fandomhigh | Around the World in Sixteen Challenges, Wednesday, March 3, 2016

Once they had stepped through the portal, the students would find themselves in quite decent climates - still warm, and humid, but not quite 'burning off your skin' hot.

"Welcome to Ghana," Obi-Wan said, his hands folded together in his sleeves. "It is a place with some rather different rules than you may be used to in your United States. Today, you will learn of these rules."

Anakin's attention was temporarily diverted by a group of women carrying enormous piles of bananas and loose peanuts on platters on their heads.

"Yes," he agreed. "This is Accra, the capital and home to a few million people." Traffic zoomed past them paying only nominal attention to rules of the road. Motorbikes, taxis, minivans and large buses seemed to communicate via honking, emphatic hand gestures, and at least three different languages.

"You will navigate through these streets to accomplish your tasks," Obi-Wan said. "When you are done, you will be taken to another part of this country for your final test. It will be a trial of reflexes, skill, and cunning." Beat. "But chiefly reflexes."

Anakin smiled. "At least you don't have to eat anything today?"

That's probably not that reassuring, all things considered, Anakin.

"With that in mind," said Obi-Wan, who totally wasn't smiling behind his beard, really. "Good luck."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Confused.

April

Kaylin Neya

Blue Sargent

Alex Mack

You are taken to the building of a Ghanaian batik designer, where it is roughly 100 degrees inside the building. The fabric has already been dyed a deep green: your job is to take the wooden stamper, and put an additional pattern in red on ten meters more of cloth. It's hot, monotonous work, and they are watching you very, very carefully.

Once you're finished, they'll hand you the next clue.

It's a paired detour today, so even if you finished your fabric quickly, you have to wait for your partner to catch up and decide which challenge you're going to attempt.

In Sit, you will pair up and drive a tro-tro--a privately owned minibus that goes through Accra. One of you will drive, the other will be the conductor who collects money, shouts out where you are heading, and waves out the window in a "hey we're merging here" gesture, since tro-tro turn signals tend not to work. You are going to drive down Liberation Road, through four traffic circles (none of which have working lights today), past a flooded out road, and to West Hill Mall, all without hitting another car, a person, or a goat.

In Stand, you and your partners must balance two giant buckets of individually packaged fried plantain chips on your heads, and sell enough at the traffic intersection (at 1 Ghana Cedi a piece) to make 50 Cedi. You will be competing against other street vendors selling bottled water, fried meat pies, cell phone minutes, and live chickens. Do not get hit by a tro-tro.

You finish as follows:

1. Eggsy Unwin & Rey
2. Cosette Fauchelevent & Blue Sargent
3. April & Isabela
4. Kira Yukimura & Laura Kinney
5. Alex Mack & Kaylin Neya

Blue considered the options, then told Cosette, "Okay, I can drive a car, but not well enough for this. I say we try selling things." She'd gotten stuck in Washington DC at rush hour once trying to go home for the weekend, and had considered crying. She knew her limits.

Welcome to the Kakum Suspension Bridge in Cape Coast, the oldest suspension bridge in Africa.

This might not be the selling point the Tourism Board thinks it is.

You have to go across seven bridges located more than 130 feet (40 meters) in the air. The bridges are really seven long ladders covered in plywood, but they are still 130 feet in the air. People with height fears are going to have a tough time with this one.

You'll find Anakin and Obi-Wan waiting for you at the Elmina Castle in Cape Coast, the final destination in Africa for millions of slaves shipped to North America. It's an oppressive place, even in the heat of the bright sunshine.

This post brought to you so slowly by the thrill of the Ghanaian internet...

You finish:

1. Cosette Fauchelevent
2. Laura Kinney
3. Blue Sargent
4. Rey
5. Isabela
6. Kira Yukimura
7. April
8. Kaylin Neya
9. Alex Mack
10. Eggsy Unwin

Edited 2016-03-03 14:16 (UTC)

Around the World in Sixteen Challenges, Wednesday, March 3, 2016

Sign in 3/3

Re: Sign in 3/3

Re: Sign in 3/3

Re: Sign in 3/3

RE: Re: Sign in 3/3

Road Block: Fabric Blocks

Detour: Sit or Stand

Re: Detour: Sit or Stand

Second Road Block: Heights!

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