New York City, May 7

We decided to spend the morning touring New York City, and we chose the double-decker red bus tour to teach and show us as much as possible in a few hours. It's was really quite informational and entertaining! Tonight we'll fly to Oregon, so we saw as much as we could, and met as many people as we could, while still in The Big Apple - what a great experience with its hustle and bustle, its majestic skyscrapers, its energetic inhabitants, and the beautiful touring weather we had all day!

I enjoyed seeing the United Nations building, since this year I have served as the advisor for the Model United Nations Club at my school. This land was given by Rockefeller to be used by the UN last century and is not considered U.S. property. When you buy and mail a postcard from here, it has its own stamp and postmark - not a part of the United State Postal Service!

This area known as Stuyvesant was built after WW2 to house military personnel and their families. It consists of 100 buildings and covers a large area. It was recently bought for $7.5 Billion dollars, one of the largest single real estate deals ever!

This is the only grocery store with a parking lot in Manhattan! Land is too valuable to "waste" it on parking spaces out in the open (most parking is quite expensive and found only in subterraneum parking structures under large business complexes).

Isn't it hard to believe that a building still stands that George Washington frequented? Evidently he worshipped at this church in New York City, our nation's first capital.

This bank really impressed me with its hours! It would be awesome to have a bank open enough hours that are really convenient for the customers! If I did my banking here, I'd never complain about "banker's hours" again!

We never got to see the real Twin Towers when they existed. But our tour guide said to picture this building twice as tall, and that would be like the World Trade Center buildings were! They sound HUGE!

In Chinatown we saw this great sign. We weren't sure what they wanted us to buy, but it looked so interesting we knew we wanted some! We were approached by no less than 40 salespeople (or their spokespeople!) with the rapid phrase "handbag, handbag? purse, purse?" Usually, the person (men and women) who blurted this at us didn't even have a sample handbag on them. Some did have a picture of what the purses might look like, but it was too simplistic of a salespitch in my opinion!
carried

Leaving Ghana - May 6

At the airport in Accra, supposedly one of the most modern buildings in the area, I was shocked to find this toilet! It seemed like a concession to travelers from this and other third-world countries, who only understood "holes in the ground" for toilet facilities. It was a combination "hole" with a modern tank attached (though I'm not sure why there was a handle on it, up about 10 feet off the floor!). Well, I have to admit, that's one of the things I really liked about Ghana - it's a combination of old and new, familiar and unexpected, ancient and modern. I'd definitely like to come back to this peaceful African republic. Last month, Ghana celebrated its 50th anniversary of freedom from British rule, and it was formerly known as the Gold Coast. The country could be so much more advanced if what they receive in aid from foreign countries and organizations would be put to use for the benefit of all the people. The US evidently donated about $50 million recently, with which the government could have improved the electrical and water systems in the country. Instead, however, they bought fleets of fancy cars for dignitaries and transported all the beggars to a distant area so the visitors during the ceremonies wouldn't see them. There is corruption at every level here - such a shame!

We finally arrived at the waiting lounge (I use that term loosely - it was more like a waiting room) that was not air-conditioned. We had passed through at least 6 official check-points by then - some for documents, some for luggage. At the airport, like many places in Ghana, there seem to be a lot of employees because it's very cheap to hire them. At the fancy foreign-owned grocery stores, the help gets paid about $1 per hour, so it's easy to have plenty of people to stock shelves and carry out purchases to the car. Here at the airport, there were employees who looked official in their tidy uniforms, but didn't really seem to have any definite purpose. At one point, in the customs line, a lady told all the Delta passengers to move to the front of the line. But when we were all clustered up front, nothing else changed - there were still only 2 officials tagging the baggage (not even opening it, mind you, or asking any questions, just applying a sticker to the outside). In essence, the big move to the front of the line served no purpose whatsoever, but I guess it gave the employee something to do when she told everyone to move. It's a good thing they told us to be there 3 hours before departure, because it took almost every minute of that to go through all the processes. At the final checkpoint, where they checked our carry-on baggage, the official saw that I was carrying snack bars and said "Can I have your candy?" I looked at her to see if she was joking, but there was no trace of a smile on her face. So I countered "Sure, help yourself." Again she said, "I can have your candy?" I started thinking that she wanted the unopened box of 6 multi-grain bars and the two sweet-n-salty bars, so I said "If you'd like one, go ahead and have one" (rather emphasizing the "one" bit). So she actually took one of my bars and kept it for herself! It seemed a bit unofficial to me but, hey, we were in Ghana and maybe that's how they supplement their food budget! It reminded me of being in the marketplace earlier in the week - when "quick dash" or "dash me some" were common phrases meaning give some money for taking a picture of them, or helping a beggar, or buying something to help them out, etc. I felt like this snack bar was a "quick dash" of food instead of money.


Here we are, boarding the Delta Flight 167 to return to New York City. I was surprised when we were asked to start boarding one entire hour before the scheduled departure time. However, it was amazing that when 10:30 a.m. rolled around, our departure time, we were actually IN THE AIR just after take-off! I don't know when I've ever been on a flight schedule that was THAT efficient! Sitting in front of me on the plane were 3 freshman high school students from Ohio who had just spent a week in Ghana also. They said that, in the beginning, many students had wanted to be part of the trip with a teacher as guide. But in the end, only 4 were able to afford the trip, about $3,000 US. What a fantastic experience for those kids, to see parts of the world that most never will. (And what a wise investment for their parents to pay for their teenagers to have this opportunity! - or do you think it was just to get rid of them for a week?!? - ha ha)

This photo is from the airport in New York City, where a passenger has a baby loaded on her back in the Ghanaian fashion, freeing her hands to collect her baggage. (I was trying for a better angle on the next shot when the airport security told me to put the camera away. Yes, sir!) The babies carried this way are very calm and quiet. They have the advantage of being near their mother and feeling her constant touch, but the disadvantage of rarely seeing her face or interacting with her. There were no strollers in Ghana - all babies are carried this way. We'll miss Ghana, which was like taking a step back in time about 50 years at least. Some of the "old ways" create a deep sense of community and inter-dependence among the people. But being back in New York was like a breath of fresh air - literally, the air was cool and not muggy! Things were orderly and worked as expected. It's great to travel, but it's also great to be back on U.S. soil!

Christopher's 14th Birthday in Ghana

We celebrated Chris's 14th birthday by spending the day at La Palm, a luxury resort on the beach in Accra where we paid to use the pool all day and have lunch under the umbrellas. This is our last full day in Ghana, for tomorrow we return to the States. It's been awesome here! The McKees have been the best hosts and we enjoyed wonderful weather. The traffic has been a bit insane, but Katalin and Hugh McKee have really learned to manage it and drive with the best (or worst) of them! Oh, by the way, Chris admitted that the only reason he hugged me was because he was completely wet, and was trying to annoy me! I guess that's a 14-year-old boy for you! Later that evening, we went out to dinner and had birthday cake. It was a Ghanaian flag with writing on it. We had asked the bakery to write "Happy Birthday, Chris" in an African language. No one in the bakery was able to write it, then they explained that they really don't even have that saying in their languages, because they don't traditionally celebrate birthdays or acknowledge them. But they do name kids according to the day of the week they were born on. So, in the end, the writing in Ga said: "Congratulations, Thursday"! What a way to celebrate an unforgettable birthday!

Looking down the beach, we saw a large crowd of people standing in the water in a narrow group. It turns out that they were preparing to bring in a LARGE net with fish in it. Close by, we saw this stand with a price of ¢30,000 posted, but had absolutely no idea what was being sold, rented, bought, leased, or requested. Some of the beaches in Ghana, at some of La Palm's other hotels about an hour to the west of Accra, are pristine and gorgeous, I'm told. But here in the capital, it's best to stay out of the surf and stick with swimming in the pool, which costs about $8 US for a day.

This band was playing at the outdoor Restaurant at La Palm. We found their music to be quite pleasant. This resort hotel is probably the nicest in Accra. Some of their celebrity guests have included Princess Anne (last Thursday), Sting, the Ghanaian head of the United Nations (tonight) and Tom Cruise.

At "The Ghanaian Village Restaurant" at La Palm Resort the menu includes Goat Soup, Spicy Squid, Grass Cutter Soup and Red Red Stew. And look at those prices! Oh, that's right, they're in cedis (10,000 cedis is about $1 US).

It's a very common sight to see these containers in people's arms, on their heads, on wagons, trucks, bicycles, even motorcycles. Entire sections of the city have the water turned off for long periods of time, even days. So the people, who only have running water at a communal pump anyway, try to store enough water to tide them over. They conserve so well - one of these yellow containers could last 2 people an entire day - for bathing, cooking, washing clothes, etc. That purple and yellow car is a taxi. There are quite a few of them, all the same colors but sometimes different models, and NONE of them have air conditioning!

Friday, May 4

Elder Aboagye (on left) and Elder Erickson, from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, stopped by today. Aboagye is from Ghana and Erickson is from Idaho. They explained to us that Ghana is divided into 12 geographic/cultural regions. Also, the following languages are spoken in Ghana (Aboagye speaks at least 5!): Akan, Ashanti, Twi, Fanti, Agona, Gomoa, Akyim, Ga, Ewe, Hausa, Gonja, Dagomba, Dagari, Dagaba, Frafra, Nzema, Efutu, Ewutu, Ada and Grushi. There may be more. They eat native (inexpensive) foods each day, to keep costs down on their missions (two years paid for out of their own pockets). Overall, they only spend about $3 per day on food and incidentals. Riding bikes helps cut the cost of transportation.

We decided to try some native foods tonight. Banku is made from cassava root, pounded and cooked. Kekey is made from corn, and is wrapped in a soft corn husk, similar to a big, fat tamale, but with no filling. These are served in a soup, which can contain any number of heretofore uneaten ingredients! We truly did not recognize any of them except for the whole crab, and I do mean whole! The dough is actually somewhat bitter, with a slight vinegar taste, but otherwise unremarkable. When we finished sampling the dough, we gave the rest to the gatekeeper at the compound, who seemed thrilled to have an unexpected snack!


This is the slimy soup that accompanied the banku - we're not sure what's in it (other than the crab which we can clearly see, and he can probably see us, because his eyes are still in!). We think the slime factor is enough of a turn-off, so neither of us tried it.


At the bank today, the manager used a counting machine to total up the bills quickly. Since it takes ¢10,000 (cedis) to make about $1 US, people have to carry around HUGE amounts of cash for even simple purchases. The largest bill commonly used is ¢20,000 (about $2), so they're counting out bills by the dozens! Katalin's hand is resting on a packet of new ¢1,000 bills -
¢1,000,000 to be exact, but it's only worth $100 US. People go to the bank, fill bags with bills, and have to go home to tuck some out of sight for a few days, until needed. Almost all transactions are done with cash, so it makes for some very heavy wallets! The cedi is being changed in July - not "devalued" according to the newspaper, but "re-denominated". The new bills will be worth 1,000 times what the current bills are. That should help with having to carry tons of cash around!


Hollie McKee, age 19, is graduating with her International Baccalaureat Diploma in a few days and will be attending university at BYU Provo starting this summer! She's beautiful and talented, and she has enjoyed her 3 years in Ghana with new friends, skills, and interests!

Our friend, Katalin, has filled this display case with wonderful artwork from Ghana. When she first arrived, she didn't really like any of it. As she lived here for 3 years, though, and saw much of the work actually made by carvers, weavers, glass blowers, etc. she has fallen in love with ALL of it. In fact, every room has lovely native art in it, and they'll have so much fun fitting it into their home back in England when they return in June.

Chris, on the left, and his friend, Logan McKee, are standing beside the "thinking man" statue that is a very popular image in Ghanaian art. Chris turns 14 tomorrow, May 5, and he gets to celebrate his birthday in Africa - how COOL is that!?!

This is the great home that we've been staying in with our friends, the McKees. Its 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, marble floors and maid's quarters set it apart from the typical Ghanaian home. We feel like we're living in the lap of luxury here!

While shopping at a store that boasted "Made in Africa by Africans", I just couldn't decide between the hat and the goat-skin sandals! They're both attractive, wouldn't you agree?

Wednesday, May 2

We swam in this lovely pool at the McKees' compound today. The water temperature was about 85+ degrees F. Many non-Ghanaian residents live in compounds like this one, where the houses are WAY above the local standards, have air conditioning (which most locals will never feel in their lifetimes - not in a car, or taxi, or bus, or restaurant, or anyone's home that they ever visit), and hired help around the clock. At this compound of about 12 homes, there are people hired who tend the gates (two uniformed attendants at each of 2 gates, 24/7) who release the latch and manually open the gates each time a car enters or exits. There are gardeners who tend each yard daily, there is a full-time pool keeper, and most homes have live-in help for their domestic needs. Katalin hires a young lady from Church for $1 per hour to help with cleaning, ironing, etc. 3 half-days a week, and the girl is thrilled to be earning so much. After all, she works most days selling KEKEY (a food from a basket on her head) and only earns $1 for 6 hours work doing that! The housing arrangements are an important part of the "package" offered to people to come work in Ghana. Also transportation vehicles, children's schooling, and additional food budgets are offered. The ex-pats all shop in specialty food shops run by Lebanese entrepreneurs who make a fortune off visitors who can't stand the local foods and need to find items they're familiar with! Of course, the Lebanese businessmen all own fancy homes on the river beach and send their kids to the exclusive schools, too!


Here I am spooning some FUFU into my mouth at a local eatery. The waiter thought I was a bit strange asking for my picture to be taken, and also for taking a close-up photo of the dish. But, as it turns out, many visitors don't even sample the dish while they're here, because it sounds and looks kind of gross. In fact, my friends who have lived here 3 years, and most of their ex-pat friends here, have never even tried FUFU! I wanted to make sure I did, and even paid ¢20,000, which was probably a tourist rip-off, but I felt it was well worth it, for the experience! And here it is 11 hours later, and I didn't get sick!


I decided to eat the local dish "FUFU" today, which cost me $2. It consisted of a bowl of soup with a chicken leg, broth, and a lump of FUFU, which is a dough-like mass of cassava and plantain mixture. It was served with a large bowl of water with a spoon in it, and a small bowl with a cloth on it (also a pitcher of water which I was afraid to drink). I had to ask the cashier exactly what the water and cloth were for. It turns out I was supposed to use the water to wash my hands at the table, then dry them on the cloth. Evidently, the locals eat this with their hands, avoiding the use of the spoon. Now that explains why, when I first sat down, I noticed a tray/bowl in the center of the table with a salt shaker, malt vinegar, and a bottle of dishwashing liquid - that was about the oddest thing I had ever seen on a restaurant table before! Of course, they only served me a spoon because I am "obroni" - white; all the local people eat with their fingers and no utensils. They work the dough, rubbing and kneading it, to make it soft and palatable, before each bite.

These roadside stands serve a great purpose for tourists and locals, as well. Since many homes do not even have kitchens or ANY cooking facilities, the locals need to buy their foods in a ready-to-eat state. Vendors line up at traffic stops and walk between cars, trying to sell everything from plantain chips to gum to popcorn to fresh yam strips, many from baskets on top of their heads! (My favorites are the plantain chips, fried with salt - they're delicious! And they must be healthy, right? After all, they ARE fruit!)



This shop is in "the pit" which is a recessed area with scores of handicraft stalls. Paintings, carvings, weavings - they're all here in great abundance!





Chris is holding about ¢100,000 (cedis), which is about $10 U.S. - it looks and feels like Monopoly money and it's easy to spend quickly as it seems like it is play money!



This carver is packing a small nativity scene that I purchased. Just behind his hands is the symbol for Gye Nyame (accept God) which is the most popular Ghanaian symbol from the Ashanti culture. However, someone once misspelled the English translation and now, everywhere you look, "except God" is printed on tee-shirts, carvings, buses, and everything!


These wood carvers toil away in the heat, making fantastic images from simple blocks of wood. The little village of Aburi is well-known for its quality word work.




The tools they use are basic, but the results are very laudable. The floors are lined with wood chips and buyers come from all over!





It was hard to choose among the MANY quality carvings - there are many talented craftspeople here.

Lincoln Community School is an International Baccalaureate school that my friends' children attend. There are over 50 nationalities represented here, among 500 students, grades K-12. The facilities are air conditioned and quite nice, including a giant pool and several sports complexes. Most parents receive a "package deal" when they agree to accept an assignment in Ghana for several years, which includes enrollment at this school for their children. Ambassadors, dignitaries, and large company representatives all send their children here - to the tune of over $20,000 US tuition each per year! Their sports teams play teams from other countries in Africa (4th grade plays against Togo this Friday!). Their Model United Nations club at the high school has attended conventions in Germany, Holland, Russia and South Africa over the last 4 years.

Trip to Ada, May 1

We spent some time tonight in the sweltering home of Nicholas, a family friend. He and his brother rent a very small place (to them it's a CASTLE!) in Accra, for which they had to pay 3 years rent in advance (3 million cedis, or $300 dollars total, so about $8.50 a month). It has absolutely no plumbing nor cooking facilities. There is a community toilet in the neighborhood - well, actually, it's just a hole in the ground. There are no showers, so he and all the neighbors carry containers of water on their heads from the local tap, then sponge bathe each day (now, remember, this is practically downtown in the capital city of Accra!). He is proudly displaying his cookware to us - that's all there is of it - no blenders, microwaves, colanders, glasses, just the most basic of implements - and he cooks outside over a few hot coals. He is 23 years old, and finishing his last year of high school, where there are no computers. He usually has to study by candlelight because the electricity is always going off. He comes from a village up north where is father has multiple wives and the babies receive tribal markings on their cheeks (deep slashing scars). This apartment is a major improvement over his last one, where he and 2 brothers lived in about 100 square feel or less and paid about $3 a month. (It's always good to have reminders about how grateful we should be for our blessings!) He plans to study accounting at university and already speaks 5 African languages plus English!

Our lovely friends, the McKee family, are excellent hosts! Today they took us on a fun-filled adventure that involved a drive by van, a boat ride, a swim in a pool, a delicious meal outdoors, a tropical setting of palm trees and sand, and a lot of FUN!

On our way today we filled up the van with "petrol" or gasoline. The total was only ¢533,304 (cedis) for 65 liters. Imagine seeing those figures on the gas tank at home! But that's only about $53 US dollars for about 16 gallons, or about $3.30 a gallon, I guess.

Can you believe that these are actually adult coffins? Yes, in the shape of sewing machines, vegetables, fish, even bulls, van, cars, flip-flop sandals, etc. Funerals are a big deal over here, where families may have to put the deceased in a refrigeration unit for a long time while they save money to properly bury them. They may even have to save to build an addition onto the house, to accommodate visitors who travel from afar. Then there is a procession with dancing in the street, lots of hoopla, and the family wears mourning clothes for a year - the color depends on the death situation: red, black and white may represent if it was an older respected person, or a youth who died tragically and unexpectedly, or an adult whose life's mission wasn't complete, etc. It's quite complicated and can be a very expensive ordeal.

We're off on a boating adventure from Ada (pronounced uh-DAH) up the estuary to a tropical island and quaint village.

Our boys thought twice about how good they have it at home, with Ipods, TVs, real paint on the walls, floors, glass in the windows, and other luxuries!

The island apparently has only 1 industry and source of income - the manufacture of gin, which starts right here where sugar cane is crushed. It is then stored in huge pots where it ferments for 3 weeks, then it is distilled with VERY rudimentary tools, then bottled and sold.

Marilyn, doing her best to avoid the brutal sun, meets Ebenezer, the chief of the small island village of Aflive. People who live here speak at least Ga and Ewe, but the Chief also speaks good English!

All the public schools are painted brown and yellow/gold, and the students wear uniforms of the same colors.

On the way home we saw giant termite hills!

These English boys have turned all their American friends on to soccer. They projected the game onto the ceiling, about 25 feet above us, and made the viewing about 25 ft. by 25 ft. - every "football" spectator's dream!


Tonight ended with all the boys' friends coming over for a viewing of the semi-final "football match" taking place in England.