We took an NYU in Ghana group trip to Cape Coast last weekend. We went to a small town called Elmina, where the famous slave castle is located. We were told it would be a very emotional tour and that we should prepare ourselves emotionally. What I hadn't considered was how important it would be to prepare myself physically. Elmina was much hotter than what we're used to in Accra. Though its on the beach, and therefore more of a humid heat, the slave castle tour was outdoors with the sun beaming down on us the whole time. As we congregated around our tour guide for the introduction, I started feeling light headed and slightly nauseous. All I remember after this is waking up on the ground with the entire group surrounding me. Someone was splashing water on my face and I was told that I had fainted. My friend, Tanesha, who had been standing directly behind me, noticed my balance starting to go and caught me just in time. How classy! I ended up being just fine but I had to wait in the air-conditioned van for the rest of the group to finish the tour. I am still pretty bummed out that I didn't get to see the slave castle. It sounded like an amazing cultural experience. Maybe I'll go back one weekend and see it again.
Several hours and a few cokes later, my blood sugar was back up and I was much better. Just as I was regaining my strength and feeling like me again, we headed for the Cape Coast canopy walk at Kakum National Park...100 feet above ground on rope bridges...And I'm extremely afraid of heights. I didn't want to faint up there of all places. But I went anyways. It was very scary; the bridge swayed from side to side as I walked across a very thin piece of wood and grasped onto the rope handrails. When I finished, though, I felt really great about the accomplishment, especially considering my last encounter with heights. (About three years ago I went on a Leadership Retreat to Mount Baker and we did a high ropes course that was only 60 feet in the air...I got halfway up and started crying.) Maybe I have grown up a little bit?
The rest of the weekend was spent on the beach and in the pool at our wonderful hotel. (We stayed at the Coconut Grove Hotel...It was beautiful!)
The following week I was feeling really sick. I even went to the hospital and met with a doctor on Monday to check my blood pressure and do a blood test for malaria (which I do not have, fyi). I wasn't expecting the hospital to be as modernized and technologically advanced as it was, but I have to say I was very impressed. The only major differences were that a) the hospital was outdoors, more or less and b) it took 6 hours to see the doctor, take my blood and wait for the results. It turned out I had a stomach bug and the doc gave me antibiotics that made me extremely drowsy. So I spent Monday through Wednesday in bed, watching movies, sleeping and periodically eating toast or drinking tea. By Friday I was 100% back to my old self. No fainting, no puking, no nothing.
Valentine's Day was yesterday. A bunch of us decided to get together for brunch and watch a movie. We made the most delicious french toast I've ever had, using cocoa bread, cinnamon and freshly sliced bananas. We watched Ten Things I Hate About You, which made me miss Seattle but was great nonetheless. It's been a very relaxing weekend and I'm sort of sad about going back to reality (sort of) on Monday with classes and all that. I"ll try to post pictures of the last couple weeks soon!
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