Ive got a lovely bunch of coconuts...

Well I guess its about time I threw my two cents up here and wrote something for the blog. Amy and I were alone for the week in Accra and we really had a great week. We have made friends with a few Ghanaian boys who are staying at the YMCA with us, and they've really shown us a good time. We went to a local 'chop bar' which is really not much more than a table with large quantities of food and some benches to sit on. We had some traditonal Banku there and it was delicious! Actually one of my favourite meals so far (althogh with both of us being left handed Amy and I need to be extra cautious eating traditional meals with our hands because eating with your left hand is considered quite rude).
Ive also become a lot more comfortable navigating thorughout the city, including batering with the taxi drivers to get to work in the morning (the cabs here have no fares). Everyone also finds it quite amusing when you try to speak Twi to them. We will buy something and say medasee (phonetically spelt, but it means thank you) and people will nod, then have a delayed reaction and laugh because obrunis (white people) dont speak Twi! Im picking it up slowly (many things sound EXACTLY the same), but I'm getting better at some of the key phrases thanks to our friends at the YMCA. The typcial day is definitely shifted here to start much earlier and wind up earlier since it is pitch dark by about 6:30 every night. Although, sleeping late has proven to be rather impossible with the roosters on the YMCA campus crowing every 2 minutes beginning at about 6 am everyday.
As far as our project goes it seems to be boiling down for the summer like this: Amy and I will be travelling around 4 regions in Ghana; Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, and Volta. We will be spending a week each at about 9 RBC centers and most likely stay with the entrepreneur who owns the RBC. During our time at the center, our job is to conduct a field survey we have developed on how the busniess is doing, what they offer etc., as well as provide any support service they may need (like computer training, maintaining the solar component etc.) And, Im sure we will meet some great people and see some interesting communities along the way. We will also have to become quite savvy at navigating Ghana's sometimes quite confusing roads, especially since the first town we are supposed to visit isnt even on the map!
To fill you in on some other things we've been up to, Amy and I had a chance to visit the National Museum of Ghana on saturday morning. It was the first real touristy thing we have done and it was actually quite interesting. It was a simple museum and vey hot inside, but I leanred a lot about culutral traditions in the various regions, and they had a pretty powerful exhibit on the slave trade. Lindsay and Josh returned to Accra in the afternoon and we spent the rest of the day lazing around in the warm breeze at the YMCA.
Today, our new friends took us on a walking tour around some areas of Accra we have not been yet. We stopped at some monuments including Independence Square, and went to the beach! It is the first time I have been to the ocean and it was so nice. The cool breeze made you feel like you were in a totally different climate than the humid city, it was so relaxing i probably could have sat there for hours. It was sunday, so the city was generally quite quiet, although we probably interrupted about 7 games of football as we walked down the beach.
Along our walk we took a break and got some coconuts from a street vendor. They are so delcious! The coconut water is nice and refreshing, and when you are done, the vendor cuts the coconut open with a huge knife and you scoop out the fruit from inside. so yummy!
All in all Accra has been a cool place to see and become familiar with in the last couple of weeks, but i'm quite excited to get our project rolling and see some other parts of the country!
Hope all is well at home for everyone, please keep me updated!

Lindsey