I'm Home

Sunday, May 29th, 2011
Many of the people from my program left for America today, so I spent a large portion of the day saying goodbye and spending as much time as possible with them before they left. I also had to finish my paper for one of my classes and finish up my last blog before Brittney took her computer back. Since it was a Sunday none of the cleaning ladies were working, so everyone left me their appliances and other items they wanted donated. Therefore, my entire room was filled with items to be sorted out, but I did not mind since I had nothing else to do. I was also allowed to use any of the appliances for the following days until it was time for me to move out. I got a pot to make coffee in the mornings and to boil water for oatmeal; so hanging on to the donations was well worth it.
After everyone took off I made my way to the dance department to hang out with a friend for the evening. Like usual I was rushing to get there on time since I was running a little late. The goodbyes took longer than I intended and I did not want to rush anyone so I waited them out until the last person was gone. As I was making my way to the dance department I tripped and once again I broke my shoe. I almost made the decision to turn around, but it would have taken me thirty minutes and I was already running late. So I decided to attempt to salvage the shoe until I returned that night. This turned out to be more embarrassing than I had previously predicted because every time someone walked by they would comment. Usually they were attempting to be kind, but that did not make the entire ordeal less uncomfortable. It was dark outside so the process was not going as well as I had hoped. Thankfully, a kind man stopped and offered to help me. We reconstructed my sandal for about ten minutes and finally we found a solution. When I was able to wear the shoe with little discomfort I thanked the man and he just went along on his way. It was one of the kindest moments I have experienced in Ghana in quite some time.
I made it to the department about ten minutes late and to no surprise it was an hour before Shamo arrived. He called to let me know he was on his way and about fifteen minutes later I spotted him and we made our way to Jerry’s, a local bar. He asked me to pick our seats and I made the mistake of choosing a table right next to the jukeboxes making it very difficult to talk. We did talk the entire time we were just forced to scream in order to hear each other. We had the most interesting conversation about Pram Pram, his hometown, and the Gaa festival, which I planned on attending in two days time. He explained how he is part of the royal family and his clan’s animal is a cat. Each clan has their own set of names; therefore, if someone was walking through Pram Pram and asked for Shamo they would not know exactly who the person was, but they would be able to direct me to his clan’s house. Also, there are two distinct sides the upper and lower each side has a family house. In those homes the family meetings are held and once a year they meet to discuss grievances that may have aroused during the year, but could not be discussed because it would have been disrespectful for the youth to bring up an issue with an elder or someone of a higher rank.
We also discussed the family dynamics in his unique home. He was one of five students in his graduating class from Senior High to go to University. He was able to achieve this goal because it was instilled upon him since he was a child. One of the large problems in his village is the proximity to the beach. Children go over to the beach instead of going to school and the fisherman convince them to stop attending school and make money by working on the boats. This is effective because the parents either do not find out this is happening until it is too late or they are not concerned with education as long as their child is making money. Shamo’s family understood the importance of schooling, so he was forbidden from going to the beach until he reached junior high. He would be checked everyday when he got home by his parents. If he had sand in his hair or smelt like salt he would get into trouble. Once he came home and declared he was going to be a fisherman. His dad remained calm and said that would be fine, but first he needed to finish school then he could become anything he wanted to. This was effective and Shamo made it through university and no longer has any desire to be a fisherman.
After he explained the festival we left and we both went back to our perspective hostels. I had to drag donations to my room from the porters lodge and this caused an argument. I was already so tired and not in the mood for the disagreement so I decided to let the porters win until the morning. They were claiming that the donations were being made to them and not to the Rise Up charity, which was total nonsense. I took what they allowed me to bring to my room, sorted through the items, and flopped onto bed and fell asleep.

Monday, 30th, 2011
I woke up early to begin the process of packing up all of my belongings to transport them to Pentagon for the next two days. This was a much more difficult task than anticipated because of the vast amount of belongings I had acquired. Luckily, Quasy and Stone have not yet returned to their homes so they kept me entertained while I jammed both of my luggages full. They also assisted me by removing things that were too high up for me to reach and pulling the zippers shut when my strength was not adequate to close the bags. Finally I finished packing and I was able to shower with running water and do my last load of laundry.
Then I made my way around the dorm and handed out all of the donations that had been left in my room except for my blender. I made my last smoothie, papaya and banana, and handed my blender off to a very thankful woman. She was so excited and she came back about ten minutes later and said, “I want to know your name.” It put a gigantic smile on my face because I understood that she must have asked one of the other cleaning ladies, who spoke English, how to say that and then memorized it so she could repeat it to me. As I was walking around trying to take in the last moments in my hostel I witnessed one of the most depressing sights. The cleaning ladies who never steal anything and work tirelessly to keep the students happy where picking through all of the trashcans. They were looking for any items they could salvage and take as their own. I was so sad when I saw this happening, but I realized that I could do nothing more to help. I did all I could and life is hard for some and merely being aware of this fact is a step in the right direction towards a better world.
It was getting late and I was preparing to leave when Yaw, the man from the Rise Up charity, called and asked if he could stop by now to pick up donations. Of course I agreed although I then realized I would not be able to leave for almost another hour. I went upstairs and watched the boys play ping-pong and said my final goodbyes. I realized that I would not get back from Pentagon, the hostel where I would be keeping my things over night, until late and I would leave Accra at 5:30 AM and not return.
I should have explained earlier, but just to inform everyone about my plan for my final days I will quickly go through my plans. Today I will move my thing s to Pentagon. I will sleep in my hostel and then leave in the morning for Pram Pram for one night. The following day I will return to Accra and spend the night in Pentagon. The following day I will leave for Kumasi with a group of six people including Mickey. Three of them will stay for the day, watch the Black Stars game, and go back to Accra the same day. Mickey, Colleen, and I will remain in Kumasi until June sixth and we will return in time to bring me to the airport. Twenty-two hours later I will arrive back in America!!
After Yaw came and went I left for Pentagon and when I arrived Mickey came out to help me carry my things up four flights of stairs. I was overwhelmingly thankful because I had several bags, one luggage that weighed over seventy five pounds, so without him I am sure my things never would have made it all of the way up the stairs. Once I arrived with all of my things I learned how exceptional my host was because I was permitted to spread my things all over the room like it was my own. Then we spent almost two hours attempting to upload a CD to my computer. It was a very difficult procedure since we had to shine a flashlight on the screen and attempt to find the cursor with a speck of light and then download the CD into iTunes. When we finally accomplished that task it took about twenty minutes for the songs to upload and even longer to play the songs we wanted to hear. In the end it all worked out and I was able to get over five hundred Ghanaian songs on my computer which I thought would be impossible because it was broken before I got the opportunity to download songs. Just the two of us had a dance party for a little while and then our friend Gideon came over. They were able to get a key to an empty room next door, so we would have more beds for every one to sleep in. This would have never worked in my hostel, but Pentagon is much more lax in the rules.
I found a ride back to my dorm at 4:30 AM so I decided that would be easier than finding a taxi back to my hostel now after midnight. Therefore, I found space to sleep in Pentagon and went to sleep knowing that sometime during the night Mustafa would stop by to drop off his keys so we would have his car in the morning. It was after three by the time we went to bed, so I knew that the morning would be interesting.

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
I did not predict how unique my morning would be because when my alarm went off at 4:30 I discovered there were no keys because Mustafa never arrived to drop them off. My host immediately got on the phone and began calling him non-stop while I got ready. Then we tried Cami, one of Mustafa’s good friends, because she would be able to tell us his room number.
We decided the only solution would be to venture outside of the hostel and look for a taxi that might be running at four thirty in the morning. We did find a taxi with the driver sleeping inside, so we tapped on the window until he woke up. The result was the car rolling down the hill and the man struggling to get it to start. It went for about a block before he could get it to stop and then I learned that his battery was dead. Therefore, the only taxi in sight was not running. Finally, someone picked up on the other line and it was Cami’s groggy voice. She gave us vague directions to find Mustafa’s room, a typical Ghanaian practice, and we went to attempt and find him. We found a room called his phone and did not hear it, so we kept looking until we heard his phone ringing. We shouted his name and knocked on his door until he finally got up. He came to the door cheerfully, apologized saying he forgot to drop off the keys, and walked right to his car to give me a ride.
I arrived at my hostel with thirty minutes to get ready, so I moved as quickly as possible. Thankfully, I did a great job preparing the day before and all of my clothes were set out and my coffee was made and waiting for my in the kitchen fridge. Thankfully the power was on so my coffee was cold and I was able to gulp it down and throw on my dress. I even had time to whip on some make-up and throw my hair up before running outside to meet up with the people I would be going to Pram Pram with. I discovered for the first time that Shamo was on time, which I should have expected because he knew if we left late we would miss the start of the festivities. I made it to the dance department with his waiting, walked to the trotro station; rode on three different trotros, and the entire journey went smoothly. The only issue we stumbled upon was a trotro driver that had many rules. No women were permitted in the front seat, we were scolded for talking because he was trying to hear the radio, no preaching was allowed in the car, and there were no Asians allowed. However, we did not let him bother us, we just slept for the majority of the time.
We immediately went to the shrine since it was around nine and the rituals were supposed to begin at seven. The first thing I did was ask for a washroom and to no surprise the journey was a difficult one. I had to walk through peoples homes and when we arrived the women told me someone was showering in the area where you usually urinate, so she gave me a bucket and I went in the kitchen filled it and handed it back to her. I felt terrible, but I had no other options. I went back to my position next to Shamo and prepared to watch the Gaa festival. Shamo was a saint and explained everything that was happening step by step and when I asked him something he did not know he was honest about it. He would ask someone sitting around us and I would get all of the information I requested.
The first thing we witnessed were women getting possessed by the ancestors of their clan. The possessed women bark, crawl, quack, meow, and other things that replicate the animal of their clan. No one is able to get possessed until after they have been initiated and this usually takes place at puberty. The girls are sat on a stool and they have to walk around it three times. After that they sit one more time and if they get possessed and cannot stand up it means they have broken their virginity and they are immediately exiled from the community. The initiation can be done from birth if the child is very powerful and from birth they are aware that she will have powers later on. The powers are never shown off, only during this festival, so this is the typical time when ancestors visit. Libations are poured near the shines to feed the ancestors and the possessed women are brought inside their prospective shrine to be dressed in tradition cloth and decorated with paint. They wear white to represent purity and they are given all sorts of jewelry and make-up. Many times each woman will change several times and the cloths used were gorgeous many of the times. The newly initiated women were left topless, while the older women were more covered and may be wearing white with some other colors as well.
After the women were changed by the elders they would go to the master drummer and tell them what to play and how long they would dance for. The women would then dance for several seconds and return to the drummer to give a message, this would happen several times during the performance of each woman. The women would not actually be speaking, the ancestors would power them and it would be the ancestors who talk and tell the drummer about different important things in the community and about the future or past. The entire sight was extremely interesting and it was a shame we were not permitted to take photos.
Many of the women have tattoos on their bodies, either on their chest, arm, or shoulder. The tattoos say their name and Pram Pram this way they can be identified if killed. This is no longer common so many children do not have the tattoos. Also once a woman is initiated they are given marks on their hand in between their thumb and forefinger.
We were sitting in the back opposite the drummers and surrounding the drummers were the priests of the community and on the right were the elders who were not possessed, but had been at one point of their lives. On the right were those who were initiated but never possessed, it was from this group that the ancestors would choose to come down into. The women carried brooms, which they use to place spells on people. If someone in the community did something bad they would hide because the possessed women can perform horrors onto those who have done wrong. The women who were once possessed all have powers and at any time they are able to use those powers to punish the bad and honor the good.
I also met a little girl who was adorable, but since she was not schooling she spoke no English. I let her play with all of my things including Aquaphore. She put it all over her face and I did not know how to explain to her that it was not meant for that. It was really funny and she had a good time so I just let her do it. The women around her kept scolding her for playing with my phone; they did not understand that I did not mind. Shamo said they were saying that I was going to spoil her, so I should stop giving her things. But I was a bad person and ignored them because I figured being spoiled for a couple of hours would not ruin her behavior forever.
After the rituals Shamo showed us around and introduced us to some of the priests. He also showed us where the liquor is held that is poured for the ancestors. After, we took a tour of the town on our walk back to his house. We saw the house he grew up in and we met several of his friends that he had when he was a kid. We made our way to his current house, met his sister, nephew, and mom, and put our things down. We talked about what we had seen and how the festival has changed since Catholicism has become prominent in the village. Then the last-born daughter, who was absolutely gorgeous, served us a delicious meal of banku, tilapia, and pepper. There was so much food, but we had to finish it because Shamo said finishing wouldn’t kill me. He was just kidding, although in Ghana it is rude to leave food on your plate. They take it to mean that you do not like that meal they served.
Following the completion of our meal we went on a tour of the yard. We saw his pig farm, pigeon’s house, goat cage, three cats, and two dogs. I am sure there are animals we missed, but when we saw as many animals that were available we made our way to Golden Beach, which was breathtaking. It was only about a ten minute walk from his house and we sat on chairs under palm trees looking out on the crystal blue water with the waves pounding against the shore. We stayed there for about two hours just talking and then we walked over to the next part of the festival.
We first saw the family house of Shamo and then we witnessed the tree where the priestess danced around. Everything is done three times, first the possessed women go around the tree three times, then they repeat the dance in two more locations making it three times in all. While they are dancing there are groups of people walking, dancing, and chanting. They chant about bad things people do in the community and also about positive things. The groups find out about what men and women have cheated, who has stolen, who has sinned in any way, and they first chant at the person’s house and then out in public. They sing a song telling a story about the sin the person committed. No one knows how the groups find out about the sins, but they are always accurate in their accusations. It is also during this time that those with powers show them in the street. Water is turned into food, men keep objects flying in the air, and other specials powers.
The groups chanting are extremely interesting even if you are unable to understand the words. They are dressing in the same clothes and they wave around flags while dancing the same dance. The High Priest carries around a drum to each shrine that will be danced at and the final destination is the ocean. The dance is done three more time on the beach and then people jump into the water with the drum to cleanse themselves of any impurities. During this time everyone is permitted to dance and since I am white and stick out there were women who pulled me in to dance. I did not fight since I enjoy dancing and the women were very happy with the entire ordeal.
The idea of the festival is to thank the ancestors for the good harvest during the year. The festival marks the end of the harvest and in August the big festival will be held. It is considered the beginning of the New Year and the festival is performed to thank the ancestors for a healthy year and to wish for another positive one.
After the festival we met up with Shamo’s friend and went to the neighboring town to go out to dinner and dance. Each town celebrates the festival on a different month; therefore, if we left Pram Pram we would be more likely to find a place to hangout where music was permitted to be played outside. The boys ordered our dinner, like usual without asking what we would like. The dinner was good and we danced while we waited. A cute little girl was sitting next to us and I could tell she wanted to dance. However, she was too embarrassed so I could not get her to stand up with me. I was also trying to learn new Ghanaian dance steps, but I failed at most of them. After we danced for a little while, ate dinner, and got drinks we went back to Shamo’s house.
I was hysterical laughing while I got ready because I could not figure out where to spit the toothpaste that was already in my mouth. There was no sink and I did not know if it would be rude to go outside. I finally asked Shamo and he said yes I would have to go outside. I ended up feeling really stupid, but in the morning I new what to do without having to ask. We stayed up for about an hour talking about the day’s events and then we went to sleep.
Shamo’s sister started waking us up at four thirty asking if we wanted breakfast. About once every half hour until eight when we finally woke up, we were woken up with someone inquiring about when we would want breakfast.

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
The sweeping was loud and there was chattering outside because the world surrounding us was awake and ready to start the day by four. We finally woke up around seven and got breakfast, which consisted of bread and blue band (like margarine), eggs with onions and peppers, and coffee (Nescafe). It was a nice start to the day and we were off by ten o’clock too Tema. Tema is the center of the world, where the Meridian line passes through. We had trouble finding the exact spot where the line passes through the Earth so we were walking around when Shamo spotted a friend of his driving a bus. He pulled over and drove us around until we found the location we had been searching for. We then walked through the market stopping on the way to get small banana breads. They turned out too be really good and it made the horrible experience we were about to have a little more tolerable.
We got on a trotro that was almost full, so I was not in the same row as Shamo. The man sitting behind me was an older man around eighty who clearly had some sort of mental disability. He kept rubbing me, which made me uncomfortable, but since he is older it is inappropriate to say anything to him. When the mate asked him to pay he said my wife would pay pointing to me. I made it clear I would not be paying for him; he was rude, and extremely creepy. He spoke English and kept ranting about different pointless topics. The mate continued to ask him to pay and he replied the same way each time, followed by him asking me for the money. As we were getting closer to the university I went to call my host in Pentagon to make sure that the room was unlocked to ensure I had somewhere to go. I realized my phone was dead and luckily Shamo had the phone number.
I was able to get through and thankfully I was informed that someone would be there to let me in. However, when I arrived at the room I discovered that was not the case. I did not know what to do, but I thought on my feet and came up with a solution. I walked room to room until I found one that was empty. I plugged my phone in the outlet and called one last time. They came right over and let me into the room where I stayed for the next couple of hours watching Dogma.
I was alone so I decided to walk the four flights down to the bottom floor to retrieve a bucket of water. By the time I arrived back on the forth floor I soaked half of the stairs and a large part of the bucket was now empty. However, I still had more than enough to bathe and wash some of the dishes that had been piling up in the sink. After I finished I got ready to go out.
The room now consisted of more people because the other hostels were beginning to kick people out. Since Pentagon had not yet done that, people from other dorms began to pile in for the free housing (this is essentially what I had done the night before they actually forced me out). Therefore, there would be four of us going out for my last night in Accra. We could not find anywhere to go, so we ended up at EPOs. It was gay night, so I was prepared for a hilarious encounter.
It was an entertaining night surrounded by probably over thirty gay men. There was one other female in the club and possible one straight man excluding the people I went with. Many of the men were flaming, which was a huge shock since I cannot recall seeing one gay man in the entire country outside of this night. In addition to the way the men walked, talked and danced, they also used the ladies room as opposed to the men’s room to allow for more hysterics. I am glad that I got to see this portion of Ghana before I left the country.

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011
All of my friends were up and awake by seven except for Mickey who slept for most of the day, not waking up until after eleven. I found Colleen, one of the only Americans still in Ghana, and went down to lie out at the pool. We remained there until Mickey was awake and ready for lunch. I ate lunch with Colleen, Mickey, and one of his friends. It was entertaining because despite the sweat dripping down our faces and our clothes all wrinkled up because we had just taken them out of our bags to put them over our bathing suits, we still got tirelessly hit on.
I got redred for the final time in Ghana and then headed over to the dance department. It was a relaxing day because it would be the last I would spend in Accra. I also had to finish my goodbyes because there were many people I care about that I would never see again. I found Shamo and other dance TAs and sadly said goodbye as we all departed. We returned to the room where I packed my suitcase for America and a small overnight bag for the remainder of my trip in Kumasi.
The water and electricity were back on so it made it easier to get ready. When we were all ready we left Accra and made our way to the VIP bus station. It would be Cami, her mother, Colleen, Dan, Mickey and me all going to Kumasi for the first night and only Colleen and I would stay until June sixth. Cami and her mom were running late, but thankfully I was permitted too buy the three tickets to secure a seat on the bus for the two of them. They had taken a nap and their alarm did not go off, so it was not until they received the phone call from Mickey that they became frantic and got ready as quick as possible. They arrived before the bus took off and we were all seated in very large seats on a luxurious bus with air conditioning. However, there were several problems. First, the bus was extremely over priced in comparison to riding a trotro and second, that it was terribly cold. I thought I was going to die of frostbite on several occasions. Thankfully, I had brought my sheet along so I was able to maintain some sort of warmth. There was a plus side. That is that the TV was not turned up to a blearing volume, which is usually the case on the more formal buses.
We got to our destination when we had predicted. We went straight to Mickey’s uncle’s home, which is located on a police base. It is referred to as the Buffalo base and it was there that we would get a ride to his grandmother’s house. We piled nine of us into a vehicle that is intended for five, which is ironic since his uncle is a cop. We did finally get to his grandmothers house. The first thing we did was introduce ourselves to everyone in the house. Then we ran to the market and got supplies to make egg sandwiches since it had been awhile since any of us had eaten. I made egg sandwiches for everyone and Colleen made Milo. We then spent the remainder of the day hanging out and watching football.

Friday, June 3rd, 2011
We continued our adventure by traveling to the stadium for the football match. We took a taxi to a general area where Mickey’s uncle was supposed to pick us up. Since we were extremely early we decided to stop at a small museum located in front of a hospital. The Okomfo Anokye Museum located in Bantama is the home of a sward that is supposedly stuck in the ground. It marks the spot where the Golden Stool of the Asante’s originally fell from the Heavens and landed. It is believed that if someone pulls the sword out of the ground the Asante Kingdom will disintegrate and eventually come to an end. After we finished the tour we went out to the road to wait for our ride.
When he pulled up we again jammed ourselves into the car illegally and made our way to the game. The Black Stars (Ghana’s team) played Congo at five and we arrived at the game by twelve. Therefore, we needed to find things to keep us occupied. Since we had VIP seats we figured we would be able to see perfectly and stay dry if it rained. We clearly were misinformed because when we arrived at our seats we learned that we could not see well at all. Mickey went searching to find out how we could get our seats moved to a better area. He succeeded and we were moved to a better section although we still were not under anything and if it rained we would get soaked.
We got ourselves food and made conversation with the people sitting around until it was time for the game to start. The fans were all excited and there was a roar all throughout the stadium. Since there were very few white people in attendance all of the TV stations were attracted to where we were seated. They continued to ask us questions that I did not know the answers too and they wanted to know what I though the result of the game would be. The only thing I could come up with was that I prayed that the Black Stars were victorious.
The game finally began and the first half was slow although the Black Stars were winning. Before half time it began to pour and we were all soaked. We attempted to stay dry, but we accepted defeat and stepped out into the rain. I was drenched and I loved it. We all had a blast and the game began to pick up. It turned out to be a wonderful game although the goalie made a terrible mistake. Which allowed for Congo to score, but the Black Stars still won in the end. The fans were all thrilled running back and forth after all three goals and cheering and clapping throughout the entire game. After the game the entire crowd pilled out of the stadium with music blaring and flags flying in the air. Mickey and Kofi, his little cousin, came out dancing to the music. They were adorable and Kofi looked as if he was a mini version of Kwame (Mickey’s day name). We were laughing and women around us began to yell until we were able to explain that we were friends with them and were only laughing because they were adorable.
The next thing that happened was another first for me, we road in a cop car back to Mickey’s Mother’s house. However, on the way back it began to downpour and our driver did not want us to continue the ride. The traffic was terrible and there were so many people in the car, so we stopped at the police station until the rain slowed down. The cops hit on us the entire time we were around. They were speaking to us in Twi and I failed because they were talking to me quicker than I could comprehend. The cops all wanted to come back to America demonstrating that the cops are the same as many of the other Ghanaian men.
When the rained slowed we again got in a cop car and Mickey road in the pick up because there was not enough room in the truck. We made it to Mickey’s mom’s house and this was the first time we were meeting her; she was so kind. She made us rice with tomato sauce and we all enjoyed the meal immensely. After we finished we made our way back to our hosts home and Cami, her mom, and Dan immediately left for Accra. They left at around midnight and they got back by six am. Colleen and I were shown to our room, which was a large room with a gigantic bed that we would share. He bed was so large I forgot I was sleeping with someone else in the bed when I woke up.

Saturday, June 4th, 2011
We woke up this morning with the intention of going to the lake, but the weather was not permitting. We decided to go to the market to get breakfast before determining what we would do with our day. Since it was after eight all of the koko (porridge) we are used to eating was finished. We kept looking and we were able to find cheaper koko that is simply smashed corn in baggies with no spices. It was a new food for me and I actually enjoyed the taste and we also got bread to go with breakfast.
Despite the fact that it was Saturday and the Cultural Center was likely to be empty we decided to take a ride there to check it out. We were correct to assume that the shops were all vacant, but we did meet up with some friends of Mickey who own a shop. They were creating gorgeous drums that I wish I had the space to bring back to America with me. We also walked through the theatre where we found men and women who were all very interested in taking photos with us. We smiled for several before running off to make it to the house of Mickey’s mother.
We got there later than we had hoped, so as soon as we arrived we immediately started pounding fufu. Well, when I say we I mean Mickey started to pound fufu and I found his three younger sisters and began entertaining them. I did not only play with two of his sisters I also played with all of the other children who were interested in seeing the white person. They taught me hand games and I attempted to teach them things. Duck, duck, goose worked as long as I was it, but as soon as someone else had to say the English words the game failed and we had to start a different one. We had a lot of fun even thought we were unable to speak with one another.
The kitchen where they were cooking was outside and shared with everyone in the complex. The children were also watched by whoever happens to be outside and families are willing to share their food with any of the children that say they are hungry. I learned a lot of things about the family and while I was doing that I missed the pounding, but I am okay with that because the kids were amazing and I loved playing with them.
We were served dinner and it was delicious, a combination of groundnut soup and kontomere. Since we finished dinner at an earlier time than expected we made the decision to go back to the home we were staying at before going out for the night. However, when we got to the corner where we were suppose to pick up a car we learned it would be a more difficult task than we predicted. There were many people around trying to get in a car since it appeared like it might rain soon. We waited for about twenty minutes and then decided we would just stay in the area. Mickey called around and found a friend that lived nearby. We went to his house and stayed there for about thirty minutes before we went out.
After we left his home we peaked through a fence to see Kwame’s primary school. Next, we walked to a nearby bar to sit and listen to music. We passed Miami on the way and later we visited Los Angeles before getting on a taxi and going to New Orleans. We were able to visit both ends of the United States in one day!! Our last destination was Sweet Pub. We danced there where someone gave me a cedi for doing well, or looking like a fool and being the only white person, until it began to rain. We found a taxi and went back to Kwame’s grandma’s house to go to bed.

Sunday, June 5th, 2011
My last full day in Kumasi!
We woke up early to bathe and get ready for church. I had considered this possibility, so I had an appropriate dress too wear. However, when I arrived at church I learned I looked less appropriate than I had hoped. All of the women wore dresses to the ground and their hair was covered with fabric. There were only older people at mass and the women and men were separate. The women sat on the left while the men sat on the right. Therefore, I would not be able to sit with Kwame I had to sit with his grandmother and Colleen. As soon as we sat down we heard obruni and knew that the pastor was talking about us, but we were unable to understand the rest. We finally interpreted what he was saying, so Colleen (the other obruni with me) and I went to the front to sit in special seats so that God would have a more direct path too us. We were also given a translator, who would translate the sermon and the songs to us. She was a wonderful women and quite entertaining. Not only did she interpret the words spoken in Twi, she also repeated everything he said in English. She would then turn and say do you understand, like we could not understand the pastor’s English only her English.
During the Pentecost mass there were four offerings, so by the forth we were out of small bills. However, the priest called us out and asked us to please go up according to our day names to donate to the church, apparently the last offering is the only mandatory one. So we were forced to donate our big bills, which we did with big smiles on our faces considering they were welcoming us into their church. We were also forced to dance at every opportunity. The women would push us out to the center of the church and then call us back in when it was time for the men to dance. Although that may have been horrible for some people, I loved it and danced to the Lord with joy. At one point the woman sitting in front of Colleen gave her a tambourine and made her go and stand with those playing instruments. I was relieved it was not I since I am tone deaf and would have utterly failed. But to no surprise one of the other tambourine players came up to me two minutes later and handed me her instrument and pulled me down to join as well. I tried my best, but I am sure after about thirty seconds she regretted pulling me down. I had a blast nonetheless.
There were also times during the mass where we would have to pray out loud and every time our translator could not hear us praising the Lord she would let us know and listen until she was content. It was weird at first, but I quickly got used to it and I was able to drown out all of the other voices. Before mass was terminated they called Colleen and I up to say hello and tell the congregation where we are from and why we were attending mass. In our jumbled Twi we did our best to inform the members of the church the situation and quickly left the stage to return to Kwame who was now in the back of the church.
We got water and bofrot and made our way back to the home of Mickey’s mother to make shito. When we arrived we immediately began by peeling and chopping about three-dozen onions. My eyes were dripping tears by the completion of this task and I was having a very hard time cutting in my hand with no cutting board while I could hardly see through the tears. Next, we peeled ginger, which may sound simple but it is more complicated than it looks. It was a large amount of ginger and it made my hands sting. We took a break halfway through the peeling to eat kontomere with yams. Lunch was delicious and it was a nice break from the cooking preparations. We got back to work and began grinding up different spices with a mortar and pestle. I was failing at the task and taking way to long so Colleen and Kwame took over that job, while I helped mix together fish powder and shrimp powder in a bowl. Many ingredients needed to be added and since we were cooking outside on a small stand the coals had to be changed often. This means that each time new coals were added the pot had to reheat and the process took even longer than it would on a stove. It took hours to boil and it began to get buggy and dark. However, I was having a really nice time between learning to cook and playing with the young children.
We needed to use the light from our phones to finish the job because there was no electricity where we were cooking and it was after seven by the time we finished. We were so excited about the shito and in extremely high spirits when we returned to Mickey’s grandmother’s home. She was pounding fufu for us with light soup for dinner and she let us participate. I tried for about one minute before she started hysterically laughing and I gave up. I danced with the young children who live in the home and we entertained each other for over a half hour, while dinner was being prepared. We were also making rice so it would be ready in the morning before we left for Accra and I was put in charge of watching it. I did a great job making it for the first time in a pot with no rice cooker.
When dinner was ready we all ate and then got ready for bed. We decided to sleep on the roof outside so we pulled mattresses out there and got a blanket. It was gorgeous outside and there were so many stars it was magnificent. We also played oware for a couple of hours so I would know the different ways of playing. I bought a game to bring back to America and I am sure that I have already forgotten the different ways to play and strategize. After a while we were all extremely tired and we fell asleep peacefully and quickly.

Monday, June 6th, 2011

At five AM Mickey’s grandmother woke us up, for a reason Colleen and I could not understand. Since we were in someone else’s home we did not complain, we simply pulled our mattress inside and began getting ready for the day. Mickey witnessed our actions and with a sleepy smile on his face explained that his grandmother was worried about the temperature outside so she wanted us to come in from the cold. Colleen and I were astonished since we would not have considered the temperature even remotely chilly, the only issue we could fathom would have been the bugs, but even those could have been worse. Nonetheless we were happy to climb back into bed and sleep for two more hours.
We got up once again at seven and got ready for the day. We were ready early, but we had to wait for our ride before we could leave for Kwame’s mother’s house to pick up our shito. When our ride arrived we spent about ten minutes figuring out how we would fit into the car. It was a long process that was not necessary, but they did not want the two white girls to be uncomfortable. When we finally figured it out we were on our way. We said our goodbyes to our hosts, got our shito, and made our way to the VIP bus station. We found a bus and got on as quick as possible since we were running late. I was freaking out and hoping that I would not miss my plane. If the bus had any compilations or there was anything blocking the roads I would have been in big trouble. With God on my side we made it back in time for me to shower (with running water) and stuff my bags full. Mickey was a saint and wrapped up the shito so it would not spill and carried my luggage down to the taxi that he prearranged to pick me up. Both Mickey and Colleen road with me to the airport and I arrived with plenty of time.
When I walked in I learned that my luggage would have to be weighed, so I crossed my fingers and placed my small luggage on the scale. It was only about forty-five pounds making it five pounds under the allotted weight maximum. Then I was forced to place my second luggage on the scale and to my surprise it weighed about eighty pounds. The man’s jaw dropped and he said that it weighed way too much. He told me to rearrange the weight and come and go. I did as he said attempting to move everything heavy into my carry-on and anything small into my smaller bag. After I did this my large luggage weighed about seventy pound and with a little bit of persuasion and a sad looking face I was permitted to take my luggage through with zero charge. I thought I was in the clear until I saw another scale further up. I explained to the man telling people were to stand in line that my luggage was overweight and I really needed to be put in a man’s line so he would let my bags through. He said okay with a smile on his face and helped me pass through with no trouble. If I was not in Ghana it would have never worked because when I arrived in America my luggage had a tag on it that said over-load. Therefore, if I was flying in the opposite direction I would have been charged for sure.
I made it to the gate early, spent an hour journaling and talking to a Ghanaian worker until it was time to load the plane. I also got my last meal, which was a meat pie and water leaving me with exactly one cedi to bring back to America. My flight went smoothly with almost no one on the plane so I got to lie down. I slept almost the entire way and landed in Frankfurt at five AM. I had five hours before my next flight boarded, so I decided to go into the city and explore. I did this alone for several hours, but I did not get much done since I had no Euros and I did not speak the language. I go back early, but luckily I found a friend to keep me busy until we once again boarded a plane that was not full. I had an empty seat next to me so again I got to lie down and I watched Country Strong, so it was a great ride. I landed to the best people in the world. My dad got me flowers and surprised me, I had a thermos of coffee, Kayla, and Annette were both there, and when I got home I was welcomed to balloons and signs. I love my family so much and I was thrilled to be back in America with my friend and family.