Cape Coast

Hi All,
Sorry for the delay in posting. I am continuing my adventures here in Ghana and I am having a great time! This past week Sheryl and I went to Takoradi--that is the other sight where the other two girls are working. It was a great little town, small and on the ocean--so different from the busy crazy city of Kumasi. We all took a Tro Tro to Cape Coast, it used to be the capital of Ghana and it is full of history from the slave trade. We took a tour through the Cape Coast castle and saw where they held the slaves before they were shipped off, it was fascinating. We spent the day there and met a really interesting man who makes silver jewelry and got a great deal on some earings! He invited us to a show that night and we were able to watch native drumming and dancing, it was really cool. It was especially nice to feel the cool ocean breeze as it has been so hot here.
The next day we went to a national park called Kakum. It is all part of a rainforest and they have some suspension bridges that are taller than the trees--we took the canopy walk around the forest. It was so beautiful! I didn't mind the height, but I really didn't like the way the bridges (about 8inches across) swayed as I walked, that was kind of scary.
Since Sheryl and I didn't have to teach until Friday we decided to go to a "resort" that the jewelry guy couldn't stop bragging about. He said that it was the most beautiful place in Ghana. So we rented a taxi and drove and drove and drove . It was clear in the middle of nowhere on really bad dirt roads. We got there and it was incredibly beautiful, but it was not a resort! We stayed in a hut with 4 other people, and they were pretty proud of the fact that each bed had its own mosquito net! It was a really cool place though, just sit outside all day with nothing to do but watch the ocean and read. It was pretty incredible, and not bad for $4 a night!
The next day we walked down the beach to a little village to catch a Tro tro out of there, we were pretty lucky as we were the last two people on the tro tro. As we were getting ready to go all the men surrounded the tro tro and pushed it down a hill--it was to help it start. But it didn't start, so they all pushed it back up the hill and tried again. This time it managed to start! Then a bunch of the guys all ran up to it and climbed on top to ride into town, it was pretty funny to watch the legs dangling out my window.
2 tro tros, 1 taxi, and a 6 hour bus ride later we made it back to Kumasi. Home sweet home. This week we taught a great group of people. I really grew close to one woman, her name is Patience and she has the sweetest spirit. She said that her greatest dream is to educate herself (she only made it to jr . high) and to be a secretary. She wants it so badly, but she said it is hard because she has 3 children. I told her I had faith in her and I knew her dreams could come true. I shared with her the story of my own mother who went back to school when she had three little girls. It seemed to give her some confidence. She loves to read, it helps her with English, I am going to take her a Sheri Dew book that I brought with me. I pray that her dreams can come true.
Kumasi is great, Ghana is wonderful. I hope to hear from you all soon!