Weekend Activities

This weekend was the best one I have had yet. Saturday Michelle and I went to the local "market" where they sell all sorts of souvenirs and decorative things for good prices. I went there briefly with Lee and a visitor last week but didn't buy anything. Many of you would probably find this type of place a bit overwhelming, but I have to say that it is one of the few places so far that I have felt extremely comfortable. I find that odd but oh well. The market is a line of small wooden stores. Each time you go near a store to look the owner comes running up encouraging you to look b/c as they say "looking is for free". They tend to be a little pushy at first but after I stated I was just looking AND that I wasn't a tourist, they backed off a little bit. The first time I went I met Kofi and Wolfgang who recognized me when I returned with Michelle. I didn't buy anything from them this time but I will in the future. If they are honest and give good prices, I intend to be a loyal customer. What I came for with Michelle was a painting that I had seen the first time. The first purchase for my home. We walked around quite a bit to make sure that this was the painting I wanted and then went back to the store. And let the games begin. With a bit of input from Michelle, I bartered with the owner over the painting. I actually enjoyed it. He started at 380,000cedis which was of course ridiculous, so I low balled him at 140,000cedis. So back and forth it went until we landed somewhere in the middle. Michelle said I did well. I think I paid about 20,000cedis more than she would have but for my first time I was quite proud. Of course at one point he got stubborn so I threatened to walk and then he became quite reasonable again:) It really is a game and I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it.

Then we moved down the road to look at furniture possibilities. Most of you would never consider buying your living room furniture off the side of a major, busy street but I am. We stopped at a section where I saw something I liked and boy was I surprised when the builder came running up the hill pulling on his pants (over his boxers) and trying to button his shirt at the same time. I looked at Michelle thinking he had just woken up from a nap, but actually he was down the hill working and had stripped b/c of the heat. Anyway, we looked through the book of his work that he provided and found something I liked. But since this is a much bigger purchase and he knows Lee, I will wait until Lee can come with to influence the bartering.

Have I mentioned that Lee knows just about everyone it seems like. Whenever we all drive down the road he is honking and waving at people. And at the little fruit stands and shops he is well known. His love for Africa and African people is like few I have ever seen. And they love him too. I hope to emulate this as I get to know people in the area.

Sunday afternoon I went with Lee and Michelle and their boys to watch Lee and TJ (their oldest) play football (that's soccer to you). It is their usual Sunday afternoon gig. Lots of players, even one that was semi-pro in Germany. These guys are good...and tough! I love watching sports and really enjoyed watching the games. A great part of it was just being outdoors and among so many Ghanaians and expatriates.

I am thankful for a productive and pleasant weekend. Did I mention that I plan to start learning Twi? That is the commonly spoken language here. Although pretty much everyone speaks some degree of English, if you listen to the nationals talk to each other they are speaking Twi most of the time. I have met another missionary girl who has been using a tutor and I hope to be able to work with her also. It will be challenging I am sure but I think it will be a good thing to do for ministry and understanding the culture better.

Sundays are really hard for me.

Today is the one month "anniversary" of my coming to Ghana. I arrived on Sunday, May 20th. I have discovered in the last month that Sunday is the hardest day of the week for me. Monday through Friday I might have moments where I struggle with being homesick or lonely or longing for what is familiar and on Saturday it all increases a bit, but Sunday those feelings and struggles are magnified and prolonged. The most obvious reason is that I miss my church. And it is hard to break into a new church in the states much less in a foreign country. I love most everything about my church in IL - the music, the worship, the sermons, working in the nursery, having my parents there and so many wonderful friends. Today has been especially hard even though I went to a new church here and enjoyed it quite a bit. All the thoughts of home and feeling alone and different and uncomfortable in a new place have crashed in at the same time today. Leaving me with tears and a headache. Maybe part of it is also that it is Father's Day and those of you who know my Dad know that he is something special and I miss him. I miss my mom too. She has been so strong with me and for me. I miss them today. I miss my good, close friends. I miss my mom's beautiful garden and "my birds". I miss the forest preserve where I often sit and write and read and pray. And yes, I miss NASCAR on TV but not as much as the rest:) I hope that the reality of what I am feeling doesn't scare you. It used to scare me to have such strong, negative feelings but over the last couple of years I have come to recognize the truth that feelings will not kill me. They hurt and I don't like some of them but they will not kill me. So I hope you are ok with me sharing the reality of living in and adjusting to a new culture. It is hard. I stick out like a sore thumb. I am most definitely a minority here and that is an unusual and uncomfortable place for me. As I wrote to my mom in an email earlier, I feel like I am in shifting sand. And sometimes shifting quicksand. Everything is new and different and I don't have any of the things or places or people that I would go to to find comfort and help. But as I wrote to her earlier all I could think of was that God is the Solid Rock. Do you know the chorus of this hymn? "On Christ the solid Rock I stand. All other ground is shifting sand. All other ground is shifting sand." Everything is shifting sand. And when all the usual props have been kicked out there isn't much to hold on to but Jesus. That's where I am now. Where I must focus. Another song comes to mind that says "You've got to hold on to God's unchanging hand." My whole life has changed in one plane ride but the Lord hasn't moved. The verse at the top tells it straight out. Is. 44:8 Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me,Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.' As you read this post please pray for me - that I would hold on to the Rock. The only Rock that is the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank you!

Unexpected visitor

Well I don't imagine this has happened in too many of your homes. Sat. morning I walk into the Sonius' living room and see their two guard dogs nosing and sniffing at something furry looking up against the glass on the porch. I can't tell what it is and I am thinking "great a dead animal". So I holler for Miichelle. I mean it's not my house and I am not going out there to see what it is and if it is alive. (Such a chicken aren't I?) Michelle goes on the porch and moves the dogs away but keeps her distance. She says it is a goat. But she isn't sure if it is alive so she hollers for Lee. He comes out and looks at it for a minute before deciding it isn't dead and goes to get it from the dogs. The dogs hadn't hurt it as far as we could tell. Lee picks it up and it kicks it's feet so we know it is ok. But I am thinking "how on earth did this goat get in the yard anyways?" The yard is surrounded by a 6 foot wall. But Lee says that it belongs to the neighbor behind us and it jumped over the wall. No way that little goat jumped a 6 foot wall! Well apparently the neighbors have stacked some cinder blocks up against part of the wall on their side and the little guy climbed up and then jumped over. Quite brazen I must say as there is barbed wire on the top of the wall. And the first surprise the baby had was the very long drop to the ground on the other side of that wall. No cinder blocks on our side. Fortunately it landed in the grass. Then the second and worse surprise - two large German shepherds coming after it. I don't know how it all transpired to get the goat on the front porch from the back yard but I would be extremely surprised if that baby jumps the wall again. Apparently he wasn't the first. Another young goat had done it awhile ago and was saved from sure death or at least injury by Eva b/c she saw it when one of the dogs had it by the throat!! Silly little things. The grass is always greener.... Well I am happy to say that it was ok but I sure hope no more venture into the yard. They may not be as lucky as the last two. (See the picture on the side). They are cute though.

Taxi ride and the "Obroni"

Yesterday Michelle and I took a taxi to the Wal-mart type store called Game. My first taxi ride. I imagine most of you know that bartering for prices over taxis and most other things is very common, even expected here. Not in stores like Game or the grocery store but in the market or at a fruit stand, etc. So the ride there was negotiated from 20,000 cedis down to 15,000 cedis. Ok just a difference of 50 cents but it's the principle. But trying to come back from the store, the guys at the taxi stand started at 40,000 cedis. Well that was ridiculous of course but Michelle just threatened to walk away and actually we started walking to the street when they agreed on 20,000 cedis. It is quite entertaining to watch Michelle "work". She has been in West Africa for a good portion of her life and seems fearless to me. The first question she asked these taxi drivers was "what do you think I am, an obroni?" Obroni is the Twi (chwee) word for "white woman" or sometimes more loosely used for "foreigner or stranger". So basically she was challenging them that they had jacked up the price b/c we were white - which frankly is not uncommon. Most "white" people here are bankers or business owners or oil company people and will often pay whatever price without worry. But we missionaries don't do that:) Hence the bartering. I am sure I will get used to it and jump right in. And I certainly couldn't mention a taxi ride without commenting on the driving. Let's just say that at the same area I mentioned recently where the roads converge together that I was nose to nose so to speak with a city bus (van really) that was trying to merge. Literally could have reached out and touched it - I am guessing we had 6 inches between doors. No joke. And another car on the other side. But I must be getting used to things b/c I didn't flinch. I knew the taxi driver was used to this and it would all sort out eventually when we got down to the single lane. And it did. What is a little frightening is that on edges of the main roads are these deep concrete ditches so you have to be very careful backing up and parking etc. I can see myself easily dropping a wheel into one of these gutters. But as you are driving in this particular area, as the lanes converge (and I use "lanes" loosely as there are no stripes on the road- period) the car trying to come into your lane is very gently (ha ha) pushing you to the side - right next to the gutter. So you have to be tough and not get pushed too far. Balance between not hitting the car and not falling into the gutter. It pays in these cases to have a Land Rover or something big like that:) I do promise that one of these days I will stop talking about the driving but not very soon. I have had several people tell me that the driving here is tame compared to many other places in Africa. I guess this is one thing that is definitely relative!

Today we went to see a house that I might be able to rent and out front, eating the palm trees, was a group of goats. Maybe 10 or so. And down in the middle of the road was a mama goat and her just born baby (umbilical cord still attached). The tiniest, cutest little thing - and me without my camera!!! Ugh. Oh well. Hopefully I will see it again - though if I rent this place I would prefer they not eat the trees!

Observations from a day of errands

Today Michelle and I left early to go meet some people for breakfast at one of the very nice hotels in Accra. Before I talk about that I must, once again, comment on the traffic and driving. You obviously realize that I am still amazed (and occasionally aghast) at the driving here. We were going during rush hour which we try to avoid b/c without traffic signals, etc. it gets pretty bad. Anyway, today there were "hawkers" all over this major congested area. A hawker is someone who walks between cars at a traffic jam or at a stoplight to sell whatever they are selling - fruit, sunglasses, plantain chips, water, etc., etc. So picture this...traffic is merging from two different directions into one road and then there is a "Y" just a few yards (I mean meters) from where everyone is merging. So people are merging and then trying to get across 2 to 3 to 4 lanes of traffic - depends on where you are in the mess- and in the middle of all this are dozens of hawkers. On the road, between the cars, in front of the cars and anywhere else they can fit. Absolutely insane. It really gets to a point where you have to laugh or else you would just scream:) So we get through there and then a ways down we are behind someone turning left - and I love this- the first guy gets a break to turn left and the other 2 cars also waiting to turn left go with him. So basically all three turn left at the same time into the same street. I am dying laughing at this point b/c it is just so crazy. But I guess if you don't get in there when there is a break you could sit awhile. Ok I think I am done with the traffic - at least for now.

We are met Jack and Nell Chinchen and their son Palmer Chinchen. Jack and Nell started African Bible College in Liberia way back when I was a child there (before me actually). They now have these colleges in Uganda and Malawi and are in the process of going back to Liberia to rebuild the one there that was destroyed during the civil war. They are amazing as they have been living in Africa for probably 50 years or so. I grew up in Liberia with their daughter Marian. She lived up country and I lived by the beach and during summers we would go visit each other. Flying by prop airplane (with a pilot who occasionally read a magazine while flying...but I digress). It was great. She also lives in Malawi now with her husband and 7 children and I hope to get to see her one day. The hotel we met them at is very nice. It has this amazing pool with palm trees and paths around it- looks like a resort you would see in Hawaii - minus the beach. You can go there and swim for a price. Actually you can pay to go to several nice hotels in the city and use their pool for the day - costs about $9 or so. I hope to get to do that some day as a treat. Anyway, it was really nice to see the Chinchens. I probably hadn't seen any of them for I would guess 28 years. Palmer is the pastor of a large church in Phoenix. I am glad he turned out well b/c he was really a pain to Marian and I when we were at her house.

After this Michelle and I go to a local market. You can see a picture of the little grocery store to your right. I couldn't take a bunch of pictures - it is proper to ask permission most of the time- but I will try to describe it. Down a fairly narrow two lane street are little shops on both sides. In front of the shops, like the one in the picture, are little stands with fruits and vegetables. There are chickens running around loose and people going in every direction. And of course cars also going in every direction. In this store you can buy all sorts of canned goods, dry milk powder, TP, tea bags, etc. etc. Actually you can go most things here if you want to pay for it. For example, I could get Cocoa Puffs for about $7-8 per box. Not likely to happen but it is available. On the other hand at the little stand in front of the store we got a pineapple, 5 cucumbers, 5 papaws (a fruit) and a head of cabbage for 27,000 cedis - which equals about $3. Amazing!

We also went to the post office to see if I had any packages or letters. Much to my delight I had one letter. Yippeeee. You don't get mail delivered or pick up at your house. We have to drive down into the business section of town and get it there. I was going to take a picture of it but there were many police around and Michelle thought I shouldn't so I took her advice:) But basically it is a little brick building and you go in and get your stuff from the guy. This is one thing that is significantly different from the states. Imagine having to drive from Gurnee to Waukegan to get your mail (for those who live in IL) and through major traffic. Not easy to do. Hence we only check the mail every couple of weeks.

Michelle got her hair cut today and the girl did a real nice job. I am happy that there is someone I can go to for a trim.

One of the interesting things about restaurants, hair salons, etc. is the difference in tipping. The first time we ate out I asked Michelle about how much to tip. I am thinking of course 10-15% like in the US. She said "oh no. You only tip about 5000cedis (50cents) or 10,000cedis ($1) at the very most". Can you imagine? And most of the time you don't tip at all! I am glad I asked. If I had been by myself and tipped 10% the server would have passed out!!!

Well the rest of the day was spent working on financial stuff and training with Michelle. I won't bore you with those details. Talk to you soon:)