Western Region

If you are reading this post before the other one from Ghana, there are two videos at the end of that post that you should watch first. Then in this post there are 17 photos, followed by 2 videos, followed by 3 more photos.

We stopped for an adventurous walk through the crowded fishing harbor of Albert-Bosomtwi-Sam to watch these hard-working people get their fish to market (believe it or not, the fish market is 1.4 miles long ... that's a lot of fish).  Looking at the photos, you can see how busy everyone is mid-day (they were busier in the morning when fishing) but still respectful of each others crowded space and very friendly to strangers. We then visited the ice making plant next door to understand how they make the 1200 kg blocks of ice required every day to keep the fish fresh. Interesting operation.
 
We drove around the two cities to get an understanding of the people and the culture and see how they live. While touring these cities we learned about family life including how names are based upon when you are born (ie, Kofi means Friday).  They are named on the 8th day after birth in a very elaborate ceremony (sounded like a bris to me, maybe without an important part). Learning “truth” is an important part of the ceremony for the child’s entire life. Yes, this means there are only 14 names (7 for males and 7 for females) in the entire country. That is correct in general with few exceptions. Yes, there is the big Kofi, the short Kofi, the good looking Kofi…. Women’s roles are very traditional and girls learn about cooking and motherhood at a very young age. Boys learn about agriculture and how to take care of the land and crops and support their family. We also learned about how arranged marriages are organized and the dowry process (given by the man’s family).
 
Next we had a few hours snacking and seeing a cultural show with some incredible drumming and dancing … and drinking.  A lot of fun, relaxing and refreshing. Social dancing is very important to the Ghanaians. Lastly before we got back to the port I asked about the many Ghanaians we find in the U.S. serving in roles of home health aides throughout the country. I was told that is very true since many women are very well-trained nurses and work in social services in general in Ghana. When they come to the U.S. and U.K. they often choose to be in those fields, easily lending itself to the empathy and care required of home health aides for the elderly that remain in their homes these days.  Thank you Ghana or MEDASE ("May Dah Say") Thank you.Read more