July 2, 2012
Well I haven’t really slept in the past 36 hours and am
feelin great, I don’t know how people pull 2 all nighters in a row at school.
Im exhausted. Our adventure was great indeed, so we arrived at the hospital
because that is the time we had been told to get there on Sunday night...
Jackie and I got there right at 11:30 expecting to leave by 12 but that was
silly, you would think we’d have learned by now. Not even half of the nurses
had arrived and the ‘bus’ that we were expecting turned out to basically just
be a pimped out tro tro. We laughed at ourselves for the wishful thinking. We walked
around the hospital and just waited around until everyone got there and we
finally pulled away at 12:30. Jackie and I claimed the front because that meant
there were only 3 people instead of 5 squished into the row, plus there were
seatbelts which we felt much better about having. I took some sleeping pills
hoping they would just knock me out but that didn’t happen. I dozed off for
awhile but it is so uncomfortable to sleep in a car already and this was
definitely not one of the better situations. Not to mention the radio that was
about 100 decibals too loud for my ears and the awful Ghanaian drama that was
playing on it. All Ghanaian films are about killing and affairs and there is
just so much fighting and yelling and it is awful. I cannot figure out why they
do that; you would think that being one of the few African countries which does
not see major violence among its people would deter that, that violence would
not be something that is emphasized. But that is the entirety of their media
from what I have seen. Turns out the media brings many a skewed idea, not just
in America,
but everywhere. On top of that, the 25 nurses which were packed into the 5 rows
in the back were singing songs in Twi at the top of their lungs for the
majority of the drive as well. I do not blame them for if I was on a bus with
24 of my pals that had neon lights inside, I would surely be partying as well,
though I do think I would have tried to sleep more than they did. I was so glad
when the sun came up because that meant I could stop my unsuccessful search for
sleep and could just look around and enjoy the scenery as I usually do when we
drive. My first glimpse of the ocean was beautiful and it was a bit of a stormy
day so the waves were coming in fast with swell after swell and it looked so
cool to see all the huts with palm leaf roofs on the sand, this was much a
different oceanside feel than the touristy feel of Cape Coast. We arrived at
our destination right at 8 am as planned and I was very grateful to get out of
the van. We were at a place called Nzulezo and at this point Jackie and I had
honestly no idea what we had in store for the day. We were right on the beach
though so we were pleased with that. We were told that the attraction and
museum cost 12 cedi and we were glad we had brought some extra money because we
paid 50 cedi beforehand for the excursion but turns out that just included the
lunch and snacks they brought along with transportation. We were ready to pay
but then the man tried to tell us that we owed 19 cedis because we aren’t
Ghanaian. I hate that. Every attraction has a much higher price for white
people. Just because of the color of our skin, it honestly drives me nuts. So
many people here just see us as money factories and nothing else. I never
thought I would feel any sort of discrimination toward being white in my
lifetime and I know this is really not a big deal but it makes me so upset to
be treated differently. It really has put so many things into perspective to
feel those feelings of ostracism from a culture. Not that I am being kept out
by any means but I feel like I am being used for my money a lot. I don’t even
have money! Worldwide perceptions about other human beings who are even a tiny
bit different from oneself are so skewed. It really is a major downfall of our
human existence, its such a shame. And I know that there is nothing I can do
about it and that is what bothers me the most. We got him down to 15 cedi since
we are students and we took our lifejackets and headed out. On the canoe was Jackie,
Sarah, Abigail, me and our guide Emmanuel. We pushed off and for the first
while Jackie and I were paddling and Emmanuel was using a big stick to propel
us forward through this canal when a man came running after us and was arguing
with everyone on the boat in Twi for like 10 minutes. Jackie and I obviously
had no idea what was going on but turns out we had not been given a receipt of
payment. Everyone thought we had just been included with the rest of our group
but they saw Jackie and I as a separate entity because we are white, once
again, so we had to go back to the dock to get our receipt. This put us way far
behind the rest of our group so we were all in a bit of a mood but got over it
as we realized how cool this canoe experience was. I still didn’t really
understand where our destination was but I was having the best time canoeing
that it didn’t matter. It turned out to be sweet that we were not with any one
else because it was like our own private tour. We paddled along this canal
until we reached the first jungle. We canoed through the jungle in these small
passages of water and it was just so cool! It felt like the amazon trail
computer game that I used to play.
I just smiled and
pondered and laughed as we canoed along. After a ways it opened up to more of a
grassland in water with lilypads and flowers and weeds sticking up in the water
rather than straight jungle and the guide said that we could get out to swim if
we knew how but there were crocodiles in the water so he did not advise it. I
spent the whole rest of that section trying to look for crocodiles but didn’t
see any. I don’t know if he was lying or not. After about 30 minutes of rowing
he said that we were halfway and we approached another jungle to canoe through.
The water was smooth as glass this whole time so it was the most beautiful
sight to look at the trees and plants reflecting on the water as the canoe cut
through it. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. At times I felt
like I was at Disneyland on the jungle safari ride, but obviously it was 1,000
times cooler than that because it was the real thing but just to give you an
idea of what it felt like, sorta. After going through the second jungle it
opened up to this huge lake and it was the smoothest water I have ever seen in
my entire life. After marveling at the beauty of the sight as I sat there in
this tiny canoe, on a lake in
Western Africa,
my thoughts were turned to wakeboarding and I laughed and mentioned to Jackie
about how amazing it would be to board on this water. It was beautiful.
Seriously one of the coolest sights I have seen over all, this earth is so
beautiful. Then the houses came into sight…I was shocked. There was a whole
village of houses on stilts in the water. That was what we were going to see.
On the way canoeing there, local people would come by in
these tiny hollowed out trees that only fit one person and I learned that they
are each given their own canoe at age 7 and their transport to town is a one
hour canoe ride every time. Even more than I cannot imagine living where I do
with Mama permanently, I cannot imagine living on the water permanently, its
incredible. People actually live this way for their entire lives. There are
about 100 houses and almost 500 people living in this village and they have
been here for 100s of years. In the rainy season they are almost always wet as
the place floods and they drink the same water that they dump their waste in so
I don’t know how they are not all in the middle of a cholera epidemic at all
times but apparently they go collect their drinking water from the middle of
the lake so it is a bit cleaner. We got out of the canoes at the village and
walked around just observing the way these people live. I would hate to live
here for more reasons than one but mainly I would hate it because there are
100s of tourists that come through every single day, mostly African tourists,
and just walk in these people’s lives to see how they live. It would be
terrible to never have any privacy or peace and quiet. It is a big source of
income and sustainability for their village though so I guess it is worth it to
them. They just got electricity here a month ago so radios and tvs were blaring
all over…I am surprised that they could even get electricity here, its
incredible. The houses are all built during the dry season when the water level
is low and there was a church built a few years ago which was miscalculated and
is now just flooded. Engineers really missed the mark on that one. They even
have a primary/junior high school here. Its amazing I tell ya!
We sat down for a few minutes after walking through the
village and we heard about the history and asked questions and such. History of
human beings and how they came to be as they are, where they are is so
interesting. When we were heading back to the canoes to leave I was first so I
got the very front which also meant I was the main paddler. It was an even
better view and better experience on the way back without anyone or anything
else in my view but man rowing is hard! I had a huge wooden paddle for most of
the time and my arms and shoulders were killin me. We did take turns a bit
though and when I wasn’t paddling I was having the best time looking at the
reflections and the scenery and of course upon exiting one of the jungles out
into the open area I burst into song singing ‘Just Around the Riverbend’ and
was just having the time of my life (I thought about my Erica for a bit after
that because she loves Pocahontas and I cant believe I am so far away having
such different experiences from all my bests.
We are going to have
the worlds best stories to tell one another when they all return from their
missions!). We were the first ones of our group to get out because our guide
had placed our canoe very strategically so for almost the entire time we were
way ahead but toward the end one group started catching up and it turned into a
race but man I was already so tired that I don’t think I was doing much in the
way of speed so they caught up to us. When we were neck in neck I stood up and
was paddling like crazy and everyone was screaming and laughing but freaking
out because they cant swim and were terrified I was going to fall in. They
passed us because right at the height of the race Emmanuel veered us to the
side of the canal and we had to get out so another group could use our canoe.
The crowd had gathered by the time we got back to the beach and where our car
was and there were so many people there! We walked out to the beach to say
hello and then walked back for lunch. It was of course fish, stew, and Kenke
which is similar to Banku so we didn’t eat it. We had rock buns and soda though
because they had brought that for snacks. Jackie and I had rock buns from
earlier that we ate for breakfast so it was our second of the day but we had
brought a few snacks too so we were happy to not eat fish. After lunch we went
to the museum that was in a fort and we learned a little bit about the history
about the people in this region but we had only been there for about 10 minutes
when we were rushed out and all the nurses started hurrying back to the van.
We
had no idea what was going on but we just got in and the van started goin. A
few hours later we pulled up to Busua Beach Resort and Jackie and I were in
heaven. Oh on our drive there we were going through a little town and there was
a truck blocking the road because he was doing about a 18 point turn and the
driver was wearing a Sacramento Kings jersey. It made me so happy and I gave my
home a nice shout out!! As soon as we got out of the van at the resort everyone
headed straight to the beach but we walked right inside and felt air
conditioning for the first time in months and it was so great!
We used the bathroom and it was the cleanest feeling
bathroom I have been in since leaving my house in April. We were just giddy
with joy because the resort looked like a place we would go with our families
and it felt so good. There were pools and hot tubs and people in bathing suits
and a live band and a restaurant with amazing looking food and these cute
bungalos where people stayed and lounge chairs on the beach and oh man it was
just beautiful. After taking a tour of the place we stepped out onto the beach
and were pleasantly surprised when we felt the sand beneath our feet. It was
the softest sand I have ever felt in my whole life. We walked down the beach
just enjoying the beauty of it all and the entire beach felt like silk beneath
my toes. Ah it was heaven. I was so so so happy! We were kind of mad because we
had forgotten clothes to go in the water in and there was no way we were going
on an 8 hour ride home in salty, wet clothes so we just waded in the water and
ran around on the beach and it was so fun. All the nurses who went in the water
were hysterical and I was laughing so hard because I could tell they had, for
the most part, never been in the ocean or the water before just by the way they
were entering and playing about. It was such a fun time and I wish we could
have stayed there all day! We left around dinner time and went to a hotel to
meet Dr. Sarfo who bought us all dinner and the nurses just felt so pampered
from the day, it was so cute. We piled back in the car after dinner and headed
back. Since it was day time I allowed myself to stay awake and enjoyed the
singing and instruments this time. I wished I could join but they were all Twi
songs, so fun to hear though I loved listening to it. When they all got tired I
got out my book and finished it on the way home. We got back home around 12:45
and Jackie and I crashed! It was such a grand adventure!
July 3, 2012
I woke up at 6 this morning, exhausted, to get ready for Kumasi. We left at 6:30
to meet the girls at the tro tro station at 7. I had 2 yum donuts for breakfast
and they were so good because they were super hot and fresh. I will miss the
donuts and sweet breads and such that is for sure. Its some of the only food
that I really love. The drive was very squishy as we ended up in the back seat
of the tro tro as we always seem to do and my legs are much too long to be back
there most of the time but thankfully Cass, Nat and I were having a lot of
laughs and good chats so it was a fine ride. It was raining which meant a lot
less people out too so it only took a little over an hour to get to Kumasi which was great.
The people here are all afraid of the rain I tell ya. It is so funny. We were a
bit nervous going to the immigration office because we did not want there to be
any problems with our Visas and we walked in, gave them our receipts, and a few
minutes later the woman came out with all of our passports and an extended Visa
for the perfect amount of time. We were thrilled and were out of there before 9
am. We went to the obruni market next to look for a picture frame so we could
frame a picture of us for Mama but no luck there so we are going to figure
something out to add to our parting gift to her. We headed to the Cultural Center which we have been told is a must
see by many people but I was expecting much more than we found there. It was
the strangest organization I have ever seen and there was no way of knowing
where anything was so we did not find the things we were looking for without
wandering around all over the place. Even after asking people where things were
we were still confused. We went to an art gallery first and I wish so so so bad
that I had a home to decorate because some of the paintings just jump out at me
and I want them so bad but I cannot justify spending the amount of money for
something I may never have a place for but man the technique and the style is
just incredible. I love African artwork. Next we went to where the Kente
weavers were and we watched as they used these huge looms to weave the Kente.
It was different than those in the villages because it was more advanced but it
takes so long to weave Kente but they are absolutely beautiful. We were almost
enticed in by all the shops again but we already got all our trinkets in Cape Coast
and for cheaper prices so we did not go to look at all the stuff. We finally
found the museum and paid 4 cedi for a little tour. It was the tiniest little
museum ever and the guide talked so fast that we could hardly ask questions and
barely understood what things she was talking about but we just went back
through afterward reading all the descriptions for ourselves and looking at
everything alone. The museum highlights Ashanti history and tells about the
King and his royal family and duties and such. There is still a King who reigns
today and if the President of Ghana ever wants to do anything in the Ashanti region
or if new legislation comes in the King has to approve first or nothing will go
on. Its kind of cool but also confusing to have Kings and a President in Ghana.
Cassie was meeting a man named Armstrong today at 11:00 because her great aunt
and uncle had served a mission in Ghana
and baptized him in Kumasi
about 7 years ago and they really wanted her to meet him. Nat and I went to the
restaurant to get a table (which was unnecessary seeing as we ended up being
the only ones there) while Cass and Jackie went to go out and meet him. They
came back with Armstrong, his wife, and his two kids Reagan and Vindrup.
Cassie’s great uncle is Vindrup so he was named after him. This man was the
sweetest most humble man I have come into contact with in a very long time.
Even just upon shaking his hand and him sitting down at our table, he just
exuded the love of Christ and I could feel it. He talked about his wife with
such reverence and love and he just adored his children. It was so refreshing
to see a family so affectionate and loving toward one another in public because
in Ghana,
there is hardly any public affection of any kind, ever. It just made my heart
smile as he talked about the importance of family and how he was sealed to his
wife and children 2 years ago in the Accra
temple and he talked about how his family is the most important thing to him in
the world. He told us his conversion story about how he threw the Book of
Mormon away the first time he read it because of the ideas about the church in
Ghana but something told him to get it back out and when he read it he felt
something so strong that he could not put it down and he just knew that the
words were true. He spent about a year not really knowing what to do about the
church and that is when he met Cassie’s aunt and uncle. He only talked to them
because he has a tender place in his heart for the elderly because he saw his
own mother suffering to raise 10 boys by herself because his dad died when he
was very young…they asked him a question and he told them he was hoping to
become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and laughed
saying that he knew he was a golden investigator. His testimony is so pure and
it was so refreshing to hear him talk about the Gospel and the man and woman
who found him and taught him about it. He was also telling us about an NGO he
was getting started for something to do with drug prevention because one of his
brothers is a major drug addict and he wants to help in the fight against it.
Everything this man said was just so beautiful and we were all smiling so big
listening to him talk. After lunch we all took a picture and then walked out.
We walked through the shops because he wanted to get a present for Cassie to
take back and he ended up buying us all these beautiful gold Gye Nyame rings.
Gye Nyame means ‘except God’ it is an Adinkra symbol which reminds people in Ghana that
without God we could do nothing. The symbol is all over Ghana and I am
so excited to wear this ring. It is like a CTR ring plus a reminder of Ghana. We
headed to the tro tro station around 1 and were greatly surprised when we found
that the line that people were waiting in actually meant that people would get
on the tro tro in the order they had waited. There was a man making sure that
it stayed so orderly and it was incredible. We got on the second tro tro
because the line was really long but man it was nuts. We never see that. Ever.
When we got to Agona we plowed through market and headed straight to the
internet café because it was getting late. We had a grand time there as always
and then headed home. Because we got home so late Mama had to prepare our food
very late and we didn’t eat until around 8. In college, though it is bad for my
metabolism, I can do it because I am still awake for a few hours and can go to
the gym or already have but here I hate eating after 5. The rice and stew is
always so heavy in my stomach and tonight we had fried plantain which I usually
love but could hardly enjoy because it was so late. I was so excited to take a
bucket shower and hop into bed and went to sleep at 10 on the nose. I love love
love going to bed early here. Because its early but also because when I get
woken up at 5:30 am by the goats and chickens and sweeping I will still have
gotten a lot of sleep. That is of course if I was able to sleep, and my back
usually hurts anyway buuuut I still love going to sleep.
July 4, 2012
HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!!
I am not going to lie I am really sad to be missing this holiday. I love the
fourth of July so much, it just makes me the happiest girl because it is a big
party and there are fireworks and swimming and BBQ and man I just love it. That
made today a little bit hard because I was just wishing I could be in America to
celebrate. We are celebrating with the girls on Saturday but I just miss it. I
guess I should be grateful it is not Christmas. I helped Mama around the house
a little bit this morning because she let me while the woman was doing our
laundry and when I came home later all the white things had been turned blue.
Realllllly love laundry and clothes here. I went to the hospital mid-morning to
do some interviews but they both fell through and it was raining today so I
didn’t really know what to do because I don’t need tro observe consultations
anymore and am spending the rest of the time just on interviews but I cant go
out and talk to people while it is raining because everyone is hiding…rain was
also good because of our laundry hanging on the line. Gotta love the rainy
season in Ghana.
It was just like an extra rinse though and all the detergent is never entirely
out of our stuff so I was excited thinking the extra rinse would do the clothes
some good. I just hung out at the hospital with Jackie and we did our best to
celebrate America.
We had wanted to get corn for lunch but the woman who is usually there every
day without fail yelling ‘ABORO HYEEEEE’ which means ‘hot corn’ was not there
today. On today of all days!! There were no watermelons on the street being
sold either so our options were very limited. We settled for fried rice because
it comes with fried chicken and we figured it was the most American thing we
would get today and people eat fried chicken on the fourth right?
We dedicated
each bite to the founding fathers and were having a good laugh as we paid
tribute to our freedom and independence in the best way we could here in Ghana. I
decided that I would do something productive by going home and interviewing
Mama so I did just that and was able to get some great insights and data for my
research. Interviews are hard though let me tell you. Asking the right
questions is crucial and it is hard to know when to say what to not miss
opportunities for information and such. But it’s a good challenge, Im going to
try really hard to get as many as I can in the next few weeks. Gender is a
tough subject though, many times I feel like people are just answering
questions with a certain portrayal of how things should be but from my
observations I can see that things do not actually happen the way they might say so that is an interesting aspect of
interviews that certainly has to be accounted for. When Jackie and I got home
today we made half of a package of chocolate muffin batter because her mom had
sent it in her package. We just added some canned milk and stirred and ate it
with some bananas cut up. Yes we loved eating that batter, it made us so happy!
Later when I was reading my scriptures for the day I heard a bird chirping but
I swear it sounded exactly like those screeching fireworks and it kept going
off again and again and it made me smile so big because I felt like I was
hearing fireworks and then I was reading the chapter heading for 3 Nephi
chapter 21 and it said ‘The Gentiles shall be established as a free people in
America’ which brought another smile to my face and I realized the tender
mercies of the Lord which allowed me to appreciate the freedom we are blessed
with in America. He gave me small reason to feel like I was celebrating our Independence even without being in America and I am very grateful for those tiny
things which allowed me to find joy in today despite being homesick for America. One
thing that is super lame that I realized today is that the power conversion
here has absolutely shot the battery in my computer. I got a new battery last Fall
because my other one was not holding charge well but now this one is even
worse. It says that its 100% charged so I unplug it and within about 15 minutes
it is down to 55%. That’s going to be annoying at school for sure but
thankfully the power is much more reliable these days and it will definitely
not be a problem in America
so it will not be that bad. Tonight when I was heading in to tackle the bucket
shower Mama was watching tv in the sitting room and American Idol was on. I sat
down with her and watched because they were in Colorado
and my little sisters are in Colorado
right now so it made me so happy thinking about them. We laughed and laughed
and had the best time and I have not been able to spend one on one time with
Mama in a long time so it was very nice. I love this woman so much and I am
really going to miss her. I had a grand old time singing the Star Spangled
Banner as I bucket showered and really felt such appreciation for my America
tonight. Thank you America.
July 5, 2012
This morning I was awoken at 5:20 to the
sound of a cow bell being dinged and a town crier yelling right outside my
window. I had no idea what he was saying but I knew that he had woken me up
from a very deep sleep but then I was wide awake. If its not an animal, it’s a
human…it’s a real good thing I try to go to bed so early here or I would never
sleep because mornings are not much for getting a good rest. Nonetheless, when
I woke up again at 7 to get ready for the day I was in a chipper mood. Many
times when I would awaken for the first month I was filled with a sense of
anxiety for the day because I was nervous about being able to understand things
that were happening and I did not want to waste any time here. The second month
came with those feelings on and off but I felt a lot more joy upon waking up
that time around. This month is filled with joyous mornings and everything
looks and feels so bright when I wake up. Each month has sort of come with its
own dynamic and those different dynamics have led to different opportunities
and different levels of learning which I am so grateful for. This dang rash is
in no way getting any better and I could not sleep for a good chunk of time
last night because I woke up so itchy and tried so hard not to itch but could
find no other relief. It is just too much so Jackie and I went back to the
Doctor today asking for an oral antibiotic. We just need Benadryl but he didn’t
know what that was nor did they have it. The doctor said that he has never seen
this rash before, nor anything like it so he had no idea what it was and said
that we should go to the Dermatologist at a hospital near Kumasi. Neither of us have the time nor the
money to go find a Dermatologist since we will be leaving here so soon so we
asked if he could just give us an oral antibiotic. We were given prescriptions
and went to the pharmacy to collect them. The medicines cost 25 cedi each which
is a lot in my brain because I do not have that much to spare for this last
month. I budgeted it out so that I would have just enough last time I pulled
out of the bank because I didn’t want to have a lot of extra money but somehow
I was way off. I hate pulling money out because dang Wells Fargo charges me 10
dollars every time. It’s so lame. Who cares if I am in Africa,
it is still my money Wells Fargo. It is not hard for you to wire me moneys. You
don’t even have to do anything its all computers!!! Whatever. After seeing the Doctor today there was a
clinical meeting and I learned about an outbreak called Lassa Fever. There have
been 2 cases in Ghana so far
but many many more throughout Africa. The
disease is carried by a rat, nast, and when someone is infected with it they
will exhibit the same symptoms as a malaria patient and they die before anyone
even knows it is not actually malaria. It was so interesting and scary at the
same time. Just as fast as researchers are working to eradicate diseases new
ones are popping up and there is no way to detect them fast enough to prevent
people from dying. I was able to conduct 2 interviews this afternoon and they
were both really great so I was in the best mood afterward. I went home around
noon to transcribe but stopped to talk to people for a long time along the way
so by the time Jackie was coming home I was still out on the street talking. It
was fun because there was one girl who spoke English really well so I had
conversations with her and then with other people who popped in and out,
through her translating. I love just sitting down and talking to the people but
there is always the ‘give me your backpack’ and ‘take me back to America’ aspect
that drives me nuts. Not just concerning those things that I learn from the
people here and understanding what makes me tick…I have learned so much about
myself, my likes and dislikes and I have been able to be very in tune with my
feelings since being here. that has been the coolest. Every day I learn more
about myself as a person and I learn about my opinions too. I have always had a
bit of a strong personality but I think there are always times where we don’t
entirely understand who we are but I think I have gained a ton of insight on
that being here so that is super cool. During my scripture study today Christ
made the 3 Nephites immortal like John the Beloved so that they could remain on
the earth to minister unto the people until He comes again. I’ve read that many
times before but this time I was thinking so hard and trying to imagine what it
is going to be like to hear about their lives and everything that they have
been able to experience. it is going to be incredible. I cant wait to be
reunited with everyone in heaven to learn about the expanses of knowledge and
mysteries of the universe that we do not even have the capacity to understand
while we are just mortal beings on this earth…but man heaven is going to be
cool. I cannot imagine not believing in life after death, it would seem like
there was no purpose in living on this earth. I pity everyone who chooses not
to believe. They must lead a sad life. On another note, my family is the only
ones who will understand this but I just watched Emily’s ‘basketball dance’
video and I laughed so hard and it made me so happy. I am just so obsessed with
my family they are the absolute best. Also, today I was sitting down and
talking with a few of the people that I pass by everyday and I was telling them
about my family so I showed them a picture and one girl said that my mom and I
had the same face, I was very flattered because my mother is the most wonderful
woman I know and I would give anything to grow up and be just like her! I love
you Ma, and Emma you are one crazy gal and I am excited for the endless
sleepovers in a few weeks when I get home! Love you all so much! These are my pals, they come over every day and just scream and yell "PEACE PEACE PEACE" as they hold their hands in thumbs up position. They are friends with the booze man and never go to school so i dont really know what the deal is with them actually but i love them nonetheless.
July 6, 2012
I planned to spend
the day transcribing interviews today but after an hour the light went out and
my computer did not have any juice left. I felt a bit discouraged in that
moment because I had not planned anything for the day so I did not know what I
should do to best use my time. I read a few conference talks, read my
scriptures, and fell asleep on the couch for a few minutes and then decided to
just go out and go to the hospital since I had to go pay for my medicine
anyway. I hate the mood I get in when I am feeling unproductive and unsure
about what to do with my time, it’s the worst; it also comes from being by
myself I think. I was alone in the house for awhile while Mama went out and I
am so not good at being alone. I need an hour or two every once in awhile to be
alone but for the most part I am definitely someone who is much happier with
people around me to keep me company. Ahhhhhh this rash is killing me!!! I am
dying right now trying so hard not to itch everywhere. Feeling itchy is the
WORST! This medicine better kick in, more, it better work period! I did not
feel very happy when the Dr. said he had never seen anything like it before. I
don’t have a whole lot of faith in the medicine I have been given because of
that so yikes. Anyway, I had the best morning for awhile reading the conference
talks and such. I started by just looking through an Ensign Jackie brought just
looking at the different talks and then the pictures of people all at General
Conference and I felt the spirit testify so strongly, even just as I was
flipping through the pages, of the truthfulness of the words contained in that
magazine and of the Latter-Day Prophets and Apostles. I know that the words
they speak to us come from God and are meant for our day. When I walked to the
hospital there were a ton of people there because it was a weigh day, and the
first one of the month at that. The women come to the clinic every few weeks to
every month to get their immunizations and to weigh their babies and they come
in droves dressed to the nines. I hung out for a little while until Jackie was
done with her batch and we went and paid the 25 dang cedis for our medicine. I
hung around for a little while longer and then Jackie and I went home. I read
my scriptures for the day and then I interviewed King. After my interview I sat
out on the veranda with King and we both read our books and had discussions
about the Gospel and baptism. It was really cool, I love this kid. Jackie had
taken a nap and had been wanting to go see the town like I had at the beginning
with King so when she woke up we all went on an adventure. We walked down
through the bush which I hated because though it is so cool to go through and
such an amazing sight, one of my worst things is walking through tall grass and
weeds that whacks my legs and ankles. It just makes me cringe and it makes me
super itchy and I just hate it. I trucked through like a champ though and we
made it to the clearer parts so it was great. We took the coolest paths through
the cocoa farms and King found ripe cocoa so that we could eat the fruit. Yes,
the fruit...
Cocoa seed are surrounded by these delicious, slimy, white fruits
that taste so good and fresh. It is a taste uncomparable to any other fruit so
I don’t even know how to describe it but it was so fun to eat. You just pop in
the seed, each of which is about the size of a cherry, and you suck off all the
white fruit around the seed and then spit it out. The seed is what is dried out
and used in the making of chocolate. I had a grand time eating that fruit,
trekking through the bush on our great adventure. We were on a walk that seemed
like something people would go pay to do, it was so pretty and the cocoa groves
are so great! We walked back up by the well so that we could wash our feet off
because we had been walking in the mud and it was a party there! I felt like I
had just come to join everyone at the watering hole in the pride lands. Mama
sent our good pal Kwasi to fill the gas back up and he had not yet returned so
we had to cook over the coals tonight. Mama set it up with the stool, the stove
and a little table directing me toward it saying “tonight you cook like an
Ashanti woman” so I did. It was actually very fun. I naturally felt like I was
camping but that is kind of how it always feels here. I also found that it is
great to cook outside, especially when onions are used because I cut a whole
onion and did not shed one tear. It was great! The dinner was very good too so
that made it fun. While I did my notes for the day Jackie and King played cards
and when I finished we tried to watch a movie. Jackie and I were both excited
to share one of our favorite American classics with King tonight, that being
Goonies, turns out I was reallllly tired because the last thing I remembered
watching when I awoke to the end credits was mouth reading the map in the
attic. Fell right asleep on that one. I get so tired here all the days. Oh
well.
July 7, 2012
So awhile ago while
we were driving from Agona to Asamang Jackie mentioned how she wanted to walk
the road just for fun. I did not think that sounded fun at first, but then I
realized that it would be sweet because I love looking around when we are in
the taxis. So we headed out around 9 and were off! It was quite the adventure I
tell ya. It was really fun because we were able to look closely at the jungle
that we love seeing as it flies by and we could see every leaf and flower.
People passing by us thought we were nuts because they don’t understand why we
would ever just walk somewhere to walk but it was so cool. About halfway
through my feet were kind of bugging me because I walk in my Chacos every day
but I am not used to walking for a straight hour on the pavement. They were
more meant for ranning around on adventures. Plus whenever we have been going
all about during the day we always go from place to place and there is never a
continuous 2 hours of straight walking. Hiking and such is different too
because it was just walking on the pavement for 2 hours and though the jungles
around us were beautiful I would have much rather been exploring in them. They
looked so mysterious and magical, but who knows what kind of things were
lurking in there…I was not brave enough to find out. We were walking along
talking about how we felt like missionaries minus the ability to contact people
on the street and all of a sudden Jackie flipped out and ran across the street.
I just stood there so confused and looked down at the ground and saw this big
black scorpion.
I, not knowing it was a bad, walked over to it thinking it was
the coolest thing and though still too scared to get too close examined it
well. It was not squished so I was not actually entirely sure if it was dead or
alive but I was just laughing too hard because Jackie was basically
hyperventilating. I found out her biggest fear, good thing we didn’t see that
in the first few weeks. At another point on our walk we were just minding our
own business on the side of the road when a taxi nearly ran us over. I was
honestly so scared, it could not have been more than a foot away from us as it
zoomed by. I think the driver did it on purpose because he was not dodging any
pot holes at that point in the road and he had the entire width of the road to
drive. So scary. We made it to the taxi station around 10:45 and after I bought
a watermelon we hopped on one to Wiamoase. We went and met up with Cass and Nat
so we could go to a cultural celebration at the Senior High. We hung around
their house for awhile laughing and eating watermelon and then we walked up to
the Senior High. I think the walk to Agona was about 6 or 7 miles and then the
walk to the school and back is easily over 2 miles so we real great exercise
today... even the roads are hilly so it was great! The event was supposed to
start at 1 so we arrived at 1:45 thinking we would be getting there on time but
according to African time we were way too early. It didn’t start until 3 so we
just hung out and bought vitamilk and shortbread and sat under a tree talking
and laughing. I love these girls, we laugh so so much when we are together and
it is the best. The event was actually a fundraiser for the school so that they
could build and stock a library so there were important people there and the
school put on a show with songs, a military show, and dancing. It was super fun
to watch aside from the speeches we didn’t understand and the fundraising part
which was long and boring to us since we did not know what was happening. Some
of the Senior High kids are our age so it is super fun to be around them and to
see what their lives are like here.
The schools are so so different from any
school in America.
The way they are run, their curriculum, their standards…so different. We were
there until about 5:30 and then we headed home because Mama was preparing our
dinner. On the taxi ride back to Agona we had another near death experience
with a taxi but this time we were inside. These taxis scare me so bad sometimes
but we have no other way of getting around. I just pray for my safety errday! I
was thinking about it though and I do not understand the phrase, “I saw my life
flash before my eyes” because twice today I was honestly afraid for my life yet
the only think I was thinking about was what was happening in that very moment.
I don’t think that is really what happens when people feel like they are about
to die. Maybe after, it was definitely an afterthought of, what would I have to
show for my life if I had just died…maybe that is what they are talking about.
Who knows. We were way tired when we got home so we just watched Friends while
we ate dinner and then I did some notes for the day. While I was sitting there
typing I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and looked down and there was
a HUGE spider crawling around. I literally was paralyzed and I yelled for
Jackie to get someone to kill it because I did not want to step down nor did I
want to lose sight of it. Mama’s friend was over chatting with her and he came
in with a broom and swatted it. They were laughing as they always do at our
fear of the spiders but this one was seriously so big! I worked out, and went
to sleep. I love sleep yes I do. I will love it even more when I actually get
to sleep well again!
July 8, 2012
Well today was
worlds best as Sundays usually are. We weren’t asked to teach anything in
church today so that was a relief because it really is quite impossible to
teach when you don’t know the language unless you are teaching with the Spirit
and the gift of tongues of course…but that is not our priority here and we aren’t missionaries so we weren’t quite prepared for
that in teaching Young Womens and Primary. It was nice to be able to just read
scriptures and conference talks and the lesson manuals and get something out of
church today. Of course taking the Sacrament is a beautiful privilege that I
feel blessed to have here in a rural village in Ghana,
Africa, but being able to enjoy the rest of
the hours of church feels wonderful. Its nothing like it will be at home when
we can actually participate in Sunday school again and understand the talks
coming from the pulpit but its great for what we’ve got here. I was feeling
very anxious the last few days about just getting home because I am so sick of
this rash and the Doctor didn’t know what it was and we think it is something
that we are breathing in from our room and I was just really frustrated so I
told Jackie that I thought we should get blessings from the Priesthood today.
We asked Brother Tewea if he and another could give us blessings after church
and he said yes so we were very happy. We went up into the clerks office and
Brother Tewea and Elder Yamoah administered Priesthood Blessings of healing to
Jackie and I. I cannot even describe the feelings that I had because I feel
like it was too sacred an experience. It was truly so so beautiful and I am ever
grateful that I was blessed with that experience. We watched the Testaments
again since we just completed reading about Christ ministering unto the
Nephites and though it doesn’t line up exactly with the timeline, it is so fun
to see things come alive. I have such a strong testimony of the events that
transpired when Christ came to minister unto them and it brought peace for
what, 100 years or something…it must have been the most remarkable experience
ever. Somehow Cassie and I got talking about Saturday’s Warrior after that and
we were laughing so hard because we could remember all the songs and were just
having the best time reminiscing about how much we loved it when we were
little. Cass found the soundtrack on her iTunes so we listened to it and sang along…man
I love reliving memories from my childhood. Kills me every time to remember the
funny things that I liked. Dinner tonight was so good that I had seconds. Mama
put curry powder in our rice and eggs in the kuntumrie stew and everything was
fresh so it tasted so good. yep liked the foods in Africa.
Monumental day I say. Mama told us some Ananse stories tonight which are
traditional Ghanaian stories about a spider and he teaches you morals and
values, after that we walked outside and King was dancing so we had a big dance
party and even Mama was dancing…yes I know it is still the Sabbath, sorry. We
walked the girls to the taxi and walking past the field on the way back I
wanted to catch fireflies way bad. We didn’t have a jar or anything but we just
tried to catch them with our hands and it was so so fun! This little bug is
seriously magic. Looking out and seeing all the twinkling lights is so
beautiful and it was the best, most fun thing to run after them on the
pathways, being sure not to squish any, trying to catch them in your hands and
after catching one, watching it crawl around as its butt lights up. Remarkable
little creatures really. This place is really so beautiful. There are so many
things that just blow my mind and I am so happy to be here experiencing it. I
love dancing with King, I am starting to love rice, I love taking walks at
night, I love fireflies, I love laughing, I love Mexican soaps, I love talking
to my little brother about his adventures, I love talking with my sweet mother,
and I love hearing about the happiness that people are finding at home. My mom
told me that my best friend Tyler is ENGAGED.
So many things are
changing at home and it is just weird to realize how far away I have been from
it all. I am so so happy for him and for everyone who is experiencing such
amazing changes at home but tonight was the first time when I realized that it
is really hard to be so far away while my best friends and family are going
through these experiences that I am not a part of. Tyler was the last of my crew to be in Provo, not getting married or on a mission, and the one
that I was counting on being constant when I returned to school but now it
really will just be me starting over. I am just very very grateful that I still have Trent. Being at this stage in life
really is so weird. I am thankful for the girls here because the friendships
that we have made will be so fun to carry over but man this year is going to be
so different from any other in college. For that reason I am a bit nervous to
go back to America.
It means back to reality.
July 9, 2012
Today was arguably the BEST Monday I have ever had. I was
reading a conference talk this morning by Elder Kent F. Richards of the Seventy
from May 2011 session called ‘The Atonement Covers All Pain’ and I had an
epiphany about blessings of healing. I realized that after my blessing yesterday
I half expected my rash to just be completely gone and was a tiny bit
disappointed when I looked and it wasn’t…lack of faith on my part I know, yet
when reading this talk this morning I discovered something about healing. There
is a part in the talk where he says that “sometimes we are ‘healed’ by being
given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us”
in that moment I realized that I was given that sort of blessing and
remembering the words which were spoken, those are the words that were said.
There was not a miraculous miracle where Christ said ‘be healed’ and my leprosy
was cured…but I was given what I need at this time. Right now. I have not yet
learned the patience and understanding that the Lord needs me to learn from
enduring this physical ailment here in Ghana. Maybe he thinks I have been
too happy here, I sure do know that God has a sense of humor; but after reading
that I am going to endure this pain with the knowledge that ‘all these things
shall give thee experience’. Thankfully I have not gotten more sick here but
what is a learning experience without any major challenges. I know that I
definitely needed to be humbled for it is in our trials and afflictions that we
come to know God the most. I have definitely come to know Him and have grown
closer to Him through this experience and that was a good reminder that we are
never done working on our relationship with Him and our Savior. It is a
constant work, one that should never be neglected. I think God gives us trials
and challenges so that we will not forget that. He gives us the opportunity to
draw even nearer to Him and for that I am very grateful. I spent a few hours at
home this morning transcribing interviews and hanging out with King. We had so
much fun watching the Insider and talking about celebrity gossip and American
movies, I love this boy. Turns out he is younger than I thought. He was talking
to me about how many people have to lie about their ages in Ghana if they want
to get things and how money can get you anywhere and later when I was driving
to Agona with one of the pharmacists he was telling me about the corruption
with drivers and how someone could just give them officer money and he would
not have to pass his test or show anything for it…that’s why the taxis are so
terrifying. After a few hours of transcribing interviews this morning I watched
some of the Insider with King because it was on and it was funny to hear about
the celebrity gossip in America because I literally have no idea what is going
on with anything and there was also a top 10 in the box office segment and the
only movie I had even heard of was the Avengers. It is so weird to not be aware
of anything that is going on in my home. The neighbors were burning trash
outside last night and this morning and it places a weird fog in the air and
also smells so bad, I do not like that at all no no. Also, I saw a bunch of
cows grazing in the huge trash pile today… I do not regret my decision to not
eat meat while I am here because that is a disease waiting to happen. In the
late afternoon I went to interview the head Pharmacist at the hospital but he
had to go to the bank in Agona so I went along. We had the best conversations
in the car about Ghana and all the corruption that is in so many of the
businesses because everyone is so driven by money, during our interview there
were so many things he was saying that frustrated me so bad. I wish that humans
would just take initiative to help themselves. So many people in Ghana just
think that the government should be doing everything for them…especially with
the malaria epeidemic. They don’t understand why they keep getting it, yet they
don’t do anything to prevent mosquitoes from biting them nor do they take any
measures to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. It is infuriating because we as
a race are capable of so much good but ignorance and laziness are the downfall
of so many nations. Our interview lasted over an hour and I had to cut it off
even then so that I could make it home for dinner. We had curry rice and
kuntumrie again but I am getting so good at eating food here that I actually
liked it. I am really starting to love rice, too bad it is towards the end of
my stay and wasn’t at the beginning.
That would have been nice to have loved
the food and enjoyed eating it a long time ago. Oh well. After dinner Jackie
and I went to go learn how to make donuts, the real good ones that I love.
Turns out the dough is mixed with machines in Agona so we didn’t go to watch
that but I bet a kitchenaid could do the same thing! We went to where we were
supposed to meet our pal Linda and her sister and waited for them. Everyone
kept asking us what we were doing though no one spoke English well so it was
hard to explain to them that we were waiting to learn to make donuts and they
just kept saying that the donuts are finished but finally, someone got what we
were trying to say and invited us to sit down with them and wait. One of the
women was very old and she recognized that we were members of the church and
told us that she is a member of the church. She is very old so I have never
seen her there before but she was so cute. Her name is Sarah and I told her
that my sister’s name is Sarah but I think she thought I was saying my name is
Sarah because she got so excited and gave me a huge hug and we were bffs after
that. I love the humans here. The sun was setting in the sky at this time and
the sky seriously looked heavenly. I don’t know how to describe it, it was one
of the most beautiful things ever. Our pals came and we followed them to the
house where we entered this cage like place and the table was wiped off with a
cloth. We sat down and watched as she cut up pieces off this huge thing of
dough and started to shape them into little people donuts and circle donuts.
They are not donuts by our standards by any means but more just a sweet bread.
We had not been there long before a whole community of children and adults had
gathered around us laughing as we repeated Twi songs and phrases after them. It
was very funny and we were all dying of laughter. We saw a turtle shell which
was strange, turns out it was a real turtle. Where the heck they got a turtle I
have NO idea. It was hiding in its shell so I was confused thinking it was dead
but indeed it was alive. We tried our hand at making the donuts and then as we
were singing they asked us to dance Azonto. That request is thrown out at us
every single day as we walk through town but we have been ignoring it because
if we gave in we would dance all the days and never make it home. But we danced
the night away as they all sang the songs and we played these hand clap games
and another called Ampe that I cannot get the rhythm for. It was so fun and my
two favorite girls were there so it was just a blast.
They are both such beautiful
children and I am going to miss them for sure. When it was getting really dark
we went and they told us to come back every day. We laughed and said we would
come soon. Akua and her little sister walked us home holding our hands and it
was so tender I was just wishing I could savor that moment forever.
T
he stars
were coming out super bright in the sky and as we walked through the meadow the
fireflies were dancing all around us. Jackie and I started catching them and
Akua was scared because she thought they would bite but we showed her how they
just glow in your hand and she and her little sister Grace were so cute just
giggling and laughing. Fireflies and stars really are magical. When we got home
we settled in and a few minutes later Mayvis surprised us! She finished her
last exam and is now a University graduate and decided to come straight home.
It is so fun to have her around too. We all talked as we looked up at the stars
but then I had to be a good girl and go do more transcription and field notes
for the day. Im so excited to go home and have a break from typing. It will be
much needed before I start writing my senior thesis in the fall and feel like
my palms are bruised again like I always do here with the hours and hours of
typing. Im so quick though I can type a mile a minute after hours of practice
every day for the last 3 months; im learning great skills I tell ya!
