Hello all,
So I've been getting some pesky requests for the following information. I have not yet received a letter from home (although my mom promises me there is one on the way). From what I've heard it should take two weeks for a letter to get to my pretty little hands. Anyway, here is my address as requested. And I'm feeling much better since my last entry. An entry about my weekend will be posted soon.
Beth Lorimer
c/o HelpAge Ghana
Box OS 1803
Osu-Accra, Ghana
West Africa
Happy writing...but no obligation to. If you read this message I'll be happy enough to know that you are reading my blog.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The stomach retaliates!
I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. I've spent the last two days recuperating from a nasty flu, which I hope is the first and last I get in Ghana. Monday afternoon I was sick at work and proceeded to have a rather embarrassing ride home in the trotro. I had to stop the driver and get out so I could be sick on the sidewalk while the bus load of Ghanaians stared at me in shock. Luckily, my coworker Francisca was with me and was very patient and understanding. We caught a taxi back to my place and I was then taken under the care of my amazing house mates. I eventually called the doctor, whose house we've been staying at and he gave me some meds to calm my stomach and my fever. Monday night was indeed rough but I managed to fall asleep. Yesterday and today I stayed home from work to get caught up on rest and try and keep some plain food down. If anyone recalls my the time I got the flu in Grade 10 science class or the summer I got food poisoning from Tim Horton's, you'll know how I looked and felt. I'm happy to have the ordeal behind me.
Unfortunately, I missed one of the bigger festivals in the neighbourhood where I work yesterday and today. It's called Homowo and it's held annually for the Ga people. The girls went and ate something called, "kpokpoi" (corn-based dish), a word that I've been trying to learn to pronounce the last couple of weeks. It always comes out "po-poy" and Ghanaians think it's hilarious. Whenever I'm in the HelpAge van and there's a lull in conversation, I say "po-poi" really suddenly and Nat the driver replies with "kpokpoi" and we keep bantering back to each other like this until we start laughing. If anyone driving by heard us they would probably think there was something wrong with us. Hopefully one day I'll have the opportunity to eat it and maybe when it touches my lips I'll be able to pronounce it properly.
Unfortunately, I missed one of the bigger festivals in the neighbourhood where I work yesterday and today. It's called Homowo and it's held annually for the Ga people. The girls went and ate something called, "kpokpoi" (corn-based dish), a word that I've been trying to learn to pronounce the last couple of weeks. It always comes out "po-poy" and Ghanaians think it's hilarious. Whenever I'm in the HelpAge van and there's a lull in conversation, I say "po-poi" really suddenly and Nat the driver replies with "kpokpoi" and we keep bantering back to each other like this until we start laughing. If anyone driving by heard us they would probably think there was something wrong with us. Hopefully one day I'll have the opportunity to eat it and maybe when it touches my lips I'll be able to pronounce it properly.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Little did I know...
...I could speak Twi before coming to Ghana!
First of all, some apologies are in order. The first is for my complete lack of editing skills on my last entry. For some reason, I thought I could write an entry in under 10 minutes as that was all the time I had left on my computer at the internet cafe. Next time that happens, I will buy extra time and do things properly. The second apology is for still not having any pictures to post to prove that I'm in Ghana. Trust me they are coming and when they do you will all be happy to see my shining face coming at you from the screen. Don't worry I look the same, although if this humidity keeps up I'll either be forced to shave my head or get braids.
Anyway back to my new found linguistic skill. As it turns out, I learned a song in Twi (the main Ghanaian dialect) many summers ago at Camp Hyanto. Our diocese had a Bishop visiting from Ghana and he taught us this song. I still remembered it because it was so beautiful but I completely forgot that it was Ghanaian and that it was in Twi. Anyway, on my way to work I read many phrases written on the sides of trotros and taxis. Most are Christian or Muslim messages and most are either in Twi or in English. I kept seeing the word "Nyame" which I recognized from the song I knew to mean "God". One day last week I asked my colleague Francisca if she knew the song and I sang a bit to her and she joined in and before you knew it I was singing in Twi! It was an amazing feeling and now I think I'm well on my way to learning more of the language. Ideally, I would like to learn Ga, which is the dialect of Accra, as many of the people here are from the Ga tribe. However, I was told that Ga is a harsh language like Dutch and that Twi would be easier to learn. We'll see where I get with both of them by the end of my time here.
In other news, work has been picking up at HelpAge Ghana which I may start referring to as HAG (not the nicest acronym, I know). I'm currently planning a host of media and fundraising events for the UN Day for Older Persons which is October 1st. We have a full week of events leading up to this day. The office environment is a lot more comfortable now that people know each other and we are working together on projects. Jody and I known in the neighbourhood too because there are too many "obrunis" where we work. I'm starting to feel a part of the community there whether it's buying lunch so much from the same ladies that they know what you want before you get there, or sharing my lunch with a young pregnant woman with children who lives close to the office. The feeling is nice. It makes the days brighter but inevitable go by way too fast.
First of all, some apologies are in order. The first is for my complete lack of editing skills on my last entry. For some reason, I thought I could write an entry in under 10 minutes as that was all the time I had left on my computer at the internet cafe. Next time that happens, I will buy extra time and do things properly. The second apology is for still not having any pictures to post to prove that I'm in Ghana. Trust me they are coming and when they do you will all be happy to see my shining face coming at you from the screen. Don't worry I look the same, although if this humidity keeps up I'll either be forced to shave my head or get braids.
Anyway back to my new found linguistic skill. As it turns out, I learned a song in Twi (the main Ghanaian dialect) many summers ago at Camp Hyanto. Our diocese had a Bishop visiting from Ghana and he taught us this song. I still remembered it because it was so beautiful but I completely forgot that it was Ghanaian and that it was in Twi. Anyway, on my way to work I read many phrases written on the sides of trotros and taxis. Most are Christian or Muslim messages and most are either in Twi or in English. I kept seeing the word "Nyame" which I recognized from the song I knew to mean "God". One day last week I asked my colleague Francisca if she knew the song and I sang a bit to her and she joined in and before you knew it I was singing in Twi! It was an amazing feeling and now I think I'm well on my way to learning more of the language. Ideally, I would like to learn Ga, which is the dialect of Accra, as many of the people here are from the Ga tribe. However, I was told that Ga is a harsh language like Dutch and that Twi would be easier to learn. We'll see where I get with both of them by the end of my time here.
In other news, work has been picking up at HelpAge Ghana which I may start referring to as HAG (not the nicest acronym, I know). I'm currently planning a host of media and fundraising events for the UN Day for Older Persons which is October 1st. We have a full week of events leading up to this day. The office environment is a lot more comfortable now that people know each other and we are working together on projects. Jody and I known in the neighbourhood too because there are too many "obrunis" where we work. I'm starting to feel a part of the community there whether it's buying lunch so much from the same ladies that they know what you want before you get there, or sharing my lunch with a young pregnant woman with children who lives close to the office. The feeling is nice. It makes the days brighter but inevitable go by way too fast.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
A Weekend of First
I know it's Wednesday but I didn't think it was too late to share the details of last weekend. My roomies and I actually had quite the couple of days. Starting on Saturday, we were invited by a friend that Jody met to go see Shaggy, for those of you who are just as unaware of Shaggy's music as I am (although in my defence I do know he's Mr Lova Lova), he's a Hip-hop artist. Anyway, at first I didn't believe that Shaggy was actually in Ghana and we thought it was some West African knock-off. We decided to join Jody's friend, Kofi anyway because we were looking for something to do. The event was held at the Trade Fair Centre, which is essentially a large fair grounds in the city. When we arrived there were thousands of people there and we had a difficult time meeting up with Kofi. When we did, I asked him what the huge fair was all about and he told me that it was a reunion of ALL the highschools in Accra and some of the post-secondary schools! Yikes we had walked into a huge melee of high school grads celebrating their homecoming. Many people asked us what highschool we went to and didn't expect that we would have an answer, but Kofi had told us to tell everyone we went to the all boys school in Accra to see how people would react. All in all, a funny day and the real Shaggy topped of the day with some tunes along with local Ghanaian rastas and other musicians.
Sunday was not as hectic but fun all the same. Caitlin and I went to a Black Queen's football game which is the professional women's team in Ghana. They were playing Nigeria and won 1-0 which was exciting. Apparently the game is a qualifier for the Olympics in Beijing. The atmosphere was really amazing at the stadium and everyone was so boisterous and patriotic. I am looking forward to more football action during the African Cup of Nations which Ghana is hosting next January!
That's all for now...I promise that pictures will come soon.
Sunday was not as hectic but fun all the same. Caitlin and I went to a Black Queen's football game which is the professional women's team in Ghana. They were playing Nigeria and won 1-0 which was exciting. Apparently the game is a qualifier for the Olympics in Beijing. The atmosphere was really amazing at the stadium and everyone was so boisterous and patriotic. I am looking forward to more football action during the African Cup of Nations which Ghana is hosting next January!
That's all for now...I promise that pictures will come soon.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
The Lebanese Obruni...
I am an "obruni". Yes, a white person. I know this just as well as the people that point it out to me on the street everyday in Ghana by hollering "obruni". At first, I thought it was ridiculously funny and when children would say it, somewhat endearing, but it nevers seems to stop. I've been told that everyone means to say it in good spirit and I can accept that, as I've only ever seen someone say it with a smile on their face. It has made me more aware of how it feels to live as a minority, although I am far from understanding the oppression that so often accompanies living as a minority. My best defence to the constant "obruni" chorus and clicking has been to ignore it, which seems to work fairly well.
I am also experiencing what it's like to live in an international community, where "obrunis" could be from literally anywhere. At times, I must be very in tune with my Canadian identity because I've had people guess right of the bat where I'm from. Even someone on the street approached a taxi I was in and said I was either Canadian or American. How did he know? More often than not though, I am mistaken for someone from Lebanon, Armenia and just yesterday I got Syria!?!? Since when does a Scottish, Irish, British descendant look middle eastern? I must have eaten too many shawarmas before I came.
I will have to set the record straight for Ghanaians and other foreigners about my heritage by either singing "Farewell to Nova Scotia" or performing Robert Burns poems.
I am also experiencing what it's like to live in an international community, where "obrunis" could be from literally anywhere. At times, I must be very in tune with my Canadian identity because I've had people guess right of the bat where I'm from. Even someone on the street approached a taxi I was in and said I was either Canadian or American. How did he know? More often than not though, I am mistaken for someone from Lebanon, Armenia and just yesterday I got Syria!?!? Since when does a Scottish, Irish, British descendant look middle eastern? I must have eaten too many shawarmas before I came.
I will have to set the record straight for Ghanaians and other foreigners about my heritage by either singing "Farewell to Nova Scotia" or performing Robert Burns poems.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
New Found Loves
When you move to a different culture and country you are told that you will go through stages of culture shock, the first of which is the "honeymoon" stage. I cannot say that I experienced the honeymoon vibe the moment I stepped off the plane. Everything was unfamiliar and overwhelming and it took me awhile to relax and get into the swing of things. Now two and a half weeks in, I can say that I've reached my own stage of admiration for Ghanaian culture which I call the "warm fuzzies" stage. In no particular order, here are some things that have made me comfortable and happy to be here:
- plantain and groundnuts roasting at the end of my street (so very very yummy)
- riding the trotro with other Ghanaians (even though it is often squeashy and sweaty)
- women who carry warm doughnuts on their head and sell them to you for 10 cents
- red red (plantain mix with beans and palm oil...heavenly)
- sharing a Star (Ghana's local beer) with my roomies
- washing my laundry by hand
- mango, mango, mango
- small children that come up to you in the street and say very politely "good afternoon" and then giggle and scurry away
- taking cool showers by candlelight when the power is out
- sharing a meal with my roomies and laughing about just about everything
- describing my dreams to people in the morning (anti-malarials make your imagination run wild)
...and the list goes on and on.
- plantain and groundnuts roasting at the end of my street (so very very yummy)
- riding the trotro with other Ghanaians (even though it is often squeashy and sweaty)
- women who carry warm doughnuts on their head and sell them to you for 10 cents
- red red (plantain mix with beans and palm oil...heavenly)
- sharing a Star (Ghana's local beer) with my roomies
- washing my laundry by hand
- mango, mango, mango
- small children that come up to you in the street and say very politely "good afternoon" and then giggle and scurry away
- taking cool showers by candlelight when the power is out
- sharing a meal with my roomies and laughing about just about everything
- describing my dreams to people in the morning (anti-malarials make your imagination run wild)
...and the list goes on and on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
