Begin forwarded message:
From: Adwoa
Date: Aug 29, 2013 at 9:36 AM PDT
To: Mr. Martin & Dr. Martin
Subject: Re: Court Verdict

The Supreme Court verdict is out in favor of the president with 4:5 ruling. There has not been any incidence, the country has gone dead silence though. The opposition, has congratulated the president and has accepted the verdict. They have decided not to go for review. That is the latest news in Ghana now I thought I will share with you.

Peace forever in Ghana, Africa.
Adwoa

Hi Adwoa,

Hope all is well in Ghana, Africa. All is well here in the USA in San Diego, California all things considered. Dr. Martin informed me about Ghana's Supreme Court decision which validated President John Mahama's electoral victory. Nine months for the decision! Wow! Sure took long enough.
Sometimes democracy moves as slow as glaciers but that's okay considering the alternatives. I'm pleased to hear of your country's peaceful transition of political power and that Ghanaians accepted the courts decision of your next president calmly. You know Americans suffered the exact same ordeal in our contested presidential election, Bush v. Gore, which was dramatically decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000. Americans were very stressed during the multiple election recounts and the subsequent Supreme Court decision in favor of President George Bush. I voted for Vice President Al Gore so I lived with the court's decision, though it wasn't easy.

    I know it's difficult sometimes, Adwoa, but do your best to fight political cynicism and remember our good fortune to live in a democracy. It's up to well-informed, educated citizens like you to frame Ghana's history, both political and cultural, for the benefit of future generations. Your longstanding position as a Senior Tour Officer gives you many advantages, unique opportunities and the prospect of wider horizons. Who else, except fortunate people like you who encounter educated citizens from all over the world, do younger people in Ghana depend on for informed insight and trustworthy information? Your duty is clear.
     Adwoa, my experiences over the years traveling all over Ghana with you have been illuminating and fruitful. The education of Mr. Martin and Dr. Martin by Adwoa in Ghana has been so valuable in our mission to frame U.S. global politics and culture for citizens in our country, both young and old and from coast to coast. For eleven years Dr. Martin and I have given lively presentations of our experiences in Ghana to many different groups including high schools and universities.  We've shared about the history of the Elmina and Cape Coast slave castles; the different tribal groups such as the Fante and Asante; the two major political parties, NPP and NDC; and we’ve shared the importance of the iconic adinkra symbols and kente cloths, which Black people in our country wear as fashion statements yet often are unaware of their deep cultural meaning. Adwoa, I shared so many of the societal customs and unique cultural Ghanaian attributes you've share with us each year. We've also shared about living in your world without ubiquitous shopping malls, tangling freeways, a plethora of packaged foods, the insanity of 1000 TV stations and celebrity culture.
     Adwoa, I was innocently asked by one of your peers this summer if there were many Black people in America. I informed him that, in fact, there are many more Black people in America than the whole of 25 million Black Ghanaians in your country. The United States has nearly 40 million Black people, although considered a minority because we are only 13% of the U.S. population of 316 million.
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     As you know, Adwoa, our country is expansive and diverse in population. Below is a racial dot map of where we live in San Diego with a legend of the different ethnicities in our city which has a population of 1.3 million of which only 8% are Black. We live twenty minutes by car from the Mexican border, hence the high density Latino population in San Diego. The diversity in San Diego mirrors many major cities in the United States so the culture shock is immense when our university students land in Ghana's Kotoka International Airport in the capital of Accra. Upon our arrival you've noticed our students' nervous body language, gazing eyes and introspective demeanor as they absorb new surroundings and witness the highest density of Black people they've ever seen in their lives as we exit the airport and drive through the busy capital. Adwoa, I'm sure you're the last person I would need to convince that the effects of culture shock of experiencing a new country are real, rarely imagined.
Adwoa, most Americans are comfortable living in a diversified population of the United States. Although, observe in the racial dot map above, Americans in general and San Diegans in particularly live regionally together amongst their own race. Sometimes this separation of dwellings by race is willful by human nature. However, often the determination of where differing populations live is historical, political and institutional by design borne out of pure economics of affordability. Generalizing for example, observe on the map the high density of the White population living along the San Diego coastline and through our tourist centers manifested by higher real estate values. Observe the high density of the Asian population often living near our universities and Black population living more inland manifested by more modest real estate values.
     Sure, we have longstanding prejudices, stereotypes and conflicts between races in America. However, as a nation we are united and coexist amazingly well together as Americans. To our credit as a nation, we're always striving to form a more perfect union. We feel as you feel about your great country, Ghana; despite our shortcomings, in the USA we love our country too!
Here is an informative link to view racial dot maps of other U.S. cities to observe and find interesting:
 http://1800myplace.com/Roots/RDM/San_Diego.html
      So, we wish to thank you for your years of service for our benefit, Adwoa. The work you do as a professional Senior Tour Officer is challenging and difficult, yet meaningful for others thousands of miles beyond your national borders. By our extension, your efforts have touched a lot of minds and hearts and helped many people to recalibrate and dismiss their lifelong ignorance. The personal transformations in our students happens by virtue of your immense grace and patience as you impart your knowledge the best you can considering the circumstances.

    Of course, having been a witness, I know the circumstances you're up against when trying to engage with westerners who visit your country: travel fatigue and jet lag, iphones and ipods, food phobias and special diets, homesickness, medicinal issues, xenophobia and ethnocentrism — I'm sure the list is long. Yet, you tolerate these foreign vulnerabilities gracefully and represent your tour company professionally and, more importantly, represent your country admirably. So, you're an amazing woman, Adwoa, and Dr. Martin and I have great respect for your professional talents, discretion and humility. So to you, Adwoa, on behalf of Dr. Martin and myself, I say Kudos!

    One day, Adwoa, you will receive a passport and visit other countries. I will state, with confidence, when this event happens in your life and you travel overseas you will become as homesick for your family in Ghana as you've witnessed over the years of our students’ eagerness to return to their hometowns in the United States after a summer away in Ghana. There's no place like home!