Goodbye Ghana - June 6th

Today was our final day here, and it was definitely sad. Packing up our belongings, saying goodbye to our tour guides, and lining up at check-in to go home all had me pretty emotional. There is no doubt that I will miss Ghana dearly, and if I ever have the opportunity to go back again, I would love to. It's been a wonderful and inspiring three weeks and I'm excited to take this experience and these lessons back with me. So, I end this blog with my favorite lessons learned...

1. "There is nothing that is thrown in the sky that stays there." Everything must come to an end.

2. "Money doesn't work magic for anyone" If you aren't happy without it, you won't be happy with it. It seems to be a common attitude here among Ghanaians that money isn't all that important. It's necessary for life, to buy the things you need, support your families, etc. and people work hard for it, but it's not where you find validation and happiness.

3. "It's nice to be nice" I really don't think I've ever met people so kind to everyone they meet. I'd love to take that attitude back with me. In the states you learn from day one to be wary of strangers. I don't think I felt afraid or worried once during this trip. It was nice to not feel like I always needed to be on guard and to know that no one here is really a stranger, they're more like friends waiting to be made.

Of course those three statements don't sum up everything I've learned here in Ghana, it'd be impossible to do that. But those are my favorites, and the ones I want most to remember and carry with me. Ghana, it's been lovely. Goodbye.

Bead Making & Easy Listening - June 5th

Today was our last full day here in Ghana. Can't believe this is ending. It feels like we haven't been here long at all, but at the same time it feels like we've been here forever!

This morning we headed back towards where we had our naming ceremony, but this time our destination was Krobo. The first stop was to the Global Mamas office there, the one that focuses on bead making. That office didn't feel quite as joyful and awesome as the cape coast one though. But it was a rainy day, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt! It was raining so we had to trek through thick, sticky, slippery mud to get back to the thatch roof hut where the bead making was done, but it was all in good fun. Learning about the process and then getting to make our own recycled glass beads was awesome! It was kind of a long process, but I loved that we all just kind of got to hang out leisurely, talk, and eat delicious bananas. And the beads turned out so cute!!





We ended up getting back to the hotel around 4:30 or so and relaxed until dinner, another bittersweet affair. After dinner the FM girls plus Brennan (officially dubbed one of us) all hung out and worked on a card for Awuku and Francis while getting ready to go out. We met up with Pebbles and Inka and club +233, a really amazing jazz club that was just a couple minutes walk from our hotel. I spent the night talking with Inka, Katie, and Leyla. Inka had a lot of great advice for all of us and spending the night listening to awesome live music and having one last go with our Ghanaian friends was a great finish to our time here.

(I wore my dress by Ginatu, and she happened to be in the lobby on our way out. She loved it! That made me super happy.)



Tomorrow is the last day and we'll be heading to the airport in the afternoon. Sad but also sort of content with what we've done here and with the fact that this experience is truly ending.

Naming Ceremony & Farewell Dinner - June 4th

This morning started off bright and early with a LONG bus ride into the Volta region to go to the Torgorme village for our naming ceremony. Unfortunately the traffic delayed the trip quite a bit so we arrived late and Awuku had to apologize for us. Walking into the village with all of the drums, welcoming, and shaking hands with the elders and inhabitants of the village was just awesome. It was such a great experience to be a part of!! My name was Kwabo Nukunu, girl child born on Monday and wonders. Dancing with all of the kids was so much fun! Those girls were so sweet! After the dancing ended one just ran right into me with a hug, it was so precious. Then as we took our tour around the village I was never without little hands to hold and guide me along. They were beyond precious. Watching the clay pot making was amazing - that is seriously hard work. So impressed with those women. The whole morning was just wonderful and well worth the hours spent on the roads to get there and back!!









On the return drive we stopped by a wildlife reserve, but because of the mud we weren't able to drive back and see much. But we did get to see ostriches (probably one of the weirdest looking creatures in existence) and some baboons. After getting back to Accra I think we were all pretty excited! But we also had our farewell dinner which was great. The performers were really cool, though honestly I would have rather done without it and just have been able to talk to everyone. But they were still pretty amazing to watch. The teachers' introductions for each of us were so sweet and touching. It was all very bittersweet, but a good start to the winding down of our time here. It's been wonderful and I will miss Ghana dearly, but I'm so ready to take this experience back home and figure out what exactly it means to me and what I will do with what I've learned here.

Sunday Funday - June 3rd

Today was a free day so I spent the morning organizing and packing for our return to Georgia. Around noon I headed out with Olivia, Katie, Erin, Brennan, Ally, Caitlin, Leyla, and Dr. Okech to Cuppa Cappuccino, but sadly they were closed. Luckily, there was another coffee shop close by that was open. I got a cappuccino and a goat cheese pastry for 9 cedis, which is amazing. They were so good!! The cafe just felt like being back in America, it was a much needed taste of home. It was nice to just enjoy the atmosphere, the great food, and conversation with wonderful people.



While talking to Brennan About how the end of our trip was nearing I think I finally had a moment where I realized I was okay with going home. Not that I want to go home, or am so ready to leave Ghana, but just finally accepting that it's been a great experience, we've done so much, and there is really nothing left to do but go back to my life in America and take this experience with me.

After the coffee shop, Leyla, Olivia, Erin, and I caught a (cramped) cab with Dr. Okech to the grocery store in which he tried to marry us off to the cab driver, Nicholas. So funny. These are the fun little moments I'll remember and miss!!

Back at the CocoGrove I spent the next few hours doing work in my room with Katie before Ginatu arrived with some more garments! I was so excited to finally see my Agora dress made up, it is awesome!! I really think Airee is going to love them and I can't wait to see it in the other fabrics!! After Ginatu, INKA came by and it was just so great to talk to her as well. She really is such an inspiring, fabulous woman and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to meet her! I ended up buying one more necklace from her, for myself this time and she was sweet enough to give me these amazing pearl and string earrings as well. I'm so happy that she and Pebbles will be coming to our farewell dinner!

What I Will Miss About Ghana

1. Meeting people for whom the concept of "stranger" is nonexistent.
2. Being surrounded by people rife with positivity, regardless of the situation.
3. Reading the backs of tro tros.
4. Chuckling at the names of shops because they're totally unrelated to the products being sold.
5. Being on our bus with Awuku and Francis.
6. Francis's amazing maneuvers through any situation.
7. GHANAIAN FOOD!
8. The people in our group, all of whom I've come to really like.
9. Shopping in the markets.
10. Exercising my surprisingly great bartering skills when shopping.
11. Seeing people unafraid to wear bold colors and patterns and clothes that accentuate their bodies.
12. Sweet, sweet kids. Esther. Kwabi.
13. Not having to fear people you don't know or constantly watch your back.
14. Dressing for comfort rather than style.
15. Hilarious issues with water and power.
16. After dinner meetings with the FM girls and Blalock.
17. Dr. Okech's words of wisdom.
18. TAXIS - okay not really, but they were always fun.
19. Feeling like I'm doing good things and helping people who need to be helped.
20. Ghana. 

Lifeline Girls

Yesterday morning, the first thing we did was head to Kakum National Park to do an amazing canopy walk through the treetops! It was so much fun, but my thighs are killing me from that hike to the top!! The view was beautiful, and I really enjoyed it. I felt so adventurous! After that, we drove back to Accra (about two and a half hours) and then went over to the cultural center to kill some time. I bought a backpack, some ridiculous pants, and some jewelry for gifts. I also got a humorous marriage proposal from the guy who sold me my backpack. It is so nice to be back at our original hotel, I swear when we pulled up I thought, "We're home!" After dinner, Ginatu showed up for a fitting with all of our garments. I loved seeing everyone's designs and I was so excited about my green dress! She told me she was still working on my maxi dresses, but I have total faith. The green dress fits perfectly! I pretty much never want to wear something not custom made ever again! :)





Today, our morning started off at the Lifeline Girls Project, an organization that takes girls who live and work on the street and gives them a place to live, medical care, schooling, and teaches them a trade (hairdressing, cooking, sewing, batiking, etc.) that they can use to make products to sell or get jobs with. It was so great to be there and talk to all of the girls and help out. The FM girls had put together a new project for the sewing girls to make - fabric flowers. So we split the girls into groups of three or four and each of us went over and taught them how to make these new products. It was a little difficult, because many of them didn't speak English and the ones who did didn't speak it exceptionally well. So I had to really simplify my words and teach more by demonstration. It was an interesting experience. I always wonder how I would fare as a teacher, but hey! If I can reach girls who don't understand me how to do something, I must be alright! My group of girls were awesome! They picked up on how to make the flowers so quickly. I was really, really impressed. Apparently they all knew each other and were friends and they were from the Northwest part of Ghana. They told me they had only been at Lifeline for 2 days! They seemed pretty happy to be there though and were so sweet and smiley throughout the few hours we spent there. It really was such a great experience and I love that we not only got to hang out with them, we also were able to introduce new product to them that doesn't currently exist in their market and would sell well to visiting "obruni." I'm so happy we were able to be a part of this program!





After having a delicious lunch at Papaye (grilled chicken with garlic sauce and amazing rice), we took a second visit to the Global Mamas shop and I couldn't resist; I bought a wrap skirt, a handkerchief and a couple more bars of handmade soap. But I really don't feel bad about spending money in that store because of the mission and where the money is going.


(This photo is actually from our first trip there, I didn't have any from today!)

Tomorrow we're supposed to go to an art museum, casketmakers, and a campus bookstore. I'm hoping I can find a college student at the bookstore to interview, because I have two interviews I need to complete as part of my course work and of course, typical me, I haven't done either. The idea of talking to people is just so stressful! But I have my questions at the ready, so hopefully opportunities will present themselves in the next day or two for me to get these done!! We are also supposed to have Ginatu over tomorrow evening (I think) so I'm really excited to see the dresses she made for my retailer since she didn't have them the other night. Hopefully they're as awesome as I've envisioned. Designing things and having them produced by someone else has been quite the experience. It's really neat to see how people interpret your designs, like I really love the was Ginatu cut the fabric in particular ways so that the pattern would compliment the design. Really, really clever.

A Day of Rest

Today was a really easy and fun day, our instructors decided that after how busy we've been these past few days and how intense yesterday was, we should have a little break. So, the only school thing we did today was a lecture at the University of Cape Coast this morning. Both lectures were very interesting - one was on African religions and the other was on Ghanaian family structure. I really love that we're able to go to lectures like this and learn more about the culture we're currently living in. I'm still kind of amazed at the treatment, view, and discrimination against women here. But at the same time, I see and speak to women here daily, and they seem to have no complaints. So I suppose it's all a matter of socialization and what you've learned to be "normal" and "right."

After that lecture, we had lunch at the Coconut Grove Resort and then relaxed on the beach and by the pool for the rest of the afternoon. It was really fun and really relaxing. Towards the end of our time I ended up pulling out my iPad and watching an episode of Doctor Who while I lounged out. I think we were all refreshed by having some down time.




(This photo is actually from yesterday, I just forgot to include it / it didn't really fit the mood.)

The last thing we did, after dinner back at the hotel, was to go to a late night dance and drum workshop on the beach.ma local group came out and taught us some traditional drumming and dancing and then performed for us. It was pretty amazing! we all had a whole lot of fun, but I'm sure we're all exhausted (I know I am!) tomorrow we leave this lovely resort and the first thing we're going to be doing is a canopy walk in the rainforest! Then it's a two hour drive back to Accra! I'm really hoping that Harrison is there waiting for me, but I've pretty much gotten used to not having him. Mostly.