one month two weeks

10/29/06

since I last spoke to you things have been well…. Sulley took me to see another amateur dance group rehearse and it was very interesting…. Very helpful for my research… I also learned some other dances…gato (sp) and patcha (sp) I have also worked on listening for the breaks in other dances - hearing the drum language is extremely important in learning dances here… so I must focus a lot of attention on this…I also need to learn the drumming


I found out that I will not be able to accompany my teacher as he goes to some universities in the u.s. so I am scheduling a meeting with my contacts at the university of Ghana at legon and I will spend some time there while he is away. We are also planning to go to the north for a festival in which dancers from many other countries in Africa will attend…sometimes I feel like I need to do more but when I really look at things I am doing a lot not to mention the piece that I am setting on the dancers here and the piece that I am setting on the children at Adom’s school. They will perform it for their Christmas program. I have also chosen some other research topics that I would like to pursue personally. For example I am looking at gender – relations here concerning dress and I am also interested in the experience of other Americans who come here. So I have made my hands full and I have some long terms ideas as well. Still nothing is concrete

I have been eating a lot better. When I first got here I didn’t eat much because I was adjusting and afraid to get ill. I know that I am overprotective because of Adom. Last summer when I was here I was not as careful but this time I am taking things much slower, it’s good that I have more time. Adom on the other hand has been fearless…I have seen a different side of my child since I have been here. He is not concerned about the things that I thought he would have a hard time adjusting to. When we walk to catch the tro tro he runs sometimes chasing chickens and goats on the way. He does however have a problem speaking to people….i have to make him and then he is still shy about it…he also seems shy tryin out twi…..he is not confident with it…he has instead picked up an accent and I think he feels this is his way of adjusting to the language…but it kinda sounds weird.

Over the weekend I took Adom and the other boys here at the house to the playground and on the way people in town were asking where we were going (this is normal here) and when we told them I got requests from people to bring stuff back (which is also normal) I got 4 requests…. Two fro bread and one for a meat pie and fan milk (ice cream) and the other for…..an apple……I must say that I was irritated, I am just not used to people asking me for stuff and believe me this is not the first time….the misconception is that all Americans are rich….and true there are only a few of us that can make it abroad but those of us that are able to have a responsibility … which is an issue for a whole different blog…..at any rate b4 I came I had high dreams of giving sooo much but having people just ask for things is also a part of adjusting to the culture … its just a normal thing to do even for locals….and sometimes people really don’t want you to bring it they just may ask….well at any rate I ended up getting nothing because I guess I was still working things out in my mind…….i must say that since I have been here I have been doing a lot for people – some who asked and some who did not ask……but this day was diff…I guess bcus 4 people asked and I really just wanted to go to the park

Well today (Monday) one of the ladies asked for the bread and I told her I would bring it

After I dropped Adom I got her some sugar bread….a loaf slightly larger than our normal loafs and it was 5,000 cedis so when I got back she couldn’t see it bcus of the way I was carrying it and I went to her stand (she sells candy) I must admit I was kind of angry still at the fact that she even asked …I was all prepared to say okay so next time you will dash me something ( give me something) and instead I just handed her the bread … her whole demeanor changed…she kept saying God Bless you……she laughed and told her friends and even as I was walking off she said madame God Bless You…it made me feel good and I could tell that she kind of didn’t expect me to bring it and honestly I didn’t expect myself to bring it

Its been hard for me to find that middle ground …. I have some friends that feel that you have to be blunt with people here because of how blunt they are with you…and honestly I really don’t have money to be buying everything that people ask for … I have a family…and I have bills that I am still paying in the U.S. but when I came I came with the notion of finding a way to help … I feel it so strong within me….the hard part is I am realizing that my help is just not bug enough … at least in my eyes … so now my dilemma is finding a way to help that is lasting …. I now understand what Oprah meant when she said that she is doing HER part …

Ah well

On another note…today is Halloween and the people here don’t really celebrate…..at Adom’s school today and tomorrow are fun days and they play games all day .. he doesn’t have school on Thursday or Friday…. I am just chillin, I have a rehearsal later – there is a performance on the 9th and then there is a festival in the north later in nov. still tryin to decide if I will go since Adom will have to miss about two weeks of school

Take care until later
Angel

how can we really help?

10/24/06
today as any other day was filled with highs and lows….my title of my last blog may not make sense to some but others may feel me…so much has been happening since I got here… things are starting to settle in and I feel the need to figure out how to really help…you know? I mean giving money and buying gifts is soooo temporary…when you look at the whole state of things …the question becomes… how do we really help? It’s a hard question and one that definitely needs attention.

I am having a hard time adjusting with the whole philosophy here of other people popping your child…. Let’s just pray that I don’t have to go postal on anyone…I mean is it bad that I feel that I can pop him and I don’t want anyone else to? He hasn’t gotten caned at school but a couple of people have popped him. Ahhh well maybe I am just too western huh? And I am sure that you guys don’t want to hear about my dilemmas and cultural adjustments or my refusal to adjust to that particular part of the culture. Being here is still new…I wonder how I will feel in 10 months. Speaking of time, we have been here a little over a month and Adom has developed an accent. He is not speaking twi but he is pronouncing EVERYTHING differently. When he got on the phone with his dad I could tell at first he was about to speak with an accent and then it was like he realized and then he reverted to his southern drawl. It is so weird to hear your child talking with an accent. I could only imagine how he feels right now.

Today I went to busy internet, by myself. I took the tro tro to Kwame Nkrumah Circle and then I walked to Busy Internet. It is probably the fastest internet service here in Accra. I usually pay for time on my account there and use the internet at the house. I went to get some more time and I stayed a little while and checked my e-mail. Then I had lunch of French fries and sprite and went back to catch a tro tro on the way I got some earings for 5000 cedis – which is a little over half a dollar. Nothing too fancy but I liked the style of them. Then I caught the tro tro back to the house and cleaned up a little before going to get Adom.

I am really disappointed with where he is in school. Initially they tested him when we had been here less than a week and they put him in nursery with 4 YEAR OLDS. Mind you Adom was tested as reading on a 4th grade level in the U.S. and he was tested right at grade level in other subjects. He was tested about 4 months before we came here. Within a week they moved him up to KG and they haven’t moved him up yet. Most of his age- mates or either in class 1 or class 2. The principal said he wanted Adom to finish this term in KG and then he may get moved up. I am seriously considering changing schools if he doesn’t because I don’t want my child to be stifled. The only problem is location and if you know Accra you know that it can EASILY take 2 hours to get somewhere and more if it is on a Monday or Friday. Also if I change schools then I will have to deal with other fees associated with beginning at a new school including buying new uniforms. Also Adom has begun making new friends and he seems to be adjusting to the school…I don’t want him to have to adjust all over again. He no longer has a tutor…it just wasn’t working out…so I will work with him. I am harder on him than the tutor and I AM a teacher so why not save the money and work with him when I can?

Ok so I have shared some of the not so fortunate issues …still others I cannot divulge over the internet…but why settle on the bad?…I AM IN AFRIKKKKKA and I am breathin, livin, learnin, and growin





10/23

today Lela, Adom, and I went to Nima and Tudu in Accra with Sulley for the Saladay (sp?) celebration; this is the Muslim holiday that is like Christmas. When I woke up this morning I saw children singing on t.v. they were all dressed in pink and the young girls were covered from head to toe with only their faces showing. We also saw women singing that were dressed the same way. We met Sulley in Achimota and then we went to his house in Ablenkpe. His wife had prepared Tizzert. It was delicious. A banku type dish in which the doughy substance is made from ground rice and the soup is made from ground nut (p-nut), a leafy vegetable, tomato paste and this one had cow meat and fish in it. Adom didn’t like it so I didn’t make him eat it. I think the texture turned him off he said it tasted like guey chopped up chicken into little pieces ;-)

The Saladay celebration was interesting. Men were riding horses and it was like a parade, I was terrified that Adom would get hit by one. He was walking with Sulley and he actually almost did at one point in time and when I tried to run for him the horse almost got me and Lela. You know I was trippin!!!!! The horses were riding up and down the street fast and some were doing tricks. It cost 300,000 cedis to rent the horse for the day. I didn’t see any women on the horses. There were also trucks and cars with lots of people in them riding and playing music. There were high life songs and then some western songs also. It is so weird to hear western music hear and the children are doing some of the same dances that are done in the states. In some cases they give them different names and they execute the movement a little differently but still it’s the same.

It’s been good to have Lela here. She is helping me to release some and not be so uptight…not sure if that is the right word. My first year of grad – school she and I said that we would write a Fulbright together – which I don’t think can be done but it is so interesting that now we are here together…everything happens for a reason

a series of un/fortunate events

10/21/2006

so much has been happening and I really cannot divulge all because let’s just face it - this is a public forum……but let’s just say there’s been a series of not so fortunate events and leave it at that. But I am still livin, lovin, and learnin!!!!!!
I have been trying to learn twi and I have been slightly successful

The other day I went with Sulley to take one of the boys that lives here at the house to Korle-Bu which I am told is the biggest hospital in Ghana and in West Africa. The appointment was at 1pm and the Doctor did not show on the scene until about 4pm and the child was not seen until 6, we did not leave until 7pm

It was depressing…there were so many patients waiting and some who decided to go home. Sulley told me that many of the Doctors have their own practice and they will sometimes work there and then go to the hospital after they finish their work. On the way to the hospital we passed the ocean, it was beautiful…a side of Ghana that I had not seen yet. There was also a prison called Jamestown…Sulley told me that it was a former slave holding place before the slaves were placed on the ships…I couldn’t believe that now it is a prison …I still haven’t had time to really process that,

While they were waiting we went to look for Christmas music so that I could set a piece on the young children that I am working with. I couldn’t find anything local. I want to use local music to set the piece, I also want something slow…we shall see

I also started setting a piece on one of the young ladies in the dance group here. The movement that I set did not completely go according to plan but this is always to be expected and sometimes welcomed since it may give way to new ideas and possibilities. I am supposed to work with her again today and I am hoping that we can work more on the emotional aspect of the movement, the feeling behind the movement.


My hair cut is ok aside from some small irritation at the back of my head…I will not allow them to use a razor again…my friend Lela is here from grad school and it has been nice seeing some1 that I know. I have learned that I need to delve more into the culture and not be so afraid to try new things. Last summer when I came I tried everything put before me and I learned the language very quickly…( I was around the Ewe people) now it just seems so different and I know that it is because I have Adom with me. Funny it seems that now he is so free and I am the one worrying….if there are any mothers out there then I am sure you know how I feel. I must admit that I am afraid of him getting ill and the guilt that I would feel if anything happened to him. Before I came I did receive some strange looks from some when I told them that I was taking my son to West Africa for 10 months. Some people eve came out and told me that I was basically crazy and others were extremely understanding and supportive. In short I have been easing my way into the food and other things. Yesterday Adom and I tried kosi and coco. It was good and Adom really enjoyed the kosi. Kosi is made from the local bean here (black eyed peas) Sulley’s sister prepared it…everyone prepares it a little different but she soaked the beans for a couple of hours and then she sent it to the grinder to be ground up into a powder. Next she added seasonings like pepper and then it is mixed into a batter and placed into hot grease and fried. While it is grinding she placed egg on top of it and it is fried on both sides. I must admit that it is very good. The coco was good as well although I am not sure how it is prepared … both are usually breakfast foods. The muslims are fasting for 30 days – no food or water from 6am to 6pm and then on Monday which is a school holiday it is called salada (sp?) and there will be a big party and praying for the muslims and it is the end of the fasting. At any rate the muslims eat a lot of the kosi during this time…usually when they break their fast in the evening.


This week we didn’t dance much. Sulley had to mail some drums and a xylophone and it took a while. Everything here in Ghana takes longer.

Budgeting money has been somewhat tricky and to a certain degree I still feel like I am settling in…I guess I am allowing myself more time to settle in because I know I will be here longer. Lela is staying for 3 months. Her experience is different – where she is staying there is no running water and no light – not sure if there is a “bathroom” either. She is thinking of staying here where I am for one month after her program is over.

The other night there was a waykeeping here in Medie. It lasted all night. All I heard was music. Eddie explained to me that once a person dies then about three days later there will be a waykeeping and then the next day they will go to bury the body and then about a year later they will have a last farewell. The times can vary and also a muslim funeral is different. The coffins here are also very interesting sometimes they can vary from coke bottles to cars, whatever the person was into. I plan to go and visit the place where they make the coffins.

Last night Lela came to dance with us during our rehearsal, it was cool. After rehearsal as Sulley was talking to us I looked to the side and she was sitting next to me and we were both sitting the same – with our legs crossed. I don’t see many women sitting like that here. She also spent the night and we went to town with Eddie and ate and I had a couple of beers, which I don’t usually drink. We talked / debated about dance in Africa and in America, black Americans, Africans, cultural transference and much more. I feel that we need to really address how we are teaching our children about things and she agrees with me but feels that I need to be exposed to more people who are doing it right. It was great! She is different than me in many ways and the same in many … I would say that we both have fighting spirits ... only in different ways … we both have some good ideas

Today is the muslim holiday and Sulley is muslim, there is a big celebration and festival for the end of fasting … Lela and I will go with him.

I apologize that my writing is all over the place. I am trying to write everything but it is coming out in bits and pieces…be patient with me I plan to start writing every night and then posting twice a week. Also I have been taking pictures and I need to find a sight in which I can post all of them – like an online album……any suggestions?


Take care, live well and in the words of my son, Adom, ….. DO A GOOD ONE!!!!!!!!

my new love affair

FORGIVE MY TONE BUT MY SKIN HAS BEEN MAKING LOVE TO THE SUN AND I LUV THE WAY IT FEELS

MASSAGING HUES OF BROWN, RED, AND ORANGE ALL OVER ME
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?

I DON’T WANT TO BUY NO BLEACHIN CREAM!
I JUS WANT TO BE
ME !

FREE!

BRAVE!

DARK!

CURVY!
A FEARLESS, UN-LOCKED, DREAD-LESS PRINCESS
AN ASHANTI WOMAN WITH QUIET, BOLD, POWERFUL, FEARLESS STRENGTH…

from mommi ras to ashanti woman

October 16th 2006

Sorry it has taken me so long to touch base…I ran out of time on my internet account and had to send some1 to town to post more time also...i have just been livin…I guess this means that I am somewhat getting used to life here….. here time can go so slow and then so fast, how is that possible at the same time? It has already been 1 month and I have 9 more. Adom and I have been tryin so much local food that it is insane! He doesn’t want to admit that he likes it but I think that he is starting to dig the banku a little and he seems to always ask for rice. So far one of my most treasured moments has been venturing out alone (I mean just me and Adom) and going to Osu to meet a friend for lunch at a nice little spot called Frankies. It was cool I felt like I was on my own time and I could do my own thing. I wasn’t with any of my local friends. I haggled with the vendors ON MY OWN and I decided to buy Adom a soccer ball, which was demolished by some local boys with flip flops on the next day! I decided not to buy Adom a Ghana shirt that was way overpriced at about 100,000 cedis. I’ll shop around and get a couple eventually – no need to rush. I got a cover for my cell phone and I got the sweetest pair of sandals - my friend Veena (Fulbrighter) and I talked him down from 85,000 cedis to 45,000 I thought this was wonderful considering they are leather sandals with beautiful beads on them. Speaking of beautiful I have been feeling so lately. Surprisingly my hips don’t feel too big nor does my backside. I don’t feel grossly overweight, even as a dancer. I feel pretty good on most days about how I look.

I am addressing my fears. I have realized that I have picked up some fears because of things that have happened in my life……after reading some of my journal entries from over a year ago and looking at some pics and video clips of me dancing I realized that I have been cheating myself. I have been dancing and living through fear…not brave enough to show my full potential …isn’t that funny? here I am in Ghana on a Fulbright Fellowship and still feeling fear and feeling inadequate. I realized that I was hiding myself and being shy and I decided NO WAY!! I decided that I wanted to get the full benefit of this experience so I decided to cut my hair…this may not make sense to most but I was hiding behind my hair….soooooooo i read, I prayed and I thought and I got up and cut all 116 locs off…all by myself, I didn’t tell any1 b4 hand or afterwards – I just did it – it had to be this way- almost 5 years of growth; I started cutting at 11:36pm and I stopped at 12:15am from Oct 14 to Oct 15 Sat to Sun, then I wrote in my journal

OCT 14 11:36 PM
CUT MY LOCS
REMOVE FEAR
TRUST GOD
LET NOTHING BUT
TRUTH SHOW

I STARTED WITH 129 LOCS
ENDED WITH 116

When I started my locs I did so because I wanted to go through a process of letting go and trusting that everything would be ok…especially considering things that I was going through in my life a the time - so I let go of my hair and tried to take my hands off as much and stopped trying to control the outcome of how my hair looked as much while at the same time trusting God that everything would be ok…it has definitely been a process and now I remove my hair to remove fear….when I dance I no longer want to be afraid to dance FULL OUT and free and now I cant hide behind anything…all of my hair is gone so nothing but the truth remains… I am forcing myself to be brave

The next day (Sunday) I went to a local barber shop and got it all cleaned up for 10,000 cedis…and when I say short I mean only the shape of my head really shows with VERY LITTLE HAIR AT THE TOP- not even $2 the barber used clippers and a new razor to cut my hair…

Its been somewhat frustrating because the people around me don’t really understand why I cut my hair and honestly I don’t expect them to… since they didn’t really understand my locs to begin with..ahh well naturally so and expected. All my rasta friends are trippin…These decisions are truly FOR ME SPIRITUALLY and so all of this comes with the territory

Eddie gave me the nick-name of mommi ras and since he is a rasta he was somewhat devastated when I cut my hair but now he says I look like an ASHANTI WOMAN

The joke is I thought that by cutting my hair I would receive less attention here but it hasn’t worked ;-) instead they seem more forward




Today I went and got my eyebrows arched by threading (Venna told me about an Indian woman who does it) I wanted to go alone. On the way I stopped at a bookstore and got Adom some study books for his tutor to use…by the way Adom gave himself a new nick-name “Lil Cool Blue” he also wants to keep Ohenne as well

My eyebrows cost 15,000 cedis and should last 20 days she said the threading pulls it from the root so it takes longer to grow back … I really like it and it didn’t even hurt. Next time I may get a facial…I think I may have found a way to pamper myself.

On Sunday I taught class to the dance group here and on tomorrow I begin setting a piece. I decided to begin with a solo and then maybe add other dancers. We will see this is where my new braveness and courage comes in. I am so excited and nervous at the same time. What a wonderfully crazy feeling.

I promise to write more and please forgive my brief hiatus…I am about to finish my lunch of pineapple and plantain chips. I’m eating light because last night my stomach was very upset so I had to take a cipro this morning and I am feeling better. I’m still not sure if it was the food I ate last night or the bag of water I drank…not sure if I trust those little bags yet…my local friends tell me that not all of them clean the water properly ….at any rate this is … Ashanti Woman signing out….

africa smiling through her tears

Okay so I made the spagetti…I soaked my vegetables for about 5 minutes and then rinsed them … with local water and the food came out VERY GOOD if I do say so myself..i gave everyone in the house some and they seemed to like it and we didn’t even get sick…the day I was going to go into mommy mode Sulley ended up picking Adom up from school and I think he was probably more strict with them than I would have been…he told Adom right in front of the lady “if you don’t like the rice and you don’t want to eat it then don’t okay” he also explained everything to the lady about the water and stuff…he said she kept telling him we give the students good food here…everyone eats it even the director and no 1 gets sick then he said that she told him it’s the temperature change that is making his stomach hurt and he told her well the temperature did not change in his stomach! Oh my goodness she even gave Sulley her number and told him to have me call her because she felt bad…..i felt bad so the next day I wrote a note to the teacher(s) just telling them that I know they take good care and that we are just trying to determine why his stomach is hurting. I even sent an orange to school for each teacher…They didn’t get it until I picked Adom up though…when he gave it to them they thought it was for him and told him they didn’t have time to peel it. Later that day the school called and told me that they will only give him the water I send to school and that they know it is hard for him to adjust and that since they have my number now they will call if anything should happen.


While Adom was at school Eddie gave me a private drumming lesson and we worked on kpalongo. Later that day we had a performance for the family of another fulbrighter that I met in Washington D.C. there is also a performance this weekend that Sulley says I will do (funerals) I cant believe the way he is just putting me in performances so soon…I haven’t even been here 3 weeks. Today I will have a private dance lesson with Sulley.

For some reason Adom was fine on the way to school…playing with me and Eddie but once he got to school he started crying and saying that he did not want to go. It seemed very strange I am very concerned…always about him, he is still complaining of his stomach off and on….please continue to pray for us

Africa has been so beautiful, a strange combination of stark, natural beauty along with deep and painful wounds. My local friends have been opening up to me … telling me of their personal stories of life, love, education, and such. My soul is happy and my soul cries. The people are hurting and the people are so happy. How so when the people home are so unhappy and in most cases in a crappy mood even though they usually have all their needs met and then some. One of the young boys that lives here had a fainting spell and a seizure…when I met him I knew something was wrong but I didn’t know what. He was sick at school and then at home. His brother told me that this usually happens during this season and that he has medicine to take … I felt so bad …he also told me that they don’t even know the sickness that he has …at that moment Adom who was soooo concerned about him said I’m glad I don’t have that sickness momma…I told him it is a blessing but you should remain prayerful always praying to God for people. He said okay and that night we both prayed for him.


My soul began to relate to those that are ill and because of the illness they don’t feel comfortable in their skin. We are all here for a reason and we all must go…this is reality

This makes me want to dance and express my feelings through dance since it is my form of communication…I cant put what I am feeling into words but I understand it soooo much that I can say it with my movements and make you understand it…..THE POWER OF MOVEMENT

Oh also the goat had babies…two….they were there when we arrived back at the house yesterday…the cutest little things Adom was amazed

Take care
And pray for us…all of us
shani

check out the pics

ok so go to www.myspace.com/shaniangel to check out some pics not many but until i find a better way...i am sure it will do

shani
(moma ras)

Adom has a new name

9/29

this morning on the way to the tro tro some one said to me in twi ahhh princess how are you? I didn’t understand a word he said so eddie told me what he said and how to respond which I have already forgotten…this evening I will have to take the tro tro alone…I’m afraid….and I will also teach a ballet class to a small group of girls (10) at Adom’s school

wish me well ;-)

So I ended up catching a ride with the dancers and drummers, they were on their way to a funeral. I was feeling really bad on the way to the school (weak and sick) but I took an emergen-c and said some prayers and I felt better by the time I taught. The emergen-c has been really helping me to feel better…and I have been taking about two a day…..hopefully once I get used to being here I wont need so much.

I taught the class and it was actually quite refreshing. I felt that it was amazing to be doing in Africa what I do at home…teach ballet to young children. I had 8 girls and 2 boys. They were all beginners with the exception of one girl who said that she had some ballet in New York when she was 7. They were all 8 or 9 years old. Doing what I am familiar with in Africa gave me a sense of familiarity/home. The room was very small and there were many children watching in the doorway and laughing until one of the teachers made them leave and then they were trying to peak in the windows…also there were teachers in there grading papers and watching…maybe they were grading me ;-) it was fun…I think maybe I gave them too much since they were all beginners…but they were excited and wanted to know when the next class would be. They all called me Auntie…something the children do here…so sweet. After speaking with the principal we decided that I would teach a contemporary class next and see which is best for the students. They would like the students to master the dance and then have a performance at the end of all academic terms when they celebrate the countries anniversary. After this I picked Adom up from his classroom and we waited around for a call from my friend Baby Quaye who I met in 2002 at Jacob’s Pillow. I was going to just go back to the house when I finally got him on the phone and I decided to go to the University of Ghana at Legon and sit in on a lecture class which was a performance laboratory. So I had to take the tro tro ALONE !!!!!!! I didn’t even know where to go and stand…and I began to realize that every since I have been here whenever I go somewhere I have always been with a local and now I am alone and with Adom. So I looked behind me and I saw one of the teachers at Adom’s school and I greeted her and asked her if she was going to Achimota which was my first stop. She said no and that she was going to Lapas…. I asked her where I could catch the tro tro and she told me and we waited there together and talked a little about our children. She left first and then I waited for the Achimota tro tro and boarded once it arrived. So the mate (the guy who takes the money) motioned for me to pay him and I told him achimota and gave him 10,000 cedis. I got annoyed because he never gave me any change and I knew that 10,000 (a little over a dollar) was too much to pay to go to achimota. After riding and thinking a little while I decided not to address it and I resolved within myself that cheating people is no way to win. The driver ended up making us get off the tro tro a little before the place where he was supposed to take us to because he wanted to make a turn. I couldn’t understand what everyone was saying but I could tell from their actions that everyone was getting off and a little pissed about it so I got off and began talking with a lady who was carrying a baby on her back….i said he was supposed to take us to achimota and she said AH! And we began going back and forth about how wrong he was and so I asked her is this the taxi rank? She told me yes and asked me where I was going and told me where to go to get the taxi. As I was walking up a taxi driver ran up to me and asked me if I needed a taxi and I told him yes and where I was going and asked him how much he told me 30,000 cedis which I didn’t know whether it was good or bad I just wanted to look like I knew what was going on…so I made a face like I okay …I guess ..and we were off…once we got in the car I began to wonder if this man ever used his breaks and I decided that he really didn’t like to use his breaks and wanted to avoid using them at all costs. He would speed and then stop at the very last minute…I was worried and then the police stopped him and I am not sure what they were asking for but he left me in the car for about two minutes and then came back and we were off again…once we got on the campus of the university of Ghana I began to wonder if I was on a HBCU campus in the US. It really didn’t seem that much different to me only difference was that many students were drying their clothes outside on lines and such. But we saw students walking, chilin, romancing, playing basketball, playing futbol, meeting and everything other students do on college campuses. So before I got in the taxi I asked the driver if he knew where the school of performing arts was, he said yes, but once we got on campus he began asking me where it was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I got annoyed and told him I didn’t know and then he asked a student and he told him. Once I got to the place I waited around for my friend. I thought I was going to just sit in and watch a class but it turned out to be a movement class including all the students – freshmen, sophmore, juniors, and seniors. Of course they made me dance!!! You know they did. I am beginnin to really grasp the healing power of dance…if I am feeling ill each time I dance I feel better…the students were singing and dancing with all their might and there was so much joy in their faces and in their hearts…it was beautiful to observe. I also had an opportunity to kind of begin my research, which involves the way traditional dance is taught and transferred from villages to performance groups to colleges to other countries. It was interesting. I called Sulley and he came to get me and we left after we went to this little spot to get some food (which was good) fish fingers and fried chicken and chips (French fries) it was a cool little spot near campus where the college and locals hung out and have drinks and such. It was cool.

The next day we went into town to the art center and I got some waist beads (women here wear beads on their waist) I got some last summer but left them back home…I wanted some different colors. I got yellow and blue 3 for 30,000. I also got Adom a music toy that he really wanted called alesatuwa (sp) I got him 2 for 20,000. We went to the beach and walked around a little then Sulley came to the center and picked us up and we got some food on the way back.

This morning I decided not to go to church I wanted to get some rest since I will be dancing today…I may a private lesson with Sulley and then a group practice with the rest of the dancers.

Things are okay here definitely getting better as we ease into this way of life. I am surprised at the attention I get because of my hair…even when I cover it. I love being called Empress, Princess, and Queen all the time…the people here are friendly most of the time. I have left out many stories but I feel that I am typing so much and I still have to find a way to include all of the pictures that I have been taking. I am still concerned about getting sick…. I met a nurse from Ghana but who livesd in the US at Adom’s school and she told me to go and get some cipro for me and Adom and just keep it at home. I will try to do this next week…please continue to pray for us…forgive my typing errors .. I am trying to say so much so fast…and even with all my words it is still an understatement ;-) THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! To all who are so tenderly loving MAMA and taking her food, doing her hair, calling, thanks aunt bee for printing these out and taking them to her….it does my heart good to hear the joy in her voice…genuine…Haley I read your message, thanks, and Curry I got your e-mail….thanks …its hard for me to respond…it will get better soon…I hope

I have to type everything on word and then try and quickly load it because the internet is so slow and I have to pay by the hour

Take care until next time


10/3

On Sunday I had a private lesson with Sulley in which I learned Bamaya…the story and the dance. Please understand that by no means can I learn a dance in one day…..so we danced some and then he told me the story of how the dance came about and he continued with his story (career). Sulley is from Tamale which is in the northern part of Ghana. His father was a dancer as well. Later in the day the dancers came for a rehearsal and we danced Bamaya, kpalongo, gahone, and fume fume. When we started the rehearsal I was so tired that I didn’t know how I would continue I wanted to stop dancing but I had to remind myself that this is the whole reason why I am here (technically) so I pulled through and ended up having a wonderful time. I was even not so shy when it came time for my solo in fume fume…everyone takes solos in fume fume…I messed up a little but I ended well ;-) I thought Sunday would be sort of a rest day but man I have been so busy with everything, always something to do, which is good but I haven’t even unpacked yet

Monday Adom began complaining of stomach pain…I am worried…I hope he is ok…his water intake has somewhat declined and eddie seems to think that this may be the problem, in fact I cant remember the last time he did #2. Also at school for lunch they give them rice EVERYDAY!!!! When I ask Adom what did you have for lunch today he says “all they gave me was rice and it was SPICY” and then I ask if he ate it he says yes the teacher made us eat it…..when you drop the kids off they don’t let you go any further but when you pick them up they let you go to the classroom…today (Tuesday) I am going to tell his teacher to not MAKE him eat all his rice for goodness sakes he hasn’t even been here for 1 month he cannot completely adjust to the food and he is not used to spicy food…I will also make sure she knows not to give him ANY of the local water…this is why I send water to school….I am going into MOMMY mode and I don’t care… it is no fun being sick and I cant necessarily feel how he feels….I had a long talk with him about the importance of telling the truth and when he says that his stomach hurts I need to know if this is actually the case or if he just doesn’t want to walk, or doesn’t want to eat…..after talking to him over and over on this matter I think he understands and also I want him to know that whatever the issue is if it is within my power I will make him comfortable…I have to because I am here….everything has to be taken seriously…not like at home…I got some cipro, the only problem is he is not running…so I don’t know what to do…I gave him pepto bismol, maybe this caused an issue…not sure

Yesterday Sulley and I had some running around to do…I had to give the U.S. Embassy 2 million cedis OUCH!!! For Adom and me to get multiple country long term visas. I also went to Busy Internet and place 60,000 cedis on my internet account the rate is 10,000 cedis for one hour and then I plug my laptop into the phone line here at the house and use dial up…it is slow…on the way back to the house I bought some food 3 pieces of fried chicken and chips (fries) for 25,000 cedis then I bought Adom a Dr. Seuss book for 55,000 cedis, things are cheaper here but money seems to go…when I picked Adom up he seemed to be feeling better…no fun worrying about him….once we got back Adom’s tutor was there to work with him 150,000 cedis for the month and he works with him for three days a week…he helped him with his homework last night and then gave him a nick name….ohenne pronounced ohh hen eh in the twi language it means chief or king…Adom loved it!!! If someone called him Adom he would say no Ohenne and he said momma I’m going to have to tell my teacher my new name…..this morning on the way to school Adom’s tummy was hurting again and I am worried they would let me go and talk to his teacher about it…I left my number with the secretary and they said that if he continued to feel bad then they would send him to the school nurse…Eddie said that when he felt his stomach that it felt as if Adom needed to drink more water…I am prayerful…on the way back I bought some tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and bleach…today I will make spagetti….i hope the vegetables will be okay and not make us sick… the embassy said that we should prepare a bleach solution…one tablespoon to one gallon of water and let the veggies soak for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking or eating…maybe I will try it but I don’t want to look too weird to them while cooking…it is so funny … I ‘m not sure how much personal space exists here…whenever I go onto the internet in the family room (where the t.v. is) they all seem to gather round and just look…of course I am uncomfortable and want my privacy but I am not sure if I am allowed…they just kind of peak over my shoulder…I don’t mind ultimately…

At any rate I will keep you posted this is mommi ras signing out ;-)