Update from Dagbamete...

It feels like we've been here a week already, although it hasn't yet been 48 hours since our vans pulled into Dagbamete. As we arrived in the village, there was a large welcoming committee in front of the Kathy Armstrong Lodge, performing a Bobobo for our benefit. After a few awkward moments, everyone joined in with the dancers.

Although our schedule calls for "typical village days", we haven't had one yet. Yesterday was market day in Akatsi, and it was sensory overload for everyone. Every product imaginable was available for sale. About two hours were spent doing some shopping. If you have ever been to the Stittsville Flea Market, you could imagine triple the number of stalls.


We attempted to get an internet connection yesterday in Akatsi, but the lines were down. Some time was devoted to drumming lessons later in the day yesterday (our first day in the village).

This morning we had a chance to visit with the village priest - Kwasi's senior brother, named Hunau. We were introduced as a group and all shook his hand. Then according to custom, we were presented with a gift, which, again according to custom, were invited to share before we left. A small amount of libation was made available to each visitor.



The kids are already integrated into the community. They are actively involved in football matches during the day, and after dark. The adults and kids are participating equally in the lessons, and we are working on a variation of Astiagbekor today.


All the youth and adults are adapting well to their new surrondings and the climate. The weather has been humid and hot, but overcast most of the time, with a nice breeze. We'll let you know how we feel after a hot sunny day.

On Our Way!!!

Wow! It's hard to believe that we're really on our way... While most of our families are snoozing in their beds in the early hours of Tuesday morning - the Baobaob entourage has hit the ground in Amsterdam. It's 8:30 AM local time (2:30 AM at home) and most of the group have headed into the City for a couple of hours of sightseeing.

Exactly 12 hours ago, we pulled out from the train station in Ottawa, on the KLM bus bound for Montreal. Tearful goodbyes and loads of best wishes sent us off on the start of our journey. Montreal airport was a bit of a zoo, but we made it through the check-in, through security and onto the Boeing 747. They must have upgraded to a larger aircraft, as we'd been led to believe that it was a sold out flight - instead we had plenty of empty seats so many of us had some room to spread out - not that I saw many of the teens getting much sleep. The flight was a bit bumpy at times but the service was excellent.


We're all meeting at our departure gate at noon. The weather here in the Netherlands is fair today with a foecast temperature similar to what it'll be in Accra later today.