West Africa--

ahhhhhhhhh.

I finally got out of Accra to do some traveling this past weekend.
Well I have two new friends, Kristina and Larissa. Larissa is from Australia and
Kristina is a native to the BAY AREA!!! She grew up in San Jo and most recently has lived in Santa Cruz and Berkeley, so we have the city to always talk about! They are also with Kids Worldwide, volunteering in an Ananda Marga orphanage a 10-15 minute walk from my house/school! I'm really fortunate to have met them, they are the warmest souls and we have amazing, intriguing convos! We went (20 minutes away) to watch the final presidential debate last week (a day later, they replayed it on CNN West Africa @ 4pm gmt) at Gunadesh's house. He's a guy involved in Ananda Marga Organization -- which runs the orphanage I'll be volunteering at in India! Small WORLD. It was great to be tuned in for a short while and especially to have another American to discuss all the topics with!

trying to be in-the-know... even if it is a day late!

Friday through Monday, we took a trip to Kumasi. The journey was much more bumpy than I expected, and wayyyy LONGER. The bus station and travel books all quote 4-5 hours, but it was more like 6.5 hours. Hard to fathom when the distance between Accra and Kumasi is only 270 kilometers (about 180 miles!), but it was well worth it and the drive had incredible scenery. Kumasi is known as the "garden city" because of all the lush greenery, it's surprisingly beautiful and they even have sidewalks in some areas! We visited the Kajetia market (said to be the largest open-air market in all of West Africa) and explored the rest of the 2nd largest city in Ghana and capital of the Ashanti Region. The Ashanti Region is the home of Kente Cloth, and we made a day-trip on Sunday, out of Kumasi and into the village of Adanwomase. After Adanwomase, we went to an smaller village called Besease. In Besease, we went to a shrine for the late Yaa Asantewaa. She was the "Queen Mother," or priestess, of the Ashanti's (Asante) and ordered the first attack on a British Fort which eventually led to Ghana's independence from Britain in 1957. Wooohooo! :) It was interesting, but I really loved Adanwomase. We took a tour, following the step-by-step process of Kente Cloth making. From buying and even dying the yarn to taking the finished cloth off the loom and selling it in a store. The tour was wonderful and hands-on too!

Recent Photos

Adanwomanse...

Kente Loom

(simple weave)

Besease Village, East of Kumasi

Giggling at the Obruni's in her village.


"It's Africa is missing Madagascar"
Turtle at Yaa Asantewa's Shrine.


Besease, shrine filled with the Asante history


Trying on the Priestess' Skirt :/

The first building in the village of Adamwomase

ummm not so sure about all these colors...



okay, maybe I'll bring this look back to SF.

:)