This post may not be too clearly organized, but I'm going to try. The following blurbs are random things I've been experiencing/learning here in Ghana that I want to share with you. Here goes!
- Names. From what I've observed, the names of children here can be grouped into 3 categories. There's the old British influence category with names like Henrietta, Agatha, and Henry. There are legitimate Bible names like Emmanuel, Ebeneezer, and Deborah. And then there are pop culture/made-up names like Queensabella, Prince, and Giovanni Armani. And all of these names belong to little children! My favorite is the naming of twins....2 students came here the other day named Angela and Angelina. I also know of twins named Deborah 1 and Deborah 2. I kid you not. I love it...so practical.
- There is a gecko living in my room. I wouldn't mind, but I don't particularly care for the presents he leaves me. They're just not my style. I've named him "Giovanni Armani."
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| Thankfully, Giovanni isn't HALF the size of this guy! This one is named George. |
- Yesterday, a wedding party came to the Training Centre asking if they could take their wedding photos in the building. As I was walking by, the groom motioned for me to come over. I knew what was going to happen, so I tried to pretend I didn't understand and walk away, but he came right over to me and pulled me into the photo with he and his bride! To make it worse, he put me in between them! Talk about awkward. I wish I could have gotten a photo to show how uncomfortable I must have looked!
- We went to a little beach outlet called PramBeach. There are little grass roofed huts set up near the ocean so that you can sit in the breeze. It was really nice, we watched some of the fishing boats go out to spend the night at sea. I also took a walk along the beach. Sadly, it was covered in trash. You can even see the trash washing in with the waves. But it was still a nice walk and the breeze feels great! It's hard to believe that when I was a kid and would go to the beach, I would look across and try to see the continent of Africa. Now, here I am on the other side! I tried to see America......but had no luck.
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| He had to have been very strong, those waves were really working against him! |
- The dogs here, Mert and Millie, are finally warming up to me. I'd like to say it's because of some great personality characteristic I possess, some amazing dog whisperer confidence I carry that's won them over. But it's much simpler......I bring them food. And that's really the only reason. Hopefully we don't run out of food or I'm in trouble!
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| Millie working hard |
- The mosquitoes here are killer! As soon as you step outside, they are trying to eat you alive. I keep forgetting to wear bug spray. It feels kind of strange knowing that the mosquitoes here could potentially be carrying something like Malaria!
- Today, I ate fresh fish. It wasn't a fillet like I was used to, instead I had to take it off the bone. It was a really neat experience - the fish tasted delicious and I couldn't believe how little the bones were! They looked like nylon guitar strings. I can't wait to try it again!
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| Finished! |
- The other day, we were on our way to Tema when we were stopped by the police. Being stopped by the police here is a totally different experience than in the states. If you do something in traffic, they will come up to the car and jump in with you! Then, if you decide to argue and tell them they're wrong, they'll have you take them back to the place where the offense occurred. Sadly, there's a lot of corruption within the police force here, so many times they stop you if they think you might have some money to give them. So, after accusing you of something you most likely didn't do, in order to get out of it, they say, "So what can you do for me?" And then it's up to you to pay them off, or go to the police station and pay them off...it's a 50/50. Sometimes you can get out of it, like this last time we were stopped. The young man came up to the window and was looking in the car for something. Ambrose said, "Do you live in upper or lower Prampram?" Just the mention of the difference between the two made him loosen up a little...learning that Ambrose and Sue live here in Prampram was the clincher. He let us go, thankfully. Ambrose and Sue are so wise - they don't like to pay the bribe because that only enforces it, so they get creative - last year, they gave out little Bibles. This year, we have some LED flashlights to give the officers. At first, I didn't really understand why they always pray before driving, but between the police force and the traffic, I now understand!
Well, all of this was thrown together without any real rhyme or reason. I hope some of this is giving you a glimpse of my life here in Prampram, it's really been an interesting experience so far. I'm loving every moment of it.
Have a wonderful day to all back home, stay warm!
