Akropong

So we were in Akropong for a couple of days. It was good. We had lectures all day on Monday and then today we went and visited the Volta Dam, which supplies almost 70% of the electricity to Ghana as well as powering villages in Togo and Benin. We also visited a bead factory where they make 5 different kinds of glass beads. I bought beads (of course) but I didn't go too crazy. It was interesting learning about how they made the different styles though. When they say factory it is in the very roughest use of the word. They were in thatched huts that weren't closed and they fire their beads in kilns made out of termite clay. Apparently it is stickier and resists cracking at high temperatures better than regular ground clay. They use all recycled glass from bottles and such. They also polish the beads on this big rock with water and sand. It was a very interesting process. It takes about an hour to drive from Akropong back to the University and there were some really interesting things to see. I took pictures that I will try to load later. Some of the stuff I wasn't able to catch in pictures but I found very amusing. Ghana is a very religious country. As such, they have some interesting names for their businesses. Here are a few of my favorites:
In Christ Our Lord Hair Salon
In God We Trust Fashion
He is the Way Fashion
By His Blood Company
Episode two of Sam's funny signs to be aired in the coming days.....stay tuned.....

We start class on Thursday. I think we are going to try and go shopping tomorrow. I don't know if I am going to go or not. I could use to get a few other things done that I promised people I would do...cough make picture CDs and send them cough..... we'll see, though.

I am doing pretty well, all in all. I am starting to get adjusted. I am starting to know which way is up again. I am remembering the important things and trying not to sweat the rest. It will be an interesting semester.