Day 34 (thursday) June 7th LIVE TO INSPIRE!

Back at the children's home...Maureen and Samira holding one of the little guys.

Really like this sign of solidarity...meant to catch the whole shot but like this one a lot!

One of the little guys that followed us around...he was having fun playing with rocks and a coke bottle.

This guy (his name escapes me) was so happy that I came back around.

 

Made sure I woke up at some point in the middle of the night so I could post to my facebook account on the one year anniversary of the blessing and passing of one of the most beautiful and inspirational people I have never met. Her father was online and I knew exactly what I was going to say...it was wonderful. I will surely hold my own moment of silence today in honor of Brynn. I laid back down for a couple of hours to a knock on my door, we were planning on going to the market early in the morning and Elom was packing the rest of her things so she could leave the house by 7 a.m. I began helping her and one of the bags I took sort of started to fall apart and the handles broke off in my hand and a hole ripped in the top, I guess that's what I get for helping. I made a little sandwich and waited for Maureen. 7 o'clock rolled around and I was wondering why she wasn't out and about and I asked Elom and she said that Maureen had left earlier but didn't say where she was going. This apparent miscommunication (although I can't make myself more clear) is frustrating because I was planning on accompanying her and just wanted to get out of the house, maybe she just needed her own time but I just wish she would tell that to me (see comment from previous posts about not wanting to disappoint anyone and risk doing so by non-effective communication). She came back a while later, said she knocked several times but I was awake around the same time to see Elom off so we must have just missed one another. It doesn't help that her knocks (in order of trying to be nice) are more like scratches. Now i'm just having the cerevita (hot cereal) and coffee and learning to take a back seat to myself and just reflecting on more important things. I was able to see Zoe today and it totally lifted my spirits. There were some comments about Brynn online today and an absolutely beautiful video that helped me reflect on the experience and brought with it a nice wave of emotion. It felt nice to reconnect with that side of me but was bittersweet at the same time. I made sure to tell those close to me that I loved them and then I laid my weary little head to rest for a bit. I collected myself and began preparing some food (not really, just making a sandwich to tide me over for a little while). Maureen was back and had been in the kitchen for a good portion of the rest of the afternoon preparing all sorts of food items for the week. I was watching Ghost Rider (super lame) because it was the only thing on tv that was either on the correct station or wasn't a commercial for something (daytime tv sucks already but it's maybe a little less than desirable here) and eating some bean stew and fried rice and then went back to my room. Maureen finished cleaning up (she didn't want my help, I asked). She rested for a bit (i'll admit that I am absolutely exhausted, mostly emotionally, and could very easily rest too) and then we set off for the children's home. Many of the kids were in their rooms when we got there but there were a handful of kids playing soccer and some younger ones roaming around so we just sat with Samira for a bit and played around with some of the kids and enjoyed being with them. It started getting dark and we still had to stop at ted junction to get a few things before we went home. We got home and Maureen started marking some papers and I had some food and laid down with my ipod playing The Sound and the Fury. Good night! Continually inspired and continually living to inspire! Although I think about her often, this day is especially dedicated to Brynn Barton (Brynnstrong!)

Day 33 (wednesday)

Just a little something I found...It's nice to drink something other than water and coffee every once in awhile.

 

Got up around 5:30 today and couldn't really lay back down comfortably. Coffee and oatmeal followed by some serious laying around. I got up and going and started writing up my observations. I really got into it a little bit later and put my headphones on and just zoned out and the writing just flowed, it was really pretty inspiring to relive the moments I had. I did a little bit of cleaning around the house while Maureen was gone and then laid down to rest for a short while because I was going to prepare to go back to the children's home. I got up and showered and was awaiting Maureen's return so we could depart but 2:30 rolled around (she was planning on coming back for me just before 2) and she hadn't returned so I decided that I would make a quick trip to the supermarket and just as I was leaving, she returned. She took some time telling me all about her day and that ultimately she was really tired but never could just say that she wasn't wanting to go to the children's home today (it's amazing how important it is for the people I've met here to not disappoint anyone...so much so that they will agree to something if they think it's what you want but in doing so they often neglect to communicate their dispositions effectively...I'm very grateful for sure!). I informed the housemates that I was going for a walk and that I would be heading to gates to the supermarket. I picked a few things up and a big bag of rice and walked home. I've been enjoying grilled corn so I stopped at one of the street vendors and got some to eat on the walk home. I passed by a school and stopped to watch some kids playing soccer in the field and then came home (soaking wet). The temperatures have been really nice for the past few days with the rains cooling it down but it is still very humid. I got back and made a few things to eat and had another cup of coffee and watched some tv with Elom (she is still around but is actually leaving tomorrow morning, bus ticket in hand) and chatted for a bit. Another slow day but by no means lacking of good energy. Maureen's cousin came around and was chatting with her for some time and then left. We spoke for a little while and I was watching tv (nothing on that I could understand (mostly terrible series shows in spanish with English dubbed in) before some the rice was done. We ate and were talking with Elom. I have come to find out that just a few nights ago that a woman was robbed just outside of our hostel and within the last couple of weeks people have been stealing laptops and one was taken at gunpoint (I still feel pretty safe but it's crazy that stuff like that is happening so close to home) so needless to say, I will continue spending money on credits to use the internet and will certainly not take my laptop out of the house.

Day 32 (tuesday)

Woke up once in the middle of the night, then back to sleep for a couple of hours and got out of bed around 6. I had some breakfast (I bought some hot cereal [referred to as porridge] that was similar to cream of wheat (it was corn based and cinnamon flavored) and it was quite tasty. After that maureen was doing a few chores and then informed me that she was meeting with her supervisor today and was going to present her work to him. She left a bit early to read and do some more work before the meeting. I spent time writing and relaxing and just realizing how much I love the life I have! I will write today and make sure my observations are documented and everything is taken care of. Listening to music has been an amazing saving grace (it is wise to bring a couple books or get a kindle/nook to help occupy the down times) and I'm rediscovering some good tunes, totally centering and reassuring. Today was another down day and I spent much of the day organizing some notes and listening to the recordings from last week. I made some lunch, fried some plantanes and warmed up some beans and rice later on. I spoke to mom for a bit (surprise, surprise, the internerd ran out of juice again!) and caught her up on life. I spoke (via text) to some friends and checked in with a few people. Turns out the adventures don't stop here, I guess I'm going to the Real Madrid vs Juventus match in vegas a week after I get home, that should be very exciting! I began to lay down later in the afternoon and just as I got comfortable, Maureen had come home and wanted to talk so we chatted for some time and tried to figure out what our weekend was going to look like. I also got Lisa's (the director from the Amoaful Technical Vocational School in Bekwai) number so I could maybe shadow her for a day on friday and also visit the infirmary as well. We were thinking of possibly going back to the children's home tomorrow so Maureen could visit Samira again. She went back to her room and I finished the rest of the cereal that I had from this morning (sooooo good!) and then walked up the road to get another box of water (I also learned, although they don't recycle per se, that people will buy empty water bottles and use them for storing and selling various liquids [oils etc] and so I shouldn't throw them away...would have been nice to know that before I threw a bunch away). I came home and watch France 24 (which is a news station) as I have finally learned how to work the tv system (it can be a bit more challenging than you might think) but a lot of the channels are switched (i.e. the sports channel will have the audio of sports but the picture of news and vice versa) but it was nice to be able to catch up on the world news and have it be in a language that was easier for me to understand. However, it has been unfortunate to learn of the plane crashes in Ghana and the bad one in Nigeria. Cookie came back today from her conference in Accra but that means that Elom will be leaving here tomorrow. Well now the night is cooling down and i'm going to write a little, or at least think about it, and then work my way underneath my mosquito net and into my bed.

Day 31 (monday)

Today I woke up feeling a bit out of sorts and I surely didn't get a quality sleep. Just before I went to bed, Maureen insisted on putting my sheets on the bed and putting a blanket underneath to make it more comfortable (she washed the sheets earlier and then I picked them off the line just before it started raining...then I began ironing what was on the line and it wore me out [I still have more clothes that need to be ironed] so I just finished with what was on the line...I'm so grateful and amazed that Maureen likes to do that stuff). I had some breakfast and Maureen informed me that she would be out for the day and possibly through the night so she prepared some food for lunch and went on her way. A short while later, Eugene stopped by to give me some audio files from Bekwai last week as well as some pictures from the soccer match and then quickly departed to head back to campus to do some work. All of this before 9 a.m. That was pretty much the end of any action. Maureen had to meet a friend and was going to be out until later in the evening. Eugene said he may call later but I wasn't counting on it. I laid around and kind of took it easy today, I took a shower and went to the supermarket at gates and got a loaf of bread and some soya milk (the only thing aside from water and coffee and that one coke I've had since I've been gone) and then walked home (I really like the walk home). I took it easy again and had some lunch and wrote a bit and checked in with some people. Maureen finally got home around 6 (I expected her to be gone throughout the night) and began her work. Eugene never called but I know he was busy and now it's just a matter of waiting until I go to sleep, pretty uneventful day but the walking around still has me feeling lucky and fortunate and I will continue to do so everyday! Maureen sprayed her room with bug repellant and its odor is quite overwhelming so she hung out in my room for awhile, marking papers and such. Afterwards we had some food (it was mostly me who ate, she had a piece of bread and some tea) and then she went back to her room to read and work some more. I tried to lay down and sleep but couldn't get comfortable and the fan wasn't doing much so I began sweating. I got up and went to the common room and Elom was watching tv and doing some work so I joined her for a few minutes and cooled off. I went back to my room and fell to sleep fairly quickly.

Day 30 (sunday)

Woke up at the usual, Maureen insisted on doing some laundry before church, which I thought was a bit much considering that church was supposed to start at 8 and it was already quarter of. We were running late but it didn't seem to bother her at all and so we departed and began the journey to the church. When we got there and there it was very loud and everyone was singing and jumping around, screaming, and shouting all sorts of hallelujah's...we were ushered to our seats and stood for quite some time (singing for what seemed like an hour), mommy and daddy hadn't shown up so I thought they may not be coming (they eventually showed up). Then there was more singing, more standing and sitting (I was exhausted and the service wasn't even half over yet...I've been to plenty of churches so I was aware of the processes). The message was nice and it makes me realize how important church and religion are to the people here (for some, it's all they have). Today's service was a combined one, thus taking longer, because on the first sunday of the month they do communion. The lights went out at one point which added to an already surreal atmosphere but the pastor was still able to carry his voice pretty well. Then the power came back on and it got crazy loud again and people were screaming in response to him. Then my least favorite but still entertaining part was when the pastor called people up to the stage if they wanted to have him pray for them and began doing so (touching their heads and and screaming and some were falling to the ground and crying [I swear he touched the same girl that kept falling maybe 3 or 4 times]...needless to say it was very intense), it was quite the show. Afterwards the pastor asked who was new to the church and (I was one of maybe a half dozen visiting for the first time) then asked them to fill out their form so they would have a better understanding of who was visiting their congregation (I obliged and filled one out but couldn't ever find out who to return the forms to) then the pastor invited me into his office and was very humbled and glad to reach out his hand to personally welcome me and pray for me, it was a very nice gesture...you can imagine how much I stood out when I wasn't dancing and jumping and singing at the top of my lungs (all that aside from the obvious), needless to say it was very exhausting and when we got home I quickly made some pb & j's and then laid down to rest.

Day 29 (saturday)

A look inside the kente weaving building.

Just another view of the building.

Me giving weaving a shot.

Me and two of the girls: Malayka and Hekaya.

Mommy and Neema.

 

After waking up at 4 and being kind of restless, I was able to go back to sleep for a couple of hours and then got up just before 7 and made my breakfast. Today it was a slow process for sure. I was now ready for the day which included going to Bonwire (pronounced bon-ray), which is where they weave the kente cloth (super excited about this). We left the house just after having some lunch (banku and stew) and headed north, which is a part of town I haven't been to yet and met up with Celine. From there we went to a station to catch a taxi and went to Bonwire. The second we got out of the car we hassled by peddlers. I really stick out like a sore thumb so as soon as I got out of the car a couple guys came running down an alley screaming and trying to get our attention to sell us their things. We walked around a bit and stopped at one shop that already had pre-woven fabric (the stuff is so cool and has different meanings based on different designs) and then went up the alley and into the place where they weave (which just looked like a run-down storage shed) and we got in and saw the machines. They are all made out of old wood and look like they are going to fall apart at any moment. We got to watch some weaving and it was incredibly fascinating to watch and I got to try some weaving. You have to take your shoes off as you control the movement and speed of the different sections of weaving with your toes (*there are only men here that do this work and mostly men overall). I got a bracelet made by one of the guys who was originally running down the alley (he didn't charge me but said if anyone else wanted one that I could come to him and I think I will do that). I'm certain that every person wanted to sell something (you just have to be persistent with your NO's) so, race and ethnicity aside, I met some people from Texas who were the most ignorant people I have come across yet (when the sellers were bombarding them with wanting to buy things, they began making condescending remarks and responses. It's very interesting when people don't think someone understands you they think speaking slower and using your hands makes it easier but it was the content of what they were saying rather than how they were saying it. I'm willing to bet that they didn't understand the references being made but I did and was very disappointed...as I stated earlier it is about bargaining and if you have any doubts or are simply not interested, simply being persistent with saying no or i'm not interested will be great...it is their goal to sell everything so they will be persistent too). We continued to get some super friendly hellos and people wanting to make things for us (for $) and finally walked away (one of the younger girls followed us all the way until we got to the taxi and asked me for money) and Celine gave her some. It began raining and we went to mom and dad's house (Maureen's campus family) and it really started coming down. We had some food and spent most of the night there but dad finally drove us home and we got in just before 11. Hmmm, going to church tomorrow (Maureen suggested it so I obliged) and it should be interesting, oh well, I'm open.

Day 28 (friday) Happy June (1st) GAME DAY!

Me and Eugene before the match.

A look down the bleachers from where I was sitting.

Me and Eugene again halfway through the match.

Me just after they scored one of their goals...good looking jersey!

This was early on as the crowds began to enter.

Had to find a picture of this guy (in the red)...he's the one who got b@#$h slapped and thrown out.

Lesotho in green preparing for one of their only corner kicks.

 

So I went to bed before 10 and woke up just before 6...FINALLY getting my sleep schedule back to normal, it has been miserable for me for the past couple of years! Had some breakfast and then kind of took it easy for a little while. It was getting close to the time that Eugene was going to come over and get me so I took a shower and got ready. A few minutes had passed (he said between 12 and 12:30) so I decided to lay down and in the back of my head I thought that I might get stood up again. I was just in that really comfortable stage just before you fall asleep and I got a phone call, it was Eugene, now I was getting excited. We left and walked to gates and then snagged a tro tro into town. Traffic was pretty crazy so we just got off and walked the rest of the way to the stadium (the match started at 5 but we wanted to get there a few hours early to ensure that we could get a good seat). I was proud to be wearing my RSL jersey and it turns out, for the most part, that Ghana's colors are the same except for their home games they wear white but I still felt pretty awesome. Everyone kept doing double takes at my jersey but were ultimately cool with it. We got to the stadium and there were people everywhere, people playing music, and people dancing (the stadium seats 40 k) and I got a little spider bite that stung for most of the evening (ended up not being a big deal, just annoying). We found someone and bought a ticket and I came prepared to spend a little bit on them (I found out that the most expensive tickets were the vip section at a whopping 20 cedis [equivalent to just over 10 dollars] and the fun section that we ended up getting, for both tickets, was 10 cedis [just over 5 dollars]). We went in and quickly realized that we could not go back through security nor could we walk around different sections so we walked around ours (I was interested in buying some memorabilia) and then walked in and grabbed some pretty good seats. The weather was overcast the whole time and started to rain as we were sitting but the temperature was cool and I knew the rains would stop, sure enough. More and more people began filling the stadium and the match was about to start, the different supporters sections were all making noise and chanting and before you knew it the players were coming on to the field to warm up, the place erupted! In the meantime I was trying some of the food, tiger nuts and some ground nut candy, and I bought a scarf (which cost me 10 cedis). The tiger nuts were just parts of plant roots but they were really pretty good and the ground nut candy is just ground nuts mixed together with sugar that has been boiled and then solidified (totally vegan). The players came out and we were all ready to go...the stadium was loud and proud and the people nearby were pretty psyched with me and my Ghana scarf. Shortly after, I saw a kid scaling the fence between sections and then he just disappeared into a sea of people (surprising that he wasn't caught because there was such a mass presence of security and police). As the match started I quickly realized that Ghana was by far the better side (kind of like when the USWNT was winning by 10+ but also realized that Lesotho had some mix ups in their travel and they had just arrived that morning) and controlled the ball more efficiently. A few corner kicks and some early missed opportunities and Ghana started killing it. They scored their first goal on a beautiful bender from the top of the box and the crowd went absolutely berserk and one of the nearby supporters jumped on me and we celebrated (don't worry, I was cautious about what was in my pockets, as Eugene politely warned me to be careful) and I held up the scarf and turned around and people cheered even louder. Before too long they scored another goal and then another before halftime. It was going to be a blowout but I was still excited to finish the match and watch some goals scored on our end. The start of the half saw Ghana come out a bit more aggressively and just a few minutes in, they scored again, making it 4 nil. Shortly before the goal though, I saw the guy who jumped on me in celebration, get aggressively approached by some security/fire department personnel and then they began yelling at him and one of the guys went down after him and slapped him in the face and then another (it kind of looked like judo chops) and then the police came too and they literally dragged him up the steps and out of the stadium (this happened literally two steps in front of me...bummed I didn't get any pictures of it but I was just trying to keep myself safe). Shortly after that, no surprise to me, the lights went off! We figured that they would come back on so we waited for awhile then the players went back inside and we were sure that the match would end that way (meaning the 4 nil score would be nullified) which was such a bummer to not get to finish the whole match. There was a mass exodus (and a monkey tied to a pole) and it was pretty scary (it's the perfect time for people to get pick-pocketed or worse) and we got out by the exit gates but they were still locked and no one was coming to unlock them so more people kept crowding around and finally someone decided to keep pushing against the gate until the locks broke off and people could leave. Now imagine thousands of people all rushing out at the same time, it was absolute chaos, but we started walking and realized that we weren't going to be able to get a car home (there were so many people out on the way home that we would have waited hours to get a car then it would have taken quite awhile to actually get home with all the traffic) so we literally walked all the way from the stadium through campus and to the house. It wasn't too bad but I was a bit exhausted and completely drenched in sweat when I got home. I quickly took a cold shower (there is no warm water here unless you boil it first) and knocked to let Maureen know I was home. She was already in bed and it was just before nine. I warmed up some food and sat down. I then learned that as we were just out of sight of the stadium that the lights came back on and they finished the match...7 nil ended up being the final score, sort of bummed that we didn't get to see the whole thing but glad they got the win. I finished my food, chatted with mi madre then laid down and was out pretty quickly...I woke up at 4 but that's it.