I made it!

So i've been in Ghana now for 3 days and felt i should already make a post as there is so much to talk about!

Both the flight to amsterdam and Accra were awesome. The flight to Amsterdam was crampt to say the least but it went really quickly as i was sat next to a really nice girl who worked at Abercrombie & Fitch and was on her way to China to help with panda conservation and to go travelling. We did the usual British way of breaking the ice by complaining about something or other and the plan was to go and explore what the Dam has to offer but it turned out my flight to Accra was boarding pretty soon after we arrived so we said our Goodbye's and i boarded for the flight to Ghana. I had never been on a long haul flight before and i couldnt understand the concept that it's basically all you can eat and drink for free which was amusing for the air hostesses. They did not find it so amusing when i was ringing the bell for them to bring me another beer every 10 minutes! Never one to pass up on free booze...

It has been non-stop ever since i arrived on friday evening, after a slight delay at the airport in Accra due to some muppet thinking my bag was his, i was met by my brother in law Eoghan. We had about an hour to kill until my sister arrived on a different flight so Eoghan took me to a hotel nearby to try the local brew. They have two types of beer out here called 'club' and 'star' which i swear are the same but everyone seems to have their own favorite. So we sat outside by the pool with our clubs watching the hotel band who were hilarious, singing their version of swing low sweet chariot, enjoyed that in a big way.... We made the beer a swift one as we were worried about being late for Helen so we made our way back to the airport. It was here, Eoghan introduced me to a guy, i think his name was James and is a driver they know through the High Commission who gave me my first taste of the welcoming city of Accra. He taught me the special hand shake greeting which is used everywhere around here, its just like a normal hand shake but the hands slide apart and the middle fingers pull against each other to create this click sound which is either really satisfying if it works or a super anti-climax which always happens when Helen and I do it with each other, so we just give it the shake and bake instead.

So we got back to the complex where i will be living for the next 3 weeks, ill be putting up tons of photo's so you can look at it...its basically pretty damn sweet and there is a swimming pool and tennis court which is shared by the other people living within the complex. Theres also a quality hammock in the garden which i've been taking full advantage of...loving life here !

Saturday morning - first thing - breakfast with fresh mango and paw-paw (papaya) and fruit smoothies, i am OD'ing on vitamins here! H & E had arranged a drumming lesson with a dude called Morrow - nicest guy ever which was such a laugh, especially watching the concentration on Eoghans face trying to master this beat we had been learning for half an hour... So we all had a jam on the bongo's and he then took us to where the drums are made in the marketplace. As i was new i was taken into a hut surrounded by these heroes who basically played a little welcoming drum session...i have never felt so welcomed anywhere it's such a nice feeling. Also the main guy who is just known as the 'Emperor' around these parts is a legend, he reminds me of the guy from Bob's pillow the rasta on youtube. Anyway, they were all amazingly talented and would have loved to stay but H & E wanted to show me the beach so we went there for lunch and watched some random naked guy swimming in the sea, not in a gay way just pretty confused ! This was where i got my first taste of the local staple food which tastes like wall paper paste and Helen insisted i tried it with this sauce which was hotter than the sun. Was like the Ghana initiation so once i manned up they got me a lovely local delicacy 'club sandwich with chips and onion rings', so not embracing the culture fully yet!

That night we went to some russian guys flat for food and drink and met lots of different people all either working for different agencies with good causes or students. It started off pretty slowly with some conversation but a few glasses of wine and this incredible drink called 'manula fruit cream' which sort of tastes like a fruity baileys later we had a dancing circle going with Eoghan busting a few break dance moves in the middle - so funny...not to be shown off i pulled out the worm - went down pretty well im not gonna lie!

Sunday was when i noticed the weather. It's pretty weird, like humid but completely overcast so it's not really sunny. I was kinda glad about that on sunday though as we went and played a round of golf at the course which is less than a minutes drive from the complex. I say a round but it's just 9 holes. This was Helen's and Eoghans first time ever on the golf course so it was pretty amusing. After a quick lesson from a PGA golfer though H & E picked it up and Helen was showing us both up and finished the day only 15 over par for the front 9 which is bloody good! I won't tell you my score...

After this we checked out the gym which is right next to the golf course and ooooh my life its incredible. So much better than any gym ive been to in England but it's pretty expensive so i might be going to a different gym with the guy im working with here, gonna go check that out today. After this we went and played some tennis and table tennis at a hotel with some of Helen's friends which was cool, caught up on the ashes as well. Evening, Eoghan did a lovely bbq and then we had a nice chill, g and t and a film. I can't get over how cool it is here!

Today ive just started at ACI (Africa Change International) ...Peter, the guy who runs the show here is great and he's got such good dreams, the guys here, just like all the other NGOs are in desperate need of sponsorship. The place is linked to the local primary school which has around 400 kids. I went there today but most the kids are on holidays now. Met a few of the cutest kids though who told us one of the subjects they learn in school is ICT, except they don't have any computers, they've never even seen a computer, they just read about them. ACI has an ICT room which has just been created whereby the kids can come along and use the computers for free. It was really touching looking at the photos of the unvailing of these computers to the kids, they had no idea what to do with them.

So thats the story so far, serious essays but its only because this place offers so much..im hoping now to get a deeper experience of the poverty which is everywhere in between small pockets of huge wealth. Someone told me this crazy figure the other night, 80% of all Ghana's wealth is owned by 5% of the people. The corruption here is pretty shocking.

If you want to look up about the organisation im working for here the website is:
http://www.acighana.com/

If you want to donate anything, be it clothing, computing stuff or money just let me know or email Peter whos address is on the website. It's such a great cause and gives a chance for these kids to obtain scholarships to secondary schools so they can carry on going to school instead of working on the streets and being tempted by drugs and gangs.

Thanks for reading, ill keep you guys updated as soon as theres more to talk about!