Our days have been fairly slow these last few weeks now that the wedding and wedding cake have finished. We've filled most of our days and nights with World Cup Soccer which ceases to entertain us. I am not sure if it is just that we are surrounded by World Cup enthusiasm here or because we have nothing else to do, but we are glued to the TV most nights and weekends. Especially now that Ghana has forged forward, the matches are that much more exciting. For most of the Ghana matches we've gotten together with friends to watch. So for the last game Ghana vs. U.S. we appropriately went to our American friend, Dyane and her Chilean/British husband's apartment to watch the game with their Czech friend. We were all routing for Ghana and it was great fun as we munched on snacks I made (spicy chicken kebabs, potato salad, and a Moroccan carrot salad!). We were literally on the edges of our seats the whole match and when we (I mean Ghana here) won, we put our ears to the windows to listen to Accra explode in noise and cheers. Then Frank, our driver, called me and just started screaming "Madame!!! We won!!!" and then he hung up. He later told me he was too excited to talk much more than that. See...this is the reason I supported Ghana and not the U.S. I knew that a win for Ghana would mean so much to the Ghanaians and I suspect it would mean much more for them than for Americans. I'm sure there are some Americans who would be overjoyed but since Ghana is the last African country in the tournament, I think Ghanaians feel that they are carrying some heavy weight and responsibility to carry on the dream here.
Otherwise, I've been plugging along at the NGO I'm working with, Chance for Children. I've been putting in about 10 hours a week between meetings with their staff and doing program development work at home. I am working with their Street Outreach Team to tighten up their program and bring some structure to it. This includes making lots of forms for accountability, clarifying the services they provide, and creating systems for doing their work. I find it a mix of excitment and great frustration at times. It has been a huge learning experience to work with Ghanaians and I think this is mostly because the work ethic is somewhat different and also because they've been operating without so many simple procedures and documentation systems for so long. Many of my frustrations have been similar to Alan's at his job and our other friends here and we continue to engage in interesting conversations and debates about why the work ethic differs from ours in the U.S. so much. But, despite the frustrations, I have really enjoyed the staff I'm working with. They seem to appreciate my efforts and are giving my new ideas a try so we'll see how it works out.
On another front, my Mac computer crashed last week so that was a bit of a disaster since I have almost nothing backed up. Of all things, there happens to be an official Apple Store in the mall here so I took it to them and they said the hard drive is likely dead. But, I refuse to give up and will take it home in September to get it checked out again.
And finally, the most exciting bit of news is that Alan and I are headed to Morocco on Thursday for 10 days. We were able to find a little slice of time in Alan's work schedule to get away for the first time and the vacation is much needed (probably more for Alan but it will be great for me too!). And of course, as expected, just even booking the tickets was a unique experience here. The Moroccan airline, Royal Air Moroc, actually has an office here. We tried looking online to check flights times but nothing was listed for Accra. So after 2 visits to the office to get information we finally decided to buy the tickets. Then I found out they don't accept credit cards so we'd have to pay in cash. But this was quite a large purchase and the ATM's only give 10 Cedi bills (the equivalent of about 8 USD) and they only give out a max of 400 Cedis at once so after taking cash out several times and filling my purse with bills I headed to the office where they proceeded to count my wads of cash and handed over the tickets.
So we're packing our bags and preparing for an incredible time. We'll be sure to post pictures and stories on the blog when we return!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Rain, Rain, and Football
The rains have come and they rarely stop and although things have cooled down a few degrees (and I mean only a few), I'm not sure I like this thing called the rainy season. When I first got here, we would wake up every morning to bright sun, blue sky with maybe a few puffy clouds floating by and it was great, well except for the scorching heat. I've come to understand that the rains bring an extra element of chaos to the streets of Accra than there already is. I'm extremely thankful for the four-wheel drive SUV that Guinness has given us because so often Frank and I find ourselves driving through muddy flooded streets. There is not a real gutter system on the roads so basically the streets just fill up with water in a matter of an hour and that means chaos for already crazy aggressive drivers here. To make matters worse traffic lights seem to work less often than they already do. So in order to cross an intersection drivers have to force their way through oncoming traffic which I usually have to close my eyes for. And for even more confusion, people are darting in and out of cars across the street to try to find cover. It seems very few people carry umbrellas. But it doesn't stop people from selling on the street. They just wrap their head in a plastic bag (and maybe their baby's head too who's sitting on their back) and they keep on selling. And if I think I have it bad driving in our nice SUV, consider those (most people who live in Accra) who rely on public transportation (the Tro Tro). Several people have told me that it took them 5 hours the other day to get home because every tro tro was full and every cab was also full. So basically people have to stand in the rain for hours fighting to get on a crowded rickety van.
The other day, before a rain storm came, I was sure that the building going up next to ours was going to come crashing down or debris from the construction was going to fly into our windows. It was a crazy scene. All kinds of things starting flying off the building and the work men were running around like crazy to find cover.
The pool has basically been deserted at the complex and most expats have headed home or for other travels for the summer so things are quiet in expat life. Perfect timing to stay inside during the rains and watch some World Cup football. Football madness has come to Ghana and we can't help but root for the Ghana Black Stars with all this spirit and enthusiasm in the air here. Yesterday, I said to Frank as we were driving in the usually very crowded market area that it seemed quiet and he said, that everyone was inside watching the Nigeria game. And if you listened hard, you could hear the game and the loud drum of those stupid horns coming from inside buildings.
Everyone has put the flags of the teams they're rooting for in their front window dashboard of their cars. We've got one flag for Ghana and one for the US (mind you, Frank picked out the US flag with a big picture of Obama spread across the stars of the flag!). Here you can kind of see it (this picture is before we acquired our Ghana flag).
Then the other day, Frank pointed to a British flag and said "look! another U.S. flag." I told Frank that that was not America's flag but the UK flag and he insisted it was the same flag. I explained it is the same colors as the U.S flag. Then he said, "the UK and America are the same?" At this point, I was reminded that although I think Frank is very smart and has tremendous potential, he's had such little schooling that he has no concept of the world and where countries are located. I find it really sad and frustrating because here is a man with tremendous potential and natural smarts but he was never given the chance to be educated. He worked on his family's farm in the Eastern Region of Ghana and I think only went to 6th grade but even then, I assume he probably did not attend regularly. His family put all their money and support into only one of the children who is now in university and this is very common. The family cannot afford to send all their children to school so they send one child who is then expected to help support the family once he is successful financially. So it makes me wonder how Frank understands all these foreign countries playing in the World Cup as he has no idea where these countries are or what kind of culture or people exist in each country. He just knows that he's rooting for Ghana and any other African team.
The other day, before a rain storm came, I was sure that the building going up next to ours was going to come crashing down or debris from the construction was going to fly into our windows. It was a crazy scene. All kinds of things starting flying off the building and the work men were running around like crazy to find cover.
The pool has basically been deserted at the complex and most expats have headed home or for other travels for the summer so things are quiet in expat life. Perfect timing to stay inside during the rains and watch some World Cup football. Football madness has come to Ghana and we can't help but root for the Ghana Black Stars with all this spirit and enthusiasm in the air here. Yesterday, I said to Frank as we were driving in the usually very crowded market area that it seemed quiet and he said, that everyone was inside watching the Nigeria game. And if you listened hard, you could hear the game and the loud drum of those stupid horns coming from inside buildings.
Everyone has put the flags of the teams they're rooting for in their front window dashboard of their cars. We've got one flag for Ghana and one for the US (mind you, Frank picked out the US flag with a big picture of Obama spread across the stars of the flag!). Here you can kind of see it (this picture is before we acquired our Ghana flag).
Then the other day, Frank pointed to a British flag and said "look! another U.S. flag." I told Frank that that was not America's flag but the UK flag and he insisted it was the same flag. I explained it is the same colors as the U.S flag. Then he said, "the UK and America are the same?" At this point, I was reminded that although I think Frank is very smart and has tremendous potential, he's had such little schooling that he has no concept of the world and where countries are located. I find it really sad and frustrating because here is a man with tremendous potential and natural smarts but he was never given the chance to be educated. He worked on his family's farm in the Eastern Region of Ghana and I think only went to 6th grade but even then, I assume he probably did not attend regularly. His family put all their money and support into only one of the children who is now in university and this is very common. The family cannot afford to send all their children to school so they send one child who is then expected to help support the family once he is successful financially. So it makes me wonder how Frank understands all these foreign countries playing in the World Cup as he has no idea where these countries are or what kind of culture or people exist in each country. He just knows that he's rooting for Ghana and any other African team.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
A Wedding Spectacle
Alan and I attended our first Ghanaian wedding this weekend and it fulfilled our expectations that it would be a spectacle. The wedding was of Alan's British colleague and her Ghanaian counterpart that she has met since being in Ghana. Her now husband is a street dance performer who specializes in acrobatics and is also rastafarian. You may have seen previous blogs of him and his friends performing for us. So this wedding was to be a blend of British and Ghanaian/rastafarian cultures. We were not just guests but were asked to wear specially made outfits (see previous blog) as part of the wedding party and I made her wedding cake. This blog will hopefully give you a feel for what we experienced throughout the day as I think we learned a lot.
The day began at the house of one of the bride's and Alan's colleague. They offered to host the traditional ceremony that just close friends and family were invited to. The ceremony was to begin at 9:15am and thankfully I called the woman hosting the ceremony the previous day and was told the start time was switched to 10:30am because the bride and groom had to be at the marriage registrar's office waiting in line at 7am. It made me so thankful that Alan and I did not have to do that on our wedding day!. As we arrived we saw our Ghanaian counterparts all dressed in the same outfits we had on but somehow it looked much better on them! The women all wore these bright silver headdresses and I suddenly felt I didn't get the memo about those.
The drummers began and the ceremony was officially underway. But, there was no bride or groom! Apparently, the ceremony is not really about the bride and groom but instead about the families and gift giving so they only came out at the very end. As the drummers played, the groom's family entered the tent bearing many many gifts that were laid on the center table.
And it became clear the officiant was this woman, although we don't know who she is or why she was officiating.
After she introduced herself as presiding over the traditional ceremony, she began to describe the gifts on the table and presented them to the bride's mother.
Typically in Ghanaian weddings, the groom's family gives a dowry for the bride and her family. I've heard that often the bride's family makes a list of what they expect to be given and only when the list is completed will the bride's family accept the marriage. I don't think that's what happened here but there were plenty of gifts! The gifts included 4 pieces of traditional Ghanaian fabric (this basically entails 6 yards in each piece from which a typical Ghanaian dress can be made), special liquor, traditional Ghanaian beads, and a suitcase.
Now I'm thinking, "oh, it's like American weddings and they give luggage for travels the couple might take together." Wrong. The suitcase, as we understood it, is given to the bride's family as a way to ensure that the husband cannot kick the bride out and divorce her because normally, if he were to do that, he'd hand her a suitcase and send her off on her way but if the bride's family has the suitcase already, the husband cannot do this. The suitcase was apparently filled with odds and ends for the kitchen like a microwave and a broom. Oh and panties! This part all got a little confusing but the officiant then described the old fashioned panties that Ghanaian women used to wear which was basically cloth attached to a beaded belt which was introduced by the white woman.
Then the bride was brought out with her bridesmaids - her sister and best friend.
And then the groom was brought out do more drumming and dancing and he was accompanied by his best men, King and Easy Man, who we've met before.
And after they got seated, the ceremony was basically over and the drummers and dancers began their performance. The men were dressed in black tights, mesh shirts, and quite colorful socks and as you can see, they had to be ridiculously hot as they performed.
Occasionally the women would interact with us by sitting in our laps or dancing with us and we later found out that when they did this, they were asking for us to give them money...we didn't know.
This concludes the first part of the wedding. Alan and I went back to the apartment to change out of our outfits which were now drenched in sweat, take the second shower of the day, and get our more comfortable clothes on for the reception. We managed to get the cake in the car in one piece and made it to the venue which was a hotel on the beach. The reception was supposed to begin at 2:30 and we arrived at 2 and almost nothing had been set up yet! The tent was up and the tables and chairs were out but that was literally it! So the few friends and family of the bride who were there quickly began organizing and setting the place up. This, unfortunately, was not surprising for Ghana. So I got to working on the cake while they carried crates of plates and glasses to get the tables set up. The cake went up without a hitch and then we could relax and take in the ocean breeze which barely kept us from melting.
The cocktail hour was when we took the opportunity to snap some pictures of the guests as we sipped warm champagne. These are some of our favorites.
Finally the bride and groom arrived at about 3:30 and made their grand entrance and took their seats at the head table as the drummers and dancers performed more for them. We ate a buffet of mixed continental/Ghanaian food which was pretty good. The cake was cut and the event moved from reception to party...
...complete dancers and musicians who performed as the sky darkened.
We really enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime event that we were lucky to witness and be part of and it certainly makes for a good story from our time in Ghana.
The day began at the house of one of the bride's and Alan's colleague. They offered to host the traditional ceremony that just close friends and family were invited to. The ceremony was to begin at 9:15am and thankfully I called the woman hosting the ceremony the previous day and was told the start time was switched to 10:30am because the bride and groom had to be at the marriage registrar's office waiting in line at 7am. It made me so thankful that Alan and I did not have to do that on our wedding day!. As we arrived we saw our Ghanaian counterparts all dressed in the same outfits we had on but somehow it looked much better on them! The women all wore these bright silver headdresses and I suddenly felt I didn't get the memo about those.
The drummers began and the ceremony was officially underway. But, there was no bride or groom! Apparently, the ceremony is not really about the bride and groom but instead about the families and gift giving so they only came out at the very end. As the drummers played, the groom's family entered the tent bearing many many gifts that were laid on the center table.
And it became clear the officiant was this woman, although we don't know who she is or why she was officiating.
After she introduced herself as presiding over the traditional ceremony, she began to describe the gifts on the table and presented them to the bride's mother.
Typically in Ghanaian weddings, the groom's family gives a dowry for the bride and her family. I've heard that often the bride's family makes a list of what they expect to be given and only when the list is completed will the bride's family accept the marriage. I don't think that's what happened here but there were plenty of gifts! The gifts included 4 pieces of traditional Ghanaian fabric (this basically entails 6 yards in each piece from which a typical Ghanaian dress can be made), special liquor, traditional Ghanaian beads, and a suitcase.
Now I'm thinking, "oh, it's like American weddings and they give luggage for travels the couple might take together." Wrong. The suitcase, as we understood it, is given to the bride's family as a way to ensure that the husband cannot kick the bride out and divorce her because normally, if he were to do that, he'd hand her a suitcase and send her off on her way but if the bride's family has the suitcase already, the husband cannot do this. The suitcase was apparently filled with odds and ends for the kitchen like a microwave and a broom. Oh and panties! This part all got a little confusing but the officiant then described the old fashioned panties that Ghanaian women used to wear which was basically cloth attached to a beaded belt which was introduced by the white woman.
Then the bride was brought out with her bridesmaids - her sister and best friend.
And then the groom was brought out do more drumming and dancing and he was accompanied by his best men, King and Easy Man, who we've met before.
And after they got seated, the ceremony was basically over and the drummers and dancers began their performance. The men were dressed in black tights, mesh shirts, and quite colorful socks and as you can see, they had to be ridiculously hot as they performed.
Occasionally the women would interact with us by sitting in our laps or dancing with us and we later found out that when they did this, they were asking for us to give them money...we didn't know.
This concludes the first part of the wedding. Alan and I went back to the apartment to change out of our outfits which were now drenched in sweat, take the second shower of the day, and get our more comfortable clothes on for the reception. We managed to get the cake in the car in one piece and made it to the venue which was a hotel on the beach. The reception was supposed to begin at 2:30 and we arrived at 2 and almost nothing had been set up yet! The tent was up and the tables and chairs were out but that was literally it! So the few friends and family of the bride who were there quickly began organizing and setting the place up. This, unfortunately, was not surprising for Ghana. So I got to working on the cake while they carried crates of plates and glasses to get the tables set up. The cake went up without a hitch and then we could relax and take in the ocean breeze which barely kept us from melting.
The cocktail hour was when we took the opportunity to snap some pictures of the guests as we sipped warm champagne. These are some of our favorites.
Finally the bride and groom arrived at about 3:30 and made their grand entrance and took their seats at the head table as the drummers and dancers performed more for them. We ate a buffet of mixed continental/Ghanaian food which was pretty good. The cake was cut and the event moved from reception to party...
...complete dancers and musicians who performed as the sky darkened.
We really enjoyed this once-in-a-lifetime event that we were lucky to witness and be part of and it certainly makes for a good story from our time in Ghana.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Bollywood Birthday Party
This past weekend Alan and I were invited to a big surprise 40th birthday party for a woman I've gotten to know through my book club. Her friends threw the party for her and asked me to make a "Bollywood Theme" cake for her since she loves Indian food and they were creating an Indian vibe for the party. So the text message to me requesting the cake said "hot pink frosting with sugar orange marigolds". So after some laboring with sugar paste and pink food coloring I was able to create both marigolds and hot pink icing.
The party was great fun! One of the best nights we've had since coming to Ghana. All of the birthday girl's friends made homemade Indian food, decorated the place with paper marigolds, incense and flower petals. We met some new expats from all over the world and Alan got to meet some of the people I've gotten to know through different social gatherings. The highlight of the party is when an African dance teacher arrived to teach us some African dance moves. A few of the ladies have started taking dance lessons with him at their apartment compound and so they demonstrated what they've been working on. We had some good laughs as they performed and I got talked into joining the lessons every Thursday.
Then we all joined in as he showed us some steps. It was really hard and we all looked pretty silly I think, but Alan captured my attempt at the moves.
The cake went over well which I was happy with. I'm trying to get a little cake business going here called Africake and so it was good to have so many people see and taste one of my cakes.
The party was great fun! One of the best nights we've had since coming to Ghana. All of the birthday girl's friends made homemade Indian food, decorated the place with paper marigolds, incense and flower petals. We met some new expats from all over the world and Alan got to meet some of the people I've gotten to know through different social gatherings. The highlight of the party is when an African dance teacher arrived to teach us some African dance moves. A few of the ladies have started taking dance lessons with him at their apartment compound and so they demonstrated what they've been working on. We had some good laughs as they performed and I got talked into joining the lessons every Thursday.
Then we all joined in as he showed us some steps. It was really hard and we all looked pretty silly I think, but Alan captured my attempt at the moves.
The cake went over well which I was happy with. I'm trying to get a little cake business going here called Africake and so it was good to have so many people see and taste one of my cakes.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Matching Outfits
Alan and I have gotten matching lime green floral outfits made for Alan's colleague's wedding in 1 week's time. This is the outfit she has asked some of her friends/colleagues to wear and we happily obliged as we were looking forward to donning traditional Ghanaian formal wear. Our seamstress, Gladys, came tonight for a fitting and we just couldn't resist taking these pictures. Alan is quite convinced he looks like an African prince and has decided that he wants to wear his outfit on the plane ride back to the States in October...there is absolutely no way I will let him...don't worry!
Stay tuned for more pictures from the wedding. It is sure to be interesting!
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