Orientation Week Comes To An End

This past week has truly been an amazing experience. I have met some of the greatest people within our ISEP/MAP group, as well as others staying in the International Student Hostel (ISH). But the people who have really made this journey so transitional and memorable are the ISEP coordinators and our Ghanaian guides. They’re always watchin over and taking care of us and have become very close with all of them, love them like my own brothers and sisters, Awushi, Shadrach, Obed, and Afiba

So, this whole week we’ve been taken well care of. We’ve been shuttled around Accra, seeing all kinds of markets, discount stores, museums, the beach, and more. Driving and getting around in Accra is definitely different from what I’m use to back home. The streets are SO busy, bumper to bumper most of the time with cars, trucks, taxis and tro-tros cruising down the streets just trying to get to where they are going. It’s not uncommon to hear lots of honking and beeping, and pedestrians don’t have the right away most of the time. Riding in a tro-tro was a new experience, trying to fit as many people as you can into a van, ignoring personal space and sometimes body odor. And it wasn’t a slow process either. The van drives up shouting where the tro-tro is going and if it’s where you’re heading, you get on as fast as you can to ensure a spot, otherwise you’ll be waiting for the next one to come by.

La Body Beach was beautiful!! I love beaches and walking in the ocean. It was a perfect day to go, and everyone had a blast, taking photos, watching people perform acrobatic stunts, drumming, and swimming. My personal favorite moment was right before we left, there was some Hip-life music playing (a combination of high-life music and hip-hop) and a few of us decided to go dance. And soon everyone was out dancing around this young boy busting a move and groovin to the music, showing us how to dance. And let me tell you this little kid could dance!

Speaking of music, the music here is amazing! There’s hip-life, high life, reggae, Nigerian, and much more. Every time I hear the music playing, I find myself moving. Whether I’m bobbing my head, swayin back and forth, tapping my foot, or full out dancing, I just can’t contain myself. There’s just something about it that makes you want to get up and dance, it’s so lively and upbeat. Some of our guides even gave a few of us some their music that they listen to. Needless to say, they are now on my ipod. J

The most recent trip we’ve taken with our ISEP group was to Cape Coast. It was amazing. The experience of touring the Cape Coast Castle, originally said to have been built for the trade in timber and gold, but later was used in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. I'd have to say that the tour was very eye-opening and educational. But, it’s hard to put into words the emotions and experience of walking through the very same dungeons that thousands of slaves once crammed into, waiting to be shipped off.  We may learn about slave trades in school, but until you actually see what it was like for them it’s a totally different matter. 

Continuing on, after our tour we headed to our Botel (like a hotel) but it was on the water, which had crocodiles!! It was a really fun night filled with birthday cake for a group member, singing and dancing, and swimming in the pool (not in the water w/ the crocs) The following day we went to Kakum National Park where we walked on 7 canopy rope bridges! It was really fun and I'm glad I'm not scared of heights, which is more than some people could say. And it happen to be raining the whole time we were there, hiking up to the canopy walk bridges, walking across the bridges, and walking back down to the start. To some contrary, the rain actually made it more enjoyable and memorable. Yes, we were all quite soggy when we were done but thats just all part of the experience isn't it?