Runnin' on Empty

I must admit, it was strange for me to go to bed without putting up a new blog post last night. But, with three girls trying to run their computers off of one charger, beggars can’t be choosers. I was able to charge my battery over night, and had enough to make it through most of the day until I had the chance to refuel again tonight. This might be a long one, so.. you have been warned!

Yesterday was my second day of doing music with the students. Although it didn’t quite go as well as Monday, I still think the students will benefit greatly from it once we really get the ball rolling. Mary was out of town again, and the preschool teacher, Gladys, was at home taking care of her sick children. One of the aides was busy cooking lunch, and the other was taking care of a student who needs almost constant care. Not only were we feeling pretty understaffed, but there were also 19 students in the preschool class. That is a lot to handle. But, with the help of Tessa, another volunteer from the US, I managed to make it through the first classroom in one piece. The vocational students are never as rowdy as the younger ones, and their teacher, Auntie Maggie, sat in on the lesson. I was pleased to see that they remembered “Kye Kye Kule” from the other day, and also made great progress on learning a new song, “Obwisana.” With the help of some of the students, I packed up my instruments and headed out in search of lunch.

After a few fruitless attempts to find a place to eat, I decided to get a taxi down to the vegetarian restaurant that I have been hearing so much about. It’s called “Baobab,” and it’s a German owned vegetarian café and craft shop. I have not eaten there yet because it’s pretty far from school, and I am trying not to spend any more money than I have to. But, after yesterday’s lunch, I think I might have to make Baobab a regular lunch spot. Only after ordering a pineapple, mango, and banana smoothie, I realized that I didn’t have as much money on me as I thought, and if I wanted to get a ride back to Elmina, I could only spend 3 more cedi at lunch. I scoured the menu to try to make the most of those 2 US dollars, and surprisingly, ended up having a pretty substantial lunch. For 50 pesewas (17 cents), I got a tofu kebob, which consisted of three pieces of tofu (which actually more closely resembled seitan, I thought), separated by a piece of onion and green pepper. The tofu was marinated and covered with a smoky, salty rub, which really hit the spot. I was also thrilled to see a vegan chocolate cake on the menu, which I also ordered. It was more like a muffin shape than a piece of cake, but it was delicious. So amazing. Completely satisfied with my haphazard lunch, paid my 6 cedi ($4) and caught a cab back to Elmina.

Yesterday was a scorcher. The sun was bright and the air was thick. Since my computer was dead, I told myself that I couldn’t possibly get any work done (not necessarily true..), and headed over to the pool. I ran into some volunteers from the school, chatted with them, and took a nap in the sun. One of the other Global Mamas, Courtney, came over, and we lounged, enjoying the clouds that were gradually taking over the sky. I actually just said goodbye to Courtney, who is heading back to the states today. Yesterday, I asked her what her first meal back would be. She said that her boyfriend will pick up McDonald’s for her on his way to the airport, and when she gets home, she told her dad to have meat and chocolate ready for her. Although I don’t think I’ll be requesting meat, I do know that I will be requesting that chocolate be on hand when I get back! For the world’s second largest producer of cocoa, Ghana sure doesn’t have a lot of that chocolate readily available.

After a nap and some journaling, it was time to head to Eli’s for another delicious dinner. We feasted on plantain chips, guacamole, salad, and black-eyed pea burgers to celebrate Courtney’s departure. When we’d worn out our welcome at Eli’s, we headed over to Sea Top for some drinks and laughs. Erin and I both laughed to think that by staying out until 10pm, we were really stretching our bedtime! I stayed up for a bit, but she conked out pretty soon after getting back.

Determined to go running today, I set my alarm for 6, and kept waking up every 30 minutes from 4 o’clock on, afraid I’d missed it like I did yesterday. When 6 finally did come, I got ready and headed downstairs. The other two girls were ready, and we headed out. Although the storms we had last night had subsided by this point, there was still a drizzle in the air, which turned to a steady rain as we ran. The loop that they run is a really nice one, and ends up being exactly 2 miles, which is a good distance for me, considering I am very much out of practice. Although I should not have been, I was surprised by how alive Elmina was at 6 in the morning. If not for the still rising sun, it could have been 2 in the afternoon, and I would not have known the difference. We got some strange looks, a few “Obruni” calls, and a number of waves from the people we passed on the street. The run felt good, and I like to think that it will become a regular way to start my morning.

I spent most of the taxi ride to school convincing my driver Prince that I was not going to marry him. It went a little something like this:

Prince: “Where are you going?”

Amy: “To work.”

Prince: “Where do you work?”

Amy: “In Aquarium. I’m a teacher.”

Prince: “What do you teach?”

Amy: “Music.”

Prince: “What kind of music?”

Amy: “All sorts."

Prince: “Singing?”

Amy: “Yes.”

Prince: “Then you should sing me a song. Since I am giving you a ride, you will sing me a song.”

Amy: “Really?”

Prince: “Yes. Unless you don’t know any.”

Amy: “Oh, all right. *sings a familiar Ghanaian folk song* Are you happy now?”

Prince: “(Laughs) You have a nice voice. I’d like you to be my music teacher.”

Amy: “You don’t need me to teach you. You already know all of this.”

Prince: “But I did not have it in school. When will you come visit me and teach me music?”

Amy: “Not today. I’m pretty busy teaching.”

Prince: “Tomorrow?”

Amy: “Probably not.”

Prince: “It has always been my dream to marry a white girl.”

Amy: “(Laughs)”

Prince: “I am being serious. Is today my lucky day?”

Amy: “Nope. I’m already married.”

Prince: “Really? You’re already married?”

Amy: “Uh.. yeah. Yep. Already married. Sorry.”

Prince: “And is he white?”

Amy: “Yes.”

Prince: “Well then you can have a black husband, too.”

Amy: “No, thanks. One is enough.”

Prince: “Then I will steal you away from your husband.”

Amy: “Oh, okay. (Laughs)”

Prince: “Yes. I will steal you away and take you to your hometown and meet your parents and marry you.”

Amy: “Thank you, but no. I guess your luck ran out today.”

Prince: “Will you call me?”

Amy: “No, sorry. Here’s my stop.”

Prince: “I hope that you will call me. Have a good day.”

Once at school, things were pretty hectic and a few staff were out, so we decided to postpone the meeting until Tuesday. Tessa invited me over to her host family’s house for dinner tonight, so I got the directions from her, and headed out for some lunch. I went back to Baobab and got the mixed vegetables with tofu and a side of rice. It wasn’t quite as wonderful as Eli’s food, but it was pretty good.

Back in Elmina, life is slow. The drive from Cape to Elmina is about 10 minutes long. The road is lined with tall, swaying palm trees and it follows the ocean. Everyday as I drive home, I feel the hustle and bustle of “city” life melting away. I gaze out at the waves, feel the breeze on my face, and by the time I reach our house, I am at peace. The weather was cool and breezy today, and even though the power was out for the better part of the day, I still managed to enjoy being at home. Since I couldn’t work on the computer, I took a nap and had a long phone conversation with my mom. (Hi, Mom!) By 5, it was time to leave for Tessa’s.

While waiting for a taxi at the end of our road, I ran into the lifeguard from the Elmina Beach Resort, who was ironically going to the same neighborhood as I. Once in Abura, he showed me in the right direction before darting in the cell phone store to avoid the fast approaching rain. I found Tessa, and rushed into her house, which was really more like a compound than a house. She lives with two other volunteers from the organization ProWorld, and we enjoyed a home cooked meal together. Their host mom, Christina, made rice balls with groundnut stew (peanut stew). Tessa warned me that there might be goat meat in the stew, but I said I had no problem just picking it out. I was a little shocked, though, when I dipped the ladle in and pulled out nearly half of a goat with some broth dripping off. These pieces were huge! Luckily, they were easy to pick around, and I was able to get a nice broth soaking into my rice ball. Dinner was wonderful, and afterward, we went up on the roof of the house, which overlooked the busy market street of downtown Abura. Life in Abura is definitely not slow, and although there are definite perks of living so close to fruit stands and small grocery stores, I am grateful for the slow paced life that we live back in Elmina. Still, it was so nice to get out of town for a night and see another part of the greater Cape Coast area.

Even though the main street in Abura was bumper to bumper with cars, the girls thought I might have a hard time getting a shared taxi back to Elmina at night, so I called one of the taxi drivers I had yesterday: Big John. I told him I’d be ready around 7:30, and sure enough, just as I was saying goodbye and thanking Christina, he gave me a call and said he was outside. We had a nice ride back to Elmina, and even though I paid about 6 times what it cost to share a taxi to dinner, I felt that it was worth it. Thankfully, the power is back on now, and I hope it will stay that way at least until I charge my computer.

Tomorrow I will take an “official” tour of Cape Coast with Erin compliments of Global Mamas. I also need to check in with the seamstress to see if my dress is ready to try on. I’m so excited to see it! And tomorrow afternoon, I will head to Takoradi to visit my Twi professor’s family. Takoradi is only about an hour’s drive from Elmina, which makes it the perfect place to visit for a night or two. With the current computer situation, it is doubtful that I will have another blog up until Sunday. However, I hear we are planning to make a trip east toward Accra next weekend, because it’s a long weekend. I am both looking forward to a long weekend of exploring Ghana with friends and stopping in Accra to pick up a new charger.

Hard to believe that another week has come and gone here in Ghana. On Saturday, we will be a fourth of the way through our trip. Crazy! But I are still trying our best to make the most of every moment, trying not to take things too seriously, and choosing to laugh when life doesn't go my way. It's been a great time so far, and I can't wait to see what else is in store for us here!