Patience and Sacrifice (and pictures)
Thursday, August 31 -- Cape Coast
Our last piece of our orientation was a trip to Cape Coast, sight of one of the slave castles, for a festival. Festivals are very common in Ghana, occurring on a near monthly basis. This particular festival is a yearly festival to cleanse the city of Cape Coast.
The afternoon was slow, and the evening got even slower, especially after a couple rounds of palm wine. Palm wine is a very unique drink. It smells like absolute shit, but the fresh stuff tastes very sweet. It's very low in alcoholic content, but once you've had a few, it's a quick buzz. We were drinking for Desmond's, our orientation leader's, birthday.
Post-drinking, we made our way over to the center of the city to check out the beginning of the festival -- a vigil full of fetish dancing. The even started 3 hours late, 11 o'clock, and we were all exhausted. Most of us bailed out before it really kicked off. Bummer for us I guess, but the sleep was more important.
Friday, September 1
September is here. We have hit the quarter-poll for the trip. I find the days go by slow, but collectively has gone very fast.
This day was probably the most interesting of all the days. The most bloody, that's for sure. Most of us made our way up to the castle in prepration for the slaughtering of a bull, a ritual to appease the gods and cleanse the city. But prior to this, we went into the castle -- where many slaves were held for weeks -- to watch a couple of fowls get slaughtered. I tried to look at the whole thing as objectively as possible, that its a tradition of theirs, and I can't really judge what they do. The chief held the love fowl on the shrine, then slit its throat, the blood dripping over the shrine. Then it was let go, and luckily for them, it landed on its back; this means that the gods accepted their offer. For celebration, wine was passed around. Nothing like drinking at 9:30 AM.
After this, the townspeople marched down to scene of the fetish dancing, just a couple kilmeters away. This bull got more than its fair share of abuse on the way down. After waiting for the chiefs to arrive, the bull was placed on a shrine, then, like the chickens, had its slit throat. Many of the locals drank some of the blood. It was fairly humane for what it's worth. Like the fowls, this was their tradition. The bull is sacrificed because it is the most valuable, both in monetary value and in use.
Appropriately, I had a hamburger immediately after watching this. While waiting, Duncan, Isis, Haley, Liz and I played Hearts and drank. We wasted most of our afternoon doing this, which proved to be a great plan. I ended up spending the majority of the night with Isis, who is a very beautiful girl, in a very platonic manner. We hadn't really talked much before, but it was very easy to talk to her, and she the same for me, I think. It was really the first time that I've been able to let my guard down and be myself. It was very relieving. Everybody here kind of has a facade on because we're still not entirely comfortable with each other. Most of our night was spent by the beach, just enjoying the smell of the ocean, the stars, and each others company.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra015-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/4527dbe2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra025-1.jpg
Saturaday, September 2
The main part of the festival is today. It was a very slow day, and very tiring, especially considering the hour at which we were up the night before. All of the local chiefs were paraded through the town, with plenty of awesome drum accompaniment. I wish I could post music here, because Will did some awesome recording. All in all, the day was very slow. It was very warm, people weren't moving fast, and I definitely got burned. By the end of the day, I was fried, and chose to make an early evening of it. Tomorrow, we'd be getting up early.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra003.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra028-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra029-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra033-1.jpg
Sunday, September 3
Last day in Cape Coast. With the festival over, the EAP crew headed over to Kakum National Park. Kakum has 1 of 4 canopy walks in the world, and the experience was spectacular. It was all very calming, being above the trees, "seeing the world in green and blue." The ride home was slow, and not that steady. A lot of the ride is on unpaved roads. We were constantly bouncing up and down, speeding up and slowing down. It felt like being on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.
We got home safely, and arrived to a lovely surprise in Legon -- a rare trifecta: No electricity, no running water and pouring rain. A little rain couldn't keep us from Rich Love. Duncan and I slammed down some absolutely amazing chicken with pepper and tomato sauce and rice.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra046-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra042-1.jpg
All for now. Enjoy the pics. There are a few below that are kind of novelty items here in Ghana, that really need to come back to the states
Fan Ice -- The best Ice Cream in a bag for about a quarter
Bagged Water -- 3 cents per 500 ml. Awesome.
Ghanaian illiteracy: oops
Our last piece of our orientation was a trip to Cape Coast, sight of one of the slave castles, for a festival. Festivals are very common in Ghana, occurring on a near monthly basis. This particular festival is a yearly festival to cleanse the city of Cape Coast.
The afternoon was slow, and the evening got even slower, especially after a couple rounds of palm wine. Palm wine is a very unique drink. It smells like absolute shit, but the fresh stuff tastes very sweet. It's very low in alcoholic content, but once you've had a few, it's a quick buzz. We were drinking for Desmond's, our orientation leader's, birthday.
Post-drinking, we made our way over to the center of the city to check out the beginning of the festival -- a vigil full of fetish dancing. The even started 3 hours late, 11 o'clock, and we were all exhausted. Most of us bailed out before it really kicked off. Bummer for us I guess, but the sleep was more important.
Friday, September 1
September is here. We have hit the quarter-poll for the trip. I find the days go by slow, but collectively has gone very fast.
This day was probably the most interesting of all the days. The most bloody, that's for sure. Most of us made our way up to the castle in prepration for the slaughtering of a bull, a ritual to appease the gods and cleanse the city. But prior to this, we went into the castle -- where many slaves were held for weeks -- to watch a couple of fowls get slaughtered. I tried to look at the whole thing as objectively as possible, that its a tradition of theirs, and I can't really judge what they do. The chief held the love fowl on the shrine, then slit its throat, the blood dripping over the shrine. Then it was let go, and luckily for them, it landed on its back; this means that the gods accepted their offer. For celebration, wine was passed around. Nothing like drinking at 9:30 AM.
After this, the townspeople marched down to scene of the fetish dancing, just a couple kilmeters away. This bull got more than its fair share of abuse on the way down. After waiting for the chiefs to arrive, the bull was placed on a shrine, then, like the chickens, had its slit throat. Many of the locals drank some of the blood. It was fairly humane for what it's worth. Like the fowls, this was their tradition. The bull is sacrificed because it is the most valuable, both in monetary value and in use.
Appropriately, I had a hamburger immediately after watching this. While waiting, Duncan, Isis, Haley, Liz and I played Hearts and drank. We wasted most of our afternoon doing this, which proved to be a great plan. I ended up spending the majority of the night with Isis, who is a very beautiful girl, in a very platonic manner. We hadn't really talked much before, but it was very easy to talk to her, and she the same for me, I think. It was really the first time that I've been able to let my guard down and be myself. It was very relieving. Everybody here kind of has a facade on because we're still not entirely comfortable with each other. Most of our night was spent by the beach, just enjoying the smell of the ocean, the stars, and each others company.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra015-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/4527dbe2.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra025-1.jpg
Saturaday, September 2
The main part of the festival is today. It was a very slow day, and very tiring, especially considering the hour at which we were up the night before. All of the local chiefs were paraded through the town, with plenty of awesome drum accompaniment. I wish I could post music here, because Will did some awesome recording. All in all, the day was very slow. It was very warm, people weren't moving fast, and I definitely got burned. By the end of the day, I was fried, and chose to make an early evening of it. Tomorrow, we'd be getting up early.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra003.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra028-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra029-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra033-1.jpg
Sunday, September 3
Last day in Cape Coast. With the festival over, the EAP crew headed over to Kakum National Park. Kakum has 1 of 4 canopy walks in the world, and the experience was spectacular. It was all very calming, being above the trees, "seeing the world in green and blue." The ride home was slow, and not that steady. A lot of the ride is on unpaved roads. We were constantly bouncing up and down, speeding up and slowing down. It felt like being on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.
We got home safely, and arrived to a lovely surprise in Legon -- a rare trifecta: No electricity, no running water and pouring rain. A little rain couldn't keep us from Rich Love. Duncan and I slammed down some absolutely amazing chicken with pepper and tomato sauce and rice.
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra046-1.jpg
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m190/leegerston/Accra042-1.jpg
All for now. Enjoy the pics. There are a few below that are kind of novelty items here in Ghana, that really need to come back to the states
Fan Ice -- The best Ice Cream in a bag for about a quarter
Bagged Water -- 3 cents per 500 ml. Awesome.
Ghanaian illiteracy: oops
posted by Lee Gerston at 1:51 PM
7 Comments:
Absolutley stunning, Lee. I can't say thank you enough for sharing your experience with us!
Peace.
Saxlor (Lori)
Bagged water? So do you just put a straw and drink it straight out of the bag? Well if you get enough of them it could be a water bed maybe. Ok bad joke but nice to see you update your blog.
Michael
actually, like the fan ice, you just bite the corner off of the bag of water and drink away. its quite easy.
Looks awesome. Only you would eat a hamburger after that. How is the refugee camp and anything I can do to help you from France? Also, damn you and your exchange rate. Just to let you know, you are paying for soooooo much when we are back in La Jolla. Miss you and talk to you later bro.
A tout a l'heur
-Ryan
I agree with Ryan, sooooo much.
Here is my list so far-
1. 2 Chipotle visits for the apartment
2. Our next u2 concert, and flights to Dublin, Ireland
3. Our first months rent, in full.
Haha. Miss you bro but looks like you are doing alot. Take care and maybe eat some more ehh.
-Joe
Stewie!
Sorry man, was incognito for a bit. All caught up again, fascinating reading.
Love the posters on your walls!
Oh and by the way, everyone is destroying the Sox, thanks.
RedHill
What do you mean by "fetish dancing"?
Canopy walk?! *jealous*
Experiencing those sacrifices must have been an amazing experience. Like you said, it is their custom and they are welcoming you as a part of it....
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