Kumasi and Ashanti people

Sorry I haven't posted recently but my internet access has been limited and extremely slow when possible. So I have plenty of pictures and will upload them when I can

I'm currently in Kumasi which is the 2nd largest city in Ghana and is the capital of the Ashanti people which are by far the largest tribal group in Ghana with about 50% of the population. In fact their political party, the NPP, just lost the elections by 23,000 votes out of 10 million votes counted. The NDC won with a coalition of the other tribes and areas by 50.1%.

The people of Kumasi are very nice and the city is nice as well and not at all hectic like other cities.

Immediately I noticed that the woman here are a little healthier looking in size and have some meat on their bones unlike all the other places I've been. Many people here also are a little lighter in skin which has much to do with the slave trade.

The Ashanti were the ones who more or less were the dominant forces in rounding up other tribes and handing them over to the slave trading companies. In fact while at the Cape Coast slave castle, two Ghanians of different tribes were teasing one another along the lines of my tribe enslaved yours which did not at all amuse any of the Africa-Americans who were there watching that exchange.

I've visited and stayed with a suprisingly well off family here. They own two compounds side by side in a suburb of Kumasi and their living conditions are a world away from most. Much of this wealth was retreived by simply caring for people in Syria which one of the aunts did. So apparently that money that is earned in western nations does bring buy them a lot here.

Today is the Obama inauguration and it should be on here at around 5 p.m. so I hope to check a few places on the sreet that I think will show it and I will take my camera along and takes some pictures and make some videos. It should be interesting.

There is here in Ghana the "Barack Obama Song" which is sung by a local group who sing a song about Obama and it is played constantly and even has the video played continuously on TV.

Also the food here in Kumasi is significantly better then anywhere in Ghana and the street food here is the best food in town as it is served every hour fresh from gleaming cookware with a variety of sauces, meats, and vegetables to choose from to go along with the awesome "Wachi" which is a rice with beans style rice which is fabulous and unseen of anywhere else in Ghana thus far. They also have 30-40 freshly boiled eggs sitting their in a brand new pot which is lovely for me as I love to mash it up in my rice. Eggs here are usually not very good as the yolk is usually the size of a pea but here in Kumasi they are real eggs.

I've also noticed that there are many foods from Israel and walked into a supermarket here and found a whole wall of "Prigat" fruit drinks. The Snickers is also always from Israel and written in Hebrew in the back. I found one place that sells Phildelphia cream cheese at insane prices as well.

Alas however there is no milk anywhere in the country. You can buy powered or UHT sterilized but there is not a single ounce of pastreuzied milk in the country as there is no facility. So have some milk and cookies and dedicate a few sips to me!