Village Home Stay

Friday, February 11, 2011
Tuesday night we were informed there would be no water on the ship from 10:00 PM until the following evening at 7:00 PM. It turns out the port we were anchored in didn’t have any water for us to hook up to. The ship isn’t able to desalinate water while in port. So we had drinking water but no water for bathing. Dave and I quickly took a shower to prepare for the next morning when we would be leaving for our home stay. SAS keeps stressing we need to be flexible and this is a good example.

Wednesday morning Dave and I left at 8:00 AM to go on an overnight cultural immersion and home stay. This morning the air conditioning on the bus was working too well and Dave and I weren’t dressed for cold so I pulled my nightgown out of my bag and wore it around my shoulders. Dave borrowed a jacket from the lady across the aisle and wore that. The windshield on the bus was broken and the windows on all of the buses have been so dirty that it is hard to take pictures of anything we are passing by. We have been down the same roads several times and I notice something different each time. Today I saw a lady balancing a sewing machine on top of her head. I still can’t get over how strong all the women are and how they can balance just about anything on top of their heads.

After an hour and a half bus ride we arrived to the village of Atonkwa where were to have our home stay. We were greeted by traditional drumming as the bus pulled into the village of 1000 people, 700 of which are children. The whole village was out to meet us. Even the kids were let out of school. The village is about 300 years old. We had a naming ceremony where each of us was given our African name. Mine is Ama Abaka Payin and Dave’s is Kweku Abaka. When a baby is born it is given its name on the 8th day. It is usually named around 5:00 AM and before the name is announced it is given a drop of water from a medicinal leaf (which means wisdom) and then a drop of alcohol. The first name given is the day of the week it was born. The second name is its spiritual name usually after someone known for being a good person, and then finally the family name. Ten people were called in front of the chief at a time and after those ten received their African name, the drummers would start up again and then the dancers would come out and dance and do acrobats. Very entertaining.

After the naming ceremonies were over we were told we would go to the school in the village to interact with the children. When I heard this I ran to the bus to get the coloring book and crayons I had brought along to pass out. On my way out of the bus some kids spotted what I had and they were all over me to get a picture to color and a couple of crayons. They were about me like flies and it didn’t take long before all of my pictures and crayons had been passed out. Some SAS students passed out whistles and some gave stickers. The kids loved it all. It turned out all the kids were out of school already because of our arrival but they took us to their classrooms to show off their school.

Next we were taken to the Coconut Grove Resort and Restaurant on the beach for lunch. It was a beautiful resort and beach and there was a delightful breeze. We had a nice buffet lunch and walked the beach. The food was quite spicy. I understand the food on the west coast of Africa is quite spicy but not so much on the east coast. Vendors displayed their wares (necklaces, bracelets, backpacks, statues, skirts, bags, shells) along the beach and several of us managed to drop a few bucks there.

I have been taking a class called International Domestic Violence. On our way to this village I saw a sign along the road that said, “Domestic Violence Stop It!” I understand domestic violence is a big problem here in Ghana and will be anxious to get to class on Saturday to hear what the kids and teacher have to say about their findings. I talked to the lady I was staying with and she said it is very hard to be married. She has 3 year old twin boys and told me that she has to do 95% of the work. She told me mothers sleep with their children until they are about ten years old. She said the husband sleeps in his own room. She said her husband comes home and lies on the couch to watch TV and wants to know if his supper is ready. I never saw him and don’t know what he does for work. She has twin boys three years old and they were scared of Dave and me. I don’t think they had seen white people before and they probably thought we were ghosts.

When we got back to the village after having lunch we were matched up with our host family. Dave and I went to a family with 5 sisters ranging in age from 38 to 21. There was Elizabeth, Matilda, Cecelia, Rita,
and Bernice. They also had a brother named Alexander who is 14. He dressed up in a costume he uses for dancing for us and was excited to have his picture taken. A few were married and had children. They were all so friendly and loved having us come into their home. Rita really took to me and kept saying “Let’s Go, Auntie Jean”. She showed us our bedroom which was painted blue and had a cement floor and two windows along with a ceiling fan. There were two double size mattresses lying on the floor each covered with one sheet along with a pillow on each. Next they took us to their living room which had chairs and couches lining the room and a TV with rabbit ears on one wall. They turned on the TV and wanted to sit in that room with us. However, it was so hot and Dave asked if we could go outside to get some air. So we sat outside and visited until Rita said “Let’s go Auntie Jean!” Then she took my arm and we went for a walk around the village. She loved touching me and said my skin is so soft. The houses are mostly little shacks lined along red dirt streets with kids running around along with chickens, goats, and ducks. She showed us they have three churches in the village, a mosque, Catholic, and Pentecost. She said they all get along very well together and it doesn’t matter what religion each of them are. The whole village takes care of each other and they don’t have any crime. It turns out Rita runs a store a few steps from their home and she went there and worked at breakfast, lunch and dinner and anytime in between. I loved sitting at the store watching the customers coming for a half cup of oil or a cup of rice, and a cube of bouillon, etc. I think they just buy enough for each meal. Also the well was near the store and it was fun to watch the ladies and children coming for water in the morning. Some got themselves a pail of water and washed up from the pail while still at the well.

The house we stayed in had electricity and running water and was definitely one of the nicer homes in the village. When we were going to bed I asked where the bathroom was. Rita opened a door and showed me a room where there was some type of shower. I said, “Oh, I mean the toilet.” So she opened a different door and there was a toilet with a broken bowl and a lizard climbing the wall. I screeched a little and she said not to worry. She then showed me how to sit so as not to cut myself on the broken bowl. I decided to hover and went to bed without washing up or brushing my teeth. We were told not to ingest any of the water while in Ghana and I didn’t want to take any chances. It was hotter than heck when we laid down on our mattresses and I didn’t think it would be a problem not having a blanket or sheet to cover with but by morning it had cooled down and I was wishing I had something. I don’t know what the pillow was stuffed with but it had an odor I didn’t care for.

I did sleep some and about 5:00 AM the next morning when it was still pitch black out, I heard the call to prayer from the mosque. About 6:00 AM I heard the roosters start up and then around 7:00 AM the goats started to baaa. Around 7:30 AM Dave and I got up. We put the same clothes on we had worn the day before and went out to the kitchen. Matilda was making porridge for us. We took a little walk and when we came back it was ready for us to eat. She sat us at the dining room table with our porridge and some bread and then closed the door. I took one look and taste of it and told Dave I couldn’t eat it. He said I had to. He then took a taste and said he didn’t want it either. I told him we needed to put some of it in something so they would think we ate it. He agreed. I put my thinking cap on and then remembered I had a pill in a baggie in my backpack. So I left the room and got the baggie. I came back to the dining area and Dave and I each spooned a lot of porridge into the baggie. Once that was done Dave asked what we were going to do with it now. I said we should try to put it in the pocket of his shorts. It turned out to be too big to fit in his pocket. We let a little air out and tried it again. He said, “Jean, if this breaks, I’m going to kill you!” Anyway we never could get it to fit his pocket so I had to get my knitting bag to hide it. We had a good laugh and are so glad no one ever came into the room to see what we were up to.

Two of the sisters asked us for our cell phone numbers and said they are going to call us. I told them not to call until May because we wouldn’t be home until then. One of them wanted to know if we could give her an invitation to come to America because she couldn’t get a visa unless she had an invitation. I can see why they would want to get out of where they live but Dave told them it would be very hard to get into the US. He also had a boy ask him if he could come to America to go to school. We feel very helpless to help these people.

On the way back to the ship yesterday we stopped at a cassava processing plant. This is one of the staples of the Ghana people’s diet. We saw this in Dominica and Brazil too. This is a food from the roots of the cassava plant. Each plant produces about 5 or 6 roots that look like big potatoes. Each root is peeled, shredded and pressed and then cooked. It can keep forever once it is processed. There were lots of stands along the road selling bags of processed cassava.
We were thrilled to arrive back on the ship after almost two days of no showering or brushing teeth or change of clothes. And thank goodness the ship was able to get water while were gone. Dave and I each wore our flip flops right in the shower to wash them off and then I brought my tennis shoes in and washed them too. Of course all of our clothes went into the wash. What a great night’s sleep we had last night. And now we are back at sea and will arrive in South Africa next Thursday. It is nice to have a week to digest what we have just seen and then get ready for the next port. That’s it for now.