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Well, we have all made it back to accra in one piece. We are all ready to get back to sacramento and enjoy whats left of our summer, though we have had a great trip here in ghana.We have seen so much on this trip from the urban (Accra and Kumasi) to the rural(monkey sanctuary). We have seen elephants from afar and had warthogs camp outside of our room in mole. we have even fed monkeys bananas we have all had a ton of fun, and learned a lot about the culture. This trip has definitely changed my point of view on a lot of things. I now realize the4 small luxuries I take for granted in the UNited States like hot showers, and clean and comfortable beds, and no bugs. But i also see that in Ghana the people are so kind and welcoming, even to a bunch of strange white people. Probably my favorite part of the trip, apart from seeing all these new and interesting things about ghana, was all the people and friends i have made on the trip, who i’m sure i will keep in touch with. overall the trip was fantastic, but i’m ready to go home to sacramento. USA! 2 more days. i’m ready. all i have to do is use up all my cidis at the market and i will be set. i’m excited.

WE are in Kumasi right now after leaving our homestays.

The homestays were very interesting to say the least. I was staying with Mikaela and we had a blast with our homestay mother Monica and her daughter Anna. During the week we worked at a school building a new wing for it. We hauled sand, dirt and concrete for the laborers for four days. I think that my head is now permanently flattered, but the kids at the school were really nice, and we did make a lot of progress on the building. We also went to the orphanage and donated some stuff and did some work for them.

When we presented the boys at the orphanage with their soccer jerseys, they cheered and were so excited, so that was really nice. We also went to a club, but we were the only ones there, because it was 7:30 in the evening, but its supposedly THE party place in Swedru, which was our homestay town. WE are now in Kumasi. we just went to a soccer match which was so much fun. The Kumasi team beat the Libyans 3 to 1. Everyone had so much spirit and was crazy.
We’re off to Mole in the morning and I’m really excited.

WE are here in Cape Coast right now and we leave tomorrow for Takeradi. Today we went on the canopy walk and saw the Cape Coast slave castle.

The canopy walk was so much fun. We were really high up in the jungle, and we were walking on these rope bridges. People behind me, aka Lindsey and Mr. Starace, kept on swinging the bridge so it was terrifying, but it was still really fun. A few of us also went on a rain forest nature hike afterwards and that was interesting as well.

The Slave castle was really grim to say the least. It is so weird, the slave castle is this gorgeous building on the outside, but yet it housed such atrocities for hundreds of years on the inside. It was really sad to go into the slave dungeons and find out that they packed 150 people into these tiny rooms, and treated them so inhumanely, and didn’t even allow them to go outside and exercise or anything. Its hard for me to imagine anything so cruel and awful as the slave trade. Even though the slave castle was a really sad place to go, I was glad we went there, because I think its important to have the slave castle stand as a monument to all those who died and suffered in the slave trade. The museum in the slave castle was also really great and informative.

Today was a little somber, but it was overall a good day, I think.

Hey Everybody.

We have been in Accra since Wednesday. Its really nice here so far. We have been touring around the city and have seen the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Center and the University of Ghana Lengon. They were really pretty. I was really fascinated to learn something about Kwame Nkrumah and W.E.B. Du Bois because I really knew nothing of them before this trip. I also loved the lecture we saw today at the University because it was very interesting.

Ghana is so hot, I am constantly fanning myself, and Mikaela keeps on making fun of me. Mr. Predko and Mr. Starace are so nice on this trip. They are being very tolerant for being with 15 teenagers who are extremely loud. I am having a lot of fun. I love my roommates Mikaela and Lindsay even though Mikaela is the loudest roommate ever and can’t figure out how to set her voice clock, so she decides to do it at 11 at night when I’m sleeping.
I’m excited for the beach and home stays. Hhope your all having fun in Sac.

It’s really just hit me that we are embarking for Africa, more specifically Ghana, tomorrow. It always seemed so far away to me, and now that it’s actually here, its a little intimidating and nerve- racking, but also extremely exciting. I’m really excited for this trip because I know it will be life-changing. Not only will I be thousands of miles away from my family for a month, but I will also be submerged in a culture that is very different from my own. That thought both excites and scares me a little, but I’m thinking/hoping that is normal. I’m especially looking forward to meeting and hopefully getting to know Ghanaian people. I think our home-stays will be very interesting and fun. I am also looking forward to getting to know my group members better, because though we all know each other now, the dynamic will probably be different in such a new environment. I’m sure that the group dynamic will be different in a good way though. Now, I have to cut this blog short and hurriedly finish all my packing so my mother doesn’t suffer from cardiac arrest. But to sum it up, I’m a little nervous and scared, but mostly excited about the prospects of our Ghanaian adventure.