to the north and back

12/2/06

WOW!!!!

So much has happened since we last spoke. We traveled to the north and what an experience. We went to Wa for the NAFAC festival (national festival for arts and culture) it was so interesting. We got there late late Saturday night. We did about 3 performances while in Wa. I did not do Bawa because I didn’t want to disgrace the group ;-) the beauty of the whole thing is that while in Wa I GOT BAWA…it’s one of those things that just clicked. I finally got the step…I am sooooooo aahpppy!!!!! Now I just have to build up my endurance to finish the whole thing….it is a real workout. So even though I learned the hardest part of the dance I still have to perfect it b4 I will be at performance level…at least I don’t look like I am doing a bad m c hammer and kid and play anymore. The roads were horrifying!!!!!!!!!! No street lights and most of the trucks were overloaded, we saw several accidents….mostly with the big trucks … we are also in hamatan season which makes it very dry. It also makes the dust on the dusty roads worse. Basically all of our suitcases were covered with dust once we arrived - my hair looked like I dyed it some reddish brown color and whenever we blew our noses brown stuff came out…..it was really bad. I felt like such a guilty mother but honestly at the same time I felt wonderful for exposing Adom to all of the wonderful things that he experienced while we were on the trip. The hotel in Wa was ok it was GNAT (Ghana national association of teachers) it is a place where teachers can stay I believe they have locations all over Ghana. Even though it is for teachers other people can stay there as well. The teachers get a better rate and though the rate will be a little higher for non-teachers you can guarantee that it will be less than $10 a night. The room was fairly decent. Lela, Adom, and I share a room with Adom and I sharing a twin bed and Lela in the other bed. The bathroom was the only problem, while it looked decent it smelled like sewage fumes was coming through the pipes constantly. The festival was very interesting. It included dancing, singing, acting, a fashion show, and of course markets with several good things to buy and you know I bought some stuff. We saw outdoor performances that were simply amazing including a group who danced with bowls of fire on their heads. At one outdoor performance Sulley asked Adom if he wanted to meet one of the chiefs (there were several there) and Adom said that he did so we went over to meet him and as custom goes you should shake a group of people’s hands starting from your right and then move to the left, only using your right hand. Well as fate would have it as soon as Adom got to the chief to shake his hand he shook the chief’s hand with his right and he was digging in his but with his left. Oh my goodness I am glad that the chief in all his splendor did not see this little boy digging in his butt while shaking his hand. I laughed and laughed and thought yes this is definitely a blogging moment and then we went to meet another chief and I said Adom please don’t dig in your butt this time and he smiled and said ok. Wa was also somewhat disappointing because while the festival was there they were having a chieftancy problem and because of this we were told that the festival was not all that it has been or all that is should be. All things included I still enjoyed the festival. Adom got really sick the last day we were there (I think he must have eaten something bad) he was throwing up and running also with fever. Sulley and Lela were ready to get on the road (we all rode together in the car, all the other dancers traveled in the house tro tro) I pretty much refused to get on the road while Adom was throwing up and with diarrhea and fever. So we went to a local pharmacy and got some medicine called diaform – which is for diarrhea and dysentery of protozoal, bacterial or mixed origin, food poisoning and things along those lines. The total costs of the medicine was 33,000 cedis less than $4. I also got Anticid Plus, which stops the muscle contractions associated with throwing up and such. Then I gave him Tylenol for the fever. He basically calmed down and got better so that we could make to 4-5 hour drive to Mole National Park. It was very frustrating and the thought of him having malaria almost brought tears to my eyes. I am very thankful that Adom got better. When we got to Mole it was dark and the lights were off. The next day we woke to monkeys and warthogs outside of our door. Mole was beautiful the forestry was stunning. I was completely overtaken by the beauty of it all. The hotel was nice, there was a pool there and a nice restaurant. The rooms varied and the one we stayed in was 200,000 cedis a night, a little over $20. We rested and had a nice breakfast and then we went on the safari around 4pm. Oh my good ness I forgot to mention the fact that we went to a village not far from Mole where the oldest mosque in West Africa is located. It was built in the 1400’s by dwarfs and now it is a mosque. It is in a village that is 100 % muslim. We walked around the village and asked questions about everything we could think of. I had many questions about the Muslim faith and also why they call us Obroni – which is a word that means white …. They call white people obroni and they also call black people obroni … and poor Adom he gets called Obroni cocoa ….. ( white – black man) they basically told us that since we are foreigners this is why they call us this. I was going to set up an interview with a spiritual man but time would not allow it. We also went to look at the “mystic rock” this is a rock that refused to move when they were constructing the road. I was told that the area used to be a route in which slaves were taken……the people believe that something happened like maybe a slave died on the rock or was killed there or simply refused to move from that place. At any rate when they were constructing the road they moved the rock to the side in an effort to allow the road to pass there and when they came back the next day the rock was back in the same place…so they moved it again and it appeared back in the same spot again. This continued until they decided to leave the rock there and build the road around the rock. So now the rock remains there and people go there to pray sometimes. After we left the village we went on the safari and then we left for Tamale. Tamale was very relaxing and different, just going to the North was different. Accra is very much a city with many cars and a lot of pollution. The north was different in that there were less cars on the road. Many people rode bicycles or motor bikes. There was also less trash in the streets. Adom and I had our own room, which was nice. The hotel was very nice. Not elaborate and expensive but clean and quaint. It cost 90,000 cedis per night. There was a huge tree with branches that hung like ropes and Adom and some other little boys were swinging on them. I took lots of pictures. There was also a restaurant with 2 parrots. Adom and I talked to them and played with them for about an hour. It was very relaxing. My purpose for going to Tamale was to study one of the dances in the village. The dance is called Bamaya and I have already seen it performed by an amateur group and also at The University of Ghana at Legon. I am interested in how the traditional dances change as the environment changes. We saw the dance performed in the village and we also danced with them. It was amazing and definitely different. We also went to the market and bought some things of course. I make myself feel better by saying that it is all part of the research ;-) the way back to Accra from Tamale was in short TERRIFYING!!!! We counted 7 trucks that were overturned and one on fire. At night it was … oh my goodness….lets just say I did a lot of praying. And yes as a mother I wondered what I was thinking by being on this road with my son … but I must say the benefits of this trip FAR outweigh the risks….my son is having an extremely rich experiences and I feel blessed to share it with him. We got back late Monday night so I allowed Adom to miss school on Tuesday. Thursday was his birthday and I had a BIG early birthday surprise on Wednesday. Wednesday night Adom and I went to pick his father up from the airport. I told him that I was picking up my friend Carol from the airport. He was not in a good mood at the airport either. He was hungry, tired, and he kept saying he was ready to go home. When his father walked through the gate oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!! He was so surprised, he scooped Adom up and put him on his shoulders and I said happy birthday Adom and honestly his smile did not leave his face that night. He began teaching his father all that he has learned since he has been here. The next day of course was Adom’s b-day and he had cake and candy at school with his friends. Greg and I traveled into town to order the cake for Adom’s actual party at the house on Saturday (the bakery needed 2 days notice) we also went to the market with Lela and a couple of other friends. It was intense and I felt that maybe it was a bit much for Greg being his first day in Africa and all. It was nice seeing Greg see everything (Africa) for the first time and his reactions to many things. Everyone has been kind to him. Our space is extremely small now that we have increased in number and we are busting out of the seems in our room but I know something will work out. Adom’s party was supposed to start at 4pm but it started around 6pm. Those children had entirely too much fun. I can honestly say and I have asked Adom and he agrees that this has been his best birthday ever!!!!!!!! The children ate cake and ice cream, had LOTS of candy, popped balloons, we had a local hip life dance group come and dance, then the children and adults danced, then the children popped fire crackers and ate banku (which has become Adom’s favorite dish) Greg ate it for the first time and he seemed to like it okay. By the end of the night we were all so tired we just passed out. But we had a good time. For his birthday we got him a batik dress shirt, an electronic car, a electronic gun with a little helicopter on top, 2 books, a soccer ball, and from his friends he got 3 necklaces and a cd of music from Ghana. I also got him his favorite song here “My father the way you do it is not fine.” The next day was farmer’s day… a holiday for farmers in the country in which people do nice things and show their appreciation for the farmers who feed the country. In the meantime Lela received an e-mail when we got back from the north with a job offer for Urban Bush Women and so she left Ghana on Adom’s birthday. So as Greg came she left…she was sad but she had to go and do what was in her heart. Congrats Lela!
The day after Adom’s birthday all 3 of us went and had dinner near the university.

While I have been here I have learned a lot about myself and have been tested on many levels. More importantly I have learned about Africa, specifically Ghana and I have also un-learned a lot. I know that after this experience we will never be the same…. I am already different and look forward to sharing what I have learned once I return. My apologies for taking so long to write and I know this one reads very choppy but I had so much to get out and with many interruptions I finally realized that I just had to spit it out and hope that my friends and loved ones who are reading will excuse all errors…now I have a huge bag of dirty clothes that I have to wash by hand…I know it will take me some days but I think I better go and start… I also need to clean up some b4 time to go and get Adom….Greg is sleeping…still feeling an adjustment to the time change

Laughin, lovin, livin, learnin

angel