BECA Travels: Leaving Kpando
Leaving Kpando
We finished up shooting on Wednesday, the 20th, and got enough editing done to show rough cuts of both videos. Jessy and Edem had invited all of the people who contributed to the videos to HardtHaven on Wednesday evening, our last night in Kpando, to see and comment on the rough cuts. But . . . it RAINED! And this wasn't just a sprinkle; it was a torrential downpour! Even so, we set up a computer on the "breezeway" outside - the only place to gather - and prepared the show the rough cuts. The only guest to arrive was the headmaster of a school where we had done some shooting - and he arrived on a motorcycle in that rain! The three volunteers from Holland, also living at the compound, watched the rough cuts as well. Everyone was happy with them - and able to see the potential in what they saw.
The next day, we had quite an amazing breakfast - EGGS (!) and Ghanaian Nutella with our bread and Nescafe! Quite the royal treatment! Then we loaded ourselves and most of our luggage onto an air-conditioned (!) van to make the trip to Kumasi, the first leg in our sightseeing to end our stay in Ghana. It was hard to leave Kpando. We had made friends and "settled in." There was Justice, the young man learning to read. And Eric, the rasta bead stringer, whom I taught to needlepoint. And Stephen's friend, the seller of FanMilk (kind of like GoGurt, an icy treat on a hot day). And all the children. And, of course, Jessy and Edem! And then there was Isabella, their year-old daughter, with the huge smile and the wonderful wave.
But we were anxious to see more of Ghana. Eric, a recent graduate of the Textiles program at a university in Kumasi and a lifelong friend of Edem, was our guide. He traveled with us, made sure we had transportation and lodging, and took us to the various places on our itinerary. We were in good hands.
We finished up shooting on Wednesday, the 20th, and got enough editing done to show rough cuts of both videos. Jessy and Edem had invited all of the people who contributed to the videos to HardtHaven on Wednesday evening, our last night in Kpando, to see and comment on the rough cuts. But . . . it RAINED! And this wasn't just a sprinkle; it was a torrential downpour! Even so, we set up a computer on the "breezeway" outside - the only place to gather - and prepared the show the rough cuts. The only guest to arrive was the headmaster of a school where we had done some shooting - and he arrived on a motorcycle in that rain! The three volunteers from Holland, also living at the compound, watched the rough cuts as well. Everyone was happy with them - and able to see the potential in what they saw.
The next day, we had quite an amazing breakfast - EGGS (!) and Ghanaian Nutella with our bread and Nescafe! Quite the royal treatment! Then we loaded ourselves and most of our luggage onto an air-conditioned (!) van to make the trip to Kumasi, the first leg in our sightseeing to end our stay in Ghana. It was hard to leave Kpando. We had made friends and "settled in." There was Justice, the young man learning to read. And Eric, the rasta bead stringer, whom I taught to needlepoint. And Stephen's friend, the seller of FanMilk (kind of like GoGurt, an icy treat on a hot day). And all the children. And, of course, Jessy and Edem! And then there was Isabella, their year-old daughter, with the huge smile and the wonderful wave.
But we were anxious to see more of Ghana. Eric, a recent graduate of the Textiles program at a university in Kumasi and a lifelong friend of Edem, was our guide. He traveled with us, made sure we had transportation and lodging, and took us to the various places on our itinerary. We were in good hands.
posted by Betsy J. Blosser at
7/01/2012 02:07:00 PM
<< Home