Where Do I Begin???

Where do I begin??? So much has happened since my arrival in Africa yesterday. There is so much I want to share.

The Journey from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo

Well, my plane landed in Accra, Ghana at 8:00Am Sunday morning (11 hour plane ride). after retrieving my bags from baggage claim I waited in the airport for a couple of hours for someone from the school to pick me up. I could not fathom why it took him so long to come and get me, Lome is ONLY two hours away (or so I thought). Since he was late, he sent two friends who live in Ghana to greet me and wait with me until he arrived. These men were very nice and hospitable. They offered me purified water in a 4 by 4 plastic bag (less pollution).

Let me get to the actual journey... We took a taxi to the bus station (not your average American bus station), which in a outdoor market place with any people. The bus was actually a mini van, which would take us to the Ghana/ Togo border. There were 11 people and my luggage cramped in this van for about 2 hours or so. At times we were on dirt roads, which had huge rocks and pot holes. I slept for a portion of the drive and attempted to have a conversation with the man from the school, who only spoke French. Needless to say, we had to use a translation dictionary, but it worked out well.

After we got to the order, I had to fill out a lot of paper work to leave Ghana. This took about 20 minutes. Once I got the okay to leave Ghana, I had to then go to the Togo border check and obtain a Visa, which cost about 45 US dollars. this was very interesting because I had my bags inspected and I had to go through Customs. The people were generally nice:-) They seemed to argue a lot, but I soon found out what they were really doing...

After crossing the Togo border after another 20 minutes, we caught a taxi to the school (where I am living). While waiting for the taxi to drive to the school, I encountered a huge argument amongst some cab drivers. They were out of their cars and yelling and waving their hands at each other...I later realized this started as a negotiation for money and patrons, which is a BIG deal here, and turned in to much more. When all was said and done, the trip from Accra, Ghana to Lome, Togo took about 4 1/2 hours. Now I know why he was late:-)

So I am here and all is well. Some of the people here speak French, but mostly the local dialect. some of the French I learned in high school is coming back, but I have a long way to go.

The School

The school has three campuses and was founded 25 years ago on the patio of the owners house. I got to share a wonderful meal with them last night. They are a wonderful Iranian family with a great desire to share knowledge with the local people of Togo.

I will post pictures soon!!!