Weekend with Friends in Akosombo

Last weekend, we went up to Akosombo to see Hannah and Robin's new place. They've settled into their little cottage house on the grounds of Right to Dream Academy where Robin has assumed a new role as Director of Operations (or something like that).

We rode up there on Saturday afternoon and quickly got the tour of their new digs. They have a two bedroom place that they've painted and furnished, which we poked fun at because it took them almost a year to get a sofa when they lived here in Accra. It's really cute and suits them perfectly. Robin informed us that a few of the girls might be coming over to talk to Dan and me. One of the girls, Louisa, is going to be moving to the US in August to attend a high school in Connecticut. Robin wanted to give her the opportunity to ask questions to Americans and we were happy to oblige.

Around 3:30 there was a knock at the door, and twenty-something girls filed in. Each one walked right to me, extended her hand and introduced herself... impressive. They ranged in age from about 11 to 15. They took over the sofas, chairs and floor. Robin did a quick introduction of us and opened the floor for questions.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but things got really deep. I think I expected more, what's the weather like? or how is it different from Ghana? We did get those questions. But we also got some deep ones which really put us on the spot. Things like: who are your role models and how did you pick them? What's your definition of success?

It felt a little guidance counselor-like but we tried to inform Louisa of some of the challenges of school in the US. For example, we tried to address trying to figure out where you fit in, and cliques, and that there's nothing wrong with being labeled a nerd/geek/smarty-pants. I also tried to say a little about being a teenage girl in high school since it was a group of young ladies and we have slightly different experiences. This is especially important for Ghanaian girls because this culture is still very male-centric. Women clean and cook and basically do what the man expects them to do. It's still not fully understood/accepted for a girl to be better in the classroom, workplace or on the soccer field than a boy. Girl's sports are pretty well ingrained in US high schools so hopefully she will be proud to showcase her talents.

After our chat, Hannah, Robin, Dan and I got freshened up and went to the Royal Senchi resort for dinner and drinks. Went back home after and crashed.

The following morning, Leonora drove up so we had a nice morning catching up with her and showing her around the school. She basically runs the Ghana branch of an education foundation that works with low-income regions. They go to rural schools and provide a solar panel and satellite dish. The satellite dish then beams lessons that are taught centrally here in Accra out to the rural schools to ensure that those children get a chance at a decent education. As such, Leonora's company has access to quite a few education grants and curriculums which could be really helpful to Robin and the teaching staff at Right to Dream.

After we walked around, we sat down with two of the boys who had been asked to explain RTD's badge system. The badges, which are basically pins, are Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 and you have to score a certain level in three areas (academics, football/soccer, character) to move to the next stage. The Stage 1 criteria are more basic as it's intended for younger kids or kids that are new to the program. Stage 2 expects more from the kids and achieving a Stage 3 badge means you are ready to be considered for placement at a school in the US. If you fail to achieve the necessary scores at the end of a term, your badge can and will be taken away. With your badge goes your privileges. For example, one of the under 15 boys lost his badge and wasn't allowed to play in the tournaments with his teammates in Europe. The team ended up winning all their matches and the tournament and he was devastated. Not only has he learned his lesson and cleaned up his act, but the other boys, seeing his despair, have quickly realized they don't want to make that mistake. It was a very informative presentation and Michael and Perry did a great job explaining it to us and answering our questions. This is the second time we've been up to the school and the kids continue to blow us away with their English, vocabulary and public speaking to complete strangers.

After the RTD requirements had been completed, we went back over to the Senchi to spend the afternoon by the hotel's pool. Sunday was Ghana's Independence Day so there was a lot of live music and the hotel was packed with people. We stayed till about 4:30 and then rode back to the city with Leonora.

If you'd like to watch more about Right to Dream's girls program, please watch the video below. Note: yes, they all have short, cropped hair. That is standard for school-age girls in Ghana.

Super Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl was somewhat uneventful for us this year. It was disappointing that it was being held in San Francisco and knowing we were missing out. Though based on all the articles I read and opinions on Facebook, sounds like 80% of people just whined about it. That said, it was fun to watch some of the pregame and see photos of our old home.

We watched movies most of Sunday afternoon since the game didn't start till 11:30pm our time. Around 6pm, I made some slow cooker buffalo chicken meatballs and a big bowl of hummus with carrots to hold us over. About 11pm, Dan threw a bunch of wings on the grill in preparation for kickoff.

 Presentation and Food Photography are not my strengths.

But they tasted good!

Our only involvement was Fantasy Football related. Three years ago, Dan took over a spot in a league with his dad and his friends. It's really interesting in how the rules work. It's cumulative points over the course of the season, not head-to-head matchups with winner being the best record. It makes the draft very strategic because you're trying to pick good players but you want the players who will make it to the Super Bowl.

Dan's first year in the league, he did not win anything. Prizes are for 1st, 2nd and 3rd out of 9 guys. Before his second year, he asked if I wanted to join. I said I didn't want my own team but if he was up for a co-management thing, I'd be willing to do that. In year 2, we got 2nd place. This year we won. As much as I'd love to say that this is a clearly because of my involvement, it's probably more that we've learned a lot with respect to draft strategy over the last three years.

This year's biggest lesson: Don't expect Vegas to inform you that your star running back isn't playing. I think it took three weeks for Dan to get over that one.

We watched until about 10 mins left in the third quarter. Found ourselves underwhelmed by the game, the commercials and the halftime show. Thus, at 2am we decided to call it a night. I'm glad we watched it regardless. It's almost funny how American it is. Very few people in Ghana know/care about it (including non-American expats). I think there was one sports bar here that was showing it.

Another football season is over and so begins the long slog to August/preseason. Womp womp.

Weekend Recap - Part 2

The Sunday after our Right to Dream visit, we spent the day at the Royal Senchi Hotel. The intent originally was to spend the night there Saturday night but there was a wedding there so it was fully booked. No problem. We stayed up the road at a small bed-and-breakfast-type place. Upon arriving at the Senchi we had some breakfast and plopped ourselves into some lounge chairs by the pool. Had some swims and just relaxed for awhile.

Senchi has boat rides, kayaks, canoes, paddleboats, etc for the guests to use but you can take them out even if you aren't staying there for a small fee. So the 5 of us went out for a kayak ride. Dan and I in one, Hannah and Jon in another, and Robin alone. We decided that as a British Olympic Rower, he was probably fully capable of kayaking around a loop all by himself. Turns out we were right as he was doing circles around the rest of us while we got our acts together.

The views were really nice, although it was very hot (not surprisingly). Going against the current proved difficult but once we made the turn and got going downstream we could pretty much stop paddling entirely. Got back to the hotel and had some lunch before heading back to Accra. Here are some photos:

Relaxing by the pool at the Royal Senchi

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Bonus story from this weekend!

Dan and I each have one ridiculous "dream purchase" to obtain while we are living in Africa. Mine is to find an African Santa for my already absurd collection of Christmas decorations. Dan's was to find a shirt for an American sporting event that says the wrong team won. People have always joked about where the losing team's shirts go... I've heard Southeast Asia and Africa, as well as other developing countries. On the way up to Akosombo on Saturday we were waiting in line to pay a toll. There were hawkers in the street... as there usually are... when we noticed a man holding a shirt that said "Super Bowl Champions". Dan and I noticed at the same time. Dan pulls out his phone.

Dan: What number?!
Jen: 46! I don't think the Pats won.
Dan: I don't think they did either.
(pause for slow internet in the middle of nowhere)
Dan: Nope! Giants! Roll down your window!
Hawker: 25 cedis
Jen: I'll give you 20.
Hawker: No. 25.
Jen: We're leaving... right now. I'll give you 20.
Hawker: ok 20.

I hand him a 20, take the shirt, and Dan and I were thrilled for the rest of the trip. Here she is in all her $6.25 glory, NFL hologram sticker and all. Super Bowl 46 Champions, the New England Patriots... except that they're not. Haha.

The Slingbox - a beautiful invention

The start of college football season is upon us....

We find ourselves with a mixed bag of emotions as we are obviously excited to see what a new season will bring for our alma maters, but also a little sad that we are so far away from the action. I had several friends comment leading up to yesterday's first kickoff inquiring how the hell we were going to manage to watch our favorite sport from Ghana. Enter: the Slingbox.

Slingbox makes a few different models so I won't bother posting photos as the models vary significantly in appearance. You hook the box up to your home-based TV (in our case, the TV in the United States) and then you can watch that TV anywhere over an internet connection. Pretty amazing, right?

The best part is that you have access to any features that exist on the home-based TV: DVR, on demand, real live TV, whatever. So we can record series that we love and watch whenever, or get a movie, or watch live sports. The biggest challenge is the time change as a "primetime" TV show on the east coast that would typically start at 8pm would be midnight or 1am here (Note: Ghana does not do Daylight Savings Time so our timezone proximity to the US changes mid year).

We downloaded the SlingPlayer app on our iPad and use that to watch TV, change channels, record shows, etc. While it won't replace the need for having a local cable package here in Ghana, it makes us feel more comfortable to have access to the shows and sports we love. It has been a fantastic addition to our life abroad and ensures that this Fall will be as packed with pigskin as possible!

Photo taken of my iPad broadcasting SEC Network

Thank you, creators of Slingbox, for making sure that my thirst for SEC football analysis is quenched. I am extremely grateful.