Well we've finally made it back to the United States! Suffering from jet lag and waking up at 4:30 this morning I thought I would upload some pictures from our trip and write a little about the final leg.

We left Takoradi and went to Cape Coast. Here we spent 2 days and nights visiting the Cape Coast and Elmina castles known for their role in the slave trade. I found it interesting that the men who governed these posts considered themselves righteous and God fearing, yet for hundreds of years thousands of humans suffered in below ground dungeons waiting for ships to carry them to death or slavery. All in all it is a very sobering experience to visit these places.

While staying in Cape Coast we also went to the Kakum National Park/Reserve and went on the canopy walk where we were able to look at the forest from a tree's perspective. This park was one of the first reserves in West Africa and the first in Ghana. The canopy walk is not only used as a tourist attraction for Ghanaians as well as foreigners but it is used to do research and observe the life within the forest.

We went on from Cape Coast to Kumasi. This is the seat of the Ashanti Kingdom and where the current King resides. The King still a very important part of the society but he doesn't hold a political post. Kumasi is the second largest city in Ghana and I must say as crazy as the market was it is really refreshing to see how people work together (pedestrians and drivers) to help each other navigate the crowds and congestion. We visited the palace while here though we were not permitted to take pictures. We also went to the village of Bonwire to see how Kinte cloth was made and buy some!

We left Kumasi to make the long trek to Ho in the Volta region. On the way we stopped at the Boti Falls and visited a natural formation called Umbrella rock. We stayed in Ho for one night and visited the Ote Falls where we had to make a sacrifice of one shoe in order that none of us fell in! Fortunately our guide was able to rescue the shoe and we enjoyed to cool spray of the waterfall and made it back without a hitch.

Our second to last day we traveled to Akosombo where the hydro-electric dam is. The Volta river was dammed in the 1960s to create the Lake Volta and much of the electricity enjoyed by Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Togo and Cote d'Ivoire. The Volta River got it's name from the Portuguese, meaning meandering. There is the White, Blue and Red Volta rivers which flow into Lake Volta. These rivers come from Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire and Togo. Again we were not permitted to take pictures of the actual dam itself but were allowed to photograph the lake.

The last day was spent driving to Accra and last minute souvenir shopping. It was a great experience for me and I think all of the kids really enjoyed themselves too. I certainly hope to do it again!

Takoradi

Well here we are in our last day of the homestay here in Takoradi. It has been a fun two weeks for many of us with the ups and downs of figuring out the ins and outs of our host families. I think one of the most interesting aspect many of us have observed about our families is their fierce attachment to their faith, churches, and prayer. In fact just as I was entering the internet cafe today a man asked me if there are Christians where I come from and that is why I've been blessed to come here. Many of the people who visit my host family are delighted to know that I have accompanied them to church. In fact my host family not only goes to church on Sundays for about 4 hours, they have also been attending all night prayer vigils from 10pm to 3am since my arrival while still getting up to go to work in the morning. All in all they are good people with good intentions.

The sense of family is also very strong here and my host mother, although she only has four biological children has many other people who refer to her as their mother. She has even taken in a girl from an Nzima village to the west of Takoradi so that she may get an education. The children in Ghana are expected to stay at home until they marry. Thus, you will fnd many people in their late twenties and early thirties still living at home.

Takoradi as a town is fairly small and I think everyone knows just about evey last nook. There is a lovely beach where the experimenters as well as locals frequent to have a coke and relax. Tonight we will say our formal goodbyes to our families as we attmept to pull off the various African attire we have each gotten the past two weeks. Tomorrow we start on the final leg of the trip as we travel to other regions of Ghana, starting off with Cape Coast, followed by a visit to Kumasi the heart of the Ashanti region and then a long trip east to Ho and the hydroelectric dam and waterfalls in the Volta region. Our last stop will be Akosombo where we will see the highest mountain in Ghana. If I have my way we will climb it... :)

Abruni

Well here we are almost 3 weeks in. It's been a while for an update as we spent 10 days in the village of Akwamu, (about a 3 hour drive from Accra) completing a community service project. The village was smallish with a population of approximately 1,000 people. Our work was to paint and lay cement in several rooms of an orphanage.

We were greeted on the first day by a celebration of thanks for our coming to lend a hand. But each day of our stay in Akwamu was filled with energetic children excited to have the attentions of the experimenters. During our time in Akwamu we had the opportunity to interact with the community as everyone was excited to be a part of the project and helped with the work we did. We also organized some family visits in the evenings where the experimenters practiced their Twii/Fanti language skills and also tried a hand or two at making Banku and Fufu (traditional Ghanaian cuisine). We tried our skills in soccer but could only keep up with the younger kids. I think Ghanaians learn how to play soccer about the same time as they learn how to walk.

In this short stay many friendships were forged and 10 days seems like an eternity. It was sad to go. Our last night we enjoyed a clear sky and almost full moon where three of the experimenters sang, providing a nice ending to a wonderful experience.

We traveled to Takoradi about 200 km away on Tuesday July 15 to start our 14 day homestay experience. So far things are going well, I hope to update soon...