goodness gracious

since my last post my SIT study abroad program has ended and grace has come to visit me! we started in accra and visited the UG campus in legon. next we headed to kumasi where grace got a taste of the central market and got to meet my friends and family there. it was great to see everyone again, but also sad to say goodbye. we visited okiakrom, the village where i lived for two weeks, and spent time with JK. i was excited that the children there still remembered me. we also spent a night at lake bosumtwe which is the youngest crater lake in the world and the only in west africa. the lake is about an hour south east of kumasi. it was beautiful there and we stayed at a guesthouse called the rainbow garden village. the lake was like glass until night came and brought a storm that tore the floating dock (that had been there for 4 years) from the shore! after kumasi we headed to cape coast where we visited the black star book shop, and toured the elmina st. george's slave castle dungeon. we took the tour with a group of ghanaians and it had a very different feel than when i took it with my SIT group. and now we are in takoradi. takoradi is a city west of cape coast and this has been my first time into the western region. now i have seen 8 of 10 ghanaian regions. the coast is beautiful. we have spent the last four nights at a guesthouse called the hide out which is right next to a village called butre. we have taken a few day trips to a near by fort and on a crocodile canoe safari! we have also enjoyed relaxing on the beach and meeting other locals and visitors. on wednesday we will be heading back to accra and spending our last night there before flying out on thursday. i can't wait to get home! see you all soon!

love, dane and grace

hide your blenders!

while the rest of the world frantically follows the spreading swine flu outbreak, ghanaians are concerned with an epidemic of a different sort. several newspapers, news stations, and radio programs have reported a serious threat to the people knows as 'sakawa'. sakawa is a juju curse put on young men by evil priests that makes the victim seek out furniture and kitchen appliances. these young men flock to internet cafes to purchase toasters and arm chairs online. others obtain the desired goods in a more destructive fashion. several news reports claim that men have been breaking into homes and businesses to steal refrigerators and microwaves. the headline on the cover page of the daily graphic (the new york times of ghana) states 'sakawa scare is real'.

in other news.... my SIT friends will be leaving tomorrow and i will be joined by another friend to travel ghana for two weeks! i will miss these people and i look forward to seeing them again in the states. happy summer to those of you who have made it there, i can't wait to see you all soon!

love, dane

sidenote

happy birthday/mother's day midge!!

everything is good here, i'm back in accra and will be presenting tomorrow

love, dane