Tourists...

The classic beach photo (to compete with Kostee)

On the road to my hostel

Today was exactly what I needed to bounce me back from yesterday. I think that today could be considered an authentic cultural experience.

After hours of walking around registering for courses, Leon and I decided to go for food in the Bush Canteen, a small market on campus. On the way in, we met a shopkeeper who sells religious books. His name was Kwesi Mensah. Kwesi is the Ghanaian name for someone who is born on Sunday (all Ghanaian people have a name based on a day - mine is Kojo for Monday). Mensah is a traditional name found in Ghana, Togo, and Benin. Kwesi told us that if you met someone with the name Mensah, they were surely from one of those three countries. The book he wanted me to buy was written by a Ghanaian pastor named Mensah Otabil. Mensah is the name given to a family's third child (if it is male) and comes from the Twi word for three.

Kwesi knew all kinds of things about languages - Portugese, the various Ghanaian languages, Spanish, French, and some language in the Congo that starts with an 'L'. His wife is from Brazzaville, and she works for the UN in Ghana. He learned a lot of the things he knows about the world from a 4 month boat ride he took that went all over Western Africa, the Caribbean, and South America.

He spoke mostly with Leon, and I loved watching his gradual opening up. At first, he did not make much eye contact, but eventually he really opened up and enjoyed the conversation. I could tell we had made some kind of relationship when we finished the conversation in French. It was a great moment.

Then we went into the market where my friend Phebe had had her hair braided the day before. The 5 women there had been laughing at me as I tried to speak Twi with them, and they recognized me when I returned. They offered Leon and I a seat, and they started speaking Twi with us. They laughed a lot, and so did we. Then it started to pour rain, so I helped pull down the covers and we waited out the rain.

Anthony, the store owner, came out and offered to teach us Twi more formally, grabbed a pen and paper, and sat down with us. He taught us verbs, pronouns, and nouns. Tomorrow at noon we are going back to learn the pronunciations. He wouldn't accept any gifts or money; he just wants us to learn some Twi.

I really love the women at the store. They are so full of happy energy, and they work so hard while having fun. They are so open to me learning and doing things wrong. Today one of them laughed so hard at me she fell on the floor. But they are not intimidating - just totally welcoming.

Before the Twi lesson, I had given one of my juggling balls to a little kid in the market. He took off with it. I went to find him, so I could give him the other two to learn to juggle. Instead, we ended up hanging out with a group of 3 Ghanaian and 1 Nigerian men, juggling and talking. A few of them could juggle, the others tried, and we laughed and talked. One of them is an underground rapper, one is planning on going to the US to study, and the other owns a shop in the market. We talked about girls, marriage, love, money, careers. The real important stuff. The rapper told me that he was holding off getting a girl until he had found a way to make enough money. "Love without money is like tea without sugar. It just isn't as sweet" was his exact words about love in Ghana.

We stayed there for over an hour, until the sun had set. Then we ate dinner at the market. The whole dining area was dark, and was being illuminated by a few candles. I tried Fufu for the first time and loved it. The woman who served me was so nice and patient. She even taught me a few Twi phrases. Leon and I talked about sports, weaknesses, strengths, and fears.

To finish off the day, I helped Aunty Adelaide (our porter) haul some stuff from one room to another in my building. The whole day was just a normal day with Ghanaian people, doing what they do on a daily basis. It felt real, and relaxed. I think I learned more from today than I have yet. Though the obruni factor will never go away, and I will always be a tourist and foreigner, today was a nice glimpse of what it could feel like to be more normal and familiar in Ghana. ANd I loved it. Every single second.