"Hey, I Like Your Legs. I Love You. What's Your Name?"

I had perhaps the most hilarious pick up attempt this morning while walking around in Osu. We stopped to look at some random necklaces and one of the men working went to greet me. As he shook my hand, he was sure to give me the old rub and to hold onto it just long enough to make me uncomfortable. Very nice. He then asked my name and proceeded to forget it immediately. Next, cassanova decided to slap my calves and comment on his views on my legs. I really enjoy being a piece of meat. I think all girls do. I told him not to touch me...thanks...and that I am not ok with such advances. I think he thought I was playing hard to get, because he decided to declare his undying love for me right then and there and slap my leg again. I yelled at him again and asked if he even remembered my name..which he didn't. So I guess he just loves some random obruni with "strong legs." Very smooth. We are getting married next week. You're all invited.

"You Coming Black Small Small"

Ahh i feel like the last entry was really heavy so I just wanted to share the happiness that the above comment with regard to my ethnicity brought me from a young kid on the beach. Also included in this weekend's good times was a dancing rasta in a dress, a game of eenie meenie miney mo for my hotel manager to decide who to propose to, presents of dead fish from my new fishermen friends, and jumping in the waves with naked African children after burying them in the sand.

Heart over Head

In everything that I have read and learned, I have been told not to give money to begging children. Over here, often young kids are exploited by their parents or families and do not see the money that you give them. Also, there are thousands of kids here that need help, and even the "rich white obruni" doesn't have the money to help everyone and stay in college. However, knowing this information in your head does not ease the pain or guilt when you look into the face of a hungry child and say that you can not help them. So far, I have been able to offer them random pieces of fruit that I have with me to avoid simply giving money. But sometimes I am not stocked and have to make the decision of head or heart. This weekend, I went to Kokrobite, this beach area about 45 minutes out of Accra. The beach is an interesting mix of local fishermen and tourists alike and one can sit on the beach and watch the men pull in the fishing nets at the same time as people lie on the beach sipping their pina coladas... So Friday when we got in, there was a show of traditional African dance, and the tourists and locals alike got together to enjoy. Soon, a small girl came between my friend, Carolynn and I and held our hands. She smiled warmly and finally fell asleep in my lap. She woke up, and instead of asking for money, looked at me and softly spoke the word "bread." Having no food to give her, I decided to this once, give her the equivalent of US$2. She promptly jumped up and ran with it to her mom across the way. For the rest of the weekend, I saw this new friend going around with white folk asking for money. It is so hard to know what to do here about poverty or how to help...and I don't think it is ever going to get easier for me to deny food to hungry kids... even when I know theyre going to dupe me.

African Dance and Drumming

In an attempt to become an African, I started taking traditional dancing and drumming classes this week and I have loved them. On Monday I went to the Cultural Center in Accra where a group of professional dancers holds classes in traditional dance. It was hilarious when my group of friends tried to do the moves, but I had a really good time and got to shake it fast. In fact, I am convinced that I got my moves in the club from this kind of dancing. Miller knows exactly what I am talking about. I am definately bringing these dances back to the states and everyone had better be ready to see me bust them out in Cornerstone. Should be entertainment for all. I also sat in on a drumming class which I really enjoyed. It was held under this big tree and we all sat around and drummed...really nice and also relaxing. I am having a drum made so hopefully I will be able to practice and remember more of what I learned. Ahh these classes are so great. Agenda for the weekend still undecided. Perhaps a beach called Kokrobite or home with my roommate. We will see...

More kids than you can shake a stick at

So this post might seem a little hokey because I really doubt that I will be able to explain how fantastic my weekend was, but I will try. I went with a group of about 30 obrunis to the village of a friend in Ada in the Volta region of Ghana. We left on Friday at one via tro- tro (these large vans that people use for mass carpooling for a small fare) and it took several hours to get there, especially due to transportation problems. Turns out that it is hard to fit 30 adults into a van made for about 15. We arrived at the village and were greated by a barrage of children and met the chief and the elders. After meeting them, we went to the river and some people swam before we ate dinner and did traditional African dance to drumming before bed. Turns out sleeping arrangements were not the highlight of the weekend. The villagers were very generous and provided us with mattresses and mosquito nets which was fantastic except for the fact that the mattresses had bed bugs and the nets had holes. Needless to say, I got very little sleep as I was eaten alive. However, the next day more than made up for it. I got up early to swim (crucial since I would NOT be showering all weekend) and then enjoyed a breakfast prepared by Junior's grandmother. After breakfast, we distributed gifts to the villagers and especially to the children. They were especially appreciative of pens and paper and cookies. There were so many of them and they were all eager to not be left out so it got a little hectic. One woman grabbed a large stick to regulate the whole crowd. She was not messing around and the kids calmed down a bit. As we were preparing to go to the estuary for the day, we noticed the roof of a house on fire. Immediately, we grabbed containers and ran to the river to fill them. I got a large metal tub and filled it, putting it on my head to carry it to the site of the blaze. I lost a good bit of the water and got several laughs, but then turned to fill another bucket. With the help of the entire village, they were able to extinguish the fire and save the home. We were told that the community would work together to re-roof the home in the coming days. Finally, we went to the estuary and got there via long wooden boats which we paddled. I really felt like I was living in a National Geographic. We spent a long time swimming and playing in the large current and got back for lunch. In between meals, I started playing with the children, teaching them games like Red Rover, hand claps and the Hokie Pokey, but their favorite by FAR was Duck Duck Goose. It became quite a spectacle for young and old alike. I was really taken aback when a villager offered to give me a child to take back to the US. He approached me to ask if I could take her or if there was a place for her with my parents. She was gorgeous and happy and the whole situation was sad and confusing. I explained that I couldn't and went to have dinner. After eating, the dancers did a routine for the community which went into the night. The kids especially loved it and howled with laughter as the dancers joked with them. I completely fell in love with a little boy who fell asleep in my lap. I sat with him and watched members of the community and obrunis alike come together and dance and just felt completely content. After another sleepless night, we went to the sea for the day and said our goodbyes. Never realized how attached you could become just in a day or two. This account falls so short of explaining my weekend, but hopefully it captures some part of one of the best experiences of my life.

Marriage Proposals, Sweat, and Elephants!

For the past five days I have been driving around with the group in the Northern regions of Ghana. First we went up to Kumasi and then continued to more rural agricultural areas and ended in Mole National Park...where one can see the wildlife in Ghana through a guided walk through the Park. All in all it was a fantastic trip but I'm going to just list the top ten highlights.

10- "Sweat Sweat Why?"
I think that people not accustomed to living on the equator are probably more likely to sweat a lot. And well of those people I may or may not sweat more than most. So we went to this ridiculously big market in Kumasi which is said to be the biggest in West Africa. And we went in the middle of the day...so you can only imagine. The "sweat sweat why?" comment was made by a man utterly perplexed by my condition.

9- Dana Loll, Crocodile Hunter
We went to this crocodile farm and in addition to feeding the croc a live chicken, we were allowed to hold it by its tail. Scary, scary situation..especially when other crocodiles started crawling towards us and surrounding us. At least it makes for a good facebook picture right? Haha I'm such an addict.

8- Grilled Lamp
Also not so funny but I liked this. We went to this fantastic hotel with hot water, TV and airconditioning. Might not seem that great to you all but trust me...it was heaven. I pretty much took the hottest shower possible and then laid in my bed with the AC all the way up...all huddled in blankets. So nice to feel cold once in a while. And I saw about your snow at home. SO jealous. But my favorite part was the menu, which featured "grilled lamp." I think I was delirious that I laughed so much at such a dumb thing. But I did see this after eating a "harm burger" for lunch earlier in the day...

7- Locked in a Bathroom
So at this nice hotel in Kumasi I went to take a shower at like ten thirty at night and went to come out, only to discover that I was locked inside the bathroom. I fiddled with it for like 5 minutes until my roommate woke up to help. She couldn't get it either and went to get the man working at the front desk as I prepared to sleep in the tub. Alix had to wake him up and he came in to let me out. Eventually I got out, but he seemed a bit surprised and embarrassed when he flung open the door to find me in a towel.

6- HOT Adinkra Man
We went to this place where they stamp symbols onto cloths and it was cool because we got to see how they got the ink and made the stamps and stamped our own. BUT there was this guy that was showing us who was pretty hot and apparently I really liked him because a friend asked me to take a picture of her. Not realizing that the camera was in video mode, I tried to take a picture of her but instead got a video of this guy as the camera wandered...hehe oops.

5- Wedgies in a Waterfall
We went to this waterfall where you could go and play. I climbed the rocks and slid down them to the pools below. It was really like a waterslide. Complete with the wedgies at the end. Really nice, especially for the men waiting for us at the bottom. The waterfall was so surreal though. The wedgies were definately worth it.

4- Beware of the Baboons
Baboons dont mess around. Instead they steal your things. We went in this Nature Reserve up North called Mole National Park and expected to see all kinds of wildlife in a natural setting. Instead, we witnessed baboons climbing into people's cars and running away with their things. We even saw one break into someone's hotel room and run off with stuff and another get a pineapple from a car. After which all of the local kids chase the baboon and try to recover the loot.

3- ELEPHANTS
We saw ELEVEN wild African elephants swimming in a pool bathing and drinking. It was absolutely amazing. Reminded me of Disney world on the safari ride...except these elephants were not mechanical. And even got to see two elephants copulating in the pool. Get em.

2- Broken Air Conditioning
So we took this van to the North and probably spent at least 20 hours in te car. I am not joking. But then the roads were so bad that about halfway through, the AC broke. This wouldnt have been such a big deal except that there werent windows that could open in the back and the average temperature has got to be 90 degrees here. So I was thinking about people and dogs dying in hot cars...and that was pretty much how it felt. At one point I just tried to go to sleep to forget about my approaching death.

1- Marriage Proposals
In bargaining for kente cloth in an hour and a half (this very intricate and ornate cloth weaved by the Asante people) I was offered marriage by three gentlemen. One man used it as leverage in a negotiation, offering me a large piece for free if I just married him. Another talked with me of the US and then asked if I could marry him and take him there. And a final man remarked to my Ghanaian coordinator that he would like to marry me. She immediately started laughing and told me of his plans. Other requests included a desire for me to remove and donate my Terps Rugby shirt and for me to pawn and trade my things. All in all I counted 7 proposals in my 5 day trip.

The trip was absolutely fantastic but had the good as well as the bad. On a serious note, the children that I saw in the North were absolutely wonderful and touching despite the poverty that many live in. The north of Ghana is a poorer area than the cities in the South and many dont have access to schooling and other resources. It was here on my trip that I first saw the malnutrition that I had read about. Really tough to see. And yet, the kids were happy to see us and just talk to us and really taught me a lot about how fortunate I am and that happiness comes from within and not so much circumstances.

So finally, I feel caught up and am trying to relax after such a busy trip til the weekend when I travel again.

I heart Tuesdays

So I have rearranged my schedule so that I can have Mondays and Tuesdays free of classes to enable me to travel about on long weekends if I decide to. So yesterday I sat around for a good while before deciding to hit the beach and go to dinner. Today, I was ready early with a plan. Since I am one of few people with such a sweet schedule, I woke up before 7 to run (yes 6 AM is the only time that it is both cool and safe enough to run around) and then did another bucket shower (I am becoming a pro) before going to a nearby pool. Stayed there pretty much from 10AM until 5 PM. I think in those hours I managed to change ethnicities. Just kidding but I did get a little burnt. It would be a good thing to wear sunblock when living on the equator huh? I went back home before going to dinner at Redd Lobster ( yes, with two D's) in Madina with a friend. And that ladies and gentlemen was my day. Not so shabby. I do plan to do more traveling in Accra and Legon and exploring the tro-tro system ( they are like conversion vans but carry like 22 adults crammed together for cheap fares) but today I just needed a pool and a book. Tomorrow involves class and dropping classes and then it is off to Kumasi and Mole Nature Preserve. I promise pictures of this and Cape Coast. Good times in Ghana.

Bob Marley's 61st and Other Ridiculousness

So last night was not only the superbowl, but more importantly here in Ghana was Bob Marley's birthday celebration. There was a huge concert at the International Trade Fair grounds with more local reggae artists as well as Damien and Ziggy Marley. We got there around 7 for the opening acts and the whole thing went until like 3AM...although I left at 2. It had to be the happiest concert that I have ever been to. Everyone was dancing and there was a huge cloud of smoke hovering above the crowd. It was actually ridiculously fun...between my crazy attempts to dance and the random strangers offering me pot. What was not so fun however was the crowd of pickpockets waiting outside. Some other international students were robbed so we had a group of police escort us to the taxis. I know we are nerds but I'm not such a fan of being robbed. But I think I'm going to come back with a huge love for reggae. Like today we took a cab and the driver totally lit up and started singing when a friend put Bob Marley on his ipod and played it. Singalongs in cabs are way fun. Also catch up from Friday...I thought i was going to a drumming lesson but instead ended up in a village where I picked out wood and carvings for a drum that I'm going to have made. I am so excited. After this week's classes we are heading up through the Kumasi area to Mole National Park where apparently I will see elephants and all kinds of wildlife. This should be cool and I'll update later :)

Laundry Fun

Laundry is hard to do by hand. I tried this the other day and have decided that I am now going to wear my clothes until they are covered in filth. I got my laundry together to do it by hand and before I even finished, my hands were bleeding. I had to stop early and the ladies that you can pay to do it for you basically laughed at me and told me to just have them do it. But I am determined to try it myself and perfect my skills. After all, I am going to need them in my future marriage. Also, went to an orphanage the other day and the kids are just so beautiful. I can't even explain... They are also like the happiest kids I've seen and yelled the equivalent of "white person!" as we drove by...gotta run to class...more updates later :)