Monday, October 16, 2006

Hi from an internet cafe in Accra, Ghana. We had an emotional meeting at the airport with James, and Kumi's entire family. James waved a few magic waves and we were through customs before we knew it. On to the Ford Foundation and a good sleep!

Now, we just finished a meal---we were brave and following James' good advice, had all-Ghanaian dishes, and it was DELICIOUS! In the process we found a good restaurant to take the whole group to! What a day! We have agreed that perhaps never in our lives have we in one day encountered so many friendly, helpful people. We tried to deliver letters to various ministers for Dr. Joe, and a few of our own as well! We're figuring out the money---it's not easy to think in the hundreds of thousands for a simple meal! We bought supplies, including two printers for use in Axim. We most of all enjoyed the sights and scenes of people engaged in their ordinary workday, in traditional or modern dress. We saw so many small entrepreneurial businesses. We met Barbara's banker friend who generously helped us get a good rate for some of GCJ's hard-won dollars.
And yes, there were some plumbing glitches, and an unexplained traffic jam, and it did get pretty hot and humid in the middle of the afternoon, but these are minor details at the end of our first day. Thanks to James, all went well and we are ready to take on tomorrow!! We'll send more details in the next few days, depending on our internet access, which seems a bit dicey.