I had been laying in, sweating and being eaten by the bugs for the last
6 hours, but hey that's life and that was meant to be a description
rather than a complaint) to take a shower. Though I didn't have a towel,
I was craving that shower and went for it. I had woken up extra early
knowing there was only one shower and more than 1 person probably wanted
it, so thankfully that paid off and I was able to at least clean myself
somewhat, though I felt gross again by time I got back to my room and
doubt the filtration of the water I used anyway, it was comforting
knowing that's one less day I'd have to go without one. We packed up our
things and went to breakfast and the hotel restaurant at 6. It was
perfect timing because we got to see the sunrise! Breakfast consisted of
bread or toasted bread, so I pulled out a protein bar. Awesome for us,
the hotel has a little moat that is home to an alligator who was quite
giddy that morning and was jumping around! So after breakfast we watched
the alligator for probably longer than most people would before handing
in our keys (actual keys, not this american electronic stuff. Oh! And I
forgot to write in day one - these keys were just in the door when we
got there the night before! No getting it handed to you when you check
in, nope, you just grab it then. Very different than what I am used to.
A lot more trusting, it seemed) getting on our bus to depart at 7:30.
Our first stop on day 2 was Kumasi, a major city '3' hours from Cape
Coast (I put 3 in quotations because American time and African time are
quite different and it turned out to be about 6). Upon arrival, we
walked to a restaurant in the Ghanaian cultural center. Here, the
restrooms were similar to an American port-a-potty and had no toilet
paper or sink (Purell became my best friend on this trip). Lunch was a
buffet line, and although the white rice and french fries both were
probably okay, I made the decision not to risk anything on this trip due
to the long bus rides and poor bathroom situation so I had more protein
bars. Because we were on African time, lunch took 2 hours and we didn't
have time to go shopping in the village like we had initially planned.
But Fred (he had joined us at dinner the night before! I forgot the
mention that) promised we'd stop on the way back to Tema. And so we
headed for Senase!
We were all really excited to finally get there, but it was a '4' hour
drive away. About an hour into our drive, we were stuck in traffic
surrounded by traffic-vendors. It was Valentine's Day and a lot of us
girls realllyyyyy wanted some Chocolate, so when we saw a woman come
around with it, we were on that. Fred actually brought the women on
board and we hoarded this stuff like no other. The chocolate itself
truthfully wasn't very good, but I'm pretty sure buying chocolate on a
bus is so damn awesome that it didn't matter.
2 hours later we stopped to go to the bathroom. This time, we just
stopped at some woman's house! I'm assuming Fred knew her, but still. As
we were waiting to use the toilet I kept looking around her home
wandering if Senase would look comparable. Now, I know that this woman
was not a poor woman like the people of Senase. Her home had 4 rooms. It
also had a shower and an actual toilet (that didn't flush). She also had
toilet paper and her own personal water well! And, after we went to the
bathroom, she gave us water from a bucket and some soap to wash our
hands. This women was not poor -as I would soon find out in Senase, but
she still lacked all of these amenities we so take for granted. It
became crazy to see that what I used to consider poverty is actually a
dream for some people.
After going to the bathroom, 4 of us and Fred walked next door to a
nursery. Here, we had our first example of the kindness of Ghanians.
When we walked in, the child-care ladies greeted us and started handing
us babies that we could hold! When in America could you possibly walk
into a nursery and just start holding babies? Would.Never.Happen. It was
such an amazing feeling to be so welcomed by this people. We had gone
over simply curious of what a nursery in Ghana would look like. We came
out half an hour later having played with the children and being upset
to have to leave so soon!
After getting back on the bus, we drove another 4 hours before we
stopped on a main street. Fred told us we were very close to Senase and
that this was the closet major city, so he wanted to stop off to get his
family some Valentine's Day chocolates (awww!). Because it had taken so
long to get there, Fred told us that our welcome ceremony from the
village elders would have to take place the following day because it was
too late at night. That was a little disappointing because I think it
would have been a really cool welcome, but we were still excited to
finish our decent to Senase.
Twenty minutes later we started to hear screams and yells. We look
around and we start seeing children EVERYWHERE, just swarming our bus.
They are yelling for us, happy to see us! What an amazing feeling. As
the bus drove down the dirt path, the children followed us on both sides
and in the back, so obviously excited for our arrivals. Despite how
tired most of us were from the long bus rides, we all found ourselves
suddenly awake. Excitement and adrenaline took over and all of a sudden
everyone whips out their cameras and starts snapping in every direction.
When we stopped, it was kind of like a secret race to get off the bus as
everyone was so antsy and excited. When it was finally my turn I was
greeted by at least 10 kids who were just all chanting "hello!" The sea
of children became so overwhelming that I couldn't even make it to the
pile of bags to get mine! Once I did, it took maybe 30 seconds for one
of the children to come over and try to carry it for me - and no matter
how many times I said no he insisted anyway! These people were so
incredibly nice from the first second it completely took my heart. As
much fun as we were having meeting our new friends, Fred kept yelling
for us to follow him to his house. It was about a 15 minute walk and all
the kids came with us. Most of them tried to find an empty hand of one
of us to hold on too for the walk too, so cute.
When we got to Fred's house his family had lined up 35 lawn chairs for
us to sit in for dinner. The dinner was fufu with a sauce. I believe
fufu itself is GF, but I didn't want to risk being sick for a few
reasons on this trip (1 -- didnt want to miss out on the 2 days I had by
being glutened, 2 -- didn't want to get sick when my sick spot would
have been a hole in the ground already full other peoples waste) and so
I walked around and chatted with kids pretending I had already eaten and
just decided to persevere until late that night when I'd be alone in a
room and could eat my rice chex.
Throughout and after dinner all the children just kept wanting to say hi
to us and sit with us and take pictures with us. The most astounding
thing to me wasn't the smell of the children (definitely not their
fault, but clearly not-as-clean as Western ideals), or the
attention-grabbing (I tried to start handing out silly bands, but
literally got BOMBARDED by children, to the point where the older kids
were pushing the younger ones to get 6 or 7 of them and I had to stop
giving them :() but the camera situation. You see, after we took a
picture all of the kids who had jumped in would ask us to see it. And
they all pointed to the camera and tried to figure out which one they
were! It's a thought that never even occurred to me -- but these kids
had absolutely no idea what they looked like. They do not have mirrors
nor anything close to a camera, and they (and most of the adults) have
gone their entire lives without a single idea of their appearance. It's
so crazy to think about because Americans are so involved with what they
look like that they carry mirrors around in their purses, yet these
people don't even know what their own smile looks like. On the MV, I
walk in my cabin and see a giant mirror lining my back wall (where
outdoor cabins would have a window). I turn to my desk to see another 3
sided mirror, and then I go into the bathroom to have another mirror.
Three mirrors in one room, these people will never have any. It really
makes me think of the luxuries we have and take for granted. What must
it be like to not know who you are in a photograph? It also makes me
re-think appearances. Some Americans spend hours in front of a mirror to
attract other well-groomed people. But in Ghana they don't have that
system of friendship. You may be able to see what others look like, but
if you can't compare perception of yourself on that level it becomes an
impossible idea to form relationships based on appearance. The idea of
attraction is different. It can't be based on appearance. You can't say
"you look good together." If someone tells you that you look like your
mother, that is the best assumption you have on the way you look. Seeing
yourself in a puddle might be the closest you will ever get.
After a few hours the children had to leave to go home because they had
school in the morning. This was to the students and children's great
dislike, but we had meeting our families tonight and going to the
schools in the morning to look forward to.
So after the children left we were taken in groups to our new "homes."
Dain and I were the very last group to be brought, and one of the
furthest houses in the village away from Fred's. When we arrived, our
Dad and his wife were sitting outside with one of their children. They
showed us our room, which was a room with a bed and a TV. I was
surprised about the TV, as I didn't think that type of technology
existed out there, but I noticed throughout my stay that people from
the surrounding houses too actually surrounded themselves around this
one tv - so I guessed it was a bit of a luxury. It did indeed turn out
to be a luxury, but it also wasn't unheard of. What I would learn is
that a lot of people purchase TVs over extra snack foods or home
repairs, because the TV gives them something to do and allows them to
socially connect with others.
Dain and I sat outside and tried to talk to have a conversation with our
new family. The other child came back at some point as did a few kids
from the area. I have no idea what my family said to us - and I'm sure
they had no idea what we said, but yet it was still the most powerful
conversation I have ever had. At first we were all out of our comfort
zone, where someone from both sides kept suggesting bed, but the father
and I kept saying no. At the end, I think everyone was glad we
persevered. There are no words that can describe what it is like to sit
there and talk for to someone for 3 hours without either side
understanding one another but trying their absolute hardest.
Closer to the end of the night a neighbor came over that spoke pretty
good English, and she sort of became the moderator of the conversation.
She was only 12, but her English was very, very impressive. Her name was
Bernice and she told Dain he was very attractive and that she wanted to
marry him and move to America. We took this as a joke and I actually got
up and let her sit next to him, but in our next few days as we got
proposed to time and time again we started to learn that these people
very much want to make it to America. But still, Bernice was very sweet
and a great translator for us. She was curious to know about America and
kept asking us to teach us about her culture and she would teach us
about her. She wanted to go to medical school and make it out of Senase.
She says she has never gone far because she hasn't had the money, but
she doesn't dream of seeing Accra, she dreams of seeing the world. It
was very empowering to see someone who wants so much for herself. She
gave us her address and asked us to send her English books when we got
home so she could learn to read and write better. And I promised myself
I would do everything I could to make that happen for her.
Around midnight, we went to bed. I was wide awake and could have talked
for hours. As could Bernice and some of the other kids, but wake up
calls are around 4am there, so we let the adults get some rest.
We went into our room and i devoured my rice chex. I had been so caught
up in the moment that I forgot how hungry I was, but then it hit me that
I hadn't eaten anything but 2 protein bars all day. After that Dain and
I ventured out to find where to pee, and about 3 minutes away found a
wall we assumed was it. After, we went back into our room and sprayed
everything down with 139102320 pounds of bug spray before laying into
bed. The bed was rock solid, but it was a bed, which is more than I
expected.
Our first day in Senase behind us, we were very much looking forward to
our visits to the schools in the morning.
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