Jesse:
I'm back in "plantation" USA with mixed thoughts and emotions. Ghana had a certain freedom--unencumbered by racism, and infrastructure as well.

While I was in Ghana, I was a clear outsider. There I was an absolute American--which means I had the stuff ($) that could make Ghanaian dreams come true. This is interesting because here in the US, I am also an outsider. However, unlike in Ghana, I'm conditionally an American--usually around election and tax times.

Too many Ghanaian looked at me with hungry, perhaps envious eyes. It was as if one touch of my wallet could cure all ills. This was particularly apparent in Bowire, when we were mobbed by a bunch of youths hawking dubious goods with sales pitches that quickly turned to pleas, and then to out right demands. It was also apparent in the request from a young man that my wife buy him a car because he needed one and because she was from America.

I will go back to Ghana--or better put, forward to Ghana. Most of the people were friendly and welcoming and the place is not as encumbered by wacky laws and corporate control.

And I'll admit as an engineer, I'm absolutely fascinated by the challenges the infrastructure, or lack there of, presents:

• The scheduled rolling black outs or "no light" 24 hour periods (every 3 days) in Ghana actually make alternative power viable there. Ghanaians don't freak out if the power goes out (as we do in the US) so there's should not be as great a need for massive battery capacity. Lower capacity means smaller, more durable, and safer battery plants. The Sankofa Beach house we stayed at would be ideal for both PV and wind power installations. I can envision a day when solar arrays and wind turbine components are being openly sold at the "electricals" stalls in Makola marketplace.
  
• Ghana is embracing wireless technology. Everyone has GSM cell phones! In fact, there was no landline phone at the beach house. Internet access at the cafes is "backhauled" via Smart WiFi systems that run at DSL speeds, and there are stories on the 'Net that WiMAX mesh technology is being rolled out, as well. This puts Ghana ahead in some ways of the US.
  
• Pollution is a major issue in Accra and I'm sure, in other major cities in Ghana. It seems that other "more developed" countries have dumped the vehicles that failed their more stringent emission standards in Ghana. This problem presents, as one of my professors at Howard would have said, a chance to display one's engineering expertise.
  
• Sanitation and water are issues that must be addressed in Ghana as well. Malaria and other water borne and water based diseases are big issues there. Issues that organizations like Engineers without Borders and Engineers for a Sustainable World are addressing.
• Ghana is a nation of hackers! They have had to modify, retrofit, and improvise "western technology" to make it better fit their needs. They take tractor-trailers and modify the suspension so that they can operate on the unpaved roads that connect major cities and markets. They repair laptops and cell phones, instead of discarding them. (huh!?) I look forward to the day when engineering students from the US are sent to Ghana to learn how to make things with their hands. Making things is becoming a lost art in engineering education.