A Weekend at Cape Coast and Malaria

Last weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to travel to Cape Coast with my group. We boarded air conditioned buses with the expectations of having a life changing experience and that is exactly what it was. When we arrived on Saturday afternoon we ate lunch at the hotel and then were split into two groups-those who wanted to go to Cape Coast Castle and those who wanted to go to Elmina Castle. Even though Elmina Castle is the oldest standing European building outside of Europe and the oldest slave castle/fort in Ghana I decided to go to Cape Coast Castle. A castle with a powerful legacy, the castle Barack Obama visited when he came to Ghana, and the castle I had done the most research about. Despite the research I did and the stories I've heard from friends who visited before me I still wasn't ready for the experience. How could I be? It's hard to prepare one's self mentally for something that has made me who I am. Slavery is the reason I am African-American and not African, it's the reason I prefer collard greens and fried chicken over fufu and banku and it's the reason why I prefer Hip-Hop over Hip-Life. Because of the suffering my ancestors went through centuries ago, I am who I am. I had to prepare myself for a place where abonimable atrocities were inflicted against my ancestors, a place where cruel and brutal crimes were inflicted against the very people whose blood runs through my veins today.

As soon as we arrived at Cape Coast I noticed the ocean. I noticed it's beauty- the palm trees lining the coast, the peaceful waves crashing against the shore, the inumerable stones resting in the sand, but most importantly I noticed its overwhelming vastness. It's neverendingness. All you could see was water and when you tried to look past the water all you saw was more water. I immediately thought of the millions of slaves who were stolen from their homes, shackled and bonded by chains on their hands, ankles, and necks, and marched hundreds of miles only to arrive at this neverending water. To be put on ships that were going to God know's where. I can't imagine the feelings of confusion, despair, anger, lonliness, and most of all FEAR that they felt. I'm gonna go on because I'm just speechless...

When we arrived at the castle we had a few minutes of free time before our tour guide would be showing us around. We were directed to the Castle museum which had exhibits on the history of the European presence in Africa and Ghana, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the Middle Passage, and slavery in the Americas. The museum itself was powerful. I remember there being a White girl from my program who was standing next to me while I was trying to read about our history who was chewing her gum really loud. I just felt a sudden rush of anger, I felt disrespected. There I was trying to read about something so important to my life and she was there seemingly nonchalant chomping on bubble gum. I wanted to cuss her out. I wanted to make her apologize-her and all her ancestors for what she was doing now and for what they did then. Then I gained my composure and realized it wasn't that serious and that she has nothing to do with the decisions of her ancestors, for the decisions of her race. I understand that every person is an individual and we all make our own decisions. We are all human beings; before we are White or Black we are humans. I am shocked at the hatred and injustices human beings can show against other humans. I am seriously proud of the ability of many Africans and members of the African diaspora to forgive but not forget. It would be so easy to hate Europeans and their descendants for the injustices inflicted upon our race-for the inhumane atrocities, but that wouldn't make us any better. As long as hate exists in the world between races or between people in general such inhumanity could occur again. I've made up my mind not to hate.... So isn't ironic that when I left the museum and the tour began the first thing I saw was a plaque outside the Male Slave Dungeon that read, “In everlasting memory of the anguish of our ancestors. May those who died rest in peace. May those who return find their roots. May humanity never again perpetuate such injustice against humanity. We, the living, vow to uphold this.” Amen.

The tour guide proceeded to show us the male slave dungeon. He showed us two rooms, each had one window no bigger than the size of my laptop. That little window was the source of the slaves sunlight and air. There were about 30 of us in the tour group and we were sweating and could hardly breathe and that room was meant for 200 grown men. 200. The tour guide pointed out the markings on the walls made by archaelogist who found that human feces in the room had reached the level of my shins almost. The remains are still there-they can never be washed away. Grown men were eating, sleeping, breathing in their own excrements. Dispicable. There was also a spy window in one of the rooms where the British would monitor the slaves to make sure they were behaving properly. Watching them, like animals in a zoo. How could humans be so evil?

The tour guide then took us to the Cell to show us where the slaves who were condemned to death went. He crammed us all into this cell and closed the door. It was pitch black. Darkness. There were no windows and I immediately started to drip sweat. He told us how they screamed and fought for their lives. He showed us markings where men clawed into the wall with their fingernails, dying to be let out. Sixty men where put into that cell at one time. They were not fed or given water and they died slowly one by one. The dead bodies were never taken out until everyone in the room died. Oh my God. I can't imagine.

We proceeded to the Female Slave Dungeon and I couldn't help but to be saddened. If I had been born hundreds of years ago that could have been me. I could have been living in such conditions. I could have been led up to the Governor's bedroom to be raped and used. Speaking of the Governor, his living room had 9 huge windows. I had to count. Nine windows, for one man and the occasional female slave he decided to rape. The hundreds of slaves below him had only 1 window. Where is the justice? I wonder how he could live in a slave castle and go on about his life. Did he not hear their wailing below? Did he not hear their pain, their suffering, their strife? He had to have a heart of pure evil to hear that and continue to live his life and continue to trade slaves. The things people do for money. It's a shame.

Even with seeing all that, the most powerful part of the castle for me had to be the “Door of No Return.” This black wooden door that hundreds of thousands of slaves walked through and that was it. They were to never see their homeland again. Never to see their loved ones again. Never to see again anything that they had knew for their whole lives. Sigh. Yet, today. As mankind has put an end to such atrocities, it is now called the “Door of Return.” I was able to walk out the “Door of No Return” and walk back in through the “Door of Return.” That was powerful. Because of what my ancestors endured I am where I am today. I thank them for their strength. I thank all my ancestors who fought and shed blood and tears so that I wouldn't have to be a slave today. The most important lessons I learned from visiting the slave castle were to appreciate the life I am living today and to never hate. I am grateful I don't have to suffer like my ancestors did. I am grateful for the opportunity to see my loved ones. I am grateful for the opportunity to travel across oceans by choice and not by force. I am grateful for the life I am living because tommorow is not promised. I learned to never hate because hate is what causes human beings to do such injustices against one another. I learned that we have to keep our hearts pure and good and that God has created us all equally despite our insignificant physical differences. Hate turns people into living, breathing, walking devils here on Earth and I refuse to live a life full of hate. Why? Why did such a thing ever happen? How? Why? Everytime I think about it different feelings arise, different thoughts, but never any answers. :(

Well...The weekend was filled with a lot of powerful feelings and emotions and thankfully I didn't go visit the Elmina Slave Castle as well like we were planning to do. That of been just too much for my life. After Cape Coast Castle we went back to the hotel for dinner, a reflection session, and just sat by the pool listening to music for the rest of the night. The next day wasn't as emotionally draining. In fact it was uplifting and fun. On Sunday morning we boarded the bus for Kakum National Park which is a rainforest not too far from Cape Coast. The National Park had elephants, leopards, all types of snakes and birds, and other animals. We didn't get to see any animals though. We were in the part of the rainforest that has a lot of human visitors so the animals have moved away from there. Lol. On the way to Kakum, Alesha, Meghan, Danielle and I really needed some uplifting and some church-ah so we had a praise session. We turned on my iPhone, blasted some gospel, and sang along for the hour ride to the park. It was a beautiful thing-being in the middle of Ghana, on a bus, singing about Jesus and the greatness of our God. Amen. When reached the park and waited around for a bit before we had to hike up the mountain to do the Canopy Walk. That hike was only 15 minutes but it was no joke and all 50 of us were out of breath and sweating. Lol. The Canopy Walk was essentially these bridges built up in the air, in the midst of all the rainforest trees, made out of cables and rope. It was pretty stable and the tour guide told us “the only way you can die on the canopy walk is if you jump over the rope.” I wish I would jump on a bridge in the middle of the rainforest... hence I am still alive. There were seven bridges and the whole thing was just hilarious. Meghan, Danielle, and Alesha were scared for their lives: screaming, panting, freaking out and I was just laughing at them the whole time. It turns out I am not afraid of heights lol. I actually felt pretty safe up there and was able to take a lot of pictures. We had to sing gospel songs to get them through it without freaking out. The song that seemed to calm them the most was “For Every Mountain” by Kurt Carr. By the grace of God we made it through. Amen! I would definitely do the Canopy Walk again.

Ok so on Monday I went back to the orphanage and we taught the kids “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” and continued to teach them how to write the alphabet. I became very frustrated just because I feel like I am babysitting, getting very little accomplished, and not learning all that I am supposed to be learning. I really am not getting the experience I was expecting to get out of the orphanage. I am going to have to think of a new game plan. I wanted to learn the ins and outs of the orphanage from adoption policies, to administrative work, to grant proposals writing, etc. but I am really just babysitting preschoolers. I feel more like a volunteer and not an intern. I am going to have to speak with the directors of the orphanage about my internship responsibilities, what they expect from me, and what I expect from this internship. That should help my situation a bit. I'll update on how that all goes. Nonetheless, I am still working on getting a fundraiser started and I am researching different ways to teach preschoolers so that I can really help the children. I think a lot of my frustration comes from the fact that I have no experience teaching preschoolers and therefore feel like I am not making a difference. i AM GOING TO LEARN HOW TO TEACH PRESCHOOLERS!!

On Tuesday and Wednesday I was feeling very weak, having fever, chills, headaches, and bodyaches. Symptoms of Malaria! On Thursday I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Malaria. The doctor at the hospital said that the anti-malarial medicine I am taking is not an adequate drug and that I am the fourth American student to come in the hospital who has taken that drug and who has gotten Malaria. Excellent, just excellent. I guess I need to find a new Malaria drug. SMH. This is the same drug that was making me vomit and have chest pains and come to find out it doesn't even work! Shaking my head!! I am feeling a lot better now though. I am taking 4 different medicines so I better be feeling better. There is no cause for alarm.

I finally have internet access in my room! I have to pay for it but hey, it's better than nothing! I think this blog is long enough so I'll update later with more exciting details from my life in Ghana! Lol.

Love you all,
Tamika Nicole

Bumper to Bumper

Ohhh I am terrible for taking so long to blog again. So much has gone on in these past three weeks.

So I left off saying I was going to Aphrodisiac Night Club. It was crazy fun and it was Dance Hall night- that was the first time I went to a club that played absolutely NO Hip-Hop. Good thing I'm from NYC so I knew most of the raggae/dance hall songs. The club security tried not to let Alesha in because she was wearing flip flops which they called “slippers.” Anywho they lectured her then let her in. That's something they do here-lecture you if you're doing something wrong and then let you do it anyways lol. Aphrodisiac was so fun that we went back the next week and wound up not getting home until 5am. Good thing I don't have class on Friday.

On Monday morning I went to my internship at Save Them Young Mission Inc. for the first time. It is kind of far from campus and it takes about 1 hour and a half to get to. I have to take two tro tros and a shared taxi. It's not that difficult of a journey though and the kids are worth it. I was told I would be working with the pre-schoolers who are a handful. There are about 45 kids in the orphange and about 20 of them are 4 years old or younger. When I arrived on Monday with Alicia (not Spelman Alesha) we stood around for about 10 minutes until they showed us to the preschool classroom and said “they are ready.” Who is ready? And for what? They wanted us to go in there and teach preschoolers. Hmmm. I have no experience teaching preschoolers. Where do I even start? Better yet where was there real teacher? However, there we were. The kids staring at us, us staring at the kids and we had to do something. Theo, who works in the orphanage's office helped us by telling us their names and that we should teach them through songs. Their teacher, who had to step out for a few hours, had taught them “Rain, rain, go away. ” Cool. So we teach through songs. Duh. So next we tried the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” with the hand movements and stuff. Overall, it was a failure. Some kids got it other kids didn't. There were just too many ages in one room- from 2 year olds to 6 year olds. Some spoke English, some only spoke Twi. After about one hour of us being on our own the teacher came back and we helped her teach the kids how to write the letter A. That was better. I helped about 5 kids successfully write the letter A. That felt really good. Next time... the letter B! The rest of the morning was spent coloring and trying to convince the kids not to climb on their desks/chairs lol. They really were a handful and they hit each other a lot. But you can't help but to fall in love with each of them. They are sooooo precious. We left during their nap time which was about 2pm because the director didn't want us to get stuck in rush hour traffic. Before I left I talked to Theo about how long the children stay, adoption, where they got the kids from and what the orphanage needs. We sat there and wrote out a list of things they absolutely needed which was lengthy. Some of the kids don't have shoes, there aren't any dining tables, they run out of basics like toothpaste and soap, they need sheets and towels, and they could always use more food and school supplies. I am going to run a fundraiser for the orphanage immediately which is why I am working on finding a way to have a permanent internet connection in my room. I can't wait to go back to the orphange next Monday to learn more and help more. What those children don't know is that as I am teaching them how to write A's they are teaching me so much more about myself, about Ghana, and about the difference one person can make. I was supposed to go today but I lost my cell phone (well I thought I did, a friend had it- Thank God) and was freaking out. Since I got lost going there last Monday I didn't want to risk it again without having a cell phone to call someone to come and get me. I was not trying to get lost in the middle of nowhere alone. And because I didn't have my cell phone with Alicia's number I couldn't call her and tell her I wanted to meet her so we could go to the orphange together. I learned a valuable lesson today-I need to write all my numbers down in an address book so that I will never feel completely helpless if I lose my cell phone. MESS.

Besides going to the orphange on Monday the week was filled with a lot of fun. I went out every day that week. Monday I went to Vienna City Entertainment Complex which was a huge place with a lounge, club, bar, and tons of pool tables. We played pool for a few hours. Tuesday we went to Mama Lit Special Restaurant in Medina and then went to Verbs to play some more pool. Wednesday night we braved raggae night again and since we went with Edem and his friends it was much better because we used them to keep all the other guys away lol. Thursday is when we went back to Aphrodisiac for a second time like I mentioned earlier. On Saturday afternoon we had an Akwaaba Dinner thrown by the IPO office with delcious Ghanian food and Ghanian drumming and dancing. The drummers and dancers were really impressive so of course I took tons of pictures and even recorded some. Later that night we went to Mirage night club in Osu for Claire's birthday. Good thing it was free for ladies because I did not have a very good time. They were playing some funky techno hip-hop and I just couldn't get down with that lol. However, I was told by one guy at the club “I've got beat.” He better recognize. Lol.

The next weekend was also pretty eventful. On Saturday we were supposed to have a planned CIEE trip to Aburi Botanical Gardens, the first Cocoa Farm in Ghana, and a wood carving village. Our bus didn't show up. Oh Ghana. So instead of going on Saturday we just went on Sunday and we had a good time. Instead on Saturday Edem, Fofo, Alesha, and I went to Ghana's Old Skuul Reunion at the Trade Center which was a huge event where all Ghanains who went to school in the Greater Accra region and beyond came to reunite. There were tons and tons of Ghanians, a stage with live performances, men in the streets chanting their school songs, men dressed like women(umm?), and tons of vendors everywhere. I was kind of amazed to see that many Black people and I couldn't help but think about the fact that if such a large event with that many people of color happened in the US many White people would have been so afraid and the police would have been EVERYWHERE. Don't get mad. I'm just saying the truth. Anways, they also had a club section with a DJ from a local hip hop radio station so we went and danced for a bit. They even had a Michael Jackson dance contest on stage. It was pretty hilarious to watch. Some people were really good and others just looked ridculous. I was proud of Michael though- being shown love all the way in GH. After leaving the Reunion we went to take a nap and then went to Pool Bar which was another club/restaurant/pool place. I was told they played a lot of Hip-Hop so I was kind of excited to go. Lies. It was mostly Ghanian Hip Life music with some OLD Hip-Hop mixed in. I still had a good time though. Ghanian Hip Life music is really really good and I'm always jamming out to it. I already have a list of about 10 “favorite” songs. My favorite of them all is “World Trade Center.” It's hilarious. They are essentially saying the girl's booty is as big as the World Trade Center. That's a BIG booty! Lol. Other favorites of mine are “Bumper to Bumper,” “Simple,” “I Think I Like Her,” and “Ringtone.” I probably got half of those titles wrong but those songs are really fly. Youtube them or something if you get a chance.

On Sunday, the bus did show up so we got to go on our long awaited trip. At the Botanical Gardens I got to stand inside a tree, taste cinammon from the bark of a tree, smell a peppermint leaf, stand in an old war helicoptor (random), and touch a plant that shrinks when you touch it. It was cool. At the Cocoa Farm we got to learn the history of Cocoa in Ghana which is the country's leading export. As the Ghanians say “Ghana is Cocoa and Cocoa is Ghana.” We also got to crack open a cocoa and eat the seed which was really sweet and delicious. Then we got to taste a dried cocoa seed and the inside tasted like dark chocolate. It was bitter but still good and just seeing the whole process of how cococa is grown, picked, and processed was cool. We even got to see the “go to hell stick” that cocoa farmers use to cut cocoa down from trees with. Interesting name for a stick huh? The wood carving village was my favorite part of the trip. It really wasn't a village though it was more like a strip with a whole bunch of wood carving shops. They had some really beautiful things and I forgot we were going so I didn't bring enough money. I only had like 15 cedi on me. However, I was able to buy this wooden map of Africa (for myself) and something else for my mother. I'm not going to say what it is because I want all my gifts to kind of be somewhat of a surprise lol.

This past week was very chill. No pool, no beaches, no clubs. Just hanging out with friends and I spent a lot of time making my room look a a home. I rearranged my furniture, put up picutres and posters, set up my desk, etc. I figured I'm going to be here for a while so I might as well make my room look like something. On Thursday we had our first Twi test which I think I did very well on. I studied hard so it paid off. On Friday I went to Osu to try and get a portable internet modem from the Zain(a phone company here in Ghana) store. Meghan has one and she can use the internet whenever, wherever. So I went to buy mine and it was just a complete failure. The people at the Zain store couldn't figure out why it wasn't working. It wasn't my computer or the modem I bought but something with the network. After being there for like 5 hours I walked out without my internet modem. I got my money back but I was still upset because I had my hopes up and I had wasted my whole day there for no reason. Ugghhh. I'm going to go back and try again someday, I still need to calm myself down about the whole situation though lol. Friday night we went to this house party thrown by NYU students who are also studying abroad here in Ghana. The house was BALLER and the party was actually outside in the BALLER backyard. There was a DJ, food, tons of drinks, and Hip-Hop! They played “Turn My Swag On” and “Get Me Bodied” and we went crazy. There also was this random performance by a Ghanain acrobratic troupe. They were AMAZING and all I could say was “WOWWWWW!” I mean they were doing all types of stunts and back-flips and stuff on concrete with no shoes on. I got to give them their props for that. I had a really good time. Saturday night we went to Neighborhood which was another pool/bar place. It was really snazzy and I had a good time. We even got to see the Brazil vs. Argentina World Cup Qualifying match on the big screen.

Speaking of Football (soccer to Americans) I went to the Ghana vs. Sudan FIFA World Cup qualifying match yesterday. It was sooooo exciting! We had VIP seats so we saw everything up close and personal. Alesha, Meghan, Danielle, and I were decked out in our Ghana gear. We had on Jerseys, wrist bands, head bands, bracelets, necklaces, and I even had a huge flag. We were pumped! Ghana won, 2-0!!! The crowd went crazy every time the Black Stars scored a goal. Sudan didn't stand a chance. The whole stadium did the Wave like 5 times and it was just the coolest thing. The funniest thing about the match yesterday was what I ate. They weren't selling “game food” like hotdogs and nachos instead they were selling real food like jolof rice, fried rice, and chicken. Lol. It was good! Another great thing about sporting events here is that the prices of things are not ridiculously high. Our VIP tickets were only 10 cedi, our Ghana trinkets were 1 cedi or less, the chicken and rice was 3 cedi, and the popcorn was 50 peswas. I just love going places, having a good time, and not getting ripped off. The US could learn a few things from Ghana. The game was a once in a lifetime experience and I am so happy I was able to go. I am having an amazing time here in Ghana and I know it is only going to get better... I love and miss you all, thanks for keeping me in your prayers.

Love,

Tamika Nicole