with adventure and finally-school.
The
teachers finally ended the strike with no time to spare. I really did think
that the semester was going to be cancelled but luckily the professors are
back! I’ve gone to all my classes and they are much different than classes in
the United States. My first class is an African Traditional Dance class and I
LOVE it. I’m an awful dancer but the class is nicknamed “Obroni Dance Class”
which means “Foreigner Dance Class” and it is totally true. I think about 60%
of the international students are in this class. I have never laughed so much
in a class and I love it. Often Ghanaian
students will stop by and watched and they are constantly giggling at our
skills. Good stuff. Some of my other classes include Victimology, Gender
Issues, SGP (Society, Gov’t and Politics) and Service Learning. All of them are
great except my Gender Issues Class. I think some of the facts that we learn in
America about varies topics (gender verse sex and those topics in general) are
basically not existent in Ghana. There is one other international student in
the class and we both were in surprised about the statements the professor made
in class. It will be interesting to step back and learn things that are
opposite of what I have learned in the States. 
Last
weekend, we went to watch Ghana play Zamia in the World Cup Qualifier. It was
such an awesome, scary, funny, crazy, and exciting experience. We boarded a bus
to get to Kumasi at 7 in the morning, thinking the game started at 12. We got
to Kumasi at 12 and then found out the game started at 4. So we just hung out
as people slowly started get to the stadium. These people have Ghanaian pride!
We finally got our tickets and made our way into the stadium. had a big
group so we went in groups of ten. As soon as we got into the stadium, my
friend Emily and I were walking around to find something to drink and we saw
facepaint. Immediately, we knew that we needed our face painted. We lost the
rest of our group right away and they took our tickets at the door so we had no
idea where to go. We ended up paying about $1 to get our face completely
painted. It was awesome. As it was being painted, many people were walking by
taking pictures of us. Once we were done, we made a guess to where we were
supposed to go.
As soon as
we were actually in the stadium, people were SO excited to see that two
international people were showing Ghana pride. No joke, people were screaming,
yelling, taking pictures from far away, grabbing us, taking pictures with us as
we walked away, whole sections would stand up and scream for us. It was
hilarious. We just walked by the crowds screaming and dancing. I felt like such
a celebrity. I think it is the same feeling Justin Bieber gets when he walks down the Red
Carpet with girls screaming, taking pictures, grabbing him, trying to take
pictures of him ect. I wish I could explain it better but it was so funny. 
We
eventually found part of our group- they kinda stood out. The whole stadium was
PACKED. There weren’t assigned seats and people were sitting everywhere. Once
the game started- nobody stopped screaming until the end. It was so much fun.
There were times where I would be sitting and people would tell me to stand up
and cheer. SO MUCH FUN. Ghana beat Zambia 2-1 and THEY ARE GOING TO THE WORLD
CUP! We got home at 2 in the morning because of the traffic and we had to be at
the bus to go to Cape Coast at 7 with our group. I think it was safe to say
that we were all a little bit tired.
Cape Coast
was pretty awesome! Our first stop when we got there was the Cape Coast Slave
Castle. This is the biggest slave trade port in West Africa and it was built by
Europeans to collect Africans and send them across the Atlantic. Ove 25 million
slaves left Africa and once they left, their name was taken away, their dignity,
their freedom, they left their family, friends culture and their life. I stood in the male dungeon where 1,000
slaves were held. The dungeon was small, dark and filthy. It was the size of
about 3 small bedrooms and the only light they saw was through a little window.
I was in this dungeon for a couple minutes and I was hot and sweaty. I can’t
even imagine what it would be like with 1,000 other men in The most
emotional part of the tour was going into a cell. If a slave misbehaved, he was
forced into a cell behind three large doors. Behind the doors, there was no
windows and no ventilation. The man was not fed or given any water. He would be
sentenced for a week in the cell but he would never survive over 3 days. There
would often be another inmate in the cell and because of no light they were
unable to see each other but once one of the died, the other would just have to
wait till he died too. It was torture. The castle was extremely eye opening and
emotional. I learned so much- more than I ever learned in school which is
another story but it was a great experience.
After the
castle, we went to a festival they were having in Cape Coast. We somehow got in
the middle of the parade. People were cheering and clapping for us and I danced
with this elderly woman to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas. Once we
realized that we were in the parade, we got out to actually watch. Chiefs from
villages around came through the parade. They were being carried and many of
them had people fanning them or holding an umbrella. They were all dressed in
beautiful African attire. It was super fun to see because everybody was so
energetic. Men were holding HUGE drums on their head and the music was awesome.
As we were walking back, it got a little chaotic- you really couldn’t walk
without getting bumped, grabbed, or pushed around.
After a
little hike, we got to walk on canopies in the middle of the African
Rainforest. It was so awesome! We were super high in the air and on super
sketchy looking bridges. They would creak and wiggle with every step. I decided
it would be fun to rock the bridge, I guess not everybody was as thrilled as I
was about this. J
The view was amazing. There were 7 different bridges and I felt like a monkey
the whole time! After the canopies, we made our way home.
I’ve been
volunteering in the orphanage and it really has been a joy. The kids are so
great and they are always excited when anybody gives them attention. I’ve even
learned some of the
traditional African Games from them. I’m excited to teach
my friends when I get home. I’ve been working with one boy a lot- he is blind
and has pretty severe mental disabilities. He is unable to talk, communicate
and do much by himself but I’ve been working with him a lot. This week, we
worked on the difference between a fork and a spoon. And I think he is slowly
making progress. It is awesome!!!!!!!!! Next week, we will work on the
differences between pants and shirts.
This
adventure is life changing. Feel free to write me, skype me, email me and say
hi!
Much Love,
Janae
Here is a little video of a play we saw a couple weeks ago:
