Adinkra, a famous cloth from Ghana	Artisans hard at work posing with me	One of the most famous African cloths, kente	Beautiful colors and well-made		November 15, 1998 Back from Accra, Ghana Earlier today I returned from a week in Ghana, formerly known as the Gold Coast.  It was colonized by British so I had to get used to asking for fish and chips, and speaking English to waiters.  It's a little funny getting used to the English in Africa though.  When you enter a restaurant, the Ghanaians say, "You're welcome," as in "Welcome to the restaurant."  Also, if you do something to yourself (like tripping or dropping something) they'll say, "I'm sorry," as if they caused your misfortune.  Actually, they're just being nice or concerned for your well-being, but it is disconcerting to an American English speaker.  Another thing that catches me off guard is when I say, "Hello" or "Good morning" to someone, they respond with, "Fine."  But I haven't yet asked how they are…  Sometime if you ask a waiter if they have something, such as ketchup, they might answer with, "No, please."  In class, I was asked, "Can I go pass water?"  Unfortunately, with the different accent, I didn't catch on right away that they wished to use the restroom (or nearby bush).  On a different note, the more religious people answer many things with, "Thank God".  For example, if you ask if they slept well the night before, they might answer with, "Thank God."  So it was interesting for me to get used to this new English, and to have so many devout Christians everywhere.  I don't think I met anyone who was Muslim during my trip.  It's funny that I have certain Muslim habits now, like greeting everyone with Asaalam Malekum, or saying Alhamdulilai (Praise be to Allah).  I didn't know how to start a conversation with vendors there either.  In Senegal, there's a whole routine I'm used to going through in Wolof, before I switch over to French.  Interesting how different an English-speaking country can be! November 17, 1998 Continuing the Accra story… Go to Ghana to eat.  They have great restaurants and they have character and are elegant in a simple way.  I ate Mexican, Italian, Indian, and Lebanese. I guess I even ate British when I had fish and chips. Go to Ghana for more green and hills.  I didn't get very far out of Accra. As a matter of fact, I only got to Buduburam Camp, a refugee camp about a 45-minute drive from the capital.  I would have enjoyed visiting the rainforests, or more of the countryside, but I didn't have the time. Everyday I left with my colleagues from Ghana at 7:15 so we could begin our Cultural Orientation classes.  We each taught two-day sessions with a class of about 35 students each.  All but five students were Liberian.  Two were from the neighboring country of Togo, two were from Nigeria, all political refugees.  One refugee was a Sierra Leonian, probably a family reunification refugee.  We did our training in pavillion-type buildings.  It is still hot in Ghana, so the average temperature was in the nineties.  It really exhausts you, teaching in hot weather like that.  The refugee camp was not what you would expect.  Most lived in cement or semi-permanent mud homes. It seems their relatives in America send money to them to help with the building costs.  The area is guarded by UNHCR and is enclosed.  I don't know how many people were there, but I would guess around 10,000.  It seemed many of the children were going to school, and on the whole, people were fairly healthy.  The camp seemed like a village, and they take care in its appearance.  Trash was not strewn everywhere and things were orderly.  Some outhouses had been built, although I noticed during classes people wouldn't bother going that far; they would relieve themselves somewhere nearby (which is typical all over West Africa from what I have seen).  We actually tell them it's against the law in America to urinate in public and they think it's a joke.  Where do you go then, when you're in the country?  It's hard for them to believe that you can be in the middle of "nowhere" and can still find a gas station or restaurant. I'll try to think of some of the more interesting questions they had for me. Some interesting tidbitsOn the average, in a group of 35, maybe 6 or so have high school diplomas, 5 have ever flown in a plane, 4 have had paid jobs, 5 have had bank accounts, and around 3 can't speak English (even when they're from an English-speaking country).   In some groups, all these numbers are even lower. My next training is next week here in Dakar.  I will do a three-day session, rather than two.  I'll conduct this one in French, and will have participants from Algeria, Rwanda, and Chad.  It should be interesting to meet some new nationalities, and to not have to travel to get to work!!! The following week I'll head to Banjul in the Gambia for three days too. After that, I don't know what I'll be doing!
Enjoying hills in Buduburam Refugee Camp	Verdant land after the rains had ended	Episcopal Church in the refugee camp	Our central training site
My training room, another church in the camp	My Liberian, Sierra Leonian, Nigerian, and Togolese trainees	Typical refugee housing in Buduburam Camp	Josline's training area, the Sunday school classroom
Refugees, after receiving their certificates	On the road between Accra and the camp

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