Gap year

We thought we would leave it a little late to head out to Gambaga, to give us a bit of a rest. The first junction at Wale Wale was easy enough to get to but when we got on to the next tro tro which had wooden blocks for tickets we began to realise that things wernt going to be that easy. Once the tickets were issued there was still like a massive three hour wait in the boiling hot sun. Then out of no where the wind picks up and red dust is blowing everywhere. All the people start scrambling about and the tro tro fills up in about five min utes. Then it starts to like torenchal downpour. And the tro tro we are in is hardly waterproof. All the people on the sides (including me) get like soaked from water run of from the roof and then a couple o f seats ahead the window smashes and the poor lady only has this flimsy bit of bamboo sheet to stop the rain coming in. Meanwhile this random german woman that we picked up is sitting in the middle of the tro tro with her umbrella up. Then the woman next to me lends me some material to cover my legs. The generosity that the people have over here never stops to amaze me. I tried to refuse of course but she wouldnt let me. THen after 3 hours on this terrible dirt road we finally reach gambaga. Which is by the way like a whitches camp. The woman who have been accused of witchery or outcasted from there family bassically end up here. It kind of creates a little bit of a moral dilema because like is this a jail or a sanctury. But the woman here are safe and they were so happy to get visitors. IT was just kind of funny having all those bad omans as we were travelling over. We had to visit the chief and like take our shoes of and lower our heads, it was all very cool.

On monday we head of to Paga and I sat on a crocodile, no kidding!! The people of paga view the crocodile as a sacred animal because it helped a chief escape across the river from some enemys way back. Then they fed the croc a live chicken. It was so exciting. Then we visited the slave camp, which was quite different as it was run by african people. The slaves bought in where told that they were going to America to learn a new trade. We got to see the dinning area with the bowls carved out of the stone where the slaves were served there food. There was also the entertainment area which had this large cleared space for dancing and a rock that was hollow in areas creating an interesting noise when struck. Some people came and even played us a traditional song while we danced around where the slaves once stood. Then we saw the action block where people would be traded for guns, tabacco and alchool. And finally punishment rock where the slaves that tried to escape were tied with there head facing the sun. Then we travelled out to Paga Pias palace which was like a big gated community but in a traditional sence. The enterance had a low celing so that the guards could hide behind the wall and thwack any of the slave raiders on the heads as they bent down to enter the palace. We also the "court house" where the accused were made to drink some water and if they were guilty the people would die in the next three days. The coolest thing about the palace was the way that the next chief was chosen. You see the chief got to have ten wives which meant that there was about 50 boys competing for the spot as chief when one died. So each of the sons was allocated a baby chicken. These chickens were then taken by the elders to a random hill and tied down. After three days the one warrior chicken that remained as it had not eaten by the hawks was the one whose owner got to be the chief. The chief to be would then spend the next three months in a room that is entered from the roof as there is no windows or doors while he fights of his demonds. Then an animal that only the chief knows is picked to be sacraficed. And then he becoimes chief.

On tuesday we travel back down into Tamale in order to get the bus into the famous mole national park. But when we get there, there is only standing tickets left. We are told that the station master is at home having a sleep and so we buy the tickets of this other guy. So the bus comes and we all pile on, not bothing to pay to store our bags because we already have the crappy standing seats. All of a sudden this guy starts yelling at us saying that we are on the wrong bus and we starty yelling back that no this is the right bus. And soon this massive crod gathers and everyone is yelling and scraming at each other it was quite fun, but a little bit scary. In the end we just get of the bus and wait for the next one. But it was a pretty tough day. In the evening though we slept on the roof of a traditional hut under the stars.

Nicole and I walked down to the waterhole on wednesday morning to watch all the women fill there buckets. It was really quite a social time for the ladies and balancing that water on thier heads takes alot of skill. The woman would either carry the big bucket on there head fill it up three quaters and then have a smaller bucket to fill it up the whole way. Or one big bucket that a friend would help them lift onto her head. It would be hard work though. We even saw a crocodile in the water hole they were using. Then we had a look round the larabanga mosque which is like the oldest mosque south of the Sahar. Tradition has it that is was founded by a travelling black Arab who threw a spear and where it landed was the site of the mosque. It was like a white building with sticks coming out at right angles. There was four enterences, three with lowered archways so you were forced to bow your head as you entered the mosque as a sign of respect. The forth enterance which was for the chief had like a normal doorway though. The other three was for men, woman and the guy that does the call to prayer all seperate. The guide we had then talked about how the government had taken all the hunting/farm land from the people round here to use as national park with out compensation. In ghana it is a 12 year jail sentance if you are caught poaching an elephant. Then a short cab ride saw us at the national park. The lodge that we were staying at looked over the valley and pretty much the whole national park. And while we were sitting there enjoying the view slash doing our washing this massive elephant walks pretty much right up to where we are staying. So we all run over and check out this beautiful massive thing and realise that the poor fella only has one tusk. We find out later that this usually means that it was lost in battle and these elephants are much more likely to attack. Then we did a game walk in the afternoon and found out that we probably shouldnt have gone so close to the elephant before. ANd saw some more live animal, i think they were like cob and bush buck. Then by the village that the rangers lived we saw all these animals on the rubish dump, like wart hogs and baboons. Its kind of a little bit sad, but i supposew these animals are scavengers. Then in the evening we went night swimming, i seriously forgotten how fun it was.

On thursday morning we took another game walk with the most random people. They were like large german goths. Yeah saw some more game and then we just hung out by the pool for the rest of the day. And we chatted about the bad grammer that the Ghanian people have that we are all sort of picking up on. Have you seen the disthing? (word fusion) It is how much? My stomach is paining me. I should do what? In the evening we slept in the traditional huts again after an amazing feed of yam and stew (oh i want to eat some right now) while we chatted about religon and peoples jadded perseption.

We had to get up at 3am on friday to catch the 3.30am bus out of mole national park. Then we pretty much spent the entire day travelling till we got to Bimbilla in the evening.

On saturday we got up early and prepared ourselves for another travelling day. The tro tro that we were travelling on had goats on the roof. These poor animals were being thrown up there. But i supose if humans travel on the roof then its good enough for goats. On ther way to Hoe Hoe we get pulled over at the police barrier because the motorcycle that is on the roof is not secure enough (never mind about the goats which had moved from the back of the tro tro to the front). And this random farmer gave us this massive bunch of bananas, just to be kind. I mean the generocity here is just amazing. Then this dude behind me asked if I was a Rasta which kind of gives you an indication on how ferral my hair was/still is now. We took a little walk around Hoe Hoe in the afternoon and met the nicest pineapple lady called Joyce and this other really friendly lady called Olympia who had had some volenteers before.

On sunday we spend the whole morning searching for an internet cafe and even follow this like wicked series of signs like a treasure hunt and still manage to find none open. We then spend the day hiking up the highest mountain in Ghana which isnt very high, just under a km, but is pretty steep and the view, which was over Togo was pretty amazing. We took the trip down the mountain a little slowerand chatted to this american grade school teacher who was really kind of cool. When we got back to the hotel we find out that the other girls that were staying at the same place had been robbed so we quick smart changed hotels. It wasnt to bad, I mean it was our first major hick up which you have to expect and it didnt even really happen to us. In the afternoon Lanz and I went on a material shopping spree. And then we had Adams kebabs for dinner. Adams being a massive black street butcher dude who was always up for a laugh.

On monday we checked out the Wli waterfalls which were pretty stunning. To get there we crossed these two little rivers like a billion times but it was really pretty walking through the forest.The falls which were like the biggest in ghana slash maybe even west africa were pretty amazing. We all swam underneath them and the water was like heaps of pressure, really hard. Next to the falls were all these bats on the rock. It was kind of cool, and ever so noisy. We all climbed up the muddy bank to get a better look and slid down on our bums. Speaking of bums, Nicole and I stayed up all evening chatting at the STC bus station and we looked so much like bums that people were offering us a place to stay. Again the generocity here

Tuesday we spent exploring the caves. The toursit centre was this like abandon church in the tiny town. We first had to treck up the mountain first and we learnt a bit of history. In that about 20 of the Ghan/Gwan people fled to these caves and hid for about 100 years from the Ashantis. There was about 6 or 7 cave. With the first cave just being the conference/meeting cave which was just like a boring open cave. The second cave being the spying cave which was like an open cave up a ladder with like a little lookout hole. The sleeping clave which was like a full on enclosed cave that we haad to climb down a ladder to get into. It was really dark and full of bats but i wasnt scared. The chiefs cave was also enclosed and amazingly a couple of degrees colder than the temperature outside. The chief wopuld hide here in times of attack and it even had an escape route to the top of the mountain (which some mountaineering tourists had actually done). Then there was the punishment cave which was another closed cave that was just used as like a cell. And finally the watchtower cave which was huge and went through the mountain. Walking through it was dead set like the lord of the rings and you could clib up to this little window and view the whole valley bellow. Then we had this little swing on the massive swing. Then we trecked down to the waterfall and the guide let us pick some fresh cocca from the trees. It was a really pretty spot to have a late lunch. There was a bit of drama whne we got home as we found out that Nicole had lost her camera at the dodgy hotel and the hotel owner had pissed of to Togo. But we managed to forget about it till the morning and have a fondu party.

On wednesday we had a really nice bus trip back into Accra, right at the front of the bus, thanks to John whom we made friends with. But despite the awesome bus we still manage to break down on the way back to Accra, typical. But fortunatly we get a phone call to say that Nicoles camera maraculously has turned up with the owner of the hotel from togo. Then this dude on the bus starts chatting to me and im suddenly aware how ratty I am and how long it has been since ive had a decent shower.

On thursday we head into swedru so we have a proper chance to say goodbye to everyone. It was kind of wierd cause Lelia was on the bus out to swedru with us. You see Lelia had stayed with the Frimpongs as well so it was funny swapping stories. I gave a massive hug to Seth and Madam Jennifer who had been so great to me this whole time on the trip. It was kind of sad to say goodbye. Back in Accra the six of us had our last supper mean which was like a massive tub of icecream that we just devowered together. It was a little sureal packing for kenya.

On friday we took our bags to the airport to sent all our excess shit home which ended up taking most of the morning and emptying most of our wallets. But we had left it so late that we no longer had much of a choice. It was pretty stressful but we managed quite well in the end. Then all of a sudden I was on a plane to Kenya.

Okay for like the billionth time I am going to attempt to summarise my last few weeks in Ghana. So here goes, im not really sure where i was up to last time so if i repaeat myself I am very sorry.

On the saturday we catch a tro tro out to the stilt village have a slight amount of trouble with the change. As in they didnt have our change because some other tro tro driver had run off with it. Thank goodnes the manager of the hotel that we were staying at came and helped sort it out. We ended up getting like half of it back which was pretty lucky considering. Anyways in the afternoon we set out to see the stilt village which is like this wooden village on stilts in the middle of the river. Why they built there village on the river no one really knows its there now and the people live quite happily there. We all walked accross main street which is like a reinforced (for tourists) wooden pathway running right through the centre of the village. It was quite cute just passing through with all the kids out playing in there little dugout canoes. Coming into the village as well was pretty eventful as well with the guy who was meant to be paddling us out, topping up credit on his phone. Well let me tell you this guy wasnt the best at multitasking. While he is yelling these 8 digits into the phone we are bashing into all this shrubbery and trees. And to make matters worse the reception was terrible and it kept cutting out so he had to keep trying again and again.

On the sunday Nicole and I had a little explore of the Beyin Fort which didnt have any sort of tourist information desk or anything. So we just sort of pushed the massive gate and went it. It was pretty scary actually cause we wernt really sure if we were trespassing or not. Like most of the forts around ghana it had slave dungens which is pretty sad. Then we travelled along the East coast to green turtle lodge to sort of chill out for a couple of days. A couple of us walked up to the nearby village and before we knew we were singing and dancing with the young kids. Even some of the mothers joined in with us. In the evening we met some pommy people that were doing some sport volenteering and we stayed up late playing drinking games.

I don't know why, but for some reason we thought that the best way to kill our hang overs was to go on this fat hike along the beach one of the points of cape three points. Well the walk itself was really pretty but we were all kind of dyng by the end. We had a big chat about what happened in Ruwunda (excuse the spelling) which I actually didnt know very much about at all before the trip. Then we sort of just chilled by the beach again in the afternoon and we walked up again to see the kids in the village in the evening. They were pretty clever, in that this little cheeky one would kiss your hand and simultaniously check your pocket for change.

A bit of a chocolate drama in the morning. In that we had bought all this chocolate on our tabs and it had somehow doubled in price in the morning. But we managed to sort it out (bloody inflation). We spent most of today travelling and this is where i deceded to have the guineuss idea of saving 50 cents and not storing my bag. The only drawback being i had to sit like a cripple for pretty much the entire trip. So when the police pulled us over for like a vehical check i kindly asked the driver in front of the police man to store my bag away (hehehe im so clever).

In Kumasi we checked out what is the largest market in west africa and im sure that even though it took all morning we didnt even get like an eighth of the way through it all. It was pretty organised though for a market of its size. Like all the sections. Then we checked out the cultural centre where we got to see the traditional kente cloth being made. It was made on what looked like an open upright piano and used the string and mathamatical pattern to create the material. We also saw some people making clay and metal work and even some painters at work as well.

The next morning we head up to techiman and had a look at the monkey sanctuary they had up there. It was in this little village where the monkey was seen as a very sacred animal and treated on the same level as any human. Walking through the forest we saw a whole heap of black and white columbus monkeys just swinging and playing through the trees. Then we stopped at this tree that had been completely eaten alive from the inside out by a vine. It looked so cool and we all climbed up through where the trunk stood orginally up to the top. Then we checked out the monkey burial ground, thats right, the people from the village used to bury the monekys like humans they were seen as that sacred. As we got close to the village we saw more and more of the Mona monkeys which are alot more friendly of the two species. Infact the villagers have to be careful as the mokeys will come and steal food from them. When we got back to where we started the walk from we fould the cab driver waiting for us asleep in the drivers seat. So Lucy leans over and beeps the horn and he jumps up with the biggest fright of his life. It was halarious! The guy wasnt even mad.

On friday we had a look at another waterfall. It had three stages, the first two were not anything that special but the last stage was pretty amazing. We had to climb down all these stairs and it was like right in the middle of the rainforest. It was absolutly amazing. We all sat underneath the gushing water for some hella good photographs and slide down the rocks like a slipery dip. Then the 6 of us plus the bags hopped in this cab which must of been the size of a mini to get back into town. We then travelled up further north and found that the more northern we went the more mud huts there were. Another interesting observation was that the further noth we travelled the more likely we were to see an animal that wasnt a goat. Pretty amazing huh.

By saturday we were in Bolgatanga which is pretty much the biggest city of the northern area of ghana. We decide to push bike out to a little shrine that is meant to be about 10km away. Well it turns out to be 20km away and on this terrible dirt road. But despite the bumps the trip was rather pleasent, passing all the mud hut villages with the crop fields of millet (like corn). The shrine was at the top of this rocky area and as we were riding up the kids were popping out of everywhere like wild inidans in the old cow boy movies. The little tour that we did showed us the old school site which was like a cave. They also showed us the hidding caves where the men used to hide during the time of the slave raiders. So sacred were these hiding caves that the villagers where at first quite reluctant to let the tourists view them. Then we had a look at the hyena caves. Which was as legend had it, one of the hyenas killed a villagers goat and dragged it up to the caves. The villagers then followed the bloody trail with a whole lot of fire torches and chased the hyenas away. These caves were then used at a sacred meeting place for the elders. And finally we saw the shrine. This shrine being a little bit left of centre as as a sign of respect everyone had to take of there top layer of clothing. Well the shrine was just like a collection of rocks, but there was blood and faeces still there as they had just done a sacrafice that morning. The people would ask the shrine for something, like another child and then would kill a goat or a chicken in order to please the shrine. Then the people believed that there wish would be granted.

wow im like a month behind. This is getting too hard. Africa is amazing

is all.

After blogging my little heart heart on monday I decided to walk home and thus save the 35 cents on the cab ride. I ended up buying the milk for our Australian dish, which is in a tin because there is no fresh milk in ghana. Anyway I carried this tin on my head pretty much the whole way home and I was fair proud of myself. All the ghanaian people laughed at me though. And because it was wrapped up in a black bag so many people asked what it was. I stopped and chatted to a couple of different people on the way home. Including this one woman who was telling me that she was cassava and I was yam. I think it had something to do with the colour of our skin, i didnt really understand though. I end up getting caught in the rain in the way home and considering I was already a little bit sick I was a little ill that night. But on account of being ill, I felt cold and it was nice to feel cold again. I think it even helped me sleep.

Alana came home early and we cooked our Australian dish like we had promised since the first week I had been there. It was interesting to turn the situation around as now it was us standing over them telling them to eat eat. The damper didnt really turn out that well as the outside was like burnt aand the inside was still uncooked. But Alana and I loved it all the same. Mr Justice and Vida wernt that keen on it though as they refused to even try it. The kids had some and loved it which was real cool. The evening actually turned out pretty nice with all the kids just sitting outside eating damper. We ended up having an alfoil fight which was pretty fun. The kids didnt bother holding back, they were like little bullets. We were all running around screaming. I think it was one of the best nights I had with the family. The kids even took some of the damper into school for there friends to try. That was though after they had added some more sugar to the dough.

Wednesday was pretty gruelling at the school as I spent the whole day writing up questions for the end of year exam on science. In the afternoon the kids worked on this poem on pre marital sex and some of the stuff in there was pretty halarious. Like "when you are troubled, talk to an older person or parent rather than a member of the opposite sex" and "try to avoid being alone in romantic situations". Anyway madam gets the kids to read this poem about a gizzilion times, then asks them to memorise it. it was pretty ridiculous. In the afternoon I picked up my clothes from the shop and they were actually pretty alright. Then it was off to my final obruni meeting which was a little sad. We didnt end up all staying very long anyway as some of the girls had to drop some food that they had donated round to the orphanage. I ended up walking home just to chat to all my friends on the way. At home Vida actually asked me what I was giving her as a gift when I left. WHen i told her that I would give her a big hug Mr justice laughed and said that this was not a real gift. Then she starts telling me how I was the one who taught her how to run and this is why i should give her my running shoes.

Woah time closed in pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was thursday. I gave all my left over supplies and a couple of other things to the students and madam today. Alana was nice enough to come in in the morning and snap a few photos of the kids and I. I got all the kids to sing a couple of the songs that I had taught them to her which was real nice. Most of the afternoon the kids were reciting the pre marital sex poem which drove me a little insane. But it was nice to give the school a couple of things, they were so appreciative. In the evening Vida cooked us some jollof rice. So that it was both our first dinner and our last dinner with the family. I thought it bookended our time in swedru quite nicely. It got a little akward when she asked where the soccer ball i had bought was. When I told her i gave it to the kids at the orphanage cause they didnt have much she acted quite suprised. I added in that it made them very happy and she was like, but it made my son very happy as well. At this point I couldnt really think of anything to say. But then vida told me that it was okay and that I had taught her a lesson. As I eagerly looked at her waiting to hear what the lesson was she told me that she would buy her son a ball as it made him happy. Alana and I had a little giggle.

I woke up on friday and could hardly believe it. This was it, our last day. Everything was packed and ready to go. We ate our Tom brown for breakfast for he last time just like every other morning. When I got in though all the kids sang me a song it was really sweet. One of the kids even gave me a present. Wrapped up like a bon bon with two elastic bands fixing the wrapping paper in place was a bottle of orrange juice. It was nice but pretty bizzare. And this was from one of the naughty girls. At asembly I sang the ghanian national anthem extra loudly and marched with the kids into class. I gave the kids a little test on what I taught them and the cleverest ones got a pencil. After break madam gave me a dress and it was actually really nice. Like it would look better on me if i had an african booty but it still looked pretty cool. She then thanked me for the work that I had done and it made me feel really nice. Because you sort of feel that after two months you havnt really changed much. WHich is pretty true. But she thanked me and sounded pretty greatful all the same. The kids then sang for me again and i remember looking back at my classroom and madam jenifer waved at me from the door. It was a really nice moment. We bump into the kids on the way home and they all scream and run at us when they see our back packs. The other girls had found there goodbyes a little more emotional so we bought ourself some chocolate powder and ate away our sorrows as we headed of for our first leg of our three week travel.

We walked down on monday morning to grab a fried egg for breakfast for a mere 25 cents. As it is looked down upon for women to buy street food because them buying food is like them being unable to fend forthemselves. Anyway this leaves a huge excess in supply bringing the price down to next to nothing. Even the working women will rarely buy lunch, rather have themselves a massive breakfast to avoid buying street food. Then Alana and I wait for the bank to open so we can get her card back. The women at the desk then asks alana for her passport and we are like freaking out cause they are still in imigration and we dont have enough money to pay for the hotel we stayed in. But eventually she gives the card over when we like give the card number. Let me tell you walking out of that bank was such a relief. Then we took ourselves to the shops so we could get some groceries to vccook our host family an australian meal. (we dcieded on damper). Anyway on account of our lack of funds we decide to walk to the shops and then walk from the shops to the tro tro station. But the massive walk was pretty fun. When we get home we meet the grandmother named Ama Grace and she is like the coolest women ever.

On tuesday I taught the skelton using the bone song, you know the skull bones connected to the jaw bone and the whole experience was pretty fun untill the teacher started caning the kids when they sang the words wrong. Oh and a chicken flew into the classroom as well which was pretty funny as we all chased it around the room.

On wednesday we wake up at 4.30am to travel on a tro tro into mr juctices home town village to attend his the one week celebration of his fathers death. The little town that we travelled out to had quite obviously not seen a white person like ever by the way that they stared when we were walking through. The househat we stayed at had an open court yard in the middle and so the women sat here with us preparing some food (the dreaded banku). Whilst the men drank the traditional brew which was pretty close to metholated spirits. The one week celbration is not to be confused with the funeral itself which is held many months after the death. It is more of like a time of offering to the deceased. So by mid morning we were all sitting underneath a big shade cloth they had set up in the middle of the village. Most of the people had chairs to sit on but some had to used the stools and i would estimate about 150 people were there. Anyway right in the middle of the whole thing was a massive set of speakers that were blaring music at a volume most rock concerts would be proud of. Then they turned the music down and we all stood for the chiefs of the village to arrive in there black togas. Two of the chiefs opened the ceremony by pouring some alcholic shnaps on the ground. At this point a couple of the women began to howl and cry very loudly. Then the music was turned back up again and some people began to dance around in the centre near the speakers. Then the music was turned down and a number of families came and presented some drinks (mainly softdrink and some alchool) while others offered money. At this point Grandma grace spoke and even though she spoke it all in twi I could tell that she had spoken well by the way the people were silent and clapped after she spoke. Then the music was turned back up againand some people returned to the dance floor to continue to dance. Then the music was turned back down and everyone was offered a soft drink. Then one of the anouncer people said something in twi and everyone laughed and looked at Alana and I. He had told them that we were going to dance for them! So at this point we were pretty much forced into dancing infront of everyone while the majority of people laughed at us. Then the music was turned back down and a guy that im guessing from the way he looked was the deceased brother spoke. Then this women starts howling and throwing herself at him. And all this is in Twi so Alana and I have no idea what is going on. Then someone tells us that the brother is claiming the land and this other woman is wanting it. Then the chiefs left and again we stood as a sign of respect. The chiefs would debate the matter of who gets the land for about a month or so before deciding who the land goes to. Then the procedings moved back to the house and we all took some food. By this stage the men on the metho were getting a bit rediculous and so we asked if we could have a sleep. So alana and I in a perfectly socially acceptable way went into the bedroom cum living room and slept forabout an hour. Then when it was time to head of I carried some of the empty bottles in a container on my head back to the bottle shop. Awwwwwwwww yeah im so african. In the evening once we got back to swedru Alana and I travel back into kwansikrum to get ourselves some peanut brittle and this dude starts talking to Alana saying that he has seen her waiting to catch a tro tro in the morning it was pretty creepy.

On thursday i went for a run in the morning and these dudes were like obruni are you jogging? Obruni I like your joggings. Obruni I want to see your joggings. Man some of the dudes here are creepy. Which reminds me of a story that happened to my friend ashley. Ashley was like alergic to something and was coming up in this rash. So she went to the skin doctor in Swedru and was treated with a couple of shots in the bum. Anyway so ash gets her gear of and the male doctor gives her the shot and after its all finished and he is holding the cotton bud in place he asks for her number!!!

On friday I taught the Australian National anthem to the kids which was pretty cool. Then we spent the afternoon at Luce and Ashleys house just chilling out. It ended up getting pretty deep and we burnt some candles on the grass out the front. It was pretty nice to reflect on what had happened so far.

On saturday we visited Cape coast castle and Elmina castle. We took a guided tour around both and the conditions were pretty horredous. A massive amount of slaves passed through ghana it was something like 12 - 22 million. And the guides sort of presented the idea that the European people saw the Africans as stronger than they were and useful resourcfully so they took them as slaves. The saddest thing of all was that most of the slaves were not captured by the white people rather the black people themselves. As there was quite alot of iner tribal warfare at the time, the african people raided villages and sold family outcasts for weapons alchool and tabaco. The way the people were treated and forced to live were so terrible and it doesnt really make much sence because these people were sold for money. Like investments. The women were treated just as badly if not worse as many of them were also used for sex by the goveners and soldiers. Then both holdings had a door of no return which the slaves would exit before being but on the ships. At Cape coast castle they resently took two of the remains of the slaves bodys back through the door of no return making it become the door of return in this massive celebration. The conditions on the ships the slaves had were no better if not worse. They were packed on like books on a shelf. Of the people on the ships only about half of them made it.. The guide told us that women were giving birth chained to a dead person besides them. Then we took a look at the condemed cell were they would hold the slaves that had rebelled against being captive. They would place the people in here and not give them any food or water and somtimes they would not check the cells for dead bodies for days on end. The condemed cell at cape coast had three doors and was pitch black. It was real spooky to and i didnt really like it very much inside. There was not much difference between the two castles though. Cape coast castle was held by the British and Elmina was heald by first the Portrogese then the dutch and then the British. Both did contain signs though that man should never commit such cruelty onto its own kind ever again. The chiefs have also appologiesed for there role in the slave trade. It was a pretty moving day.

On the sunday we ended up going to the orphanage to get out of going to church. It was so nice just sitting there and playing with the kids and singing them songs. The kids are so happy despite there hardship. We then traveled over to Nicole and Rosies and checked out the school that they built which was pretty impressive. There family had thrown them a goodbye party because they were traveling with us next week and we sort of stumbled right into it which was pretty cool cause it meant lots of free yummy food.

Then on monday I rock up and start teaching and then the teacher comes in and says that the school is closing at 9.30 today because of a meeting i was just like yussssssss score. Which leaves me at the point I am at now. We plan to go traveling on friday so I am only having like a couple of days left with the host family and teaching at the school which is pretty scary. Its also a little sad because I really do like it here. But its okay cause our traveling is all planned out and it is going to be amazing. Miss you all