Good morning! Head’s up y’all, this entry is going to have many different subjects, so if you aren’t feeling like concentrated reading, I’d wait till later…

First, an update my past few days-

On Saturday CIEE took it’s first “out of Accra” trip of the semester. We drove out of town to a town (I guess you could call it that, it doesn’t quite fit my personal definition of a village) called Aburi. Within that area is a wood carving village, where we left the bus, and were shown demonstrations on woodcarving and told a bit about the history and meaning of each piece. This was very cool. They showed us a drum whose call would warn a village that someone was about to be beheaded, fertility dolls, carried around by women who for some reason or another aren’t getting pregnant, “talking drums” for calling a villages attention, as well as several statues with horns carved into them, symbolizing another way Ghanaians of old (and perhaps very rural ones even now) have called together meeting. They explained that most of the work of woodcarvers now is just to preserve the tradition, as western medicine and communication technology has made their devices obsolete. After the demonstration we walked through the village- really, a bend in the road where each side of the street was lined with woodcarvers shops. It was a shame we only had an hour for the whole visit, but perhaps that fact saved me some money. It was great fun to talk to the carvers, and barter for their wares… among other things, I now own a monkey mask that I just fell in love with…

After the woodcarving business, we drove to the Aburi botanical gardens, a public place dedication to research, especially with medicinal plants, and to conservation. On the way there we has a heck of a time maneuvering a huge bus through a very densely populated town… the whole thing was quite comical. In the middle of all that I received and even more comical call from my dear friend in Turkey- where we briefly exchanged our odd current adventures. I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation- on a bus stuck between gutters and chickens and goats, talking to someone exploring Istanbul. The world is a wonderful place, isn’t it?

Anyway, the garden- it was beautiful. And when I find internet that doesn’t take 30 minutes to load 20 pictures (I have about 185 at this point) I will get them to you. Many of the various trees in this garden were planed by various heads of state on their trips to Ghana- the prince of Wales, QE II, king of Nigeria, etc… We also happened upon many food like plants- yes people, I ate tree bark that tasted like cinnamon. We also had leaves that smelt like peppermint, peppers in virtually every freaking stew here in Ghana, cocoa trees (that don’t smell anything like chocolate, of course) and bay leaves. Also very cool were the gigantic trees, and I mean ridiculously large. Some had parasitic trees growing on the side of them, with their great roots wrapped all around the trunk of the original tree. We then saw trees where the parasite had one out, its roots had made it to the ground and choked out the first tree, so now the roots form a mostly hollow cylinder. You can imagine we took some pretty silly pictures with our heads sticking out of tree holes… It takes 6-7 years for the process of the parasite to be complete, said our guide. Afterwards we had lunch at a long table (long enough for all 54 of us) that QE II had ate at when she was in Ghana. Snazzy…

And then, my Sunday. Well, I went to a Sunday service of the Legon Pentecostal Union. Yes, you read correctly- non religious, hardly spiritual at this time of life Skylar went to a 2.5 hour Pentecostal service. Parts of it were wonderful, parts more overwhelming that I ever care to repeat. First their was bible study- more awkward that anything else, and then 30 minutes-ish of singing and dancing- this was wonderful. Women had tambourines and waived their handkerchiefs in the air. I couldn’t help but smile, because they were all clearly having the time of their lives. It was quite the party. Then, the president (a student) got up to give his semester address, admonishing (lots and lots of guilt tripping involved here) people to go to all the offered services (I checks, 2 a day) and a retreat, and be involved in the church offices… I was fighting to stay awake while coping with his forceful “hallelujahs” and “amens” into the microphone. Next, he led 30 minutes of “intensive prayer” and then “quiet prayer” until the end (About an hour total). This was the hardest part for me. Anybody seen “Jesus Camp?” Think of that film with college students. I have never encountered speaking in tongues before, and here was a whole room of people shouting and muttering prayers to themselves, a man speaking into a microphone, another man shouting in tongues into another microphone, and people up and down off their knees. I stood as long as my tired body could stand, half pretending to pray, half watching, until I finally sat down, head in hands, and tried to imagine myself somewhere else as the event droned on around me, utterly inescapable. Not bad, I guess, just overwhelming. I thought about Mr. Miki, the old Buddhist from my fieldwork at PLU in January, and tried to remember him telling me all about non-attachment… lol. That actually calmed me down, and I made it through the service. Not something I think I’ll do again, although that will be hard to explain to my new friends who brought me. But from a Religious Studies and Sociology perspective, very, very interesting… My roommate goes to a quieter Methodist service, so I might try that one when I’ve recovered from church #1.

Oh yes, I have a roommate now, Mary. Very sweet, very quiet. She can spend a whole day playing one game of spider solitaire… but it’s a great comfort not to have an empty room anymore… to fall asleep and wake up not entirely alone. Through I still feel homesick in the mornings; it is different with her there. Tonight we are going to the National Theater to see a free gospel concert but on by, get this, the University of Michigan choir… and then on Wednesday she will take me to the market place to show me what she buys to cook for herself. I’m hoping she will also teach me how to make some things, in time.

And now, for the random other things I’d like to say…

-I’ve made a friend named Abu. He’s 24, and a 3rd year Economics student. He went to college for 2 years before University, so he’s extremely articulate and smart, and has a lot to say about Ghana. He stuck my friend fancy immediately, as one of the only men to not start a conversation with “I like you a lot, you are beautiful, and can I have your contact?” LOL! Anyway, he really wants to learn about the US because he, like almost all Ghanaian college students, aspires to go to college in the UK or US. I’ve been trying my darndest to convince him the Pacific Northwest is the place to be… anyway, I am learning much from him, as he has thoughts on everything, including on why Ghana hasn’t developed, so he’s very interesting to talk to. He was extremely excited to find out that I don’t smoke… Apparently they think all foreigners smoke, which is very looked down upon in Ghana. He thinks having people seeing him with a non smoking white woman will increase their trust of foreigners. Perhaps more on what I’ve learned from him another time…

-Oddly enough, I might actually start wearing make-up again here. I didn’t think that would be a concern in Africa, but the Ghanaian women take appearance very seriously, and may look down upon you as a “sloppy American” and refuse to make friends for doing so… boo hiss on make-up. I’ve had to re-purchase much of my wardrobe to look nicer, I really don’t feel like I was warned adequately about the dress code. Thankfully, as a teacher I can get away with the African dresses I’ve been having made- some people are buying suits and ties…

-I met another man yesterday named Raphael, and got into my first extended debate on why I think it’s ok to be gay. He asked if it was legal in the US to be gay, and that launched into the whole argument. He basically freaked out when I said that some states are now allowing marriages and partnerships… I listened to him tell me “it’s not how God made us” for about 20 minutes, only for him to tell me “well, you might now feel that way forever” when I countered. Sigh. Being here has actually made me evaluate what I am passionate about because I’ve had to defend myself here. I realize I’ve grown up in an environment that supports and cultivated what I value, but here I actually have to exercise some conviction, and I’m finding I actually enjoy doing so. That is extending a bit into politics as well, a topic I usually avoid. But here, the consequence of poor policies fighting cultural tendencies and post colonialism is apparent in the daily life of these people- the facts that some sleep outside, or can’t read or write, for example. Suddenly, I care a whole lot more about who sets polices for where I live…

-Laundry here is quite the task. Today when I left my room I left behind a bucket of soapy water soaking about 4 items. Gone are the days when I push not doing laundry for weeks, and spend hours doing multiple loads in a machine. Now I do laundry every other day, a little at a time. I guess I could buy a bigger bucket, but really, it takes an hour to hand wash what my small one will load, so maybe that’s not a good idea. The instant I put my skirts in the bucket the water was a murky brown. The breezes here save me, but the dirt on everything is extreme… one can literally rinse one thing for 10 minutes and finally have the water run closer to clear… All that aside, I actually really enjoy the act of washing my clothes here. It’s kind of relaxing, actually, to work with my hands in that way. Plus, when your clothes come dry off the rack it’s so satisfying…

-I’m attempting to learn 24 hour time. So far I’ve accidentally set my alarm clock wrong once because of it. But that’s how my cell phone works, so I better get used to it.

-Food here is an ongoing adventure. Briefly, fruit is great, but I also eat a ton of starch. A real meal here consists of some form of stew with a meat (usually chicken, fish, or goat) and a ball of starch. Banku, or pounded cassava balls are common, but bland. I have yet to try fufu, another starch staple, but have found fermented rice balls (Emutuo) to be quite nice. The stew is often tomato based, though they also have Palm nut soup (nice, spicy), and ground nut soup, made from peanuts, that I find to be too heavy and oily for my taste. Other common dishes include eggs- and the all important egg sandwich, which is white bread and egg fried with vegetable… yes, Skylar has been eating white bread for the first time since probably Kindergarten. We also eat a lot of rice- Jollaf rice is very popular, it’s kind of akin to dirty or Spanish rice back at home. Goat is, interesting… some parts good, some parts taste like I’m chewing rubber. On the whole, I don’t mind the food, but it is quite repetitive.

OK! I know this has been extremely long. Thank you for baring with all the things I wanted to get out!

Skylar