Thursday, December 03, 2009

Welcome to Ghana!

It was a Monday morning at 8:00 when Cori and I hailed a cab outside my sister's apartment in Chicago to head to O'Hare airport. It was a Tuesday morning at 9:30 when we stepped off the plane at Kotoka Airport in Ghana's capital Accra. 19 1/2 hours of travel is all it takes in 2009 to journey from the upper-midwest to the "center of the face of the earth." (Ghana lies just a few degrees north of the crossing of the equator and the Prime Meridian, the point of 0-degrees longitude and 0-degrees latitude).

Stepping off the plane in Accra was amazing! To gaze upon Africa, inhale its air, hear its sounds, all for the first time, was a joy I can not describe.

If Ghana has a national word, it must be "Akwaba!" (ah-KWAH-buh): "Welcome!" The people are so kind, so warm, so...WELCOMING!

Our first days have been filled with countless new experiences, many of which I will recount in the coming days. The heat (Daytime: 90. Nighttime: 82. Dew Point: 78!!)has sapped our energy leaving us with little to devote to creative activities like blogging.

In the meantime, please enjoy the first contributions to our Ghanaian Photo Blog

4 comments:

Leslie said...

Glad you are finally there! I know already I am going to love seeing the familiar sights! Say hello to all for me.

Kristy said...

Wow! Awesome photos already. I love seeing your house and school. Your weather is certainly warmer than ours.... 29 F today.

MON!CA said...

Im so happy you're in Ghana Mr. A! Keep us posted on all of the AWESOME things there!

Also, Mrs. A looks beautiful! :]

-Klinger

Dylan said...

I love that picture of you, Mr. A. You look so ready. Glad you're finally there, and I'm glad you're having a good time!

~Dylan