My Trip to Ghana

by Alima Abubakari, age 10, from US

Last summer in June I went to Ghana. Ghana is a country in West Africa. My dad was born there. My mother had been to Ghana, but my brother and I hadn't. So one day we hopped on the airplane and zoomed off to Ghana. While we stayed in Accra (the capital of Ghana) my Uncle Yahaya took us on a tour of the city. One of the things we saw was the Kwame Nkrumah monument and museum. In the museum I learned about all Nkrumah did to help Ghana get its freedom from the British. He was also the first prime minister or president of Ghana after it got its independence.

Later we went to the beach. We forgot our swimming suits so we swam in our clothes. They dried quickly though because the sun was hot. There was horseback riding on the beach. My brother and I raced the horses on the shore. It was really fun. My Uncle also bought us cokes after we were finished swimming and playing. The cokes weren't in a can like they are here. They were in the glass bottles. That is the only way people sell coke in Ghana.

A Couple days after my family got to Ghana we took a State Transport Bus to Bolgatanga (a town in the northern part of Ghana). In Bolgatanga instead of driving to the supermarket you would walk to the Market. There are all kinds of booths with all kinds of stuff. It is really neat. Also instead of houses there were compounds. Almost all my relatives lived in one compound. The compound is square with rooms all along the sides. In one corner there was a shower. In the middle there was a big room, and that's where my grandfather lived. Most of the time you would sleep outside under the stars. My brother brought his soccer ball and all of our cousins came with us to the park and we played soccer. It was lots of fun.