So, I'm in Africa.
Wow. I am totally in Ghana right now at an internet cafe. The past few days have already flown by and I can't believe I have about 20 more, but I'm sure they'll zoom by as well. There's so much to say and approximately 26 minutes to say it.
Well, the trip was absolutely ridiculous. Fortunately, everything went perfectly smoothly, however at the end I've never been more exhausted in my whole life. Although I stayed up with Brendan the night before so I could get sleep on the plane, I definitely only slept about 4 hours during the 11 hour flight from JKF to Accra. So, if my calculations are correct, that means that by the time I actually got to lay down last night, I had been awake for 6 out of 72 fucking hours. I totally forgot how uncomfortable planes are and how excitement steals away your sleepiness. The flight was cramped but fine, and I though, "Wow, Brendan gets to fly a flight about as long soon... but to an extremely different destination." How badass is that. Anyways, I could see the entire coast of West Africa as we flew in and it was breathtaking. When we landed, I was beside myself knowing that I was on African soil.
I also was struck by a heavy blanket of hot humidity. After the long task of dragging all of our bags off of the carousel (one poor girl still doesn't have her baggage) and going through customs, we finally started on our tour bus to go to the hotel. First let me say that the people I'm with are all pretty awesome, which made me feel a lot better about that part of the trip. We're all pretty compassionate and enthusiastic about the same things, which I would assume with this type of trip. My roommate is fucking awesome and I'm so so so glad I'm rooming with her. After we came here and got some things in order, exchanged our money, and ate lunch, we took a short tour of the capital, Accra. Although some areas are obviously developing, I have never seen such poverty or poor conditions. I literally felt like I was going through one of those commercials where they ask you to give money to children. People were living half naked in thatched huts, running up to our bus to sell petty items to support their family. I juts kept thinking that the things I find "necessary" in my daily life are things they never dreamed of-- not out of ignorance, but just because of lifestyle difference and location. It was incredible to me how even though we were completely different, people were constantly smiling at me and waving through the glass window of the bus. I felt like a complete outsider because of the color of my skin, yet they practically welcomed our gawking at their lives.
After the tour, a group of us went and sat by the pool and had beers while we journaled. See why I like these people? We had dinner, and then back to our rooms where, at 8:30, I passed out and slept for the next 11 hours. It was wonderful.
Today we've gone on more detailed tours of the city and eaten a lot more Ghanian food. As a vegetarian, I'll be eating rice and fried plaintain for pretty much every meal, but I am definitely okay with that. Today when we went to a museum we had to pee in a hole, and I've been wearing my hair completely natural, wavy, and adorned with my Buff. Everyone's jealous of it, and I intend to wear it all the time. I am also always covered in sunblock and Deet, which gives me a nice oily, shiny complexion.
For Brendan, who I sincerly hope is reading this, I am so glad that you're taking an interest in my journey because being here and realizing my experience and your future one makes me so excited for our next dynamic. Thank you and I love you so much.
I'll try to write again as soon as possible, but rarely are we in these kind of places. Tonight we're salsa dancing at the hotel. I have no idea why we're doing this in Ghana.
Well, the trip was absolutely ridiculous. Fortunately, everything went perfectly smoothly, however at the end I've never been more exhausted in my whole life. Although I stayed up with Brendan the night before so I could get sleep on the plane, I definitely only slept about 4 hours during the 11 hour flight from JKF to Accra. So, if my calculations are correct, that means that by the time I actually got to lay down last night, I had been awake for 6 out of 72 fucking hours. I totally forgot how uncomfortable planes are and how excitement steals away your sleepiness. The flight was cramped but fine, and I though, "Wow, Brendan gets to fly a flight about as long soon... but to an extremely different destination." How badass is that. Anyways, I could see the entire coast of West Africa as we flew in and it was breathtaking. When we landed, I was beside myself knowing that I was on African soil.
I also was struck by a heavy blanket of hot humidity. After the long task of dragging all of our bags off of the carousel (one poor girl still doesn't have her baggage) and going through customs, we finally started on our tour bus to go to the hotel. First let me say that the people I'm with are all pretty awesome, which made me feel a lot better about that part of the trip. We're all pretty compassionate and enthusiastic about the same things, which I would assume with this type of trip. My roommate is fucking awesome and I'm so so so glad I'm rooming with her. After we came here and got some things in order, exchanged our money, and ate lunch, we took a short tour of the capital, Accra. Although some areas are obviously developing, I have never seen such poverty or poor conditions. I literally felt like I was going through one of those commercials where they ask you to give money to children. People were living half naked in thatched huts, running up to our bus to sell petty items to support their family. I juts kept thinking that the things I find "necessary" in my daily life are things they never dreamed of-- not out of ignorance, but just because of lifestyle difference and location. It was incredible to me how even though we were completely different, people were constantly smiling at me and waving through the glass window of the bus. I felt like a complete outsider because of the color of my skin, yet they practically welcomed our gawking at their lives.
After the tour, a group of us went and sat by the pool and had beers while we journaled. See why I like these people? We had dinner, and then back to our rooms where, at 8:30, I passed out and slept for the next 11 hours. It was wonderful.
Today we've gone on more detailed tours of the city and eaten a lot more Ghanian food. As a vegetarian, I'll be eating rice and fried plaintain for pretty much every meal, but I am definitely okay with that. Today when we went to a museum we had to pee in a hole, and I've been wearing my hair completely natural, wavy, and adorned with my Buff. Everyone's jealous of it, and I intend to wear it all the time. I am also always covered in sunblock and Deet, which gives me a nice oily, shiny complexion.
For Brendan, who I sincerly hope is reading this, I am so glad that you're taking an interest in my journey because being here and realizing my experience and your future one makes me so excited for our next dynamic. Thank you and I love you so much.
I'll try to write again as soon as possible, but rarely are we in these kind of places. Tonight we're salsa dancing at the hotel. I have no idea why we're doing this in Ghana.