Time has passed very quickly. My fourth month here has already started. I love Ghana and the experience of being here is wonderful, but the different culture is still tiring and I miss the things from home that I had taken for granted my entire life. It is a little embarrassing to say this, but I miss the US.
There is no way that anyone will ever be able to experience Ghana without being here. I have been trying to explain my experience, but the truth is that I have failed. Everything is different here; there is no way to truly capture it all in words or even in pictures. The differences between here and the states are numerous: the manner in which people greet each other, the food and how it is eaten, the weather, gender roles, sewer systems, laws, politics, the way people drive, the way they talk, their clothing, beliefs, traditions... EVERYTHING.
I am sitting on the couch at the orphanage right now with a one year old boy named Issac sitting next to me. The poor little guy is going to have a rough start in life. His father ran out on him, and his mother is too poor to support him, which is why he is here. He is not adoptable so he will grow up here until he is kicked out at age 13 or 14. Because this is a nice orphanage he should be moderately well educated and healthy by that point, and hopefully he will be able to carve out a decent life for himself.
The glaring poverty here makes me so sad. Compared to other African countries, Ghana is actually pretty well off. There are lots of big houses and wealthy families; but unfortunately a large percent of the population is quite poor. It makes me want to give away everything I can, but I know that even that won't make much difference. It is not just here that the poverty is bad, it is all over Africa and so many other places. I can do everything I can to try to help people here, but would it really even make a difference? I will do what I can to help, but I know it will never be enough.
The main reason that I miss the states is that I just miss blending in. I am tired of being a spectacle and of being hassled because of the color of my skin. I love Ghana and I know that I will miss it when I return home, but right now I miss home. I think that my roommates are feeling the same as I do at this point. Luckily, we only have three weeks left here, which is just enough time to see all the things that I haven't seen yet.
Yesterday I went to Aburi with Molly Ada and Emily. It was refreshing to walk around the gardens and enjoy the different trees and plants from around the world. The weather up there is much cooler than in Accra and I enjoyed feeling a little chill for the first time in over three months. It was great that we could travel just 30 minutes out of the city and feel like we were in the jungle.
Walking through the gardens, we heard some singing and drumming and decided to follow the beat. We had to exit the gardens and then we came to a building where the music was. There were little kids waving at us from a window telling us to come. We were hesitant, but finally went to the entrance. A woman greeted us and welcomed us inside. It was a Sunday afternoon, so they were having church in the small building. I had not been to a Ghanaian church so it was an interesting experience. I am very glad to have seen a piece of Ghanaian culture that is so important and so prevalent in Ghanaian society.
After walking all around the gardens, pangs of hunger overcame us. Ada had already been to Aburi before and told us that we had to have lunch at Peter's Pizza, a small restaurant owned by a Rasta named Peter who used to be a chef on a military ship. He makes the most delicious spring rolls from scratch! Then we indulged in a delicious veggie pizza. After three months of living in Ghana we have had pizza a few times. It has been okay, but this pizza was different. There were so many delicious vegetables and so much melted cheese....this pizza was amazing. I don't know if it's just because I do not have access to very much pizza, but this was the best.
We enjoyed every last bite of our lunch and joked about ordering more. We decided to head home before the sun went down, as it's much more difficult to travel by trotro at night. It didn't take long to catch a ride for all four of us, so we were on our way back to the hustle, bustle and heat of Accra. I think I might have to head back to the peaceful sanctuary of the botanical gardens and the delicious treat of Peter's Pizza before the end of my Ghana journey.
We have all our spare time planned out for the remainder of our time here. Next weekend my friend will be taking me to the small village that he grew up in, which I am very excited about. Then on Sunday we will go to a loud christian gospel church which should be quite the experience, and then we'll head off to experience a soccer game, Ghana-style. The weekend after that, the NGO that I work for which is called FightAIDS Ghana will be having a large event on Saturday for the purpose of securing donations. Sunday I will attend a wedding. That will be the last week of class. After we are done with school we will do some traveling around. We plan on going to Togo, the country east of Ghana, and then taking a boat trip on the Volta River up north towards Tamale. I am super excited for all the things we will be doing!
I hope all is well with you, where ever you might be.
Love,
Lauren
No comments:
Post a Comment