WEEK 8
June 19, 2012
Surprisingly, or NOT so surprisingly the light is off.
Luckily it is one of those light up the night with the stars kind of nights. Thankfully
the Lord blesses us with the beauty of his creations when man made things
cannot help us out. The problem with me sitting here and typing this is that
the bugs are attracted to the light and they are flying all over me making me
want to scream! Tonight we had two day old Gardener Stew…I could hardly get it
down because my brain made it taste way too much like the mackerel we had for
every meal the first week we were here but I ate it anyway so that I would not
be hungry later. Rice was not a welcome sight tonight. Some days are better
than others, as is life. This morning I finally got my approval from the
Medical Superintendant…the Doctor who first intimidated me and got mad that I
hadn’t brought him my letter personally…anyway I had to send a permission slip
of sorts to the IRB so they knew I wasn’t here intruding on anything at the
hospital. I have been trying to get this form for a little over a month now so
this was a glorious morning. The Secretary typed it out and showed it to him
but he wanted to make a few changes and then he talked with me for about 15
minutes about my project and I got some great insights. With the conversation
we had I might even be brave enough now to ask to sit in and observe in his
consultations because I think that he might teach me a lot and he will
definitely add a different dynamic to my study overall. We will see if he is
willing to do that though, I’m not sure. Needless to say I was in the best mood
after getting that letter on the Hospital letterhead, signed by the one and
only Medical Superintendant so I skipped joyfully down to the MCH to show
Jackie. She had also gotten her form signed that day so we were very happy. We
laughed at the fact that it had only taken two months to get there, African
time at its best. Awhile later I walked back up to the hospital because one of
the nurses named Elvis had never heard of Elvis Presley so I was going to show
him some music on my iPod. On my way in a tro tro pulled into the entrance of
the hospital…the hallways are all outside so as you can imagine this is no big
deal. Right as I was walking up, the trunk was opened and all I saw was a man’s
mangled legs underneath the back seat. Two men ran around and started pulling
the man out through the trunk. I watched for a minute but then started feeling
woozy, I continued walking up past the tro tro and saw all the other bloodied
people inside. A nurse was pulling a screaming child out of the window and I
went into major crisis mode. My whole body wanted to jump around to the other
side of the tro tro to help pull the people out to get them to Emergency ward
but I was so paralyzed at the scene, not to mention that it was not my place to
jump in. Some custodians were carting the stretcher, yes the ONE stretcher,
back and forth to the Emergency Ward as the driver and man in the passenger
seat of the tro tro grabbed people out and placed them on it. There was another
group of people walking a woman to the ward who had blood covering her entirely
from her head to toe. A wheelchair was quickly wheeled behind her and she was
carted off as well. Everyone in the OPD was lining the hallways and people were
coming out of their wards to take a peek at what all the commotion was. It was
like a scene from a movie. I don’t know how many people there were total but
after watching the scene unfold for a moment I went and stood by the head
pharmacist to ask what had happened and he said that there was an accident with
a taxi and a private car in Agona. He asked me if I noticed any police around
and I said no. He then said “its not like your country…” and proceeded to talk
about how there is no number to call, no emergency team to come running to the
rescue to start treating the accident victims on sight…no, the people just have
to hope that someone will take action and rush them to the hospital. He said
that the police would not even be primarily interested about the lives, just
about what happened to the cars. As I watched the tro tro driver and passenger
pull the last person out and place them on the stretcher they both seemed to
take a deep breath, looked at one another and nodded to the hospital staff as they
got back into their tro tro with blood stained hands and clothes and drove
away. I yelled after them to thank them for what they had done even though I
know they had not heard me. This all happened in a matter of a few short
minutes but it felt like much longer. I had such a tender place in my heart for
those two men. They stepped up in a time of crisis with no regard for
themselves and selflessly came to the rescue of those people involved in the
crash. The taxi driver ended up dying but everyone else lived and those in the
private car were physically unscathed by some miracle. Every day heroes are all
around us. Those people are not only ones who save a life by pulling people out
of a car crash and rushing to the hospital. They can be the person who gives us
a smile when we are feeling down or the person who pays for our meal in the
drive through. They may even do something for us that we never find out about
but the goodness of human nature is incredible. There is a lot of destruction
in our world certainly, but that does not mean that there is not a lot of
growth and goodness and joy. Human beings are such an incredible creation, I
learn about that more and more each day and I just cannot deny the fact that we
have a Creator with an ultimate design for every one of us. I left the hospital
just as some of the accident victims were being rushed into surgery while
others were being placed in our ambulances to be rushed to Kumasi hospital because it has more advanced
technologies and specialized Doctors. My fears about taxis and tro tros have
now been heightened after seeing first hand what can happen in an accident but
I know that I am supposed to be here so the Lord will protect me.As my own taxi
pulled into Agona where the accident had taken place it seemed especially
quiet. It is market day so that is a rarity but there was an eerie quiet unless
it was just my imagination. We went to the café and got going with our emails
and such but then the network stopped working so we took a break and got lunch
and ran our errands in the market. Today was fun in the market unlike last week
because it seemed much more subdued, and it was early afternoon so it wasn’t so
crazy as it was when we were there last week. We also got passport photos so we
could renew our Visas on our way back through Kumasi after our retreat we go on
tomorrow…they are hysterical. There was just this tiny booth behind this little
hut and a man had a huge old Polaroid camera and we each sat in that little
booth and took our photos and he gave them to us in a piece of paper but they
only cost us 2 cedi 50 pesewas for two which is much better than the 10 dollars
it costs at Wal-Mart.
King called us and said the network was back about 2
hours after we had left for our errands so we rushed back to the café but when
we arrived it was back out. For the next 3 hours we sat there and the network
went in and out the whole time so the other girls were not able to finish all
their emails and such but somehow I got all my emails sent, my IRB stuff
figured out, and my professor contacted so I was pleased. When we got home I
read scriptures, Stripling Warriors today…so cool…and then took a little nap in
the most interesting position ever as I pushed two chairs together to try to
make a bed. I listened to Uchtdorf’s ‘Forget Me Not’ talk while I laid there
and it is so good, it helped me to remember my value as a woman and to focus on
what it is that is really important. The dishes were all sitting out on the
shelf and I have started to ‘pack’ them away whenever they are out because it
is the only thing I can do to help out around here. The light went out as we
were eating dinner which was not entirely bad since I didn’t want to see what I
was eating and so after we ate we went outside and the stars were magnificent. I
just got out a mat and a sheet and laid them down in the middle of the
courtyard and laid there listening to my iPod and watching the stars. I had the
sheet wrapped around me so tight to protect from the mosquitoes and was
cracking myself up with the thoughts that came to my head sometimes during the
songs. My favorite moments were when Celine Dion songs would come on. I wanted
to lay there and belt it out but I refrained. It felt like such a surreal
experience as I laid there looking up at the stars through the laundry that
hung on the lines all around me and I listened to Mama and Mavis speak in Twi
through my music. I love those moments. I laughed at myself again when I walked
inside to gather all my things and put them away in my room because I was using
a candle and walking really slow so I didn’t drop anything and the Saturday’s
Warrior song from the end came into my head as the last scene played in my
head. Oh it was a wonderful day.
June 20, 2012
‘…And lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the
world, Amen.’ Matthew 28:20 I believe… This scripture is the one which reminded
me that everything was going to be okay last winter when I was scared out of my
mind to actually be going to Africa without
anything that was familiar to me. I was scared to come back with my 3 best
friends all on missions, to come back to my final year of college, to leave
America and everything I knew, to go conduct research on my own…I was a little
bit afraid of it all. This scripture spoke to me as if Jesus Christ was saying
these words directly to me, as if He was saying that as long as I allowed Him
to be with me it didn’t matter where I went, He will always be with me. It was
one of the most beautiful spiritual experiences I have ever had and I was just
reminded of this scripture as I read it in a friend’s missionary email. This
scripture has certainly manifested itself to me as my Lord has been with me
throughout this whole journey and will continue to be for the rest of my life
as long as I allow Him to be. That is such a beautiful reassurance; to know
that I will never be alone, especially because I am really bad at being alone.
I am the kind of person who wants to be surrounded by people always and though
I of course have occasion where I just need to be alone, I would rather be
surrounded by people I care about and can have fun and talk with at all times.
That is why it’s hard here but also why I am so grateful for Nat, Cassie, and
Jackie. They are my sanity. I got some stuff done this morning and then went to
work to observe with one of the Doctors for a few hours. Compared to yesterday,
today was not quite as exciting at work by any means so the day seemed to drag
on a bit because malaria cases were sparse. Every day brings a little something
though so whether it is a major break through in the way I am going to do
something or witnessing the interaction of the Doctor with just one malaria
patient, I need to count that as a success. One of my little friends, also
named Akua, who is 15 comes over all the time and watches Mari Mar with us and
Mama and today I was on my computer, she came over to watch me type. King said
he likes to watch us type because we can type so fast. I can certainly type
much faster than I even could before coming here because I do it so much every
day but it was just funny to realize how something that seemed so trivial to me
could be a matter of study for someone else. I asked if she wanted to see a
picture of my family and we started looking through a bunch of random photos of
family and friends. She loved it so much and I could tell she was just amazed
because she had never seen so many things in my pictures before. She was
talking to Mama about how she wants to go to America after that. I think it’s
the same thing for Ghanaians as for many people with their desire to go to America . They
want to see the world and though its not for touristy purposes, we as human
beings always desire to know and experience that which we do not. We go to Cape Coast
June 21, 2012
This morning we left home at 6:40 to embark on
our journey to Cape
Coast Kumasi Cape Coast Cape Coast I
had the same kind of feeling as I have when I drive to Southern California
because it smelled like the ocean and there were palm trees everywhere…it of
course was no Laguna Beach
It was an amazing sight because to our left
was a group of young lads playing soccer as the waves washed up and behind them
I could see the slave castle on the cliff and then to my right was the sun
setting with the fishing boats all lined up in a row. As I took my first step
into the Atlantic Ocean I half expected it to feel different somehow and I
guess it did because unlike the Pacific Ocean
it was SO warm but otherwise it was just the best feeling of familiarity as the
ocean hit me! It was a beautiful feeling to have the sand under my toes and the
salty water washing up my legs. Even the mist in the air which made my hands
feel sticky from the salt made me so happy. It was a very clean beach too where
we were which was a beautiful sight in itself because most everywhere in Ghana is just
covered in trash. That is one thing that is so hard for me to see; beautiful
places just littered with garbage. But the beach…ah it was breath taking and so
incredibly refreshing!
I had the worlds best pizza, and I know it wasn’t
literally but to me in my limited diet this summer, it was. I was overjoyed and
I just devoured that thing so fast. It tasted so fresh and man it was just
wonderful. After dinner we decided to explore the town a bit and we
walked through the streets to a few key places that we had seen in our Bradt
guide. It is very different here in the sense that though a few children here
and there say ‘obruni’ and talk to you, they are used to seeing white people so
we are not as much of a novelty. Because so many tourists come through here
though there has been a precedent set for the children and they are even worse
at begging and asking for things than children back in the villages. They are
very persistent and if you don’t give them money or water saying that you don’t
have any, which is what we have been told to do because we cant make it a point
to give them everything when they ask for it because most of the time they
don’t need it but they are under the impression that every white person should
give them things, so anyway we just say that we don’t have money or water and
at home it is fine and they stop asking but here they keep asking and following
you.
These two little girls were following me outside of the restaurant and
asking for water and I told them that I didn’t have any, which was true, and
they just kept following me saying ‘you are lying, give us water’. We
understood when we walked past a line of children and a white girl with a
package of crackers. They were just cycling through the line getting one
cracker each…she really thought she was doing something nice for them but that
honestly just creates a problem because these children are learning to rely on
handouts from white people and are not working as hard to develop the skills
that will allow them to succeed and get things for themselves. We walked down
one street where hip lyfe music was blaring and tons of youngins were dancing
their hearts out! We were on the other side of the street just looking at
everything being sold and there was a row of women with all their fish but it was
actually quite the refreshing site because the fish was fresh! There was crab
and weird looking squid or octopus something or other and this sting ray/shark
looking thing…so cool! I think it was all pretty fresh. It must be the fish
that their husbands catch fishing in the morning and then the wives go sell it
in their little markets. 
It didn’t even smell bad…or maybe it just didn’t smell
as bad as the dried fish smells. I don’t know anymore. The best part was just
smelling the fresh ocean air because most of the time in the villages it is
either goat poop smell, garbage and sewer smell, nasty food smell, or just
Africa smell. I have gotten used to it mostly but I had forgotten what fresh
smelled like. Jackie and King went to go find somewhere to watch the Portugal vs. Ukraine game while Cassie, Natalie
and I stayed on the street and started dancing with all the children. It is so
fun to dance here, people dance anywhere and everywhere and hardly anyone is
shy about it. The kids all stop dancing sometimes when we dance though because
they like to watch us so we spend half the time just trying to get them to move
with us and teach us new moves but it’s the best! We wanted to keep looking
around after it got too crazy because the kids were blocking the street and the
taxis were getting real mad so we continued down the street and circled back to
the beach front just past the castle where there were a bunch of little huts
that were total tourist shops but we were in heaven because it was all the
Ghana trinkets we had been watching for. We met a man named Kaseim who just
loved us because we were being so nice to him (most of the people who come are
European and they are not as friendly, they rarely talk to us and we wave and
smiling instantly feeling a camaraderie with them since we never see white
people but like the Germans in Agona about a month ago, they are usually less
than amused) in his shop and when we were leaving he gave us all a string of
beads for free because he said he liked the way we spoke to him. Jackie texted
us about then telling us where she and King had ended up so we walked up to
meet them. It was dark about this time and walking around in an unfamiliar
place after dark with 3 white girls alone, in Africa, seems kind of scary but
that is what I love about Ghana ;
I never feel any fear here, even at night when it is super dark. I am always
very aware of what is going on around me and I try not to be naïve and an easy
target but it really is so safe here and I love that. We found the place and
entered. It cost 50 pesewas to get in and as soon as we walked through the door
way I could smell the men. African men have a distinctly different smell than
American men. I can imagine what it is like from having brothers and the man
smell back home is very different from Africa .
Their sweat just has a very distinct odor. There were a ton of benches set up
and probably about 300 men watching two large flat screen tvs at the front.
Jackie and King had saved us a bench right in the middle and all eyes were on
us as we walked in and sat down. I have become a very big fan of European
futbol since being here because it is a huge part of Ghanaian culture. Not to
mention the many, many attractive men that play so well. Its not a bad sport to
watch by any means. It was just a few minutes before half time when we arrived
so we still had a good while to watch the game. The men got so into it and so
excited about the plays that it pumped us up a ton and by the end I was jumping
off the bench when Portugal
would score. I am rooting for Portugal
to play in the finals because one of their star player, Ronaldo, is incredibly
attractive but also an amazing soccer player. He is super fast and the goals he
makes are sweet to watch. We are all giddy because it was so fun to watch and
we were super into the game but also because we would just look around and
laugh at where we were at that moment. I really enjoy being out and around the
towns here at night because there is so much going on. Portugal did indeed win the game so we walked
home elated and in the best moods, of course it was not just because Portugal won
but it was a plus. We grabbed a fanmilk on the way home and smiled all the way.
Sammos was about a 10 minute walk from the beach and everything so its in a
great location. When we got back I wanted to take a shower so bad seeing as I
haven’t taken a real one in 2 months but turns out the tap was not running.
That put me in a real bad mood on top of the fact that we had to spend about 2
hours taking the plaits out of Jackie’s hair because I was super tired from the
days travel and events and all I wanted to do was take a shower but I couldn’t.
Then we realized we didn’t have a top sheet and there were no mosquito nets
here so I got super scared and slept terribly because I was curled up with the
sheet wrapped up around me from the side to try to cover my skin from the
skeeters but waking up to a new day was glorious despite the fact that we went
to bed at 2 and were woken up at 5 from all the people shuffling around and
sweeping and turning on their music. There is no hope of sleeping in here
unless noise doesn’t bother you. That’s when I stick my iPod in and hope I can
fall back asleep to music. All in all, it was a great day!
June 22, 2012
We all tried to fall back asleep many times this morning
because we were exhausted so we took our time getting up and going this
morning. Around 8 we headed out to breakfast at this cool little restaurant
that is run by an NGO called Baobabs. I was feeling a little strange this
morning and I couldn’t tell if it was because I was just hungry and tired or if
I just realized in the back of my mind that being here means that I do not have
much time left in Ghana, either way I was just in a bit of a slump as we walked
to breakfast. The menu looked so good and I was feeling like being healthy so I
ordered a coconut lime smoothie and a vegetable omelet, both of which I was
completely dissatisfied with because the coconut was super chunky and I
couldn’t really taste the lime, nor was the omelet even hot and the other girls
had all gotten these amazing looking pancakes with chocolate sauce and then
pineapple and pure honey that looked and tasted like the best things ever and
seeing as this whole trip revolved around our food, and the fact that I had been
lacking variety for the past two months made me a little cranky. But that would
have made me cranky at home too, I hate eating food I don’t like. But I think
it is just magnified here, anyway the point is I was not in the best mood and I
hate it when I am in a bad mood and I am really hard on myself because even
though I know I don’t have to be happy all the time I try really hard to be so
when I am not it makes me even more mad at myself so it is not the easiest of
times. Luckily I was able to turn my mood around when we were looking around in
the shop because we met some other tourists who lived in Accra . They are doing their Masters research
this summer and are working with a Liberian refugee camp that the government is
currently trying to dissolve and send back all the Liberians so it was super
interesting to talk with them and one of the women went to BYU and grew up in
Provo so it was fun to talk with her for a moment. After doing some good old
window shopping and chatting with our new pals we headed over to the Cape Coast
Slave Castle
It is something that I will simply never understand. I was made to
love. I know that because I can never be mad at anyone even when they do
something that really hurts me. I just know that every human being is so loved
by God and imagining treating someone poorly is just not in my nature at all. I
don’t have the time or the energy to lay out all the details right now but it
was just such a sobering and a disturbing experience all at the same time.
These people were not even treated like human beings and they were pushed
around like they were someone’s property. It is very good to learn about though
and I really wish everyone could get opportunities to experience things like
this because I think there would be a larger emphasis on getting rid of the
enslavement that still goes on today. After the castle we went and looked
through all the shops which were sweet but we didn’t buy anything because we
wanted to look at every single shop in the town before buying anything to make
sure we could get the best things for us at the best prices. The sellers are
super pushy and try to get you to buy everything in sight so its kind of
annoying but it is fun to see all the traditional statues and masks and
figurines and such. When we were done with the shopping we went down to the
beach to look at all the fisherman and to just stare out at the ocean for a little
bit on the steps that the slaves walked down to go out to meet the ships at the
shore. Down below the platform there was a group of young men playing soccer. I
watched them for a little bit because it looked so fun not to mention the fact
that they were all ripped. Most of the young men here are so strong because
they dance and play soccer and pound a lot of fufu and their backs are so
toned.
Not a bad sight I’d say. After awhile we walked up to dinner at the
castle restaurant and sat in a corner table that had a straight view of the
ocean. Right upon sitting down the ocean breeze rushed in and hit us for our
entire stay and it was the best to be chatting and laughing while feeling the
breeze and looking out as the sky turned to dusk and the tide came in. I love
the beach.
Jackie, Natalie, and I ordered these sandwiches which sounded so
good but turned out to be the worlds worst and weirdest things. Luckily I had
gotten an appetizer of spring rolls as well because those became my meal and
they were so good. Cass got some chicken coconut curry that was super good so I
had a few bites of that to get a yummy taste in my mouth and all in all dinner
was great. It was pretty late when we got done so we headed back to go to bed
since we had to be up really early the next morning. When we walked into the
lobby we were talking to our pal Kofi who works there and a white woman walked
in looking very frazzled. She started talking to us and she was from Belgium and had traveled to Ghana by
herself. She was in her 30s and was not married and had gone to Thailand by herself a few times and thought it
would be a good idea to come to Ghana
by herself but she had been up in her room crying because she was scared so she
was so relieved to see us. We made plans for her to come to the National Park
with us the next morning. The tap still was not running but somehow there was a
staff shower downstairs that was working, and by the showers working I mean
that they trickled out in a stream of water that was like that of a hose. Nonetheless,
Nat and I headed down to shower and the room was lined with rocks and cement
and there was no light so we held the door a bit cracked open for each other so
it wasn’t completely pitch dark in there and chatted about our experiences and
anticipation for the fall while we did and looking back at the tiny dark little
room I was actually in with Natalie propping the little wooden door open so I
could have a sliver of light was a hysterical experience but I got to wash my
hair so that was glorious. We all went up to the roof of the guesthouse where
there was a bar and games and such and we just chatted about our plans for the
next day and we ordered breakfast so it would be ready on time for us the next
morning. Some more white people walked up, there was a group doing research in Accra , different from the
others we met. There were three Canadian girls and one American boy and they
made plans to join us the next day. King’s other friend King David who worked
at the hotel was up with us too and there were a lot of laughs all around. It
was hysterical talking to this woman, she is so great and I am super happy that
we were able to find her because she was so happy to have people to explore
with. We went to bed early so that we could wake up early to get going to the
National Park the next day and as is usual every night before bed we were just
lying in bed laughing hysterically at everything going on. It was like a little
girls sleepover where everything is funny even though it really isn’t. Love
these girls.
Today was honestly one of the best days I have ever had. Not
one second of it was a dud and there was a constant flow of joy and adventure
and laughter. From 6 am to 3 am there was not a dull moment and it was the
worlds best! We met Innaka and the others on the roof at 7 for breakfast and it
was beautiful. My favorite view of the beach was really misty and it looked so
cool as the sun was not entirely risen and the breakfast we ate was so good. I
had pancakes with bananas and sugar as well as some cheesy scrambled eggs and
it all tasted so good so I was happy and full. We all gathered downstairs and
figured out a few more logistics about what to do after we did the National
Park and then we hopped in cabs. The Canadian group took a private cab to the
park but that was going to be expensive so we drove to the tro tro station and
hopped on a tro tro. Cassie and I got the front which we’ve never done before
and it was a comfortable ride and we had great conversations as we drove. We
arrived about an hour and a half later at the park and hopped out. The entrance
fee through the initial gate was 1 cedi a person and people were lined up
selling things outside. We walked in and walked up a large hill and saw the
ticket office. We walked in and purchased our tickets for the student price at
15 cedi and waited with the Canadian group and a group of girls from Ireland who are here doing their Medical School
We continued on until we got to this platform
where we embarked on our canopy walk. I was expecting the rope bridges to be
much higher than they were but that was just from my perception because some
people who were afraid of heights couldn’t finish and had to take a short cut
because they thought it was so high. I love love love heights so I was having
the best time just rannin around up on the bridge. I wanted to be last so that
I could take my time and not worry about stalling the people behind me. The
guides insisted on staying behind me but for the first two bridges they kept
saying “I am waiting for you” so I told them that if they didn’t want to wait
they should go ahead of me because I was going to take my time and experience
it fully.
They eventually did go ahead of me as I expected. It was incredible
to walk around on these rope bridges up in the canopy of the rainforest where you
could see so far from the tops of the trees. We heard monkeys and saw
butterflies but that was all in the way of wildlife. I didn’t care though
because I felt so free up in the trees just rannin around and jumping and
swinging and laughing and the girls and I, plus Carl the American boy who hung
around with us the whole time, were having so much fun and I am so glad that we
didn’t just rush through because its not just something that I wanted to check
off my list like some. I wanted to embrace the experience and enjoy it for all
that it was worth. And I did. I cannot even describe my emotions but I was
truly elated to be up in the trees running and jumping on the rope bridges. I
was having the most beautiful time enjoying the sight I was seeing and the adventure
of being so high above the ground was a thrill. I am so thankful that I have
been blessed with such an enthusiasm for life and experiences because I have
been able to take every day and every experience for what it is worth and I
will not regret one day spent or one experience had because I have gotten so
much out of every single thing that I have done here. 
It is so cool. I think
the walk took us about 20 minutes more than everyone else but it was so worth
it. When we were done we headed down and as we were walking down hundreds and
hundreds of school kids were walking up the path in their uniforms so I am so
glad we went when we did because it certainly would have been a different
experience had we been shoved through by tons of kids. We caught a taxi going
back the other way to Hans cottage where there were crocodiles so we could see
the crocs and eat lunch. The first taxi wanted 20 cedi but we just laughed and
moved on and one came along that charged us each 1 cedi so we were happy about
that. When we arrived at Hans cottage it was funny because there were a ton of
super dressed up Ghanaians who you could tell were just on a trip with all
their friends, definitely the Ghanaian elite of sorts. There were also a lot of
other white folk there. We were nervous that we wouldn’t see any crocodiles but
right as we walked out onto the first part, the restaurant itself is over the
water, we spotted a crocodile lounging in the sun. We thought it was fake at
first because it was not moving and its mouth was just stuck open but we got
closer and could see it breathing. This is such an amazing creature.
Definitely
the closest thing we have to dinosaurs on earth today I think. King said there
were crocodiles we could sit on and we were so surprised that we hurried over
to the other side of the restaurant where people were sitting above crocs and
taking pictures touching it. It cost 2 cedi and I would have rather spent that
on food so I didn’t do it but Nat and Cass did and it was so cool. They really
do look fake but not when you are above them and they move. The way they walk
is so funny but apparently they are super fast and I was a bit nervous one of
them would run after me at some point but these crocs are so used to people so
I don’t think that would actually happen.
There was one who was taking its
picture with a huge group of school kids though and it was moving the whole
time and Cass and I were watching about to die because it looked like it was
just trying to get into the right position to strike and when the younger kids
would take their pictures with them I was sure he was going to flip up and
strike, but he didn’t. The only defence is a stick that the trainer lady has to
feed the crocs. These things cannot be tamed. They would go in and out of the
water taking turns taking pictures with people and at one point we were
surrounded with crocs on our left and right while another swam in the water in
front of us. It was so cool. We ate on the roof and all got spring rolls and
this amazing fresh passion fruit juice. We hung out here for awhile just
chatting and enjoying watching the crocodiles and then headed out. Waiting for
taxis we saw the most beautiful Rasta couple ever. They were perfect.
Rastafarianism is definitely a religion which is apparent here. There are a ton
of Rasta people around here and on the coast. On the taxi ride back we passed a
stake center and it was probably about the fifth church we had seen. The growth
of the church in Cape
Coast Africa I tell ya. Cass and I left the
hotel a bit earlier than the others and were just going to meet them at Baobabs
for dinner because she and I had to pick up some things that were being
finished for us from the shops. Yesterday and today the street was really
hoppin because an NGO had come and painted a walkway along the road for the
school children to use to walk to school because it is dangerous on the curve
with all the taxis and such so there was a cultural performance going on right
in front of the castle and we stopped to watch for a little bit. There were a
ton of drums and dancing and it was so cool. Some of the moves reminded me of
the African dance units we had at Roseville High but obviously this was the
real deal. It was very fun to watch and little kids were all just clinging onto
me as I stood there loving every minute of it. After awhile we went over to the
restaurant and ordered. Cass and I ran back to get all our stuff and then came
back. I got the chicken coconut curry with fries and it was just as good as
when Cassie had it so I was super happy. We ate dinner really late so by the
time we were done it was time to walk over to the bar. On the way there we met
some little friends who were so cute. We started dancing with them and then one
of the performers from before came up to us and started showing us acrobatics
and taught us a dance sequence. His name was LaFiya and he was super spunky. He
came with us to the club and at first we were the only ones there that were
dancing but then a ton of people came and it was the best time ever.
We were
learning the hip lyfe dances and doing Azonto and bringing in a little spin of
our own and man I worked off so many calories. It was so fun to watch King dance
too because he is incredible. He is just in the zone when he is dancing and the
way he moves is unlike anything I have ever seen. King David was awesome too so
with the two Kings and LaFiya we were just having the best time. The Canadian
girls and Carl met us there but they just sat down and had drinks while we
danced. Innaka danced a lot too and she was cracking me up. The African men
kept trying to dance with us but we would just wiggle away.
At one point though
I was dancing to a song and I started getting super into it and was just having
the best time and all of a sudden this one guy got so excited and picked me up
with my hands pinned behind my back and was jumping around. I couldn’t do
anything but scream and laugh at the same time and King came and saved me. I
wish I could have had that on tape because we were all laughing so hard that we
had to go out of the bar because I could not contain my screams or my laughter.
The whole bar and dancing experience was just the best and before we knew it, we
had been there dancing for about 2 hours. We decided to go over to the Oasis so
we could be on the beach and there was another dance party there but unlike the
Hacienda where we were the only white people and it was just so fun, this place
was tourist central and the whole place reeked of weed.
That was not an unusual
smell for these parts but it was so funny. We walked in and sat down so we
could get Fantas or something but then a popular new hip lyfe song called ‘chop
my money’ came on so we jumped up and started dancing and continued for about
another hour. We got drinks at the bar and the group of people there was
hilarious. There were some white people working at the bar and you can tell
that they have spent their whole summer drinking and smoking weed because it is
all they talked about. I got tired and wanted to go out to the beach so I asked
the guys to escort us down and to the water. There was a group of kids building
a bonfire on the beach and it looked like the best time. As I stood looking out
at the ocean I realized that I was never going to have this opportunity again
and that I wanted to just run in and swim in the ocean. I went and handed
Innaka my purse and told the other girls that I was going to run in. Innaka and
King David freaked out at that because they said it was too dangerous but I had
seen so many kids go out swimming in this water that I was not worried. It
would have been different had I actually swum out because there was a really
strong undertoe but I just wanted to run in knee deep and let the waves splash
over me and so I did.
Jackie and Natalie joined me and it was so fun! We just
played around in the water and let the waves wash over us and it was so warm. I
had the time of my life and I loved tasting the salt on my lips. I love the
ocean so much! When we walked out and finally were ready to live we realized
that it was almost 2 o’clock in the morning. It was the first night since being
here that I have actually felt like a college student because most nights I am
in bed by 10 and the only people around who are my age are the girls and King.
It was the BEST! Walking back through the town we were all just filled with
pure joy looking back on the events of the day. It was truly a beautiful one
filled with so so so much happiness and many beautiful experiences. Not to
mention the fact that I was soaking wet and covered in sand but not the least
bit cold. I love it here. After showering in the dark cave shower again we
finally went to bed around 3.
June 24, 2012
Luckily for us, we ran into the missionaries on Friday night
walking home because they told us about the ward that started at 11. We slept
in as late as we could with all the noise outside and then got ready to go. We
went up to Baobabs for the good pancakes around 9 and they were so good. Two of
us ordered chocolate banana ones and the other two ordered pineapple honey ones
so we could all have one of each and they were so good! Service here is nothing
like in America
and it takes about an hour to get your food every time so we finished just in
time to walk over to the church. We arrived at a beautiful building right
before 11 but as it turns out the meeting didn’t actually start until 11:30.
The missionaries are used to giving people a 30 minute window because of
African time so that is why they said it started at 11. African time is way
worse than Mormon Standard Time I tell ya. It was great to just be in that
building because it felt like such a solace from the world and we realized why
everyone thinks that people get rich when they become members of the church;
their appearance increases a ton. There are of course people who value fashion
but I don’t think a lot of people can afford to worry about such a thing here
so there is a huge assortment of the type of dress here and it is often not
super gender sensitive nor is it something that is entirely valued but seeing
the way everyone dressed at church made sense. The men in their white shirts
and ties and the women in their beautiful dresses…it just makes sense. It was a
large room which made it feel even more like a sacrament meeting because ours
is tiny and the pulpit was raised with the wooden panels all behind the
stand…it was the most familiar thing ever and it felt beautiful to just be
sitting in that chapel. The missionaries came in and talked with us for a
moment and there was a really tall one who was white and had freckles and it
made me miss boys a lot. Don’t worry, I didn’t flirt with him, I tried not to
talk to him actually because I knew that I would if I had started to talk with
him since I have been so boy deprived outside of the crazy vivid dreams I have
every night thanks to the doxy. The bishop greeted us and then the meeting
started. There were two men who could play the piano and the hymns sounded so
beautiful so once again during the Sacrament hymn I was so close to tears
because I felt so incredibly grateful for the church and for my Savior and just
the fact that I could go to church and take the sacrament there. It was
beautiful. Not to mention the people gave their talks half in English half in
Twi so I actually knew what was going on. It was just a beautiful beautiful
church experience. We headed home after that to get a sheet and shorts so we
could go down to the beach. It was not sunny which was sad but the breeze felt
so good so we all just laid on the sheet with our feet in the sand, the sound
of the waves, and the breeze and had a big group meeting talking about our
experiences so far and what we need to work on in our research and such. We
talked about our biggest accomplishments overall and we all said that our top
was the spiritual growth we have experienced here. Jackie commented on how that
is not usual for a Field Study experience. Many people do experience spiritual
growth on Field Studies but that is individual and they do it on their own. The
fact that we did it together from the very beginning with our goal to read the
Book of Mormon and our constant spiritual discussions gave us all such strength
and we have helped one another to grow in the ways that we have which is so
cool. It is just another testimony to me of how the Lord places people in our
lives who He knows will help us to learn and grow toward eternal progression. When
it started to sprinkle and get a bit cold we decided to head up to get some
lunch. The two places we most wanted to go close at 2 on Sundays so we had to
go to this other place and it was a vegan place but we ordered potato chips,
meaning French fries but what we got were the most disgusting fried vegan
something or other and aw man it was awful. The lady who owned the place was a
crack up and we were laughing so hard the whole time we were there but what we
got was just sick! We were going to go back to the beach after that but it was
getting dark and cold so we decided to just head back to the guest house. I
showered in one of the real showers because the tap was running though it was
still just a hose trickle and the power went off in the middle of my shower.
Luckily it was still a bit light out but washing my hair once again was
glorious. We headed up to the roof at 6 to order dinner and played Skip Bo for
about an hour as we waited for it. I got pasta salad and eggs and it was super
good. The pasta salad tasted so fresh and my favorite view of the beach with a
boat was right to my left as we played cards. My mom called during dinner so I
paused and went down to chat with her for awhile and then we played a few more
games on the roof until going back down. We packed up everything and giggled in
our beds for a good hour and a half before actually going to sleep. We were
leaving early the next morning so we wanted to just wake up and be ready. All
in all, it was a beautiful trip and such a needed retreat.
