Wedding and Football Game :)

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A new adventure to be had each and everyday. This morning I got to the junction at my usual time to get to work and there were several friendly individuals that I was able to strike up a conversation with. One of the men was attempting to ask all f the cars that drove by if they would take him to a trotro stop that would help him to avoid the traffic. I was flabbergasted and assumed that everyone would just ignore him. However, that was not the case at all. Many of the drivers were very receptive and one finally told him that he was headed in the correct direction and could drop him off. He offered me to join, but I was worried that I would not be able to figure out how to get to my job from a new stop that was foreign to me. Additionally, I was scared to get into a random car. Two of them ended up taking the ride and I was left with the third individual who also stayed back. We waited for about another twenty minutes and luckily a bus came and we were able to get in. It seemed as if it was going to be a pleasant morning until we learned there was an accident and we were traveling even slower than usual. After thirty minutes we had barely moved at all and it gets so hot when so many people are standing so close together and the movement of the bus is no longer creating a breeze. We finally started moving and a taxi crashes into the side of the bus. Thankfully, the bus was not damaged and we were able to continue driving rapidly. There was also a fight between the passengers and the driver because the driver wanted to stop and let more passengers on, but we were already so jam packed no one else could fit. The driver ended up not stopping and the people once again calmed down. When we finally arrived at thirty-seven I was so relieved, I walked to the station as quickly as possible and I caught a trotro right away. I decided that this would be a good time to try a new food, so I randomly chose something that looked like it would taste good and bought it. I was terribly misled by the look of the item. When I arrived at work I was told it was called Daakue or Zoe and it was essentially a ball of ginger and pepper (no one actually knows what pepper means, because in Ghana people refer to pepper as many different food items) and it tasted awful. I took one bite and could not eat anymore; I took the remainder of the ball back to my dorm to allow the other foreign students to taste it.
I was productive at work and complete the first three months of my assignment. I then left in time to make it to a reflection talk for CIEE. The talk was interesting, but like usual it started thirty minutes late. After the talk I met my roommate at the main gate to go to the seamstress and pick up my dress that I got for the wedding. I walked into the home of the seamstress and she took us to her bedroom where she presented me with the dress. It was a very small room where my roommate, the seamstress, and I all stayed. She told me to try on the dress and my first reaction was where do I change. She laughed and said “right here, why are you shy?” I said no and turned and changed although I was not completely comfortable. The dress was a little loose so she took it in the back and fixed it, then returned and it fit beautifully. I received many complements and it was well worth the money spent. I made it back to school right in time for dance class and Sarah is amazing and brought me clothes to change into and a stick this way I would not be late. Class went well and after I headed to the Bush Canteen with Sarah to get dinner and then we went over to a play that some of our friends were performing in. The play was great and we were able to understand most of it. By the time we got back to the dorm it was late, so we decided not to go out and jut relax. I watched Mall Cop, which was hilarious and then went to bed.

Friday, March 18, 2011

This morning I got up in time to eat breakfast with Sarah and Kwame, a new friend we made at Pentagon on Tuesday. After breakfast I was off to the mall to get a gift for the wedding. We easily found Melcolm, the mall my roommate instructed us to go to find nice gifts for the wedding tomorrow. We bought a bowl and platter, silverware, cups and saucers, and glass salad bowls from all of us. We went outside to get wrapper and when I got back I wrapped all of the gifts. It felt like I was preparing for a bridal shower with all of the wrapping I had to do. I decided not to go out again because we were leaving at four-forty for the wedding.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

I was late getting up and getting ready, but since I have arrived in Ghana I have gotten better at accepting that things are always really late. So I was not horribly worried about being on time. I then found out that Peter never woke up, so I headed to his room to ensure he got up. I banged on his door for about five minutes before he answered and I had to stand in his room while he packed a bag and got ready because he would have plopped right back in bed if not. He was still drunk from the night before because they only got back from Champs about thirty minutes before we had to leave. Two of the other boys were still in the hall; they were all fooling around making Peter lose focus all together. He finally finished getting ready and when we made it downstairs we found out that Astu still was not there. We called him and he said he was sorry, he doesn’t know how he didn’t wake up. By the time everyone was downstairs and Atsu got us two taxis it was after five-thirty and we were incredibly late for the bus. On the drive over we passed a VIP bus that we learned was the bus we were suppose to be taking to the wedding. We chased down the bus and hoped on, to then travel for the next five hours in an iceberg. The bus was so cold I could barely sleep. I finally got comfortable and was able to sleep. I woke up periodically really needing to use the washroom, but we never stopped to allow me to go. When we arrived at the wedding I learned that the bus stopped twice, Peter and I just slept through both stops. We were also informed that the stops had no washrooms or refreshments, the passengers were just allowed to squat down on the side of the road and do nature. So I was glad that I slept through that experience.
We got to the wedding at eleven, which is hysterical because the invitations said arrive at nine prompt and at eleven the bride was just walking down the isle. We had great timing and got to see the entire service. However, we quickly learned that the service was going to be given in Twi, which was disappointing. One of the guests must have seen the despair on our faces, so she came over and translated the entire sermon for us. She was so kind and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to find out what the reverend was preaching. It was a Pentecostal service, but it was very similar to the wedding I went to several weeks ago. There was a lot of dancing, singing, and sheer enjoyment, but there was no kiss at the end of the ceremony.
We then took a photo with the bride and groom, which were thrilled that obrunis made it to their wedding. We were escorted to a taxi that eight of us all got into and taken to get lunch. We were not charged for anything, the groom just arranged for us to eat because he knew how long of a distance we had traveled. We got pasta, Ghanaian salad, and fish and then we headed back to the reception. We were all so excited to dance and eat cake, but we were quickly informed that we would be leaving before the festivities began. We were all very disappointed because we traveled five hours each way and we only stayed at the wedding for three hours. There was nothing we could do because we had already paid for the bus and we didn’t know how we would get home if we decided to stay. So we were all a little annoyed, but we got in the car and headed back home. I was already frustrated and the guy behind me would not leave me alone, so I was getting hyper. I decided to get up and walk around to avoid the man and clear my head.
Five and a half hours later we made it back to ISH and to our surprise there was a party going on out front. There were different performers going one at a time, while one of the students played music and DJed the entertainment. Some of the boys took off their shirts and had a muscle man contest, while others danced and sang. It was fun to watch and afterwards there was a drink up in one of the hostels. We all went there for a little while and then I went off to bed.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Today we went to our first football (soccer) game in Ghana, it was Accra v. Kumasi, and we had a blast. Everyone bought apparel depending on which team they chose to support and we headed into the stadium to wait until the game began. It was extremely hot and we were right in the sun, but I enjoyed it because I am always looking for ways to get tan. The crowd was phenomenal, everyone was so excited to be there and the enthusiasm was higher than I have ever witnessed before. The stadium was packed and everyone was decked out in the team colors. When bad plays were performed, refs made calls that went against one of the teams, or a team scored the entire crowd would roar and jump around like you couldn’t believe. The team we were cheering for ended up losing the game, but we had a magnificent time anyway. On the way out one of the girls ended up getting robbed, but people saw it happen so they retrieved her bag and chased the man down. They started to beat him, but the girl got upset so they stopped. I am sure when we walked away that man was beaten until he was unconscious. We then made our way to the bus and back to the dorm. I once again went to the night market and sat with Sarah, while she ate Banku. I ate dinner with Demola and Julie and it was absolutely delicious. The two of them made a fabulous dinner that included mashed potatoes, something that is never eaten in Ghana. It was late by the time we finished so I went straight to bed.

Health Update:
There is currently a cholera outbreak, but thank God no one in my program has shown any signs of the horrible disease

7 cases of malaria- everyone is doing fine now
1 individual with panic attacks that went home
1 case of food poisoning
Several cases of stomach issues- some people cannot keep food down others are having issues using the bathroom
There was a 24-hour bug that went around, about five people caught it, but they are fine now
- That is about it, everyone has recuperated fine and no one is currently in the hospital!
- As for me I have had very little health problems and I am working tirelessly to maintain that status