"This is Family Business..."

I begin this post with my favorite Kanyezee lyrics. This trip for me has been all about family, literally! I am staying with my family is West Legon, and sharing a room with my cousin Emefa--I am about a month older than Emefa. The research project I am working on here in Accra has to do with Remittances--specifically the life and personal perceptions of family members living in Accra (Ghana) that receive these funds. While driving through Accra... (East Legon, West Legon.. Osu etc.) one does not have to go far to see Western Union, Moneygram or Forex Bureau (foreign exchange bureau). I myself have played the role of West Union, forex etc... carrying with me money to deliver to family members via my KLM flight--and look, no transaction fees for exchange rate hikes! I guess my transaction is part of the million dollar guestimate that must be used when accounting for these Remittance funds... anywayz.. I degress I said this blog would not be about the work I do.. I guess you can read the paper when I'm done :-) if your interested.

Right... family business. Today I attended the wedding of John Afarkwei Hudson- Odoi & Audrey Afrah Boakye at the Accra Ridge Church. Their reception was held at the Accra International Conference Centre. Both the service and reception were beautiful! The couple are Ghanaians who went to college in the US (Maryland). They had been married for a little over 3 years before the wedding took place. They had a civil wedding, but vowed that so long that their parents and grandparents were alive, they would have their church wedding in Ghana to celebrate with all their friends and family. Sure one of their 90 year old Grandmother's was cutting a rug on the dance floor! It was so pretty and it was such a beautiful wedding; it was extremely hot in the afternoon but in the late afternoon a gentle breeze and cold Fanta calmed the heat. As I sat and watched--as I did not know anyone in attendance other than my aunt, who knew the bride and groom and sewed the Maid of Honor's dress--I just saw the love and compassion this couple had for each other, and their homeland, roots, culture. It was great, and really beautiful. I am a hopeless romantic... although I always parade around with my single woman torch. I have fallin' hard and fast for Ghana... the hip life music and the DELICIOUS red red with fried plantains, the BOMB kuntumbre stew with yam... ripe mangos... were an Ghanaian export I cherished in Worcester, but the food here, people and culture are not matched, and cannot beat any replica or imitation! Above all my family! All my mother's cousins etc. live in the U.S. so I see them all the time, and I love that family qt time. Here and now, I feel like I'm "catching up" with my cousin since I left Ghana at 3 years old. I am also catching up with my country. All in all I love it. My cousin moves into campus at University of Ghana at Legon. It's down the street, but I'll miss sharing a room and meals with her whiles shes in her dorm. Peace and love...

Oh p.s. enjoy the wedding video the guy in white was "gittin' it" :-) .