Sisters Across the Sea

"Sisters" since 1975, Agnes and Jo met as teenagers after both decided to participate in a foreign exchange experience through AFS International.

When Jo discovered she had been matched with a family in Chiraa, Ghana, she knew nothing of this region of Africa, save for what she could find in Encyclopedia Britannica and a world atlas.

Her world soon expanded: After her first time on an airplane, staying in a hotel in New York, and (to the horror of a true Southerner!) drinking unsweetened iced tea, she said "maakye" to her host family five thousand miles from home.

Through a summer's worth of adventures with each other, new friends young and old, and navigating the differences that span cultures and locales, these young women discovered a shared humanity that has spanned oceans and decades.

Abena and Akosua tell their story - interweaving the history and culture of Ghana with meeting new challenges, elephants and chiefs, and even Shirley Temple - demonstrating that the world is wondrous and lifelong bonds are unbreakable.