Day two in Accra, Ghana!

Our second day in Ghana was very eventful. After our trip to the National Theater, we headed to the National Museum. Albert, the museum owner and our tour guide, made the experience very rewarding because of his enthusiastic attitude towards his history and his culture. He was also surprisingly aware of the invasive influence of the West on Ghana. It is easy for Americans to sometimes forget that citizens from developing countries our aware of Western exploitation.

From the museum, we headed to the University of Accra. On the way, our tour guide, Richard, discussed the Ghanaian education system and the surprisingly low percent of people who continue on to higher education. Ghana offers five state schools, and more are in development. Richard stated that these developments "showed where the government's priority lies." However, the government does not require that children attend school. This responsibility is left to the parents. It is curious that the Ghanaian population does not take a higher advantage of these opportunities.

As we looked out the van window, we began to find the answers to this question. Instead of encouraging thier children to succeed in school, it seemed like some needed their children at home, working by their side. On the streets, many children can be seen selling goods such as water, peanuts, pamphlets, sunglasses, and various other accessories. Although the children seem to have endless opportunuties, they are bound by family responsibility and the burden of uneducated parents. Fortunately, this viscious cycle is slowly being broken.

The market was the most memorable experience of the day. The drastic enthusiasm and perpetual hassling of the market venders revealed the extreme lengths that the people will go to survive. While looking around in the market, I (Cinnamon) was approached by a small boy of no more than twelve years of age. He begged me to buy a small Ghanaian flag he was selling saying continually, "please do this for me, I haven't sold one yet." This was an eye opener; it truly showed the desparity of some families and the downsides of informal economy. With this in mind, the market hassling almost seemed like a pennance Americans have to pay for their intervention and "hassling" in African economic affairs.