Monday, July 11, 2011

We whip our hair!

Maadwo!
I’ve been in Ghana for a month now, and I can hardly believe it’s going by so quickly! Last week at work I was allowed to follow around some of my colleagues to see the different meetings they take part in. I’m finding the operations of FoN very democratic: they invite representatives from religious groups, women groups, business groups, the district assembly, chieftaincies, and NGOs to the forums, and they are almost always open to the public, unless productive decisions must be made. The community is always consulted or surveyed as well. Although these processes make the workings of FoN more tedious perhaps then just an executive decision, I am appreciating the bottom-up grassroots approach FoN takes with all of their projects and learning a lot about community participation and consensus building.


Welcome to FoN!

FoN shares property with Parks and Gardens, so we are surrounded by beautiful gardens

The laneway



Ivy, our favourite shopkeeper and friend in Adiembra (the community FoN is in). We visit and buy from her  daily!

On Saturday Sara and I hopped on a trotro and went downtown to go fabric shopping. Many women wear beautiful dresses made by seamstresses, especially to church and special events. Market circle is covered in fabric stores, so we oohed and aahed over fabrics and though out ideas for our new dresses and skirts that Georgina, our seamstress, will hopefully make us. The market circle is a chaotic and wonderful place. The inside shops sell fabric, mattresses, electronics, etc., and seamstresses and salons are also common. On the street is fast food, bread, fruit, heaps of clothing that people pick through, shoes, little stands for getting nails done, etc. The streets are busy and exciting, especially the whirring of taxis and trotros.
How will I ever choose?
Juliette, the secretary at work, met us downtown to take us to a salon to get our hair done. Many women here wear meshes- sometimes with long flowing loose hair, but usually with braids, cornrows, or short dreads. With the heat and sweat, Sara and I decided braided hair would be easiest to take care of. It doesn’t need to be washed and it lasts about a month. So braids we got! It took five hours, usually with two or three women braiding and adding in the extensions. It was a little painful at times, and I found myself quite bored and antsy from sitting in the chair for so long. I even had a nap! (Those of you who know me well, yes, typical of me to fall asleep). The end result is fantastic though, and I am so thrilled that I got it done. Sara and I are playing with different styles and hair accessories. This morning at church we practically blended in with our Ghanaian style dresses and braided hair.
Look at all those extensions! 

Our team of hairdressers and us with our new hair!


Lady Star on the Sea Catholic Church. The steeple is so high, I couldn't get it in the photo.
Today we relaxed and watched some TV with the family, got ice cream, and tried some new Ghanaian food. The ice cream here is called FanIce. They come in plastic bags, and you bite the corner off and suck the ice cream out. FanYogo and FanMilk are also available. Milo is also a delicious chocolately-energy drink of sorts. You can buy it cold, or like Nesquik crystals to add to hot water. Many of the popular TV shows are very dramatic. The relations between men and women in the shows I have seen offend Sara and I but we try to remember that cultural norms are much different than at home. That said, the frequency in which men force themselves on women and women act passive is disturbing.

This one is good, but Vanilla FanIce is the best.


We often eat fish for dinner, and it’s delicious. Today for the first time, we got the whole fish, head, eyes, fins, everything. Sara and I knew this would be coming and knew we were being pampered with our fish nicely chopped before. I think we handled it quite well. Despite being a past veggie, I am easily peeling meat and skin off bones now. We’ve noticed that many Ghanaians just eat the whole fish- the bones and everything! They just bite it, like a chocolate bar, and eat it. Many Ghanaians also eat chicken bones. Emmanuel, our host brother, says it’s because they provide calcium. I think their teeth must be very strong!  I think my teeth would chip if I ever tried to chew a chicken bone. For dinner we had a dish similar to Fufu, except the ball was made of rice, not cassava. I am addicted to the palm nut soup Fufu and rice ball is served with. So tasty! We also tried crab this week which was surprisingly delicious. 

Yum! Fufu!
I’m really getting into the Ghanaian groove of things.  The culture of time, music, dress, hair, food… my craving for maple syrup and pancakes or Tim Hortons coffee is becoming all the more distant the more I learn about life here.
We are excited for next weekend. We’re meeting up with the rest of the team and going to Cape Coast, where we’re checking out Elmina Castle and the Canopy walk and Kakum National Park. I’ll be writing about that soon! Also, I have some wonderful eco-touristy plans coming up involving canoes and sea turtles. 
Last thing, I saw this sign on a building this week and it reminded me of my blog. :)


Until next time,
Caro. 

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