Day 20

After a successful teacher training session on Tuesday, I was also looking forward to today's. I got up extra early and made oatmeal with the oats and soymilk I splurged on yesterday. I sat out on the balcony and worked, enjoying the cool breeze that has been with us all week. I am currently working on a handbook, which will basically be a reference for the teachers if they have any questions about the program when I leave. Also, in the likely event that positions switch hands at the school, new teachers will be able to teach themselves how to lead music lessons with the students.

By now I have figured out that it is nearly impossible to have an uneventful taxi ride in Ghana. This morning was no exception. Trying to get a cab after the "rush hour" when people are going to work can be difficult. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I don't need to be at the school until 10:30. Prepared for a long wait, I headed out to the highway to wave one down. It's become habit to point behind me toward the ocean (the signal that you are heading to Cape) as soon as I see the yellow 'Taxi" sign coming towards me. As soon as the taxi, which was now slowing down to pick me up, came close enough, I wished I hadn't found one so quickly. Out of the trunk stuck at least 3 feet of wooden poles - there had to be 8 or 9. The Ghanaian in the passenger's seat was holding another one out the window. Surprisingly, once inside the taxi, I kind of forgot they were even there... until they nearly clotheslined (definition #1) a poor kid on a bicycle that we were passing. The thing that got me the most, though, was the fact that when the passenger in the front seat got out, he only took the pole that he had been carrying. It wasn't for another five minutes that the rest of the poles left the trunk along with the guy sitting next to me in the back. I honestly don't think the two "woods-men" knew each other. Just a regular taxi ride in Ghana.

I got to the school (unscathed) only to find that Mary was in Accra for the day. I was willing to go ahead with the teacher trainings, but the other teachers said they would prefer for Mary to be present at all meetings, which I can understand. So, almost as soon as I'd put down my bookbag, I put it back on again, heading out into Cape. I decided to make the most of my ride into town and went hunting for fabric, which is not hard to find. The hard part is choosing which fabric to buy! I picked out a yellow and black pattern, bought two yards for $4 (6 cedi), and headed over to the seamstress shop where my dress was made. I took a picture with me from our October 2010 edition of Cosmo to help them get a sense for the A-line skirt that I wanted. She asked me to come back Wednesday to pick it up and bring a little over $5 (8C) with me for the labor. Gotta love handmade clothes.

I picked up some lunch and headed back to Elmina. Although this taxi ride was not quite as interesting as the first outwardly, the dynamics inside the taxi reminded me of the 14-days my family spent inside our Ford Windstar minivan road-tripping it to across country to Colorado in 1999. The driver was on his cell phone, yacking away. The guy in the passenger's seat kept making a snorting noise, like a pig, in the attempts to clear his throat - I think? Occasionally he would spit out the window, and even went as far as to use the bottom of his yellow cut-off to blow his nose. As Tom Dunlap would say - hello nasty. Meanwhile, I was kickin' it in the back seat with the peanut man, who, in the midst of going to town on his peanuts, managed to hit me in the face with a handful of shells that he was trying to throw over his shoulder into the gutted trunk area. I'm not sure if I've ever been more grateful to see the sign for the Elmina Beach Resort looming in the distance - my visual cue to pay the driver and tell him to stop.

This weekend, or July 1st to be exact, Ghana celebrates Republic Day. The fact that this holiday coincides with the Fouth of July hardly makes me feel like I'm missing the 4th at all, which is nice. Since tomorrow is a national holiday, the girls don't have to go into work, and we plan to take off for a weekend trip to the Volta Region, which is the region that borders Togo. Our friends went two weekends ago, and said that we are in store for a full day of traveling (10 hours) each way. I'm not sure exactly what is on the agenda, but I know we will be stopping at Wli Falls, located just outside the village of, yes, Hohoe. I would also love to stop at Mount Afadjato, but we'll have to see if we have time. I am not taking my laptop, which will make for a blogless weekend. But I daresay there will be enough going on in the U.S. this weekend to make up for it. Happy 4th!

The Faces of Aboom

As promised, here are some pictures of students. I took a picture of each individual yesterday to help me remember their names. I think these turned out the best. Aren't they so sweet?

Cape Coast Dogs Speak Fante

After another 6am run, I had some time to relax this morning. Usually I head in to the school around 10 on Tuesdays and Thurdsays. Yesterday before I left, Mary told me that they would be holding a PTA meeting at school tomorrow.

“The meeting starts at 9 am,” said Mary.

“Okay. So do you think we will have to push back our meeting with the teachers?” I asked.

“Yes. Sometimes, even though I say 9am, the parents will not show up until 10:30. But, this time, I said we will start right at 9, so I am hopeful that by 11:30, it will be finished.”

“Wow. Okay. So I will come in around 11:30, then. That should give us plenty of time for the meeting.”

I was a little late getting there – 11:45. I should know by now not to worry about being late here, because the meeting lasted until quarter after one. I used the time to get pictures of all the students so that I can practice learning their names at home. I will attach some of my favorites tomorrow when I have a better internet connection.

The students are really starting to take to me now that I have done music with them three times. When I walk in the school at least four or five students run up to me to hug, nuzzle, shake hands, and poke me. I sat in the preschool class for a while today waiting for the PTA meeting to end, and was really able to start to see all of their personalities shining. The student who famously sang, “My fat lady,” two weeks ago is my little buddy these days. He is very smart and likes to talk, but has a bad habit of just tapping you until you look at him. So, I’ve been teaching him to say, “excuse me,” first. When he would tap me, I’d say, “Emman, say excuse me.” He would oblige, “Excuse me,” and I would say, “Yes, Emman! What do you want to say to me,” etc., etc. Today for the first time, he said, “excuse me,” without being asked. A few minutes later, though, he was back to tapping me, and when I said, “Emman, what should you say first?” he says, “I don’t want to say ‘excuse me!’” I couldn’t help but laugh, and when I did, some stray hair fell across my face, sticking to my sticky forehead. Never missing a beat, he reached up and brushed it out of my face.

The meeting went pretty well once it got started, though. All of the teachers (3) and the aides (3) were there. We talked about the schedule for the rest of the summer. They told me that it is likely the school will go on vacation one week earlier than what they originally thought. Apparently, the schedule is not set in stone until the school board sends out a letter informing the schools of just when vacation will start. But the ladies say word is spreading that it will start one week early, July 22. Even though I have every day planned for already, I am glad they told me today, so that I can be flexible. That’s definitely one of the most important tools my education in music therapy has given me – be flexible. I cannot think of a day at the school where I have not had to think on my feet and adapt to fit the situation. Kinda comes in handy in real life, too.

During today’s meeting, I was taught the teachers two simple songs One was the hello song. The other is called something like, “Let’s Go Down to the Farm.” The lyrics are simply: Let’s go down to the farm/To see the animals/What sound does a dog make?/ Woof woof woof woof. As the song goes along, the leader mixes in different animals. The kids get to “moo” and “meow” and all sorts of fun stuff, and they love it. I taught it to the teachers using “dog” as the animal of choice. However, as soon as they heard it, they started laughing out loud. One aide was even dabbing her eyes with a tissue she was laughing so hard. I was wracking my brain trying to think of what I could have said that did not translate well into Ghanaian English. Finally, Mary said, “Amy. The issue is, Ghanaian dogs say “raow raow raow,” not “wuf wuf,” or whatever you just did.” We all burst into laughter this time.

The rest of the day was pretty standard. Read, yoga, computer, dinner, blog. I did think of a few things that I no longer think twice about, but might be interesting to hear about. There is no trash collection in small cities like Elmina (I’m not sure about the big cities). Therefore, our night watchman burns our trash in the front yard every day. This kind of makes me cringe, because even though our garbage mostly consists of tissue and food scraps, I know for a fact that some plastic and other foreign materials are making their way into the inferno. And on a windy day like today, the smoke blows right into the house. I’m glad I don’t have to breathe that in for more than two months.

Also, when one Ghanaian wants to get another person’s attention, it is customary to make a hissing sound, almost like saying “tsk,” but more drawn out. At first, I thought I was being jeered at, but then I realized it is just a good way of getting someone’s attention. Believe me, that “tsssss” really sticks out in a large mix of sounds. Gets the job done every time. But to tell the truth, I think we Obrunis are still a little taken aback when we hear people hissing at us, since in the U.S., this would definitely not be a positive, or even a neutral way to communicate.

Finally, it is not uncommon to share the shoulder of the road with a number of animals. I have many times been trying to dodge a taxi only to find that a rooster or a goat is in my path. Today I managed to snap a few photos of a particularly large herd of goats who were crossing the street right outside of the beach resort. Kind of ironic considering the Elmina Beach Resort is one of the nicest resorts in Ghana. When I am swiping their relatively fast Wifi tomorrow, I will add a picture of them, too. Enjoy!

P.S. If you are on Facebook, search the Aboom School for Special Needs Children. Some of the other volunteers have been doing a great job of updating the school's Facebook site, so check it out and "like" it! They even put up a few pictures of me doing music with the vocational class yesterday.

Musings

This morning’s run ended in pouring rain, which was actually quite welcome. I never mind running in rain. By the time Emma and I returned home, though, we could wring water out of our t-shirts. My shoes squelched as I walked up stairs to get ready for the third week of school. Hard to believe, considering I will only be at the school for seven weeks total.

One of the other volunteers warned me when I got to the school, “You will have your good days and bad days.” So far, this has definitely been true. Thankfully, today was a good day. The preschool class had 19 students today, and even though that’s a pretty big group, they were pretty easy to handle. The group sang along to songs we only learned on Wednesday, nobody tried to pick a fight with his neighbor, and all of the students stayed in their seats, looking right at me for pretty much the whole time. It’s kinda funny how music can do that, huh? I was especially excited when I brought out the resonator bells. One girl, without speech and some aggression, played the resonator bell like I asked, and then, she sang, “ahhh,” matching the pitch of the bell she had just played.

Since Mary was out of town for the last two music days, I was glad that she finally got to see it in action today. She sat in on the vocational class’ lesson, and although though she was supposed to be helping make purses on the other side of the room, I caught her singing along, and at one point, she was even doing the hand motions for the movement activity. One of the other volunteers took a break from making purses to take some pictures, and I am hoping to have copies of those soon.

After a particularly good lunch (leftovers from Eli’s), I made a significant dent in the book I started on Saturday. Later, I finally motivated myself enough to get out of bed and walk across the street to the beach resort and do yoga in the gym. I am sad to say that I have not done yoga since early April, and I have a feeling my muscles won’t let me forget it tomorrow. It felt wonderful to get back into it, though, so I think I might have to make that an afternoon ritual. Plus, I had the exercise facility to myself and it had air conditioning and full length mirrors. Two things that are hard to come by in Ghana.

Dinner at Eli’s tonight was Amouk, a coconut vegetable curry. Of course, it was amazing. She also served it with fish, which was pretty entertaining to watch. The fish was whole, including eyes and tail, with a little bit of crust where Eli had fried it. The girls just kind of stared at it for a few, and then Mel dug in, cutting it in half and scraping out the meat. Emma (also vegan) and I abstained, but everyone else seemed to really enjoy it.

Apart from upcoming weekend trips, my day-to-day doings during the week have pretty much plateaued. I also realize that dedicated readers you may be, my mother is probably the only one who realllly cares what I am eating, drinking, saying, and thinking every minute of every day (love you, Mom). Then, I thought of all the crazy things that I see every day, and how they are becoming less and less crazy to me as I settle in. So, in order to spice up the blog a bit, and to help me appreciate the Ghanaian life happening around me, I think I’ll start including a few strange sights from each day.

For today:

I rode most of the way into Cape with a cab driver who had what looked like a stick of chap stick stuck up his nose. He was sniffing and blowing his nose before this, so my only guess is that this stick is some sort of remedy for that. Sure did look goofy.

While walking in Cape, I saw a hand painted sign advertising “Peaceman Hair Cuts.”

When walking around Elmina, a young, 20-something woman walked past me. Although people do carry things on their heads frequently, this broke the record for size. Balanced in a big silver bowl was a 3’ x 2’ burlap sack, like a flour or potato sack. She did cheat a little and steady it with her hands, but still, she was walking in a straight line with something the size of a large child sitting on her head! Other interesting items I have seen balanced on heads include a sewing machine and a post-slaughter pig.

Realizations:

Ghana is a country lathered in irony. I’ll give an example. Numerous times before, I have mentioned how chaotic driving is here. I have never worn a seat belt in Ghana. I no longer think anything of it when a taxi driver passes another car on double yellow (or what would be double yellow if there were any paint on the roads) and the oncoming car swiftly swerves to make room, never missing a beat. However, at least once or twice a week, police blocks pull over my taxi to check for proper identification, licensure, and registration. So although a taxi might have seven passengers, a cracked windshield, and belongings overflowing from the trunk, if the driver is a legal one, the car can keep on driving as is.

I might have mentioned that three Global Mamas volunteers from Accra came to visit for the weekend. Yesterday, I woke up to the smell of bacon, and thought, “Oh geeze, you must miss home if you are smelling American things.” I asked around later and found out that the girls had actually brought some bacon at the request of one of the Cape Coast volunteers. Today, another girl was cutting up a hunk of cheddar cheese to put on a salad; also an import from Accra. Yet, yesterday the three Accra girls couldn’t wait to get into Cape Coast to get their usual goods at a lesser price. We couldn’t wait for them to bring us things from Accra, and they couldn’t wait to take back things from Cape Coast – ironic, no?

It is just a few minutes shy of 9pm, and Erin is already asleep. In a few minutes, I’ll join her in dreamland. Funny to think that while we are calling it a day, our friends and family in the US are probably still cooking or just sitting down to dinner. The heat takes a lot out of you, especially the humidity. Today was cool and breezy, but starting in July, the rain stops and the humidity shoots up. Should be fun!

Happy in Ghana

My alarm went off at 6 to go running with Kara and Emma. Naturally, I hit snooze, and on my way back to sleep noticed a text message from Bridget, saying that her mom had to go out of town this weekend for work, so we will have to reschedule my trip to Takoradi. I understood completely, and immediately my brain went into “Plan B” mode. I decided to go to Accra on Saturday by way of Winneba. Another friend from school sent gifts to be delivered to her host family in Winneba, which is about halfway between Cape Coast and Accra. From Winneba, we could continue on to Accra, where I could buy a new charger and stay at the Global Mamas house there.

The run was nice, as today’s weather seems to be continuing the cloudy and cool trend. Since I wasn’t able to drag myself out of bed until 7:30 at the earliest last week, being up, exercised, showered, and eating breakfast by 7:30 makes me feel so accomplished. When chatting with another volunteer, Kirsten, over breakfast, she told me a story of how her charger got overheated one day and stopped working. She continued, saying that the next day, she plugged it in and it worked just fine. Excited at the possibility of not having to travel to Accra and spend $100+, I scampered into our room and pulled my previously discarded charger out of my military sea duffle bag. I plugged it in to the adapter, then the power strip, and then to my laptop, fingers inwardly crossed. *Bing* A green light appeared, and then turned orange, indicating that my laptop was charging. I did a little celebration dance, okay, maybe it was a big celebration dance, and returned to breakfast, feeling relieved, and feeling my brain kick into “Plan C” mode, which consists of staying home and relaxing in Elmina with the other Global Mamas.

Since I don’t do music or teacher trainings on Fridays, I headed into the office with Erin et. al. Global Mamas provides tours of Cape Coast to their new volunteers, and for some reason, we managed to live here for two weeks without making the time for one. Our tour guide/Global Mamas employee, Erin, and I set out to explore the city. He took us down to the beach, where we were able to watch the fishermen mending their nets, getting ready to cast them out. We stopped at a batik shop where some Global Mamas products are made, and one of the ladies, Emma, showed us some of the batik stamps and the hot wax. Erin has been to a Global Mamas batiking workshop, but I have not. After watching Emma work, I think that might be on my list of things to do in the next week or so.

We continued to explore around the Cape Coast castle area, and then made our way up town to Kotokuraba market, which is very familiar to me. At least, I thought it was familiar to me, since I have purchased things there many times. But, as it turns out, I was only experiencing the outermost circle of the market. George led us between two small, nondescript shops, and all of a sudden, a whole new world opened up. Stall after stall of goods lined the dirt path, which was only about as wide as a person and a half. On top of that, people carrying huge bags of flour or big bowls of unknown goods on their heads rushed up and down the aisles, making me feel quite in the way. I am positive I looked like the biggest deer headlights have ever seen. We passed stand after stand of bananas, plantains, avocados, cabbage, overflowing bowls of rice and beans, chili peppers, tomato paste, smoked fish, crabs, and yes, even muscles that were still alive and moving. I found myself making mental notes by the dozen:

“Those are the biggest mangos I’ve seen yet. Remember that lady.”

“Rosemary and thyme? I have got to come back here.”

“Yes! Green onions and bell peppers. Next time I’ll make a left at the palm oil stand to avoid walking past the decapitated fish again."

And so on.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of East Liverpool as we were leaving the market and I ran into one of the teachers from the school. We chatted for a few seconds, I said, “See ya Monday,” and we continued the tour. I chuckled to myself and was in no way surprised that this seemingly foreign and exotic place is starting to have a small town feel.

We wrapped up our tour and headed back to the office, picked up the rest of the Global Mamas, and headed out for a goodbye lunch for Sara, one of the volunteers, who is heading out today. For the third time this week, I got lunch from Baobab. Today I tried the tofu salad and another smoothie. Both of which were quite good. After lunch I headed up to the seamstress to pick up the dress I ordered last week. It was ready, and they let me try it on. It fit pretty well, and I love the pattern of the fabric. Tomorrow we are going to a Ghanaian wedding, and I can’t wait to try it out there!

Tonight we are going to Eli’s (surprise, surprise) to celebrate Emma’s birthday. We are having gari, which sounds like the Ghanaian equivalent of couscous. Some of the volunteers are here visiting from Accra, so I think we are planning to have a girl’s night in the house. Not sure what else is in store for the weekend, but I'm sure it will be a good time.

A neat bird I saw perched on our power lines. Anyone have a clue what kind it might be? I searched it on Google to no avail.

A neat picture of my new get up.

A foggy morning on the Gulf of Guinea.

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!

She Gonna Blow

Today was a bit of a slow day for everyone. The Global Mamas volunteers have meetings at the house on Tuesday mornings, and many of them opted to work from home afterward. My only obligation on Tuesdays and Thursdays is a 30-minute meeting with the teachers, and so I was back home by 12. It was a hot, muggy day. The kind perfect for lounging. And that’s pretty much what I did.

The meeting with the teachers went relatively well. One of the teachers’ sons was not feeling well, so he had to come to school with her today rather than go to his school. He made the meeting interesting, as he was crying and climbing on her as I was trying to ask her to demonstrate a song that she began to teach me yesterday. Although it was not the most productive meeting, I did get to learn a little bit more about each teacher, and was surprised and impressed to find that each of them earned their first college degree only AFTER having kids and getting married. Even now, Mary is working on another degree and has to travel to Winneba (over an hour from Cape Coast) occasionally to meet with her advisor.

One of the other volunteers at the school is leaving this week, and so she invited me over to dinner at her host family’s house. Unfortunately, she forgot that she was actually supposed to go to dinner with her NGO tonight, and it was too late for me to sign up for Eli’s tonight, so after leaving the school, I picked up some groceries for dinner. Although I really love cooking, and am used to making every meal from scratch, it is difficult to cook here. The main reason is because the water is not quite safe to drink. We use it to brush our teeth and shower, but that’s about the extent of it. Also, I’m never really sure what might be climbing all over the fruits and vegetables that I do buy. As a result, we have to be pretty careful when preparing ingredients. In addition, I have had a hard time finding many of the staples that I’m used to cooking with – tofu, green leafy vegetables, and vegetable broth to name a few. I did manage to throw together a pretty decent dinner: spaghetti with tomato paste sauce and black-eyed peas. I wouldn’t make it in the states, but it got the job done. I will be glad to return to Eli’s culinary arms tomorrow evening, though.

Unfortunately, my electronic luck ran out today. My faithful laptop charger bit the dust. I was afraid she might blow, and today, she did. Before leaving the US, we looked at the charger, and saw that it could handle the voltage here, but not much higher than that. Evidenced by the recent power outages we’ve been experiencing, electricity here is not quite as regulated as in the US. There have been instances where our fan will slow down nearly to the point of turning off, only to go back to full speed in a matter of seconds. I did bring a power converter with me, but my three-pronged charger would not fit into the two-pronged receiver. So, moral of the story, RIP laptop charger. We had four good years together. For the time being, I am borrowing the charger of another Mac user in the house, but will be on the lookout for computer stores in Cape Coast tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed. I’m not entirely convinced I’ll have any luck, but it’s worth a shot.

It’s back to music tomorrow at the Aboom School, so I will spend the evening planning for that. Thursday is another training session, and I am still trying to map out just what those will look like. I’m not sure if it’s the hot weather or bread centered diet that’s making me so sleepy, but I might join some of the other girls on their morning run tomorrow to see if I can remedy that.

Usually not a fan of country music, I hate to admit how much I am loving a certain Kenny Chesney song these days. Okay, so it’s not reeeallly country, because he sings it with Dave Matthews. Anyway, the song is called, “I’m Alive,” and if you have iTunes, or even YouTube, it’s worth a listen. I have found that listening to it here in Ghana has really kept me grounded in the moment. There are so many new things going on – the chaos of Cape Coast, good days and bad days at the school, breathtaking ocean views and walking on canopy bridges at 6 in the morning. Although a slow, deep breath always does the trick, I can’t help but hear the chorus ringing in my head, “Now I’m alive and well/And today you know that’s good enough for me/Breathing in and out’s a blessing can’t you see/Today’s the first day of the rest of my life/And I’m alive and well.”