Ghana.

Approaching Ghana meant it was the beginning of the end of Semester at Sea. We only had four days there, and while they went by quickly, the memories are burned into my brain. I'm not gonna lie, my first day was rough, and probably the most culture shock I have ever experienced (I quite literally was unfazed by everything until this point). I was on an Accra City Tour that was meant to show us around the city (thus the name) and some cool touristy type spots, but it ended up being a bus tour of the University of Ghana, The Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum, and a market. This wouldn't have been so bad if 1) The bus had air conditioning 2) We were allowed out of the bus 3) At the market I didn't get completely taken advantage of (this was partially my fault though). Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the rest of my time in Ghana, it's just this first day was a doozy. We did stop for lunch in between which was nice, Ghanian food is really good, really spicy, but so good.

I had my last field class on the second day in Ghana, and we were going to a bead factory that is one of the biggest suppliers of beads in Ghana. My professor was friends with the owner/founder Cedi, and upon arriving at Cedi Beads Industry's "factory" (factory in quotes because it was mainly 2 pavilions  and is not your standard idea of a factory but fits the definition) we were greeted by both Cedi and his wife like friends. We got a tour of the kilns and how each individual bead is made, along with getting to make 6 beads of our own. While our beads were being fired and cooling we ate lunch and sat in the shade (Protip: Ghana is like super hot). After cooling was the cleaning process, where you basically sand down the clay from around the glass, making the color show through and smoothing out any imperfections. With our beads done, we moved on to a q&a type thing with Cedi, mostly for our paper we needed to write, but also just to learn more about the business. Before leaving on our 2 hour journey back to the ship, we practically cleared out the shop (everything was so pretty), and I personally bought like enough gifts for at least 3 holidays, even though I've kept most of it.

The last two days in Ghana were spent at Torgorme, where I did a homestay. When we got to Torgorme, we met the entire village, got named by the village elders, went to a funeral (life is strange), and just got to hang out with everyone. The naming ceremony, I thought, was an incredibly kind gesture because not only did the elders name us, but we got to join their village, making it our 'second home' and they gave us handmade ceramic bowls with both our names on them and a bracelet. At the ceremony there was also a lot of dancing and just general excitement all around. Before dinner, we got to hang out with our host Abel, and get to know him better. Getting to meet someone your age from a place that was so different than your own, and getting to see the parallels and differences in our lives. I was also loaned a kente cloth to wear, and those are no joke. It was hand woven in the village (I met one of the weavers) and was much thicker than I originally thought it was going to be; and in the Ghanian heat - man oh man did it keep the heat in (still was amazing to get to wear it for the day though). The night didn't go too late after dinner, there was some dancing and music, but other than that we had an early night. I woke up the next around sunrise, and while we didn't stay too long after, the morning was full of seeing schoolchildren before class and goodbyes. Before going back to the ship we also made a stop to go on a hike up a rock formation, getting to see just miles of plains all around. 

All in all, I wish I had more time to see more of this country. Getting to meet its people and see everyday life was something that I didn't get much of while on Semester at Sea, and helps adjust your perspective on the place you're visiting. During our post-port reflections I had also mention the fact that visiting Torgorme wasn't so much as a "Look at how differently these people live" but a "Look at how happy these people are with how they live". Because they had everything they needed, including but not limited to, electricity, food and water, internet, etc. and were happy with what they had and didn't need to have the newest version of something to be happy. I think that is one of the strongest sentiments I have taken with me so far, in that you don't need the newest and most expensive upgrade to be happy. All you need is a good community around you and the rest will either fall into place or not matter in the end.  

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx

South Africa.

After crossing the Indian Ocean into the Atlantic, I couldn't be more excited to get off the ship.  Between 12 days at sea, the ship catching on fire, and a killer sunburn -  I was beyond ready to throw myself into shark alley (literally). Cape Town was strangely familiar, a weird hybrid of Southern California and Central Europe, which gave docking there a false sense of security. The entire trip prior to South Africa we, especially myself, could be clearly distinguished as an outsider - a tourist, but in Cape Town, the lines were were blurred, we could blend in -- but only until we opened our mouths (apparently my jersey accent gets thicker the longer I'm out of the country).  My first three days were spent in Cape Town, where in which I ran around Table Mountain, visited the Castle of Good Hope (not much of castle especially with its history), the mall, and the Cape Town Aquarium, and then less than 12 hours after going to the aquarium I got on a bus at 4am to go shark cage diving.

Shark cage diving in Shark Alley was definitely an experience. While I have no photographic evidence because my gopro is prehistoric and the March waters were not the clearest, having the bait fish fly over your head and a shark bite your corner of the cage is something I will never forget. These are two landscape shots from our drive before and after the dive.

The day following my shark adventure, I got on a bus and 6 hours later, arrived in Botlierskop Game Reserve, where for the next three days we would be going on game drives to see rhinos, lions, elephants, giraffes, and so much more. The game reserve's accommodation can only be described as 'glamping' because while we were in tents, we were no where near roughing it (our beds had heated blankets). Our first drive was just before sunset, and it was surreal to say the least. You grow up with stuffed animal giraffes and elephants and you never really think seeing one in real life would become a reality - until you're sitting in a jeep driving through the South African plains and on either side of the dirt road are a mother and baby giraffe (that, even at birth tower over me) and this out of body experience you're in only breaks when the young giraffe literally looks like it has no neck and in your mind you think "that's not right" and "as you ask your guide Bertie (shoutout to Bertie) "Is that giraffe broken?" and while you and your friends laugh at the jokes you're making you continue to wonder how exactly you got to this point in your short 19 years of life. After the existential crisis of the day and a game drive full of animals and photos and horrible jokes, Botlierskop pulls out all the stops for dinner. I'm talking all kinds of weird animal meats cooked by a personal chef and like 3 courses per meal. I ate chicken but my friend Danielle forced me to try the 'exotic' ones (it's not really exotic if its native to the continent, right?), which I do not regret so thanks Danielle for 'expanding my horizons'. We would go on between 2 and 3 game drives following this, having the rest of the time to relax or go swimming, and no matter how wild it seemed to get, it was probably the most relaxing trip I had been on in the 3 months prior. Just before heading back to Cape Town I was able to go horseback riding next to rhinos and water buffalo (truly insane). 

"Bertie, your giraffe is broken."

South Africa was also the first place where I had time to hang out with my friends, without being on a Semester At Sea trip, getting to go out to restaurants we wanted to, explore on our own, without being overly fearful of not knowing the language, or being targeted as a tourist. With this being the case, quite a bit went down in good ole Cape Town, and those memories make the city so much more wonderful. 

I could see myself living in South Africa. Granted I could really see myself living anywhere and everywhere I have ever been, South Africa had a familiar feeling that I just can't kick. But this week in South Africa was only a toe in the water compared to the full immersion experience I had in Ghana.

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx