Yesterday was an amazing day! President Obama was only in Ghana for one day and we got to see him and listen to a speech right before he boarded Air Force One to leave. We went to Accra in the morning, got our tickets to the event, and headed to the airport for the event in the afternoon. We were in a crowd of probably over a thousand Ghanaians and Americans going to this event, but got basically front row seats. There was a section for American citizens about 30 feet from the stage where President Obama and Ghana President Atta Mills both gave short speeches. We had to wait a few hours for them to arrive and the event was only about 30 minutes, but it was amazing. They welcomed the presidents with drummers and dancers. President Atta Mills gave a short opening speech that we could not really hear, and then President Obama gave about an 8 minute speech in which he gave multiple shout outs to Peace Corps. Of course we went crazy everytime he mentioned us. It was a great speech about development in Ghana and how America will be their partner in every step. After, he went around and shook hands of course, and Michelle shook hands too. I was not quite aggressive enough to get a handshake, but it was still great, and I shook hands that shook his, totally the same, haha.
After, 8 of us stayed in a hotel type place in Accra, near an area where tons of ex-pats live, so it was very American-like. We went out to two bars with current PCVs and had nice cold beers, enjoyed American music and saw lots of obrunis. At one bar they were even having a tribute to Michael Jackson by showing a ton of his videos on a projector outside. It was a lot of fun, but we were out 'til about midnight, which is very late here, and I am very tired today. Totally worth it though to see the city nightlife in Ghana, even though I will very rarely get to Accra from my site.
Now for the next Dagbani lesson: To ask someone how they are doing you say "agbihiya" which literally means how did you sleep, and they respond "gombiene", which means they are doing well.
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That is awesome that you were there for his speech, it must have been amazing to hear him referring to the work that you guys are doing there. I thought of you every time there was TV coverage of Obamas visit to Ghana. It's good to hear that you are having a great time. We can't wait to hear more!
ReplyDeleteYour trip to Accra sounds like it was awesome! I'm excited to see your pics get up on facebook!
ReplyDeleteMiss you!
Christine