Update: I am now an emerald shellback. The day before we arrived in Ghana, our ship crossed the prime meridian and the equator at the same time, putting us at 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude, also known as the middle of the world. This might me a maritime secret that I shouldn’t be divulging, but there is a buoy in the middle of the ocean right at that point. Captain Kostas blew the horn and we circled around the buoy!
Julianne and I went arrived in Ghana blindly- no solid plans and questionable phone service. Im actually not sure how everything worked out the way it did, but we ended up with actual VIP service and the best local experience.
Juj’s pharmacist at home is from Ghana and connected us with her family friend in Takoradi. She said they had stuff planned and not to worry. The morning we got to port we had no clue what was going on, so we hopped on the shuttle and figured once we got to the port gate we would get in a cab and go somewhere. Her phone started working and Mr. Manful (the family friend we were supposed to be in touch with) texted saying “give anyone around the port my name, they’ll find me.” Clue number 1, when anyone tells you that, they must have made it big. Mr. Manful turned out to be the head of immigration. After just a short introduction, he left us sitting in his office for an hour. When he came back he introduced us to Daley and Frances and sent us off.
The first day we stopped at a few beaches and got accustomed to Ghanaian culture. We tried fufu, a common lunch dish of soup and meat that you eat with your right hand. I’m pretty sure there was goat in it with its skin still on. After a good first day, they drove us back to the ship. Because they were immigration officers who had cleared our ship that morning, they were able to drive us all the way up to the gangway. Door to door service. Daley picked us up later that night and took us to a local sports bar but naturally we ended up at a funny bar with al the SAS kids.
One key take away from Africa is that time functions very differently. The next morning they told us they’d pick us up at 10 and we didn’t leave the ship until 1045. Anways, we drove 3 hours to a national park with a 200 meter long canopy walk. With a humidity of probably 100% we were all dripping but the views were so cool. After that we had another local lunch and Juj and I started to get the hang of the right hand eating thing.
The next day was Easter so we assumed that we’d be on our own as they all alluded at having plans, so we said goodbye and thanked them for everything. 2 hours after getting back on the ship Daley texted saying to be ready for “poolside” the next day, so our plans were back on. On Easter Sunday, they brought us to a nice outdoor pool where we sat and watched Daley attempt to learn how to swim. I really appreciated the chance to spend relaxed time with locals and hear about their lives. We said goodbye for real that night, as the ship was traveling overnight to Tema.
Major side note: I befriend the medical swing on board who complimented my Michigan hat because he went to med school there. Fast forward to the NCAA championships and Larry got one of the IT guys to stream the game live for us in Kaisersaal. Since the game was at 1 am Ghana time, I slept from 10 to 1 and Zoe and I got up to watch the game from 1-330 am.
The last day in Ghana I had a field class for my Global Health class.
This whole day was an experience. Our professor is from Iceland and the cutest little person. She was so excited about our agenda for the day and kept running the plans by us. We started at the Tema General Hospital. I have so much to say about this and it was such a learning experience. That afternoon, we went to the University of Ghana for a lecture from a Public Health professor.
Our last long stretch on the ship is between Ghana and Morocco. They’re starting to prep us to re-enter the real world. In typical Semester at Sea fashion, they moved up the crew talent show because were nearing a storm and they needed all hands on deck.
Wish me luck. Apparently there are 20 foot swells coming our way. xx
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