TIGO

I was not very enthusiastic to enter last weekend. Leon, who I consider my best friend in Ghana, was going to Togo. He invited me, but due to VISA complications, the Ghanaian government has my passport until the end of April. So I can't leave the country until then.

I thought my weekend would be slow and uneventful. I was so wrong.

On Friday, I went on a class trip to the Volta Region. We were two busses full of theatre students, and I was one of only 4 obrunis. The purpose of our trip was an ambiguous mix of attending a theatre for development play, seeing the community's tourist sites, and practicing being amateur ethnographers, journalists, and academics. Parts were very uncomfortable for me. It felt like parachute tourism, where we come in large numbers and take take take from the community. the Ghanaian students seemed more at ease, and I can see why. I would be much more comfortable doing this kind of thing in a small town in Saskatchewan.

All of that aside, it was an incredible experience. I played with a group of kids who spoke 4 languages, tried stirring banku for the first time, witnessed a host of cultural events (plays, dances, songs, parades, puberty and initiation ceremonies), was hosted by the chief of the village who served us local food (akpele and okro) and some fresh palm wine, went for a walk through the forest to see a palm tree that had 14 heads, said a few words to the crowd about why the day was special, helped cut the cake that was presented to my professor for his birthday, and laughed in disbelief that he was gifted some bananas, avocados, palm wine, and a live goat! (apparently the goat, which was transported back to the city in the storage area under the bus, escaped when we arrived on campus and was found an hour later on the other side of campus!)

That night, I went to a highlighter party at the dance studio and drank some of the palm wine I was gifted earlier that day.

The next morning, at 6:30 am I met my friend Veronica (the Ghanaian woman with the monkey on her shoulders in my photos below) and we went shopping at Kantamanto market downtown Accra. I have never seen such a large market, or so many people and goods in one place. I have to admit that the consumer in me was very excited. I wanted to buy so many things. In the end, I bought jeans, shorts, and a pair of shoes. They are nice clothes, because everyone in Ghana looks nice and all the clothes I brought were grubby travel clothes.

Veronica took me to see her house, which is in a small community about an hour away from where I live. I met her sisters, saw her house, and then went home. We had such a nice time. Over lunch we had a long conversation about love, and the differences between Ghanaian and Canadian understandings of relationships. We really see marriage and partnership in different ways. To give an idea, Veronica said "You can't only follow love. If you do, you will get into trouble and end up unhappy." I thought of all the love songs, movies, books, stories, etc that we have in Canada that tell us exactly the opposite. All you need is love.

I came home, and expected to go to bed. Instead, I ran into two of my friends who were going to see an Italian circus that was in town. Obviously anyone who knows me knows that I can't say no to a circus. So I went. And I am so happy I did. It was literally like you would imagine one of the old, authentic traveling circuses would be. Even the small details like dirty, dusty rugs and limited security and surveillance made it feel real. There were tigers, alligators, snakes, and a kangaroo. They were actually the worst part of the show, because we all knew how they get treated. I felt so inspired after watching it though. The circus always opens my eyes and my mind to the possibilities of humans. We are capable of such incredible things!

Finally, on Sunday after church I went to the largest beach party of my life. Several hundred people gathered at a beach outside of Accra for a campus residence celebration. The whole beach was packed with people dancing. It started raining, just as the sun was going down, but we decided to dance in the rain anyway. It became so dark that you could only see silhouettes dancing around you. Between the darkness and the sprinkling rain, it was the most fantasy-like dancing experience I have had.

I woke up Monday morning wondering how I ever thought my weekend would be boring because I didn't go to Togo. TIGO - This Is Ghana Oh.