Akwaaba Beach Resort

Greetings from Accra, Ghana!

This is a picture of me and my friend and fellow NVC participant Annett Zupke hiding under a mosquito net in our room in Ghana.

I finally have arrived, after 10 hours on a flight from San Francisco to Amsterdam, a 3-hour layover and another 5.5 hours on a flight from Amsterdam to Accra. Right now I'm not feeling the blush of excitement and anticipation I expected.

There is a gecko (I think) outside our room. At least Annett thinks its a gecko. It sounds like an alligator with a loud tree-limb cracking croak. I'm a bit daunted by this new country, the heat, the 17 kilometer car ride that took 1-hour in the dark and the accompanying motion sickness. Oh yes, and the mosquitoes which generally are threatening because who knows which one is carrying malaria?

Sabine (another friend and co-facilitator from the East Bay) was supposed to meet me on the flight from Amsterdam to Accra. She never made the plane and she had made all our hotel arrangements. I got a message in flight from the stewardess saying simply: Awkaaba Hotel. I didn't get the message that the hotel had sent a driver for me, so I took the scary, in-the-dark cab ride instead, with a friendly guy named Maxwell. Sabine is fine and should show up today. She was delayed due to computer problems at the airport.

When my taxi finally made it to the Akwaaba Beach Resort, I met one of my roommates - Annett - which buoyed my spirits. Now I understand why backpackers in foreign countries tend to stick like glue to fellow countrywomen.

Annett is protesting that she's not a fellow country woman as she is German. That just goes to show how desperate I am for a friendly face. Annett is scheduled to co-facilitating the 2008 Regional Peace Summit and Intensive NVC Training this week, too. Annett (who traveled from Berlin via Dubai) is exhausted enough that she has been braving dozing on her bed without the protection of her mosquito net. Gasp! She says, "Gute Nacht sis."

For a taste of the country so far:
The ride to the hotel was along a narrow paved road of stop-and-go traffic. Lining the street were ramshackle structures housing various businesses. Peddlers walked between the cars hawking sugar cane, limes, apples, and carrying big tubs on their heads filled with packets of water and other things I couldn't see.

Miki Kashtan - lead trainer and cofounder of Bay Area Nonviolent Communicaiton - apparently went swimming in the ocean earlier today and found the water inviting. I'm looking forward to that and to the start of the non-violent communication work.

I look forward to seeing more and sharing more with you in the light of day. Thank you to all of you who have contributed your supportive thoughts and financial support. I will be accepting whatever you can offer during and after the trip to help me fund this work.

I spent some time reading the dozens of emails I already have received and it has been a comfort to me. Now, I'm ready for bed. I've been up an entire day and night and it's midnight here in Ghana.

With gratitude, warmth and tenderness
Donna