Gone to Ghana: My African Adventures

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July 22, 2014



I’ve been here for 6 weeks now which is pretty unbelievable. With it being summer and the constant flow of volunteers I’m one of the veteran volunteers now. In about 10 days most of the volunteers who have been here longer than me will be leaving. I’m going to miss my new friends.



The best thing about the volunteer house is Mavis. She’s like the house mother; even though she is younger than me. She cooks, cleans, does the laundry, and cooks. I’m sorry to say this mom, but Mavis is the best cook in the world. I can’t wait to get cooking lessons from her. I’m serious when I say I’ve found Superwoman. Mavis does everything for 30 volunteers and still keeps a smile on her face. She also remembers everything about what people like to eat and what they won’t or can’t eat. She accommodates to anything. She always makes a vegetarian and a vegan option for all meals. I don’t like to complain about anything, but a couple of weeks ago for lunch she surprised me by giving me a special plate because she noticed that I took the eggs and sausages out of the sandwiches. I’m not a big fan of mayonnaise, which the sandwiches were slathered with. She just noticed that and made me my own special lunch.



I haven’t written much about the food here yet, and I know people have been waiting to hear about it. The staples of the Ghanaian diet are yams, cassava, and plantains. The fruit here is wonderful! The mangoes are the best I’ve ever had! There’s also a lot of pineapple and green oranges (the rind is green and they are so juicy). What I found interesting with Ghanaian food is that there are some similarities to Mexican food. It’s quite spicy. The three main traditional dishes are kenkey, banku, and fufu. I’ve only had kenkey so far. This is where I first realized the similarities of Ghanaian food to Mexican food because like tamales kenkey is made of corn flour dough and cooked wrapped in corn husks. It’s then eaten with a spicy stew. Banku and fufu are similar because they are dishes with a dough like substance served with a spicy stew and a meat (usually fish). Thursday is the best day because Mavis makes spring rolls for lunch (which are quite popular and regularly eaten in Ghana) and red red for dinner. Red red is a bean stew with tomatoes and spices served over rice. It’s so good, and everybody’s favorite! For breakfast Mavis will make you pretty much whatever you want. Eggs, sausage, and toast are the main staples for breakfast, but I like to start the day off with sautéed vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions) which have white pepper on top. Whatever Mavis makes it’s amazing!

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Photos

Water
This is the supply of Pure Water by the fridge. This is our life force, and the empty bags litter the house.