge, I wasn't scared anymore but there were only 7 bridges, so boo. Would've probably enjoyed the experience/scenery more if I had gotten over the fear sooner.

Then we zoomed (slowly through traffic) to the cape coast slave castle. Ghana was the gateway to West Africa during the slave trade, so there are castles like this dotted all along the coast. It was really eerie being there. We had a great tour guide that brought us into the depths of the slave dungeons and talked us step by step through the process and experience of the slave trade at Cape Coast.

There were several tiny chambers underground, with small slits for light and air to pass in, but nothing else. 200 men (or women in the female dungeons) would be sardine-d into these rooms for a holding period of about 3 months. They would defecate, vomit, urinate, and often die in these dungeons. There were markings on the wall of how high these bodily fluids would rise, and it was a solid 3 feet off of the ground. I couldn't imagine living squished in the hot, oppressive dark surrounded by people and various fluids up to your waist...

On top of the dungeons, ironically, was the First English Church "heaven above and hell down below." I learned a lot on the tour. It was much much more real than the abstract references to the slave trade in high school history class.

A somber rain started to fall as we left.