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Published: September 25th 2008
Well, another week is about over, ready to head into October!
This past weekend was incredible. A group of six of us decided to use the weekend to travel to Ada, a coastal village that is situated between the South Atlantic Ocean and the Volta River. We took a variety of tro-tros to head east about 2 hours. In Ada, there is a market on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and getting there on a Saturday, we were able to spend most of the day at the market looking at cloth, eating banku, and playing ping pong with some locals. While I like a lot of the local food here, there are three staples in the Ghanaian diet that I simply do not enjoy: fufu, banku, and a fermented version of fufu (sounds something like “ken-key”). To me, these three dishes are pretty similar. They consist of a mass of ground/sticky cassava/plantain that is almost flavourless, except for a slightly sour feeling. This mass is served in (fufu) or beside (banku) a bowl of broth which can contain meat or be a groundnut soup. No utensils or napkins are served with the dish. Instead, you are given a bowl of water and dish soap in which to soak your right hand (left hand is not for eating, it stays in your lap). Reminder: I am not supposed to drink the water, but I am expected to soak my hand in the water and then eat with it, haha. So you take a large clump of the fufu or banku in your hand, use it to soak up the soup, and stick the whole thing in your mouth, swallowing more than chewing. Anyway, I had tried bites of these dishes before, and did not like them, but while we were in the market in Ada, the only choices of food was either fufu, banku, or plain rice, so I decided to go ahead and have at it. I couldn’t eat it all; I liked the groundnut soup, but couldn’t scarf down much of the banku....sooo i took a straw from a juice box and slurped up quite a bit of the soup that way! After the market we waited for three hours (sigh) for a man to show up to take us in a motorized canoe down the river to where we were spending the night. By this time it was getting dark, andddd a storm was rolling in....perfect for boating! The clouds were so dark, low, and ominous...water was entering the boat from a hole in the bottom, rain was falling in from the sky...and it was wondrous! Another one of those “Let It Be” moments, very powerful. Some of the pictures I posted the other day are of the boat on the water. About twenty minutes later we (and our cheap bottle of gin) arrived safely at our huts where we were spending the night! Sand floors, no electricity, no running water, banana frond roofs and walls, only a bed and a table in each hut. Wonderfully, these huts were situated on a strip of sand right in-between the ocean and the river! Ran to the beach, dark clouds, the rain had ended, no stars, no light, jumped in the ocean (not too far though!). Body surfed, jumped over the waves, screamed with excitement, stupefied that the water appeared electrified with tiny sparks as it hit the sand on the shore. Back by our huts there was a fire...danced around that using my new dance skills. Woke up earlier enough to catch the sunrise, dulled by the clouds, fell back asleep, woke up to clear hot skies. More ocean, wave riding etc. Got interested watching a community pulling in a fishing net, about fifty people staggered on a rope, pulling for hours. Got called over, helped pull for about ten minutes...was thanked with laughs and kisses until I was able to break away...yikes! Spent the rest of the day in the sun. The six of us decided to walk along the shore for two hours with our weekend bags on our backs to get back to town in order to catch a tro-tro back towards Accra. Horrible, passed multiple accidents, should not drive in between towns after dark. Drivers too risky. Made it safely; Praises Praises.
This week I ended up eating one of the most fulfilling and appreciated meals of my life! A girl here in my program was thrown a surprise birthday party by the guy she is dating here...at the most delicious Lebanese restaurant. One of the guys here, Sammy, in my group grew up in Syria and speaks Arabic, so him and the owner became immediate friends, and with Sammy’s knowledge of Lebanese food, we ate like kingssss. Raw veggies! sauce, meat, stuffed myself. honestly, could not eat most of the day after.
On a sadder note, my camera seems to not be working. When I turn it on it makes a “ehrn ehrn ehrn” sound, trys to open, closes back up, and displays the message “lens error.” I tried cleaning it with canned air, no luck. Hopefullyyyyy it will start working again soon. Karma here is incredibly apparent for some reason (more on that later perhaps). I have not broken anyone’s camera while I have been here, so I trust that it will turn back on soon!
SO, what is going on with the US economy??
There are, here in Ghana, while probably unfounded, rumours of a coup...though I am sure it may be something that people here talk about more for entertainment, or as a mental exercise. As Maia and I keep saying, we choose an interesting time to come here...with so much going on both here and in the U.S. politically.
Still healthy!
love love love
Kristin
p.s. I just finished a wonderful book Mountains Beyond Mountains suggested to me by a friend from JMU who was in Ghana this summer. I’d suggest it to anyone.
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Toni
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Wow, Kristin, your weekend sounds exactly like mine!!! Ok, maybe not. I am so amazed at the wonderful experiences you are having. Ed and I spent Thanksgiving one year with Pauline and her extended family. She made the soup for her mother and aunt who were visiting from Nigeria. I watched them eat it...very interesting. I did not eat it as I was pregnant at the time and Pauline suggested that I not! I hope your camera starts to work...the pictures were just wonderful.