Today Ghana celebrates 55 years of independence from British colonial rule, and we're heading to Independence Square to join in the festivities. Ghana is considered one of Africa's most stable democratic republics.
Monday morning we began our orientation to Ghana with a presentation from our in-country host, Ekem, on Ghana's cultural traditions and history. In the afternoon we traveled across Accra to the U.S. Embassy. We spoke with U.S. State Department employees focused on international education programs and also met for the first time many of the Ghanaian teachers and administrators that we will be paired with. (As I will be based in Cape Coast, I will not meet my teachers until Thursday.) All of the Ghanaian teachers and administrators are alumni of IREX programs, so they have spent either six weeks or a semester in the United States participating in international teacher professional development through a university and working in a cooperating secondary school. Last night we were entertained by an amazing traditional Ghanaian dance troupe, Saakumu. Yes, they got us up on the dance floor!
