Trip details!

I don't have too much to say at this point, but I have an hour to kill as I wait to visit the Autism center where I plan to volunteer, so I thought I would write a new post and tell you a bit about the trip last weekend. I have felt the past few days like I am in the hostile phase again (according to the emotional stages they said we would probably experience while here: happy and energetic because everything is new and exciting, then hostile because we are frustrated or homesick, then comfortable because this becomes our new home - these are not the exact descriptions they gave, but close enough) since I am finding it difficult to maintain patience all the time, especially when I just want to get things done. For instance, I was told to meet with the community service representative this morning at 10am to leave for the Autism center, so I had to leave my music and dance class early (since it is from 8-11am) to get here, but when I arrived he said we would need to wait until 11am instead. So I walked back to my dorm and had a snack and read my book, then came back and was told that I have to wait another hour before we can leave. I am not even sure what the reason is for the delay, which is even more frustrating, so I am wondering now if we will even go at all.

Well, I guess you're waiting to hear about this past weekend, so I will finally indulge you. We pretty much followed the schedule I posted last week exactly, though we were maybe an hour or two behind at some parts. In any case, it was an amazing trip that I will not soon forget. The slave castle made me very emotional, and I know many others as well, since I have a hard time imagining such cruel things being done to innocent people, especially in such great numbers. I almost felt sick at some of the descriptions the tour guide gave, and was disgusted at the images that formed in my head as I viewed where it all happened. As much as I love visiting historical monuments and improving my knowledge of them, I hope to not visit another slave castle any time soon because it makes me ashamed to even be human.

After that traumatic experience, we went to Hans Cottage, which is famous for being built on stilts over a pond of crocodiles. We were not there very long, since it was just a short stop to have some drinks, but we did see quite a few crocodiles either swimming or lying on the land resting and were able to get fairly close without fear of being attacked. After that we drove to Kakum National Park, which was my favorite part of the trip, since it was a rainforest where we had the chance to walk across these 7 canopies connected by trees and rope through the forest. We did not see any wildlife other than butterflies, but we were told that forest elephants and monkeys lived within the forest somewhere and could be seen if you stayed the night and camped out in the park (which we unfortunately did not have a chance to do). However, the canopy walk itself was very exhilarating, especially if you are somewhat afraid of heights and wobbly bridges, and made me feel as though I was in an Indiana Jones movie or some sort of wild adventure. Hence the name of my blog...

That night we had traditional Ghanaian food at tables right next to the beach, and then a bonfire was made for us to sit around as we enjoyed the calming waves and fresh air. The next morning we had another large breakfast buffet (omelets, beans, crepes, croissants, bread and jam, cereal, oatmeal, tea, coffee, juice), which filled us up enough to not need much food until dinner, since we had another 4-5 hour drive home that afternoon. We had the chance to go into Cape Coast to visit the slave castle and the town, though most of us were too exhausted and decided instead to relax on the beach since the weather was so nice and we did not want to pass up an opportunity to utilize a clean beach resort. I am glad we got that time because the ride home was pretty invigorating- people having loud conversations about topics I am sick of discussing (like Michael Jackson), and drinking a bit too much- which makes me wonder how we are going to survive the 12 hour drive to northern Ghana at the end of the semester. Well, I guess I can say it was entertaining, but after being so used to living alone most of the time I was relishing the moment I would go home to my room and escape the large group of people I had just spent the entire weekend with.

This coming weekend many people are doing homestays with local Ghanaian families, but I do not feel ready to live with a strange family for three days at this point in time, so I am opting out with a bunch of other people who are instead going to a Ramadan festival outside of city. I am considering going to that as well, since I have heard that it is a huge deal here and a lot of fun, and it will be nice to get out of the city again and see more of rural Africa. I just hope it is not too far away, or very expensive. I will let you know my final decisions about that later, but for now I will leave you to take in what I have told you so far since I am still trying to grasp it myself. I do not believe I will realize I have lived in Africa until I am back in the United States and have had time to really mull things over and understand all the feelings and adventures I am experiencing.