Here are some of the people I met in Ghana who made my experience so great. I mentioned many of them in my Thank You Note, but I’ve included a couple more here.
This is Laura and me with “Bofrot Adwoa” (whose real name I’ve just discovered is Regina), including her entire family (pictured from left to right): Kwabena, Yaw, Stephen (in front), Issac (Kwesi), and Adwoa.
This is me and my coworkers, Peter (middle) and Anna (right). I basically shadowed Peter my entire internship and did the bulk of my work as his little communications assistant. Anna was a fellow intern from Germany, and together our rather shy demeanors cultivated a special friendship.
Here is another intern I met the last week, Emmanuel. He randomly gave me the bracelet he was wearing that perfectly matched one of my tops to add to my Ghanaian souvenirs, and it meant more to me than he knows.
Janet (middle in red), our seamstress who came once or twice a week without fail with skillfully handmade fabrics, clothing, and accessories. I’m so glad to have poured so much (maybe a little too much) of my money into her work.
Esther, who was formerly our security guard at the apartment and then became one of our closest companions and an absolutely lovely person to be around––so much so that I invited her as my special guest to our fancy birthday dinner!
This is Alex, my impromptu salsa dance instructor on Wednesday nights at Afrikiko. I’ve never had so much fun dancing with a stranger!
Our Wli falls tour guide who offered cacao to us, a delightful mango-like fruit that I was so tempted to swallow. He stopped at every bridge along the way to tell us the history of the place, and I could tell he loved what he does.
The bubbly, adorable children from the Anani Memorial International School, who I let play with my hair and basically topple me over when I kneeled for a photo.
All of the hotel staff who made me feel comfortable during my quarantine. They made me feel a little less alone.
The amazing musicians who played for us and taught us some traditional African dances, and the UO instructor, Mr. Habib Iddrisu (left) who inspired us to continue dancing in the fall.
Ok, these aren’t people, but all the mona monkeys. This one in particular. Much love.
There were so many others that I didn’t have pictures for or couldn’t place a name to––like Ato, our tour guide for the Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles who created such a powerful experience for us, or my other coworkers and superiors that made me feel welcome and worthy within this professional space. But with this photo gallery, I wanted to put a face to all of the people I rambled on about in all my blog posts. Hopefully, this makes them a little more real to those who weren’t fortunate enough to meet them. I’ll miss you all! <3