Howdy!
Again, I know it's been a long time since I last wrote, and this time I actually have no excuse. The internet has been working just fine. I just haven't felt like writing. Not that life isn't blog-worthy, but recently I'd just rather read "Love in the Time of Cholera" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in my down time. Please forgive me! I figure that my Saturday was so cool, however, that I have to write about it before it becomes less clear in my memory. And plus, there is nothing to do right now since it's Sunday morning. I can hear at least two different church services going on near the guest house right now, and I know that nearly every Ghanaian is currently in church. I have no excuse not to write.
There are a few distinct groups of volunteers at the guest house right now: those of us who have been here forever, and those who are only here for ten days. There are a surprising number of volunteers who only come for ten days, and I'm still trying to figure out what they are thinking. Are they just here because they want to be able to put Unite for Sight on their resumes? Do they just want to run home to their clean little lives and soon as possible? I just can't understand why they wouldn't want to stay long enough to actually learn to be part of the culture. Well, the ten-day volunteers always feel rushed to see all the touristy stuff on the weekends (waterfalls and slave castles mostly) and those of us that have been here for months have seen these things at least twice already, so we often are at a loss for what to do on the weekends. However, five us of found an amazing thing to do yesterday.
One of our drivers, Bismarck, is from a town called Big Ada (about 2.5 hours out of Accra) and he went home for the weekend for the annual Ada-Asafotufiami festival. The celebration of the festival is in remembrance of the wars for settlement fought by the ancestors of the area. It's a week long celebration, and the stars of the show are the ten chiefs from the different villages of the Dangme East District of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Bismarck told us that the celebration was a ton of food, music, drinking, well-dressedness, and festivities, and those of us who were sick of tourist spots decided to catch a taxi to Big Ada for the day to get our festival on :)
We hired a taxi driver (a friend of Bismarck's who knows the Ada area well) and agreed to pay him 80 Cedi for the day to get us to Ada and back. That meant that each of the five of us only payed 16 Cedi each (about 10 USD) for the day. I still can't believe how far our dollars go here! However, fitting five us of in a taxi was . . . special. One in the front, four in the back. Kartee, one of the Unite for Sight nurses, calls it "Africa style" when there are four of you in the back of a car. He says there is nothing more quintessentially Ghanaian than having so many people in a vehicle that they all have to partially sit on each other and everyone's legs fall asleep. So, we did the 2.5 hour taxi ride Africa style. Man, it felt good to get out of that cab!
When we got to Ada, the cab just dove into a mob a people! As we approached Ada, every village seemed barren, and Humphrey the cab driver told us that was because everyone had packed up to stay in Ada for the weekend. Nearly everyone in the region was at the festival. In Ada, the streets were flooded with humanity. Our car actually had to gently push people out of the way. I guess when people feel a metal bumper pushing softly on the backs of their calves, they know it's time to scoot. We slowed to a crawl, and getting to the center of town took probably three times as long in the cab as it would if we had just walked.
Humphrey dumped us off right at the center of town and we exchanged phone numbers. Then the five of us - Anna, Jennifer, Lai, Dimas, and me - dove into the crowd. After that rather cramped car ride, we all had to go use the bushes before starting to party, but there were people everywhere! In Ghana, if you are a man, you can pee ANYWHERE, so Dimas and Lai were set. They joined a few other men peeing on a wall out in broad daylight. We ladies, however, had to find a building to go behind, and even then, our cover wasn't great. I think we amused a good number of locals when they saw two silly little white women blushing and pulling down their pants by a small bush. It's just so much easier for Ghanaian women to be discreet - they wear skirts! Smart smart smart.
We got to Ada around 11 AM, and the official ceremonies didn't start until around 2 PM, so we had a while to wander. In the center of town, a huge clearing was surrounded by chairs. The central clearing was probably the size of an entire city block and people were so densely crowded around it that it was really hard to see what was inside. At 11 AM, though, there wasn't much in the center except a few European-looking tourists looking clueless. We meandered around the packed area, bought cokes and fish pies, and people-watched. Everyone was dressed in their best. Women wore their best long-skirted dressed, decked themselves out in jewelry, and had their hair done. And you could always tell which groups were together because all the women in the group were dressed identically. They had the same dresses made out of the same fabric. The festival is such a big deal that groups of women go to the tailor's all together and have dresses made out of the same fabric for the occasion.
Before there was any official music or drumming, there were a few independent groups of drummers performing. We were drawn toward a group of people - three men drumming and a group of men and women dancing. They said they were from a fitness club, and they were singing and dancing to the different drum calls. Some of them really hammed up when we took their pictures, and then as soon as we put our cameras away, they pulled us into the dancing! It was such a surprise because two girls just grabbed Anna by the arm and yanked her inside. They rubbed their booties on her and made an Anna sandwich. She looked a little overwhelmed, but was a good sport. Then I jumped in and joined the gyration to help Anna feel a little more comfortable, but I think you can be only so comfortable when sweaty strangers and grinding on you :) Lai, Dimas, and Jennifer just laughed at us. I think they were glad that they didn't have to try to shake their butts too.
After we got covered in sweat and dirt from the dancing, we wandered around a bit more. We found a glorious little treat - shots in a bag! The water and ice cream in Ghana are in bags, so why shouldn't the booze be in bags too? We found a brand of gin called "White Virgin" and figured we had to each take a shot. Each bagged shot cost about 5 US cents, and tasted horrible! But you just can't pass up an opportunity to suck down something called "White Virgin" when you really are the only white people amongst thousands.
While we were still gagging, we heard the sound of car engines in the center of the huge arena. We walked over to see if something was happening, and saw that about 5 SUVs were inside. One of them drove over to a stage on one side of the stadium, but we couldn't see who was being dropped off. The whole morning, voices speaking the local language (unfortunately not Twi or Ewe) were being pumped over the loudspeakers, and of course none of us could tell what they were saying. Next, the man from the SUV came to speak on the PA, and this time everyone listened. We asked a man standing near us who the man speaking was, and he exclaimed, "the President!" "You mean Atta Mills?" (the president of Ghana), I asked. And he nodded enthusiastically. Although we didn't get to see him and couldn't understand his speaking, we witness the President of Ghana making a speech at the festival! He was only there for about 20 minutes, and after his speech the SUVs hauled him away quickly, but that was still pretty cool. Apparently, the Ada-Asafotufiami festival is a pretty big deal!
After the President left, the atmosphere picked up a bit. It looks like the down-time in the morning had simply been spent waiting for the President to arrive. While I was nibbling a grilled plantain, Anna and I were approached by a smiley man with a small recording device in his hand. He picked us out because we were obviously tourists, and he said he worked for a radio station that was going to air a segment about the festival. He held the device up to us and said, "Please, beautiful girls, what is your impression of the festival and of Ghana?" Uh. Anna and I felt really dumb responding, but we said that everyone was dressed so beautifully, that people were very very friendly, and that we loved the drumming. Arg, we probably sounded like ditsy tourists. But hey, I bet we were on the radio. Then, not even half an hour later a whole camera crew approached the two of us! I don't know why the media was out looking for white women! The man who was holding the camera said that they were traveling all over the coast and visiting many festivals so they could make a documentary for UNICEF. He asked us the same thing the radio man had - tell me your impression of the festival. Arg! We both insisted that we were too shy to be on camera, but the camera man was so persistent. We learned that his name was Enoch because he had though that he and Anna had the same name, and he didn't leave! He turned on the camera while we were still insisting that we didn't want to be recorded, and finally we gave in. We said our dumb tourist speech again, and blushed like crazy. They seemed to like it though! And then they were really nice and took pictures with us. After that encounter, my face was so hot - both from blushing and from the sun that was beating down on us. I started really wishing that I'd though about putting on some sunscreen. Especially since Anna and I were practically celebrities by this point. Haha.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
The Swimming Pool in My Room
Two nights ago, we were having a lazy lazy day. It was Friday, and we had had the day off from outreach because we were going to work on Saturday. It was a wholly unremarkable day - I went to the gym (which I now have a month-long membership to, and will take full advantage), ate a mango and rice for lunch, and played cards with friends. Finally, we also said goodbye to many of some of my good friends who were here for the month of July.
I thought the day would end as quietly as it had progressed, but I was in a for a surprise. Anna and I came down from our room at 8 to watch the Cosby show and stuck around for Friends at 8:30, then right after Friends I walked lazily upstairs. When I felt the cold water rush around to envelop my toes, I became glued to the spot. Water was rushing out of my bedroom and I was standing in three inches of water pouring out into the hallway. All I could do was call Anna's name. First quietly, then with more desperation, all I could do was holler as my eyes bulged. "Anna? Anna! ANNA!!!!"
Another volunteer, Dimas, came running from his room down the hall, and ran past me as I was immobilized in the hallway. I followed him into our room and saw that water was exploding out of both the sink and the shower. Dimas cranked the sink and shower faucet knobs into the off positions and the water completely stopped. He turned around to look at me and said simply, "The water was on."
We would later learn that the hotel staff had turned on the water pressure to full blast and that some sealant of the faucets in our room had popped off. Other volunteers who had lived in the room before had warned about the sink mysteriously coming on in the middle of the night, but we had never been too worried about it causing too much trouble. Maybe we should have.
At that instant, Anna splashed into the room and gasped, "Our suitcases are floating!" Nearly all of our possessions were on the floor or in our suitcases - and of course our suitcases were open on the floor. It is a true miracle that my backpack containing all of my electronics - charge chords, telephone, and LAPTOP - was on the bed! Wondrously, Anna's phone and charger had been sitting on top of the fridge. By the time the situation had actually soaked into my consciousness, all the other volunteers were in my room too. They were suddenly zipping up all my things and hauling them, dripping wet, out onto high-and-dry ground. I picked up my soggy mounds of dirty clothes and dragged the wet masses out onto the balcony of the guest house. Aside from the clothes I was wearing and about ten other pieces that had been on the tops of the suitcase piles, all of my clothing was drenched.
The room was cleared out, and Anna and I were left damp and disturbed sitting on the couch downstairs. This is how we came to sleep at the Kingsby hotel for two nights. This is also how most of my clothing ended up on the front lawn of the Telecentre guest house. Anna and I hung our dripping wardrobes over the edge of the balcony, and I guess the wind had blown strongly in the night while we slept at the sketchy Kingsby hotel. My moist skirts and moldy-smelling shirts peppered the front yard and bushes of the Telecentre the next morning.
At this point, the carpet from our room and part of the hallway has been torn up and is drying on the front lawn. The entire upstairs of the Telecentre smells like humidity and rank mold. The biggest room in the Telecentre is out of commission just in time for more than ten UFS volunteers to arrive. And that's how seven of us ended up at the Kingsby last night.
The Kingsby was a special place. The rooms and the beds were huge, and there was a pool in the courtyard, but the pool was covered in scum, and the corner of a bed was covered in what could only have been a bloodstain. I didn't shower in the Kingsby bathroom, and I didn't sleep under the Kingsby covers. If we move back into the Telecentre tonight (which we are told we will), I will be one happy camper.
It's things like this that have eliminated almost every ounce of germophobia or need for cleanliness from my life. I'm wearing clothes that are actually growing mold. I've been wearing my glasses for almost two months. More often than not, when I go to the bathroom there is no toilet paper. There is no point in showering more than thre times a week because you feel dirty the second you step out of the cold trickle anyway. Even my teeth constantly feel scummy despite the fact that I brush at least twice a day.
In truth, I think it might be hard for be to get back into the habit of the Western standard of hygeine. Please still be my friend while I re-adjust?
:)
I thought the day would end as quietly as it had progressed, but I was in a for a surprise. Anna and I came down from our room at 8 to watch the Cosby show and stuck around for Friends at 8:30, then right after Friends I walked lazily upstairs. When I felt the cold water rush around to envelop my toes, I became glued to the spot. Water was rushing out of my bedroom and I was standing in three inches of water pouring out into the hallway. All I could do was call Anna's name. First quietly, then with more desperation, all I could do was holler as my eyes bulged. "Anna? Anna! ANNA!!!!"
Another volunteer, Dimas, came running from his room down the hall, and ran past me as I was immobilized in the hallway. I followed him into our room and saw that water was exploding out of both the sink and the shower. Dimas cranked the sink and shower faucet knobs into the off positions and the water completely stopped. He turned around to look at me and said simply, "The water was on."
We would later learn that the hotel staff had turned on the water pressure to full blast and that some sealant of the faucets in our room had popped off. Other volunteers who had lived in the room before had warned about the sink mysteriously coming on in the middle of the night, but we had never been too worried about it causing too much trouble. Maybe we should have.
At that instant, Anna splashed into the room and gasped, "Our suitcases are floating!" Nearly all of our possessions were on the floor or in our suitcases - and of course our suitcases were open on the floor. It is a true miracle that my backpack containing all of my electronics - charge chords, telephone, and LAPTOP - was on the bed! Wondrously, Anna's phone and charger had been sitting on top of the fridge. By the time the situation had actually soaked into my consciousness, all the other volunteers were in my room too. They were suddenly zipping up all my things and hauling them, dripping wet, out onto high-and-dry ground. I picked up my soggy mounds of dirty clothes and dragged the wet masses out onto the balcony of the guest house. Aside from the clothes I was wearing and about ten other pieces that had been on the tops of the suitcase piles, all of my clothing was drenched.
The room was cleared out, and Anna and I were left damp and disturbed sitting on the couch downstairs. This is how we came to sleep at the Kingsby hotel for two nights. This is also how most of my clothing ended up on the front lawn of the Telecentre guest house. Anna and I hung our dripping wardrobes over the edge of the balcony, and I guess the wind had blown strongly in the night while we slept at the sketchy Kingsby hotel. My moist skirts and moldy-smelling shirts peppered the front yard and bushes of the Telecentre the next morning.
At this point, the carpet from our room and part of the hallway has been torn up and is drying on the front lawn. The entire upstairs of the Telecentre smells like humidity and rank mold. The biggest room in the Telecentre is out of commission just in time for more than ten UFS volunteers to arrive. And that's how seven of us ended up at the Kingsby last night.
The Kingsby was a special place. The rooms and the beds were huge, and there was a pool in the courtyard, but the pool was covered in scum, and the corner of a bed was covered in what could only have been a bloodstain. I didn't shower in the Kingsby bathroom, and I didn't sleep under the Kingsby covers. If we move back into the Telecentre tonight (which we are told we will), I will be one happy camper.
It's things like this that have eliminated almost every ounce of germophobia or need for cleanliness from my life. I'm wearing clothes that are actually growing mold. I've been wearing my glasses for almost two months. More often than not, when I go to the bathroom there is no toilet paper. There is no point in showering more than thre times a week because you feel dirty the second you step out of the cold trickle anyway. Even my teeth constantly feel scummy despite the fact that I brush at least twice a day.
In truth, I think it might be hard for be to get back into the habit of the Western standard of hygeine. Please still be my friend while I re-adjust?
:)
Saturday, August 1, 2009
African Top Songz
Just like in the US, Africa has a nice little list of horribly overplayed popular songs. These songs are the "Poker Face" the "Boom Boom Pow" and the "Hot n Cold" of the francophone African countries. In case you guys wonder which songs have been getting drilled into my head on all our long long commutes, feel free to check out these youtube links. Beware, if you don't like hip hop, you may not be in to this playlist. I don't think I'd be that thrilled by it if I hadn't heard each of these songs a billion times. It's also worth noting that not all of these songs are produced in Ghana. In fact, the Sean Kingston song is American, and the "Do Me" and "Bumper to Bumper" songs are from Nigeria. I'm not sure about where the other songs were produced.
African Lady (I dey mad oh) - R2Bees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2wJOCy5RIE
Big Booty (Really called World Trade Center, but I have no idea why!) - 4x4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AbkcFxCyJ4
Make Me Fall in Love - Tic Tac
Sorry I couldn't find a link!
Me Love - Sean Kingston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJQAfW_jgw
Barack Obama - Blakk Rasta
See Previous Post :)
Bumper to Bumper - Wande Coal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8mCqASZQI
Simple - Bradez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vhDsq29i04
Cool. I'll certainly write more later, but right now about ten new volunteers just arrived and I'm helping them get acclimated. I thought I would post these songs because I was introducing them to the songs they are going to get to know well while they're here. When I write next, I'll tell you about how everything I own is dripping wet from when my bedroom got flooded with three inches of water when the sink exploded. Haha, oh Ghana.
African Lady (I dey mad oh) - R2Bees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2wJOCy5RIE
Big Booty (Really called World Trade Center, but I have no idea why!) - 4x4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AbkcFxCyJ4
Make Me Fall in Love - Tic Tac
Sorry I couldn't find a link!
Me Love - Sean Kingston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFJQAfW_jgw
Barack Obama - Blakk Rasta
See Previous Post :)
Bumper to Bumper - Wande Coal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH8mCqASZQI
Simple - Bradez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vhDsq29i04
Cool. I'll certainly write more later, but right now about ten new volunteers just arrived and I'm helping them get acclimated. I thought I would post these songs because I was introducing them to the songs they are going to get to know well while they're here. When I write next, I'll tell you about how everything I own is dripping wet from when my bedroom got flooded with three inches of water when the sink exploded. Haha, oh Ghana.
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