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Day 11: May 04, 2010

In the morning we woke up and immediately headed to the American Embassy to get Lorena's temporary passport. As she filled out the paperwork Matt and I waited in the lobby. It was very nice, everything was extremely air-conditioned and there was a flat-paneled TV screen showing CNN. However, it was a little depressing as well. There was a steady stream of Ghanaians who had applied for visas to the United States and were being interviewed by the Americans working there behind the glass. I heard three or four Ghanaians, answer a few questions and then told that based on the interview today you are not eligible for entry in to the United States of America. Then when they would question to why, were they denied entry, they were told to again that they were denied and to apply again if they want in 6 months. Of course the money the Ghanaians had to pay for the application and the process are not refunded. However, I have heard a statistic of something like 50% of the people for whom visas to the USA have been granted, continue to stay illegally in the United States. I need to verify this statistic, but if it's true then they have some reason to be overly critical of applications.

After the Embassy we headed to the Food Court in Osu which advertised buy 1 pizza and get another for free. After we went Gelato to get some ice cream and then headed back to the hotel to rest. In the afternoon we went back to the American Embassy and Lorena got her temporary passport, however there wasn't enough time to go to the Togolese Embassy so we went to get smoothies at the place in Osu fittingly named, Smoothy's. It was there that we met up with Sam and Annie, two fellow SED Togo PeaceCorps Volunteers from my stage. They had just come over the border from Lomé and were on their way, after a couple days in Ghana, to Egypt and Morocco.

We stopped at a bar after the smoothie place, the headed back to New Haven Hotel and walked down the street to Champs located in the Paloma Hotel. Lorena really wanted some Mexican food even if it was going to be Ghanaian Tex-Mex. The food wasn't that great, but it was fun nonetheless.

Day 12: May 05, 2010

We went to Sunshine 2 Go in Osu with Sam and being that it was our last day went all out. I had coffee, a full breakfast and a chocolate milkshake. Next Matt, Lorena and I went to the Togolese Embassy. There are some pictures on the Ghana Trip website. She got her visa for Togo, so she would able to enter the country and then we went to eat lunch at the Food Court in Osu again. It was delicious as always. Before we left we went to KOALA, the fancy supermarket and I bought a couple things. Then, at about 3 or 4pm we went to the taxi station to take a taxi to the border.

It was a great trip, but it saddened me. Why isn't Togo like this? Why isn't Lomé like Accra? Togo has so much potential.