You Are Home Again

 

I signed up to host a basketball clinic in Ghana, in the Eastern Volta Region for 3 weeks.  I picked Ghana because I have known of so many people traveling to Ghana and they have all had such good things to say about their journey. Also because they speak English and there is a rich history of the slave trade and colonialism.

 

My volunteer site was an orphanage/school/church community.  The people were extremely nice and helpful.  I had a room, and 3 meals delivered to me daily.  Stuff like fufu, pounded corn, coco yam leaves, tilapia or tuna soup, fried plantains, and yams. Since it was their raining season, it took a bit longer than I anticipated to build the basketball court.  So, I spent the first two weeks working with the school to improve their teaching techniques, lesson plans, and assessment.  In the rural areas, there are not professionally trained teachers, most are mere high school graduates.  So, they were very receptive to my input.  I also taught the orphans games to play.  They LOVE dodgeball. Once the basketball court was built (cement, rocks, water, tree trunks, wood, and paint), I taught the orphans how to play the game.  I ran various drills on dribbling, catching, passing, shooting, and defense.  For many, not using their feet to make a basket presented a huge challenge, but overall they were excited to learn the game and adopted the techniques well.  It was imperative to get the girls involved, as gender inequalities are still prevalent in this area. 

 

Aside from my volunteer experiences, I had a chance to explore the rich culture of Ghanians.  I visited Cape Coast.  I went to Cape Coast castle and Elmina castle.  To walk on the floors where my ancestors were held captive, beaten, and sold was an experience. Humbling. Grounding. Solidifying.  Horrific.  Informative.  Course Changing.  I saw male and female dungeons, the door of no return, the water they were taken to and everything in the castle. A must do and see in Ghana.  I also went to a place called Kankun National Park. It has tons of plants and animals in the rainforest.  I walked across the longest canopy walk in the world, some places, over 100 feet high, through the trees. It was amazing.  I also went to a local soccer game in Cape Coast.  Another memorable experience was going to the monkey sanctuary to feed the monkeys.  The monkeys ate the bananas right off my hands.  So cool!  Wili falls was another spectacular attraction - the longest waterfall in West Africa.

 

In summary, my trip to Ghana was very memorable and life changing.  The motherland is so beautiful.  My words will not compliment my experiences.  You have to go for yourself! 

 

Check out my website at: www.togethereachachievesmore.org for more information on sports in rural areas.

 

Blessings,

Davi Afi (traditional name given to woman born on Friday)

New Orleans and Essence Music Festival

The 2009 ESSENCE Music Festival was successful yet again, with sold-out audiences and heavy-hitting performers that included Beyonce, Robin Thicke, Ne-Yo, Lionel Richie, Al Green and Teena Marie. In addition to celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year’s festival was stocked full of tributes, from Bishop T.D. Jakes to Frankie Beverly and Maze and continuous homage to the King of Pop Michael Jackson whose sudden death occurred just one week before the festival opened.

In continued fashion, the City of New Orleans is the best place suited to host this annual event. The hotels line Poydras Street, the festival’s main thoroughfare, which houses the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center just off the Mississippi River on one end, and the Louisiana Superdome on its opposite end, where the nightly concerts are held.
Some of the more popular places to stay in the city for the festival include Harrah’s New Orleans, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside, the W Hotel New Orleans and the Intercontinental New Orleans. Less traveled places of repose for the festival can be found on St. Charles Avenue, with favorites Courtyard by Marriott and Royal St. Charles Hotel.

To continue a party after each night’s concert, you can never go wrong with the city’s famously infamous French Quarter. This area of the city is home to a plethora of night clubs, pubs, restaurants and other after-hours excitement for all levels. A couple of restaurants to try are Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House (www.bourbonhouse.com) and the historic Cafe du Monde, at its original French Quarter location. Make sure to stop by the Cafe for the traditional New Orleans beignets.

A few other culinary favorites around the city include Cafe du Monde’s second location in the Riverwalk Mall next to the convention center, Mother’s Restaurant on Poydras and Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. Make sure to get to Mother’s Restaurant early. During the early lunch hour through mid-afternoon, lines are outside the building with people patiently waiting for a taste of ham-fused breakfast specialties, grits and biscuits, among so many other filling entrees.

During the day, those who want to indulge in the city’s rich culture outside of the festival can visit the French Quarter that is filled with historic homes and town squares. Also, the Riverwalk affords tourists the opportunity to take advantage of boat tours to the swamps, plantation homes and post-Hurricane Katrina sites. All in all, coming to New Orleans is loads of fun during the ESSENCE Music Festival or any time during the year. Just be sure to have good dancing and walking shoes and a camera to capture all the memories.

Beautiful and Budget Friendly Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina is a gorgeous city, but it is also perfect for folks on a budget. An unfortunate economic climate has put in the country in what seems like an endless cycle of recessions. This is bad for Argentina, but great for tourists. When I visited Buenos Aires, 1 U.S. dollar was equivalent to 3.40 Argentine Pesos, now 1USD=3.70ARS.
If your budget is preventing you from hopping the pond to Europe, I would suggest coming to Buenos Aires. It has a very European feel to it, but without the high price tag. The lifestyle and architecture are markedly more European than any other city in South America. Most Porteños, or residents of Buenos Aires, are of European descent. Argentina actually has the largest number of Italian descendents outside of Italy. To this point, it seems that there is a Pizzeria and or gelato shop on every corner. Also, Argentine men seem to have inherited the art of flirting and flattery from their Italian forefathers. Don’t believe the hype about the general preference for blondes. Argentine men LOVE the ladies. Trust me!

As part of your trip to Buenos Aires, I would recommend spending a day or afternoon in the historical neighborhood of Recoleta. This is a beautiful neighborhood filled with breathtaking parks and dotted with Parisian-style architecture. Most sights in the neighborhood are free or very low cost. This also happens to be the domain of the ladies who lunch. Most restaurants we came across in this trendy and upscale neighborhood offer great lunch and dinner specials. We had a lovely prix-fixed lunch at a great cafe including an appetizer, entree, dessert, and glass of wine for 70 pesos or roughly $20. Argentina’s claim to culinary fame is their mouthwatering steak, and at these prices you would be foolish not to try it.

Walking down the fashionable streets of the Palermo neighborhood, I saw more boutiques in one place than I have ever seen before in my life…and they all had sale signs in the windows! Buenos Aires is really putting out great designers and you can get fantastic deals at their shops. I highly recommend visiting the Carla Danelli boutique. She is a designer focused on shoes, handbags, and other leather accessories. Her designs are unique, modern, and only use the softest leather. I was able to purchase a beautiful fuchsia colored leather handbag for 50% off the original price. It was a great deal!

www.carladanelli.com
Buenos Aires is relatively spread out, but it easy to get around on the subway or subte. Taxis are everywhere and cheap. Most taxi rides cost us between $3 to $5.
If you are looking to travel internationally, but do not think you can afford it in this economy, Buenos Aires is one of the places I would highly recommend to visit. Not only is it a beautiful and friendly city, but you can experience all it has to offer on a small budget.

Everything in Houston is HOT!

I recently traveled for a 2-day getaway to Houston, TX. What a perfect time to get away from the fall weather and the approaching winter chills. I really love all that Houston has to offer-the warm weather, the architecture, the southern hospitality, the food, the spacious living, and my favorite television evangelist Joel Osteen.

Here are my highlights:

Well my initial visit was primarily for play business. I like to think of work as play-fun. It takes the “downer” expression off of the situation, which is that stress that we associate with work. Keep it light and fun and “play.” Had to digress for a second. So, for my play business I spoke on an artist panel and performed at Houston’s 1st Annual Front Porch Series, hosted by author/poet/activist/educator Tim’m West. The event was held at the Montrose Counseling Center, near downtown Houston, and it was HOT! The pre-show panel discussion revolved around our place as artists and our relation to politics and activism. Following the panel was the featured artist session, showcasing jazz and soul vocal songstress Caretta Bell, lyrics, beats, and melodies by Houston’s black gay hip-hop/soul duo The Qure, poetry and spoken word of Tim’m West, followed by spoken word and character sketches from my one-man show FlagBoy. Definitely a HOT and moving night and a must see the next time you’re in Houston. For more information on Houston’s upcoming Front Porch Series log on to www.reddirt.biz/thefrontporch.htm.

While this event happened Saturday evening, I must rewind to my Friday evening, which was Halloween night. Houston was buzzing with Halloween spirit. I was also brainstorming a witty idea for a costume because I was invited to an exclusive Halloween party that evening. Of course my first stop was Houston’s infamous Galleria Mall, which has everything from urban wear to high fashion. Although I didn’t find Halloween inspiration there, in the interim I had dinner at The Kona Grill located inside the Galleria Mall. Kona Grill’s food dishes range from Sushi to Vietnamese to Thai to American traditional. There’s inside seating and outside seating available. Although the service clocked in on the poor meter, I did enjoy the Shrimp Pad Thai and the Grapeade Martini. Yum! My filling dinner fueled my inspiration for my costume….Joe The Plumber!

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