a hot date with the president

a few months ago, the white house announced that obama would be
visiting ghana as his first trip to sub-saharan africa. i was super
excited because i would be living in ghana by then. when we arrived
here, we asked if we would be allowed to go see obama speak, but since
his visit was only 24 hours total, they said there would be no time
for such an event. we were disappointed, but of course we understood.
then last week, our trainers received text messages that peace corps
had received permission to attend an exclusive send-off ceremony at
the airport! we, of course, freaked out.
obama arrived friday in ghana. on saturday he went to cape coast to
visit one of the old slave forts there. he gave a speech, which i
still haven't heard (and am eager to!), and then came back to accra.
and WE MET HIM THERE! we spent a total of about 30 hours waiting and
traveling and planning for about 30 minutes of obama time, but it was
totally worth it. we left early in the morning saturday, drove a few
hours to accra, went to the peace corps office to pick up our tickets
and eat lunch, drove to the embassy, got on fancy chartered buses (and
watched sheena, an amazing movie), and drove to the airport. there we
sat and waited for a while more before being allowed in. peace corps
was given special vip tickets, so we got to walk right in front of the
main barricade and stand in front. where i stood was only about 20
feet from the podium, only fourth row back. and then we waited a few
more hours. thankfully, it wasn't terribly hot (see? i'm adjusting).
finally, a couple of helicopters landed. obama, michelle, and their
two daughters greeted some people, and then mills (ghana's president)
and obama went to the stage. mills spoke for a couple minutes, then
obama spoke. obama congratulated the people of ghana on successful
elections and for leading the rest of africa toward democracy. then
he mentioned PEACE CORPS and thanked us for the significant work we
have done here. and we shrieked. and he smiled at us that we were so
enthusiastic! he talked about how ghana was the first country to
accept peace corps, back in 1961. it was all very exciting. i
couldn't hear the speakers they had connected to the microphone, but i
could hear obama's actual voice. after the speeches, obama and
michelle walked around and shook hands with the crowd. then they
boarded the MASSIVE air force one and flew away. we all waved. we
had so much fun.
apparently we were on cnn and possibly other news stations too.
you'll have to let me know if you saw us there. i was wearing a
bright yellow shirt.
so while i didn't get to shake obama or michelle's hands myself, my
friend sonya shook both. and afterward, i shook her hand. so it's
like i shook their hands.
i guess i had to move out of the us to have a chance to meet the
president of the us!