Walking to town from our house...

WLI Waterfall

WLI Waterfall

One day while volunteering at our daycare Rise our teacher Unis wanted to show us her home. These are photos of the brief walk.

This is her home. Her door is in the middle.

This is Unis' daughter.

There were dogs all over many of them looked like this little guy. The camera made him very nervous.

This is the road we walked on from the daycare to her home.

On our welcoming night we were able to watch the traditional dances of the people from the area. This was a group that performs at funerals and other events. They were amazing! We also got to dance with them. Along with the dancing they also had some tremendous drummers. Give a listen:

One of our first days we visited the market..The market was jam packed with people and their goods. Here the girls are looking at buying some fabric..You could by a yard of fabric for 5 cedis, which would be about 3.50 American.

 These gals were taking a break.

 This is a photo of the gutter at the market. The streets are lined with them. Some cleaner than others.

This was on our walk back to base. Many of the roads in Hohoe were not as nicely paved as this one. Goats roam all over the place.

IM BAACCKKK

WAHOOOOO what an amazing experience..I am sorry I was unable to update my blog while I was away..I would make the 40 min walk to the internet cafe once a day and sometimes I would be able to check my email and others I wouldn't....The internet was verrrrrrrryyyyyy slow, and sometimes wouldn't connect at all....I will be updating this week :)

http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/MP3/Ghana/Ghana%20Language%20Project%20-%20Education%20Placements.mp3

Follow this link so hear some of the short phrases that I will need to practice before entering the classroom.

Where am I going you ask??

Flight Itinerary 
Many people have asked how long my flight will be.
It doesn't seem too bad..The longest parts are at night so hopefully it will be sleepy time for this gal.

Flight Schedule

Depart - Fri, Jul 15 - 3:20pm Detroit, MI (DTW) Arrive - Fri, Jul 15 - 5:33pm New York (JFK)	Delta 32 Class: T Miles: 491 Aircraft: 319 Airline Ref: GIGCY7 Elapsed: 2.13 hours Seats: 11E
... connection time: 3 hours 57 minutes ...
Depart - Fri, Jul 15 - 9:30pm New York (JFK) Arrive - Sat, Jul 16 - 12:30pm Accra (ACC) Meal Service: Dinner	Delta 26 Class: T Miles: 5119 Aircraft: 767 Airline Ref: GIGCY7 Elapsed: 11.00 hours Seats: 32G
Depart - Sat, Aug 6 - 11:00pm Accra (ACC) Arrive - Sun, Aug 7 - 6:10am New York (JFK) Meal Service: Dinner	Delta 27 Class: T Miles: 5119 Aircraft: 767 Airline Ref: GIGCY7 Elapsed: 11.10 hours Seats: 28G
... connection time: 3 hours 20 minutes ...
Depart - Sun, Aug 7 - 9:30am New York (JFK) Arrive - Sun, Aug 7 - 11:05am Washington, DC (DCA)	Delta 3972 Class: T Operated By: Pinnacle Dba Delta Connection Miles: 215 Aircraft: CRJ Airline Ref: GIGCY7 Elapsed: 1.35 hours Seats: 6D
... connection time: 1 hour 40 minutes ...
Depart - Sun, Aug 7 - 12:45pm Washington, DC (DCA) Arrive - Sun, Aug 7 - 2:32pm Detroit, MI (DTW)	Delta 629 Class: T Miles: 391 Aircraft: 320 Airline Ref: GIGCY7 Elapsed: 1.47 hours Seats: 9E

PARTY

Thanks to Diane, Neal, Patrick, their amazing and generous neighbors and my family and friends, the GHANA PARTY was a complete success! In total at least 50 people were in attendance and after paying for some party favors 775 dollars were graciously raised to support my efforts to fund the trip! When I had heard this I was speechless and in such disbelief at how supportive everyone at the party was! It felt great to talk about the up coming trip and to answer the many questions that came my way! Many people came dressed for the party in their bright colors and patterns.  I cannot wait to be with the wonderful people of Lake Shore in Michigan again! They really know how to make a person feel special and they know how to have FUN!!!!

I was so smitten that so many of my close friends and family made the drive to support me!

Thank  you and I love you!

I wish I had pictures of all but my photographer (Mr. Jeremy Thomas) and I were so busy making friends and entertaining new ones that the night went by so quickly!

Diane went above and beyond preparing for the party! Her home is absolutely gorgeous and the decorations were such an added bonus!! I think she is a party throwing expert :)

PARTY

We also had a dance contest and had a great time singing some Karaoke ;)

The best hostess ever is running the show with her yellow head scarf! Thanks Diane for being so amazing

The Food

Diane made some fantastic food from Ghana! 

The menu included jerk goat that was grilled be Neal, fried plantains (Kelewele), corn on the cob rolled in coconut, peanuts, corn chips, yams with egg (Otto), ground cornmeal (Kenkey) and Groundnut Stew! Some of the food was definitely better than others :)


Groundnut Stew was my absolute FAVORITE

Groundnut Stew

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 can tomatoes (28 ounces)
• 1 can black beans (14 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1–2 teaspoons red pepper (to taste)
• ¾ cup chunky peanut butter

Procedure

1. Measure oil into a large saucepan and heat over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions and carrots and sauté, stirring with a wooden spoon, until vegetables are softened.
3. Add green pepper and continue cooking a about 5 more minutes.
4. Stir in canned tomatoes with liquid (do not drain them), canned black beans, salt, and red pepper. Lower heat, cover, and simmer about 15 minutes.
5. Stir in peanut butter and continue simmering, covered for 10 more minutes. Serve hot.

Read more: Food in Ghana - Ghanaian Food, Ghanaian Cuisine - popular, dishes, diet, history, meals, staple, rice, main, people, favorite, make, customs, fruits, country, vegetables, drink, typical, stew, different, fried http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Ghana.html#ixzz1OWLC3t2g

Ghana Party

Join the Ghana Celebration!

A fundraiser/send-off party for Holly Coffey Thomas who is volunteering in Ghana this summer.

Saturday, June 4^th 7pm

Party will be held at the Lake Erie home of Diane and Neal Thurber

12190 N. Lakeshore Dr.

LaSalle, MI 48145

(Exit 9 off of I75, about 20 minutes from Toledo)

Food,Drink,Music,Entertainment and Fun! All to help raise some travel cash for Holly.

RSVP to nethurber@aol.com or holly.coffey@gmail.com or 734-242-1370

Ghanaian food and snacks will be served.

Beer and Wine will be available for a $1 donation.

 Talent/Karaoke CONTEST

Come prepared to perform a song or other talent and win money for Holly by being the best!

Please indicate that you plan to perform when you RSVP.

Wear your COLORS!

The native dress in Ghana is very colorful, so wear your wildest! Wraps, scarves and head wear are encouraged. Weather permitting this will be a patio party on the shore of Lake Erie so come prepared.

A Wonderful friend of mine that I work with at Toledo Botanical Garden has volunteered to throw a GHANA party to help raise funds for my trip. She was kind enough to lend us her beautiful home off of Lake Erie for the festivities and to plan this fantastic party :) I am extremely excited and completely tickled that she would do this for me! Please show your support and stop by!! ANY ONE WITH TALENT OUT THERE?? Sign up for the contest!
Please and thank you :) 

Bugs in my clothes?? I do not believe you

Here is a taste of the insects I will be encountering....

Yesterday I was talking with my Ghana travel buddy Miss Katie Bailin..We were talking about our tickets and our luggage...I said that I will probably only bring one piece of luggage and re-wear my clothes....I mean I can wash them right...She proceeded to tell me the following:



After you wash your clothes you have to hang them out to dry...when you hang them out to dry bugs will get into the fabric and lay their eggs...the only way to kill the eggs will be to iron your clothes out..

Katie and I then made the decision to go shopping at a cheap store before our trip to purchase clothes we can wear a couple times then get rid of....ewwwww

Funds and Springfield Local Schools Parent Diversity Counsel

Wow...Planning for a big trip can be exhausting....

Right now I am busy getting documents in order and raising funds. A wonderful friend of mine
Sara O'Malley was kind enough to help me with my fund raising letter. She was able to take my feelings and words and put them down on paper. I am busy sending these letters out to family, businesses in the area that I have visited, and ones that I have worked for.  I bought orange envelopes hoping that these letters would stand out from all of the rest! Wish me luck :)

This trip inspired me to contact Springfield Local Schools Parent Diversity Counsel. I did not know much about this group but thought it might be a way to get the word about my trip out into the community. I am hoping that through my travels teachers will be able to use my blog as a teaching tool in their classroom; that it will then inspire students to give back to their community or maybe even the world...... The group was very receptive of my idea and also gave me ideas. Being at the meeting made me think..."I am traveling across the world to learn about a different culture, but there are so many cultures in my own community that I do not know enough about."
This group of parents have many amazing ideas about how to inform the SLS community about the uniqueness of every student. I look forward to working with them on future projects and endeavors.

HELLLLO

Hello Family and Friends,
Thanks for visiting my blog! I just got it up and running. Please feel free to check it periodically for fund raising events and more. I am hoping seeing what I am doing will inspire others to do the same. Right now in my journey I am getting paper work together, learning about the culture in Hohoe and thinking of ways to raise the money to get there. It seems like most of my ideas pop into my head when I am trying to sleep. I do have some ideas but setting them into action is another story! Thank you for your interest and please consider donating! Stay tuned for more updates and what not :)