food poisoning. things I miss. my djembe!

Well, it seems that all of us who were sick have recovered! It was an unpleasant few days and I am quite confident that I will never return to Frankie’s ice cream place in Osu ever again. Actually the thought of ice cream at this point is really quite repulsive- vanilla anyways. I am quite sure I will soon recover from that issue as well. 

There is nothing you want more when you are sick, than to be at home in your own bed, with your own toilet near by and your best friends or mom to pamper you. My absolutely wonderful friend Rachel took on that role for the four of us who were sick. I so appreciate her putting up with us and everything that was going on. I can’t imagine it was to pleasant for her but she made sure we had everything that we needed and sat with us while we were sick-thanks Rachel!

Sickness aside, there have been other happenings over the last week. While we haven’t gone on any large excursions, every day seems to be an experience within itself regardless of whether we are on some great adventure or not. Whether it be taking a taxi or riding a tro-tro (both can be hair-raising experiences), to bargaining in the market,   I am challenged daily with even just the small things! That being said, this is a shorter entry!

Last Thursday my Djembe was sitting ready for me to play! I had one custom made in a dark wood, with 2 different Adinkra symbols carved into it. It is absolutely beautiful, and the symbols that I chose are two that stood out to me right from the moment I saw and read about them. For more on the Adinkra symbols see http://www.touringghana.com/adinkra.asp.I will try to find better and more specific descriptions of the specific symbols I chose later. 

I’ve been spending time in the markets of Accra surrounded by rows and rows of beautiful fabrics trying to pick out just a few. I’ve managed to take a few home, but I love them all! My seamstress here, Jane, does a great job and we have kept her pretty busy. I’ve really enjoyed the process of buying my own fabrics, drawing my own designs and seeing the finished product. 

Aside from fabrics, the markets (Medina and Makola) are packed full of people and foods, smells (good and bad) and animals. It is so vibrant- wonderfully chaotic and gets at every one of the five senses always in an interesting and amazing way. I’m quite sure I could spend hours there just watching and never come close to being bored.

This has been the week ( I think perhaps because I was sick) that I was craving things of home. There is plenty to eat here, but the variety is much more limited. I LOVE fall, and so while I know no one will have any sympathy for me I am going to take a moment  to say that I miss pumpkin pie, apple cider, bike rides, the farmers market, squash anything, mostly any kind of fresh vegetable, apple pie, and fresh fall air. There is something so cozy comfy about fall. Fall makes me think of thanksgiving with my family, cooking with my housemates and sitting on commons lawn for lunch. I appreciate it even more so being so far away from it!

Tomorrow I will be heading to Akropong for five days to attend the Odwira festival, and stay at the Akrofi-Christaller Institute. We will also check out some wood carvers, go to a bead factory, a healing center, and hear several lectures. I’ll post all about this next Monday- which happens to be Kwame Nkrumah’s 100th birthday celebration- a national holiday! In case you are wondering Nkrumah was the 1st president at Ghana’s independence in the late 1950’s. There are already festivities occurring in and around campus..

Well friends, family.. this is all for now. I miss you oh so very much!

love.