So I'm here in Kumasi, Ghana. It's about six hours north of Accra, the capital. It has been a serious adventure so far. It seems like nothing here is familiar! I'm not able to upload any pictures right now because these computers are really really slow, but I will try again soon. We spent one full day in Germany, visiting the city of Heidelberg and the castle there... it was amazing. Words don't do it justice. We stayed with the greatest family there who took us in and really showed us a good time. We ate schnitzel and sour krout and loved it all. Tobias, a friend of Kristi's showed us around and was so great to us. It was too bad we could only stay for one day!
We flew from Frankfurt to Lagos and then to Accra. Getting off the plane in Accra was like stepping into a new world. Again, words just don't do it justice, and I need to spend some time just writing it all down in my journal, but everything here is a new experience. We only spent the night in Accra, and took a bus up to Kumasi, where we are now. We got in yesterday evening and spent the evening walking around and finding a place to eat, etc. Today we spent the whole day walking around Kumasi, just experiencing things here. We went to the zoo and saw lions, crocadiles, etc. and went and visited the culture center where we sat and watched a Rastafarian religious service... quite interesting. We then spent some time walking around the largest outdoor marketplace in western Africa. That was one of the most unique and crazy experiences I've ever had. There were thousands and thousands of people and merchants selling everything you can possible imagine. I took a few pictures which I will post later. Everyone we meet here is very friendly (although a lot of them want to just sell us stuff). But mostly everyone we meet is very fair and doesn't try to rip us off. So far it has been quite an incredible and eye-opening experience, and I'm really enjoying it all. Once I post some pictures you will have a better sense of what I'm talking about.