The New Normal

There are many things that I have had to adjust to , or rather become accustomed to, since I have been here. Most are just small little things, but in a way they have all become such normal parts of my life here. And I think I would like to share some of them to give an idea of what it is like to live in Ghana. Some will seem irrelevant, and some perhaps negative, but I feel negative towards none of them. They are quirky little things that just heighten my experience in Ghana. I hope some will raise further discussions or questions later. This post is sort of a bullet list of ideas that I would love to expand on later if anyone ever has any questions. So Here is goes:

• Pidgin: I have been exposed to two types. Ghanaian and Nigerian. Ghanaian pidgin is a combination of Twi and broken English, while Nigerian pidgin is more of just a really broken form of English. I really like listening into it and seeing what I can pick up. "How far?" is Nigerian pidgin for "What's up" or "How's it going." And to say I'm coming in Ghanaian pidgin its "I dey come." You can also say "I dey hung" for I'm hungry, or "I dey mad" is your crazy. The guys use it on the sidelines and on the field during football matches so that's when I get the most exposure to it. Mostly it is like a guessing game trying to understand, and I typically only get about 40% of what is going on.


• Goats, chickens, dogs, and sometimes cats just hanging out in the streets is a pretty typical sight. Anywhere from campus to the market you see animals roaming around doing their own thing. Dogs and defintiley not cats, are not typically house pets.Groundnut paste instead of peanutbutter is something I had to get used to. It has a basically similar taste, its just a different type of nut, and its always natural. I actually quite like it.


• Alot of the sore food, like biscuits and soy milk, and candy, and many other things are produced in the Middle East and so he majority of the wrting on the packets are in Arabic.


• No coffee. They have instant coffee that you mix in with boiled water, and if you want cream you usually have to use powdered milk. I already plan on getting the largest cup of coffee I can find when I arrive in the airport.


• Open gutters. Mostly all of Ghana has a system of open gutters, or sewers, in the streets. Sometimes they are filled with raunchy lokking/smelling excriments but sometimes they just collect rain water, garbage, and leaves. On campus they are generlaly clean, but around certain parts of Accra you can smell them from the windows of your trotro as you drive by. Around the markets people dump old buckets of water and other waste in them so they are usually filled. Those are the more crowded areas.


• There is a special handshake that is done when you greet someone here. Its sort of a grab of the hand and the a slide down into a finger snap. Its done pretty subtly though. I was pretty terrible at it at first but now its pretty standard procedure to me.


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  Trotros and taxis are the most common modes of transportation. Trotros cost anywhere form 30 to 80 peswas unless you are traveling a longdistance in which case you catch one fom the main trotro station in a number of locations and pay between 2 to 9 cedi. Taxis pay by the distance, notby time or per person, so that is pretty good, but they can still be pricy when you use them all the time, so I prefer to take trotro. There is also a sahred taxi system that is you are luck enough to get one its onle 50 peswas to one cedi per person. But they are not as common around Accra.


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  Water supplies in ISH are pretty good despite there being no hot water (although in this hot water it is never too much of a problem), but there are occasinal spurts where we loose water and can't shower or flush toilet or wash dishes. We had one span of time for just under a week where water was completely. The only way to do anything was to get water from the polytanks of water on the ground floor that you have to put in a bucket and carry to where you need it. So for that week showering was not very easy and the toilets just sat, so needless to say things got sort of dirty that week, but in general its no more than a day or so that it goes out for.


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  We also have ot occasinally deal with electricity going out, but the only real problem with that is you loose the fan which is our only relief form the heat of our rooms sometimes. And my handy head lamp sure comes in handy when the power goes out at night :)


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  Bargaining. Now I am not a pushy person, so adjusting to the system of bartering in the markets made me a little uncomfortable at first, but once I worked through it I grew to actually like it. In fact I welcome the interaction. It creates a personal relation between the buyer in seller, and alhtough it may appear to be a negative one, almost always I have walked away laughing or smiling. I have learned how to handle unwanted attention from hawkers and how to get the price I want. I feel accomplished afterwards.


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  Laundry is done by hand. You can pay to have someone do it over at ISH 2 but I have held strong and continue to do all my laundry by hand. I'm not great at is which means some clothes are not going to be brought home after their wear and tear, but I get the job done.


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  Traffic. There is no other itme I realize I am living in a city than when I am sitting in two hours of traffic. Not only that but there are virtually no traffic laws. Cars rarely ever use turn signals or stay in their lanes properly. Its much like partaking in a virtual video game of car racing at times. Speed limits don't really exist exccept is certain localized areas. Cars often drive up the soulder of a road to cut a line of cars and honking is practically expected. Drivers (Drivahs) here use their horns to let people crossing the road ahead know they are speeing up close to them or to let a car know they are about to speed up and cut them off, or for other such curteous reasons. It seems unsafe, but I actually rarely notice accidents and there seems to be some sort of order behind all te chaos.


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  Most places do not accept large bills. Even a 5 cedi not is hard to break someitmes, especially early in the mornings. Having anything larger than that can be tricky. You can't buy anything because they will straight up tell you they don't have change and then you are out of luck.


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  Customer service here is very bad. Not to say that the people are bad or the facilities, but it is not valued like it is in the U.S. The theory of "the customer is always right" defintiely is not apllied in Ghana. Sometimes you feel like you are doing somehting wrong or making the person angry, but more often than not its just their attitude for being at work. They do not vaule forced friendliness. However, if you met the person on the streets chances are they will be the friendliest person. Perhaps they got it right? We should be more friendly to people on a daily basis, and perhaps we should not force friendliness so much in business institutions? Sometimes when I go into the store in ISH I barely get a motion of recognition from the women who works there, but if I were to ask someone on the street where I can get a trotro to somewhere they would take me by the hand and lead me there even if they do not know themselves. Another quick example of 'customer service' in Ghana is when my friend Katherine and I were ordering food at a restaurant in Kokrobite and the waiter, very nice, came over and the first thing he says to us is "let me start with what we don't have." Later that same day we ordered lunch and the waiter told us we could order so long as it was something quick. It wasn't mean in any way, it was just blunt and honest. What else can you ask for I guess?


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  AZONTO!! This is a type of dance that is common to see anywhere from the streets to the clubs. It is ver individual to each person and usually you can communicate some sort of story of message through a series of hand movements and facial expressions. Its really fun and I prefer it to much of the club style dancing you find at home. I advise everyone to youtube it. Azono by Fuse ODG feat. Tiffany is a good video if you want to get a good idea of how it is done.

I think I have described quite a few things, but there are many more I could talk about. I might put together another blog at a different time about some more interesting things I have come to call normal here in Ghana. But for now I shall leave it at that!

Peace.

Katie

JISH Football

A few weeks ago I was getting restless from not being active so I decided to make a change. Through a number of happenstance opportunities I got in touch with the captain of the girl's inter-hall football (soccer) team for JISH (Jubilee/ International Student Hostel), Marge. Marge is an American. She goes to school out in California. She told me that there was training the next morning at 6:30 in the morning and if I was interested I could go with them.

And so I went. After not exercising seriously for two months I showed up at training 6:30 on a Friday morning and scrimmaged with the guys. The girls' team is too small to hold real practices on our own so the guys, who have much larger numbers, let us train with them. My first day was definitely challenging since the sun rises early and holds back no heat from the start. By the time we finished at around 8:00 the sun was blazing hot and intense. Despite being really tired and out of breath by the end I thought I did relatively well, although by no means did I shine.

So after only one training (the other girls had already been training for a few weeks) we had our first game that following Monday. Monday morning I had to go to the market and get my equipment since I obviously didn't bring any with me. So I set off to Mekola Market with Katherine, Bobby, and Wilder. This was my first trip to this particular market. The market was chaotic. The streets were packed with bodies and sellers and people grabbing your arms, Obroni and Ghanaian alike. But I actually really enjoyed myself. It was like a big scavenger hunt. The market is all outdoors and there is no clear organization to it. I had a mini panic attack at first trying to determine how in the world I would find what I needed, but once you start asking around people are willing to point you in the direction. Being that there is no real stores or identifying places to give directions, there was a lot of "go across the street and down that way and ask for Auntie so and so. Someone will know where she is." Or "go that way" with a general finger point in a direction. Eventually I found everything I needed for reasonable prices and I even had some good chances to practice my Twi again.So in the end I got my football boots, as they call them, and shin guards, and socks.

The games are supposed to start at 4:30 which means they don't actually start until 5:00 or later, but this was better because by this time the sun has gone down some and the heat is bearable to the point that I almost didn't even notice it. Our team barely came together with enough players, but our first game went well. We won with no goals scored. I started as a defensive midfielder and I actually didn't do half bad. The sports directory provided us with uniforms so we looked legitimate, and some of the guys took it upon themselves to coach us, giving us a pregame pep talk and bringing us water and cheering us on the whole way. Some of the guys who coached us were Kenya, TG, Frank, Milo and Philip.
After we won they were so excited that there was a procession of cars back to ISH (as we walked back and they drove) with windows down, music blaring, horns blowing, and people hanging out windows screaming. The porters from the hostels congratulated us and all of ISH and Jubilee heard about our victory. It was actually quite unexpected. It felt good to have such support and be a part of a team sport again.

Each game to follow went the same way. We ended up being undefeated with no goals scored against us. We usually had some sort of reception when we returned and we always had words of encouragement form the guys after the game. They even bought us sodas after the game. After our last game a dance circle broke out in celebration. Winning the competition was a big deal for one thing because football is a big deal here. Most people follow at least one team, mostly its Chelsea versus Manchester United. But also, this is the first year that ISH and Jubilee are competing in the Inter-Hall Athletics because previously they were hostels, not halls, so this is the first year they are a hall of residence at the university.

Since the guys all supported us we in turn supported the guys in their games. Unfortunately they did not do as well, but they have much better competition than we had, not to mention they only just put their team together this year where as some of the other guys' teams have been playing together for years. But their skill level is way above any of the girls' teams.

If you feel like checking out some of the articles written about our team the links are below:

http://ug-sportsdirectorate.blogspot.com/2011/10/best-newcomers.html

http://ug-sportsdirectorate.blogspot.com/2011/10/no-more-showers-let-goals-rain.html

Even thought the team is done playing we still occasionally train and I love seeing all the girls from the team! This was definitely one of my most memorable experiences here!

Kumasi

Quite some time ago now I traveled to Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region. It is about five hours north of Accra, not quite at the center of the country. The trip was part of my program through ISEP so we had an organized bus to get us there and accommodations already set up. We stayed two nights in the Engineering Guest House at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Friday we left early in the morning. When we arrived later in the afternoon we saw the Asantehene's (King's) Palace, although only in passing, and visited the Manhiya Palace which is now a museum. The Manhiya Palace was a beautiful home to many past Asantehene, or chiefs, of the Akan people. It was originally built by the British but because the Ashanti kingdom did not want to have any obligations to the British they insisted on buying it from them instead of accepting it as a gift (there was also some guilt involved over a case of the British demanding the sacred golden stool which the Asantehene sits on, thought to have been put on earth by the gods themselves, and a fake one being handed to the British unbeknownst to them).
After the tour of the museum we loaded back onto the bus and were taken to the Kumasi National Cultural Center which was a beautiful park-like area that sat on a hill above the central market. It consisted of different artist workshops and a few small places to eat. We spent only an hour there, but returned on Saturday where we had more time to shop around.
The rest of the night was spent at the Guest House where we caught up with our student leaders and advisers for ISEP and other ISEP members that we don't see on a regular basis. It was like a big family reunion!
Saturday was by far my favorite day. It was filled with so many wonderful participatory things that really just put me in the heart of the culture. After a lovely family breakfast of eggs, toast, and coffee (although there is no such thing as 'real' coffee here; unless you want to spend 5-8 cedi on a tiny little cup in a highly westernized institution which is by no means what I came here to do, so in the mean time I use Nescafe packets of 'coffee' which is more like coffee-flavored water), we headed to our first destination of Bonwire Village, a small village known for their production of Kente weaving. Kente cloth is a long strip of interwoven fabric, usually silk or cotton, that displays typically geometric shapes, but the shapes or symbols are meant to communicate meaningful messages to the observer. It is traditionally worn by important people of the Asnatehene's court and by the Asantehene himself. In more contemporary times, however, it is more acceptable to see kente patterns worn by anyone, but it still holds an important place in festivals held by the Akan. The colors are bold and colorful and each also has its own meaning.
The Kente itself is woven on looms. We observed men working on the looms in Bonwire, and some of us even got to try it out. Frank, one of the men weaving, taught me how to work the loom! It was actually a lot easier than I expected, although I was going at snail speed compared to him, not to mention I was doing a solid pattern where as typically there are so many different colors going and at so many different angles. I did it for some time and I was told I was a natural (this of course is probably told to any Obroni who trys).
The Kente really is a beautiful artwork and I bought myself a piece made by Frank that I plan to wear at graduation. I bargained hard for it and I was told I got a very fair price for it! There are two geometric figures repeated on it and I was told that one means "No two hands are equal" and the other means "One drop makes a mighty ocean."
Our next stop was to the village of Ntonso where Adinkra symbols are stamped on cloth. Adinkra symbols are used by the Akan in Ghana. They are typically used on cloth worn by chiefs or other people of importance during important festivals and ceremonies, such as the Kente cloth is used. Funerals are one of the most typical ones where you see men and women wearing red and black outfits with these symbols imprinted on the cloth. The symbols themselves each have a meaning attached to them, or rather a proverb. Some symbols communicate the same message, but they are always meant to tell something about the person wearing it and the reason they wear it. The Adinkra symbols are seen all around Ghana, from architecture (its common to see the symbols in railings or on on the side of buildings), to clothing or as decorative art on drums and such.
In Ntonso we were given a demonstration of how the dye used to stamp cloth is made and then we were given the chance to stamp our own cloth with the symbols of our choice. These villages that we went to are not 'set-up' villages like you might see at Williamsburg or other time period sights we are used to in America. These are actual villages where the every day hustle and bustle of life was going on. In fact, had we not been brought there by our group I may have never suspected these little places existed. So when we arrived at the place in Ntonso we walked through to a courtyard where houses were being occupied by local families. There was even a little cement building where someone was showering and women pounding fufu. We learned about how the bark from a particular tree is stripped and then soaked in water before being pounded and dried and later boiled to create the dyes. We all had the chance to pound the damp bark to extract the moisture and separate the dye. To be honest, I missed half the demonstration because I was interested in something else.
As I mentioned there were two women pounding fufu as we entered the compound. I had only had fufu once at this point but i knew that the process of making it was a physically taxing one. I told Susan, our director, that I wanted to try pounding fufu and she laughed at the fact that anyone would actually want to try it, but she said she would ask the women if it was alright. Now, fufu is a typical Ghanaian dish that consists of a plantain or yam mash mixed in with water and pounded into a large mass of dough-like consistency. It is served in ground-nut soup or light soup along with some sort of meat. It is eaten with the hands, pinching off parts of the fufu from the bottom of the soup. So Susan asked the women if it would be ok if I, Jenna, and Zuhra tried our skill at pounding fufu and the women graciously agreed, slightly amused at our curiosity. Pounding fufu involves lifting a large wooden staff with a rounded end and pounding down in the center of the fufu with as much force as you can. The tricky part is not catching your partner's hands in it as she turns the dough over with each pound making sure it is properly mashed through. The staff, or rod, was heavy, solid wood so it was hard to get a really powerful downward thrust, but it was fun to try. The women turning the fufu over while I pounded spoke to Susan in Twi and Susan told me that she had said I was doing well. Also just a quick fun note: I have seen some t-shirts on campus that say "Make fufu, not war" which, if you know the physical process that goes into fufu as you now do, it is pretty funny. Take your anger out on the fufu, not on other people is what it is saying.

After Ntonso we went to a wood carving village where we were given an hour or so to shop around in all these little shops. When we first stepped off the bus it was overwhelming because all the sellers were really aggressive, but at this time we were all a little more capable of handling ourselves in these situations, sort of politely brushing them off and ignoring their grabs as they try to take you to their shop. But once we broke off into smaller groups and started wandering around from shop to shop people were less aggressive and I actually had fun. I got to practice some of my Twi for bargaining. This is always fun. When someone sees you trying to use Twi they almost always smile and laugh, but its makes for a good interaction. And I'm pretty sure it helped me get prices down a lot. From my experiences with sellers I find that they always appreciate a good conversation and a little joking around. Jenna and I spent some time on the side of the road just playing on some drums with two sellers, and they tried to teach us some. Its safe to say that Africa has not brought out my sense of rhythm anymore that home does. So after a long day we made our last stop back at the Cultural Center. I got a Ghanaian dish of ampesi for lunch, It is boiled yams that you break with your hands and dip into palava sauce, a sort of spinach -like sauce. They provide bowls of water because you use your hands to eat it all. I love eating with my hands! Cutlery is so impersonal to the food that sustains us (ok perhaps I'm being a little extreme, haha).

The entire weekend was just a blissful experience of Ghanaian culture combined with amazing people. It reinforced just how amazing all the people in ISEP are. Our directors, Susan and Theresa, are beautiful people who take care of us every step of the way. Our student guides, Shadrach and Awushi, are like older siblings watching out for us and always there for a good laugh (even if its at my own expense). And all the students from all over the States, each with their own story, are such inspirations. I have said it before and i will say it again, I am blessed beyond belief to be in this beautiful country. It is thought that Ghana created the heart of Pangaea when it was one land mass, so is it too far to think that I am in the heart of the world right now?

Peace.

Katie