Day 3: Why did the chicken cross the road? In Accra... he didn't!

Today was another great day, very busy. I’m very tired this evening. We had a wonderful breakfast here at the hotel where we’re staying (which is owned by the college we’ll be visiting in Kumasai, ‘koo-ma-see’)

After breakfast we headed off to the Ghana’s National Museum. That was very interesting. Although it was small, we saw everything from very, very old kpanlogo (Ghana’s traditional drum) to pottery and historical items unearthed at the slave castle in Cape Coast.

Next was the museum dedicated to Kwame Nkrumah, a very important figure in Ghana’s history concerning its independence. The museum has very beautiful grounds, which include a huge mausoleum where his body is contained. This is a BIG deal since he was buried three times! First in Romania (he went there for cancer treatment and died in the hospital), then in Guinea, (he was welcomed there and made co-president after a Coup d'état threw him from power and sent him into exile), and now Ghana brought his body home for it’s final resting place.

Anyway… then we headed out to dinner with the Registrar from the university at a very posh resort… we had sea food and boy was it good :) And the resort was amazing. The hardest part was seeing this beautiful, secluded, and security protected “wonderland” for the rich, while on the other side of the road there were homes that are smaller and built worse than our storage shed. The Lord is going to need to show me what to do with that one.

Tomorrow we head to Cape Coast where we will stay for 2 nights. 

Oh, and about that chicken... the traffic is SO crazy here, we decided that at least in Accra, we knew the answer! lol 

I will post a few pics tonight, and add more when I can :)
 

Traditional drum of Ghana, the Kpanlogo (k is silent)... stunning. Below is a close up of some of the carving

A wooden xylophone! Africa is, and always has been, full of music 

Day 2 Ghana, Walking “The Beat:” Our First Day Out

June 24^th, 2013

I am having a lot of trouble connecting to the internet tonight, so from here on in, I plan to blog in Word and when I can connect I will post.

Today was an AWESOME day! I started the day with an aprox

3 1/2 mile fast walk with Chuks (Chooks), one of Jeff’s colleges. We hiked down to the beach, on the beach to the edge of the artist’s market, and back to the hotel. This was my first time to experience some of the sites, sounds, and smells of Accra.

Then, after breakfast, the guys went to their meeting, and I went with a wonderful “chaperone” named Samira. Samira is a student here, speaks 5 languages and was the perfect guide for a visit to the Artist’s Market! The highlight of my day was a jam (at least ½ hr) with 3 of the artists, a djembe maker, another drum maker, and a basket weaver. The djembe maker, Kennedy, taught me a few new beats and we all played together. It was awesome! And, if I can remember them it will be even better… lol

Then we had dinner together at Bukka’s (a local restaurant serving traditional foods of Ghana), had some free time, and to bed. I’ll give more highlights of the day through some pics.

Oh, and no jet lag??? What’s up with that? We are able to enjoy this trip right away :)

hahaha... this is how Jeff finally managed to charge his kindle and my phone :) Yea for my mac!!! Since the cord is designed to plug into 110-220, it plugged right into the hotels power strip!

This is Kennedy, my main "djembe" jamming buddy! Awesome guy and talented player... he sells djembes through people in NY and Cali. Beautiful and great sounding drums!

I was attempting to keep up with these guys and the new beats Kennedy was teaching me :) What a fun day!

All over Accra... chickens and goats! All feeding and drinking contaminated water in the ditches.

Children are cherished in Ghana... this little boy hands around his dad's shop in the artists market

When his dad said it was ok to take his picture, he got shy and crawled all around the shop with his bunny in his mouth. I was lucky to get this adorable shot!!!

This woman was washing gourds before they become the instruments pictured below. She said she would only allow a photo if I was in it (to take a pic of a specific person, it is customary to ask. Some turned me down)

In the Artists Market, all of the goods are produced in the back few rows, then moved up front for sale. This gentleman is sewing a Dashiki (traditional African shirt). The woman above was also in this area :)

The Atlantic coast and to the right, there are shelters that people put on government land, no one kicks them off (according to Chuks) and they live in poverty. Although Chuks said the garbage problem is better than it was a few years ago (there is new initiative to clean it up), there is still a lot of garbage everywhere and burning of garbage, including tires

These girls were hanging around the beach and Samira asked if we could take a picture...

There are areas in Accra where the beach is pretty clean... although it is still a huge problem, some progress is being made.

a shot of some of the beach "housing" and a waterfall leading right into the ocean...

This momma goat has a nice secluded spot for her and her kids! I whistled and she looked right at me :)

A shot down one of the roads in the artists market

A beautiful wood sculpture of a momma giraffe feeding her baby... taller than me! Wish I could bring this one home! The creator (an old gentleman dressed in traditional garb) refused to be in a pic...

One of my jamming buddies showing me how his woven items are created... really amazing craftsmanship!

My meal at Bukka... consisted of Waachi (Ghanaian rice and beans), goat meat/sauce, spicy shrimp sauce, noodles, and something like couscous (can't remember the name). We have really enjoyed all of the Ghanaian food we have tried

A peek down a side road in Accra... main roads are tarred, many roads are dirt

Among all of the sites, sounds, and smells of Accra... a beautiful flowered shrub hangs over the fence of a well kept home (surrounded by fence/gate) 

Accra Ghana, Day 1: Never Say Never...

Well it's been over two years since I've posted... but, this is such a HUGE milestone in our lives that I had to re-instate the JNS road blog, or in this case, "J&S Hit The Air!"

We're in Ghana, Africa! Our trip was long, we started yesterday morn, here is a quick breakdown.

*Left St Cloud at 8:30am
*Flew from Minneapolis to Atlanta
*From Atlanta to New York JFK)
*From JFK to Accra, Ghana!

We arrived in Accra at about 1:30pm (7:30am St Cloud Time... Central time zone), the last leg of the journey was a 10 hour flight.

We didn't do too much today. Got checked in, worked with figuring out how to get things charged... finally got a way to charge everything. We ate a great meal, Ghana style (I ate fish with the head still on... eyes and everything, I swore I would NEVER do that). :) I also had mashed yams, and tasted baked/mashed plantain (really good) as well as many yummy sauces. The yams are different here, this type only grows in certain areas of the world, this being one of them. They are white.

We hardly slept on the plane last night (or day... whatever)... so we're hitting the sack and diving into this time zone head first! lol

I will blog everyday, add pictures starting tomorrow, and post whenever internet is available :)

Oh, one last thing. For those who don't know, the reason that we're here is that Jeff and two other faculty are representing SCSU and trying to develop a relationship with 3 universities here. The first in Accra, then on to Cape Coast (W of here), then to Kumasi! Somewhere in there we will be visiting Mole (Mo-lay) National Park, and walking a rope bridge through the canopy of the rainforest here 100 ft above the ground! Woohooo!