Kumasi

Right now it's 6:46 PM according to the Internet cafe clock. Two little yellow lizards are scampering around on the wall in front of me, and Elton John is blasting from the radio. It's very amusing and a bit unnerving (the lizards, not Elton).

My apologies for neglecting the blog for a bit. The trip to the beach in Accra was quite an adventure. The beach its self was wonderful, but on the way there my friend almost had her backpack stolen by a little kid who just reached right through our cab window, which fortunately wasn't rolled down far enough for him to succeed.

The waves on the beach were unbelievable and the sand was glorious. No sea shells, although there were plenty of people trying to sell some. There were also several fishing boats set up on shore, so I pulled out the paints and tried to capture the moment. About ten little Ghanaian kids ended up congregating around me and I taught them how to paint a fish. My sketchbook now includes a lovely fish done by Edwin, a little boy who was especially interested in the paints. A few parents and vendors stopped by as well, which was fun since I was asked if I was an artist and would I sell them my painting? It's great to proclaim, Yes, I am an artist, whatever that really means. I'm realizing now that this trip is partly about helping me define that and, more importantly, the best way I can express it.

I am now in Kumasi, enjoying a great home stay, which is literally right on the campus we are taking our drumming and dancing lessons. Not having the two hour commute in the morning is just one of many things that makes this stay fantastic.

The family I'm living with has three children 2, 7, and 12 years old. The two-year-old has taken to following me around everywhere; he is absolutely adorable. I've been entertaining the others with tic-tac-toe tournaments and story time every night. Last night was Princess and the Pea. They are a wonderful family. The father is the registrar at the University here, although he does graphic design on the side. The mother is a seamstress, working out of the home, so there are constantly 15 other women around sewing and trying to involve me in their conversations in Twi. Fortunately, I found an in by helping out with some of the sewing. The other day I learned to embroider some Akan symbols, one a sort of web representing the soul and another a heart shape representing "taking heart through mistakes and trials" since all are good for growth. I wish I could post my pictures on the blog and show you, but I haven't quite been able to get to a computer with the right usb connection.

Anyway, I love you all! To those who don't have the luxury of being on the equator, stay warm!

Fu-fu!

I tried fu-fu for the first time last night! Fu-fu is an authentic Ghanaian dish made with plantain flour and water. This paste is then mixed and kneaded for some time and eaten with soup, using your fingers. It was quite the experience. Well worth it though.

Things are going well. I'm getting more accustomed to the tro-tro's and today will be heading over to the national school of film in Ghana to speak to a professor about his work with documentaries here. Yesterday a small group of my class visited an internationally known artist working in Ghana, showing in Germany, the U.K., U.S., and France. We saw a documentary made about his sculptures, representing the genocide in Rwanda. It was very moving.

Tomorrow I'm going with some classmates to a beach which apparently comes equipped with hammocks! The break will be very welcome. Tuesday we leave for Kumasi, which is North West of Accra. No English will be spoken here, so I'll get to try out my new Twi speaking skills. Wish me luck! God bless!

homestay etc.

I am slowly getting assimilated into Ghanaian culture. I won't lie, at times it's rough. Like when you have to wait for 45 min. to catch a tro-tro to the other side of the city, which of course is another hour's commute in a van crammed with at least 20 people. Good times.

This morning I took two tro-tro's one to La Place and another to the U. of Ghana, Legon where we are taking classes. At LaPlace there was a line for Legon about a half hour's wait. A preacher showed up and people passed the time listening to him and singing together. Ghana is a very religious country. Poverty is evident, and it is the people's incredibly strong faith which drives this nation.

Over all, things are going well, a few people in my program have gotten sick after eating questionable food from vendors, so far I've been lucky. Very very tired but that comes with the crazy schedule. People here don't sleep. Many are up by 4:00 AM. I've been waking up at 5:00 when the rooster starts crowing, and I'm at the tro-tro by 6:00 to get to school by 8:00. Oh well, it takes a bit of getting used to.

I'm enjoying my home stay a lot. We spend most of our time watching the African Football Cup, and the news. Last night I made a portrait of Papa Tony, my home stay dad, and began some drawing lessons with him. He says when he was in Germany studying someone there taught him some techniques but he doesn't remember much. We leave for Kumasi on Tuesday. Until then, the Twi lessons keep coming, as do the lectures on Ghanaian culture. The greatest learning, however, has been in the tro-tro's and markets speaking with the people, most of whom have been incredibly hospitable.

Akwaaba!!

Well, I've officially been in Ghana for 6 days now! I waved goodbye to Gautham at JFK Airport, after spending an incredible week touring Boston and New York, meeting his fantastic friends (Yeeha! is by far the greatest game ever) catching some comedy, some Beauty and the Beast on Broadway! and seeing the Statue of Liberty. Basically, it was very very difficult to leave. Through the departure process I've realized I am so blessed to have so many people in my life that love me enough to let me go and who support me in the excitement of this adventure. As they say in Ghana, "Ko bra" or "go and come back with blessings" :)

Immediately after going through security at JFK I met a girl from my program who happened to know someone I went to high school with. We started chatting and within 30 min we were joined by 10 others on the same program. All are awesome, hailing from many different universities across the U.S. Lots of art majors, anthropologists, and writers.

There followed a 12 hour plane ride with a 4 hour layover in London. Fortunately, the plane food was decent (complimentary wine with dinner) and 18 movie options on personal tv screens. British Air is the way to go if anyone is traveling abroad any time soon.

We stepped off the plane in Accra into a wave of sticky heat, lugged our overstuffed bags to the bus and made our way to a hostel.

We've been starting all our mornings with drumming and dance. It's unbelievable. No fancy steps to memorize, you just sort of move to the beat. After that, we had a pretty involved orientation, learning everything from cultural taboos to the language. Apparently, crossing your legs is a no no, as is gesturing with your left hand, shaking a group's hands from left to right, and giving the thumbs up sign. Language class has also been a part of these lessons. Twi is very fun to learn. It's a tonal language so the same word, like "ko" has three different meanings depending on the pitch of your voice. No need to memorize past tense vs. future tense you just speak lower if you went there and higher if you're going there. The best part is, because it's tonal they can use drums to communicate as well. If they drum out the syllables of a word in line with the desired pitch they can communicate things like dance moves or beat out people's names and have them start dancing. For now, learning Twi is difficult enough, so we'll leave drum for some other time.

I just started my first home stay with a retired preacher and his wife. The first thing I was asked when I sat down in the taxi with him is "Do I think the Bible is the absolute truth?" Answering that is something I'll reserve for some other blog. We've already had some great conversations about religion. I have an hour long commute to classes, so I take the tro-tro or bus all the way. It's wonderful because the music that is most popular now is the stuff I love the most. Celine Dion happens to be a huge pop icon. Boys to Men, All for One, and other similar sappy greats fill the radios. It's wonderful. I was on the tro-tro and Celine came on and the people around me started singing along, so I of course join in as well. It's a great way to bridge the gap. Because I certainly stick out, although always calling attention to yourself because you're white doesn't have to be all bad. Here people will call out "Abruni! Abruni!" which means white lady. So the response is "Abibini" which basically is saying "and you're black." It's difficult getting used to race not being as taboo.

Anyway, that's all I have time for now; the clock on this Internet cafe's computer is steadily counting down. I love you all. I miss you immensely, but I am so excited to be here. I cannot wait to discover what all Ghana has to offer.