After the flood, all the colors came out
Day 3: 2 August 2006
Rain. Rain. Rain. And not just a drizzle. Downpouring. Apparently, one of the two rainy seasons is now through October. We're hoping for a sunny day tomorrow so we can go to the beach.
After another lovely 5 hours of lecture, we had lunch--another local food (I can't remember the name right now). It was some sort of spiced leaf with something that tasted like potatoes or yams with some beef--not too bad.
Lunch gave way to our first trip to a market. This was a truly eye-opening experience. I have never felt so out of place in my life. Almost everybody is speaking a local language (mostlyGa in these parts). Us white kids, and even the African-American students, stand out like sore thumbs. A truly overwhelming experience, the market was a culmination of African culture. The market is absolutely huge. Not just a couple of streets. It's mile after mile. It's a maze of people. We must have walked by at least 50,000 people. The women are wearing spectacularly colored dresses. The aroma of roadside food stands fills the air. Many of the faces walking by are scarred or tattooed with tribal symbols. Even with all of the scarring, I am continually shocked at how beautiful everyone is here. The women have a way of looking up at you with the corner of their eyes that could just knock anyone over.
Dinner was nothing special -- spaghetti again. But I was able to try some kenke tonight. It's just a corn-based blob that tastes like sourdough bread.
The evening concluded with more dancing and drumming. I was much better on the drum tonight. Last night was almost embarrassing, but I've realized that the next 4 months will be 4 months with no shame.
Two final last general notes:
- The longer I'm here, the more I realize what "expensive" means. I was telling on of the advisors, Felicia, that my shirt cost 10 dollars, or 98,000 cedis. She believed this was way overpriced. So you can imagine her reaction when I told her my jeans cost 50 dollars.
-As much as I want to take a million pictures, it's very hard to do. We always have to keep in mind that the people here are not tourist attractions -- they're people, some of whom are sensitive to having their picture taken. So what I am able to get, I will put in a photobucket account.
Getting pretty late here -- 11:45 PM. Time to call it a night.
LDG
Rain. Rain. Rain. And not just a drizzle. Downpouring. Apparently, one of the two rainy seasons is now through October. We're hoping for a sunny day tomorrow so we can go to the beach.
After another lovely 5 hours of lecture, we had lunch--another local food (I can't remember the name right now). It was some sort of spiced leaf with something that tasted like potatoes or yams with some beef--not too bad.
Lunch gave way to our first trip to a market. This was a truly eye-opening experience. I have never felt so out of place in my life. Almost everybody is speaking a local language (mostlyGa in these parts). Us white kids, and even the African-American students, stand out like sore thumbs. A truly overwhelming experience, the market was a culmination of African culture. The market is absolutely huge. Not just a couple of streets. It's mile after mile. It's a maze of people. We must have walked by at least 50,000 people. The women are wearing spectacularly colored dresses. The aroma of roadside food stands fills the air. Many of the faces walking by are scarred or tattooed with tribal symbols. Even with all of the scarring, I am continually shocked at how beautiful everyone is here. The women have a way of looking up at you with the corner of their eyes that could just knock anyone over.
Dinner was nothing special -- spaghetti again. But I was able to try some kenke tonight. It's just a corn-based blob that tastes like sourdough bread.
The evening concluded with more dancing and drumming. I was much better on the drum tonight. Last night was almost embarrassing, but I've realized that the next 4 months will be 4 months with no shame.
Two final last general notes:
- The longer I'm here, the more I realize what "expensive" means. I was telling on of the advisors, Felicia, that my shirt cost 10 dollars, or 98,000 cedis. She believed this was way overpriced. So you can imagine her reaction when I told her my jeans cost 50 dollars.
-As much as I want to take a million pictures, it's very hard to do. We always have to keep in mind that the people here are not tourist attractions -- they're people, some of whom are sensitive to having their picture taken. So what I am able to get, I will put in a photobucket account.
Getting pretty late here -- 11:45 PM. Time to call it a night.
LDG
posted by Lee Gerston at 3:18 PM
3 Comments:
Wow Lee, Just reading your blog takes me there--I can smell the food and see the faces--thank you!
As for the 50.00 jeans, wear 'em proudly, you're a club member! hh
Great to read your Blog Lee, I am sure that this will be an incredible time. I learnt more as a volunteer than I did in Uni! You wisdom also shines through; “I've realized that the next 4 months will be 4 months with no shame”, could not have put it better, life is too short for shame, better live and laugh with those laughing at us! - Craig.
What are they scarred from?
Can you describe the sounds, the smells that you experienced?
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