One more time.....

hello!
its my last day in ghana, and dont worry, this is the only time (10 min) i'll be spending on the internet today. i've gone on my last tro-tro ride, been to the market for the last time, (hopefully) been grabbed by the arm for the last time, was called by the name "obama" again, argued over prices, a miscommunication settled by hand gestures, and been told "feel free" by one person while getting yelled at by another for doing the same action.... good start to my day! actually it was really fun, and i was able to laugh at a lot of things that are normal occurances and apprecaite them one last time - people walking down the alleyways of the market with loudspeakers preaching the gospel and/or singing, bells, horns, the call "one cedi, one cedi, oneone cedi", "akosua!" (a ghanaian girls' name, but somehow its used for any white person when they dont want to use "oburuni", tro-tro ride that involved drivers yelling at each other for space, "purewater", "plantain chips" "ap ap apple", "mate, busstop" "yeees yog-hort", "milomilomilomilo", "agoo" (a call for attention, generally when some manual cart is going to run you over), "mtn, tigo, onetouch!" (the different pay-as-you-go phone companies - they stand anywhere, in the street or market or whatever, selling cards).... wow this probably doesnt make any sense
sorry, but anyway, i would say that i have to go to say goodbye to people, but almost everyone has left. most ghanaians moved out over the weekend, the EAP-ers on the group flight left last night, and most people who are spending the break traveling have also left. i'm really sick of saying goodbye. i feel like thats all i've done since last week. anyway, its totally been worth it, i've gotten to see almost everyone! woot!
aight but its time to go spend my last 8 hrs on campus! yay! perhaps one last bowl of fufu?

so, here's the deal...

hey guys,
so i have a blog started, entitled "halloween, volta ladies in the volta region, and politics" but life has moved on now, and i actually just came back from a few days in Togo (the country to the east of Ghana- ghana is about the size of oregon, and togo is about 1/3 of that size! oh and ps they speak french there!)! i had a super great time, and was also able to stop by Kpando (in ghana - pronounced Pando)in the Volta region, which was really nice too! hmmm, see a pattern? the volta region is absolutely beautiful, and the people are so nice! i'm not seen as someone to interrogate or as a "$", but instead, people are just super helpful and i love it so much!
anyway, i'm back to reality now, (boo!) - i have finals on the 2, 3, 5, and 12th of december, and my independent research project (30 page paper) due on the 9th...although i AM almost halfway done with the paper, i really do need to study for my exams! i also have 2 more places to visit on my "to do" list, and my flight leaves on the 16th~ yikes, time is getting organized!
so i guess the point is that i'm kinda putting blogging on hold - thats not a promise, bc of course i dont hate, i procrastinate, heh...but no worries, i have the entire flight from accra to london and then from there to SFO to write really long stories about my time here (that i can type up to post!), and also ones about broader issues that i keep referring to- gender inequalities, ghanaian education system in general, politics (elections are dec 7), my research paper, and everything else! woot!
anyway, so i'll be back in california dec 17th (around noonish, i think) and will get back to SD after the weekend before classes start! i really look forward to seeing you all!
but for now, hellooooo research paper! ;)(and happy thanksgiving! haha)

still behind! -the north: witches, motorbikes and what not!

helloooo!!!!
wow, time is going by really quickly! i have my last lectures today, my twi final next monday, the rest of the month off, and then 4 finals in december! yikes! not sure if i'm ready for the countdown to begin....
3 weekends ago (ya i'm really behind, sorry) kurtis and i decided to trek all the way up north, almost to burkina faso, mostly to see how it is up there and also be history nerds haha... so it was a 15 hr bus ride up to bolgatanga (bolga) so we left on wed. Dunno if it was just bc we were spending 15 hrs on the bus, but we really enjoyed the movies- i really want to visit nigeria now just to see the acting scene, bc its absolutely fascinating. the best part about them, aside from their incredibly low budget, predictable plot (the prince falls in love with the village girl, but his mother doesnt allow it, but they end up together anyway; and/or all problems are solved with the loud prayer and the incantation of "IN THE NAME OF JESUS!"), and the fact that there is part 1....AND 2..... AND, if you're lucky, part 3! is how incredibly excited the entire bus is about it - not just laughing at jokes, but telling characters OUT LOUD what to do, cheering for them, etc....empassioned is the best word i've found for it - its pretty amazing!
As we went farther north, the scenery changed a lot - accra itself is really really urban, not very nice looking in most places, but when you get out, (and to the E and W) its really green/tropical/beautiful.... and turns out when you go even FARTHER north it turns into savannah.... kurtis likened it to california's central valley, which i gotta agree with in a lot of ways, cept its one of the least developed places i've been! no large fields of crops, but just grasses and trees growing...! very very different from accra in very good ways! Other differences before i tell you what happened:
1) everyone rides motorbikes/bicycles everywhere- we had really unpleasant tro-tro rides bc so much is unpaved/dusty/slow so everyone had it figured out! the best part is that even WOMEN rode the motorbikes! i'll have to explain more later, but ghana is SUPER male-oriented/dominated, and i have never seen a female tro-tro, taxi, or motocycle driver, so seeing so many in bolga was really funny, esp since they're driving these big harley-esque things in their slits and cabas (most formal dress) haha....
2) language: a bunch of us are taking twi, because although english is the official language, twi is spoken by much of the country, (english is almost everyone's 2nd language) and its REALLY helpful to know some basic things.... anyway, they dont speak twi in the north, its not (former) Akan territory. boo. so our skills were completely useless, and we never even figured out the word for white person, or any other basic words that make us better travelers.....it was kinda frustrating, and makes me even more cautious about traveling outside of ghana (ghana is surrounded by french-speakers so if i went there i wouldnt have a CLUE whats going on at ALL!)!!!
3) facial scarring: so btw, nowhere near the majority, but a fair, noticeable number of people have ethnic scars on their face, usually in Accra-area as a .5 inch or so mark under one or both eyes, a bit below the cheekbone. one story i heard is that its a tradition from times of hand-to-hand combat when you need to be able to identify each other (pretty effective, i would say!). anyway, so up north, we saw some crazy-cool scarring. the guidebook described it as "spider-webbed" but it was more like concentric half-circles very close together from around the eyes alllll the way across the cheeks, sometimes with more complex designs in there they were generally much lighter (not as deep) than the ones here! but they were fascinating and i hope they showed up in some of the pics i took, but no promises!
4) a bit more on life in general: it was lower standard of living up north. not gonna lie. many students on campus, esp those who have spent their entire lives in only one or two regions of ghana, have a really bad impression of people up north, so i really havent talked to ghanaians about the trip too much, but it really was def. less developed, way fewer people spoke english (why would they need to? politics are spoken in local languages and the few foreigners who do come are generally volunteers who are staying for an extended time and so learn their language...we got asked mroe than once if we were from the peace corps hah), only in bolga did we see any 2-story buildings, or ones made out of anything but clay and/or natural products and/or sheet metal, and much dustier (not gonna say dirty-cus thats a matter of if you clean the dust/dirt or not!)..... but it was also a really really really nice, calm break from life in accra. we didnt get hassled anywhere near as much! woot!
5) much more muslim; maybe this is why so many in accra have a negative opinion, because religion IS such a big issue, but it was really cool - really interesting to see more elaborate mosques, more ppl in traditional muslim clothes, just a different feel in general! yes, we still did get woken up in the morning to christian music, but also heard the nighttime (and other) calls to prayer just as much! very cool! id really like to go back up to the northwest (we were in the northeast) where they have more historically interesting islamic points!
So our first day up there, we went to sirigu, even closer to the burkina faso border, to where there's a womens craft co-op that is doing reasonably well! it was pretty cool to be taken around the place, but honestly there wasnt anything else to do other than the tour/museum (as cool as they were), and it took a really long time for the tro-tro to fill up (there and back). the tro-tro ride there was one of the most unpleasant ever - it was about an hour over pretty bad dirt road, in a modified midsize car, meaning that ther was a second row of seats added to the back. however, instead of 3 in each row, the driver made 4 of us squish in each row except his, meaning that not only could i not move my feet bc of the cargo, and i was getting hugged by the ppl next to me (ok not tooooo abnormal) but also were hitting our heads on the roof, and got a thick layer of dirt on us. also, 3 of the women in the 2 seats we large, middle-aged women with children on their laps. so if you count them, there were 14 of us! everyone was complaining, and the guy's car almost broke down too! hahaha o ghana....
The next day we went to gombaga, where there is a witches camp. the ride there was also pretty exciting, as we were traveling in a HUGE tro-tro that fit 40-60 (dunno how many ppl were riding on the top) people in it, when i realized that, as slow as everything was going, at least we werent gonna get there and have our day ruined by rain! it hadnt rained in weeks! as i also laughed at how nice it was that the windo next to me had no window in it, bc the breeze felt AMAZING, oh yes, it started to POUR! the old woman next to me got really angry as we both tried to hide, and everyone laughed at us (including kurtis), and tried to get us to move, but there really wasnt room :( finally, the lady grabbed a prayer mat from the empty seat in front of us and we held it against the window. oh ps, its made out of STRAW!.... oh but ps, it dried within 15 minutes of when the rain stopped and we got out of the tro-tro... hahahha
anway, so we got to gambaga after a wild goose chase to find a wall built in the 16th century, which would have been cool but our only directions were "to the left of the dam" and nobody seemed to be able to lead us there, but we DID find it!!! haha witchcraft is a big deal here, so this camp is actually for women who have been accused of being witches can go, to avoid being killed by their village. apparently, they arrive, and the chief performs some type of ritual so that they're not witches anymore, (something involving killing chickens and alcohol, suprise, suprise) but since their village wont accept them anymore, they stay there. there's apparently been some issues from humanitarian orgs who believe the place is like a prison- that would be an arguable point, given that people dont really leave, except that their standard of living, while low, is barely, if any, lower than that of the rest of the village! actually, when we met the chief, and he asked us what our mission was. when we responded that we wanted to see the camp, he asked us (through his interpreter) "do you have a problem?.... or do you just want to look?" hahahahahhahahahaha we assured him that we were just history students traveling...
so the camp itself was relatively large, with a couple hundred people in it, but it was really difficult to get an idea of what people thought about being there: everything was done through the interpreter, the chief's son, who often didnt even ask the woman the question, and just answered it himself, and anyway he could have said whatever he wanted us to hear! still, it was cool to check the place out - i had heard about it in my study of religions class, so it was super cool! the ride back was less eventful until we got onto a tro-tro that had to be push-started (by all the guys in the tro-tro -- maybe there IS an advantage to being a girl?) several times on the way...
we got back to bolga relatively early and went to tongo, which was a really cool little village but the tour was really bad, but it was cool to see. a ghanaian who looked at my pictures of the chief's palace (where his extended family lives, taken from his roof) he asked if people actually lived there. i said yes, and he was completely amazed - its this huge labrinth of small huts/houses that has no planning and cant be too sanitary and what is running water? dunno. it was a really pretty, mountainous area, so it was really nice to see!!! good times!
when we returned to bolga, we were already feeling a bit strange/out of whack, and we both woke up the next morning to our 15 hr bus ride back feeling super sick. go us. luckily, the movies were from the same producer as the "chart-smashing" ones we watched on the way up! woot! we got back to accra, and ended up getting a free ride from some guy who'd been on the bus w/ us! woot! but our luck ran out when we got home and the water was out :( we were SO dirty and sick for the next couple days but hey, gotta say it was pretty awesome! woot!
have a awesome day and i'll try to catch up a bit more! sorry!

you like my man obama?

So you think you live in an obama city, state, or now country? dude! catch up! i live on an obama CONTINENT.
Ok, sorry, just had to get that out. i know i'm still behind on telling you about some of my adventures, but i dont think that in a few weeks, you'll want to hear anything more about the elections!
So first off, yes, i voted via absentee ballot and the embassy. So i'm also assuming that you all have heard about how wildly popular obama is here in africa. we've been barraged with obama gear since our first days here - from bracelets to shirts filled with his face (with "ghana" written on the bottom) to signs and random people on the street asking us if we support him. Well, most of our group is from california, and we're all students so we havent run into much trouble...haha... there are SOME mccain supporters here, generally the ones who know more about the issues and realized that he is much much more in line with their social beliefs, but i also believe that some of them are just trying to be cool/different, and some are trying to see if we'll mention anything about the candidates' race in the process.....
in terms of state elections, i really had to do some research (aka read the pamphlet and talking to people at home) to figure out some things, and even then didnt entirely.... but in a lot of ways i'm really happy i wasnt in california- i know things got pretty emotional sometimes, especially on the big issues, but i was able to not get caught up in the arguments! i also didnt mention either of the 2 big props to ghanaians - both abortion and being gay are illegal, and completely accepted as the right decision- the fact that we would have prop 4 and 8 would get all those obama supporters confused again....haha
anyway, so this whole 8 hr time difference was NOT conducive to watching coverage, but somehow we all went somewhere (oh, ya, we ARE still in ghana= i dont ever know where we are!) i think where the NYU students are? to watch the election results, beginning with the bus ride over after 9pm.... the first bus to the place was full, but we ended up getting on the 2nd with a bunch of commonwealth boys (the all-boys/frat-like hall), having to stand bc there were so many of us, and the c-wealth boys SANG the ENTIRE way, mostly in twi, but it was SUPER fun because everyone was SO excited! turns out it was a HUGE event, with a really large screen projecting CNN, and a bar/lounge area with more regular tvs.... it was SO exciting to hear all the projections come in, and everyone (several hundred people, probably about 70% students/under 30) cheered like crazy - and when they asked for mccain supporters, i dont think they found more than 10 or so haha....either that or they wouldnt admit it anymore!
It was fairly frustrating tho because the first polls didnt close until 11pm our time, and they didnt make final projections until 4 am! after cheering when the annalyst projected obama's win in california (duh, but we had to show our state pride!) after he got ohio (around 3-3:30?) and essentially clinched it, but that was cool with me! didnt really sleep much bc i got up early to check the props, but didnt get very definitive answers (boooo!) and now its time for lecture, and its our last one for this class, so i really need to go!!
ps its our last 2 weeks of classes- how crazy is that?
much love from obama-land....!

Updates, updates, and more updates!

Wow! i'm super-duper behind on updating you on my life but its been going pretty well!
So, I guess it was 3 weekends ago, some friends and i were going to go on an outdoors-y trip to the volta region (its SUPER pretty over there!) but then we found out that the national soccer team, the Black Stars, was going to play a World cup qualifier against someone (nobody really knew who, but hey...) in Takoradi, so we went west instead! We had an interesting time getting there, as the mate on the tro-tro made ups get off WAY too early and we ended up walking a lot and getting hassled a lot which is really lame but whatever...
So we got up saturday m orn ing in time to get to the stadium (even tho we dididn konw where it was) by 8am, several hours before the game was to start, bc we had no idea about how to get tickets. we got there, and it was really kinda crazy- the stadium was really nice and seemed pretty new, and there were TONS of people there already. we ended up getting in the expensive (10cedi, not 2) line, but it really didnt matter.... it was also crazy cus at first, i was in one of the s mallest minorities of my life - of course, i'm always racially very much in the minority, and ghanaian society is very very VERY male-dominated (that'll have to be an entire post itself!) but all of that was WAY even more so at the game! We decked ourselves out in ghanaian gear, from jerseys to hats and flags and balloon thingys...which was SUPER fun but we got super mixed reviews from people - we got a lot of "oh! you love ghana! i love that!" but also really annoying racial remarks like one guy who told us in twi that they should let all the black people in first and us not at all.... boo.... anyway...
so the line we were in aimed for the box office building with windows m ost of the way up, so we figure people will go in through the DOOR to get in or hand their mon ey and get their tickets through the window....but of course not! so the box office got super full of people, and we realized it might be super difficult to get tickets.... until people started climbing in through the WINDOWS to get in.....for a while most people were getting pushed back outside by the people in, but after failing to give mo ney to some people inside, we realized we were completely screwed. eventually, a guy in line with us showed us a guy who was willing to jump through the window and get tickets for us for an extra cedi each.... we say ok, but by that time, a bunch of our friends had called asking us to get tix for them (10 in fact) but the guy wouldnt get that many, so we just gave him our money and waited outside the line, along with a bunch of other people who did the same thing...so we were waiting, i'm starting to get kinda worried, cus its getting SUPER crazy in there, when a TON more people suddenly start jumping through the window, cept this time nobody was pushing them out! so it became a MASS of people jumping into the window! whatever, their problem, right? until i hear a bunch of yelling and turn around in time to see the police (wearing motorcycle helmets) charging towards us, literally pushing people out of the way! AHH! so we ran out of the way and watched them start hitting people down off the windows! a friend of mine actual ly almost got hit with the handcuffs they were swinging! yikes!
within a few minutes, there was the neatest line formed in front of the box office, with the police in a more fomidable line next to them....and i'm now even more worried: 1) how is the guy going to get out now? 2) how will he find us? (oh wait, we're white jk....VERY difficult to forget, apparently ), 3) what if he just wanted o ur 11cedis/person and run (but if he were going to do that, he would have taken the money for all of our friends' tickets, huh) 4) if he doesnt come back, there's no WAY we would be able to get back in line! boo....
but somehow, the guy came back with our tickets! wohoo!!! so we got into the game!!! woot! it was pretty crazy.... it would have been cooler if there had been a bit more competeition (we played lethsoto) but we won 3-0 which was SUPER cool! we didnt really get hassled at the game (everyoe was too excited) but after the game, walking the very long walk back to the hotel was not too fun- not necessarily negative comments but just a lot of drunken twi aimed at us, but its REALLY tiring to hear "oburuni, et te sen?" incessently! boooooooo ! but the game really was cool, and i'm SUPER glad we went!
the next day we (isaac and jackie, btw haha) headed out in search of adventures, and def found one! btw, it was sunday, aka everything including most tro-tros werent working, so we had some interesting encounters with taxi drivers but ended up getting in one that took us to this random little village, prince's town, which was WAY down a poor, unpaved road! the driver claimed to be the son of the chief, who we tried to meet, but he wasnt there.... but then we somehow got on a tour of the old slave castle - who knew? anyway, it was BEAUTIFU L there, a lot like cape coast, where you see a beautiful coastline after coming out of a room where thousands of people died! incredible! we also got to ride in dug-out canoes out into a huge lagoon surrounded by a bunch of wildlife, and the other boat actually got to see some monkeys! woot! but wow it was beautiful!
so the next weekend, (ps the weeks have been absolutely FLYING by here- monday-wed i have 1-2 hrs off between getting up at 6:30am and getting back to my room after 7:30...then thurs/fri are spent catching up on errands, schoolwork and/or traveling....) the EAP center took us to a festival in the Eastern Region, less than 2 hours away-- turns out there are MOUNTAINS surrounding us- who knew? haha anway, only about 15 of us went, which was nice, bc it wasnt toooo big of a group! we got there and it was a lot like a somewhat more tame cape coast festival- chiefs being taken around in big chairs carried by 6-8 people with tons of drummers, firing guns, of course singing, dancing, really hot..... but it was pretty cool bc instead of following the parade, we got really really cool seats (UNDER THE TREE ;)) right next to where all the dignitaries' chairs were st up, and where they all processed by to sit down! aka it was a lot less stressful- ! (exciting!) we even got to see the presidential candidate for the (now ruling) NPP (new patriotic part y)- Nana Akofo-Addo!!!!! crazy crazy npp supporters! Too bad the paramount chief looked mad at the world the entire time, but hey...ahhhhh good times!
anyway, but more general updates on life: starting the few days before the festival, the phone network that all the EAP students use was down (for like 3 days, no calls/txts/anything), then the power was out that weekend, and then the water was out for a few days, then back in time for me to leave the following wed for a trip (sorry, saving that for a new blog!) but then went off again like 15 min before i got back...but i got kinda sick off something i ate while i was there so i've been kinda sick and the water's been off almost all week: why am i saying all of this? its life in ghana! there's always SOMETHING slightly different, if not wrong or slightly incovenient, then just plain strange! (ps when the water has been out this week, it comes on at least once a day or so to fill up the gigantic tanks (poly tanks) so we DO have water, you just have to fill/haul buckets for anything you need!
aw and one more anecdote about life before i forget: i'm sure by now you're getting some kind of idea one way or the other about how nice/etc people are here and/or how welcomed i am- but before you do, this is the best example i've got right now: so thursday night i was going to go to bed, when i remembered i had to get my laundry from the line outside- i got downstairs, and realized that it was starting to RAIN!!!! yikes! so i RAN all the way across the large rectangle of rooms in my hall to where the lau ndry l i nes are, and quickly got them all in my basket, and back under some cover...btw NO ghanaian girl would ever get her hair wet (bc its chemically straightened or has extensions that smell when they get wet), so no matter how much/little i care about getting wet or not, its j ust not a good idea for me to walk back in the pouring rain, so i decided to wait it out. within a few minutes, a girl came from behind me (girl #1) and asked what i was doing, and i explained that my laundry had been on the line and i didnt want to get it wet by walking back in the rain!; she gave me a sympathetic smile and said that i could pass around under the very narrow overhang all the way back to my block, but i was surprised that it was large enough (bes ide the fact that it would look like i was staring into a bu nch of peoples' rooms!) and hesitated to follow her. before i could, another girl (girl #2) also came from behind me and said "oburuni, ___?" with an angry scorn on her face. boo! it wasnt the normal "et te sen" or "wo ho te sen" or the other phrases i know or can respond to, and she didnt look happy so i said, "i'm sorry, i dont undersand everything you're saying" she laughed at me and said that she asked me what i wanted. i told her the same story, but she just shook her head, popped up her umbrella, and walked away laughing at me. that got me angry enough that i didnt want to see ANYONE any more, so i made a beeline to the overhangs and walked as quickly as i could through the wet and rocks back to my block. BOO! ANGER!!! but as soon as i got back to where my block meets the longer one, i almost ran into girl #1, who had put down her load and was carrying TWO umbrellas- one for herself and one to give me when she found me! awwww it made me SO happy! i didnt know either girl before that night: i feel like that kind of thing happens a lot here - for every person that is really rude/angry/trying to cheat me, there's someone else out there who has my back ;) woot!
much love to you all, hope you had a good halloween, and HAPPY NOVEMBER!!!!!!

PICTURES! (ok only 3)

Cape Coast Festival! bunch of cool people REALLY close to one of the most important chiefs! woohoo!!!

















Obama is REALLY popular - i mentioned this guy in a blog- he's selling frozen strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla ice creams (fanmilk) but loves obama anyway!





















Cape Coast Castle - isnt it pretty? oh but wait, millions of people died here :( very very sombering.

FOOD!!!!!!!!

hey everyone,
this is a paper that i had to write for my orientation class (with modifications) - more of an extended reflection, but it had to be 8 pages so thats why its so long- i understand if you dont want to read it but i wrote it and didnt feel like having it go to waste..... the first is about the foods i've tried and learning what they are and how to eat them, while the 2nd half + is more interesting in my opinion, is about INVITING people to food and SHARING it! WOOHOO!

Before I came to Ghana, I read a description of traditional Ghanaian foods. I realized that I had never tried any of them, and a million more questions came into my head. I wondered how and where to get them? what kind of people ate them? how expensive they would be? and of course, how much I would like them compared with other foods I’ve had? and compared with those that would be available in Ghana? After a month-long stay in South Africa, and an adventure of an airplane ride to Accra, I had forgotten about all the foods I had read about, and came to Ghana with an unprepared stomach.

At my first meal that Saturday night, I was given rice and asked if I wanted chicken or fish. I decided on fish, but realized a bit too late that my plate contained an actual fish, skin and bones and all. I just stabbed my fork in the fish and attempted to eat it. I failed. This was neither my first jolt to reality at being in Ghana (after driving on the left side of the road in SA for a month, going back to the right here in Ghana was an experience!) nor my first failure in eating food, but both were very far from my last. Even now, I know my failures in eating the right food in the right way are far from over, but im SUPER excited about that.

Jollof rice - this yummy rice that has been cooked in tomato/spicy stew, so it has both of these qualities and sometimes extracts still in it - is so far my favorite staple in my diet. The first time I ate it, I was on the bus outside of ISH, and as I opened my Styrofoam container, I realized that I had no idea what I was about to eat. Although the first few spicy bites surprised me, I really enjoyed it. I really didn’t know that I would be able to eat as much of it as I wanted!

During orientation, as we ate more and more Tasty Treats, mangos or other fruit, plantains, chicken, egg sandwiches and other foods without understanding how to otherwise fend for ourselves, our conversation often turned to food. We commented on how much we would pay for a cup of coffee or cheese or a burrito or a salad, our favorite international restaurants, and how much we missed it all. We talked about these things CONSTANTLY.

As orientation ended, there was a mad rush to find new foods and new places to eat them. I remember being at the corner shop at the bush canteen (where i now eat at least 3 mornings/week), reading the foods painted on the front, and being unable pronounce those foods, let alone know from what they were made or how they would taste. I was afraid to try to order fufu and other foods. this was not because I didn’t want to try them, but because I did not know how to order or eat it. This caused a slight problem. After avoiding trying fufu with the whole large group, I snuck in for the leftovers that my colleagues did not enjoy. That first meal reminded me of the paper I had read before. I wondered what I was eating but was incredibly happy that I was going out of my comfort zone to try something new. Fufu is of a dough- consistency (someone want to wikipedia it for me for better description?) and you eat it with your hands, dip it in the stew, and swallow without chewing. (perfect for me, right? not exactly, while its good, i prefer other things)

My first success at the bush canteen was successful only because of the kindness of the lady who sold me a mango. I was with the other Anita, who was and still is much more able to confront people with her best Twi, and interact with them in a positive way as they explain the language properly. I, on the other hand, only knew that I should not walk and eat at the same time, so when we were finished buying our food, we looked for a place to sit. We were not sure if we could eat at the benches where I now know to order fufu, so we looked for somewhere else to sit, but were unsuccessful. We sat on some steps with our food until the mango lady asked us, with a look of disbelief, what we were doing! She ushered us over to her own bench behind her small stand and told us to eat while she stood. As I pledged to do better next time and try to sit somewhere else, I was incredibly grateful for her hospitality and also pledged to remember her name and continue buying her fruit.

A more startling first came when I ordered banku for the first time. I put on my best adventurous mindset, but was almost rejected! After having to be told how and where to sit at the Central Cafeteria, I learned the menu for the day. When I heard banku, I jumped at the opportunity to try it, but the waiter was not so keen on the idea. He first asked if I wanted rice and chicken, but when I repeated that I wanted banku, he protested further, and asked if I had taken it before. I responded with a firm no, but added with a smile that I would very much like to try it. However, he still protested, asking, “But what if you don’t like it?” I was REALLY frustrated by this response and wanted to scream at him. or cry. I really love to eat and I was determined to have a good day, enjoying food that I had never tried before. I was tired of not knowing what to eat and feeling awkward every time I ordered. Did he not want me to learn something? Did the waiter really want me to stick to chicken and rice? I eventually did get my banku (the best I have had here) and the waiter taught me how to eat it with my hands and wash them before and after eating. banku is similar to fufu but made with different crushed grains.... again, wikipedia it bc i'm really bad)

The payoff of every one of my awkward experiences with food is that I will not ever make the same mistake twice. I will remember that wakye is pronounced “wa-che,” that I do not have to yell when ordering food from Akuafo, and to always have exact change for the food in JQB (or better yet, never order ANY food from there bc they're really mean!). I will never forget how much fanmilk costs (and how wonderful yougurt that has been frozen tastes or vanilla ice cream with fresh pineapple), that I should stand while waiting for my food to come at Volta, and that “sauce” is usually called “stew” so as to not be confused with sausage. Luckily, you don’t even have to ask for it most of the time because it is just added. The Central Cafeteria to date has my favorite jollof rice, the name “red–red” is extremely broad (red beans in red oil with fried plantains and gari= AMAZING in volta, ok in other places), and fried plantains are more expensive but taste better than they look. Fortunately, I’ve only had two meals that I was not able to finish.

The other payoff of trying new foods in Ghana, is the reaction and resulting respect from Ghanaians who ask me about it. A conversation with a prospective friend often begins with the question if I’ve been enjoying Ghana. When I responded with an enthusiastic “Yes!” the next question is often if I have been trying all the food. After another enthusiastic “Yes!” I get the classic list of fufu, banku, kenke (also eaten with your hands, a corn/maize base, not fermented, my favorite of the three), jollof, wakye, red –red, (and recently cerelac - a baby food that everyone eats but denies how much they love it) contumere (wow dunno about that spelling), the question of how I found each one, and if i've learned to cook any. While the conversation is getting a bit old, I love the welcome that I receive just for enjoying my food! I was extremely disappointed when a volleyball teammate of mine listed several foods that I still have not taken, not to mention the fact that I feel stupid and culturally behind every single time I talk to that girl, but that is a different story!

Although I have had different foods in the different regions of Ghana that I have visited, I could have gotten the basic staples of Ghanaian diet in any of the places. However, each chop bar (food stand) can be very different and offer some food that is distinctive. While in Kumasi, we were still on our Tasty Treats diet, but on a trip to Wli Falls, I had some of the best pasta of my life (which took the maker over three hours to cook). A first glance at the street by our hotel in Cape Coast made us search for somewhere else, but over the few days I tried several interesting foods! I was introduced to an amazing rice porridge that looked scarily like a substance that I cant stand, and also to a lady who sold what I thought was red-red, but the only difference was a lack of red oil. I was disappointed that I did not get to try the frozen kenke that I heard rave reviews about, but instead accidentally got a really good chocolatey substance that was probably the cold version of my favorite hot drink, Milo.

In Cape Coast, while some in our group were enjoying some European-style dishes that they had not otherwise been able to obtain since coming to Ghana, I enjoyed finding hidden places to eat, often having to open a pot myself to see and understand what was inside. Similarly, I once told Kenneth that I did not care where we went to eat, assuming that he would find the most hygienic place possible. We ended up stopping for some really good food that even I raised my eyebrows as we watched her wash our plates. After we had eaten some of it, he commented, “this is the most sketch place I’ve ever eaten at!...And you get to share it with me, Anita!” I know that I might have been a bit more careful about my food then as well as at other times, but when in doubt, I always follow the best advice I have received: if the food is supposed to be hot, then make sure it is hot; if it is cold, it might not have been cooked well enough or more likely its been sitting around collecting bacteria and flies. and no, i havent been sick yet (KNOCK ON WOOD!!!!) but everyone i know has been to the hospital either themselves or taking their friend (myself included), but that again is another story, and everyone has recovered, thanks.

I was also told before I arrived that if you are invited to eat someone’s food, it is impolite to say no. This was only the tip of the iceberg of my confusion on how to invite and handle the invitation to food. As much as I try to always be polite, I’m still unsure as to when exactly to invite someone. The boundary line of who to invite is incredibly blurry to me.

Once, a friend of mine bought some chocolate from a corner store, and while the clerk was getting what I wanted, she offered me some of her chocolate, so I ate some. When I turned around to leave, the man behind me asked irritably why he had not been invited to eat it. I felt so sorry that I had forgotten to invite him that I tried to buy my own and share it with him, but the bigger problem was that I was even more confused about the situation than usual. Why he was mad at me instead of my friend, who had since left? It was not my chocolate to offer, but was I supposed to offer everything I ever put in my mouth? But I also realized from this experience that I need to be very aware of my surroundings at all times. I have inadvertently offended SO many people!

In an even more confusing adventure, I was walking between blocks in Volta Hall, carrying my freshly made cup of Milo, when I passed a girl - as she passed, she asked if she was invited. With a start, I realized that I was making a HUGE social mistake, so I quickly replied with my best, “Of course, I’m so sorry!” She wheeled around obviously as startled, and asked if I was being serious. Although my confusion was mounting, I again said “of course” and offered to hand it to her. She mumbled something about getting a spoon, walked quickly away as I stood with a smile on my face. But again, she stopped at the doorway and said “I am really invited?” Again I assured her that I really did mean what I said and that she was invited. She gave me another really confused look and said “Oh, I didn’t think you actually meant it, I didn’t think you actually were going to share, but I have to go! Goodbye!” Although I still have not figured out the entirety of that experience, I now know to invite food to people I am walking past, no matter what. Maybe this is why you are not supposed to walk and eat at the same time – you would have to stop and tell every person that they are invited!

I have now learned more about invitations to food. After trying a few times to ask the personally more comfortable question of “would you like some?” I realized that there was a big difference between this question and the formal “you are invited.” On the few occasions that I have gotten the timing correct, I was confused at the response of “thank you” (which to me implies that you will take some). However, I realized that they are thanking me for the offer, and that because the whole ordeal is generally just a formality, the no in my response of "no thank you" is completely unnecessary.

It does still feel really good to be invited to food. Everyone does it, but it still makes me feel so welcome. Even people like the ladies who clean Volta Hall, a lady who was selling me food outside the Legon annex and a young child who had just received the free food that I was handing out, offer me their food. As much as I still get scared about being polite with my food every time I eat, I love the welcome, to not only the food but also the country and its culture, that I feel each time I am around someone else’s food.

Probably my best friend here, Elizabeth, has Ghanaian roommates. At first, every time I visited her, someone in her room was cooking. However, since the very first visit, I have been intrigued by both the style in which they cook and also the social aspect of sharing food. As I previously mentioned, I have been adventurous about trying food, but I had never watched it being prepared, except for pounding the fufu and cutting of a mango. The girls never seemed to put in more than one ingredient in at a time, and seemed to spend the majority of their time waiting to put something else into it or stir it. They never seem concerned about the food sticking, going over, or being otherwise ruined, and can go about their night seemingly without thinking about it. However, by dinner time, a delicious meal is ready!

Sharing food has always been a favorite pastime of mine (DUH). The only way that I have found to make eating food an even more enjoyable experience has been to share it with someone. Ghanaians seem to be professionals at this. I love seeing a boy walk through a dinning hall toward a large, rowdy group of boys carrying a large bowl piled high with food to share together. I was even more excited to share my own first large plate of food with Ghanaians. About seven of us had been conversing about their love for American boys at my friend’s dorm, when I realized that the food that someone had prepared was finally ready, and they were all gathering to eat it. I assumed my most unassuming position on the bed, not expecting to be included in the food. A sharp, “Anita, why aren’t you eating with us? Get over here and eat!” brought me to my senses. They were just as excited about sharing food together as I was!

When I commented about my inability to cook in Ghana, they were all shocked and amazed, but I assured them that I desperately wanted to learn, and asked for their help in teaching me. In fact, I have been asking every Ghanaian girl that I become friends with to teach me how to cook! I finally got the opportunity, and now I can make Ghanaian stew! It was so fun to prepare, and I've made it a ton! I've also taught a bunch of my friends, and we have stew nights quite often- YAY fun times! As the Ghanaians told me before, its actually a very simple process, so I think it will be fine. I have also learned how to make groundnut (peanut) soup, but i've only helped to make it, and havent done it on my own at all! that'll take a decent amount more work! My next endeavor is to turn my stew-making skills into jollof rice, and also to make contumere and emotuo (rice balls!)!!!!!

thanks to those of you who survived this saga, i dont feel like i wrote it for nothing anymore....!