Well today is the last day of our five day midterm break. Yesterday we got back from a three day vacation to the nearby town of Cape Coast. Sarah and I hopped on a bus very early Friday morning and arrived in Cape Coast about three hours later. We were met by our guide for the weekend, Seth, a local college student that Auntie knew.
For the whole first day we had a driver that drove us around to many popular places around the area. We started at Kakum National Forest, which is a large rainforest near Cape Coast. After a short, extremely hot hike, we reached a chain of seven bridges that extend high up in the canopy of the forest. The view was breathtaking, and it was definitely an adrenaline rush being that high up on just a shaky old wooden bridge. After the rainforest we made a quick stop at Wesley Girls School, which is Auntie's old high school. It is one of the best secondary schools in Ghana and Auntie is very proud of it. Seth then took us to Cape Coast University where he is a student. I was surprised how much it resembled a college you would find in America, since the primary and secondary schools all look so different.
By far the most moving part of our trip was visiting the two castles located in Cape Coast, Elmina castle and Cape Coast Castle. Both castles were several hundred years old, and are most known for their role in the slave trade. Although there are other places in West Africa that exported slaves, a vast majority passed through one of the two located in Cape Coast. Our tours brought us down into the actual dungeons where slaves were kept, and I can't even begin to explain what it felt like to be down there. I almost had to excuse myself from the tour because the thought of living down there for four months with no light, minimal food, and no bathrooms, all while literally being stacked on top of others was very sickening. In 2009 the Obama family actually visited Cape Coast Castle during a visit to Ghana. Our guide talked about how Michelle broke down during their visit because she had ancestors who passed through the castle. It was extremely emotional for even me to be there, I can't imagine having personal ties to someone who lived it.
Both nights we were in Cape Coast Seth brought us to two great restaurants right on the ocean. Since the area is a hot spot for tourists, it was kinda funny not being the only white people around. For the first time in two weeks not all eyes were on us as we were in public. We did realize though that once we walked beyond to waterfront, to the real heart of the city, we were once again the only white people. It really showed us that even though we often feel like tourists, and everyone looks at us as one, we are seeing and experiencing things that most visitors would never know existed.
Tomorrow we head back to a four day week of school. I'm hoping that after five days off I didn't loose all the progress I made learning everyone's names! Next update I'll focus more on my experience in my two classrooms and what each day is like- I'm still amazed by the differences even two weeks in!
Until next time,
J.
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