13 things you may not have known

There's been a small glitch in the system. My computer charger has gone belly-up. On Sunday, while Maaike and I were in Kumasi, Katy stayed home and typed up a 6-page entry for her blog. The wind and rain picked up and lightening hit somewhere near the house...as Katy was typing, she saw sparks coming out of the outlet. Long story short, my charger is dead. The computer still works, though, so everything is ok. Meanwhile, I have spoken with HP in the U.S. and they referred me to Western Nigeria. I'm hoping that I can mosey around Kumasi today and find something that will work.

So, pardon my blog. It will not be so thought-out today, as I'm typing it on the spot.

The five of us are in Kumasi today to get our visas extended so that we can stay for another two months. We are skipping school (yet again) as nothing here is open on the weekends. It hasn't worked out so well for us, as we were required to bring our return ticket to prove that we are leaving. Nathan is the only one that thought to bring his. We all have to come back on Monday. Ack! And...I don't even have a return ticket! So...Dada has to write a letter on my behalf, to apply for the extention. Hmmm...hopefully it all goes ok.

I was trying to think of a topic for this blog...there hasn't been much happening here this past week. So, I thought I might tell you about the random things that have become normal to me that you might find interesting or funny.

1. Our house is a cement structure in a u-shape. There is a wrap-around porch that extends all the way around the interior of the u-shape. The porch is made of cement. This porch and the yard area in between is our common area, our living room, so to speak. Last week I mentioned that Katy, Maaike, and I endured a horrible movie in Koforidua just to enjoy sitting on a plush couch. No, we don't have a couch at the house. The furniture we do have consists of plastic lawn chairs and wooden benches. In fact, there are so many plastic lawn chairs in Ghana, you wouldn't believe it. Every color. Every size. You can "hire" the plastic chairs for your events. I know this because there are signs that say so.

2. Public urination is not a big deal here. Really. Especially if you're a man. Or a child. Women are a little more discreet, but not always. Tro tros often stop for a pee break. And you just get out and go on the side of the road. (I don't...but other people do. I figure I came equipped with the antibiotics to treat a bladder infection, so I can hold it). Children sometimes even urinate in the school courtyard. It's important to watch your step.

3. It's not unusual to see people in the shower during our walk to school. Many homes have outdoor showers, which are just a cement or wood structure, about 5 feet tall, where people can take their bucket showers. Often, walking by, we just see a head sticking out of the top. We always say, "Good Morning!"

4. Also, being naked in Ghana isn't such a big deal if you're a small child or a woman. At first, when we say a naked child, we just declared it "Naked Monday," or "Naked Tuesday." Then we realized that everyday was naked day. We frequently see women without shirts lounging around their homes (yards).

5. There aren't many paved roads in Ejura. There is the main road and then a few little offshoots that are paved. Other than that, it's dirt paths everywhere. Which turn into mud paths everywhere when it rains. Which it does almost daily. It becomes quite a challenge to stay upright whilst walking along these paths, and I'm the only lucky one who's actually fallen in the mud.

6. We obrunis drink water that comes in plastic bags. We buy these plastic bags twenty-five at a time. We store them in our rooms and whenever we're thirsty, we just grab a baggie of water, bite a chunk outta the corner, and drink. They also make great water-guns in a pinch. Just point and squeeze.

7. Ghana has a garbage issue. There aren't really trash collectors, although I did see (rather smell) a garbage truck in Kumasi once. So everyone throws everything on the ground. At home we have small trash cans in our rooms. The first time mine filled up I asked one of the boys where I should take it. He pointed towards a house across the street. I walked towards it, but couldn't figure out what he meant. I should take it to the neighbors' house? No...the pit in the grass on THE WAY to the neigbors' house. Oh. I dumped my trash (which was mainly plastic water baggies) in the pit and then the boys grabbed some matches and burned it. This is how garbage is dealt with in Ghana.

8. I make some babies cry. It's true. I'm pretty sure it's because of my white skin. Mostly it's the little ones (around 8 - 9 months). There is one baby girl, in particular, that I walk past on my way home from town. Whenever I walk by, her mother hands her to me. She always cries. I laugh, of course. Each time, she cries less. I'm hoping by April, she will smile.

9. I bought an African "washcloth" the other day at the market. It's basically like one of those mesh plastic wrappers that small tomatoes come in at the grocery store. It sounds rough - and it is...but it does a good job of exfoliating!!!

10. You can get manicures and pedicures here, but I recently saw one of the lady teacher's toenails at school - she had long, fake nails put on her toes!!! It was not pretty! I decided I wouldn't risk a pedicure...so I've started doing my own at home. Here is how it works: I fill a laundry bucket with cold water. I sit in a plastic lawnchair. I soak my feet. Then I cut my toenails. Done. (I am excited about a package I recently received that contained pedicure supplies - nail polish!!! Thanks, Sheri)!!!

11. I saw a cockfight the other day. A real one. (Chickens are called "cocks" here). Two roosters were totally fighting each other. It was hillarious! We stopped and watched for quite awhile. We left before they killed each other, though.

12. Goats are everywhere in Ghana. Everywhere. Roaming. They seem to be community property...I'm not sure how it works. If you're hungry, can you just go kill a goat? Or what? Anyway, one of the roadside "BBQ's" often features goat meat. The BBQ is a big barrel with some wire mesh on top. The meat is displayed on the wire mesh and next to the cooking meat is the goat's head and feet. Mmm. Delicious. I haven't tried it yet.

13. Speaking of goats, there are several that claim our house as their own. They sleep on the cement porch and I think every morning they have a "pee and poop party." Or at least that's how it seems. Again, we always have to watch our step.

That's all I can think of for now. Sorry if I was too graphic, or if most of my entry revolved around dead animals and pee and poop. I gotta tell you how it is, people.

I picked up two more packages today from the post office (Thanks Wendy and Bro and Ro). Peter the postman now calls Maaike "his wife." It's really working out well for us in the discount department. I even offered to plan their wedding if I could get a discount on my duty fees. =)

Take care!!!

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