In Ghana, May 25th is a national holiday, with offices closed and a day off from school. It’s called African Unity Day and celebrates the founding of what is now known as the African Union.
I had arrived the evening before with no concrete plans for the next day. I had one day in the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe before flying to the latter of the two main islands. After flipping through the slim guidebook and finding a suggested self-guided walking tour of the city, I made plans to wander through the colonial streets of the city and hit the highlights as suggested. The calendar had another plan for me. You see, it was St. Thomas’s feast day; and St. Thomas in Portuguese is, you guessed it São Tomé.
This past Wednesday, September 21 was a holiday across Ghana. Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday is celebrated each year as Founder’s Day in Ghana. He was a main agitator for Ghana’s independence from Britain and elected as Ghana’s first president, but in a global context, he was so much more than that.
This weekend is a three-day weekend, and not because of July 4th, America’s Independence Day. Here in Ghana, today is Republic Day, which is separate and different from Ghana’s Independence Day (March 6).
On this day, in 1960, Kwame Nkrumah was inaugurated as the first president of the first independent Black African nation. But it took some time to get to that point.
Today is officially my last day as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand. Even if I could sum up that last two years in words, it would likely be a novel, or at least a novella. Can you put the last two years of your life in a blog post? Didn’t think so. So, harkening back to the old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a gallery of picture highlights from the last 27 months. (Click on any picture to enlarge.)
(Apologies to my readers who are in locations with limited data and Internet connectivity. I suggest skipping this post and coming back to it when you have decent Internet.)
more “See What I Saw: A Photographic Chronicle of 27 Months”
Now that I’ve been here for a year, I kind of have a grasp on what some of the big celebrations Thailand has and I’ve heard of some smaller, local festivals. So much Thai culture is steeped throughout the year and released all at once in these annual festivals, from celebrations of victorious battles to honoring spirits and ghosts, from taking pride in local ruins and historical sites to making merit and honoring the water spirits, there is likely a celebration of some kind just around the corner. Here are the ones that I am most looking forward to going to this year.
Thailand has lots of special days, often with observations done at the schools. There are a number of Buddhist holidays. There’s Thai Language Day. There’s Science Day. There’ Wai Kruu Day. And this month there’s Children’s Day and Teacher Day.
In Thailand, a bpai tiao is a trip of any length. I’ve written about some of my more significant bpai tiaos to tourist destinations here, to be used as travel ideas and tips.
Thailand may be 98% Buddhist, but Christmas is a big deal here. Christmas has been all over the advertisements and the big box stores have been decking the halls. Of course, many schools that have a Peace Corps volunteer see this it as an opportunity to get “the real deal” American Christmas experience at their school and enlist their volunteer to plan Christmas Day activities. My friend Jill was one of those volunteers whose school wanted some Christmas activities and she asked me to come and help her out. Happy to have to chance to spend the holiday with a friend, I agreed. Check out some of my Christmas Day activities!
Today is Constitution Day here in Thailand, a national holiday. Recently, there have been protests against the government in Bangkok. Many of the protesters are calling for governmental reform and for the prime minister to step down. But how exactly does the government operate under the current constitution?
Yesterday was a very special day in Thailand: the king’s birthday, which is also celebrated as Father’s Day.
The king is extremely revered and loved by the Thai people. His is the longest serving monarch in the world, having ascended to the throne in 1946 after the mysterious death of his other brother. He has done much for Thailand in the way of agricultural and medical reform. He’s also a man of many talents, holding patents for inventions call the Sandwich and the Super Sandwich, which make rain clouds. Not to mention the fact that he’s an accomplished jazz musician and has written original compositions. His has three daughters and one son and is 86 this year. more “Father’s Day Celebrations in Thailand”