Dadaroo Continued, plus Wild Waterfall

So, I'm back, and just in case you were concerned, I was only about 5 minutes late to my meeting. Pretty good by Ghanaian standards.

To continue with Dad and Jeana's stay: For those of you who don't know Jeana and are somewhat confused, no I did not spell Mom's name wrong. Jeana is a coworker of Dad's and an experienced world traveler. When Mom decided she really couldn't take off that much time from work, Jeana volunteered to escort Dad to Africa, seeing as he's a somewhat less-experienced globetrotter. Although previously I didn't know Jeana very well, it was wonderful getting to know her this past week! She was such a gracious and easy-to-please guest. Give her a Fanta, and she was good to go!

We got back from Cape Coast on Sunday, earlier than we expected as the bus left a half hour early, which is UNHEARD OF in Ghana! On Sunday evening, we hopped down to Osu, Oxford Street, the shopping/restaurant district in Accra. Dad bought his first African print shirt and some other souvenirs and we had some delicious paninis and wraps for dinner. Monday, I took them over to Teshie where I do my volunteer teaching. Michael, the director of the NGO, graciously gave them a tour of Global Civic and allowed them to meet the students there, which I think Dad really enjoyed. Then we went to the school that I actually teach at, so that I could pass out forms for a Pen Pal program I am working on setting up (with students in America), and my students were so excited to see Dad and Jeana and cheered and clapped for them. It was pretty adorable. I'm starting to really love the kids I work with (most of the time), so it was special to see that they cared about me and my family too.
Tuesday, Dad and Jeana attended my drumming class, and took some sweet video that I'm excited to have when I get home! Then we went down to the Cultural Center, which is basically just a big market of arts and crafts for tourists to go to. I don't think Ghanaians actually go there at all. At least, I've never seen any Ghanaian shoppers there... In any case, Dad almost got out of hand with how much he was buying (which was new! usually he hates shopping!), and Jeana was able to trade her backpack for some purchases, so I think all in all it was a good afternoon. Wednesday, their last day in Ghana, we took a trip up to Shai Hills, a beautiful area north of Accra. I've been there twice now, and it is one of my favorite places I've found in Ghana so far. Beautiful rolling hills, one of which you get to hike to the top of and look out over the expansive savannah (think Pride Rock view in the Lion King), and lots of baboons! Although there are 20 groups of baboons in the park, there is one family that stays close to the entrance so you get to see them really close up. We were able to feed them bananas too, and get close views of three babies! The tro tro ride out to the park took much longer than it should have due to bad traffic (why was I surprised?), and Dad and Jeana were about sick of it by the time we got there, but our ride back was much quicker and more enjoyable. We were trying to catch a tro tro back to Accra from right outside the park, and it was proving difficult, until a bright yellow vehicle pulled up next to us and asked us if we would like a ride. His car was sweet, not only because this steering wheel was on the wrong side of the car, but also because the backseat folded down to be in the open air. It was like we were in a truck bed, but there was no wall between the cab and the bed. In any case, it was nice. And this fellow was someone special, we think, because he was automatically waved through all the police stops and we didn't have to pay at the toll booth! He was very kind, and the grown-ups were very pleased.
It was sad to seem them go on Wednesday night, and I almost choked up as I put them in the taxi, but I am so happy they were able to come to Ghana. It was fun (although exhausting!) to be a tour guide for a week! For the first time, I was the knowledgeable one! And I did feel pretty knowledgeable, to tell the truth. But all in all, I feel pretty special to have a dad who would travel half way around the world just to visit his daughter for a week. I'm a pretty lucky girl :)

This weekend, I went with three girlfriends to the Volta Region! We were planning on going all over the region, but ended up just visiting the Wli Waterfalls. We spent a lot of time there because it was just. so. beautiful. I couldn't get over how pretty this town was. Mountains everywhere and views of the waterfalls just from the main road. It was truly breathtaking. We arrived in Wli on Friday afternoon and although we were too late to hike to the falls then, we were able to visit a sweet ostrich farm. Ostriches are BIG. Who knew? We fed them some corn stalks, and Ashley was terrified (she doesn't like animals much...), so overall, it was pretty great. Saturday morning we got up REAL early to meet our guide for our hike. We had decided to go to the upper falls, which is a really strenuous hike basically straight up a mountain for two hours, so we started early to avoid the heat. The hike was really hard and pretty scary, but definitely worth it. I only fell down twice. When we reached the upper falls, we were shocked at the strength of the water. Standing somewhat far away, we were blasted by the water and completely soaked. It felt wonderful. And I think it was the coldest I've ever been while in Ghana! That cold went away as soon as we started hiking back, though, and soon, the wet turned to sweat, so we were fairly disgusting by the time we got back. Which is pretty normal.

All in all, a great week with dad and a great weekend with the girls. I can't believe that 6 weeks from today I will be home with the family. It's crazy how fast this time has flown.