Kumasi and bargaining

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We've been traveling to inner Ghana...a city called Kumasi. Let me
just say that Kumasi is wayyyyy nicer than Accra, though it is still
chaotic and interspersed with nice homes amongst the shanty-towns.
W'e're staying in a hostel, called, "Royal Gate Hostel" which brings
me to a side-note...almost everyone has a shop here, usually out front
of their dwelling...and they are the funniest names I've ever seen!
There's the religious names, like "Gate of Heaven Liquors," or "God's
Love fast food," or "Lion of Judah internet" and then there's the
crazies...like "Passionate Love Drinking Shop," and "Effie's Rasta
Hair Do" haha they crack us up so when we see a crazy one, we've
gotten into the habit of pointing them out and laughing at the
ridiculousness! This tour business the university has us on is sooo
tiring, so we're all a little delusional anyways and that seems to
keep us entertained so we don't think about how tired we are!

Anyway, last night, we had some cool lectures on Ghanaian Art and
history...and I've learned quite a few things that I didn't know
before. And yesterday, on our way to Kumasi, we went to a village that
makes "Adinkra" cloth. This is a traditional cloth that is stamped
with different symbols to mean different things...there are symbols
for loyalty, for leadership, for humility...about 40 or so different ones,and they are called "motifs."(Ashanti Kings wear the cloth, as do other Ghanaians for special occasions). We were walked through how to make the ink, which is from a special bark. There was trash everywhere, they buildings were barely holding together, and kids were attacking us and asking us for our pens of all things (again I don't have my cord, and the internet is too slow anyway, but I will load pics later). Anyway, it was real
exposure to how traditional Ghanaians live in poverty...good to see
but overwhelming.The coolest part was that we got to stamp our own
cloth...which they made look way easier than it was. Needless to say,
the guy did most of mine... I chose the stamp to represent "safety and
security in the home."

Later, we went to another craft village...and I say village, but
really, it's like a web of roadside stands and huts...very hard to
explain...but I got a really awesome carving there- made of one piece
of wood, but it was soooooo crazy to bargain with those people- they
were totally taking advantage of us and surrounding us... so I just walked away! Then, right as we were pulling away, they came up to the bus window- which opens all the way- and sold it to me for 1/6th of the origional price! You can basically buy anything from the bus windows...people are selling everything on the streets, even laptops....and the best part is they carry everything on their head- yep that is real folks.

Today, we went to this lake out in the country, called, "Bosomtwse"
which was actually beautiful! We took a tour on boat and discovered a
really nice place to stay- resort style...I'll definitely have to make
it back here before I leave Ghana 😊

Tomorrow, we're on our way back to Accra...and we have a huge funeral to go to- our Twi (the language I will be learning) professor died, and funerals are so big here, so our director wants us all to go. My roomie and I got dresses made out of the same cloth because when people wear the same cloth, it means they are family...haha...

more later! I love you all and miss you 😊

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