Most recent lesson learned: If you think you are spelling something correctly over here, you aren't!  For example, how would you pronounce "twi?"  Go ahead, say it to yourself.  If there was a "w" in your pronunciation, that's wrong!  It's pronounced "tree."  Another example is "dangme."  Instead of "dang me," it's pronounced, "dang be."  So, this leads me to the correction of a word I used and spelled wrong.  The dear little goat in my previous post was named Quatson - instead, it's actually spelled Kwatson.  That makes a little more sense than twi, but I just assumed it was with a Q.  I guess it's kind of like our language with words like "lamb."  And speaking of goats and lambs, poor little Kwatson escaped Boxing Day but won't be so lucky for New Years.  Such is life for a little goat.  At least he was given a name and some good food for a few days of his life.

The inspiration for his name

On a side note, they pronounced "digital" as "dig-it-all.".  It always takes me a few seconds to realize what they're saying.
Well, things here have been going well - we are busy preparing lesson plans for the upcoming semester, getting closets and file folders organized and cleaned in the office/library/and other rooms, preparing the guest rooms, etc.  Amidst the business, though, I am so thankful for the time I've had to spend with God.  I never realized how vital taking the time out of my day to spend in the word and in prayer is to my life - although I was told many times and did read and pray, I never fully realized why it's so important.  And it's really so simple - make the time, take it, ask God to speak to you through His word and He will!  I think I always thought it had to be a big heavy thing, but really, all God wants is for us to make ourselves available to hear what He wants to say.  God is so good, everyday I'm continually reminded of His greatness and mercy in my life and I never want to forget it.


A few days ago, we went to Tema and Accra to make a few stops.  We ate in a KFC, believe it or not, and it was really very new.  Although the price that was listed wasn't the price we were rung up for...not sure what happened there.  But it's really amazing to see the mixture of progress versus traditional culture.  Here we sit in a posh little area eating Chicken and Fries and right outside people are selling dried fish and goats on the side of the road.  Ghana is rapidly progressing but it's interesting to see the changes as well as the things that haven't changed.

VS

 

We also visited the Cultural Center....what an experience!  It's a market with all kinds of African crafts - paintings, cloth, jewelry, wood carvings, instruments, batik, sandals, etc.  It's arranged into about 8 long rows filled with vendors, but here's the kick - they're all selling pretty much the SAME thing!  As soon as you walk in, the vendors approach you wanting you to come into their stand to look at their merchandise.  The stands are extremely small spaces but they're packed with as many things as they can fit.  They call you by saying, "Oh mama, come look - daughter, come with your mamma, come see come see, please I'm asking you to come daughter, no charge to look."  They are so sharp - if you take a second glance at something because it catches your eye, they're on it and are bringing it to you asking you for your price!  Then, as you're looking at one thing, 5 other vendors are bringing the same thing from their booth wanting you to buy theirs.  It's actually pretty overwhelming. 


I was looking at one man's paintings and I mentioned that I was looking for something with music, like drums.  I guess I used my hands to explain the pounding of drums, but somehow everyone got the impression that I wanted paintings of women pounding fufu.  So, as I walked down the aisle, they were holding up paintings of fufu pounders, telling me I should buy them. 


It's fun though, because you can bargain with them for a good price.  They tell you what they are asking for (the Abrunie price=the"white" price=3x higher than it should be) and you act dramatic and say, "ohhhhh no no no, I'll keep looking."  As you walk out of their stand, they grab you and say, "ok ok, you tell me what your price is."  So, you tell them - and THEY act dramatic and say, "ohhhhh mama, ohhhh daughter, no no no," and then suggest something higher than in the middle.  And it goes back and forth until you reach the price you are both willing to give.  It's kind of like a little game and it's pretty hilarious.  I was able to purchase a few things there, but not without much heckling.  Once again, I'm thankful I had the Brennans there to help me because I'm too much of a softie.
As we were driving, we saw a huge chicken stand on the side of the road.  As you can see in the photo below, there were chickens everywhere - and conveniently enough we saw as we continued driving that you can purchase your chicken, have it beheaded and plucked, and then cut up right there.  That was the first time I've seen a chicken being gutted - it was, to say the least.....foul.

We stopped at Max Mart to get some groceries, then went upstairs to the bakery to get something light to eat.  I tried hummus with olive oil and pita bread - it was delicious and didn't taste like the hummus I've had in the states.  I'll have to be sure to try my hummus with olive oil and pita when I get home.  Because there is such a large Lebanese influence here (they own half of the businesses), I've gotten to eat a lot of Lebanese food and I must say, I love it!

We left Max Mart and headed home, sitting in traffic for about an hour and a half before getting to the highway.  One thing about the traffic here is that you can almost always count on it to be insane.  At times, Madame and I will get out of the car and run to a stand on the side of the road or into a business down in OSU and by the time we are done shopping, the car has moved about 2 car spaces ahead.  It's really just an entirely different way of life over here that you just have to get used to and plan ahead as best as you can.  Sitting in traffic does give you some time to check out the scenery, so here are some everyday street shots for you to view.

Checking the news



Selling plantain chips between the cars

I guess I can't ride in this tro-tro unless I have an afro?



Selling sunglasses between the cars

Well, time to get another cup of coffee and start working on some things.  I'm thinking of everyone back home and have to admit, I've been getting kind of homesick but like I've said before, there's really nowhere else I'd rather be at this time in my life.  It helps me when I think of what an amazing opportunity I have to be there.  Enjoy your day!!