Ghana

GHANA! Well Takoradi, Ghana was quite an eye-opening experience. I can honestly say that this was my first culture shock of the trip, and I know it is not going to be my last! The first day we arrived I had a field program called Twin City Orientation. In this FDP, we drove around two cities in Ghana. We stopped and got out at a small fishing village where we learned about how they made the large canoes that they use to fish. The kids were so cute and were fighting and pushing each other asking to have their picture taken. The poverty of the village was overwhelming. Later on that night we all went out to the only local bar showing the Super Bowl! It was pretty amazing to watch the kick off all the way from Africa! 

The following day I went to Kakum National Park and saw a cultural performance. Kakum was so beautiful and we hiked up to the canopy walk, where there were suspended wooden bridges strung across from treetop to treetop. It was spectacular to see a rainforest from the canopies of the tallest trees. After we went to a hotel, ate lunch and watched a cultural performance of native African dance and drums accompanied by instruments made from bamboo. We all got up and learned a few dance moves; it was a lot of fun! The next day I went see a water village, it was quite the adventure to get to; two hours on a bus and an hour canoe ride. It’s strange how canoes are becoming a common mode of transportation for me! Once we arrived it was amazing and unlike anything I had ever seen, an entire community was built on top of the water, all the houses were on stilts. The village had a small school and was run by a chief, we had an opportunity to talk with the son of the chief and listen to the history of the village. Later on that night a large group of Semester at Sea kids went to Axim Beach, a beautiful beach about an hour away where we rented bungalows. It was so amazing and the water was so warm and clear. Unfortunately, this is where my camera was stolen. The only thing that upset me the most is that I lost all my pictures from Ghana, those aren’t replaceable but luckily the camera is.

On the last day I went on another FDP, where we learned about the gold mining industry in Ghana. Ghana has rich gold deposits, but still finds itself in extreme poverty because a mere 3-5% of the profits of gold mining stays within the country. We went to the headquarters of a grassroots organization named WACAM, which helps empower locals to stand up against the injustices of mining, then visited a village displaced by mine waste rock and after proceeded to village that was built in order to replace the one destroyed. This was such an eye-opening experience; I was completely unaware of the corruption in the gold industry and how many of thousands of locals are being forced from their land because of mines.

Overall, I had such an amazing time in Ghana. It was a culture shock, but it was great to see a different country of Africa before going to South Africa. I learned so much from my trips and was greatly impacted by the poverty and injustices that I witnessed.

Brazil

Camping in the Amazon

Monkey!

My apologies for not posting a blog in a while! I have been one busy woman! I have had two huge research projects, I was stressed but now feel great that I already have them done and out of the way!

Brazil was amazing! We were there for a total of 5 days. The first day, I got off the ship and walked around Manaus with a few friends, saw the Opera House and beautiful parks, unfortunately because it was Sunday, many of the restaurants and shops were closed. I went on a field program later on that day where we drove around the entire city of Manaus, looking at the different communities and the industrial park. It was a little boring, because we were on the bus for 4 hours and didn’t stop anywhere, but I was glad to have had the opportunity to see a large portion of Manaus. That night I went out with a few friends to a popular Hotel and went to a few local places, one place had a small carnival going on. But the second day was when the real adventure started!

I signed up for a 3 night/4 day trip to Tupana Jungle Lodge, said to be the most remote jungle lodge of the Amazon, boy were they not kidding! It took us 6 HOURS to get there! We first got off our ship and onto a double-decker boat. We were on that for about 2 hours and passed by the meeting of the waters. This is where the brown water of the Amazon River meets with the black water of the Rio Negro, because of their pH, they do not mix so there is this distinct curvy line of where the two waters meet. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! After the boat, we got onto a bus, continued on that for 2 hours before having to stop and at a barge in a small community and back our bus up onto a fairy boat in order to cross a small body of water. We all had to get off the bus and stand on the fairy; we were all crossing our fingers that the bus wouldn’t flip! Then we got back on the bus and continued for another hour before reaching the last leg of the trip: little wooden canoes! We grabbed all of our backpacks and crammed into these small, motorized wooden canoes for about an hour ride to our lodge. Needless to say we were all happy to reach the lodge safely after the long journey, especially because our canoe was leaking!

The lodge was absolutely beautiful, complete with wooden buildings and huts with palm faun roofs. There were animals that called the lodge home, a tapar, monkey and tarantula! A tapar is a relative of the rhino and looks like a combination of an elephant, anteater and has the body of a wild bore, interesting animal to say the least! During our stay we went on hikes, visited to a local home, and went fishing for Piranha were we saw pink dolphins! We also went out late at night on the canoes with flashlights looking for alligators, unfortunately we couldn’t spot any. The stars were by far the most breath-taking that I have ever seen, a plus for being 6 hours deep into the Amazon Jungle! One night we left the comfort of the lodge and went camping the rain forest! It took a canoe ride and a long hike (including tree trunk bridges!) to get our campsite. After setting up camp and starting the fire our guide realized he had forgotten to bring the food, luckily the cooks at the lodge had the same realization and someone brought it to us. Our guide hacked off wooden skewers from the trunks of trees with his machete that we used to cook the meat over the fire. It was such an amazing experience. We slept in hammocks under a small hut; it was surreal to listen to the sounds of the Amazon Jungle while falling asleep (some of which drowned out by the sounds of professors snoring haha). It was so amazing to be completely submerged in the Amazon for 4 days and be fortunate enough to listen to the beautiful sounds of rain falling in the rainforest (luckily the night AFTER camping haha). The beauty of the Amazon was breathtaking, but after the long journey back to the ship, where we encountered torrential downpour and a thunder and lightning storm, we were all happy to be back onto the ship and have a HOT shower! I have never appreciated a shower more in my entire life! Brazil was so much fun and just got me more excited about what the rest of this semester has in store! We will be reaching Ghana tomorrow; I cannot wait to finally see Africa! I am also excited to be able to say that I watched the Super Bowl in Takoradi, Ghana…how many people get to say that!!! :) Missing you all.

Also, I have an email that I can access on the ship for free, so if you want to email me or get in contact with me send it to this address! ambrown@semesteratsea.net