Ebola? No ebola here.

I've been in Ghana for 4 days. In that time it seems like I've barely left campus (yes, campus), but at the same time have really seen a lot in Accra. My trip to Ghana started after spending 2 days in New York at the gateway orientation for about 150 AFS (American Field Service, a foreign student exhange program) students going abroad. I would be chaperoning five students, all girls, on their flight to Ghana, where they will be spending the next 10 months as exchange students. They cram a lot into 2 days of orientation, but by about midnight on Thursday we were in the air on our way to Ghana. Oh yeah, we saw Katie Holmes at JFK airport. The girls asked if they could take her picture, and she was very nice and accommodating. We think we saw a few football players, too, but weren't 100% sure. I was keeping my eyes open for politicians for the perfect airport trifecta (movie star, sports celebrity and politican). No luck.

A team of AFS volunteers met us at the airport, and the girls were very excited to have finally reached Ghana. Me too. :) We went to our orientation site - the Guest Services Centre at the University of Ghana (Legon campus). We are in dorm/apartment type rooms here. I volunteered to stick around and help with orientation, and I'm glad I did. The AFS staff and volunteers here are wonderful - so very very nice, helpful, and informative. They've been guiding the girls through what to expect for their year here, and I've been learning a lot about Ghana in the mean time. We were joined by 2 girls from Belgium, but the group from France cancelled out due to the ebola scare. Ninnies.

So, in between actual classroom style orientation sessions, AFS has been giving us the royal tour of Accra. We've seen a presidential mausoleum & museum, the National Museum, gone to the ocean (twice!), hit the local market (crazy!) and the arts & crafts market (crazy, in a whole different way), and have been to the US Embassy (my first time in any Embassy). So, without intending to do so, I've pretty much crossed off my Accra to-do list.

My plans going forward have changed, changed again, and again a few times over. I've been invited to a big gala celebration on Saturday here in Accra. The president of AFS is touring to celebrate AFS's 100 year anniversary, and he will be here this weekend. One problem - I have nothing to wear. It is African (or western) formal. Well, this gives me the excuse to see if I can have a Ghanian dress made in the few days I have before the event. I head to Cape Coast tomorrow - going with the AFS Ghana staff to bring two of the girls to their host families there. I will get a few days of beach time, then head back to Accra for the festivities. If I can get a dress, that is.