I've been home for a week now, and first let me apologize for the serious delay in posting pictures!
My Ghanaian adventure is over, but I rapidly began a new one the day after returning
to the States by spending 6 hours in social work classes every day of the week.
Each day is like a weeks worth of learning...
my brain says "ouch"...
As excited as I was to come home to Athens,
I already missed Ghana the day after I returned.
That day, I rode a city bus to school and no one even looked me in the eye.
I wandered around an empty, silent summer campus and felt so alone compared to in the crowded streets of Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast.
I ate flavorless food and drank Fanta that somehow just didn't taste the same.
I went to a party that night where no one danced
and most people had to drink to feel more alive.
and most people had to drink to feel more alive.
At that moment I wanted nothing more than to be dancing my butt off back at the "chop bar,"
which is really just a tent outside a one-room beverage store
where one humongous amp blares Hip Life and Hi Life music
for people to boogie to all the way into the early morning.
I saw no people smiling from ear to ear under the blazing hot sun,
no adorable babies' heads peaking out over the fabric slings their mommas tie around their torsos,
no goats and chickens roaming around freely,
no cars honking their horns just to say "hey" or "watch out because I'm right beside you,"
no gorgeous and colorful clothing,
and no "Azonto" dancing.
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| fashion show @ our hotel |
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Kajetia Market in Kumasi. West Africa's Largest open-air market.
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| sweet little girl |
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| Accra |
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| Accra, just over the horizon is the ocean |
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| Kente clothe weavers |
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| women walking on the beach |
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stamping Adinkra symbols onto Kente cloth...
the star and moon symbolizes "love, faithfulness, and harmony"
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| street in Kumasi |
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| fishing boats in Elmina |
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Kotoko game...
that fool in the red hat is our driver and great friend, Francis
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| on a wobbly bridge about 50 ft in the air over the national forest outside Kumasi... don't let the smile fool ya, I was terrified. |
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our entertainment for the night
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always dancing
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playin' the djembe
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Dr. Okech showing of his painted thumbnail!
We visited the Lifeline Project, which is a social service agency
that takes teen girls off the streets and out of the hands of human traffickers.
They teach the girls job skills (such as cosmetology)
and give them the tools to start their own business after completing the 6-month program.
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beautiful countryside
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I love these trees... and have no clue what they're called.
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At the naming ceremony in Torgome.
The intimidating man up front is not the chief but actually the spokesman for the chief.
The chief is wearing blue in the right of the picture.
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Dancing seems to increase with age in Ghana.
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all this kiddos loved this man
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Heading over to dance
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This little Covergirl just couldn't dance enough. So cute!
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dancing with the kids
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this woman made the base of the pot in a perfectly symmetrical shape in 2 min flat!
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Torgome Village says "bye Obrunis!!!"
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The Volta River Dam
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yeah, we got pretty close.
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Baboon!
more dancing, of course!
our custom-made African-print clothing!
more custom-made clothes!
Mangoes. They were HUGE. the size of a cantaloupe in the US.
palm tree
All cliches aside, going to Ghana was a life-changing experience, no doubt about it.
I learned countless little things that I will carry with me forever.
will make another post eventually about lessons learned
:)
