If I had to pick a few countries I was most excited to visit this semester, Ghana would definitely have been on the list. I'm happy to report that even in spite of getting so sick I couldn't get off the ship the first day (and missing my home stay in the process), Ghana did not disappoint. After traveling in Europe for such a long time, I was so ready to embrace all the differences this third world country would bring, which started as soon as I stepped off the gangway, enveloped in a wave of heavy and sticky heat. I lasted only about 3 minutes before having to shove my neatly straightened hair into what I hoped somewhat resembled a bun and hopping on the shuttle bus that would bring me out of the port area and into the town of Takoradi. Immediately after stopping in the town, our bus was swarmed with Ghanaian men, offering (more like shouting) to give us a taxi ride wherever we wanted to go. I climbed off the bus after my friend Liz and our arms were immediately grabbed by one of these men, trying to convince us that he would offer us the cheapest ride. The rest of my friends tentatively got off the bus and eventually, we were somehow able to break out of the circle of sweaty men that had formed around us and make a break for the town. Little did we know that some of these men would proceed to follow us, asking us our names and if we would like a tour guide for the day. After saying "no" in every possible way known to man, we were left alone, and made it to the town market.We were told this town market would be a great place to shop for real, authentic African souvenirs, but we quickly realized that was not the case. All that was sold at this market was smelly fish, produce, and household items (I still don't understand why Ghanians thought I wanted to buy a rat trap; I mean, it was hard to ignore the white skin that marked me as a foreigner!) So, we found a taxi to take us to Busai Beach. After bartering with the taxi driver because there are no taxi meters in Ghana, we squeezed all 6 of us into the taxi, 2 in the front seat and 4 in the back. I ended up in the back, riding sideways on my friends' laps, with my head almost out the window. Although it was an uncomfortable, the long ride was definitely worth it after arriving at the beach and jumping in the refreshingly cold waves. Before not too long, the Frisbee that my friend Carl brought helped us make new Ghanaian friends, brothers around 4 and 6 years old. I spent a good amount of time throwing the Frisbee around with them, but eventually had to leave the beach before it got dark.
Upon our arrival back at the ship, I realized a Ghanaian souvenir market had been set up right outside the gangway. Although I was tired, I decided I would start my shopping. Let me say right now, shopping in Ghana was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. When I walked into the market, about 5 Ghanaian men immediately started shouting at me, trying to convince me to look at their stand first. Once I finally made it through the shouting stand owners and into a covered stand, there were no prices on anything, so if I wanted to know how much something cost, I had to ask the stand owner. He would then give me the "white person" price, a price almost three times too high, so I had to spend about 10 minutes bargaining until he brought the price down to a reasonable amount. Then I had to decide if the new price was worth it and since it wasn't most of the time, it was a wasted 10-15 minutes! It took me a good 2 hours to make it through just 8 stands! Although I was exhausted when I finally made it back on the ship, I was quite happy to finally be experiencing the first significant culture shock of my voyage.
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