Let me tell you about Ghana…
Even though it’s the same walk every time, walking down the Gangway from the ship to land never gets old. Each time it’s like surfacing into a whole new world. Because each time, it IS a whole new world that is as exciting, if not more, than the last. Ghana was the second of three places in Africa that we have the pleasure of visiting, yet it was the first that actually felt like the Africa that one would picture. To me, Morocco felt more like a middle-eastern country than an African country. Not only did the people look more middle-eastern – maybe because of the large Muslim population – but the clay houses, the arid climate, and the interactions they had among each other were not as carefree and lighthearted as the Ghanaians. The people of Ghana blew my mind as to how friendly and welcoming they were, especially knowing that we as Americans are descendents of the very same people that enslaved them a couple centuries ago. At the other end of the spectrum, maybe they are so responsive to us is because Americans and Ghanaians were both dependent on the British and now are Independent countries. Further yet, maybe their friendliness is simply due to the visible differences in the people. I learned quickly that the more different you look to them, the more interested they are in you.
Walking down the Gangway - as is the same with every port - there was a long walk along the port to any imminent civilization. Our first order of business was to find an ATM. It took us awhile to find banks that worked for everyone, but once everyone had enough Cedi’s (Ghana Currency) we continued walking to a large market off in the distance. Along the way people would unconditionally welcome us and shake our hands. There is a cool handshake that seemed universal in Ghana that I need to bring home and show everyone. Many of the women would walk with large bowls balanced on their heads and at first we would try and give them a lot of space to walk past us but we soon realized that they are professionals at balancing things on their head and as courteous as it may seem, we did not need to give them that extra space (us tall people sometimes had to duck though because the straw – or whatever it may be – would stick out three feet on both sides of the bowl). Upon entering this open-aired market, the smell of dried fish and meat mixed with waste filled our nostrils. It was a tight squeeze to walk through the marketplace and the passing children would touch our pant legs. As we looked down they would simply smile and wave happily. Live giant snails and crabs would catch our attention but we could not stop and gaze at anything for too long because the people behind us had to get through. It was a constant current of passer byers and balanced bowls of produce.
The second day I had a trip that I registered for through SAS. Brian signed up for this same trip, called the Cape Coast Historical Tour. We were fortunate enough to meet many new people on this trip, where in the end there was a group of ten or so we could all call our close friends. The trip consisted of a visit to the Kakum National Park - where we entered the rainforest and took part in a canopy walk, an overnight stay at the Coconut Grove Hotel located on the beach, and visits to two different Castles on the Cape Coast where the British, Dutch, and Portuguese held Ghanaian slaves. The castles where incredibly eerie and gloomy, yet they made you proud of these people seeing what they once had to endure and what they’ve come through. It would be exceptionally easy for Ghanaians to hold a grudge against the people of their past, yet they continued to be the most kind, warm-hearted, worry-free people I may have ever met. It was a very sobering and refreshing trip. The canopy walk was very cool. It rained the second we got off the bus and stopped the second we got back on. I guess they don’t call it a rainforest for nothing. And it wasn’t just drizzling, it was pouring. The rickety bridges we walked across were mostly made of rope and one plank of wood below our feet. Below the planks was a 140 ft. drop to the top of the canopy. With our raingear on and hoods over our heads, we each took hesitant turns to grab the ropes and walk across the 7+ bridges that were there. The night at the hotel, we had a nice buffet dinner consisting of bread, rice, and chicken and sauces that was very delicious. As the sun set behind the palm trees and beach, a group of Ghanaians started pounding on some drums. As the amount of drummers increased, three acrobatic dancers came out in grass skirts and started dancing before us. They were small yet incredibly strong. One of them even started playing with fire and eating balls of fire. Some of the things they were doing seemed straight out of Cirque Du Soleil. After the show, we walked to the beach where there was a giant bonfire. We all had a few drinks at the bar and brought our beers to the beach, sat in front of the fire and talked about life while watching the moonlit waves crash up against the shallow rock beds that littered the beach.
I wish I had more time to write about every little detail, because these experiences I just tried to explain only begin to scratch the surface. If people have specific questions about anything, please feel free to email me at trvanderboegh@semsteratsea.net I would love to hear from you.
You will hear again from me after South Africa. Some students are skydiving and going on a shark dive, whereas I’m only going on a 3 day African Safari, poor me. I love you all and stay classy!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Adventures in Africa Part 1: Morocco
As part of our three stops in Africa, Morocco was the first and I had an amazing experience being part of and observing a culture that is vastly different from the life that I am accustomed to in the U.S. Our port was in Casablanca and there was about a half an hour walk to just get out of the port and into a busing street. A half an hour walk might not seem very long but in 100+ degree weather you become drenched in sweat the first couple of minutes. Directly getting off the ship you get a taste of the culture as there are taxi’s waiting outside to rip you off. Unless you want to pay a $10 dollar, 2 minute taxi ride, walking is your best bet. Once we got to the main street off the port there were a bunch more taxi drivers haggling you to get into their taxi’s. They would follow you down the street (for even a mile) as you walk away, asking if you would like a taxi ride. The phrase “no, thank you” does not mean anything to the locals in Morocco. Walking towards the Hassan Mosque II with the taxi drivers finally in the rear view mirror, we were able to soak up our surroundings while dodging traffic and also dodge some glaring eyes. The Hassan Mosque is the second largest mosque in the world (Mecca, being the largest) and the pictures that we took simply do not do it justice. Since we were not Muslim, we were not able to go inside but I got a peak of the interior and it was simply beautiful. I was even told it had a retractable roof (just like Safeco!). That night a group of us had dinner at the infamous Rick’s Café. We each had some Rosé wine to go along with our small-portioned meals. The movie “Casablanca” was playing on various TV’s throughout the restaurant and live piano music straight out of the movie.
The morning after, I met up with my friend Brian and his friend Emilio – who both go to Stanford – and the plan was to meet up with their friend from Stanford named Zeneb (Z for short) who is Moroccan had a house in Marrakesh. We met at the train station in Marrakesh where Z told us that in Morocco, time is relative; which we realized after our train was over an hour late. The hospitality that Z and her parents showed us was sobering. Z’s father, Abdel, is the main importer/exporter of Hyundai’s in Africa and also does many jobs on the side such as working in the fishing industry. Needless to say, his income was way beyond the vast majority of all of Morocco. We arrived to this house (it was actually their guest house) that was situated on a golf course, accompanied with a large yard and swimming pool. For every meal, their “maid” prepared us feasts that at the end of the our 3-day stay, I think I put on a few lbs because I wanted to be “polite” and try everything that was placed in front of me. Lets just say that this maid knew her way around a kitchen. Before going to bed, Adbel would ask us what time we thought we were going to get up in order to have the food out on the table in the morning when we walked down the cement spiral staircase leading to their main living room. After a late night in Marrakesh and early morning breakfast, Abdel arranged a driver to pick us up to take the three of us to the Atlas Mountains, which is the largest mountain range in all of Africa (Contrary to popular belief, Kilimanjaro is not a mountain but a volcano). After a three hour car ride up a snake-like road with mere inches between our car, passing cars, and the rock wall beside our car, we arrived at a small Berber Village. Our guide, also named Abdel, was half man-half goat. During the tough parts of the hike where we had to watch our footing, after a few steps and a couple of feet further we would look up and see Abdel way in the distance as we heard his Arabic singing faintly drift away with the gentle breeze that ever-so-slightly cooled us off. After about 2-3 hours of hiking we came across another village where Abdel said he had a surprise for us. We watched Abdel walk into a small, clay hut. We where hesitant to follow. The owner of the house greeted us as he gestured to have a seat in a room on the side, which was adorned with small sleeping mats and a few pillows (we found out later that this was the room where the whole family slept). He came in with a table and some Moroccan tea (very sweet mint tea) and two bowls of assorted nuts that we could tell were straight from the village. As I just started to enjoy the nuts, he took the bowls away and came back with a large loaf of bread, 2 plates of egg, and 3 bowls of dipping sauce – a Moroccan sauce, honey, and oil. As we were eating, Abdel made small talk with the owner of the house, while Brian, Emilio, and I looked at each other with thoughts of “-is this okay to eat? –man, this is delicious, -I can’t believe were having lunch in a Berber village, etc.” His children would peak through the doorway and laugh and run away as we made eye contact with them. As I was sitting in that small, padded room with a fresh cup of tea in my hand while watching the children peer into the room and run away giggling, I thought to myself that this sure was an experience of a lifetime.
The next day we spent most of our time in the markets, attempting to barter with the shopkeepers to get the lowest possible price for something that we will never have to chance to purchase again. Even if I had no intention of buying something, I would let the shopkeepers who all say “looking is free, come into my shop” grab my attention and practice my bartering skills. Something that started out at 500 Dirhams (Moroccan currency), I would try to get to 100-200 Dirhams. Often times you can get what you want because if you think it’s a bad deal and walk away, they will immediately give in and drop the price a ridiculous amount. I wonder how many people buy those things at asking price. And who really knows how much the things they sell are really worth?
I could go on and on about the cultural differences, the greediness of the poor, the hospitality of the rich, the dodging of traffic (which has a culture of its own), the Muslim religion and Call to Prayer, the disparity between men and women, but that’s for another time. I do have a lot of reading to catch up on, a paper to write, and tests to study for. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you all and wonder how you are all doing. I can’t wait to see everybody and give you hugs of worldly comfort. Much love and I will write again soon after Ghana which is sure to be yet another eye-opening experience. Love you All!
The morning after, I met up with my friend Brian and his friend Emilio – who both go to Stanford – and the plan was to meet up with their friend from Stanford named Zeneb (Z for short) who is Moroccan had a house in Marrakesh. We met at the train station in Marrakesh where Z told us that in Morocco, time is relative; which we realized after our train was over an hour late. The hospitality that Z and her parents showed us was sobering. Z’s father, Abdel, is the main importer/exporter of Hyundai’s in Africa and also does many jobs on the side such as working in the fishing industry. Needless to say, his income was way beyond the vast majority of all of Morocco. We arrived to this house (it was actually their guest house) that was situated on a golf course, accompanied with a large yard and swimming pool. For every meal, their “maid” prepared us feasts that at the end of the our 3-day stay, I think I put on a few lbs because I wanted to be “polite” and try everything that was placed in front of me. Lets just say that this maid knew her way around a kitchen. Before going to bed, Adbel would ask us what time we thought we were going to get up in order to have the food out on the table in the morning when we walked down the cement spiral staircase leading to their main living room. After a late night in Marrakesh and early morning breakfast, Abdel arranged a driver to pick us up to take the three of us to the Atlas Mountains, which is the largest mountain range in all of Africa (Contrary to popular belief, Kilimanjaro is not a mountain but a volcano). After a three hour car ride up a snake-like road with mere inches between our car, passing cars, and the rock wall beside our car, we arrived at a small Berber Village. Our guide, also named Abdel, was half man-half goat. During the tough parts of the hike where we had to watch our footing, after a few steps and a couple of feet further we would look up and see Abdel way in the distance as we heard his Arabic singing faintly drift away with the gentle breeze that ever-so-slightly cooled us off. After about 2-3 hours of hiking we came across another village where Abdel said he had a surprise for us. We watched Abdel walk into a small, clay hut. We where hesitant to follow. The owner of the house greeted us as he gestured to have a seat in a room on the side, which was adorned with small sleeping mats and a few pillows (we found out later that this was the room where the whole family slept). He came in with a table and some Moroccan tea (very sweet mint tea) and two bowls of assorted nuts that we could tell were straight from the village. As I just started to enjoy the nuts, he took the bowls away and came back with a large loaf of bread, 2 plates of egg, and 3 bowls of dipping sauce – a Moroccan sauce, honey, and oil. As we were eating, Abdel made small talk with the owner of the house, while Brian, Emilio, and I looked at each other with thoughts of “-is this okay to eat? –man, this is delicious, -I can’t believe were having lunch in a Berber village, etc.” His children would peak through the doorway and laugh and run away as we made eye contact with them. As I was sitting in that small, padded room with a fresh cup of tea in my hand while watching the children peer into the room and run away giggling, I thought to myself that this sure was an experience of a lifetime.
The next day we spent most of our time in the markets, attempting to barter with the shopkeepers to get the lowest possible price for something that we will never have to chance to purchase again. Even if I had no intention of buying something, I would let the shopkeepers who all say “looking is free, come into my shop” grab my attention and practice my bartering skills. Something that started out at 500 Dirhams (Moroccan currency), I would try to get to 100-200 Dirhams. Often times you can get what you want because if you think it’s a bad deal and walk away, they will immediately give in and drop the price a ridiculous amount. I wonder how many people buy those things at asking price. And who really knows how much the things they sell are really worth?
I could go on and on about the cultural differences, the greediness of the poor, the hospitality of the rich, the dodging of traffic (which has a culture of its own), the Muslim religion and Call to Prayer, the disparity between men and women, but that’s for another time. I do have a lot of reading to catch up on, a paper to write, and tests to study for. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about you all and wonder how you are all doing. I can’t wait to see everybody and give you hugs of worldly comfort. Much love and I will write again soon after Ghana which is sure to be yet another eye-opening experience. Love you All!
First Stop: Spain
Greetings from the MV Explorer!!
Hello Family,
It has been about two weeks since I departed from Halifax, Canada and I can honestly say that the last two weeks have been some of the most exciting times of my life (and we've only been to one port so far out of twelve!). I have met so many amazing people and am continuing to make new friends everyday. We boarded the ship and immediately each and every one of us were placed outside of our comfort zones, which led to many new acquaintances and a positive aura of anxiety, enthusiasm, and pure delight. As eager students and ambassadors we were keen to get the ship sailing - so to speak - and begin our journey.
The food on the ship is actually pretty good, I would say a small step up from the frat food that I'm used to. We get three meals a day and a snack of sorts from 10-10:30. I like to sit outside and eat near the stern where the wind gently hits your face, every once in a while you'll be greeted with a salty splash of mist from the Atlantic. I usually sit with a group of friends where we put 3-4 tables together and eat like the small family we are, and an open family at that.
Class on the ship has not been too demanding, yet we have only had a little over a week of class as somewhat of an introductory stage. My teachers, as you can imagine, all have impressive resumes in their respective fields and when I do make it class.. (just kidding mom and dad-I make it to class everyday) their education and history of teaching becomes apparent. As different as one subject can be from another, a similarity of globalization, cultural awareness, and a raw sense of togetherness is a common theme that is palpable on the ship.
Our first port was in Cadiz, Spain, where we landed five days ago (in port, any immediate school work is put on hold yet brainstorming and thinking about various cultural aspects is encouraged as we will have to present and write papers about these things to be prepared for later dates). I traveled to Sevilla with a guy named Sam and two girls named Becca and Mckenzie (all parts of the "family") where there we met some more people there and traveled as a large group the rest of the way. When we arrived in Cadiz, we bought train tickets to Sevilla where we stayed 2 nights in a rather cozy hostel located really close to a Spanish Catedral (cathedral) that was just beautiful. With this being our first stop, naturally we celebrated and drank sangria (among other drinks), took "Siestas" (naps) as the Spanish do from around 4-5, ate a small meal after the siesta and had dinner at around 10 or 11. From Sevilla we took a bullet train to Madrid- the capital of Spain- where we stayed another 2 nights in a hostel. Well, it was really just one night. Because the second night we had to catch a train at 6 am the next morning and we just decided to stay up all night and spend most of our time in a bar/club with about 70 other travelers and locals : )
We just got back on the ship today from Espana, and as much as I will miss it (I love europe), we will be arriving in Casablanca, Morocco tomorrow evening. Safe to say I'm not too heartbroken about leaving Spain : ) A childhood friend of mine who happens to be here as well, Brian Tolken, had plans in Morocco to be shown around by a local -for safety reasons and for the experience- and invited me to join him as he will show us around Marakesh, hike the Atlas Mountains, and experience a local village. These are just some of the things that I have the pleasure to look forward to in my very near future and share with a boat load of intelligent, yet wild and crazy, co-ambassadors : )
I hope that everyone at home is staying wonderful and that your lives are as rich as mine is right now. I love you all so much and you will be hearing from me again in another week or so. As Desmond Tutu said on our first day on the ship, you are all "aaaawesoooomme!"
Hello Family,
It has been about two weeks since I departed from Halifax, Canada and I can honestly say that the last two weeks have been some of the most exciting times of my life (and we've only been to one port so far out of twelve!). I have met so many amazing people and am continuing to make new friends everyday. We boarded the ship and immediately each and every one of us were placed outside of our comfort zones, which led to many new acquaintances and a positive aura of anxiety, enthusiasm, and pure delight. As eager students and ambassadors we were keen to get the ship sailing - so to speak - and begin our journey.
The food on the ship is actually pretty good, I would say a small step up from the frat food that I'm used to. We get three meals a day and a snack of sorts from 10-10:30. I like to sit outside and eat near the stern where the wind gently hits your face, every once in a while you'll be greeted with a salty splash of mist from the Atlantic. I usually sit with a group of friends where we put 3-4 tables together and eat like the small family we are, and an open family at that.
Class on the ship has not been too demanding, yet we have only had a little over a week of class as somewhat of an introductory stage. My teachers, as you can imagine, all have impressive resumes in their respective fields and when I do make it class.. (just kidding mom and dad-I make it to class everyday) their education and history of teaching becomes apparent. As different as one subject can be from another, a similarity of globalization, cultural awareness, and a raw sense of togetherness is a common theme that is palpable on the ship.
Our first port was in Cadiz, Spain, where we landed five days ago (in port, any immediate school work is put on hold yet brainstorming and thinking about various cultural aspects is encouraged as we will have to present and write papers about these things to be prepared for later dates). I traveled to Sevilla with a guy named Sam and two girls named Becca and Mckenzie (all parts of the "family") where there we met some more people there and traveled as a large group the rest of the way. When we arrived in Cadiz, we bought train tickets to Sevilla where we stayed 2 nights in a rather cozy hostel located really close to a Spanish Catedral (cathedral) that was just beautiful. With this being our first stop, naturally we celebrated and drank sangria (among other drinks), took "Siestas" (naps) as the Spanish do from around 4-5, ate a small meal after the siesta and had dinner at around 10 or 11. From Sevilla we took a bullet train to Madrid- the capital of Spain- where we stayed another 2 nights in a hostel. Well, it was really just one night. Because the second night we had to catch a train at 6 am the next morning and we just decided to stay up all night and spend most of our time in a bar/club with about 70 other travelers and locals : )
We just got back on the ship today from Espana, and as much as I will miss it (I love europe), we will be arriving in Casablanca, Morocco tomorrow evening. Safe to say I'm not too heartbroken about leaving Spain : ) A childhood friend of mine who happens to be here as well, Brian Tolken, had plans in Morocco to be shown around by a local -for safety reasons and for the experience- and invited me to join him as he will show us around Marakesh, hike the Atlas Mountains, and experience a local village. These are just some of the things that I have the pleasure to look forward to in my very near future and share with a boat load of intelligent, yet wild and crazy, co-ambassadors : )
I hope that everyone at home is staying wonderful and that your lives are as rich as mine is right now. I love you all so much and you will be hearing from me again in another week or so. As Desmond Tutu said on our first day on the ship, you are all "aaaawesoooomme!"
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