Chale Wote

Wow. It’s been over a month since the last update. But really, when you think about it, at this point my life has fallen into the basic routine that everyone follows everywhere—work-eat-sleep-repeat. So unless something breaks me out of that routine, or I have some sort of cultural run-in that makes me look like a fool, I don’t really have anything to write about. Right?

 Don’t get your hopes up though; I don’t look like a fool in this story…well…at least not any more than usual.

 As I get better acclimated with Accra, and all of its neighborhoods, I am starting to find the places that I really enjoy. For example, I love going to Nima, even though it’s very far from where I live, because the majority of the population is Hausa, which is great language practice. It also makes me feel like less of a failure because I really have not learned much of the popular languages in Ghana, like Twi or Ga. And, as an added bonus, if I go there for work, I can rub it in my colleagues faces that understand and they don’t (for once). Sounds spiteful, I know, but around the office they have started pretending to talk about me in Ga, just to get under my skin.

 But my favorite neighborhood, so far at least, is James Town. If Accra was a microcosm of the US, James Town would be NYC. There’s ALWAYS something fun going on. Whether it’s a festival, party, or just an ad hoc gathering, James Town is the neighborhood that never sleeps. It’s also one of the oldest neighborhoods in Accra, and it used to be the main harbor before Tema harbor was constructed, so there is a lot of history to it as well.

 

Let’s do history first!

 As far as the historical sites go, the lighthouse is probably the coolest. Built by the British during their colonial rule, you can go all the way to the top and get a great view of Accra. There are also two forts in the vicinity, James Fort and Ussher fort, but Ussher Fort is the only one that allows visitors. It also happens to be where Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President, was held captive. There’s been talk of Ussher fort being converted into a museum, but that has yet to happen.

Because James Town used to me the main harbor, there are some remnants of the slave trade as well. Most slaves from Ghana passed through Elmina, which is an island West of Accra, but some slaves were transported from the harbor in James Town. One of my friends has told me that there are underground tunnels connecting Ussher Fort with the harbor, used to transport slaves from the cells to the boats, but I have yet to see any of those. The harbor itself is still very active, not so much for shipping anymore, but for fisherman and crabbers! It’s pretty fun to walk down the breakwater and see all of the fisherman and their giant nets. The boats they use are these little pirogues… I have no idea how they don’t capsize out in the choppy ocean, but somehow they manage.

 

Now for the festival!

I think the pictures can pretty much speak for themselves, but the Chale Wote Street Art festival is a combination of visual art, fashion, music, and street performance—including some very impressive acrobatics and different types of dance. Needless to say, it was a lot of fun.

     

Looking forward to seeing everyone in July!! Bye for now.

Intermission

I promise to make a real post soon. But in the meantime, this video is awesome... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSElmEmEjb4

Mawage. Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday..

(Sorry if you're all tired of my weird movie references)

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending a wedding ceremony. I was invited by one of my coworkers, who is a member of the congregation of the church where the wedding was held, and also plays drums in the church band that played at the wedding. I didn’t know the couple personally, but just like at the funeral, it really doesn’t matter. That’s one thing I love about African culture—it’s always, “the more the merrier.”



Now, I’m sure there is a lot of variance in wedding ceremonies, but the wedding I went to happened to be Pentecost Revival. Maybe I’ll get to go to another wedding while I’m here so I can compare. As for this wedding, the decorations were themed as white and gold, with balloons and canopies, and flowers everywhere…it was quite beautiful. There was also a red carpet running down the aisle, making the bride feel like a celebrity, I’m sure.





The wedding ceremony started with the groom and best man walking in, and sitting underneath a canopy, set at the front of the church. Then, the traditional processional starts, with the flower girl (who was the CUTEST ever), maid of honor (who was the only bridesmaid) and then the bride and her father. The father walked the bride up to the canopy, and then sat her down next to the groom in the front, with the maid of honor sitting next to the best man behind them.





After the opening prayer, the four officiating ministers (yes, four!) were introduced, and each of them said small words of congratulations to the couple. Then, there was a hymn and offertory made to the couple. Now, when I think of hymn and offertory, I think of people passing around a bowl while something like, to god be the glory ringing in the background.



No, no, no. Hymn and offertory in this church was much more fun than that. Everyone got up, dancing and singing, and formed a circle around the couple seated at the front of the church. As you dance around the couple, there was a small box on the right side where people dropped in their offering. I have a great video of this, but because my internet modem is stupid, I can’t get it to upload. But everyone was so joyful and energetic; it was really a lot of fun to watch. Also, they call the choir the “praise team.” :D



Once everyone has made their offering, the ceremony continued with the couple taking their vows and exchanging rings, followed by another bout of dancing and singing. Note: I did not go stand in the front of the church and shove my camera in the couples’ face. My coworker took my camera and was taking pictures from the band’s vantage point. I’m not that obnoxious.



Next on the docket was the sermon, which admittedly is going to be a little difficult for me to write about in a neutral fashion. The sermon started out with the lead pastor reading out divorce statistics in Ghana from each year since 2003, most of which sat around 55%. He then made the claim that the reason divorce rates are so high is because women are not “submitting to their husbands,” as the bible teaches them to. He spent an entire half hour talking about how, and this is almost a direct quote, “even if the fault is on the man, the woman must submit and say I’m sorry. Even if it is the woman who makes all the money and puts food on the table, she must submit and say I’m sorry.”



Tangent time:

Now, I fully admit that I have a huge cultural bias. And I’m not going to talk much about this sermon, but I will say that I have never had to work so hard to keep my facial expression neutral. I will also say, that this sermon was well received by everyone else in the congregation. Women were even cheering after some of the things the pastor said, which I admit had me a bit confused. But you know, so many things are hard to understand on the outside looking in. For example, I would say most western women see traditional Muslim garb as a sign of repression, but many women in Middle Eastern countries prefer to wear burkas because they say it keeps men from ogling them in public, and it adds a level of intimacy with their husbands.

Because my job has me working only with men, I don’t really have a good perception of women in Ghana. As I am nosy and curious, I have talked with a lot of men about relationships, and most of them tell me that it is the woman’s job to do the cooking and the cleaning. I had one man even tell me that he married his wife just so he would have someone to cook for him. Another friend told me that if family sees that a wife is not taking care of the husband, like if the husband is seen cooking or something, the family can even step in and break up the marriage. On the flip-side, if a husband is seen going to the market, he is seen as being “cheap” or “stingy,” because when he gives his wife money for shopping, she can usually pocket what’s leftover. Of the few women I have talked to, some have told me that they like “taking care” of their husbands; because they give their wives money/gifts and make them feel protected.

This sermon, consequently, has also sparked numerous religious and gender equality debates between me and my coworkers, but that’s another story entirely.

In conclusion of this tangent, I do not understand a lot of things about relationships and marriage. But I do understand that social pressure is ENORMOUS. People are always in each other’s lives, usually in a good way. Also I need to make a greater effort to make female friends, I think.



Anyway, back to the marriage ceremony. After the sermon, another offertory was made, this time to the church, and was accompanied by just as much singing and dancing. Listed on the program, the hymn during the second offertory was supposed to be Oh! Perfect Love, which I thought was funny considering that that song is a wedding tradition in my family, but it wasn’t actually sung.


(How cute are they?!)

After the second offertory, the couple was presented with their marriage certificate; there was a closing prayer, and then the couple and wedding party recessed out (hmm is that the right term? It sounds awkward.) The couple then stood just outside of the church, so everyone could congratulate them on their way out, which was the completion of the ceremony part of the wedding. In between the ceremony and reception, the wedding party went to a garden across the street to take photos.



I did not stay for a lot of the reception, but the part I was there for was very similar to weddings I have been to in the US. There’s lot of drinks (nonalcoholic at this particular reception), and food. Music, dance, friends and family of the couple give toasts, the cake is cut, yadda yadda yadda.



Despite the sermon, it was a lovely wedding and I’m very glad I went. Some of my favorite experiences come from situations where I find myself with little understanding. Gender roles and religion are tough topics in every culture, and the more I observe in other places, the more I think about their implications in my own culture. Hell, just look at some of the things Rick Santorum says, and he’s made it this far in the run for President! But that’s a whole other can o’ worms, so I think I’ll stop here.

Happy Easter, or Passover, or weekend—which ever you choose to celebrate!

My Ghanaian Kitchen

Because food is such an important part of culture, I had been asking some of my friends to teach me how to make some local dishes. Now, if you remember from previous entries, the majority of Ghanaian food, like Kenkey, Banku, and Fufu, revolves around doughy-pastey balls (and please do not take that description out of context). But to make those dishes, it requires a lot of grinding up corn and cassava, pounding the paste, baking the dough…basically, it’s a lot of work. And for the most part, my idea of home cooking is throwing whatever I have into a skillet and mixing it with pasta. Ba-da-boom, dinner! In short, my friend and I decided to try a local dish that is a little more along my dump-stir repeat philosophy.


SO we made Jollof rice!


What’s Jollof rice? Glad you asked! Jollof rice is a spicy tomato-based rice dish, mixed with vegetables, and often times served with fried chicken or beef. I wanted to make it vegetarian, mostly because I’m afraid of raw meat, but after a series of small arguments, my friend refused (“meat, madam, meat!”), so in this instance, we made it with beef.


Here’s what you’ll need!



-5 tomatoes
-2 carrots
-2 yellow onions
-1 green pepper
-1 can tomato paste
-1 bag super-secret Ghanaian spice
-raw beef (grossssss)
-4 cups of rice
-salt
-cooking oil
-1 fire extinguisher (especially if I’m involved)
-2 packets of bullion
-water
-1 helpful Ghanaian who actually knows what’s going on


Step 1
Wash your hands. You're dirty.


Step 2
Cover the bottom of a large pan with cooking oil. Chop one of the onions and dump it into the pot to simmer.



Step 2
Have someone other than me cook the beef.



Step 3
Chop the tomatoes, and set them aside. Chop the green pepper and carrots. Cut the other onion into large rings.





Step 4
Add the full can of tomato paste into the pot. Saying “bam” whist you do so. I made my friend say “bam” every time he added something…even though I’m pretty sure he’s never seen Emeril…



Step 5
Add the freshly chopped tomatoes and allow to simmer for..oh, let’s say 5 mins. Clearly I know what I’m talking about.



Step 6
Add the green pepper, carrots, and onion rings.



Step 7
Add cooked beef, bullion, and rice and water in the appropriate ratio. I usually add to much water and end up with mushy rice :P



Step 8
Allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, adding super-secret spice to taste, until water is no more.




Step 9
Eat your yummy Jollof rice.



And last but not least…

Step 10
Make your helpful Ghanaian do the dishes…I mean…he offered…I'm not gonna say no :D




Now hopefully I will be able to make this on my own. If I can manage to sneak some spices through customs, I will be making this when I’m home in July.

Who wants to do the dishes for me??

Ghana Turns 55!

On March 6, 1957, Ghana became a free country; not only a free country, but the FIRST former colony to be freed in Africa. Fifty-five years. That’s really not a long time at all. When you learn about colonialism in school, it seems like something that happened so long ago. (It is history, after all.) So sometimes I forget how recent all of Ghana’s history really is.

Just for fun, let’s travel back in time for a second..er...paragraph, to when America was turning 55. This puts us at what, 1831? I’m a little sleepy for math. So 55 years after the US becomes independent from Britain (just like Ghana), we were a mere 24 states, predominantly a rural country, and Mr. Andrew Jackson was our President. Darwin began his voyage on board HMS Beagle. Nat Turner was captured, arrested, and hung for inciting bloody slave revolts. Oil lamps were the most popular form of lighting, as gas lamps were only available in cities. Corn husking and, quilting-bees were the height of entertainment, but of course sewing machines did not exist at this point. And the price of pantaloons went up ten-fold! (Ok that last one I made up...)

I’m not necessarily trying to make a point with any of this, but I think it adds an interesting perspective. This is what happens when I’m trying to blog whilst I’m really just too tired to do so.

Anyway, back to Ghana turning 55.



Like most independence celebrations, one of the main activities is a parade. Fortunately I have one co-worker who was willing to go with me. So, at seven in the morning, we trudged down to Independence Square for the annual parade. The parade itself doesn’t start until nine, but in order to get a seat, you’ve got to get there early.

First on the list of festivities is the processional is every branch of the armed forces imaginable marching through and lining up in the square, followed by groups of students from a select few Accra schools, all while the marching band plays in the background.



After everyone is lined up, a motorcade of vehicles brings in major political figures, like the former President, the Vice President, and finally, the President himself. After they are all seated in the front, the band plays some more, marches around, and does some fancy baton twirling. One of the conductors dropped his baton, causing the whole crowd to gasp.

Then everyone rises while national anthem is played. From there, the President gives his keynote address. I honestly don’t know what the President’s speech was about. He is very soft spoken to begin with, but, according to rumors, he also has throat cancer, which makes him even harder to understand. When the President finished his speech, he got into the back of an open vehicle and drove through the lines of people who paraded in, to end up in the front of the square, where he got down and lit the goblet of fire. (Clearly I don’t know what it’s actually called.) But it is supposed to represent the flame/spirit of Ghana’s independence.



After the President is safely back in his seat, the “special forces” march through, which are basically the front lines of the army and navy. Side note—the navy has a sense of humor. Its hard to tell in the pictures, but they have snorkel masks on their heads, and flippers attached to their backpacks. Once the special forces are lined up, all of the vehicles of the various armed forces drive through the square: tanks, bazooka-looking cars, fire engines..etc.



I asked my coworker why there’s so much focus on the military, and he said that Independence Day is a chance for Ghana to show the rest of the world that they are capable of handling their own affairs. He also pointed to a number of large ships just off the coast of the square, who were supposedly protecting Ghana from being bombed? :/ My coworker told me that recently, Ghana recognized Kosovo as an independent state, which made Serbia angry. But personally I think Serbia bombing Ghana is extremely unlikely. I need to start following Ghanaian newspapers…

Ok, time for a horse tangent, because I was dying of laughter at several points during the ceremony because the horses were ridiculous. There were three horses involved in the ceremony. One of them, who was stationed next to a line of soldiers, kept backing up into the line of people. This happened several times, before someone was commissioned to come hold the horse still. About mid-way through the ceremony, they switched that one horse out for another, who did stand quietly, but also refused to move forward with the soldiers where they started marching again. The poor same guy who had to hold the last horse had to come out and chase the new horse to make it move. It was hilarious! I had summer camp flashbacks. Ghana needs a new horse trainer.



But back to the ceremony. After the armored vehicles make their rounds, canons are fired from behind the Independence arch, located at the top of the square. The everyone who marched in, had to march back out again. Two things I found particularly interesting: 1.Despite all of the police, army, navy..etc, present and marching, there was not a single security checkpoint to get in. Even though the president was there. 2. More people cheered for the former President than they did for the current President.

Just to prove I was there :)



After the morning festivities, since it’s a national holiday and no one goes to work, most people go to the beach to relax. I went to the beach for a while, but I have some friends who are part of a theater group, and they were putting on a performance in honor of independence day, so I went to that in the evening. The show was called, “Nkrumah in Love,” Nkrumah being the first President of Ghana. (I think the title is a play-off of “Shakespeare in Love”, but I’ve never seen that movie so I have no idea if the entire show was a parallel.)

The play was a satirical representation of the life of Kwame Nkrumah, starting with his declaring Ghana a free country at the Accra Polo Grounds. Most of the humor comes from the fact that everyone seems to have a different opinion of Nkrumah, which was also true in real life. Was he a liberator? An intellectual? A pan-African leader? A socialist? The show continually contrasted Nkrumah with people from different stratas of society, like the British nationals, the educated “elite,” the common people, and the military. Everyone did a great job--It was a pretty funny show.



Ok, I think this post is getting to be too long, and I am sufficiently tired. Quarterly training starts tomorrow, so I really need to get some sleep!

Ketchup...? Catsup...? Catch-up...?

Are you here to solve my ketchup, catsup, catch-up problem?

(I think my brothers are the only ones who'll get that one...)

Alright. Hiatus over. Let’s see how quick I can run through the past month since arriving back in Ghana. This going to be a very short, fairly boring update. Get excited?

First things first, I ended up getting a promotion before coming back, which means I am now a full-time SALARIED employee…which is terrific. I’m a big girl now, see my big girl shoes. The promotion only added to my responsibilities, so in addition to doing the job I was doing before, I am now going to stakeholder meetings (scary!), doing a lot of networking, and trying to find new local partners in Ghana = I’m a busy little babushka. But that suits me just fine :)

I was very much expecting to find an ugly-bug ball (gotta crawl gotta crawl) in full swing when I arrived back at my apartment, but I only found a few doing the cucaracha when I got back. I DID however, have a lack of electricity (I got back around 11pm), which made unpacking quite an adventure. I also arrived back in Ghana was a mere 10hr head start on my company’s President! I was soooo nervous for his visit, but everything went fine. He was only here for three days, and we had such a jam-packed schedule, full of meetings with various people all over Accra, that I just plum didn’t have time to make a fool out of myself. Oh well, maybe next time.

Let’s see. What else what else. Oh! My computer died three days after the President left (one WEEK after getting back to Ghana!), which is partially why I have not been blogging recently. And I STILL don’t have my laptop back. I’ve been using a borrowed computer. Supposedly it will be fixed by next Thursday. But I’ve heard that before.

Another cool thing that happened…well, cool might only be applicable if you’re a nerd like me. Anyway, the government of Ghana put together an AIDS Expo, where all local organizations who are working on the AIDS epidemic could put together little displays of what they’ve been doing. It was a three day event, but on the last day, the Executive director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, came to the expo. After he had a chance to look at various booths, he held a meeting with a small group of organization representatives; I got to be one of them. Not only that, I got to meet him! He came right up to me after the meeting and asked about what I was doing in Ghana. SO cooool. I know I’m a geek, but hey, if the UN was a rock band, Michel Sidibe would be the drummer. Or at least the tambourine player…the UN is a large organization…

Other than that it’s just been mostly work work work.

And that brings us up to the present! Or as close to the present as I have time to go right now. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the matzo ball rolling this weekend. Happy Purim :)

P.S. I'm converting Capitals fans wherever I go! (Because everyone cares about ice hockey in Ghana...right)

A Day in the Life

It's time to for a special Christmas blogebration! Yayyyy!

A little background--my parents are always telling me that they like to visualize what I’m doing. And this doesn’t just apply to travelling. When I was in college my Dad would copy down my class schedule so he could visualize what class I was in at any given time. (Hey Dad..loooove you!) SO. To help them get a better sense of what my days here are like, I’ve compiled a series of short video clips taken at different points throughout my day!

I couldn't get the videos to upload directly to blogger, so I embedded links that will take you to the videos on youtube.

Disclaimer: Now before you watch these, I need to apologize for the awkward narration, and the random outbursts of song. I will not be offended if you watch these on mute...well…actually…I’ll never know the difference, will I? Do whatchoo gotta do.

ACTION:

Part 1-The Homestead

The first stop on our journey is a quick tour of my apartment, situated in a neighborhood called South Labadi. I’ve lived here for over a month now, but don’t judge me (mairo!) for its emptiness. I have made ZERO effort to decorate it, or make it homey. The reason for this is not entirely that I’m stingy and lazy, but because I am going to be moving in the next month or so to a different part of town. Well, I was actually supposed to move last week, but it’s been delayed, so who knows if I’ll actually move...maybe I should just suck it up and decorate, but I digress.

Back to the point. In Accra, you are supposed to pay rent for the entire amount of time you will be renting in full the day you move in (which I think is so so silly), but since I might be moving and don’t know how long I’m going to be here, they’re letting me pay monthly. The apartment is owned by the Aunt of one of my coworkers, so they have been especially tolerant of my noncommittal ways. Water and electricity are a little spotty, but all in all, it’s a decent place to live!

To watch part one CLICK HERE





Part 2-The Crossroads

The second video is taken on the main road that runs East-West up the coast of Accra, called Labadi Road. This is where I walk to pick up a tro-tro on the way to work, and where the tro-tro drops me off on the way home.

To watch part two CLICK HERE





Part 3-The Commute

Step three in my day takes place on the tro-tro to work! Now, not all tro-tros take the same route, so I usually have to wait a little for the one I need (which goes to Teshie-Nunguo, an area East of downtown Accra). Now this video is not the greatest quality, so sorry about that. It’s another example of me pretending I’m on the phone, while I’m actually taking a video.

To watch part three CLICK HERE





Part 4-The Junction

The fourth leg of this journey brings us to First Junction, which is the intersection in Teshie where I get off the tro-tro and switch to a flat-rate taxi that takes me to the office. It is a pretty commercial area—lots of little businesses, a huge filling station, and people selling things on the street. It’s also a major transit area where you can get a car/taxi to pretty much anywhere in Accra. There’s a great shot of my shoes in the beginning…I’m a fantastic cinematographer.

To watch part four CLICK HERE





Part 5-The Return

Fifth in this delightful journey, after fast forwarding through the work day, is taken from the tro-tro on the way home. The front seat of the tro-tro, which is the vantage point of this video, is coveted by most passengers because it provides a little extra room that is not afforded elsewhere in the tro-tro. A lot of time, as a white-girl, the tro-tro stewards, or mates as they’re called, like to have me sit in the front. This is nice in theory, but I also have visions of myself flying through the windshield, because as you can see in the video, the tro-tros stop and go pretty quickly..and there ain’t no seatbelts (yes, Nathan, I punch myself in the arm).

In this video, you can also here the mate yelling “Accra, Labadi,” which is telling people in the street where the tro-tro is heading. You can also see, when the tro-tro starts to stop, a couple of girls with containers of water on their heads approach the car. Whenever a car stops, especially outside of the city, it is bombarded with people selling things. These girls are way more passive than most.

To watch part five CLICK HERE





Part 6-The Bottleneck

This rather mundane video (of me...crossing the street…?) is just showing how ridiculous traffic can be in Accra. It’s taken at the stop where I get off the tro-tro from work.

To watch part six CLICK HERE





Part 7- The Hood

The seventh tier of our journey brings us back to my neighborhood, South La. You can see a bunch of little stores and things where I can get basics that I might need throughout the week. Larger grocery runs are made at the market. But the market is a whole different ballgame. Anyway, it’s a nice, fairly quiet neighborhood, right by the beach.

To watch part seven CLICK HERE





Part 8- Three Heel Clicks Later

The final leg of the trip was taken on the street where my apartment is located. The first shot you see is of a church, and I’m NOT going to go into detail about this church because that will turn into a ten page rant, but you can hear a guy start to yell at me in the background, trying to get me to come back and talk to him, which I have done before and regretted. The short version of this story is the people who run this church are convinced that it’s their mission to save my soul and bring me back to Jesus. (Yet after professing this, the dude asked me out…I’ll tell THAT whole story at a different time.)

To watch part eight CLICK HERE


And this is where our journey ends. Back at my apartment. Roll credits.