This is where I keep notes from my trip to the Middle East and Africa. I hope you have fun and maybe even learn a few things about Africa and the Middle East.
Check-in often for updates; as I learn and discover new things, I will be sure to post them right here.
Trip Map
Trip Map
The journey from New York to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Accra, Ghana, follows an amazing path.
Visa Application Materials
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2009
Well, this looks official. Dad went to the embassy of Ghana in Washington, DC today and applied for an entry visa for me so that I can enter the country. They needed 4 passport photos, a copy of our confirmed flight plan with Emirates Airlines from the U.S. to Ghana, the names and addresses of 2 people in Ghana who they can contact to verify that we are actually in the country, and $110 fee for a multiple entry visa so I can enter the country for the next 60 months (5 years, for those who struggle with math!).
In Dubai, we will get a visa when we arrive. My dad tells me they will ask a couple questions, stamp my passport, and away I go.
Wednesday, Jan. 21
3:30 Maryland time
Woo-hoo!!!! I just left school and am ecstatic! We just finished our goodbyes and are heading to New York. I’m sitting in the Jeep and am seeing the scenery.Oh-no!!!! We’re heading into traffic. This may take us a while…….
9:17 pm New York time
We are in JFK (John F. Kennedy) airport and are waiting for our flight at 11:00 p.m. I am eating a chocolate chip cookie with three different kinds of chocolate chips while drinking a hot chocolate. I just finished talking to Sydney and Mom and Carly. I miss them a lot!!!!!! Well, it’s time to go to our gate. Sianara!
Burj Al Arab
Thursday, January 22
10:30 pm Dubai time
Well, our flight went well and we are in Dubai. Wow, I never realized how big Dubai is. Our flight was 12 hrs. and there is a time change so we practically missed a whole day!!!!!!! In Maryland it is 1:35!!!!! I miss my sisters and mom. Time to go for a walk. Bye!!!!
Emirates A340 - Accra, Ghana
Friday, January 23
6 am Dubai time
A quick night of sleep and we are off to Africa! Flying over the Red Sea, Sudan, Nigeria, and into Ghana.
4 pm Ghana time
On the beach looking at the ocean!!! We went body surfing in the waves and I had fun walking on the rocks. Then we had a pizza from "pizza hut" (which is actually a real, grass top hut with a stone oven, so it is actually a REAL pizza "HUT.")
Saturday morning soccer on the beach at 6 AM!!!
Saturday, January 24
6:30 am
Out hotel was right on the beach and we woke up early to pick up shells on the beach and what we found were hundreds of soccer players!!! They had a dozen games going on the beach and they started at the crack of dawn...
10 am
Visited Agape House orphanage. Wow! About 80 boys who have parents who have died. What a great place, though. They are loved and cared for. And nearby there is a house for orphan girls that we visited. I got to meet each girl. They were so friendly!
11 am
Ok, this is cool. This is a place they make beads. They crush glass bottles into powder, then they mix the power with dye. Then they put the mix into a mold with a little stick in the middle to create a hole. Then they bake it in a hot oven. Then they paint little designs on each bead, then string them together, and presto - a bead necklace!!!
3 pm
Looking at farmland near Kpong Airfield where my dad takes flying lessons. We looked at some villages. Wow, there are kids with very little. But they are very friendly and wave to us!
6 pm
At the Porters. They are from England but lived in Ghana for many years. They run an aviation business - they make airplanes in Ghana! I toured the workshop where they build the planes. My dad could not take flying lessons because it is "namatan" time. This means that the air is full of dust from the Sahara Desert and visibility is very poor. It looks like heavy fog or mist, but it's actually dust.
Went to church at Agape House fellowship. They love to sing! It was a great service. We took a nice long rest today.
Meetings in Accra, Ghana
Monday, January 26
Up early for meetings with dad! We went to the office of the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ghana, Mona Boyd. She was very nice! She is from America but has lived in Ghana for 15 years. She owns the Avis franchise in Ghana and a tour company that does a really great job! Then we met with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, which is the office responsible for promoting investment in Ghana and is run by the Office of the President of Ghana. Then we met with the president of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce. He was really nice too.
1 pm
We went shopping for gifts at the art market. We bought a couple drums and keychains and a little musical instrument, and I got a new pair of Africa flip flops!
We had lunch at a really nice restaurant at the Accra mall. The mall is totally modern and you would think you are in America at this mall.
3 pm
Off to the airport to catch a plane back to Dubai.
Lunch at the Accra Mall
Lunch at Mac's!
Tuesday, January 27
Back in Dubai at 6:30 am. Another night in the plane. We were so tired we drove to the beach, parked the car, and slept for 3 hours!!! But it was very pretty - white sand, deep blue water, cool breeze, warm air...
Saw the Atlantis Hotel. This is a hotel like no other. It's on a set of islands called The Palm built out into the Persian Gulf. That's right, man made islands in the shape of a palm tree out in the ocean. Absolutely amazing inside and out!
Visited the Baluch's in Dubai, and they have really nice kids! We played on the trampoline and had a lot of fun together!
