Day 9: Accra (Saturday, April 11)

Today, being the last day we actually spent on the road, was full of 'full circle' experiences. First, we went back to the Art Center where we'd done our first shopping, and recorded the koka master that first taught us how to play the delightfully difficult instruments in the first place. ("Learning From a Master: How to Play the Koka" will sell for $20 when we finally get it out of editing, natch.)

Afterwards, we hung out at Labadi Beach, enjoying the cool water and trying to dodge some very, VERY persistent vendors. After lunch at Southern Fried Chicken, we went back to the hotel to prepare for our last actual duty - attending a party at Nana Sarpong's Accra home. We met a lot of ministers of the current cabinet there, as well as Nana's daughters and granddaughters. It was a very small, but very nice party, and we left on wonderful terms, all of us.

It's difficult to even acknowledge that this trip is effectively over. Even though I'm in Accra right now, typing these words, by noon tomorrow, my partners - or, more aptly, my friends - and I will be on our way home on the long, long flight to John F. Kennedy Airport in the Big Apple, and as soon as we collapse into our beds in Florida, we'll be rolling out of them again all too soon to go to school.

I never even dreamed that I would find myself here, of all places, and it's really been an experience that I could never regret having; I think that my fellow xChange agents agree with me on that front.

It's been fun recounting our pleasurable business trip for you all, and I'm thankful that you've chosen to read it. Tomorrow will probably just be a pretty simple day, but we'll still catch you all up on what happened.

After we recover from the chronic jet lag.

See you all on April 22nd for our little 'We're Back' celebration. Trust me. You've gotta be there.

Sean Heron

Secretary, Honey Project, and xChange Agent