I love Westlife

Ma jo (good evening). It is time again for my weekly blog. I know from many emails that you would like more frequent posts; alas, we are doing the best we can and that is likely going to be once a week. But, I PROMISE to put up pictures on Tuesday or Wednesday while I'm at work, as I can borrow a computer there and upload them.



We are settling in quite nicely here. Lindsey F and I have been in Accra now for 13 days and it feels like home. We'll be leaving to start our project on Wednesday, and I'm a little sad! We are used to the transport, ordering food, and best of all we have had plans with our friends every night this week!



Kofi Daniel, Eddie and Isaac are three guys that go to technical college on the campus of the YMCA and live at the hostel there. Most days, Linds and I come home after work, 5:30 or 6ish and hang out in front of our little building. Shortly after, the guys come out and they teach us Twi, chat and go for dinner. Then we stay up late (like 9pm) talking and then they force us to go to bed ("You must go to work tomorrow, you must sleep!!!"). They are some of the kindest people I've met, and have made it their goal for us to feel welcome in their country. We ask them all about what they do at school, how and where they grew up, their families, their friends, and much about Ghanaian food and culture. They also ask us about Canada sometimes and we try to describe what snow looks like to them, or that for breakfast, we normally eat bread and peanut butter ("Only cold food?? Not even tea??"). A different guy from the hostel is bent on going to the Yukon. I have no idea why and have tried to explain to him what the Yukon is but he has made up his mind and I don't want to dissuade him I guess. One of them said that "I know Canada is cold, but I think I would be fine because I am from the Eastern Region". The Eastern Region of Ghana. Where temperatures get down to 25 and there is less humidity. But there is no way to explain the feeling of cold to someone who has never felt that. They are so patient and kind to us, and even though they laugh at us a lot (like the time Linds and I tried to eat rotten mangos because they seemed fine to us) we are sure that they are laughing with us, not at us.



They took us out to dinner one night to a "chop bar" (small stall on the side of the road) and we had banku and stew, which is a spicy, thick stew with fish in it. The banku is mashed corn, sort of the consistency of mashed potatoes but more thick, and has a sort of sourdoughy taste. You break a piece off with your hand (only your right hand, using the left is rude) and dip it in the stew. I think it was the best meal we've had so far. They had to show us how to eat everything, and even how to wash our hands. We feel sort of like toddlers but they don't think twice about it and insist on us trying all types of Ghanaian food. On Wednesday, my shoe broke around 10pm and Eddie forced me to let him take it to the shoe doctor. It was fixed and at my door at 7:30am the next morning. The best is when we come home late from work and we flash them or they flash us. Flashing is when you call someone's cellphone and then hang up right away. It lets us know they are outside and we sit with them chatting.



We told them that we hadn't taken too many pictures yet of Ghana because we didn't always feel that it was appropriate. They promised to take us downtown to show us around, and to let us know when and when not to take pictures. So today around 11, the four obronis (obroni=white person) and Eddie and Daniel took us all around downtown, to Independence Square, along the beach and through Jamestown which is the area which has all of the old colonial buildings. It was such a great day and so great to have them with us to show us around. The beach was so nice! It was so nice to wade in the water, feeling the sea breeze.

I guess it's hard to describe these guys well enough in this short blog post. They are are hilarious, constantly making fun of each other, making jokes, telling stories. Now we understand their accents even get their jokes sometimes! I guess the best thing for us is to see how similar they are to a bunch of guys from home. They claim that their rooms are the "national headquarters" of mosquitoes, and call LField and Lwig "Lindsey squared". I think we'll miss them when we leave.

The people here have certainly left an impression on me in this short visit. In general, they are so proud of their peaceful country and so happy to talk about it with us. When we speak our broken Twi to the lady from which we buy bread in the mornings, she laughs and laughs at us. Twi is very difficult for me, though. For example, the word for "see you later" is "echerie" and the word for "spoon" is "echrie". At least I think they might be something like that. Anyways, half the time when we think we are saying goodbye to people we are really "Spoon!". Also the words for banana and for a very common name here are similar, which makes thinks awkward when you are meeting someone for the first time. "Hello banana, nice to meet you". Anyways, we try our best and learn more each day, and hopefully we'll be better by August.



Another thing that amazes is how hard they work here. If you ask someone what they do for fun you get a blank stare. Ask what they do on the weekends and they'll reply "the washing, and then go to church, and rest". Accra is a VERY expensive city to live in, and restaurants and bars are expensive here. If we ask people where we should go for dinner, many don't know where to recommend. That's why the chop bars are key. If you can find a good one, you can eat delicious food for a good price.



Of course my experiences are only based on a small number of interactions with people that live in Accra, and I would never want to generalize about the entire population, but these have been my experiences with many of the people I have met.

This has been a long post and I haven't even explained any of our project details and plans for the rest of the summer! Much has happened at work as well, and we are getting ready to leave Accra for the rest of the summer!! Maybe I'll explain more next time.

Again, thanks for all of the emails and keep them coming!! Your news is NOT boring to me, contrary to popular belief!

Echerie,
Amy

PS The blog title refers to the ONLY music that we hear anytime we get into someone's car. Who knew.