Ghana and Togo and Benin (oh my!)

What a crazy few weeks it's been! The day after Sadio's wedding, I hopped on a bus with Yuri from Bamako to Accra, Ghana. We picked up Mme. Koumare in Segou en route to Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina Faso -- pronounced "oo-wah-gah-doo-goo"). After three straight days on the bus we found ourselves in Accra. We attended a handicrafts and home decor exporting workshop put on by the West Africa Trade Hub (WATH).

They actually had simultaneous interpreters there (like they have at UN meetings), since there were both French and English speaking artisans. The workshop was very interesting, and we learned a lot of good things to bring back to the artisans in Mali.

(some of the products of the artisans who were at the training)

There aren't too many artisans in Segou whose products are up to exporting quality standards, but some of the skills taught can be transferred to them (such as the concept of fixed pricing based on cost -- right now most artisans price things arbitrarily and expect to negotiate).

(Mme. Koumare and me in the ocean in Accra. She freaked out when the waves soaked her clothes.)

After the two-day training ended, Mme. Koumare headed back up to Mali, and Yuri and I went exploring. Ghana is amazing. It was strange to be in an English-speaking country again. We met tons of fun Ghanaians, ex-pats and tourists. We spent a few days at the beach at an eco-tourism hotel.

(Me, Amy (here doing MBAs Without Borders), Nick (from Peace Corps Senegal) and Andrew (an electrical engineer living in Accra) on our way to Bojo beach)

You see some pretty strange things over here. Here are a couple of the highlights:

(Ghanaians transporting a whole house on that little cart)

(They carry everything on their heads. I saw these people in the Grand Marché in Lomé, Togo. I think those bags are all empty, but that still takes talent!)

We also traveled to Elmina and Cape Coast. There we visited two castles. The Elmina castle was first built by the Portugese in the 15th century.

(Elmina Castle)

Both castles were used for holding slaves that were going to be shipped to other parts of the world (including America). We took the tours of both castles, and it was pretty powerful.

(Outside of Elmina Castle)

After Ghana, we took minibuses through Togo and into Benin. We stayed a few nights in Grand Popo, where we ran into a bunch of Beninese Peace Corps volunteers. They were really fun to hang out with, and they helped us figure out where to go on our way back to Burnkina. We also met some West Africans who happened to be either on or coaching their respective national volleyball club teams. They invited us to play some beach volleyball with them. It was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! I got a full day of vball in (needless to say I was pretty sore the next day!).

(Volleyball on the beach. These guys were super good, but they were also really friendly -- not overly competitive)

We went northward and stayed a couple nights with a volunteer who lives in northern Benin. There we went to a waterfall and hiked up a cliff (I couldn't believe they actually had cliffs! It was gorgeous). It was soooo green down south, as well as much cooler.

(at the waterfall in northern Benin)

We finally began the long trek home. With the exception of staying one night in Ouagadougou, we traveled non-stop on uncomfortable transport from Benin to Segou (it took three days). It was great to see a more tropical side of West Africa.

I got home and spent two hours sweeping off the thick layer of dust in my house. Then I cooked dinner for the first time in three weeks and crashed. It was a fun but exhausting trip. And now it's time to get back to work!!