The Best Day !!

Saturday, February 5, 2011

Today we went to the Accra Museum, where we learned very interesting things. It was much smaller than a museum at home and there was essentially no regulation. There were no security men to be seen and you could touch everything that you wanted to. Most of the museum was photos with captions that explained different things about the history of Ghana. I didn’t bring a camera, but someone else did so when she puts pictures up I will take them and put them up on my facebook too.

We then walked over to White Bell, which was in the guidebook we all got as the authors favorite restaurant. Although it was more expensive then what we usually eat it was delicious. I have never had fried rice that tasted so good. The service here is extremely slow, it takes forever for a waitress to come so you can order, and then the food takes even longer. I think they go and kill the cow in between orders! We though we would have plenty of time before we had to be back for the Durba, but we didn’t we ended up running late. When we got back the bus was already outside waiting to take us to the Great Hall, so we ran inside got changed and made it to the bus right in time.

The Great Hall was decorated beautifully and there were great performers. After the real band performed, student performances began, and then it was our turn. One of the girls messed up the counts at one point, but it all ended up working out. Now we are famous everyone that was there recognizes us, probably because we looked like fools : D, but we had a great time performing. After the Durba we went to Galaxy for the after party. At first it was all white girls inside, so we didn’t go in for a couple of hours. After people started arriving we went in, and the night turned out successfully. Most of the u-pals came out, which was a first. We usually don’t see them at night.

Health Update:
Three people have malaria- but everyone is okay
Kyle was admitted over a week ago into the hospital. Five days ago he was flown to South Africa to a better hospital and now his father and brother have flown in to see him. He is doing okay, but we don’t know if he will be returning.
Several of the girls have very swollen feet and have begun to get fevers, but the hospital said they don’t have malaria.
We all have more mosquito bits than you can imagine
All in all I am fine and most of the students have had no health issues.

Sunday, February 6, 2011
The Best Day Yet

Today is the best day I have had so far and it is all because one of the u-pals, Atsu, that brought me to church. The day began by going to a Charismatic church that has some Pentecostal members in Abecca. When we arrived everyone knew that we didn’t belong, but everyone was extremely kind greeting us in every way.

Close your eyes and picture a church! Now let me describe this church for you. There was no alter, no crucifix, and no pews. There were plastic chairs laid out in lines and a stage at the front where a man spoke into a microphone. There is also a full band with drummers and singers. It was a beautiful place where the room was decorated with ribbons and the people were all dressed in gorgeous dresses that reached the floor. The children were all dressed nice also and they were very well behaved. It was different from home because people would wonder the rows and move around and parents would all help a child if they were getting fussy. The mass was also not in English because most of the members don’t speak any English. They also speak in tongues, sing, dance, and yell out in prayer. They didn’t receive communion and when it was time for collection you had to get up and bring your money to the front instead of them passing around a basket. After mass we stayed for a while and everyone was so hospitable. A little girl asked to take a picture with me and Atsu’s brother brought us all soymilk and sat with us for some time. We also had to go to the front of the church during mass and say our names and how long we would be going to church for. When I spoke everyone laughed, I later found out they had no idea what I was saying.

Next we went to a traditional Ghanian restaurant to get lunch where there was a sign that said spaghetti, sandwiches, and fast food. We asked what kind of sandwiches they had and they explained that they only make spaghetti and sandwiches for big parties and since we were only five people we could only get fast food. Atsu explained to us that fast food in Ghana does not mean that the food will come quickly like at McDonalds or Burger King it means fried rice and chicken is the only meal available. Therefore, we all ate fried rice and chicken! And it was delicious.

This is when the true excitement began. We traveled to Jamestown where Atsu grew up, but has not been back too in quite awhile. We walked through his neighborhood (which is not what you would expect) to find his aunt. It was so impoverished I do not know how to explain it, but the sight of so many naked children and the dirty environment at first brought tears to my eyes. However, I soon observed the children around me and they were having a blast. First, many of them spoke English although most of the adults only spoke the local language. This demonstrates that they are trying to improve the lives of there children. Second, the kids were content entertaining one another. They were pouring water on each other, wrestling, and dancing to try and impress the abrunis. The kids loved to pose for the camera and look at the picture on the camera and they got so excited when we picked them up or just spoke to them. Although they have no toys, running water, electricity, doors on their homes, or sanitary playing grounds they appeared to be extremely happy. Atsu’s aunt was making fufu, she let us help pound it, which was really exciting, we didn’t think we would have the opportunity to do that. She also served us all palm wine, which as fresh from earlier that day, in gourds that you drink from. The first thing she did was drink a gulp before we were able to drink. They do this so if there is poison in the food or drink only the owner gets sick. We saw someone else making banku and there were so many families just hanging out outside. The homes do not have kitchens; the women cook outside using coal and fire that a pot sits on top of. There were flies all over and piles of garbage between each home. The way in which Ghanians dispose of their garbage is by burning it when the piles get large. There were many dogs, a goat, rabbits, and chicken just walking around the community along with over fifty young children. We took many pictures and we truly got to see a real Ghanian community that is outside of the wealthier Accra area.

We continued to a restaurant names Osekan where a band was performing. It is located right on the water, and the view was breathtaking. Before the band began we spent an hour just climbing the rocks and taking photos. Atsu and Emily were posing like models for pictures and a huge wave came and drenched them. This was much funnier than you would first expect because Emily was in a white dress that you could completely see through. So Atsu was kind enough to lend her his shirt until she dried off. The water was gorgeous, but there were piles of garbage that washed up onto the rocks. We were also watching the crabs that were all over, from really small ones to tremendously large ones.

We returned to where the band was performing and they began soon after. They were amazing; hopefully I will be able to upload a video of there performance. However, I do not have the best part on tape. After the band played for a while, three of the drummers changed costumes and became the dancers. The performance was fabulous; they could all truly dance to the beat of the music. Then two acrobats performed by tumbling, juggling, and using fire in accordance with dancing. I do not believe I have ever seen someone with such genuine talent, who is also a fabulous performer. They kept everyone’s attention and entertained the audience the entire time.

By the end of the day I was exhausted, but my eyes were much wider and my perception of the country much fuller.

Later that night we went over to champs for the Super Bowl, although I could barely stay awake for the entirety of the game because it did not begin until midnight in Ghana. In addition, it was live streamed off the Internet so we didn’t get to see any of the commercials, which is such a vital part of the game.

Monday, February 7, 2011

I did not do much today. I washed my underwear and bras and brought the remaining clothes to a woman that will wash them for me. Hopefully they are returned to me cleaner than they were after I washed them myself. I also had my first Twi class and I found out I got the teacher that I heard is the best. That was an exciting moment, because this is going to be the most important class we take while in Ghana.

I also got to spend some quality time with my roommate. She gave me new things to try like Sobolo, which is a spicy drink with ginger, lemon, and hibiscus flower. I also tried a very spicy sauce that I could not handle at all. She made dinner for me also, rice and fish. It was very good and very kind of her to share with me. The rest of the night we spent just hanging out and getting some homework done.