And Now for Something Completely Different

An incredible example of Ghana culture - people who can afford it will sometimes arrange to be buried in an interesting coffin which represents something special to or about that person. Here is a coffin shop with some amazing examples of caskets and urns. Just imagine!!!

Coco Beach

Our last day in Ghana was spent at this lovely resort called Coco Beach. We enjoyed the day walking, buying last minute souvenirs from beach vendors, looking at the sights from the nearby fishing village and patting ourselves on the back for a job well done.

Ghana Night in Berekum

We had a wonderful night in Berekum with the Secondary School's cultural troupe. They were a delight to watch and dance with! There's no saying "no" when a dancer comes over and urges you on the floor so you just do your best!

The Team

This is the GNAT-CTF Ghana Project Overseas 2006 team. What a great group!

Scenes from Berekum

This is our last stop on our Project Overseas tour. The Berekum Training College had a lovely campus (not the barnyard that we remember from Wa) and we enjoyed ourselves very much in this last week.

Our Drivers

Here are the wonderful drivers who took such good care of us. Francis is proudly standing by his Landcruiser and Poku is having fun with the drum I bought for Fred at the Kumasi Cultural Market.

Carmen with one of the sculptures in the gardens of the Vision Hotel.

The Vision Hotel

This is where we stayed in Berekum. Not much of a "vision" to us after Gariba Lodge, but we managed. We had to figure out how the in-line water heaters worked, and how to get the AC working. The dim lighting we just had to get used to. Nice people, especially a young waiter named Martin.

This is how big the termite hills are. They are everywhere and amaze us each time we see one.

The boys!

Rick and Dean are proudly decked out in Ghana wear(smocks and shirts) - complete with caps! They are enjoying the spotlight with Jacob.

Ghana night in Tamale

Some photos of the amazing cultural group that entertained us tonight. Still pictures don't do them justice - they were wonderful. They even persuaded Dean and Rick and Dacia to have a turn with them dancing. We have it all on video!!!

Debbie, Carmen, Carol and Dacia sporting new dresses for Ghana night. With us are two wonderful headmistresses from the basic administration class.

Co-Tutor night

We hosted our Ghanaian co-tutors at the Gariba Lodgy for a very nice dinner on Thursday night. We also presented them with gifts, mostly Canadiana stuff. They were delighted with the things.

Basic Administration Class

Here are the administrators with Debbie, Carmen and Ghanaian co-tutor Prince Osei Nkrumah. The class is doing a role play on "team building".

Tamale Birthday Cake

Our driver, Francis, somehow found a birthday cake for us to have on my birthday. He was very proud of himself. The cake underwent a mishap as it changed hands but it turned out just fine! A nice spice cake with a thick icing (as Rick said - if icing was made of cement it would be like this!) We had lots of laughs over the birthday cake story. Ask us about it when we get home.

Hockey Night in Tamale

Dean drops the "puck" and the play begins! Within 1 minute, it sounded like a hockey rink back home. They got into the game immediately and were so excited when they scored a goal. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Class

The "basic administration" class is hard at work. Check out the beautiful, colourful clothing.

At the marketplace in Tamale

We went to the marketplace after class today. Here is Dacia getting fitted for a couple of outfits. Zach comes highly recommended by the regional secretary's wife. He seems very nice and is assuring us that all will be ready by Friday. They sure work fast here and with machines that either have hand cranks or pedals. There are seamstresses or tailors by the thousands here. Everyone has their clothes made. The fabrics are colourful, mostly cotton. They look so cheerful. Not sure how they'll fit in in Canada, though!

Class

My classroom is a very nice seminar room and the SSS(Senior Secondary School) class is going well.

Oware

One of our waiters, Eric, took some time to show us how to play the version of Oware that they play in this part of Ghana. It's an easy game to start playing, but it's full of strategy as you get into it. We'll be playing it all week now!

After school "debriefing"

It's Star time!

Gariba Lodge

Our new digs. It feels like a resort here. Very nice.

The new location in Tamale

We will now be working at the training college in Tamale. It has a very large campus. This section is where the administration classes are being held.