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Published: March 10th 2008
We woke up bright and early this morning- 6:30, in order to make it to Independence Square in time to see the independence festivities. We took a tro tro to Accra Central and then walked to the water front where the celebration takes place. On our way we met Joe, an extremely friendly middle-aged man who wanted to welcome us to Ghana. He asked if we had anywhere specific to sit, and because we didn’t, he invited us to sit with him in the V.I.P section. (It felt a lot like my summer biking experience of seeing KC and the Sunshine Band up- close and personal) We made our way through the crowd, passed the V.I.P washroom, yes, there was a very lovely V.I.P washroom, and sat down with a great view of the parade. It consisted of different branches of the armed forces and a bunch of different schools that march, too. At one point each armed service branch spelt out a different letter in the President’s last name. The colors were phenomenal. Although the ceremony was a bit on the boring side as Joe said, he invited us to follow him to the next event.
Because he works for the Minister of Education, he was off to see which school one the marching competition during the parade. Joe used to be a school teacher, and has won this big award at least once before. What happens is school from the Greater Accra region swap every other year to march and compete and there is a cash prize for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place schools in primary school, Jr. high, and secondary school. Here we met some more of Joe’s friends including George, who also works of the Minister, but used to be a social studies teacher. He and talked a lot about the US, and politics, and then Joe asked us to continue celebrating with him at the lunch for teachers and people working in education. Free food… why not? We ate a great lunch, and partied it up with lots of teachers. My friends are good dancers, and get lots of compliments. I like to think I help them get them because people see me… and then anyone looks ok. But on a less self-deprecating note, I’ve actually gotten some compliments, too,… shocking, I know. Good food, fun dancing, great people. It was an incredible afternoon. The generosity and hospitablity of Joe and his friends has left me with a permanent smile on my face. George asked Eleanore if this was one of those days she would look back fondly on when remembering Ghana- I can’t think of a better memory of this place so far. George told me he looked forward to talking to me again because we had a lot to learn from each other. I can’t wait.
Another one of Joe’s friends was celebrating her 51st birthday, just like Ghana. She said, I was smart, I decided to be born free. That was really powerful- political independence here is 51 years old. I don’t know just something to think about. I also learned that the Ghanaian flag symbolizes- red- the blood of the forefthers who fought for independence, green- the gifts - timber, gold- gold, and the black star. The Black Star (also Ghana’s football team name) represents the star that God shined through when the Gold Coast received its independence or also, a representation of africa.
Theodora, another of Joe’s friend’s, gave us a ride home. Because of the way another car was parked she wasn’t able to get into her cr. She asked politely for the man to move his car. He wouldn’t. So she pushed his car. She physically moved is car. She said she wouldn’t be treated like that, she wouldn’t let a man push her around. She’s f-ing awesome.
Some advice I got today- Grab an oar… everything’s gonna be alright. Happy Independence Day, Ghana. We promised to be back for 100.
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Dad
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Love your blog
Great to read your blog, Missey.