January 16, 2010-- The Castle

January 16, 2010

I had a great night sleep last night. The Weather was cool. The beds do not have sheets so I am going to go buy clothe sometime. I slept with my towel last night. Not because it is cold but because I just like having the feeling of bed sheets at night. I helped Bertha with one chore today. Sweeping the hall (Family Room), the passage way (Hall) and areas to the door and bathroom and shower. It is a local broom not the kind we have. It is made out of a handle full of branch about 18 inches long tied together at the hand. You sweep bent down. It does a pretty good job. They complemented me so I hope I did a good job too. I want to help clean the house to feel more a part of the family and I feel like I am serving. I think it is part of the culture to have your daughters serve the rest of the house. Bertha cooks and clean for everyone most of the time. I feel bad but she is so wonderful. After, I said good bye to the two Norwegian Girls. Bertha took me to where I will buy water and other supplies in the town. Every Saturday in Asebu, there is a market so the one large street was full with people. I did not go because the two German girls were waiting to leave soon. We walk back and Bertha carries the heavy water. The two girls and I had to the corner to grab a Choo-Choo (pronounces like the sound a train makes). We go to Cape Coast, costs about 60 pesewa. The Pesewa is the coin. You have 5, 10, 20, 40, 50 pesewa. There are no seats and they do not leave until the Choo-Choo is full. They drive very crazy. From Cape Coast we took another Choo-Choo to Elmina. Again, everyone is a crazy driver but it works for them. They honk to let you know they are coming and to move or to say I am taking people and many other things. This driver clipped a little boys bike, and he feel over. There was an “awe” and the driver stopped and looked back to make sure he was okay. He was but annoyed. It is scary but there have been many times people are almost hit, and they are going from anywhere from 10-50 miles. In Elimna, we visit the Oldest Castle in Ghana. It started with the Portuguese who came to trade. Then the Dutch came. After a short time, it became a slave trade castle. There was a room where slaves were beaten, and a room for anyone who was disobedient would go into the room that had only the door for light and air and it has a skull over it. If you tried to run away or snapped at the guards, you were not just beaten, but put in this room to die. They did not feed you. You knew if you went in that room you would die. Our tour guide put us all in these rooms and closed the door. There is a room where the new slaves weree branded on the hand. They would separate men and women/children. The guards would pull the women from the cells and rape them all the time. The Governor would stand from his balcony, choose a woman, they would bring her out and with a well wash her. She would head up the stairs where he too would rape many women of his choosing. If the women we disobedient, they would bring that women out of the cage into front of the other women and chain her to a iron ball. Here, they would beat her. Mind you, the whole time this place is extremely hot. They would only give maybe two meals a day to just barely keep them alive. Every three months a ship would come to bring them to America, the Caribbean, and other places. The men and women would finally see each other after this whole time in bondage. They brought them to a room with a door called “The door of no return”. It used to be a regular short entryway to the see before it was a slave castle, but when it became a slave castle, the made the door way in such way that only one skinny person could leave and enter the boat. It was called the door of no return because this was the last horrible thing the saw before going on the ships. One number of how many total slaves were captured and sent away is anywhere from The Castle is 12,000 to 20,000 people. The estimated ratio is that only 1/3 of the people lived long enough to be sent away. So around 36,000 to 60,000 people were taken as slaves, beaten and tortured. It was a very hard place to go too but I appreciated it very much.
Many people call us “obini” meaning white. The children love to touch our hands. Everyone tries to sell us stuff. The men come up to us and want to know our name, where we are from, how long we have been here, etc. This is one way so that we can buy stuff but also more of an advance. I met Richard today and he was very persistant. He was selling sea shells. It is polite to talk for a little bit but then you must move on a say “I have no money” or “Thank you” or “I am in a hurry” and sometimes you just ignore. The ocean smelled good, but not the ports. It smelled of dead fish. It was very beautiful-- you will see in the pictures. We watched the boats. One man was pushing his boat to the other side, and the back hit another boat and he fell in. Everyone perched on the bridge, which was 20 or so, started to laugh so loud. They are a happy people. After the castle, we went to eat. I ordered grilled fish and rice. The rice tasted like Mexican rice and the fish was a fish. I mean teeth, head, eyes, fin and all. The fish tasted very good except the occasional bone. That meal was 8 cedi and the small water was 80 pesewa. Around 8 dollars in US. It was sad to see that only white people eat at the restaurants except the occasional black person. We then went to the beach and sunbathed. I was in my regular cloths but thi other girls brought their bikinis. After a quick rest I decided to videotape a little. Of course I drew the attention of the kids who love to get their picture taken. So they danced in front of the camera. They then just asked flat out many time “Obini, can I have money”. We then got a Choo-Choo to Cape Coast and I got some money withdrawn from an ATM. We bought some Fan. It is frozen milk. It was very good. There is FanVanilla, FanStrawberry, and FanChoco. It made him happy that we bought 3. When waiting for the next Choo-Choo to Asebu we saw him again and he waved to us with a big smile. They are a happy people. The choo-choo back was full. You fit 15 total people. Well, at some points there was 20 or 21. The more they pack in the more money they get. Once back, I came home and took a shower. I bought a Fante Language book so that I can start to learn a little Fante. And I also bought a childrens book that is called “The Cross Drums.” It had the word drum on it so I decided that maybe Derek might like it. I will read it tonight. I also got a post card. I then got some toilet paper in Asebu. The lady might have ripped me off. I payed 1 cedi for two rolls. But I am too embarrassed to ask Bertha if I did because I do not want to insult anyone. So since she offered, I will just have her get the next roll. Everything is keeper for those who are not “Obini.” It is very funny but very true. The Shower is nice. It drops from a faucet. You want to make it quick to use less water. So you wet your hair, turn it off. Get your shampoo and conditioner if you want it this time, then turn it on and quickly get the dirt off everywhere else. It directly drains to the street. For the bathroom, you bring your own toilet paper in and out. You only go in the toilet and throw you toilet paper away in a bin to the nest of it. The toilet collects everything I guess. I do not know yet how they release it. I am now unpacking my bags and I tried to pump up the soccer balls. The red one works great but the blue has a hole in it. So I will ask the family if there is something I can do. Tomorrow, we are leaving for Katkamcon National Park, if that is the name. I have decided to go and miss church because this will be the only time I can go because every volunteer has gone already, and I do not think anyone new is coming after me.
So I helped make dinner tonight. Mrs. Incoom killed and skinned a local chicken. I helped her cut it up. I would hold and stretch a piece and she would hit it with the knife. I had to keep telling myself, “This is not gross” or else I would get nauseous. So I helped hold the chicken as she cut and we broke the bones to smaller pieces. She cut of the toes and is keeping the feet for the young girl, Bertha, because it is healthy for her. The Baby PePe is going to have the lever. She cleans out the bowl for that which was filled with rocks and such. She taught me how to cut and clean the chicken. It was mainly all new so I did not retain all the information but I will try harder next time. We also had mashed plaintains. They have the right amount of spicy. I asked Bertha to teach me how to make it later. So with the chicken, she cooked it in a soup with tomato paste, salt, water, nutmeg, and one other locally grown plant. She called it something like a yellow egg and blended it. It is not a pepper and you can eat it plain but I am still not sure if we have it in America. The soup was very good thougt. We also had a side of rice. Mrs. Incoom says that once I learn more, I will be able to make dinner for everyone. I am nervous but excited. Cooking in the kitchen is hot. You are in a cement room with one window where it is hot outside and one door which is equally humid and hot in the house. But when you go into the kitchen, they have a gas stove which makes the room at least 15 degrees hotter. You can tell a significant difference. The women over here are amazing to always serve the men and do this. I hope the men realize how much work and sacrifice they do. It is getting late now so I am going to call it a night.