Q & A Part 1

Hey everyone! Here's part one of the questions you sent me to answer! Enjoy!

Have you made alot of friends?
I have to a certain extent. I do have plenty of friends at school, but rarely see them otherwise. But I dont mind because I enjoy being at home with my host brothers. My younger host brothers- Junior and Kwasi- have become my best friends and Ive become quite attached to them. Ive also become good friends with Wes, another American AFS student in Sunyani. Ive enjoyed his company and being able to "vent" to him. But I have made numerous allies as I like to call them. The egg sandwich man, the haircutter, the internet cafe guys, the bicycle repairman, some of the regular Baakoniaba taxi drivers(they dont rip me off), the "Nice Lady Provisional Store" as i like to call it(I go there for all my needs becuase the family is nice and dont rip me off) and then just the people that I see on a daily basis.

Do the locals fish and hunt animals?
Well I do know they fish alot on the coast which they will either dry or sell to cold stores. And I have seen some ammunition stores, so I do think they hunt in more of the bush areas. But they do have problems with bush burnings, because of people wanting grass cutter and other local animals.

Do the students at school participate in sports?
Yes, they do. Mainly futbol, which is obvious. Also track and field, volleyball, and handball. But they mainly compete within the school. The school is split into six houses which they compete against each other every trimester. I dont participate becuase I get laughed at and yelled at enough just walking through town, let alone playing on a team. And when I first arrived in Ghana I played futbol a few times with a large group of people, but the NEVER passed me the ball! I just figured they didnt want me touching their holy ball. But of course after we would finish playing, they would tell me Im not good at playing futbol, even tough I never even touched the ball. Logical thought proccess, right?

Has your diet changed and have you lost and wieght?
My diet has changed drastically. I still eat fufu 4-5 times a week, which ive learned just to get down. Meals have turned into something I have to do because I have to live, not because I enjoy it. This is what my meals look like on a normal school day: Breakfast is either ampesi or porage, Lunch is kenkee, and Dinner is fufu. And it rarely varies from that. Im used to being able to look forward to dinner, but here i semi dred eating fufu with the same soup everyday. And its not that I hate it or anything, its the fact that we eat it so often! Think of a meal you dont like in the first place and then think of eating it 5 times a week. But I keep telling myself that Im here to experience the Ghanaian culture, and if that means eating fufu everyday, then so be it! And weight, I have lost some. I just dont eat as much and Im more active.

Do you miss home?
Does Willy Wonka like chocolate bars?! YES! I miss home so much! Im constantly thinking about what my family is doing and wishing I could be eating a bag of Cheetos. haha. But I try not to let it get to me. I think about home, then go back to what i was doing. And I NEVER realized how much I loved America until I got here. I miss the American society where, for the most part, everyone is accepted(not to say that peole arent accepted here, but its a bit....different). And the diversity. How readily accessable things are. School, food, sports,transportation,weather, carpet,A.C.,everything! But I especially miss my family and my family structure. And I hate getting laughed at for doing nothing. I walk down the street and get laughed at and called obroni. And getting stared at sucks to. But I kind of think that its just a one-minded society. And no one really looks into what I have to go through everyday. Its a loose loose situation for me. Because, if I just keep quite and mind my business people think in a snob for not stopping and talking to them,if I stop and talk to them in Twi they laugh at me for even trying to speak their language, and if I speak to them in English they tell me "You've been here 5 1/2 months and you dont know Twi?!!?!" and tell me that Im not trying hard enough. But again they dont look into my shoes. I find it difficult to learn the language because I get discouraged from all the people laughing at me when I use it, in school we're only allowed to "SPEAK ENGLISH", and at home I find it more important that my younger host brothers know english than it is for me to know Twi. So in all situations, laughter at the obroni is involved. And when it happens numerous times aday for 5 1/2 months, it becomes a bit overwhelming and my spirits get a bit trampled on. And then of course I go home and eat fufu. Thats when I start feeling bad for myself and start missing home. But not all Ghanains do that, but the only ones ill ever remember are the ones that make fun of me. But, for now, ill just try and enjoy my time in Ghana.

More Photos of Ghana

For some reason they were making....dirt?

An oncoming storm with the moon in the upper righthand corner.

The seat where I find myself reading,writing or just laughing another day off.

Taking the trash out with the next door neighbor...ADOM and my younger brother Junior

Fufu....thats all I can say

My weekend cleaning with Kwasi

I love this picture......another beautiful Ghanaian sunset with a church in the foreground. Churches work with what they have!