Hello from Ghana!  We had an adventurous journey out - the flight from EWR was perfect and on time, arriving in Brussels a few moments early. We went to our next gate... and discovered we would have an 11 hour layover (original 3 hours plus an additional 7 hour delay).  This group, though, is comprised of excellent travel companions.  We made a group "nest" in the downstairs section of the airport terminal, which for the entire time was almost entirely empty, and were able to take turns napping and finding food - very thankful that Brussels airline offered 28 Euros in food vouchers per person, so we ate well.

After a slightly elongated delay even past that, on board we went.  The 6 hour flight to Ghana was easy and I was only disappointed the students weren't able to look down on the Sahara Desert in the daytime, as I have been able to so often.  But we landed well, got through customs just fine, and our host and main teacher Emmanuel Agbeli took us to our hotel for the night, to rest up from our 40 hour journey and so we could travel to Kopeyia (the village where we will be studying for 2 weeks) safely.

We are now at the Dagbe Cultural Institute and Arts Center in Kopeyia, on the very southwestern corner of Ghana. After a quick breakfast in Accra we journeyed here and settled in with the amazing staff here, who helped the students orient to their rooms and then gave a quick overview of the main facility before lunch.   After our lunch, we were formally welcomed with a ceremony of Pouring Libations to the Dagbe Ancestors - namely Godwin Agbeli and other of his family who have passed on.  Our hosts asked the Ancestors for our health, success, and the ability to learn well, followed by a quick session of music and dance to Agbadza, the local music used for formal occasions such as these.

Normally after such a remarkable entry, we'd rest.  But today there was a very big funeral celebration just down the road, so we were dressed in traditional cloth wraps and taken to this amazing community celebration of life.  Funerals in Ghana are not the sad, quiet family affairs we often see in the U.S.  Rather, they are community-wide, open to all ceremonies that include drumming, dancing, song, and remembrances of the deceased.  If you are an Ewe-speaking person living in the Volta Region, you attend many funerals through the year, and in return you know that people will attend yours when it is time.  There really isn't any good way to share the vibrance and beauty of these occasions - you'll have to come to Ghana to see.  Hopefully a picture or two (shared either here or tomorrow when I have better internet access) will lend some context, though.  The group was welcomed warmly and we spent a few hours dancing with many people, and then came back to the center for dinner and then some cards and relaxation afterwards.

I don't think most of us have gotten a full night's sleep in the past 3 days so we are all heading to a deep, well-deserved sleep.  Tomorrow we will mostly relax (it being Sunday), take a walking tour of the village, and settle a bit more so that on Monday we can begin our music/dance program in earnest.

More to come soon!  Thank you for reading, and feel free to comment/ask questions/say hello!

Josselyne