Ben Needs A Pen, Enterprise

Sunday, October 7, 2007

The trip to Cape Coast was fun! We ended up coming back a day early, though - it seemed we were all missing the comforts of “home,” and we also ran out of things to do. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip and nice to appreciate coming back to Ejura.

We stayed in Kumasi on Thurday night…at the Presbyterian Guest House. It was a nice and clean establishment….the only stressor was the albino lizard that visited me in the shower. I tried really hard not to scream. Luckily, he was just there to snatch a bug off the wall and then quickly skittered away.

Through much trial and error, we figured out that the bus left for Cape Coast at 7 a.m. on Friday. We were told to be at the bus station at 6:00. We arrived and bought our bus tickets…and then waited. African time dictated that the bus left instead at 8:30. I couldn’t complain too loudly, though, as the bus was super air-conditioned…and I think for the first time in over a month, I felt cold. It was about a four hour bus ride. We arrived in Cape Coast and headed straight to Sammo’s Guest House (a recommendation from my Ghana guide). For another three dollars each, we paid for three nights. Bargain city! From there, we walked to the Cape Coast Castle. What an experience.

The castle was built in 1653 and was occupied at different times by the Swedish, Dutch, and later British, who used the castle for housing slaves before shipping them across the Atlantic to Europe and North and South America. It was a very haunting experience; we walked through both the male and female dungeons, where up to 1000 men and 300 women were held for up to two or three months before they were loaded into the ships. It was a horrific thought…imagining the conditions faced in the dungeons, even before the five-week trip and eventual slavery that they endured. We also saw the “condemned cell,” where the people who tried to escape were sent to die. There were no air or light holes, and they were not fed, so they died of starvation and suffocation. The slaves were funneled through what was called, “The Door of No Return,” before they were loaded onto the ships. We walked out the door, and then back in again. A few years ago, there was a ceremony to name the opposite side, “The Door of Return.”

The castle itself was a beautiful building, built originally as part of the gold trade. There were governor’s quarters upstairs and even a church was built above the slave dungeons (ironic)? The setting, too, was breathtaking, with the castle perched on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. It is hard to imagine such tragic events unfolding there for hundreds of years. It has been well-preserved and there is a thorough museum, as well.

The stay at Sammo’s was interesting. It is dubbed as a “Backpacker’s Haven,” in my guidebook. We are used to simple dwellings, but this one lacked a bit in the fluff department. For example, the beds appeared fairly tidy and comfortable. However, they were not. I think the mattresses were approximately two inches thick, which quickly compressed to about a half inch when anyone lay down on top of it. Also, most beds here have a wooden frame with wood slats going across underneath the mattress. The slats on my bed were apparently mismatched pieces that had been found in the garbage pile. All of the slats seemed to be different heights, so with only a quarter inch of mattress between the mismatched slats and my backside, it left me with a knarly backache in the morning. Also, I believe that at some point in recent history, someone vomited on the pillow I was using. It smelled positively awful and it took me nearly half the night to realize there was another pillow on the bed, though to be honest, it didn’t smell a whole lot better. I spent most of the night lying on my back, sans pillow, wiggling to try to find an acceptable position for the slats.

There was a fan in the room, which was nice; however, it had five speeds. We turned it on to the first speed, and it nearly spun itself off it’s hanger on the ceiling. We didn’t even try speeds 2-5, for fear that we all might die.

The one good point of the room was that we had a nice balcony overlooking the street below. The bad thing was that the balcony door kept blowing open at night, so we all got about 50 mosquito bites. We are really hoping that we don’t all get malaria at the same time. (Poor Nathan will have his hands full trying to take care of us all)!

On Saturday, we tro-troed it up to Kakum National Park, which was about 45 minutes away. It’s a rainforest and they have a neat canopy walk that is 120 feet in the air, made of wood and rope. I chickened out, but Maaike and Katy went on it. I regret it now, and might have to make another trip back there this spring.

After visiting Kakum yesterday, we decided that we were ready to go back to Ejura and couldn’t do another night at Sammo’s. We’d sufficiently explored the city and were missing the comforts of the Namaskar House (comfy bed, clean pillows, mosquito nets, more adequate showers, a toilet that flushes regularly, and we also missed the boys). So…we got up early this morning and caught a bus to Kumasi and then a tro-tro home. It was nice to come home and I think people actually missed us. As we were walking home from the tro-tro station, lots of neighbors welcomed us back.

While we were in Cape Coast, we met a man who had three different shops in town that sold artwork, beads, purses, etc. He was really nice and invited us to meet up with him in a couple weeks in a town called Koforidua, where he will take us to the bead market and factory. There is also a waterfall nearby, so I think that will be our next excursion.

It was fun to be in the city - a different feel from the village, for sure. I definitely feel more appreciated in the village…there were lots of white people in Cape Coast, and we’re pretty much the only four white people in Ejura (I haven’t seen any others) so we’re somewhat unique. People are more friendly in Ejura, as well. But, the city had more of the “artistic” side of the culture, which was nice to see. I was happy to return to the village, though.

All of the businesses here (everything from food stands, beauty shops, book stores, etc.) have names. Some of the names refer to the owner’s name or say something in Twi, but a majority of the names are references to God or Jesus. For example, “Jesus Lives Beauty Supply,” or “God’s Grace Fashion Centre,” or “In His Name Electronic Shop.” It’s humorous, to say the least, but I enjoy the ones that are not references to the holy…I think they tend to be more creative. So…two that I saw over the weekend were: “Best Brain Communication Centre,” and “Ben Needs a Pen, Enterprise.” I don’t know what exactly Ben was selling, as I only saw the sign on the road, but I’m guessing office supplies.

Monday, October 8

Ah…the tree farmer is back. He popped back over to the house yesterday afternoon. The boys told me there was someone here to see me, but when I looked out my door, I didn’t recognize him. He was all dressed up (for church) and had gotten a haircut. He also brought a friend over. I stayed in my room for awhile, but finally figured out who it was so I went to talk to him. He invited me to go shopping. Shopping? I was a little confused. Where do we go? And what do we shop for? He said we could go to the market. I reluctantly agreed, but asked if Maaike and Katy could come along, too. We agreed to meet today after school at the house. I said hello to his friend and asked what his name was, and he replied, “Fine,” and threw his fist in the air. I don’t think he speaks much English…not sure why he came over. Maybe he was here to scope out the Namaskar ladies.

So, I had thought of every excuse not to go with the tree farmer to the market today. I was going to pretend I was sick, or hide in my room, but luckily Maaike asked us to accompany her to the doctor after school so she could have her smashed finger checked out. Perfect!!!

Well, I was teaching English Grammar and Composition to P6 at school today and the tree farmer showed up at the classroom door. I was so surprised. (I’m sure you can imagine the look on my face). Immediately, I said, “Oh, I can’t go shopping with you this afternoon.” No problem…he said he had to leave for Accra today and so he stopped by to tell me goodbye and bring me some gifts. Apparently he’d already been shopping. Two bags of gifts. To school. In one bag there were flowers and in the other bag there were: crackers, peanuts, three cans of Malt Guinness (non-alcoholic beer), a box of sugar cubes, and a roll of toilet paper. It was the oddest gift I have ever received. The flowers were nice, and what girl doesn’t enjoy receiving flowers at work, but really? I was so embarrassed and the whole class was teasing me. Luckily he didn’t stay long. I wish I was this appreciated by American men!

I have to find a way to tell him I don’t like him. He is not much of a talker; in fact, he barely talks at all when he visits. He can speak English, but I guess he's just quiet. It makes for a very awkward time. Plus, I don't find him attractive at all. The gifts are fun and it makes a good story…but I suppose I shouldn’t use him for entertainment purposes and material goods. Nathan said I should be worried if I receive a stool from him. Ashanti tradition requires a man to give a stool to the woman he intends to marry.

My schedule at school is getting better and better. I am now working with kids who need remediation in grades P5 and P6 for two hours in the morning. Monday is market day, so not many students were at school today. I worked with one P5 student for an hour and three P6 students for an hour. Then I taught Grammar and Composition to P6 and to P5. I felt productive for the first time! I like teaching Grammar and Composition, because I am teaching the students how to write a letter and I would like to have penpals at Nelsen. I’m going to take my film camera to school next week to take the kids’ pictures so we can send those along, as well.

As for Maaike’s finger, we all accompanied her to the hospital, where it went much quicker than our previous trip. Her finger is not infected, according to the Dr., but she got some antibiotics anyway. Hopefully it will heal quickly.

Wednesday, October 10

So my new room seems to have a few holes. Literally. The other night I was talking on the phone to my dad and it started raining. I was sitting on my bed, next to the window, and suddenly, I felt water on my head. The rain was blowing through the gaps in the wooden shutters. There aren’t glass panes, just screens on the inside and wooden shutters on the outside. I noticed water was also coming in the bottom of the window and running down the wall. Good thing the walls are made of cement.

Also, I find many more bugs in this room. I’m pretty sure there are cockroaches; although I’ve never truly seen a cockroach in the wild before. And crickets. The other night there was one in my room. Every time I would turn the light on to look for it - it would stop chirping. It drove me crazy. Then I started looking for it with the flashlight, like a stupid C.S.I. agent or something. I tried to sneak up on the cricket in the dark (or at least where I thought it was lurking), and then quickly turned on the flashlight. I still didn’t find it. Last night there were two crickets in my room. Harmonious. Thank goodness for earplugs. I often solicit the boys to get the bugs out of my room. Kwaku came the other night with a giant pole and removed a huge dragonfly. They laugh at me because I am afraid of bugs, but I keep calling them in to take them out. I think I’m doing fairly well, considering I don’t even freak out when there are huge spiders in the shower.

I found out yesterday that we don’t have school on Friday! Hooray!

I found a way to recycle the magazines that I have…instead of binders at school, the students have a small paper notebook for each subject (like a blue book in college). They like to cover them with pages from magazines so they are unique. I was a big hit today when I passed out the pages from People Magazine. They dug through to find the pictures of Bibinis (black people). I had to laugh when three kids were fighting over a page with O.J. Simpson on it.

A new volunteer is coming next Tuesday. His name is David and he’s from the U.S. He’s 27, I think, and according to Dada, he sounds like a total rockstar. Athletic and musically talented; he is apparently touring around Ghana for a bit before he settles in Ejura. We are all anxiously awaiting his arrival. I think the four of us have gotten really used to each other. It will be interesting to see how the fifth person mixes things up a bit.

Oh, and for those of you who are interested… I know this is in the category of “too much information,” but I finally had to shave my legs. I lasted a month, but the breaking point came when one day on the tro-tro, I could feel my leg hair blowing in the wind. Definitely not a good feeling.

My little friend Danquah Bernard came over yesterday to visit. I hadn’t seen him since he accompanied us to the hospital when we thought Nathan had malaria. He is in JSS3 at another school and has been so consumed with his studies, he hasn’t visited much. We were all glad to see him - and he brought me a gift; a nice bracelet. (Funny - I think 14-year-old Danquah gives better gifts than the tree farmer)! I asked him if his mother was angry at us for taking him with us to the hospital, but he said she wasn’t. She does want to meet me, though, so I look forward to that. I would like to visit their house. She is a teacher and Danquah’s father is a school administrator. I haven’t really visited many other houses here in Ejura, so hopefully next week I can go over there one day after school.

Thursday, October 11

Here I am, back in Kumasi at the internet cafe. Martins, the school's headmaster stopped by the house last night to inform us that there will be no school again until Tuesday, as Ramadan is ending. I thought we only had Friday off. I wish he would have told us earlier, though. We could have made more travel plans. So, we have a five-day weekend. Today we came into Kumasi because I had two packages waiting for me at the post office. Yippee!!! Thanks Mom and Dad, for all the items I requested! You are fabulous! And, Marcy, I got your package, as well. You have all been so generous!!!

Every week, I love coming to the internet cafe and reading your emails. I so appreciate everyone who has emailed me and kept me up-to-date on what's happening where you are. I feel like I'm not quite so far away.

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