update

so, back to saturday...after a yummy lunch at a place called sunshine salads we visited Dreams, the small shop of local clothes designer nanna wilson, who does whacky things with unconventional batiked fabrics and also incorperates strips of kente into her pieces. i couldn't resist buying a funky pair of red trousers with a black printed pattern and matching jacket (which i wore to a party that very evening...) and also a very unusual open-backed top/skirt dress piece lined with kente in golden yellows and lime green (which the male shop assisstant had to explain to me how to put on!). there are so many little fabric shops/businesses/boutiques/market stalls in osu alone that ive managed to visit in such a short time...
ian and michelle took me to the birthday of a friend, where i met some young volunteers and got a couple more contacts to follow through this week...good evening! then this afternoon after brunch we visited burma camp, where i met jimmy who is bob dennis' older brother. he was weaving a mile a minute when we pulled up, his arms and legs pumping and the loom clicking. it was the first time i saw kente weaving in action which was very exciting - and he invited me back tomorrow to speak with him and bob about organising some weaving lessons for me! i also bought my own copy of his book and had a rummage through their huge piles of hand woven cloth - all different colours and patterns and sizes - most of which had actually been adapted to be sold as functional pieces such as table cloths and place mats or pillows. but very tastefully done with the traditional ewe strip weave pattens, even if the bright colour combinations were a bit unconventional.
we even checked out the horse stables nearby - a few months ago there was a strange virus that was wiping out the animals one by one, which has now thankfully been stopped. so i even have the possibility to go for a trek on the beach sometime while im here, which would be one way to put a safe distance between me and all the muck one might find - right next to accra the main function of the strip of sand appears to be as a toilet or rubbish dump!
the next few days i will be shadowing michelle with her 'no worries' - the north american womens association has created a guide book to accra which they sell to make money for various local libraries and other projects.
wow thats a lot of text - i promise to take venture out with my camera so i can post some photos too!

go holland go!

so, already missed a day of blogging yesterday...not used to it yet :) or maybe its because michelle has been keeping me so busy! I will update later on the busy weekend I've had - now its time for a quick game of tennis and swim at the embassy before the big football game...hup holland hup!

first day

it has been a busy, productive day already! after dropping paul and jamie off at the airport ridiculously early, bound for camp in new york, michelle took me to see osu which is the main downtown area with street stalls and 'chops' (bars)...and even tried some authentic italian ice cream to ease the intense heat!

afterwards visited the artists alliance gallery where i saw for the first time huge authentic kente cloths lining the walls - as well as wooden drums, coffins (carved out of wood and brightly painted in every shape from fish to coca cola bottles and running shoes!) paintings, brass sculptures and glass beads - all in a huge palace of a building with its back to the (not so clean but oh so blue) sea.

i also met trish 'the bead lady', who sells her jewelery from her amazing house filled with fabrics, beads and stuff shes collected or embroidered from around west africa. i cant wait to go back and talk to her more about her future projects and share all the knowledge she has about the cloth and craft of this region...she also gave me the book of master weaver ahiagble bob dennis, who apparently lives nearby and does weaving workshops!

meanwhile michelle and i are planning our textile adventures to the volta regions to see the ewe kente and also the region north west of here to the great ashante kingdom.

otherwise i had my first ghanaian food tonight - plantain fried in chilli and ginger palm oil and then boiled yams with palava sauce made from cocoyam leaves with fish.

time for bed!

on my way!

here i go...see you in ghana!

day after tomorrow

so, the adventure is approaching fast! final stages of getting ready...i have decided to start a blog for future reference, but also so you friends and family out there can keep track!