Sunday, January 15, 2012

Old Friends and New Adventures



Students pose in front of the Baobob tree


Our first weekend in Ghana was filled with exciting times, old friends and new adventures.  Saturday's itinerary consisted of a pick-up soccer game, bus tour of Sogakope, visit to the market, lunch with the Amekor family, fittings with the seamstress, games by the pool and a lovely dinner - WHEW!

Because we are such a large group, we broke into several groups to tour the marketplace.  Each Saturday people in Sogakope come out to shop for their family.  The market is filled with tantalizing smells of roasting peanuts, smoked fish, and live baby goats.  The sights in the market are almost overwhelming with the bright multicolored fabrics of red, green, blue and yellow.  You can hear ladies laughing, children calling, babies crying, and motorcycles zooming by, sometimes too closely!  Often a man with portable PA system will call out to the crowd in the manner of a street preacher.  When we asked our host if his message was religious or political, she looked at us and said, "No, it's about cream."  We looked and at his feet was a carton of all-purpose miracle cream.



Many of us bought fabric in the market (stay tuned for pictures after next Sunday's service).  After making our various purchases, we made our way to the Amekor home for lunch al fresco.  The Amekor family welcomed us, new friends and old, into their home and fed us a remarkable Ghanaian feast:  grilled chicken, red-red, palm nut stew, fried plantains, fresh pineapple, and more delicious side dishes than we can name. 




Today, Sunday, we traveled 2 1/2 hours to Lake Volta for a riverboat cruise.  Fun, fellowship, and "swimming" in the billiards-table-sized swimming pool was the perfect way to end our first week in Ghana and begin our second full week of teaching.

2 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun day! Great post and pictures.

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  2. Loving the updates! I'm eating lots of fried plantains here in Ecuador too

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