Week 1: the adjustment

 Let me first just say that if you ever want to feel like a celebrity and you are Caucasian, come to Ghana. I am famous here its awesome. Many people smile and yell 'obruni' when we walk by and are so happy when we speak Twi to them, especially the children. We are going to be best friends I know it. I warn you, this post will be long...

April 30

Today is Day 4 in Ghana. The last 72 hours have gone by so fast and so slow at the same time. I cannot even believe that I was in California just last week. Let me just tell you about my week, sorry if this takes a long time to read, I don’t want to leave anything out. So on Sunday morning I left for Ghana. Ma and I drove to the airport at 7:50 am. I arrived and got my plane tickets with no fuss and all was well. I went from Sacramento to LAX to Washington D.C to Accra. Saying goodbye to my family was not as hard as I thought it would be (sorry family) which I am grateful for because otherwise this would have been even harder than it has been so far. It hasn’t been super stressful or anything but adjusting is super weird. I am surprised that I haven’t; cried yet though I think I would if I heard anyones voice. I met up with my group of girls (there are 4 of us) in Washington D.C and naturally we were like 4 of 9 non-Ghanaians on the plane so we were all ready to stand out. We tried to get all our seats together but couldn’t because United is the worst. I was in between 2 large men for 11 hours. Surprisingly though, it was not THAT bad. As we were getting ready to take off the Captain came on the radio and said that there was a hole in the cargo hold which would take about an hour to fix. An hour and a half later we were ready to go. Just about an hour before the plane was to land I took my malaria pill because I wanted to take it with food so I didn’t get nauseous but that did not work. When we were descending I started feeling SUPER sick.  I was praying that I wouldn’t throw up and that it was just from the pill but I think with a combination of airplane food, malaria pill, 11 hours on the plane, and the fact that I was about to touch down in Ghana…I threw up. Right there into the doggy bag. I never actually thought I would have to use one. I felt really bad for the guys next to me cause man it was so gross. Throwing up is honestly the worst. When we landed successfully I was fine and it was funny because the Ghanaians started clapping. As soon as the cabin doors opened I could feel the heat. The humidity is very heavy here, it makes my hair curl. It feels kind of like the butterfly house at 6 flags. We walked off of the plane right onto the Tarmac and then hopped onto a trolley. To get through immigration we had to show our passports, yellow fever cards, and they took a picture of us and took our fingerprints. We made it through with no problems and none of our bags were checked by customs nor were any lost so we were very happy. Jackie’s old piano teacher met us at the airport because her husband is the Church Welfare Humanitarian President in Ghana or something like that but the father of the family we were going to stay with that night was there as well because of miscommunication though it was better to be double booked than to not have anyone there to meet us at all. Cassies friend at BYU, Barima said we had to go see his family while we were in Accra and he offered to have us stay there so we did not have to deal with any hassle in Accra which was a real blessing. Here is us with him and his wife:

They helped us exchange money at the airport bank and the rate is 1.75 Ghana cedi to 1 Us dollar so we get almost double the money which is awesome. Brother Kwarteng took us to the temple in Accra so we could see it but since it was Monday afternoon (around 4) we could not go do baptisms or anything. It was cool just to be there though. 

From the temple we went around Accra for a bit and then to his town of Tema. Jackie needed to buy a phone so we went to a little market and it was packed with people even late when it was getting dark. There are goats and chickens roaming EVERYWHERE, street vendors too, everywhere you go there is a market here or people hawking their goods on the street, literally, they walk between the lanes of cars and try to sell you things that they are carrying on their heads. I am going to learn to carry things on my head because it is SO efficient. Many Ghanaian people dress similar to the way we dress in the states but you also so a lot of traditional Ghanaian clothing or little ones running around naked. It would be nice if we could all do that because I bet it sure is much cooler than wearing clothes here! Even after my bucket shower and towel I still feel wet from the humidity. By the time we got to Brother Kwartengs home, which was a palace, so beautiful, it was pretty late in our eyes because we hadn’t slept the night before, at least I had not slept on the plane really. His wife had prepared a meal of rice and a sort of beef sauce for us to eat and it was a different taste than like spaghetti sauce but it was good. Brother and sister Kwarteng work at the MTC so after dinner Brother Kwartend wanted to introduce us to the Mission President. He was not there but we went around to all the classrooms and introduced ourselves to the elders. The sacrament meeting room was air conditioned but I think it was the only part of the builfing that was. The missionaries were all so happy there though and it was very fun to go meet them and feel the spirit there. there are about 55 missionaries there right now. We only saw 2 white elders and they were not as excited to see us as the other elders, they probably knew how bad we looked from traveling and not sleeping or showering haha. We then went back to the Kwartengs to sleep around 9:30 and a huge rain storm started as we got into bed which lulled me to sleep. Sleeping was hard because my body clock was so off but I got a few solid hours.

May 1

            We woke up at 5 am to catch a bus to Kumasi which is a huge town in Ghana. We arrived at the station around 5:40 am and the first bus had just been filled. We bought our tickets and waited for the next one to fill because there is no departure time here you just wait until it is full. Our bus didn’t fill until around 8 am but it was a fine wait because we walked down the street close to the station and looked at street vendors and just took everything in. A man at the bus station started talking to us and taught us some Twi and told us stories. The first song I heard on the bus was by Justin Bieber, its his new one which was super funny to hear. 

A man started talking to everyone in the bus as we were pulling away and was preaching to us about God. It was very loud and he was shouting for people to accept God and repent; Very different approach than Mormon missionaries. Many Ghanaian people are very religious though. They rely a lot on God which I really appreciate because I can relate to that. After about 30 minutes we pulled into a gas station to fill up with gas around 8:40 and were still sitting there an hour later. I didn’t know what was going on until a new bus showed up and we switched buses. It was now 10:18 and we were supposed to be almost to Kumasi by now. While we waited we decided to venture into the rest room. That was my first adventure with a bathroom and no toilet. A hole in the corner is sometimes all you get. It took me a minute to figure out what to do, its not exactly like squatting in the woods while camping. Once we switched busses it was onto the bumpy roads for a few hours. It felt like Indiana Jones the whole time. It was kind of fun. I was very entertained on this bus ride because there was so much to see. What was supposed to be a 5 or 6 hour ride turned into about 8 but I didn’t mind. We were going from the city inland so I got to see a lot of different things. The culture here is very social. Everyone is outside hanging out all the time, probably because it is cooler under the shade with a breeze than it is inside. In America I feel like we always think we need to be doing something, that is so not the case here from what I have observed. People have a different sense of time. It is not about o’clocks and appointments but rather about spending time with people. Drivers are super aggressive here and through there are lanes and speed limits cars just cut each other off and try to merge between two lanes to pass people and I always think we are going to hit someone. The whole time in the bus they played these Ghanaian movies which were all about divorce and murder, so loud and abrupt. Not like the sappy love stories and ridiculous comedies I love so much ha I get that from Erica and my mothers “happy Christmas shows”. Along the highway I have seen men with machetes cutting grass, no lawnmowers there. I have also seen children with huge knives and machetes skinning their apples and mangos to eat. I loved driving through the towns on the bus because when the children who were helping their mothers at the stand would see me through the window they would smile and wave. All the children here call us “obruni” which means white man. They yell it and sometimes run and come up to you but they always have the biggest smiles on their faces. I really enjoyed the bus ride which may have also been because it was air conditioned. Upon arriving in Kumasi at the last stop we got off the bus. There were SOOOOO many people there and we were all overwhelmed because all these people who were not on our bus were trying to look at the luggage and the driver and his mate were pushing them away and there was a lot of yelling and I finally decided to stop being patient and just push my way to the front and get the driver to get our luggage. He got all our luggage and taxi drivers were grabbing our luggage trying to get us to come with them. We just picked one and followed because we were too overwhelmed to discuss rates. He ripped us off with 55 cedi to Wiamoase where Cassie and Natalie would be staying but we got tired of negotiating and didn’t want to move to another taxi. On the car ride to Wiamoase there was an accident so that delayed us about another 20 minutes.

 At this point Madame Esther and Mama Doris were calling Jackie asking where we were because even though Jackie said we would be late we should have been there hours ago. We finally arrived in Wiamoase, dropped off Cassie and Natalie and met Madame Esther and her son Emmanuel and then took off to Asamang when it was already dark. Our taxi driver turned around before we reached Asamang when he thought he had gone too far and then had to turn around again when he finally pulled over to ask where Asamang was. Needless to say it was a VERY long journey to arrive in Asamang but I was not annoyed or anxious as I probably would have been in America. I was too busy just looking at everything and taking in Africa. Mama Doris was very happy to see us and she along with her mother, son King, younger sister and baby, and a few nieces and nephews were all our in the courtyard when we walked in. I cannot get enough of the kids, no offense to white babies but these kids honestly are cuter than anything I have ever seen (despite my nephews of course) but they are all just so beautiful. We chatted for awhile and ate some dinner which was very similar to what we ate the night before in Accra but instead of beef we ate rice with the sauce and mackerel. Mama calls it Garden Stew and it consists of  tomatoes, tomato paste, garden eggs which are some kind of whitish veggie, onions, and mackerel. I knew I would have fish so I was not surprised but it was very fishy. Seeing as I had only eaten granola bars that day I did not have much of a stomach for it but I ate as much as I could. Mama then gave us a tour of the house. Jackie and I share a full bed under a mosquito net and have one table in our room. I am thinking about buying some wood to build a dresser because I don’t think I can live out of my suitcase for 3 months. The shower has a tile basin and you use a little bucket to dip into a bigger bucket to shower. The toilets are toilets but they don’t flush. Ours is missing a toilet seat too, you just do your thang and then pour a bucket of water in and it gets sucked down or something, I don’t really get it. Ma, I should have brought a 3 month supply of hand sanitizer, don’t know what I was thinking. Jackie and I were super tired so after touring around the house we washed off with baby wipes and went to bed. It took me awhile to fall asleep despite the two sleeping pills I took because my mind was racing and I think I was still confused about what time it was and what time my body felt like it should but once I fell asleep I slept well.

May 2

            We woke up at about 8:50 am this morning. Jackie went out to tackle the bucket shower but came right back in saying that Mama had a friend here with fabric to show us. Last night I mentioned that I loved her mothers traditional dress and that I wanted one. Prompt. They were all so beautiful and it was hard to choose but with retainers still in I chose one and we bought them for 33 cedi. It is a lot of fabric so it seems cheap. I cant wait for you all to see my dress, it is going to be beautiful! After Jackie showered I tackled that bucket shower and didn’t dare try to wash my hair yet but I think I figured it out like a champ. It is not that hard once you figure out the best way. King was playing Beyonce in the other room so that was fun to listen to. Next time I will sing along, he is a little shy right now getting to know us. Around 10:30 Janet, Mama’s house helper brought us breakfast. Same as last night and much harder to eat in the morning but I did my best. Jackie and I talked with Mama for a few hours and learned some more Twi then in the late afternoon we went with Janet to buy food for dinner. When we walked through the village I was so happy. These people live in very humble circumstances but the people are all so happy. The children especially, they are just running and laughing and playing and whenever they see us they yell “obruni” with big smiles on their faces and ever bigger smiles when we wave or try to speak to them in Twi. 

I know basic greetings and things. We will practice more with King, Mama says he is a good teacher. I have been a little bit shy with Mama but at the end of today I feel more at home. We took a nap after market because the heat makes you quite tired and then watched a Mexican soap opera with voice overs with mama and the kids. So funny. We had garden stew again tonight but with yams this time so it was much easier to eat, yams are like potatoes and the stew is quite good fresh. I don’t think the fish taste has settled in so much yet. Im getting used to the smells here, very different than what I am used to but it will get better. Right now it is 11:20 pm, I am typing this out on Word so I don’t have to spend a lot of time at the internet café. There is a huge rain and thunder storm right now so I cant sleep, I tried not to take sleeping pills so I don’t get used to them but I gave up and am waiting for them to kick in. Im sweating so much right now because we have the fan pointed at the bed and Jackie is trying to sleep so I don’t want to disturb her but man I feel like I need to shower again. After our naps today we went and sat outside underneath the cashew tree to read the Book of Mormon and write in our journals and watch mama cook. The kitchen is outside. Mama has mango trees, plantain trees, cashew trees, an avocado tree, a pineapple bush kinda thing, and a guava tree. None of it is quite ready to pick but I cannot wait to taste it all. That is what I will try to live off of here. Fruit and cashews. And We are going to make fufu but we have to wait until Tuesday because on Tuesdays there is a huge market in Agona just about 15 minutes away and that is where all the good stuff is and where we will get all the food for the next week so we can get what we like on Tuesday. As we were sitting there word had spread about the obrunis so kids were coming up to mamas gate and yelling ‘obruni obruni” some would peek inside so after I got done chasing chickens out of the courtyard I went out and talked to them. The primary age kids speak English because they learn it and are supposed to only speak English so they laughed when I tried to speak Twi or would say ‘ya ya’ or would speak little English to me, I think they are shy but I cant wait to get out and play soccer and stuff with them. they all wanted us to come out and play but we were helping mama. After dinner we sat around and talked with Mama some more and around 8:30 went to shower. We decided nights are best because we are covered in sunscreen and mosquito repellant. I washed my hair tonight and it is not as hard as I anticipated. I just fill up the bucket so it is almost full and dunk my head in it, then I lather up and rinse off. Piece of cake. The water is always a little cold the first time you splash it on but then you don’t mind. Mama was talking to us about all the cultural things we will do later on and I am so excited. I love to sit and talk with Mama and others but I get restless staying in one place when I feel like there is so much to see so I can’t wait to be out there in the community. Mama is going to take us to the hospital on Friday to introduce us to people so we can work with them, she works there as a midwife. I am going to try to sleep now, lightning just lit up my room so bright.

May 3

            I woke up this morning at 7 because Cassie and Natalie were coming at 7:30 to meet Mama Doris and see our house. We walked out to meet them at the Presbytyrian church and It was the first time we had walked outside the gates of Mamas house alone. It is so wonderful in this village. We were so happy to see each other and the best part was when Cassie opened up her bag and pulled out donuts. They were SO good and it was a relief from the meal we had been eating over and over and over again. We went back to Mama Doris’s house and introduced our friends. We wanted to leave for Agona straight away because we were all anxious to get to the internet café but Mama had called the carpenter since I mentioned I wanted to build a shelf and he was coming over. I talked to him about the shelf and he wanted 40 cedi for it. I asked if I could just buy wood and build it myself but they just laughed. I might just start collecting wood and have King help me find nails because I don’t want to spend 40 cedi on something I will only have for 3 months. Then we tried to leave again but Mama would not let us because we had to eat. Janet warmed up the good ol gardeners stew for us again and we tried to scarf it down but only could manage a few bites. I feel so bad every time I don’t finish it but rice fills me up so quick. I am praying that Tuesday will come fast so we can buy things at the market that will suit our stomachs. Cassie and Natalie have been eating like queens! Madame Esther brought in a woman to teach them how to cook and the things they have been eating sound sooo good. They are going to teach us because I cant do gardeners stew for 3 straight days, every meal. Call me spoiled but it is hard to eat the same thing for days straight for every meal. Even if it was my favorite meal I don’t think I could do it. Pray that I don’t lose too much weight before Tuesday. I am trying to ration my dried fruit and granola bars to last me the whole 3 months so I haven’t been eating much but I drink a lot of water and I am good. We were finally off and Mama wanted us to stop at the hospital to meet the people we would be working with today instead of tomorrow so we did. We got there and waited for about an hour and a half but all the waiting here is fine because we just talk to the people in the little Twi we know and their faces light up when we try to speak their language. A lot of people want us to take picture of them and then they ask for a copy, I wish I had a Polaroid camera so I could give them their picture. Many of these people have never seen a picture of themselves. Once we met the administrators and those we needed to get permission from they were very excited to hear about our projects so that was fun. They are excited to work with us so that’s good that we wont have any trouble gaining access to the hospital and our research. Once we left the hospital we hopped in a taxi with King and he brought us here to Agona where we are at the internet café. It is hard to adjust but it has been so fun. I love today and I know that Tuesdays will be great because being the whole crew is super fun. Well that is where we are at so far. My Twi is already improving and I have the basic interactions down. Until Tuesday!!!