March 6th is the New July 4th

March 6th, besides being the day of Miller's birth, is also the independence day of Ghana. This year marked 49 years free from British colonial rule. So interesting and different to be celebrating independence of a country that occurred within my parents lifetime. In the morning,we got ready at 6:30 to go to this volleyball tournament, but we were the only people not on Ghanaian time. People started filtering in about an hour later and the bus left at like 9. As we were waiting, this building had a peculiar amount of water pouring out of it. My friend, Felix, this hilarious volleyball player started yelling "Wake up wake up. Your house is on water!" Then Joe chimed in about "No no, this is Legon waterfalls. Get your cameras ready." Just an example of how fun these guys are. Once we got to the court, we took a cab to independence square to see the celebration and hear the President speak. Ghanaians my age had told me to avoid this situation since it was boring, hot and crowded. Instead, they told me to go to the beach. However, I wanted to see the official celebration and we went into the thick of it. The entire stadium was full of people carrying the Ghanaian flag and proudly displaying their country's colors. On the floor was a whole formation of military officials as well as tanks and fancy cars. Up on this balcony type thing, President Kufuor delivered a speech on Ghana and independence although the hum of the crowd made it dificult to hear. A band played some songs, including the national anthem, and soldiers marched with the flag held high. We had come rather late, so it was soon over and we went back for the tournament. In addition to volleyball, there were men's and women's teams from four schools in football and basketball as well. The three of us were the only obrunis there and we had a wonderful day with the volleyball teams. Our university won both the men's and women's tournaments and I have many new friends and protectors. A little sunburn and some hunger at the end of the day were well worth it. I definately crashed at like 9 PM when we got back. Forget July 4th. I am celebrating March 6th from now on.