We never made it to the hat museum. I guess there is a man who has devoted his life to collecting all different hats and Kumasi made him a museum. According to Corinne that was important but, luckily, we saw everything else important. (I kept saying this quote to Corinne if I saw more than one hat in a row...funny huh?)
I left early yesterday morning to go to Kumasi with Corinne and her Ghanaian friend Edward. As usual our bus didn't leave Accra until later than planned and we were stuck in traffic for-ev-er. As a result, we arrived in Kumasi around 5 p.m. and began our adventure as quickly as possible. Edward is from Kumasi so he knew the back routes- thank goodness. We first tried to see the Military museum (not my first choice) but it was already closed. Then we went to the King's Palace but he was gone too. With our spirits pretty low we decided to check out the market (the second biggest in West Africa). Imagine a giant, I mean GIANT, outdoor flee market with everything you could ever want, need, or desire. It was a hectic mess but so amazing to see. It had already been a long day, though, so after a walk through the market the three of us were ready to pass out. Edward had called his Dad earlier and asked if we could stay there- little did I know we would be staying a mansion. The house was huge and Corinne and I got our own king size bed in a nice cool room (I was actually cold during the night!).
This morning we were determined to get things done so we set out around 7 p.m. First we went to the kente weaving village- my number one priority. Kente is the traditional African cloth you generally associate with nice African clothing. It is very colorful and thick and unique to Africa. The small village we went to had several kente weavers working and even let us try it out. I was not very good, but was highly impressed with their abilities. From that village we went to the stamping village where they taught us how to make the ink for stamping the kente cloth. The ink is actually made out of the bark from a particular tree. It is ground up and boiled several times until it become think and black. The stamps used are all traditional designs with specific meanings. We got to help ground some of the bark- not as easy as you would think! A short taxi ride later and we were back in downtown Kumasi visiting the hospital. At the hospital in the site of the sword with was stuck in ground by an old Ashanti warrior. Unfortunately, the sword was all closed up on Sundays, but we tried. From here we went to two museums dedicated to the history of the Ashanti empire (Ashanti is the name of the people who live in this region of West Africa), and then visited the palace again. Today was a special ceremony for the King and he was actually out receiving gifts from surrounding chiefs and tribes. We got to see him up close and witness an entire traditional ceremony with everyone in traditional clothing and drums all around!
We hopped on the bus back to Accra around 3 but again got stuck in traffic. When we tried to get a tro-tro the rest of the way we ended up waiting for about 45 min., getting on the wrong tro-tro, and then finally getting back around 10 p.m. What a journey it was!
I am very excited to be back on campus and sleep in my own bed. One week until my parents arrive and I have some things I would really like to get done. I hope it all works out. Love you and miss you all!
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